MTM 189

Harto quickly opened the pouch and scooped up Sleepy. Despite having fallen into the icy lake, Sleepy’s downy fur was dry and fluffy, and his little nose twitched a little, as if he were greeting him.

“What happened, Sleepy? How long have you been hiding there? Oh… you shouldn’t be here…”

Harto stroked Sleepy’s fur, his heart torn between the joy of this unexpected reunion and the worry that Sleepy had left his owner to follow him all the way here.

“Huh…? Sleepy, what’s that in your mouth?”

But upon closer inspection, Sleepy’s cheeks were puffed out. As soon as Harto noticed, Sleepy moved his tiny mouth, then promptly spat something onto his palm. It was a gold coin and a silver coin, both covered with saliva.

“Whoa…”

“What’s going on?”

Zed, who had approached at the sound of the commotion, looked at the coins on Harto’s palm with surprise.

“Sleepy hid them in his cheeks ​Read on​and spit them out… I think this should cover our lodging fees, don’t you think?”

Harto whispered quietly so Hans, who was still standing at the door, wouldn’t hear, then he quickly wiped the gold coin on the blanket. Judging by its appearance and the weight in his hand, it was definitely a genuine gold coin used in the Empire. Without hesitation, Zed walked over to Hans and handed him the gold coin.

“Please take this.”

“Oh! Of course! I’ll go prepare your meal right away!”

Zed knew that a single gold coin held considerable value in the Arcadium Empire, where currency was hard to come by. In a small rural village on the empire’s outskirts, it must have been a fortune rarely seen. Hans’s eyes sparkled as he carefully accepted the gold coin. He bowed repeatedly with a cheerful smile before leaving the room.

“Sleepy, did you follow us?”

As soon as the door closed, Harto set Sleepy down on the bed and whispered affectionately.

Zed watched Harto, who was overjoyed to see Sleepy again. Even though he knew that Sleepy was the familiar of Cynthia, he couldn’t bring himself to separate them or scold him. Perhaps Cynthia had foreseen the difficulties they would face in this unfamiliar land when she teleported them here, and had deliberately placed the coins in the pouch along with Sleepy.

“…Maybe Sleepy secretly followed us because he missed you.”

“Really…? Because he missed me?”

As Zed sat down beside Harto and spoke, Harto smiled. Then, Sleepy, who had been curled up in the palm of Harto’s hand, turned his gaze toward Zed. As if he’d been waiting for this moment, Sleepy moved his cheeks and spat something out.

“Whoa….”

Both Harto and Zed were taken aback. What Sleepy had spat out was a spirit stone, small but blunt in shape. Zed had only said that for Harto’s sake, but it was obvious that this black rabbit had come of his own volition to help Harto.

“Sleepy, thank you….”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Harto beamed with joy, rubbing his cheek against Sleepy’s soft fur and showering him with affection.

***

Winter night was quickly falling over Orsha Village. After finishing their meal, the two took a walk around the village with Hans’s help. The village, blanketed in snow on all sides, was mostly inhabited by elderly residents, who made a living by raising livestock such as sheep and goats on the barren land. By the time they returned to their inn room, night had fallen and it was pitch black.

Thud.

As soon as he entered the room, Harto collapsed onto the bed. The soft, fragrant scent of the blankets relaxed his body, which had been stiff with fatigue.

Harto blinked repeatedly to fight off the sleep. It was a proper rest, the kind he hadn’t been able to enjoy since leaving the Forest of Life and enduring the hardships of the Eastern Kingdom.

“Zed… Are Lord Elquir and that woman, Cynthia, all right?”

Harto asked anxiously as he stroked the soft fur of Sleepy, who was fast asleep on his pillow. He had been fidgeting restlessly throughout their meal downstairs, worrying about those they had left behind in the tower, so Zed had reassured him several times that they would be fine. But since they hadn’t heard any news, the matter still weighed on his mind.

Zed considered reminding him once again that Elquir was the river’s guardian deity and that Cynthia was a high-ranking witch, but he quickly changed his mind.

“Harto, how about Spi and Mir?”

“Huh? Spi and Mir… I’m not sure, but I think they are both fine.”

“See? If your elementals are fine, that means those two are fine too. ”

Zed sat down on the bed and gently stroked Harto’s head. Only then did Harto nod.

“Yes…. I can feel that Spi and Mir are stable. Just like you said, they’ll both be safe. But… Leon, Allen, and Ser probably ​unauthorized copy​have no idea we’ve come here…”

This time, he was worried about the party members they’d parted ways with at Silpirnoa. Zed couldn’t offer any concrete words on the matter either and remained silent. He could only hope that Elquir and Cynthia would meet them and successfully convey the news that they were heading for Ruinbelt.

‘We can’t just wait around for the others, nor can we delay any further. Harto and I have to keep moving forward.’

Their final destination was Ruinbelt, the ruined island said to be inhabited by demons. It was originally believed to be the location of Hartiros, but now he thought he understood why that rumor had spread.

‘Maybe the demons spread those false rumors on purpose to keep people from approaching. Or perhaps they have some other motive?’

To find out, they had no choice but to head for Ruinbelt.

However, the Arcadium Empire was not an easy place to navigate, unlike Belgard or Regnovar, where one could come and go freely after a simple identity check.

Located at the farthest reaches of the continent, the Arcadium Empire was a land of extreme cold, covered in fierce blizzards and ice for most of the year. Surrounded on all sides by rugged mountain ranges, it was the most isolated empire on the continent, yet possessed the most powerful military.

Consequently, it strictly controlled outsiders attempting to penetrate the fortress formed by the rugged mountain ranges, and even its own citizens were forbidden from leaving their designated residential areas without the permission of their local lord. Orsha Village, where they were currently staying, was a remote frontier beyond the lord’s jurisdiction, but the situation would change completely the moment he left this safe zone and entered the lord’s territory.

As someone who had visited the Arcadium Empire several times for military and diplomatic purposes during his days ​stolen content​as Prince Ares, Zed knew its strict regulations better than anyone.

In this empire, travelers of unknown status were required to carry a “free passage permit” (a form of identification issued by the imperial court or a high-ranking lord) in order to visit major estates. It was a terrifying law: without a pass, one would be branded a spy or an illegal and arrested.

“It’ll be hard to get a free passage permit, so first I need to find a forged identity document that won’t arouse suspicion.”

To do that, he had to meet the wandering peddler who was scheduled to be the only visitor to this village this coming Saturday. The plan was to sell elixir to obtain a horse and information on how to obtain forged identity papers. That was the only solution that would allow him to continue his journey with Harto as safely as possible through this bitterly cold country.

But before putting any of this plan into action, there was something Zed felt he absolutely had to address.

“Harto.”

Zed gazed at Harto, who was worrying about the group.

“More than that… Harto, there’s something I really need to tell you.”

“Huh?”

Harto blinked his round eyes and met Zed’s gaze.

“You told me before. You know your own body better than anyone.”

“Ah…”

‘Zed, I know my own body better than anyone. I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but I feel the same way. I don’t want to send you alone into such a dangerous place.’

Upon recalling the bold promise he’d made to Zed before leaving the Forest of Life, Harto’s face fell. Zed was talking about the time, just before they had teleported here from the Eastern Kingdom, when he had coughed up a mouthful of red blood.

“Harto, I’m not trying to scold you.”

Zed grabbed Harto’s hands and asked cautiously.

“Has… something like that happened before?”