[CHAPTER 59]
Rumble.
“Ah!”
The carriage jolted violently, as if it had struck a stone.
I had been dozing with my head resting against the carriage wall, and the sudden impact made me slam my forehead hard and wake up.
Ow, that hurts. I did not crack my head open, did I?
Because I had been completely off guard, the blow was fairly severe.
As I rubbed my throbbing forehead, Jahar’s voice came from the seat across from me.
“Hey, is the carriage wall dented?”
“Excuse me?”
Instead of worrying about me, he was checking the carriage wall of all things.
I shot him a glare, then looked away.
Theo, who had been sitting beside me, had curled himself up at some point and was fast asleep with his head resting on Jahar’s lap.
“……”
“He seemed pretty shy. How did you get close to him?”
I had not even gotten close enough to give him a lap pillow yet.
At my cautiously probing voice, Jahar shrugged and answered as if it were no big deal.
“Who knows. Maybe he realized we are not that different, him and me.”
“What? What do you mean by that…?”
I could not finish my question.
The carriage, which had been rattling along, suddenly came to a stop.
“Huh?”
“Are we already there?”
“No way. It should take a full day of travel.”
Jahar looked toward the window with a puzzled expression.
Because of the curtain I had drawn, he could not see outside, and with Theo using his lap as a pillow, he could not move either.
I reached out and pulled back the curtain in his stead.
And at the same time—
Bang!
A large palm slammed against the window, as if to warn me not to look outside.
I could not see the owner of the hand, but the pattern on the sleeve visible through the glass was—
That is the Temple Knight Order.
Then the owner of that hand had to be Sian.
“Must be that, then. I heard this area is pretty bad for it.”
Unlike me, who was startled, Jahar continued calmly.
“Huh? What is bad? What is ‘that’?”
“You know, that.”
“What?”
Jahar, who had been frustratingly vague, suddenly broke into a bright smile.
It was the kind of smile that almost made it feel like something exciting had happened.
“Bandits!”
“…Pardon?”
“Anyone could tell you were well-off, riding horses and escorting a carriage like that. You probably looked worth targeting.”
Why was he talking about this like it was something amusing?
No, that aside, there are bandits inside the Empire?
Was the Empire’s public security really okay like this?
With a dumbfounded feeling, I alternated my gaze between Jahar and Sian’s hand pressed against the window.
“Is it really okay?”
“Of course. If anything, the bandits are the ones we should worry about. Did you forget who is outside?”
Ah, right.
I had worried for nothing.
Outside were no less than two Spirit Kings, the Captain of the Holy Knight Order, and a Saintess Candidate(?).
Even if Seria was not much help in a fight, the remaining three—no, even just one of them—would make short work of a bandit group.
The carriage door flew open not long after I had relaxed.
It was Sian.
There were faint bloodstains splattered on his clothes, but he looked perfectly unharmed.
“Ah, yes…”
“We did nothing in particular. What happened outside?”
Jahar asked in an innocent voice, as if he truly had no idea, and Sian answered with a grave expression.
“It was nothing serious. They demanded a toll, so I attempted dialogue and persuasion, but it did not go well.”
His tone sounded genuinely regretful.
Dialogue and persuasion… not violence and submission?
Keeping my eyes on the bloodstains at the hem of his clothes, I barely swallowed the words rising to my throat.
“Since we have stopped anyway, shall we take a short break?”
“I am in favor. My legs were starting to go numb.”
“Here?”
“Yes. The area nearby is spacious, suitable for stretching one’s legs. And since this is likely near the base of those who tried to collect the toll, there should be a place nearby for the horses to drink as well.”
No, what I meant was that if blood had splattered onto his clothes, there must be blood all over nearby, and was that really fine from a stomach-turning perspective?
“I see…”
Everything Sian said was about how suitable this place was for resting, not about that at all.
In the end, I could only nod.
If he himself did not mind in the slightest, who was I to object?
“Then please step out for a bit, stretch, and rest. I will look for something to snack on in the cargo compartment.”
“Ah, yes.”
Honestly, I had been getting restless from sitting for so long anyway.
At Sian’s words, I quickly stood up and stepped out of the carriage.
Sian, who was standing by the door, extended his hand to me like an escort, which made me feel a little embarrassed.
As I got down, I heard Jahar waking Theo behind me.
It seemed he wanted to get out as well and enjoy some fresh air.
Indeed, I could see why Sian thought this place was suitable for resting.
I slowly looked around.
Unlike the forest road packed densely with trees, this spot alone was clean and open, as if someone had deliberately cut the trees down.
There is no blood on the ground… did they cover it with dirt to erase it?
I had worried it might negatively affect Theo emotionally when he came out, but that did not seem to be the case.
Anyway, just getting down for a bit makes me feel so much better.
I rolled my stiff neck and shoulders, loosened from dozing in an awkward posture.
“Nnngh…”
I was stretching, listening to my joints crack, when—
“You feel stiff, right? Are you okay?”
A voice that felt unfamiliar yet familiar reached my ears, and I flinched, lowering my arms.
When I turned around, Seria was standing there, smiling brightly as if it were only natural.
“Ah… yes.”
“That is a relief. I was worried!”
Despite my lukewarm response, Seria began chattering away without concern.
There were only two situations when Seria acted this friendly.
One was when she saw something she could use.
And the other was—
When she did not like the presence of someone.
Approaching with a bright smile, winning someone over, and then stabbing them in the back.
That was Seria’s way.
In the previous timeline, I had met her when my business was thriving, so it had been the former, but this time—
It must be the latter.
The fact that I could so naturally grasp her intentions was deeply unpleasant in itself.
Knowing her this well, why had I been so foolish—
No, stop wallowing.
I lightly shook my head and chased the thought away.
Seria looked at me curiously for a moment, then smiled again and spoke.
“By the way, why did you come along? I heard Sir Sian was originally going to the capital with just me.”
Because if I left you alone together, Sian might come back as a cold corpse—
I could not possibly say that.
Still, maybe because she was younger than when I had met her before.
I had met her after succeeding in business back then, so compared to the early stage of this timeline, she had been far more polished.
Listening carefully to her words now, it was easier to read her intentions than it had been with the Seria from the previous timeline.
So that was why she disliked me this time.
“Oh? Is that it? Rival jealousy?”
“What?”
“Ahaha, I am joking!”
Seria laughed lightly, as if it truly meant nothing.
She looked so innocent that if I did not know her well, I might have thought, ‘Oh, it really was just a joke.’
But I knew.
I knew that Seria was sharply probing me.
If this were the old me, I would have helplessly given my heart to someone who looked so pure.
Yes, if this were the unweathered me of the second run…
But not now.
I had regressed more than ten times and experienced just as many deaths.
I am far too worn down to be taken in by a greenhorn like you.
Swallowing my bitter smile, I spoke.
“A rival? I heard you are a Saintess Candidate… Were you looking at Sir Sian that way?”
“What?”
“Think about it, Seria. If you do not have romantic feelings for Sir Sian, then even if I did, how would I become your rival? Does that not mean you yourself harbor such feelings?”
“No, that is… I just meant it like that.”
Even though I had not pushed back that hard, Seria visibly flustered.
She likely had rarely encountered anyone who pressed her like this after she brushed things off with a smile and a joke.
The current Seria was far more inexperienced than the Seria I had known.
