The Last Defender of the Way squad, hauling twin girls along, trudged down a winding, muddy trail, clambering over rolling hills, cross-referencing their map and compass as they slogged through the wilderness.
EeDechi and Barrett were the kind who could hike for miles without breaking a sweat. Platinum-level adventurer Sean had stamina to spare too. But poor Stella, the delicate cleric, was struggling. Her frail constitution wasn't cut for this, and her basic low-level flight magic didn't have enough juice to keep her airborne for long.
She'd stopped to catch her breath a dozen times already. Add to that Barrett and Sean each carrying Ureirika and Kuuderika, and they'd lost a chunk of time.
To Barrett, the captain saving Ureirika and Kuuderika was already a saintly act. Now, they should either send the sisters back to their parents or drop them off at an orphanage—not chase after their half-baked story about skipping mom and dad to find their missing sister. Yet here they were, trekking through the wilds with these two deadweight kids in tow.
But EeDechi was dead-set on finding the twins' sister, an adventurer mage named Arche. She was convinced Arche was still alive, just nabbed by Ainz for his harem and locked away in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, unable to escape.
Barrett glanced at Stella, perched on a rock, casting a blessing spell on herself. He shook his head, then turned his eyes back to the parchment map in his hands.
The map was a tattered mess, its terrain sketches barely legible, or they'd have definitely opted for horseback travel.
Barrett, the seasoned adventurer, had planned the route and travel style. He hadn't accounted for anyone lagging behind—being a mithril-level adventurer, it'd been ages since he teamed up with a silver-level like Stella.
EeDechi, who'd picked their destination, didn't seem to give a damn. She stood atop a small hill, still hauling that massive giant sword on her back. The autumn breeze tugged at her short black hair as she gazed toward the distant horizon where mountains met the gray sky, lost in thought.
This time of year, in the southern borderlands between the Baharuth and Re-Estize, darkness fell fast. The sun barely dipped behind the mountains before night swooped in.
It was already afternoon, the dim sun hanging low. Barrett and Sean hashed things out, got EeDechi's nod, and decided to head for the nearest village on the map—Sheep Horn—to crash and rest. Sean was even hoping to snag a horse in Sheep Horn for Stella to ride.
Whether Sheep Horn had any horses was anyone's guess until they got there.
Traveling at night was a bad call—higher chance of getting lost, and camping in these wilds could mean running into unknown dangers. EeDechi might've claimed she feared nothing, but Barrett knew this orichalcum-level adventurer preferred a solid night's sleep.
The group veered slightly, heading toward the other side of the hills. Soon, they reached a valley where Sheep Horn, marked on the parchment map, nestled snugly.
From a distance, red-tiled, gray-walled cottages dotted the landscape. A narrow path snaked through them, with patches of pale green and dark yellow crops carving the fields into neat rectangles. Here and there, farmers hunched over, harvesting. Far off, on low hills, flocks of sheep drifted like scattered clouds.
The four adventurers, with the twin sisters in tow, strode briskly along Sheep Horn's dirt paths, glancing around with curiosity.
This was Re-Estize's border country, but the village scenery wasn't much different from Baharuth's. Fields along the road brimmed with corn, barley, and oats ready for harvest. Some farmers paused their work, standing to size up the group. Their eyes held a flicker of curiosity but mostly deep wariness.
"Anyone else feel something's off? Why are there hardly any young men working the fields?" Sean, sharp-eyed as ever, picked up on a detail.
He was right. The folks wielding hoes and sickles in the fields, or herding cattle and sheep, were mostly women, kids, and wrinkled old men. Barely any able-bodied men in sight.
"Maybe they've gone to the city for work. I wonder what the farming policies are like in the Re-Estize. Do they have any farmer-friendly measures?" EeDechi, leading the way, mused to herself.
"Huh?" The other three exchanged puzzled looks at their captain's words.
"Or maybe they got drafted? I heard Re-Estize has this 'conscription' deal, snatching up young men for the army," Sean ventured, a hint of smugness in his tone.
Baharuth prized quality over quantity, training elite cavalry, while Re-Estize leaned on its "conscription" system, drafting masses every year to keep a bloated army to counter Baharuth. As a Baharuth native, Sean naturally looked down on Re-Estize's setup.
Barrett, scanning the surroundings, caught the wary eyes of a few grim-faced farmwomen. He lowered his voice. "Something's definitely off. From what I know, during harvest season, Re-Estize lets its conscripts go home to work the fields. They don't redraft until spring. So where the hell are all the young men?"
He cracked a grin. "What, is there some plague in this village that only kills grown men? Ha, did we just stroll into Widow Town?"
EeDechi whipped her head around, glaring. "Keep it in your pants, Barrett. This crew doesn't take sleazeballs!"
Barrett clammed up. Back when he ran with rowdier adventurers, a line like that would've gotten roars of laughter. But now, cleric Stella wouldn't crack a smile, and Sean, trying to look good in front of her, wasn't about to join in.
Sean smoothed things over with a smirk. "Let's hope not, or you and I are screwed, big guy. We're prime-age men too." He winked at Barrett.
The sun was sinking into the mountains, the golden edges of the sunset fading fast. Darkness was closing in.
After a full day's trek, the four adventurers' legs were sore, and their stomachs were growling. Right now, they desperately needed a place to crash, a bowl of hot meat stew, and a dry, flat bed.