At dawn, Iris escaped the palace with her party, running away.
There was a mist over the river that surrounded the capital, frightening the horses on board.
Iris patted Rayne on the head, her exceptionally small horse. The horse was well aware that its owner loved it, and enjoyed the fact.
The Knights of Tejas said that the smallest and fearless horse resembled Iris, but not to her. She thought that if Rayne were really, truly like her, she wouldn’t have loved the horse as much as she did.
Being more confident when you knew you were being loved was rather similar to Hayer. He knew all too well which part of himself was loved, and enjoyed being loved by people.
Rayne became especially confident after a cool run, which Iris knew was due to Rayne’s own state of narcissism. There were times when Iris couldn’t bear her horse because it was so cute.
“If you cross this river, I’ll let you run as much as you want. You’re not scared at all, but those big horses are scared and shaking.”
Hencke’s anxious horse stopped moving, as if it had listened to Iris patting Rayne. Hencke scolded Iris.
“This guy heard what the princess said.”
“Did it? Then I’m sorry.”
However, Iris knew Hencke’s horse was very competitive, so she continued, making eye contact with his horse, Wave.
“But isn’t it true that Wave was scared?”
“That’s true.”
He answered Iris casually without even thinking about it. Wave knew he was being teased, so he snorted, stamped his front hoove once, and got angry. Iris smiled apologetically and handed Wave a piece of carrot and gently soothed him.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m kidding. I’m teasing you because I know you’re a good horse.”
When she soothed him by saying that, Rayne pushed its head into Iris, as if saying not to take care of another horse. As much as it liked to be loved, it hated the distraction of its owner’s attention.
Iris hoped that Hayer, who had a similar personality to this horse, would be jealous too, but Rayne was very jealous. This aspect seemed to be different from Hayer.
Iris thought it would be nice for Hayer to crave affection from her like Rayne. Although she felt a bit sorry for wanting someone to resemble a horse.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Iris truly cherished her horse.
Hayer reached into the river, scooped up the water, and scrubbed his face. A madman jealous of a horse would have nothing but confidence in the world.
He was bewildered by himself, then took off his coat to stop thinking about it. Iris, surprised at the sight, approached.
“Hayer, what are you doing?”
“Now that we’ve come this far, I’m going to do some training.”
“What kind of training… Hayer!”
Before she could finish speaking, Hayer took off his top. Thanks to the treatment until just before departure, the place where blood oozed disappeared, but the wound still remained.
Regardless, he jumped into the river and started swimming along the boat. As Hayer jumped in, the other knights followed suit and jumped into the water.
Iris said, leaning on Annamaria.
“Why on earth do men play such dangerous games… Ann!”
“I can’t help but jump in!”
Then she jumped into the water together with them.
Iris couldn’t understand swimming along the ship even though there was a good means of transportation.
When she reached into the water, she felt her whole body freeze by the coldness of the river in November. Still, the capital was relatively in the south, so it rarely snowed and the river did not freeze. But it was never to the point of jumping into the water and swimming like that.
Iris consoled the surprised horses, who thought their owners had fallen into the water.
“Children will be more careful than that. Right?”
She resorted to the horses that would at least listen to her and complained.
Eventually, those who jumped into the water swam to the shore across the river and came out of the water. It was rather warm when they were in the water, but when they came out wet, everyone screamed that it was cold.
“Argh! It’s cold!”
“No fire, fire?”
Feeling pity, Iris found a match, tied it to a stone, and threw it to the shore as hard as she could. Hayer rushed into the water, picked up the match that was about to fall into the river due to lack of strength, and brought it out.
Meanwhile, the knights gathered dry leaves and branches and lit them. The rainy season began and the air was humid, so it was a bit of a struggle.
While they were warming up, Iris looked at the river at dawn. Farther away from the ship, there was no light, so it was just dark. What was scarier than the cold was the darkness.
Iris thought some fears might have been socially constructed. If she had been educated not to be afraid of the dark, she might not have been afraid of this night.
In the meantime, the ship reached the riverside. A simple wooden bridge was installed from the ship to the shore, and baggage and horses were unloaded.
Iris also went to the burning bonfire and warmed up quickly because the river wind was cold.
Hayer came next to her, showed her a map, and said.
“As you know from the last time we moved through the desert with the merchants, it’s impossible for us to cross the desert by ourselves. We will continue to fight against the desert people.”
Iris nodded. Only the merchants with strong ties to the desert people could move freely through the desert.
Hayer said.
“The problem is that the King of Siere is now staying here, in this castle, and it would be faster to go straight through the desert to get there.”
“What’s the difference?”
“It takes ten days if you run straight without rest, but you can’t overdo it unless you’re a courier, so you’ll have to take fifteen days.”
“…How does Edwin get past this?”
“Oh, he’s good at impersonating. When he’s with the desert people, he pretends to be the desert people, and when he’s with the merchants, he pretends to be a merchant.”
“That’s incredible.”
“That’s the job of a courier.”
Hayer continued.
“However, it’s difficult to even estimate how long it will take if you go around avoiding the desert. Plus, it’s dangerous because you don’t know what’s going to happen after crossing the Siere border.”
“Then…”
“We’re trying to temporarily coexist with the desert people. In the desert.”
The desert people, the Qahifs, believed that the desert god killed the goddess Tilla and became the only god.
Since they followed the god who killed the god they believed in, both the Luwans and the Sieres hated the Qahifs. Therefore, they rarely came out of the desert, and the only way to survive in it was a little agriculture centered on an oasis, and looting.
Although the merchants were relatively close to the Qahifs, they were always at risk of being looted.
Iris said.
“Do we have anything to believe in?”
“Now that the sacred tree has been revived, the monsters of the desert must have started rampaging. We’re veterans on that issue, so we’re going to share some information.”
Then the carrier bird administrator greeted and added an explanation.
“I’m continuing to send leaflets to the Qahif tribes scattered throughout the desert that our Knights of Tejas have solved the monster problem on the southern border. We hope that when we reach the desert, we will be able to meet with some of the persuaded Qahif tribes.”
“It tells us where we are.”
“Yes.”
The carrier bird administrator continued gravely.
“As you know, the Qahifs are hard-to-compromise and violent people. It’s more likely that the Qahifs will appear in front of us just for looting.”
The one hundred days given by King Eswa were too short a time. Iris nodded. They had no choice but to take risks.
After finishing their strategy, drying their clothes and bodies, and taking enough rest, they began running back toward the desert.
Every time Iris passed a private house on the way, she recognized the eyes of those who looked at Hayer were fierce. It was a gaze that saw the demon who cut the sacred tree.
Hayer, who resembled Rayne and quickly recognized the goodwill of people’s eyes, couldn’t have been unaware of it. Even if he hated Luwan, Iris thought it wasn’t his fault.
After a few days of running, the party reached the beginning of the desert.
The party looked at the desert that would dry up and kill those who lost their way on the spot.
“Will they come?”
When Hencke asked Hayer, Hayer replied with his arms crossed.
“It’s a problem even if they come.”
“…I know.”
If they didn’t come, they wouldn’t be able to start, and if they came, they were likely to be looters.
At most, there were twelve people in the group, including Iris and Hayer. Not all of them were knights, including Iris and the doctor responsible for the health of the horses and people.
With women, children, and the elderly in the oasis, the Qahifs had at least ten strong men and at most one hundred men for looting.
The looters considered looting as a job from a very young age, and they learned to fight harshly. When the number reached about one hundred, the victory of the Knights of Tejas could not be guaranteed.
“They’re coming.”
Iris murmured.
The more she concentrated, the more detailed she knew about the terrain, and the more she could figure out what she was looking for.
As soon as she spoke, a bird flew in from afar and sat on the arm of the administrator. The administrator handed the letter to Hayer.
[I am Chief Sichtis. We are coming.]
“We can get started.”
Hayer murmured.
At dawn, Iris escaped the palace with her party, running away.
There was a mist over the river that surrounded the capital, frightening the horses on board.
Iris patted Rayne on the head, her exceptionally small horse. The horse was well aware that its owner loved it, and enjoyed the fact.
The Knights of Tejas said that the smallest and fearless horse resembled Iris, but not to her. She thought that if Rayne were really, truly like her, she wouldn’t have loved the horse as much as she did.
Being more confident when you knew you were being loved was rather similar to Hayer. He knew all too well which part of himself was loved, and enjoyed being loved by people.
Rayne became especially confident after a cool run, which Iris knew was due to Rayne’s own state of narcissism. There were times when Iris couldn’t bear her horse because it was so cute.
“If you cross this river, I’ll let you run as much as you want. You’re not scared at all, but those big horses are scared and shaking.”
Hencke’s anxious horse stopped moving, as if it had listened to Iris patting Rayne. Hencke scolded Iris.
“This guy heard what the princess said.”
“Did it? Then I’m sorry.”
However, Iris knew Hencke’s horse was very competitive, so she continued, making eye contact with his horse, Wave.
“But isn’t it true that Wave was scared?”
“That’s true.”
He answered Iris casually without even thinking about it. Wave knew he was being teased, so he snorted, stamped his front hoove once, and got angry. Iris smiled apologetically and handed Wave a piece of carrot and gently soothed him.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m kidding. I’m teasing you because I know you’re a good horse.”
When she soothed him by saying that, Rayne pushed its head into Iris, as if saying not to take care of another horse. As much as it liked to be loved, it hated the distraction of its owner’s attention.
Iris hoped that Hayer, who had a similar personality to this horse, would be jealous too, but Rayne was very jealous. This aspect seemed to be different from Hayer.
Iris thought it would be nice for Hayer to crave affection from her like Rayne. Although she felt a bit sorry for wanting someone to resemble a horse.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Iris truly cherished her horse.
Hayer reached into the river, scooped up the water, and scrubbed his face. A madman jealous of a horse would have nothing but confidence in the world.
He was bewildered by himself, then took off his coat to stop thinking about it. Iris, surprised at the sight, approached.
“Hayer, what are you doing?”
“Now that we’ve come this far, I’m going to do some training.”
“What kind of training… Hayer!”
Before she could finish speaking, Hayer took off his top. Thanks to the treatment until just before departure, the place where blood oozed disappeared, but the wound still remained.
Regardless, he jumped into the river and started swimming along the boat. As Hayer jumped in, the other knights followed suit and jumped into the water.
Iris said, leaning on Annamaria.
“Why on earth do men play such dangerous games… Ann!”
“I can’t help but jump in!”
Then she jumped into the water together with them.
Iris couldn’t understand swimming along the ship even though there was a good means of transportation.
When she reached into the water, she felt her whole body freeze by the coldness of the river in November. Still, the capital was relatively in the south, so it rarely snowed and the river did not freeze. But it was never to the point of jumping into the water and swimming like that.
Iris consoled the surprised horses, who thought their owners had fallen into the water.
“Children will be more careful than that. Right?”
She resorted to the horses that would at least listen to her and complained.
Eventually, those who jumped into the water swam to the shore across the river and came out of the water. It was rather warm when they were in the water, but when they came out wet, everyone screamed that it was cold.
“Argh! It’s cold!”
“No fire, fire?”
Feeling pity, Iris found a match, tied it to a stone, and threw it to the shore as hard as she could. Hayer rushed into the water, picked up the match that was about to fall into the river due to lack of strength, and brought it out.
Meanwhile, the knights gathered dry leaves and branches and lit them. The rainy season began and the air was humid, so it was a bit of a struggle.
While they were warming up, Iris looked at the river at dawn. Farther away from the ship, there was no light, so it was just dark. What was scarier than the cold was the darkness.
Iris thought some fears might have been socially constructed. If she had been educated not to be afraid of the dark, she might not have been afraid of this night.
In the meantime, the ship reached the riverside. A simple wooden bridge was installed from the ship to the shore, and baggage and horses were unloaded.
Iris also went to the burning bonfire and warmed up quickly because the river wind was cold.
Hayer came next to her, showed her a map, and said.
“As you know from the last time we moved through the desert with the merchants, it’s impossible for us to cross the desert by ourselves. We will continue to fight against the desert people.”
Iris nodded. Only the merchants with strong ties to the desert people could move freely through the desert.
Hayer said.
“The problem is that the King of Siere is now staying here, in this castle, and it would be faster to go straight through the desert to get there.”
“What’s the difference?”
“It takes ten days if you run straight without rest, but you can’t overdo it unless you’re a courier, so you’ll have to take fifteen days.”
“…How does Edwin get past this?”
“Oh, he’s good at impersonating. When he’s with the desert people, he pretends to be the desert people, and when he’s with the merchants, he pretends to be a merchant.”
“That’s incredible.”
“That’s the job of a courier.”
Hayer continued.
“However, it’s difficult to even estimate how long it will take if you go around avoiding the desert. Plus, it’s dangerous because you don’t know what’s going to happen after crossing the Siere border.”
“Then…”
“We’re trying to temporarily coexist with the desert people. In the desert.”
The desert people, the Qahifs, believed that the desert god killed the goddess Tilla and became the only god.
Since they followed the god who killed the god they believed in, both the Luwans and the Sieres hated the Qahifs. Therefore, they rarely came out of the desert, and the only way to survive in it was a little agriculture centered on an oasis, and looting.
Although the merchants were relatively close to the Qahifs, they were always at risk of being looted.
Iris said.
“Do we have anything to believe in?”
“Now that the sacred tree has been revived, the monsters of the desert must have started rampaging. We’re veterans on that issue, so we’re going to share some information.”
Then the carrier bird administrator greeted and added an explanation.
“I’m continuing to send leaflets to the Qahif tribes scattered throughout the desert that our Knights of Tejas have solved the monster problem on the southern border. We hope that when we reach the desert, we will be able to meet with some of the persuaded Qahif tribes.”
“It tells us where we are.”
“Yes.”
The carrier bird administrator continued gravely.
“As you know, the Qahifs are hard-to-compromise and violent people. It’s more likely that the Qahifs will appear in front of us just for looting.”
The one hundred days given by King Eswa were too short a time. Iris nodded. They had no choice but to take risks.
After finishing their strategy, drying their clothes and bodies, and taking enough rest, they began running back toward the desert.
Every time Iris passed a private house on the way, she recognized the eyes of those who looked at Hayer were fierce. It was a gaze that saw the demon who cut the sacred tree.
Hayer, who resembled Rayne and quickly recognized the goodwill of people’s eyes, couldn’t have been unaware of it. Even if he hated Luwan, Iris thought it wasn’t his fault.
After a few days of running, the party reached the beginning of the desert.
The party looked at the desert that would dry up and kill those who lost their way on the spot.
“Will they come?”
When Hencke asked Hayer, Hayer replied with his arms crossed.
“It’s a problem even if they come.”
“…I know.”
If they didn’t come, they wouldn’t be able to start, and if they came, they were likely to be looters.
At most, there were twelve people in the group, including Iris and Hayer. Not all of them were knights, including Iris and the doctor responsible for the health of the horses and people.
With women, children, and the elderly in the oasis, the Qahifs had at least ten strong men and at most one hundred men for looting.
The looters considered looting as a job from a very young age, and they learned to fight harshly. When the number reached about one hundred, the victory of the Knights of Tejas could not be guaranteed.
“They’re coming.”
Iris murmured.
The more she concentrated, the more detailed she knew about the terrain, and the more she could figure out what she was looking for.
As soon as she spoke, a bird flew in from afar and sat on the arm of the administrator. The administrator handed the letter to Hayer.
[I am Chief Sichtis. We are coming.]
“We can get started.”
Hayer murmured.
