The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 260 Idle Talk in the Woods
As Natalia rode her horse along the forest path, she looked up at the orange and red leaves against the azure sky, and her gloomy mood was temporarily covered by the colorful falling leaves.

"Your Highness may not know that in autumn, there is a Maple Hunting Festival in Lutia. The royal family and the nobles of Lutia go hunting together in the forest outside the city, and then barbecue in the forest while enjoying the maple leaves."

Natalia looked at Eric beside her, "Because that woodland belongs exclusively to the royal family, and commoners can't participate, this festival probably doesn't have much recognition."

“I happen to have heard of it.”

Eric shook his head. "Your Highness, have you forgotten? My sister is studying magic in Lutia. She received invitations to the Maple Hunt Festival a few years ago and wrote to me about her experiences."

“Really?” Natalia thought for a moment. “I may have seen Miss Eileen at the Maple Hunting Festival two years ago, but I wasn’t familiar with her at the time.”

Eric took the reins and stopped the horse, and Natalia stopped as well.

Wandering aimlessly along the forest path, the two found themselves halfway up a hillside. The trees were sparse and the view was expansive, allowing them to see the vibrant autumn scenery on the opposite hillside.

“That former royal grove no longer exists; its trees have been transformed into weapons for the demons’ sieges,” Natalia said.

Eric glanced at her but said nothing.

After pausing for a while, the two continued on their way.

The black panther leading the way got up and walked forward when it saw them start moving again.

Natalia's gaze fell on her wagging tail for a moment, "Miss Kasha seems to be in a good mood."

“She feels right at home here,” Eric said.

"Are all the members of the Natural Church like this?" Natalia asked.

Eric thought for a moment and shook his head. "She's special. Her father was a forest ranger, and she practically grew up in the forest."

"No wonder..."

Natalia stared at the black panther in front of her for a while, then looked at him and said, "If it weren't for Your Highness, Miss Kasha would probably still be staying in that forest in Gradia."

Eric smiled. "She said it was the arrangement of the God of Nature."

“The God of Nature, huh?” Natalia slowly exhaled.

After following Kasha for a while, they came to a flat clearing in the woods. She looked around and then turned to a place where there was no path.

“Let’s get down and walk around,” Eric suggested.

"it is good."

The two dismounted, tied their horses to a tree nearby, and then followed Kasha's footsteps.

The fallen leaves crunched crisply underfoot, and in the thicker piles, it even felt like you couldn't step on the bottom.

Kasha didn't deliberately choose a difficult route, but there were always steep sections along the way. Eric walked on them with ease, while Natalia didn't have it as easy as they did.

"Come."

Having climbed to a high point, Eric turned back and reached out his hand to Natalia.

Grasping his hand, she pushed off slightly with her feet, and was pulled up.

"This road... is really, really difficult to walk on..."

Natalia, panting, looked back down and found that the place where they had stopped their horses was not far away.

"We've only walked this far?"

Eric laughed, "That's why I said the mountain road is difficult to travel."

Natalia shook her head and sighed.

“Let Kasha carry His Highness when you come down,” Eric said, relieving her of any worries.

Natalia breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "The demon forces that are advancing covertly along the Qifeng Mountains, are they... in a similar situation to us?"

Eric glanced at her. "Pretty much. Although their stamina far surpasses Your Highness's, they still need to wear armor, carry weapons, and personal rations and other miscellaneous items. Traveling through the mountains won't be easy for them."

Natalia let out a breath and said nothing. "Let's keep going. Miss Kasha has been waiting for us for ages."

Eric turned his head, while Kasha looked back at them from ahead, her tail impatiently slapping the fallen leaves on the ground with a rustling sound.

After climbing the hillside for a while, the three of them arrived at a flat area on the mountain. It was about one or two hundred meters high, enough to see the White Horse City not far away.

It took Natalia a while to speak: "Your Highness, do you remember the look on Sterling's face when we told him we were going to climb the mountain?"

“I remember.” Eric looked at her. “Although he hid it well, there was at least a moment when he thought we were just being silly.”

Natalia laughed, then said, "I wonder what his expression will be when he finds out that Memphis doesn't trust him."

Eric pursed his lips. "I'm afraid it won't look very good."

“I’ve climbed all the way here, but I still don’t know how to start the conversation with him,” Natalia continued.

Eric looked at her. "It's precisely because His Highness has been thinking about this that he couldn't think of it."

Natalia glanced back at him, then looked down the mountain. "I can't shake off these 'distractions'."

"That means Your Highness isn't tired enough. Let's climb a little higher."

"..."

Natalia looked distressed. "This isn't something that can be solved by simply expending physical strength!"

"Anxious."

"..."

She looked at him and said, "Will climbing this kind of mountain be too strenuous for Your Highness? I can't be the only one who has to come up with a solution."

Eric shook his head. "The problem is, I can clear my mind. Who are Memphis and Sterling? I don't know them."

Natalia rolled her eyes.

"Let's go."

"what……"

Kasha had already run off ahead, and Eric turned around and continued uphill. Natalia watched their backs and could only follow.

The mountains outside White Horse City were just the last spur of the Sunset Mountains, and not very high. So even with Natalia in tow, they still climbed to the top after more than an hour.

Looking out over White Horse City, Eric squinted, and could even vaguely make out the tall statue of the Hero King in the city.

Kasha had returned to human form and climbed the mountain as if it were a stroll. This was not a particularly difficult peak to conquer. There was no excitement on her face, only a tranquility of being close to nature.

Natalia slumped on a boulder, her head covered in sweat, her hair plastered to her face, in the cool, even chilly, late autumn.

"Your Highness, are you feeling better?" Eric asked with concern.

Natalia ignored him, whether because she was too tired or simply didn't want to talk to him.

“We haven’t seen any animals along the way,” Eric said, looking at Kasha.

“There are many?” Kasha said.

"Dung beetles or lizards don't count, we can't see them."

"There are also larger ones."

Eric recalled, "I think I saw a few squirrels."

Kasha smiled. "There are others too."

"Are there wild boars or forest bears here?" Eric asked.

Kasha thought for a moment, "There should be. I smelled their droppings on the way up."

"Why does Your Highness ask this? Is that our dinner?" Natalia finally spoke.

“It’s not impossible, we’ve already spoken to Sterling anyway,” Eric said.

“Bears are mostly hibernating at this time of year,” Kasha said, looking at the two of them. “I don’t want to disturb them.”

“Then we’ll rule that out,” Eric said quickly.

Natalia looked at them. "There are only three of us, and we can't eat much. We don't have any ordinary... I mean, smaller game."

Eric thought for a moment, "Pheasants or something?"

“Okay.” Kasha nodded.

"But it's still early..."

Natalia, having rested enough, stood up and gazed down the mountain.

“I’ve got an idea,” Eric said.

Natalia's first thought was that he had come up with a new idea to torture her, and she immediately said, "I can't climb anymore."

"I'm talking about serious matters."

"...What idea?" she asked, looking at him.

Eric shook his head. "We'll talk about it when we get back."

Natalia glared at him. "Then why are you telling me now?"

"I just want Your Highness to relax a bit. If you can't think of a way, I have other ideas."

Natalia looked at him for a moment: "Is he reliable?"

Eric laughed, "Have I ever given any bad ideas?"

"It's pretty unreliable to suddenly decide to go hiking..." Natalia muttered.

"I came up with this idea while climbing the mountain."

Natalia sighed. "Alright, then I'll wait and see what Your Highness thinks." When they left the city, the sun was already setting. They stood on the mountaintop for a while, watching the sunset gradually descend, painting the autumn forest with even richer colors.

"Are we really going to spend the night in the forest?" Natalia asked.

“It’s up to Your Highness to decide,” Eric said, looking at her. “Returning to the city will only take a short while.”

"Let's go down the mountain first and then talk about it."

On the way down the mountain, Kasha transformed into a reindeer, carrying Natalia as they hopped and skipped down the mountain. Eric followed along, listening to her screams. Before long, they were back at where they had tied up their horses.

After helping Natalia, whose legs were trembling, to sit on a fallen tree, Kasha transformed back into a black panther, darted into the woods, and quickly disappeared.

Eric took the water bag off his horse, handed it to Natalia, and patted her back to comfort her.

"Kasha said her horn hurts a little."

"..."

Natalia glared at him. "If you don't hold on tight, I'll have been left behind already."

"It's my fault." Eric opened the water bag for her.

Natalia took a few sips of water, licked her lips, and suddenly asked, "What would happen if Miss Kasha lost her antlers while transformed into a reindeer?"

“She’ll probably get hurt,” Eric guessed. “But I don’t know exactly what the situation will be; I’ll have to ask her.”

She looked in the direction Kasha had disappeared. "She went hunting?"

"Ah."

After drinking two more sips of water, Natalia stood up, and the trembling in her legs had mostly disappeared.

She stuffed the water bag back into the horse's saddlebag, then mounted the horse again. "Before the sun sets, I want to wander around where there are roads."

Eric sat on the withered tree and looked at her. "Does Your Highness need me to stay with you?"

Natalia glanced at the woods. "As long as Your Highness can find me later, that's fine."

“Then I’ll follow along.” Eric stood up, not riding his own horse, but holding onto her reins and leading the way.

After passing this platform on the mountainside, the path through the forest becomes even narrower and steeper as you go further up.

Fortunately, the roadside grass was withered and had long lost its lushness in spring and summer.

"Your Highness, may I now tell you your idea?" Natalia asked, her gaze sweeping over the sunset, the sky, and the trees before settling on Eric, who was leading the horse.

"It's actually very simple, just have Memphis send back a team of his trusted men."

Eric looked at the road beneath his feet without turning his head. "We don't need too many, just enough to have a certain level of combat capability, which will also improve our mobility."

Natalia frowned. "Would that put his mind at ease?"

“The key is to let Sterling express this attitude,” Eric continued.

Natalia thought for a moment.

From Memphis’s perspective, this can be interpreted as Sterling’s initiative to ask him to send someone to supervise, which is equivalent to a promise.
From Sterling's perspective, this could be explained as a lack of familiarity with the situation in Grandia. Bringing back some military advisors who were originally stationed there would make it easier to implement the operational plan against the demons.

Eric turned to look at her. "An explanation that can be accepted by both Memphis and Sterling is what His Highness and I will strive to achieve next."

Natalia thought for a while, then slowly nodded.

"I think it's feasible."

Eric smiled. "I think Your Highness has some ideas of your own, which can be combined to optimize this plan."

"Well, I'll think about it again."

Natalia sat on her horse, pondering and searching for possible flaws, letting him lead her through the woods.

As the sky gradually darkened, more sounds emerged from the woods that were either unheard or unnoticed during the day.

The most obvious sound is the wind.

"This wind sounds really scary."

Natalia snapped out of her reverie and looked at the gradually darkening hillside in the distance. The withered grass lay bent in the wind, and the brilliant autumn scenery, stripped of its sunlight, revealed a somewhat menacing side.

“It was like this when we went up the mountain,” Eric said.

"is it?"

Natalia looked at him. "Shouldn't we go back?"

Eric sighed, "Didn't Your Highness notice that I've been looking for a place to turn the horse around?"

The two walked on for a while longer and finally found a slightly more open area where the horse could turn around.

Turning around, Eric mounted his horse and sat behind Natalia, heading back along the rugged path.

The descent was always faster, especially since it wasn't relying on her own feet. Natalia couldn't help but recall the time she rode on Kasha's back during the rapid descent. She leaned back slightly and said, "Don't go too fast."

"Don't worry." Eric ran his hands through her waist and pulled on the reins. He glanced at her profile and neck, then looked ahead. "At most, there will be a slight jolt, Your Highness. You won't fall off."

Natalia chose to believe him, but the frequency of the "occasional" jolting was rather high. Each jolting brought the two closer together, and she could clearly feel the warm, solid, and stable support behind her. She couldn't help but begin to suspect that he was doing it on purpose.

But she also understood that the road conditions were beyond his control, as were the places where the horse's hooves landed; at most, he could only control the horse's speed.

She chose to understand.

Until she felt the pressure against her buttocks, and the sensation became increasingly distinct.

"..."

Natalia immediately realized what it was.

—He was holding the horse's reins with both hands, and his weapon was hanging at his waist. What else could it be?

Embarrassed and annoyed, she felt heat radiating from her cheeks. She couldn't think about whether it was intentional or unintentional on his part, and she twisted and turned, trying to create distance between them.

She was fine when she didn't move, but after she twisted a few times, Eric almost went to heaven. He felt even more uncomfortable and had no choice but to speak.

"Your Highness, you're being awkward..."

“…You did it on purpose.” Natalia gritted her teeth.

"If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. This is not something I can control."

"..."

Natalia didn't understand, but she still found it hard to believe that he couldn't control himself at all.

"...Let me down."

Eric glanced down at her, unable to see her face clearly in the dim light, but he could feel her temperature rising.

"Your Highness intends to walk back by yourself?"

"...I sit in the back."

He reined in his horse and cast a spell to illuminate it. Natalia dismounted, sat behind him, and, using the light of the spell, glanced at the villain hiding between his legs.

"Okay." She put her hand on his waist. "Let's go."

Although it wasn't intentional, it's impossible to say there's no regret at all. Eric sighed softly. Natalia heard him clearly but pretended not to, though her face burned even hotter.

The rest of the journey was still bumpy, and by the time we got back to the platform halfway up the mountain, it was completely dark.

Kasha had already returned to this side and seemed unconcerned about the two's disappearance, having already started a fire on the flat ground in the middle.

Meanwhile, several pheasants that were tied up were still flapping their wings.

As soon as the horse stopped, Natalia quickly dismounted and went to the fire.

"I'll help..."

Eric tied the horse back to its original spot, glanced at the pheasants Kasha had caught, and said, "How can the three of us possibly eat so many?"

“There’s also tomorrow,” Kasha said.

“We’ll be going back tomorrow morning,” Eric said with a smile.

"Alright." Kasha picked through the pheasants for a while, keeping the two fattest ones, and then grabbed the rest by their wing roots and threw them into the darkness. With a flapping sound, the few pheasants that had managed to escape immediately flew away.

Natalia, who said she would help, was actually of no help whatsoever.

She hesitated when killing the pheasants, but in the end Eric snapped their necks and strangled them with his bare hands. She had no idea how to prepare the pheasants, so the more skilled Kasha did it.

After working for quite some time, the two pheasants were skewered on branches and roasted over the fire. Natalia finally found something she could do: occasionally turn the branches to roast them from the other side.

"What were those leaves you stuffed into the pheasant's belly, spices?" Eric asked.

"Yes, it will smell even better when roasted. But those leaves can't be eaten directly, they're very bitter."

Kasha pulled out a few more translucent, rose-red crystals and smiled at him, "I also found this on the mountain."

"This is……"

“Rock salt,” Kasha said, rubbing the two crystals together. Some particles fell off and stuck to his fingertip for him to taste. Sure enough, it was salty.

"Hmm... I was worried that the roasted pheasant wouldn't have much flavor. Even if it doesn't have much flavor, it'll still taste good."

Eric sat down by the fire and looked at Natalia, who hadn't spoken for a while, but she immediately looked away.

"It's time to flip it over."

"……I know."

(End of this chapter)