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Chapter 5: Fate Revolves

We took a light nap after we finished treating his wounds.

Then, we entered the forest again and headed for the village of Urs in the afternoon.

The depressing atmosphere never changed. Everything was bleak and dreary and the air felt like a dying whisper.

"——Let's stop here for today."

Louie, who had hardly spoke along the road, proposed when evening was upon us.

"We still have some time until night though?"

"The trees grow thick around here. They'll be useful for hiding from the beasts. And——I'd like to rest early today."

"......Sorry, your wounds hurt, don't they?"

"That's not what I meant. I want to head out before dawn tomorrow. ......Because I want us to arrive at Urs when there aren't any Reims."

Louie eyed a large tree that looked like it was opening its arms out wide and pointed to it. He continued,

"that looks like a good place to stay. It has a think trunk, so we'll be able to hide ourselves."

"Hey, Louie, you said that there're Reims in the village of Urs, right? Wouldn't it be better to change even one or two people back human?"

"......No, let's find the princes first."

Louie stubbornly refused to nod in agreement.

I was dejected. I couldn't say that I was reliable even if I lied, but Louie wasn't even including me in the headcount. He was putting all the emphasis on the resurrection of the princes who could also use divine swords.

My dejection soon turned into feelings of alienation. To turn Reims back human and prevent the destruction of the kingdom. I was the one who had come here with the duty to make that happen.

"......We're making a fire, right? I'll go get some branches!"

"Hibiki, you shouldn't go off alo——"

"It's okay, I won't go far!"

I jumped off of Eru's back when we arrived by the base of the large tree.

I argued down Louie, who was bewildered, and went off on my own to find branches we could use for a fire. I wanted to show him that I could be at least a little useful.

Eru growled anxiously and moved to accompany me. He waved his tail in a wide arc when I shot him a glare and sat back down in a lonely manner.

I was a little disgruntled by how Louie and Eru looked at me like they were worried guardians watching their child do something dangerous. I really didn't plan on going far.

I quietly furrowed my brows and rolled up the long sleeves of my robes as I began to walk away.

I'll walk around the large tree where Louie and Eru are and pick up branches there, I guess. I'll need dead leaves too. Plain wood doesn't catch fire that easily.

I found a strange shrub while I was looking for branches that looked like they would burn well.

Its trunk was shaped like a jug and its rind was rough, as if it was made out of a countless number of hard scales.

There was a hollow in the thickest part of the trunk that looked large enough to hide a small child.

"I wonder what's up with this hollow. Was it made by people?"

I timidly looked into it and was promptly surprised.

There was a pool of water in the hollow.

"Nice, we might be able to drink this!"