When I was still young, there was a story the elders of the village used to tell.
It was about hedgehogs with sharp thorns who gathered in one place to share warmth and survive the winter. But as they got closer, their thorns began to prick each other.
Feeling the sting, they moved apart, only to face the biting cold of winter. Yet, when they tried to get close again, the thorns pricked them once more.
In the end, the hedgehogs had to maintain a certain distance—neither too close nor too far—to endure the cold winter. As a child, I thought this story was true. I believed hedgehogs couldn’t get close to each other.
But as always, not all fables or stories passed down like that are entirely true. If elves were forest spirits as the elders said, that would’ve been nice, but in reality, they were more like spirits of mischief.
-What? Are hedgehogs stupid? They’re living beings too. They’re not dumb enough to not figure out how to get close without hurting each other.
One day, while following Helmut, the hunter from Pumpkin Vine Village, I saw hedgehogs gathered together. Wisely, they had flattened their thorns and were sharing each other’s warmth.
Perhaps they were familiar with Helmut, as he casually stroked them without hesitation. The hedgehogs didn’t resist human touch and accepted it with their thorns flattened.
Animals aren’t as dumb as people sometimes think. Though the elders’ wisdom turned out to be wrong, the hedgehogs from that story still remain in my memory.
That story came back to me today after a long time.
‘It’s similar to Roka, yet somehow different.’
Looking back, Roka only distrusted me for a short while. The child soon opened up to me. Now, it’s almost too much of a problem.
But this child still has their thorns up, wary of me. Yet, they don’t seem to want to distance themselves either. When I didn’t approach, the child didn’t back away either. They spread their wings as if ready to fly off at any moment, but stayed in place for a while.
‘It feels less like fear and more like difficulty.’
Back then, Roka was afraid of me. They avoided me, ran away, but didn’t try to maintain distance like this.
Seeing this, it doesn’t seem like they dislike me, but maybe they just need a bit more time?
“Can I ask why you came to find me? Do you need help with something?”
Even when I asked, they just shook their head. It’s not that they’re not speaking—they genuinely don’t know.
I couldn’t answer for them. I didn’t push. I just quietly waited for Lady Kisea to arrive.
…It took a while. It got a bit awkward.
What could she be doing that’s taking so long? Making tea shouldn’t take this much time.
“I’m here!”
Speak of the wolf, and she appears. Soon, Lady Kisea came up.
She handed me a tray with tea and apples. But where’s the sugar and milk? Did she get too tempted and drink them on the way?
Did she forget? Or is she pretending the apples are enough?
But what’s with these apples? I’ve never seen anything like this while using Night’s Shelter. Where did these even come from?
Red, plump apples. They felt oddly familiar. Could this also be a gift from the Lord?
Well, it doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a gift from the Lord, nature, coincidence, or not.
If I had a kn*fe, I’d peel them, but it felt awkward to ask her to go back and get one. I just set the tray down and stepped back.
“Since you came all this way, have something to eat. Should I prepare a meal?”
They shook their head. Whether they genuinely didn’t want to or were just saying no, I could tell the difference. I nodded in understanding.
And so, our encounter with the mysterious guest ended like that.
*
“Well, I saw an apple tree outside. It had a bunch of fruit on it.”
Lady Kisea munched on an apple. It wasn’t sour at all, just sweet. But not overly sweet like sugar—it still tasted like an apple.
“So I picked them all. We can eat them for a while. If there’s any left, I’ll make jam or something.”
It was just the right amount of delicious. Sweet, yet balanced in flavor.
It suited both human and wolf tastes. Roka seemed to enjoy the apples too. Lady Kisea, too lazy to peel them, bit into them skin and all.
“This is it. Definitely.”
The Princess also tasted the apple and her eyes sparkled.
“This is the apple the Saint gave me when I first met them. The taste is exactly the same.”
It’s definitely their gift. I don’t know why they gave us this, but doubting the Lord’s intentions in such matters feels excessive.
Maybe they just wanted us to enjoy some apples.
“Where are you going?”
“To feed the horses.”
Roka, holding a bunch of apples, slowly got up. Lady Kisea casually asked, then frowned at the answer.
“Why waste those? Horses are fine with hay. Humans should eat human food.”
“I already gave them sugar cubes earlier. Too many treats aren’t good for them.”
The Princess also chimed in, saying feeding horses too many apples could cause problems.
But whether it’s humans or horses, problems might or might not happen. Roka seemed determined to see the horses eat apples.
Feeding animals is fun. In the end, Roka took a few apples and went outside. Soon, the sound of munching could be heard.
Those horses worked hard. Maybe even harder than us.
They pushed through rough terrain during our forced march, so they definitely deserved those apples.
“We’re not far from the core area, right?”
“According to the map the merchants drew, it’s just a bit further. Though I’m not sure how accurate the scale is.”
Maps are usually crude and full of errors. To make a proper map, you’d need something like an airship to survey the land from above.
Otherwise, even with professional techniques, you can only reduce errors slightly. The merchants we met probably didn’t put that much effort into their map.
“This map doesn’t show the exact location of the Liberation War Victory Museum. We’ll have to figure that out after reaching the core area, either by persuading or threatening someone we meet along the way.”
In fact, the merchants admitted they’d never been to the core area themselves. The maps of the surrounding areas were based on rumors—unreliable information.
From there, we’ll have to find our own way. The Princess was already worried about that.
“The problem is that area is Epirna’s front yard. As the Imperial Princess, causing diplomatic friction with the Beast King isn’t something I should be doing…”
Finding the way is one thing, but the bigger concern is running into Epirna and escalating the situation. For me, Roka, and Lady Kisea, as outsiders, the responsibility falls solely on us.
But the Princess is the Imperial Princess. She hasn’t abandoned that status. Epirna could use this to cause trouble for the Empire.
Thinking about the Empire, I wondered how they were handling the d*ath God situation. Thinking about the d*ath God, I also wondered what the other d*ath God we met in Vlad’s territory was up to now.
…Where did things go wrong?
The state of the continent was sigh-inducingly bad. Just this spring, I thought it would be a normal year, but now I’m worried if we’ll even make it to next year.
“Let’s rest for a bit, then head out again. Roka’s already asleep.”
After feeding the horses, Roka came back and immediately fell asleep next to me. Even though we were far from the fireplace, it was still warm.
Being the youngest, Roka adapted the fastest to the forced marches and short naps. Among us, they were the most lively. But this level of urgency won’t last much longer.
‘We’ll be leaving soon, but what about that child?’
We can’t just leave the guest upstairs alone, so we’ll have to give them some notice before we go.
I also took a short nap. The night on the plains grew deeper.
