Chapter 38 (Cleaned) – No Road is Long without Good Company

Ex Strongest Swordsman 38 is out!   

TLN:

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Kingdom of Radius, Neumont Duchy, Tendall.

Just now, Aina remembered the place they had just left. She suddenly leaked a breath while looking ahead.

The sky was blue and the wind was calm.

The sun was warm, and it was a good day for traveling.

Even so, she was somewhat depressed…

“…Hmm. My intuition is saying that way is suspicious!” (Soma)

“It is certain that there is no mistake since Nii-sama is saying so! I will also accompany you!” (Lina)

Well, again, it went without saying that the cause of the depression were these idiot siblings.

Perhaps it should be said that rather than the rampant feelings she had in the beginning, she was wondering if the trip was getting worse since they had started traveling.

Aina was probably holding back, but it was certain that was the cause of the headache.

“Hey, you two idiots over there! I should say this much, but we don’t have to spare time to detour!” (Aina)

“Hmm… Indeed. I surely heard that; but, unfortunately, I don’t remember agreeing to that!” (Soma)

“Me too!” (Lina)

“Too noisy!” (Aina)

While sighing all-out, Aina put her hands on her head to endure the headache.

Such arguments had been repeated many times until now, and Aina basically gave in, but this time wouldn’t be such a time.

“Didn’t you say that it would be a hassle if we didn’t reach the next territory before today is over? As a result, I think that we have been holding back a lot, so I don’t think we can afford doing this much.” (Aina)

“Muu… You are right, but… it seems that side is somewhat suspicious…!” (Soma)

“You  always say that, but there is nothing wrong at all! No, although you occasionally got it right, but… as it turns out, it has nothing to do with magic, not even a single bit.” (Aina)

“No, that’s why. The fact that it always felt out of place until now means it will come soon…!” (Lina)

“Isn’t that considered as hopeless thinking?” (Aina)

While exchanging such words, when returning to the main road,  Soma and Lina, who were about to spend time until the day after tomorrow, reluctantly followed Aina.

It seemed that this time was somehow no good, and they understood it.

It was entirely like that between, Aina, Soma and Lina.

While the three of them kept traveling, when they noticed it, one year had passed.

Despite how much time had passed, they still hadn’t left the Neumont Duchy. Well, the reason was like what happened just now.

It was because of Soma and his group… No, it was entirely because of Soma alone because he was doing whatever he liked.

It couldn’t be helped, based on the purpose of the trip. Originally, it was Soma’s purpose alone, and he was an unprecedented person.

As expected, they couldn’t find the method if they searched normally, and it was certainly true when he was told that, but according to his intuition, he examined places that he felt suspicious, and that much was unreasonable.

After Lina followed them along, Aina would lose by majority vote whenever she objected, and… well, even if Soma said this and that, for Aina to recognize such behaviors, wouldn’t that be problematic too?

In addition, when Aina was told that a journey would be something like this, she was really thinking as it was.

However, the journey that Aina knew wasn’t like this.

“Ah, yes. Lina-sa… Lina.” (Aina)

While she still hadn’t called the name yet, she remembered something about the girl at the rear who she was about to call.

When she noticed, she lowered her voice while worrying about Soma, who was naturally leading the group.

“Say, is it really fine not to tell him?” (Aina)

“I think it is fine. It is not necessary to tell Nii-sama, but whenever it becomes necessary, it is good enough to know at that time.” (Lina)

Speaking of something, here was Neumont Duchy. In other words, Soma’s family name was Neumont, and his household was a Duke’s household.

Yes, Soma was still unaware of it.

Although Aina was walking in the territory with a low profile, whether they needed to know when they were in a town, they didn’t bother to talk about which territory they were in at present.

For that reason, they didn’t bring up this particular topic until now.

It was also something that Soma didn’t care about, so for now, Lina thought that it was unnecessary to let him know.

Of course, it was alright to tell Aina, but it felt different if she compared it to Soma.

Nonetheless, the reason Lina told her was not because she wanted to prevent Aina from going against her household, but she told Aina just to avoid things that might become troublesome later.

Well, since Aina was said to come from the same kind of household, she somehow understood that kind of thing.

While doing so, Lina already finished talking, and she walked towards Soma.

However, Aina was slightly dissatisfied.

It was true that there was no problem not to be aware about that matter, but… it felt somehow lonely…

“Hmmm…? I see. I was wondering what were you both talking about… I guess Aina feels lonely when sleeping alone, is it? It is certainly a problem…” (Soma)

“Wait a sec! I haven’t said anything like that at all…!” (Aina)

Perhaps, she acted like that to mislead him, but how did he come up with that?

For the time being, both of them had stopped and looked at her with warm eyes, as if they understood her.

“So, you really never thought of it?” (Lina)

“Well…” (Aina)

Aina suddenly remembered what happened this morning.

Basically, Aina often slept together with others.

One of the reasons was because they were sleeping outdoors, and it was also a means of safety.

At least, Aina and Lina had been together until now, but… there were various things that happened yesterday, so they slept on their own.

The room was small, but it felt wide.

When she got up, there was no one else in that room.

This situation was good enough to make Aina remember that she started traveling alone nearly two years ago.

“…Aah, there is no such thing, you know?!” (Aina)

“Why did you hesitated just now?” (Soma)

“That was unusual.” (Lina)

“Sh-shut up!” (Aina)

Aina noticed that her cheeks had reddened, so she turned her face away.

That was awkward.

Perhaps, she couldn’t say it properly.

However, the other two noticed it.

The current condition of Aina was a bit strange.

For Aina, traveling was a tough matter.

She went on a road that she didn’t know whether it would merge with other roads alone, and she also didn’t know if she could meet people she could trust.

She couldn’t get that thought out of her mind, even when she was sleeping… and she got exhausted, she arrived at that village as if she had given up.

She was wondering if it was alright to do that.

It might’ve been that Aina had simply become someone who couldn’t trust others at that time.

In Aina’s view, the fact that going a journey was a harsh matter wasn’t wrong, but… doing it together with Soma and Lina was actually fun.

On that day, Soma forcibly pulled her hand.

And Lina joined right after that.

It was certainly fun, but…

No, when Aina thought about it further, she shook her head.

It was because it was still fun, even now.

That was why she let out her voice to blow away the unnecessary thoughts.

“Which reminds me, even if Soma said so, Lina also feels lonely when she sleeps alone, right? When it comes to sleeping together, Lina is the one who gets into my futon in most cases.” (Aina)

“Hoho…?” (Soma)

“Ah, th-that is a secret… yes, it is! It is a coincidence… definitely! I made a mistake when I was sleeping!” (Lina)

“You are stuttering when you said that, you know…?” (Aina)

Aina let out a deep breath when she said that.

The sky was blue and the wind was calm.

The sun was warm… and smiles naturally appeared on the faces of these three. Indeed, it was a perfect day for traveling.

Their current location was at the southernmost tip of the Neumont Duchy.

It would not take long before they reached the next territory.