Deep into the night, the stars once again filled the sky.
The Ingenious did not continue forward in the night. Instead, it stopped at a place not far from the main road.
It was unknown whether they were lucky or unlucky. After leaving the town with the pier, they did not see a place to stay until the sky darkened.
Now, around the Ingenious, there were only endless plains. In the distance, they could see low mountains and sparse forests.
No matter how they looked at it, they were now in a wasteland. There was only one relatively flat and clean road. It could be considered the only existence with the attribute of civilization.
Beside the Ingenious, a bonfire was lit. Two young people and an old man sat together. In this cold weather, they enjoyed the rare warmth.
At night, the temperature dropped even lower. The wind became even colder. Julius felt his numb face being melted by the bonfire. His heart also warmed up.
He placed his hands in front of the bonfire. The hair on his hands was gone. His skin felt a slight burning pain. For someone who had fought with fire demons before, this degree of pain was not enough for him to pull his hands away.
"It's so warm."
Lulunaka sat opposite Julius. Romuona sat beside her. "The bonfire is a good thing. It can even save money on accommodation … There's nothing better than a bonfire."
"If you get too close, your face will be dry." Romuona was preparing dinner.
There was a small iron pot above the bonfire. Jerky was cooking in the pot. There were seasonings in the soup. The aroma wafted far in the air.
It was not a special delicacy. But in the cold wind, it was enough to whet one's appetite.
"Even a leaky house is more comfortable than lying down in the wilderness." Julius said. "If I lie down in a place like this, I might freeze to death the next day."
"Your body is too weak. You're going to freeze to death like this."
Lulunaka's face became a little strange because of the warmth of the bonfire. It looked as if it had been roasted by the fire. She looked soft and her eyes were opening and closing, as if she would lie down at any time.
No matter how warm the bonfire was, Julius and Romuona's faces were still tense. In this kind of night, no matter how warm the bonfire was, nature always had a way to make you feel cold.
"Eat something before you rest."
Romuona noticed that Lulunaka was drowsy. At this time, dinner was ready. She handed a bowl full of jerky and soup to Lulunaka.
Lulunaka narrowed her eyes and took the bowl. She held it in her hands. Her current state made people worry that she couldn't even hold a bowl. "It smells so good … I want to eat ten bowls."
"No, if that's the case, you'll eat all the dinner."
Julius filled a bowl for himself and poured cold water on Lulunaka. "If you starve for the night, you'll really freeze to death on the road tomorrow morning."
"I'm not that weak …" Lulunaka slowly drank the hot soup and murmured. "But when it's time to die, it'll die easily …"
Lulunaka was saying strange things again. Julius was already used to it and didn't intend to follow Lulunaka's words. He lowered his head and ate his dinner.
No matter what Lulunaka was thinking, it was definitely unrealistic to enjoy the so-called delicious food in this kind of place. After dinner, she actually planned to lie down and sleep by the bonfire. In the end, it was Romuona who carried her back to the carriage and let her lie down in a corner.
The alchemy inside the carriage was still warm, so Lulunaka didn't feel cold when sleeping by the side.
Romuona saw Lulunaka's sleeping face with a smile. If this was the first time they met, Lulunaka would probably think that Romuona was a happy child.
For Romuona, the Lulunaka she saw on that sunny day was already a very distant existence.
And the one in front of her, no matter how much she looked like a child, she couldn't really treat her like that.
After putting Lulunaka down, she left the carriage and returned to the bonfire, sitting opposite Julius.
Julius was reaching out towards the bonfire, his palm facing the burning flames. "I'll keep watch for the night. You can go rest." Julius said to Romuona.
In this kind of wilderness, it was always right to leave someone to keep watch. Night and day were different. A place that was peaceful during the day was not necessarily safe at night.
Moreover, for them, this was the first time they set foot on a completely foreign land. They didn't know what would happen in this land, in this country. Even if Julius was a citizen of this country, it was really too difficult to expect a child from a village to understand what was going on in the country. Not to mention a youth who had just left the village that raised him and didn't have such a concept in his mind at all.
Romuona shook her head. "It's hard to sleep beside her."
Julius seemed to have heard something interesting and showed a strange expression. "You've been sleeping with her all the time, squeezing on the same bed, right?"
"Although it's said to be sleeping together, I've never been used to it."
Romuona replied, her eyes looking at the bonfire. There were flames in her pupils, which made her eyes brighten.
"Do you know what she looks like when she's sleeping?"
In response to Romuona's question, Julius thought for a while before replying with a cautious look. "Her sleeping posture is ugly?"
In response to Julius's answer, Romuona chuckled, which made Julius feel a little awkward.
"She does give people such an impression." Romuona said.
Julius nodded, but Romuona's next words did not agree with Julius's words. "But it's not like that."
She turned her head and looked at the Ingenious. In it, Lulunaka slept alone.
"Sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night and see her sleeping face, I feel like I'm sleeping beside a dead person.
She was lying motionless beside me. She seemed to have stopped breathing, and her chest didn't rise and fall at all … "At this point, Romuiona stopped talking and looked at Julius." Do you think it's strange for her to be like this?
Or did you already know about this because you've always been by her side? "
This was the first time Julius heard that Lulunaka would sleep like a dead person. And looking at Romuona's reaction, it was not an exaggeration, but a fact.
Julius scratched his face. Because he had been facing the bonfire for too long, he felt that his face was a little dry and itchy. "Isn't she like this?"
Romuona was silent for a while, then smiled. "It seems to be so."
The two did not know what to say, but in the dark distance, a string of flames lit up, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard.