Chapter 59: Beneath the Traveler’s Sky
“Alright, let’s set up camp around here for today.”
Jin eased the carriage’s speed as he spoke to the group.
At the moment, there were no enemy signatures on Jin’s MAP, and the sun had already set enough that dusk was turning into full darkness.
Since they didn’t have any strong light source like a car’s headlights, it was too dangerous to keep the carriage moving. If they could use light magic, they might’ve been able to travel even through the night, but that wasn’t the case right now. This was their limit.
After getting everyone’s agreement, Jin brought the carriage to a stop and stepped down from the driver’s seat.
“Fwaaah—”
Letting out a weird cry, Jin stretched his whole body with a massive yawn.
Even though they’d gotten off the carriage several times for breaks and during skirmishes with magical beasts, he still wasn’t used to long carriage travel, and it wore him down.
“Hahaha! You sound like an old man, Jin.”
Seeing him, Erza burst into loud laughter.
Rachel and Aria also held hands to their mouths, giggling.
“Haha…”
Jin couldn’t exactly deny it—not just an old man, technically a former grandpa—so his smile turned awkward. It was inevitable.
It had been three days since Jin and the others left the town of Lientz.
They’d take breaks along the way, ride until right before it got too dark to continue, then depart again the following morning when the sky was only just starting to brighten.
In this way, Jin’s group pushed the carriage as much as possible, hurrying forward.
Aside from a few encounters with magical beasts, they’d had no real trouble so far. And even those fights turned out to be useful practice for coordinating with Aria.
They hadn’t exactly “eaten from the same pot” long enough to be inseparable comrades, but Aria had already blended in pretty well as a member of Jin’s party.
Even so, she still stuck to formal speech—likely because she remained aware of her public position as a guild employee.
“Alright, I’ll go set up the toilet. Can I leave the horses and the camp prep to you?”
After saying that, Jin pulled out several tools from his Infinity Storage and piled them up one after another.
Not only brushes and buckets for grooming the horses, but also firewood, chairs, and various camping supplies.
Some items were normally too bulky to bring on a journey, but thanks to Jin’s Infinity Storage, there was no issue at all.
After unloading the tools, Jin walked a short distance downwind and used the spell Earth to dig a fairly deep hole. Then he surrounded it with folding wooden panels.
The panels enclosed the area in a squared-off shape, with the back panel high enough to hide someone squatting, while the front and sides were intentionally low.
From the sides or front, you could see a person’s face if they were crouched—but Jin made it that way on purpose so they wouldn’t neglect watching their surroundings.
It was just a simple toilet: do your business, then cover it with soil using a small shovel. But the women were very pleased with it.
Normally, you had to take care of things out in the open without any privacy, and Jin figured that would be too rough on them. So he made this soon after they set out on their journey.
The spare wooden boards and metal fittings he’d stored for repairs ended up being repurposed perfectly.
When Jin came back after setting up the toilet, the rest of the camp was already prepared.
Not only the campfire and chairs, but also the portable barrier device Greg had lent them as guildmaster—it was already activated.
The three women, having finished the camp setup, were now split up caring for the horses: wiping their sweat and brushing their coats.
The horses weren’t sleek thoroughbred-type animals, but noticeably bulkier, with thicker legs and bodies—more like the big draft horses used in Hokkaido’s ban’ei races.
The two large horses had finally been released from the cramped carriage, and their reins were tied to stakes driven into the ground.
After pushing themselves hard all the way here, they looked quite pleased being pampered by the women.
Watching them with narrowed eyes, Jin turned to preparing dinner for the night.
He did have several pre-made meals stored away—ones he’d bought in town—but he kept those for emergencies.
So, as usual, Jin began cooking their meal himself.
Although Aria had newly joined the party, she too was no good at cooking, so the person in charge of meals remained unchanged.
But that was exactly how Jin preferred it.
While Jin cooked, the other three continued caring for the horses and preparing the meal. That “preparation,” of course, just meant feeding the horses raw vegetables—but honestly, that simplicity was perfect.
Jin lit the handmade stove he’d placed on the cooking stand.
Though he called it a “stove,” it only looked like one; it had no ignition function. When he said “light,” he simply used the spell Fire to create a circular blue flame.
Even so, being able to set a pan or pot over the flame while doing other tasks made it incredibly useful for outdoor cooking.
Jin poured premade seafood broth into a pot, added some water, and set it on the flame.
Next, he added chopped vegetables and boar meat sautéed in butter.
Once he dissolved miso into it at the end, the tonjiru (or maybe inoshishi-jiru, given the boar) was complete.
With the butter in it, the flavor had a slight Western twist that would likely pair well with bread.
On the second stove, he stir-fried thinly sliced beef seasoned with salt and pepper, finishing with a splash of soy sauce.
He plated each completed dish separately and lined them up with bread on a four-person table.
At the very least, the women wanted to help with serving, so they carried the dishes to the table together.
“Alright then—itadakimasu.”
“““Itadakimasu.”””
The four of them took their seats, and with Jin’s call, dinner began.
Originally, they should’ve eaten in pairs to stay alert, but thanks to Jin’s vigilance through MAP, and everyone agreeing not to let their guard down completely, they ate together as a group of four.
Jin believed that eating together like this didn’t just deepen their bonds—it probably helped relieve the stress of travel too.
Enjoying tasty food and conversation, they savored their meal.
“Even though I’m finally getting used to it… I still can’t believe we can eat like this while traveling.”
Aria said this with a heartfelt sigh, nibbling on a cookie during their post-meal tea time.
For adventurers, a meal on the road normally meant bacon or cheese warmed over a campfire, hard bread, and thin soup—at best.
She’d never even imagined that they’d be able to sit on chairs at an actual table in the middle of the wilderness.
And tea with cookies afterward? That was something only nobles or wealthy merchants would enjoy.
“Ahh, well… I guess that’s how it usually is,” Jin replied.
He actually felt a little unsatisfied since he would’ve liked to prepare another one or two dishes, but he’d held back because they were traveling.
Besides, none of this would’ve been possible without Infinity Storage, so he couldn’t deny Aria’s point.
If he had the time beforehand, he could even cook and store full meals in advance—and Jin decided to start doing that once they returned.
“Hehe. Jin-san, you still look a little dissatisfied, don’t you?”
Rachel teased him with a playful tone.
Rachel had once traveled from her hometown to Lientz when she was little, but even then, their meals had never been this extravagant.
The faint hint of “this still isn’t good enough” she sensed from Jin felt so adorable that it made her laugh.
“Jin gets strangely obsessive about things. But we’re already more than satisfied—we’re grateful, really.”
Erza joined in on Rachel’s teasing, but ended with genuine appreciation.
Ever since she’d started traveling with Jin, their meals had improved dramatically.
As someone who loved good food, Erza appreciated it deeply.
“Having ambition is wonderful… but, hehe, Erza-san and Rachel-san, you’re dealing with a very luxurious kind of hardship, aren’t you?”
Aria smiled.
“You think so too, Aria-san? I mean, it makes me happy, but I really do have to be careful not to get spoiled.”
“Exactly. We can’t start taking any of this for granted.”
Erza and Rachel responded to Aria, the three women somehow arriving at a mutual understanding.
They smiled warmly and looked at Jin in unison, leaving him a bit confused.
It didn’t feel like they were criticizing him, but it also didn’t feel like pure praise either.
“Jin-san, you’re fine just the way you are. We’ll be the ones who make sure we don’t get carried away.”
Aria concluded gently, and both Erza and Rachel nodded in agreement.
“Uh… thank you.”
Jin still wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, but he could tell they were being considerate of him.
At the very least, he could clearly feel their goodwill—and that was enough for now.
(…I’ll never understand what women are thinking. Better not overthink it.)
Lumping “women’s hearts” together like that and giving up on the thought process showed that Jin was, in the end, just an ordinary guy lacking experience.
No—considering his actual age, that might make it even worse.
Jin lightly cleared his throat to wrap up the topic and shifted the conversation to their upcoming plans.
“Tomorrow, I’m thinking we’ll stop by Poppin Village and stay at an inn. If we push the pace a bit, we should get there by evening or night.”
Poppin Village was about two days by carriage from their destination, Apos Village.
Their journey so far had gone smoothly, and they’d even made better time than scheduled.
Since they carried very little luggage, the horses weren’t being overworked—that was probably another reason.
Even though they were rushing and getting less sleep, it was still a ridiculously comfortable journey compared to what a normal adventurer would experience.
But they still couldn’t take a bath. At best, they could wipe themselves with warm water, which likely caused stress for the women, especially.
So Jin wanted everyone to refresh themselves with a proper bath and a soft bed for the first time in a while.
Not that anything else changed: they’d still be riding the carriage until sunset, and they’d still leave early the next morning.
But precisely because this was a rushed trip, he wanted everyone to maintain the best condition possible.
“The timing works out well, so I agree.”
“Wow! We can finally take a bath again!”
Aria—the one who acted most like the group’s chaperone—agreed instantly, and Rachel cheered. Erza, of course, looked happy too.
“After we leave Poppin Village, we’ll head straight to Apos Village. We should reach it in about two days.”
Jin continued, amused by the women’s excitement.
“We don’t need to stop by Poppin Village, though. Thanks to you, Jin, none of us has any complaints. Honestly, we’re grateful.”
This time, Erza was the one to worry about Jin, since he was always thinking of them.
To shorten the distance as much as possible, they’d been traveling off the main road entirely.
Because of that, they’d run into magical beasts several times, but thanks to Jin’s MAP, they hadn’t encountered a real threat yet.
And Jin didn’t just handle meals and breaks—he even paid attention to small things like the toilet.
Sure, Infinity Storage played a big part, but it was Jin’s care for the group that made it all possible.
They were grateful to him—none of them could possibly feel dissatisfied. If anything, they worried that he was pushing himself.
“I know, but it’s fine. I want to take a bath too.”
Feeling the concern from the women, Jin smiled gently, then continued:
“We’ve made it halfway to Apos Village today. We’ll take a small break tomorrow night, but let’s stay focused and keep doing our best.”
“Yeah.”
““Okay!””
And with that, their pleasant dinner came to an end.
Night had fallen completely. The campfire on the ground and the stars overhead provided just enough light for the surroundings.
Tonight’s watch rotation was Jin and Rachel for the first half, Aria and Erza for the second.
They’d been following a rotation for the past three days—Jin had been paired with Aria on the first night, Erza on the second.
Erza and Aria were already asleep inside the carriage, while Jin and Rachel sat facing each other on the ground, the fire between them.
After their shift, Jin and Rachel would sleep in the same carriage, but Jin used his “old-man mode” to avoid any awkward awareness.
Besides, he knew perfectly well that the mood between them wasn’t the slightest bit romantic, so he’d slept just fine the past two nights.
Compared to Jin, a blockhead in multiple senses, the women ended up with slightly less sleep. But that couldn’t be helped.
Even if there was nothing sweet about it, it was still the first time in a while Rachel had time alone with Jin.
“The stars are amazing again tonight, huh?”
Jin looked up at the sky.
Unlike the world he came from, where heavy pollution made the night sky dull, this world offered a beautiful starry sky even within a city.
And here, with no buildings or anything else to block the view, the stars stretched endlessly in all directions.
Jin felt as though he were standing on the ocean floor, gazing up at a vast sea of stars.
“Yes. Seeing the night sky like this while traveling… It’s so beautiful it’s overwhelming.”
Rachel agreed with Jin and gazed up at the stars.
As a priestess who served the gods at the temple, the sight felt solemn to her—similar to the moments when she prayed before the gods.
“Ever since I set out on this journey, every night when I look at the stars like this, I always end up thinking the same thing. ‘Man, I’m really blessed,’ you know?”
To Rachel—who felt awe and a faint sense of fear toward the star-filled sky—Jin’s words were unexpected.
She couldn’t help turning to look at him, but Jin was still staring upward.
“Not because it feels scary?”
Her true feelings slipped out, and she asked without thinking.
Jin reacted to her words and lowered his gaze to meet hers.
“Now that you mention it, Erza and Aria said something similar. …Sure, there is a little fear in it. But maybe that’s exactly why I feel so blessed.”
He spoke with a smile and continued.
“When you’re surrounded by a sky full of stars, it’s beautiful—but kind of scary too. But if I just lower my eyes, you’re right here, and Aria and Erza are in the carriage. It reminds me I’m not alone.”
He gave her a look as if asking, You get what I mean, right?
“And everyone back in Lientz… maybe they’re looking up at the same sky right now. Even if they’re not, they’re still under this same sky, no question. When I think about how many people like that are around me… I really do feel blessed.”
When he thought about each of those people, their faces naturally made him smile. By the end of his words, Jin was once again looking up at the stars. He must have been remembering those who weren’t here—his smile stayed on his face.
But the next moment, that smile shifted into something more serious.
“There are people I want to protect. People I want to see smiling.”
Airis and Nils, who were still fighting their illnesses. Their parents, watching over children like Burke and Ort.
The sick children at the orphanage, and Hilda, who continued taking care of them.
Clark and Bean, who worked tirelessly to ease the children’s burden and slow the progress of the disease.
Greg and the others are surely running around searching for the cause.
Far apart, yet under the same sky, everyone was doing what they could.
When Jin came to this world, he lost all connection to the world where he had lived until old age.
He was grateful to have come here, and he never resented it—but a quiet loneliness had indeed lingered in him.
And yet now, he had gained so many people he wanted to cherish. Even in this world, he wasn’t alone. And that, to Jin, was a source of true happiness.
Jin lowered his gaze again, looked at the carriage, then at Rachel, and said—
“And I’ve got companions to adventure with like this. See? I really am blessed, aren’t I?”
The smile he showed her carried both warmth and a certain depth.
“…Am I also… important to you?”
Driven by a sudden impulse, Rachel asked.
And Jin’s answer was one he had already settled on long before.
“Of course. You’re someone precious to me.”
Why Jin chose the word someone precious instead of precious companion—only he knew. But Rachel understood he wasn’t attaching any hidden meaning to it.
Even so, the words he gave her filled her with overwhelming happiness.
“I feel the same. You’re precious to me too, Jin-san. I guess… I’m blessed as well.”
Her eyes shimmered slightly as she answered with a smile.
Under the star-filled sky, illuminated by the warm glow of the campfire, Rachel’s smile was truly beautiful.
And Jin felt the same—stronger than he ever had before.
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