Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy – 64

November in the Northern Territory (3)

Ariel, having finished every last drop of her warm soup, rubbed her now-full stomach contentedly as she entered the room.

“Ahhhh….”

Plop!

It was late at night, and Ariel, exhausted from the grueling march, collapsed onto the bed without even changing into her pajamas.

“I want to write a novel with you as the protagonist!”

It had been over five months since she had boldly declared this at the Langren Duchy, and it had also been over five months since she had received Elden’s concern that it would be difficult.

As Elden had predicted, it had been tough days.

The marching, which she had never done before, had pushed her once delicate body to its limits.

Even so, there was only one reason she continued to travel with Elden on this gourmet tour.

Joy.

The joy of traveling with a friend who shared the same interests.

The joy of eating delicious monster dishes from various regions.

The joy of witnessing firsthand the monster hunts she had only imagined through books.

The joy of describing what she saw.

And.

The joy of watching her reading companion, Elden, grow.

These joys made the arduous journey bearable, and it was these joys that made her travel the northern territories with Elden.

Especially when she watched Elden hunt, her heart would inexplicably beat faster, and she would look up at him with admiration, finding him incredibly cool.

Was this the feeling that authors who wrote about real people had?

Admiration and reverence.

When she looked at Elden, those feelings arose, and she wanted to write a splendid story about him.

After staring blankly at the ceiling for a long time, Ariel finally lifted her heavy body and sat at her desk.

First, she wrote a letter to her family to send once they reached the city, then she pulled out a thick stack of papers.

A novel with Elden as the protagonist.

The scenario of [From Scoundrel to Monster Hunter].

It was a scenario she had been organizing while listening to Elden’s past stories for the sake of realistic writing, focusing on his transformation from a notorious scoundrel to a splendid monster hunter.

It was a scenario imbued with her frustration at seeing him only viewed as a villain.

This scenario, too, was nearing its final chapter.

Although it depicted Elden’s life, it wasn’t feasible to keep writing it forever, so from the middle, she started writing plausible future stories based on past and present events.

And the future story was a happy ending.

Because Ariel liked happy endings.

And that happy ending was filled with her private desires.

Hehe.

Ariel smiled contentedly as she read the opening of the final chapter.

It was because of the sight of Elden walking a path of flowers and one particular character walking alongside him.

‘Hmm. An outdoor wedding would be nice, right?’

An outdoor wedding rather than a boring church one.

‘The dress should have a very, very long train.’

Since the character was a bit short, a long train would suit her.

‘Children… Three would be good, right?’

Two boys and one girl would be perfect.

‘Wait… To have children… You have to, you know, do that…?’

Kyaa.

I don’t know, I don’t know.

I’ve never done such things.

Ariel, her cheeks rapidly turning red, shook her head as she placed her hands on her now flushed cheeks.

[Such things]

Having never experienced such things even once, not even vicariously, the writer found herself contemplating whether she should read some adult novels… and reminded herself that as a writer, excessive immersion was forbidden, slapping her own cheek to stay focused.

‘Get a grip. This is just the story of a character, isn’t it?’

Yes.

It’s just a fictional character.

Ariel reminded herself of this and began writing the happy ending scenario of the final chapter late into the night.

*

After spending a night in the mountain village of Sload, we set off southeast along the mountain ridge as soon as dawn broke.

There was nothing to see in Sload.

Only herbivorous monsters were nearby, and according to the innkeeper, they were all monsters we had hunted and eaten before.

Although they sold monster dishes, there was nothing on the menu worth staying for.

As an aside.

‘The innkeeper’s cooking skills were worse than Ariel’s….’

There was only one inn in the village, so the residents of Sload probably didn’t have very high expectations for taste.

Still, it was a great stopover because we could soak in hot bath water and relieve our fatigue.

If it weren’t for Sload, we would have had to camp outdoors again.

We traveled along the mountain ridge for quite some time until it was lunchtime, and we lit a campfire in an unnamed basin.

Whoosh!

If there’s no fire mage, we make do with what we have.

The absence of someone who could use fire magic was filled by me, an electric magic user.

After sparking some dry twigs a few times, a fine campfire was quickly made, and Ariel started cooking a few rabbits we had hunted coming down the mountain.

It was a rare clear day without a single breeze.

The weather was so clear and bright that we could see the distant mountains, making us whistle with joy as we relaxed. It was then that Rachel spoke up.

“Disciple?”

“What?”

“I was curious, what will you do once this gourmet tour ends?”

“Once it ends?”

“Yes.”

Hmm.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t given any thought to the plans after the gourmet tour.

Even though the Elferion Kingdom is vast, a nationwide pilgrimage would end in about three years at most.

Even the vast northern territories could be traversed in a year.

By the time the gourmet tour ends, I’d be in my late twenties.

After traveling through Elferion, I could start a tour of the Trimias continent, but honestly, I didn’t have the confidence to spend the rest of my life traveling.

It was tough.

So.

“I don’t have any exact plans yet, but I’d probably settle down somewhere.”

“Settle down?”

“I can’t keep living a life of camping and hiking forever.”

Fortunately, the Lafellion Count family didn’t have any territories.

The Lafellion family had a mansion in the Trimion Duchy, with Elden’s father being a direct aide to the Duke of Trimion in the original story.

With no lands to govern or people to rule, I would sell the mansion, pay Rachel her overdue salary, and then perhaps buy some land in a nice location and farm for a few years, taking a good rest.

“I see.”

“By then, the contract as my personal guard would have expired too. Do you have any plans for after that? You’ll have quite a sum of money once you get your back pay.”

At my casual question, Rachel, who had been staring at me, turned to look at the distant mountains before replying.

“I think I will also settle down somewhere.”

“That’s an unexpected plan. With your skills, you could easily sign a new contract as a personal guard for another noble family.”

A breeze blew, and Rachel tucked her disheveled short hair behind her ear as she replied.

“I have fought to escape the life of a woman. Now, I want to live the life of a woman.”

“Oh. A woman’s life, huh. I don’t know where your settlement will be, but I hope we could be neighbors.”

For some reason, her answer, tinged with nostalgia, made me curious about how the usually stoic Rachel would live her ‘life as a woman,’ so I responded that way.

And with that response, Rachel silently looked at the distant mountains and smiled.

“Ta-da~! Here’s your perfectly roasted rabbit!”

Shortly after, we had a meal with the dish Ariel had prepared.

**

“That’s it. It’s a land abandoned now due to a long war, but it was once the domain of Baron Bedran.”

We walked without rest until late in the evening and arrived at the former Bedran Barony, located northwest of the Winterfell Duchy, as planned.

If it weren’t for Old Man Rendler’s explanation, we wouldn’t have known why the land was so desolate.

Our porter old man.

Though he didn’t know the way, he was a reliable source of information about the kingdom’s history, making him a valuable asset on our journey.

Trudge, trudge.

We walked through the ruined walls.

Worried about monsters, but it was silent.

Keeping our guard up, we began looking for a place to stay for the night.

Snow clouds were gathering thickly.

Without a sturdy roof or eaves, we might be buried alive while sleeping.

“Hmm. Everything’s collapsed.”

“Being neglected for over twenty years, it couldn’t withstand the passage of time.”

While we were looking around, we found a mansion.

Broken windows, collapsed pillars and walls, snapped flags, shattered outer walls, and so on.

The mansion showed the horrors of war, but it seemed like we could stay in the space created by its collapse for a night.

“Rendler. Help Ariel prepare the camp. Rachel and I will check inside the mansion for any dangers.”

“Yes.”

After putting down my luggage, I drew my sword.

In ruins, there could be not only monsters but also thieves or other sinister people lying in wait.

Though we’d take turns keeping watch, the first rule of camping was to identify and eliminate any risks in advance.

Therefore.

“I’ll take the left side, and you take the right side, Master.”

“Understood.”

After splitting up with Rachel, I started searching the left side of the mansion’s interior along the corridor.

After climbing up the broken stairs to the tilted top floor.

…I heard the sound of a woman sobbing.

It was a truly forlorn and precarious sob, making my hair

 stand on end.

‘Ghosts don’t exist in this world’s setting…’

Who could be crying in this abandoned mansion?

I cautiously approached, sword raised, in the direction of the sobbing.

The reason why the sobbing seemed familiar.

The reason why the sobbing seemed strangely familiar.

I dismissed it as an illusion born of tension.