Rest had agreed to take on Ulula’s request, and now he was traveling toward the eastern plains with Yuri.
They were riding in a carriage provided by the Margrave Lavender House. To avoid the wetlands, the driver took a wide detour, looping around from the north to approach their destination from the east.
"......"
"......"
"......"
A peculiar silence filled the carriage as it rattled along.
Inside the boxy cabin, Ulula and her attendant sat on one of the facing benches, while Rest and Yuri occupied the other.
"......"
(...She’s staring right at me. What is with this intense pressure?)
Rest shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Ulula was watching him from directly across the way. She didn't say a word, simply peering at him through the curtain of her long bangs. While the hair obscured her eyes, the sheer weight of her mysterious gaze was unmistakable.
"Uh... Ulula? Do you need something?"
"Hafuh."
"She collapsed!"
Rest had tried to strike up a conversation, but the moment he spoke, Ulula’s nose erupted in a spray of blood and she crumpled onto the bench. Her attendant quickly caught her by the shoulders and began casting healing magic.
"I-is she all right?"
"She is fine. It appears my lady has suffered a toxic reaction due to an overdose."
"An... overdose!?" Rest blurted out, baffled.
What on earth could she have overdosed on? He hadn't seen her eat or drink anything since they started the journey.
"Is Ulula... is she physically frail or something?"
"Count Clover, I am truly grateful to you," the attendant replied, though it wasn't an answer to his question. "After the master went missing and the mistress vanished—leaving her child behind—there wasn't a single person left in that house to care for my lady's well-being. Her heart was hollowed out until her emotions vanished entirely... but since coming to this land, she has become remarkably expressive."
"Expressive...?"
In Rest’s eyes, Ulula looked almost entirely blank. If this was what she looked like when being "expressive," he shuddered to think how vacant she must have been before.
"Oh, look at that herd of deer running... They look delicious, Rest."
Meanwhile, Yuri was leaning her head out the carriage window, her voice full of wonder. She was operating entirely at her own pace. This wasn't a pleasure trip, but she certainly seemed to be enjoying herself.
"Should I go hunt one for tonight’s dinner? I could catch up to a deer and bring it back in no time."
"...Don’t. You’ll make the carriage smell like blood."
Rest let out a heavy sigh as he reined in his carefree friend.
"Anyway, let’s talk business. Is there only one Worm in the wetlands?"
"My lady, Count Clover is asking you a question."
"It is, it is."
"That's a yes. Just as my lady says, only one has been confirmed thus far."
"......"
This was incredibly inefficient. He really wished the attendant would just handle the explanations from the start.
"Worm... dragon. But... mud. A pair."
"Because dragons have low fertility, they generally travel alone or in very small numbers," the attendant translated. "However, since Worms make their nests in the mud of the wetlands, it is possible that a mate is simply hiding out of sight."
"Barrier... energetic..."
"She says that the installation of the monster-repelling barriers has made it more active. We must remain cautious."
"Worm... thick... strong. They are, they are."
"My lady... no matter how excited you are, a lady should not make such lewd remarks to a gentleman."
"That was a dirty joke!?"
Did she just drop a double entendre into the conversation? Was she actually a funny girl?
The more he learned about her, the deeper the mystery of Ulula Lavender became. It was intriguing, certainly, but at the same time, Rest felt a strange sense of foreboding—as if he were staring into a deep, dark abyss.
"Ah, there are boars too. They’re so nice and fat; it’s almost a waste to just leave them be."
Uninterested in the tactical discussion, Yuri continued to gaze out the window with a look of peaceful longing.