Chapter 30: The Plan Going Forward

Two days after their escape, Ren and Licia left another small village behind.

Both wore stained, inexpensive robes. Ren had traded monster materials for the garments in the first village they had found, choosing clothes that would help them pass as ordinary travelers. Their original clothes had been discarded. Four days in captivity, sustained only by potions and deprived of any chance to wash, had left them too filthy to keep wearing.

“My lady, I’ll stop the horse once we reach the trees.”

Licia sat in front of him in the saddle. “All right.”

About ten minutes later, they reached the edge of a forest. Villages in this region, much like Ren’s own, lay close to great stretches of woodland.

Ren guided the horse into the shade and jumped down. At his age, it was less a graceful dismount than a short leap.

(Not exactly dignified.)

The greater problem was getting Licia down. Even with both arms raised, he couldn’t reach high enough to lift her safely. Until now he had stopped beside rocks or fallen trees, but there was nothing suitable nearby.

Then an idea came to him.

He hesitated only because it required the Wooden Magic Sword. Yet Licia had already seen its power during their escape from the Beast Tamer and in the battles that followed. Concealing it now would accomplish little.

“Excuse me for a moment, my lady.”

Ren summoned the Wooden Magic Sword. Thick roots rose from the earth, forming a step beneath his feet. Once he was high enough, he reached around Licia and carefully lifted her from the saddle.

He lowered her onto the broad roots and helped her lean against the trunk. Though exhausted, she managed a faint smile.

“That truly is a strange power.”

“I think so too. But first, you need water.”

Ren handed her a leather waterskin, then took out a wooden bowl obtained in the village. It contained a thick, pale-green paste with a harsh smell.

“This is grated Meal Grass. I watched them prepare it, so you needn’t worry about what’s in it.”

Meal Grass was a medicinal herb used to treat abnormal conditions. The Legend of the Seven Heroes had also described it as effective against headaches and high fever. It was far less valuable than Londo Grass, which was why a stranger like Ren had been able to acquire it without much difficulty.

(Good thing I remembered such an obscure detail.)

The information had been little more than flavor text in the game, since the main characters rarely suffered ordinary illnesses. Now it had become invaluable.

Licia stared at the bowl. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Drink it. I’ve heard it’s extremely bitter, but please swallow all of it.”

“All right…”

Her hand trembled when she tried to take the bowl. Ren watched for a moment, then took it back and scooped a little paste onto his fingers.

“I’m sorry.”

He brought his hand to her lips. Licia hesitated, but soon opened her mouth.

“Mm… bitter.”

“Here, have some water. Please endure it, and try not to be sick.”

He alternated the medicine with small drinks of water. It took several minutes to empty the bowl. Each swallow plainly hurt her, and Ren’s chest tightened at the sight, but he knew stopping halfway would help no one.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

By evening, Licia’s condition had begun to improve.

Her breathing, which had remained shallow and uneven, settled into a calmer rhythm. As Ren supported her from behind, he could feel her fever easing. She was returning to the state she had been in when they first met at the Ashton manor, before captivity had worsened her illness.

“Ren.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me.”

There was a little more of her usual spirit in her voice. Ren still had several portions of Meal Grass, and decided to give her another that night.

After a while, Licia looked toward the distant horizon.

“We’re near the edge of Viscount Given’s territory.”

“Huh?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

“You just spoke rather normally.”

Licia had dropped the formal, aristocratic way she usually referred to herself. She looked away, embarrassed.

“It’s easier this way, isn’t it? At least while we’re traveling.”

Ren considered it, then nodded. In an emergency, excessively formal speech might only make communication harder.

“Then I’ll accept that. But how did you know where we were? I’ve been too busy searching for villages to pay much attention to the region.”

Ren already knew they were in Given territory because he had questioned the villagers while pretending to be a young traveler. The villagers had regarded him with understandable suspicion, but he had needed the information.

“Look over there,” Licia said.

Beyond the trees rose a vast line of silver-capped peaks. The mountains seemed endless, their rocky slopes as sharp as polished blades.

“Those are the Baldor Mountains. If you can see them, you can estimate where you are.”

Ren nodded slowly. “So those are the Baldor Mountains.”

“You know the name?”

“Only the name.”

In truth, he knew much more. The final battle of Legend of the Seven Heroes I took place there.

(In the game, we traveled almost everywhere aboard the Lunar Whale, so I never learned the roads properly.)

The Lunar Whale was a colossal magic tool powered by magic stones. The Magic Train was another such vehicle, and every medium-sized city in Leomel possessed a station for one or both. The Baldor Mountains had always been visible on the game map, but traveling through the world on horseback made its geography feel entirely different.

“Does this mean you can guide us from here?” Ren asked.

“Yes. I believe I can.”

“That’s a relief. Wandering without a route was becoming dangerous.”

Until then, Ren’s priority had been finding medicine for Licia. He had still watched for familiar landmarks, but none of the villagers they met knew the route to Clausel. Like Ren’s own neighbors, most had never traveled far from their birthplace.

“We should return to Clausel territory first,” Ren said.

“…Yes.”

Her answer lacked conviction.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your village is far from here.”

“That’s true. How long would it take to reach Clausel from where we are now?”

“About four days, I think.”

The Ashton village lay roughly ten days from Clausel by horse. The Beast Tamer’s route hadn’t strayed far from the direction of Clausel, however, which left the town far closer than Ren’s home.

“Then we’ll go to your manor first.”

Licia shook her head immediately. “No. I’m sending you home to your family first.”

“What are you talking about? Returning you safely is our priority.”

“This happened because of me. You should be the one to go home first.”

“I’ll be fine.”

His assurance had no proof behind it, but he spoke firmly.

“Clausel is still the safer destination. We don’t know whether the villages ahead are secure, and I don’t know what happened after the attack on my home. If my father evacuated everyone, heading there might mean missing them entirely.”

Licia listened with a pained smile. Ren’s kindness moved her, but it also made her hate how dependent she had become. Tears gathered in her eyes.

Then Ren added in a lighter voice, “Besides, I’ll treat it as a sightseeing trip. I can greet the baron properly, and then meet my family afterward. It may work out better than you think.”

His deliberately casual tone eased the tension in her face.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Without realizing it, Licia leaned more deeply into the warmth of his back.

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