17. Hard road (4)

Finally, the day came when we left the estate to meet Sione’s fiancé.

I was worried that I would have to pack up and carry it around, but I just had to put the preserved food and daily necessities in a bag enchanted with storage magic.

Armor, bows and other belongings have already been moved by the servants to the wagon at the entrance of the mansion….

All I had to do was put the sword I picked out yesterday on my waist with my bag on, and get on the carriage.

Originally, I was going to leave the sword and the bow in the wagon…….

The reason why I didn’t entrust the sword to someone who said he would bring it to me and instead wore it around my waist was because of me, Sione.

“Hmm.”

She gazed intently at the blade of the sword half pulled out of her scabbard.

Although she tried to use a sword as much as she was a sword user, it was because she used a long double-edged sword as her main weapon, not as a secondary weapon.

She asks me to help her by her side until she gets the hang of it.

Silently watching her blade, Shione turned her body away from me and secretly swung her sword.

I think it was to get a feel for the length of the blade.

Shuk. Shushuk. Shook. Yes. Yes this guy…… !

Why the hell are you saying such nonsensical things?

I thought I wouldn’t notice, but I said it in a whisper.

Unfortunately, I was watching all of them.

Shione, who wielded her sword, smiled like she was having fun.

‘I really like playing alone.’

Shione put the sword completely into the scabbard.

Her gaze finally moved away from my sword and around her.

Thanks to this, Shione, who was playing alone while making a clicking sound with her mouth, met her eyes.

“Ah…”

“Now that it’s time, we’d better go to the wagon.”

“Yes, yes. Let’s go quickly.”

She jumped up from her seat and moved her dodo.

She moved as fast as she could with Shione, who was moving quickly as if she were a small animal.

Thanks to her, she was able to reach the entrance of her mansion fairly quickly and see two carriages waiting to depart.

The carriage in the front was plain, but the carriage parked in the back had a relatively antique design.

Dioria and a man in priestly clothes were seen in front of the carriage.

“You’re welcome.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Sir Dioria. But who is this man?”

“I’m a priest of the church. I thought it would be better to have at least one priest because I don’t know what might happen while I’m on the move.”

“Hmm.”

Shione looked at her priest with an emotionless gaze.

Unlike when she was with Dioria and me, she started to feel a bit wary from her atmosphere.

Not to mention her porcupine-like appearance that raises Shione’s thorns.

I was quite interested in that priest.

Surely a man can’t use mana, but he can handle her divine power, right?

I’ve seen a priestess who came to heal the slaves who were raging before, but I’ve never seen a male priest like this before.

I wondered why men couldn’t handle mana, but they could handle divine power, but what.

In the end, it is obvious that the people here will be buried without a proper reason, saying that it is a blessing from God.

I moved on, accepting the situation as it was.

While I was lost in my thoughts, the male priest bowed his head to Sione and greeted me.

“My name is Ian, the priest of the church with whom I have been on the road to the Marquis of Peiosha. Please take good care of me, Princess Sione.”

“…Please take good care of me.”

Despite Sione’s awkward greeting, Ian responded with a benevolent smile.

After a brief greeting, Dioria intervened between the two as if she had been waiting.

“Shione doesn’t like to be with strangers, so please go with the attendant in the back carriage. Ian and I will ride in the front carriage.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“It’s nothing. Sione-nim and the attendant’s luggage are all placed on one side of the carriage, so you can go up and check them.”

Sione nodded at Dioria’s words and got into my carriage.

I also rode behind Shione and got into the carriage.

Her The carriage she rode on was beyond imagination.

Like the size of the interior, and the leather on top of all the chairs.

From noble mtl dot com

It was on a different level from the creaking wagon I rode in the dungeon the other day.

Since it was quite large, it was sufficient for two people to ride, even though luggage was placed on one side of the rearmost corner of the wagon.

“All your luggage is over here. You should put the bag over here too.”

“Okay.”

Just as she said, I carefully put the bag down on the side where the bow, quiver, and clothes were arranged.

After that, let’s lightly unpack.

“Let’s go, young lady.”

With the coachman’s horse, the carriage began to move forward.

I simply took out a small wrapper of refreshments from my bag and sat across from Sione.

“I brought you some refreshments, would you like some?”

“That’s good. Just give me a little.”

I handed over the refreshment in the wrapping paper.

Shione took it cold, took out refreshments, ate each one, and looked at the scenery outside.

Outside the window, the scenery of the busy manor flowed, followed by a huge barrier.

As I looked at the long and thick walls that stretched out around the estate, Shione smirked and said,

“How about the castle walls?”

“That’s amazing. Even if a lot of enemies come in, it doesn’t seem like it will be easily penetrated.”

“The wall was built during the war against the demons hundreds of years ago. At that time, it stopped countless demons, and now it keeps the people of the territory safe.”

“…That’s amazing.”

“It is one of the pride of Countess Cianella.”

Shione seemed to be in a good mood after boasting about her family, and looked around her while singing her hum.

Unlike Shione, who had such a bright atmosphere, I had no choice but to be deep in thought.

‘A devil…….’

The future of this perishing world I was trying to capture.

Certainly, it was a hell filled with demons.

Since when will the demons erode and devour this world, and will I be able to return to Earth before then?

By the time I fell into my own thoughts and came to my senses again.

Through the scenery outside the window, I could notice that the carriage had left the estate and started to enter the forest road.

Inside the manor, the roads were at least well maintained, so there was nothing inconvenient about riding a wagon.

Outside the territory, there are only roads frequently used by merchants.

Since there was no road trimmed at the territory level, it was clear that the road conditions would be uneven.

From now on, my ass won’t be sore because of the rattling wagon.

Contrary to my thoughts, however, I could hardly feel any tremor in the wagon.

“…Contrary to what I thought, the carriage does not shake or anything.”

“Most of the wagons that nobles ride in are magically treated to give them the most comfortable environment. At least, there won’t be much discomfort while riding.”

“I see.”

It’s nice to hear that.

Only then was I able to let go.

Now that we are sitting face to face in the carriage like this, we have nothing to talk about.

I quietly looked out the window and then looked at Sione.

She too was looking out the window.

The difference between me and me is that he was already half asleep.

As if she felt my gaze, she shook her head and chased her sleep away.

“Why are you staring so much? Oh, is there even a crumb left in her mouth?”

Shione quickly wiped the corner of her mouth inside.

There wasn’t even a crumb this time, well.

Like it or not, I still stared at her.

“Coming to think of it, I was looking at you as I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sione talk to me comfortably.”

“I’ve never seen you talk comfortably. Aren’t you usually comfortable talking?”

“It means it’s okay if you talk to me in a relaxed tone.”

“How about lowering your tone?”

Shione even tilted her head and expressed her curiosity.

He was infinitely cold in front of that unfamiliar priest, and it’s true that he looked dazed in front of me.

As much as it was fun and proud in its own way, I was able to speak with a relaxed expression.

“Could you excuse me for a minute?”

“Okay, don’t mind and tell me.”

“I’d be happy if you would.”

Write, take a few deep breaths.

He opened his mouth again in the most friendly way possible.

“Like this, Sione. You can talk lightly.”

“Oh, uh, that’s what you were talking about.”

“If the original way of speaking is more comfortable, I don’t care too much. Do whatever you feel comfortable with.”

“Ah, I see.”

Shione showed a puzzled look, as if she hadn’t known that I would openly feed her with short words like this.

Well, even though Shione gave her permission first, it’s not a very nice look for a slave to speak plainly to a nobleman.

I hurriedly settled my mood and returned to my usual loyal self.

“What would you like to do?”

“Then from now on, whenever I want to do that, I’ll let go of my words a little…Ah…”

Shione shook her head while she was talking.

“What should I do…?”

“Okay.”

As expected, Shione couldn’t open her mouth easily, probably because her tone was different from usual.

If it’s that hard, it doesn’t matter if you talk in your normal tone.

I guess it was just an allusive suggestion, thinking that his usual authoritative tone would be annoying and cumbersome.

It seemed that he brought up the story for no reason because he seemed more uncomfortable.

Well, if it’s really hard, he’ll come back to his original tone on his own.

“…Ray, by the way, can you explain a little bit about how this sword should be used… Huh…?”

“Of course.”

I lifted the sword that was strapped to my waist.

“Of course, a bow is suitable for taking down enemies from a distance, but it becomes difficult to counter easily when the enemy gets close. So when the enemy gets close to you.”

I immediately grabbed the handle with my right hand.

Then, at the same time as the sword, I slowly drew a line up the right side.

Shione watched my series of actions quietly.

“It’s best to quickly slash, parry and stab the enemy, then back away to get back to a safe distance.”

Quick slashing and stabbing was my main method.

Borrows the power of the spirit to quickly evade attacks, and stabs at the same time as the attack.

Then, it was a daily occurrence to continue the battle by widening the distance and shooting arrows.

I tried different fighting methods depending on the situation, but this method was the most commonly used.

“Also, since it’s a single-edged sword that needs to be pulled out and used as soon as it enters close combat, it’s like this so that it can be used immediately after unsheathing it.”

I delivered the sword.

When the sword was drawn immediately, the sword was again stuffed into the waistband with the sharp blade pointing towards the sky.

“It’s also important to wear it with the blade facing up.”

“…I think I know what I mean. I think I can get used to it after using it a few times.”

Yeah, it’s really easy if you just listen to it.

However, if you actually do it, it will be quite difficult.

Back then

Rumble.

The wagon, which was going well, stopped.

Not long after, someone knocked at the carriage entrance, and Shione opened the carriage door.

The main character of Knock was the coachman who was pulling his horse.

“What happened?”

“It seems that a group of goblins have been spotted ahead. The knight said that he will come back soon… It won’t take too long to start again.”

A group of goblins

How long has it been since you came out of the territory and monsters are already appearing?

I can only think of it as an ominous omen.

I never thought the timing would be like this.

If it’s a goblin, it’s a level that I can easily catch, so it’s like this.

“Sione-nim must have never paid close attention to the archers’ battles.”

I slung a quiver full of arrows on my back and held the bow firmly.

“There is a saying that a thousand words is worth a thousand words, so I’ll show you this once.”

Shione’s eyes started to twinkle at my words.