The knights went outside, but Lowell came in instead.
Judging by the look on his face, he was probably even going to pack my things for me.
“Where did you put your travel bag?”
“Oh, inside that door.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lowell opened the door and began taking out my familiar travel bag, along with various items full of memories, one by one.
“We’ll need this… and probably this too. We’d better take Ainta’s Wings and the Sandman’s Sand as well, right?”
He seemed to think we were about to go on another adventure.
That might be fine for most things, but what on earth did we need Ainta’s Wings—which are used to escape from deep caves or traps—and the Sandman’s Sand—which is used to keep monsters and wild animals away at night—for now?
“Hmm? What about the Clothes of Dawn?”
“Oh, I put them over here.”
He walked over to the bed and pulled out a wooden box that had been shoved underneath.
“You’re going to wear them, right?”
When the box was opened, a soft silver light spilled out.
A dignified outfit glowing with gentle silver light.
The Clothes of Dawn had been made by fairies using moonlight and sunlight as thread, a gift we received when we visited Asgard together.
“Yeah, I should wear them.”
When you’re lacking in other areas, at least dressing well can help make up for it.
“It’s been years already.”
“Right? Honestly, there were times when I didn’t think it would ever end.”
Lowell might not know this, but I had always thought I would die on one of our journeys.
And there were times I came very close.
I never imagined I’d live to see such a peaceful everyday life.
“It’s all thanks to you. Thank you.”
My words were both truthful and heartfelt.
“What are you talking about? Without you, Aegina, and the other companions, I could never have done it.”
That was his truth—and his lie.
He would have done just fine.
He could have easily filled the empty space I left behind.
“…More importantly, I haven’t even opened the invitation yet.”
It was just an excuse to hide the bitter look on my face.
There wouldn’t be anything special in it anyway—just flowery language and a short message of invitation with a signature, no doubt.
I carefully opened the invitation, sealed with a red wax stamp.
Surprisingly, the message was quite long.
It praised my achievements and expressed what an honor it would be for me to attend.
Just a typical formal invitation.
Except for one single line added right before the signature.
“What does it say?”
“…Nothing special. Just overly flattering words, really. It’s a bit embarrassing.”
I folded the invitation and tucked it inside my coat.
And, thankfully, this time I managed to hide my expression properly.
Lowell never questioned me, but he never missed the smallest flicker of emotion on my face, either.
“But it won’t take long. It’s going to be a very short party.”
It would be a very short party.
A cold and quiet one, with no bards, no dancing.
“Yeah?”
“I’ll ride Eril on the way there—if she still answers my call.”
“She will. Eril likes you.”
Lowell kept packing things into the travel bags.
Even though there was no real reason to.
I put on the Clothes of Dawn.
I wore them over what I already had on, but even so, the feel of it reminded me all over again that this was indeed the sacred garb of Asgard.
Though thin, the clothing was highly resistant to spells and could withstand strikes from regular swords.
It was woven with sunlight and moonlight, maintaining a constant temperature regardless of the season—not only for the wearer, but even for the surrounding area.
With this one outfit, you could endure a snowstorm in the mountains or the heat of the desert.
Moreover, it never needed to be washed.
The sunlight and moonlight would naturally purify any stains or grime, and even if blood, juice, or mud dirtied it, the colors would eventually return to normal.
For larger things like hair, leaves, or sand, all it took was a simple shake after taking it off.
If not for the eye-catching silver glow and its out-of-place look in a small rural village, I probably would have worn this outfit all year round.
“Stop packing already. We’re going to a party, not out to save the world again.”
While I was distracted, the bag was already almost full.
If memory served, that bag had once held herbs, bandages, three days’ worth of food for seven people, and some spare clothes—with room to spare.
So what on earth had he packed in there now?
“True, true.”
Lowell gave an awkward smile and lifted the bag.
It looked quite heavy.
If I had carried a bag like that on our first journey, I might have ended up bashing monsters with it instead of using magic.
“Alright, shall we head out?”
I reached out to take the bag from Lowell, but he just smiled and carried it outside himself.
He was probably planning to take responsibility for how heavy he made it and load it onto the horse.
It never even crossed his mind to remove anything.
“…Guess it’s time to do this again.”
When I stepped outside, the knights were already prepared.
My travel bag had been loaded onto what looked like my mount, and some of the knights were already in the saddle.
“We’re ready to go.”
“Then let’s depart.”
“Anark, wait a moment!”
Just as I was about to mount my horse, Aegina called out to stop me.
She was holding something in her hands, and I prayed—desperately—that it wasn’t what I thought it was.
“I made some food for the road, so you can all share it if you get hungry.”
And of course, in times like this, my prayers were always ignored.
“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”
The basket she handed me was full of food almost exactly like what we’d had for breakfast.
“If you leave anything or throw it away, I won’t forgive you. I could feed you boiled bee larvae every morning.”
It was a terrifying threat that made cold sweat trickle down my back.
I swear, even the threats from Denatel about turning me into a test subject didn’t scare me this much.
Lowell, glancing nervously at Aegina, gave me an awkward smile filled with sympathy and apology.
‘…Don’t worry. There are plenty of others besides me.’
I didn’t even dare to signal him in case Aegina read my expression—I only muttered inwardly.
Of course, if anyone heard what I just thought, she wouldn’t be the only one angry.
“Hero Lowell, Princess Aegina. It’s an honor to meet you.”
The knights mounted on their horses bowed to Lowell and Aegina.
Their eyes were filled with reverence and respect; some even seemed reluctant to part.
Maybe it would’ve been kinder to stall a bit longer, considering what lies ahead.
That might’ve been the only kindness I could offer them.
“Take care, Anak.”
“I will.”
“Everyone, move out.”
It had been a while since I last rode a horse, but my body hadn’t completely forgotten how.
Fortunately, the horse I was on was rather docile.
There was a time during our journey when we had to buy an untrained young horse from the market—it was a complete nightmare.
As we rode out of the village, I could feel all the villagers’ eyes on me.
A few of them soon looked behind me, as if searching for something.
I couldn’t be sure exactly what they were thinking, but I could tell that those glances back were definitely looking for Lowell.
After leaving the village, we came upon a narrow carriage road.
It was a road that had been restored under the direct supervision of a nearby lord when Lowell returned from saving the world.
The lord probably thought that making this road would encourage Lowell to visit his domain more often, but in reality, Lowell or his family only showed up about once a year.
Still, it was certainly helpful to us now.
“By the way, how long does it usually take to reach the Lord’s territory?”
“There’s a teleportation array prepared at the border of the Hizen Kingdom, so it shouldn’t take long. I’d say a bit over ten days at most.”
Ten days, huh.
We both knew it wouldn’t really take that long, but I pretended not to know.
“Understood.”
After that, we continued in silence.
It wasn’t just me—no one felt like speaking, as it was clear we were all lost in our own thoughts.
A considerable amount of time passed, and when the sun had started to tilt in the sky, we finally stopped by the roadside to have a late lunch.
Some people started a fire; others took out ingredients from their packs to prepare a meal.
And at that moment, I handed over the basket Aegina had given me.
“What’s this…?”
“Jerky and bread. You can add it to the soup, if you’d like.”
They glanced over the contents of the basket and nodded as they accepted it.
Right—at least it looked normal on the outside.
And no matter what, I was a companion of the hero who saved the world—they had little choice but to trust me.
Aegina had definitely been thoughtful.
She made sure to only include food that looked normal enough for me to eat.
And precisely because of that consideration, I was able to avoid eating it altogether.
It looked like regular jerky and bread—but I knew the truth.
That jerky was made from the non-toxic leftover parts of the basilisk tail dish we had for breakfast.
And the bread?
It contained Aegina’s “special powder,” mixed with the flour to help it rise.
That powder, by the way, ranked #1 on the list of things both Lowell and I wished didn’t exist in this world.
Sure, they didn’t taste that bad.
But knowing what they were made of made it impossible to eat them casually.
Still, this worked out nicely for everyone.
They got to enjoy a more diverse meal, and I managed to avoid Aegina’s food without wasting or leaving any behind.
Sure, I’d have to skip lunch—but so what?
“Ah, no need to prepare anything for me. My stomach’s feeling a bit off.”
Watching them eat until they were finished was difficult—for many reasons.
They kept eating the bread Aegina had made, dipping the basilisk jerky into their soup and chewing away.
“Are you sure you don’t want any?”
“I’m fine. It’s just that riding a horse after a long time is a bit uncomfortable.”
I considered stepping away, but where would I even go?
There was nothing in this forest.
If only there were monsters around, I could at least enjoy some real combat.
But as it stood, all I could do was stare at trees.
“By the way, Sir Anak, I hope you don’t mind if I ask a few questions?”
One of them, almost done with his meal, asked with a slightly arrogant tone.
“Not at all. Go ahead.”
I wanted to respond a bit differently, truth be told, but considering what I had done and what I still had to do, I politely replied.
“I’ve heard you’re a great Strategist but why are you called Strategist of the Second Best Path?”