The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 423: Adventure is the romance of a fantasy world

Chapter 423: Adventure is the romance of a fantasy world

"Everything’s ready?" Natha asked me once again, and once again, I went through a mental note listing all of my luggage.

The most important thing, the inter-realm communication orb, was safe inside my storage ring, so all is well. I nodded and Natha stroked my head once before stepping back.

Huh...

I looked at him while blinking; form in attention. I was ready for another dose of nagging like he did before I went to the Human Realm, but surprisingly, Natha said nothing.

Which made me more confused than relieved.

"What?" he asked.

"You’re not going to nag me?"

He raised his brow and looked at me wordlessly for a few seconds before chuckling. "Nah," he pinched my cheek lightly. "Those druids are even stricter than me--especially regarding your well-being."

Oh...he was right about that.

"And it’s the safest place you can go to," he added. "Even safer than the Demon Realm, regrettably so. Who would try to harm the little prince, anyway? They’d be incurring the wrath of all children of nature."

Oh, well...he was right about that again--but it was still embarrassing being called ’little prince’. I knew now why Jade was so annoyed when Natha called it ’brat’.

But anyway...

I felt kind of sad. I liked him nagging me, even if I felt it was too much sometimes. It showed me how much he cared about me; the great affection he had for me. Seeing him looking calm and nonchalant when I was about to go away for a few days--again--made me feel a bit...empty.

"So...that’s it?" I asked, fiddling with his lapel.

"Why? Do you miss hearing me telling you a list of what to do and not do?" he pinched my chin and made me look up to see him smile teasingly. Well... it’s less than that but more of his unending affectionate voice.

When I looked at his eyes, however, they didn’t smile. They were rather dull--or should I say, cold?

"Are you..." I touched his cheek. "Sulking?"

His lips retreated and I could see his real face now. Oh...so that was why. He did say he didn’t want to let me go the other night, and while I thought he was already fine with it, he wasn’t really.

So...he deliberately did not say much because he was sulking that I kept going away?

Ugh--isn’t it cheating to have this kind of gap?

I grasped his cheeks and pulled him into a kiss that I wouldn’t be able to feel for the next few days. Unlike with the Human Realm, Natha wouldn’t be able to just teleport to the druid settlement. We couldn’t even use teleportation scroll there. But he also couldn’t come with me because...who would take care of our wedding then? Hehe...

"I’ll do it quickly," I whispered. "I expected a lot of nagging when I’m back."

"I’ll speak the whole night if you want."

"I’d like that," I kissed his cheek, and he lifted me while capturing my lips again as he brought me toward Vrida. "Is there anything you want me to bring from there? Some souvenirs?"

"You," he said. "Just bring yourself back quickly."

Mother, he was so cheesy. But ugh--it sounded so charming with his deep soothing voice and eyes that had turned gentle now. I kissed him again one last time, before Jade was chirping in annoyance and impatience from between Vrida’s horns.

"As usual," Natha stroked the wyvern’s forehead while looking at Jade and Ignis. "I leave him in your hands."

[Wings!]

"Yeah, yeah--your wings too," Natha chuckled and stepped back so Vrida could get up and get ready to take off.

I looked at Natha--as well as Zia and the others, including Angwi, who were staying on the balcony--and waved at them. Jade also waved its wings, and Vrida let out a deep growl before kicking the blue grass and taking off to the sky.

Onward, to the Realm of Nature.

* * *

[Wheeeee!]

The familiar sound of Jade’s excitement could be heard as Vrida flew fast across the Realm of Nature. After registering our visit at the border with the drows, I told her she could go as fast as she liked. Ignis was grumbling beneath my hood, but Jade was beside itself with excitement.

There was nothing to worry though; trained mounted wyvern like Vrida knew how to shield her rider from air pressure with magic. I imagined it would feel like riding on an old-school fighter jet because Vrida was flying.

As if telling me she missed flying with me, she went straight into speed. It seemed like she had been flying around a lot when we left her while we were on the elven kingdom and the settlement, because she flew without hesitation. She still remembered the direction of the Great Alnin Forest so I didn’t even need to tell her where to go. What a good girl.

That being said, it was a long long distance, and even with Vrida’s speed--which was a green wyvern specialty--it would still take a whole day to reach the settlement. Vrida also needed to rest, so we decided to land on a flat surface right at the beginning of a mountain range and made a camp there.

I said a camp, but all I did was take out blankets to have a small picnic with my companions. One of Vrida’s wings became our ’tent’, and with Ignis around, even the chilly peak turned warm.

"It’s kind of nice, adventuring on our own like this," I said between savoring the scrumptious sandwich Angwi was packing me this morning. "Just us and no other."

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t been truly alone on a trip since I took Natha’s hand on the palace’s balcony. Everywhere I went, it was either with Natha or someone else; Zia, the vassals, the humans...

Obviously, I wasn’t truly alone this time too. But my companions were parts of me anyway, so it felt like I was taking on a solo journey. And having a meal on a mountain like this...ah--felt like an adventure, isn’t it? I let out a giggle as the thought came to mind.

[Papa sound happy!]

I laughed and squeezed the jelly-stained cheeks. "I am happy," I said, feasting my eyes on the beautiful landscape. "Or rather...I’m excited. I’ve always dreamed of something like this, you know; going to the wild nature, eating out in the open without proper equipment..."

There was a thrill of not having a proper roof for sleeping, or that someone might come and attack me out of nowhere. The romance of a fantasy world, the adventures!

Of course, I knew that there was no real danger here for me, and that calling it a ’thrill’ when someone out there genuinely yearning for a roof was disrespectful. I also knew this wasn’t just a ’fantasy world’. This was a real world, not something sprouting out of a novel. What I called ’adventuring’ wasn’t a romance, but the likelihood of someone, a way to survive.

But...

But, just this once, I would like to live in that dream and fantasy I thought during the time I was lying on the hospital bed. I didn’t even think about becoming a hero or slaying a dragon, just...just going around like this, without the luxury of a carriage or comfortable inn. It was just a bit of danger, a bit of inconvenience, and a lot of fun.

I wouldn’t be able to do it if Natha was around, since it seemed like he made it his lifelong mission to spoil me with all the comfort of the world.

And I had a feeling he would become even more extra once we got married. Especially...once we conceived.

"Can’t you just do it whenever you like?" Ignis flicked its tail on my shoulder.

"Sure I can," I nodded and sipped on the warm soup that Ignis had just heated up. "But that would be disrespectful to all of the people who care about my well-being, so..."

"Hmm..."

I looked at the Salamander who made a skeptical face and laughed. "Ignis too," I stroked the flaming head. "If you can choose, wouldn’t you want to just travel from volcano to volcano, and explore all kinds of caves? But you stay with me, even though you have to learn how to not set things on fire accidentally."

"I don’t see it as something bothersome," the Salamander grumbled.

I leaned back and looked up at Vrida. "Vrida too, would probably like it if she could just freely fly everywhere. But in the end, she came back to me. That being said, I never feel her displeasure in doing so."

I closed my eyes and stretched my arms. "Just like you and Vrida, I don’t feel stuffy or anything--I’m happy being protected and spoiled like this. Isn’t it because they love me so much?"

"They do love you."

"That’s why," I clapped my hands. "It’s enough to do it once in a while like this."

After all, I was no longer alone. This situation, where I would need to consider others’ perspectives and thoughts, means that I had forged bonds that I treasured.

And that was more precious than just a desire for a wild getaway on the weekend.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.