"I’ve certainly had some unusual experiences, but perhaps..."

Orelia hesitated for a moment, then clenched her fists as if she’d made up her mind.

"I’m a Tiefling, born in the Holy City Cadopolis," she continued. "As you know, Cadopolis was once the region in the world that suffered most deeply at the hands of Evil Demons. Countless Paladins and Cultivators shed blood and tears to turn it into the Holy City it is today.

"Tieflings, with our demonic blood, were naturally unwelcome around the Holy City. My parents were no exception. They drifted from place to place their whole lives, never having enough to eat. In the end, they starved to death on the road leaving the city.

"I was only eight years old then. I survived alone, wandering the wastelands around the Holy City and living off food I stole from villages... Honestly, those weren’t happy times. I constantly had to watch out for wild dogs so I wouldn’t get eaten."

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps she envied the adventure stories the other two had shared. It could also be that the Tiefling had kept these words bottled up inside for a very long time...

Her words began to flow more and more smoothly.

A complex expression settled on her face.

"Then, the abbot of the Dawn Monastery took me in, despite everyone’s objections. He spent a great deal of time teaching me the difference between good and evil, educating me, and making sure I always had enough to eat.

"In any case, I’m a grown woman now, and I dream of opening my own orphanage in the Holy City or somewhere else, to take care of those little ones who’ve had a bit of bad luck after coming into this world..."

When her story ended, silence fell.

The Halflings were all speechless. Every one of them stared intently at the Tiefling.

For them, this story was a bit heavy for bedtime.

Sensing this, Orelia fell silent and looked around uneasily. She gripped her cup tightly, her tail nervously curling beneath her chair.

It was only then that she realized what she had said.

She knew she had spoiled the cozy storytelling session.

’There’s nothing wrong with telling a story like that, really. It’s just that this Tiefling probably doesn’t get many chances to interact with people, so she must feel a bit awkward now... I should give our new companion a way to save face.’

As he thought this, Colin spoke up. "I grew up in an orphanage in the slums of Thousand Masts City, too. The Cultivators there weren’t so kind, though. They were always dragging me back to practice my letters whenever I ran out to play. Now, though, I kind of regret not studying harder back then."

"I’ve seen human orphanages. They’re pretty much the same as the pup dens in my tribe. My tribe doesn’t care who’s whose pa or ma from the start. All the little runts grow up together in one big den anyway," Kase added nonchalantly, not really thinking about helping her save face or not.

With the two of them chiming in, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

Just then, the Halfling matron who had been arguing with Uncle Pants Hole earlier came over with a feather duster. She swatted the backs of a few Halflings to shoo them away.

Then she pointed at Uncle Pants Hole and shouted, "You old fool! Letting them carry on like this, drinking every day! You’re turning into an idiot!"

Uncle Pants Hole didn’t argue, just quietly picked up his cup and went somewhere else.

After shooing everyone away, the Halfling matron walked over to the group.

"He gave you his reward, but I haven’t given you mine yet," she said with a stern face, pulling three small, smooth, round stones from her apron pocket and handing one to each of them.

Colin asked, "What are these?"

"Stones from the hearth."

The Halfling matron continued, "Feel them. They’ve still got the warmth of home in them. I can see you’re all a long way from home. Sleeping with one of these is like sleeping at home, and it’ll bring you good luck.

"Anyway, I’ve given them to you. Keep them or throw them away, I don’t care. It’s just a bit of self-hypnosis for us little folk! Go on, go on, get to sleep. Traveling takes a lot out of you."

With that, the group was shooed off to bed.

The campfire died down, leaving only a few small lanterns that still retained a bit of the earlier warmth.

But whispers could still be heard from where the Adventurers were resting—

"I thought she knew I used a Catapult, so she was gonna give me a good stone for it."

"Kase, my friend, maybe talk a little less."

-----------------

「Early the next morning」

The group packed up and prepared to leave.

A few of the Halfling women even came over to lend a hand, helping them straighten their clothes and sleeping bags.

After they finished packing, Colin glanced back at the Tiefling, who was sitting on a rock. She still had an awkward expression on her face; he figured she was probably embarrassed thinking about what she’d said last night while drunk.

’Better not to bring it up. Let her get over it on her own time.’

With that in mind, Colin called out, "Let’s go, Orelia."

"Ah? Oh, right," Orelia replied, a bit slow on the uptake, and rejoined the party naturally enough.

After leaving the Halfling caravan, the group continued south.

Thanks to the unseasonable winter storms and the miserable, overcast weather, the air carried the biting chill of the Northern Lands. The sky remained a leaden gray for days on end.

The weather was a harsh welcome.

The warmth from the Halfling camp and the initial excitement of their long journey were slowly ground down by the road.

Fortunately, the well-maintained trade road was still easy to travel on, and very safe.

Here, there were watchtowers set up by City Watchers every so often, or castles belonging to local lords. Along the way, there were also many Adventurers who felt they couldn’t make a living in the north and were heading south to try their luck.

Monsters had little opportunity to cause trouble.

Of course, whether there were Cultists or Frostland Druids making trouble in the shadows was anyone’s guess.

After several days passed without encountering any trace of Hobgoblins or anything else, Colin was able to relax, finally certain that the whole business with the Goblin Cave was behind them.

So far, the journey was going according to plan.

They came across a village or an outpost to replenish their food supplies roughly every two days. Thanks to his status as a City Watcher, he never had trouble buying what they needed.

The only disappointment was that there were basically no worthwhile quests to take on along the way.

Most of the available jobs were delivering letters or packages, which were too time-consuming.

The monsters here had a good sense of the range of human activity. A situation like the Halfling caravan running smack into a newly established goblin stronghold was quite rare.

During this time, Colin read through his materials as he walked, and practiced his swordplay and maintained his equipment during breaks. His days were quite full.

Finally, it was worth mentioning that to help the party members get to know one another better, Kase and Colin also shared stories from their pasts with Orelia.

After that, Orelia became much more relaxed around the party. At the very least, she started talking a lot more often.

「Before they knew it, it was noon on the sixth day.」

The three of them were walking along the trade road.

As usual, Kase strode ahead with his typical carefree air, while Orelia brought up the rear.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth, and the chirping of birds, both near and far, was incessant.

Sunlight, sliced into fragments by the interwoven branches, dappled the parchment in Colin’s hands—a sheet covered in dense script.

The green haze at the edge of his vision vanished before he knew it.

"Hey Colin, is that the place you mentioned up ahead?"

Kase’s voice reached his ears.

He looked up, and the distant trade town of Torrent Bay came into view.