The roosters at one of the villagers’ farms sang their dawn chorus as the sun slowly crawled into the barely blue sky. The morning breeze wasn’t strong enough to push anyone back, but it was still chilly enough to discourage travel.
However, no matter how many warnings nature gave, Saya, Redus, and Drusi were wide awake. Having unloaded most of his baggage, all they needed to do was gather a few personal belongings before setting off for their next destination.
Having slept in the same house, Saya inevitably woke Drusi, who came out to the carriage to see them off, still wearing her pajamas. They were long, fluffy robes, and her hair was messy from sleep. She yawned every few minutes, a contagious act that soon had Saya and Redus doing the same.
Her eyes were barely open, and she smacked her lips to moisturize them. Saya, on the other hand, had grown extremely accustomed to early mornings, waking up at six nearly every day during their journey.
If they wished to arrive at Aimafina by the next morning, then leaving as early as possible was the best course of action. Just one more day, and Saya would temporarily be free from the torture of long travels.
She didn’t dislike experiencing new locations, but since she often suffered from motion sickness, there wasn’t much she could do while waiting. Not to mention, the thought of having to traverse the rough mountain roads again sent chills down her spine.
Finishing loading the little cargo they had, Redus called out to Saya, who had been standing beside Drusi. She turned to her right, seeing the schoolteacher’s tired and barely awake face.
“You can go back to sleep, you know.”
Waving dismissively, Drusi replied, “It’s fine. Even if I go back now, I’ll only be able to sleep for another hour before I have to start getting ready to teach. And if you ask me, it’s better to just be awake and tired than go back to sleep and wake up even more tired.”
“Is that how that works?” Saya asked, to which Drusi simply responded with a slow nod. Her eyes cracked open slightly, prompting her to twist her body and place her hands on the robe wrapped around Saya’s neck.
“What’s up?” she asked, but Drusi simply continued fiddling with the cloth until stepping back a second later.
“It looked a little tilted, so I readjusted it for you.”
Saya glanced over both her shoulders, checking if it had indeed been fixed. She hadn’t really noticed the tilt before, but it did feel a bit more comfortable now, as it no longer tugged on her neck as much.
“If you’re going to wear it like a cape, you should just modify it.”
Saya replied with a hint of frustration in her voice, “I was actually thinking about that, but I just haven’t really had the time or motivation to get it done in one of the cities.”
“I also don’t know how long those places would take, and I wouldn’t want to leave it behind, you know?”
Drusi nodded. “I get that. Maybe when you get to Aimafina you can ask one of the locals.”
“Oh, is Aimafina good at that kind of stuff?” Saya asked, scanning her own clothes in the meantime.
“Yeah, I’d say if anything, clothes and wooden architecture are probably what they’re best at. We don’t get to see it in Fridan much because we don’t get a lot of natives from Aimafina, but everything they wear has this exquisite look.”
She wasn’t a schoolteacher for nothing.
Letting out an understanding hum, Saya nodded along with every word that Drusi said. Now that she truly thought about it, she hadn’t actually met someone who was a native of Aimafina. Sure, she had met vendors who brought goods in and out of the nation, but besides KL and a few others, there weren’t many demi-humans she had encountered.
And from her knowledge, people like KL were simply born in Aimafina but never actually grew up there. In many ways, the people who lived there remained a kind of mystery to Saya, which only made her more excited to finally set foot in the nation.
“Make sure you visit sometimes, okay?”
“I promise I’ll treat you to some delicious meals next time.”
Saya raised her brows in doubt. “Are you sure it won’t just be ice soup again?” She was half sarcastic and half serious. In a sense, this was her own way of showing concern. Reading her tone so naturally, Drusi burst into quiet laughter.
“No, I’ll make sure to cook you some of my famous curry next time.”
“It’s one hundred percent Grand Academy approved. I used to cook it for my friends back in the day, you know.” Despite being confident at all times, Drusi was also good at naming her own faults and things she wasn’t good at.
Her confidence was far from anything false. It would take people a while to get used to her demeanor, but there was no ill will behind her words, or at least not that they knew of.
Cracking a grin, Saya nodded, extending her left arm out for a handshake.
“I’ll help you out with the weeds next time again too, or some other chores you need help with.” At first, Drusi stared at the hand with flattery, before accepting the gesture of mutual acceptance.
The carriage swayed from side to side as the overweight, elderly man struggled to get on top of the driver’s seat. He heaved himself up, then took a deep, labored sigh. Wrapping his hands around the horse’s reins, Redus turned back to Saya.
“We’re ready to go, missy.”
Saya and Drusi’s hands slid away from each other. Making her way toward the front of the carriage, she lifted her leg just enough to reach a platform. She extended her arm out, which Redus caught without hesitation.
The old man pulled her up with all his might while Saya pushed herself upward using the strength in her legs. Drusi’s Birthmark glowed a faint green as a small gust of wind helped Saya balance her body weight.
In a matter of seconds, both Redus and Saya were seated next to each other. Whipping the reins, the horses finally started to advance, their hooves creating a satisfying crunching sound as they stepped against the gravel beneath.
The wooden wheels rotated in a steady rhythm, slowly following behind the animals’ movements. Small, harmless insects circled around Saya, their wings flapping effortlessly, almost as if to see her off. She wasn’t particularly afraid of bugs, welcoming one of the ladybugs to land on her shoulder.
Her cheeks were rosy as she smiled at the cute patterns the insect carried on its back. When her attention turned back toward the village, the steady road downhill had caused her view of the village to completely vanish.
There was an eerie sense of relief that released inside her like steam escaping a closed container. She couldn’t quite pinpoint it, assuming it must have been because she had to share a room with a stranger.
She felt bad for not properly saying goodbye to Drusi, but from knowing her during the last night, Saya simply assumed the teacher had hurried back to bed before having to get back up. For some reason, she gave her this familiar sensation.
Not quite the same that Kanami gave her, but it felt much closer, like something inside her was missing.
She reminds me of Albo.
Her humor, her demeanor, and even bits of her personality. It was all too much like him, which excited Saya even more to find a cure for him.
The wind gently flapped her blue hair, the chill of the morning breeze seeping through her clothes and cooling her skin. It carried the faint scent of damp earth and wild grass from the hills they were descending, fresh and sharp enough to wake even the sleepiest traveler.
To Saya’s amusement, the ladybug stayed stuck to her clothes. She wasn’t aware of whether or not it was too scared to get off at first, gently guiding it to her palms and raising them to offer the bug its freedom.
But no matter how much she insisted, the bug simply crawled back to her clothes. A light scoff puffed out of her nose as she braced herself for the hardest part of her journey thus far, the battle against heights.
Not much had changed since the last time she went through the exact same situation. Her arm naturally clung around Redus’ neck, holding on for dear life as the carriage rumbled and swayed amidst the rough roads.
Pure white clouds were painted across the sky for Saya, making the world seem like it was advancing much slower than it actually was. Minutes turned into hours as the two individuals shared a silence of appreciation for the nature around them.
In mere hours, the area around them had suddenly shifted from rocky mountains to beautiful grassy plains, giving both travelers a sense of relief. In the far, far distance, they could see the faint silhouette of the World Tree.
They were still far from their destination, but simply being able to grasp their end goal put joy in their hearts, even for someone like Redus, who had been traveling non-stop for years. The anticipation of rest was nearly upon him.
Truthfully, there was no need for him to stop by Aimafina at all, with his home being a city close to the borderlands. But with how friendly Saya had been, he felt a sense of fatherly responsibility to press on and see her off.
Back at Hunfor village, Drusi had just finished cooking herself lunch, setting down plates on her lonely wooden table. She sat in silence as her Birthmark pulsed a dark green hue. Her usual demeanor had gone to sleep. In its place, something far more mysterious had taken over.
She stared out into the window, her mind drifting away from what lay before her and into her own private thoughts. The silence was unlike her, making her seem far more beautiful than she otherwise presented herself as.
Kala was still under lockdown, with parents holding mass funerals for their deceased children. The skies were gloomy as well, adding to the reminder of pain that families had to endure for the sake of moving on.
Atrila bustled with vendors as if nothing had happened only a week ago. The streets were crowded, and the lines to enter the city had grown longer. Unlike before, more knights and guards were stationed at every corner of the walls.
Following Hana’s sudden request, security had been increased, trusting the intuition of the Sword Saint.
The world revolved on. The sun began its slow descent, painting the white clouds with streaks of bruised purple and orange. Its light shifted to a deeper hue, sinking the world into something that looked like a living painting, as the stars slowly prepared for their appearance.
Pulling on the reins, Redus brought the horses to a steady halt, stopping the carriage near a river with nothing but green, grassy plains before them. It wasn’t a random spot he had chosen. Around twenty other carriages were scattered across the plains, all with the same intention of resting for the night.
Clumps of firewood tied together lay across the ground, all of them left behind by previous travelers, a way of showing respect for those who came after them. At his age, Redus had forgone the tiresome effort of chopping wood, but it was something he often practiced back in his youth.
It was a popular place for travelers to rest due to its safety and the wide open field. With a nearby river, weary travelers could bathe before continuing their journey. Funny enough, the water flowing down to the plains was the same that passed through the village of Hunfor.
“We’ll stop here,” he grunted, his voice raspy from the day’s dust. “Any further and we’ll be hitting the border in the dark.”
Getting off the carriage was a struggle in itself. Saya’s legs felt like jelly, her knees nearly collapsing the moment her boots hit the dirt. When she arrived at Hunfor, she had Drusi’s unusually high energy fueling her body with adrenaline.
But having been relaxed for the entire day, her legs had not just fallen asleep, they had started hibernating. She reached up with her left hand to steady herself against the wooden frame, her right shoulder twitching instinctively to find a grip that wasn’t there.
The ladybug that had been clinging to her clothes finally took this moment of peace to spread its wings, circling around Saya as if it were thanking her. It then made its way toward the treeline, vanishing without a trace.
Saya watched it go, instinctively waving as if she were saying goodbye to a friend. A part of her felt lonelier, realizing that after tonight she would, for the first time, be embarking on the rest of her journey alone.
While she was lost in thought, Redus had already ignited the firewood, setting up a quiet campfire for the two of them. The stars now filled the sky, letting the sun get its rest after a hard day’s work.
Walking over to Redus, who was now seated on a large dead log laid down horizontally, Saya spoke in a soft tone. “Thank you, Redus, for being such a great travel companion.” An appreciative smile warmed the old man’s chest and went straight to his heart.
“I’m glad you were you, Missy. Don’t ever change that about yourself.”
“When I first met you, you started off angry and depressed. I had to force conversations just to get you out of your shell.”
Saya took a seat next to him, looking at him in the meantime.
“But when I saw you last night, I was glad I decided to take you with me.”
Cocking her head slightly to the side, Saya looked at him with curiosity. Before a question could slip through her lips, Redus smiled brightly, his cheeks puffing and his lips stretching from ear to ear. He laughed wholeheartedly, and his next words filled Saya’s heart with an indescribable emotion.
“Because I saw you smiling.”
Redus continued cooking the last of their rations, but at this point Saya’s heart was too full for her to take a single bite. A flash of memories played in her mind, muted and distant, yet replaying moments she held dear.
Now that I think about it.
I’ve been getting blessed nonstop this entire trip.
Kanami’s pep talk, her interactions with Drusi and Redus, were all experiences that only gave rather than took away. She had been so focused on what she had lost that she never stopped to think about what the world had given back to her.
“Thank you,” Saya faintly whispered as the fire’s crackle flickered in front of her. Her face felt hot, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of Redus’ words or the flames.
“You know, I travel with a lot of people,” he continued, drawing Saya’s gaze. “I always try to pick up those in need, the ones who could use a leg up, a bit of cheering.”
“Each and every time, I would take them to Hunfor, and they would have a grand time. But come the next morning, they’d be gone completely, with the teacher girl telling me they left before I even woke up.”
Saya leaned in closer, listening to his story with full attention.
“So I assumed they simply disliked me, and after a few times, I decided to stop, thinking I was a burden.”
“When I saw you, I couldn’t stop myself from offering my companionship. Everything was routine, and when we arrived at Hunfor, I fully expected you to be gone.”
“But then I woke up, and when I left the home I was staying at, I was met with your smile, greeting me and excited to get back on the road.”
“I wanted to thank you, Missy, for making this old man feel like he’s still wanted. You’ve restored hope to my life, and I truly cannot thank you enough for that.”
A slender arm wrapped around his neck, and he felt the warmth of another person’s body. His eyes caught Saya’s unmistakable blue hair. He had grown accustomed to her hugs, mostly due to her fear of heights. But this one felt different. It carried more meaning.
“Looks like we’ve both gained something in this short journey,” Saya said, her head resting on Redus’ shoulder. Relaxing into the comfort, he returned her embrace, tapping her back as they swayed side by side.
“I suppose we did.”
Pulling away, Redus grabbed a meat skewer, the final dinner of their travels. He handed one to Saya, taking the first bite before she could even cool it off. He chewed loudly, which irritated Saya at first, but she decided to let him off the hook this one time.
Compared to Redus, Saya took a smaller bite, chewing with her mouth closed. She let out a small giggle, prompting Redus to glance up at her.
“It still tastes so bad.”
Working up his own sense of humor, Redus exclaimed, “I know, right? I can’t stand these anymore!”
They both burst into laughter, the kind that came easily when two people shared the same exhaustion. The fire crackled between them as their laughter rose into the open night, blending with the distant murmur of the river and the quiet chatter of other travelers settling in for the evening.
For a little while, the world felt simple. Just a campfire, bad food, and two companions who had found comfort in each other’s company.
If dad was still alive, I bet he would be just like him.