Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince Chapter 21

Rain was falling in a steady drizzle. It was only evening, but it was already as dark as if it were deep night.

 

“One, two! One, two!”

 

How long had it been since we started putting our strength together in time with the chant? The hood of my cloak kept falling over my eyes, but I was too tired to bother pushing it back, so I just kept pushing, half-blind.

 

“Just a little more! Just a little!”

 

The slaves were working together to lift the wagon wheel that had sunk into the mud.

 

“One, two! One, two!”

 

Gritting my teeth, I pushed the wagon with all my might, thinking, just a little more! The wagon jolted, giving a positive sign.

 

“One, two!”

 

“We did it! We did it!”

 

“We’re out!”

 

The coachman clapped his hands in delight. I rested my hands on my knees, gasping for breath. Lifting my hood a little, I saw the wheels caked in mud. Sure enough, when we work together, there’s nothing we can’t do. I was out of breath, but a smile crept onto my face from the sense of accomplishment.

 

“We’ll depart right away.”

 

“Sir, please wait a moment!”

 

The coachman bustled about, saying he needed to check the horses and the wagon. The thornbush knight who was escorting us disliked any delay in the schedule, even a slight one. The weather wasn’t helping, and he’d already said we were moving slower than expected.

 

“Ugh! Ugh!”

 

I twisted my upper body left and right to loosen my stiff muscles. The rain was falling, my hood was heavy, and I’d used up all my strength on the wagon. Even if we got out of here, there would still be a lot to do to set up camp for the night. I stretched my arms up over my head, loosening up as if yawning.

 

『The Enafolk rear party departs today.』

 

The excitement I’d felt when slave master Solga told me that still hadn’t completely faded. When I heard that the Ruchegno family had directly requested my punishment, I’d had to bite my lip and steel myself. It wouldn’t be a light punishment, I thought.

 

『Sez, how. How.』 Eva had hugged me, sniffling. Even though my punishment hadn’t been decided yet. But life is always unpredictable. Who could have guessed that something I’d wanted so badly would come down as a “punishment.”

 

“All right, let’s go!”

 

The coachman shouted to the knight and the priests. Hearing his call, the slaves hurried onto the wagon. I heard the sound of the knights’ horses setting off, and the wagon we were on lurched forward, picking up speed.

 

Jolt, jolt.

 

Driving through the mud, the wagon jolted even more. The slaves’ wagon was different from the ones nobles rode in; it was long and narrow, with benches along both sides so we sat facing each other.

 

Since the slaves were all sturdy, our knees touched and we were crammed in together. Even so, there wasn’t enough room, so I had to squeeze into a space in the wagon carrying the baggage.

 

“Ugh!”

 

The wagon seemed to fly up into the air and then crash down again. If I wasn’t careful, I could bite my tongue, so I kept my mouth shut. Still, I couldn’t help but let out a groan. Hugging the bundles, the only way to endure the jolting was to let my body go with it as much as possible.

 

I was something of a veteran at riding baggage wagons, having done so on the way to the Crown Prince’s palace, but this was definitely high-level difficulty. If I’d paid for this ride, I would have demanded a refund long ago.

 

My head, shoulders, knees, and arms all seemed to be screaming in protest.

 

“Whoa! Whoa!”

 

The horses neighed, and the wagon gradually slowed. It seemed we’d arrived at tonight’s campsite.

 

“Ow.”

 

Ignoring my creaking joints, I got out of the wagon. Luckily, the rain had let up a little. Setting foot on solid ground made me feel a bit more alive.

 

“Ugh!”

 

One of the priests who had ridden in the wagon bent over as soon as he got out. Poor thing, it must be a tough journey if you get motion sickness. I watched him with sympathy.

 

The spot the knight had chosen for camping was impressive, as expected. The ground was flat and perfect for pitching tents, and the thick trees blocked out the rain. There was even a small stream nearby, making it easy to fetch water.

 

I worked hard gathering and carrying firewood. It took longer than usual to find dry wood.

 

“Huh?”

 

After dropping off the last bundle of firewood and dusting off my hands, I spotted a familiar plant growing next to a tree. Long stalks of Nobeni herbs. Looking around, I saw a stew boiling and the tents already set up. I figured I had a moment to pick some herbs.

 

“I wanted to ask because I thought I might have seen wrong.”

 

“Huh? Priest.”

 

I was picking herbs when a voice sounded above my head. My hood was so big it had fallen over my face again, so I couldn’t see. I stood up quickly and pushed my hood back, and saw the priest’s face. He was one of the younger priests, so he stood out.

 

“Are you happy right now?”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

What kind of question was that? I was glad to see the herbs and was picking them, but if someone asked if I was happy, I didn’t know how to answer. Of course, going to Enafolk was a wonderful thing, but—

 

“So you are happy.”

 

He widened his eyes in surprise. Do I really look happy? I thought about how I must look. I didn’t think I’d done anything to look particularly cheerful.

 

“When you were pushing the wagon earlier, you were the only one with a bright expression, so I wondered.”

 

He looked at me curiously, letting out a little laugh.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“Sez.”

 

“Sez. From today, I will respect you.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“And you don’t even pass up herbs, I see.”

 

He reminded me of Priest Feren back at the Pikedor harbor. Are all priests like this, saying odd things regardless of rank? If Feren looked like a bandit, this priest looked like a neat nobleman. If not for the priest’s robes, he could have passed for a knight.

 

“Ah, Priest, I think the one who got sick earlier should have some of this. It doesn’t taste good, but if he chews and swallows it, it’ll settle his stomach.”

 

“Ah, I see. Thank you. You know a lot about herbs?”

 

“Not really, but someone who did taught me.”

 

“Really?”

 

His jade-green eyes sparkled. Feeling awkward, I took a small step back.

 

“My name is Omont. I look forward to working with you.”

 

“Uh, Priest, I—I look forward to working with you too.”

 

A priest saying he looked forward to working with a slave? He was definitely unusual. I bowed, and when I looked up, he was still smiling with sparkling eyes. He was strange. I discreetly took a step back.

 

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

 

The day we arrived at Enafolk, the sunlight was dazzling. As if it were welcoming me.

 

It had taken five days of travel from the Crown Prince’s palace to get here.

 

“Wow.”

 

The sight took my breath away. Under the blue sky, the fortress built of stone was a spectacle in itself. Atop the high fortress walls, the flag of the Sharkanian Empire fluttered—the emblem of a golden dragon on a red field.

 

Between the flags, sentries walked back and forth, keeping watch. The walls were so tall I had to crane my neck all the way back to see the top. A fortress built up over decades to keep out monsters. Seeing it up close, I could feel in my bones that this was the front line.

 

“Hey, what are you doing there!”

 

Startled, I snapped out of it. While everyone else bustled about, I was the only one standing still, staring up at the fortress. Embarrassed, I hurried to help unload the baggage.

 

Enafolk was a basin-shaped village, surrounded by mountains. The fortress was built between two mountains to keep monsters from coming out. Outside the fortress, a kind of village had been set up as a base.

 

“You—supply depot. You—stables. You—kitchen. And you, what are you?”

 

The slaves who had come to Enafolk had already been here before. Though technically assigned to the palace, some had worked in Enafolk more often. So work assignments were handed out quickly based on physique and experience.

 

When it was my turn, the steward frowned.

 

“What’s this.”

 

He looked me up and down, clearly thinking, what sort of thing is this? I wondered if I should introduce myself as good at cleaning.

 

“I’ll take her.”

 

I turned to see Priest Omont. He winked.

 

“You, Priest?”

 

“Someone who knows herbs is valuable.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

Priest Omont winked and led me away. He walked the paths of Enafolk with practiced ease, as if he’d been here before. I followed him, looking around. Somewhere here, the Crown Prince must be staying. Maybe I could find the most splendid building.

 

“Are you good at fighting?”

 

“No, not really—”

 

Omont nodded as if he understood.

 

“Are you good at screaming?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“If anyone strange tries anything strange, you have to scream as loud as you can.”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

“Of course, I’d never do anything. But this is still a battlefield, you know.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

He entered a wooden building. The smell of herbs hit me, sharp and strong. But it wasn’t unpleasant.

 

“This is where you’ll be working from now on.”

 

The inside was packed with herbs, so much so that even sunlight barely made it in. It seemed to be a storage room for herbs. My heart pounded as I looked at the familiar and unfamiliar herbs.

 

If I learned more about herbs here, maybe I could treat him better if he got hurt. Of course, it would be even better if he never got hurt at all.

 

I should try to avoid running into him as much as possible.

 

The Crown Prince had said, “I forbid it,” and hadn’t allowed me to come to Enafolk. If he found out I was here, he would definitely not be pleased.

 

I’d have to keep my presence here hidden as much as possible. But maybe it would be okay to watch him secretly from afar. The Crown Prince would stand out wherever he was. My heart pounded for no reason, and I took several deep breaths.

 

At that moment.

 

Sihien was sitting at the table in his tent, looking over documents. They were lists of supplies brought by the rear party and documents with the names of priests. The number of slaves was listed only as a figure, with no names, of course.

 

Even so, his eyes lingered on the word “slave” written on the document. The face from the capital naturally came to mind, melting something inside his chest.

 

『I want to go to Enafolk.』 

 

Those bold purple eyes clung to his mind. No one wanted to come here. Anyone could die at any moment here, but she had said she truly wanted to come. Those eyes were so intense, it felt as if his heart was burning.

 

Creak.

 

Before that ache could turn into real pain, he stood up. He walked over to the nightstand beside his bed. His tent was a wooden temporary building, not any more splendid just because the Crown Prince was staying in it. There was a bed, a table, a dresser, and a nightstand. The space was larger than others’, but nothing compared to the palace.

 

Slide.

 

His long fingers opened the drawer in the nightstand. Inside, a ribbon hairpin made of white lace lay neatly. He bent over, gazing at the ribbon. He hadn’t touched it much, afraid it might get dirty.

 

Just imagining that ribbon fluttering in light brown hair made the back of his neck heat up. His fingers slowly stroked the back of his neck.

 

Click. After staring at the ribbon for a long time, he closed the nightstand drawer. Just reading the word “slave” on the document made autumn feel impossibly far away.