2nd Day (7) | A Little Trip to "Heaven" (1)

The butler, Sebas, had temporarily left the party in a hurry, leaving behind a still-bewildered Anastasia and her knight.

Seeing that there was nothing more to do with the supplies for now, they eventually made their way to the campfire site—where they had left Bella cooking breakfast.

"Walls...?" Martha muttered, trailing behind her mistress with a puzzled expression.

"...I can only assume that Sir Sebas intends to create a border wall for our settlement," Anastasia replied thoughtfully.

"Our settlement, huh..."

The knight's gaze shifted toward their campsite. The large tent stood prominently in the distance, set against the vast wilderness meadow... the Garden of Hell.

She was still adjusting to the fact that she, her mistress, and their fellow aide, Bella, had spent a night—one single night—in this land. It was unbelievable how seemingly peaceful this place was...

'He wasn't joking about that, huh...' she mused, recalling how the butler had cleared out nearly all of the monsters from the entrance of the region to their campsite. Still...

"Lady Anastasia... do you truly intend to establish your land here?"

"... I wonder..."

Anastasia came to a halt... her gaze drifting across the vast meadow—a distant look in her eyes as she took in the somewhat haunting beauty of this supposedly perilous land.

The fallen noblewoman... was actually struggling to envision what her region would become.

Truthfully, she was inexperienced in the role of a lord. She had received some degree of education on the matter, but she had never actually put it into practice... until now.

"...To be frank, I cannot say for certain if this location would be the right place for our future settlement," she admitted, crossing her arms in contemplation.

"Does that mean you wish to move elsewhere, my lady?"

"No, I don't think we should move any farther than this either, but..." she turned toward her knight. "tell me, Martha, what is the distance between our current position and the grand border gate of Florentia?"

"D-distance...?! Uhm... well..."

Martha hesitated, trying to recall their journey from the previous day. Truthfully, the knight hadn't measured the distance precisely.

Not because she was incapable of doing so... but because her mind had been too preoccupied with the looming threat she had anticipated... which, in hindsight, had been rather pointless considering that the 'danger' had been temporarily neutralized by the butler.

"Ugh... maybe roughly half an hour by horse-drawn coach...?"

"Half an hour... so we are still relatively close to the border?"

"Indeed, my lady... however," Martha turned toward the horizon, eyeing the dirt path that stretched far beyond the border, "... we are still quite far from the heart of this region..."

"..."

This realization left the noblewoman silent, her brow furrowing as she considered the long road ahead.

The closer they were to the 'heart' of this land... the more dangerous it would become. And what lay in that center—

"...You know, Martha."

"Yes, my lady?"

"I've always heard this tale... ever since I was a child. Even during my time at the academy..."

Anastasia paused for a moment... memories of her days at the academy flashing through her mind. Martha remained silent, waiting patiently for her mistress to continue.

"...Sealed by the Legendary Hero himself, there lies a wicked being that once terrorized Florentia..." She exhaled softly, her voice carrying a hint of unease. "...The Demon King."

"Demon King...!" Martha stiffened, her brows furrowing. Even she knew of that tale. "Isn't it just a story meant to frighten children into behaving? I can't say for sure if the Demon King himself was sealed in this land, my lady..."

"And yet, it is also said to be the reason why so many monsters spawn from this region," Anastasia added, her gaze drifting toward the distant horizon. "They say the Demon King's corrupted mana seeped into this land... birthing creatures upon creatures filled with malice and chaos..."

Martha frowned.

"... It's just a legend, isn't it? I mean, if something like that were truly sealed here..."

Silence fell between them.

It was just a story. A legend. A tale meant to keep the young from wandering too far.

And yet... why did it feel so much more real now that they stood upon this cursed land?

"... Let's not dwell too much on old stories, Martha," Anastasia said, resuming her walk to their campsite.

"Y-yes, my lady!"

Eventually, they both made it to the center of their campsite.

Right in the middle of it was, of course, the campfire... where the maid Bella was hunched over a steaming pot, stirring its contents with an almost trance-like focus—

"Hehehe... hehehe..."

"W-what...?"

Both of them froze. They had heard strange giggles coming from the campfire... no, it was none other than Bella herself...!

The blonde maid was stirring the pot, completely entranced... but what was even stranger was how the liquid inside shimmered with a mysterious radiance...!

"Hehehe... So beautiful...!"

"B-Bella...?" Anastasia called out hesitantly, exchanging a wary glance with Martha.

"Hehe—Ah!" Bella yelped in surprise, broken from her trance.

The maid instantly turned around, only to be met with the concerned—yet also slightly creeped-out—expressions of Anastasia and Martha.

"A-ah! Lady Anastasia and Miss Martha! You're back!" She greeted them with a bright, cheerful smile... as if she had no idea how unsettling her behavior had just been.

"Bella, what are you doing...?" Martha asked, narrowing her eyes. She then turned to the shimmering pot, "...And what is that?"

"Oh, this?" Bella turned back to her "creation," still smiling proudly.

"This is our breakfast~!"

"Are you serious...?" the knight asked again, still baffled by how their supposed breakfast was able to shine like an actual light source.

The maid didn't answer her fellow aide's confusion. Instead, with a swift, almost dance-like movement, she promptly took a few bowls and poured them, before handing each bowl of light-emitting stew to both Anastasia and Martha.

"It's mushroom chowder~"

"M-Mushroom chowder...?!"

The seemingly simple chowder had a thick, creamy texture, yet the way it shimmered made it look almost otherworldly... as if the broth itself held tiny specks of starlight, swirling with every gentle ripple of the bowl...!

"This is safe to eat... right?" her mistress asked cautiously.

"Hehehe~ Oh, come on, my lady! Don't be so suspicious!" Bella giggled, but this time, her expression held no trace of madness—only pure, unwavering confidence. "I promise, this will be the best breakfast you've ever had!"

Anastasia and Martha exchanged glances, still hesitating over the strange nature of this 'breakfast' of theirs.

Taking a deep breath, they both dipped their spoons into the chowder.

Then—slowly, cautiously—they placed it into their mouths.

Their eyes widened as an explosion of flavor burst in their mouths!