In late autumn, the weather in Camoder began to turn cooler, and the young man's thin black jacket with several new patches couldn't stand it any longer.
"How long will it take for us to arrive?"
The black-haired boy shuddered and covered his cheeks that were blown cold by the cold wind with both hands, finally feeling better.
It was obviously not that cold yesterday, but it suddenly cooled down today.
"It's almost here, I think it's not far."
Heimer buried his head in front of the map. According to the route they chose, they were indeed not far from the first town, "Frost Town".
Originally, if they followed the highway between Difenni Village and Frost Town, it would only take them half a day to arrive.
But they chose to take a detour to avoid encountering the wolf-headed men who were still active nearby. In addition, the dense forest made the road conditions complicated, so the young man and his group spent a lot of time.
"Let's take a rest here first and then set off later."
Taking into account the physical problems of girls and teenagers, Heimer increased the frequency of breaks.
After all, they didn't have to force their way forward.
After Heimer thought about it again and again, he thought that the news about the Badafinger Legion he had here should have been known to the superiors a long time ago.
In addition, except for a sword from Venaboldo that needs to be handed over, there is nothing he needs to return to the army immediately.
Thinking about it this way, there was no need for them to rush on their way.
Kamode's complex terrain and changeable climate quickly made this land an ideal defensive position.
Humans have carried out extensive construction projects on this land, built many towering city walls and strong fortresses, and also arranged a large number of troops to garrison in this bitter cold land.
Back then, the orc army could not leave this place when the Sharjah Empire was at its peak. Similarly, for outsiders who do not know the terrain well, this is not a "tourist resort", and getting lost is almost commonplace.
Fortunately, they still have Nia, a local, to guide them.
Although Nia doesn't go in and out of the village often, she is still familiar with the terrain near the village.
With Nia's constant reminders, Heimer and the others were not detoured by this inaccurate map.
Since the girl joined them, their journey has indeed become much easier.
"Little girl, there won't be any swamp ahead, right?"
Zeref looked at the low bushes in front of him and remembered what happened a few hours ago.
Zeref was walking at the front of the team, talking to the boys, without even thinking about what might be under his feet.
His front foot stepped into a quagmire with many aquatic plants, and his back foot followed suit without hesitation.
After all, Zeref no longer cares about the mud puddles that can be seen everywhere, even if it makes the iron boots on his feet that are already full of mud even more dirty.
"Stop it!"
Nia, who was at the back of the team, noticed something strange about Zeref.
She quickly called out to Zeref, who was still looking confused. At this time, Zeref had already stepped into a mud puddle with both legs.
Because the mud was too soft, Zeref's heavy body began to sink immediately. When he wanted to pull out his legs, he found that he couldn't force himself into the mud. The harder he tried, the deeper he sank.
Fortunately, the quagmire was not deep, and Zeref quickly stepped onto solid ground, but it took everyone a lot of effort to get him out of the quagmire.
Zeref's mud trouser legs were still wet, and the cold wind that never stopped blowing, made his crotch even colder.
That inconspicuous quagmire is the so-called swamp.
Although both Heimer and Zeref have seen it, they have never encountered it a few times.
Heimel was transferred to Badafingre from another legion only a few years ago, and spent most of his time living in the interior, while Zeref was in the same boat.
These people had little defense against this swamp that could swallow them up at any time.
"No more, don't worry."
Nia was amused by the frightened look on this adult's face and laughed.
"real?"
Zeref shook his legs and confirmed to Nia again and again.
"Really, but you also have to be careful about snakes that want to bask in the sun at noon."
"Um? And this thing?"
Nia seems to have overcome the grief of losing her home and family, and has returned to the lively and laughing girl she was before.
But, is this just an illusion?
The boy secretly stared at the girl's upright profile, and he could not see any flaws in her sunny smile.
After the girl who called herself "Nia" slowly came out of the shadows, she quickly began to get acquainted with the boy, Zeref and Heimer.
The teenagers also slowly learned about this girl through conversations with each other.
The baby girl in Nia's arms is her sister. There may be a big age difference, but they are indeed a pair of sisters.
When the wolf-headed men attacked their village, they happened to catch up with Nia's mother giving birth. Fortunately, the baby girl was born safely, and she seems to be quite healthy now.
Nia's sister is only a few days old and can't crawl or walk yet. But the ability to cry is innate after all, and this little one can really mess up these three men.
Nia had no experience in taking care of children, and her arms would inevitably feel sore and numb if she had to hold the baby all the time.
Although her sister would cry as soon as she left her arms, when Nia really didn't have the strength to carry her away, someone else had to take over.
But as mentioned just now, this annoying little girl doesn't want to go anywhere except in the arms of her sister.
Zeref, who took the lead at the beginning, almost had his beard pulled off, but Heimer, who was about to go up bravely, was kicked off his helmet by her.
When the young man saw the miserable situation of the two "pioneers", he wisely chose to give up.
Unless the child in front of them was coaxed to sleep, they would not be able to free their sister Nia's hands.
But when Nia was too tired to hold her, the little girl would take the initiative to break away from Nia's arms and ask the young man and the others to take over.
But the three rough guys couldn't coax this sensitive little girl to sleep, so they had to leave it to Nia in the end.
Regarding this annoying hard work, the young man did not see any boredom or even fatigue in Nia, a girl about his own age.
"It's really rare...or do you mean that all girls in this world mature prematurely?"
The young man muttered to himself.
He compared it with the people of the same age in his impression. It seems that they are still coquettishly huddled in the arms of their parents, right?
If this girl is only thirteen or fourteen years old, then she is still a junior high school student, and she should still be complaining about things in the cram school...
There is no so-called peace in this world, the young man finally understood.
"that…"
Nia actually noticed this young man's sight very early on.
"Um?"
The boy realized that Nia seemed to be talking to him, but he didn't realize that there was anything wrong with him yet.
"Verus, is something wrong?"
Seeing that the boy was still looking at her cheek, the girl couldn't help but blush slightly.
"Um...is there any dirt on my face?"
"Ah?! No, it's very beautiful."
The boy came to his senses. He was not used to being stared at all the time, no matter who he was.
"Sorry, I was distracted."
"Eh? No, it's okay."
It was obvious that the young man had looked away, but Nia's face turned even redder.
"Boy, you...are fascinated by how beautiful the little girl is? You are really a little kid."
Zeref explained the reason in one sentence and said "tsk tsk" twice, which intensified the awkward atmosphere.
"Ahem."
Heimer walked in front and coughed lightly, pretending that he didn't hear anything.
After all, what interest does a boy of his age have in girls of similar age...
This is normal, right?
Heimer understood.
"Hey! That's not what I meant!"
The young man understood.
How could what I just said be translated like this!?
"Then what do you mean?"
Zeref patted the boy on the head.
"Anyway, that's not what I meant."
The young man raised his hand to block Zeref's big hand that was about to wreak havoc on his head.
"What do you mean?"
"I……"
Depend on!
Facing Zeref, who was obviously looking for trouble, the young man felt like swearing for the first time in a long time, but he still held back.
Why would I be interested in a girl of this age?
According to his age in his memory, he is...
"Well, nothing happened...Uncle Zeref, do you still have the morning porridge? Lianna seems to be hungry."
As the person involved, Nia saw the boy's troubles and stepped forward to help him out.
"Ah, there's more."
Zeref realized that the boy really didn't seem to like to get involved in this kind of topic, so he wisely moved the conversation away.
He untied the package on his back and took out a black earthen jar. Zeref poured some gruel from the thing, poured it into a clay bowl, and handed it to Nia.
"How much food do we have left?"
After Zeref finished his work, Heimer suddenly asked Zeref.
Heimer deliberately lowered his voice, not wanting the teenagers to know the details of these trivial matters.
"Not a lot..."
Zeref turned around and responded carefully.
"How long can I eat?"
"A day or two..."
"That's enough."
Heimer breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they hurried, they could reach the village and get supplies before the food ran out.
Even if there are any changes, it is still possible to satisfy hunger with wild vegetables.
"There just aren't enough clothes, and we seem to have no money here."
Zeref smiled bitterly. Except for the cooler weather, he had never found a single coin. I believe it was the same in Heimer.
"Well, that's a problem."
Only then did Heimer remember that they were all paupers now.
Without money, they would not be able to get supplies even if they arrived at a human settlement.
"Take one step at a time, and don't rush."
At this point, Heimer can only say such baseless words to encourage him.
"Well, it would be much easier if we could get relief."
What Zeref refers to here is the relief food from the country to the disaster-stricken areas.
Once such a large-scale war occurs, it will inevitably produce a large number of refugees.
In various senses, they are actually considered to be refugees, and it is obviously reasonable for them to receive relief.
"Oh, I wish I had."
Heimer sighed.
He was not familiar with this area, nor did he know what the folk customs were like, let alone what kind of policies the Sheriff here implemented.
You still have to ask the girl about this kind of question later.
"Okay, it's time for us to set off."
In a blink of an eye, Heimer saw that the girl and the boy were almost rested, so he started his journey again.
However, on the road they planned, there was a trace that they should not have seen.
Rut marks.
Two ruts passed through the forest, and these two deep marks were very eye-catching on the trail.
"Will a carriage pass by here?"
Heimer asked Nia.
"No, only pedestrians can walk on this road."
Nia was sure of it, and of course others could see the reason.
This trail is too narrow and the road surface is bumpy. It has nothing to do with the word "flat" and is not suitable for carriages and horses at all.
"But... this car is not as simple as just passing by."
The young man observed these two ruts.
If there is not enough weight, the wheels will not leave such deep marks when they run over the road.
In other words, a carriage carrying a lot of goods once drove on this road.
But a truck doesn't want to go on the main road, but chooses to take a small road?
What did the coachman think?
"Let's follow and take a look."
Seeing that there was something fishy about this, Heimer led the others to follow the ruts.
Ruts cut across the woods, and many broken branches could be found around them.
Is it because the driver's skills are too poor?
Not to mention the stupid behavior of letting the carriage travel through the dense forest, it always hit obstacles, and it was hard to tell that the carriage had been driven seriously.
Or is it that this carriage is... not controlled by anyone?