"I'm sorry. I got too… emotional," Aileen said as she bowed slightly when I returned from the kitchen with the coffee.
No, really... Aileen has nothing to apologize for.
"Uh, no. Aileen, why are you... why are you apologizing…?"
"No, Noah. This was my fault."
"A-Alright... I get it, but please raise your head..."
There was a brief moment of silence, then Aileen smiled warmly and lifted her head.
"If I ever do something that bothers you or makes you uncomfortable, please tell me. Okay?"
"Yes... and you can tell me, too."
"Great. Then I'll start. The coffee you made tastes terrible."
"W-What…?"
Isn't coffee supposed to be bitter no matter what? How can it taste bad?
Even if I didn't invest points in my crafting skills, I should still be able to make coffee! This is outrageous.
"Just because it's bitter doesn't mean all coffee tastes the same."
Oh, really…?
But how did she know what I was thinking? Is she a mind reader?
What a scary woman…!
"How did I know what you were thinking?"
"Huh...? How…?"
"That's a secret. Hehehe…"
Ugh, she's so annoying.
Way too annoying...
"Anyway, this is how we should communicate with each other. Understood?"
Don't try to change the subject! Answer me! How did you know?!
"Y-Yes…"
"Good. Now, let's go over the route again. I'll explain it verbally this time. Come, have a seat."
I nodded and sat down next to Aileen.
"No, not there. Across from me... yeah, just sit there and listen. Alright, we're currently in the village of Alrba in the Orca Empire. To the east is the Karahan Mountain Range, and to the south flows the Suar River."
Aileen's soft voice tickled my ears.
Hearing her up close… her voice felt strangely familiar, like I'd heard it somewhere before.
Hmm... I was almost remembering something.
"Our destination, Cartia Village, is northeast of Alrba."
With just that brief explanation, a detailed map formed in my head.
As expected of an 8-year veteran player.
Gotta say, I'm a genius, right? Now... a genius woman in this world, I guess?
"First, we'll be crossing the Karahan Mountain Range. To do that, we'll pass through the eastern ruins."
"Oh… the eastern ruins…"
That's where the red dog boss is. It's the first raid most new players experience.
I died so many times to that dog when I was a noob… ugh…
I didn't even know you needed a minimum of four people to beat it, so I tried fighting it solo.
But the thrill of finally beating it was unforgettable. It's what got me hooked on Black Sun in the first place.
As I was lost in these nostalgic thoughts, Aileen's voice suddenly became cold.
"Noah, are you listening?"
"Uh! Y-Yes…!"
I hadn't been paying attention at all.
This is bad…
"What were you listening to?"
"Uh… we pass through the eastern ruins and…"
"And then?"
I mentally retraced the map I had drawn.
After the ruins… the Halvion Plains?
"We come out into the Halvion Plains…?"
"You weren't listening, were you?"
"Heh… hehe... so, where do we go next?"
As I tilted my head, Aileen sighed deeply.
"Sigh... You were grinning so much, I didn't want to interrupt. What were you thinking about?"
"Oh… I was just reminiscing a bit... I'm sorry. I'll focus now."
"Reminiscing, huh... Alright then, let's continue. We'll enter the ruins."
Aileen's tone had grown noticeably colder.
It's probably because I wasn't paying attention. She's been trying to explain everything for my sake since I can't read maps, and I still spaced out! How pathetic, Shin Noah!
I need to focus now!
"Yes…!"
I straightened my back and adjusted myself in the chair.
"We'll try to avoid as many monsters as possible, but it'll be hard to avoid them all. If combat occurs, you'll take the front, and I'll cover the rear."
Wait, what? Is she a mage?
She doesn't feel like one… I don't sense any magic from her. Is she some kind of expert hiding all her power?
"Um... Aileen, are you a mage?"
"No, I'm not a mage. I can just handle a bit of healing and some basic support. Just focus on the fact that you're in the vanguard, and I'm in the rear."
Oh! A healer!
A walking potion!... No, that's too rude. She's a priest, then.
In the game, healers were like nobles. They were so rare and boring to play that they were always in high demand.
I hardly ever partied with healers, since most of them ended up joining the top-tier guilds anyway…
But hey, at least I'll save on potion costs! Sweet deal!
"Got it…!"
"Good. Now, there's one particularly dangerous monster in the ruins. It's called…"
If it's a dangerous monster in the ruins, it can only be that dog.
"Karfang…?"
"Hm... You know about it, I see. Yes, be especially cautious of the Red Wolf."
Oh, they call it a wolf here. The community always referred to it as the red dog.
If this were the game, I'd go in guns blazing, but this is real life, so I'd better be cautious...
If I ever run into it in reality… hmm…
I imagined Karfang's red fur, its terrifying fangs, and its enormous size.
Ugh. Ughhh.
I'm getting chills just thinking about it…
"Y-Yeah... we'll be careful. Definitely…"
I really don't want to meet it. If I do, I might pee my pants.
"Yes, but we shouldn't worry too much. Karfang only inhabits the deeper parts of the ruins, so we're unlikely to encounter it."
I nodded.
"Once we pass through the ruins, we'll enter the Halvion Plains, as you mentioned earlier. And from there... well, let's stop the explanation here for now."
"Huh...? Why? Why stop now…?"
I was actually enjoying following along with the mental map! I want more!
Aileen hesitated for a moment before replying cautiously.
"…Well, it's not easy to remember information just by hearing it. I'm not sure how it is for you, but that's how I see it."
"Oh…"
She's thinking about me that much...?
Are you an angel?!
Ah, but there's Hermila, so Aileen is Angel No. 2!
"We have plenty of time on the road, so I'll explain the rest gradually."
"T-Thank you…!"
"There's no need to thank me for that… Well, now that we've gone over everything, shall we get going? You've prepared everything, right?"
I nodded enthusiastically.
Thanks to Hermila's list, I had everything packed and ready.
"Now we just need to get two healthy horses."
Horses...? Not a carriage…?
"Horses…?"
"Yes. You didn't expect we'd be using a carriage, did you?"
Of course, I thought it would be a carriage!
If we're traveling for that long, it's gotta be a carriage, right? That's the romantic way to do it!!
"A... a carriage…"
"If we take a carriage, we'll have to go the long way around, and it'll take forever. Plus, it'll attract too much attention. We'll be riding horses. I hope you understand."
I see… makes sense…
But that's not the problem.
"T-The thing is… I've never ridden a horse before…! I-I'm sorry!"
I've never ridden one in my life!
"Huh? But you're an adventurer."
"Y-Yes…?"
I may look like this, but I'm silver rank! A proper silver rank!
"Then how do you hunt?"
"On foot…"
Aileen slapped her forehead.
"On foot? How far have you gone on foot?"
The farthest place I've been was the forest where I hunted the orcs.
"E-Elain Forest… to hunt orcs…"
"This is ridiculous…"
"I'm s-sorry…"
Just as I was about to apologize again, Aileen cut me off.
"Please stop apologizing. What am I going to do…"
"I can do it…!"
"How?"
"Uh… by running?"
Craaaaack—
I could hear Aileen's teeth grinding... No, it sounded like they were about to break.
"R-Run…? Are you serious…?"
"W-Well… yes…?"
"W-Well?! Yes?!"
Nod…
Bang!
"Eek—!"
Aileen's clenched fist slammed down on the table with a force that could break it.
"Wow… this is really driving me nuts… Are you doing this on purpose, Noah?"
"I-I'm s-sorry…"
"If you apologize one more time… I swear I'll…!"
"U-Uh… my—hic—bad…"
Now I'm hiccupping from the shock! Stop scaring me!
It's hard enough being socially awkward as it is!
And this body of mine doesn't help!
"Ugh… is 'sorry' and 'my bad' really that different? Never mind. How much do you weigh?"
"I've never weighed myself…"
I glanced down at my body.
Aileen did the same, looking me over.
With my height of 146 cm… I can't weigh more than 40 kg.
Just as I was absentmindedly poking at my soft belly—
"Excuse me for a moment."
Aileen placed her hand on my arm.
And then—
"W-Wha—W-What are you doing?!"
She ran her hand from my arm to my shoulder, then up my neck and down my waist.
"H-Hey…!"
Her hand grazed my belly, then slid down my thigh and knee.
"Hold still, would you?"
"H-Hah… It… tickles…"
Finally, her hand stopped at my spine after moving back up my thigh.
"I'd say you weigh about 35 kg… maybe less. Alright, we'll just ride together."
Completely unfazed, Aileen calmly declared her verdict after thoroughly "measuring" me.
Meanwhile, I felt like sparks were going off all over my body. Isn't this a bit much?!
"T-Together… on one horse…?"
"Yes. Most adventurers weigh around 80 kg or so, so the two of us should be fine sharing a horse."
"O-Okay… understood."
Satisfied with my answer, Aileen began packing her things.
"Alright, let's get going for real now."
I grabbed my backpack, filled to the brim with my supplies, and slung it over my shoulder.
"So, what exactly do you have in that giant bag?"
Aileen tilted her head curiously.
"My supplies…?"
I tilted my head back.
But Aileen's expression didn't seem right.
Did I make a mistake…?
"D-Did I do something wrong?"
"Let me take a look inside, just for a moment."
I opened my bag and showed her the contents.
Inside was an abundance of preserved food and other supplies for a long carriage journey.
"What… What is all this?"
"My supplies…? H-Hermila helped me prepare..."
"There's no way she did... Where's the list?"
I pulled out the crumpled list from my pocket and handed it to Aileen.
"Hmm… Ah, I see. The markings let you read it. But that's not the issue here."
Aileen scrutinized the paper.
There's no way Hermila would deceive me…
"Oh, here it is. It says the items listed are for a carriage trip. If you're traveling on horseback, she was going to give you a new list."
"W-What…?"
That's right.
We're traveling by horse.
"Aileen… What do I do with all this stuff…?!"
I spent so much money on this!
Do you know how much I spent?!
I only have 20 silver left now!
My nose started tingling, and I felt like I was going to cry.
"Sigh… we'll sell what we can. I'll help you."
"H-Hic—R-Really…? Do you think it'll sell…?"
With a determined look, Aileen stood up, pulling her robe tighter.
"We'll try. No matter what."
"O-Okay…"
I stood up and watched Aileen's back.
I might be cool.
But right now…
"Wow… she's so cool…"
Aileen was cooler than me.