0. Opening (2)

1.

The next day, the two of them were walking in the woods again. The forest road was almost deserted, but the traces of carts were relatively clear. There are probably peddlers using this route, but they seem to come and go more than walking people.

"Isn't it tiring?"

Derek looked at Aini with worrying eyes. Looking at the sky, he thought it would rain tomorrow or so, so they were keeping the break time to a minimum. It would vary depending on the strength of the wind, but it could rain tonight if it's early. Aini was still in a bad condition, so he wanted to make her avoid getting exposed to wind and rain...

"Sorry for slowing us down."

Aini forced a smile while holding her breath. Of course, it would be difficult since they were walking several times more than yesterday, but she agreed to avoid the rain. She was sincerely sorry that her feet couldn't move properly.

"I'm not tired."

Aini forcibly added an answer, but there was no way it wouldn't be tiring. Forests don't have friendly terrain to people at all. Just last night, the temperature suddenly dropped and the wind blew, putting the bonfire out. It was so hard to revive the embers with magic after five or six times that they had to go to sleep just wrapping up the blanket and robe.

"If it's too hard, tell me."

In the worst case, Derek would have to go on the road holding her in his arms. To be honest, he didn't have any good ideas.

And last night they kept hearing the sounds of wild animals, so not only Derek but Aini had to stay awake the whole night. In order to soothe Aini who was whiny since she was so scared, Derek had to hug her and use magic to her so that she could fall asleep. Even so, Aini finally fell asleep when the sun had just risen.

'A cave or a small private house would be fine...'

They don't wish for an inn. There may be a lot of leaves in the forest, but they will be useless when the rain starts pouring. There must be an empty cave or terrain to avoid the rain so that Aini can rest and her wounds do not get worse. Of course, Derek would have to be soaked in the rain if there is not enough space to avoid the rain.

"Could you please wait a minute?"

Aini briefly let go of Derek's hand. And Derek frowned a little by the familiar magical response.

"There's a cabin just a short way down the road. There's no smoke coming up..."

"Thank God. Is it detection magic?"

"Uh... Is that so? I just thought it would be nice to know what's beyond."

Derek nodded at Aini's words. It had only been a few days since she had escaped from her captivity, and Derek didn't feel the need to pass on magical knowledge to Aini, who hadn't decided on her future career yet. Derek himself is a wizard, but he thought it is best not to use magic.

"Right. The more magics you can use... The better."

Anyway, it will help us in our life. Just like now.

"By the way, there is a child in the forest. It's not that far."

"Yes? A kid?"

They are in a forest so deep that it would take you at least several days to get to the nearby village. If there weren't other villages in the forest, how could there be a child here?

"Yes. At this height... Seems like the kid is hugging a tree."

If he was as short as to touch Aini's chest, it would be a child.

"Weren't there any parents around?"

"I felt like he was alone. He looked around and…"

"Ah... It wouldn't be a big deal. The kid might be from a cabin nearby..."

Of course it won't be easy. Because you will have to give up on medicine and security. In addition, a house will eventually collapse and need repair, so it would require the hands of people and craftsmen. Needless to say, bringing in things from outside would be difficult.

"Yes, maybe. But something like iron... ...lies around the forest."

"That's probably... Wait."

Derek also turned on the detection magic once. Although the range is narrow enough to detect only the part of the line of sight, it is still enough to penetrate the grass and darkness.

"It would be better not to leave the forest road. It's a big trap."

It's probably a trap for catching bears or large predators. It's understandable if there is a single cabin in a secluded location. But the size... It was so big that it was almost brutal. Moreover, there was no trace of a beast in the trees or on the ground.

'Blood...?'

He didn't know what kind of animal it was, but most of the traps had dark red blood splattered on them, and only that part had a lot of rust. What lies around the grass... Maybe a small scythe. He could also see a well-sharpened blunt weapon.

"Nothing will happen if you don't get out of the forest. There are traces of a cart going back and forth."

"Ah, I guess."

Even with Derek's request, Aini started walking, relieving tension. It's close enough to see a child from the road anyway, so they may help him if he needs help.

"Uh? Hello."

He was a brighter child than expected. It looked like he was hugging a tree... Derek was aware of that behavior to some extent. He was probably measuring the circumference of the tree to determine if it is suitable for felling. If he decides it's good to go, he will hang a few strands of twine from the tree.

"Hi. We are passing travelers. Do you live around here?"

Derek asked the kid, smiling. Derek doesn't have such a bad impression, so he may not run away...

Aini grabbed Derek's left sleeve tightly. It seemed that she was not used to dealing with other people. It was because she showed the same reaction to the merchants, forest keepers, and hunters they encountered to get here.

"Yes, I live in a cabin over there. Are you here to buy a tree?"

Derek and Aini looking at the child, both tilting their heads in the same direction at the unexpected question. Sure, there are many trees in the forest, but do people buy a whole tree? I had heard that some people plant trees for landscaping or gardening, but I didn't think anyone would come to such a remote place to get trees. Aside from the price, the shipping cost would be enormous.

"My family does carpentry work. We make crafts and furniture."

The child was hugging a tree while talking with a confident face. And he was holding the string with both hands... It seemed like he was measuring the circumference of the tree. He dropped the string on the ground several times as if he was still clumsy.

"Aha... That's why there were so many cart tracks on the road."

Derek nodded. If it was a cart loaded with heavy wood or furniture, the ground would of course be dug deep. And since few people would come to such a remote region, it would be natural that there would be few footprints.

"Yes, We are selling things to Elmut Village and a few furniture dealers."

The child looked at the string he was holding in his hand, then looked around for a large tree around him. He barely looked like a 10-year-old, but he was already in charge of his own work. And he said everything he had to say and did what he had to do.

"I think it will rain tomorrow or so. If it's okay, can we stay overnight?"

Derek turned and looked up at the sky. He didn't feel much wind right now, but... Maybe up there the situation was different, because the rain clouds were approaching faster than before. He should probably think it's going to rain from dawn or tonight. It seemed that they would have to borrow eaves if they are not welcomed to stay overnight.

"I think that's something for my parents to decide. I will guide you."

"Okay, please."

The child told them and hung a part of the string on the branch of the big tree he was hugging earlier. It is to mark a suitable tree for felling. If there are no low branches for the tree, he would hang it on a nearby tree.

"Wow..."

The cabin was the largest tree house Derek had ever seen. It's so big that it looked like it had at least four floors. It was almost grand. It's probably impossible to build a tree house of that size in a city. There would be no good way to transport wood there. It's probably with a unique structure because it's in a forest with a lot of big trees. And the city probably won't even give you permission because of the fire problem even if you want to.

There was not just one cabin. There was a small house in the back made of bricks and wood. Seeing that there was a chimney that the cabin didn't have, it seemed that the workplace and living facilities were separated.

"It is big, huh? It is a house passed down from generation to generation. It's a nice place to live except that there are a lot of bugs"

Derek nodded his head without looking away at the words of the child who boasted, spreading his chest.

It's not just a carpenter's family. Although each element that could receive a lot of strength was framed with metal, even taking that into consideration, it was a very structured and sturdy house. A house made entirely of straight trees, with no collapses or bends, was quite impressive in itself. And the stable next door was probably made to welcome peddlers. It was a stable that's large enough to be found in most large trading establishments, so Derek thought it would not be bad to rent this place. At least you won't have any problems avoiding the rain.

It was the first time Aini had seen a large wooden building, so she was gawking at it with her mouth open. A building of this size made of logs wasn't common even though it was not uncommon for a brick house to be this tall.

"Come on in. The whole family may be working together."

Said the child as he opened the door. The hinge part creaked a little, probably because it hadn't been polished. Well, it's supposed to be an entrance for guests.

Inside the cabin, people were in the middle of trimming trees. Two men were sawing a large tree and a woman in an apron was carving a craft. Upstairs, a woman in a kerchief was sharpening a saw blade, but it was hard to see because she was in the corner.

Aini hid behind Derek as if she was not used to being in the crowd, poking her head out to look inside.

"Lanneque, who's behind you?"

A girl came in through the side door and asked. She was wearing gloves in her hands and held a broom to sweep up sawdust fallen on the floor.

"Travelers, sister. He asked if he could stay overnight."

"Mom! We have guests!"

The girl raised her voice and began to sweep the sawdust with the broom. Then, as if taking turns, the person carving the craft rose from her chair and stretched, looking at Derek and Aini next to him. The others just glanced at them and didn't stop working.

"We haven't seen guests in a while. Did you come to buy something?"

The left eye of the sculpting person was almost stained red as if the blood vessels in the eye had burst. It was probably because she had been concentrating for so long that her eyes were more than tired. It was fortunate that there was no damage to her eyesight.

"Hello. We are travelers passing by. If you don't mind, could I borrow the eaves?"

Derek said, trying to smile as friendly as possible, but the woman's expression didn't look good.

"Sure. Well, there are a lot of rooms left, anyway."

Derek was a little bewildered as she said that with the unpleasant look on her face. It's not that she is welcoming, but she is saying it in a way that she doesn't have any other choice. He wondered if she really wanted to let them sleep over.

"Hello..."

Aini also said hello, but it was hard to see her because more than half of her body was hidden behind Derek's.

"Oh, there was a child. So should we give you two rooms?"

It seems like Derek didn't make a good first impression on her. As soon as the lady saw Aini say hello, she greeted her with a broad smile all over her face.

"I... well..."

Aini was about to say something, but hesitated because she was afraid of people in an unfamiliar environment. Perhaps frustrated by the words that didn't come out, Aini waved her hands up and down to try to squeeze the words out.

"Yes. Okay. What's wrong?"

The woman with her left eye closed leaned toward Aini and mimicked her behaviors as if she thought Aini was cute. You might think she was making fun of her because it seemed like she was playing with a child... But it wouldn't be a problem because Aini seemed to be enjoying it, even more exaggerating her behavior.

"One room, would be, enough." I'm scared."

Perhaps as it was interesting to see her barely spit out the words as if she was squeezing them out, the lady soon smiled brightly and nodded her head towards Aini.

"Aye, yes, yes. Are you afraid of the dark?"

Aini knew that she was making fun of her, but didn't react much and just pluck at Derek's sleeve.

"She's afraid of being alone. Only one room will do."

As soon as Derek spoke, the woman stopped smiling and looked Derek up and down. After taking a very careful look as if appraising something, she snorted hard.

"Can I trust you that you won't do anything bad to the child?"

"What kind of person do you think I am... I'm a sensible man. And I'm the one who is protecting Ainisis."

The age difference was so big, and it had been about 2 weeks since they met. Derek wasn't that indiscreet.

"I, I..."

Aini held onto Derek's sleeve and closed her eyes.

"I'm not a kid!"

At that voice, Lanneque who guided them here, Lanneque's older sister, and the lady all smiled. Derek nodded, barely holding back a laugh.