Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 133 (Part 1)

When they returned to the inn, Bianca was writing poetry. She would read a poetry collection by her side for a while, write down whatever came to mind, and then recite it with an exaggerated air of solemnity.

“…Each step leaving behind traces. Within them lies love. Big Brother Rodin, how is it?”

“Yeah, keep at it.”

As expected, a child was a child. Though she had nearly died because of Elder Kendrick and had been unusually quiet for a while, it had only taken a few days for her to return to her original self.

The next morning, Karis returned—or more accurately, Rodin summoned Karis from the pendant’s storage.

“How’s your body?”

“I’ve recovered.”

“It still seems like there’s something left.”

“This much will go away naturally with time.”

Karis sat on the carriage’s magic stone. When Jena also took a seat on the magic stone, Matthew no longer needed to drive the carriage.

“Matthew, how was it?”

“In the southern region, they cremate and scatter the ashes into the nearest river, while in the northern region, they bury the ashes under a tree.”

Matthew had gone out the day before to research the funeral customs of the Hedenes region.

Even though both regions were part of Hedenes, their funeral traditions differed. Margaret’s hometown was in southern Hedenes, so scattering her ashes into the river after cremation would suffice.

“We’ll proceed with cremation then. Karis, Jena, let’s set out.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The carriage departed. Near the city gates, Rodin briefly stopped the carriage.

“They say horses are cheap in Hedenes. Should we buy a few?”

“My lord, do you need more horses?”

“I want to properly train Bianca in horse riding.”

Even now, Larry could ride horses. Despite his young age, he possessed impressive equestrian skills.

However, Bianca had given up on horseback riding after falling a few times when she first learned. Rodin hadn’t forced her to continue training, and Bianca herself had shown little interest in it.

“Me? Horses are scary.”

“I’ll hold you steady.”

“Still no.”

Bianca was still terrified of horses. Even though Rodin had caught her every time she fell using his Magic Hand, she hadn’t been able to forget the terrifying sensation of falling.

“My lord, horses are cheaper in my mother’s hometown than here. The high-quality horses here are all from my mother’s hometown.”

“Really?”

“It’s a place famous for breeding excellent horses.”

“That’s great. Then we’ll buy some horses there. If possible, we can also exchange our current ones.”

The carriage resumed its journey. The line at the city gate wasn’t long, so they quickly left the city of Hedenes.

The weather was unseasonably clear for winter. The sunlight was warm enough that it felt as though they were traveling in spring.

“The sun is setting. Ah! The crimson sunset, so beautiful…”

“Bianca, what are you doing?”

“Writing poetry.”

“Again?”

It had barely been a few hours, yet Bianca was already working on her eighth poem. However, none of them were finished; each was left incomplete after a few lines.

“I just had a sudden burst of inspiration.”

“But the sun hasn’t even set yet. Why are you talking about a sunset?”

“Brother Larry, you’re so unromantic.”

This was already the third time they’d had this conversation today. Hearing the same thing over and over, Rodin was starting to get fed up.

“My lord, I think that’s the village.”

“Phew, Karis, you’ve saved me.”

It was the voice that ended Bianca’s tedious poetry and her bickering with Larry.

Rodin jumped off the carriage before anyone could stop him. Behind him, the carriage also came to a halt.

The carriage was traveling on a path over a hill. Below the hill stretched a picturesque green field.

“Wow! Big Brother Rodin! It’s beautiful.”

“Indeed.”

“Inspiration is flowing… The green flowers, so beautiful…”

“Ugh. Bianca, stop searching for beauty. Jena! Karis, let’s go down.”

Bianca’s poems always ended up talking about something being “beautiful.” Rodin had heard it so many times that he could recite the lines before Bianca even opened her mouth.

The carriage descended the hill and entered the village. It was a small village of about 100 households.

Because of the unfamiliar carriage, the villagers came out of their homes to see what was going on. Children even began trailing behind the carriage.

“This is a nice place.”

“Yes, my lord. It has a peaceful atmosphere.”

“I doubt there’s an inn here.”

“There is a place where merchants who come to buy horses stay. You can stay there if you pay the lodging fee.”

As Matthew had said, it wasn’t long before they arrived at a house next to a large open space. A man in his forties was waiting in front of the house.

“Welcome. I’m Leas, the village head of Oak Village. Are you merchants?”

“We’re not merchants. We’ve come to hold a funeral for someone from this village.”

“Someone from our village?”

“Yes. A woman named Margaret who passed away a few months ago. She wished to have her funeral in her hometown, so we’ve come here.”

The village head, Leas, repeated the name “Margaret” a few times.

It seemed he couldn’t recall the name. Perhaps she had only stayed in the village briefly, or maybe she had left long ago.

“In our village, we don’t bury the dead.”

“Yes, I heard. You scatter the ashes into the river after cremation.”

“Yes. The river is beyond the hills. I can help with the cremation process, but…”

“Of course, we’ll pay you for your trouble.”

Rodin could have used magic for the cremation, but he chose to involve the villagers. He wanted to send Margaret off using her hometown’s customs rather than with foreign, unfamiliar magic.

“Then please stay here for tonight. The lodging fee is 10 gold coins per day. Meals are charged separately.”

The lodging fee was for renting the entire space, not for individual people. The price was the same whether there were many or few guests.

“Understood.”

Rodin paid the fee immediately and had the carriage parked in the open space in front of the lodging.

“It’s better to hold the cremation quickly, isn’t it? We’ll proceed tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you.”

After reaching their destination, Rodin seemed more relaxed. He fell asleep much earlier than usual.

Hyung_Otaku2

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