EP8. A New Journey (4)
When Levi heard Sephia’s words, he opened her mouth slightly and did not hide his surprise.
From noble mtl dot com.
“It’s amazing…. It just happened that we were on our way to Elioden as well.”
“Is that so? I was also on my way to Elioden.”
“What a wonderful coincidence!”
Levy wondered if she was a good match for Sepia, and even though she had just met, she talked openly. Sean, on the other hand, silently listened to the conversation behind the two girls and spat out short answers once in a while.
“What are you going to Ellioden for?”
“I have a group of people waiting for me there.”
“Aha. Do you look like a colleague?”
Levy remembered what she had said earlier that Sepia had defeated all of her bandits. She seems to be going around alone, so she probably means she got through it alone. She meant that Sepia’s skills weren’t average, and she thought that, according to Levy, she might be an adventurer like them.
“Sorry. Because the details are confidential.”
“… Confidential?”
“Yes.”
Levy couldn’t ask more about that in Sepia’s answer. If she was a simple adventurer, she would have no reason to hide it, but was there some special reason? Meanwhile, Shawn, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, interrupted.
“····Then are you on the same road as us?”
“If you are going straight to Elioden, yes.”
Sean felt some uneasiness. But Levy didn’t know anything about Shawn’s mind, so she clapped her hands as if she had a good idea and suggested it.
“Then why don’t you go out with us?”
“Will you be rude?”
“A. Excuse me. How is Sean?”
“····No, what. I don’t think he’s a bad person, so it’s okay, but…”
How can I say that I have a feeling that is hard to explain. This does not mean that the girl named sepia is anxious or reluctant. However, should I say that it is a tendency that does not match Young himself? If we go together, it must have felt as if the tiring work would increase.
However, because Sean had no reason to oppose Sepia, in the end, Sean and Levy went with Sepia.
***
“Then you two grew up in the same town since childhood.”
“Yes. In fact, even in my first memory, Sean was with me.”
Even in Levy’s first memory, Sean was with him. Perhaps it was the day after heavy rain, there was a small puddle in front of the house that shouldn’t have been there originally. I wouldn’t do that now, but at the time, Sean and I went into the pool and played in the water, as if it was only natural.
In the end, the clothes of the two were completely dirty and Levy was scolded by Paul.
“Then do you two feel like brother and sister?”
“…Brother and sister?”
‘Me and Sean are brother and sister… Do they feel like family?’
Levy was taken aback by the question. That’s right it’s close. Even closer than that is true. However, Levy could not easily give an affirmative answer to Sepia’s question. Why? Levy had a vague idea why she was hesitant to answer, but it was difficult for her to make it clear.
“No. It doesn’t feel like that.”
Levi turned her head at the sound she heard next to her. Shawn gave the answer without Chi’s hesitation, as if the question was too easy. In a way, it was nothing, but I couldn’t understand why Levy felt so embarrassed and tickled.
“Then how do you feel?”
Sean frowned for a moment at Sepia’s question. It wasn’t that she felt her question was rude or that she was offended. It was just because she was so esoteric about how to answer the question.
Shawn thought for a moment about how he and Levy felt. Then Shawn opened his mouth.
“Well?”
As both girls’ eyes were drawn to Sean’s voice, the boy suddenly felt embarrassed and wondered why he had to answer such a question.
“Me and Levy feel… Just between Sean and Levy…?”
“····What is that? You have to answer in a way that Sepia can understand.”
“No. I don’t even know what to answer. Even you couldn’t answer.”
“I was going to answer you? Sean stole my words.”
“Then can you answer me? I’ll listen to how well you explain it!”
“Ah… You think I can’t answer that? Good! Can I answer sepia!?”
She looked at the two as if they were suddenly on fire, and Sepia nodded her head and came to her own conclusion.
“Thanks to you, I realized how you two feel.”
“…Eh?”
“・・・・Yes?”
“Even though it is a short relationship, I will always support you two.”
At the end of the ambiguous and cryptic sepia, both Sean and Levy couldn’t help but feel a strange discomfort.
“Sepia? What do you mean by cheering?”
“Who are you rooting for?”
But Sepia didn’t answer, so she ended up putting an end to the subject in a not-so-cool way. Afterwards, the topic of conversation shifted to Sean and Levy’s adventures.
“If you are in Laes, I know it is not close.”
“Hmm. It’s a bit far. Did it take more than a fortnight to get here…?”
“Then you are adventurers of the East.”
“Yes….…Actually, I’ve only been able to do proper adventurer activities once.”
It was only once that I participated in Dordan’s proposed monster subjugation to obtain a token of agreement. After all, the only thing he did in the city of adventure was getting caught up in a political squabble.
I’ve caught other monsters before, but it was more like a sudden accident than a proper adventurer’s activity.
“Where does sepia come from?”
“I am not from the kingdom.”
“Yes!? So she was a foreigner?”
As much as Levy was shocked, Shawn couldn’t hide his surprise as well. That’s because the two of them, who lived only in a small town, never had a chance to see foreigners.
“I speak the Kingdom language too well for that…”
“Learning the languages of different countries is a basic skill.”
“····We don’t speak any language except the kingdom language····.”
“Ah, my words are not the standard of the general public, so you don’t have to mind.”
The more this happened, the more Shawn and Levy became more and more curious about Sepia’s true identity. Levy asked cautiously if he would not be rude.
“Then what country is Sepia from?”
“I am from the Holy Kingdom.”
“····Ah, it’s a country in the far east, isn’t it? You came from very far away?”
Both Sean and Levy know the name of the Holy Kingdom. In the first place, there are not that many countries on the continent, and the Holy Nation is a country that has its own influence. However, since the Kingdom and the Holy Nation are far apart, there was virtually no point of contact between the two countries.
It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t curious about why I came all the way from such a distant country. However, the two of them obediently obeyed Sephia’s words of confidentiality and did not ask further questions.
After that, Shaun and his party passed through the forest, chatting in small numbers. Sepia seemed to be a girl with many secrets, but she was surprisingly normal. At least, from what Sean felt while talking. Saying that his worries were for nothing, Sean slowly let go of his wariness about sepia.
“The sun is slowly setting.”
“Today, I think it would be fine to move after spending the night here. How about sepia?”
“Of course I will follow too.”
“Ahh… I hate camping anymore… Does your body ache after sleeping…?”
Sean laughed bitterly at Levy’s complaint. With that said, he completely agrees with himself. It’s true that he’s gotten used to it because he’s been camping all the way to Eli Auden, but apart from getting used to it, you’re never going to like it. Sean, too, missed a comfortable bed and a good meal.
“····What? Is there smoke rising over there?”
“Huh? It’s real. Could it be a fire?”
A haze of smoke was rising in the sky in the direction Levi pointed. Sepia also looked that way and offered her guess.
“Smoke from forest fires is black. Looking at the white smoke, I think it might be smoke coming from the chimney.”
“…Chimney smoke?”
“That means…”
“You mean you can sleep in a bed?”
Shaun and Levy’s eyes collided. The two didn’t talk further, but exchanged thoughts with each other’s eyes. There was no hesitation. I hope you can have a good night’s sleep tonight. Sean’s party headed towards the place where the smoke was rising.
***
“To think there is an inn in a forest like this…”
“This forest connects several areas, so traffic is quite active. Still, there is no inn in the middle of the forest, so it seems that the end of the forest is near.”
Sean said as if he was fed up with Sepia’s way of giving information without interruption for a moment.
“…Even though you are a foreigner, you are quicker than us.”
“Because this is the basics.”
“…Isn’t ordinary people like us standard?”
“Of course.”
“Let’s go to sleep. Go inside and have a conversation. Hurry. Hurry!”
As Sean was being led away by Levi, he checked the name of the inn.
[Shelter inn of a tall tree]
It was a fitting name for an inn in the forest. When I thought of the inn, I thought of Colin’s inn in the village. In fact, she didn’t have a special name for Colin’s inn. She had only been called that because the innkeeper was Colin. Actually, Wilhelm is running it now, not Colin, so should we call it Wilhelm’s inn?
The three entered the inn.
There weren’t that many people, so it was quiet. Still, there were no customers, so I didn’t think the flies were flying. A few customers were also seen having a light drink and talking on the first floor.
Seeing that Sean and his friends don’t even look at you when they come in, you must be taking it for granted that guests are coming in.
Sean went straight to the counter. The innkeeper, who was sitting quietly in his chair, didn’t even look up when Shawn came close to the counter. Judging that he didn’t feel the presence, Shawn called the owner.
“Hey?”
“·······.”
“…Hey?”
“Ah…”
It was only after being called twice that the owner barely raised his head, even with empty words, he didn’t look good. In particular, he seemed to be a person who was suffering from the fact that his eyes seemed to be empty.
“Uh, you want to stay here for the night?”
“Yes.”
Sean was taken aback by the owner’s short answer. Shouldn’t there be more to say? How many rooms will there be, how will meals be served, how much will it cost.
In the end, Shawn had no choice but to speak up first.
“Uh… There are three rooms. How much is the meal for tonight and tomorrow morning?”
“Ninety fairy tales.”
Ninety fairy tales. Sean took out a silver coin and handed it to the owner. The owner, who had been looking at the silver coin he received, slowly returned the money and gave it along with the room keys.
“I will bring you a meal once you have a seat.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Anyway, after finding a room, the three unpacked their belongings in their respective rooms, then came down to the first floor and settled down in a corner. The subject of the conversation that started was, of course, about the innkeeper.
“The owner. Is something going on?”
“You look like someone who is sick with a disease.”
“From what I saw, it didn’t look like he was sick.”
While we were talking about that, a group of people at the table next to us intervened.
“It deserves it.”
“・・・・Yes?”
“I mean the owner. I heard that your one and only son is dying.”
“Ah…”
Shaun let out a small sigh. Well, if you are a parent who is in danger of losing your child, it would be natural for you to become like that.
“Is it because of illness?”
“When a child dies, it is probably because of illness. I heard that the lawmakers were also called…”
The man shook her head and added a word of denial.
“What can I do? It must be God’s will after all.”
“Hmm…”
Sepia, who had been listening quietly, reacted to her man’s last words. Sepia, who seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, asked the man a question.
“The child who has the disease. Are you here now?”
“····Huh? That’s it. Why is that all of a sudden?”
“No. I’d be quicker to talk to you than to you.”
Sepia got up from her seat and took a quick step forward. She headed straight to her innkeeper with her head bowed at her counter.
Sepia approached the owner and spoke to him without hesitation.
“I will check the condition of your child.”
“…Who are you, checking on my child?”
Is it because of hope? Or is it because of despair?
Unlike before, when the owner didn’t respond immediately to the story about the child, he responded cynically.
However, Sepia didn’t bat an eye and returned the answer right away.
“This is the priest.”