The Great Sage Who Did not Remain in Legend - 8.1
“You giving up already? You’re not even running.”
“I’m still running. But I can’t go on. Please let me rest.”
The girl said as she gasped for breath.
To Mergin, the pace was just brisk walking, but to the girl, it felt like a marathon. After running for about an hour, she finally cried out in exhaustion.
“Fine, can’t be helped. Take a 5-minute break.”
“N-no, that’s impossible! Just 5 minutes won’t do!”
“We’re almost at the town.”
“Some things are just impossible.”
There was still about 10 kilometers left for Mergin. At this pace, they wouldn’t arrive until dawn.
Deciding there was no rush from here, Mergin allowed the wheezing girl to rest.
Glug, glug, glug.
During the break, Mergin poured water into a cup and drank.
“Can I have some water too?”
“Need a water bottle?”
Mergin tried to take out a water bottle from his belongings.
“But my water bottle’s empty. I drank it all.”
“What? What would you have done if I weren’t here?”
“I planned to find a water source when morning came.”
“If I hadn’t passed by, you might have been eaten by wolves or attacked in the forest.”
“I’m sure I would have found a water source soon.”
The girl smiled confidently.
This won’t work. If I hadn’t been here, she might have been eaten by wolves or something in the forest.
“Then go find a water source you can find quickly.”
Mergin tossed the water bottle to her.
“Huh?”
“Huh? No, you. You said you’d find a water source quickly, right? Go find it.”
“But it’s so dark, there’s no way I can find it.”
“Then I’ll lend you this.”
Mergin handed her a magic flashlight.
“Are you really telling me to go look for it now?”
The girl looked surprised.
“You said you’d find it quickly, right? And there’s a chance the magic crystal will run out on the way, so you better hurry.”
Mergin replied seriously.
“Are you really telling me to go?”
The girl paled, feeling like he was serious.
“Are you telling me to die?”
“Well, because you underestimated traveling alone. Safety and water are the basics of travel. Do you understand that you could have died already?”
“Well, I couldn’t help it. I didn’t have enough money for a carriage, and it was an unknown road.”
“You could have earned the carriage fare with Lionel, or researched the road to the royal capital to figure out when it would be safe to leave. Thinking it would somehow work out once you reached the royal capital is naive. You’re taking life too lightly.”
“I-I’m not taking it lightly! How could you… You don’t even know what I’ve been through to get here!”
“I have no intention of knowing. And it doesn’t matter what you’ve been through. Whether you’ve been through hardships or not, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve made foolish decisions.”
“You don’t have to be so cold!”
“It’s not about being cold. The carriage fare from Lionel to the royal capital is about 10,000 G, right? Even if you arrived at the next town, how would you manage food? Do you have enough food until you reach the royal capital?”
“W-well, I still have some dried meat left…”
“Then ration it carefully. With your pace, it’ll take at least another two days to reach the royal capital. Hopefully you won’t starve by then.”
Upon Mergin’s harsh words, the girl burst into tears.
“But… there’s nothing I could do…”
“Geez…”
“500 G.”
Mergin said to the crying girl.
*Sniff* *Sniff* “Wh-what’s this 500 G for…”
“Payment for the water.”
“I-it’s expensive!”
“If you don’t like it, take your chances and go find a water source in the forest.”
The girl glanced towards the forest. Even here, it was already dark, and the forest side was a deep crimson darkness. She sniffled, then threw five copper coins at Mergin.