ALL NOVEL Chapter 25
Chapter 25. The Laws of Travel (1)
“Hello, this is Lois.
You must have been quite alarmed by our disappearance. However, where there are meetings, partings are also inevitable. We are now setting out on our journey, following our own path. We are truly grateful for the kindness the Duke and Duchess have shown us. We sincerely hope that you will overcome the sorrow of losing your son quickly, and we also hope that you won’t be too saddened by our departure. A new connection will soon find its way to the Duke and Duchess.
– With respect, Lois and company.
P.S.: Please bestow the same affection you have shown us to the new life that will soon enter your lives.”
* * *
Astonishment grew upon the face of the Duchess as she read the letter.
The neat and properly formed handwriting was certainly surprising, but even more so was the content, which did not seem to have come from a young child. The Duchess always knew Lois was different from other children, but she hadn’t expected this degree of precociousness.
‘Was he such an intelligent child…?’
Additionally, she realized why the children had decided to leave.
‘Such a child would certainly know about our circumstances…’
The young but astute child must have been more perceptive than anyone. As stated in the letter, it seemed that Lois knew about the loss of her child and that the couple had been lavishing their affection on them because of it.
“Oh… It’s my fault.”
She blamed herself. Her selfishness had probably made the children preemptively leave in the middle of the night, and she felt deeply sorry for them. At the same time, she felt profound gratitude to the children who had left her a comforting letter.
“Thank you…”
The Duchess clutched the letter to her chest. However, something puzzled her.
‘New life?’
She couldn’t understand the meaning of the postscript about a new life that Lois had mentioned.
But it didn’t take long for her to grasp its meaning.
* * *
“Congratulations.”
“Ahh…!”
The congratulatory words from the priest left the Duchess in a daze.
“Milady!”
While the Duke shared in her joy, it was only then that she truly accepted the fact that she was pregnant. At that moment, the words from a letter left by a child weeks ago flashed in her mind.
“Ah!”
Her face went blank.
‘That’s it, that’s it…! Those children knew!’
The ‘new life’ mentioned in the letter referred to the child she and her husband were expecting. As it all made sense, a wave of emotion hit her.
The Duke embraced the overwhelmed Duchess.
“Sob… Those children… I think they knew… that’s why… that’s…”
“Milady…”
The Duke too had read the letter left by Lois. Therefore, he understood exactly why his wife was so overwhelmed with tears.
Holding his wife close, the Duke thought gratefully,
‘Thank you.’
He had no idea how the children had discerned the pregnancy, but for everything, he was just thankful.
A miracle that followed the children’s departure, a new life felt like a gift they had left behind.
“Perhaps those children were fairies sent by the gods.”
“Yes… It seems so.”
The couple shared tears of joy amidst the grand celebration within Silver Lotus Castle.
Overjoyed, the Duke opened his stores to distribute bread made from the grain that Finn had sprinkled the potion on to all the people of his domain.
Then a few months later.
“Wahhhhhhh!”
The robust cries of a baby boy resounded in Silver Lotus Castle.
“Wah!”
Around the same time, several new lives were born within and beyond the castle walls, resulting in the highest birth rate the castle had ever seen that year.
Lois’s gift of goodwill, due to a small mistake by someone, sprouted an unexpected new seed of life.
* * *
Meanwhile, after scattering seeds of love throughout Silver Lotus Castle, Lois and his companions leisurely trudged through snowy paths.
“Hmm…”
Lois mulled over the twins toddling ahead.
‘We wasted too much time at Silver Lotus Castle.’
An already tight schedule had been further shortened due to unforeseen circumstances.
‘From now on, we must move swiftly.’
Lois brushed his stubby chin with his tiny hand.
‘A journey that takes a full ten years without any issues. Who knows what other unexpected situations await us…’
Blindside events, like the one they experienced, would undoubtedly prolong their return journey.
‘We need information.’
Methods of travel, distances, ways to cross from continent to continent–much information was necessary.
But, as of now, there was no way to acquire it.
“Kyahaha!”
“Ah, go away!”
The twins’ innocent laughter reached the ears of Lois, preoccupied with the scarcity of information. Sighing heavily, he thought,
“Ahh… I must be getting old, leading a nanny’s life not fit for my fate…”
Words one would expect from an elder tumbled out of his comical, rounded mouth. Lois’s eyes darkened with despair.
‘Am I really going to spend ten years with these two?’
Shuddering at the dreadful thought, Lois steeled himself, clenching his fist.
‘Absolutely not! If this persists, I might collapse from high blood pressure before we even get home!’
Prompt return was the key to preserving his mental health and longevity.
As Lois sighed, Khan and Kani scampered up to his side, circling him with their arms wide.
“Lois, Lois! We love traveling!”
“It’s the best!”
“Let’s do it again! Let’s keep doing it!”
“Every single day!”
“…”
The twins, inherent to their dragonling nature, had always been homebound. Unlike Lois, a survivalist homebody, the twins evidently found domestic life suffocating.
Watching the cheerfully frolicking children, Lois’s brow furrowed.
“…Even without this, we’re going to endure travel for about ten years.”
“Can’t we do it for a hundred years?”
“Yeah, a hundred!”
“…Keep it down, you two.”
Lois sighed deeper as the children giggled and chattered away.
“Cheer up, Lord Lois.”
Finn pumped her fists in encouragement.
Then there was Kani, pressing her face close to Lois’s side.
“Lois, Lois, any monsters yet?”
“Say my name just once…”
“Right! The books always say, this is the time when monsters or something should appear!”
“We don’t need them to.”
“I’m confident I can beat them!”
“No need to fight.”
“I bet I can do better than Kani!”
“No, I bet I can handle it better than Khan!”
“These kids…” With a sigh, Lois waved his hand dismissively.
An amusing dispute unfolded before him, but Lois shook his head.
Then he muttered in a flat voice.
“Who would approach when three dragons are trailing scents?”
“Scent?”
“We have a scent?”
“No, that’s not…”
In times past, dragons instilled fear in the monsters of the land. Now, by instinct, monsters kept their distance from dragons. Pondering how to explain it, Lois simply gave up.
“Yeah… you smell.”
Kani and Khan sniffed each other’s hair, murmuring, ‘Don’t smell anything,’ their tiny heads tilting in wonder. Of course, their contemplation didn’t last long. Worry was a luxury for them.
The twins quickly regained their energy and converged around Lois, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Lois, Lois, what about bandits?”
“Yeah, yeah! Not monsters, but bandits!”
“…Call me just once.”
Monsters, bandits. Lois could guess which book the twins had been reading.
“I don’t know.”
His words said that, but Lois couldn’t help but smile to himself.
‘After all, what fantasy journey doesn’t encounter monsters or at least bandits along the way?’
Such was the unwritten law of fantasy travel.
As Lois professed ignorance, the twins’ demeanor deflated.
“Even Lois doesn’t know everything…”
“Lois… I’m disappointed.”
As if to say ‘how could you not know,’ the twins looked at him disparagingly, making Lois irrationally defensive.
“You think I know everything?”
“But until now, you did know everything…”
“Right…”
Lois gestured around him in frustration.
“The land is wide open, nothing but snow to see. How would robbers thrive here? If there was more snow they might hide, but there’s nowhere to take cover! Unless they drop from the sky or burst from the gro…”
That’s when it happened.
Puff!
From the ground, a throng of about thirty white figures burst forth, surrounding Lois and his companions.
Ching, ching, ching.
“…Did you have to?”
As he stared at the men drawing their swords, Lois let out a dumbfounded remark. Real bandits had actually sprung up from the ground.
The twins exclaimed excitedly.
“They’re here!”
“Bandits!”
“Popping right out from the ground!”
“Like mole bandits!”
As the twins screeched, Lois shook his head.
‘I really let my guard down.’
He had grown complacent, thinking there was no danger since monsters didn’t approach them. Typically, the presence of such bandits lurking nearby would not have escaped his perception.
‘From now on, I have to keep my awareness spread constantly.’
This incident served as a harsh reminder for Lois to reconsider his growing sense of security.
As he reflected, Lois surveyed the encircling bandits.
“Huh?”
He tilted his head slightly. The sword-wielding bandits seemed hesitant, Lois noticed.
A smile appeared on his face in realization.
“Excuse me.”
“…”
“Doesn’t this seem a bit awkward to you?”
“Cough!”
Bandit Number 1 scowled after hearing Lois’s remark and smacked the head of Bandit Number 2 beside him.
“Idiot, they’re just kids!”
“Right, yeah.”
“Dragging thirty of us out here… for some kids? What now then?”
Bandit Number 1 chastised, and Bandit Number 2 sheepishly scratched the back of his head in response.
“Well, they do seem to be rich kids by the looks of their clothes. If we kidnap them, we could get a ransom?”
“Hmm…”
As Bandit Number 2 made his suggestion, Bandit Number 1 appeared thoughtful.
Watching their bumbling exchange, Lois’s smile widened.
‘Amateurs.’
These bandits were clumsy in action and poorly armed, their abilities even more so.
Even Lois without the twins could easily defeat them with a sword.
As Bandit Number 1 deliberated on his subordinate’s idea, he finally nodded in agreement.
“Alright. Better than leaving empty-handed.”
“Exactly! What are you waiting for? Grab them!”
At Bandit Number 2’s command, a swarm of thirty bandits closed in. That’s when Lois shouted with his hand raised.
“Wait!”
The thirty bandits abruptly halted.
Lois looked at them inquisitively and asked.
“Excuse me?”
“What do you want, kid?”
“Don’t you find something strange?”
“Like what?”
“It’s pretty weird for three children to be wandering around a dangerous area like this without any guardians. If I were you, I’d find that very unsettling.”
Lois’s relaxed and taunting tone made Bandit Number 1 look slightly taken aback. A triumphant smirk crept across Lois’s face.