NOVEL WEB Chapter 38: Lodging
The Last Defender of the Way adventurers trudged along a winding, muddy path, crossed rolling hills, and navigated through the wilderness using their map and compass.
EeDeChi and Barrett were the type who could walk for miles without breaking a sweat. Platinum-level adventurer Sean had impressive stamina as well, but Stella, the delicate cleric, was struggling. Her physical condition wasn't the best, and her basic low-level flying magic lacked the mana for extended use.
She had to rest many times along the way. Additionally, Barrett and Sean carrying Ureirika and Kuuderika had slowed them down considerably.
To Barrett, rescuing Ureirika and Kuuderika was already a huge act of kindness. His plan was either to return them to their parents or take them to an orphanage, not to heed the pleas of these two kids who insisted on finding their missing older sister, who was in an uncertain state of life or death. As a result, they now had to carry these two extra burdens through the wilderness.
But EeDeChi was determined to find the twins' sister, the mage adventurer named Arche. She was convinced that Arche was still alive, but had been captured by Ainz and was being held in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, unable to leave.
Barrett looked at Stella, who was casting a blessing spell on herself while sitting on a rock, and shook his head, turning his attention back to the parchment map in his hands.
The map was incomplete and the terrain poorly drawn; otherwise, they would have chosen to travel by horse.
The travel route and method were planned by the experienced adventurer Barrett, who hadn't considered that someone might struggle with the journey. As a mithril-level adventurer, he hadn't teamed up with a silver-level adventurer like Stella for quite some time.
EeDeChi, who had set the travel destination, seemed indifferent. She stood on top of a small hill, still carrying her giant sword. The autumn wind gently lifted her black short hair as she gazed into the distance where the mountains met the gray sky, lost in thought.
In this season, the southern border where the Empire meets the Re-Estize saw darkness fall very early. As soon as the sun dipped below the mountains, night quickly followed.
It was already late afternoon, with the dim sun hanging low in the sky. After a brief discussion with Sean, Barrett, with EeDeChi's agreement, decided to head to the nearest village on the map—Sheep Horn Village—to rest and stay the night. Sean also seemed to want to buy a horse in Sheep Horn for Stella to use. Whether they could find a horse there would only be known once they arrived.
Traveling at night was not a good idea. The risk of getting lost was higher, and camping in the wilderness could expose them to unknown dangers. Although EeDeChi claimed not to be afraid of any danger, Barrett knew that this orichalcum-level adventurer preferred to get a good night's sleep.
The group adjusted their direction and headed to the other side of the hill. They soon arrived at a valley where "Sheep Horn Village," marked on their parchment map, lay nestled.
From a distance, red-tiled, gray-walled cottages were scattered across the land. A narrow path wove between them, with fields of light green and dark yellow crops cutting the ground into rectangular patches. Occasionally, farmers could be seen bending over in the fields, harvesting their crops. Far off on the low hills, small flocks of sheep moved like drifting white clouds.
The four adventurers, carrying the twin sisters, walked briskly along the muddy roads of Sheep Horn, curiously looking around.
This was already the borderland of the Re-Estize, but the village's scenery was much like that of the Baharuth Empire. Fields of corn, barley, and oats awaited harvest. Some farmers stopped their work along the way to watch them, their expressions marked not just by curiosity but by a deeper sense of caution.
"Does anyone else find something odd? Why are there hardly any young men working in the fields?" Sean, who was keenly observant, noticed something was off.
As he suspected, most of the people in the fields wielding hoes and sickles, as well as those tending to the cattle and sheep, were women, children, and elderly with wrinkled faces. There were very few able-bodied men.
"Maybe they've gone to the city for work. I wonder what the farming policies are like in the Re-Estize. Do they have any farmer-friendly measures?" EeDeChi said, leading the way and talking to herself.
"What?" The other three looked puzzled at their leader's remark.
"Could they have all gone off to fight? I heard the Re-Estize has this compulsory military service system," Sean speculated, a hint of arrogance in his voice.
The Baharuth Empire values quality over quantity in its military, focusing on training professional cavalry. In contrast, the Re-Estize relies on compulsory service every year to maintain a large army to counter the Baharuth Empire. Naturally, Sean, being from the Empire, looked down on this system.
Barrett glanced around, catching the eyes of a few unfriendly-looking farmers. He lowered his head and said, "It's indeed unusual. From what I know, during busy farming seasons, the Re-Estize's conscripted soldiers are usually sent back home to complete their farm work and are only called back in the spring. But there aren't many young men around now."
Barrett then joked, "Could it be that there's an epidemic here that targets grown men? Ha, if so, we must have walked into a village of widows."
EeDeChi shot him a stern look, "Mind your words. Our team doesn't accept morally depraved individuals!"
Barrett fell silent. In the past, when he'd teamed up with more carefree adventurers, such comments would have been met with hearty laughter. But now, cleric Stella would certainly not be laughing, and Sean, who was trying hard to maintain his image in front of Stella, wouldn't join in on the joke either.
Sean attempted to lighten the mood, "Let's hope that's not the case. Otherwise, Uncle, you and I might catch it too, and we're grown men ourselves." He winked at Barrett.
The sun continued to sink behind the mountains, the sunset fading from gold to a dimmer glow. Darkness was approaching.
After a day of travel, the four adventurers were exhausted, their legs aching, and their stomachs growling. They were in desperate need of a place to rest, a bowl of warm meat soup, and a dry, flat bed.