Chapter Forty-Two: Morning Glow and Evening Rain

After resting for the night, as they prepared to set off the next morning, Eric truly caught sight of a group of wood elves. Their green eyes, long ears, and yellowish skin resembling humans, along with their generally youthful appearances that betrayed no true age, were striking. Each carried a handcrafted bow and arrows on their backs. They were pulling carts laden with barrels of wine as they emerged from the forest.

“Truly elven wine, after all...” Eric murmured.

Wood elves neither disliked nor particularly favored humans; thus, they typically dwelled deep within the forests far from human cities, living a harsh, primitive existence. This often meant that many wood elves who ventured into human towns found themselves unable to return. Judging by their ease and familiarity, it was clear this was not their first time selling wine in a human settlement.

“It seems life has truly become unbearable,” Eric thought.

The wood elves settled in the forests near Dante County had once sent envoys to the lord’s manor, giving Eric a chance to meet them up close. At the time, he never imagined that one day he would be told that elven blood flowed through his veins.

Shaking his head, Eric climbed onto the carriage and sat beside the driver. “Let’s go.”

Two carriages departed one after another from the inn’s courtyard, leaving Redwood Town behind and returning to the main road.

Eric cast a final glance toward the small town nestled at the foot of the forested hills. They hadn’t risen particularly early and saw no sign of the two Aran men; he wasn’t sure if they had left early or simply hadn’t woken yet.

“Giddy-up!”

The carriage sped swiftly along the main road.

Eric believed traveling at night was too dangerous and unnecessary, so he planned to cover as much ground as possible during the day and rest once night fell.

Naturally, the drivers followed his instructions, which made things easier. The other two drivers were just enough to rotate shifts—one drove during the day, the other rested.

After two more days of travel, by midday on the third day, they finally burst out of the continuous mountain ranges of Hotten.

That afternoon, just before reaching an intersection on the main road, the driver asked Eric if he wished to detour to the imperial capital for a night’s rest.

Half-asleep, Eric lifted his gaze and looked into the distance. “Are we already outside Lutia City?”

“Uh... not far. If we turn left at the upcoming intersection and travel for another hour or so, we’ll reach the outskirts of Lutia,” the driver replied.

Eric was taken aback—more than an hour to the fifth ring?

“That’s still quite far. Going there would be a detour, right?”

“A bit of a detour... I just thought, since it’s your first time in this area, you might want to see Lutia first,” the driver explained.

“I don’t mind either way. There will be plenty of chances later.”

Eric glanced at Sophie, who had leaned toward the small window, and smiled. “Miss Sophie, do you want to go home for a visit?”

Sophie’s eyes brightened momentarily but then she shook her head. “If it’s just to detour to the imperial capital for me, it’s unnecessary. The saint’s summons are more important.”

Eric looked at her with some surprise, then nodded and told the driver, “No detours then. Let’s continue toward the Holy City.”

“Understood, young master...” The driver couldn’t fully hide his disappointment. After a moment, Eric realized the man probably just wanted to enjoy a carefree night in the imperial capital—after all, the young master was paying for everything.

Inside the carriage, Sophie smiled faintly at Alena, who returned the smile before softly asking, “Are you sure you don’t want to visit your family?”

“I do want to...” Sophie exhaled silently, not finishing her sentence.

She turned her gaze to the window; the imperial capital was still far off and out of sight.

Alena gently patted her hand.

That night, they rested in a small town beside the main road once again.

The next morning, as they prepared to depart, the two drivers stared for a long time at the brilliant dawn clouds, their brows furrowed.

“Young master, it looks like it might rain today.”

Currently, there were few clouds, and Eric glanced at the morning glow, saying, “If it rains, we’ll slow down. We can’t just stop and wait for the rain.”

“Understood.”

The carriages were waterproof, and the drivers had rain gear, so traveling in the rain was no problem—it just required moving more slowly.

“Will it rain?” Sophie occasionally peeked out, watching the changing sky.

“I recall this is the rainy season for the Gentle Breeze Plains,” Alena said. “After all, summer is approaching.”

“I hope it rains,” Sophie said with a hint of anticipation.

More than two hours after setting off, the sky indeed began to darken.

By noon, thick, swirling clouds hung low, as if ready to unleash a heavy downpour at any moment.

After a brief rest and fresh departure, the drivers donned their rain gear, and Eric settled inside the carriage. Sophie, meanwhile, rolled her eyes at the threatening black clouds.

Despite their preparations, the heavy rain did not come immediately but suddenly poured down in torrents at dusk.

The sky was already dimming, and with the rain falling, visibility dropped to barely a few meters ahead. Traveling was impossible, so to avoid accidents, the carriages stopped beside a wooded area along the roadside.

The rain fell fiercely for over an hour before gradually easing. The sky remained overcast and starless, and complete darkness enveloped the surroundings.

“Not sure how far the inn is. Let’s spend the night here,” Eric said resignedly. “We’ll have to sleep in the carriages.”

“Yes, young master.”

The two carriages parked side by side under the trees, separated by a few meters. The drivers worked together to stretch a sturdy rainproof tarp above the carriages. They then buried fire crystals in the muddy ground and among damp twigs to dispel moisture, dry the soil, and start a fire.

They had brought some dry provisions at the start of their journey. One driver, hearing the sound of flowing water nearby, braved the light rain to find a swollen stream, solving their drinking water problem.

“Let’s settle for now and draw clear water from the top to boil.”

“Yes, young master.”

Eric roasted strips of hard dried meat over the fire until they softened and became easy to tear apart, their aroma quickly spreading.

When he deemed them ready, he handed two pieces to the two nuns.

“Take your time. It’s only just gotten dark; the night is still long.”

Alena thanked him, while Sophie nodded, blowing gently on the still-warm meat, her sparkling eyes reflecting the flickering firelight.

“If that’s not enough, there’s meat broth,” the driver Willy said. He tore the dried meat into small strips, adding them to a pot over the fire, along with some aromatic leaves he had found in the woods.

Crackling sounds came from the tarp above them.

“It’s going to rain hard again.”

Soon, the heavy rain resumed, pounding relentlessly.

Eric watched the taut raincloth overhead. “That tarp won’t collapse, will it?”

“Don’t worry, young master. I reinforced every corner.”

The misty moisture seeped in from the sides of their makeshift shelter, bringing a refreshing chill. One guard, who had been an adventurer, remarked that in the past, when faced with such circumstances outdoors, their mage would conjure a wind barrier to shield them from all wind and rain.

“Really? That’s nice of him. The mages I’ve met only looked out for themselves.”

“Ha! That’s because he got caught and beaten while stealing alchemical ingredients. His staff got broken, and we all chipped in to buy him a new one!”

As the rain gradually lessened and silence fell, Sophie whispered something to Alena, and the two slipped away into the darkness.

Presumably, they had gone to a more convenient spot...

Glancing at their movements, Eric chose to ignore it and continued listening to the guards’ increasingly lively tales.

Minutes later, a sharp scream echoed faintly from outside.

“Ah—”

Eric reacted instantly, drawing his sword and rushing out.

The forest was dark. He released a glowing orb to illuminate the surroundings and soon spotted two figures nearby.

Sophie was huddled against Alena, and facing them stood another person.

Eric approached and realized this figure had a pair of gray wings on her back.

“A winged person?” he muttered.

A winged woman, soaked through by rain, water streaming down her cheeks, her face etched with a mixture of helpless apology and undeniable fatigue.

“I’m very sorry...” she said quietly.