Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 252 Extra: Gleanings from the Old Sea - Greta (2)

In the darkness, the campfire crackled and popped, and in two small pots, mushroom soup mixed with a few slices of smoked ham simmered.

The night was silent, with the occasional bird call from afar, and the only other sound the faint rhythmic thumping of the spellcaster overhead.

Sothos and Fanit guarded the soup by the fire, while the rest of the men maintained their weapons around the perimeter.

“There’s still a lot of ham left, we should add some more, so that each of us can have at least two slices,” Fanit muttered, poking at the fire.

"It's not a holiday, why eat so well?"

Sothos carefully took a small bottle of fine salt out of his pocket, opened it, and poured some into the pot.

He stirred it, took a sip, and nodded.

"Food is ready."

So everyone gathered around and each person had a bowl of mushroom soup in a copper bowl, along with some dry, hard biscuits—that was their dinner for the day.

Rean took a bite of the dry biscuit that had been softened by the soup, while flipping through a book on his lap with his other hand.

Everyone knows he has a habit of reading while eating, but they don't know that this habit was passed down from his previous life.

The group ate dinner and chatted casually around the orange-yellow campfire.

"Meyeris, I see you carry that harp with you every day, but you never play it. Is it just a souvenir?" someone asked casually.

Meyeris touched the harp beside him and chuckled, "I just don't play it well enough right now. I'll play some nice pieces for you when I learn them."

“Sure, having some background music will help keep you entertained on the way,” Sothos said.

"Don't tease me, I'm only a beginner myself," Meyeris said with a wry smile.

“Don’t be modest. Look at Rean, his writing is terrible, but he’s still so confident,” Sothos said.

"Is there any significance to the story of someone reciting their own poems in the wilderness in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" Rean asked as he turned the pages of the book.

Sotos paused for a moment,
"how do you know"

“Everyone knows except you, so now we cover our ears when we sleep,” Rean said.

“Hey Sothos, if you’re going to read something normal, why are you saying something like ‘truth’s ass’?” Fanit asked.

“That’s a piece of the puzzle of truth. Tsk, I should have stayed further away,” Sothos said dejectedly.

Everyone chuckled.

Suddenly, the spellcaster overhead emitted a short alarm.

A rapid alarm indicates a magical target is approaching, while a short alarm indicates a normal target is approaching, but no one will let their guard down; even a rabbit cannot guarantee there are no lurking threats.
Instantly, the group put down their soup bowls, picked up the nearest weapons, and stood guard towards the location where the alarm had sounded.

It was surrounded by bushes and completely dark.

Rean stood in front of the group, chanting a spell of illumination in a low voice, lighting up the area.

In the sunlight, a small, thin figure tumbled out of the bushes with a soft thud.

Galicia was about to draw his bowstring taut when Rean stopped him with a raised hand. He saw that the figure was carrying his food sack.

It was the same refugee child I had given alms to by the carriage earlier.

She covered her bleeding nose and got up. When she saw a group of people facing her with weapons, she turned pale with fright and shrank back, not daring to move.

Sothos stepped forward, sword in hand, grabbed the "little rabbit's" wrist, lifted her up, looked her over, and then turned to the crowd, saying:
"There is no magic signal, he is just an ordinary person."

Only then did everyone feel relieved and put down their weapons.

He dragged the trembling little girl over and pushed her in front of Rean.

"They must have come with you. You've shown kindness, so you should take care of it."

After exchanging glances, the group seemed to understand what had happened. The little girl that Rean had given them during the day had actually followed them all the way. Although they were moving slowly, her thin legs were able to keep up with their horseback riding speed, which was quite surprising.

The group dispersed, leaving only Rean and the trembling little girl standing facing each other.

Rean frowned as he looked at the thin figure with its head down and its whole body trembling.

He pulled her to the edge of the camp and said coldly, "You think I won't kill you, so you shamelessly followed me here, huh?"

"No, no, sir," the little girl said hastily, her voice trembling. "I... I've come to return this to you."

She picked up the bag of dry rations that Rean had tossed to her, not daring to lift her head.

"I gave it to you, so don't give it back." Rean didn't even glance at it again, turned and left.

"After tomorrow, stay away from us. If you follow us again, I'll kill you," he said coldly.

After saying that, he left the girl huddled there and returned to the camp.

Sothos sat back down by the fire and glanced at him.

"solved?"

Rean didn't say anything, and silently drank his soup.

“If you can’t bring yourself to do it, you can have Fanit do it; he’s less ruthless.” “Ha, I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Fanit said sarcastically.

“A blade that has killed women and children will become dull, that’s what you told me,” Rean said quietly.

“Alright, I got it. I didn’t say we absolutely had to kill her. She’s just a child. By the way, this little girl can really walk; she’s followed us this far,” Sothos said.

Rean stopped talking, and the conversation around the campfire shifted to something else.

The girl hadn't left yet. She found a soft patch of grass, sat down, hugged her thighs, and looked at the group of people at the camp. Her gaze settled on the tall figure with his back to her.
After a night.

Rean stepped out of the tent, and the morning dew dripped from the tent onto his body.

The burnt-out fire was also dampened by the dew.

At that moment, he saw a small, thin figure lying in the grass not far away.

The girl was curled up, clutching the bag of dry food he had given her, her eyes closed, fast asleep.

For some reason, seeing that lonely, thin figure, Rean was somewhat lost in thought, but after a moment, he shifted his gaze, put away his pity, and began to prepare for his journey.

After everything was almost ready, they set off on horseback.

But then Sothos gently patted his shoulder and gestured with his chin toward a certain spot.

There, the little girl was still sitting by the grass, watching them longingly.

“I warned her not to follow me again,” Rean said calmly.

“I hope so. We can’t possibly have a little kid in our team, can we? People will gossip,” Sothos said.

“Sothos,” Rean suddenly called out to him.

"how?"

Rean was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "It's nothing, let's set off as soon as possible."

Everything was ready, they mounted their horses, and as they left, Rean glanced at the girl one last time. She was also looking at him expectantly, her eyes filled with a simple, hopeful gaze.
I want to live.

Rean paused for a second, then looked away and mounted his horse.

The group set off, but the girl did not follow.

But Rean's heart was not at peace at this moment.

I've seen that look in her eyes many times before.

While he was in the monastery, and every time he passed through war-torn areas, he saw that same look in every child he met by the roadside who had lost their family.
It is a spirit of fighting with all one's might to survive in a desperate world. Their tender hearts have not yet become numb and despairing of this world. They still retain a sliver of desire to survive and still fantasize about receiving the blessing of survival.

In the past, whenever Rean faced this gaze, all he could do was to give them some food to last a few more days. He was neither a saint nor a savior; that was all he could do.

It wasn't that he didn't want to help these pitiful lives, but witnessing suffering, he, who hadn't yet ascended the throne, could only curse the world as a damned place.

He desperately wanted to be even more cold-blooded, believing that this was the way to survive in this era, and his foolish sense of morality made him laugh at himself.

To be honest, this sense of morality and justice inherited from my previous life is quite a burden.

Looking back, I could still see that small, thin figure standing in the same spot out of the corner of my eye.

He took a deep breath.

"Sothos, how far is it from here to the nearest town?"

The little girl, clutching the remaining rations, could no longer see the departing caravan. Deep despair filled her eyes as she lowered her head and turned to walk into the forest.

But at that moment, a series of crisp hoofbeats came from behind her.

She turned around abruptly and saw that tall figure, riding a horse, already standing in front of her, looking up at her.

"It's a three-day journey to the nearest town. I can take you there, but if you cause any trouble along the way, I'll send you to feed the wolves, understand?"

Rean gazed at her and said softly.

The girl looked at Rean's backlit figure, opened her mouth, and had many words of gratitude she wanted to say, but in the end she only answered in a trembling voice, "Yes, I, I understand, thank you, sir."

Rean paused for a second, then extended his hand to her.

Realizing what was about to happen, the girl quickly said, "Just let me follow behind you. I... I'll... I'll get your mount dirty."

“Are you trying to slow down our entire team’s advance? Get on board,” Rean said.

So the girl had no choice but to reach out and shake his hand. With a slight effort, his large, strong hand pulled her up and onto the horse, where she sat down in front of him.

"Hold on tight," Rean simply said.

"Yes"

He glanced down at the girl who was hunched over and pressed against the horse's back, paused for a moment, and then asked, "What's your name?"

“Grace, Grace is my name, I don’t have a surname,” Grace said tremulously.

Rean didn't reply. His name wasn't that important to him. All he could do was take her to town so that she wouldn't be killed by wild animals. That was all.

(End of this chapter)