Chapter 12
The severe motion sickness that struck Aquila did not subside. Instead, it grew progressively worse.
Although the road was cleared enough for carriages to pass, it was far from even, and the jolting was harsh.
As a result, the moment Aquila arrived at Celteng and stepped down from the carriage, he ended up vomiting.
Shen let out a scream and hurriedly returned with medicine and water.
Perhaps he had recalled the sight of his young master coughing up blood violently at the banquet hall, because his reaction was particularly frantic.
‘At least I did not throw up inside the carriage.’
That was what Aquila thought, but even so, his mood was far from good.
As Aquila lay there with a pale face, Yujelia approached and bathed him in the light of Divine Power.
Divine Power did not cure motion sickness, but it did ease the burning in his stomach and the abdominal pain that followed vomiting.
He did not know by what criteria the effects were divided, but it was new information nonetheless.
Not that this was knowledge he wanted to gain through firsthand experience.
Occupying one corner of the temporarily rented lodging, Aquila collapsed as if unconscious.
He had intended to sleep for about an hour, but by the time he woke up, nearly three hours had already passed.
Aquila buried his face into the pillow and let out a small groan.
His head was still foggy and dizzy.
‘If I keep progressing through the main scenario, I will eventually have to go to war. I cannot remain this frail… I need to build up my body somehow.’
One of the most irritating aspects of moving on to the next cycle was precisely this.
The physical strength he had painstakingly built would disappear entirely in the next cycle.
Even if he had made a name for himself as a mercenary king, upon entering the next cycle he could end up possessing someone who was terminally ill.
In short, the knowledge remained, but the muscles were gone.
‘Why is it impossible to transfer physical stats? The System is impossible to understand.’
Aquila furrowed his brow with a weary expression.
Still, perhaps because he had slept for three straight hours, although a slight headache remained, the motion sickness had largely subsided.
“Should you not rest a bit more? Your complexion still does not look good.”
“I am fine. Are the preparations complete?”
“We are ready to depart at any time.”
Aquila threw off the blanket and stood up immediately.
Because they had started moving early in the morning, the time they had boarded the teleportation circle had not yet reached noon.
His original plan had been to arrive at Portplum in the middle of the night.
‘If we leave now, we might barely make it before the city gates close.’
From Celteng to Portplum took another half a day.
Looking out the window, it seemed that although the sun had not yet set, it soon would.
In this world as well, the days in March were not particularly long.
Before Aquila could say anything, Shen brought over an outer garment and helped him put it on.
Then, instead of calling the others as one might expect, Shen led him out of the room toward a table set up to one side.
Food had already been laid out on it.
Yujelia, who had been sitting there waiting, looked up and greeted him brightly.
“…Shen.”
“You have to eat. You did not even have a proper breakfast.”
Shen cut Aquila off immediately and pulled out a chair for him.
“That is right, Young Master. It has not even been four days since you coughed up blood. Normally, you should still be lying in bed.”
Yujelia nodded in agreement.
“There is no time for this—”
“No. Even if we depart right now, it will be night by the time we reach Portplum anyway. It is better to rest here than to look for lodging there.”
Enunciating clearly, Shen quickly seated Aquila.
Overwhelmed by the momentum, Aquila looked down at the table laden with food.
Judging by the spread, it had been prepared with Aquila’s unsettled stomach in mind, lightly seasoned and focused on soft dishes.
It was undoubtedly Shen’s instruction.
“At night, the temple gates will be closed anyway, so departing right now does not seem like a good choice.”
Yujelia nodded and supported Shen’s argument.
‘If it is Ianpel, he might be waiting deliberately for that late hour.’
That thought crossed Aquila’s mind, but he chose not to voice it.
“That is right. And even if we depart immediately, we still have to ride in the carriage for another five hours, so if you do not eat anything, your body might suffer even more.”
Shen poured tea into a cup and set it beside him.
Aquila stared quietly at the steam rising from the cup and let out a long breath.
They were overly worried, but none of what they said was wrong.
Even if they arrived before the gates closed, there was no way they would be able to enter the Grand Temple of Portplum.
That would mean struggling to find lodging and then waiting there until morning.
‘I want to push the progress as quickly as possible… but it is better not to be stubborn right now.’
Moreover, Aquila had not yet fully grasped the condition of his body.
The attendant who had served him since childhood would know better, so it was wiser to follow Shen’s advice.
Besides, he had resolved to listen properly while riding in the carriage.
After finishing his tangled deliberations, Aquila finally picked up the spoon obediently.
Seeing that, Shen and Yujelia exchanged glances and smiled.
It was a smile of victory at having broken his stubbornness.
“There is only us here, so do not worry. Is your stomach all right?”
“It was resolved with Divine Power.”
It had been useless against teleport sickness, yet it had fixed his abdominal pain.
As Aquila muttered with a hint of resentment, Yujelia, who had accepted the cup Shen handed her, spoke.
“Divine Power does not solve everything, Young Master. That is why, when you can rest, you should rest properly, and try not to push your body too hard.”
Having endured a time when she could do nothing at all, Yujelia offered advice born of experience.
Aquila quietly brought up his status window.
Immediately after finishing the teleport, it displayed ‘Motion Sickness (Severe),’ but now it read ‘Normal.’
Moreover, the Sun God’s blessing, which had been flickering madly when he vomited, was now barely showing any movement, so his condition truly had improved.
“Yes.”
At least for now, he had not been pushing himself, so he answered without argument.
Aquila scooped up a bit of the soup before him.
The soup, made by mashing potatoes and boiling them before topping it with thinly sliced ham, was warm and pleasantly salty, whetting his appetite.
After a few more spoonfuls, his throat and chest felt warm.
Aquila tore off a piece of white bread, slightly cooled but still soft, and dipped it into the soup.
The moment the food entered his mouth, the hunger he had forgotten surged all at once, leaving him feeling hollow.
Perhaps it was because he had emptied his stomach earlier.
After devouring half the bread in one go, Aquila picked up his fork and knife.
The properly seasoned meat seemed to melt in his mouth, and the accompanying vegetables were blanched or boiled rather than raw.
All of it had been prepared for Aquila.
‘When was the last time I was a noble? It has been a long time since I have cared for a meal.’
Struggling to recall dining etiquette, he made an effort not to let the utensils clink.
Fortunately, since they were eating together, the full array of cutlery had not been laid out.
As Aquila continued eating, Shen, seated beside him, tore his own bread and put it into his mouth.
Yujelia also focused solely on the food, seemingly hungry as well.
The meal of the three proceeded in complete silence.
Slowly but surely, Aquila finished every last bit of the food set before him.
‘You never know when you might starve, so eat when you can.’
That was an absolute principle Aquila had formed over the many cycles he had lived through.
Whether Shen was bouncing around, exclaiming, ‘Our young master actually finished all his food!’ or not, Aquila did not rise from his seat until he had also taken his medicine properly.
***
By the time Aquila’s party arrived at Portplum, the sun had risen nearly overhead.
The narrow road that barely allowed a single carriage to pass had turned into a wide, flat path, and people could be seen moving about nearby.
Portplum, the city of logistics and transport.
True to its reputation as a gathering place for merchants from all regions, the area outside the gates was packed with people seeking entry.
Those standing in the endlessly long line all carried large loads.
They were all goods.
To pass through Portplum’s checkpoint, merchants had to present identification and declare the goods they were carrying.
Because the checkpoint officers inspected everything one by one, it took some time, but perhaps due to the large number of personnel stationed there, the line moved faster than expected.
Aquila lifted the curtain slightly and leisurely observed the scenery outside the window.
‘There was a time when I stood in line there with goods. I can hardly even remember when that was anymore. The time I sneaked in over the wall… was that when I was an elf…?’
Nearly getting lost in the memories that surfaced suddenly, Aquila shook his head sharply.
Even here, he could see people whispering among themselves after recognizing the Reschenhardt emblem embroidered on the carriage.
Since those folk rarely ever came out of Igrail, it was only natural to be surprised.
The carriage carrying Aquila’s party passed by the line of merchants and headed toward a separate gate.
It was an entrance reserved exclusively for nobles.
The carriage came to a stop before it, and quiet conversation could be heard outside.
Aquila drew back the curtain so he could see out the window.
However, without any need for him to lean out and verify his identity, the carriage, after pausing briefly, began to move forward again.
When his eyes met those of a checkpoint officer outside the window, the man looked startled for a moment before offering a polite smile.
“Young Master Aquila. Shall we head straight to the temple?”
Aquila turned his head belatedly.
A strange emotion rose within him.
Everything was familiar, yet he alone felt out of place.
It always felt this way whenever he possessed a new body and returned to familiar places, and no matter how many times it happened, the sensation never grew familiar.
Aquila nodded and pulled his hood deeply over his head.
Having slowed as it entered the city, the carriage began moving again, slowly and smoothly.
***
The Grand Temple of Portplum was the second largest temple on the Delvion continent, excluding the place where the Pope resided.
Worthy of its fame as the grand temple that praised the Sun God Raspalara, every part of it was imposing, and every detail possessed artistic value.
As soon as they arrived, as if word had already been sent, a priest came out to greet them.
The woman offered a greeting, then briefly glanced sideways at Yujelia.
Judging by the exchanged looks, they seemed to know each other, but Yujelia merely bowed in greeting and did not say anything else.
“Ianpel is waiting.”
Having said that, the priest guided them inside.
The interior of the temple was as breathtaking as its outer walls.
However, instead of admiring the murals carved into the inner walls or the stained-glass artwork pieced together with colored glass, Aquila focused on the clean walls and corridors.
‘It is cleaner than it was back then, perhaps because this is further in the past. Ah, that statue… the tip of the spear has not bent yet. So when exactly does it bend?’
That was the extent of his appreciation.
As Aquila was idly passing his gaze over one of the angel statues that guarded the side of the Sun God Raspalara, heavy footsteps approached them.
At the same time Yujelia swallowed her breath, a voice he had heard before reached his ears.
“Yujelia.”
Aquila turned his head to look ahead.
It was that pot-bellied bishop, Martio.