The following morning, I woke up early, around an hour after sunrise. My eyes carefully scanned the surroundings, and I noticed that the environment was suspiciously quiet. My injured leg did not hurt as much anymore, but my arm was still hard to coordinate, yet I could move it at the very least. I tried to stand up, but immediately fell back on the bed; the pain remained unbearable. Then, I took the twig from under my pillow and used it as support to move around more freely. The unpleasant tingling remained within my body after each step, and the height of the twig did not make it any easier, but it was manageable.
I came out of the tent, and the first thing that caught my attention was Nila's body by the tree. She was curled up and enveloped in a blanket, still dreaming despite the sun sending beams of light through the foliage onto her face. I was surprised by how cosy her position looked, even though I was perfectly aware of the hardships of sleeping on a naked floor. In this case, though, she had a blanket, which might have done a good job at keeping her warm and comfortable.
I slowly hobbled closer to her, but at one point, the twig slipped out of my hand, and I lost balance. The fall was abrupt, and I was barely able to see anything, but upon opening my eyes, I noticed how Nila had woken up and was glaring at me, dumbfounded. After a moment of silent exchange, she looked at the sky and sighed.
"The sun just went over the horizon. Did you really need to wake me up this early?"
I narrowed my brows and answered, "This early? There is a long way ahead. I do not want to stay in the forest for yet another night! Collect your belongings, now."
"You are awfully hasty for someone who can barely walk." She shook her head and took the wooden staff into her hands. After she pointed the tip of the staff at me and whispered, "Pollux Miaplacidus", a barrage of stars appeared out of nowhere, only for one to grow in size and disperse in my direction. I felt warmth spreading through my body along with the pain wavering away in quick succession. "Are you able to walk now?"
I pushed myself upwards and applied pressure to the leg; there was no pain present! For a second, I even forgot to compose myself and looked at Nila with a smile. "Magic is amazing!"
"I know, right?" she nodded gracefully, but then turned to the side and pulled a blanket over her face. "Now, be a good Samaritan and remove the bandage from your leg, put my belongings into my suitcase, and wash your face at the river near the cliff. Do not get lost on your way back."
I was taken aback by her bluntness, but instead of following through her demands, I put it off the table. I was more than done being a mere chore boy.
"Do it all yourself!"
"I can't."
"Huh? Why?"
She peeked out of the blanket and stared at me with an innocent look. "I warmed this place a tiny bit too well; it does not let me go."
Her demeanour triggered me, and I made another step closer to her. Then, I pulled the blanket out of her grip, making her roll onto the grass.
"I can always just leave you behind! Now, collect your things and be prepared to leave. Meanwhile, I will wash my face!"
"You are too cruel…" she murmured while shivering on the ground. I clicked my tongue, threw the blanket into the tent, and moved towards the cliff, observing the surroundings in an attempt to remember the terrain. Even though her directions were vague, I actually managed to bump into a river after a while of strolling. Judging by the map I saw yesterday, it flowed in the way of another city whose name I never learnt. It didn't really matter, however, due to our point of destination being Wiskoschia, a city that bordered the monster realm.
I wondered how great the communication between cities was. Would the guards from there be able to recognize me? The Crawley family did not suspect anything after taking me in as a guest, even though I had been stealing in Wülgenville just a day earlier. But they were also leaving the city at the time when they stumbled across my motionless body, which simply meant that they were not that bright. Thus, the possibility of me being recognized was well present.
While I thought over this dilemma, I took off the bandage and observed my leg for a little. The injury was fully healed now, although the scar would remain and, judging by the blue color of it, for a very long time. I took off my clothes and decided to not just wash my face, but fully submerge my whole body into the river. Its wideness made the water spread more evenly, resulting in the bottom being at a shallow depth.
After taking a quick power wash by the river flow, I took a bit more time to dry myself off in the sun. Nila was not going anywhere without my directions anyway, which meant that I could afford to take my time. I was bound to teach her a lesson on how annoying procrastinators could be!
Around half an hour passed before I felt like returning to her little camp. I lightly combed my hair with my fingernails, noticing their overgrowth, then put on the same dirty clothes and reached the tent where I had slept that night. I narrowed my brows upon not seeing the elf anywhere, but after I peeked inside the tent, my eye twitched, and I audibly clicked my tongue yet again, knowing perfectly well that she did not hear my frustration.
"This woman…" I whispered and came closer to her motionless body on the bed. Quiet huffing came from her smiling expression. All her rubbish was still all over the tent; no progress had been made whatsoever. But before I attempted to wake her up, I decided to take on the role of an adult. I collected various books, herbs, empty flasks, and whatever else looked like it belonged to her. I observed everything with a keen eye, but the only things that ended up in my pocket besides Solitaire's gem were a few large coins and a pocket knife.
After I filled up her suitcase and took some of the valuables as payment for my hard labour, I flicked her forehead and said, "Good morning. You really have the nerve to disregard your tasks."
"It hurts…" she murmured while brushing the forming red spot on her forehead. Then she looked at the suitcase in my hands and smiled. "You really did a great job, and judging by your more presentable look, you even took it all slower. I am proud. Although, you still need a new set of clothes."
Proud of me, yeah, of course! If only she knew what I did while she was fast asleep, she would swallow those words instantly. Even though it was tempting, I did not tell her about stealing from her. It would be foolish to lower my trust in her eyes, especially when she was so easygoing.
"You took it way slower than I did! I swear to god, if we do not reach that village before sunset, I will abandon you the next morning."
"Quite harsh words coming from a young fellow. I am almost offended." She shook her head, walked past me, and peeked at me one last time. "Good thing that I am used to humans always hurrying somewhere."
I sighed wearily, expecting a long journey ahead, and stepped forward, overtaking her lead. It was time for yet another relocation, although now on foot.