The Banished Black Swordsman Wants a Peaceful Life with the White Saint in the Frontier ~Huh? You Want Him to Come Back with the Saint? It’s Already Too Late~ - 45

Chapter 45: The Escape Bag and Peace

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

The night’s lingering warmth remained in the stones, and the morning chill turned the tips of the grass white when the two of them stood at the edge of the abandoned village. The languidness and embarrassment from yesterday’s bath had already faded, and the air that filled their lungs was clear.

Short bursts of birds calling to one another, and the sound of a distant stream. Lloyd traced the terrain around them with his eyes, checking for places where footprints wouldn’t easily remain and tree lines that wouldn’t stand out too much as landmarks, then stopped.

“I think this area is good. Lusha, can you dig a hole with your magic?”

“A hole? I don’t mind, but…”

Lusha tilted her head, brought her hands lightly together before her chest, and dropped her awareness toward the ground. The soil around the tips of her shoes loosened softly, sinking like a deflating balloon. In moments, a hole deep enough to hide her knees fully opened up. The scent of damp earth added a thin shadow to the fresh morning.

“Thanks. That helps.”

Lloyd loosened the leather pouch he had been carrying on his back, crouched, and checked its contents. Last evening, on Cron’s table, that modest sound had rung out—the clink of silver and copper coins, along with the weight of gold coins wrapped in cloth. He divided nearly half of those, placed them in the pouch, and pulled the string tight.

Then he added a small dagger for self-defense, a small flint, bandages, a simple water flask, and a torn piece of map. He checked the string once more before placing the pouch quietly at the bottom of the hole.

“Hm…? Why are you hiding money in a place like this?”

Lusha, crouched at the edge of the hole, widened her pale-blue eyes.

“It’s an escape bag, something for emergencies.”

“Escape bag…?”

“Well, it’s what we take if we ever need to flee from here. With this, we could manage to survive somehow.”

Lloyd briefly explained the escape bag.

For now, the ruins of Zaxon Village were safe. No one knew where Lloyd and Lusha were. They weren’t being chased by the Church either, so he could declare they were safe for the time being. With the environment set up like this, Lloyd honestly wanted to stay here as long as he could. But he didn’t know when things might change. It wasn’t impossible that something might someday force them to flee. The escape bag was for that.

“Escape… So that’s what it means.”

“Yeah. Not the most auspicious thing, I know.”

Lloyd shrugged. Even as he spoke casually, a faint dryness lingered in his throat. Preparing like this inevitably made one sense of some future “what if.” He pushed down that unease and returned the soil to the hole. He patted the dirt lumps flat with his palm, laid grass he had gathered around it, and pressed it down to blur the pattern. He stepped back to look at it from a distance, then again from another angle. Eyes got used to things. That was why eliminating the first-glance sense of strangeness mattered.

“Why not keep it inside the house?”

“If someone sets the house on fire, it’s over instantly. Most people bury stuff like this.”

The moment he said it, the blood drained from Lusha’s face. She had likely never imagined such a scenario. The image alone seemed to chill her.

“It’s better if we never have to use it…”

“No kidding. I’d like it to sleep here forever without ever having to dig this bag.”

He wished the bag hidden under the soil would be nothing but part of the earth, worn by wind and rain until even they forgot about it. But there was always a chance it wouldn’t go that way. He had to think about that too.

“…If something happens to me, take this and run. At least you should escape.”

Lloyd exhaled shortly before saying it. It was his honest intention. In fact, this escape bag existed entirely for Lusha. Even if such a situation occurred, Lloyd had no intention of abandoning her and ran away on his own Sensing that, Lusha didn’t nod. She lowered her gaze and clasped her fingers tightly together.

Yeah…No one wants to imagine something like that.

Saying it had made him feel awful too, but it was necessary.

“Anyway! We’ve finished setting our safety net then! Time to move on to the next step!”

Lloyd deliberately brightened his voice, shifting the air. He didn’t want Lusha wearing that gloomy expression any longer.

“I found something around here while walking yesterday.”

“Found something…? What did you find?”

“That’s for you to enjoy after seeing it.”

They stepped across the dew-covered grass toward the edge of the forest.

The outer ring of the abandoned village was mostly untouched, with multiple animal trails running through the low shrubs. Lloyd retraced yesterday’s footsteps, slipping through branches at the right angles. Soon, the density of greenery loosened. The trees opened into a small sun-dappled basin and there it was.

Trees of varying height formed a rough circle. Their trunks retained a wild sturdiness, and clusters of colorful fruit hung from their branches—red, yellow, deep purple—polished by the wind. Birds hopped from branch to branch, and small animals gnawed fruit beneath the leaves. Someone had planted it long ago, and nature had protected it ever since. It was a small, untouched orchard.

“Wow…!”

Lusha’s voice burst out softly. Sunlight lit her cheek, making her pale-blue eyes appear slightly lighter.

“Didn’t you say things would be perfect if we had fruit? I looked around a bit.”

“Lloyd… Thank you.”

Her way of thanking was so typical of her. She didn’t exaggerate her response, yet unable to hide her joy. Just seeing that warmed Lloyd’s chest.

“Hey, look.”

Lloyd, hiding his embarrassment with a laugh, pointed to a small animal crouched at the tree’s root. A squirrel-like creature held a fruit with its front paws, glanced at them, and continued nibbling.

“That little guy’s breakfast looks good.”

“Hehe, it’s cute. They’re eating here too…Let’s borrow just a little for ourselves.”

Lusha said it gracefully. Taking only a small share from nature was the teaching of the Earth Mother Goddess Leafia. Lusha always carried that sense of moderation.

“Yeah, we shouldn’t take too much.”

Lloyd nodded and reached for a suitable branch. The weight of the fruit he plucked left a pleasant feeling on his palm. Many of them were types he had never seen. As Lloyd brought one close to his nose, Lusha approached holding a fruit she had picked. Its color was rather suspicious.

“What’s that? Is it edible?”

“Oh, you don’t know this one? It’s delicious!”

Light shone through its thin skin—a strange color somewhere between purple and amber.

“Here, say ahh.”

Lusha smiled mischievously and brought the fruit to his lips. This White Saint really did things like this without any ill intent. It was troublesome.

“Tch… Fine. Ahh.”

In the end, Lloyd opened his mouth as told. A faint touch of her fingers approached. The thin skin popped softly against his teeth, releasing thick juice mixed with a hint of floral sweetness.

“…It’s good.”

There was a beat before the words left him. Even he laughed at how honest that pause was.

“This fruit is great for jam too, but I prefer eating it fresh like this.”

Lusha, looking satisfied, popped one into her mouth. When she bit it, she whispered “so good,” then smiled at him like a goddess incarnation.

“Jam, huh. We can bake bread and it keeps well, but we don’t have sugar.”

“Honey works too. The flavor will become a bit different, but I like it.”

She pointed to another tree bearing small orange fruits. They stretched their hands and picked only what they could reach. With no basket, Lloyd used his cloak as a pouch, letting the fruits roll into it.

With this much, breakfast is going to be a feast.

His thoughts slid naturally into planning.

Mix them into pancake batter? Add them on top after baking? Would the fruit’s acidity work in soup? How much honey do we have left?

He was surprised by how easily his mind wandered to such things. A different circuit was forming in a head once used only for fighting and killing.

“Ah. That little one has been watching you, Lloyd.”

Lusha pointed to a small rabbit curled in the shade. When Lloyd looked, their eyes met. The rabbit twitched its ears and went back to nibbling grass.

How peaceful…

A life where the two of them stayed like this, growing old together peacefully… Maybe it was possible here. The thought flickered in his mind.

So, please…

While looking at the rabbit, Lloyd offered a small prayer in his heart.

May the escape bag buried this morning sleep beneath the soil forever. May they pick fruit here again next year. May days where such wishes felt natural continue for a long time.

“We got a lot. I’m already excited for breakfast.”

Lusha looked up. Through the leaves, white clouds drifted. Her profile was outlined by the light of the sunlight.

“Yeah. When we get back, we’ll wash them and sort them. Eat the soft ones first and let the firm ones ripen on the shelf.”

“Okay!”

Cheerful as ever, she lifted the cloak’s hem with him, and they carefully matched their steps as they walked back through the forest. The fruits rolled gently inside the cloth, leaving a sweet smell on their clothes. The roofs of the abandoned village came into view. Somewhere, thin branches clinked together with a clear, wind-chime-like sound.

Lloyd glanced at the girl walking beside him and repeated the same prayer silently once more.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー