“No, I’m just making a quick trip to the capital, you old geezers!”
“Alex, you never said you were going too! You lied to us—”
“Sorry about that! But you’d have done the same thing in my shoes!”
“Shut up with your excuses and stop the wagon already! We’re all going to die at this rate!!”
“You think I can stop now?!”
Even though the wagon was at full speed, the distance between it and the villagers was shrinking.
This is bad.
If this keeps up, we’ll get caught…!
“Teacher.”
“Y-yeah?”
“I have an idea.”
“What is it?”
“Stick your head out the window.”
“W-what…? Uh, okay.”
Does Harp really have a solution?
Still puzzled, I leaned my face out the window as she suggested.
“It’s Eve!”
“Eve! It’s Eveee!”
“EVEAAAAARGH!”
“Hiiiik!”
“Okay, Teacher. When I give the signal, just say one thing.”
“W-what do I say?”
“‘We’ll be back soon!’ That’s all.”
“That’s it…?”
“Trust me.”
I swallowed hard.
The furious expressions of the villagers rushing toward us were terrifying, but Harp seemed confident.
I decided to trust her and hesitantly opened my mouth.
“Now, Teacher!”
“Uh, w-we’ll be back soo—!”
Just then, Harp poked me in the side.
“—oooon!!”
“…”
The unexpected jab made me burst out laughing mid-sentence.
“H-Harp! What are you doing?!”
“Sorry, I had no choice.”
“Uh, what? What do you mean—”
Before I could finish, a series of thud, thud, thud sounds came from behind the wagon.
“Huh?”
“Success, Teacher. Look.”
I cautiously peeked out the window.
Behind the wagon, the villagers were no longer chasing us.
Instead, they stood there, looking completely satisfied as they waved at us.
“Uh… g-goodbye?”
Feeling awkward but obligated, I waved back.
The villagers enthusiastically returned the gesture, their faces still radiating contentment.
What just happened?
Why had they suddenly given up chasing us?
All I’d done was laugh and say goodbye.
It didn’t make any sense.
“…Harp, that was clever. A farewell filled with laughter and warmth? No one can resist letting you go after that.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
Harp just smiled innocently.
“Exactly.”
“Uh… right?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what just happened, but since the problem was resolved, it was best to just move on.
The wagon, having left the village, began rattling forward at a steady pace.
The familiar wooden fences and small houses of the village slowly receded into the distance, replaced by wide-open fields.
“Wow.”
I stuck my head out the window, marveling at the endless expanse of green pastures.
As I gazed across the field, I noticed strange, unfamiliar things moving about.
They were green like grass, but they looked squishy and bouncy, almost like jelly.
“Harp, look at those moving things! What are they?”
“Oh… those are slimes. Green slimes.”
“Slimes? Really? Those are slimes?”
“Yes.”
“…Whoa.”
I wasn’t sure at first, but it turned out they really were slimes.
“Amazing.”
“Teacher, you seem really excited. Are slimes that fascinating?”
“Of course they are!”
After all, they’re the first actual monsters I’ve seen in this world.
Until now, except for the two suns in the sky, this place didn’t feel all that different from a medieval world.
Sure, there were things like lizardman skewers and slime milk, but seeing an actual monster like this made it all feel much more real.
“I wonder if those slimes are tasty, like the milk from before.”
“…Well, they might taste good after being processed, but don’t even think about eating them raw. You’ll get a stomachache.”
“Come on, I wouldn’t just eat one like that.”
“Really?”
“Seriously! What’s with that look?”
For some reason, Alex was giving me a skeptical glance, as if he wasn’t entirely convinced I wouldn’t try it.
I shot Alex a brief glare in response to his odd look.
What’s with the staring? I’m not some silly little kid, you know.
“Gasp! What’s that?”
After our lighthearted exchange, I turned back to the window.
Far off in the field, I saw small rabbits with tiny horns bounding around in the grass.
“Horned rabbits. They’re pretty rare these days, but there sure are a lot of them here,”
Harp explained.
“Horned rabbits, huh…”
Rabbits with horns.
Horned rabbits.
Talk about straightforward naming.
“Harp, are those kinds of monsters dangerous? They won’t attack the wagon or anything, right?”
“Oh, absolutely. They’re super dangerous!”
“W-what?! Seriously?!”
“Nope. Just kidding.”
“…”
“It’s fine. They’re gentle creatures. And even if they were dangerous, they’d have been dealt with already. Even though we’re far from the village, this isn’t an entirely untraveled area.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
Guess I was worried over nothing.
Feeling reassured by Harp’s explanation, I continued watching the horned rabbits play.
“Wow, look at that! The horned rabbits are playing tag with each other!”
“…”
“Oh, now they’re fighting over a carrot!”
“…”
“Harp, Harp, look at—Harp?”
I was completely absorbed in the rabbits’ lively antics, excitedly pointing out every little thing.
But something felt… off. Turning back, I realized the strange quietness wasn’t just my imagination.
At some point, both Harp and Alex stopped responding altogether. Now, the wagon was eerily quiet.
“Huh?”
I turned around and saw the two of them had drifted off to dreamland.
Harp was leaning against the wall of the wagon, breathing softly in her sleep, while Alex sat slumped in a corner, his head bobbing as he dozed.
“Well, look at that. Both of them are sound asleep.”
Yaaaawn.
Watching the two peacefully snooze made me feel drowsy, too.
I figured it was about time for me to get some rest.
I carefully wedged myself into the space between Harp and Alex—the only spot left to sit in the cramped wagon.
Phew…
Stifling another yawn, I gazed out the window.
The fields remained as tranquil as ever.
The slimes and horned rabbits moved lazily in their own world, undisturbed by anything around them.
The warm sunlight streaming through the window felt soothing against my skin.
“…Ah.”
But just as I settled in, Harp’s head suddenly tilted toward me.
Startled, I froze. Before I could react, Harp had already rested her head on my shoulder.
“Harp? Are you awake?”
I whispered softly, glancing at her face.
Her breathing was steady, and her expression serene, her lips curled into a faint smile.
She was clearly still in deep sleep.
Just then, I felt another movement from my other side.
“…What?”
Alex’s head leaned toward me as well, eventually settling on my other shoulder.
Great.
Now I’m a pillow.
“Seriously, what’s with this? Did you two plan this or something?”
I muttered in confusion, but a small laugh escaped me.
In an instant, both my shoulders were completely taken over.
They were heavy. At this rate, there was no way I’d be able to sleep.
“They must’ve been really exhausted. Harp and Alex, both…”
Well, they had been busy since morning.
As the adult here, it was only fair for me to let them rest.
“Both of you, have sweet dreams…”
Listening to their steady breathing, I shifted slightly to make it more comfortable for them to lean against me.
“Alright, kids, we’ve arrived at the inn! Time to unload—oh.”
Ellie opened the wagon door with a bright voice, but her tone softened the moment she saw what was inside.
The three of us were peacefully asleep.
In the center sat me, Eve, with Harp and Alex leaning on either of my shoulders.
While my face looked calm, there was a faint hint of discomfort—likely from the weight pressing down on both sides.
Harp’s head was nestled deeply against my shoulder, and her small hand clutched the edge of my clothes.
Meanwhile, Alex, who was usually noisy and full of energy, was uncharacteristically quiet, breathing evenly in his sleep.
Ellie took in the sight with a warm smile.
“Honestly… Eve really goes through so much.”
The scene was heartwarming, like a long-standing family.
The three of us, nestled together in the wagon, radiated a sense of warmth and comfort.
“Well, this is tricky,” Ellie murmured softly, gently closing the door again to let us rest just a little longer.
And Alex, instead of his usual rough snoring, was surprisingly breathing evenly in his sleep.
Ellie watched the scene, her lips curling into a gentle smile.
“Really… Eve works so hard.”
The three of them looked like a family that had been together for a long time.
Inside the wagon, they slept side by side, with Eve in the center, creating a heartwarming sight that could soften anyone’s heart.
“This is tricky.”
Ellie murmured quietly, softly closing the door again.
It had been quite some time since they’d arrived, but with the three fast asleep, there wasn’t much she could do.
Better to let them rest a bit longer.
Stepping outside the wagon, Ellie took a moment to look around.
The small inn’s front yard was serene, with only the occasional rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze breaking the silence.
Leaning against the wagon, Ellie tilted her head back to gaze at the sky.
One of the suns had already set below the horizon, and the other was slowly following, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple.
“Moments like this, so peaceful… they’re not bad at all.”
As she thought about the sleeping trio, a quiet laugh escaped her lips.
“Maybe I should prepare a quick snack. They probably haven’t eaten anything all day.”
With that, Ellie moved to the back of the wagon and began searching through their supplies for something simple to eat.