Chapter 26 : Purpure sets out on a pilgrimage to the great prairie

Anastasia’s parents and Irene saw us off as we embarked on our pilgrimage, and it was more peaceful than I had imagined!

“Giddy-up!”

Saint Dominicus was better at being a coachman than I expected.

He was so skilled that I could imagine he had received professional training in handling horses!

“Purpure will pat your shoulders.”

“I have received a great honor. Thank you, Great Demon Lord.”

The horses with shiny black fur ran diligently without rest through the green grasslands.

Thanks to that, the cool breeze blew, and Dominicus’s and my hair fluttered in the wind.

“Have you been a coachman before, Dominicus?”

“Yes, that’s right. I did various jobs before becoming a saint.”

“Did you eat monsters then too?”

Dominicus looked at me once through his fluttering brown hair and smiled warmly.

“Yes, that’s right. It was before I became a saint.”

“Then Dominicus became a saint through hard work.”

I patted Dominicus’s back with my small hands.

Unlike Maeve and me, who are comfortably sitting and enjoying the carriage ride, he has to keep working as a coachman.

To put it in perspective, it’s like Dominicus is driving when we’re traveling from Seoul to Busan…!

The terrifying Great Demon Lord didn’t rule demons and monsters with fear and power!

I have to do this kind of risk management as a matter of course!

“Thank you, Great Demon Lord. You’ve been working hard since morning, so you can go inside and rest.”

“But Dominicus is working hard, unlike Maeve.”

“Haha, it’s okay if you talk to me from inside, so you don’t have to worry.”

I was getting cold from the strong morning wind, so I was Concern .

“But Purpure should be next to you to keep you company and give you water…”

Dominicus smiled and suddenly stroked my head.

“It’s okay. I’m more worried that the Great Demon Lord might get hurt.”

“Awawa… Then I’ll work hard to help Dominicus from the carriage today.”

One day should be fine, right?

And he said I could talk to him from inside…!

I moved my small body diligently and entered the carriage.

“Welcome back~ Purpure! Did you see the scenery?”

It’s actually less than 30cm away!

Maeve treated me like a child who had gone on a great journey.

Why are you grabbing and squeezing my cheeks?!

“Awawa… Purpure came back safely…”

“Really? Your cheeks are a little cold. Shouldn’t you stay warm?”

“I’m fine! My cheeks aren’t mochi!”

I quickly escaped from her embrace because I thought she would take out a blanket from her bag and put it on me.

Ugh!! She thinks I’m too much of a kid!

Even though I look like this, in my first life, I was a man! In my second life, I was the terrifying Great Demon Lord!

“Hehe… She’s so cute.”

Maeve seemed to have been planning to tease me from the beginning, laughing and looking out the window.

The inside of the black carriage was spacious.

There were soft seats where four people could sit comfortably, and above them was a shelf where luggage could be placed.

There were square windows on both walls. They weren’t large, but they were enough to see the outside scenery.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve run through the Great Plains like this…”

Maeve smiled as she looked at the scenery of the Great Plains passing by quickly.

The endlessly spreading green grassland was so vast that if you stared at it blankly, you would mistake it for the carriage not moving.

The rocky mountains that could be seen far beyond, so far away that I wondered if the word horizon was used in times like this, told us that our pilgrimage was progressing steadily.

“Awawa… The scenery of the Great Plains is definitely completely different from East Haven.”

When I raised my head, the clear and high sky filled my vision.

Cute clouds in the shape of rabbits were floating around. It was a day that didn’t seem like it would rain a single drop.

This must be what Anastasia’s father meant when he said he really picked a good day!

“Right, right? East Haven has a lot of mountains and forests here and there.”

“It’s a place that sometimes feels trapped.”

“It wasn’t a feeling that I hated being stuffy~!”

Maeve stretched comfortably and naturally put her hand in her travel bag.

And in a move like taking out a snack, she took out well-dried jerky.

“Maeve! What are you doing!”

“Uh, I’m hungry?”

Maeve’s hand didn’t stop.

She also picked up a small bottle of alcohol and looked at me, blinking her eyes.

“Jerky is a precious emergency food!! You didn’t buy it to eat it while looking at the scenery here!”

“B, but! It would be perfect with alcohol?”

“Are you going to eat all the supplies in one day and whine that you’re hungry?!”

I couldn’t take it anymore and summoned the recorder and aimed it at Maeve.

“Eek…! O, one is okay, right!”

“Maeve is definitely a woman who will eat one and say she’ll eat two because she’s in a good mood!”

“But, but…! There’s alcohol too!”

“Even worse!! Put it down right now!!”

Are you crazy, really?! Do you not have a concept of planning!

Who thinks of drinking alcohol and eating jerky as soon as the trip starts?!

“Besides, alcohol makes you thirstier, so it’s not helpful for the trip at all!”

“But~ If I drink all of this, I can put drinking water in the empty bottle, so isn’t it a profit… Ouch!!”

I couldn’t take it anymore and hit Maeve’s chest with the recorder.

“I picked a lot of grass around, just like Purpure said!”

“Did you give it to the horses properly?”

“I gave it to them completely properly! Look over there!”

The place Maeve pointed to had a pile of grass that looked like it would be enough to bury two horses.

I didn’t ask for that much, but it’s okay because the horses can eat a lot.

“Dominicus worked hard today.”

It’s natural to praise someone who sits in a seat all day, whipping and pulling the reins of a horse.

Even if it’s just words going back and forth, the feeling that someone recognizes your hard work is precious!

“No. The Great Demon Lord also worked hard today, looking at the map together and talking about various things.”

“Me! What about me? Purpure? I also helped with things that required strength in the middle! I pushed when it was stuck in the mud!”

Maeve pointed to herself with her thumb and sat in a place where the red light of the crackling campfire warmly illuminated the surroundings.

The sound of burning firewood and the faint sound of insects could be heard. Under the night sky studded with stars, the warmth of the campfire
felt even more cozy.

“Maeve did well too. But the sin of eating a piece of jerky is deep.”

“That’s… I couldn’t help it because the alcohol was so delicious.”

I stroked Maeve’s head once too.

Even though Maeve is not immediately helpful on this trip, her invincibility in using strength cannot be ignored.

Honestly, I was surprised when the wheel got stuck in the mud in the middle, because even the horses seemed to have a hard time moving.

“May I ask what today’s meal is?”

Dominicus looked at me with subtly expectant eyes.

I was just taking out a cute pot, cutting board, and kitchen knife from my dedicated bag.

“I want to say. We’re on a pilgrimage right now!”

“Yes, that’s right? We’re going to the land of promise to regain Purpure’s memory and power.”

“That’s right. It’s a sacred mission. Even just crossing the Great Plains will be quite long.”

In front of the two nodding, I pointed to the carriage.

“So we have to eat the food we have smartly! We have to eat the things that spoil quickly first and balance the nutrients!”

“Can’t we just eat delicious things first?”

“Then Maeve will have to eat grass with the horses there in a week.”

“Ugh…!”

Maeve shook her head.

“Do you remember? What Anastasia’s father said.”

“Are you talking about the story that it usually takes about 3 months to cross the Great Plains?”

“That’s right. 2 months if you’re fast! Considering bad weather and various incidents, it takes 3 months!”

3 months! It’s not enough to say that it rivals the voyages of the Age of Exploration, but it’s definitely not a short time!

Maeve, knowing the weight of that time, pointed to the carriage with her thumb.

“Isn’t the food we brought not enough for that…?”

“That’s right. But merchants aren’t fools. They don’t carry all the food! There are bases where you can stop by in the middle.”

You can even meet other merchants.

I don’t know if they’ll accept the money we have or if we’ll have to barter, but there’s a way!

“Oh… But we have to eat vegetables and fruits that spoil quickly in advance, right?”

Maeve spoke and lowered her head.

“Ugh… Then that means we have to eat grass today? Fruits are sweet, so they’re okay, but I don’t like eating lettuce or cabbage as is… O
r carrots are also tasteless…”

“Don’t worry. Today’s dish is a dish of thick meat and vegetables stir-fried.”

There are plenty of seasonings, and fresh meat should be eaten quickly anyway.

I didn’t buy this meat, Anastasia’s parents gave it to me, so I have to eat it without saving!

“Oh, ohhh!!! It sounds completely delicious just hearing it?”

“I’ll put soy sauce and various seasonings and stir-fry it sweetly, so it’ll definitely be delicious.”

It would be nice to properly take in carbohydrates, so of course, I plan to cook rice too.

“Purpure can’t do everything alone, so I’ll give Maeve a mission. Dominicus worked hard today, so he can rest.”

“That’s right..

You’ve worked hard today, so… rest!”

Aren’t you too excited knowing that meat is involved?

Still, I guess it’s better than being sullen and saying you don’t want to do it?

“I’ll give Maeve a mission. First, the rice…”

-Rustle!

A sound of stepping on grass was heard from somewhere in the dark Great Plains.

The wind stopped for a moment.

The sound of insects also stopped, and only the sound of something rushing through the grass came, dividing the night air.

“Purpure! Hide behind me!!”

Maeve quickly reached for the holy sword at her waist and hid me, as if it were natural.

I’m the Great Demon Lord, you know? Is it okay for a hero to do that?

-Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!!

“H, huff…! H, help! Help meeeee!!”

The little kid who appeared with the sound of stepping on a lot of grass was covered in mud and grass.

“Monster…! Monster! A monster is chasing me!!”

The kid, crying and snotting, rushed towards me at an incredible speed and hugged me.

“I can feel the power of a monster too!!”

It’s amazing that there’s a monster as soon as we enter the Great Plains!

Unintelligent monsters don’t usually come to lands where humans gather!

How far did we go from Moonrise Castle for a monster to appear already… ….

“Awawa…?”

Don’t tell me it came because of me?!