Amidst the temperate weather of the Kruger province, Zarba's carriage and his platoon of ranger knights continued to travel through the land without getting close to any village or any town that they saw along the way, while the group only stopped briefly when it was evening, as Zarba and Xin needed to recuperate from staying inside the carriage all day.
In their travels Zarba had avoided the main road as much as he could and covered quite a distance from the Kroll Forest in these past two days since they entered this province, as right now Zarba's group is currently camping in the small clearing next to the less traveled road located somewhere around the southern part of the province in the evening.
There are also some encounters on the road since even if the people are not traveling as much as before, the presence of the merchants' caravans and some travelers can still be seen, and Zarba also came across them, which is unavoidable sometimes when he is traveling through the land, but Zarba didn't bother to interact with them or show his face, as they were just passing each other by peacefully, but with visible tension rising among the merchants' caravan and the random travelers that were nervous by the unknown platoon of black knights.
Fortunately there's no bandit or monster attack after the extermination of the drake pack in Kroll Forest, so Zarba and his entourage of summoned units can travel without inconvenience or delay, at least...
There's no doubt to Zarba that the rumors of a mysterious platoon of black knights escorting a luxurious carriage have probably started to spread by now, and soon enough their journey will not be so peaceful anymore when the rumor reaches certain someone's ear who might manage to connect the dots that he, the crown prince of the Great Golden Empire, is possibly traveling with the mysterious platoon of black knights that is currently heading west for whatever reason.
It's just a matter of time before some assassins pop up again, and Zarba really hopes that he will not have to fight an army or a monster horde just to be able to leave the empire…
Back to the present, in the evening, the carriage finally stopped after a long day of travel as the two people stepped outside to stretch their bodies. Zarba quickly starts a fire before he sits down and begins to cook a simple steak on the bonfire as Xin uses this time to do her daily meditation to refine and exercise her mana control while waiting for her husband to finish making dinner for them as usual.
Around the reincarnated prince and his slave-wife, the ranger knights stood guard motionless as statues, their black armor gleaming faintly from the glowstone's light of the magic lantern in their hand. Just their presence alone is enough to deter any bandit and monster from attacking unless they are a "special" case like those drakes...
With the sizzling sound of the meat on the hot pan, Zarba turned to look at Xin's concentrated face as she sat on a piece of dull gray blanket covering the top of a old log, more than fifty wisps of mana energy orbiting her in a complicated pattern like fireflies dancing around her.
To Zarba's normie eyes, it looks like that cultivation stuff from the Eastern fantasy but more simple and not that magical. Like, how can you just sit on your bum and somehow become stronger with bullshit logic? Isn't it a bit too convenient?
Zarba also had tried doing this mana exercise in the past, and he could at most manage only two wisps without getting a headache. It really drives home how talentless he is in magic, just like his ancestors, who also were not able to become decent magicians no matter how much they trained, as they are a line of warriors with dominant barbarian genes after all.
Zarba then turned his face back to look at the pan and flipped the steak with practiced ease, the aroma of seared meat and spices mingling with the evening air while Xin's eyes remained closed, her breathing deep and rhythmic as the orbiting wisps pulsed faintly, casting shifting shadows on her beautiful face.
It was a mesmerizing sight that Zarba never got bored of—this manipulation of the mana and magic spells. Yet, a familiar pang of envy poked at him, knowing that the door to being a magician was forever barred to him even though he was reincarnated into this sword and magic world. 'Too bad, I can't do anything about this lack of magic talent…'
"Dinner is ready now." Zarba announced after he finished as he slid the perfectly cooked steak onto Xin's plate along with vegetables and slices of bread. The wisps around her dissolved into motes of light as her eyes opened in a state of hyperfocus, which softened into lazy warmth when she saw him holding out her dinner. She accepted it gracefully, her fingers brushing his with deliberate slowness.
"And here is my gratitude," Xin murmured, her lips curling into a playful smile as she leaned forward towards Zarba, who was sitting on the log next to her with her amber eyes locked onto his brown ones while they were seemingly glowing, reflecting the firelight. She then closed her eyes and puckered her full lips slightly—a soft, lavender-shaded invitation that made Zarba's desire to taste them surge.
"I do like your gratitude…" Zarba chuckled, leaning in to meet her halfway as the scent of rosemary and cooked meat hung thick between them, mingling with the burning woods and the old log. Their lips finally meet—a brief, passionate contact—before Xin pulls back just enough to whisper with a melodic purr, "Mmmmnm… a special payment for my handsome chef…"
"Though I might still owe you more interest..." Xin smiled sexily as her thumb traced the edge of Zarba's jawline, rough with recently grown stubble.
"I'll make sure you pay fully once we are inside the carriage," Zarba whispered back, his voice low and promising; the desire in his brown eyes was clear as the campfire crackled, casting an amber glow across Xin's blushed cheeks and small sultry smile.
"My, my, looks like I might be in love debt after this…" She said seductively as she maintained eye contact with him while she sliced a knife into her steak with the juice seeping out from the meat, and then she pierced the cut meat with her fork and then… ate it!
They continued to eat in comfortable silence and subtle sexual tension, with only the sounds of crackling fire, the distant hoot of an owl, and the silver utensils. The intimate atmosphere lingered, a warm pink bubble of space in the cool evening air.
÷×÷×÷
Once they resumed travel the next hour after dinner and rest, Xin could be seen straddling on top of Zarba, who was lying on the seat inside the carriage while the black skeleton horses pulled them steadily westward, her hands touching his shirt and unbuttoning it slowly.
"We need to resupply soon," she murmured, tracing her fingers on his hard muscles below. "Some food, some veggies, not just what we can forage, and wine too. Maybe even a couple of soaps and the glowstones as well, just in case..."
"I guess... we can stop at the next village or town," Zarba murmured, caressing Xin's soft thighs while outside, the rhythmic clatter of fifty-four golem horses' hooves echoed faintly because of Xin's magic rune in the carriage. "I can go in discreetly to buy stuff for whatever we lack."
Xin nodded before she lowered her head to kiss him, nose rubbing against his before she got back up to look down on him with a sultry smile and eyes filled with desire. "And don't forget about information and rumors, my husband. We need to know what's going on in the world right now and, ideally, ahead of us."
"I'll take care of that..." Zarba murmured, his gaze drifting to the petite half-elf woman's exposed skin gleaming under the glowstone's light while he thought that the trip to resupply and gather information in the next settlement was not going to be hard or anything, as he has a dimension bag that holds all their gold that he can carry around, which has so much gold that you could even buy a small town with it and still have more than half left. It has been a useless weight until now and can finally be of use, but he has to be careful as well since he can't just throw around too much money, since it'll draw too much unwanted attention...
÷×÷×÷
The next morning, Zarba, who was sitting on the carriage driver's seat, spotted a settlement nestled in a valley below—a small town named Oakhaven, according to a weathered signpost. Its timber walls looked sturdy enough against bandits and small monsters. He ordered his skeletal mounts off-road into dense woodland on the east, stopping them, and parked the carriage beneath ancient oaks.
Xin remained behind with the carriage and the ranger knights as Zarba walked alone towards Oakhaven's eastern gate, the morning dew soaking his plain traveler's boots. He'd swapped his fine clothes for worn leathers and a hooded cloak, blending in with the few people hauling carts of goods through the open gate.
The town guards barely glanced at him; for them, he is just another weary soul seeking supplies before moving on.
Inside, the town felt tense from something, and at the market square, Zarba lingered near a spice stall, pretending to inspect dried rosemary while eavesdropping on the people around him.
"...heard the monsters attacked a farmstead yesterday," muttered a pot-bellied merchant to his companion. "Whole fields burned. They say it's goblins again."
"Goblins don't burn fields, you fool," hissed the other, a gaunt man stirring a pot of stew. "That's human work. Or worse—a witch's curse."
He glanced nervously at the sky. "Folks even say that the Mad Emperor is poisoning the land. Crops withering, beasts turning savage, folks turning gay..."
'Of course...' Zarba really wants to sigh at his daddy's well-deserved reputation…