Norn pressed his back against the carriage in the middle of the camp and slid down, plopping on the ground. He put up his knees and hugged them, curling himself into a blushing, extremely embarrassed ball.
"....that's what they meant by the service tent! That's so obvious! How did I even miss it…!?"
The platinum-haired man muttered to himself, feeling his face burn in shame.
In fact, he was using a skill to obstruct his presence, making it so that the bodyguards occasionally passing his hiding spot wouldn't notice him.
That skill wasn't very powerful and would immediately crumble down if Norn moved or if someone with a presence detection was scanning the area, but since the night was peaceful and no bandit tracks were found since days, the level of defensive measures wasn't anywhere near that high.
"...haah…"
*tap*
"...?"
After a few moments to compose himself, Norn let out a long sigh and raised his head, accidentally bumping it against the carriage and unintentionally causing something inside to shift.
The next second, a hidden compartment at the top of the carriage opened, and a small mirror was pushed out, reflecting an eye keenly looking around…
…and finally focusing on the exact spot where Norn was…
"...huh…?'
"!!!"
Surprised by the movement, Norn flinched, letting out a shocked gasp upon noticing the mirror and causing the person inside the carriage to stumble back.
"H-hello? Is anyone there?"
The bewilderment about the hatch and the mirror made Norn forget about his own situation. He stood up, took a step away from the carriage, and called out cautiously.
"H-how did you know I was…. No… What are you doing here, Mister Norn…?"
"...!"
While Norn stared at the carriage tensely, another hidden hatch opened, and a familiar voice asked, at first accusatory but then only worried.
"...Lady Doyen…? What are you doing there? What's with that carriage?"
"Mister Norn, it's not your place to ask the questions, especially not without answering mine."
The platinum-haired man gasped in disbelief before inquiring, taking a step towards the carriage only to get scolded by the caravan leader, who seemed to be barely keeping it together.
"I… no, you're right. I'm sorry."
"..."
At first, it seemed Norn would challenge Doyen on the subject, but then he grumbled to himself and lowered his head in apology.
"You see, I was invited to the service tent. I was under the impression the service refers to serving food and drinks and maybe doing some basic chores like laundry. I thought that we'd be discussing how to work together to make meal preparation more efficient or something, so when I was greeted by a naked girl offering her body, I was taken by surprise and ran away. Sorry for causing a commotion."
"...what…?"
Norn bit his lips and took a deep breath in preparation for explanation that made Doyen let out a confused gasp.
"No, I get it. The signs were there, I just… I just… Well, I don't know what I was thinking. Certainly not that. If I knew, I would have refused from the start since I'm not comfortable with all that stuff…"
The platinum-haired man grumbled, crossing his arms and slouching, defensively putting up his shoulders.
"...but you're a man…"
After a few seconds of silence, Doyen asked through the hatch, sounding taken aback by the story she didn't seem to believe.
"Yeah. So what? I don't want to expose myself like that to some stranger I know nothing about!"
Norn nodded, making an expression as if he was about to cry.
"If I don't trust somebody, I don't want to touch them or get touched by them…!"
He added while shuddering at the thought.
"..."
Norn's words were met with a bewildered silence.
"Crap… I said way too much… Ah! That's right, I didn't see you during the meal. Did you have a chance to eat anything?"
"Eh…? Oh. Don't worry about me. I had preserved ration."
The platinum-haired man flinched, misunderstanding the reason for the lack of response, making the green-haired woman locked inside the carriage to let out a confused voice and respond.
"Lady Doyen, can I offer you a little bribe so you won't share my story around?"
"Pardon…?"
Norn cautiously looked around before inching towards the carriage and whispering into the hatch at the bottom, confusing the woman inside.
"Well, according to my father, my way of thinking is abnormal and not befitting a man. I'll make up some excuse for when someone asks me about running away from the tent, but if the truth would get leaked out it would be way more awkward… Large pot. Serving cutlery. one wooden bowl, wooden fork."
The platinum-haired man mumbled, getting more and more quiet until he whispered the names of the items to retrieve from his Pocket Storage.
Without waiting for Doyen's answer, Norn prepared a portion of rather appetizing food, stuck the spoon at the side of it, and placed it in front of the carriage's door.
"I know that it's not much! But please, keep the things I talked about to yourself…! Sorry for bothering you…"
After storing back the things he retrieved, Norn began to back away from the carriage, clearly getting more and more embarrassed while trying his best to play it all off with a rather poor result.
"Good night!"
Unable to handle the awkwardness anymore, Norn lightly waved his hand towards the carriage and scuttled away.
"..."
Just as she would always do whenever the bodyguard commander attempted to pass her the food prepared by the platinum-haired man, Doyen didn't make the slightest attempt to take it.
…although this time, she kept the hatch with the mirror open and continued looking at the bowl for a good few minutes before closing it.
"...?"
At daybreak the door to the armored carriage in the middle of the carriage were the first to open and Doyen stepped outside with a Poison Detection scroll in hand, looking around in confusion clearly in search of something.
"Morning, lady Boss! I've dealt with the leftovers as always!"
A guard stood up from the edge of the fireplace. He carefully put out and declared proudly while wiping his mouth.
…leaving no question about the fate of the meal…
With her eyes completely covered by thick fringe, it was impossible to guess the kind of expression Doyen was making exactly.
"...keep up the good work…"
"Sure will!"
The green-haired woman ended up nodding, and breathed out while hiding the scroll she didn't get to use within her clothes.
Neither her voice nor her expression betrayed anything, but her step was definitely heavier - just as if she was dispirited over some minor disappointment.
Another week have passed and another day was on its way to be just as pleasant and safe as all the previous ones.
Was.
"...so many footprints, but no sign of combat…"
Norn, pale as a ghost, said out loud while kneeling by the edge of the trees, staring anxiously at the ballroom-sized clearing where most of the vegetation was stomped.
"Bandits?"
"Around a hundred. Way too many for some ruffians in the wilderness."
"H-hundred?! Perseverance almighty!"
Roy wanted to confirm, and confirmation he received, one that made Bern stutter and shudder, staring at the alarmed Norn.
"Forget about just our group! With that many men, they could take over a medium-sized town!"
"We have to get back and warn our caravan! We might be walking straight into the trap!"
The three of them rushed back, leaving behind the peace and quiet.