Chapter 64: The Tent Is Too Small

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: The Tent Is Too Small

"Pip agrees! Pip can’t walk anymore! Nobody cares how hard it is for Pip to keep up with you two!"

The short man immediately planted his hammer on the ground and plopped down, grumbling aggrievedly.

Erin was amused and chuckled softly. She was indeed getting a bit tired herself, so she gently leaned her Magic Staff against a tree trunk and bent down to massage her calves.

Seeing no objections, Lorin untied the Roll-up Tent from his backpack and found a relatively flat piece of ground to pitch it.

The expensive Roll-up Tent proved its worth; he had it set up in no time. Clapping the dirt from his hands, he said, "Done."

Lorin glanced at Pip, then at Erin, and realized a problem.

They had only brought one tent!

"Pip and I take the first watch, and you take the second?" he asked tentatively, looking at Erin with caution.

Erin had already stood up. Leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, she looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but you’re actually suggesting a Mage take night watch alone?"

That was true. Mages were indeed quite vulnerable in sudden, unexpected situations. Lorin nodded, finding her logic flawless.

[Human hair, female, age approximately 20 to 25, nervous and guilty]

Well, perhaps not entirely flawless...

"Then what should we do?" he asked tentatively.

"You and I take the first watch, and Pip takes the second," Erin said rapidly, as if rushing to get the words out before she could suddenly change her mind.

Lorin’s expression was a sight to behold, practically screaming, "You’re finally dropping the act."

"The two of us together?" he asked.

"What else? Pip snores so loudly that I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway," Erin said expressionlessly.

"Pip does not snore!" the short man protested stubbornly.

"That’s true." Lorin nodded. "Alright, then we’ll let Pip sleep first, and he can relieve us for the second half of the night."

Pip sighed, picked up some firewood from the ground, and didn’t argue further.

The campfire flared to life, driving away the darkness.

The three of them casually ate some dry rations before Pip muttered something to himself and retreated into the tent to sleep. Less than a minute later, rhythmic snoring emanated from within, sounding as if someone were hiding in the tent sawing wood.

Lorin and Erin exchanged a glance.

Erin moved to a more comfortable spot to sit and raised an eyebrow at him, looking quite smug.

Lorin sat down beside her, unsheathed Rusted Throat, and placed it by his hand for easy access.

Twilight faded completely, turning the sky a deep grayish-black. Countless stars appeared in the night sky, resembling silver tacks pinned to black velvet.

"I heard from that guy earlier that you used to be a porter?" Erin asked with a glance at him.

"Yeah." Lorin nodded, feeling there was no harm in admitting it.

Erin didn’t pry further. She lowered her head and fiddled with a thin string on her Magic Staff, as if lost in thought.

After quite a while, she suddenly spoke up. "Your progress in learning Magic is faster than I expected. Don’t waste your talent..." She seemed to have more to say.

Lorin turned his head to look at her. The firelight reflected on her profile, making her expression look somewhat complicated.

"Thank you," he said.

"I’m not complimenting you," Erin quickly added. "I’m just worried that you’ll get arrogant and your progress will slow down as a result."

"Got it."

Lorin lazily propped himself against the ground in a half-reclining position. Watching the firewood slowly burn in the campfire, his thoughts drifted off to who knows where.

The silence lingered for a little while longer until Pip’s snoring suddenly stopped, only to shift into a new pitch. It sounded as if a water buffalo had abruptly taken up residence in his throat.

Erin closed her eyes in resignation. "How on earth did you manage to sleep when you shared a room with him at the tavern?"

"Poverty. You get used to it."

Lorin took out two hardtack biscuits, CRUNCHING on one before handing the other to her.

Erin took it and bit down, nearly chipping a tooth. Frowning, she simply let it soften in her mouth.

"Lorin."

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?"

"Improve my strength, see interesting things all over the world, and when I’m old, find a scenic place to retire," Lorin said after some thought.

"What about you?" he asked, looking at Erin.

"I want to pursue the path of Truth and become a Great Mage," she said earnestly.

"That’s a nice dream. I wish you success."

"Mhm..." Erin fell silent for a moment. "It’s time to wake Pip up."

Lorin glanced at the sky. Without realizing it, it was already the second half of the night. He nodded, walked over to the tent, and woke the short man.

"...Five more minutes..."

"Hurry up, time to get up for the night watch."

Pip rolled over, cracked his eyes open to a slit, and looked out at the pitch-black night outside the tent.

Sighing, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Pip is up. Pip wasn’t snoring."

"Heh." Lorin couldn’t be bothered to entertain him.

"Pip is on watch now. You two go sleep." The short man sat by the campfire, hammer in hand, and slapped his own cheeks hard to wake himself up.

The two of them crawled into the tent.

The space inside wasn’t large. After lying down, they were only a fist’s width apart—so close that Lorin could smell the faint scent of roses from Erin’s hair.

"Good night," she said softly.

"Good night."

The next morning.

"Get up! It’s dawn! How can you two sleep even more than Pip!"

Lorin struggled to open his eyes, only to see the short man’s head poking through the tent flap, his messy hair looking like a bird’s nest.

"Pip called you several times, but you two were sleeping like the dead," the little guy added, looking at him with malicious amusement.

"We’re up, we’re up."

Lorin replied, but then found that his body was somewhat unresponsive. His left arm, in particular, felt as if it had vanished entirely.

It took him several seconds to figure out his current situation.

Erin was curled up in his arms, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, her breathing slow and even.

Her warm breath tickled his neck, making him feel a pleasant, tingling itch.

Following the sensation, he looked down to find his left arm tucked beneath Erin’s neck as a pillow, while his right hand was resting naturally on a certain soft area. He could even feel the curves rising and falling in rhythm with her breathing.

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Lorin gave it a squeeze.

"Mhm..."

Erin’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her nostrils flared as if she had caught a scent that wasn’t her own.

Frowning, she opened her eyes.

Her grayish-green pupils slowly focused in the morning sunlight. The blurry face before her gradually came into focus, and along with it, the sensation on her body became distinctly clear.

Erin’s body abruptly tensed, her heartbeat skipping half a beat. The hand she had resting on Lorin’s waist twitched slightly, as if trying to confirm whether this was a dream.

Upon brushing against something she shouldn’t have, her face visibly flushed crimson. She hastily yanked her hand back and scrambled off the ground in a fluster.

"The tent is too small." She frantically smoothed down her disheveled hair, her fingers trembling slightly from nervousness. Not daring to meet his eyes, Erin hastily straightened her clothes, bent down, and slipped out of the tent. As the cold morning air rushed against her face, she finally felt the scorching heat on her cheeks subside a little.