The forest around the dungeon was quiet.
Mark walked unhurriedly along path between the trees, with Rose at his side and Yuki sowhere among the vegetation that he couldn’t see but knew was there, keeping watch over the surroundings.
Rose walked with her eyes closed and her head tilted slightly upward, breathing deeply with an expression on her face that Mark could only describe as serenity.
"You look pretty happy," Mark said, glancing at her sideways.
Rose opened one eye and looked at him.
"Because I am, Master," she replied, closing the eye again and letting out another long sigh. "You have no idea how good it feels to be out here after being shut inside your dungeon."
"You know, you’re just like Yuki in that way."
"Like Yuki?"
"You both feel more comfortable outside the dungeon than inside," Mark said with a shrug. "Every ti we go out, both of you relax in a way you don’t down there."
"Well," she said, bringing a hand to her chin. "I didn’t know Yuki had such good taste."
Mark laughed a little at that.
"Although I suppose her reasons are different from mine," Rose added.
"Quite different," Mark confird. "Yuki doesn’t like being in the dungeon because she died there."
Rose stopped walking for a second.
"Oh..." she said with an expression that shifted quickly from surprise to understanding.
Rose picked up her pace again and stayed quiet for a mont before speaking.
"Well, in my case it’s quite a bit simpler than that," she said in a light tone. "I lived in seclusion for a long ti, Master, many years, I spent many years shut in the sa place without being able to leave."
"Really?"
"Yes," Rose confird, nodding. "And honestly I’d rather not talk about those days right now... but I promise I’ll tell you about it soday, Master."
"Don’t worry, whenever you’re ready to tell , I’ll listen."
"Thank you, Master..." Rose closed her eyes again and breathed deeply.
Mark looked at her for a second and then let out a quiet laugh.
"Now that I think about it, we’re opposites then," he said in a casual tone.
"Opposites?"
"I prefer staying shut in rather than going out," Mark admitted with a shrug. "If it were up to , I’d stay in the dungeon with all of you for the rest of my life."
"Are you serious?" Rose asked with disbelief.
"Completely serious," Mark confird. "Before coming to this world, if I wasn’t at work I spent all my ti shut inside my house, I only went out when there was no other option, and every ti I did the only thing I wanted was to get back as fast as possible."
"That sounds terrible, Master."
"Sounds terrible to you," Mark corrected. "For it was quite comfortable."
Rose stared at him for a second and then laughed.
"Well, Master," Rose said, still with the laugh in her voice. "It seems like opposites attract."
"Was that flirting?"
"It was more of an observation," Rose replied with a smile.
After that the two continued walking in silence for a while longer, moving between the trees with no particular destination.
Rose stopped occasionally to look at sothing that caught her attention, a flower, a rock formation, a strangely colored insect, and Mark simply waited without saying anything.
It was pleasant, and Mark realized it had been a long ti since he’d had a mont like this.
A mont where he wasn’t running from sothing, or planning sothing, or worrying about sothing.
’I could get used to thi—’
"Master."
Yuki’s voice sounded inside his head all at once, cutting his thought in half.
Mark stopped.
Rose also stopped when she saw him stop walking, and her expression shifted instantly from relaxed to alert.
"Master?" Rose asked, confused at seeing him stop.
Mark raised a hand to signal Rose to wait.
"What is it, Yuki?" Mark replied through the ntal link.
"A group is approaching on horseback quickly toward your position," Yuki said. "Do you want to eliminate them?"
"No, don’t do anything yet," Mark replied quickly. "Can you identify them?"
"From what I can observe, their uniforms are similar to Alice’s and they’re led by a woman with white and gold hair."
"Understood, stay alert in case more appear."
"As you command, Master."
When he finished speaking Mark lowered his hand and looked at Rose.
"Yuki just told a group is approaching."
"Semi-humans?" Rose asked, frowning.
"No, humans."
"Do you want to kill them, Master?"
Hearing the sa words from Rose as from Yuki, Mark let out a faint sigh.
"No, I’d prefer you didn’t."
"But... why not?" Rose asked with notable confusion on her face.
"Because this area is relatively quiet," Mark explained. "Aside from the semi-humans in the forest and the occasional adventurer, no one cos through here."
Rose listened in silence.
"If a large group of people suddenly disappears without a trace in an area where supposedly nothing happens..." Mark continued, "sooner or later soone will co to investigate, and then another group will co, and then another."
"I see... that’s a smart position, Master," Rose said, crossing her arms. "Not the most fun, but definitely the smartest."
"I’m glad you understand."
"Though I have to admit it’s a little hard for ," Rose added with a faint smile. "My first instinct is always going to be to eliminate the problem before the problem eliminates us."
"I know, that’s why I’m explaining it to you."
Hearing him, Rose let out a short laugh.
But then both of them heard it.
The sound was faint at first, barely a distant tapping against the earth that blended with the wind through the trees.
But it grew louder.
Hoofbeats, many of them, advancing at full speed directly toward where they were.
Mark and Rose exchanged a glance.
"They’re here," Mark said quietly.
Rose turned in the direction of the sound and stayed still for a mont.
"Master," she said without looking away from where the sound of the horses was coming from. "If you want to keep a low profile, then follow my lead."
"Follow your lead?"
"Trust ," Rose said, turning her head toward him with an amused expression.
"Alright... I’ll leave it in your hands."
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