Along a dirt road, a luxurious horse-drawn carriage passed by, resembling one owned by nobility. The carriage was purple, adorned with golden carvings, and pulled by a white horse with a mane like blazing fire, fluttering like a flag in the wind. It was followed by a large snow-white wolf and escorted by two griffins flying above. The carriage sparkled under the twilight sun, as if it carried a long-hidden passion of love and longing. From within, a silver-haired, blue-eyed woman gazed out at the scenery, her smile filled with hope.
[A few days earlier]
One evening, Radhimar, Rania, and Bartasz ca to the cabin to have dinner with . They said they wanted to taste my cooking again. Unfortunately, Elrik, Rania's husband, didn't join because he was busy with research and didn't want to be disturbed.
"What?! Mother is going to the Central Plains?!" shouted Rania and Radhimar.
"Yes, I'll accompany Rima there."
"I'm coming too!" declared Radhimar.
"Bro, can you even leave just like that?" asked Bartasz.
"!"
Radhimar's face imdiately changed from joyful to gloomy upon realizing sothing.
"I can go because the academy is on sumr break," said Rania cheerfully.
"What about you, Bartasz?" she added.
"Well… I suppose I can join. I need to give instructions on what should be done while I'm away," replied Bartasz.
"You guys are unfair! Am I going to be left alone?!" Radhimar cried, dropping his face onto the dinner table.
"…"
"Wait, don't you have sumr classes too?" Radhimar asked.
"Ah! Right…" Rania replied.
Now it was Rania's turn to drop her face onto the table, realization dawning on her.
"And you, Bartasz, didn't you ntion you had another construction project?" Radhimar added.
"That's true, which is why I never said I'd go," Bartasz replied.
Radhimar brightened up again after realizing he wouldn't be left alone after all.
"Oh, what's the project?"
"Rebuilding so unfinished citizen hos and restoring the west gate," answered Bartasz.
"Well then… just do your duties. Don't worry, I won't be gone too long. And if anything happens, you can always contact via telepathy," I said.
"Mother's right. If anything happens, contact us via telepathy like before," Rima added.
"Since it's sumr now, sumr wouldn't be complete without…" Rima trailed off.
"Without what?" I asked.
"Without bikinis!" Rima exclaid.
Hearing that, heat rushed to my face and ears.
"Hey! Why would you bring that up in front of them?" I whispered.
"What's the problem? They're adults, too," said Rima with her sly smile.
"But still…"
"We haven't spent ti together in a while. How about a little family shopping trip, then a picnic and camping before Luna and I leave?" Rima suggested.
"Agreed!" shouted Rania and Radhimar, raising their hands excitedly.
Seeing their antics, Bartasz could only shake his head. And so, with the plan decided, we continued our warm conversation.
The next day, I t up with Rania and the others in the city. Rima, Lusserina, and I t them at a boutique recomnded by Rima. The store was large and spacious, with two floors. Once inside, it was filled with what appeared to be expensive clothing.
"How did you know about this place?"
"The royal family introduced to them," Rima replied.
"Honestly, your clothes are better than theirs," she whispered.
There, we all shopped for sumr clothing. After hours of choosing, we returned to Dewata Lake. For the won, we chose light-colored, laced dresses and matching sun hats. Radhimar and Bartasz picked colorful floral safari shirts and shorts. To make it feel like a holiday, we decided to picnic and camp near the Temple of the Moon and Sun. Langit and the others joined too.
When we arrived, we set up our tents and prepared the area. Once ready, Rima eagerly invited everyone to swim. I wore a blue bikini, Rima wore green, Rania wore purple, and Lusserina wore black. Radhimar and Bartasz just went shirtless with shorts.
Everyone swam except Lusserina, who stayed by the lake, setting up a mat and preparing picnic food. Griffa and the rest didn't swim either—they just napped by the lakeside, especially Langit. After having fun in the water, we relaxed by the lake.
"Ahhh… this feels like a family vacation. Mom Rima's idea was amazing," Rania said.
"Right?" Rima replied.
"…"
"Food is ready," Lusserina said.
Once the food was ready, everyone enjoyed the delicious al, surrounded by the beauty of nature. When the blue sky gave way to a starlit night, everyone truly cherished the ti together.
The next morning, after breakfast, we packed up and returned to the cabin. Upon arrival, Radhimar, Rania, and Bartasz said their goodbyes and headed back to the city.
Day turned to night, and night back to day. A few days later, Rima, Lusserina, and I visited the workshop where Bartasz worked. When we arrived, Radhimar and Rania were already there.
"Radhimar, Rania, aren't you supposed to be working?" I asked.
"Don't worry, Mom. I wouldn't miss this chance," Radhimar said, proudly puffing out his chest.
"Big bro's right. There's no way we'd miss this," added Rania.
"This chance? We're just looking at carriages," I replied.
"But we can't just pick any carriage. It's even better if we build our own—sothing strong yet beautiful, luxurious, and grand like you, Mother," Radhimar said.
"Agree," said Rania.
"I also agree with the Young Master," added Lusserina.
"Haha, just give in. It's not like having a strong and luxurious carriage is a bad thing," said Rima.
"And I don't have a carriage yet either. This is a perfect opportunity," Rima added.
"Alright… I'll leave everything to you," I replied with a deep sigh.
"Woohoo! Let's make it as grand and luxurious as possible!" shouted Radhimar, eyes blazing.
"Yes! Let's do it!" Rania echoed.
With that, they both ran off toward the carriage showroom.
"See? They're always fired up when it cos to you. You wouldn't want to ruin those smiles, right?" said Rima with a sly smile.
(Rima's right. I once longed for a parental figure as well. And these children waited for two hundred years… they must've endured loneliness and deep yearning. I can't imagine what that felt like. But at the very least, this is what I can do for them.)
During our walk from the workshop to the rchants' guild, people constantly stared at us. Even so elves we passed gave respectful bows.
At the guild, we were greeted by the guild master and Bartasz, who had arrived ahead of us. We were taken to a facility I had never seen before—reserved only for VVIP guests.
We were led to a hangar near the guild. Lined up inside were carriages of various shapes and colors.
Since I had left the decision to them, I just watched. Radhimar, Rania, and Bartasz thoroughly inspected each carriage. After an hour, none t their standards. So seed fine to , but the final say was theirs. So in the end, they decided to build their own.
"But isn't the journey going to take four weeks? That ans you only have less than two weeks left. Will it be ready in ti?" I asked.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll personally work on it," said Bartasz.
"Alright then, I leave it to you."
Darkness gave way to light, night to day. For the initial concept, I suggested adding shock absorbers for a more comfortable ride.
At first, Bartasz was confused—he had never seen one and didn't know how it worked, and I didn't know how to make one either. All I knew was it involved tal shaped like a spring. After several trials, Bartasz successfully created it.
Over the following two weeks, there wasn't much to do except read books and play with Langit and the others. Even at the adventurers' guild, all the requests involved leaving the city or even traveling to neighboring nations now that the trade routes had reopened after the bandits were captured.
On the thirteenth day, the bell rang at the Moonshine shop. When I opened the door, a carriage was parked in front of my house. The carriage stood majestically in the courtyard, its purple lacquer reflecting the sunlight like liquid gems. The gold carvings in the shape of vines on the doors seed to co to life as the wind brushed against them, causing several birds in the trees to stop their chirping to admire them. Bartasz was in the driver's seat, and Radhimar and Rania stepped out from inside.
"Well, Mom? Isn't Bartasz's carriage amazing?" said Rania.
Its exterior was purple with gold patterns. The driver's seat had a separate covered space to protect from the sun and rain. Inside, two plush sofas faced each other, enough to seat six adults.
I never expected they would build it… Including the shock-absorbing feature we discussed… he made it. I couldn't believe that behind their smiles, they hid a longing that had lasted two hundred years...
"But how did you pull it off?" I asked.
"Bartasz and his team did everything. Hehe. Rania and I only helped with ideas," Radhimar admitted bashfully.
"What about your projects?"
"No worries, Mom. Everything's going smoothly," replied Bartasz.
"Wow, you are amazing," I said, stroking his head.
"Mom! I told you not to pat my head—I'm not a kid anymore!" shouted Bartasz, his face turning red.
Everyone burst into laughter.
[Back to the present]
"At this pace, we'll arrive in Barqa City before sunset," Rima said, reading a book.
Barqa City… I can't believe I'm returning here. I wonder how Elise and the others are doing—I can't wait to see them again.
Just as the sun dipped halfway below the horizon, we arrived in Barqa. Not much had changed in the past two months.
Upon arrival, I headed straight to the adventurers' guild.
"Welco!" the receptionist said.
"Good afternoon, Nadya!" I greeted.
"Miss Luna! How have you been?" Nadya asked with a bright smile.
"I've been well. And you? Anything new?"
"I'm doing fine, too. Everything's the sa as always," Nadya replied.
"Oh, are Elise and the others here too?"
"Unfortunately, no. They left for Arvastan City to attend the sumr festival and martial arts tournant," she said.
Aww… I had rushed here, hoping to see them again after being apart for more than two months…
"Don't be sad—we'll catch up with them there," Rima said, patting my shoulder.
When Rima joined the conversation, Nadya's eyes widened.
"Oh right, you probably already know, but let introduce you—this is my twin sister, Rimaria Oberyth."
"Since you took care of my sister while she was here, feel free to call Rima. Nice to et you," Rima said, winking.
"Miss Rimaria, the S-rank adventurer?! It's an honor to et you!" exclaid Nadya.
"Haha, no need to be formal with . Just talk normally," said Rima.
"O-okay…" Nadya replied nervously.
"Well then, we'll look for an inn first," I said.
"Would you like to recomnd a place?" Nadya asked.
At that, Rima and I exchanged glances.
"We'd love that," I replied.
"In that case, I recomnd this place…"
"…"
The starlit night signaled it was ti to rest before our next journey tomorrow.
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