Dakia Irmel.
"Is that so? What a truly tragic story."
I chimed in absentmindedly while focusing on roasting my portion of horse meat. I couldn't taste it, but it was better for it to be cooked just right and chewy rather than burnt and dry.
As she grilled the meat, Dakia slowly turned her golden eyes toward me.
"Would you mind putting a little more sincerity into your responses? So I can at least pretend not to notice that you don't care at all."
I brought a piece of the grilled horse meat to my mouth and took a bite. It was hot and juicy. Though I still couldn't taste it. As I sliced off pieces with my dagger and ate them bit by bit, Dakia asked:
"Isn't that undercooked?"
"I prefer it a little less done and tender, Princess."
Carmen, focusing on grilling his own share of the meat, spoke up.
"Wouldn't it be best if you finished your story? You were just about to reach the part where you suggest they used the marriage as a pretext to sell you off to the Dragon Kingdom, weren't you?"
Dakia shot Carmen a glare and then spoke.
"That's right. But aren't you two way too disinterested in my story?"
I popped another piece of meat into my mouth and answered.
"We listened intently the first time, Princess. But this is already the third time you've told the same story, so I think you should be a little understanding if we're struggling to stay fully engaged."
The core of Dakia's claim was simple: her brother, who viewed her as a thorn in his side, was using the marriage proposal from the Dragon Kingdom as an excuse to get rid of her because she held rights to the Irmel family's headship.
I glanced at her as I chewed another piece of meat.
Silky silver hair and eyes of golden hue. We had offered to grill the meat for her, but she stubbornly insisted on doing it herself, despite being terrible at it. In the end, she just kept fumbling with it until it was burnt black on the outside.
"Please, have this instead."
I picked out some well-cooked pieces from my share and handed them to her, taking the charred ones from her in return, trimming away the burnt parts and eating what remained.
'Murder!'
I suppressed the voice of my mother, who was urging me to just leave her with the burnt meat. Dakia accepted the plate I offered and said in a small voice:
"Thank you... I'll eat well."
"You'll do better next time. Just try to cut down on chatting while you're grilling."
She shot me a small glare but soon began nibbling on the meat I had cooked.
"A 'mage' princess, huh..."
Privately, it was clear that Dakia had great interest in the headship of the Irmel family. But given that she was a mage, it would not be easy for her to seize that position unless she outright killed her brother.
Nobles were wary of mages — or, more accurately, they were wary of mages being born into their own families.
There were two main reasons for this: first, due to the nature of mages, it was notoriously difficult to instill basic etiquette in them. Combined with their innate self-centeredness and noble status, it often led to disastrous incidents.
The second reason was an ancient superstition that "mages should never hold power," a belief dating back to before the era of the ancient empire, during the time of the "Warped Mages." Most races had long been deeply reluctant to let mages hold positions of political authority.
And frankly, judging by the average personality traits of mages, it wasn't exactly an unreasonable belief.
Of course, there had been instances of mages becoming lords, but Dakia was aiming for the title of Grand Lord — one of only four in the Northern Kingdom. Naturally, the resistance she faced would be immense.
As Dakia picked at her food, she cautiously looked at Carmen and me.
"May I make a proposal?"
It was obvious what kind of offer she was about to make. And sure enough, she didn't deviate from my expectations.
"Please escort me to Beatus, the Irmel family's territory."
But the reward she offered was far beyond what I had imagined.
"If you do, I'll reward you with your weight in gold."
Now that's the kind of offer you'd expect from the family of a Grand Lord. She was incredibly generous. My weight in gold... Tempting, very tempting.
'Murder!!!'
Mother's voice echoed in my head, insisting I start gaining weight immediately to maximize the reward.
Still, I glanced over at Carmen.
No matter how good the offer sounded, Carmen was the one who had hired me for this journey, and his mother was in the West. Meanwhile, Beatus was to the southwest. Helping the princess would inevitably delay our current mission.
If Carmen decided to continue westward, I was ready to give up the gold without hesitation. His quest came first — not to mention, he had once saved my mother's remains from being cremated.
Carmen clutched the relic pendant hanging from his chest and closed his eyes. After a moment, he smiled and turned to the princess.
"Very well. Since we've already chosen to get involved, seeing it through to the end would be the honorable path in the name of Baltas."
Princess Dakia Irmel smiled in satisfaction and popped another piece of meat into her mouth.
"Splendid."
We walked on through the relentless snow. It had been five days since Dakia joined our party, and we had already been attacked once. Unfortunately for them, it happened during my watch, and they ended up as a handful of divine energy.
[Divinity: 1741]
Carmen narrowed his eyes and shouted.
"If the map's right, we should be nearing a village soon!"
Dakia, brushing the piled snow off her shoulders, shouted back.
"Really?! There's really a hot bath waiting for us?!"
Leading the way, I answered as I pushed through the snow.
"I see lights ahead!"
We cheered and ran through the blizzard toward the village. Thankfully, it was a decently sized village with an inn for travelers.
When we stepped into the inn, the noisy conversations halted, and everyone stared at me.
Well, of course — I had a dozen swords and weapons from the attackers hanging off me like trophies. Dakia, brushing snow off her robe, commented:
"Every time I see you like that, I wonder — isn't that heavy?"
"It's manageable."
"You're incredibly strong."
Carmen quickly approached the innkeeper and secured rooms. He returned with an excited face.
"I got us three rooms at the end of the third-floor corridor. I also asked for hot baths. Let's clean up and have dinner together."
Without a word, we trudged up to the third floor, warmed ourselves in steaming baths, and gathered for dinner. Dakia, bundled up in her black robe, looked relaxed as she said:
"Walking through snow is way more exhausting than I thought."
Having finished ordering the food, Carmen replied lightly:
"Fortunately, you have excellent stamina, Princess. Honestly, I thought you might collapse before we even made it to the village."
And he wasn't exaggerating. Dakia's stamina was genuinely better than most adult men. She looked straight into my eyes and spoke.
"I've never skipped training since I was a child. Besides, Priest Marnak usually carried most of the heavy stuff for me. The real amazing one is Priest Marnak. He walked across all that snowy field carrying all that weight alone."
Carmen nodded.
"Marnak really is insanely strong."
I answered with a gentle smile.
"It's nothing special."
As we chatted quietly, hearty dishes like perfectly grilled sausages and fresh bread were served.
As expected, traveling comfortably required a heavy coin purse. Though I couldn't taste the food, I slowly began my meal, savoring the smell instead.
While the clatter of cutlery and lively conversations filled the background, a shrill voice suddenly pierced through.
"Kyah! Please don't!"
"Heh heh heh. Nice and bouncy. Feels real good to the touch."
One of the four drunken men groped a young waitress's butt. The men looked like mercenaries, well-armed enough to be considered such, drinking heavily at their table.
Carmen and I, used to such scenes at inns, ignored it and focused on eating.
The innkeeper would surely come out soon and handle it properly.
"I have to go take orders from other customers now."
"Hey, just sit with us for a bit. C'mon? Just let that pretty little butt of yours rest on a chair next to us."
"Dad!"
At the waitress's shrill call, a middle-aged man burst out of the kitchen. Presumably the innkeeper, he gently but firmly stepped between the drunken man and the waitress with his thick arms.
"Sorry, but this is an inn, not a brothel. If you need a prostitute, we can call for one elsewhere. Please bear with us for a moment."
Though the innkeeper's words were very polite, they unfortunately sounded offensive to the drunken men, whose faces turned beet red. One of them jumped up and shouted at the innkeeper.
"You son of a bitch! Who said anything about fucking? Huh? We just asked her to sit and drink a little with us, and you're acting all high and mighty? What, her ass made of gold or something?"
Another man stood up and hollered at the innkeeper.
"Kehaha! Let's see that precious golden ass of hers then!"
As the atmosphere grew increasingly violent, Carmen leaned toward me and asked cautiously.
"Looks like a fight's about to break out. Should we step in?"
I, chewing a sausage that tasted like nothing, pointed forward.
"One of ours already went."
The seat before me was empty.
"Let's hurry and help."
The princess had already flown forward like a swallow, her fist crashing into the jaw of the man who stood at the front. He was hurled backward, slamming into the wall.
"W-what the hell is this—"
Thwack.
Without a word, Dakia swung her sheathed sword into the temple of a bewildered man. Without even checking if he was down, she punched another man sitting at the table square in the face.
"You fucking bitch!!! Who the hell are you?!"
A man quickly drew his sword and swung at Dakia's back.
I grabbed the head of the man who seemed confused about whether he was ambushing or challenging, and slammed it into the floor. Wood splintered and blood spattered.
With a calm face, Dakia sheathed her frost-steel sword at her waist and bowed her head toward me.
"Thank you."
"It was nothing."
Carmen, who had followed more slowly, spoke gently to Dakia.
"At the very least, you should discuss with us first. Aren't we traveling companions?"
Dakia mumbled softly, her voice small.
"When I see injustice, I just... can't help but lose my temper."
The princess shyly confessed that it wasn't anger management issues, but justice management issues she struggled with.
That's... not good. Not good at all.
"Thank you so much for your help."
The innkeeper and his daughter bowed deeply, expressing their gratitude. I smiled gently, hiding my complicated feelings.
"It's only right to help each other in times of trouble."
"Marnak, catch!"
Carmen, having quickly scavenged the unconscious men, tossed me a money pouch. I caught it lightly and handed it to the innkeeper.
"Use this to cover any damages and repairs. Would you mind taking care of the aftermath?"
The innkeeper, his tough face now beaming, answered brightly.
"Of course! I'll call the town watch and make sure no trouble comes of this."
I nodded at the innkeeper, then turned to Carmen and Dakia.
"Now, shall we finish our meal?"
Knock knock.
In the dark of night, I left my room and knocked on Dakia's door.
"Who is it...?"
At her voice through the door, I answered in a low voice.
"It's me, Princess."
"Ah, okay."
The moment she naively opened the door, I shoved my way inside and clamped my hand over her mouth to stop her from chanting any spells. Her golden eyes widened in shock.
"Mmmph?! Mmph mmph!"
Kicking the door shut behind me, I shoved a frost-steel sword into the wall beside her head. Seeing the blade, the princess finally understood the situation and fell silent, her eyes screaming why?.
I smiled gently and said,
"I hope you'll quietly listen to me, Princess. We wouldn't want to wake Carmen, would we?"
I slowly pressed the frost-steel blade closer, and Dakia gulped and nodded. Once I confirmed she was ready to listen, I spoke softly.
"As you're smart, Princess, I'm sure you understand. We're fugitives right now. If you act without consulting us, like you did earlier, it puts both me and Carmen in serious danger. Oh, and just to be clear, I'm not blaming you for stepping in. I'm blaming you for doing it without coordination. Do you understand?"
Dakia blinked rapidly, signaling she understood.
"You said earlier that you can't bear seeing injustice. But from now on, you must hold it in."
I slowly traced the frost-steel blade to her neck and whispered,
"If you ever cause a scene like that again without warning, I'll have no choice but to sever your tendons and hand you over to the pursuers. That would be a very tragic and sorrowful ending, wouldn't it?"
Hearing this, Dakia's body stiffened completely. I re-sheathed the sword and smiled brightly.
"I trust that you'll be more wise and consult with us from now on. If you understand, please nod slowly."
Her head moved up and down slowly. Keeping fully prepared to decapitate her if she chanted even a single spell, I removed my hand from her mouth. Thankfully, Dakia stayed silent.
"Then, have a peaceful night."
Leaving the stunned princess behind, I quietly exited her room and returned to mine.
'Murder!'
"Mother's concern that I acted too rashly is perfectly reasonable. But this was an issue that had to be addressed before it grew worse."
I gently tapped my mother's hand and smiled brightly.
"And now, we'll see if Dakia truly has 'justice management issues'."
Would she still act out of pure righteous impulse even after facing a threat to her life?
'Murder!'
When Mother said she'd bet on "she won't act recklessly again," I chuckled.
"I was thinking the same, so unfortunately, it seems we can't make a wager this time."