They followed the guard into the village. Looking around the bustling roads from atop Rem, Max marveled at the unexpected size of the village. Rustic wooden cabins lined both sides of the road, and goats, pigs, and donkeys were scattered, peacefully grazing the vegetation.
Max wrinkled her nose at the stench of the barn. The road was stained with droppings from running cattle. The merchants had their stalls set up along the road, and there were piles of lumbar everywhere, while the carpenters worked diligently on the houses. There were also armed men here and there, who looked like swords for hire. Riftan frowned as they waved across the sea of people.
“There are quite a number of people here.”
“Isn’t it because of the sudden increase in monsters? Many small towns were attacked by half dragons, goblins, and goblins. It has become increasingly common in recent months with people fleeing their homes and settling here.”
“Is there a food shortage?” Riftan asked.
“We are better compared to the other villages, as many armies and wizards pass through here before heading to Livadon. Ah, we arrived.” The soldier pointed to the three-story wooden inn located at the end of the narrow path. “The knights are staying at that inn.”
“Thank you for guiding us.” Riftan tossed him a silver coin.
The soldier bowed and quickly ran to the inn to call some workers to attend to them. After the soldier fulfilled his duties, they headed inside.
Max walked over to Riftan and looked around the dimly lit entrance. The gentlemen, who were all huddled in the dining room filled with wooden planks and chairs, immediately stopped talking and jumped out of their seats when they saw them.
“Commander, you got here faster than we thought!” Hebaron grinned and stroked Riftan’s armored shoulders harshly.
Riftan ended up ignoring him, and walked over to the innkeeper to ask for a room. Despite being so coldly ignored, Hebaron continued to smile and turned his attention back to her.
“I’m glad you’re okay, ma’am. I knew he’d find you but I was worried it would be too late. Are you hurt somewhere?”
“I’m fine. Sorry… for worrying everyone.”
“No, don’t apologize. We should be the ones to apologize for not protecting you properly. I thought damn Gabel would be competent enough but… Thank God the Commander was able to find you on time. Nothing compares to his tracking skills.”. 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Max looked around the room with a solemn smile. “By the way… I don’t see everyone… did all the knights arrive safely?”
“They all arrived last night. Gabel has gone out to look for supplies, And the others are gathering information from the mercenaries who are in the village. You can say hello later, you must be tired. Go rest in the room.”
Hebaron examined her and lightly clicked her disheveled appearance, as if he were personally responsible for her current state. Max blushed and touched her nest of hair. She didn’t even have to look in a mirror to know how terrible she looked now.
Shyness and shame suddenly surged within her, and she quickly hunched her shoulders to try to hide her appearance and went to Riftan, who was beckoning her to follow him upstairs. He led her to the room at the end of the hall on the third floor and he carelessly tossed her bags into a corner of the room.
Max wanted nothing more than to collapse on the bed, but she didn’t want to mess up the blankets and sheets. When she started to remove her wet boots and socks, Riftan, who was watching, turned to leave.
“I have ordered them to prepare a bathroom sleep after you wash.”
“W-what about you Riftan?”
“I need to watch and there are updates from Livadon.”
“We just got here… maybe take a little break…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Riftan opened the door and left. Max lowered her eyes at his continued coldness. She doubted he had slept a wink last night, so how could he not be tempted to lie on a bed even for a moment?
She wanted to chase him down and tell him he needed to rest too, but she knew it was useless and sighed in resignation. A knock snapped Max out of her thoughts and a restless woman entered with a wooden barrel full of water and a hot kettle.
After the woman left, Max locked the door and threw away her cold, dirty clothes. For several days, she was covered in sweat and dust, so the feeling of warm water and soap couldn’t be more heavenly. She scrubbed her body thoroughly with the soap twice and then rinsed off with clean water. She carefully washed her tangled hair and when she was done, she used the leftover water in the kettle to wash off the soap. With all the dirt gone, her pale, white skin absolutely glowed. She felt like a newborn baby. With a happy face, Max got out of the tall barrel and dried herself with a clean towel.
But now she had another problem. Looking at her bag, she frowned: only one pair of clean underwear remained. All of her other clothes had either been dammed by the rain or were already dirty with her sweat. There was no time to wash everything and wait for it to dry, so the only option left was to put the wet, smelly clothes back on.
Maybe I should wash it quickly and let it dry as much as it can… Max frowned.
She was smelling the acidity emanating from her clothes, when a soft knock suddenly interrupted her. She quickly wrapped the towel around her body and stuttered in an embarrassed tone.
“Wh-who is it?”
“Your husband has told me to bring you a change of clothes.”
The voice belonged to the woman who brought her the bath water. Max went to open the door, and after making sure the hallway was empty, she quickly took the clothes from her hands and went back inside. It was an old robe that felt rough against her skin, the shirt was too big on her as it stretched down to the ankles, but she was just happy to be able to wear clean clothes.
Max adjusted a belt around her waist and handed the dirty clothes to the woman outside when she asked for them.
“Can I bring your food to your room?”
Max shook her head. She wanted to know what Riftan was doing and check the other knights in case someone got hurt. She borrowed a pair of slippers from the woman and headed down the hall.
The gentlemen went to sit around the tables and enjoy their meals. Yulysion was the first to see her, and immediately jumped out of his seat to approach her.
“Milady! I heard you were back! I’m so glad you’re okay!!” The normally cheerful boy was almost on the verge of tears.
Garrow, who came towards them, shook his horrified face sadly. “I have failed the Lady… I didn’t even realize the Lady was gone… I’m not qualified to be your guard.”
“Y-you two, don’t say that… B-Because a goblin suddenly landed on Rem… and R-Rem fled in a frenzy… I-it’s because I couldn’t control my horse…”
She did her best to comfort them. The two boys exchanged glances at each other and looked at her in embarrassment. Gabel came up behind them and spoke with concern in his tone.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“I’m fine… are you hurt? Does anyone need treatment…?”
“Everybody’s fine. Don’t stand there, come sit down. I’ll get you some food.”
He pulled out a chair for her at an empty table and called for a worker. Then in a brief moment, a young woman with carefully braided hair placed freshly baked bread, oven-roasted goose, and a turnip salad in front of her.
Max gulped down the food and looked around the dining room. Gabel, who was sitting across from her, immediately realized that she was looking for Riftan.
“Lord Calypse is talking to the merchants. We need to make sure we have enough food and water before we leave tomorrow. “
“A-are we leaving tomorrow?”
“The horses are too tired to leave today. Also, there will be no other town between here and the port from this point on, so we have to make sure we have enough supplies for the journey. Even today’s schedule is tight.”
Max nodded in understanding as she sliced the meat and ate it. Riftan did not return until she finished her meal. She watched him argue with the other gentlemen about the next schedule, then retreated to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed.
The sheets and blankets were unmatched by fine silk and woolen blankets at home, but it felt like she was laying on a pile of clouds after days of camping in rugged, cold dirt terrain or uneven rocky cave terrain. Max buried her face in the pillow and immediately fell asleep. When she opened her eyes, everything was completely dark.
“How many hours did I sleep…?”
Max sat up quickly and then froze when she saw a large, dark lump resting next to her. She narrowed her eyes, trying to get a good look in the dark. It was Riftan. His back was facing her as he laid there motionless, his long legs stretched out.
Slowly adjusting her vision to the darkness, Max slid carefully out of bed and rolled over to the other side and stood in front of him. Riftan was a light sleeper, but this time he was lying there, completely still as she approached. Feeling relieved, Max laid down beside him and slid gently into his arms. His body smelled of soap and his cool, dry clothes smelled of hay. Max buried her face in his broad chest and inhaled his comforting scent.
Riftan stirred a little, but did not open his eyes. He seemed to be trapped in a very deep sleep. Max looked at his smooth, chiseled face, and slowly fell into a dream, listening to his heartbeat.
***
The knights were preparing even before dawn. Max woke up to the noise outside and crawled over to wash her face and brush her messy hair, which seemed to have doubled in thickness, into a graceful braid.
Fortunately, all of her clothes had been washed and dried thanks to the sunny weather. Max pulled on her freshly laundered trousers and tunic and slipped her feet into her boots. She quickly packed her change of clothes and headed downstairs, only to see the gentlemen busily running and carrying boxes of supplies outside.
Max followed them out of the inn and immediately found Riftan, standing tall in the crowd.
“Ri-Riftan! When did you wake up? I didn’t realize it at all…” Max jumped up happily, but stopped quickly when she saw that he was talking to someone.
Riftan shot her a quick glance and then turned to the man in front of him. He pulled out some Derhams from his leather pouch that had been tied to his belt and handed them to the man.
“Good. I’ll buy these carts.”
“Thank you very much. I will cover it with tarps immediately.” The man put the coins in his pocket and pushed the two large carts under a tree.
Max followed the man with wide eyes. “C-can we take cars with us?”
“From here on, everything is flat terrain. We will be going over a small mountain, but it is nothing as rugged and steep as yesterday.”
Max smiled cheerfully at the revelation. She was sick of climbing mountains.
“So… h-how much longer will it take?”
“We will be able to reach the port in about a week. From there we will travel to Livadon by boat.”
