Grin

Even after the Wood Golem demonstration ended, our group continued walking without rest.

We didn’t have to worry about food or the sand hitting our bodies, thanks to the Tree Barrier, but the exhaustion was beginning to pile up.

Here and there, I could see people whose steps had grown heavy.

No one complained aloud, but it was clear they were struggling.

So I resolved to do whatever I could to help.

If I went back to Tree Village and slept comfortably while they endured hardship, I could never truly share their burden.

So I limited my trips back home to the bare minimum—choosing instead to experience the same hardships alongside them.

“Here, eat this and get some rest soon, okay?”

“Thank you so much, Woody-sama!”

I handed out snacks to children who were getting restless or whining that they didn’t want to walk anymore.

“Ugh… that hurts…”

“If you’d like, try this Peach Ointment. It helps wounds heal much faster.”

“W-Woody-sama!? Thank you so much!!”

Naturally, since we were walking constantly, there were people who tripped and scraped their knees, or elderly folk whose legs and backs were starting to give out.

For them, I distributed Peach Ointment—Ran-san’s specially approved remedy. Thanks to it, we hadn’t lost a single traveler to exhaustion or injury so far.

“…”

The people who had once spent their energy chatting had now grown silent, speaking only during breaks.

Even though they could drink water whenever they wanted, the desert heat was relentless.

Sweat would pour, dry into white streaks, and pour again—a cycle repeated endlessly.

When would this journey finally end?

All of us—including me—were waiting for Wheel-san to speak, leading at the very front.

It had been nearly a month since our journey began.

A ridiculous thought occasionally crossed my mind—that maybe we’d be walking forever.

Of course, I knew that couldn’t be true, yet the negative thoughts wouldn’t stop surfacing.

I forced myself to walk just behind Wheel-san, so everyone could see my back.

So that they’d understand—they weren’t the only ones suffering.

“Haah… haah… it’s so hot…”

“Woody, here—water.”

“Thanks.”

Nadja and Aira were walking beside me, and because of them, I didn’t feel alone.

…Well, not entirely true.

It was honestly pretty tough.

But as the lord of these people, I couldn’t show weakness or stop moving forward.

“Woody-sama, I’ve cut the peaches for you. Here—say ‘ah~’.”

“Ah~… munch munch… delicious.”

So I hoped no one would judge me for accepting a little peach-feeding from Aira.

Juicy fruit like this was a blessing in the desert—hydrating and sweet enough to lift anyone’s spirits.

After sharing a brief, sweet moment with Aira, I continued walking, receiving a series of sharp hand chops to the shoulder from Nadja that nearly made me cough up my lunch.

—Then, around noon, just as we were about to take a break, Wheel-san suddenly stopped walking.

He turned around to face us, a wide grin on his face.

“…Alright. We’ve reached the point where the Sanctuaries no longer interfere with one another. Now, if we can just find a convenient mana reservoir, we can build a new Sanctuary.”

The moment Wheel-san said that, a cheer erupted from everyone around us.

The new village we had all longed for—

At last, our destination was within reach.

Holding hands with Aira and Nadja, I shared in the joy, my heart swelling with relief and excitement.