The next morning, we resumed our journey, and about an hour later, we finally arrived at Necvalion.
We passed through the entrance gate quite easily, simply by showing our adventurer identification cards.
Previously, we had a bit of trouble taking care of it, since only Hime and Luke had those cards.
But now that Yuu-chan and I also have them, everything feels much easier.
"Yuu-chan, do we still have supplies left?" I asked Yuu-chan, who was inside.
If the supplies were starting to run low, we would have to stop for a while and buy more supplies here.
"Everything's still safe. It should be more than enough until we reach Riruyo," she replied.
That was good to hear. It meant we could pass straight through this city and continue our journey without making a stop.
——
The daytime heat was intense enough to leave me exhausted and overheated.
At night, the cold was sometimes severe enough to make my body shiver.
Fortunately, it hasn't rained since we set out, which is a blessing for us.
If heavy rain accompanied by strong winds were to occur, we would be forced to seek shelter, especially to keep the horses safe.
They wouldn't be able to see ahead in heavy rain, and that could cause them to panic and become uncontrollable.
And just like that, two days passed.
——
About one to one and a half kilometers ago, we were traveling along a fairly wide road, with trees lining both sides.
With so many trees around, it was possible that we had already entered a forested area, which meant we had reached the continent of Riruyo.
I looked at the map I was holding to check our current position, and it turned out to be exactly as I had suspected.
"Luke, is there a city around here too?" I asked.
"I don't know, but if the entire territory of Riruyo is forest, maybe the elves built their cities within the forest itself," he said.
I placed the map back beside me and looked ahead toward our destination.
There were no buildings in sight, but instead, my eyes caught something that looked like transparent objects in the middle of the road.
They were transparent, yet at times they shimmered faintly, like mirrors reflecting light.
"Luke, stop for a moment," I said.
He did as I said, and we brought the carriage to a halt.
Yuu-chan opened the window, confused as to why the carriage had suddenly stopped, and asked us about it.
"What's going on? Have we arrived?" Yuu-chan asked.
"No, that's not it. Look," I said while pointing forward.
She stared at the object I had noticed earlier, and it seemed to me that she knew what it was.
"Is that some kind of barrier?" Yuu-chan asked.
"Maybe. I'll try checking it," Luke said.
He left his position and stepped down from the carriage. He approached the object and tried touching its surface.
I watched him, and in the end, I was the one who felt slightly shocked by what happened.
His hand didn't pass through it. Instead, the object began to glow when Luke touched it.
"This really is some kind of barrier. The magic is quite strong—we can't pass through unless the barrier is destroyed," Luke said.
Damn it… if there's a barrier in a place like this, how are we supposed to move forward?
——
Hime, who had been sitting calmly inside, heard what was happening outside, and without hesitation, she stepped out of the carriage.
Yukito, who hadn't noticed this, was quite surprised when he saw Hime already standing beside him.
"H-Hime? Why did you come out?" Yukito asked her.
"I want to try something," Hime replied.
Hime's answer at that moment seemed to reassure Yukito that she was about to do something beneficial for them.
She approached the barrier and tried to touch it.
Whush.
She managed to pass through the barrier—not just her hand, but her entire body. Naturally, this shocked both Yukito and Luke.
"Hime-san, how were you able to do that?" Luke asked.
"I tried going in, because I thought that someone chosen as a hero like me might be able to enter, and it turns out I can," Hime said with a small smile.
"In that case, Yukito-san, please call Yuu-chan over here. She might be able to get in as well," she said to me.
I immediately informed Yuu-chan, who was still inside, and told her to come out and approach Hime.
Just as Hime had said, Yuu-chan was also able to do the same thing Hime had done earlier.
Now, the two of them were on the other side of the barrier, having successfully passed through it.
——
I don't know how this barrier works—was it really made to prevent ordinary people from entering?
If Yuu-chan and Hime, with their status as heroes, could pass through, then that meant only important individuals were allowed inside.
And since Luke couldn't enter, the same applied to me.
I stepped down from the carriage as well and approached them to say something.
"How about the two of you go on ahead? It seems only the two of you can enter right now," I said after trying to enter myself, only to feel the barrier solid against me.
"I agree with Yukito. Neither of us can get inside. That's why we'll wait here for you to come back," Luke said.
"W-wait, what are you talking about? We're supposed to go together, right?" Yuu-chan asked, clearly disagreeing with mine and Luke's suggestion.
"Calm down first, Yuu-chan. So what you two mean is that you want us to meet the elves and ask them to allow you to enter, right?" Hime asked.
That's just like Hime—she immediately understood what I meant.
"More or less. Luke and I will wait here, so hurry back," I said.
"I understand. Let's go, Hime," Yuu-chan said.
Hime nodded, and then the two of them walked down the path until they were no longer visible to us.
——
There was nothing Luke and I could do while waiting for them, so we just sat in front of the carriage, looking around in case we noticed something.
The atmosphere here was quite silent; all I could hear was the sound of leaves and bushes rustling as they were blown by the wind.
And I didn't sense anyone nearby, since I couldn't hear footsteps or anything of the sort.
That means… it's really just Luke and me around here? Hah…
"Oi, Luke… why have you been staring at that map the whole time? There's no point to it, is there?" I asked.
Sure enough, for several minutes after we sat back down, he kept staring at the map with intense focus.
"I think we should already be at an elven settlement. But we don't feel the presence of anyone around here at all," he said.
"They must live a little deeper inside, right?" I replied.
If they wanted to stay safe from anything that might disturb them, the elves would choose a location deeper within the forest, wouldn't they?
So that no one could find them just by searching around this path.
…Hopefully, the two of them return soon and let us enter. I'm starting to get bored waiting here.