Riding the carriage was tedious. In the game, traveling by carriage or horse meant arriving at the destination almost instantly. But here, things were far too realistic. The horses needed rest when tired, stops were made for meals, and at night, it was too dark and dangerous to continue, so they had to rest. Naturally, this delayed their arrival in Philoria.
'I recall we need to pass through two castles to reach Aslan.'
One was the castle they had just passed, 〈Hirod〉, which served as a checkpoint. The other was 〈Dempa〉, responsible for the southern defense line of Philoria. Castles like Hirod were merely initial defensive outposts, while major strongholds like Dempa guarded key routes for complete defense. Yuda thought about Dempa, which they would soon reach. Since the carriage would only take them to Dempa before returning to Serenia Castle, they would naturally have some time to stay there.
‘Is there a quest worth doing in Dempa?’
He couldn’t recall. Before pulling up the 〈Record〉, Yuda glanced at Jeanne. She was dozing off, hands neatly folded in her lap. Well, even though this carriage wasn’t as nice as the lord’s, this world had advanced alchemy and magical technology. Thanks to that, even an old-fashioned carriage didn’t deliver much shock to the body. The soft cushions made it quite comfortable. With nothing to do, a warm back, and a full stomach… it was only natural to feel sleepy.
Still, thinking she might wake up and see him, Yuda pretended to look out the window as he opened the 〈Record〉. A holographic window appeared before his eyes. Since notes related to Serenia Castle were no longer needed, he had lowered their priority to the minimum and minimized their size. Among the densely packed notes on a roughly hand-drawn map, Yuda zoomed in on the Philoria region.
‘Nothing here.’
There was an important story quest in Dempa, but it was limited to Riel, the mage presumed to be with Kain. Yuda slowly read through the notes he had previously recorded.
As the Land of Knights, Philoria was known for recruiting knights as companions. Like Jeanne, many were righteous and trustworthy allies. In the game, one of the companions who never betrayed Yuda was a female knight from Philoria. These knights were particularly reliable for escort missions, so many kingdoms and nobles paid handsomely to hire them.
However, since Yuda already had the blue lance knight with him, there was no need to recruit another. As he looked at the dozing Jeanne, her head tilted to the side and hit the wall with a thunk!
"Sssp!"
With the sound of her sucking in her saliva, she opened sleepy eyes but soon tilted her head back and fell back asleep. Smiling quietly so as not to wake her, Yuda closed the 〈Record〉. There was nothing more to read.
‘It’s better to just pass through.’
There was nothing he needed. He decided to grab a quick meal upon arriving in Dempa and find a carriage shuttling between Dempa and Aslan to head straight to the capital. Yuda rested his arm on the window frame, propped his chin, and gazed blankly outside. The cool breeze and peaceful scenery were incredibly serene.
But then, the carriage gradually slowed and came to a complete stop. Yuda, who had been enjoying the scenery, grew puzzled. Why did it stop so suddenly? It wasn’t mealtime, and the horses had rested enough. The sun was still high in the sky. He briefly hoped for an encounter with monsters or bandits but quickly dismissed the thought, realizing this was Philoria.
"…Have we arrived?"
Jeanne, waking from her nap as the carriage stopped, asked. Yuda shook his head.
"Not yet. Something seems to be happening up ahead. Keep sleeping, I’ll go check."
The moment Yuda opened the carriage door and stepped onto the ground, his eyes widened. The ground felt damp, like a soft cushion, faintly transmitting through his shoes.
‘Did it rain?’
He didn’t know when, but the ground was slightly wet. Tilting his head in curiosity, he started walking toward the driver’s seat when the coachman, hearing him get off, poked his head out.
"Oh, it’s nothing serious, no need to worry."
"Yes, I trust you, of course. I was just curious and came to check. Mind if I sit here for a bit?"
"Sure, of course. Sit right here."
The older coachman gladly offered Yuda the seat beside him. Wondering why the carriage stopped, Yuda saw another carriage parked on the roadside in the distance.
"Hmm-"
As far as Yuda knew, the road to 〈Dempa〉 connected not only to 〈Hirod〉 but also to several other checkpoints. Without a map, he couldn’t be sure exactly which ones, but it was definitely a single connected route. Naturally, there was a lot of carriage traffic, but oddly, at this moment, no other carriages were in sight except the one Yuda was using. As they moved closer, he noticed the other carriage was slightly tilted, likely broken.
"Look at that. Seems the wheel got stuck in the mud."
The coachman beside him spoke with a tone of pity. The carriage was large and ornate, but its wheels were incongruously dirty. The other coachman, likely serving a noble, spotted Yuda’s carriage and waved frantically for help.
"What should we do?"
The coachman beside Yuda asked for his opinion.
"Huh?"
"If this was in Serenia Castle, we would help without question… but getting involved with nobles in a foreign land rarely leads to anything good. Even if we pass by, they can’t really complain. We can just say we’re on a tight schedule."
Hearing this, Yuda paused for a moment and looked at the stranded carriage. The other coachman had a pleading expression. His mud-covered pant legs suggested he had struggled to free the carriage from the mud.
"Let’s help them."
"Understood."
The coachman nodded, seemingly trying to agree with Yuda’s decision. Soon, the carriage stopped. The other coachman ran over and bowed deeply. He was quite young.
"Thank you so much! I know we’re strangers, but is there any chance you have room in your carriage?"
"There’s… room, but."
"You’re heading to 〈Dempa〉, right? We’ll compensate you, so could you take the person in our carriage to Dempa?"
"What do you think?"
The coachman asked Yuda’s opinion, seeming indifferent. Yuda didn’t mind, but the question was how the noble in that fancy carriage would react. Since he’d already decided to help, he agreed. The young coachman’s face lit up, and he pulled out ten silver coins, dividing them between Yuda and the coachman before heading back to his carriage. Considering the short distance to Dempa, ten silver coins was more than enough. Soon, the door of the ornate carriage opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out, wearing a monocle with a dangling chain and a neatly tailored suit. He held a gem-encrusted staff, looking like a noble straight out of a novel. He listened to the young coachman with a calm gaze, lightly patted his shoulder as if to say “good job,” and approached Yuda, who was standing by the driver’s seat.
"Even though we’re strangers, you’ve so readily offered help. I sincerely thank you for your assistance."
"No need to thank me. It’s only right to help someone in need."
"Oh-Are you from Philoria, perhaps?"
He widened his eyes in surprise at Yuda’s words. Philorians were known for not easily ignoring others’ plights. It was said that even a beggar wouldn’t starve in Philoria. Yuda smiled and shook his head.
"No, I’m just an ordinary adventurer now. Shall we continue the conversation inside?"
"Then… I’ll take you up on that."
As Yuda opened the door, the man bowed again in gratitude before boarding. Jeanne, inside, flinched at the sudden appearance of a stranger but calmed down upon seeing Yuda follow. With the crack of a whip and the horses’ neighs, the carriage began to move.
"The journey can be lonely. If it’s alright, may we talk a bit?"
"Yes, of course."
Yuda nodded readily.
"Hmm, thank you. What brings you to Dempa?"
"I don’t have any particular business in Dempa, we’re heading to Aslan."
"Aslan? Then you must be heading to participate in the Green Flag tournament!"
He spoke as if he had guessed correctly, but unfortunately, he was wrong.
"No, participating wouldn’t be bad, but that’s not the plan this time. We’re just stopping by Aslan for a specific reason. Though, I suppose we might watch the tournament."
"Hmm. True, since you can only participate in the Green Flag once in your life, it’s best to join when you’re fully prepared. But you’re not completely uninterested, are you?"
"Well… yes. I’m not too keen on participating, but my companion seems very eager to."
"Hoo."
He looked at Jeanne sitting beside Yuda and gave a pleased expression.
"My daughter is participating in the Flag tournament this time. If you had joined, you might have faced her."
"You have a daughter?"
"Haa-"
He suddenly let out a sigh.
"Yes. A late-born child, and so stubborn. She ran off saying she’s participating in the Green Flag this time. Good thing I saw her letter about it, or I’d have been searching every country for her…"
As Yuda conversed with him, he suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this man before somewhere. Where could it have been? No matter how much he thought, this was his first time meeting him in this world. Feeling puzzled by the déjà vu, he was about to speculate on the man’s identity when he realized they hadn’t introduced themselves.
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