Chapter 298: Stars
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 298: Stars
Early morning.
The faint glimmer of dawn filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting dappled spots of light upon the ground like a tranquil sea of stars fallen to the mortal realm.
The branches of an evergreen shrub were pushed aside, and a small head poked surreptitiously out from the dense thicket.
A pair of sharp eyes, keen as a hawk’s, swept across the silent campsite.
A thin wisp of blue smoke still drifted from the embers of the campfire. Beside a fallen log lay a pile of last night’s refuse, gathered there by someone unknown.
Good, no one’s around.
Ariel crawled carefully out of the bushes and crept toward the carriage she shared with Liya.
"What are you doing?"
The sudden voice made Ariel’s heart skip a beat.
She whirled around, only to find Muen stepping out from the woods as well, looking at her with a peculiar expression.
"Y-you... what are you doing, skulking around like that?" Ariel demanded, planting her hands on her hips and feigning a fierce aura.
"Washing up," Muen replied, pointing to his damp hair. "There’s a nice river over there, so I took a quick bath while I was at it."
"I—I was going to wash up too!"
"Is that so?"
By the faint morning light, Muen sized Ariel up.
Just like him, Ariel was currently soaked from head to toe, as if she had just taken a dip in the river herself.
There was hardly any dew in winter, so had she done this specifically to wash off the scent of magical beasts?
How cautious. Unfortunately, she probably didn't realize she had long since been exposed.
However...
Muen glanced downward and shook his head with a hint of regret.
Even though her wet clothes were plastered against her skin, the resulting curves were still quite disappointing. It was clearly the real deal; there would be no miracle of "hidden depths" once the clothes came off.
"W-what are you looking at!"
Noticing Muen’s pitying gaze, Ariel immediately crossed her arms over her chest in a fit of embarrassed rage.
"Ahem, nothing."
Muen shook his head, choosing not to expose her. He changed the subject. "There’s still some time before we set out. You can rest a bit longer; there’s no need to get up this early."
"Hmph, that’s none of your business."
"Fine, consider it overstepping on my part."
"Wait."
"Hmm?"
"You..." Ariel stared at Muen, watching the water droplets fall one by one from the tips of his golden hair. She asked suspiciously, "Why are you up so early?"
The sky wasn't fully bright yet, and everyone else was still fast asleep. Only the Pink Bear over there shifted his weight and muttered something in his sleep.
"Morning run," Muen said matter-of-factly. "Though just running doesn't do much for my training at my current level, it helps clear my head."
"A morning run?" Ariel asked in shock, looking at the dim sky. "You're going now?"
"What are you talking about?" Muen pulled out a towel and began drying his hair, speaking casually. "I’ve already bathed, so obviously I’ve already finished my run."
"..."
*
Ariel quietly slipped back into the carriage. After lifting the curtain and seeing Liya still curled up on the sofa fast asleep, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Good, she didn't notice.
"What a little airhead."
Looking at Liya’s adorable, infant-like face in sleep, Ariel couldn't help but smile warmly.
But the smile quickly faded. She recalled Muen’s words from earlier, and her expression became complicated.
"That guy... so there really is a reason he suddenly became so strong?"
Ariel clenched her fists tightly.
"Last night’s harvest was decent, but it’s not enough."
"I have to work even harder!"
"I’ll give it my all tonight too!"
"To... better protect Liya."
*
Liya gently opened her eyes and looked at Ariel in front of her.
To maintain the appearance of someone focused on cultivation, Ariel remained sitting cross-legged with her back ramrod straight, even though the sofa was large enough for her to lie down comfortably.
But one only had to lean in close to hear her steady, rhythmic snoring.
She must have been exhausted last night.
"Honestly... who’s the real dummy here?" Liya murmured softly.
For someone as skilled in Holy Light as she was, how could a negative status effect like Sleep Magic possibly work on her?
"Get some rest."
Liya raised her hand, and pure Holy Light blossomed in her palm. Like a gentle breeze, it slowly merged into Ariel’s body.
*
When day broke, the camp became lively once more.
Everyone woke up and exchanged greetings, discovering that despite being on a long journey that should have been exhausting, they had slept surprisingly well.
They all expressed their gratitude to Muen, who had made it all possible. During breakfast, Muen waved his hand and, like a magician, produced a large quantity of exquisite ingredients along with luxuries like coffee and black tea, turning the group’s gratitude into something bordering on worship.
During the meal, the observant Senior Sister Fanny noticed Ariel’s absence and asked Liya about it.
Liya simply explained that Ariel was busy cultivating, which earned a sincere exclamation from the others: "As expected of the Academy’s most legendary second-year top student."
The journey resumed. The carriages kicked up dust as they headed south.
Muen could clearly feel the temperature rising. The surrounding vegetation grew denser; it felt as if, with the carriage’s progress, they had left winter behind and were being greeted by a warm spring.
The spring breeze blowing into the carriage brought an increasing sense of peace and tranquility.
*
Another night arrived.
There was still laughter and noise around the campfire, though this time no one asked about Ariel. Instead, Liya was badgered by those two old pros, Fanny and Vicky, who had sniffed out that she knew a bit of music. They began clamoring for a performance.
Unable to refuse, Liya sang a folk song from her hometown to the beat of the group’s clapping.
The song was beautiful, and Liya, her face flushed red by the firelight, was even more dazzlingly lovely.
The only thing that puzzled Muen was that since she was clearly more skilled with the violin, why didn't she play it?
*
Late at night.
"Crap, I almost overslept!"
Ariel snapped her eyes open. Her gaze immediately focused on the sleeping Liya in front of her, and she managed to suppress the exclamation stuck in her throat.
After confirming that Liya hadn't been startled awake, Ariel quietly stood up and slipped out of the carriage.
The surroundings were silent, though the unextinguished campfire seemed to tell the tale of the recent festivities.
But that liveliness belonged to others; it had nothing to do with her.
"...I slept so well."
Ariel stretched, feeling all her fatigue vanish, her body brimming with power.
"A luxury sofa really is different. Is this what it feels like to be rich...?"
Ariel muttered sourly, then slapped her cheeks hard to drive those stray thoughts from her mind.
"What am I thinking? There’s nothing to envy about relying on family wealth. One day, I’ll obtain all of this through my own strength!"
"But for now, I need to focus on the task at hand."
"Last night was a good haul, but tonight I have to get even more!"
Having pumped herself up, Ariel once again turned into a dark shadow and slipped into the dense forest.
After she left, another figure slowly stepped out from behind the carriage.
"So she went again after all?"
Muen rubbed his forehead. He retracted the stray arcs of electricity from his Alchemy Domain, which he used to mask his presence, and walked to the other carriage, lightly tapping on the window.
A moment later, a small head slowly poked out.
"Is this really okay?"
Muen leaned against the carriage, arms crossed. "Why don't you just tell Ariel you’ve already raised enough money? Tell her to stop running out in the middle of the night to butcher magical beasts. Those poor beasts have to deal with the law of the jungle during the day, and then at night, they get slaughtered by some maniacal beauty wielding a two-meter-long cleaver. It’s quite pitiful."
"...Pfft."
The joke seemed to hit her funny bone, and a dainty laugh rang out in the night.
But the laughter soon stopped. Liya lowered her head and said softly, "I wanted to tell her, but after thinking about it, I decided not to."
"Why?"
"Because knowing Ariel, if I suddenly produced that much money now, it would only provoke her. It might make her actions even more extreme, and she really might turn into that... whatever beauty you called her. So, it’s better to let her go out and vent for a bit. I’ll give her a surprise once we reach Arielze."
"I see."
"And... besides," Liya paused before continuing, "I could find excuses before, but in a place like this, if I suddenly produced that much money, even Ariel would realize something is fishy. I... I don't want her to find out about this."
"Then aren't you afraid she’ll run into danger?" Muen asked curiously. "This is the middle of nowhere, after all."
"No." Liya shook her head firmly. "I believe in Ariel."
"Fair enough."
This was Ariel, after all. Going out to hunt magical beasts in the middle of the night was probably the most trivial thing in her spectacular life as a protagonist.
What danger could she possibly encounter?
Thinking of this, Muen looked up at the clear sky and suddenly smiled.
"I haven't apologized for half-forcing you into that unreasonable promise yesterday. So... since I can't sleep anyway, would you like to watch the stars with me?"
In this world without light pollution, even in winter, the starlight was brilliant and captivating. With such a sky reflected in his eyes, even Muen couldn't resist inviting the beauty beside him.
"The stars..."
Liya subconsciously looked up as well, gazing at the vast river of stars.
But then, as if remembering something, her face suddenly flushed red. She dove back into the carriage.
"W-who wants to watch the stars with you! You scoundrel! You rogue!"
"Eh?"
Muen stared at the closed curtain, completely bewildered.
Did he say something wrong?
"As I thought, did I really make Liya angry last night?" Muen sighed.
Just as he thought his invitation had failed and was preparing to slink back to his own carriage, a small corner of the curtain was quietly pulled aside.
"U-um..."
In the dead silence of the night, Liya revealed half of her face, asking in a shy, low voice:
"Can you wait a moment? I was just lying down, so my hair... is a bit messy."
"Also, I want to change my clothes."
*
"Tsk. Seriously, adolescents are such a pain in the ass!"
The Pink Bear was still lying on the front seat of his carriage like a degenerate middle-aged man. Having seen something, he rolled over grumpily and then began leafing through the erotic books he had extorted from Ariel with great interest.
"Huh?"
But as he flipped through the pages, he suddenly looked up in confusion toward the direction where Ariel had disappeared.
"Wasn't there something I was supposed to tell that brat?"
"Ah, forget it. If I can't remember it, it probably wasn't important. Let her be."
The Pink Bear scratched his backside and went back to lying flat.