“Hmm~~.”

I stretch my arms and raise my torso.

It took a while to fall asleep but I somehow managed.

I look at my side and see her curled up between the pelts sleeping soundly.

At least someone got a good night rest.

“Hmm, thirsty.” I murmur.

The canteen is close to the edge of the cart. I stretch my arm and grab it.

It's too light, but it still has some water.

I need to refill it once I get the chance.

I open it and bring it to my mouth.

Not that much water anyway, might as well drink it all.

I gulp down the water in one go.

I close the canteen and put it on my belt.

“... so indecent…”

I hear a low voice. I look to my side.

Obviously, the voice came from Nora, but she’s still sleeping.

“You also talk during your dreams huh?” I chuckle.

I honestly never noticed before.

Well then, indecent… What might she be dreaming about?

Hmm… If she’s dreaming about that summer, maybe she just saw me walking around the mansion shirtless? I admit, it’s not exactly part of the etiquette but it was really hot. Sometimes I walked around like that when the heat was unbearable.

But still, her face is red, just like if she was embarrassed.

“Embarrassed just because of that...? You’re too innocent.” I sigh.

“... why did you put-t your m-mouth there…”

Uh….

“... gross… don’t lick it…”

……....

“... no… t-that’s not where you p-put it…”

… Are you kidding me…?

“... at least do it on the b-bed…”

She’s dreaming about that!? Is this for real!?

I regret what I thought before. I don’t want her to see every single thing about my life.

I feel my cheeks getting hot.

This is beyond ridiculous.

“... Al… pervert…”

I should wake her up. I really should wake her up.

But if I wake her up now, she will so embarrassed that won’t even talk to me.

“... Al! How are you enjoying that…”

Oh for crying out loud!

“Fuck this shit!”

I quickly get up and exit the caravan.

Dream about it all you want! I don’t care!

I rub my face and look towards East, where the sun is rising. I can hear seagulls in the distance.

“*sigh* What a weird way to start the day.”

Christine and I… We tried a lot of different things. She was very proactive. Not just about sex, but about everything. If someone says that something cannot be done just because it can’t, she would be the one asking why. If someone says that god exists, she would be the one asking why does he believe in him without proof.

In short, she defied the common knowledge and beliefs. She would challenge anyone to think for themselves instead of accepting things just because they are supposed to be that way.

*sigh*

And that naturally translated to more private matters. It’s not something that someone like Nora should be watching.

I look to my left side where the horse is.

I tied it to a tree yesterday before we went to sleep.

“You hungry friend?”

It snorts and shakes the head.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Might was well let you have some breakfast.”

I untie it and guide it to the nearest bushes.

“Not sure if you eat this stuff but—”

He dives in and starts eating.

“... Ok then.”

I sit next to it. I’m not even holding his reins. He’s surprisingly well tamed and doesn’t run away. It almost makes me feel guilty for tying it on the tree.

It’s happily eating.

“You eat well mate. You’ll need that to be strong and impress the ladies.”

Wait, it’s male right?

I look at it’s private parts.

Female.

“My bad. You should try to not eat much, otherwise you’ll get fat.”

It snorts.

“Sorry ma’am. Didn’t mean anything by it. You’re beautiful in any way or form.”

It snorts again.

“Sadly, you’re just not my type. I prefer women with two legs and two arms. You know what I mean?”

It neighs.

“You can get guys better than me anyway. A big and strong stallion. How about that?”

It snorts.

“Not interested? Oh well.”

It neighs again.

“Alright alright, consider the subject dropped.”

I know that animals don’t understand us, but seriously, sometimes it feels like they do.

…

…..

…….

We are again on the road.

The princess is still ‘sleeping’ inside the caravan.

By ‘sleeping’, I mean pretending to sleep. I heard her inside a little while ago. She’s awake.

I can pretty much guess why she hasn’t come out yet. Just imagine the fallout if I had awakened her earlier.

Better just pretend to be ignorant.

“Good morning.” A low female voice comes from behind me.

Speak of the devil.

“Morning.”

She sluggishly sits next to me, but is keeping a certain distance.

“Slept well?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Sure. Of course.”

She crosses her arms and legs and keeps avoiding looking at me.

“Something bothering you?”

“No, no. I’m fine. Just fine.”

I roll my eyes.

“C’mon, go eat something and then we’re going to see about that voice.”

“I already ate.”

“... Ok then. Then go on. Try to talk like a guy.”

“*sigh* Do I have to?”

“Better safe than sorry. You just barely escaped death a few days ago.”

I stare at her to make sure I convey the message, even though she’s still avoiding looking at me.

If I was a little bit late, she would have her throat slit.

She gives a quick glance in my direction.

“Fine… *ahem* How about this?”

The sound was certainly more grave but anyone with a barely functioning ear can notice how fake it is from miles away.

“Try again.”

“Hum, I am what I eat.”

The tone is slightly different, but nowhere near realistic.

“Too fake.”

“I like the sea.”

*sigh*

This is going to take a while.

…

……

……..

“I can’t do this.”

“I agree.”

We both sigh.

We wasted one hour trying and it just isn’t working out.

“Ok, you’re mute.”

“What?”

“Don’t talk unless we are alone.”

“*sigh* Fine.” She crosses her arms. “I don’t want to talk like a stupid guy anyway.”

“What? Don’t you think that being a guy for a day could be an interesting adventure?”

“No! Would you like to dress like a girl for a day!?”

“Heck no.”

“I made my point. Hmph.”

She’s looking away with an indignant pose.

This is golden. The prankster inside of me is screaming and begging me to let him out. I would love to let him have his way, but I should go easy on her.

“How about this? You bear with it until we reach your home, and I’ll personally accompany you in a shopping trip once all this is over.”

“Hmm?” She looks at me sideways.

“We can spend all day buying dresses for you. I’ll help you in any way you want.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll be an obedient and good servant for one day.”

“Hmm, you promise that you will help me choose and won’t complain even once?”

“I promise.”

“Ok then!” she nods and smiles. “Can’t wait! Being a guy for a little while is not so bad after all.”

I chuckle, but to be honest, I think I just made a big mistake. That day is going to be hell…

At least I made her smile.

It’s a sweet smile...

I shake my head to clear it from those thoughts.

She’s humming and moving her feet up and down.

She’s in good mood.

...

A few minutes pass.

“You know,” She breaks the silence. “This is not so bad.”

“What is?”

“This. The caravan.”

“Ah, I see.”

It’s more comfortable than a horse, that’s for sure.

But it’s slower.

“Speaking of which, what do you think Nora? Should we ditch the caravan and continue by horse or not?”

“Well…” She puts her finger on her chin. “It’ll be faster by horse.”

“True.”

“And a lot more uncomfortable.”

“True.”

“But my family must be worried about me.”

Ok, I got the message.

“Hmm. Let’s not beat around the bush then.” I push the reins to make the horse stop. “Let’s get our things and ditch it.”

“Hm-hm.”

…

……

……..

We left the caravan on the side of the road with everything that we couldn’t bring with us.

Each one has a bag. My bag is stuffed with the pelts while hers has food and other necessities.

Like before with Mark, she’s sitting in front of me.

“We better stop in the next village, we should trade some of these pelts for coins. And rest there.”

“How far is it?”

“Not sure. Maybe four or five hours away. Assuming it still exists.”

“What?”

“Nora, my memories are centuries old, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

…

…..

…….

We are arriving at a small village. It’s the one I was thinking about: Lirewell.

“Ugh, this smell of manure...”

“Shhh. Mute, remember?”

Around us there are fields with plantations. There are also farm animals like cows, pigs and chickens. In front of us, there are a fair number of small buildings made of stone with rooftops made of straw. A few of them are big, others are just small houses.

“But there’s no one around.”

“Shhh. Better safe than sorry.” I whisper.

“Alright, sorry.”

I give a light chop to her head.

“Ow.”

“That didn’t even hurt, don’t pretend it did. Now seriously, shut up.”

The road after this village is a dessert as it can be in my time. Maybe it isn’t today, but we should stop here for now and continue tomorrow. Also, a nice bath at an inn can’t hurt.

…

Moments later we enter the village.

Some men are sitting on the chairs next to their houses talking about crops, women are gossiping and giving us side glances, and there are some kids running around with sticks.

“Excuse me,” I shout to one of the man. “Could you tell me where I can sell goods?”

“What kind of goods young man?” He stops his conversation with the others.

“Pelts.”

“Hm, you want the blacksmith. Go to that big building over there.” He points towards a fair sized building.

“Thanks.”

He nods.

The building is relatively large compared with the others in this village. It’s only one floor though.

The size is hardly surprising. Blacksmiths do need their space.

I stop the horse in front of the blacksmith.

“C’mon.”

I let her get down first.

“Uff.”

I get down from the horse without letting go of the reins. I bring him to a post and tie the reins there.

Then we walk to the entrance.

When I open the door, a small bell can be heard.

The inside is pretty simplistic. Floor of wood and walls of stone. There are some armors and weapons in displays.

“Good afternoon, can I help you?” A strong man greets us.

“Hi, we want to sell some pelts.”

“I see. I can’t guarantee I’ll buy them but let me take a look.”

I walks towards the counter and put my bag on top of it.

“Here. What do you think?”

I take out some pelts to let him see it.

“Hmm, Morning Fox eh?”

Morning Fox? That’s a low class monster, but extremely difficult to catch. They are just like normal foxes, but they are more furry and reddish. Some nobles love them as pets.

“Ah… Then I guess it’s no good.”

“No no, I normally prefer stronger stuff but this is easy to sell.”

“Oh, good.”

“I’ll give you 2 silvers for each. And,” he grins. “don’t try to raise the price. House rules here, take it or leave it.”

Didn’t even gave me the chance to banter. It’s not like I would though. 2 silver for each of the 15 pelts already makes a small fortune that is more than enough for us to reach Nora’s home.

I shrug my shoulders. “It’s a deal.”

“Alright then, let me just see how many we have here…”

Nora gets to my side and grabs three pelts.

I look at her with my eyebrow raised.

“Hmph.”

She looks away and walks back outside while embracing the pelts.

Nora… I thought the idea was you to be a guy. What’s up with that girlish attitude!?

“... I’m sorry, I apparently am not selling all of them.”

“That’s fine.” He answers awkwardly.

He must be wondering if Nora is a guy or a girl.

“He’s my brother.”

“Oh, well… No offence, but he’s a little…”

“Don’t worry, we get that a lot.”

“*ahem* Back to the matter at hand. Let me see, 1, 2, 3…” He starts counting the pelts.

…

Once he paid me, I exited the building.

Outside, Nora is waiting for me by the horse.

I put the pouch with the money on my waist and walk towards her.

She notices my presence and looks at me.

Once I’m in front of her, I cross my arms and look at her with a questioning face.

She looks confused for a moment, but then she looks at the pelts that she's still embracing and then at me again.

With a innocent smile, she shrugs.

*sigh*

“Seriously brother, this is why people say you are girlish. Try to be more like a man.” I insinuated heavily on the ‘man’. She better catch my meaning.

She nods, still with the smile.

Again with the girlish smile!

I facepalm.

We are screwed.

“Let’s reserve a room at the inn. Then we are going to train again.”

Her smile disappears.

Gotcha.

“Oh yes, and trust me, it’ll not be like yesterday.”

Her expression becomes a worried one.

…

……

………

“It hurts, it hurts! Oww~~~.”

It’s dark outside and we are in one of the village’s inn rooms.

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

Nora is lying on her bed massaging wherever her bruises are and wherever her muscles hurt.

“You were so violent!” She whispers, almost crying.

“Not really no.” All things considered, you had it easy. I got it worse during my first training sessions.

I am lying on my bed looking at the ceiling with both hands behind my head.

We trained outside of the village.

Our training was basically consisted in three parts: first I taught her some simple hand-to-hand techniques, then we put it into practice without me fighting back, and then we got to the part where I fought back.

Unlike yesterday, I was more careful with my attacks, but they were still strong enough to hurt.

Overall, she was decent when applying the techniques. She was clumsy just like any other rookie, but she understood the concepts behind them. She listened and tried to do everything perfectly. With a bit of practice, I can see her becoming a decent fighter in a short time.

However… She’s too sensitive to pain. A little punch is enough to make her fall. We have to work on that.

But at least I didn’t need to bring her back here in my arms like a prince charming.

“You’re mean. You enjoyed it didn’t you?”

“Sorry, but I’m not a sadist.”

This joke is getting old. Since we entered this room, she didn't stop complaining about how much it hurts.

“I know for a fact that you enjoyed it.”

“No, I didn’t. Now, will you please shut up? The walls might have ears.”

“We are whispering. No one can hear us.”

“Then let me put it this way,” I look at her “Let’s sleep. Good night.”

I raise my head and blow the candle.

“Muh~~.”

She protests a little, but the room quickly goes silent.

I close my eyes.

...

Silence.

...

Drowsiness starts to take over.

I can hear her moving on the bed. She’s probably comforting herself with the pelts we didn’t sell.

...

Silence.

“Al…” She whispers.

“... What?”

“It really hurts.”

Oh for fuck sake.

“Bah…”

“Hehehe.”

***********************

Outside of the room where Alddan and Nora are sleeping, a young black haired teenage girl is crouched with her ear pressed against the door.

Her face is red.

“Vella! What are you doing!?” Another girl whispers and comes running at the other girl.

“Uwawawawa~~” Disoriented, the girl gets up and faces the other.

“You can’t do that! What if mother sees you!?”

“Uwawawawa~~”

“What’s the matter?”

“Those two… Wawawa...”

“What?”

“Those two brothers…”

“Yes? The ones with that cute feminine guy?”

“They like it rough.. Wawawawa…”

“... What?”

“Boy’s love…” Her face becomes even more red. She looks down with steam coming out of her head.

“Boy’s love?”

“BDSM, they like BDSM.”

“???”

“The older brother dominated… The younger was saying how much it hurts… Wawawa~~~~~”

“You don’t tell me…” She gasps.

“I promise I won’t ever eavesdrop again! I’m sorry!”

“No no, don’t worry. Let’s get out of here before they… You know…”

“Wawawawawa…”