Following their breakfast and a joyful conversation, the party, Super Explosive Marvelous Troopers, and Gideon decided to travel southwest from the Interaction Clearing, returning to the town of Figliad.
Despite taking a well-traveled route, the journey took some time due to the distance between the town and the Intersection Clearing. However, the footpaths they were traveling on couldn't be any safer; there were few to no monsters lurking nearby, and if they did come across any, the monsters would flee as soon as they saw them. They were occasionally greeted with smiles by adventurers and merchant carriages on their way to the Intersection Clearing.
They only stopped to eat lunch once during their entire journey, demonstrating the stamina of the members of their party. Even Gideon was surprised at how Halini, who was younger and appeared to be more fragile than him, could travel through the difficult road under the hot sun without difficulty, and the same could be said for Ordy, who insisted on carrying all the heavy sacks of their cooking materials and the eyes of Fire Ants they collected on his shoulder while still having the energy to joke around and tell many stories while walking.
They continued their journey after eating their meal and laughing at each other's stories until they reached the edge of Etveya's great forest.
It was already afternoon when they emerged from the footpaths that cut through the dense forest. Halini was the first to emerge, raising her hands and smiling at the four people who followed her.
"We've arrived," she announced cheerfully. "Welcome to Figliad!"
Gideon looked at the scenery in front of him when he heard it. The scenery was clear because the sun was already setting, so he didn't need to cover his eyes. The massive plantations encircling the massive settlement were the first scene he saw as he walked out of the forest. The golden brown wheat crops swayed as the gentle afternoon breeze blew through, and as it reached Gideon, his bangs flew, revealing his tired but relieved expression.
His shivering eyes rose slowly to see what lay ahead. A bustling civilization with brown roofs of houses and businesses could be seen from afar, as could the people on the massive farms on the outskirts of town. Some were pulling the leashes of their cattle and goats, while others were riding their horses and guiding the flock of sheep back home.
Gideon came to a halt, looking around and slowly breathing in and out. As he nodded, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
After struggling for days to make it out of Etveya's forest alive, he finally saw a safe human settlement for the first time since arriving in this world. Away from the dangerous and strange monsters of the forest, he saw people and animals he recognized.
Ordy walked past him and returned his gaze with a delighted smile. "Let's go, Gideon. Let's submit our loots and get our rewards," he said as he walked down the dirt path into town.
Following Ordy were Halini, who jumped as she walked, and Mian and Vien, who followed him silently. Gideon, on the other hand, stood there watching the four walk ahead, processing everything that had happened to him. The wind blew again, revealing a glimpse of life in his eyes.
"A safe place," he murmured to himself. "For the time being," he objected, believing that his ultimate goal was to return home.
"What are you waiting for, Gideon?" Ordy yelled, laughing and waving his massive hand at him.
Gideon ran after them, a smile on his face. "I'm on my way!"
The farmers packing up after harvesting the wheat waved their hands at them as they traveled across the ground footpath in the middle of the wheat plantations; on the other hand, Ordy, Halini, and Mian did the same and waved back with the same delighted smiles they received.
They arrived at the town's entrance after a few minutes. At the end of the road, a cream-colored arc was erected with an engraved image of the noble lord's family insignia, a lion with eagle wings on both of the arc's feet. Two knights were stationed, both wearing iron full body armor and wielding spears.
There were a hundred of them scattered throughout the town of Figliad, patrolling the area around the town as the main line of defense. And all of the town's knights wore cuirasses bearing the insignia of the town's noble lord. A crowd walked down the road, but the knights only moved when they saw Gideon's group approaching.
The two knights stood in front of them, spears pointing to the sky, their faces were obscured by the helmets they were wearing. And, without further ado, they both kneeled on the ground, looking down. "Welcome back, Lady Mirriel," they said, synchronizing their movements and placing their fists on their chests.
"People in this place have a very unique way of greeting people; is there royalty in our party or something?" Gideon asked, staring at the knights on their way to approach them, as the first two had done. "And there's more."
Four knights followed and kneeled before Mian, greeting her with the same respect as the first two.
Ordy chuckled and turned to face Gideon. "Well, guess what, my friend," he said, pointing to Mian, who was looking down. "We have a very important lady in our party, the only child of this town's noble lord and the heiress herself."
Gideon nodded, his eyes wide with wonder.
Mian, the person the knights were addressing, exhaled slowly and placed both hands on her hips. "I appreciate your gestures, but haven't I told you not to do it again? You don't have to do it every time I leave and return home, and it happens a lot; you're already not doing it lately, what happened?"
However, the knights did not respond and simply looked down, not moving a muscle.
Mian's arms were crossed. "I believe father has something to do with this," she said as she walked past the knights kneeling in front of her. "Let's go; these knights won't move as long as I'm still here, and I don't want to burden them for too long."
Halini and Vien trailed after her. Gideon, on the other hand, focused his attention on the knights kneeling on the road. That was his first encounter with true medieval knights. His gaze was drawn to the magnificent set of armors that the knights were wearing. His eyes sparkled with curiosity and awe, and it was a wonder he hadn't tried to touch their magnificent armor yet.
"Although you've only seen a small part of it, you'll get used to how the people of this town treat our Mian," Ordy said as he placed his hand on Gideon's shoulders. "Just like we do."
"Do you mean there's more to it?" Gideon asked, his eyes narrowing.
Ordy laughed. "Believe me, you'll see more soon. Wait until you see people lying in puddles and telling Mian to just step on them so her shoes don't get dirty."
"No, I'm not going to wait... and I'm hoping that the day I see it doesn't come."