The Long Road to Nosvel
Bright sunlight poured over the morning as Hwian stood at the mine entrance and bid farewell to Heinkel amid peacefully drifting clouds of dust.
“I’ll miss you.”
“It’s only been a few days. Why are you already getting so disgustingly sentimental…? Never mind. Just guard the mine properly.”
“Yes.”
Heinkel saw him off with a broad, beaming smile. Hwian let out a soft chuckle at the sight and gave the man’s shoulder a firm pat.
“Use that mithril well. It feels strange for me to say it when all I did was discover the vein, but still.”
“Haha. Just finding it is more than enough reason for gratitude. Thanks to you, we’ve been joyfully busy rebuilding the mine and extracting the ore these past days.”
“Something that size will take a long time to mine out. At least it doesn’t look like you’ll have to worry about the mine closing, so that puts my mind at ease too.”
Hwian gave the backpack slung over his shoulder a slight shake. Inside, the heavy mithril fragment made its solid presence known.
“Right. If the chance comes later, I’ll stop by again sometime. I don’t know when that’ll be, though.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“Good. By the way, where’s Serena…”
Hwian glanced around. When he spotted Serena running toward him with quick, light steps, a gentle smile rose to his lips.
“I’m sorry! Did you wait long? The goodbyes took longer than I expected…”
“I didn’t wait that long. You really get along with everyone. How did you get so close to them in just a few days?”
“Haha… Everyone here is so kind. The more we talked, the more fun it became, and I lost track of time.”
When she glanced back, the miners were waving their hands vigorously. Seeming satisfied by the sight, Serena looked up at Hwian with her sparkling golden eyes softly bright with joy.
“Shall we set off now?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
At Hwian’s words, Heinkel bowed deeply once more. The miners resting in the distance shouted loud farewells and waved their arms. In that peaceful scene, Hwian walked forward without a trace of lingering regret, his steps steady and unhurried. Serena followed lightly behind him.
“…Hehe. It’ll be just the two of us again for a while.”
“That’s true. We probably won’t have time to get bored, though. The distance to Nosvel is quite far.”
“It reminds me of our time at the palace. In truth, even then we only slept in different places. During the day, we were almost always together.”
Her chattering voice carried a faint, pleasant warmth. When their hands brushed lightly against each other, a radiant smile bloomed across Serena’s face. Simply being with Hwian made her happy. Whether it was because she had been acknowledged as a comrade or for some other reason, she herself had not yet fully realized.
“Um, Heinkel.”
“Yes?”
“…Don’t those two seem really close? The atmosphere between them feels different from when I first saw them.”
Heinkel, watching their retreating figures, let out a quiet chuckle at his subordinate’s sudden question.
“Well, yes. Since they are royalty, I must be careful not to commit any disrespect, so I won’t say much, but…”
“?”
“They’re both young.”
A journey taken by two young people, a man and a woman. Forgetting, if only for a moment, their status, their positions, and the threats facing the world, Heinkel murmured a quiet wish that they would simply enjoy the world as pure young souls.
“I hope you have a good journey.”
…It’s a little different from what I imagined.
It had already been two months since they left Kelib. Beside a vigorously flowing river, Serena tended the campfire. She tossed another piece of firewood into the crackling flames and rested her chin in her hand.
Soup bubbled in an iron pot above the fire while fish skewered on branches sizzled beside it.
…Haaam—…
It was still early morning. Serena yawned widely, flipped the fish so it wouldn’t burn, stirred the soup once to keep it from sticking, and moved it slightly away from the flames.
The past two months of travel had not been the happy time she had vaguely imagined. Most of their food consisted of preserved rations, with only occasional ingredients foraged along the way like now. They walked for most of each day, then crouched around the campfire to sleep when the sun went down. Sometimes they stayed at inns in villages, but most nights were spent camping without question. The road to Nosvel was too rugged to allow the luxury of buying a carriage to sleep in.
…Ugh, I’m sleepy.
For an ordinary noble girl, it would not have been strange to have given up and returned home long ago. Yet Serena endured it fairly well. The journey was difficult, but the time spent with Hwian was enjoyable, and the few survival skills she had learned from her mother in childhood had proven surprisingly useful. After two months she had gained a certain know-how; at a glance she now looked like a capable young peddler.
Even so, she had her worries. Personal hygiene was the biggest one. On mountain paths with no trace of human presence, there were naturally no bathtubs. There was no place to wash comfortably, so the best she could do was a quick rinse in a river or lake when they found one. Even then, fear of attracting monsters kept her from staying in the water long. For Serena, who was at an age when she cared deeply about her appearance, it was nothing short of torture.
Of course Hwian faced the same conditions, and adventurers generally lived like this… Still, what bothered her continued to bother her.
“Ugh, I should have learned some purification magic…”
What if an unpleasant smell lingered on her body? Would Hwian start to keep his distance? When you were near someone you cared about, you naturally wanted to stay neat and clean. She had not yet noticed that she was the one paying such close attention to him.
For a girl experiencing these fluttering feelings for the first time, there were many small worries.
…I hope he sees me as a woman.
The thought rose suddenly, without context. Before she could even realize its meaning—
“I’m back.”
“Ah, welcome back.”
Hwian, who had gone to gather firewood, returned. Several dry branches tumbled from his arms. Serena handed him a skewer of perfectly cooked fish.
“Thank you for your hard work. Have some breakfast.”
“Yeah… Whew, it’s hot.”
“It’s nearly summer. Still, since we’ve come quite far north, it isn’t that bad.”
“Is Adonia’s summer hotter than this?”
“Much hotter. If you walk around half a day with bare skin, it turns red as if burned. Compared to that, this feels cool.”
“I see. No wonder you looked perfectly fine even though the temperature has risen. That’s impressive.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. But as we get closer to Nosvel it will grow colder and colder. I’m actually weak against the cold… so I’ll be counting on you then.”
Hwian nodded lightly and bit into the fish. Seeing him sweat, Serena smiled wryly and took a bite of her own with a soft crunch. A light, clean flavor spread through her mouth. It tasted exactly like fish—reasonably delicious.
“Right. While gathering wood I found mixed-bear tracks nearby. They aren’t too close, but we should still avoid the area. Let’s eat, rest a little, and head out right away.”
“Understood. Oh, before we leave, could I wash up just a bit…? Not a full bath, just my arms and legs lightly.”
“Hmm? Sure. Whatever you like.”
“Thank you.”
At Hwian’s casual permission, Serena smiled in quiet relief. As he watched her nibble at the fish, he rested his chin on his hand.
She really… stays so clean. Unlike me.
Whether before or after his regression, Hwian had never cared much about grooming beyond the minimum necessary cleanliness. No matter how clean you stayed, one battle left you covered in blood, so he had never been meticulous about washing. Yet traveling with a girl in this second life seemed to have changed him; now he paid attention to such things. When Serena bathed, he waited before entering the river himself. He tried to brush dust off his clothes whenever possible and wiped away blood as soon as he could.
Even so, to his eyes Serena kept herself remarkably clean. Despite a journey full of camping that could easily leave anyone filthy, she always maintained soft, snow-white skin and neat clothing.
She’s amazing. Truly.
Just looking at her was pleasant. Being near her somehow made him feel refreshed. Serena herself sometimes tilted her head in confusion, not understanding why he kept glancing at her. She did not realize that her efforts had drawn his favorable attitude.
…She even eats prettily.
Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something on my face…?
Thus their journey continued, each subtly conscious of the other.
One month later. It had been four months since Hwian’s summoning and three months since they had left the palace.
“…Wow.”
Serena let out an involuntary sigh of wonder as she gazed at the mountain soaring upward as if to pierce the sky. High peaks shrouded in mist rose above a city spread out widely below them.
“Three months… Whew. It took longer than expected, but we’ve somehow arrived.”
The artisans’ city of Nosvel. A place where experts from every field gathered.
With a satisfied expression, Hwian walked forward with steady steps. Serena followed close behind, adjusting her grip on her staff.
“Let’s find an inn first once we’re inside. Get cleaned up. There’s nothing urgent, so after that we can take our time looking for a blacksmith or whatever we—”
As Hwian calmly explained their plans, it happened.
“…Hmm?”
“Eek!”
A sudden explosion erupted from inside Nosvel—BOOM!!
A brief silence. Thick black smoke billowed upward. Then wyverns came flying in one by one, screeching as if drawn by the scent of the injured.
Hwian and Serena exchanged a quick glance, then broke into a run toward the city. It seemed there would be no time to rest after all.