Leaving the city of Ichisver, the party positioned themselves with Estrella and Keiko at the front.
Shiro and Nan Tian were at the back while Keomi was in the middle.
That way, they could take advantage of Estrella’s skill set to keep danger at bay, allowing them to travel safely even if they used mana.
With this, it only took them a short 2 days to reach the village of Kuwon. Within these two days, Nan Tian had a constant rotation of healers visiting them to check up on Shiro and assisting her recovery when possible.
On the first day, they noticed that her body was recovering rapidly whenever she was exposed to sunlight.
Realising that it must be because of her angelic and phoenix bloodline, Shiro suggested that they take a route that exposed her to the sun more often to speed up her recovery.
Naturally, the party agreed as the faster she recovered, the better it was for them.
As for the checkup on the second day, the healer explained that Shiro had basically repaired her body by 15%. If she’s given a few more days and spent most of them under the sun, she’ll be healed quite quickly.
Joking about the fact that Shiro’s essentially a plant right now, healing through sunlight, the party continued their way to Kuwon. In addition to the check ups, Shiro also made sure to make some calls to the party so that she could see how they were doing along.
During the call, Shiro learned about how both Lisandra and Yin had fully recovered and were challenging dungeons again.
“Tch, look at that. My daughters are having fun without me while I’m stuck here in a wheelchair.” Shiro complained while hugging Attie. Due to her 15% recovery, she was able to move her body quite easily but still couldn’t walk for long distances. Unfortunately, she was still stuck in her wheelchair for now.
“Well considering the speed of your recovery, I’m pretty sure that you’ll be able to start killing things again real quick. You’re not missing out on much.” Nan Tian chuckled.
“I know that but it’s still annoying ok.” Shiro pouted while looking through her phone at any news that she might have missed out on during the time she had been injured.
Seeing her pouting face, Nan Tian had an extreme urge to just poke her cheek.
However, he knew that doing so would just be suicidal. He didn’t want to push his luck too much.
After all, he needed to be alive in order to woo Shiro.
Reading through the news, Shiro furrowed her brows when she saw one that was featured not too long ago.
“Um Nan Tian.” Shiro called out.
“Yes? What is it?”
“You said that the third monster was a dragon right?”
“What about it?”
“Would the dragon happen to be the same one in this picture?”
Holding up the phone above her head, Shiro showed him the picture.
Looking at the image that featured a slightly blurry dragon figure in the distance while being wounded by rays of light, Nan Tian furrowed his brows before nodding.
“It seems like it. Most of the features on the body match the dragon in my memories. Though there is also the chance that it could be a different dragon that looks similar.”
“Because someone’s managed to kill it. Roughly around the same time that I fought against the gorgon, the dragon was killed and the battlefield was quite shocking. Large burnt craters and destroyed mountains were common near the area. Hell, they even had to redraw quite a bit of the map due to the fight.” Shiro furrowed her brows while swiping to the next pictures.
For some reason, every time she looked at the images of the attacks, they reminded her of something but she couldn’t quite put her tongue to it. She had even tried to match the image to her database but all she found were things that are similar.
Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought before checking on some more news.
“Seems like all three of the powerhouse monsters are gone now. You killed the gorgon while the other killed the dragon. The only one left, Estrella the spirit, is now your subordinate. Without a leader, the monsters around the area will probably get a bit rowdy so the martial hero will have a hard time.” Nan Tian said while Shiro was browsing through the news.
“To be honest, I pity him a little. He must take care of an entire country despite not being the leader. You think he’s ever allowed a break?” Shiro asked.
“Probably. But due to his personality, I don’t think he’ll take that break. Instead, he’d probably use that time to see what else he can do.” Nan Tian replied as Shiro couldn’t help but agree.
{In a way, you’re kind of like him. You need to rest more and do some of your hobbies too you know? The only time you rest is when you’re suffering from injuries like now. To be honest, outside of making juice, I don’t even know what other hobbies that you have.} Nimue shrugged.
‘Well… I do enjoy playing around with the flute. But yeah, I haven’t really had time to rest have I? Though, with what’s going to be happening in the future, taking a break isn’t exactly high on my to do list.’ Shiro shook her head.
{It should be. You can’t save a world if your body is breaking down due to overwork. Tell me what you can kill in your current state.} Nimue raised her eyebrows as Shiro averted her gaze.
‘I suppose you’re right about that too.’ She admitted.
{See? So instead of thinking about what you can do in Kuwon, just spend the time resting with Nan Tian and calling the party. Give yourself a small break while your body is resting. Hell, maybe even rest some more after you recover. With Estrella and Keiko scouting out the situation, it gives you a perfect chance to rest.}
‘But if I do that, I’ll be delaying Yuki’s rescue. And you know I can’t do that.’ Shiro furrowed her brows.
{To be fair you’re right. I suppose what I want to say is that you should find every chance to rest because god knows once the new age comes, you’ll be so busy that rest will become a myth.} Nimue chuckled.
‘Don’t worry, I know.’ Shiro smiled before focusing back on her phone.
Soon, they arrived in Kuwon. The village itself was quite developed in terms of architecture but it wasn’t to the point where it could be called a town. It wasn’t too far though.
From a brief glance, Shiro immediately noticed a lack of the adventurer’s guild which should have been a common sight. There was, however, a local blacksmith and pharmacy.
‘I suppose building a guild in every small village and town would be a tall order. Having blacksmiths and pharmacists is much easier to accomplish with the local workforce.’ Shiro thought to herself while they made their way to the closest inn.
Renting some rooms for a few days, they decided to have some food first before they discuss anything else.
Sitting down at the table in the inn, their presence garnered quite a few eyes due to the fact that they were unfamiliar to those in the village.
“You lot are a set of unfamiliar faces.” The waitress greeted with a smile before pulling out a notepad.
“Anything you want to order?” She asked.
Noting down their orders, the waitress gave the notepad to the chef before walking back to the group.
“If you don’t mind, can you tell me a little about where you’re from? We don’t get a lot of new faces so I’m quite curious.” She smiled.
“Of course, that’s fine with everyone else right?” Shiro turned to the party.
“I’m fine with it.” Both Keiko and Keomi nodded their heads while Nan Tian did the same.
Gesturing for the woman to sit down, they started to tell a few stories about what they did in the cities.
“Heh~ The cities sound quite overwhelming, don’t they?” The waitress chuckled.
“A little.” Shiro smiled.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why have you come to our village? After all, you’re from a big city so I don’t see a need for you to come down here. No offence of course.”
“None taken. We’re just here to look for a friend. Anyways, is there anything you can tell us about the surrounding area?” Shiro asked. Since they’re waiting for food, she might as well make some small talk.
“Of course. If you walk for a few hours to the east of the village, there’s a pretty nice waterfall there where you can relax for a while. Normally, I would tell you about the places to the west and the north but they’re a bit dangerous recently. The waterfalls’ probably the only safe place you can visit without any worries.” The waitress sighed.
“Oh? Why is it dangerous?” Shiro furrowed her brows since the next village is to the north and after that is Mount Everest. If it’s dangerous, it would be best that they found out now.
