Chapter 82 – Escape from Myluman

Escape from Myluman

The day of the final battle has dawned.

It’s my last morning in Myluman.

But calling it the last doesn’t make it special. I wake up as always, get ready, and set out. Nothing has changed; it’s just like it always was.

Ah, there is one change.

This time, I couldn’t open the letters.

Two of them, no less.

One letter was addressed to me. The other was for Chloe. I couldn’t open either of them. Yet we still move towards our next destination. We have to keep moving.

I’m not sure if we’re on the right track.

I can only roughly guess the goddess’s intentions, and Troka’s reason for suicide is now a blur. With information in chaos and nothing clear, the letters that might have held answers remain unopened. Moreover, the nations are trying to capture and kill me, leaving me with nothing but the letters to open.

In such a situation, even Chloe’s letter is immovable, and the path ahead seems bleak.

No matter how much I ponder, when the time comes, I’ll probably learn all the truths.

The end is approaching, whether I like it or not. There’s no escaping the conclusion.

Maybe I’ll die without knowing.

Yes, according to Cecilia, even the health I’ve finally regained could deteriorate again. I thought she was just telling me to take good care of myself in a roundabout way, but her expression at the time didn’t seem to suggest that. It’s quite a dire situation.

The thought of losing the health I’ve fortuitously regained is terrifying.

It’s strange to think about health being taken away, but… let’s move on from that.

“…Hup.”

Packing up my things turned out to be surprisingly quick.

I thought it would take some time, but everything was finished in about ten minutes.

And that’s despite one reptilian creature fervently sleeping through it all.

Well, that creature was never of any help to begin with, so even if it had been awake, it wouldn’t have shortened the time.

So the packing is done, and now it’s time to prepare.

I need to gather supplies.

It could be a year-long journey, or just a few months, but walking around without any preparations is akin to suicide.

I need the right supplies.

When I first started moving, I had the support of the royal family, which made things easy, and from the time I headed to Frontis, I honestly suffered quite a bit because I kept moving day after day without rest.

The journey from the Tower of Magic to the Holy Imperial Court was so tough it could be believed to be hellish.

Myluman was problematic health-wise, but surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad.

Not that it was good.

So, shouldn’t the journey to the Dragon Kingdom at least be comfortable?

After all, I have to return to the Empire eventually, but it seems that Dragon Kingdom will be the last chance to open the letters.

It would be best to move at a leisurely pace for this final journey.

It might be too generous, though.

Anyway, I moved along with Cecilia.

The items to purchase included spare clothes and tools.

It would have been convenient to travel through the Empire, but unfortunately, that’s impossible, so we have to detour through Frontis. I intended to buy cold-weather gear in preparation for that time.

Of course, given the climate of Myluman, finding cold-weather gear was a failure. I ended up just getting a few tools.

Next up, food.

I didn’t need it originally, but ever since regaining my health, my appetite has returned. Becoming healthy seems to have boosted my metabolism… or something like that.

Conversely, Cecilia’s appetite has increased with her declining health. She said she needs to take in nutrients to recover because she’s sick. She didn’t answer when I asked why her health was deteriorating. Well, it’s Cecilia, so she’ll probably manage on her own.

And Valkvogel still eats a lot.

So, a significant amount of money will go into food.

Will my capital be enough?

Of course, it was.

Thanks to Cecilia’s emergency funds.

It feels odd to rely on Cecilia’s emergency funds for sustenance.

During my days in the hero party, I worked unpaid, so if I think of it as receiving what I was owed back then, it’s fine… but it still feels a bit uncomfortable.

Anyway, we decided on jerky for the food.

I bought a lot of it.

“All meat, if you only eat that with your condition, you’ll have problems soon.”

Naturally, there came a rebuke.

A woman seemingly intent on taking responsibility for my health had her say.

“Well, if I must add, since it’s not my money… there’s a certain someone who won’t eat anything but meat.”

“Isn’t it just that you like meat?”

“Maybe.”

It’s not that I like meat. Perhaps it’s trauma, but just looking at red, squishy raw meat makes me nauseous. Yet, I bought jerky because Valkvogel particularly prefers meat; it’s an unavoidable choice.

But I can eat this dark jerky without any aversion.

“…And you should eat meat when you’re not feeling well too.”

“……”

With that, the purchase of food was complete.

I’ve finished all the necessary preparations.

There’s no risk of my identity being revealed since I’m wearing a mask. Chloe has disappeared, but… there haven’t been any suspicions or issues because of it.

Honestly, I thought there would be people coming to find me. Maybe Chloe’s friends weren’t as loyal as I thought. Or perhaps they just didn’t recognize me.

But what’s important is that for now, there’s no one chasing after me.

It seems neither the Empire, the Country of Magic, nor the Holy Imperial Court has been able to pinpoint my location.

That’s good news, really.

It’s more comfortable not being pursued.

I just hope I can make it to the Dragon Kingdom without being chased… but with my recent streak of good luck, I’m sure I’ll end up being pursued. Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Until I’m actually being chased, there’s no telling what might happen.

Walking silently, I soon found myself back at the inn.

Looking at it again, the inn seemed pretty run-down.

When I was blind, it felt quite nice, but there’s a big difference between feeling and seeing.

Still, the interior facilities were good, so I had no complaints.

I walked down the corridor and entered the room where I had been staying.

Climbing the stairs, I saw Valkvogel waiting in the hallway in front of the door, all packed and ready to go.

I wanted to take one last look inside.

“Time to leave?”

“…Yeah.”

I could only respond with a voice devoid of energy.

This was it. The real departure.

I hoisted the neatly laid out luggage onto my shoulder. Cecilia and Valkvogel also began to pick up their bags one by one.

There was no conversation.

We just silently carried our bags and headed downstairs.

That was all.

The trio with their massive bags walking might have looked suspicious enough to be interrogated during our escape, but surprisingly, that didn’t happen. In fact, it was rare to even encounter anyone. The streets that were bustling with people the day before were now empty.

It was a suspicious situation, but there was nothing else to be done.

After all, I hadn’t committed any crimes in Myluman.

Illegal entry… was unavoidable.

I didn’t encourage or have anything to do with Chloe’s death. If anything, I was the one who took a heavy blow to the abdomen.

Besides, I had repelled the demons that invaded Myluman.

Still, with those thoughts in mind, I walked on guard, but surprisingly, nothing happened.

Absolutely nothing.

Cecilia told me not to strain myself and to walk comfortably.

Valkvogel walked with sleepy eyes as if nothing was amiss.

And I was the only one who felt strangely uneasy.

Right, it’s not like fortune and misfortune always alternate.

Maybe misfortune alone could come knocking, or there could be times when only misfortune comes. That’s what I thought.

After worrying for a long time, we finally left Myluman.

Such an anticlimactic ending.

When using the Forest Keeper’s passage, I thought I might need to be on guard, but soon a sense of futility washed over me and I stopped worrying.

There were no pursuers.

Forest Keeper or not, we just left Myluman like that.

But the true value of Myluman lies in the many beasts of The Great Forest.

I thought we’d have to change our route to escape their attacks…

But for some reason, the beasts were nowhere to be found.

It would be more accurate to say they didn’t approach us.

When I activated Mind’s Eye and looked around, I could feel the beasts keeping their distance. It was more like they were avoiding us. Probably because Valkvogel was awake. They must have instinctively sensed the difference in rank between creatures.

Despite missing one horn and being smaller and somewhat frail, the aura it emitted was undeniably that of a dragon.

Thanks to that, we could move along the shortest path without hesitation.

It was a day when things were going too well.

It could be considered the most fortunate day in this other world. No, it was enough to be seen as the most fortunate period I’ve had since arriving in this world.

Far from my condition worsening, I was actually recovering. The only new injury was a blow to the abdomen, which healed quickly.

The whole ordeal was brief.

It took a long time to get here, but everything ended within 2 or 3 days after delivering the letter directly.

Yeah, sometimes you have days like this.

Of course.

After all the misfortune, maybe it’s time for some happiness?

That’s what I thought, and I really resent myself for it.

“Flan! You are surrounded…!! So surrender!!!”

How could I be surrounded by the Imperial Army as soon as I left the World Tree?

This is fucked up.