Chapter 62: Departure (part 1)
Ch. XXXI - Departure (Elice)
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We continued the discussion.
Most of the contents were the old dwarf guild master filling us in about any information that we might need. Some of the information he gave us were warnings, such as to always keep an eye out for certain things.
As a result, we know more about ourselves than before.
I have become the number one fugitive of the kingdom, and Rake is like the cherry on the top. The two of us are now the main priorities of the kingdom, to hunt us down and imprison us.
Even though it was obvious that they won't just imprison me, it's still ballsy that they loudly misspoken torture.
After all, I have been in their hands before.
They are coming for me because I am the princess of Velborn, and they are afraid that I might revive the kingdom simply by continuing to live. As if a single ethelen female is powerful enough to produce a whole generation of ethelens from her womb.
Yeah, sure! I can give birth to ten million children! No problem at all!
So, they are hunting me because of that. As for why they are hunting Rake, I assume it was because of the kingdom's personal reasons.
Being their greatest hero, Rake is hailed as the kingdom's symbol. The very reason why the kingdom strives, due to great individuals like Rake Ignicius.
So, it is very obvious that the kingdom declines the moment their greatest hero turns their blade towards them.
Rake has massacred people before, at that knight's headquarters. So it's very clear what his intentions are with the kingdom.
He has become an enemy to them. And he is supporting me, the person who can 'Revive' an entire ethelen empire.
Truthfully, the only threat they are facing are Rake. But since I am also an existence they can use to oil the flames, they hailed me as 'Brainwashing' Rake or something.
So, they made me a higher priority than Rake.
After talking about that information for a long time, the sun has finally risen.
We talked for the entire night, but no one in the room felt tired in any way. After all, our topic is related to the future of this kingdom.
Everyone… is excited.
"Then, we will see you two later. Hopefully, still in one piece."
The guild master said right when me and Rake were about to leave his office room. The two of us nodded at him and left the room following Chelly.
Chelly the secretary led us to an adventurer at the diner, who seemed to be sleeping at a table. The adventurer had a large cowboy hat with a feather on top. His attire looks pretty dirty, mostly because of the dirt and mud that he didn't get to clean up.
He is by himself, and a large bottle of beer can be seen on the table next to his hand. He is dead drunk.
"Ek. Hem."
Chelly cleared her throat loudly, but the adventurer guy is still sleeping.
"Ek! Hem!!"
Chelly tried again, but louder. The adventurer guy moves a little, but he is still sleeping.
"C-Can you just poke him or something?"
I asked while whispering, and Chelly immediately had an idea.
She walked away from us towards the back. Rake and I turned glances as we waited for her, and she returned ten seconds later with a rather long broom in her hands.
W-Wait, she's not gonna--
PLAKKK!!!!!
"Gaaahh!!!!!!"
The adventurer screamed loudly after being baton-ed in the head with the broom, and he quickly stood up. His hands are holding his head that is wearing the cowboy hat, and his eyes can be seen crying.
"W-Why did you do that??"
"You didn't wake up. So I resorted to poking you."
"YOU CALL THAT POKING!!??"
Looks like they are close.
The adventurer turned his attention to us, and he immediately noticed the horns on my head as well as the bandage on Rake's face. The two of us are not wearing our masks, so we are having our identity fully revealed.
Plus, no one else is in the building. So it's safe.
"W-Woah… a real ethelen."
"Roy. Listen to me."
The adventurer who I assumed is named Roy, then turned his attention back to Chelly. She then began filling in on the situation, and it looks like Roy will become someone important for us in the near future.
"Oh, I see what's going on. Freeden, huh? It's been a while since I've been there."
The adventurer mumbled, and Chelly turned back to us.
"This is Roy. He is an A rank adventurer. He will be your guide for the entire time you are at Freeden."
A guide? Oh right, the guild master did say earlier that we might need a guide.
"Nice to meet you. I heard that I will be guiding the two most important individuals of the kingdom. I will do my best!"
He is a rather positive person, at least. That kind of light is what I needed, I guess.
"For the whole time you are at Freeden, Roy will be the one to lead you. You can trust his instincts, since he is not only smart, but also sharp--"
"You are describing me as if I'm a dog."
"--And he will be the one that will lead you to the adventurer's guild that is at Freeden. Do you still remember what you needed to do once you arrived?"
Chelly asked me specifically, and I nodded.
"Bright as day."
"All right. Then, I will leave the situation there to you."
Chelly then turned towards Roy, and the guy looked freaked out.
"I'm leaving them to you, so don't mess anything up! Keeping the princess safe is more important than your life!!"
"O-Okay, okay!! Geez!!"
They are definitely close.
Chelly turned her gaze back to us, and she smiled softly once more.
"I will be seeing you later, then. Good luck."
"Thank you, Miss Chelly. Stay safe."
Chelly nodded, and the two of us followed Roy who was already heading towards the exit. Roy will be our guide, so naturally he will be the one to lead us to Freeden.
Roy stopped right by the front door of the adventurers guild, and he turned to us with a grin.
"Masks up, friends."
He lifted a mask that was tied to his pants. Me and Rake followed him as we wore our masks. Once we wore it, Roy nodded at Chelly behind us who was waving her hand at us, and he opened the front door.
The dawn light nearly blinds our eyes, and everyone had to cover their eyes from the incoming light.
The damn building is facing the east??
The three of us headed to the nearest transportation center, and we didn't sign up for any carriages that went to Freeden.
No, we have already reserved a carriage, apparently.
"The guild master has always been preparing ahead. You got to get used to these things about him."
Roy explained after seeing us standing confusingly by the carriage instead of going inside. The two of us were quite shocked knowing that this carriage was reserved long before we even arrived.
It's like he had an oracle or something. He just knows what will happen in the future.
Though the carriage is reserved, they didn't hire any driver. That is because the guide himself will become the driver.
Roy mentioned that he was the son of a carriage driver from a village nearby, so he has a lot of experience with riding a carriage after learning from his father. Me and Rake can only stay silent listening to his story as the carriage moves.
And so, we began our journey. To Freeden, the city of freedom and justice.
After remembering the city's famous tagline, I immediately recalled something that happened inside the guild master's room. I turned my gaze to Rake, who was enjoying the view of the sunrise above Lionade.
"Say."
Rake then turned his gaze at me, and I began asking.
"What is on Freeden?"
Hearing my question, Rake let out a long sigh. It's like he knew why I asked, and how I know that this city means something to him. But from the way he placed his lazy chin on his hand, I knew he was going to answer stupidly.
"It's just a city with dumb knights."
"… That was not what I wanted to know."
Rake then turned his eyes back to me one final time before letting out another long sigh.
"It was the home of my… friend. Well, half a friend. An ally. Colleague. A fellow combatant."
W-Which one is it?
"He was a dumbass swordsman, whose sense of justice is possibly so stupidly higher than anyone else. He is also not a good person to hang out with, so I wouldn't suggest finding him interesting in any way."
"He sounded interesting enough."
"He is the rank four hero. And from what I've heard from him, his hometown was poor and filled with tragedies."
"Tragedies?"
"Diseases. Economical degradation. Lack of instances. I looked it up a little bit before I went to… fight against ethelens. It's a whole shit show over there."
Hearing Rake using words like that made me flinch, since he has never really said words like that before. That means it was so bad that even Rake had to curse.
"I see. Is there something… you and I can do about it?"
"… Huh?"
"Never mind. That was just too much."
I shielded that thought, and I turned my gaze back to the sunrise. After a few seconds, I could feel the left side of my face being burned by an intense gaze, and I turned my eyes back angrily at the guy.
"What? Can you stop staring that long?"
I asked that angrily, but Rake is still having his gaze locked on to me. It's as if his mind is trying to figure out something about me, that his eyes simply cannot move away even after I angrily turned back at him.
A few seconds later, he then shook his head.
"Nothing."
H-Huh…??
He is being weird again... What the hell?
"What is it?"
I asked again, but he is still having his gaze locked to the sunrise.
"It's nothing."
"… Then, can you not stare at me like that?"
"That will definitely happen again."
"H-Huh!? Stop being weird!!"
"What's wrong?"
"Everything! Stop staring at me like that and say 'Nothing' afterwards."
"Why?"
"Seriously. Stop it."
"It's funny though."
That's when I had it. The guy was only joking around.
I immediately took out a sword from my storage bracelet, and Rake quickly turned to panic. We ended up having a little brawl inside the carriage, with me trying to stab the shit out of him.
Roy at the front can only let out a sigh.
"Guys, can you please not make this difficult for me?"
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