***

I felt like Donkey was quite spirited today. It felt like we covered twice as much ground as usual. Was he too excited after kicking that pervert earlier?

"Hey, don't you think you're going a bit fast?"

"Hmff! Hmff!" Donkey seemed to have no intention of slowing down. I guess it was because he was excited.

"Ah, well, I guess it's fine. I'll just ride you if you don't slow down."

"Hyah!"

We were currently riding south between two mountains. We'd be arriving in Sunnyrise soon, but there was still at least two days left. I wondered if I would see Lufas there.

But wait, there was something wrong. Why did I suddenly think of him? I remembered when I first met Lufas. He came out of the bushes and almost shoot me.

"That's right! That fiend is surely up to no good!"

I argued with myself, but I couldn't shake off the feeling. I kept on thinking about him. What was he doing? Where was he now? I remembered Owain's words. That Lufas was worried about me. Then my face turned bright red. My heart was beating faster than usual. I felt embarrassed. I wanted to forget about him. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Ugh... let's forget about him. Let's focus on getting to Sunnyrise safely."

I tried to get back to my normal self. We travelled some more until I saw a horse-drawn coach ahead of us.

"What's that?"

It was getting closer. There was a man sitting in front of the carriage. He looked a bit like an old man. He had a white beard and a black hat. His clothes were simple, but they had a certain elegance to them. It was like he was royalty.

The carriage stopped. It seems they saw me too. The man got off the carriage. I walked toward him trying to appear friendly. I didn't want any trouble.

"Good day. Are you heading to Sunnyrise, young Miss?"

"Yes, I am. I've heard rumours that a 'Turkey Shoot', a special tournament is going to have place there. You can possibly win high prizes if you participate."

"Hmm, I see. Good luck with that. But before you go, could you help us? The carriage seems to get broken." The man spoke while pointing at the carriage behind me.

"Oh, I see, so that's why you stopped. Sorry about that."

"Not at all. If you are willing to lend us your help, then I will gladly pay you."

"Sure, I don't mind."

I stood next to the carriage and investigated the carriage. The wheel looked like it broke down because of impact. I looked at the wheel. It seemed like the wheel was made of wood.

"Hmm. I'm sorry I don't think I can help you with that. I don't know how to fix it."

"It's okay. You don't have to worry about that, young Miss."

"Well, I guess I can ask someone else to do it, when I reach Sunnyrise. I don't mind helping."

"Thank you very much." The man bowed down and thanked me.

"Hey, stop right there!"

I tried to go back to Donkey, but a voice stopped me. A beautiful girl with long black hair came out of the carriage. She wore a beautiful dress that looked like silk. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were blue.

She was probably around 18 years old. She was a beauty, and she was also quite the character. She had a look in her eye that said "If you mess with me, I'll kill you."

"Are you just going to leave me in this state?!"

"Sorry, but I don't know how to fix it."

"You're not even trying to help?! Aren't you supposed to be a hero or something?"

"No, I'm just a normal person. A wandering gunslinger."

"Normal people should help others!"

"I don't know anything about carriages."

"Then you're useless!"

"Eeh?! I-I'm not useless! Fine I will try again!"

"I don't care what you do, but you'd better help me!"

"Okay, okay. I'll help you, so please don't yell Miss."

"I-I'm not yelling! And quit calling me Miss! I have a name."

"What's your name?"

"Humpf. What a ruffian. Why would a lady like me give you my name first?"

The woman said with a tone full of superiority. It seemed like she was used to being treated like a princess or something.

"Umm, my name is Moon. Nice to meet you."

"Huh? What a commoner sounding name. My name is Kristina Rishie. And this is my butler Sebastian."

The man bowed towards me after being introduced. I was surprised. I thought nobles were arrogant, but Kristina seemed to be even more arrogant than expected.

After we introduced ourselves, I tried to fix the carriage wheel somehow, but I couldn't do anything. It was too big of a problem for me.

"Aww, I'm sorry, Miss Kristina."

"Humpf. What a useless commoner."

"That's not true at all. I mean, I did try to help. Sigh, I guess I'm useless after all."

"That's not true. You tried to help, so you're not useless, miss Moon." the butler Sebastian tried to cheer me up. Thank you mister Sebastian!

"Really? Then I guess I'm not useless. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything."

"Whatever. If you can't fix the carriage, then you will just have to escort me to my manor. There's nothing to be done about it now."

"But..."

"I told you, if you can't do it, then just escort me to my manor. I won't listen to any of your complains!"

"I-I'm sorry. I'll try to help."

"Thank you, miss Moon. For putting up with my mistress unreasonableness. But, we will definitely pay you back. I promise."

"Sebastian, don't get carried away."

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

"We'll repay you in two days. We will also send you a letter of thanks. I hope that will be enough." Sebastian talked to me.

"Okay, so let's go to Sunnyrise for now. Who knows maybe they will help you to fix the carriage."

"Ah, yes. Let's go."

"Fine. I will let it slide for now."

And so, we started traveling together.

***

We were traveling through the grassland on the road to Sunnyrise. There were more and more people we saw on the road. Most of them were hunters who, just like me were going to participate in the 'Turkey Shoot'. They must have been preparing for the event.

"Hey, you guys are going to the turkey shoot, right? How many kills do you think you can make?"

"What do you mean? Do you have a death wish?"

"I don't care if I die, as long as I get to eat some good food."

"Same here. I don't want to die, but I do want to eat lots of meat."

"I agree. I don't want to die either, but I want to eat meat. Turkey shoot is the best time to get some fresh meat."

"I see, I see. That's great. Everyone has different goals, but that's fine. I'm glad you're all excited."

"Hahaha, yeah, I guess. Hey, you should come to the event too, right?"

We could hear such conversations everywhere. The excitement for the event was high among everyone.

"Hmm... I don't know. I might end up getting hurt. I'm not confident that I'll win."

"Yeah, but you'll be able to taste the food if you lose."

"If I end up losing, I'll probably regret it."

"It's okay to take risks sometimes."

While listening in on those conversations I looked at my two companions.

"M-Miss Kristina, please stop shaking so much."

"I-I'm fine. I've never ridden a horse before, so I'm scared."

"Please calm down, Miss Kristina. You're acting very strangely. Please, be careful."

The lady Kristina was riding on Donkey together with me for some reason, while Sebastian was riding on the horse after us. He was making sure other horses and their luggage wouldn't get lost.

"Eheheh. This is the first time I've ridden a horse. I'm so nervous." Miss Kristina said with high tension.

"It's fine. Just relax."

"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry for being so nervous."

She seemed to be having fun. She was smiling and laughing. I was happy she was enjoying herself. It was certainly better than her being all haughty all the time.

"Wooow! What a beautiful countryside. So green. Look at all the greenery, Miss Kristina. It's like paradise."

"Is it really that nice? The garden in my manor looks a lot more beautiful than this. Ah, but the wind feels so nice. I feel refreshed."

"Geez, I didn't know that you had a garden in your mansion. Your family must be rich. I'm jealous."

"My father is a rich merchant. But he's not here now. He's probably out doing business, traveling with mother. They left me alone in the mansion, so I went out to sightsee."

"I see, so you're the only daughter of the house. And you're traveling around with your butler."

"That's right. He's also my bodyguard, but he is a bit useless. But, well, I know him from the time I was little so I can somewhat rely on him."

"Well, I think he's quite reliable. He seems to be keeping an eye on you."

"M-My lady..." Sebastian's miserable voice came to us from behind.

"Oh, what's wrong, Sebastian?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Sebastian's face was pale and his shoulders shook slightly. He was sweating. Was he exhausted?

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine. It's nothing. Please forget about it."

"Sebastian, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes. I'm fine. Please forgive me."

He was clearly lying. I wanted to help him somehow, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't say anything to him.

Should we take a break? Yeah, let's take a break.

"Lady Kristina, would you like to rest for a while?"

"Eh? Oh, yes, please. Let's take a short break."

"Okay. Then, I'll go ahead and set up camp. Sebastian, we are taking a break!" I yelled behind me.

"O-Okay. I'll prepare our lunch immediately."

I decided to take a short break. I got off Donkey and helped Kristina dismount as well.

I took off my backpack and started to put out my things. I was setting up camp. Sebastian said he would take care for the food so I left it for him and just fed Donkey for now.

"Hm... Hahh..."

I stretched and looked around. We were camping some way from the road. There was no one else around. It was a quiet area.

"Miss Kristina, why don't you lie down and relax? You look tired."

"Ah, yes. That's true. I am quite tired."

I was surprised by how easily she accepted my suggestion. She was usually very prideful and arrogant.

"Hey, Miss Moon. Do you mind if I sit next to you?" She is still calling me Miss, ugh... whatever.

"Huh? Oh, yes, of course. I don't mind."

"Thank you. I've been thinking for a long time about how I should ask you this."

"What is it?"

"Well, it's something I want to ask you."

"Ask me what?"

"It's about that thing that is sticking out of your bag. Is that a plushie?"

"Hm? A plushie? Ah, you mean Beary! That's my stuffed animal. My friend gave it to me when I was young."

"Your friend? So, you have a childhood friend? Is he your boyfriend?"

"B-Boyfriend?!" I spit out the water I was drinking. "Of course not! He was just a boy I met sometimes when I was young. Besides I'm actually a..."

"I see, I see. Sorry for asking such a weird question. But I was curious because you were carrying a plushie. It's cute."

"No, I'm sorry for being weird too. It might be weird for you to see a grown person carrying a plushie like that around"

"No, no, it's fine. Really."

"But it's a special memory. I lost someone important to me and at that time that boy gave it to me to cheer me up. Beary is really important to me."

"Ah, I see. I think it's a good idea to keep memories of the past. I wish I could remember the days when I was little."

"Yeah, me too."

"So, where did you meet this boy?"

"Hmm... Well, he lived near our house, so I saw him from time to time. I haven't seen him for a long time, though. He disappeared after giving me Beary, he said we will meet again someday, but I never saw him again. I'm kind of sad about it."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Ahaha. Don't worry about it. Anyway, thank you for listening to my story."

"It's okay. I like hearing stories of commoners, Sebastian always told all sorts of stories to me."

"Hehe, you're actually a nice girl, Miss Kristina. Hehehe..."

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment.

"Shut up. Don't say anything stupid."

"Wahahah! Miss Kristina, you're so cute!"

"Stop it. Don't touch me."

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I'll stop." I tried to hug her, but I guess I shouldn't do that. After that, we chatted for a while until the sun was setting down.

***