As time passed, Enya was the only one growing increasingly anxious.

‘Why are they so calm?’

Silanda merely closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, while Jahan spent his time outside of physiological needs just blankly staring at the faint sunlight that crept through the wooden wall gaps.

‘And Senu…’

Enya couldn’t begin to guess what Senu might be thinking.

That night, unable to sleep and tossing and turning, she was startled by a faint silhouette in the carriage. Senu was sitting in the same posture as during the day, staring into space. It didn’t make sense, but his figure overlapped so much with Servia’s rigid posture in the cave that it surprised her.

The next day, she didn’t give up and continued to try and catch any sounds outside by pressing her ear against the carriage wall.

That was when Silanda relaxed her posture and suddenly mentioned.

“It’s about time we start planning our escape.”

Hearing this, Senu also lifted his head.

Enya was a bit shocked and straightened up to look at them. Of course, changing her posture in the cramped carriage didn’t allow for much movement. After being in the same position for so long, her whole body was incredibly stiff.

“Es, escape?”

They had to keep their voices low due to the uncertainty of the soldiers’ around, prompting Enya to whisper her question.

At that, Silanda retorted as if shocked.

“What? So, you thought staying here playing dead would make that man Tarhan somehow come to us willingly?”

Enya was startled by Silanda’s loud voice, without paying attention to the soldiers’ hearing.

“Of course not, but…”

She trailed off, unable to get the words out of my mouth. She couldn’t bring herself to say that the three of them hadn’t seemed like they were planning an escape over the past two days.

“What’s with that look?!”

Silanda whispered fiercely as if yelling at her.

“Si, Silanda, you shouldn’t be able to see my eyes…”

Enya said to Silanda with a frustrated voice, remembering the bandages wrapped tightly around her face.

“Even, even covered up like this, I can still see the disdain in someone’s eyes! Do you think I’m a fool?”

Silanda attempted to raise her remaining arm in the cramped carriage, only to be hindered and let out a grunt.

Enya shushed her, warning her with a pleading tone.

“Lower your voice, Silanda. What if someone hears us?”

“As if. Those damned guards. I nearly turned into a wooden log waiting for them to drop their guard!”

Only then did Enya realize that the footsteps of the guards patrolling around their carriage were no longer audible. Indeed, the vigilant watch of the guards that had been circling the carriage for the past two and a half days had somewhat relaxed.

‘Were they waiting for the right moment all this time on purpose…’

Enya was slightly impressed by Silanda’s planning. But there was no time to merely admire. Fearing Silanda might change the subject, she quickly responded.

“Anyway, I agree we should start planning our escape now.”

She quickly shared the information she had gathered.

“It seems like there are two guards posted during the day, one at the front and one at the back. And there’s just one horse pulling the carriage.”

Unfortunately, Enya didn’t have much information to share. Just as she was about to ask Silanda if he had learned anything else, Senu, who had been silent, spoke up in a calm voice.

“In front, my mother’s personal soldiers are about twenty people, followed by around fifty elite soldiers of Aquilea moving around.”

Enya was quite surprised by Senu’s answer, not realizing he had been listening in. She quickly asked him.

“You saw that in the brief moment you were out? But…”

The time allowed by the soldiers was very short.

‘In that brief moment, and while covered in heavy cloth up to the ankles, moving under the watch of a soldier…’

Enya herself had tried to sneak a peek at the surroundings in those fleeting moments but had found it challenging. Reminded of the bandages wrapped tightly around her face, she replied to Silanda with a mix of frustration and realization.

“Even with all these bandages, a look of pity is still pretty visible! Do you take me for a fool?”

Silanda, trying to lift his remaining arm in the cramped carriage, only managed a stifled grunt. Enya hissed softly, almost pleadingly warning her to keep it down.

“Lower your voice, Silanda. What if someone hears?”

“That’s unlikely. These damn guards… I almost turned into a log waiting for them to lower their guard!”

It was then that Enya realized the guards’ footsteps, which had been constantly circling the carriage for the past two and a half days, were absent. It seemed the guards’ vigilance had finally relaxed a bit.

‘Could it be they’ve been waiting for the right moment to plan our escape…?’

Enya was a bit awed by Silanda’s strategizing but knew this wasn’t the time for admiration. Fearing Silanda might change the subject, she quickly agreed.

“I’m all for making an escape plan now.”

She hurriedly shared the little information she had gathered.

“It seems like there are two guards watching during the day, one in the front and one in the back. And there’s only one horse pulling the carriage.”

Unfortunately, Enya hadn’t collected much information. As she was about to ask Silanda if he had learned anything else, Senu calmly joined the conversation.

“And there are about twenty of my mother’s personal soldiers leading the way. Behind them, it seems like around fifty elite soldiers of Aquilea are moving.”

Enya was taken aback by Senu’s input, having not realized he was paying attention before she quickly asked Senu.

“You saw all that in the brief moment we were outside? But…”

The soldiers had only allowed them a very short time outside.

‘In that brief moment, and under the heavy cloth covering from head to ankle, under the watchful eye of a soldier…’

Enya herself had struggled to catch a glimpse of the outside situation during that brief moment.

“It’s a conclusion from snippets of soldiers’ conversations I overheard when we were allowed outside for the latrine. I can’t be certain, but I anticipated that many elite soldiers would accompany my mother.”

Enya then remembered that Senu was Servia’s son.

‘He was not just the son but the heir apparent to the chieftain.’

Suddenly, Senu appeared differently in Enya’s eyes.

Silanda then spoke up with a sharp tone.

“Based on what I’ve overheard, the forces from Perugia led by someone called Avisak are even larger. Currently, only Servia’s personal forces and a portion of Aquilea’s troops, led by Gernan, are moving. But if the forces under the woman Avisak from Perugia join, their numbers will be significant.”

Enya gulped hard at Silanda’s words.

Her point was valid. Servia had mentioned that Perugia would join them. Since there had been no news of their forces combining yet, it seemed an event was imminent.

“Silanda’s right. It seems like we’re supposed to meet up with Avisak’s forces halfway to Garganta.”

Jahan chimed in, surprising Enya as much as Senu’s earlier comment. All day long, Jahan had seemed to be just staring vacantly.

‘Could it be his eagerness to go outside every time….’

It was for scouting?

Enya felt slightly guilty for deliberately keeping her distance every time he complained about needing to go. As she was growing to trust the cave dwellers more, Jahan glanced at her and added.

“Avisak’s forces are staying behind in Aquilea to ‘clean up’.”

Enya felt a chill at the word ‘clean up.’

‘She said they’d capture everyone related to Tarhan…’

A concern for the well-being of Old Lady Piache and the others from the pharmacy, as well as the people of the Nervana forest, began to overwhelm her. A shadow of worry swiftly crossed Enya’s face.

Just when she was deep in thought, Senu’s words cut through her thoughts.

“I think the key is whether we can escape from this military camp before Perugia joins.”

The carriage fell into an unnerving silence at Senu’s words. He was right. Escaping would become significantly harder once Perugia joined forces with them.

“…But there’s one thing we need to consider.”

Enya cautiously brought up a point she had been wanting to mention. There was one fact they were overlooking.

“The army has been away from the village for a long time. Even if we manage to escape, we won’t be free from the threat of monsters.”

The atmosphere in the carriage instantly froze. Enya blinked at the sudden chill. Of course, Jahan was the first to react.

“Mo, monsters?”

Jahan’s leap startled everyone in the tight space, making the carriage lurch. Jahan, now thoroughly terrified, screamed.

“Monsters, you say…!”

His reaction, as if he had heard something unimaginable, made Enya’s eyes widen in shock. The mood inside was peculiar. She soon noticed that Silanda and Senu also seemed rigid.

“Sure, surely… everyone wasn’t unaware of this, right?”

Enya asked, hoping for some reassurance, but no answer came. Jahan raised his hands to his face and cried out in a scared voice.

“I, I’ve never seen a monster in my life…”

“What are you talking about? You must have seen one at some point.”

Enya couldn’t believe it and asked further.

Even under Tarhan’s protection, where live monster encounters were rare, seeing monsters were somewhat common in the village—not to mention the empty fields. From the river-dwelling Hippis to young dimpir and even black claw wolves, encountering monsters was not unusual just a little way out from the village outskirts.

She even recalled a time in her childhood when she and Tarhan stumbled upon a nest of Feluda, a large monster while wandering outside the village during the Day of Repose.

“Really, I swear! Other than tooth moles and monster ants, I’ve never seen one!”

Jahan exclaimed in despair.

Seeing Enya’s disbelief, Senu quickly spoke up on his behalf.

“Jahan has lived in the cave since he was five. He hasn’t set foot outside even once since then.”

Enya looked at Jahan in surprise.

Five years old… It meant he had lived his life without freely experiencing sunlight for more than half his lifetime. She suddenly remembered Jahan mentioning that everyone in the cave was his friend and family.

‘It had to be that way.’

A bittersweet feeling washed over her, but it didn’t last long. The group’s mood was quickly weighed down by worries about the new obstacle they faced.

Senu, sounding like he hadn’t considered that aspect, sighed heavily and murmured in a serious tone.

“Monsters, of course… I hadn’t thought of that. Forgetting that once we escape this camp, we’re entirely responsible for our own safety was a complete oversight on my part.”

Enya felt disheartened as the carriage’s atmosphere plummeted.

“I hadn’t forgotten! Those damned monsters, we’ll just sweep them away with this! I was prepared to face them from the start!”

Silanda banged on an item that took up a corner of the carriage, growling fiercely. It was a weapon they had smuggled out of the cave, evading the soldiers’ eyes. Knowing the weapon’s power, Enya swallowed nervously.

“Ri, right! We have these! One shot from these, and any monster on land wouldn’t stand a chance!”

Jahan boldly declared, puffing out his chest. The motion caused his head to bump against the carriage’s leather-covered ceiling, groaning as he clutched at his head.

Then, Senu sharply retorted.

“You can’t think it’ll be that easy!”

Enya was really startled. It was her first time seeing Senu raise his voice like that. Jahan and Silanda’s reactions suggested they were also seeing this side of Senu for the first time.

In the silence filled with everyone’s astonishment, Senu spoke with a solemn voice.

“These are one-use items. We only have four shots. We absolutely cannot rely solely on them.”

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