WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 73

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Seeking the Road Ahead (1)

How long had it been since she had rested this well? How long since she had fallen asleep with her heart at ease?

Elysia slept deeply for the first time in ages. The hard, cold ground outdoors did not bother her at all. The relief of having escaped the wyvern knights' pursuit, and the warmth of the brown fur wrapped around her whole body. For now, that was enough.

The rough dirt felt far more comfortable than the suffocating splendor of the Imperial Palace's rooms and beds. Maybe it was because someone was there beside her, watching over her. Between the dreams that surfaced now and then, Elysia quietly watched the memories flow by. They moved in straight lines, reflecting everything inside her like a mirror, sad things and happy things alike.

Memories from childhood. The terrible things that happened after her mother died and her maternal family, House Lucent, fell from power. The days she survived only because she could not die, until she planned her exile with the resolve to throw her life away instead.

And Kyle.

“.......”

As her consciousness drifted upward, Elysia carefully opened her eyes.

Between the leaves and branches covering the sky above, bright morning sunlight filtered down in patches.

Still heavy with sleep, Elysia blinked blankly. Then the scenery around her came into clearer view. She was curled up near the campfire in the same position as yesterday. Right beside her, Kyle was poking at the fire, just as he had been before she fell asleep.

“You're awake?”

Chirping birds. Bright sunlight pouring down. Cold air piercing her lungs. A familiar voice slipping into her ears.

“What... time is it?”

Elysia spoke while still feeling dazed.

“It passed ten a little while ago, so a little under thirty minutes after that.”

“Ten thirty...?”

Only then did she fully come to her senses and jerk upright. Kyle was still calmly adjusting the embers in the campfire.

“If you're tired, sleep more.”

“But if we don't leave early...”

“If we've made it this far, the border and the entrance to the Duchy of Tervan aren't far. There was no pursuit overnight either, so we shouldn't have any problems for a while.”

Kyle checked the pot he had placed over the campfire. Inside were boiling water and tea leaves.

“Do you have a fever?”

“No, I don't think so, at least....”

Elysia trailed off. Kyle turned to look at her and naturally brought his hand to her forehead. Her shoulders flinched at the feel of his cold palm.

“You're better than yesterday.”

“.......”

“But you still have a slight fever. The fatigue you've built up won't disappear all at once. You shouldn't overdo it until you get proper rest.”

Kyle moved the boiling pot beside the flames. After a little time had passed and the white steam rising from it settled down, Kyle took out two cups and handed one to Elysia.

“Drink. It should settle your stomach.”

Elysia quietly looked down at the tea in the cup Kyle had given her.

A moment later, she took a sip and quietly closed her eyes.

“It's Mist tea.”

“You know it?”

“I have some knowledge in this area. It isn't a tea I drink often, but I have tasted it a few times before.”

Maybe because she had slept outdoors in the cold wind, the warm tea entering her body made her stomach feel at ease. Kyle glanced at Elysia as she brought the cup to her lips and sipped at it, then began drinking the freshly brewed tea as well.

Growl.

That was when a hungry stomach sounded from somewhere. Kyle narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Elysia. She had her head lowered, her face flushed red.

“This is... well....”

She muttered in a tiny voice. Without saying much, Kyle took out a few remaining pieces of jerky and placed them in her hand.

“Eat this, at least.”

“.......”

“It's the last of the Dried Rations. We really need supplies now.”

Kyle chewed on the one piece of jerky left after giving the rest to Elysia. It was salty jerky, but he was not in a position to be picky.

At the moment, the two looked terrible, to put it mildly. Kyle's leather armor was half torn and scorched from the battle against the wyvern knights.

Elysia had the black cloak Kyle had given her wrapped around her, but that did nothing to fix her tangled, disheveled hair. She could hide it if she pulled the hood low, but they still needed to visit a city, if only to get food and horses.

“The two of us look awful.”

Kyle did not deny Elysia's words. Jerky so salty it could not even be compared to the food she had eaten in the Imperial Palace. Elysia nibbled at it like a squirrel gnawing on an acorn.

“Are we going like this?”

“Yes. We need to arrive before the sun sets.”

By the time they finished cleaning up, the sun was already nearing the middle of the sky. If they moved at a slightly faster pace, they should be able to reach the city they had chosen as their destination before nightfall.

“Let's go. Tell me if it gets hard.”

Elysia nodded. Kyle looked behind them for a moment, then set his course toward the Duchy of Tervan and started moving.

Unlike during the wyvern knights' pursuit, the two moved at an easier pace.

It was still a fairly quick walk, but just not using magic or Body Reinforcement was enough to conserve their stamina. Kyle checked the time and Elysia's condition now and then, adjusting their speed as needed. Sometimes they walked. Sometimes they ran. Sometimes they stopped briefly to rest.

“We're here.”

Late afternoon, with the sun hanging in the sky and sinking toward the west. Kyle and Elysia crossed the border and emerged from the forested hills that had seemed to go on forever.

“Ah....”

Elysia let out a small gasp at the scenery before her. At the end of the forest, below the hill, stood a city. Beyond it, waves of mountain peaks stretched on. A single river flowed down from a gently carved valley behind the city. The river curved along the city's side and continued west.

“Nibelmund, the entrance to the Duchy of Tervan.”

Kyle spoke while looking at the city, just like Elysia.

“Good. We're not too late. Let's go in.”

He stepped forward first. Elysia followed a beat later.

As the two descended the hill and passed beside the river, the faint glow of sunset slowly settled over them. White lights sparkled over the blue water like foam.

***

Nibelmund, the entrance leading into the highlands of the Duchy of Tervan. The gate inspection at the city, which was much larger than expected, was stricter than Kyle had thought.

“A Silver-rank Mercenary Badge from the Kingdom of Kirian... and the one on your left is with you.”

“.......”

“What did you say your purpose was?”

“Supplies.”

“Will you leave right after that?”

“Yes.”

“Crossing through the Duchy of Tervan?”

Instead of answering, Kyle gave a single nod. The middle-aged soldier in charge of the inspection sighed as if troubled. The man and woman before him did not look good. The man wore thin coat-like leather armor, deeply cut at the shoulder and scorched as if he had been in some major fight, while the woman wore a black cloak and had her hood pulled low, making her face hard to see.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, nothing in particular to hold you for. Something else is the problem.”

The soldier glanced toward the front. The people who had already passed through the difficult inspection and entered the gate looked exhausted.

“Something else?”

“You crossed over from the Ligrid Mountains, didn't you? This place always had heavy traffic, but over the past month, the number of travelers has shot up. And even then, fewer people and wagons are coming down from the Duchy of Tervan, while the trading convoys coming from the Kingdom of Brendel have only increased.”

“Because of those rumors? Barbarians or whatever they were.”

The soldier shrugged. He could not give Kyle a clear answer.

“How would I know? I'm a local here, so I don't know the situation deeper inside. There haven't been any specific orders from above either.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, I won't stop you, but while you're staying inside the city, keep as quiet as possible before you leave. The place is packed with mercenaries and merchants who came over from the Kingdom of Brendel, so it's chaotic.”

“One or two days at most will be enough.”

“Then that's good. And I'm sorry, but anything that happens while you're passing through the Duchy of Tervan is entirely your own responsibility. The things people coming down from above are saying are that grim.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

The conversation ended there. The soldier obediently returned the Silver Badge he was holding to Kyle. Kyle passed the soldiers who stepped aside and went through the city gate. Elysia, following one step behind, looked at the scene inside the city and clicked her tongue for more than one reason.

“There are so many. People, and the size of the city too. It's bigger than Ligrid Gate.”

“Except for the plateau capital, this is the largest city. It's basically the second major city of the Duchy of Tervan. It's more famous by its nickname, the Cloud Gate.”

A city built at the entrance to the highlands of the Duchy of Tervan. Nibelmund, better known as the Cloud Gate, was loud and bustling.

It could not be helped. This was a rest stop and a kind of maintenance zone for trading convoys traveling between the Duchy of Tervan and Brendel.

Just as that suggested, the city was filled with people from all sorts of places as the sun slowly set. But that liveliness did not feel positive. The atmosphere was unsettled, like a bomb ready to go off at any moment.

“What a mess. Whatever happened, if it's been like this for over a month, it must be serious enough to have slipped out of Duke Tervan's hands.”

Duke Tervan, the ruler of the Duchy of Tervan, was a title passed down for generations to the one who governed the duchy. More precisely, this duchy was the land House Tervan had ruled.

“The fact that my Mercenary Badge can still be used without issue means the rumors haven't spread this far yet, but....”

Kyle thought that from now on, even if it meant taking on a little more risk, it might be better to slip people bribes in case there was any delayed pursuit.

Elysia, who had been behind him and then came up beside him, was still quietly looking around without making it obvious.

“What now? Are we going straight to an inn?”

“We should. In a situation like this, it will be hard to find a room.”

Kyle sorted the things he needed to do by priority in his head.

First, secure lodging and eat. After that, depending on his and Elysia's condition, they could either go to sleep early or buy supplies, horses, and other necessities. For now, the most important things were comfortable rest and gathering information for crossing the Duchy of Tervan later. He had no intention of passing through these highlands without knowing anything about how things were going.

“We should... buy clothes too.”

Walking along the main road, Kyle looked down at his ruined dark brown leather armor. He had used it for a fairly long time and had grown attached to it, but in this state, it seemed hard to repair and keep wearing. Elysia was the same. Her clothes had probably worn out or grown dirty from the long journey, so it seemed best to make full preparations here before leaving.

If he paid enough extra, whether it was goods or information, it would work out somehow.

“This way. Since we've shaken off the pursuit, the biggest place with the best facilities should be best.”

Standing before a fork where the road split in two, Kyle turned to the right. Spreading his mana broadly to scan the city's structure, he could clearly see the inside of the city centered around the central plaza.

And then.

“What is it?”

Kyle, who had been leading the way, stopped. Elysia, standing beside him, looked at him in confusion as he suddenly planted his feet. Several people and wagons passed by the two of them.

“We have a tail.”

“What?”

“Shh. Quiet. Keep following behind me for now. Don't show any sign that we've noticed.”

Kyle slowly looked around for a moment, then began walking again.

Elysia did not say anything more and followed Kyle in silence. She was curious about who was following them, but for now, she pushed the question to the corner of her mind. She was not particularly worried either. Unless it was a wyvern knight, they would not even be able to slow Kyle down.

Not long after, Kyle left the main road where wagons passed and entered an alley toward the city's outskirts. With fewer people around, the noise of the city grew distant. Before they knew it, a soft sunset glow had spread everywhere. The orange light reflected on the outer walls of the buildings created an oddly dreamlike mood.

This felt just like what happened at Ligrid Gate last time....

That was when Elysia was lost in an idle thought. Kyle, who had been walking ahead, stopped again. Without turning back, he spoke.

“Come out. I already noticed you.”

His voice was low, but it rang clearly through the quiet alley. Almost at the same time, a man appeared behind Kyle and Elysia with a sound of admiration.

“Your senses are still sharp. I didn't think I'd be found out this easily.”

“You....”

“It's been a while, Kyle.”

Kyle turned around, and his eyes slowly widened. The man standing near the two of them grinned.

“To think we'd meet again like this. Has it been almost three years?”

The man wore a pleasant smile, and his face was familiar to Kyle. As if glad to see him, he waved his hand lightly.

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