### Chapter 13: Lotus Seed Grass
“Go take a look,” ordered the Captain of Knights, thinking for a moment before adding, “Be careful. If anything seems off… sh**t to k*ll.”
“Understood.”
The Church Knight, who came to report, accepted the order and slowly headed forward with four other knights.
I turned to look, but the view was blocked by heavy snow, and visibility was abysmally low. In the distance, I could vaguely see some figures gathered in front of the road, surrounding a war chariot and chatting away.
What’s going on?
It’d be amusing if this turned into a highway robbery scenario… though I doubt anyone would be that foolish. If over a hundred Church Knights showed up, anyone trying anything like that would essentially be declaring war on the Holy Church. Not many people in this world have the guts to do that, and those who do usually lack the strength.
“Little Shay, what are you dawdling about for? Get up here,” Carlos urged, his hand persistently lifting the curtain of the war chariot. I was standing there, frozen, and his impatience shone through.
“Oh.”
I shot him an annoyed glare, then decided to ignore the situation ahead. Quietly, I climbed into the chariot and began nervously fidgeting with my fingers.
After a moment of hesitation, I resolved to speak to Carlos.
“Carlos, I just saw… a hallucination.”
“A hallucination?” Carlos raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What hallucination? The Valen Empire’s Osemilu cake?”
“… No. I saw a stranger.” I bit back the impulse to toss him out of the chariot and carefully tried to explain.
“A stranger?” Carlos sensed I wasn’t joking and straightened up, “You’re sure you’re not messing with me? Not experiencing snow blindness or something? Can you give me a description? What did the person look like?”
“The appearance, I kind of forgot. Just… I saw a person. It was like…” I scrunched up my delicate eyebrows, desperately trying to recall the fleeting image I’d seen, “There was also… a black castle. It felt familiar; I’ve been here before.”
“Are you saying that you think this place is familiar, that you’ve been here and met someone?” Carlos instinctively rubbed his stubble, “… This shouldn’t be. How could you have been here before?”
“Not exactly.” I raked my hands through my hair, frustrated, not quite sure how to relay that strange feeling to him.
“Can you describe this black castle you’re talking about?”
“Black. Very big.”
“… That’s practically the same as saying nothing! Be more specific.” Carlos frowned.
“It’s next to a mountain, has really sharp towers, a gigantic clock tower… and there’s a bridge.”
“A bridge?”
“Yeah. A really, really long bridge.” I opened my beautifully wide eyes to look at him, exaggerating my arm span to try and convey the length of the bridge, “There were also, like, a lot of birds on the bridge.”
Carlos furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment before suddenly widening his eyes.
“Wait, wait, wait. You’re not talking about Shanter Castle, are you?”
“Not sure.”
Seriously? I’m the one asking questions here, what are you questioning me for? I haven’t even been to Shanter Castle.
“Only Shanter Castle matches what you described; it’s the residence of Duke Skarlij’s family and also our destination. But how do you know what Shanter Castle looks like? You’ve never been there… I’m saying, Little Shay, you don’t have some kind of future-seeing ability, do you?” Carlos exclaimed incredulously, then quickly shook his head dismissively, “No, that’s impossible… there’s no way such a power exists; that’s just not reasonable…”
“…”
I was at a loss for words. Future-seeing ability? You’ve got a really wild imagination, don’t ya?
It seems this guy is just as clueless as I am; it’s probably not the Power of Order—it’s likely just that I haven’t rested well.
I suddenly lost interest, then remembered something else and lightly beckoned Carlos with my finger.
“Carlos,” I said earnestly, making sure to catch his attention.
“Yeah?”
Hearing me call his name, Carlos leaned in seriously, his expression matching mine with equal seriousness.
“So, about that cake. Is it good?”
I watched as his lips twitched slightly.
“… Not good.”
He crossed his legs, resting his hands behind his head, and in an instant returned to his usual deadpan demeanor, casually responding.
“You’re lying.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
Though Carlos is familiar with the Valen Empire, he’s not one to pay attention to food, so any flavor he’d remember must be outstanding.
Just as I was about to ask him something else, the chariot suddenly shuddered as it began to move.
“Hey, did they resolve the issue up ahead?” Carlos asked casually.
I shook my head to signal I didn’t know, then lifted a corner of the chariot curtain to peek outside, curiously scanning the area, and made eye contact with the Captain of Knights, who grinned at me.
“Nothing to worry about, Miss Silvya,” the Captain gestured towards some traders who had moved the broken cart aside and were busily transferring goods, “Those are merchants delivering supplies for the Church. They’re transporting fruits and vegetables hoarded in Nalanda to an orphanage in the Valen Empire for the children. The snowstorm was too fierce, and the axle broke.”
“Oh,” I responded, shifting my gaze towards the merchants as they drew nearer, busily transferring their cargo to another war chariot.
The team moved forward, the knights marching with a firm rhythm, brushing past the merchants’ group.
One leading merchant, exhaling clouds of steam from his hands to keep warm, unexpectedly turned his head and locked eyes with me.
He froze right there, his commanding voice trailing off mid-sentence as he gawked at me.
In his gaze, I noticed an unsettling glimmer of desire, making me feel queasy, and I promptly dropped the curtain.
“Is something wrong?” Carlos asked lazily, his eyes half-closed as he yawned.
“Nothing,” I shook my head.
After traveling about three or four miles, darkness fully enveloped us. The Captain signaled for the group to stop in a higher terrain, and the knights began setting up camp.
I elegantly hopped out of the chariot and headed towards the nearby woods.
“Where are you going?”
Carlos followed suit, stretching lazily in the snow, and half-opened his eyes as he saw me walking away.
“Just… for some privacy.”
“… Oh.” He shrugged, “Do you want me to come with you?”
“Drop dead,” I quickened my pace.
…………
The night forest was eerily silent.
In the Valen Empire, it’s always winter, countless withered leaves weighed down by a thin layer of snow.
I glanced around but didn’t see any signs of life, so boldly summoned my dark energy. As my palm opened, five fireballs, each the size of a fist, shot out and whirled around me, illuminating the frost-covered forest with an eerie glow.
I perked my ears, listening intently to the sounds around me.
Rustle rustle—
“Bang—!”
In a snap, one of the fireballs shot off, striking the nearby grass and creating a muffled thud. Scraps of grass mixed with some creature’s flesh flew into the air, and a puff of white smoke wafted towards me, sending my body into a fit of violent shivers.
Once it ended, I frowned deeply and withdrew the remaining four fireballs back into my body.
That was too loud, and… felt a bit cruel. It left a bad feeling in me.
Guess I’ll stick with black smoke; it won’t tear these small creatures apart… although I know it’s just a form of self-comfort. But hey, I’m not a saint! Since I don’t want to k*ll, and don’t want to turn into the monster that devours everything again, this is my only option.
A slight dampness from my inner layers made my face flush slightly—I knew what that was.
But it’s an inevitable situation every time.
Shoving away those chaotic thoughts, I resumed wandering the woods, searching for the next prey. Suddenly, I heard voices nearby, and my heart raced as I quickly hid behind a tree.
Not far away, I could make out four or five silhouettes. They resembled the merchants from earlier.
“… You pick the big ones; what can you even burn with the small ones?”
“I can’t handle the big ones.”
“Fine! You can’t even pick up firewood right; why was I stupid enough to call you here…”
“Hey, I asked you guys, have you seen that little girl from that cart earlier?”
“Didn’t see her. Why?”
“I saw her! Just a quick glance… that figure, wow! If I could share a bed with her for one night, I’d be willing to lose ten years of my life—no, twenty years!”
…… Are they talking about me?
I pouted, fighting the urge to take them out.
What the heck? How dare they fantasize about this fine specimen? Do they even know how to write “d*ath”?
“… Is it really that exaggerated?”
“Seriously, you guys didn’t see it. Those little eyes… my god, I’m done for. I’ll never forget it.”
“Give me a break! You? You can’t even take a good look at yourself. A lady of that caliber? You think you’ll share a night together? In your dreams!”
“If I can’t, you can!? With that limp body of yours, you probably can’t even last three seconds—so pathetic, you couldn’t satisfy her even if you tried…”
“Bull! Have you tried? I’m telling you, that chick looks like an undeveloped gem. If I catch the chance, she’d be begging for more! Hahaha!”
At this point, I could barely contain my frustrations.
What utter nonsense… I regretted staying here to listen to their filthy words. I’d probably be too disgusted to sleep tonight.
I suppressed the urge to roast them with a fireball and turned to leave, frowning.
“Ah— I really want to take a hit of that lotus seed grass… but with the Church Knights around tonight, probably no chance.”
Lotus seed grass? What’s that?
I halted in my tracks.
