ISGJV 64

Chapter 64

We jumped from the moving carriage and tumbled straight into the dark underbrush.

The impact of leaping from a carriage running at full speed was quite severe.

It felt as if my body had turned into a ball being kicked around.

But not one of the three of us let out a scream, not even a groan.

“……!”

Holding even our breathing low, I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched the two children tightly in my arms as we endured it.

Rrrrrrrrk—!!!

The harsh sound of the carriage scraping against the ground grew distant.

Neighhh—!

The terrified screams of the horses followed.

When I opened my eyes slightly and looked in the direction the carriage had gone, I saw the light of the carriage burning even brighter, as if the entire thing had caught fire.

And then—

Rustle, rustle.

Tap-tap-tap!

I could feel all sorts of sounds moving toward the light and noise of the burning carriage.

Just as I had expected—and hoped.

‘There’s nothing that draws attention like a blazing carriage racing along making that much noise.’

After pulling the two children even closer, I flattened myself against the ground inside the bushes.

‘Please, let nothing happen like this!’

I prayed and prayed earnestly.

We didn’t move for a long time.

It was to avoid provoking any monsters that might still be nearby.

That didn’t mean we could drift off to sleep, of course.

My nerves weren’t tough enough to let me sleep in a situation like this.

We spent the night without a word, communicating only through our eyes.

After the long night passed and dawn finally began to break,

we were at last able to start moving.

‘Monsters move more sluggishly when the sun is up.’

And many of the monsters in this area were likely drawn away by the burning carriage we had abandoned yesterday.

Of course, before moving, we confirmed it with Juto, who had the sharpest senses.

“Do you sense any monsters nearby, or anything suspicious?”

“…No, there’s nothing.”

After pressing his ear to the ground, listening carefully, and even sniffing the air, Juto answered with certainty.

Edmund asked in a hoarse voice,

“How do we figure out the direction? We seem pretty far from the main road we first entered.”

When we first entered Lambert Territory, we had been traveling along a fairly well-maintained road.

But after fleeing from monster attacks, we had completely lost track of where that road was.

‘Rather than that, it’s probably more realistic to look for Lamberto Castle, which is closer to being a landmark.’

When I said that, Edmund nodded.

“That sounds better. I heard from Mother that Lamberto Castle is so white it’s called the Ice Castle. It’ll definitely stand out.”

But no white castle was visible right away.

‘Of course things wouldn’t be that easy.’

From among the items I had carefully brought all this way, I pulled out one very important thing.

“Ta-da!”

A compass!

Edmund’s expression brightened at once.

“Right. You packed a compass and a map ahead of time!”

“Yeah. I do have a map, but it’s a shame it doesn’t cover Lambert Territory.”

In the first place, it would have been unreasonable to obtain a map of Lambert Territory at the Cohen villa or anywhere nearby.

Still, just having a compass was something to be grateful for.

Using the compass to gauge north, we began to move.

Even if we didn’t know our exact location, at least we were sure about heading north.

‘Please let Lamberto Castle not be too far away…’

We walked without resting at all until the sun began to tilt westward.

Our food amounted to a little dried rations, shriveled and thin, and a few biscuits.

We had one small canteen, which we shared, and thankfully we were able to refill it at a spring Juto found by scenting water.

In our formation, Juto—whose senses were sharp and body nimble—took the lead.

Edmund, who could cast magic and was faster than me, brought up the rear.

And I stayed in the middle.

‘Hmm. Neither physical strength or speed, nor magic, is any help at all… me.’

But I didn’t even have the luxury of sinking into self-reproach for long.

That was a luxury I could only afford after we safely reached Lamberto Castle.

The best I could do was not get tired first or collapse, and avoid becoming a burden to the others.

We walked like that for quite a while, when the first person in our group reached their limit.

Contrary to expectations, it was Edmund.

Thud!

Edmund, who had been following behind me, suddenly dropped down as if his strength had drained away.

Fortunately, I managed to support him so he didn’t hit anything hard when he fell.

“Are you okay, Edmund?”

His red eyes were unfocused and dazed.

“I’m… fine….”

He looked completely not fine, yet Edmund tried to get up.

But cold sweat already soaked his body, and it seemed like he couldn’t put proper strength into his arms and legs.

Holding the child’s chilled hand made a shiver run down my spine.

I quickly checked the color of the fingernails on both his ring fingers.

They were dyed a deep purple, almost like a bruise.

I knew exactly what this symptom was.

‘Mana exhaustion.’

It was a term that felt somewhat unfamiliar.

In the original story, Edmund had boasted such powerful mana that the words “mana exhaustion” had nothing to do with him.

But now, no matter how genius his talent, Edmund was still a child who hadn’t fully grown.

He had only been training in magic for barely two months.

Yet after entering Lambert Territory and fighting monsters, he had used far too much magic.

Mana exhaustion occurring was not strange at all.

‘Considering that, he held out beyond his limits.’

While checking Edmund’s condition, I kept watch over our surroundings.

‘The sun is starting to set.’

It would soon be the monsters’ time again.

The carriage we set ablaze and sent running last night couldn’t still be burning.

It was hard to expect that effect to last through tonight.

“Juto. We need to find a safe place to spend the night. Somewhere narrow and deep where we can go inside and hide. And it’d be even better if no other animals are there, but the scent is strong.”

“Okay! Got it, Kasia.”

“And if you happen to find something like this, look for that too…”

I explained to Juto the conditions we needed and what kinds of things to look for.

He nodded vigorously and nimbly went off to search the surroundings.

In the meantime, I rummaged through the emergency medicine and herbs Willes had given me.

‘I’m sure it was here…’

I pulled out every purple leaf I could find from my pocket.

A plant Willes had said had a mild anesthetic effect.

Kashacho.

I had actually used it as an anesthetic on Juto before.

But I knew one more effect of this herb.

‘I’m sure Kashacho was one of the ingredients used in the mana recovery potions mages take!’

Since it was only one ingredient among many, I couldn’t expect the full effect of a proper recovery potion.

‘But even a tiny bit should help.’

Right now, even that little bit mattered.

But even after putting the herb into his mouth and moving his jaw for him, Edmund couldn’t properly swallow it.

He was nearly unconscious; expecting him to chew and swallow raw leaves instead of water was unreasonable.

“Mm.”

There was no other choice.

I stuffed the Kashacho into my own mouth and chewed it thoroughly.

It was incredibly fishy and bitter, but I endured it.

Then I forced the finely chewed Kashacho into Edmund’s mouth. I made sure he swallowed it all and carefully watched so it wouldn’t go down the wrong way.

Edmund’s hazy eyes fluttered open.

“Kasia…?”

“You coming to your senses?”

Edmund tilted his head with a dazed expression.

Then he muttered something strange.

“This is a weird dream. Otherwise, there’s no way this would….”

“…This kid really isn’t in his right mind.”

Well, mana exhaustion was a condition that could become truly serious if not treated properly.

‘He must be talking nonsense because he’s not in his right mind.’

I gently patted Edmund’s chest as he rambled.

“You keep this up and something really bad—”

“Mm. Nothing bad’s going to happen. So go to sleep now, Edmund.”

Even in his half-conscious state, he instinctively recognized being treated like a little kid and frowned, which was almost funny.

“…Not a kid… how many times….”

But we didn’t have time to argue with Edmund any longer.

Juto came running back, saying he had found a suitable place.

When I tried to carry Edmund on my back, Juto shook his head firmly.

“No. Me. Strong. Stronger than Kasia.”

Well, he was a beastkin, after all.

Juto practically snatched Edmund from me and hoisted him onto his back.

Despite being injured and younger than us, it was truly impressive how easily he lifted Edmund.

And so, we ended up spending our second night in the dangerous forest.