Chapter 120: Chapter 1
After making Maxi lie on her stomach, Riftan calmly pulled out a cloth and waterskin from his bag. She watched in silent mortification as he soaked the linen and wiped her clammy legs, cooling her feverish skin.
After carefully wiping her thighs, calves, and the soles of her feet, Riftan picked up a vial of oil and uncorked it with his teeth. The slippery liquid made her toes curl as he pressed the center of her sole with his thumb. Then, he slowly began massaging her stiff calf. Maxi moaned at the sharp pain.
“I-It hurts...”
“If we do not alleviate your muscles now, you won’t be able to move a finger in the morning.”
Riftan ruthlessly loosened her stiff muscles, and Maxi groaned and buried her face in the blanket. The pain was so dizzying that it left her no time to feel embarrassed.
After sufficiently massaging both of her calves, Riftan poured the mint-scented oil on her thighs. She twisted away when she felt his firm hands run down her flushed, saddle-chafed skin.
“I-I really think that is enough,” she said, embarrassed. “You must also be tired, Ri-”
Maxi gasped as Riftan pulled her undergarment below her knees.
“R-Riftan!”
“Stay still. If we do not apply this, we will have no hope of you riding tomorrow.”
“I will d-do it! I will apply it myself, so-”
“Why are you getting embarrassed?”
With a snort, he crouched just above her writhing thighs to stop her escape.
“Stop wasting your energy and lie still. I am not going to do anything to you.”
He was clearly not going to back down. After applying the oil to his hands, he started kneading her thighs in a circle. Now flushed to her ears, Maxi clutched at the blanket.
Having him touch her body in such a sober state of mind was mortifying, and the fact that he was nursing her after she had proudly declared that she would be their healer made her feel pathetic.
Riftan, however, paid her no mind and quietly continued to apply the oil to her blistered skin. He only pulled her undergarments up again when he had thoroughly loosened her stiff muscles.
“I will go check if the food is ready. Lie here and rest,” he said in a hoarse voice, rubbing the back of his neck.
Perhaps it was because he had to sit uncomfortably inside the cramped tent, but Riftan’s face looked slightly flushed. Maxi bobbed her head as she pulled her trousers up.
Heaving a sigh, Riftan shuffled out of the tent on his knees. Maxi lay sprawled on the blanket feeling as listless as a soggy leaf.
Although the massage had been painful and mortifying, her muscles surprisingly no longer ached. After rubbing her now smooth skin, Maxi turned to her side and used her arm as a pillow for a short nap. Riftan did not return to the tent until bluish darkness had fallen over the campsite.
“It is smoked ham cooked over the fire. It should taste better if you eat it with some bread.”
He set down a wooden tray laden with a thick piece of ham sizzling with oil, three fist-sized loaves of bread, a chunk of cheese, and a bottle of wine.
As Riftan began slicing everything into bite-sized pieces with his dagger, Maxi hungrily crammed the food into her mouth. Although the platter was humble compared to those at Calypse Castle, she was so famished that it tasted delicious.
“Do you want me to bring you more?” Riftan asked after watching her wolf down her meal.
Maxi shook her head. The heap of food that had been on the tray was almost gone. Now that her stomach was full, her already sluggish body felt heavy. Forgetting that she was still in the monster-infested Anatolium Mountains, Maxi fell into a deep slumber.
The next day, the knights began to pack up before the first light of dawn. Maxi had to climb onto her saddle before she could wash her face or even comb her hair.
Thanks to Riftan’s massage, her buttocks did not hurt as much as she had feared, but keeping up with the knights still proved difficult. She barely managed the dark mountain path with Ulyseon’s guidance. The knights stirred their horses faster, never once letting down their guards.
“There does not seem to be m-monsters around... as I had feared,” Maxi finally managed to say when they slowed at the foot of the mountain.
Garrow, who had been riding next to her, shook his head. “Most of the monsters here are of the Ayin race. They are endowed with some degree of intelligence and know better than to show themselves when an army of this size passes through their territory. They will be watching us in hiding. Though, I heard that a few forest goblins tried to sneak up on us last night to steal our provisions.”
“L-Last night?”
When Maxi blanched and hunched her shoulders, Ulyseon quickly chimed in, “Do not worry, my lady. The night watch noticed immediately and took care of them.”
“W-Was no one hurt?”
“Of course! A Remdragon Knight could never be harmed by the likes of a forest goblin,” Ulyseon answered indignantly as though greatly insulted.
Still worried despite the squire’s assurance, Maxi carefully surveyed the knights riding in front of her. Each and every one of them calmly led their horses onward without showing a hint of exhaustion.
Riftan was in position somewhere at the front of the party. Maxi peered over the heads and shoulders of the brawny knights to get a glimpse of him but soon gave up to focus on navigating the uneven mountain path.
The sun was at its peak when the campaign party finally managed to clear the mountains. They stopped for a short rest by a stream that flowed across a meadow. The junior knights left to water the horses by the stream, and the knights opened the provision bags to distribute their late breakfast.
While Rem plunged her muzzle into the water to quench her thirst, Maxi hastily washed her face and combed her tangled curls. When she returned to the grass field after she had managed to tame her bushy hair into a neat braid, Ulyseon handed her a loaf of bread and a piece of apple.
“You must be hungry, my lady. Please, have this first. We should be able to prepare a more decent meal in the evening. Since we must cover as much ground as possible during the day, we cannot serve food that requires a fire.”
“N-No. This is more than enough.”
She was about to take the food from him when Ulyseon suddenly fixed his gaze down at her hands.
“Your hands are red, my lady. Are you hurt?”
“I-It is from gripping the reins.”
Maxi smiled to assure him that it was nothing, but the frown on Ulyseon’s face refused to soften. He gravely eyed the red marks imprinted on her palms.
“It must hurt, my lady. Should you not get it treated?”
“It... is not that bad.”
“What are you saying?! They are swelling...”
Hearing Ulyseon raise his voice, Garrow, who had been grazing the horses, suddenly poked his head between them. He also furrowed his brow when he saw Maxi’s hands.
“Ulyseon is right, my lady. If they were to fester, they will give you a hard time throughout the journey. Would it not be better for you to heal them?”
“I-It is not that bad. I was told that healing yourself with magic... is no different from d-drinking your blood to quench your thirst. And that... unless the wound is fatal... it is better to let it heal on its own. Moreover, I also wish... to conserve my mana as much as possible.”
“But it must be painful...”
Seeing them fuss over her so, Maxi lay her cloak over the grass and sat on it with a sigh.
“I am t-truly all right. Even if I were to heal my hands with magic... they would likely get chafed again once I get back on my horse, do you not agree? And it would not d-do for me to heal them every time it happens. Though it might be painful... it would be best to let my body get used to it. I think...” She deliberately spread her hands out cheerfully, “I will get c-callouses after a few days, and once I do... my palms should be fine no matter h-how long I ride.”
...
A complicated expression briefly flashed across Ulyseon’s face. Then, as if remembering something, he began rummaging through his saddlebag.
“Then, at least put these on for now, my lady.”
Maxi’s eyes widened at the leather gloves the squire held out for her.
“D-Did you not... bring these for yourself, Ulyseon?”
“I only brought them with me just in case. I am fine, so please feel free to use them.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Maxi accepted the gloves. Her hands really were quite sore. She pulled on the smooth, meticulously tanned gloves and discovered them to be at least a knuckle’s length too large for her.
“Your hands... are bigger than I thought, Ulyseon,” Maxi said, looking at his long fingers anew.
When she exclaimed in admiration that he was indeed a man despite his willowy frame and graceful face, which was as delicate as a woman’s, Ulyseon flushed. He scratched the back of his head shyly, then fished out a leather strap from his bag.
“Let me secure them down, my lady. It would not do for them to slip off while you are riding.”
Maxi obediently held out her hands. Ulyseon fidgeted with the straps as he clumsily tied the gloves to her wrist.
“Are they not too tight, my lady?”
...
“No, they are perfect.”
After shaking her hands to see if the gloves would fall off, Maxi gave Ulyseon a satisfied smile.
“Th-Thank you. I shall... use them well.”
“It is my pleasure, my lady.”
She picked up the loaf of bread with her gloved hand and ate her meal. A short distance away, Riftan was talking with his knights over a map. He said something to them before tucking the map into his bag. Maxi waited for him to come to her, but he merely frowned slightly and whirled around to saddle Talon.
His displeasure made Maxi nervous. She had thought that his attentive care yesterday meant that his anger had subsided. Was he perhaps still upset over her stubbornness?
Before she could come to a decision on whether or not to approach him first, Riftan was already mounting his horse.
“No more dawdling,” he said to his knights. “We depart immediately. We are entering drake territory, so keep your guard up at all times.”
The knights all mounted their steeds and got into formation. Maxi hastily saddled Rem and got up as well. Riftan looked over his shoulder to check where she was, then spurred Talon into a brisk gallop.
They sped through the grassy fields like the wind, following the stream. An unwitting smile tugged at Maxi’s lips as the cool, refreshing breeze brushed pleasantly against her face.
This was not the time to be enjoying herself, but she had never ridden across a grassy plain on her own horse before. It was incomparable to the narrow mountain path or the hill. Her heart swelled, and Maxi scanned her surroundings with shining eyes.
The clear sky was a brilliant blue, and the stream that flowed across the moss green field shimmered as though sprinkled with silver dust. Under the early summer sun, even the wildflowers were in full bloom. It was such a beautiful scene that it was almost difficult to believe that vicious monsters ran amok.
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