When I woke up, the girl's face was right up close and personal.
The eyes, which were closed and enthralled, looked as if they were dreaming. Her overall childish, round face is showing signs of maturation, and the bridge of her nose, which is smooth and clear, looks like a structure.
The bangs that covered her forehead were a vermilion color like an apple, which looked very good on her well tanned face.
Surely a full smile blooming in the sun would dazzle the healthy beauty of an active girl. And I know that, I know that.
The face of such a girl continues to come closer to mine, as if she were begging for a kiss.
I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to find out what's going on, but I'm sure I'll be able to find out.
'Meir.'
But I called the girl's name and pushed her kissy face away.
'Mmm,'
She let out a frustrated voice.
'You're in violation of the agreement.
You could have slept for ten more seconds.
'There's no point in looking at me like that. I mean, don't try to attack a sleeper in the first place.
Then next time I'll attack you when you're awake, okay?
With a mischievous grin, I dodge Meir's attempts to wrap his arms around my neck, undaunted by being pushed away.
Grumbling.
Gerald could have been nicer to me.
Ignoring Meir, who let out a selfish voice, I moved my eyes to the scenery outside that I could see through the window.
We were now in a carriage on our way to the adventurer's city of Zeto. Apparently I had fallen asleep, lured by the pleasant swaying of the carriage.
The adventurer's city of Zeto exists within the Raud territory, which stretches to the east of the Halkenian Kingdom. From my hometown, it's a seven-day journey by horse-drawn carriage, with the town of Logos as a way station between us.
And it's already been seven days since we left the village. The city of Zeto should be close by now.
''I think we should be getting there by now.......Ah!
As I looked out, I could see it. The straight road leading to the city, which was covered in a chalk wall.
That must be the adventurer's city of Zeto.
''Wow... that's a big wall.
As I look up, I can see the big city wall getting closer and closer.
As I was marveling at it, the driver sitting on the driver's platform spoke to me.
'Hahaha. Hahaha, boy, is this your first time seeing the adventurer's town?
'Yes! It's amazing. It's bigger than the town of Logos, isn't it?
You've got it, kid. The Adventurer's Town attracts all sorts of things and people from all over the country and territory. It's not just the adventurer's business, but also the shops and guilds that are trying to make money. There's no way it won't get bigger with this.
According to what my uncle tells me, the Adventurer's Town was originally established as the Adventurer's Guild, a system for defeating demons that appeared on the site where the demons known as the "Seal Designated Unit" were sealed.
There was no limit to the number of monsters, and there was no end to the amount of demons that could be killed by a regular army. That's why the aim of the guild was to gather roughnecks and skillful men to defeat the demons, and to maintain order in the country by paying bounties. It seems that they also intended to reduce the costs of stationing regular troops in the country.
There, tool shops and blacksmiths who are in charge of weapons and armor for adventurers gathered there. It is said that as people gathered in this way, new demands were born, and those demands attracted people one after another, and the town became this big now.
I've heard this story before from my parents, but as I listened to my uncle's story, I was getting more and more excited about it.
An adventurer. An adventurer, an occupation where danger is close at hand, but one where one can get rich.
He trains himself, fights with powerful demons, and sneaks into the depths of the former labyrinth known as the dungeon for money and fame.
I'm sure I wasn't the only one who longed for heroic tales full of dreams and wanderlust when I was a child.
'I'll finally be an adventurer when I get behind that wall, right? Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I leaned out of the carriage window in a fit of excitement, and just then the carriage bounced loudly, as if its wheels had stepped on a stone.
''Oh shit,''
Oh, Gerald!
I almost fell off the carriage due to the impact, but Myl grabbed me from behind and held me back.
Oh dear........I almost fell. I'm grateful to Myl for saving me.
"Kid! Don't act so dangerous!
I could hear shouting coming from the gyoja stand. I cowered at the voice and settled back into the carriage chair.
'Thanks, Meir. It helped.
When he utters a thank you, Meir looks dumbfounded.
''It's really a sloppy thing to do, Gerald. You're just like your uncle in that way.
Well, he's your son...
I don't know if I should just open it up there.
Myl was born and raised in the same village and is the same age as me. Naturally, she knew my father.
I scratch my head in shame at the words of Myl, who has a good-natured heart that jumps out of the comfort of such a hometown, and I scratch my head in shame.
I'm not sure if it's really a good idea for Meir to leave the village too? You didn't have to go out of your way to keep me company.
You can't blame me. I'm 13 years old, that's all the time in the village.
No, I'm saying that because it's rather the right age.
We are old enough to be married in the village.
However, in my quest to become the most powerful sorcerer, I chose to train myself as an adventurer and left the village. It's also convenient because the adventurer can earn money and intends to use the money to pay for his or her entrance into the magic academy in the capital.
However, that's my situation. It's not that I can't handle magic, but from my point of view, there's no reason for me to go out of my way to become an adventurer, but....
I'm not going to be able to say that. I don't want to give birth to a man I don't like, I don't want to give birth to a child of an unqualified age. If you had stayed in the village, things would have gone a lot faster.
So it seems. The bottom line is that he left the village to chase my ass, you color-boy.
'No, so I'm not going to marry you...'
You can't be the most powerful sorcerer in the world if you stay in the village to begin with.
But that doesn't mean I'm going to marry a weaker man than me.
When I interrupted my rebuttal, Meir shot me a resentful look.
If we're late, it's Gerald's fault.
He told me in an accusatory tone of voice. The swordsmanship left me speechless.
Honestly.
For a long time, Meir and Meir have been treated as a couple in the village. But because we've been together so much since we were young, I can only see her as a brother and sister.
But it seems that this is not the case with Myl, and I'm putting a condition on her. As long as I can't fulfill that condition, I have no intention of marrying Myl at the moment.
So, well, I'm sure Myl's words of 'it's my fault if we don't get there in time' are not out of line.
Anyway.
I'm not going to tell you to go back to your village after you've come all this way. Please don't do anything reckless.
It's kind of annoying to hear that from someone who almost fell out of a carriage just now, but I'm an open-minded person who doesn't care about such details, so I'll just nod my head for now.
You're fretting about it a lot.
My heart was racing with anticipation and excitement as the city walls of Zeto grew taller and taller even as we exchanged such thoughts.
In this city, I'm sure I can improve myself even more. It will be a great source of sustenance for me as I strive to be the strongest.
With this in mind, the carriage was steadily approaching the city of adventurers.