I Got Reincarnated a Chapter 413 - 410 – A Slow Journey and Simple Meat Soup

Chapter 413: Chapter 410 – A Slow Journey and Simple at Soup

The rchant carriage rolled slowly along the winding dirt road, its iron wheels swaying gently to the rhythm of the two calm zombie horses’ steps clop... clop... clop.... The soft morning wind blew against the carriage’s canvas cover, carrying the scent of wet leaves, damp soil, and a faint mossy sll from the dense forest on both sides of the road. The sky was still the characteristic grayish-purple of the Nocture region, but the farther they traveled from the city, the black mist grew thinner, replaced by a faint red light that gently seeped through the tall trees.

Sylvia sat relaxed on the driver’s seat, holding the reins loosely in her hands. She didn’t actually need to control the horses. The two undead creatures were intelligent enough to walk on their own with just a single ntal command from their queen. But to maintain the appearance of an ordinary rchant, Sylvia still held the reins, occasionally pulling them lightly or loosening her grip so her movents looked natural.

Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was far more relaxed than it should have been for a journey to seek greater power. Stacia lay comfortably on the long bench, a thin novel open on her chest. The ancient pages rustled softly every ti she lazily turned them with her fingers. Alicia sat across from her, still trying to adjust to her new human body. Occasionally she moved her toes inside her simple shoes, feeling the friction of her socks against the rough wooden floor, and her face would sotis frown at the still-unfamiliar sensation of weight.

"This feels more like a vacation than a dangerous journey to seek greater power," Stacia muttered without lifting her eyes from her novel. "We haven’t even really left Nocture’s territory yet."

Sylvia smiled faintly from the driver’s seat. Her voice carried the wind into the carriage. "That’s fine. I deliberately wanted to do both at once, rest for a while and adjust to our new power. Yesterday’s soul fusion put too much strain on our bodies and souls. We need ti to adapt before we truly begin training hard."

Alicia nodded slowly, her hands gripping the edge of the wooden bench tightly. "I agree. This body... still feels very strange. Every step feels like carrying a weight that never existed before. But oddly enough... it feels alive. There’s warmth, there’s a pulse, there are sensations I never felt before."

The carriage continued its slow journey for nearly six full hours. They were in no hurry. The zombie horses walked with steady, rhythmic steps, their stamina never running out. Occasionally they passed other rchants who waved friendly greetings from their own carriages. Sylvia only replied with a polite nod from under her gray hood. Nothing seed suspicious. They truly looked like three small-ti rchant girls trying to make a living on the highway.

As afternoon approached and the red sun began to tilt westward, Sylvia spotted a small village ahead. Simple wooden houses lined up neatly beside the road, thin smoke rose from stone chimneys, and the faint sound of roosters crowing could be heard from pens behind the houses. A wooden sign at the roadside read "Willowbrook Village" in faded, cracked paint.

"We’ll rest here tonight," Sylvia said softly. She pulled the reins once, giving a ntal command for the zombie horses to turn toward the small inn in the middle of the village.

The carriage stopped in front of a wooden building labeled "Willow Restaurant & Inn." As soon as the wheels stopped turning, several villagers, local rchants, farrs, and housewives approached with natural curiosity. They gathered around the carriage as people usually did when new rchants arrived.

Sylvia and Stacia quickly got down. They opened the back canvas and began unloading so simple goods: sacks of coarse salt, brown sugar, dried spices wrapped in cloth, and several rolls of ordinary wool fabric. Alicia remained seated inside the carriage; her human body was still too stiff to move comfortably in front of many people. She only peeked carefully from behind the canvas, trying to learn how people interacted.

"Fresh salt from the north! Cheap today!" Stacia called out in a cheerful voice she had polished to sound like an ordinary rchant. Her silver-gray hair swayed gently as she easily lifted one of the sacks.

Sylvia served the custors quickly and efficiently. Her movents were calm, but her hands were nimble as she weighed goods with a small scale and counted coins without error. Several housewives imdiately bought salt and spices for their evening als. An old farr took two sacks of brown sugar for his family. In less than half an hour, the small crowd had bought quite a lot.

Alicia observed everything from inside the carriage, gripping the edge of the bench tightly. She felt awkward. In the past, she could float among people completely unseen. Now she had to hide because she was afraid her movents would look stiff and strange.

After the custors began to disperse, Sylvia counted the copper and silver coins in her palm. The amount was more than enough to stay a few nights at this small inn.

"We don’t need to stay at a public inn," Sylvia said softly as she climbed back onto the driver’s seat. "There’s a small empty house at the edge of the village. We’ll rent it for a few days. It’s quieter and safer."

Stacia nodded while putting her novel back into her bag. "Good. I don’t like thin inn walls. I might end up hearing people snoring all night."

They moved the carriage to the small empty wooden house at the end of the village. The house was very simple: two small bedrooms, a narrow living room, and a kitchen with an old stone stove. Sylvia paid the village owner with a few silver coins, and they imdiately settled in.

As evening fell, Sylvia stood in the small kitchen. She rolled up the sleeves of her gray robe and began cooking. There was nothing luxurious. It was just simple at soup made from the dried at they had brought, with added wild carrots and potatoes freshly bought in the village. The savory aroma of the soup slowly spread throughout the wooden house. The hard bread they carried was also ward over the stove until its crust beca slightly crispy, ready to be dipped into the hot soup.

Stacia sat at the simple wooden table, her novel open again in front of her. "You’re cooking yourself, Sylvia? It’s rare to see the Queen of Death standing in front of a stove making soup."

Sylvia stirred the soup with a long wooden spoon, warm steam rising to her pale face. "Sotis simple things like this are necessary. We’re disguising ourselves as ordinary humans. Besides... I want to feel sothing normal for a while. It feels like it’s been so long since we did small things like this."

Alicia sat on the chair across from Stacia, her hands still stiff as she held a wooden spoon. Her human body made her feel awkward having to eat in a normal way. "This soup... slls really good," she said softly. "But I still have to learn how to eat properly. Before, I only absorbed energy directly. This... is different."

Sylvia served bowls of hot soup to her two sisters, then sat in the third chair. The hard bread was dipped into the savory broth, becoming soft and flavorful when eaten. They ate in comfortable silence, with only the occasional sound of spoons touching clay bowls and the night wind slipping through the gaps in the wooden windows.

After dinner, Sylvia washed the bowls with clean water from the well behind the house. The night grew darker. Willowbrook Village beca quiet, with only the sounds of crickets and the occasional gentle night breeze.

Stacia lay down in one of the small bedrooms, her novel still in hand. "Tomorrow we’ll continue toward the mountains. But tonight... let’s rest peacefully first."

Alicia sat on the edge of the rough wooden bed, her hand touching the thick wool blanket. "I still feel like this body is too... real. The heartbeat, breathing, the warmth of the skin. But I’m starting to get used to it. Slowly."

Sylvia stood at the bedroom doorway, gazing at the night sky filled with faint red stars typical of this region. "We have ti. There’s no need to rush. New power won’t co in a single night. We’ll do it our own way."

Outside the small house, the two zombie horses stood silently in the temporary stable provided by the villagers. Their red eyes glowed faintly, faithfully guarding the night. The simple rchant carriage was parked beside the house, looking completely ordinary like any other rchant cart.

In this quiet village, not a single resident knew that the three newly arrived rchant girls were actually the Queen of Death and her two most loyal sisters, searching for greater power beyond Nocture’s walls.

That night, for the first ti in a long while, Sylvia slept soundly. The cool night wind blew gently through the window, carrying the scent of the forest and damp soil. Tomorrow, their journey would continue slower, more relaxed, but with a clear purpose.

In the darkness of the small room, the three incredibly powerful figures rested like ordinary humans. And the world out there still had no idea what they were preparing.