Don’t Run Away My Lord

28 – The Grand and Beautiful Tower (2)

“Hmm… Let me see…”

Liana spread the map on the ground and found our current location.

“Right now, we are here…”

She looked around, flipped the map over, and muttered to herself.

“Isn’t it here… I’m pretty sure this mountain is that mountain…”

She looked at the map from behind, reached out her hand, and turned it in the correct direction.

“This is north.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s morning, and the sun is on the left, isn’t it?”

“Ah, I see. I was staring at it strangely.”

After a moment, Liana pointed to a certain spot.

“We are here now, Lord Erga.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Look at this. That mountain over there, and that river here. It’s right, isn’t it?”

“Good. Explain.”

The place we are in is near the border with the western Veravche Kingdom.

The Tarada Kingdom has a slightly elongated bread-shaped territory, and we are in the lower left corner.

The map didn’t show it in great detail, but it roughly indicated which territory this was.

“It’s called Goda Barony. But this map is also old, so I don’t know what it’s like now.”

“As long as we know the location, isn’t that enough?”

“Not quite, Lord Erga. It’s very important to know whose land we are stepping on.”

“Why?”

“If it’s a territory, the treatment of outsiders will vary depending on the lord’s disposition, and if we’re unlucky, they might impose excessive tolls.”

If it were a really good up-to-date map, it would have clear markings and a detailed guidebook for the area, according to Liana’s explanation.

In the Veravche Kingdom, there is hardly any information about the Tarada Kingdom on this map.

“Hey, Liana. But doesn’t Goda Barony sound familiar to you?”

“No? Not at all?”

Liana folded the map decisively and stood up.

“For now, let’s head towards the lord’s castle. Let’s wash up, eat, and sleep at the inn first, and then think about what to do.”

“You really prioritize eating and sleeping, don’t you?”

“Can you live without eating and sleeping?”

Liana retorted lightly, starting the conversation.

“If we go that way, we’ll reach Yeongjuseong, Erganim! Let’s go!”

* * * *

A few hours later, even though it was early winter, Liana was sweating profusely and staring intently at the map.

“Hmm… strange… this direction should be right…”

Liana muttered to herself as she roughly brushed off the hair stuck to her forehead.

If only she could transform into her true form and fly up into the sky to survey the area.

Or if she could use teleportation or reconnaissance magic.

But those kinds of magic are high-level spells that only real wizards can use.

Black Dragons are the only dragons that can use magic, but they can’t use anything beyond a certain level.

“Liana, give me the map. Let me take a look.”

“Can you see it?”

“At least roughly.”

I placed the map in the correct direction and surveyed the surrounding terrain.

“Hmm… this is where we were originally, right? And we traveled north for a while from there.”

“Yes… Did we change direction in the middle?”

I carefully examined the map and compared the direction of the sun and the terrain before coming to a conclusion.

“Liana, it seems like the map is wrong.”

“What?! What did you say?!”

“While we were climbing up, I kept checking the position of the sun. Considering the time we started, we should be around here, but the terrain is completely different.”

Riana, who looked at the place I pointed out, looked upset.

“Really… No more river and no more valley… What is this!”

“For now, since it looks like the sun will set soon, let’s find a place to camp. We can’t wander around blindly in the dark.”

“H

Like it if you like it, dislike it if you dislike it.

If other people had the same personality, maybe nothing like what happened in the Duchy of Tussenne would have occurred.

No, but if all humans were like Riana, maybe they wouldn’t have achieved a civilization that dominates the continent.

Without wearing clothes, they would probably laugh and eat fruits from the trees.

As I thought about that, a laugh escaped me without my realizing it.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, nothing. Just found it funny.”

“What?”

I sat down and watched Riana stirring the pot, and my eyes kept going to her buttocks.

Why are her buttocks so big when she’s so small?

I can’t tell if it’s because she gained weight or if she’s naturally like that.

But judging from the amount she usually eats, it’s probably because she gained weight.

She’s like a flower pig.

And then, another laugh escaped me.

“Erga-nim? Are you thinking of something funny?”

“I’m not thinking of anything.”

“Then come and see if the stew tastes right.”

I got up from my seat and tasted the soup Riana handed me.

And that’s when the laughter that had come out disappeared.

“But why do you keep making stew?”

After finishing their meal, Rianna lay diagonally on top of the fallen leaves and pouted her lips.

“There’s no food as comfortable as stew when traveling like this. And besides stew, I don’t know how to make any other dishes.”

“I see…”

To be honest… Rianna is really bad at cooking.

But even if I try to do it, she never lets me touch it and insists on doing it all herself.

When I ask why, she says it’s because she’s my guide.

Of course, it’s convenient for me, but… Rianna’s stew is a bit difficult to eat.

It would be nice to find a colleague who is good at cooking…

But even if we meet someone who is skilled in cooking, will they really stay with us?

Rianna and I have nothing.

We are foreigners and have nothing to our name.

We do have a considerable amount of coins, but money disappears when you spend it.

Right now, we are spending more than we are earning, and if we have one more companion with us, the speed at which the money disappears will only increase.

We need to become lords as soon as possible or find temporary work to earn money.

But we don’t even know where to go…

But well, it doesn’t matter.

It’s much better now than when we lived in the habitat.

I can move freely and the cute guide makes me tasteless stew.

The polymorphic body is powerful, and there are enough coins in the bag to not starve immediately.

And above all, I have the goal of becoming a lord.

A goal that I have set for myself and must pursue.

As long as I have that, no matter how dire the situation, it won’t be the worst.

“Erga-nim. Shall we play Mankala?”

Liana, who was turning the wyvern’s eggs around the bonfire, evenly distributing the fire, asked.

“Sure. What are we betting?”

“Obviously, gold coins. We’ll bet with the gold coins in our bags.”

Liana took out Mankala from her bag and spread it on the ground.

“I won’t go easy on you this time. Is that okay?”

“Who said I wanted you to go easy on me?”

Liana confidently arranged the colorful stones of Mankala.

* * * * *

After a while, I had to comfort Liana, who was shedding tears, by returning all the gold coins I had won.

After losing multiple rounds in a row and having more than ten coins taken away, Liana decided to stop. She quietly put away Mankala and burst into tears while fiddling with the wyvern’s eggs.

“Why does someone who loves money so much gamble on something that can’t be won?”

“I thought I would win this time…”

Liana replied as she pushed the returned gold coins into her bag.

“Dragons must be really clever. I’ve never been able to win even once…”

“Well… I’ve never really thought about it that way.”

I thought to myself, jokingly considering saying, “Maybe it’s because you’re stupid,” but I thought she might cry again, so I kept it to myself.

“It’s getting late, and I should sleep now. If I’m unlucky, I’ll have to wander outside all day tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

They threw more firewood into the bonfire and entered their sleeping bags.

Liana went to a place where the campfire couldn’t be seen from outside and relieved herself.

The sound of her urinating was so loud that it could be heard from here.

“hehehe… feels refreshing.”

Liana crawled into the single sleeping bag and giggled softly.

“It’s really cold outside. It looks like it’s going to snow soon.”

“It’s winter.”

“We should find a suitable territory before it gets too cold.”

“That’s right. Otherwise, we’ll have to find work during the day in winter.”

“Exactly. We need to save the money we have in case we can buy a territory.”

“Why gamble with such precious money?”

“hehehe.”

Liana laughed foolishly and buried herself in my arms.

“Eruga’s embrace is always warm.”

“Sleep well, Liana.”

“Goodnight, Eruga.”

We embraced each other, sharing body heat, and fell asleep.

I woke up early the next morning, feeling a pleasant sensation.

Liana was sleeping with her back turned towards me, and my arms were wrapped around her, my hand resting on her chest.

The soft and squishy feeling was so satisfying that I decided to keep touching her until Liana woke up.

We’ve become quite close, so I guess this is okay.

I don’t know much about human socializing, but if it’s similar to other species or animals, the extent of physical contact would naturally increase as we become closer.

If we’re not at that level… I can just apologize and say sorry.

As I twisted and played with Liana’s large and firm nipples, something suddenly flashed through my mind.

Wait a minute… Liana mentioned yesterday that this place is called Goda Barony…?

Goda Barony… Right…

I’ve heard that somewhere before…

Maybe I can make a big move before the snowfall.