Encounter With a Fool ③
"You are already exhausted? You are not even running."
"I-I am running! I can't do it anymore. Please let me take a break."
The girl, panting heavily, said she wanted to take a break. For Margine, it was just a brisk walk, but for the girl, it felt like she was running a marathon. After about an hour of continuous running, the girl gave up.
"Tch, can't be helped. Five minutes break."
"No way, no way, no way! Five minutes is not enough!"
"The town's just a little further."
"Impossible is impossible!"
Margine's 'a little further' was about 10 kilometers. They would arrive around dawn at this pace. However, he thought that hurrying wouldn't make much difference, so he decided to let the girl, whose panting hadn't subsided, rest.
*gulp-gulp-gulp*
During the break, Margine poured water into a cup and drank it.
"Please give me some water, too."
"Should I get your water bottle?"
Margine reached for the water bottle from the luggage he'd been entrusted with,
"There's no more water in my water bottle. I drank it all."
What?
"What were you going to do if I wasn’t here?"
"I-I was planning to look for a water source somewhere when I woke up in the morning."
"Listen, there's no water source along the road from where you were camping until the next village. If there is one, you'd have to go into the forest to look for it."
"I-I can find a water source easily."
The girl said confidently.
This is no good. If I hadn't happened to pass by, she would have either been eaten by wolves there or attacked and killed by something in the forest.
"Then go find a water source if you want to drink."
Margine said, tossing the water bottle he'd taken out to the girl.
"Huh?"
"Don’t 'huh' me! You can find a water source easily, right? Then go find it!"
"T-There's no way I can find one in this dark!"
"Here, I'll lend you this."
Margin handed her a magic flashlight he was holding.
"Are you seriously telling me to find a water source now?"
The girl looked bewildered, wondering if Margine was serious.
"You'll find it easily, right? The magic crystal is running low, so if you don't want to be stranded in the dark, you'd better find it quickly."
"A-Are you telling me to go alone?"
The girl's face turned pale, understood that Margine was serious.
"You said you'd find it easily, didn't you? Personally, I wouldn't dare take such a reckless gamble in a place where I don't even know if there's a water source."
Margine said it with a serious face.
"That's basically telling me to die!"
"Look, it's because you underestimated the dangers of traveling alone. Securing safety and water are the absolute basics of travel. Do you even realize that you could have died if you hadn't met me?"
"T-There’s no helping it.... I didn't have enough money to ride a carriage, and I'm not familiar with the road."
The girl replied sullenly.
"Then, you could have earned some money to ride a carriage at Lionel, or at least researched the route to the royal capital and figured out the best time to leave. Thinking everything will work out somehow until you reach the royal capital is naive. You're taking life way too lightly."
"I'm not taking it lightly! You don't even know what I've been through to get here!"
"Well, I don't care to know. Besides, whatever you've been through has nothing to do with how foolish your journey has been."
"You don't have to be so cold!"
"It's not about being cold. The carriage fare from Lionel to the royal capital is about 10,000 G, right? If you don't even have that much, what are you going to do about food when you reach the next town? Do you have enough food to last until you reach the capital?"
"If it's dried meat, I still have some left...."
"Then eat it wisely. With your legs, it'll take at least two more days to reach the royal capital. I hope you don't starve to death by then."
Hearing Margin's cold words, the girl burst into tears.
"But what else I can do.... Waaaaah!"
*sigh*
"500 G."
Margin said to the crying girl.
"*sob*.... 500 G...?"
"That's the water's price."
"T-That's expensive."
"If you don't want to, then you can try your luck and go find a water source in the forest."
The girl glanced toward the forest. It was already dark here, but the forest side was a deep crimson darkness. She sniffled and threw five copper coins at Margine.
What a rude girl....
"Here, your 500 G water. Drink it carefully."
The girl was handed a glass and drank the water, grumbling about how expensive it was and how it was a rip-off.
"Keep it with you."
Margine filled her water bottle to the brim and handed it to her.
"Oh, the water...."
"If you are done resting, let's continue."
"Are we leaving already?"
"If you stay still like this, your body will get cold and you won't be able to move."
It was early December. The nights were quite cold. Without giving her a chance to protest, Margine started walking at a slightly slower pace than before. They finally arrived at the town just before noon.
"Listen, pitch your tent in this square tonight and sleep there. There are other people pitching tents, so pitch yours near them. Not near the men's tents, but near the women's tents. Somewhere with a lot of traffic would be better. Then tomorrow morning, ask the merchants going to the royal capital for a ride in exchange for your help in loading and unloading their merchandise.”
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me! With your legs, even if you leave in the morning, you might not reach the next village before sunset. Also, make sure to fill your water bottle before you depart."
Margin said this to the girl and returned her luggage.
"What about you?"
"Me? I'm leaving now."
"Y-You are leaving me behind!?"
"Of course. I have brought you safely to the town, so there's no need for me to stay with you anymore. See ya."
"Ah...."
Margin immediately left the town. He wanted to give dried fish and other souvenirs to the old couple potato farmers in the next village today.
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Margine arrived at the potato farm before sunset.
"Excuse me!"
"Oh my, you're back already?"
The old lady came out to greet Margine.
"I've finished my business. I bring some souvenirs, so please accept it."
"Oh my, is it really okay to give us this much?"
"I'm acquainted with the head of fisherman there. He gave me a lot of stuff, but I can't eat it all alone. Please enjoy it with your husband."
"Thank you. Dried fish is expensive here, so I'm looking forward to eating it. Stay the night, alright?"
"Well, I guess I will. Where's Grandpa?"
"He's out delivering goods to the capital, but he'll be back soon. Come on in."
Just as Margine told the old lady that he'd make dinner tonight and started preparing the duck hot pot, the old man returned.
"Oh, you're here! Welcome, welcome!"
The grandfather smiled happily seeing Margine.
"Good work on the delivery. Tonight's dinner is duck hot pot."
"That's quite a feast. Grandma, could you bring out the wine?"
"Yes, yes, of course."
"I have some alcohol with me, so let's drink that instead. I think it'll go better with the hot pot."
Margine was making duck sukiyaki and soy sauce didn't go well with wine. During his time in the Hero Party, Margine had successfully recreated Japanese alcohol with Misty's help. One of them was sweet potato shochu. He dilutes the sweet potato shochu with hot water and let the old couple try it.
"Hmm, it has a unique flavor, but it's the kind of flavor that's addictive."
"I think it goes well with this hot pot. Come on, let’s eat!"
The old couple hesitantly take a sip of the brown soup.
"Oh, it's delicious!"
"You are right! The sweet, salty, and savory flavors soak into the duck meat and vegetables."
The old couple was delighted. Duck meat was tasty, but it was too expensive to buy, and quite difficult to hunt. Margine also started eating the hot pot. The three of them continued to talk about how delicious it was until late at night.
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~ The girl left behind in the previous town ~
"He was so bossy. Telling me to pitch my tent near other people’s tents. Isn't it more relaxing to be away from others?"
Grumbling to herself, the girl set up her tent away from others, made a campfire in front of it, boiled some water, and was softening the last bits of dried meat in her mouth for dinner.
I haven't eaten nearly enough....
The growing girl swallowed the dried meat reluctantly, and then her stomach gave a loud growl.
“You’re eating a pretty lonely meal, aren’t you?”
Suddenly, a man called out to her.
“Do you need something?”
“If you’re still hungry, want to eat with us?”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t mind stew, we still have some left.”
“Ah, umm.... I don’t have any money.”
The girl, who had been charged for water by Margine, said that, thinking she would be charged, too.
"Come on, it's not the kind of food you'd charge money for, so don’t worry."
“R-Really?”
“Hahaha, really, really. It’s fate that our sleeves brush against each other. I felt sorry seeing a young girl eating such a lonely meal. Come on, follow me.”
“Yes!”
Hearing she would be fed, the girl happily followed the man. From the tent set up a little distance away, lively voices could be heard.
"We're a bit noisy, so we set up our tent far away from the others. Come on in. Hey, I've brought her. There was some food left, right? Let her eat."
"E-Excuse me."
"Oh, come in. Here, eat this and warm yourself up."
Inside the tent were two other men who seemed to be in high spirits after drinking some alcohol.
“Ah, it’s warm and delicious.”
“Right? Here, eat up.”
They encouraged her to eat without hesitation and even offered seconds. Unlike the cold man from before, these were kind people. The girl completely let her guard down and started chatting happily.
“You’re cold, right? Drink this.”
They offered her alcohol.
“I-I can't drink. I’m still underage.”
“Come on, we started drinking since we were ten. There’s no law that says you can’t drink just because you’re underage.”
The three of them urged her to drink, and she took a sip, thinking it was just a little.
“I feel kind of dizzy....”
"See? Alcohol is great, isn't it?"
"Hehehe, yeah..."
The girl was staggering from the alcohol she'd just drunk for the first time.
"Well then, shall we get started with the fun?"
"The fun?"
"When there’s a man and a woman, it's obvious, isn't it?"
The men, who had been so kind until now, started trying to take off her clothes.
"W-What are you doing!?"
"Don't struggle! I'll make you feel good soon."
"NO! Don't touch me!"
The girl resisted, but she was unable to gather her strength due to the influence of alcohol. Getting annoyed, one of the men slapped the girl's cheek.
"I told you not to struggle!"
"*sob*"
The girl who was subjected to violence by the man froze in fear.
"I'm the first since I brought her here."
"Tch, hurry up and get it over with."
Ignoring the girl trembling with fear, the men decided the order of who would go first.
"NOOO!!!"
The girl shouted loudly as a one of the men pinned her down.
"What the hell are you guys trying to do!?"
Just in the nick of time, an unfamiliar woman opened the tent.
"Who the hell are you? Don't ruin our fun. Or do you want to join in?"
"Shut up! Let go of that girl if you don't want that filthy thing of yours cut down."
The woman drew her sword. The men wanted to fight back, but there were two more women behind her, armed with daggers and bows. In addition, they were quite drunk, so they were at a disadvantage.
"Tch, fine. Just so you know, I was just expecting her to repay me for giving her a free meal."
The girl clung to the woman who had saved her, trembling.
"You foolish girl. Come with us."
The three women led the girl to their tent.