After riding in the carriage for quite some time, they arrived at a small city. There, they changed to another carriage and rode for another long while, arriving now at yet another small city.
"This is the first time I've slept like this in a carriage."
Xenon pounded his lower back with his fist and complained.
"It was efficient."
"I'll pass on a second time. I'd sleep better even with just a blanket on the ground."
Better to sleep on cold earth than in a shaking carriage.
Xenon shook his head and looked around at the surroundings.
Perhaps because the city sat at a crossroads, many transient travelers were visible, and the lodgings and restaurants seemed quite well-developed. They too were able to secure a room without difficulty.
"Rest. I'll be out for a while."
Anelli hurried off to attend to business. She certainly had energy.
'On the outside, she looks frail enough to collapse at any moment.'
Xenon clicked his tongue and contacted the Magic Tower while Anelli was away. Only then did he finally get time to rest. His body felt heavy with accumulated fatigue.
'At this rate, I'll end up visiting every region.'
Though Xenon had wandered here and there while undergoing his trial training, he had never traveled this much, this far, in such a short time.
'When I think about it, wasn't world travel the goal all along?'
He recalled when he first discovered the resurrected one. Anelli, standing awkwardly without even being able to enter the restaurant, looked unfamiliar with solo travel to anyone who saw her.
She carried an unmistakable air of nobility that she couldn't hide. Such atmosphere and eyes couldn't be concealed even with appearance-altering magic.
Of course, she adapted to life on the road surprisingly quickly for someone of noble birth.
At first, he thought it was natural adaptability, but after observing her briefly from up close, it was more than that...
"Xenon."
It was closer to self-preservation or will to survive.
"Did you finish your business?"
Anelli, opening the door and entering, greeted Nessy warmly. She was too busy stroking Nessy's head to even glance at Xenon.
"Yes. Did you contact the Magic Tower?"
"...Did you happen to overhear?"
He hadn't spoken ill of the resurrected one, but it wasn't a conversation he particularly wanted to share.
At Xenon's tepid question, Anelli shook her head indifferently.
"No. Nessy told me."
"Just say you tried to fish for information. I'll admit I fell for it because I'm foolish."
At Xenon's grumbling, Anelli glanced at him and chuckled.
She was currently altering her appearance.
Brown hair, brown eyes.
The magical device was working properly, but Xenon sometimes overlaid her original appearance onto her characteristically cynical expression.
In the first place, Anelli was a beauty so striking that once seen, she couldn't be erased from memory.
Xenon, who had thought himself immune to worldly desires, discovered only after meeting Anelli that he might actually be vulnerable to exceptional beauty.
To succumb to beauty. If his master saw this state, he would mock him until death, and even after dying, would chase him as a ghost and continue mocking.
"Moving again?"
"There's something to do before that."
"Are you serious? We haven't even been here for a day."
"Is that important?"
"Of course. Anelli, you're injured."
"But I'm recovering while we travel."
If we had rested properly for just three days, no, even just one day, the recovery speed would have been much faster."
In truth, Xenon didn't know the detailed circumstances regarding the resurrected one. His master had given him information to help him avoid them, but that was limited to the resurrected one's appearance and the major forces involved.
What gains and losses they were calculating, honestly, he had no interest and felt no need to know.
When he first accepted Anelli's proposal, he hadn't thought this relationship would become so close. Strictly speaking, perhaps only Xenon thought it was close, but anyway.
"You should at least get one day of proper sleep."
"You've been on the road longer than I have, yet you're picky about sleeping arrangements?"
"Not me. I mean you, Anelli. I could sleep on the road right now with no problem."
At Xenon's spirited rebuttal, Anelli narrowed her eyes. She spread a map on the desk and asked again with a meaningful expression.
"Really?"
Xenon quickly shifted his position.
"Of course my back would be stiff... but you know what I mean."
"Body maintenance can wait until we reach a safe place."
"Is there even a safe place?"
When the whole world was running wild trying to catch the resurrected one?
At Xenon's question, Anelli pressed her lips together firmly. She, who had been indifferently gazing at the map, murmured in a dry tone.
"There must be somewhere."
Xenon had never heard any concrete information about Anelli beyond the rumors circulating in public.
However, through traveling with her, he inadvertently learned some private information.
Anelli distrusts the world. Perhaps she even hates it. Enough to make him wonder why she was chosen by the gods.
"I understand you're impatient, but to run away properly, you need to be healthy."
"I've escaped well enough until now."
Also, as much as she distrusts, she tries to solve everything alone. Trusting no one, she expects nothing from others.
Though she sometimes sought Xenon's help in small matters, that was it. The things she asked of Xenon were generally tasks that anyone, not just Xenon, could handle.
Probably among the various plans in her head, there was one that assumed a situation where she and Xenon would part ways immediately in this city.
The moment he thought that, Xenon felt inexplicably bitter.
"Just because you came back to life doesn't mean you have an immortal body."
"Even if I'm about to collapse, I won't ask you to carry me."
"That's exactly the problem."
Anelli frowned and looked at Xenon. Once again, she hadn't understood his words.
She, who thinks and solves everything on her own, is ignorant of basic and obvious things.
No, should this be called ignorance?
"I'm simply worried about you. You're injured."
At Xenon's words, Anelli fell silent for a moment. Then she withdrew her gaze indifferently and smiled. The same reaction she'd always had.
"What a waste of emotion."
That wasn't ignorance. It was resignation obtained at the end of repeated disappointments.
* * *
I decided to admit that I needed to calm my impatient mind.
Xenon's urging that I needed at least one day of proper rest was annoying but definitely necessary.
It wasn't for my health. It was because I needed to sort through the magical devices I'd swept up without even checking the products to use them appropriately later.
Since they were illegal magical devices, there would certainly be defective ones mixed in, and items whose proper usage I couldn't determine.
'Xenon seems dissatisfied with the continuous forced march anyway, so it might be better to use this chance to rest and examine the magical devices.'
The illegal magical devices that came out of the spatial bag were more than expected. Seeing the magical devices I poured out in abundance, Xenon made a fed-up expression.
"I'd like you to sort out the defective ones from these."
"I can check if the formulas are working properly, but... the number is quite considerable? These are all illegal magical devices?"
"Yes. I asked for all the nearby inventory. Of course, I don't think they actually gave everything. They need to do business too, so they must have kept some back."
I picked up a small round orb nearby. At first glance, it looked like a communication device, but instead of communication, it had an amplification spell on it.
"Ha, I heard illegal magical device trading was rampant, but to this extent... No, this formula is definitely one designated as prohibited from leaving the Magic Tower! And this one is for attack?"
Without needing any further encouragement from me, Xenon quickly focused on the work. Seeing him exclaiming in horror at each magical device, I thought I'd chosen a good person.
Xenon, who instantly sorted out a defective magical device, fiercely criticized the professional ethics of the unknown magical device artisan.
Watching his work with satisfaction, I spoke in a very small voice.
"Keep sorting well. I'm going to see Nadab for a moment."
I'm not sure if he heard. Thinking he might annoyingly press about my physical condition again, I quickly slipped out of the room.
Nadab was in the stable. He was disguised as an ordinary horse, so it couldn't be helped.
It would be nice if there was a decent appearance-altering magical device among the defective ones I bought in bulk.
"Nadab."
[Where are you from?]
[What breed? I'm Tartara lineage. Heard of it? Our bloodline is excellent.]
[My, look at that black mane.]
[Is it being shy? How adorable!]
As soon as I entered the stable, noisy voices like in a marketplace could be heard here and there.
Among the horses pawing the ground, Nadab, who stood with an especially stiff posture and head held high, discovered me and rolled his front hoof.
[Boss!]
[Ah, even the voice is magnificent!]
[Must be the owner!]
[A traveler?]
My ears stung. I thought he was just a magnificent horse to human eyes, but our Nadab is quite popular among the mares too?
"I'm glad the ribbon is doing its job properly."
If not for that ribbon, all the horses in there would have realized Nadab was a monster. If so, instead of casting flirtatious glances like now, they would have been terrified and running wild.
[Boss! Are we departing now?]
Nadab looked like he wanted to leave this stable right this moment. What to do, departure isn't until tomorrow.
"Shall we take a short walk?"
[Take as long as you want! I've rested enough!]
No, you're going to rest more.
Suppressing a smile, I took hold of Nadab's reins.