The night passed quickly after the small debacle. Lee was willing to let the lad sleep inside his tent, but Luis declined, saying ‘sleeping outside builds character’. His loss, Lee reckoned. Sleeping outside wasn’t fun.

  The morning came without much fuss. Lee awoke early, as is his usual, and started preparing his usual meal of boiled salted water and dried jerky. He grabbed his backpack and pulled down the zipper for tent’s entrance to leave its confines, being greeted by the morning sun, the wind, and the sight of a sleeping young adult wrapped in a blanket that Lee had lent him.

  He unzipped his backpack for a moment, and quickly rummaged through to pull out his stove and pot, as well as three bottles of water, a package of dried jerky, and a salt shaker. The cool air wafting from it cut off as he zipped it back up, storing it back within his tent.

  He placed the stove down on the ground with the pot on top of it. He poured one of the water bottles into the pot, putting the empty bottle inside his tent as he turned on the stove to boil. He sprinkled some salt into the water and shook the pot a bit to try and stir it. He probably should have pulled out a spoon as well to help stir, but it didn’t really matter. It’s difficult to mess up salted boiled water.

  His jerky was still cold. He held the packaging over the boiling water, the steam and heat wafting from it helping out with warming it up. The heat would normally bother him here, but circulating his mana underneath his skin helped with enduring the temperature.

  It took about three minutes before he deigned it was warm enough to eat. It wasn’t as hot as it could be, he’s too impatient to wait that long for jerky, of all things, but it was good enough. He opened up the packaging and pulled out a not-cold jerky, biting into it and sighing in content. He opened up a bottle and took a sip of water as he waited for his companion to wake up.

  As he remembered that he needed a spoon to actually eat his soup (unless he wanted to drink from the pot like a savage), Luis awoke from his sleep. “Eugh… ‘Mornin…”

  He seemed to still be half asleep, but Lee didn’t let that stop him from handing him the extra water bottle and an extra spoon that he just took from his backpack. Lee used his own spoon to take a sip from his boiled salt water, the ‘taste’ ‘melting’ into his mouth as he savored it. Gods, I need to figure out how to make some actual food. This is fine, but… actual food would be much better.

  Luis, still somewhat unconscious, took a sip from the pot of salt water and immediately woke up. “Pfft—wh-what the hell? What is this? Where am I?”

  “Welcome back to the land of the living, sir Luis,” Lee drawled. “Want a piece of jerky?” he offered up a piece of jerky.

  The other man looked at him blankly for a moment before he recovered his senses. “So—last night wasn’t a dream? I really almost got mauled to death by a bunch of wolf monsters?” Luis took the jerky that was offered as he spoke.

  “Mhm,” Lee fished out another strip and bit into it. “You seemed pretty awake last night. I’m surprised you think it’s a dream now, of all times.”

  “Well, sorry, but I was a bit delirious last night—” he took a bite out of the jerky as he said that. “—eugh, how are you eating these? These barely taste like anything.”

  “Just the same as any other food, by putting it in my mouth, chewing, and—”

  “Alright, I get it. Don’t complain,” Luis grumbled. Hesitantly, he took another sip of the salt water and took another bite from the jerky. “Ugh, I could probably cook up something better than this.”

  “Really? Do you have any ingredients with you?” Lee asked. Though his tone was flat, he was genuinely curious. He assumed that Luis would forage for the ingredients, but…

  Instead of what he expected, Luis deflated. “Uh, yeah, no. Damn.”

  They ate in silence for a bit as Lee realized he may be a bit too overbearing on the kid. It was correct that the kid was in way over his head, but there was no reason to keep hammering the point in. He wanted to let the kid reconsider his choices, not feel completely demoralized. That felt an awful lot like bullying. “Sorry. That came out poorly. Let me rephrase my question: can you or can you not forage for ingredients that you can cook right now?”

  “Oh, uh,” Luis hesitated. “Maybe? If we’re just along the road, there could be some mushrooms I can use. And—do you know how to skin game?”

  “Like hunt animals and take their skin off for good meat? No, unfortunately.”

  “Well… those dried jerky could work as a substitute, though I doubt I can put them in a pot without them breaking apart. Yeah. Yeah! I can forage around for some stuff,” Luis seemed to regain some of that energy he had last night as he stood up. Perhaps it was because he didn’t want to eat Lee’s food, or perhaps it was because he could finally do something.

  Either is fine. Lee didn’t like seeing people so dour. It reminded him too much of the faces he had seen too much of a lifetime ago.

  Lee kept an eye on Luis as he strayed near the forest. He seemed to be hesitant about going in deeper—understandably, considering the last time—but considering the times he’s knelt down and took something, he seemed to be finding a bunch of ingredients he could use for something.

  Lee took another sip of the salt water soup as Luis came running back with his arms around a bunch of herbs and mushrooms. “Okay, so—”

  He laid out the ingredients he picked out from the forest floor, and using some of his excess water (which made Lee cry a bit inside—bottled water was not so cheap), cleaned out the dirt, and dumped some mushrooms into the salt water. He used his spoon to stir it up, then added an herb of some sort into it. Two minutes of boiling, and the aroma changed completely.

  “Oh, wow,” Lee was impressed. He hadn’t thought it would change that much without a nice amount of seasoning. “It smells halfway decent. I’m impressed.”

  “Halfway decent with some roadside mushrooms? That’s a damn miracle, Lee,” Luis grinned as he picked out a mushroom and bit into it. “Though, to be honest, the smell is mostly the herb I put in. The taste is still somewhat the same as salt water. But at least the mushrooms aren’t as dry as the jerky!”

  Lee picked out a mushroom himself and swallowed it. True enough, the taste wasn’t all that great, but the difference in texture between it and the dried jerky made it feel so much better to eat, and seem so much tastier. “That’s great. Must be some sort of placebo.”

  “Man, don’t think about it too much and just eat up!” Luis punctuated his sentence by eating up another mushroom, and Lee obliged him.

  It was a quick meal. The mushrooms were quickly devoured by the two men. Lee drank the rest of the salt water, which seemed to have made Luis look at him strangely. The rest of the time was them cleaning up, using the remaining water to wash his pot (the first time he had to do that, as he’d only been essentially using it to boil water the past few days) and then wiping it down before placing it inside his backpack.

  “Alright, we’re about… around two days away from Logger Village or so. Any other detours, or maybe you remember something you left behind in the forest we need to grab? I don’t want to have to backtrack for something we could have picked up along the way,” Lee said as he worked on breaking down his camp.

  “Er, not really,” Luis was a bit awkward as he watched Lee dismantle his camp. Lee sighed internally and tilted his head towards the other side of the tent, making Luis perk up and go towards the other side to help him roll the tent up. “Like I said last night, I already have everything. Maybe I need to pick up those bottles, though—”

  “We are not picking up those bottles,” Lee interrupted the train of thought. “They’re made of glass. They’re probably broken by now.”

  “But I see you storing your empty bottles,” Luis pointed out. “You don’t leave them lying around in places despite that, right?”

  “Yes, but that’s because I’m literally right there,” Lee patiently explained. “Do you want to go back to the woods to pick up a bunch of glass bottles that’ll probably just get eaten by some monster?”

  Luis flinched, the reminder of what he had to do to pick up the bottles setting him straight. “Oh r-right, probably not a good idea then.”

  “I thought so too,” Lee finished securing his rolled-up tent to the top of his backpack. He pulled up the bag and slipped it on his shoulders as he turned to look at his temporary companion. “Well, shall we go, then?”

  “Yeah. Lead the way, Lee.”

  They set off. Lee expected them to take around two days to reach the next village, though that was an optimistic estimate. Truthfully, without a map, he didn’t know exactly how far he’s gone and how long there is left, but considering he’s been in the road for nearly a week now, he’s willing to assume that there’s only two days left until they reach the village. Maybe faster, if they rush it.

  Unfortunately, Luis was not nearly fit enough or decent enough at self enhancement to go on a rush. Lee could enhance himself just fine, and he was debating whether or not to just carry Luis so they can make more distance when suddenly…

  A convoy of carts—no, not just carts, but automobiles coming from the direction of the City of Angels whizzed by them. The windows were tinted, making it difficult to see who was inside. Not that Lee could’ve seen them with how fast the automobiles were going, nor would he have recognized them.

  “Woah—” Luis yelped and leapt to the side of the road, despite the automobiles not being close to hitting them. The drivers had done well to avoid their footpath, which Lee could only thank the gods for. He couldn’t imagine dying such a death in the middle of nowhere. “What the hell were those doing here?”

  “I did tell you that we’re on the National Road. It was bound to happen at some point,” Lee reasoned. Truthfully, he’s a bit surprised that an automobile only passed by now of all times. He hadn’t seen a single one since he left the City, though that might be because they’re expensive to own for anyone who wasn’t a noble or rich. “They were going awfully fast, though. I’m worried about their wheels.”

  Luis turned to look at him incredulously. “We almost got ran over and you’re worried about their wheels? Your sense of priority is messed up, dude.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. They weren’t even all that close to us. Why, back in the City you’d get some drivers sneaking past traffic by going through the sidewalk.”

  “That… that doesn’t make it any better.”

  Despite what he had said to Luis, Lee was a bit worried about the situation. There wasn’t much reason for an automobile to rush like that, especially when they’re heading away from the City. Automobiles tend to be faster than horses at cruising speeds. There was no need to be as reckless as those vehicles were.

  There was also the fact that he had never seen that type of automobile used by anyone in the City. It was too boxy and seemed too armored for a typical civilian vehicle, which meant that it wouldn’t be something that would normally be used by a normal noble or rich person anyway.

  An Army convoy. Not any ordinary one, either. He’s only seen that type of vehicle a handful of times across both his past lives. Those sightings usually never meant anything good. Hopefully, where they were headed wasn’t where we’re going.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  In hindsight, he really shouldn’t have tempted fate like that.

  It wasn’t two days of travel, but it was pretty close.

  They arrived at Logger Village at night. The streetlamps lit up the National Road, illuminating the numerous restless villagers still idling outside their homes whispering to each other. An unusual affair—Lee had half expected to have to camp outside the village until morning, though with everyone still awake, he might be able to find an inn now.

  That thought aside—the actual, reasonable question arose within his head. Why are the villagers still up? Is this how it normally is around here?

  “Why is everyone still up…?” Luis murmured beside him, worried. Guess that answers my question.

  “Don’t know. Let’s go find your family, first,” Lee nodded towards him. “You know this area better than me. I’ll follow you for now. I need to find the inn, anyway.”

  “Sure thing. It’s close by my place, anyway,” Luis agreed distractedly. “Let’s go.”

  It didn’t take long for the villagers to notice the new arrivals. One man’s eyes widened as they came under the streetlight. “Luis! Oh, thank the Emperor you’re alright. We thought something had happened to you!”

  “Um, yeah, haha,” Luis awkwardly laughed as he shifted in place. Lee wisely didn’t say that something did happen to him. He’d explain that to Luis’s parents rather than the general public.

  “When those Hands came in here for a training exercise, we thought you might have been caught up in it!” The man had walked up to them and held both of Luis’s shoulders in relief. “Please don’t do something that stupid again.”

  “Uh,” Luis seemed to be dumbstruck by the concern shown. “Y-yeah, uncle Paul, but what do you mean the Hands came in?”

  “Yeah, those Hands came in here yesterday afternoon, all shifty like and all that. They were pretty secretive, and they wouldn’t let us close to the forest,” Paul scoffed. “’Training exercise’ my ass, they’re—” he glanced at Luis. “Actually, who’s this fella next to you, anyway?”

  “Ah, that’s Lee!” Luis spoke up before Lee could introduce himself. “He helped me out of a sticky situation back there.”

  “A sticky situation, eh… well, I’m not the one who’s gonna be tanning your behind anyway. You should go find your parents. They’ve been worried sick.”

  Luis shuddered. “You’re right, uncle. Come on, Lee. Let’s head over to my house first. The Inn will be right after…”

  “Yes,” Lee didn’t say that it was what he wanted to do first, but he didn’t mind the conversation. From what he could glean from their small talk, he figured that the villagers knew each other pretty well, so it would be rude of him to interrupt their conversation to rush him. Besides, he was also curious about why an Army convoy would be here too.

  Gods, this might be becoming a mess. He had already thought it when he saw the convoy pass by, but the Emperor’s Hands in some village—admittedly, one that was close to the City—was strange. The war hadn’t started yet, and there was no need for a training exercise to be held specifically in this village.

  Unless he was missing something about this village? That story that Luis told him a while back about there being an equipment cache in the forest sounded a bit more plausible now.

  Either that, or it wasn’t a training exercise at all. Though that would beg the question: what would make the Emperor’s Hands mobilize in a time before the war?

  The duo walked past more people whispering rumors to each other. Luis was greeted more than a few times, and there was even a girl about his age that stopped the two with a hug.

  “Oh, thank goodness, you’re alright…” the girl sobbed into Luis’s chest. “I—I thought you were—”

  “Um,” Luis pat her on the back. “Sorry, Sara. I… I just really wanted to—”

  “Adventure! I know! But you couldn’t have picked the worst time! Even then, I know for a fact that you’re not at all ready for something like that! Why can’t you just—”

  Lee tuned out their small squabble as he looked around. Aside from the numerous simple buildings around the road, with their backyards and chicken coops, he noticed the vehicles in question off in the distance, close to the forest.

  Boxy and definitely armored. Beside it being an automobile, it was a sure sign of it being something from the military. Because of it being an automobile, it was definitely either a high-ranking officer or an Emperor’s Hand. Because of it coming from the City of Angels… well. They’re most likely Emperor’s Hands.

  Those automobiles looked like they could fit a few people inside them, and with around three vehicles parked along the forest’s edge, it looked like an entire squad or three of Emperor’s Hands were in the vicinity. Lee doesn’t remember what kind of thing warranted this big of a response from them. He never even heard of something like this happening.

  Lee was broken out of his thoughts as Luis poked him in the arm. “Yo, Lee, you here? Come on, we’re close now.”

  “Got it,” Lee snapped to attention and nodded stiffly. This was an unknown-known situation. He knew what it meant that the Emperor’s Hands were here, but he didn’t know why they were here in the first place. It just meant he had to leave as soon as possible. Preferably by tomorrow morning.

  I don’t remember Logger Village being removed from the map back when I was in the College… so it’s likely fine. “So, was that your sweetheart?”

  “My sweetheart? What are you, a grandpa?” Luis chuckled a bit, though it seemed he was still uneasy. “No, no. She wasn’t my girlfriend. Just… just someone I know well.”

  Lee doubted that. “Really? With how she was acting…”

  “She’s just nice, is all!” Luis insisted. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. It’s a bit strange to think about something like that, so let’s just drop it, alright?”

  “Sure,” it wasn’t Lee’s problem anyway.

  It wasn’t long before the duo finally came in front of a humble house. Luis knocked on the door. “Coming!” A woman’s voice from inside the house called out.

  Luis shuffled awkwardly as they both waited for the door to open. Lee understood why he didn’t just use his voice—he wouldn’t know how to explain running off to adventure in the woods to his parents either. Much less after hearing about the fact that the military is in the place right now. “… what should I say to them, Lee?” he asked.

  “The truth, probably,” Lee instantly replied. “There’s no point in lying. Besides, it doesn’t look like you can lie that well anyway.”

  “You’re right about that, I couldn’t even hold out from telling on myself after I stole my sister’s—” the door opened, and the two were greeted by an older woman, her hair tied in a bun and a similar shade of brown to Luis’s. His mother, Lee presumed.

  “Luis!” She practically leapt with how fast she rushed forward and pulled him into a hug. “Oh, my boy… I’m so glad you’re not hurt?”

  “Luis? Is that Luis out there?” A man’s voice echoed within the house. Lee saw a large man with a thick beard peeking out the doorway. His eyes widened as he saw the sobbing mess his wife had become as she hugged her son. “Damn, boy! Where the hell have you been, huh?”

  “I told you, daddy! He was out adventuring! He said he was gonna come back!” A little girl said, who had been behind her father. “You guys shouldn’t have been worried.”

  “I—I’ve only been out a few days! You guys shouldn’t have been so worried,” Luis scratched the back of his head.

  “With those army folks here? Hell no,” His dad scoffed. “Look, boy, I’m glad you’re fine, but you’re gonna tell us exactly what you were doing in the forest in the first place, and…” the large man peeked at Lee. “… and tell us exactly who this friend of yours is.”

  “I’m Lee,” he introduced himself. “I saved your son from what could have been an unfortunate event. He was lucky, you could say.”

  “’An unfortunate event’?!” Luis’s mother sobbed a bit harder and hugged her son tighter. “Just what had you been up to, Luis!”

  “I—uh,” Luis looked at Lee, pleading for him to help him out with his eyes, though Lee just shrugged. That was his problem. He wasn’t sure what to do with this kind of reaction from the family, anyway. “Something came up…? Anyway, mom, can you let go of me for a bit? I gotta show him where the inn is so he can find a place to sleep…”

  “The inn? No, no! He can sleep inside, in the guest room!” His mother threw herself off her son and wiped her tears with a sleeve. “That’s the least we could do for bringing our son back. We were so worried about him with the Hands around the forest… It could have become so much worse.”

  Indeed. If the events that had transpired were the same as his previous lives, then Luis would have died twice now, unless he managed to find a way to save himself from those wolves. The lack of food and water may have also killed him, but he couldn’t know for sure. “It was the least I could do. And, um, I don’t really want to impose—”

  “No, we insist,” the father spoke up with genuine gratitude. “Come inside, our food is warm and we can talk more about…” he peeked at Luis. “… everything.”

  “… alright,” Lee reluctantly agreed. It would be rude of him to deny their generosity, so he let it happen. He followed them inside their home.

  He was led to a room on the opposite side of the house. “This is the guest room!” Luis’s little sister proudly presented it. “And across that is the bathroom! Don’t worry about using it, we got one on the second floor too!”

  “Alright. Thank you, kiddo,” Lee gave her a small smile as he thanked her.

  “Don’t call me kiddo! My name is Nana!” She pouted up at him.

  “Alright, alright, Nana. Thanks,” Lee watched as she giggled and ran off, presumably towards the dining area, where Luis had been pulled into earlier.

  Lee opened the door to the guest room. It was simple, with a bed and a closet against a wall. Lee opened the closet, and there were a couple of things in there. It didn’t seem important, but seeing as it was used, he decided to just plop his backpack down beside the bed. He didn’t want to mess with their organization.

  He didn’t bother unpacking—he was going to leave after tomorrow’s breakfast anyway. He would practice his spearmanship and his spellcasting here, but it didn’t seem wise to do that kind of training within a village that has a military grade scare. Even if his training barely touched that kind of level.

  After sorting out his bed for a bit, he decided to leave the room and check up on the dining area. There was that promise of telling Luis’s parents everything, after all. As Luis was still young, it was an inevitability that he wouldn’t say everything that had occurred. If he was there, he could (possibly) correct the situation, in case he made it out to be less than it actually was.

  There’s also the fact that he wanted to know more about the military situation, but something tells Lee that they might not know much either. Regardless, any information is better, so that if he repeats this part of his life again, then he knows what to do. Assuming, of course, that he remembers it.

  “… it was reckless, Luis! You didn’t need to do that! What made you decide that it would be a good idea anyway, huh?! Haven’t I been telling you, over and over again, that adventuring is gonna end up killing you if you do it?! There’s a reason it’s only done by vagrants, Luis!” The voice of Luis’s father echoed out. Lee winced a bit. It sounded like Luis was getting chewed out.

  “But—But Lee is an adventurer, and he—”

  “I’m sure he has his reasons, but—”

  “Yes, I am an adventurer,” Lee interrupted them. He was not going to let Luis use him as an example to follow to become an adventurer. Three pairs of eyes set themselves on him—the mother, the father, and Luis himself. “It is not because of anything special like wanting to explore.” Though that is one part of it. “It’s because I have nothing left to lose.”

  Luis quieted down as his father nodded, though he seemed a bit sympathetic to Lee’s plight. “That’s right. Even he doesn’t want you to become an adventurer, Luis. So please, can’t you just settle down? You have that nice girl—Helen, her name was, right?—she’ll do fine by you.”

  “We just don’t want to lose you, Luis,” his mother murmured to him. “Adventuring is dangerous—and it almost never pays off.”

  “… yeah,” Luis muttered. He stood up and walked away. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

  “... goodnight, dear,” his mother was the only one that answered as they watched him walk up the stairs. He heard the loud slam of a door from upstairs, as well as the little footsteps of Nana running above as she continuously knocked on his door. He couldn’t hear her voice, but he could imagine her pestering Luis, as little sisters often do.

  “… I’m sorry about that scene,” the father sighed. “It’s just, this adventurer business is something that Luis has been on about for years. He’s always been running off and doing those little adventures, but this little training exercise the Hands are here for has us on edge.”

  “Right,” the mother sadly nodded. “The Hands being in the forest is one thing, but then I hear from him that he was almost mauled by wolves? Oh, gods, there’s no reason to be an adventurer in this day and age!” She winced as she realized who she was talking to. “Oh, no offense, Lee.”

  “No, none taken,” Lee completely agreed with her, after all. “And—um, I’m sorry, but I never actually learned your names.”

  “Ah, I’m Chuck,” the large man—Chuck, replied. “My wife’s Vivian. I’m the village’s current mayor. Glad to meet you, Lee.”

  “Likewise,” Lee nodded. The mayor, huh? He might know more about the army guys. “So… I couldn’t help but overhear about the Emperor’s Hands from the other villagers earlier. I’ve been wondering, what exactly are they doing here? You said they were here on a training exercise?”

  “Hah, yeah. That’s what they told me when they came here. But it’s been a day of them being here and they’re still not done. I’ve never heard of a training exercise from the Hands lasting that long,” Chuck seemed to be scoffing. “I don’t know what they’re planning to do in that forest, but it surely ain’t anything good.”

  “We’ve had some training exercises here before, and much longer too,” Vivian softly corrected her husband. “But it’s never been from the Emperor’s Hands. That much I know. Chuck is right—it’s not anything good,” she gave him a meaningful glance. “I know you’re an adventurer… but you probably shouldn’t look into it any more than you should.”

  Lee snorted a bit in humor. “Hah, don’t worry about me, ma’am. I’m leaving by tomorrow morning. I won’t bother you for too long.”

  “Nonsense!” Chuck laughed and slapped Lee’s back a bit. “You’re not bothering us at all. But, uh, it’s late, and we should really be sleeping by now, yeah? Let’s all take a sleep. We’ll talk to Luis tomorrow, Vivian. And we can do it after we give this wandering hero a nice meal, yeah?”

  “Of course, dear,” and with that, the conversation ended. He nodded and walked back to the guest room to sleep the night away.

  While he laid in bed, he began to think about his future plans.

  Maybe somewhere northern… closer to the barbarians… that’s probably more relevant information… and then I can… I can visit some martial arts…

  He slowly drifted off into sleep entertaining those thoughts.

  “Wake up, wake up, wake up!” A teeny voice awoke him from his sleep.

  His eyes opened quickly and he sat up, making the child who was shaking him awake yelp as he turned to look at her. “What’s going on?”

  The child was Nana—but this only made him confused. It was still early—the sun had yet to completely rise. In fact, the sunlight had yet to even stream into this guest room. But Nana was somehow awake and looked to be extremely worried.

  “It’s—it’s bad!” She seemed to be panicking. “I—I…”

  “Calm down, Nana, tell me, what’s wrong?” Lee gently pat her on the head. “I’ll try my best to help you out…”

  “It’s—it’s my big bro! It’s Luis! He’s gone!” She wailed out.

  Oh bother.