Julius was also carrying Padding's Cross Sword today.
He didn't want to put this heavy and troublesome sword on the carriage, so he carried it all day long. Even when he was sleeping, he put it beside him.
It was inconvenient for him to move around while carrying a sword that was meaningless and useless to him. Sometimes, he would get in the way of others, but no one complained or pointed fingers at him because of this.
Lulunaka, who was the leader among the five, didn't care about Julius's excitement. After all, she was the one who gave him the sword.
Unlike before, he did not stop to take out the crossguard sword whenever he had the chance to rest. He even stroked it a few times as if it was his treasure. But the crossguard sword was indeed his treasure. He did not let it leave his side for even a moment.
Julius now carried the Cross Sword on his back and a pile of wet firewood in his hands. He followed behind Lulunaka.
After Lulunaka stopped the carriage, she immediately took Julius away from the almost deserted road and went into the forest. No one knew what she was doing.
Now it seemed that she had brought Julius to collect firewood, but what was strange was that what they brought back was a pile of wet, dark-colored branches.
These branches weren't thin. The thickness was as thick as Julius's forearm.
It would be difficult to use these branches of varying thickness as firewood because they had been moistened by the rain. If they were used to ignite the fire, it would probably extinguish it.
Julius was holding a pile of absorbent branches. He couldn't even walk steadily and nimbly.
He changed into a pair of straw shoes that he took from the carriage. In this muddy forest road, he didn't slip and fall on the ground. But now, he didn't look very good.
Olga and Padding, the two older men, were behind them. Romuona, who was near the front of the carriage, found a relatively clean place by the roadside. After sweeping away the insects and other things with her feet, she began to use the dry firewood to build a bonfire.
"Romuona, it's better not to light the fire so quickly. It's still early. It's not time to use fire to drive away the wild beasts." Lulunaka shouted to Romuona.
Behind her, Julius staggered.
Romuona rubbed the flint on a small piece of firewood. A flame appeared, and then she blew it out.
Since the firewood could be lit normally, it was enough. As Lulunaka said, now was not the time to light the bonfire. At least, it was better to wait until dinner time to light the fire.
When traveling, especially in places like the wild and the forest, it was better to be able to drink a mouthful of hot soup. Even if it was salted meat soup cooked with dried meat, it was always better than eating cold and hard bread.
However, Romuona didn't know whether she was traveling or fleeing.
Someone once wanted to take her life. Originally, no matter how lucky she was, she would have to live a life of wandering and fleeing. But now, in this forest with an inauspicious name, she was being led by someone, leisurely heading east.
She sighed and stopped thinking about it. She concentrated on building the bonfire.
On the other side, Julius couldn't help but complain to Lulunaka. "Why did you let me pick up these wet branches? These can't make a fire at all."
Lulunaka ran to the side of the carriage and climbed up. Her whole upper body was in the pile of goods.
When she heard Julius's words, she poked her head out. "Who said that the branches I let you pick up can't make a fire?"
"You can make these branches catch fire?"
"You'll know tonight."
Lulunaka waved her hand at Julius impatiently and then drove him away. "You go and pick up more branches for me. They must be in the muddy water and have been soaked by the rain. If I find a slightly dry branch, your soup, meat, and bread will be reduced tonight."
After hearing Lulunaka's words, Julius didn't dare to have any more opinions. He could only hum a few times and no longer complain.
The other party was the owner of this convoy. Her words were equivalent to everything. No one could resist her, and Julius was no exception.
Although Julius was still afraid of this' witch ', after being together for a period of time, his vigilance had been lowered a lot.
At least this witch wouldn't cook and eat a skinny teenager like him, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
And with Lulunaka by his side, his life was much better than when he was in the village. Not only did he get a precious and beautiful sword, but he could also drink soup and eat meat every day.
For Julius, this kind of life was much better than before. Even if Lulunaka intended to fatten him up before slaughtering him, Julius didn't intend to run away until the day he was slaughtered and eaten.
Julius put the wet branch next to the bonfire that Romuona had set up. Then, he happened to make eye contact with Romuona.
When he saw Romuona's eyes, Julius immediately turned his gaze to the other side. Romuona didn't turn her gaze away. She just stared at Julius who had turned his head to the other side, pretending not to care but was actually a little nervous. After a while, she lowered her head again.
In this small convoy, the two of them were the youngest.
Romuona was a few years older than Julius, but she was still far from being a teenager. As for Julius, he looked like a malnourished and thin bamboo pole. He didn't even have a fluffy beard on his face.
As for Lulunaka, who also looked very young and innocent, no one thought that she was really a teenager. A demon in human skin, a witch who ate children, a mage who regained her youth … There were many guesses about her, but none of them thought that she was as young as her appearance.
The young Julius and Romuiona, in a convoy with only two adult men and an alchemist of unknown age, perhaps should not have such an atmosphere of getting along with each other.
Julius was not a person who was afraid of strangers. He was kind and courageous. Although Romuona was once a noble, she didn't have the temper and attitude of a noble. She wouldn't really treat an orphan like Julius as a commoner … These two people had been together for a week, but they didn't talk much. They didn't even have close contact with each other.
They were both people who had faced death together, and Julius had even stopped Romuiona from committing suicide. The two of them should not have gotten along with each other in such an awkward way.
Olga was still a little wary of Padding, and he didn't intend to rekindle their friendship. Romuona and Julius were estranged. It was not the way two teenagers should get along.
Lulunaka was the only one who could get close to everyone. She looked like a warm character — if she hadn't done something terrible.
After Julius put down the things, Lulunaka's voice came again. "Go and pick up two more. I guess there are still a lot of wet branches in that place. But I won't let you take too many.
You must remember the way. Go and come back quickly. "
"You want me to go alone?
What if something jumps out and takes me away? "Julius heard Lulunaka say so and immediately shouted.
Lulunaka climbed onto the carriage. She only stuck her head out and smiled at Julius. "Aren't you very brave and want to be a hero?
Why are you so timid now?
Forget it. Let Ward go with you.
Ward! "Lulunaka shouted at her dog.
Ward had been squatting on the roof of the carriage at the front. It still looked listless. People couldn't help but wonder if it was a sick dog.
The fur on Ward's abdomen was not repaired by Lulunaka. It was just left there. And Ward didn't seem to like the feeling of the fur. It scratched it a few times when it had the chance. There was no yellow fur on its entire abdomen. There was only a silver luster. There was no flesh or blood on its silver steel body.
This artificial dog, which was called an alchemy product by Lulunaka, seemed to have nothing to do except eat and sleep every day. If it wasn't squatting on the roof of the carriage, it was squatting at Lulunaka's feet. Occasionally, it would use its nose to touch Lulunaka's calf. It seemed to be talking about something and barked a few times. Then, it would be silent again.
After being shouted by Lulunaka, Ward jumped down from the roof of the carriage and followed Julius.
Except for Lulunaka, this dog didn't seem to be very affectionate to other people. It wouldn't bark at people other than Lulunaka, but it also wouldn't listen to their orders.
It seemed that for Ward, only Lulunaka could order it around. Considering that it was Lulunaka's creation, this wasn't very strange.
Seeing that the yellow hairless dog came to his feet and didn't rub his leg or bark at him, Julius was stunned for a moment. He didn't immediately step forward.
It wasn't until this intelligent dog looked up at him with a questioning look in its eyes that Julius hurriedly lifted his feet and walked in the direction that Lurunaka had taken him to and back from.
After Julius and Ward left, Lulunaka jumped from the top of the carriage to the roof of the carriage in front of it.
The distance between the two carriages wasn't too far apart. It could be said that they were close together. However, the distance between the two carriages wasn't easy to jump over. But Lulunaka jumped over easily. The carriage under her feet shook a few times.
"It's still too early to be a hero."
Lulunaka looked in the direction where Julius and her dog had gone. "Being led by a dog can't be a hero."
Romuona was below, so she clearly heard Lulunaka's words.
She didn't speak, just lowered her head to light the firewood. No one knew what she was thinking now.