Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 418

418: In Search of Maple Syrup

“It’s cold! Or… not… or…”

Liz and I were riding a single horse. With the help of the ‘lightness of the horse’s body,’ we were slowly advancing through the deep snow.

The surroundings were a world of silver. But the view was blocked by a black forest, and the ‘world’ was rather small.

The horse was a skeleton horse. It had been a heavy cavalry horse in its past life, so its skeleton was solid. I had thought it was a doll, but it was a proper undead, and once you got to know it, it was a friendly and good-natured creature.

Liz, who was behind me, tightened her grip on my stomach and pressed closer. I could feel her, a soft warmth, through the thick fur coat I was wearing over my usual robe. Just as I had changed my clothes a little, she, too, was not in her maid uniform, but in a hunter-style, easy-to-move-in outfit, with a winter coat.

“Master, please generate a little more heat. I’m cold.”

“Ugh, my mana is draining…”

I was currently Liz’s hot water bottle. I had cast a physical enhancement spell on the horse and had established a mana supply line, and I was also forcibly raising my own body temperature for Liz.

While I wasn’t purely applying my human senses, it was dangerous not to know the temperature or the strength of the wind, so I was also using my normal sensory organs. And on top of that, since I was ignoring it to some extent and pushing myself, I was gradually losing track of whether I was cold or hot.

…If I were to rely on this body too much, I would lose my human senses. And then, I didn’t know if I would be able to fully adapt to the senses of an undead. Since it was ‘high-performance,’ there was a possibility that if my mind were to break, I would die easily.

But I had Liz. If she, who was leaning against my back, was here, then I could unconditionally affirm my own existence.

Liz asked, a little worriedly, “…By the way, what’s your mana level?”

“At this rate, it won’t be a problem, even until the snow melts.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I’d like to say that to Rebecca, who planned a trip in the middle of the deep snow, even though it’s spring on the calendar.”

“You’re the one who accepted it.”

“You nodded, too.”

“Well, yes. Because you’re here, Master.”

And Liz nuzzled my cheek, through my hood. I felt a little warmer.

The Barghest I had sent ahead returned.

“Just a little further.”

“…Tife Village… the ‘Fourth Special Crop Cultivation Village.’”

Liz muttered.

“…The village where you were born, Finis Village, was the ‘Third Special Crop Cultivation Village’ at that time, right?”

“Yes. Later, another village took the third numbering. Many of the people from Finis Village should have gone there, but since I only heard about it through the grapevine after I had joined the army, I don’t know much.”

“What was… life like?”

“Normal. It was harder than in the city, but we had our skills. And the villages that cultivated a special crop… in this case, a sugar maple… were a little easier, since they received subsidies.”

Liz spoke, her voice flat.

“We would go to the city, except in the winter. Since it was a long trip, we would take turns. And the children would be taken along, under the pretext of carrying the adults’ luggage.”

I didn’t know much about the daily life of this country. I had the knowledge. The average income, the lifestyle, the food. But since I hadn’t grown up in this country.

“We would buy snacks with the allowance we were given, and we would save up for a few times to buy something we wanted. Everyone had their own way of enjoying it, but the one thing that never changed was that everyone was looking forward to it. I, too, couldn’t wait for our turn to come…”

“…I see.”

So, I was happy that Liz was speaking of her childhood as a nostalgic and happy time, and my cheeks relaxed. My orders had probably killed children like that, too. But I had been able to protect ‘this side.’

“Liverit Village is similar. It’s the ‘First Special Animal Husbandry Village.’”

“…I see.”

Come to think of it, Liverit Village was famous for raising Liverit sheep, and that, too, was a ‘live ammunition’ that had been used for smuggling with the humans. While their main purpose was as the mounts of the Liverit Lancers, their meat and fur were also luxury items. There were probably other villages with special names and ‘special products.’

“Ah, come to think of it, is there a hot spring?”

“Not in my memory. Most of the individual houses had a bath, but since they were small for heat efficiency, many people used the public bathhouse. I, too, mostly used that.”

“I see.” A little disappointing.

“But I don’t know what it’s like now. I was only there for a short time.”

“Really?”

“For about seven years, from thirteen to twenty… My parents were gone by then, and I felt bad for being a freeloader…”

Today, a lot of Liz’s past was being revealed. Was it because we were on a trip? Whether it was out of consideration for me, who had ‘broken’ my past, or because we had been just a superior and a subordinate, Liz had not talked much about herself.

“A freeloader?”

“Until I came of age, I was taken in by a family with a daughter of the same age, who had also moved from Finis Village. I wonder how she’s doing. I haven’t seen her in a long time. Though I did receive a letter.”

Dark elves were considered adults at twenty, and beastmen at fifteen. The recruitment age for the army was the same, but for a while, they were rarely sent on missions that included combat. Even a long-lived race could not fully demonstrate their strength when they were young and inexperienced. …Though Liz seemed to have been active as an assassin from a very young age. It was true that there were no strict regulations, and it depended on the discretion of the superior…

It was because of that unreasonable career that she had been called the Darkling Blade and had gained the position of the second in command of the Sixth Army. I knew that… but if things had gone a little differently, she would have been used up and would have died at a young age. That was why it felt like a miracle, that she was with me in this very moment.

“You had that kind of a relationship.”

“Though we haven’t seen each other for thirty years.”

“Wait, thirty years?” Even for a long-lived species, that was a long time.

“I was busy with work… and I couldn’t write much.”

Ah, come to think of it. —This child was a workaholic, who wouldn’t even ask for a vacation unless she was told to.

“…If it weren’t for an opportunity like this, I probably wouldn’t have come.”

“Let’s make it a fun trip.”

“Yes.”

This time, it was private. There was a possibility that it would lead to work, but that was that, and this was this. Except for Your Majesty the Demon King and the members of the Sixth Army, no one even knew where we were going. —No, they didn’t even know that we had taken a vacation and had gone on a trip. I was, after all, a supreme commander of the Demon King’s army, and my movements were, strategically, classified. …It was quite peaceful now, and I didn’t think there would be any problems. Well, just in case.

And this was…

“…a honeymoon, after all.”

Rebecca had sent us off, saying, “Since it’s a good opportunity, you should go on a honeymoon as well.”

It was actually a beastman custom, a honeymoon. To be precise, it was a premarital trip, where a prospective partner would go on a journey to confirm their bond. After that, it seemed to have become quite popular among the dark elves as well. Incidentally, in the case of the beastmen, it was usually a journey of martial training.

In our case… what would it be?

“I can see it.”

The skeleton horse, which was up to its knees in the soft snow, pushed its way forward, and the view opened up.

A thick stone outer wall, and a wooden roof. The doors and windows were small, and the chimney had a snow guard. It was a scene that was typical of a village in the cold regions of Listrea.

“It’s strange. To be coming here for the first time in a long time, on a honeymoon with Master.”

“…Shall I make it sweet?”

“Ah, normal is fine.”

And Liz, who had leaned against my back, chuckled.

“…As usual.”

…Probably, our usual was quite sweet.