Our Journey Starts Here

The cart occasionally stumbles as it treks the uneven dirt road, master is sitting right beside me with his arm crossed and his eyes struggles to keep itself open. It has been more than an hour since we left Mikha on a horse cart, we are not the only passengers on this cart. There were a few more people sitting across and right beside us, the carts were quite narrow and we would step on each other's foot if we were not careful. Even though it's quite cramped here, master seems to have found a little bit of comfort to the point that he seems to be feeling drowsy.

"Master, are you sleepy? If you please, you can rest your head on my shoulder" Is what I wanted to say but I didn't have enough courage to say those words to him.

Right beside us were vast green wheat fields that were still unripe. On the horizon I could see tall hills decorated by walls of trees before the blue sky, occasionally tall clouds would peek from behind. The hills would constantly follow us as we move ever slowly forward, when the road is bad the horses would neigh and when another cart crosses us the coachman would yell and greet them.

"Oi, good day Ron!" the coachman yelled from the front of the cart.

"Good day Billie!" another coachman answered from the opposite direction.

"Going to sell the harvest?"

"Yeah, good one we have this season!"

"Aight, goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

The coachman greeted each other with friendly tone, that was the only conversation they could have in the short window of time before the cart passed each other and eventually would fade to the distance. We continue to move forward. I'm starting to find the gentle sway of the cart combined with gentle breeze of wind on my face to be quite pleasing.

"clak...clak...clak…" The horse's shoe jingle as it stomps the ground.

Before I knew it, I too had gotten sleepy. I closed my eyes and not long after, I fell asleep.

---

"Viola..." a voice called to me gently.

"Viola… Viola, we've arrived..." He said again, I opened my eyes and as I did I realized that the cart had come to a stop. I turned my head, and there I saw master smile kindly towards me.

"Are you awake? Come, let's get down" He said.

Oh no, did I fall asleep? Also, I just noticed that my body was leaning towards master. Did I accidentally fall asleep on his shoulder? Oh my, how embarrassing of me. I frantically lift myself and try to hide my embarrassment as best as I can as we get down from the cart.

"Here's the fee, thank you for the ride" Master said as he approached the coach in the front of the cart and handed to him a few silver coins.

"You welcome mister, have a good day,'' the coach said before whipping the horse and leaving us.

"Come Viola, let's find a place to stay" Master said as he waved his towards me.

I quickly ran and caught up to him "Where are we master?" I asked.

"We are in the town of Rison right now" He said as he looked around.

"Why are we going to this town in particular?"

"Well, there's a forest nearby that is said to have plenty of wildlife. I thought that I might be able to test my skill and hunt there"

"I see,"

"Ah, that Inn looks good. What do you think of Viola?" He said as he pointed to one of the buildings.

"Looks nice," I said briefly.

"Alright, let's check it out first"

We then let ourself inside and there, an old man greet us.

"Welcome mister, are you here to stay?" The old man said.

"Yes, I am. How much is it for one night"

"For one night will be 7 silver"

"I see, then, one room please"

"Yes sir. Hmm… alright, here's the key" The old man said as he handed the key.

"Thank you,"

"Enjoy your stay"

We then made our way to our room, it was a smaller building compared to Miss Rose's Inn that we stayed at before. It also seems like it has fewer bedrooms. Shortly after we arrived in front of our room,

"Click… Krieeek..." Master opened the door, it looked very ordinary until I saw something in the corner of the room. It was a wide wooden bed made for two people and it was the only one in that room. Oh my… am I going to sleep with Master tonight? But… but I'm not ready yet, I'm going to lose myself if I were to sleep together with Master tonight. It's not like I was unwilling but this is… this is so sudden.

my heart is racing, I sunk my hand on my face trying to hide my emotion. I took a peek towards Master. He seems to be as surprised as me,

"Ah… uhm...well, it seems like the Innkeeper made a mistake. I'll get to him and ask for another room" He said as he frantically ran back to the entrance.

Moments later he was back with another key, he opened the door of the new room and inside it looked like an ordinary room like the previous one. But this time there were two beds in the room. I breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, I was preparing all the will and courage I have in myself there. Oh my…. Why is my heart still beating?

"Alright, here we are… let's unpack our belongings and settle down" Master said.

Shortly after settling down in the room, Master immediately went to the door again.

"Leaving so soon, Master?" I asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to check the forest right away and perhaps also try to hunt while the sun is still up. Speaking of, you don't have to call me Master, Viola. Just Ryo is fine" He said as he tinkered with his crossbow.

"Uhm… yes, master"

"Sigh…Alright, I'm going out"

"Goodluck" I said briefly.

He left and I was finally alone, silence quickly filled the room. This town is indeed small, there was not a lot of noise coming from outside. I open the window and rest my arm on it, there I spend my time observing the scenery and the hustle of the townsfolk.Waiting, until Master is back.

---

"Click...Krieeek..." The sound of the door opening caught my attention, I turned my head immediately and there I saw Master with a tired face and jaded gesture walking inside.

"Welcome back, Master. How was your hunt?" I asked.

"Oh, Ahaha… it seems like I was not able to catch anything today, Oh well… better luck tomorrow" He said with a pained smile.

"I see..."

He sighed and threw himself to his bed and stretched his arm and legs. He seemed exhausted, the sun almost set when he was back so he had been out there hunting for multiple hours.

"Sigh…. at least, I hoped to be able to catch one " He said with a defeated voice.

It pained me to see Master so disheartened by something, I needed to cheer him up somehow.

"Don't worry master, I'm sure you will be able to catch something tomorrow" I said.

"Thank you Viola, I will try my best tomorrow" He said with a smile, but I can still feel his sorrow. He only said that to make me feel better, that smile you just gave is a lie. How shallow of me, of course my words alone are not enough to make him feel better. What should I do, I didn't know him well, I'm just a girl he met not so long ago, please just let me do something.

….

I'm so useless….

"Viola, when I was out hunting, did you just wait here until I was back?" he asked, suddenly breaking my thoughts.

"Uhm… yes" I said.

"Really? Oh Viola you didn't have to wait for me, you can go out for a walk if you like. Or were you afraid to travel alone without me? " He lifted himself and said to me with concerned face.

"Uhm… No, it's just… I didn't think I need to that's all, please don't worry about me"

"Ah... right, you don't have any money on you right? Here, you can have some so if you want, you can go out and buy something for yourself" He said as he walked towards me and put a handful of coins in my hand.

"Ah, master you don't have to. I'm fine as it is, " I said as I tried to give the coins I received in my hand back.

"It's alright Viola, you are my servant right? So it is my responsibility to provide for you, besides you need to be independent and not rely on me too often. Okay?"

"yes..." I said quietly. Even though he himself was in a predicament he still set aside his attention to care for me. I need to pay his kindness somehow, I have to. Even if it's just a little, I want to make him feel better.

"Uhm… master..." I grabbed one of his hands without realizing, I was so desperate that my body moved on it's own. How crude of me. Ah, but it's now too late to turn back. I need to say something to him now.

"Master, thank you for worrying about me but instead… Please, just… uh, don't give up. It pains me to see you so disheartened about something, so please don't give up. I'm sure you have tried your best today" I said as clearly as I can.

"..." He didn't say anything in return, I then lifted my head towards him. Curious of what reaction he makes after hearing my words. He was blushing, seemingly out of words. After our eyes met he immediately tried to compose himself and act normal again.

"Ah, uh… ehem… … Thank you Viola, that made me feel better" He said with a genuine smile.

"Sorry for making you worry" He patted my head gently.

Ah, please don't pat me so suddenly, how embarrassing.

But… but at least, I was finally able to make the Master smile genuinely again.

Soon after we had our fulfilling dinner and Master seemed to be back to his usual self. I was glad, we chatted with the Innkeeper for a while before finally going to bed. Before I sleep, I fold my hand and pray to the goddess to bless him tomorrow. Goodnight Master, please sleep well tonight.