Episode 8. Valley of the Fallen (1)
The Valley of the Fallen. A den of criminals. The world's unspoken trash bin. A sanctuary for the rejected. A grave for the abandoned. And the Valley of the Fallen.
It's not a place ordinary folk would dare name properly. Those who couldn't fit into normal society and had to huddle in some remote corner—they gather there to live. To the average person, it's simply called that. No proper name exists for it. It's recorded and referred to only by its derogatory label, a shackle that eternally binds those criminals who've turned their backs on the world, no matter the reason.
A shelter for those who rejected normalcy. A grave from which they can never escape until death. Only those who have likewise fallen can behold the scenery of that valley where the fallen congregate.
Asha had grown brazen.
"So that Hallus mushroom back then... was a lie?"
"Of course it was. The suppressant I need to take requires the root of a Pisentia flower."
Ever since she'd confessed her love to me in the forest last night, something had shifted. She was strangely bold and unapologetic now.
"...Why so brazen?"
"Can't I be? After all... you toyed with my lips so mercilessly last night, ravaging them. How can you even say that...?"
She was saying things she'd never have uttered before—provocative fabrications—and even blushing in a way that didn't suit her.
"?"
"What's wrong?"
No. As much as I thought about it, I wasn't the one who'd mercilessly toyed and ravaged.
I thought that, but under Asha's steady gaze, I couldn't voice the truth. Instead, I muttered something else.
"So you've been putting off the mana analyzer for the same reason?"
"Well... I hadn't even properly confessed yet. It'd be unfair if some machine confessed my love for me."
She wasn't wrong. If it were me, I wouldn't want some gadget stealing my thunder either. Plus, blurting out a confession in a panic over that would've been weird.
With a nod, I pulled out my notebook where I'd jotted down the suppressant ingredients.
"Then the final ingredient for the suppressant is the Pisentia flower root."
"But affection and love are pretty similar emotions, right? Maybe we should add the Hallus mushroom too. Thinking about it, there's a bit of obsession in affection as well."
I was about to revise the notes completely when her hesitant suggestion made me pause. In the end, I wrote down both the Hallus mushroom and the Pisentia root.
"Maybe. Let's just get both. In our current situation, entering a city is tough anyway, so gathering ingredients will take time regardless. No real difference."
"Mm... true."
We couldn't get any ingredients right now anyway. It had been over half a month—not just a few days—since we'd last stopped at any city, pushing onward relentlessly.
Strictly speaking, restocking other supplies was more urgent than suppressant ingredients. The vegetables in our food stores had run out ages ago; now it was just stews packed with wild game meat. The problem was we couldn't replenish spices either, so we were nearing the point of boiling meat in plain water or just roasting it over the fire.
I rummaged through the luggage as I grumbled.
"Hm, salt's running out today."
Oh, right—Aberly was still driving the carriage, even after over half a month. I'd vowed not to waste this hard-earned break after nearly four years.
And reacting instantly to my words was Eileen, wailing like a banshee.
"Eeeek!! No way! My precious salt!!"
"Why's it your salt? I bought every bit with my own money."
I corrected her, utterly baffled, and Eileen paused her screeching for a moment before tearing at her hair and wailing anew.
"...Kwaaaang! My precious salt to eat...!!"
"Yeah, wail away. It's your last supper."
I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
Asha glanced at her like she was a bug before looking away, but I found Eileen's antics pretty hilarious and entertaining.
Still.
"Ah, but honestly, we can eat it tasty even without salt. Meat's meat! As long as there's a lot, that's fine!"
"Huh, so pig-like."
"Buhiit!"
"...?"
Crazy bitch.
To put it bluntly—and I'd noticed it more lately—Eileen was genuinely from a weird breed of human. Running away from noble life to adventure on a whim? Cackling and trailing after Asha because she liked gray? All plenty odd. But now, every single action of hers was utterly unpredictable.
Maybe she'd hung around Aberly too much. Different flavors of crazy, but she was turning into something similar. Or perhaps getting smacked by Asha now and then had finally addled her brain.
"...Did I hit her too hard?"
"I avoided the head so she wouldn't get even dumber."
Well... who knows. Maybe Countess's upbringing was just flawed. No, seriously—how did you raise this kid, Your Excellency? Their family education sucks.
Anyway.
Our conversation was pretty laid-back, but everyone knew the situation wasn't exactly peaceful. As I'd said, food was gone, so we hunted wild game each night for camp and roasted it. The carriage wheels, worn from our reckless pace, had no spares left; Horn carved new ones from wood on the spot.
Chun-sik and Chun-bae recovered from exhaustion with Asha's periodic healing magic, but it wasn't a real fix or rest, so the fatigue cycle was accelerating. The rest of us were wiped out too, collapsing into sleep every night. Even though Aberly was driving nonstop, we took turns so he could rest—at least enough for sleep.
And.
"Asha, soldiers up ahead at the checkpoint."
"Got it, putting them to sleep now."
Hiding three of us in the forest while the twins, Eileen, and I played decoy had lost all meaning. After clashing with the Holy Kingdom's pursuit squad, new warrants had spread everywhere, making our faces all too recognizable.
To be precise, some soldiers charged us just from spotting the carriage's shape.
That's why we skipped every city, barreling onward. None of us could enter one now anyway.
So.
As I mulled that over, Asha's magic shot toward the front. It was the black mages' spell from the last fight. She'd modified it—no harm, just illusions to induce sleep.
It crashed over the soldiers ahead, who hadn't even spotted us yet, knocking them all out in a wave.
We approached the slumped guards by the forest path, moved them to safety, cast protective barriers to last until they woke, and then set off again.
"Let's hurry."
"Yeah, Ain."
Submitting to inspections properly was out of the question now. It made our trail easier for them to follow, but we had no choice. We couldn't kill people just doing their jobs.
With that thought, I cracked the reins to urge Chun-sik and Chun-bae on.
"At this rate... won't be long before the pursuit catches up again."
I let out a deep sigh.
A pursuit squad with at least three paladins. If they caught us like last time and tried to stop the carriage and kill us, I had no confidence we'd survive, no matter how I crunched the numbers.
So we had to reach the grave fast—but even running nonstop, it was still far off.
And.
As I kept sighing, someone poked my cheek. Asha, now sitting openly beside me on the driver's seat since hiding was pointless, pinched it firmly.
"Keep sighing and you'll scare off your luck, Ain."
"That's all bullshit. Sigh a hundred times, and luck still piles up for those it favors."
I knew she meant well to cheer me up, but I sniped back anyway. She puffed her cheeks and pouted.
"Keep talking ugly?"
"Hm, just stating facts."
"... "
She was so damn cute like that, I kept tossing out crooked lines. She'd glare softly at me.
Our usual scenery, carried over from way back. More emotional and honest than in our kid days—plenty fun to tease now.
But.
"That's why I'll block those sighing sighs and ugly mouth."
I needed to realize one thing had changed.
"No, I'm driving the carriage ri—mmph...!"
Her eyes would flash wide, and she'd pounce without warning.
*Smack—slurp—*
The sounds rang clearer than the forest noises.
"Haaah... huff."
"Wait, not now—mmph...!"
Her tongue slipping in always tasted strangely sweet. Magic? Or just her? No clue.
Just.
Once her eyes rolled back, it wouldn't end till she was satisfied.
After a good while.
"Hm, soon they'll do whatever it takes, whether we're here or not."
"... "
"Kids are around, so watch it, tsk."
Horn glanced at my red, swollen lips and said that.