Ch. 181

“Eek…… Ash! Did you hear that? That woman’s threatening me!”

“Oh my, a threat? How hurtful. I clearly called for a duel. It’s a mannerly act.”

Competing over Ash somehow stirred my sense of rivalry.

There are things I can overlook out of laziness and things I can’t—this was clearly the latter.

Why, though? I liked being with Ash. Probably because it felt comfortable. After all, Ash was an excellent attendant!

“Lox.”

“Yeah, Ash! Say something to that shameless woman!”

“Go with Enk or Gale.”

“……!”

No matter how shocked Lox looked as if to ask how he could, Ash’s choice was me.

It was probably, knowing his personality, the most peaceful option to avoid any bloodshed.

I proudly mounted the brown horse while Ash held the reins, watching the powerless back of Lox trudging away like a refugee banished from his homeland.

Not that he was going far—just to Enk’s horse.

The two exchanged silent, sorrowful glances, which my radar caught instantly.

Hey, that’s a bit much. Watching them act all sentimental is kind of irritating. I feel jealous, even.

Ash should only look at me.

Because he’s my attendant—my attendant!

There’s no other way to explain this faint possessiveness I feel toward Ash.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Why do I want to have Ash? Do I want to be his master or something?

“Looks like everyone’s ready to leave.”

“Then let’s go. Did anyone forget anything?”

“I’ve got everything.”

“Me too.”

“No way! Your huge mutt’s been missing since yesterday. Is that thing okay?”

Surprisingly, it was Chad who noticed such a detail.

He’d realized Rai’s absence. Of course, I was thinking the same. I definitely didn’t forget.

I had thought several times today that things seemed unusually quiet around me, that’s all.

“He’s over there.”

“Where?”

“In the stable. Rai!”

I whistled toward the distant stable and called out his name.

For a moment, the stable seemed to shake. Judging by everyone rubbing their eyes after seeing the same thing, it probably wasn’t a hallucination.

A golden wolf burst out of the stable, crying mournfully.

Then, shaking the ground, he charged toward me at full speed.

[Master!]

[Hurry up. We’re leaving.]

[Waaah! I thought you were leaving without me!]

Sitting indifferently atop my horse, my expression grew serious as Rai drew closer.

I had realized something dreadful.

“The smell!”

“Ugh!”

“Where’s that poop smell coming from…….”

The new punishment I’d devised had an unexpected, horrible side effect.

Rai reeked of horse manure.

“Your pet smells like it rolled in dung.”

Realizing the source of the stench, everyone began glaring at me.

Normally, I’d argue back to defend my innocence—but this time was hopeless.

The odor was so strong it made breathing difficult, and everyone had to cover their noses.

Rai, who couldn’t smell anything except metal, had no idea what was wrong.

He wagged his tail happily after escaping the stable, but each wag released another wave of stink. Ugh.

“Rai…… you smell like poop.”

[Excuse me? From me, the noble Rai? I don’t even eat dew!]

[Quiet. Can’t you fix it somehow?]

[I’m not sure how far it’s spread, but if I throw away every part that’s absorbed the smell…….]

“No helping it. Stay back for now.”

Unofficially, even as the richest person on the continent, I couldn’t just discard a diamond on the road simply because it smelled bad.

I thought I’d discovered a great punishment method, but I was wrong.

Looks like I won’t be using this one again. Maybe it’s for the best—for Rai, anyway.

With the sun already high in the sky, we pinched our noses and departed for Heidrike. It wasn’t exactly a majestic sight.

—

Our party traveled along the outer edge of the vast island of Heidrike.

We’d been riding along a mountain path overlooking the sea for quite a while when a wide, open field suddenly spread out before us.

That meant we were on the right track.

According to Lil’s grandfather, who knew the area well, we’d reach our destination in just a few hours—and sure enough, it was as he’d said.

After crossing a field where reeds grew sparsely and passing through a narrow mountain path lined with purple blossoms, a suspension bridge came into view.

“A bridge!”

“Oh, I see it too.”

Someone among the riders whistled in delight. Everything was going smoothly.

Grandfather had said that once we crossed that bridge, we’d arrive in Heidrike.

“Look! It’s close! We could’ve taken our time!”

When I shouted into the wind, Lox immediately shouted back, each of us holding tight to someone’s waist.

“Who’s that supposed to be good for?!”

“For me!”

I hugged Ash’s firm waist tighter and stretched my head upward.

As the bridge drew closer over his shoulder, I imagined how well things could go.

Once we found Heidrike and the mysterious lake nearby—of course, there wouldn’t be any treasure—I’d wait until everyone’s disappointment faded, then head back to the farm for some hot roasted pork.

No plan could be more ideal or realistic.

I didn’t think ‘our’ team would find the treasure anyway.

Ancient relics aren’t so easily discovered. If no one’s found it for nearly ten thousand years, there’s a reason for that.

No expectations, no disappointment! But roasted pork never betrays.

“We’re here! Just cross that bridge, and finally—we’ll be in Heidrike!”

“This time it has to be right!”

“No doubt about it!”

Everyone was excited, but the most thrilled of all was Lox. His voice was louder than usual, his grin stretched to his ears.

It made sense—after all, it had taken him fifteen years just to pinpoint Heidrike’s location.

Ever since finding the letter and the marker, he’d spent over a decade analyzing and comparing countless maps, chasing wrong leads again and again, and carrying on the research and failures inherited from his parents.

That’s how Lox and Ash had continued their pursuit.

Well, technically that was the ‘story’ they told. The Chalice of the Golden Star was actually something the royal family was after.

Enk, Gale, and Chad, who’d traveled with them for a year and a half, believed that story. I, of course, pretended to as well.

“Faster!”

As the bridge drew near, we urged our horses into a gallop.

Through the shaking view, the bridge looked crude—a narrow crossing connecting two cliffs.

“Geenie, hold tight.”

From the way Ash was steering the horse, I could tell he was excited too.

I could feel his racing heart—it was impossible not to, being this close. Somehow, my hand ended up groping his chest.

It wasn’t intentional, so I quickly lowered my hand—then realized I’d lowered it ‘too’ far and brought it back up a little.

Meanwhile, Ash was twitching like something had short-circuited. Sorry about that.

“Huh?”

“……Stop! Something’s wrong.”

We vaulted over a small hill and reached the cliff’s edge in no time.

The four horses were running neck and neck, and I was too busy figuring out where to hold onto Ash to notice the shift in atmosphere.

As unease set in, the horses stopped. A heavy silence fell among us as we stared into the canyon ahead.

I leaned sideways, peeking around Ash’s broad shoulder that blocked my view.

“No way!”

Oh, no.

The bridge, up close, had completely lost its function.

It was an old wooden rope bridge, but nearly all of the planks had fallen away except for a few scattered pieces.

Only the ropes on either side remained, hinting at what it once looked like. Unless someone specialized in tightrope walking, it was better to assume there was no bridge at all.

A bridge without a floor—how useless.

“This can’t be! We were ‘right there’! Just one more step!”

“Lox……”

“The bridge!”

The more passionate he was about finding the treasure, the greater his despair at this obstacle.

Lox’s near-scream echoed through the canyon.

Below, seawater crashed violently against the rocks—crossing that way was impossible.

Ash and Gale silently shook their heads, suppressing their disappointment, while Chad fumed.

Enk tried to comfort Lox, but he couldn’t bear it. He jumped off his horse and ran right to the cliff’s edge, confirming with his own hands that the bridge was beyond repair—then despaired all over again.

“I should’ve known things were going ‘too’ well.”

“Tch, yeah. There’s no way it’d be that easy.”

“This thing’s completely useless. Whether monsters did it or time did, this bridge is done for.”

“Looks like no one’s maintained it in ages. Makes sense, though—no one’s lived in Heidrike for some time.”

Used to setbacks, the men didn’t mope for long. They huddled together, exchanging brief words before unfolding the map.

“We could go this way. But it’d take at least three days detouring.”

“So we’re back to square one.”

“Maybe we should return to the farm and resupply first. Chad, how much food do we have left?”

“For six people…… maybe three days? Five if we ration. A week if we push it.”

Traveling with more people made carrying food harder—it just took up too much space.

Even with occasional hunting, taking the long route wasn’t exactly a safe choice.

“What do you think? Should we go back to restock first, or stop by that village at the end of this canyon to resupply……?”

“Either way, we’re wasting about a week.”

“True, but we’ll have to pass through there anyway. Let’s just follow the canyon and hope there’s another bridge farther up.”

Sitting behind Ash, I propped my chin on his shoulder and looked at the map with him.

I wasn’t great at reading maps, but since Ash was pointing at it, I could tell our situation wasn’t great.

The canyon where the bridge had been ran deep inland. To reach Heidrike, we’d have to go all the way around and follow it back down again. Annoying.

I glanced back at the bridge’s remains.

Like in a movie, we could’ve made a heroic leap if the gap weren’t the width of a five-story building. Impossible.

But going around looked just as bothersome, so I made a suggestion.

“If there’s no bridge, then we’ll just make one.”

“What? That’d take even longer.”

“Idiots.”

Since I was speaking from behind Ash, it probably looked like he was the one saying the rude words.

Pretending to be a ventriloquist, I grabbed his elbow and made him move as I spoke.

“Idiots!”

“Geenie……?”

“You guys keep forgetting something. In this party, we have ‘me’—the great Geenie!”

“Are you insane? What’s with the ‘great’ part?”

“The great Geenie.”

Chad spat on the ground instead of replying.