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Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter SS3




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To The Old Couple’s Home 

This is where we part ways, then,” the old couple said, to my surprise. Lorraine felt similarly. We were traveling together on the carriage from Maalt to Hathara, and they were about to get off. Hathara was the final stop, so it was no surprise they were departing, but the location in question was odd. 

“You’re getting off here? Where’s your village?” I asked. They had said they were returning to their village, but there was nothing but trees as far as I could see. 

The old man, Al, answered. “After you walk through the forest for a while, you’ll come across a bridge. Crossing that brings you to our village. Usually our son and his wife come to get us, but our daughter-in-law is pregnant at the moment. They say she’s about ready to give birth, so I said there was no need for them to come get us in that state. We decided not to mention which day we would return. So we’ll be walking for a while.” 

“If we had told them we were coming, they might have asked the other villagers to come get us,” the wife, Char, said with a nod. “We would never want to put them through that sort of trouble.” 

Lorraine and I looked at each other. This seemed to be the first the coachman heard of this too because he looked at us with concern. His expression implied that he wanted us to take care of this old couple. His job was only to bring them this far, but leaving them to return home on their own was too dangerous. The coachman knew this well. Even so, he couldn’t leave the carriage. If he did, thieves could attack while it was unattended. That meant he could only ask me and Lorraine. 

“Lorraine, about those two,” I whispered. 

Before I could say more, she seemed to get it. “You want us to take them home, right? I know. Well, we should be able to get it done quickly enough. Even I can carry old people like this on my back.” 

“Right. Thanks.” 

“It’s nothing. To be honest, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night just letting them go on their own. How do we tell them, though?” 

These two didn’t even want to ask their fellow villagers for help. They felt their age was reason enough to loathe being a burden to others. That meant we had to convince them. 

The coachman gave us a helping hand. “Whoa! Dang thing,” he exclaimed in a deliberately loud voice. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked, going along with it. 

“Well, something’s a bit wrong with a wheel on this carriage. I can repair it, but it’ll take a bit. You mind waiting?” 

He was giving us time to take care of it. Lorraine and I nodded. 

“That will be fine. In the meantime, do you mind if we attend these two?” I said. “I haven’t really been to any villages around here, so I’m curious.” 

“Me neither,” Lorraine added. “The terrain in this region is fascinating. I’d like to check out the local cuisine and religion too.” 

“Yeah, go ahead,” the coachman said with a smile, and then he quietly thanked us. 

After that, Lorraine turned to the old couple. “Would you allow us to go to your village with you?” she requested. 

“Yes, in fact, that would be appreciated. It would be a bit unsafe to go by ourselves, wouldn’t it? Having some young people along will be reassuring.” 

“There’s plenty of great food at the village. We can give you some to take back with you, if you like.” 

The plan had worked. Lorraine, the coachman, and I nodded to each other, and then we headed to the old couple’s village. 


 

“Looks like we’re here.” 

“Yes, so it seems. Isn’t it beautiful, Lorraine?” 

The two of us?well, four of us, I guess?crossed the bridge and came to the entrance of a small but cozy village. Once we confirmed the path there was flat, we let the old couple off of our backs. We had carried them the whole way there. Thankfully, no monsters showed up, but it was a fairly rough road that likely would have tired the old couple out before they got there. I was deeply glad we attended them. 

“Mom! Pops!” a strapping young man shouted as the old couple approached the village. 

Behind him was a young woman holding her large stomach. “Mom! Dad!” she said similarly and slowly came closer. 

The old couple smiled at them. “Ah, it’s Ragis and Rindt. We just got back.” 

“Looks like you’re about ready to have the baby. I’m glad we made it back before we missed it.” 

“I said we’d come get you when you got off the carriage!” Ragis cried. “Why did you come all this way alone?! That’s dangerous!” He sounded angry, but it was only because he was concerned. 

The old couple likely realized that. “Well, we didn’t want to worry you.” 

“But look, these two came with us. They’re strong adventurers, see?” they said and pointed to us. That was the first time Ragis noticed we were there. 

He frantically ran up to us and groveled. “I’m so sorry my parents bothered you! But thank you! There have been a lot of monsters around here lately. I don’t know what would’ve happened if they came on their own. How can I ever repay you?” 

“Don’t worry about it. We just wanted to check out this village. Right, Lorraine?” 

“Yes, and if there’s anything this village is famous for, we’d love if you’d introduce us to it. We’d also like to hear about any legends or folktales you have.” 

“That’s a small price to pay for your generosity. This way, please.” 

After that, Lorraine and I were welcomed by the whole village. Out of concern for Lindt’s health, though, we asked them not to do anything too exhausting. The old couple cooked for us and told us some folklore, and that was the end of it. 

When we were ready to leave, we gave Lindt some potions. They significantly reduced the chance of death during childbirth. Ragis thanked us for this, but Lorraine shook her head and said it was nothing. 

“You’ve done so much for us,” Al said. “Thank you. You helped us when we didn’t even ask.” 

“We knew it would be hard to make it back to the village alone,” Char added. “But with our daughter-in-law so close to giving birth, we didn’t want to give them more to worry about. We owe you our lives. Not only us, but our son and his wife are indebted to you. We’ll never forget it.” 

The old couple realized they were in the wrong, and now it looked like they would rethink their choices. It was fine in the end, and Lorraine and I enjoyed ourselves. We got to learn about the local geography and traditions, some pretty big gains for us. 

“Just don’t do anything crazy from now on,” I said. 

“Yes, and treat us to something if we ever visit again. Right, Rentt?” 

“Sounds good to me, Lorraine.” 

With that finished, we returned to the carriage. By the looks on our faces, the coachman figured the old couple made it home in one piece. 

“All right, let’s move on,” he said, not asking us about it. As soon as we got on the carriage, he whipped the giant tortoise forward. 



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