245: You know, introverts always have such a hassle with love, huh?

Lilirily wrapped around me like a vine. Hey!?

We’d been completely frozen in place until Eva sprang back to life first.

“You! What are you doing, Lilirily!?”

“Oh? Is that not Eva-san?”

“Don’t play dumb! You knew all along! What is this!?”

“Hmph, well well, look at that. You really don’t see it, huh? Just as expected, you’re a bit slow.”

“S-slow…!?”

“I’ve fallen for this rich, handsome guy. I made my move, and now I’m his wife, that’s all.”

“Too many things wrong with that! Your real feelings are spilling out, and you’re talking about it in the past tense!”

“Nufufufu. Love’s a hurricane.”

“I don’t get it at all!”

“I don’t get you, either. Why’s Eva mad? Honestly, that part’s a mystery to me.”

For once, can you two just stop talking about me like I’m not even here? Seriously.

“Just get away from him! Can’t you see he’s not into it!?”

Lilirily, who’d been clinging to me like a snake, blinked and looked up at me.

“Huh?”

That’s the face of someone who just got hit with something totally out of nowhere.

“Darling? You gonna marry me or what?”

“No, I’m just gonna say no, normally—”

Too sudden. Can’t keep up. Don’t even get it. And seriously, marrying a pervert? That’s a leap, isn’t it?

“Eh… wait. That’s weird. I read somewhere… in a thin book… that virgins get confused and fall for someone just from close contact…”

A thin book? Like a stack of report papers?

“Um… we’re holding hands now, so we’re basically a couple, right?”

“No. That’s not how it works.”

I’ll say it clear. Definitely a guy who misunderstands everything.

“F-fee…!”

She suddenly turns bright red, pulling away from me. Then, from who knows where, she pulls out a full-body robe and wraps herself in it, curling up at the edge of the alley.

“W-what’s going on? This isn’t how it’s supposed to be! Men aren’t beasts, are they? I read in that rare, thin book I got from Angura—just get close for a second, and they lose all reason and pounce on you!”

Muttering under her breath, I watch her settle into the alley’s shadows. Then it hits me.

Ah. This is a classic, overcomplicated, socially awkward love mindset!

And she’s so deep in her own logic, she’s completely lost track of what she’s doing!

This is bad—gotta get out of here!

That’s when I feel my wrist suddenly seized. Delicate fingers, I’d say.

Eva tugs my hand urgently, like she’s panicking.

“What are you doing?! Get away from here while you still can!”

Later, I’d think about how pointless it was to split from the party. How there was no point leaving an informant behind. I’ll admit, I had plenty of room for critique there. But right then? I didn’t have time to think.

Her profile, turned back toward me as she tugged my hand—burned into my eyes.

Maybe… I was falling for her.

That’s when my thoughts slowed to a crawl.

A jolt hit me.

“Wha—?!”

That’s… a tackle?!

It was Maina who’d slammed into me.

Then she shoved me forward, pressing hard.

Only when Eva’s grip slipped did she finally stop pushing.

“…Craft-sama. Depart. Now.”

Maina, unusually sour, stared up at me with sharp intensity.

Her unexpected forcefulness threw me off balance.

“Huh? This is the last big town, so we should slow down a bit…”

“Rested enough at Goldendoon. This is just a transit point.”

“O-oh.”

She’s right, as usual.

Still… I’m starting to speak my mind clearly now. Kyle’ll be shocked when he wakes up. Gotta wake him up soon.

Yeah. Maybe Maina’s feeling it more strongly than I am.

“Alright! Everyone gather up! The shopping group’ll ‘communicate’… uh… what now? (..) What do we do?”

Evah, who’d silently appeared beside me, placed a hand on her hip.

“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure she gets it.”

“O-oh.”

My instincts screamed not to ask what exactly she meant to make clear, so I let it slide.

“Anyway… once everyone’s gathered, we’re off!”

And so, as always, we resumed our adventure without a single damn bit of cohesion.

Jitarou, now reunited with us, said one thing.

“Just like usual, huh.”

Is it because of this guy’s face that I suddenly feel like punching him?

◆

After heading north from the city of Gandar for a while, the danger level spikes all at once.

“While a while” for us means a distance that’d take ordinary people days to cover.

Along the way, we passed fortified outposts meant for monster defense. Guess that means beyond those, it’s dangerous territory. Naturally, there’s no road past here.

Beyond that lies an uncharted mountain range.

Huh. I really wanted to leave Maina behind…

Anyway, we’ve got horses, ponies, and two-legged birds. When Persia gives the word, they move with astonishing coordination.

In a situation like climbing a mountain, the Beast Rider’s abilities are priceless.

What I’m getting at is, this journey—something we expected to be tough—is going smoother than we thought.

Take, for example.

A deep canyon, like a crack between sheer cliffs, stretched ahead. We were moving along the side of one cliff, barely clinging to footholds that existed only as shallow indentations in the rock face—barely enough for a person to stand.

No one had planned this path for walking. It was just a random series of rock shifts from tectonic movement, nothing more.

The path was narrow—hardly wide enough for a single person to pass—yet Persia shouts out.

“Fine! I’ll go first with Tebasaki! Watch me, then follow! What’s the worst that could happen? You fall off the cliff? So what!”

Fall? Not a chance!

Sure, we’ve got safety ropes and all that—but honestly, this is the kind of place you’d expect to slip and fall.

Yet Persia just walks forward like it’s nothing. That’s impressive. Still, something about it feels… off.

The natural footholds break off without warning, of course. That’s just how it is.

Persia, when she found a foothold halfway up the opposite side of the ravine.

“Jump! You can do it! The ones with wings, of course— and the rest of you, you’ve got strong four legs to make up for it!”

Before we even realized the situation or started discussing how to move forward, Persia had already shoved the animals into jumping without a word.

Try to imagine it. Jumping from a super high, thin wall straight onto another wall far away, while still riding a horse.

Yeah. I really thought I was dead for sure.

Maina clung to me so hard she didn’t even make a sound. She’s been getting into small mishaps lately, enjoying them almost like a game—but this? Even she couldn’t handle this.

…….

Yeah, that’s how it is—instead of taking the safe route, dodging trouble like we’re supposed to, we’ve just bulldozed through every damn problem with Persia’s brute force.

Now I’ve completely lost track of when to send Maina back!

You useless, meddling idiot. Just go ahead and mess things up, why don’t you?

I mean, sure, moving faster than expected is nice—but I don’t feel a single ounce of gratitude.

Yeah. It’d be nice if you’d at least get how much this is wearing us down.

Mental exhaustion is high, but the journey itself is going smooth. We’re getting close to the target area.

We’ve been climbing along the river at the bottom of the valley. Weird thing is, plants are actually growing around the river.

We followed it because we thought the land would be barren—just curious, and because the river’s upper course leads straight toward our destination.

Oh, by the way, the oxygen issue’s handled— we’re using an improved alchemical potion for breathing underwater, and any altitude sickness is being prevented and treated by Marilyn’s priestess magic. No problem there.

Now, as we reach the upper reaches of the river, there it is—a massive waterfall.

A towering column of water, spraying mist so thick it makes the air hazy, crashing down into the chasm with a roar.

A proper, powerful, beautiful waterfall—exactly what you’d expect from a great cascade.

Seven years since my debut as a writer.

Heartfelt thanks from the bottom of my soul.

I’ll keep pushing forward!