WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Saviour Embarks on a Nameless Journey

Chapter 25: Companions Once Again

I led the magic horse out from the inn where it had been kept and set off from the village.

"Boss, you’re headed for town anyway, right? There’s an inn called the Stag’s Rest. Good food and cheap rates."

Normally, inns only keep horses for paying guests, but since this was a stay for the village’s sake, the village chief had spoken to them on my behalf. The mercenary was seeing me off, partly as proof that I had indeed been acting at the chief’s request before heading back himself.

"Aye, if they’ve got a room, I’ll make use of it."

I replied to the mercenary, who said he was now off to see the chief, and swung myself into the saddle.

An inn with good food, eh? I’m pleased, but… am I being seen as some kind of glutton? No, no. Eating well is one of the pleasures of travel, but still…

It would take two days to reach the next town. In this country, it usually takes at least two or three days to travel between major towns or villages.

If they were too close, the land wouldn’t be enough to sustain both people and livestock. The capital, where goods gather, and the harsher reaches of the frontier where life is tough, are another matter entirely.

Rocked gently in the saddle of my magic horse, I followed the road at an easy pace. Even if monsters showed up and caused trouble, the sky was still blue. When the Demon King was around, even the weather had been foul.

◇　◆　◇

“Pyaa!”

“What is it now?”

The road had been peaceful all the way here, but just as the town was coming into view, Pyaa started fidgeting restlessly.

“Don’t tell me you’re hungry? Hold on just a bit longer.”

The town was just ahead—

“Grandfather!”

Right in the middle of the road leading to the gates, Alina was waving at me. Beside her stood Marius and Io. I closed the distance and dismounted from the magic horse.

“Alina.”

I may have been coming and going a lot lately, but visits from Alina were always welcome. She threw her arms around me, and I lifted her up, pressing my cheek to hers.

“Training, is it?”

If I remembered right, she was supposed to come see me about once a week. I hadn’t expected her to show up accompanied by Marius, though.

“No. I ran away from home!”

“Oh? That’s not exactly a gentle thing to say.”

She was a bit angry, but even that was endearing. Her tightly pressed lips made her cheeks puff out ever so slightly.

“His Majesty and the others were being dishonest with you, Grandfather.”

She called him ‘His Majesty’ instead of ‘Father’, she really was upset.

Now then… is this about being called an illegitimate child? If they’d simply asked me not to use the name Suirun outside the country, I’d have obliged. But for something like that?

“It seems the King made some kind of deal with the witch Elaine. I couldn’t find out exactly what, but apparently, they can’t have you wandering about at will.

Still, they also couldn’t stop you, the hero, from setting out on a journey under the Oracle’s guidance, so it seems they were quite troubled.”

Marius said this in his usual calm tone.

So it wasn’t about the illegitimate child uproar after all.

I don’t know what sort of bargain they struck, but I suppose they can’t very well interfere with a goddess’s Oracle. Claiming I’d received one was a fabrication, but if a hero who’d traveled under divine guidance said it, people would believe it.

Even so… Elaine, huh.

“So that’s why you stepped in between me and Elaine?”

Back when I’d cast body enhancement magic on the magic horse, Marius had maneuvered the animal’s body right between me and Elaine.

“Thanks to Lady Shinju, it seems she couldn’t track your presence. She was rather desperate to put a new Crest on you.”

Wait a moment, so all that rustling of her robe while she was looking at Pya… was actually part of that back-and-forth?

Why didn’t you tell me?! …No, right, this one keeps his mouth shut unless he’s certain about something. But more importantly… are you telling me Pya actually proved useful?!

“Pyaa.”

Tch! Even from that single chirp I can feel the smugness radiating off you…!

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem like she’s after my life.”

If that were the case, she would have already made a move by now.

So either there’s some circumstance that keeps her from saying things outright… or it’s something she thinks I’d dislike hearing. Either way, I’m not fond of secrets, and now that it’s come to this, I’ve no mind to ask her directly.

“Women are a mystery, aren’t they.” Marius said with a shrug.

I shifted my gaze from Marius to Io.

“Please don’t worry. I wouldn’t say I’m on your side, Uncle, but I won’t do something like reveal your whereabouts. If I did, Alina would dislike me just as she does His Majesty and the others.”

I looked down at Alina in my arms.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this, Sister.”

We were looking for our own weapons anyway. This only moved the schedule forward a little.”

Io replied, smiling gently at the faint crease that had formed between Alina’s brows.

“If the road gets too hard for you, head back, you hear?”

Both of them were strong despite their youth. But enduring a journey that involved long stretches of sleeping outdoors was another matter entirely.

I led the magic horse with Alina and Io riding together, heading toward the town.

“Come to think of it, how did you manage to find me?”

If what Marius said was true, then thanks to Pya even Elaine herself couldn’t locate me.

“Io was the one who used the teleportation magic, but I was the one who decided the destination. I can’t match Elaine or Io when it comes to that kind of spellwork, but I could predict that you’d cross those mountains using the path carved by monsters.”

“You could always ask Elaine directly, but… well, I’ve got free time, you see. Thanks to Lady Shinju, Elaine will have a hard time tracking you.

Ah, and we also blurred our presence using a variation of body enhancement magic before coming here. Right now we’re within Lady Shinju’s influence, so there’s no need to worry.”

Marius smiled, the kind of smile that practically oozed suspicion.

“Pya—.”

I could practically feel the little creature puffing out its chest in pride.

I can’t use teleportation myself, so I can’t just casually go and question her. With Io’s strength, she can probably only carry herself and Alina at most.

As for Marius joining them in the jump, that was likely due to his ability to link magic or… whatever it was. Something to do with cooperating as members of the same bloodline. Yes, that thing.

…Come to think of it, I remember hearing about it once, but it was too complicated, so I forgot.

Still… Pya. Did you knowingly change my presence to hide me, or was it just dumb luck? Which is it?!

Footnotes:

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