That unexpected sentence left Yoichi puzzled. Enatsu looked away, starting to walk again. Between the two adventurers, an unusually tense atmosphere was suddenly felt.
"All right, Enatsu. Whatever. I didn't think words of encouragent would make you so angry. Next ti I'll bite my tongue, don't worry," Yoichi comnted, disturbed by his rchant friend's irreverence.
Enatsu was struck by those words and continued to look at him from behind, slowing down the pace.
The dirt road beneath their feet stretched for several miles, entering an area marked by less dense vegetation than the Bronzeforest.
"Okay, I apologize!" Enatsu snorted alongside him. "I answered like an asshole. You were just trying to be nice."
"It's not a problem. I'm acting like I've known you for years, but I haven't. Maybe I'm just in a hurry to find out new things about this world... apology accepted," Yoichi affird coolly, without even looking at his companion.
The journey continued for about an hour without a hitch: dozens of travelers of all kinds crossed the road of Enatsu and Yoichi, coming from all directions. So of them were on their way to Ambershire. Others were driving their carriages north, who knows for what destination.
Yoichi did not stop for a second to be fascinated by the incredible natural landscape surrounding him, marvelling at every glance. Curved trees and exotic flowers never seen before repeatedly caught his attention, infusing peace in his soul.
The persistent chirping of birds living in those woods was particularly pleasant, while the orange afternoon sunlight illuminated the street.
Here and there, modest farms similar to his own were scattered through the trees, joining the main road, to the east.
"Maybe I overreacted just because I'm scared of becoming a tar," Enatsu confessed, out of the blue.
"Um? Are you talking about our conversation from a while ago?" Yoichi asked, who had almost forgotten that issue. "Don't worry. You were just nervous. I didn't an to..."
"No, I an it. We've known each other recently, that's true. However, you are the first person who truly believed in my potential, Yoichi", Enatsu admitted, looking at the ground before him. "From the first mont you saw wandering in the rain, you were kind and friendly towards . You hosted under your roof without knowing , and I thanked you with unpleasant words. I'm very sorry, for real."
"Enatsu, take it easy. You didn't say anything crazy, it can happen to be a little nervous. When it happens to , I'm willing to bet you'll be patient. I know it may sound strange to you, but everything around us seems new to . I feel like I've never been here, I've never seen these trees and these breathtaking landscapes up close," Yoichi explained, looking his friend in the eye and smiling.
"When we drank that good sakè, at the Sleepy Owl tavern... I... I saw sothing," he continued.
"What are you talking about? Oh, right. Now I rember. It looked like for a mont you were unconscious."
"Well, it was like losing my senses. As soon as I tasted that sakè and squeezed the glass in my hands, an avalanche of mories subrged my mind, preventing from moving or talking. Many images appeared in front of , glazing over my eyesight, and in each of them, there was drinking sakè."
"Mmh... I don't think I got it, " Enatsu answered confusedly, scratching his head.
"Those pictures I saw were mories. Distant mories of a distant world, so much different from this. In that world, my hands were different, bigger, and wrinkled. Those very hands carried hundreds of glasses of that damn sakè to my mouth," Yoichi repeated, trying to explain himself to the best of his ability.
"A world other than this? You an... that you're not from Lumya?"
"That's right."
"Wow. This is weird, brother! Are you sure they were mories and not just hallucinations due to alcohol?" the rchant chuckled.
As much as I try to explain what I saw, I doubt Enatsu will understand . If I told him that I think I was reborn in this world, he'd think I'm crazy, and maybe he wouldn't talk to anymore. Yoichi pondered before answering.
"It may be. Yes, maybe that sakè had a strange effect on . I don't think I'm going to drink any of it for a while," Yoichi stated, pretending to agree.
"There are so many other tasty drinks I need to let you taste! Sakè is just the icing on the cake! Eheh!" Enatsu comnted. "Oh, look over there."
Yoichi's eyes traced his companion's hand, pointed forward along the way. Besides the tall green trees, similar to conifers, huge white stone walls popped out.
"Is that Goldhaven? It looks like Ambershire, just bigger!" Yoichi joked. The sun was about to set over the woods, and the young tar realized that speaking to Enatsu, ti had passed faster than expected.
"Hahaha! I've never heard anyone say that! Well, maybe looking at it from the outside... yes, it may vaguely rember the circular walls of Ambershire. But I assure you that once you walk through them, you will be stunned", Enatsu affird, excited to have reached his destination.
The journey of the young black-bearded rchant, unlike Yoichi's, had begun four days earlier. Alone, Enatsu had crossed half of Tentochu, passing the Southborne Mountains, the great mountain range that split the region into two parts and entering the Bronzeforest.
The two adventurers accelerated the pace without wasting any more ti, covering the distance separating them from Goldhaven in just under half an hour.
The white stone walls, dominated by tall cylindrical towers equidistant from each other, were even larger seen up close.
At the tip of each watchtower, a small lit bonfire helped the lookouts distinguish shapes in the darkness of the evening.
The pristine vegetation gradually faded, making way for an artificial road, tiled with lots of small rectangular stones. The natural elevations of the woods were also wiped out, smoothed by the great green plain on which stood the magnificent capital of the Tentochu region.
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