What was the big deal about apricots?
Satin, puzzled, took the snack and popped it into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he realized.
‘Ah, it’s dried apricot.’
Cain must’ve seen the understanding dawn on Satin’s face because he gave a slight chuckle and continued where he’d left off.
“Those horse-headed things weren’t that aggressive. They were wearing armor, sure, but didn’t carry weapons.”
Rita nodded in recognition, then suddenly giggled.
“And no pants, either.”
Was that really so funny? Satin found it hard to see the humor. He was too used to bears and penguins in children’s shows walking around without pants. Most of the animal characters he knew only bothered with tops.
‘There was even a mouse that only wore pants, come to think of it.’
After Rita’s laughter died down, Cain spoke again.
“Think back to those wolf-heads we ran into before. The horse-heads must look that way for a reason too.”
Only then did Satin finally understand what Cain was getting at.
‘They howled to call in backup.’
The wolf-men howled like actual wolves before launching their attacks. They weren’t real wolves, but they sure behaved like them.
But the Reverse Centaurs resembled horses. And as everyone knows, horses are herbivores. Sure, not every herbivore is a pacifist, but it’s not like a plant-eater would go around attacking travelers for no reason.
Edward voiced the question that had been bothering all of them.
“Why did those creatures block our path in the first place?”
***
Before leaving Pinehill, the group stopped by a weapon shop—this time, looking for armor instead of weapons.
“To be honest, I dreamed of being a knight when I was a kid. Feels like that dream’s finally come true.”
Edward tried moving around in his newly equipped metal-plated armor as he spoke. He probably meant it as a joke, but in full gear, he didn’t look like a priest at all—more like a tank built to draw aggro.
The other three picked up leather armor. According to the shopkeeper, it was sturdy enough to block at least one bite from sharp fangs. When Rita asked if it could handle a second, the shopkeeper advised her to run before that happened.
‘Yeah, if they’re gnawing on your torso, the fight’s already lost.’
Leather armor wasn’t exactly feather-light. Worn over a shirt, it gave the chest a more robust appearance.
‘Not bad, actually.’
Satin stared down at his chest for a moment, then sneakily glanced at Cain to see how he looked.
‘Ah, dammit.’
Thanks to his robe, Cain’s chest was completely hidden. Given his build, leather armor would definitely suit him, probably even look amazing.
As Satin tried and failed to hide his disappointment, Cain caught his gaze and asked,
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
Cain narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious, then lifted his robe. As expected, a finely sculpted chest was revealed, and Satin waved his hands in flustered surprise.
“No, wait—it’s not like that!”
“It’s not? Looked like you wanted a peek.”
“Hh—”
Satin gaped like a fish out of water, at a complete loss for words. He’d just made himself look like a total creep.
Just then, Rita emerged from the changing area and asked,
“Got everything we need?”
She already looked the most like a seasoned traveler in the group, and now, suited up in armor, she looked even more the part. With her long hair and lithe build, she gave off serious elf vibes—like an elf who’d spent about seventy years among humans.
“Well then, shall we hit the road?”
As usual, the day began with Rita’s declaration.
The party met their coachman at the western gate. Due to Pinehill’s position with the rocky mountains at its back, they had to head west before they could go north. Their route would take them through the neighboring city of Redwood before continuing their journey northward.
Rumors about the horse-headed monsters had already begun spreading, and for a moment, they worried no coach would risk going outside the city—but it turned out to be a needless concern. The trip from Pinehill to Redwood only took half a day by carriage, and plenty of coachmen were willing to go for the right price.
“What if we end up running into a ridiculously strong monster while we’re out there on our own?”
Hearing Rita casually chatting while loading the baggage, the coachman’s eyes went wide. Edward gave Rita a nudge at her side and responded in her stead.
“I’m sure nothing will happen. It’s only half a day’s trip—what could possibly go wrong?”
“Yeah, you’re right? But you know how it is—saying that always makes something happen.”
The coachman’s eyes visibly wavered. Rita, with her back to him, didn’t catch his expression. Edward quickly shot a glance at Satin. Picking up on the signal, Satin gave Rita a push forward.
“Come on, hop in. At this rate, we’ll get there by nightfall.”
“Uh, okay, okay.”
Rita, confused by the sudden urgency, climbed into the carriage. Satin left the rest to Edward and quickly followed after her.
Outside, Edward could be heard politely asking the coachman to take care of them. He even went so far as to introduce himself as a priest, just to keep the man from changing his mind.
Cain boarded last, shaking his head in disbelief.
By then, Rita seemed to have caught on to what was happening. She lowered her voice to a whisper.
“But seriously, doesn’t it feel like something always goes wrong right when you think it won’t?”
Satin didn’t deny it—he just laughed softly.
‘Well, the plot has to move forward somehow.’
Last night, Cain and Edward had expressed similar doubts. Why had the horse-headed monsters blocked their carriage’s path if they weren’t aggressive by nature? Still, no amount of speculation would lead to any real answers.
Satin feigned ignorance. After all, he couldn’t just blurt out that this world was built from someone’s imagination.
Maybe all the monsters they’d encountered so far were ones that appeared in Dark Age Book 3. In that version, the protagonists probably wouldn’t have needed to recruit people for safety, and everything would’ve looked cooler and cleaner.
“It’s like trouble just follows us around.”
Rita tilted her head, then broke into a grin.
“Doesn’t it kinda feel like we’re the main characters or something?”
“You’re ridiculously optimistic.”
Satin chuckled. Soon after, Edward climbed aboard. The carriage carrying the protagonists—and one person who nearly became a villain—rolled onward.
***
To the coachman’s relief, they didn’t encounter any ridiculously strong monsters. But that didn’t mean the journey passed without incident.
Shortly after noon, the carriage came to a sudden halt. Thinking it was just a break for lunch, the group casually began pulling out food and disembarking. Then, almost simultaneously, they all froze in shock.
“What the hell is that?”
Rita craned her neck as she asked, but no one had an answer. Even the coachman, who’d surely traveled this road many times before, stood slack-jawed and speechless.
To the north of Pinehill, atop the rocky mountains—thick black smoke was pouring down from the peak.
“Was that always there?”
Rita grabbed the coachman by the shoulder and shook him. Finally snapping out of his trance, he stammered a response.
“There’s no way that’s supposed to be there… What in the world is that…?”
At first glance, it resembled the black fog that had appeared in Cloverland. But that fog hadn’t moved so violently.
The coachman muttered in a daze, as if trying to escape reality.
“M-Maybe it’s… a forest fire…”
A ridiculous guess. The ominous smoke was flowing downward from the mountain, not up. Smoke from a fire should rise, not descend. And there were no flames visible in the area, either.
“What is that even supposed to be?” Rita wondered aloud, caught between curiosity and anxiety.
Edward, staying calmer than the rest, made the call.
“We should keep moving. We need to inform Redwood about this. There’s a chance they haven’t heard yet.”
The coachman quickly nodded and took up the reins. The group climbed back into the carriage.
“…Lunch.”
Cain’s mutter reached Satin’s ears.
“You hungry?”
“No, not me.”
Cain trailed off mid-sentence and shook his head. It took a moment, but Satin figured out what he’d meant—he was worried about him skipping a meal.
“Missing one meal won’t kill me. I’ll just eat when we get there.”
Cain didn’t look entirely convinced, but he nodded anyway.
The carriage sped off, faster than before.
As they rode, Satin kept his eyes fixed on the scenery outside the window. Across from him, Rita had her face nearly pressed against the glass, muttering.
“Why do they always show up surrounded by that stuff?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, the Demon King showed up with mist too, remember? I’m thinking maybe that smoke’s from the Demon God.”
It was a plausible theory. After all, they were heading to the capital under the assumption that the Demon God’s emergence was imminent.
Satin tried to recall details from Book 3, but nothing specific came to mind. No clear memories of the smoke. No idea how the Demon God had appeared, either.
One thing was certain: the protagonists had defeated the Demon God without a single member of their party dying.
‘As long as I keep myself alive, it should be fine.’
There was even a chance everything might get resolved before they even encountered the Demon God—like at the Demon King’s Castle.
A sudden, irreverent thought crossed his mind.
‘Maybe things really did go wrong back then?’
He recalled the people marching triumphantly through the streets of Cloverland after the Demon King’s defeat. If Cain’s memory was accurate, those were the ones who’d had their Sacred Relics switched after bumping into Rita.
At the time, it had seemed like a mere coincidence. But what if it wasn’t?
According to what Edward had said, God couldn’t recognize every single person individually. But if someone was carrying a Sacred Relic, He might notice them and bestow a blessing.
‘What if those people weren’t supposed to be the ones to defeat the Demon King?’
It was a ridiculous thought—but the more he pondered it, the more plausible it began to seem.
Maybe the force that drove the narrative wasn’t as all-powerful as it seemed. From a human perspective, sure, it appeared overwhelming—but that didn’t necessarily mean it was flawless.
‘Things were weird inside the Demon King’s castle too…’
