Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 34.3
The journey from here, on the edge of Dandol, to the Barony of Ceres took about three weeks on foot or two weeks by horse-drawn carriage.
I was told to get there as soon as possible, but since I was informed three days ago that my arrival would be in a month, there was no reason why I should not go on foot.
Well, if you were an ordinary traveler, this time you would be passing through a forest road that was not in any territory, so you might choose a horse-drawn carriage with an escort to guard against monsters, but if you rode to Baron Ceres’ territory, it was likely to cost five silver coins, and you would be forced to pay extra to stay at an affiliated inn, and I could not spend that much money.
I had received 15 silver coins as a reward for this time and 5 gold coins as a reward for danger pay, but I did not want to spend much money on the next case since I would be unpaid until the job was done.
The weapons I had on hand were a black knife and a spare knife. Two of the thin knives I was supplied with, and a total of 10 throwing knives. I also had two pendulums with a blade attached to the end of a string, but I needed more spare throwing knives and one of the pendulum blades had been damaged in the battle, so I needed to have it made at a blacksmith’s shop somewhere.
I also wanted some light armor to wear under my clothes and a special knife holder to wear on my leg, but as expected, I didn’t have time to have those made.
After leaving the lakeside castle and walking for half a day, I arrived at the capital of Dandol.
Normally, I would spend the night there, but I didn’t intend to stay at an inn, so I decided to restock my supply of portable food and a small amount of salt at a street stall in town and left the city.
“…”
I finally got a close-up look at Dandol’s fortress-like castle.
It was still huge. If we were to break into that place, where would be the best place to start…?
I wondered how the lady of Dandol was doing, since I didn’t see her around the third day? She was an unnatural girl who acted and spoke like an adult, different from me and Elena, who only have knowledge.
There was a definite look of alarm in her eyes toward Elena and me. Her frightened appearance irritated Elena, and the maidens, who had been troubled by the strange atmosphere when she stopped showing up, seemed relieved inside.
I should keep my guard towards her. She might end up as Elena’s “enemy”.
As a Rank 1 adventurer, I paid a silver coin to enter the city and was searched on my way out.
But for now, I had a letter of introduction to the Baron of Ceres from Senior Butler, so I was treated as a quasi-aristocrat up to that point, and the toll was free.
But from now on, it would be better not to rely too much on this kind of thing. If it turned out that they were close to the nobility, it might bring unnecessary trouble.
There might come a day when I would have to fight against Senior Butler. Before that time came, I would try to be as strong as possible.
A soldier at the north gate tried to stop a “kid” from leaving town, even though it was late in the evening after I was still about to go out, but when I showed him my Adventurers’ Guild tag, he let me through as if he had given up.
I never liked places with too many people.
Even though it was disguised as civilian clothes, this maid’s outfit caught the attention of the townspeople, perhaps because it was made of good fabric and did not look too much like a commoner.
Some might have been genuinely concerned about the child, but there were adults who prey on children, and you shouldn’t let your guard down under any circumstances.
I passed some travelers and wagons around the area outside the gate, but after an hour’s walk, it was completely dark, and saw no more people, and instead heard the faint cry of a beast.
After another hour’s walk, it was completely night, and I finally ran out of sight and into the night.
I felt as if I was running faster than before, perhaps because I was growing bigger.
I had more energy, so I could probably keep running for a few hours, but I reminded myself that this was not a rushed trip, so I just kept it light and didn’t sweat.
It would be easier to just travel at night as usual, but traveling only at night on a new road for the first time could lead to a wrong turn.
“…phew.”
Even though I thought I was running light, I still sweated a bit.
I wetted a cloth with [Flowing Water] and wiped the sweat from my body. Since I had only a few changes of clothes, I didn’t want to sweat too much. Elena could use level 2 of Light Magic, so I should be able to learn it too.
I climbed a tree in the forest and made the top of a thick branch my bed for the night.
I felt a little heaviness in my lower back area, probably because I had been eating good food recently. Not enough to be bothered about, but I felt a bit of softness forming in that area, so I went to sleep that night with only a loaf of black bread and a glass of water.
The next morning, I woke up again even before the sun rose.
I sniffed my body just to be certain, but decided it wasn’t worth getting dressed yet, so I just wiped my body again with a wet cloth.
The area beyond this point was just a forest, not the territory of the Dandol frontier counts. Up to this point, there were knights and soldiers patrolling the area, but until we entered the next noble territory, it was a lawless zone.
I started moving before dawn came and moved along the roads.
I could run through the forest, but it would be troublesome if our skirts got untied. Besides, it was a place where monsters might appear. Goblins were not much of a problem, but I felt safer in a larger place to deal with unknown monsters.
“…There’s something out there.”
A short while after the sun rose, I saw something fighting ahead of me. But that wasn’t what I noticed.
As I stopped in the middle of the street, three small, dirty men with swords drawn appeared from the forest, as if in a hurry.
“Hey, you there, woman–“
*Hyun!!!
The throwing knives I had hidden in my sleeves pierced the man’s throat, and before he could finish his words, it easily scattered his life and collapsed.
…Two more left…