Yōki shook her head, indicating that she could still walk.
"You don't have to rush so much. Rest for a while first! Have some water!"
Mei handed the waterskin in her hand to Yōki.
"Thank you."
Yōki did not refuse. She took it and drank a mouthful, then returned it to Mei.
"Once we get through this stretch, the road ahead should be much easier. Then we can buy a carriage and won't have to walk so hard anymore."
They had barely encountered anyone along the way. They had seen a few villages, all tiny places with fewer than a hundred people.
Forget horses—there were not even two cows.
"Mm, but... I'm also happy walking roads like this. Although it's a little tiring, I've seen so many things I'd never encountered before." Yōki was quite satisfied with things as they were and did not necessarily need to visit those towns.
This kind of remote wilderness felt pretty nice too. Of course, that was mainly because Mei and the others were with her, so she did not have to worry about food or drink.
It looked like wilderness survival, but it was actually a wilderness vacation.
"...As long as you're happy!"
Mei looked at Yōki before her. She was now completely different from how she had been at the beginning.
Her attire no longer resembled that of an aristocratic young lady from this era. Instead, she looked more like a modern girl.
Since they were out in the wild with no one else around, and they had been hurrying along in the heat... Yōki, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, did not feel the slightest embarrassment.
Along the way, they also encountered some yokai. Apart from the sensible ones that fled early, Mei slaughtered every yokai foolish enough to remain.