Early in the morning, Moen opened his eyes only to have them dazzled by the rising sun, which had already crept halfway over the mountaintop with its gentle, radiant face.
A rare late awakening.
The faint fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose blurred its origins—was it from the grass around him or from the girl who had disappeared without a trace?
"So is it the benefit of holy light? Just a tiny, unconscious emission of it can actually improve sleep."
Moen stretched his body lazily. Though he had slept with the heavens as his blanket and the earth as his bed, enduring the faint chill of early spring, his well-trained body left him feeling refreshed both physically and mentally.
For a moment, Moen found himself envious of Ariel. He had merely lain next to Lea for a short while last night, but if he could someday hold Lea to sleep every night like Ariel presumably would in the future, now *that* would be a wonderful experience.
"No, no, I can’t afford to think something so dangerous," Moen shook his head, hurriedly driving the thought out of his mind.
Attempting something like that would surely have himself killed by Ariel!
He wasn’t the kind of guy who flirted shamelessly with every girl he met, after all.
No, the only reason he did what he did was to forge a closer bond with Lea so she could put in a good word for him with Ariel.
As for the latent scoundrel-like thought of not being able to leave a young girl alone through a night, thus suggesting stargazing to keep her company—that *absolutely* wasn’t the case!
"Ugh, scumbag," a voice scoffed suddenly.
Pink Bear appeared out of nowhere, spat on the ground in disdain, and gave Moen a look full of derision.
"Just a few days, and you’re already out here flirting with little girls."
"I wasn’t! I didn’t! Stop making things up!" Moen protested, glaring at him.
"Oh, really? You invited her to stargaze, and you’re still denying it?" Pink Bear smirked.
"Ha, who says stargazing equals flirting?" Moen crossed his arms and gave an icy chuckle. "Only those virgins who'd never held a girl’s hand would think that."
"H-h-hold on, who are you calling a virgin?!" Pink Bear exploded, his voice full of outrage. "For your information, I wasn't a virgin when I was three! Anyway, you’ve offended me now. If you don’t buy me ten cases of premium cigars and a hundred adult magazines to apologize, I’m heading straight to snitch on you to Celicia!"
"And you really think Celicia would believe you?" Moen rolled his eyes, helpless against this crass bear’s antics.
"Fine, fine. Forget about it for now," Moen redirected the conversation with a sigh. "We should be crossing the Empire’s border today, right?"
"That’s right," Pink Bear said, temporarily putting away his jokester demeanor. Puffing on a cheap cigar he had seemingly pulled out of nowhere, he exhaled a thin stream of smoke through the eye and ear holes of his bear suit.
"Thanks to how smoothly this trip has gone so far, we’re ahead of schedule. Give it two more hours, and we’ll reach the border."
"No border checkpoints to go through?"
"What are you even thinking?" Pink Bear gave Moen a look as if he were an idiot.
"You’re the dignified son of a duke, representing one of the most prestigious academies in the Empire for an international mission. And you’re sitting here considering sneaking across the border?"
"It feels safer that way."
"…"
Pink Bear stared at Moen for a long moment, then sighed deeply.
"Kid, you’re just too cautious."
"Am I?" Moen shrugged.
"You bet."
Pink Bear snorted and cast a glance toward the group of companions who had started to stir awake, chatting casually as they loaded up onto the carriages. Then he turned back to Moen.
"Over these past few days, everyone else has treated this like an actual vacation. Everyone but you.
"You’ve provided the carriages, the food, and even luxurious items they might never experience again—all so they can revel in the sense of a journey. But you… you haven’t dropped your guard once.
"Morning and evening patrols, surveying the surroundings, never sleeping deeply at night except for last night—and even then, only for a moment. Not to mention repeatedly checking the progress of our travels with me.
"So I’m curious, kid—what exactly are you worried about?"
"…"
Moen fell silent for a moment, then shrugged and offered a faint smile.
"Nothing, really. Just some vague premonitions."
"And you’re overreacting this much… just for a premonition?"
"From past experience, being cautious never hurts."
"…"
Pink Bear studied Moen carefully for a while, then suddenly smacked the back of the young man’s head, making him stumble forward a step.
"You think too highly of yourself, don’t you, kid? What are you, the emperor traveling incognito? Heck, even the emperor wouldn’t warrant me babysitting his journey!"
"Alright, alright, let’s just call it paranoia, then," Moen said with a helpless laugh.
"But…"
As Moen turned to leave, Pink Bear’s voice stopped him.
"The Border Governor this time... happens to be a former subordinate of your father."
"…"
Moen froze mid-step and stared at Pink Bear for a long while, his expression filled with surprise.
"Alright, my bad."
"Huh?"
"I shouldn’t have thought that there is nothing but a sack of dung in your head earlier. Turns out most of it *is* dung, but somewhere in there, there’s still something useful."
"You—you little—!"
Pink Bear roared in anger, lunging at Moen.
"Don’t hit me! Don’t kick me, okay? I’m sorry, Uncle! I’m sorry!"
"Like hell I’m your uncle! Come over here and die!"
---
By the time Moen finished washing up and returned to camp, nursing his sore backside, the rest of the group was already packed and ready to depart.
Unconsciously, all eyes turned toward him as he walked back.
Feeling the weight of their gazes, Moen let out a faint chuckle, about to speak, when a gentle tug at his sleeve stopped him.
"I-I have something… to talk to you," Lea murmured, having appeared silently behind him. Her voice was as quiet as a gentle breeze.
"Hm?" Moen raised an eyebrow but stopped short upon noticing the faint urgency in her expression. Without a word, he smiled apologetically to the others and then followed Lea to a more secluded spot.
---
"Ariel hasn’t come back yet?" Moen asked, his brow furrowing as he looked at the anxious girl in front of him.
"Did you try reaching her with a communication stone?"
"I-I did…" Lea’s hands gripped the stone tightly, almost to the point of crushing it, as unease flickered in her eyes. "But she’s not picking up."
"Don’t worry just yet. Let me check on something," Moen said reassuringly as he made his way to Pink Bear.
"So… you’re looking for that flat-chested little brat?"
Pink Bear barely glanced up from the *explicit* book he was engrossed in, replying lazily, "She always sneaks out at night to hunt magic beasts. Nothing new there."
"I know that," Moen said, his voice tense, "but if she hasn’t returned yet, could she be in danger?"
"Danger? What danger?" Pink Bear asked dismissively, picking his nose without much care. "I was the one who planned this route; what danger could there possibly—"
Suddenly, he froze mid-sentence as if struck by a thought. Bolting upright, his expression shifted to one of alarm.
"Oh, crap. I just recalled what I forgot to tell that girl last night!"
