NOVEL NEXT Duchy of Kapatia.
It’s a relatively large duchy that borders the Sea of Alter.
To the north, it shares borders with the Principality of Glakien, and to the south, it’s close to the Republic of Mareia.
To the west, you’ll find the Infura Church Region and the Mage Community, while to the east lies the Republic of Emporussia, across the Sea of Alter.
With the Imporussia Mountain Range at its back, it’s like a natural fortress, and thanks to the rich seafood from the Sea of Alter and trade with the Emporussia Republic across the sea, it’s also a very prosperous nation.
Moreover, Kapatia is the central nation of the Empire of Kapatia Multitude—a hub of the empire itself.
At night, the streets reek of fish.
The scent of the sea creatures caught during the day lingered as a strong reminder, roaming the streets.
The Kapatia Empire—the Empire of Kapatia Multitude.
This Kapatia, the core of the union of various nations, was indeed a very wealthy state, but as always, that wealth only served to enrich those who already had plenty.
The richest duchy on the northern continent—Duchy of Kapatia.
At the heart of this prosperous duchy stands Kapatia, its lively downtown.
Boasting glowing stones as large as an adult’s torso, the mansion, lit up like daytime, proudly shows off its wealth, standing just across from a grand palace.
The old-fashioned mansion looked almost bleak at first glance.
The wrought iron gates barred guests, and as one looked to the sides, the vastness seemed to stretch endlessly.
Entering through the front gate revealed a garden so expansive that the mansion appeared distant, overwhelming any who dared to gaze upon it.
On this dark and ambitious night, candlelight flickered in the central section of the third floor of the mansion.
“—Yes, yes… Alebians. Soon, I will be able to see the child you were so desperate to hide.”
Peering out at the pitch-black street through slightly parted red curtains, the old woman tilted her wine glass.
The deep red wine cascaded, moistening her lips, before flowing down her throat.
“I feel so good, so much.”
She set down her wine glass.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she trembled slightly.
Her slit-like eyes, narrowed in a smile, remained fixed on the window outside.
“I wonder what kind of child it will be. What personality, what face, what voice… Alebians, I can’t wait to see what the jewel you held looks like. I’m shivering with excitement.”
Dressed in pure white, the woman shivered once more.
“It’s alright, yes… I have great patience. I can wait as long as it takes. Yes, as long as needed.”
“I’m very patient, you know. I can wait forever. Yes, forever.”
The wine glass revealed its floor.
Even though the red wine was long gone, the woman continued to lick the wine glass.
“Isn’t this just fratricide?”
“Orcs and wild orcs are different.”
James retorted while pulling an arrow out of the wild orc’s forehead.
“Humans kill each other too. What’s the big deal about orcs killing orcs?”
That’s pretty persuasive.
Yona thought James was smarter than he looked.
It had already been a week since they left the village.
James, being an exceptional archer and guide, made it easier to move quickly by just following his lead.
“Feels like there are a lot more monsters around.”
Kaiyak dusted off his axe and glanced around.
Sure, wild orcs and wild goblins weren’t uncommon, but they had already encountered monsters several times.
It wasn’t strange that encounters were happening; it was strange how frequent they were.
‘It feels like the encounters are off, doesn’t it?’
Yona thought while healing the scratch on Alex’s thigh.
It was a game term, but you know, when you’re wandering around and bump into a monster in the game.
She had been a adventurer for three years after all.
She could totally tell that this situation was a bit odd.
“Where are we now?”
At Yona’s words, Kaiyak unfolded the map again.
He looked at it for a bit, then let out a grunt and passed the map to James.
“Just hold onto it, James. That’s probably for the best.”
“Good thinking.”
James took the map and looked at it, then lifted his head to scan the area again.
Even though there were only mountains and plains around, making it hard to figure out where they were on the map, James pointed to one side.
“This should be about here.”
“Get your fingers out of the way.”
Thanks to the thick fingers typical of orcs and beastfolk, it was hard to see where he was pointing.
With a friendly smile, James moved his fingers aside and lightly touched the map with his nail.
“This should be just above the Mareya Republic’s border. To get to the Duchy of Kapatia’s border, we need to head straight north.”
“So this place must at least be somewhere people should be, right?”
“Exactly. Well, we should see a village soon.”
Yona was delighted to hear that.
I was really glad to hear that.
It had been a week since we left James’s village, and in that time, the adventurers, including Yona, had been continuously camping out.
Camping itself was fine, but thanks to an unexplainable increase in monster encounters, I was often jolted awake during the night. I couldn’t get a good, deep sleep at all.
Just as I would start to drift off, another attack! Move the camp, and just when I would try to sleep again, bam, another attack!
At this rate, I could really feel myself getting worn out.
“Good thing, Yona. You’ll be able to rest properly when we reach a village.”
“Like you’re not tired too? Huh? Getting mad, are we?”
At Yona’s words, Alex chuckled quietly.
She was right, Yona looked exhausted with fatigue plainly written on her face. Still, it was kind of cute how she didn’t realize it.
“Anyway, let’s hurry up and move. It’d be nice to stay in a village for the night.”
At Kaiyak’s urging, Yona spun around, pretending to throw a punch at Alex.
Underneath Yona’s nun outfit, her creamy thighs were revealed, along with a hunting knife hanging from her waist.
Alex felt pleased.
“There’s no village.”
James, our archer, led the way across the plains.
Even after we reached the edge of the open fields, there was still no sign of a village.
James looked at the map again, but there was nothing in the place where a village should be.
“Are you sure you’re not misreading the map, James?”
“No way! Even if I haven’t adventured in a while, my skills are sharp as ever. My axe skills are probably better than your writing skills, you know.”
“That’s hilarious. That’s even funnier than saying wild orcs can read.”
“Not funny at all.”
Even in this situation, the two of them were indulging in banter, which wasn’t something we needed right now.
Seeing the irritation bloom on Yona’s face, Alex quickly stepped forward and slapped Kaiyak and James on the waist.
“Alright, so what are we going to do today? Since there’s no village, I guess we’ll have to camp again. But I’m feeling a bit uneasy, so maybe we should also take a bath? What do you think?”
“Hmmm, a bath, huh?”
“That sounds decent. Look, there’s a river over there.”
Where James was pointing, there was a river with pretty clear water flowing.
It wasn’t a huge river, but there was plenty of water.
No matter how rough the adventurers got, they didn’t neglect hygiene.
Maintaining cleanliness is essential for survival, so we prefer to wash up when we can.
“Not a bad idea. It’d be good to do some laundry too.”
Kaiyak nodded, stroking his chin.
“But what about you, Yona?”
“…Me? What about me?”
When Kaiyak looked at her, Alex and James’s gazes turned towards Yona as well.
Alex and James’s gazes turned toward Yona in unison.
“We’re going to take a bath, what about you?”
“I’m doing it too!”
“What?”
Kaiyak burst out laughing in disbelief.
“I thought you might say that.”
Dressed only in their underwear, Kaiyak, Alex, and James jumped into the river to enjoy their bath.
They were so filthy that even in the cold water, dirt just oozed off them when they tried to scrub.
“Is that how you wash?”
Yona had entered the water still in her nun outfit.
She hadn’t even loosened the Sacred Barrier.
Alex, who had a slight expectation, was now bearing a great disappointment compared to that tiny hope as he asked Yona.
“I’m fine like this.”
“How can you be fine while washing in your clothes…?”
“Hey, Alex.”
Yona approached Alex, splashing water as she went.
She scooped up water and poured it over his head, then ruffled his hair with a mischievous grin.
“I know what you were expecting. I’m aware I’m a girl, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to flaunt my body carelessly.”
“…I didn’t expect anything.”
It was a lie, but still.
“Geez, you gloomy bald guy. Just use that breast-massaging privilege. I can let you use it right now.”
Yona, dripping wet in her nun outfit, proudly lifted her breasts and flashed a playful look at Alex.
Though it seemed impossible, Alex managed to tear his eyes away from her bouncy breasts.
“…Don’t.”
“What do you mean, don’t? Huh? What do you mean don’t?”
“…Sorry to interrupt while you’re having fun, but what’s this breast-massaging privilege?”
Kaiyak chimed in sneakily.
And behind Kaiyak, James was watching with a curious expression.
“Well, Alex got seriously injured before and said he’d let me massage his breasts if he recovered. And now he’s alive.”
“Hey, hey! Why are you saying that?!”
Alex tried to stop Yona, but Kaiyak calmly restrained him.
With a vice grip around Alex’s waist, he held him in place while Alex squirmed to escape.
“So I offered for him to massage, but he hasn’t done it yet. He says he’ll do it next time? And he’s just sitting here like this.”
The expressions of Kaiyak and James upon hearing the whole story were quite a sight.
A mix of pity and concern—two emotions that seemed incompatible—crossed their faces as they looked at Alex.
“Uh, hey, Alex, your face is turning red? You look just like a boiled octopus.”
What’s up with the octopus…
Alex just hoped this moment would end, and fast.