"A letter...?"
What Berua handed him was a letter.
The anxiety that had been slowly rising within Arden settled because of it.
He could see familiar handwriting through the carefully folded paper.
If her condition had been serious, she would not have been able to write a letter herself, so that was a relief.
Arden let out a sigh of relief and carefully unfolded the letter.
The paper was filled with writing.
[Arden, it has been a while. I heard that you fought monsters on the Snow Mountain. The priests say you are all right, but I cannot help worrying. Even if you are strong enough to face bandits alone, you are still a child in my memories.
***
Take good care of yourself. You do not need to overexert yourself. The priests said you only had minor injuries, but you never know. If anything hurts, do not endure it and tell Berua, all right? Berua went there for that role. Understood?
***
Finally, let me tell you a little about myself... I am doing well. Maril and Leon are waiting for you too. [Big Brother! When are you coming?] [I want to see you soon!] It seems Maril still wants to call you Big Brother.
***
P.S.— Your younger siblings are recovering well too. Thanks to the priests, they have found their smiles again. Anyway... Arden. As I said above, you must come back without getting hurt, all right? Promise—
—The Orphanage Director—]
After finishing the letter, Arden folded it and placed it in his inner pocket.
So he could read it whenever he missed them.
"Thank you. For not telling me the truth."
Arden spoke with a faint smile.
Berua shook her head.
"No. More importantly, are you leaving now?"
"Yes. I have to go. I still have much left to do before I can return like this... But please tell them that I will definitely come back."
"Of course. The stable is at the city entrance, so you should be able to go there directly."
"Thank you."
"On your long journey, I earnestly pray that God always illuminates your path."
Berua gently clasped her hands and closed her eyes.
Instead of answering, Arden nodded and turned away.
"Hoo."
... Inside the letter.
He remembered the orphanage director's worried words and the crooked writing of his younger siblings.
When everything was over, he hoped they could meet again with smiles.
"Hup—!"
As the faces of the three suddenly came to mind and made his chest tighten, he drew in a deep breath.
At the same time, he ran toward the city entrance.
"Here it is."
Before long, he arrived at a stable beside the city gate.
There had originally been a complicated procedure, but when he showed the Horse Pass, they immediately brought out a fine horse.
Thanks to that, Arden was able to save time and leave the city for his next destination.
CLIP-CLOP!
CLIP-CLOP!
Since it was his first time riding a horse, his body bounced around.
He could not sit properly.
After riding for only a few minutes, his backside began to hurt.
Just as he wondered whether he should rest for a while—
CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP!
Someone riding a black horse passed by.
He had a long gun strapped to his back, and judging by his attire, he seemed to be a hunter.
There was an occupation in the North that hunted winter animals, so they were people Arden saw only occasionally.
"Excuse me! Please help me!"
"Hm?"
The man stopped his horse, turned his head, and looked at Arden.
"Ah, it is your first time riding a horse."
"Yes."
He approached Arden and spoke.
"Pull your hips back a little and lean your upper body forward. It will be difficult at first, but you will adapt quickly. It does not seem that you are unable to ride at all."
"I-Is this the right feeling?"
Arden asked after taking a much steadier posture than before.
The man widened his eyes in surprise.
"Oh, you learn quickly."
"Thanks to you. Thank you."
"It is nothing. Is helping one another not what it means to be a Northerner? I do not know about those other bastards, but I live that way. If you give to others, blessings will come to you someday."
"Uh... yes."
"Right. I am Derek. And you are?"
"I'm Arden."
"Ah, Arden. You look young, so why have you come out riding a horse?"
"There's something I absolutely have to do."
At Arden's words, Derek nodded.
"Something you absolutely have to do... It reminds me of my younger days. Back then, I thought hunting was my calling. Without knowing a damned thing. Ahem. That is enough about me. Where are you headed?"
"For now, I'm planning to go to Prelia. I heard that merchant caravans do not charge for carriage rides at this time of year. I plan to travel with one then. I can only ride this horse as far as Prelia."
"Ah, Prelia... That merchant caravan has always been like that. Hiring adventurers costs more. Letting people ride their carriages for free is much cheaper, so that is what they do."
"Ah."
Arden nodded.
"Well, Prelia is my destination too, so let us talk along the way to keep from getting bored. I tried talking to myself, but it felt as though my mind were splitting apart."
"All right."
"There is a story that no Northerner could fail to know... Have you heard about what happened at the Snow Mountain this time?"
"Ah, the Snow Mountain?"
"As expected. It seems you know."
"Yes, I know as well."
"I heard the Holy Knights risked their lives to protect the North and fought dozens of monsters... Hah. Whenever I think about it, my chest swells with pride."
Arden did not know what to say about something involving himself, so he only listened quietly.
Even so, Derek continued his story as though he were enjoying himself.
Having someone listen to his stories made him happy.
That was especially true for Derek, who spent more time traveling alone.
It was the first proper conversation he had had in three months.
***
The sun set, and the moon rose.
Arden and Derek got off their horses and looked around.
They planned to spend the night on the nearby plains.
Moving after nightfall carried too much risk.
Arden would have been fine, but the horses and Derek would not.
It would be better to stop than to push themselves unnecessarily.
"That place looks good."
The two led their horses to a small tree and tied them to its base.
Then they pitched tents nearby.
Once their sleeping place was ready, Derek broke off some branches and sat near Arden.
"I will make a fire first. Frost Wolves sometimes come by."
"Frost Wolves?"
"These days, they seem to have gone into their dens, so they are not visible. But until a few months ago, they were. Of course, they are not from around here, but you never know."
It seemed they had hidden themselves for a long time because of the monsters on the Snow Mountain.
But now, nearly all those creatures were dead.
There was a good chance the Frost Wolves would realize that and become active again.
Three weeks had already passed.
Having lived cowering for so long, they might have expanded their range of activity.
While Arden thought about that, Derek took a small tool from his pocket.
Then, with a series of clicks, he lit a fire.
"Works well today. Anyway, they have a habit of not approaching if you keep even a small fire going. It is nothing special, but I learned it to make a living."
"Is it all right to tell me that?"
"Why would there be any reason to hide it? We all want to sleep safely, do we not? Besides, once you light a fire, you will figure it out anyway."
Derek smirked, broke off a few more branches, and tossed them onto the campfire that had begun to burn.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE....
The flames grew stronger and warmed their cold hands.
At that moment, neither of them spoke.
They only quietly sorted through what had happened that day.
After warming himself by the fire for a long time, Arden lifted his head.
The Milky Way stretched broadly across the night sky.
"......"
After taking in the magnificent sight for a moment, he grasped the sword he had placed on the ground.
He slowly rose and looked behind him.
Derek, apparently having noticed as well, gripped his long gun and stared in the same direction as Arden.
The horses tied to the tree continuously snorted in agitation.
"It seems someone is coming."
"Yes. I think so too."
They could hear something, but nothing was visible.
Since they were surrounded by plains, they should have been able to see someone approaching.
Just as Arden's vision slowly brightened—
RUSTLE!
Along with the sound of brush being stepped on, a blurry figure leapt toward where the horses were tied.
Arden tried to throw his sword, but Derek was faster.
He aimed in an instant and pulled the trigger.
BANG—!
The tremendous sound struck their eardrums.
At the same time, something fell to the ground with a thud.
The black shape twitched a few times before going limp.
"That's...."
"A Shadow Wolf?"
Arden and Derek stood before the fallen shape.
Black skin and a fairly small body.
It was a Shadow Wolf.
Arden knew because he had seen one in a book.
"Oh, you know this creature. It seems to be a Shadow Wolf. But...."
Derek examined the Shadow Wolf, which was weakly bleeding.
"It seems there is a Frost Wolf nearby."
"Is that so?"
"Look at its belly. It is extremely gaunt, and its wounds are rather severe. They also rarely come this far down. Their habitat is up there."
Derek continued speaking as he dragged the Shadow Wolf away.
"It seems we should make the fire a little larger. There may not be an attack tonight, but there is nothing wrong with preparing in advance."
"All right."
Arden nodded, broke off as many branches as he could, and threw them into the fire, which had faded somewhat.
Then he spoke.
"I think we should stand watch as well. If the wolves are hungry, they might attack even if the fire is large."
"That is true. How about we take turns every three hours?"
"Let's do that."
Arden nodded.
"Then I will take the first watch, so go inside and sleep. I will wake you in three hours."
"All right."
Arden looked around the plains, which had fallen quiet again, then entered the tent.
Outside, the only sound was Derek crunching on something.
***
Fortunately, the sun rose without any major trouble.
Arden put out the campfire as he tore into the jerky Derek had left behind.
It was time to get moving.
They still had two more days to travel to Prelia.
"Hm... Did you eat the jerky? I see that you are."
Derek came out of the tent just then.
"Yes, thank you."
Arden bowed his head slightly, took out his canteen, and drank some water.
Then he waited while Derek packed up the tent.
After finishing, Derek led over the horses tied to the tree and stood before Arden.
"That is done. Let us go. I think we need to move quickly if we are to arrive on time."
"All right."
Arden mounted his horse and began heading toward Prelia with Derek.
"There is a river nearby. How about we stop by there for a moment? It does not freeze even in winter, so I visit it often."
"Let's do that. I'm out of water too...."
"All right. Follow me closely."
After saying that, Derek turned to the right.
Following him, Arden asked,
"But why are you being so kind to me?"
It was a thought that had suddenly occurred to him.
Why was Derek being so kind?
Derek smirked at Arden's question and spoke.
"Is there any special reason? I am happy to have someone to talk to for the first time in a while. As you know, being a hunter is not a well-regarded occupation."
"......"
"A job done by lowly people... Not me, but that is what others think. Unless someone is a butcher, they do not speak to us much. So there is a question I want to ask you instead. You asked me for help first, even though you must have seen my long gun."
"Ah."
Arden had known only that hunting was an occupation. He had not known how hunters were treated.
"Um... I knew you were a hunter, but I did not know how hunters were treated."
"Ah, you did not know? So that was why."
"Yes, but that does not change anything even now. There is no reason to discriminate against someone because of their occupation. And without this kind of work, would we be able to eat meat?"
"I never expected to hear something like that here. Thank you. Are you the child of some noble house? There are many things that make it difficult to call you an adventurer."
"Huh? No, I'm an orphan."
"Th-That... My apologies. Let us forget what I just said. The river should appear soon, so I will pick up the pace."
"All right."
The two crossed the plains and headed toward the forest visible in the distance.