* * *
No, wait a minute.
What kind of situation is this?
“Stop it already.”
I, who had been slumped at the edge of the road, clutched my churning stomach and opened my eyes wide.
Had Sir finally grown tired of me?
—That wasn’t it.
What cut off my words, radiating a bone-chilling air, was…….
The blue-haired knight standing beside him. It was Sir Leon, his aide.
“His Grace has not slept a wink for several days now.”
Strict eyes turned toward me.
The road from the capital to the North by carriage.
I was, quite dramatically, suffering from carriage sickness.
This was already the third time I had run out because I couldn’t endure the sickness from the unfamiliar carriage. I simply couldn’t get back on.
“Sir…… can I ride a horse?”
I had asked if I could ride a horse with him instead of taking the carriage.
‘But he hasn’t slept?’
Now that I looked, the shadows under his eyes were dark and his skin was rough……. Ah, it was because of me.
I realized belatedly.
While I had been ill, my sleeping and waking times had been extremely irregular.
But at any given moment, Sir had been by my side. Even when he left, it was only for a brief moment.
‘Because I disliked being attended by others…….’
A man who was a Duke had taken it upon himself to look after me. Without taking care of himself.
“We have already stopped the carriage three times; at this rate, we will not make it in time…….”
“Leon.”
Sir growled lowly.
“Where did you learn such poor manners, unable to distinguish what should and shouldn’t be said?”
“I apologize, Your Grace. However……”
“That’s enough. Step aside.”
“Ah, um! Wait!”
Unable to bear the murderous atmosphere, I raised my hand high.
“What.”
“Sir Leon is right! Sir, you need to get some rest.”
I squirmed, trying to escape from Sir’s arms, which had somehow enfolded me.
Huh? Why isn’t this moving? Normally I could jump out with just a little movement.
“I don’t need to rest.”
“You do. You’re tired!”
“Tired?”
Sir snorted.
Yes, I know. I know. Of course, the continent’s greatest Sword Master would possess stamina that doesn’t tire easily and an unbreakable body and so on!
Still, quality sleep and moderate meals are the basics of a human life!
“Stop being stubborn and sleep in the carriage. I’ll…… Sir Leon!”
“……Me, you say?”
“Yes! I want to go with Sir Leon. Give me a ride!”
“……Huh?”
For the first time, confusion flitted across the upright knight’s face.
“Ruby, I’ll just take you myself.”
Strength entered Sir’s arms. I firmly shook my head and refused.
“Now, now, tired people sleep inside, and people who feel suffocated travel outside!”
I reached a conclusion that made everyone happy.
* * *
“Ahh, I feel like I’m going to live.”
I took a deep breath of fresh air atop the horse, open on all sides.
Of course, that happiness lasted only a brief moment.
‘Ugh……. It’s so hard……. Uncomfortable.’
I wriggled this way and that in front of the rigid knight, but I couldn’t find a comfortable position at all.
‘When I rode with Sir, it was comfortable.’
Comfortable, even. I had fallen fast asleep.
But it seemed I wasn’t the only one uncomfortable; Sir Leon also twisted his body this way and that.
“……Is this right?”
A short sigh escaped from above my head.
“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
From head to toe!
But I smiled and shook my head.
I wasn’t shameless enough to complain about this rough ride.
And…….
Honestly, I wanted to get on Sir Leon’s good side.
‘Sir Leviathan’s supporter.’
I, who had read the original novel, knew better than anyone that his loyalty was real.
A comrade who shared life and death. A loyal subject who would leap even into the fires of hell for his liege.
Perhaps that was why I was fine with Sir Leon being a bit cold to me. In truth, we were no different from colleagues protecting Sir Leviathan.
“Why did you say you would follow His Grace?”
A thick voice continued from behind.
“Uh……. Because he was the one who picked me up.”
“If you wish to become the Ducal house’s adopted child and live comfortably, you had best wake from that dream.”
No, what kind of things are you saying to a child?
Well, I’m not entirely a child, but…….
“Jebert is not the paradise you imagine.”
A man of principles. Sir Leon, who was evaluated as being so thorough that he was even called cold, was the paragon of knighthood itself.
You could tell just by looking at his perfectly pressed uniform without a single wrinkle.
‘He’s the exact opposite of Sir.’
The hero snoring away in the back there probably didn’t even have his military uniform on, let alone having lost a few Imperial medals.
“Is the North that harsh?”
“It is the Duchy of Jebert, founded upon subjugating the land of demonic beasts. It is a place invaded by demonic beasts who lurk eagerly to reclaim their habitat.”
“……”
“It means we are at war year-round.”
I know. While reading the original, I had truly thought it was a setting befitting the protagonist of *The Sword Planted Upon the Ruins*.
By the way, dark creatures are monsters created by black mages, while demonic beasts are monsters that naturally occur in the wild.
‘Demonic beasts, and dark creatures.’
Imagining anew how hard the past ten years must have been for Sir, my mood rapidly turned bleak.
“Um, Sir Leon.”
I shook off my thoughts and focused on the conversation again.
I felt a gaze looking down at me from above.
“Do you want me to go back?”
“It is a place where a small, weak child like you will find it hard to survive.”
If I read a strange kindness in those words, would I be overestimating him?
“I heard that a lot from that ruffian earlier too.”
“To speak so rudely of His Grace…….”
“I won’t be a burden. Don’t worry.”
I spoke while staring straight ahead.
The long cliff seemed endless.
But I knew. That this road would end someday, and so too would all things.
Humans are the same. With finite lifespans, in the end there is only death.
But if I wish to face an ending befitting a human, even just a little…… is that my greed?
Not as a sacrifice of the Second War instigated by the resurrected black mage.
‘Since I’ve survived this far, after all.’
Sir Leviathan, Sir Leon, and me too.
“Of course, I won’t cause harm to the lord you serve either.”
“You……”
Veins bulged on the back of Sir Leon’s hand, which gripped the reins.
It was at that moment.
“Urk.”
Sir Leon, who had been fine, suddenly groaned, clutching his shoulder.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“It’s…… nothing.”
If it’s nothing, why is your arm trembling?
‘Don’t tell me…….’
I raised my hand high.
“This won’t do. I want to get off! Excuse me! I’m getting off this time!”
“Stop fussing and be quiet…….”
Sir Leon stopped me, breaking into a cold sweat. No, this person. What did he do to end up in this state?
“What is going on?”
At the brief commotion, the carriage stopped and Sir sprang out.
“Sir, Sir Leon is hurt!”
“What?”
“His shoulder, the right one!”
Having naturally shifted to hold me, Sir frowned at Sir Leon.
“Leon, is your injury not fully healed?”
“No. I am fine.”
At the voice feigning calmness, a brief silence fell. Soon, Sir let out a long sigh and halted the entire procession.
“Pitch camp. We rest here.”
“Your Grace! I am truly fine! We cannot afford any more delay……!”
Sir Leon acted as if something terribly grave had happened.
The way he clenched his molars somehow looked anxious. Seeing that face, my lips moved on their own.
“Sir Leon, you know.”
“……”
“The war is over.”
Our eyes met. Only then did I hastily gather the words I had spoken.
“So what I mean is…… there’s no need to rush while enduring the pain, is what I’m saying. We’re not going to fight, um……”
“……”
“It’s the road home.”
Well, I’m going to someone else’s home, but…….
At that moment, as if by a lie, the tension drained from Sir Leon’s body.
“So it is.”
Sir, who had been listening quietly, stroked the top of my head.
“Furthermore, Leon, a soldier concealing his physical condition from his superior is a violation of military law.”
“Th-that is……”
Sir Leon, who had been fiddling with the reins, bit his lip and bowed his head.
“……I apologize. My thinking was shortsighted.”
He obediently dismounted.
“Rest.”
Sir patted his broad back with a *thump, thump*.
While Sir Leon reflected, our quick-handed knights of Jebert set up the camp in a hurry.
I sat quietly on Sir Leviathan’s thigh, watching the scene.
“Huh?”
At that moment, something strange caught my eye.
“Ruby, where are you trotting off to…….”
“Oh!”
I crouched down in the corner of the campsite.
The grass swaying in the wind was something I hadn’t seen in a very long time.
‘It really is the Abelita Herb!’
A pink flower shyly poking its head through the jagged leaves. The blue aura gently enveloping it was the mana emitted by the plant itself.
‘This is good for bruises and pain relief.’
I reached my hand toward the herb. I already knew the harvesting method.
In a flash, my hand was struck away.