Vimiya sat firmly in the driver’s seat, one hand on the steering wheel, chatting casually with Renith as she drove. (In real life, though, always keep your eyes on the road and never get distracted by chit-chat!)
“Miss Anna, you’re truly so knowledgeable. Talking with you, I feel like I’m learning so much myself.”
Vimiya’s tone was full of genuine admiration.
“It’s just that I’ve seen a bit more than most, that’s all.”
Renith gave a small shake of her head. Her gaze seemed bounded by this vast continent before her; beyond it lay an endless, boundless world about which she knew almost nothing.
And time is a river that never stops flowing—ever forward, ever changing. In just a few hundred years, it can turn the world completely upside down.
Islands born from volcanic eruptions would vanish without a trace amid the tremors of earthquakes a century later, as if they had never existed. The lush forests that once surrounded the Demon King’s city were logged to desolation in barely a decade, leaving nothing but barren land. The Aztec Mountains rose higher and higher from tectonic collisions, yet the snow capping their peaks grew thinner each year as temperatures continued to climb.
All of these were things Renith had never seen or even heard of before. She knew, deep down, that she still had a very, very long way to go before she could truly call herself well-learned.
“Oh, by the way! Miss Anna, what’s in your bag? It looks so heavy.”
Vimiya asked curiously, her eyes darting now and then to the satchel Renith had placed beside her.
Renith followed her gaze to the bag—it was the same one Luo Jiani had left on the table along with her clothes before she departed. The satchel was just the right size to hold her codex, and Renith imagined that Luo Jiani must have put quite a bit of thought into choosing it.
Facing Vimiya’s question, Renith decided to stick with the lie she had told earlier:
“They’re just some academic materials. I plan to bring them to the Imperial Capital.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, both Vimiya and Misrien gasped sharply.
Bring academic materials to the Imperial Capital?
That made Renith’s fabricated identity all the more intriguing.
In Vimiya and Misrien’s eyes, Renith had to be either a distinguished professor at the Imperial Central School or a trusted agent personally sent by His Majesty to survey geological conditions out in the field.
In short, they were convinced they were carrying a very important person in their vehicle!
Renith caught every shift in their expressions.
They seemed to have built her up into some grand figure in their minds.
The old Renith had been a sage who led the crusade against the Demon King—a title that would surely startle many if revealed. But now, she was a member of the demon race herself. If anyone well-versed in history were to uncover her true identity, she would face relentless pursuit and assassination.
In a sense, she was indeed quite the “big shot.”
“Alright, don’t stare at me like that. Just focus on the road.”
Renith said with a helpless smile, reminding them.
Startled, Vimiya quickly turned her head forward, straightened her back, and adjusted her posture. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and drove with extreme care, as if terrified that even a slight bump might hurt Renith’s petite frame.
“Just drive normally! I’m only a passing traveler who needs a lift, and you two are just kind souls helping me out.”
Renith emphasized once more.
But looking at Vimiya’s tense demeanor, Renith could tell her words hadn’t really sunk in. She’d probably scared herself by overthinking Renith’s identity.
Renith propped her head on her hand and sighed inwardly: Oh well… let her do whatever makes her comfortable.
The vehicle continued on for a while longer before Vimiya’s body gradually relaxed. She started bantering back and forth with Misrien in the backseat, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
Although Vimiya was still a little nervous, she was much better than before.
As for Misrien, though…
Renith glanced at him through the rearview mirror and noticed his face didn’t look too good. He could only stammer out replies to Vimiya’s small talk, clearly distracted.
Whenever the chatter died down, Misrien would mutter under his breath:
“Would flirting with and teasing an Imperial official get me charged with a crime…”
Renith suddenly understood—so those things Misrien had said earlier were indeed meant as flirtation.
Truth be told, Renith hadn’t taken any of it seriously. But she didn’t plan on telling Misrien that just yet.
In her view, Misrien could use a bit more seriousness—after all, he was already a married man. Let him spend the journey reflecting on his behavior.
“Up ahead is a gravel road, everyone hang on tight!”
Vimiya suddenly called out.
The wheels crunched over the gravel, and the violent jolts made even Renith feel a bit uncomfortable. She quietly cast a spell to steady herself, so she wouldn’t be bounced around too disgracefully.
Behind her, Misrien silently put on his helmet, figuring that if he banged into the metal panel in front, at least it wouldn’t hurt as much.
Along the way, occasional gusts of wind swept up sand and stones from the road ahead, pelting the windshield with a clattering dong-dong-dang-dang noise.
Within moments, a dozen stark white marks were left etched into the glass.
After that bumpy stretch, the ride finally steadied. Renith looked ahead and saw a faint golden hue emerging from the gray-brown earth.
If nothing unexpected happened, the desert lay just ahead.
But once they entered the desert in broad daylight, what they felt was an even sharper chill. The sun peeked in and out behind clouds, and from time to time, winds that had detoured off the sea kicked up sand, obscuring their view.
“What terrible weather! We need to speed up!”
Misrien frowned, glancing up at the dark clouds that kept appearing overhead.
At the same time, he pulled out a map and confirmed their distance from Ungler City.
“About half a day’s drive—maybe a little more. If we floor it, we won’t even need four hours!”
Though he wasn’t born or raised in the desert, he’d been there dozens of times and had a good grasp of its weather and road conditions. Facing this situation, he decided to push straight through to Ungler City to avoid any unforeseen trouble.
But in Renith’s view, turning back now would be the safest and wisest call. The howling winds, gathering clouds, and plunging temperatures were all signs of impending desert rainfall. And given the season, it might even snow.
Sensing the doubt in Renith’s eyes, Misrien explained:
“You’re right—turning back now would be the best and safest choice. But…”
He paused, then continued:
“To be honest, even though I’ve modified this vehicle a bit, crossing the desert still takes a lot of time and effort. With the load we’re carrying, hitting sixty kilometers per hour in the desert is already a miracle.”
Misrien patted the vehicle beneath him—it was actually an old military truck he’d bought from a guard. Military trucks had more horsepower and better stability than any civilian Model T on the market. Plus, since it was a decommissioned vehicle, it cost significantly less than a Model T too.
“Waiting for the rain or snow to stop takes time. And snowfall—or even rainfall—will make the roads worse and harder to drive on, costing us even more time.”
“The Winter Hunt is in four days. At our current speed, we’re still about a day and a half away from Alvester.”
He gazed down the desert track and continued:
“And that’s measuring straight-line distance—detouring around those dunes wastes time too. But if we get rain or snow, that could stretch to two days or more. Add in the time we’d lose waiting for the weather to clear, and we probably wouldn’t make it to Alvester at all.”
“Once we reach Alvester, we still need to prepare tools, arrange lodging, and guide the nobles—all very time-consuming tasks.”
“We have contracts drawn up with the nobles, and every single one of them is someone we can’t afford to offend. Sure, if it snows or rains, many nobles will be delayed getting to Alvester, but there will always be some who arrive early.”
At that point, Renith understood completely.
The nobles were coming for the Winter Hunt. If they found that their servants hadn’t arrived or were late—wasting their time in the city—it would be seen as an insult, a loss of face for these high-and-mighty folks.
Most nobles were unreasonable people—arrogant, greedy, and utterly devoid of mercy or compassion. In that case, Misrien and Vimiya wouldn’t just face massive penalties for breaching their contracts; they might even be blacklisted by the nobles, suffer physical punishment—or worse, lose their heads.
“That’s why I pushed Vimiya to drive through the night… I was afraid something like this might happen.”
Misrien said with resignation. Still, he’d felt bad for Vimiya, so they’d ended up staying the night at the village head’s house.
“I see… I understand.”
Renith nodded, showing her agreement.
And so, Vimiya pressed the gas pedal to the floor and charged straight into the depths of the desert.
“This line of work you’re in—it pays pretty well, doesn’t it?”
Renith asked suddenly. Misrien was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
In Renith’s view, Misrien’s aggressive decision-making wasn’t driven purely by fear of the nobles—profit was also a factor.
If they arrived early, Misrien would leave a favorable impression on the nobles as someone unafraid of wind and snow, loyal and dependable—which might even earn him a bigger payout.
“Exactly.”
Misrien admitted.
“After every Winter Hunt, between the contract wages and the nobles’ tips, we don’t need to work for the whole year. We could travel around the Empire for months and still have money left over.”
He paused, then continued:
“We really need that money. Although Vimiya and I… ahem, we’ve already been intimate, we’re not actually married yet. I want to give her a romantic, grand wedding, have a few chubby kids, and settle down to a peaceful life.”
At that, Misrien’s face flushed red, and even Vimiya, focused on driving, felt her heart skip a beat—her cheeks glowing pink.
She scolded him playfully:
“You fool! What are you saying in front of a stranger!”
The tense mood instantly lifted, and the cab filled with laughter and warm chatter.
Because of the blowing sand, they had to stop and go in fits and starts. Whenever the wind died down, Vimiya would stomp on the gas, determined to cross the desert as fast as possible.
Five hours later, they finally reached the gates of Ungler City.
By then, the desert behind them had just begun to drop scattered flakes of grayish-white snow.
Along with the snow came a wind from the northwest, kicking up clouds of dust. Snowflakes and sand mingled together, shrouding everything in sight behind a thick, impenetrable veil.
