"Would you like some water?"
Seeing the sweat-covered youth beside her, Fu Hua thought for a moment before taking out a waterskin and handing it to him. They had already left the previous location and had been walking for nearly two hours.
This road was difficult to travel, and many places showed no sign of human habitation. As for buying a horse... that was even more impossible. Not only were horses strategic resources that ordinary people had no right to sell, but there were no horses nearby in the first place. They had not even seen a household that owned an ox.
Moreover, no one had specifically built or maintained this road, making it hard to traverse. Walking for two hours on it was far more exhausting than walking on a level cement road.
"Thank you!"
Looking at the waterskin Fu Hua had offered, Minamoto Mitsuyori took the cloth from his back and wiped away his sweat before accepting it.
Looking at the blazing sun overhead, he found this journey even tougher than he had imagined. In all his life, he had never walked this far before.
Even so, he did not complain.
"Here..."
After taking several sips from the waterskin, Minamoto Mitsuyori returned it to Fu Hua.
"Keep it. I have more."
Fu Hua shook her head and did not take it.
"Alright."
Minamoto Mitsuyori did not refuse.
"There's a good shady spot ahead. Let's go rest for a while." Fu Hua herself felt nothing at all, but looking at Minamoto Mitsuyori beside her... she felt he was nearing his limit.
"...Alright."
Though somewhat hesitant, he truly was running out of strength, so he nodded in agreement.
The two walked beneath a large tree ahead and found a patch of clean grass to sit on. Only then did Minamoto