Armaros used his whetstone to sharpen his knife and his sword as he sat in the carriage. After he had taken the quest for the reconnaissance mission, he had taken a carriage to a village that is nearest village to where he had to go for the quest.
The place he had to check was a village that was in a remote area that isn't easily accessible. It can only be accessed by a remote road which can't even be called a proper road as well, as from what he had learned, it only became such a road because the villagers would be the ones who were using it.
From what he got from the information about the quest, the village is pretty remote and contact with them is made only when people want to check about the village or when a villager comes to the nearby village, which isn't often.
And apparently this isn't the first time that this carriage has taken adventurers to the nearby village so that they could check up on the village. He also learned that it usually takes at least a week for the average D and E rank Adventurer to come back to the town.
'Well, at least Rhia had told me about that when she had gotten me in contact with this man.' Armaros thought to himself as he sheathed his blade and put away his whetstone and checked himself to make sure that he is ready to fight.
Thankfully, he has a relatively peaceful trip to the village. No bandits had tried to attack the carriage, any attack from monsters or any other problems from the time since he had boarded this carriage. The mood was relatively peaceful despite the fact that there were six other people in the carriage with him.
Not that it matters much as he is at the edge near the back of the carriage, as this let's him see the outside and even the people inside were giving him space.
While he would like to relax, past experiences has made him more skeptical of the notion of relaxing during travels. Now he only relaxes when he is inside the walls of the town, and is always alert outside of it, especially considering the fact that he seems to have a knack for getting into troublesome situations as well.
Armaros looked at the sky and saw the clouds that were in the sky as he felt some peace, though he made sure to keep his hand on his sword and be ready to escape and retaliate in case of an attack.
'Can't have peace even when I'm traveling.' Armaros thought to himself as he sat in his place.
The rest of the trip went well without any problems which was a rare event for him. But he wasn't going to dwell on that as he entered the village and got the information regarding the whereabouts of the village he has to investigate.
"So I have to go through the side of the mountain and enter the road in the forest. Is that right?" Armaros asked for confirmation from the chief.
"Yes. There is a path at the edge of the mountain, if you follow it, you will find the path that was created by the villagers from that place. If you follow that path then you will be able to reach the village, though since it isn't a proper path, it will be difficult for you to get there. So it's best to stock up on food to eat as you might have to spend the night in the forest." The chief said to him as he looked at the child in front of him.
"How long does it take to get to the village from here?" Armaros asked curiously as he wanted to know at least the estimated time.
"I think it would take at least a day and a half to get to the village since you're not from there. If you get lost in the forest or lose sight of the path, then you will be in big trouble." The chief said to him as he remembered how past adventurers were.
Many adventurers who didn't take the necessary precautions would end up taking longer to get to and return from the remote village. Due to how irritating it is for them to navigate the forest just for check up on a village, adventurers who had taken the quest before would avoid it, only doing it once.
"That sound like a lot more trouble." Armaros said with a deadpan when he heard that.
But he sighed to himself and looked at his bag which was filled with stuff that he had needed. When he had first handed the pamplet to Rhia, she had already listed the things he had needed to bring before she actually explained more of the mission so he is quite glad about that.
"Okay, then I guess I should start." Armaros said as he patted his sword.
"Good luck. Just be sure to not stay from the path." The chief said to him as the boy nodded.
And so Armaros left the village and didn't want to lose too much time so he immediately started to walk on the road at the edge of the mountain as he took large strides to cover more ground as he made sure to keep his eyes on the road.
It was long, but the sound of the creatures in the forest and the constant noise was an assurance for him that there were normal animals in this side of the forest, and he kept on walking for a long while, and if he wasn't wrong, then he has walked at least two long hours ever since he had left the village, and he felt the fatigue as he drank some water.
'Damn, guess it really is a long walk.' Armaros thought to himself as he kept on walking.
It took a long time before he managed to reach the path into the forest, and as he had been keeping count, he has been walking for 5 whole hours now, and his feets were hurting as the dirt road had become even more uneven and worse, which didn't help much as his legs are hurting.
"Finally, I found the road." Armaros said as he groaned as he sat on a rock beside the road.
Since he is wearing armor on his legs as well, that's makes it a bit more uncomfortable for him to walk on uneven terrain, but he needed the protection so he didn't do anything about it.
He took some rations and ate it to get some more energy before he started to walk again as he entered the forest, though he had to squint his eyes as he saw that the road isn't very wide and shrubbery has also started to grow on it, and considering the fact that it's in the forest, the light isn't enough and the road is also uneven as well.
'Now I really understand why it takes so long for adventurers. I can't make any mistakes if I don't want to get lost." Armaros said to himself before he pulled out his knife.
He looked at it and then started to mark the trees on his right and left as he followed the path, so that he can at least pinpoint in what direction he had come in. He wanted to be sure that he will be able to find a way back in case he had accidentally gotten off the path.
But then he groaned as he saw some plants on the path which is also blocking his path as he sighed to himself as he put his knife away and took out his sword and looked at it.
"Well, I'm surprised those villagers are actually able to navigate through this forest." Armaros muttered to himself as he started to cut down the trees on the path while also marking the trees along the path.
Due to the combination of the uneven path, low light due to the passage of time, trees and shrubbery which blocked his path, it took time for him to go through the forest. But he powered through as he used some magic to shine the light and memorize the path before he cut the shrubbery down and marked the trees as he followed the path with fervor.
"It will take a long time won't it." Armaros said as he sighed to himself.
Time marched on and it is now night, but Armaros didn't stop for long as he kept on walking through the forest as he made sure that he was on the correct path.
After he had gotten used to traveling through the forest, his speed and efficiency increased as he made sure to move through the forest as he managed to get out of the forest as he walked out, now haggard as he panted from walking so much and also using his sword and marking the trees while also walking on uneven terrain.
He leaned on the tree on his right as he looked at the path and let out a breath of air at the fact that he has managed to get out of the forest without much incident, which he is grateful for.
Armaros raised his head and looked at the moon in the sky and the stars and he absentmindedly thought how beautiful it looks in the sky. He stared at the celestial body for a few moments before he walked forward as he drank some water to refresh himself as he looked at the path.
"Alright, let's do this." Armaros said to himself as he sheathed his blade and started to walk on the path, determined to complete his quest.
-Dawnbringer Mansion-
Aurelia had finished her paperwork for the day as she sighed to herself, thankfully the load was something she is able to handle, after all, she is member of the Dawnbringer Clan after all.
She walked out of her office as she walked through the corridor of her home as the servants greeted her as she walked past them in her usual armor and cape. It was imperative that she always portray the image of the head of the Clan, otherwise it would bring shame to her bloodline.
But even if her face is the usual stone faced one, and her way of walking is normal. Inside of her mind, she was feeling a bit restless. And she had inferred that it was because her son wasn't with her anymore.
At first she didn't realise what it was, but she came to understand that she actually missed the presence of her son. Whenever she talks to her children, there seems to be an invisible wall in between them and she didn't mind it that much at first, and neither did her children.
She didn't understand why she was feeling concerned about it now as this was how she normally conversed with her children, and it took some time and hearing Mary talk about Armaros and a few more time had passed, did she realise that it was because of her son.
Even if she was cold to her daughters, the way her son would treat her, even if she didn't find any merit in all this time, she came to understand now that she actually liked it. She couldn't understand why, but the feeling she got whenever her son talked to her with a smile on his face and that tone was something that was unfamiliar for her.
Aurelia stopped and looked at the moon as she lowered her eyes and looked at the bracelet that he had gifted. But that wasn't the only one, she has also worn the other gifts that her son had gifted her on her previous birthdays.
A necklace, a bracelet on her left wrist alongside the one she had already worn on her right wrist, and a simple gold ring on her right index fingers which is covered in armor.
Due to how she wears her armor, it isn't seen by anyone in the mansion and is well hidden. And she came to understand that she wants to wear these things because it was gifted to her by her son. And she wants to feel that her son is close to her.
She pressed her lips into a thin line as she regarded the moon, and her heart wasn't tranquil but confused because this is the first time she is experiencing these things. Even though she knows that she missed her son, she doesn't yet know WHY she is feeling this way.
She has also noticed how her daughters have also changed in behaviour, even if it was mostly unnoticeable and she understood that it was because of her son as well.
She placed her hand on the windowsill and clenched it as it cracked from the pressure as she looked at the moon.