Chapter 203: A Leisurely Journey
He watched her, her almost-birdlike posture of avoidance, and the smile on his face grew wider. He did not press her further. He knew that his own feelings had been clearly conveyed. All he had to do now was to stand by her, and to wait.
After a long time, she finally looked up, her face a mask of a forced coolness. "Then let's go for a walk," she said, her voice a little too casual. "I need to find some new grimoires. I'm getting tired of the ones I have now."
It was a perfect excuse.
"Alright," he nodded. "And I... I could use some new ideas to perfect Shurahat's magic."
And so, on a day like any other, the barrier of their forest home opened, and they stepped out, two ordinary travelers, into a world that was both familiar and strange. This time, they had no destination, no demon to hunt, nothing to protect. He hadn't even brought Org with him. If he needed it, he could just summon it. He was wearing a simple, gray traveler's cloak, and she, a white mage's robe, with a hooded cloak to cover her face.
They walked along a trade road. The fields on either side were a golden-yellow, the scent of ripe wheat in the air. A merchant's cart rumbled past, and the driver gave them a curious glance, then looked away.
"It has changed so much," she said, looking at a small human town in the distance. The last time they had walked this land, it had been two hundred years ago, and they had been on the hunt for a demon. Now, their journey was a aimless, peaceful one. She remembered that there had been no town here before.
"Yes. The territory of humanity is ever-expanding," he said, his gaze on a newly-tilled field. "They are a tenacious race. And it is with that tenacity that they have survived, from the Age of Myth until now." Of course, their own, subtle, interventions had also helped. But humanity's path... it would not be a smooth one.
In the afternoon, they came to a market in one of the towns.
"This is more like it," he said with a satisfied nod. The colorful stalls, the fresh fruits and vegetables, the freshly-baked bread, the vibrant fabrics... this was a real other-world. A bard was playing a forgotten tune in a nearby corner, a small crowd gathered around him. He felt a wave of an almost-unbearable nostalgia wash over him.
Her own attention, however, was drawn to a stall selling crystal ornaments. They were not made of a magic crystal, but a special kind of mineral that refracted the light in a rainbow of colors.
He saw her looking and walked over. He picked up a necklace of five, teardrop-shaped green gems. "Do you like it?" he asked in a low voice.
"A crude thing," she said, her voice a cool and detached sound. "There is no magic in it." But her eyes lingered.
He smiled, and bought it. And then, under the warm and knowing gaze of the old woman at the stall, he took her by the hand. She froze, a part of her wanting to pull away. But he would not let her. He gently fastened the clasp around her neck.
"There," he said with a smile. "At the very least, it's pretty."
She touched the green gems at her neck, a strange and unfamiliar feeling, and then looked at his smiling face, and in the end, she said nothing, and just let it be.
That night, they did not seek an inn but made camp in a secluded clearing in the woods. He did not use a spell but started a fire with a flint and steel he had bought in the town, like an ordinary traveler.
"Why not use magic?" she asked.
"I just wanted to see what it was like," he said.
"I don't think such a person would last for long," she retorted. Even now, the world was a dangerous place. Monsters, bandits... you needed a bit of strength to survive.
"And yet, I am standing here, am I not?"
She just rolled her eyes. "You were just a lucky fellow, that's all."
He just smiled and held out a pie he had also bought in the market. She took it, and took a small bite. It was better than she had expected. But she was a greedy elf. "I want some roasted mushroom skewers," she said.
"Alright. I'll make you some, next time," he promised.
At his words, her own eyes narrowed, a happy and contented look in them, and even the pie in her hand tasted a little better.
She sat by the fire, her knees hugged to her chest, her chin resting on them, and watched the dancing flames. And her fingers, they were unconsciously toying with the green gems at her neck.
"Serie," he said suddenly.
"Yes?" she asked without looking up.
"This... this is good," he said, and his own voice was a soft and relaxed sound. "To just walk, and to see..."
She was silent for a moment, and then she said, a soft, "Mm," in agreement. She looked up at the stars, and she felt that she finally understood what he had meant by "poetry and the far horizon."
(End of chapter)
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