Chapter 6: First Night of the Honeymoon
We walked leisurely along the main road.
The country known as the Fortuna Federation seemed to have good public order, as we didn’t encounter any monsters or bandits.
“Unbelievable. A hundred years ago, you’d run into something every hundred steps.”
“Public safety was in disarray back then, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. The Demon King’s revival was part of it, but there were also disgruntled elements who took advantage of the chaos to rebel.”
I recalled the pandemonium, a veritable hell on earth.
“Nowadays, you won’t run into bandits just by walking along the main road.”
“No monsters, either.”
“Each post town has a vigilante corps stationed there. The larger towns also have civil protectors. The Federation capital, Duramlia, has multiple public order knightly orders that regularly clean up along the main roads.”
“Huh, they’ve thought of everything. So that’s what you can do when you unite the various nations.”
“Yes. When petty lords are feuding, public order deteriorates.”
“Excellent, excellent. It was worth risking our lives to defeat the Demon King.”
“…”
Fina’s silence probably meant she wanted to say it wasn’t all good, but for me, whose memories of the worst period a hundred years ago are so vivid, just having good public order is a joy.
It might be overly optimistic of me, but Fina, not wanting to spoil her husband’s mood, said,
“That’s true. It is certainly peaceful.”
And her steps became lighter.
After that, we walked a few miles down the road and found a post town.
The sign read “Post Town of Lope.” It was a very small town.
We could have kept walking, but Fina was worried about my health and suggested we get a room.
“I can still walk, but it’s also true that I’m still recovering.”
Besides, I had just declared my intention to achieve the feat of conquering every post town. We decided to stay.
However, I was shocked when I saw the price of the inn.
“T-Twelve silver coins!? Is this a rip-off!?”
Fina explained with a smile.
“Prices have been gradually rising over the past 100 years. The cost of lodging is about double what it was back then.”
“D-Damn, inflation, huh?”
If the people’s income had risen to match, it would be a sign of economic growth, but for someone in my Rip Van Winkle state, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“B-By the way, how much travel money do we have?”
I glanced at my beloved wife’s face.
She was probably hesitant to reveal our entire fortune in front of the innkeeper, so she told me the details once we were in our room.
“Mumble mumble…”
“…About 100 gold coins, huh?”
That’s about 1000 silver coins. It was a decent amount of savings, but not enough to live extravagantly. After all, our expenses would be endless from now on. Without an income, our travel funds would eventually run out.
And someday we’d have to decide on a place to settle down, have children, and raise them.
That would mean building a house, and raising children costs money.
“Hmm, we’ll have to travel frugally.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, we won’t be stingy at the beginning, though. This is our honeymoon, after all.”
“I’m happy.”
“And we’ll earn some money along the way.”
“Will we stop by the Adventurer’s Guild?”
“Yep, and maybe help out with some farm work or hunting.”
“If we’re not picky, there’s plenty of work to be found.”
“True that.”
And so, today was the first night of our honeymoon.
We bought some hot water from the inn’s landlady and took a bath.
Then, we did the “hope you had fun last night” thing.
It was the first time I’d held Fina in a hundred years, but she was as fresh and innocent as she was back then.
And she smelled wonderful.
She was wrapped in a fragrance like a mix of the forest and citrus.
After our lovemaking, I said,
“I wonder if you smell so good because you don’t eat meat?”
She looked down, extremely embarrassed, and said,
“…You idiot.”
That part of her was also super adorable, so I continued to hold her until the middle of the night.
In the morning, I woke to the crowing of a rooster.
After getting dressed, we went straight to the inn’s dining hall for a meal.
By the way, I had ordered a lavish menu from the landlady the day before.
It was, after all, the first breakfast of our honeymoon. I wanted to eat the best.
I had a meaty meal centered around chicken eggs and bacon.
Fina had a vegetarian meal centered around vegetables.
I’m a carnivore, but my wife is a herbivore. She only eats vegetables and mushrooms.
So our food preferences are polar opposites.
“It can’t be helped, it’s a difference in our races.”
However, there are some foods we both like.
Sweets.
Today, too, we aimed for mutual benefit as a couple by having a lot of sweets.
Yogurt mixed with honey.
Pancakes with plenty of whipped cream.
And sweetly roasted nuts.
We ate these together amicably.
“Delicious.”
“Indeed.”
The two of us ate with smiles on our faces.
Occasionally, I’d open my mouth and prompt her with an “Ahh,” but Fina is shy and wouldn’t feed me.
However, the moment the landlady and others weren’t around, she would shyly and bashfully bring a spoonful of yogurt to my lips. This side of my wife is very adorable.
“I’m so happy to have the best wife.”
When I voiced my thoughts, my wife smiled shyly.
