SWNOVELXO Chapter 92
Episode 3-a. The Flower That Emits the Smell of Decaying Corpses.
As I mentioned before, only in places stabilized by ancient magic can people survive.
From empires to kingdoms, holy nations, principalities, and even the states of beastmen.
Even if the races are different, territories of intelligent beings that can articulate language are just like that.
Monsters appearing between stabilized cities, in still undeveloped forests and valleys, or in the sea are a significant threat to ordinary people.
Cities are built and nations established over large areas that are stabilized to allow people to live.
“There’s a small village up ahead.”
“Hm, is that so? That’s good. We can rest there for a few days and then head east again.”
In other words.
There are parts that are hard to understand just from that explanation.
“Horn.”
“What do you want?”
“Why is there a small village, though?”
“What are you talking about…? I don’t understand why you’re asking about the reason for people living.”
For those living in this world, it might have become a natural story, but for me, it was a landscape that made me tilt my head.
“Of course, living is living, but I’m curious why such a small place was stabilized and made into a village.”
“Hmm? Is there a reason for stabilization? Hey, you don’t know anything, do you?”
“Um, well, I guess I can’t know the thoughts of ancient wizards, so maybe they just created it to alleviate boredom… Haha.”
I was curious why they would go through the trouble to stabilize the area with magic and create a small village that couldn’t accommodate many people.
A small village sitting alone on a forest path.
It was a thought that came to mind when our carriage clattered along and encountered the small village.
Our carriage entered the small village, regardless of my questioning.
At the outskirts of the village, which had only a modest wooden fence without walls, a middle-aged man holding farming tools approached us.
“Hmm, what brings you to this little village? Are you perhaps travelers?”
He spoke in a rustic tone while scratching his head, fitting the image of a rural farmer. Moreover, he didn’t seem very alert for a guard, making his presence rather meaningless.
So, I spoke to the uncle, who was peeping around the carriage, seemingly inspecting it or perhaps just looking for something.
“Well, we’re not exactly tourists. We just want to rest for a few days because we’re worn out.”
“Haha, there’s not really an inn around here.”
Why on earth is there such a small village that doesn’t even have an inn?
I thought about that, glancing at the four people sprawled out at the back of the carriage, before speaking to him again.
“Um… is there not a suitable place for five people to rest for a while?”
“Well, there is one… but is it okay if it’s a place where other travelers like you are already staying?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’d actually be grateful for any such consideration.”
“Haha, you’re a cheerful young man. Then please follow me.”
With that, he told us to follow him and started to walk slowly ahead.
Even though the shabby wooden fence barely brushed the edge of the carriage, it made a cracking sound and fell to the ground.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I can just grab a wooden stick later and fix it back up.”
The uncle just laughed heartily, as if it were no big deal, and continued to walk.
The place we were guided to was a barn.
It smelled musty and stale, but at least it had a lot of straw, making it a more comfortable resting place than the hard ground and the carriage.
And.
“Haha, let’s all get along.”
As the uncle said, there were already three guests who had unpacked and were resting in the barn.
One man with blond hair and dark skin was taking off his shirt, along with two women who also had dark skin and short clothing.
This wasn’t a filming for a sticky-harem travel video under the golden sun; what was this?
“…”
As I stood there thinking that, the guests greeted us first.
“Ah, nice to meet you! We are adventurers traveling from the southern countries! Our clothing might seem a bit odd, but we’re used to dressing like this since our hometown is a hotter place, haha!”
“Ah… yes.”
They were lying down among the straw, and upon seeing us enter, they quickly got up and greeted us with bright smiles.
The two women lying beside him waved their hands with smiles, and I had to shield the eyes of the twins who peeked in with exclamations of wonder.
Sorry, but that kind of attire is only suitable for those above 15 years of age.
“Ah! Our attire might be a bit inappropriate for the children here! Please wait just a moment, and I’ll wrap a robe around myself. Oli, Charlotte, quickly get your robes and put them on.”
As I covered the children’s eyes, the three guests hastily put on robes, realizing the situation.
Seeing them like this, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps I was misjudging these kind people based on my own prejudices.
“Thank you. Since this is a coincidence, let’s introduce ourselves. I am Ain.”
“Oh! An introduction sounds great! I am Arum Solis. In our language, it means ‘golden sun,’ named because my hair is like the golden sun!”
“…”
This time, I was eager to introduce myself, but somehow.
Um.
After all, their names were oddly interesting.
“We arrived yesterday and will stay for about three more days, so I look forward to getting along during that time!”
“Ah, um. Yes, I look forward to it.”
Even while thinking that, I could only give a shy smile back to the man, who was brightly smiling.
After all, prejudices are bad.
Prejudices…
“Woohoo~ Oli, Charlotte! Tonight is a party!”
“Eh~ Didn’t we have a party yesterday?”
Ah.
Damn.
Could you please make it so that I don’t have any prejudices?
Anyway.
Regardless of what I thought, the three guests already staying in the barn were kind and good people.
When dinner time came, they cheerfully brought out a large barbecue grill from their carriage and started a fire.
They struggled to carry over a large wild boar that they had reportedly caught recently, placing it directly on the grill with beaming smiles.
In the end, unable to resist their friendliness, I was helplessly drawn in and found myself grilling meat in front of the golden sun while chatting.
According to them, they had started their journey in the warm southern country and were visiting various places around the world, and, in contrast to us, they said they were planning to head to Tevriss soon.
“Well, the situation in Tevriss is a bit complicated for tourism right now.”
“Eh?! Is there a problem?”
“There are black wizards discovered underground, so an extermination is likely underway. It won’t take excessively long, but going now might not allow for much enjoyment of the sightseeing…”
“Oh dear, Oli and Charlotte have been looking forward to it so much. Should I be thankful they didn’t hear about it while I was keeping the children entertained…?”
As I said that, he scratched his head with a troubled expression, turning the meat over the hot flames, causing sparks to fly.
Thus.
As silence fell while we grilled the meat, I asked a question I had been curious about.
“By the way, if it’s not too much trouble, what is your relationship with the three of you…?”
I had seen them merely as the golden sun with the gyaru women, and I felt I had to resolve this curiosity before bidding farewell.
He then laughed heartily at my question and replied.
“Oh, we’re married! Actually, we were childhood friends, and fortunately, compared to here, polygamy is accepted in our hometown, so the three of us got married and are traveling together, haha! In fact, those two are my first loves.”
Thank goodness.
What a relief.
Even though I didn’t quite understand what it meant for two people to be first loves, it was still a relief that my prejudices were incorrect.
“I see. No wonder you looked so good together.”
“Haha, thank you! Those two really love children. Perhaps soon we’ll either stop traveling and return to our hometown or settle down somewhere new and start a family! Since we’re childhood friends, we’ll always be together.”
“…That sounds nice.”
I sighed in relief, nodding, realizing they were just sweet and innocent romantic travelers as they appeared.
The crackling firewood blazed brightly.
The meat sizzled, and the laughter of the children echoed continuously.
And I thought.
Childhood friends.
I did have someone I could consider a childhood friend.
The bracelet still tightly bound to my wrist and the beads within my pocket that often clinked together.
When I focused on those two items, one woman came to mind.
Asha.
Her existence would occasionally surface in my mind, even as I hurried forward.
Beautiful and graceful, she would surely look more mature while bowing her head.
But whenever she looked at me, her smile would be as bright as when we were young.
The woman in those memories briefly wandered through my mind before swiftly disappearing with the sparks.
In other words.
I did find myself missing her a little.
I thought that and lifted the corners of my mouth.