As the sky darkened, they stopped after finding a nice spot to rest for tonight. It wasn't smart to keep moving in the darkness.
It was fortunate they had been out of the forest before the sunset. If not, they would have been spending the night with open eyes.
They made sure not to stray from the main road, so they made a simple camp not too far from it, near the water source.
As they set up camp, Niveus stared at the distant horizon. No obstacles blocked his vision. They were in an open field, a neutral ground where they couldn't be ambushed, but vigilant enough because they would not have cover.
'Hoh, it seems like colors are returning to my eyes after seeing only white, gray, and other bleak colors for 19 years.'
It was green, accented with other vibrant colors, in every corner.
The road that became smaller and smaller in the distance reminded him of his childhood drawing, a landscape with the sunset between two mountains and the road that led to them.
Shaking the nostalgia, Niveus sighed and continued setting up a camp.
...
The night had completely fallen, casting darkness over the green landscape.
The trio and the carriage owner gathered around the campfire, working together as they prepared for dinner. In reality, Alphonso was doing all the work because the other two were hopeless in cooking.
Growing up as a noble, Eliana had servants who did everything for her. Letting her do the task was simply wishing for death.
The same could be said for Niveus, even though he wasn't a noble, he always had someone else prepare his meal. At the fortress, it was the cook. Outside when doing a mission, it was either Alphonso or the other knights.
Luckily for Alphonso, the carriage owner was kind enough to help him with the food, even though they had said they would take care of everything from escorting to cooking.
The two cooks seemed like they had a fun time chatting while cooking.
"Your friend over there, will he eat while having his headgear on?" The carriage owner pointed at Niveus.
"Yeah, he's a little weird," Alphonso answered.
Although he said that, his mind just couldn't stop recalling the angelic, peaceful face while being carried by the commander. It required a strong determination to erase the memory from his head.
On the other hand, the two bystanders were just staring into the flames quietly.
After a while, Eliana finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Do you really believe that those bandits were... worthless? That they deserved to die?"
Niveus looked at her, his golden eyes reflecting the flickering flames.
"Yes. The moment they have made their choice, the moment they become bandits, it's when they lose all their worth. They would have killed the owner without a second thought if we were not with him."
"But does that make it right? she asked, her voice wavering. "Does it make us any better than them? And what if they didn't actually kill the owner?"
Niveus didn't answer right away.
He had once questioned the same things, long ago, before the world betrayed his expectation and any illusions he had.
"No," he finally said. "It doesn't make it right."
Niveus, too, even until now, still didn't know if his past choices were right or wrong. Was he making more wrong choices than the right ones? Or vice versa? He didn't know.
"It's the way things are," Alphonso, who had been listening quietly, approached them. "We fight to survive, to protect what matters to us. Sometimes, that means making choices we'd rather not make."
Eliana's eyes were still fixed on the fire. "Hmm... I see..."
Sitting down beside her, Alphonso looked and gestured at Niveus that the food was ready. Then, he glanced at Eliana who seemed lost in thought.
"It gets easier," he said, his tone softening. "But that doesn't mean it ever feels good. Just remember why you're doing this."
She finally looked at him but didn't say a word.
Smirking, Alphonso said. "Well, let's just forget about them. For now, why don't you grab a plate first?"
"Yes," Eliana nodded.
Alphonso's gaze followed her as she made her way to grab the meal. Soon after, he shrugged and focused on his plate.
'Why do strong people always like to overthink something? Huff... It's at times like this I'm glad I'm just an ordinary guy with a not-so-powerful Forte.'
...
At dawn, they disassembled everything from the camp and resumed their journey.
The trip this time was a smooth ride without any obstacles.
They stopped in a small village in the afternoon to restock their supplies, enough for two or three days of travel.
Eliana was about to get back to the carriage with the supply she had bought when she heard a murmur from the villagers.
"This is so worrying..."
"Why are they suddenly appearing again?"
"Ah, this is bad... should I just move to the city?"
Then, a shout of a little kid echoed throughout the village.
"Help! Help!! Please, help!! My brother..."
The kid's eyes shifted left and right erratically. As he spotted a person with a sword dangling from their waist, he ran toward them.
It was Eliana, who wasn't careful enough to cover the weapon behind the full cloak she wore.
"Hey, there! You... are you a Trailblazer? Please, help me. Help my brother..."
Eliana tried to refuse, but she couldn't. Her conscience wouldn't let her. And who could refuse a kid asking for help? Not her, at least.
Nodding, Eliana was about to ask the kid when he suddenly gripped her wrist desperately, pleading for her to follow.
Without a choice, Eliana let the kid lead her.
Somewhere behind the stall, a cloaked figure quietly watching Eliana went the other way and sighed.
...
One time, when Niveus cross checked the things within the game and comic with this world, he had asked Nono about Eliana.
The Eliana in this world and the Eliana in the game had the same backstory except for where she came from and her power.
In the game, Eliana was the daughter of a Duke in Chrysantheus, not the empire. And she was a Pyromancer Master rather than an Incarnation of Phoenix.
Except for those and the fact that she was still naive, unlike in the game. Everything else was the same.
The game's Eliana, after overcoming her naivety, was the second most powerful character after the king.
However, in this world, the king was already dead. Only the queen remained. The most powerful person in the kingdom was Starling, the commander of Vanguard, whereas she was the fourth strongest in the game but never got enough screen time.
After confirming Eliana's fact with Nono, Niveus thought about transforming her into Eliana in the game. Hence why he said those harsh words back then.
He wanted to make Eliana realize the harshness of this world, making her powerful again. To do that, Eliana had to throw away her kindness and embrace her ruthless nature.
Then, Niveus just needed someone to control her ruthlessness, making that person a shackle for Eliana. Someone that ruthless and cold-blooded Eliana would do anything for them.
'She's a yandere character, after all...'
Arriving at the location, Niveus saw Eliana had saved the kid's brother from the rumored bandit group that would raid the village, even subduing them.
But instead of killing them on the spot, Eliana only threatened them with her flames and released them afterward.
Witnessing the scene, Niveus could only shake his head.
'I feel sorry for this village.'
After speaking those words, Niveus returned to the carriage first. After some time, Eliana also returned with the supply.
"What's taking you so long?" Alphonso said as soon as Eliana sat down. "Niveus had to look for you but can't find you in the village."
Gasping, Eliana turned to Niveus. "You did?"
Niveus simply nodded.
"Oh..." Eliana looked down, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, a kid asked for my help, and I can't refuse him, so..."
Alphonso leaned back, rolling his eyes.
Eliana couldn't care less about Alphonso's unnecessary worry. She couldn't care less about Niveus's ruthless and unforgiving nature. All she cared about was she had helped people that day.
'The kid and his brother, I hope they achieved their dreams. And the bandits, hopefully, they can redeem themselves after what I did to them!'
Niveus could well guess what Eliana was thinking with such an obvious expression.
Unfortunately for Eliana, she had to have her hopes shattered when they finally arrived in the city, and the first thing she heard was about a village that was ravaged by bandits and beasts.
She reassured herself it wasn't the village the kid lived in and the bandits she had forgiven. Alas, her hopes shattered once again when she saw the wanted poster and newspaper.
'...why?'