Darkmire Forest
That morning, after staying for a week and spending around 300 zol on accommodation and food, Camelia and Atherion set off, leaving the small town behind.
Atherion, now healthier, was controlling the horse with Camelia sitting in front of him. This time, Camelia had returned to her silver hair and let it down since they were already outside the city limits, and she had just washed it before leaving.
Her hair was blown by the wind and exuded a pleasant fragrance. Atherion, who was behind her, tried to resist the urge to smell her hair.
"Atherion...?" suddenly Camelia called him.
Atherion replied, "Hmm."
"Where are we heading now?" Camelia asked while continuing to look ahead. They were riding Storm, the beautiful black stallion, on a narrow path, and on either side of the road, beautiful mountain views could be seen. Camelia rarely saw such views in her world and felt like she was in a dream world.
"We are going to the Eldrida Kingdom," Atherion replied.
"Eldrida Kingdom. Umm... earlier the sun rose in front of us, which means we are heading east," said Camelia, trying to remember all the information she had gathered in this world.
"Ya. Calonia is in the west. To the north is Nefaria, and to the south is Valtoria," explained Atherion.
"Oh, I understand," said Camelia while nodding slowly.
They fell silent again during the journey.
Suddenly, Camelia bent her body towards the horse's head, and Atherion quickly caught her. He looked at Camelia, who was asleep, then rested her head on his chest and wrapped one arm around her.
***
Nefaria Kingdom
The beautiful Queen Nefaria, in her open and thin red gown despite the snowy cold weather in the Kingdom of Nefaria, sat with her legs crossed on her throne. Her thighs were exposed, yet she remained relaxed, unfazed by the cold air, while gazing at a large crystal ball to her right.
She was watching a young couple riding a black horse. The young man had black hair and the woman had silver hair. Her eyes sparkled even more when she saw the young man catch the young woman who appeared asleep and then lean her against his body.
"Very interesting. A handsome young man as well." Queen Nefaria chuckled.
"It seems that I want him. The handsome Darkness."
While saying that, she touched the large crystal ball screen, and the screen displayed waves before changing to a close-up of Atherion's face.
***
When they arrived at the edge of the forest, they saw several horse-drawn carriages parked and some people standing and chatting outside the carriages.
Atherion then dismounted from his horse and led Camelia, who was still on horseback, toward the group of people.
"Who are they?" asked Camelia.
"I'm not so sure, but usually they are merchants," Atherion replied flatly.
Camelia nodded. The horse-drawn carriages were made better than the horse-drawn carriages she had previously seen in the small town where they were staying. The horse-drawn carriages he had seen before were probably more accurately described as carts than carriages.
The people who gathered were also wearing better clothes. Some are wearing simple armor, and there are one or two people wearing outfits that look more extravagant than the others.
Atherion approached them, and they were talking seriously. Camelia overheard a bit of their conversation.
"We don't dare to pass through that forest alone without an army of skilled people. That is the Darkmire Forest," said the man in armor with blond hair and a mustache.
"But you are being paid to escort us. You must guarantee our safety," said one of them, who was dressed better than the others.
'Darkmire Forest?' Camelia remembered what Atherion had said before they saw the horse-drawn carriages.
Darkmire Forest is famous for its ferocious monsters. Many have tried to exterminate those monsters, but none have succeeded." Atherion explained to him.
"If there are many monsters there, why would we go into that forest?" Camelia asked fearfully.
"Because for me, they are just weak monsters," Atherion replied confidently.
Camelia glanced at him, hoping what he said was true.
"If we accompany you, will you pay us?" Suddenly, Atherion asked one of the well-dressed individuals.
People stared at Atherion with scrutinizing looks.
"What can make us believe you are strong?" asked one of the armored men.
Atherion drew his sword and swung it towards a tree about ten meters away from where they stood. After swinging it, he immediately sheathed his sword back into its scabbard.
Suddenly, the tree pointed at by Atherion split in two, with a diagonal cut.
The merchants and their bodyguards were astonished. They really didn't expect that a young man, still in his youth, possessed a skill that they might not master even in their entire lifetime.
"F-Fine, how much do you charge?" Asked someone in a nice suit.
"2,000 zols paid in advance. The remaining 5,000 zols will be paid after we leave the forest," Atherion replied.
All those people were left speechless again. A very large number.
"Are you crazy? That's a huge amount," said someone in a nice suit.
Atherion snorted. "We will escort you and escort your guards. Isn't that a fair price?"
Everyone exchanged glances. And in the end, they agreed.
After they all had lunch, of course, Atherion and Camelia joined them for the meal, and they began to walk together into the forest.
Darkmire Forest is filled with large trees with very dense foliage, so even though it is daytime now, only a little sunlight enters the forest. So the forest looks somewhat dim.
The horses pulling the horse-drawn carriages began to look restless. They were snorting at each other.
Camelia, who was on top of Storm, also felt what the horses were feeling. She felt several pairs of eyes watching them.
He glanced at Atherion. He just walked casually beside Storm. Feeling someone staring at him, Atherion turned towards Camelia and they locked eyes for a moment, before Camelia turned her face away, blushing.
They kept marching forward. However, when they reached a slightly more open area, with not many trees around, several large figures jumped towards them.