The sun began to set, sinking over the vast green land. In the middle of this land, there was a road stretching towards the horizon, a long road over which a wooden cart was pulled by a brown horse, with a short man holding the reins. He was the driver, driving the cart across this green land, following the long road. The cart had no roof, revealing two bodies sitting there: a young man with black hair and light peasant clothes, and directly in front of him, a demi-human girl with small horns and hanging ears.
The plan worked. Oh my god, I can't believe my luck... But on the other hand, I didn't feel anything good. Even with the thought that I was on my way to Iveleth, fuck! Why can't my mind be happy with what's happening, and why does it always stay trapped in the sadness of the past? It annoys me so much. I didn't feel any peace or happiness; all that crept into my mind and psyche was... sadness.
This is my struggle. I don't know, but it seems I'm starting to get used to it a bit. Even Maris' behavior has changed; she doesn't speak much anymore. No way, this is hard as a fuck. Things have taken a bad turn. Well, I guess Maris is shocked by the sudden appearance of my dark side. It was a devilish plan to such a terrifying extent... to the point that it made me... made me... regret it!
The face of that little girl, the faces of her parents, and their fear for her, those tears... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It was necessary. I don't know, but maybe it was the only way to get the money for the carriage or this battered cart. Fuck, my sadness grows stronger and stronger. She begged me to help her when she called me "brother," but I... did nothing. I'm so sorry! Titta, Ciole, all the villagers, you treated me so well, but I didn't do anything.
You were the first to make me smile amidst my sorrows. Fuuucckk, I've committed a crime! Maybe this is the first crime I've committed in my life, yes! It's the first crime... What if crimes are punished by the gods in this world, and not like my old world?! No, no, no, no, no! Nothing bad will happen. I've learned to look at the bright side... so maybe my life will be better when I reach Iveleth.
This is really awful. It angered me because they didn't lend me ten nova. Fine, damn it, maybe it's a huge amount, why was I angry at them?! Wait... Am I blaming myself now? So, this is regret, rejecting something I did in the past and trying to punish myself by scolding? Funny... funny how our minds cling to the past... funny how we leave the present and future behind and hold onto the past only. Does this mean we cling to what happened before?
So... if I made my past a happy one, maybe I would fulfill my dream of living a happy life. It's really crazy and complicated, but at least I want to get rid of this feeling of regret. Fuck! I can't! Titta's face keeps repeating in my mind, Ciole's words of gratitude, not knowing that I'm the reason for all of this... All these scenes are making me want to tear my brain apart and eat it. First Petal, now Titta; these scenes will continue to penetrate me, eating away at me until I lose passion for everything and become just a body filled with sorrows. And maybe I can... I can just... suicide.
After this, things got worse, and even Petal began creeping into my mind. That scene, it's such a catastrophic scene. Please, delete it from my mind. After this, I raised my head to the sky and started staring at it as it grew darker and darker. Night was approaching. Petal, you wanted to become an adventurer, right? I'll do it, and I'll live the life you always got excited about when we talked about it. Just look at me from the sky and watch me... I hope this makes you happy!
Nightfall arrived. Wouldn't the driver stop for sleep or something? The road to Iveleth seems very long. That's why the cost is high. The driver continued forward. What if we were attacked by a group of goblins or bandits? He should stop to camp. I couldn't tell him to stop, and he wouldn't stop either, so it didn't matter. He's a driver, and he knows the dangers, so if he doesn't stop, he knows what he's doing. Alright, all I have to do now is fight against my fucking sadness. I lay down a bit, then held my head with both hands... Damn it!
"Are you regretting it?" a cold voice said right in front of me. It was Maris.
"Y-Yes," I muttered.
"This bodes well, at least you're aware of the gravity of your plan," Maris said. Damn, has she started to hate me... no, no, for some reason I don't want to lose her. Strange... I refuse to be alone in this world. I've really changed.
"Maris... do you hate me?" I asked, feeling a fire burning inside me, it's regret.
"No, but I hate the action you took," she replied.
"Why? It was the only solution. I wanted us to go to Iveleth, I wanted to rely on myself and come up with a plan... since I'm your husband, I refused to rely on you, Maris, because I'm the man, so I thought it was my responsibility!" I said, staring at her sad face.
"Accomplishing your task by abandoning your kindness and committing such a heinous act? No, you shouldn't have done that, Laos. Even if it meant depending on me... for me, walking to Iveleth would have been a better choice," Maris replied.
When I heard this, I felt a sharp stab in my heart, a great betrayal. Why?... Why didn't you tell me earlier that we could walk on foot? So... so this is women, they keep everything to themselves, as if saying, "Do whatever you want," then you choose the harder option, thinking it's the best one, but all this time they preferred the easier one, and because of you, I thought it was a bad choice and wouldn't make you happy.
I sighed, then stared at Maris as she brushed her hair. Fuck, these are just marital problems, right? It's normal, right? I felt deep regret, so I didn't argue with her. I agreed that my plan was wrong, even though it was the only plan, so I can't start a fight with Maris now. But I feel like she's angry. Fuck!
"Maris, I won't repeat it," I said quietly, as if I didn't want to say it.
"I'm glad to hear that now. Sorry, Laos, for upsetting you with my refusal, but... how do I say this... I hate seeing you like this... I mean, as a villain," Maris replied. Well, I get it now, it was clear. A kind girl like Maris would refuse to see her husband commit a crime.
"I understand, alright, Maris. I'm now suffering from regret and sadness over Petal's death. So please tell me, are you angry with me? I don't want another problem added to this," I said, feeling a bit of the weight lift.
Suddenly, she moved toward me and hugged me. It was a warm hug, and I felt her hands on my back. I extended my hand and gently patted her wet hair. It was a wonderful hug, one that made all my sadness vanish. So this is why my mind refuses to let go of Maris, she gives me such positive energy... Thank you, Maris.
"No, I'm not angry..." she whispered as she hugged me tightly.
"Ahem, ahem, shall we stop to sleep?" the driver suddenly asked as we were hugging. Then Maris quickly pulled away from me.
◆ ◆ ◆
The sky turned dark blue and the bright stars spread out. Under this sky, Maris and I were lying on the grass, staring at the stars. Far from us, the driver had fallen asleep with his horse. The place was warm as the fire continued to burn, and the sound of it crackling added an acoustic beauty to the place. I will never forget the sound of the night crickets, which made the place feel like a camp where we sat and told fake horror stories someone brought from a horror comic they got from their older brother's shelf.
"Maris, is ten nova a high price?" I asked, feeling the regret creeping back.
"Yes, well, it's worth a hundred bils, so it's an expensive amount," Maris replied, looking at the sky.
I didn't want to think about whether she was angry with me, so I wanted to talk to her. I wanted her to speak non-stop. I had to bring up a topic... Oh, I remembered, Maris is an educated person, so asking her about things in this world would be a good topic, right? Let's try it.
"Tell me, Maris... will we find the grave of the traitor hero in Iveleth?" I asked.
"I don't think so," she replied, whispering.
"What? Is Iveleth a town that doesn't worship Lunariss?!" I asked in surprise.
"Not exactly, but the graves of the traitor hero are usually found only in rural places, and backward villages that don't have schools or temples," Maris explained.
So that's how it is, it's something only backward people do. That's why I didn't see Tiana or anyone in the palace doing this, not even the grave was there. Hah, it makes some sense. While I was thinking about it, I realized that Maris had fallen silent again. Fuck! I need to ask another question... What other topics are there? Hmm...
"Maris, do you know which gods died in the divine war?" I asked. I'll throw out random questions just so Maris doesn't stay silent like a depressed girl.
"Well, let's see... Hmm, four gods died: the hatred goddess, Tenebris, the balance god, Libarios, the heroes goddess, Iroes, and... yes, the dragon goddess, Scarlet," Maris replied.
"Oh my god, you know so much," I muttered.
"Well, in the palace, I read a lot of books, so... I'm an educated person," she added.
"By the way, doesn't the death of the gods affect the world?" I asked.
"I don't know, I'm not deeply into theology," she mumbled.
"I thought maybe, like, if the dragon goddess died, dragons would go extinct," I said, rubbing my hands with the wet grass and staring at the stars.
"No, that's not it, it seems you don't know..."
"What?"
"Right now, the forests of Yavan are suffering from a large number of dragons, and it's because there's a terrifying dragon sleeping deep in Yavan. They come from all over the kingdom to live with this dragon, as if it's their king," Maris explained.
"That's terrifying, so has it taken over the forests or what?"
"No, it's sleeping and hasn't moved in a while, but even with its slumber, the kingdom is suffering, especially the towns of the Ethelas Duchy, where many are fleeing from Yavan and heading to the towns. I've heard that Iveleth is suffering from constant attacks by mushroom monsters fleeing from the forests... And there's also a large number of adventurers heading to Yavan. Well, if you didn't know, killing a dragon grants you the title of Swordmaster, so everyone is eager to kill a dragon."
"So... the death of the gods doesn't really affect anything," I repeated, thinking over these topics.
"Right now, it seems that way to me, but I don't know if the death of the gods has any impact."
"Swordmaster, huh? I think I'll get that title," I said.
"That would be great... This title has a long history, I think it goes back five hundred years. A dragon from the Atekia continent attacked Westevios, and then a swordsman appeared. Many say he was from the Kavaz tribe because he used high-level fire magic. Anyway, this swordsman fought the dragon in an epic battle, managed to kill it, and saved all of Westevios. After that, people started calling him the Swordmaster. He was the first Swordmaster in the world of Staria. After that story, the kingdoms started encouraging their people to kill dragons by awarding them the title of Swordmaster."
"The Kavaz tribes... I heard that the first to establish Yarum was an adventurer from this tribe, and the Kavaz worship Ifrit, so why does Yarum worship Lunariss now?" I asked, surprised.
"Heh, well, Laos, the Sevios continent is divided into two parts: Westevios, with its strongest country being Yarum, and Eastevios, with its strongest country being the Magica Empire. The Kavaz tribes are famous in the Bardel continent, specifically in the Marsell Kingdom, which worships Ifrit. So, that adventurer was just a migrant from Bardel to Sevios. When he adventured in this continent, he managed to establish the first kingdom."
"But that doesn't mean his kingdom would worship Ifrit, because all the people of Sevios worship Lunariss. Additionally, hundreds of years ago, the Magica Empire conquered the Yarum kingdom and managed to wipe out or erase the worship of Ifrit. Since then, the Yarum kingdom has been a kingdom that worships only one god, the Moon Goddess, Lunariss."
"That's amazing, really amazing. You just gave me a full history lesson, Maris. You're truly amazing, I can rely on you," I said, holding her cold hand.
"Ah! Yes, you can rely on me! That's what I want!" Maris said enthusiastically. It seems she wants me to rely on her sometimes. Well, let it be. I feel at ease now, I don't think Maris is angry, or at least, I hope not.
"I will... but we need to sleep now. I'll put out the fire," I said, standing up.
Oh my god, that was awesome. All that information, dragons, wars, gods... wow, this is so fantasy! It's strange, but hearing such historical stories got me excited, not just excited but even feeling some happiness. Swordmaster, huh?! Let's go, man! It's a whole another world, literally. This is what I've been dreaming of. This is the fantasy I've been looking for. Just wait, Iveleth, I'm coming. The adventure arc of my isekai story is about to start soon. Goblins, skeletons, succubi, minotaurs, lizards, dungeons, treasures... wait for me!! Wow, this is so exciting!!!