"Of course not," Ian answered easily, glancing up at the sky as it slowly turned red. "But it’s something that could happen regardless of my will, isn’t it?"
"That’s…" Thesaya trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut. "You’re right. Then everything would just return to square one."
"More than that. The princess and the Bastard King would gain even greater justification." Ian added, lifting the bottle to his lips.
Letting out a long breath, Thesaya nodded with her eyes still closed. "They’d surely claim to be your successors. And if you were to have a child, they might even aim for regency. Either way, more conflict would follow."
"And in the process, everyone, including you, would get dragged into it," Ian said after taking a drink.
Thesaya leaned back against the seat, letting out a heavy sigh. "Good heavens… I never thought the day would come when the possibility of you becoming a god would feel so unfortunate."
Ian let out a quiet scoff and ran a hand through Nila’s mane as it walked with unusual sluggishness.
Either way, it seemed there was no need to persuade her any further.
"I understand what you mean now, Ian. And I think you’re right. I got greedy. I can’t turn you into a usurper," Thesaya muttered, letting out another sigh as if trying to shake off her lingering thoughts.
Ian chuckled. "As I said, it wasn’t a completely unreasonable argument. Thanks to you, I realized a few things I’d been overlooking."He used his Willful Grasp to float the bottle toward her.
Reaching out lazily to catch it, Thesaya smacked her lips lightly. "Well, that’s some consolation at least."
"For now, let’s focus on the new duke of Racliffe," Ian added casually, glancing at her as she took a drink. "If he turns out to be troublesome, it might delay our schedule."
"He’s nothing to worry about, Ian. You’re the Archduke of the North. Without orders from the Emperor or the Pope, even detaining you would be illegal." Thesaya snorted, lowering the bottle with a faintly savage smile.
"Honestly, I’d almost prefer it if he tried to use force. It’d be self-defense if I tore his throat out."
"Pretty sure he knows that too," Ian replied.
Thesaya tilted the bottle in her hand. "Whatever tricks he tries, he’s no match for us, so don’t worry. Besides, the fairies and the kitties will be arriving in droves soon."
With a slight curl of her lips, she extended the bottle toward him and added, "If we wanted, we could turn Racliffe into a wasteland without even lifting a finger."
"Yeah. That’s true." Ian let out a laugh as he took the bottle.
Even to him, it sounded entirely possible. Of course, it wasn’t an order he would ever give, even if Duke Beshur tried to kill him.
Still, it was more than enough reason for Thesaya to grow this carefree.
"So I think he’ll probably—" Ian lifted the bottle to his lips mid-sentence, then suddenly let out a low chuckle. "Your neck must be killing you. Since we’re done talking, you can stop pretending now, Miguel."
The sight of Miguel slumped over the driver’s seat had caught his eye.
Miguel’s shoulders twitched slightly, and as Thesaya leaned out the window, she added, "Yeah, you. How long are you planning to keep pretending you’re dead?"
"You all… knew?" Only then did Miguel lift his head with a soft groan, scratching the stiff back of his neck with his right hand as he asked awkwardly,
"Of course. Your breathing was completely different. And you don’t sleep that quietly." Thesaya curled one corner of her lips as she replied.
"Ah, then you should’ve told me earlier. Went through all that trouble for nothing." Miguel chuckled awkwardly, trying to laugh it off. There was no need to wonder why he had pretended to sleep.
The conversation had been far too heavy and dangerous for him to casually join. The sheen on his forehead showed he’d been fighting a cold sweat the whole time.
"Even if we arrive early, we might have to wait anyway. Let’s just stop somewhere and rest. There should be a farm hut nearby. Staying there works too," said Ian.
"Got it. That sounds good all around. Makes it easier to feed these fellows too." Miguel nodded and glanced around. Scattered farmers were still visible in the distance, beginning to wrap up their work.
"Is Lily still asleep?" Miguel asked.
Thesaya nodded lazily. "Yeah. Completely out."
"Sleeping this long… guess today’s the day, huh."
"Probably. It’s fine. She’s cute when she sleeps." Smiling, Thesaya glanced toward the seat beside her. Miguel smacked his lips lightly and nodded in agreement.
About once every half-month, Lily would sleep for nearly half a day, barely waking even if shaken. No one knew the exact reason, assuming only that it was a lingering cost of the treatment done to her brain.
"Any new message from the princess, Ian?" asked Thesaya.
Ian let out a chuckle. "Doubt it. We already checked the latest news."
"That was just about the North. The central region’s a different story." Thesaya muttered, clicking her tongue, curious about the capital since they hadn’t heard anything in quite some time.
"Let’s check tonight. Looks like she usually leaves messages after finishing her day." Ian said with a shrug.
Thesaya immediately brightened and stretched a hand out the window. "Alright. Then I’ll take a quick nap too. Starting tonight, I’ll finally get to play with Worm again. It's got a lot to catch up on."
"Go ahead. Just don’t drag me into it."
"Just so you know, I’m still going to think it over. There might be a better solution."
Shrugging, Thesaya closed the window and added, "No matter how I look at it, Ian… it feels like you knowingly step into traps just to overcome them."
Before he could respond, the window shut completely.
"Seriously…" Shaking his head lightly, he raised the bottle to his lips. The faint curve of a smile lingered only briefly.
As he gazed up at the sunset sky, his eyes darkened, seeming to swallow the last of the light.
If it’s impossible to stop the Empire from splitting apart no matter what I do…
That was one more problem he would have to turn over in his mind again and again.
***
Before long, darkness settled in once more.
They passed beyond the rippling fields of wheat and barley and the dark, empty plots waiting to be sown, until trees and brush grew thicker around them.
Over the past few days, they had stayed in either occupied or vacant farmsteads.
Crack… crackle…
However, tonight they were camping out in the open.
Miguel pulled the carriage off the main road and skillfully set up a small campfire, positioning it to block the light from the road—a habit born of experience, even where monsters and bandits were rare.
—Another dull night, it seems…
A languid whisper brushed through Ian’s mind—Yog, waking again as it did every night.
Leaning against the carriage wheel, Ian didn’t bother replying. He simply watched Miguel work as he tossed a piece of hardtack into his mouth.
As he reached for the bottle beside him, a low breath sounded from beside him.
Purr…
Glancing over, Ian let out a faint chuckle.
Nila, who had been sitting just moments ago, was now fully sprawled on the ground—belly down, chin resting flat. Even after several days had passed since parting ways with Moro, the creature still didn’t seem to be in the best of moods.
Did something actually happen between those two when I wasn’t looking?
He had always thought they were distant.
Ian reached out and lightly stroked the side of Nila’s head.
A thought crossed his mind that perhaps Moro had chosen to follow Mev because that path was more dangerous. The frontier was crawling with mutated beasts and fragments of the demonic realm, after all.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was worried about Moro. With Mev there, and considering that most monsters were little more than a meal for it, it would simply serve as fuel to maintain its mimicry.
Click—
The carriage door swung open. Thesaya stepped out in lighter clothing, a neatly folded blanket tucked under her arm, followed by Lily, who was holding one as well.
"I like sleeping outside like this more than in some smelly house. Maybe it reminds me of the old days." Thesaya added, glancing at Ian as she plopped down onto the bare ground.
Ian smiled and held out the bottle to her. "You really never run out of stories about ‘the old days.’"
"They were cold and hungry times, but also the most fun." Grinning, she took the bottle.
—In that case, how about telling another old story tonight? From back when you roamed the North…
The giggling whisper of Yog echoed again.
At that moment, Miguel stood up, brushing his hands against his thighs.
"I was thinking of grilling some jerky. Want some?" he asked, glancing at Ian.
Ian, Thesaya, and even Lily all nodded.
"Give me a moment, then." Miguel chuckled and sat back down, reaching for the bundle of food beside him.
"He’s more delicate than he looks," Thesaya muttered with a smile, then glanced at Ian. "The old stories sound nice, but hold on a second, Worm. There’s something we need to check first."
"Here we go again…" Ian let out a short chuckle, shaking his head as he slipped his hand into his pocket dimension.
Checking the princess’s letter had practically become a nightly routine. Since yesterday, he’d even started keeping it stored separately.
"Doesn’t look like anything came in today either."
Pulling out the scroll, Ian casually unrolled it. He couldn’t feel any trace of magic. As expected, the last message was still the previous one.
"Is she slacking off or something? She could at least send a report." Thesaya clicked her tongue.
Ian let out another quiet laugh. "The princess isn’t you, Tesa."
As far as he could tell, Seras was practically a workaholic, spending every day since their departure stabilizing and rebuilding the North.
"Even so, we don’t know exactly when the last message arrived. At least once a week, she sho—" Thesaya’s voice suddenly trailed off.
A faint surge of magic spread from the back of the letter, and reddish letters etched themselves into the space.
"It’s here!" Her eyes lit up.
Ian calmly watched the glowing letters form and fade. The faint scent of burning wasn’t his imagination—the letters looked as though they were being written in flame.
—It has been some time, Agent of the Saint.
The lines continued to appear one after another.
"She’s writing it right now, isn’t she?" Thesaya murmured, lips curling slightly.
Ian simply nodded and took a sip of his drink.
—A bit wordy…
Yog’s amused whisper followed. The creature had coiled itself in Thesaya’s palm, peering down at the letter with her.
—We’ve received news from the capital. My uncle has sent envoys to both the royal house and the Great Church.
By the time the main message began, Miguel was handing out skewers of freshly grilled jerky to everyone.
Unlike Ian or Lily, Thesaya couldn’t tear her eyes away from the scroll.
—He has offered to take full responsibility for everything that has happened in exchange for sparing the surviving people of the Black Lands and accepting them without punishment.