After we finished setting up our temporary settlement for the day, the heavy veil of night began to descend upon the area not long after.
Along with Geremie, I stepped forward and volunteered to stay up and stand guard while the rest of the group got some sleep.
However, everyone immediately opposed my suggestion and told me that I should be the one resting instead. They argued that I had done the most work today and that I was likely the most exhausted person among all of us.
I almost frowned at their words of concern. The irony was that now that the sun was finally out of the sky, I felt much stronger and more energized than I had before. But, of course, that was something I simply couldn't explain to them.
So, acting as knightly and selfless as possible—
"I still plan to stay awake for a while either way. I intend to spend some time training with my sword and I will get some rest later on."
I declared that to them with a tone that left little room for argument.
Fortunately, they actually stopped forcing me to go to bed after that. To be honest, I didn't really expect them to force me to rest.
'Back in my old world, I would have been yelled at by my superiors if I ever got caught trying to rest.'
I thought to myself, letting out a small, weary sigh as the memory of my exhausting office job flashed through my mind.
I also find it hard to believe that a day would come where I would actually be the one rejecting a chance to rest. But whatever, I just wanted to focus on getting even stronger than I already was for now.
And so, a little later, the others finally started drifting off to sleep, leaving only me and Geremie to handle the nightwatch duty.
*****
"Are you really sure that you aren't going to get some sleep tonight?"
I asked as I turned my head toward Geremie, who was sitting near the flickering light of the fire.
"Don't worry about me. After a couple of hours have passed, I'll go and wake up Albert so we can change shifts. You should really rest by then too."
He replied to me with a friendly smile.
"Oh, sure... I'll probably be finished with my training session by then."
I said, nodding my head in agreement.
"Anyway, I heard from the villagers back there that you're a knight, but I honestly didn't expect you to be quite this strong, especially seeing that your equipment and your weapon are really no better than the gear we carry."
"To be honest, you also look a bit like a spoiled young master who would probably burn under the sun, seeing how pale and smooth your skin is. Your whole vibe just screams that you're actually a noble traveling in secret for some reason."
Then, Geremie mumbled those observations, and I could clearly hear the hints of curiosity and lingering doubt in his voice.
I had been in situations exactly like this before, when I was traveling with Hans and the others back then. So, opening my mouth, I started spinning a tale about my past to help ease his growing suspicion of me.
I told him the lie about how I was actually the illegitimate son of a noble, which was my excuse for my refined appearance. I then added that the noble family I once served had already fallen into ruin quite a while ago, which was why I didn't possess any high-quality equipment or expensive weapons.
I claimed that was also the primary reason why I was currently traveling everywhere all by myself.
After hearing my fabricated story, Geremie looked genuinely guilty and apologized for saying such insensitive things to me. I just casually brushed it off; after all, every single thing I had just told him was a complete lie.
'It really is lucky for me that people seem to believe my lies so easily.'
I thought to myself.
Anyway, after our short conversation reached its end, I excused myself. I told Geremie that I was going to train a bit further away from the camp so I wouldn't disturb the people who were resting and so that I could focus better on my movements.
I told him to just shout out if anything happened, and he simply nodded his head, not asking any further questions.
And so, after separating myself from the group and the light of the campfire, I started my real training for the night.
*****
I headed back toward the edge of the forest and began hunting for monsters and wild animals.
I didn't go very deep into the forest this time; I stayed mostly along the edge of the trees so that I would still be close enough to help the others in case an emergency came up.
I didn't encounter any new types of monsters during my hunt, just more Ironhide Boars and Dire Wolves. I killed them anyway and drank their blood to make my existing skills even stronger.
As for the normal animals, I focused on killing and drinking the blood of deers and bears. Most of the other creatures I saw didn't really have any skills that I felt I needed. Ah, well; I did manage to kill some owls and drank their blood, which granted me [Nocturnal Sight]— a very useful passive skill that allows me to see much better in the absolute dark.
I stayed within the shadows of the forest for about an hour or two... Before finally coming back out into the open moonlight to practice my swordsmanship.
I eventually fell into a bit of a stupor as I got completely immersed in my training.
... ... ...
"Sir Verc!"
As I was focused on executing a series of complex sword techniques, I suddenly heard Geremie calling out for me from the distance.
I turned toward the direction of his voice and saw that he was looking around for me near the camp. He still couldn't see me in the dark, but I could see him perfectly because I basically possessed night vision now.
Anyway, I stopped my movements and sheathed my sword. Opening my mouth, I shouted back—
"I'm right here!"
I answered his call and began running back toward the campsite.
When we finally met up, he informed me that he and Albert were just about to change their shift. Apparently, more than four hours had already passed while I was busy. He insisted once again that I should get some rest.
I felt quite satisfied with the progress of my training for the night anyway, so I simply nodded my head.
"Got it, let's head back to the tents."
I answered with that and walked back to the center of the camp with him.
... ... ...
Back in the camp, Albert was already awake and preparing himself to stand guard for the remainder of the night.
I greeted him as we approached, and he greeted me back with a nod.
"Make sure you rest up properly now. Don't worry about anything out here; I'll be extra vigilant so you can actually relax for a bit."
He said to me.
"What about me? Don't I get a 'rest up properly' too?"
Then, Geremie cut into the conversation and asked that with a smirk.
"Ugh, just go to sleep already, you old man."
Albert replied to him. I couldn't help but smile at their interaction; it looked like the two of them had known each other for a very long time.
Anyway, I thanked Albert for his hard work— then I entered the tent that Miguel had given me to use for the night. I wasn't really feeling tired, but I found myself falling asleep almost immediately after lying down.
*****
The next day, as soon as the sun began to rise—
Verc and the others set to work cleaning up their camp and packing their belongings again. Then, before the day could even get really bright, the group started traveling along the road once more.
All of them had managed to get some decent rest, and they were well-prepared for another day of travel.
...
Fortunately, however, today turned out to be completely uneventful. Nothing noteworthy or dangerous happened along the way, and the group only stopped twice to eat and rest normally.
Then, when the night finally came, they set up their camp and prepared to rest again. It was Verc and Albert who stood guard first this time around.
Albert ended up telling Verc basically the exact same things that Geremie had said to him the previous night. And so— Verc also trauma dumped a bunch of lies on Albert to make him shut up and stop asking questions.
Which turned out to be a really effective tactic.
Verc then spent his time training his swordsmanship again until it was finally time for the shift change.
And the next day... the exact same routine happened again.
It was just as Miguel had predicted; once they were out of the dangerous forest, everything would be a breeze.
And shortly before the end of the third day of their journey...
The group finally reached their destination.
[The City of Nash]