Chapter 74: Leaving the Forest of Lost Paths

“W-we finally made it.”

After bathing and walking a little farther, we finally left the Forest of Lost Paths and approached the village.

We’d trudged through an unfamiliar forest drenched in sweat and literally slept on bare soil. The entire journey had been miserable, but at last we could travel by carriage.

The thought drew a sigh of relief from me.

“Now we can only pray our pursuers haven’t reached this village first.”

I narrowed my eyes at the village visible in the distance.

Reaching it unseen would mean nothing if the pursuers were already there. Since our crossing had taken several days, that possibility worried me.

“Oh, Lloyd-sama. I hear a carriage.”

“What? Really?”

Lilina’s silver ears twitched as she looked around and pointed toward the sound.

If we could hire a carriage without entering the village, it wouldn’t matter whether our pursuers were inside. We had to catch this one.

We waited, watching the direction she’d indicated, and a carriage appeared on the main road.

“Good. Lilina, Alisha, could you ask the coachman whether he knows about my wanted poster? If he doesn’t, we’ll hire him to take us to Galan without entering the village.”

If he knew about the poster, he wouldn’t carry us. He might even betray me for the bounty.

To avoid that trouble, it was safer for them to question him while I stayed hidden.

Both girls nodded.

“Understood. Let’s go, Alisha.”

“Yes. We’ll be back, Lloyd-sama.”

They ran to meet the carriage and asked him. Fortunately, the coachman knew nothing about my wanted poster, so we boarded.

He then set off toward Galan with us.

When we explained that we’d come through the Forest of Lost Paths, he exclaimed in surprise.

“You came through the Forest of Lost Paths? That must’ve been quite an ordeal.”

“Yes. The terrain was rough, and it was rather exhausting.”

I answered with a calm face while the carriage rocked beneath us.

From our conversation, I learned he’d delivered passengers to a distant location and was returning to his village for the first time in a while.

Had he entered the village first, its people might have told him about us. Finding him before that had been extraordinarily fortunate.

…At least we could relax for a little while.

As I eased my breathing, he spoke again.

“Still, what business took you into such a dangerous place?”

“W-well, we had a request. Someone wanted materials from a monster in the lake.”

“Ah, I see. Adventurers certainly have it rough, entering the Forest of Lost Paths even for a job.”

My improvised explanation appeared to satisfy him.

As I relaxed again, Lilina’s silver ears twitched. Her expression became tense, and she peered outside.

“Lilina?”

“…I hear carriages. Several of them.”

“Several carriages?”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand. I looked out in the same direction, but no carriage was visible.

Lilina suddenly spun toward me.

“They’re coming toward us at considerable speed!”

“Considerable speed… Don’t tell me—”

The urgency in her voice made me sit up.

Only one group would pursue our carriage in our current situation.

Soon their carriages came into view.

A rough-looking man holding the reins shouted at us.

“Carriage ahead! Stop! Inspection!”

The man looked nothing like an official conducting an inspection. He repeatedly yelled the order while driving faster.

It seemed escaping the Forest of Lost Paths hadn’t bought us even a moment to lower our guard.

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Author’s Note:

Thank you sincerely for reading and supporting this story!

I have an announcement concerning the release schedule.

Updates recently settled into a Friday schedule, but I have now built up a sufficient stock of chapters. Beginning today, I plan to post daily until the end of Part Two!

There will be updates tomorrow and the day after, and every day until Part Two concludes. I hope you’ll keep reading!

Please continue to enjoy the story. (´▽｀)