Chapter 138: Camping Once More...
Taking out jerky for everyone, Oli changed the subject, “Hurry up and recuperate. We’ve still got daylight to burn. I’d rather not travel at night and chance running into sothing else.”
“But–”
“Johan, breathe, don’t speak. You too, Leon.” Oli explained, “Even if we’ve been found out, I’d rather we continue on and not get too anxious about bandits. So it’s best to create as much distance as possible and continue moving forward. But I’ll be on guard duty at night.”
“Won’t you get tired and–”
“I’ll rest when we gather the lilies. If anything, I may not mind running into bandits. I just don’t want that happening on their terms while we’re at a disadvantage. So long as we’re rested enough and working together, we should be fine against any adepts.”
“Oliver, are you sure about that?” Shadur asked.
Nodding, the broad young man replied, “Yeah. If Jonon and Hurman didn’t believe that, do you think they would’ve agreed to this?”
.....
“Well, no...”
“Then trust their judgnt. In the right circumstances, you two swordsman would be a great duo protecting Shadur while I deal with the heavy hitters,” reasoned Oli. “Now eat up and breathe. We’ll be running again soon and we won’t be stopping till nightfall.”
“Huh...” Johan groaned.
“That’s what’s happening and you can’t change that. Consider it a chance to increase your stamina since you’ve been missing out on your usual daily training. Right, Leon?”
“Yeah... I guess...” The tired swordsman agreed half-heartedly, accepting the difficult task ahead.
Oli kept the small talk to a minimum as the party rested montarily. It lasted no more than five minutes but the rest was just enough to maintain morale. With Shadur on Oli’s back, the four-man party rushed back into the woods along the mountainside. At their pace, they would reach the lilies by the following morning.
Their race went on till sunset when Johan wasn’t able to go any further and promptly collapsed upon stopping. Leon fell to the ground as well, trying his best to wrestle his lungs back into submission.
“Shadur, we’ll set up the tent. You two, rest and climb in the mont it’s up,” Oli ordered, stepping to Leon who retrieved the folded tent and the necessary supplies.
There were no complaints from anyone.
Shadur gratefully helped, already feeling like a burden who couldn’t do anything. Now, at least Shadur would be able to do sothing. He hurriedly got the tent up and asked, “No fire, right? Then we’ll eat my rations tonight.”
Before the two tired swordsn entered the tent, they were handed a parcel of folded cloth bound in twine, as was Oli.
“There’s bread, venison jerky, dried fruits, and...” A large jar suddenly appeared between everyone and Shadur quickly unscrewed the lid. “There’s also so cheese. Have as much as you’d like.”
“Oh...” Blinking, Oli was amazed to see the jar. He noticed the chilled air escape as the lid was removed. “What sort of jar is that?”
Shadur showed the lid and replied, “I bought this from Uncle Keldon. It keeps things chilled and preserved inside from the lid’s formation. But it’s not indefinite. The goods only stay fresh for so long before they spoil.”
“Like a refrigerator...”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing...” The mont Shadur placed a spoon in the jar, Oli snatched it and scooped up so of the soft, chilled cheese inside. Spreading it across his slice of bread, OIi placed so of the dried fruit in the cheese and covered it in jerky. He chomped on his open-faced sandwich as the others were startled. “What?”
“I’ve never seen soone eat it like that...” Shadur comnted, surprising Oli.
Johan added, “You’re weird...”
“Hmm...” Unlike the other two, Leon followed Oli’s example with the remaining half of his bread. Taking his first bite, Leon couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s... pretty good...”
“Really?” Shadur tried it next, surprised to see so many flavors working together in ways he hadn’t expected.
Soon, only Johan wasn’t eating an open-faced sandwich. But that was also because he had hurriedly scarfed down his food before feeling confident to try it. Being left out, Johan grumbled quietly and hurried into the tent. “Wake if you need .”
“Okay...” Leon replied before taking his final bite, savoring the new combination of flavors.
“You should rest up too,” Oli ntioned, smiling at Leon as he hopped to his feet. “Don’t worry about , I’ll be fine.”
The young swordsman nodded and entered the tent behind Johan, then retrieving a bedroll and promptly falling asleep in exhaustion.
Shadur and Oli were the only two left awake as night settled in.
“Oliver...”
“What? We can talk so long as we’re quiet.”
Taking a deep breath to help solidify his thoughts, Shadur asked, “Why are you so strong?”
“Because of my training,” answered Oli.
“But... you’re only a low-adept, yet your battle art scared the entire herd of Tri-horn Deer without delay. It even felt like you had beco a beast...”
“So? You’ve never seen mimicking skills? Appearing to be sothing you’re not isn’t the most difficult thing to do,” stated Oli.
“True, but your art made it feel... so real. And your essence is probably stronger than both Johan’s and Leon’s, who are supposed to be a higher realm than you, right?”
“What are you saying?”
Shadur continued with a slow nod as he swallowed his nerves. “That... That I don’t think you’re a low-adept. I think you’re lying about your cultivation level. That’s the only way you could’ve fought with Master Jonon, right?”
Sighing, Oli gave Shadur a slight smile and a light shrug. “I will say this much. You’re right about not being a low-adept. But I’m not admitting to anything else. Just know that I’m strong enough to handle what may co. And should we need to turn tail and run, then I’ll guarantee your safety while we do it.”
“... Alright. Thank you, Oliver.”
“No, thank you for the al,” Oli chuckled. “I can’t rember the last ti I ate sothing like this, so I greatly appreciate it.”
Smiling, Shadur bowed his head to Oli. “You’re welco. It’s the least I could offer after you carried and kept us from any possible bandit encounters.”
“Now go rest. I’ll be fine out here. You’ll need all the energy and focus possible to gather lilies tomorrow.”
“Right... Wake if you–”
“If I can’t kill the threat in a single hit, I’ll make sure to wake you all,” Oli chuckled, brandishing a confident grin.
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