Trekking Through the Unnameable Miracle

Month of Trekking, this is the first month of Rose Month.

Regardless of the plant, the edges of its leaves and flowers were dyed black. After the twenty-eight days of this month concluded, they would fully turn black, entering complete darkness—though the plants' transformation only began now, the sun had not risen since it set on the last day of the Month of Destiny.

That would be five months of complete darkness.

Helurando, the town in Wittier Territory closest to Eisole Forest, was also a gathering place for half the adventurers. The town had many taverns and places for equipment supply, and the sound of blacksmiths hammering was unending. Two out of every three people on the road here were adventurers, most wearing linen cloaks and carrying various swords at their waists.

This was the intersection of noble territory and adventuring grounds, combining two different lifestyles. While peaceful, it also hid the strength and passion of adventurers.

It was still raining—this was the only month in Rose Month that it rained, and most of the time it was a downpour. There weren't many people on the streets at this time. The residents had either relocated to their relatives' homes in the neighboring village, closer to the heart of the territory, or had been living in their basements since the start of the month.

Even though every moment of Rose Month was night, this time was equivalent to the usual deep night. On roads that were normally only frequented by adventurers, even adventurers were few and far between, except for one who was rushing to get here.

Raindrops hit the smooth stone road, the wooden street signs cracked at their grain, and the adventurers' black cloaks. Water slid down the gaps in the roofs, pooling on the road and flowing downhill. Many streams converged, forming a simple ballad in Helurando—like a common instrument popular in the Wittier Territory, where dozens of people would strike the front of specially made hardwood carved with patterns using wooden sticks.

Unfortunately, the rain grew heavier and faster, until all that could be heard was the sound of rain, splashing up a layer of white mist on the ground.

The adventurer walked through Helurando unhurriedly, familiar with the way, until he pushed open the somewhat dilapidated wooden door of a tavern in a side alley. The hanging sign displayed a pattern painted with white mineral pigment—a simple wolf's head.

Pushing open the wooden door, warmth and firelight drew the adventurer into another world, warm and noisy.

Helurando was a transit and supply point, and there were always plenty of adventurers. To escape the rain and have a cup of hot tea, even in the secluded Wolf's Head Tavern, people were everywhere. Under the dim yellow light, adventurers in cloaks chatted and played cards, while some hung their wet cloaks on the wooden racks by the door.

The counter on one side was no different from other taverns. An old man smoking a pipe watched the adventurer enter, shook the metal pipe covered in notches in his hand, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

A tavern maid carrying a wooden tray greeted the adventurers as she served bread and wine.

Seeing no place to hang his cloak, the adventurer walked further in, still wearing his wet cloak, looking for an empty seat.

Until he found the only empty spot in the corner.

Four people were sitting there: one woman, two men, and a... child.

A delicate-looking woman appeared relatively normal. The other two—one had a cloth covering his eyes, and the other had long, lake-blue hair. His white cloak didn't look like ordinary adventurer attire. What was even more noteworthy was the child, small in appearance, wrapped tightly in a cloak, revealing only a few strands of golden hair.

"Can I sit here?" He felt a little embarrassed when two of the four people looked at him as he approached—the lower half of his face revealed under the cloak was a smiling grin.

"Of course," the woman spoke first. She seemed quite enthusiastic, and as soon as the adventurer sat down, she started talking to him. "Are you also participating in the Month of Trekking? Traveling so late."

"Hey, Rose Month is here, what's early or late?" The adventurer took off his thick gloves. Even in the dim light, one could see his large hands were covered in calluses. Judging by his voice, he seemed like an enthusiastic person too.

The woman sighed with emotion, "Indeed. I wasn't in this area during Rose Month in the past. I didn't expect it to be so interesting. What do you think, Hubert?"

Hubert was not interested in this topic. "I don't feel anything."

"I find it quite interesting," the man with the lake-blue hair said softly. His tone was gentle. Adventurers like him were rare: fair skin, and a handsome appearance that wouldn't be mistaken for a woman. Adventurers often mocked such "noble appearances," but he clearly didn't seem to care. "How can the kingdom remain peaceful during these dark days? An interesting topic."

"Magic shouldn't be used to assist things like kings," Hubert retorted.

"Haha, perhaps you prefer to challenge difficult things?" The woman—Helise—intervened, stopping Hubert, who seemed displeased, and said with a smile.

The adventurer finally realized they might be mages. Adventurers were somewhere between ordinary people and "rebels." Nobles disliked them not only because they didn't stay and farm their lands diligently but also because they held a neutral stance on faith. Most adventurers knew about these commoner mages, and sometimes, for their own benefit, they would side with them.

Knowing they were commoner mages who disliked nobles, the adventurer didn't react with much excitement. He simply thanked the maid who brought the bread and tea, not joining their conversation.

"My point is to assist the king," the man with the lake-blue hair said with a smile.

"Then you are not worthy of being a mage!" Hubert slammed the table in anger, got up, and left his seat, walking away quickly and abruptly, almost knocking over the plate the maid was holding.

"Oh dear, be careful..." the maid muttered, but someone quickly walked past her. Helise went to chase after him, nearly bumping into the maid again. However, Helise still remembered to wave and apologize to the maid.

The adventurer watched, somewhat bewildered, grabbed a piece of bread, and took a big bite. "You young people are really interesting, turning on each other so quickly."

"Perhaps," the child wrapped in the cloak spoke up—surprisingly, it was a calm voice, belonging to a little girl.

"Compared to that, Arthur is very calm. It's no wonder he can become the King of England," the man with the lake-blue hair said with a smile.

She wasn't King Arthur or the King of England; she was just Fatenai.

"Sorry, he has some delusions. He was hit on the head by a monkey in the forest last time," Fatenai glanced at the adventurer and replied with remarkable calmness.

It was as if she had a turn of luck and summoned the legendary king's mentor, Arthur's guide, the powerful mage Merlin. However, it was unclear if she herself lacked magic, or if the magic in this world was too scarce to sustain such a legendary figure—his memories and cognition were distorted.

Specifically, Fatenai was mistaken for King Arthur.

"That's very unfortunate," the adventurer agreed after thinking about it. "Are you also going to... Eisole Forest?"

An irritable adventurer who couldn't see, a little girl, and a mage with a head injury from a monkey and delusions—let alone this adventurer, even Fatenai felt like this was a suicide squad.

"Theoretically, I live there," Fatenai said after thinking for a moment. "Thank you for your concern..."

Fatenai disliked interacting with strangers. Just as she was about to politely end the conversation, she heard the sound of a fight suddenly erupt in the distance—it sounded like tables were being overturned. For a moment, the adventurers fell silent.

"Hey, blind man, pay for my stuff! You smashed it!" Fatenai frowned and got up to walk over—she had been paying attention to Hubert and Helise's situation, and they were indeed at the scene of the incident. As she approached, she saw a man with a scar on his face glaring fiercely at Hubert.

"I don't know that adventurers only make money with such petty tricks. Don't force me to strip you of all your dignity," Hubert, who was at the center of the incident, stood before the fierce-looking adventurer, his voice almost cold.

Fatenai walked towards the crowd, looking at the whispering people, feeling a sense of unease.

"Hey, what happened here?" Just as Fatenai finally decided to ask, the adventurer who had sat next to them, still wearing his cloak, spoke up first.

"Uh... that blind guy wasn't watching where he was going and smashed the adventurer's golden pocket watch," the adventurer who was asked said.

That sounded like nonsense—gold was not an ordinary metal; it was exceptionally precious in this world. She didn't believe an adventurer would own a pocket watch made of gold.

But she quickly realized it was a complete scam—looking at the other adventurers, they seemed accustomed to it.

This is difficult—Fatenai looked at Hubert and couldn't help but feel powerless. Ever since Merlin defeated Morton yesterday, they had arrived at Helurando, which served as a supply post. Since then, the injured Hubert had become very strange in temper, irritable, and... Fatenai thought, somewhat childish.

"You..." Helise wasn't stupid; she could see what the troublemaking adventurer was planning and said with a frown.

"Hey, stop that," but someone else beat her to it. The adventurer still wearing a cloak spoke loudly, "Lying is a bad thing, especially to a young adventurer."

"I'm not lying! Who are you to meddle in other people's business!" the adventurer said, taking a sudden step forward. The adventurer still wearing a cloak took a step back, avoiding his attack, but was grabbed by the hood by the adventurer's accomplice.

The cloak was pulled off, but his movements didn't stop. Instead, he kicked the offending adventurer's knee backward, pulled his cloak back, and then unceremoniously threw the person away!

The adventurers watched this scene in surprise. Fatenai was the most surprised, simply because...

"Wickel?!" The adventurer whose hood had been pulled off looked exactly like Wickel.