Chapter One: Riding Towards the Dawn (Pt.24 Final)

In the candlelight wholeheartedly making the sword belt, is this girl really Jamini? She is fully focusing on the needlework, her face muscles are all relaxed, revealing a serene face. I unwittingly said:

"My destiny... Really strange. Even in Summer, I couldn't imagine that I actually would be going to the capital. And now because it's Autumn..."

Jamini is stitching while answering:

"Because it's Autumn?"

"Yea. Into the Autumn, Cathselprime appeared, I became a wizard's assistant, Dad became Amutaat's captive, and lastly I have to go to the capital. I had heard that Autumn has magic..."

"What do you mean? Why do you say that Autumn has magic?"

"This is Autumn. During Spring and Summer, the vitality of all lives on the earth burns vigorously. But once they're touched by the hand of Autumn, this vitality disappears. And soon after it'll be Winter, which represents death. So Autumn is very mysterious. The dying life. The looming death. In the short while between the vitality disappears and the death comes, all mysterious things will happen. That is the magical time appears in Autumn."

"Magihal Kime? (Magical Time?) "

Jamini is trying to cut the thread with her teeth, so the pronunciation is a bit strange. She could wait until the line is cut before she spoke, but she just said it out. Really cute. I smiled. I tell her the story about this magical time that Karl likes a lot.

"In different places, this so-called Magical Time is different too. What can be determined is that, it must be in a certain period during Autumn. If someone happened to get to a place which's in Magical Time, he will meet  a variety of rare things. In the short autumn, from the fallen leaves covering the earth, until the first snow descending, this person will get a memory that remains forever, that sometimes he himself may not notice. He might just remember what happened in that Autumn, after a few years, or when he gets old, he would suddenly found the time special. But in case someone know that he has entered the Magical Time, from the fallen leaves covering the earth, until the first snow descending, he can achieve something amazing. "

"Oh my god ..."

"When King Rhuterino started the Glorious Seven Weeks War, it was also the time that leaves started falling. You should know the story of him defeating Dragon Lord? In the end of the tragic war, Dragon Lord finally fell down. But then snow began floating down from the sky. As a result, King Rhuterino couldn't even lift his sword, so Dragon King just fled. And King Rhuterino could no longer use a sword since then."

"So, that period was..."

"The Magical Autumn of King Rhuterino. Before the onset of Winter, he completed the greatest thing in his life, but at the same time that thing is also uncompleted."

Why does Karl like this story? I wonder if it's related to this incomplete ending? I don't like this kind of stories. I like the one which is simple and complete. But this story seems to suit Jaimini's taste. Jamini is holding her cheeks, made an expression showing that she's immersed in the fantasy. Then Jamini seemed to suddenly awake, and said:

"Done. Put it on and have a look. "

I looked at the sword belt that Jamini made for me. She's not able to make a delicate belt that can be worn around the waist, so this is just a thing that is attached to the scabbard, and can be hung on the shoulder. Once I put the bastard sword on my shoulder, Jamini said like apologizing:

"It'd be great if it can be tied on your waist..."

"Not at all. Now my both hands are free, I also feel very comfortable when I walk. It's fine."

I put on this thing, and then tried to pull out my sword, managed to pull it out uneasily. What do you expect? this is not an ordinary sword, but a 2 cubits long greatsword. I bothered for a while, then moved my left arm around to the back, pulled down the scabbard and tried to pull again. This time I pulled it out smoothly. I suddenly feel great that I don't have a shield. I deliberately showed Jamini that I can pull out the sword easily, and then said:

"Clang! Not bad huh? It suits exactly with the length of my arm. Thank you."

Jamini chuckled. I plugged the sword back again and said:

"It's very late already. You should go. Go home, I'll take you back."

Jamini picked up her shawl on the bed, wrapped her head and shoulder. I took a lamp and went out.

"Do you want to try riding?"

Jamini riding on Jamini. Ha, really interesting. Although Jamini looked a bit scared, she agreed.

I took the horse over, made it stood still and then looked at Jamini. Jamini looks a bit embarrassed. In fact, so am I. I grabbed Jamini's waist, lifted her to the horseback. It was a simple task for me, moreover I have OPG now, she is even lighter. Jamini is sitting sideways on the horseback, I gave her the lamp, and then grabbed the rein and began bringing the horse to walk. In the wind of the autumn night, the rare crunch sound makes people feel very unique. If it's winter night, the leaves will be like going to fall, issue buzzing sound, but autumn night is not like this. We are listening to the sounds of crickets, walking into the woods. Jamini on the horse is holding the oil lamp, the light shines us into a gray. The surrounding trees also seem to absorb the light directly.

But I feel very happy. Tomorrow, I'm going to depart. While we are going to be right back, but even just for a while, the scenes around seem to become brand-new, are approaching to me. I plugged one hand in my pants, and another hand is grabbing the rein, walking while whistling. The horse is very well-behaved and obedient. Does this guy know Jamini has the same name as it? Why is it so docile? Jamini who's sitting on the house is stroking the horse's mane, and also singing along with my whistles. Occasionally her hand would block the light from the oil lamp on her another hand, she would see the shadow and scare herself, then quickly put her hand down. Whenever this happened, Jamini would nervously scream, and I would giggle.

Joyce said that the two of us are like a noble lady and a knight apprentice? Now this scenario seems to be really alike. I have nothing to say.

※

Huh? Strange. The road became shorter? We can now see Jamini's home in front. I scratched my head, and let the horse stop, and then turned my head and stretched out my arms. Jamini didn't think anything and jumped down. At the moment I seized Jamini's waist in the air, a plan emerge in my mind.

I grabbed Jamini but didn't put her down, I said:

"Oh really. Jamini?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want me to give you a suggestion?"

"What?"

"You have to be careful, don't put yourself into a situation that you can't escape."

Jamini didn't understand what I'm saying, but I still followed my plan. Jamini is now in my arms, where can she escape? Jamini's eyes suddenly widened...

※

....After a while, I put Jamini down, then picked up the lamp she dropped on the ground, rode on the horse and ran away like lightning. Than Jamini began to yell:

"Hey! Huchi! Your bad! Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

That's why I told her not to fall into a situation that she can't escape. Even so, I'm no where better than her. Judging by I think Jamini is beautiful this fact, I will probably be her knight for a lifetime. It seems that this is my miserable fate.

※ ※ ※

The next day before the sun rises, in the gray dawn, I nailed up my house's door.

I thought I am doing something awesome, but think about it carefully, I'm just nailing up a door. But the problem is, this is the home I've stayed for 17 years since I was born.

I heard that our king had a bad brother. This brother should have been the king. But he has a very bad personality, his behavior is also a mess, so the House of Lords banished his identity, put his brother into the seat of the Crown Prince.

The story of this banished Crown Prince reminds me one thing that is very consistent with my current situation. This banished prince nailed up his room one day. The internal staffs of the palace were surprised, and asked him the reason, he said:

"My future is out there somewhere, so I have to go outside, but the past I cherish is inside here, so I will come back before I die. Without the past there will be no future, so I want this room sealed until that time."

Then he ran out of the palace, on that day he got banished by the House of Lords.

Yes, no matter what kind of wanderer, in the end there is a place for him to go back. Maybe the home he escaped from, or homeland, even orphans, he has somewhere hiding his precious memories. He will yearn this place throughout his life constantly, and gain the power to continue travelling from the yearn. Conversely, to nail up his own past, means that he is going to put himself to an adventurous future.

Ah! I'm too good in speaking. Because my heart was strangely excited suddenly, I accidentally hammered my finger twice.

I tossed my finger while locked up the workshop, then I put on the harnesses on the horse, began to go to  Karl's home. While the morning mist shrouded around, I've never got lost because of this.

Karl is doing the same works as I did before. He stopped and noticed me, then showed a smile.

"Ah, you are really early, Nedval."

I smiled, took the hammer with nails from him, nailed one in each room. Carl shook his head with a smile.

"You can now control your strength very well. Looks very natural huh?"

"Because I received that kind of ridiculous training everyday. What's on your back?"

There's a longbow on his back. Karl shrugged his shoulders, said:

"Because, after all, it's a trip, we have to be armed, don't we? I still know a little archery."

"But where's Sanson?"

Then there was a sound of hooves, Sanson's shadow appeared in the fog. He hastily stopped the two horses and then jumped down.

"Hah..Hah.... Sorry! You waited long?"

"No, no. We were just ready."

I looked at the face of Sanson, almost laughed out loudly. Sanson's eyes are red. He probably cried in the morning when he stepped out from his home. No, no. Hum, how would he let his father Joyce see him like this... Ahhh!

I approached Sanson. Sanson saw me making a sinister smile and walking towards him, immediately put out a vigilance expression. I suddenly drilled my nose to Sanson's chest, Sanson was scared and stepped back.

"Ah... It smells so good!"

Sanson not just swallowed my bait, even peremptorily swallowed the hook.

"Hey! Huchi, what, what's the smell?"

"You turn really fast! Hehehehe! "

He must have hesitated for a long time, then finally sneaked to see the girl on the way to here.

Then he must hugged and cried with her. I deliberately imitated the sound of a man and a woman said:

"You've just came back, now you are leaving again!"

"I'm sorry, but I am a soldier..... Wouuu, in fact, I don't want to leave too, Wouaaaa!"

"Ah, so this is our destiny? We should use love to face this punishment bravely!"

Sanson's face is turning red and green, I laughed and got on the horse. Karl got to know which one is his horse, then loaded his stuffs on it, then got on the horse with skilled actions. Really good at riding. Envy. But Sanson is still dejected, with a depressed expression. Karl found that Sanson looks lost, began as if to cheer him up.

"Percival, don't worry. We are not going to do something like fighting Amurtaat, are we? And if you can perfectly fulfill your duty in this mission, then its the greatest loyalty to our thane. '

"This, this is certainly! I'll lead the way."

"Do you know the way?"

"Last night I read the geography books until late night. So the path, time, necessary supplies places and estimated speed are all considered."

"Then I trust you, we'll just follow you."

Sanson even made a salute, and then began to walk in front of us. The fog is very thick, and it's forest, so there is no way to run. Therefore, we are slowly walking out of the village.

Once we are outside of the village, Sanson began to accelerate, made the first step to the capital with the speed of a rushing horse. Now the sun is rising, the road ahead us is dyed golden. Such a starting really give us a very good mood. The fog instantly dispersed, we all increased our speed all a sudden. The pain yesterday came back again. My waist is very painful, but because Sanson and Karl are running easily, so I can't be left behind alone too.

The sun is irradiating at our eyes, the wind is striking at our eyelids, it feels warm and cold.

The three of us began riding towards the dawn.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※  End of Chapter One  ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※