Chapter 19

"This is convenient."

"What is?"

Lying side by side in the wagon, Lucy giggled as she spoke to Ian.

"Pretending to be your lover. It was annoying having to deal with those fools one by one. But now that I'm with you, it's all taken care of, right?"

Lucy casually referred to the company workers as 'fools'.

Such behavior was normal in these times.

As a noble lady, the workers were considered so beneath her that they shouldn't even step in her shadow.

Until now, she had to behave and keep quiet.

But since hiring Ian as her escort, Lucy regained her confidence and occasionally showed her aristocratic attitude.

From a modern perspective, she was incredibly arrogant.

"But don't get it twisted, wizard. I'm only pretending to be your lover, not actually trying to date you!"

"..."

"Well, if you want to become the son-in-law of the Talian Family, I might consider dating you from now on..."

Chatter, chatter.

Lucy's mouth never stopped.

Ian wanted to cover his ears.

It wasn't that he didn't understand her feelings.

For someone who had been pursued all her life, meeting someone who could be on her side was exhilarating.

Just let her enjoy it.

That's just how excited she was.

But that was one thing, and this was another.

Since he couldn't cover his ears, maybe he should cover Lucy's mouth.

"Can you please shut up? It's noisy."

At Ian's words, Lucy burst into laughter.

"Ah! You sounded just like a wizard!"

"...F*ck."

Nothing he said made a difference.

Even cursing was considered a virtue of a wizard to her.

Getting seriously angry felt foolish.

Since Lucy was talking anyway, it might be best to pry some productive information out of her.

"So, what's the plan going forward?"

If she was running away without a plan, Ian was ready to abandon her right then and there.

Time was not infinite.

He didn't want to waste it.

"We'll pass through a few villages, then we'll reach a territory ruled by my uncle."

"Your uncle?"

"Count Catina is my uncle."

Lucy's plan was as follows:

For her, the fastest and surest way to get help was through Count Catina.

She planned to tell him of her parents' poisoning, expecting that Count Catina would naturally lend his soldiers...

That was Lucy's plan.

"Hmm."

Ian pondered, tilting his head.

The plan wasn't bad, but it wasn't perfect either.

"I have a few questions. First, how was the relationship between Count Catina and your mother? Were they close?"

"It wasn't bad."

It was a vague answer.

If Lucy's mother and Count Catina had been close since childhood, the Count would draw his sword in anger over the death of Baroness Talian.

But if not?

It's a harsh reality, but in this era, women were often treated as outsiders once married, almost like strangers to their own families.

To put it coldly, the death of Baron and Baroness Talian was seen as the death of someone else's family members.

It wasn't something considered worth getting one's hands dirty over.

'I have a bad feeling about this...'

If Count Catina were to lend troops to Lucy, that in itself would be an ominous sign.

On the surface, Count Catina's deployment of troops was unproblematic.

An uncle raising an army for his niece who has lost her parents painted a perfect picture.

The justification is so solid that other lords in the vicinity wouldn't dare to interfere.

However, what if Count Catina decides to take some of Lucy's territory?

Or worse, attempts to swallow it whole?

There would be no one to stop the Count!

Once Baron Jin is dealt with, the territory would have no one but Count Catina and Lucy.

Then, whether the Count supports or exploits Lucy, what business is it of anyone else?

"How about seeking help from another noble?"

"Another noble? Who?"

Lucy glared at Ian with fiery eyes.

"Someone who is more reliable than your uncle..."

"Who in the world is more trustworthy than my uncle?!"

"..."

"Are you doubting my uncle now? Ian Eredith Raven! Even if you are a disciple of a famous wizard! I won't tolerate such an insult!"

Ian shrugged his shoulders.

If she was that confident.

Ian didn't know Count Catina at all.

On the other hand, Lucy said she met the Count a few times in her childhood.

Lucy knew the Count better than Ian did. He had no choice but to trust Lucy.

"Just be cautious. The piece of meat in your hand is too big."

"...I didn't even think about getting my territory back in full. I'll have to give my uncle his share. But still, my uncle is better than some unknown noble. Other men... they would try to marry me."

Lucy glanced at Ian and then said,

"But... if you, Ian, were to propose... it would be okay..."

'Here we go again.'

Ian clicked his tongue.

Ever since signing the escort contract, Lucy had repeatedly asked if he would consider marrying her whenever the thought occurred to her.

It felt like a proposal driven by the determination to tie a wizard to her territory at all costs.

Given the value of a wizard, it wasn't out of place for Lucy to act this way, even to the extent of offering herself in marriage.

However, it's difficult to accept such a proposal when the other party only sees it as a career move.

At least for Ian, who holds modern values, there should at least be some affection in marriage.

And for Ian, who wants to study the world of magic, marriage was still far off.

"Our contract ends once we meet Count Catina."

"Isn't that too harsh, Ian? A noble is offering to live with you!"

"There are plenty of women out there."

This was a fact.

Was there any possibility that Ian, a wizard, could not find even one for him?

Considering the value of a wizard, marrying a noblewoman was entirely within the realm of possibility.

People usually get hurt by the facts they can't deny.

While lies can be countered with a simple 'No, that's not true', facts are inarguable.

That's the harsh reality.

So, Lucy was deeply offended.

"...You're the worst!"

With her face flushed, she stormed off.

Rick sneakily approached and said,

"Women are such troublesome creatures, aren't they?"

"Are you talking about your wife?"

"Ha! Yes, my wife!"

"I don't care, so shut up."

"Ha ha ha! Oh! Of course!"

Ian's words didn't affect Rick at all.

The more Ian got angry, the more Rick enjoyed it, and Ian was getting increasingly aggressive.

A thousand years ago, the world was ruled by a great ancient empire known as the 'Golden Empire'.

The Golden Empire was the only empire to successfully unified the world using its amazing technology and superior military.

Under its fair rule, citizens led peaceful and happy lives (of course, this only applies to the citizens, not the slaves, so technically not a lie).

However, nothing in this world lasts forever.

Despite bearing the name 'Golden', symbolizing immortality, the empire decayed due to luxury and decadence.

Gold became a name for corruption, not immortality.

As corrupt officials exploited the people, the middle class collapsed, leaving only the poor and the rich.

When the empire ran out of soldiers willing to serve, it could no longer sustain its massive size and shattered into pieces.

It was the end of the Golden Age.

As the giant fell, all sorts of creatures swarmed to feast on its corpse.

The descendants of those creatures, pretending to be human, are raising their voices today; those are the current nobles.

And of course...

These creatures don't understand the things humans have made...!

"Rick. Isn't there another way?"

"Another way? What do you mean?"

"A road where carriages can pass..."

At Ian's question, Rick smirked.

Rick, a merchant, knew what Ian meant by 'road'.

"Ah. If you're talking about ancient roads, there's one north of Riverville!"

"..."

Surprisingly, the concept of 'roads' did not exist in this world.

More precisely, the concept of building roads did not exist.

Roads could only be built by the ancients...!

So, what is the traffic like on other paths?

The answer is, 'there is no traffic.'

Other than the ancient roads, there was no traffic on other paths because they were too inconvenient.

Then why not just pave new roads?

The problem was, no one had the money for that.

And because roads haven't been paved for so long, there were no technicians capable of paving roads as well as the ancients did.

So... they just stopped paving roads.

People just use the roads made by the ancients!

Because of this, this medieval fantasy world still uses the roads built by an empire 1000 years ago.

A suspiciously advanced ancient civilization.

People living miserably after its downfall.

Ancient artifacts of suspiciously high value...

Doesn't this setting seem familiar?

That's right.

It's post-apocalyptic.

This medieval fantasy is, in fact, post-apocalyptic...!

"Let's just go."

"Yes!"

It wasn't apparent while he was with Eredith, but now it was clear.

This era is one where exchange between domains was nearly impossible.

Without roads, how could there possibly be any interaction?

The realization of how insane it was to pack up goods like the Rabbit Foot Company and travel around trading hit anew.

Passing through fields where the grass grew as persistently as green zombies, and plains where wild horses roamed, Ian's group moved towards Riverville.

Soon, they reached a river, and following its banks, they saw Riverville emerge.

Riverville, true to its name, was a village built along a large river.

'This isn't just some rural village?'

Ian admired the well-made palisade.

Riverville was surrounded by a high palisade without any gaps, making it impossible to enter without going through the guarded gate.

By scale, it was at least twice the size of Hayhill Village, where Ian was born and raised.

"Stop!"

As the Rabbit Foot Company approached, a guard came forward and shouted.

The discipline of the guard was very reassuring.

"Oh~ Hello there!"

Rick greeted the guard slickly, presenting a gift.

From a modern perspective, it was kind of like a bribe, but it wasn't really a bad thing.

Rick and the guard were meeting for the first time today.

Even if the Rabbit Foot Company had passed through Riverville before, a brief introduction was necessary.

A light gift was perfectly acceptable to give.

So, the guard casually accepted the bottle of liquor Rick offered.

"We are from the Rabbit Foot Company, we have traded here before!"

"Ah, I see. But, is this all of you?"

The guard was puzzled as he checked the number of people.

For a traveling group of this size, it was natural to have armed escorts.

Yet, there was not a single person carrying weapons.

"Ah. We had mercenaries, but... they all died in an attack."

"You were lucky then."

Ian found the conversation between the two absurd.

Rick, casually mentioned that all the mercenaries were dead, and the guard, saying it was lucky...

Truly, it was a conversation fitting for a post-apocalyptic era.

The guard allowed the company to pass without any special inspection.

Armed mercenaries were a threat, but an unarmed company posed none.

Instead, they were seen as beneficial for bringing necessary goods to the village people.

"What are your plans now, wizard?"

Ian had joined the Rabbit Foot Company to cross the Earth Dragon Mountain.

Despite various events (details omitted), they safely arrived at the next village.

It was now up to Ian to decide what to do next.

"We are going to meet the lord now... Would you like to join us?"

Upon arriving in a village where a ruler resides, it was important to meet the ruler first.

This was to avoid any issues later on.

Rick naturally invited Ian to accompany them.

If they were with a wizard, even a lord would hesitate to cause trouble.

It was also in Ian's interest to meet the lord, as revealing his status as a wizard and requesting lodging would likely lead to the provision of a good place to sleep and eat.

However, Ian had a burden.

"Ian..."

It was Lucy.

It was unlikely that the lord would harm Lucy unless he was mad.

However, Ian was not keen on the idea of rumors spreading about 'a beautiful girl traveling with a wizard'.

And who knows?

What if the lord was mad and decided to harm Lucy?

It was better to be cautious of all possibilities.

"We'll rest here before we depart."

"Understood. It has been an honor to serve you, wizard!"

Rick neatly bid farewell and went on his way.

Just being saved by a wizard was a great fortune for him.

"So..."

"Let's go to an inn first."

After parting ways with the company, Ian and Lucy headed to an inn to recover from their journey.