* * *

After a brief internal struggle, Seo Woohyun finally made up his mind. He looked down at Harbios, who was kneeling in front of him, and began to speak.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“We cannot offer you special conveniences just because you are a prince.”

Seo Woohyun had chosen a middle path.

Although Harbios was legally considered an adult at eighteen, to Seo Woohyun, he still looked like a sheltered high schooler from a wealthy family.

As an adult, Seo Woohyun felt it was his responsibility to at least ensure Harbios reached a safe place.

However, since he was royalty, others in the party might feel obligated to cater to him, which would create its own set of complications.

Thus, Seo Woohyun had no choice but to impose certain conditions.

“I revealed my identity only to show that I am not a dangerous person.”

“And if our party becomes exposed to assassination threats, we may not be able to continue traveling together. We have our own goals for this journey, and our priority is to complete it safely.”

Even with gods and a swordmaster in their group, no one would enjoy being constantly threatened.

Seo Woohyun had already decided that if more assassins came after the prince, he would choose his party over Harbios without hesitation.

“Where did you say your destination was?”

“I’m headed to the Principality of Sosnian. My grandfather resides there, and I was on my way to visit him.”

Coincidentally, their destinations aligned.

Since Seo Woohyun hadn’t told the prince where they were going, it wasn’t as though Harbios was lying or trying to manipulate them.

“For now, let’s head to the rendezvous point where we planned to meet up with the rest of your group. If they aren’t there, we can travel together to the same destination.”

At Seo Woohyun’s words, Harbios’s lips twitched slightly.

Though there was a condition attached—that the journey would end if assassins attacked again—he was still grateful for the permission to travel together.

“I understand. If your group is ever put in danger by assassins, I will leave first.”

Harbios responded calmly, hiding his joy. Seeing the young face casually talking about assassination made Seo Woohyun uncomfortable.

It felt wrong for an adult with ten more years of life experience to not properly help a young person in danger.

Still, Seo Woohyun had no regrets about his decision.

There wasn’t a perfect solution that would let him uphold his conscience while also keeping his party safe.

He didn’t want to abandon the basic moral principles every human should follow.

“I’ll go help with preparing the meal, then.”

“…Alright.”

Watching Harbios, who had volunteered to help, Seo Woohyun glanced over at Eridian.

Despite agreeing to temporarily include the prince, the uneasy feeling lingered.

Sensing Seo Woohyun’s gaze, Eridian spoke to him through their mental link.

[Why the long face? You handled that pretty well.]

‘I just… I’m worried I made a mistake.’

[Mistake? No way.]

Eridian’s laughter, warm and full of amusement, made Seo Woohyun’s cheeks tingle.

Rubbing his face, Seo Woohyun looked toward the bustling campfire.

Since they left the temple, their party had grown by three more members.

“Why is a noble prince doing such lowly work? These are tasks meant for common folk like me.”

Marvin muttered suspiciously, eyeing the prince, who had joined in preparing the meal.

“You’re peeling all those potatoes alone. Let me help; I’m better with a knife than you are.”

“No… I need to keep busy to stay here.”

“The same goes for me. Now hand me those potatoes.”

“Huh?”

Harbios eventually took half the potatoes from Marvin and started peeling them.

Meanwhile, Malrang, who had been praised earlier for helping clean the bird, was happily munching on cookies that Fin had given him while offering unsolicited advice.

“The peel is too thick. You need to slice it thinner, like this. Look at how that uncle is doing it.”

“Pipe down, you little squirt.”

“Hmph! I’ll tell Ciel that your knife skills are terrible!”

“Wha—! Watch closely. This time, I’ll do it right.”

Harbios, glancing between Malrang and Seo Woohyun, struggled with another potato.

Though he was a prince who had been scorned by the royal family, he had never had to prepare his own meals, and his potato-peeling skills were far from adequate.

As Seo Woohyun watched the commotion around the campfire, he clasped his hands behind his back again.

‘Eridian.’

[Hmm?]

‘I didn’t let him join us because I have feelings for him or anything. I just couldn’t ignore someone in danger. I hope you don’t misunderstand.’

[Haha, even so, I don’t think I can stop feeling a bit jealous.]

‘I could just tell him it’s not possible to join after all….’

[A man can’t go back on his word. I’ll work on keeping my jealousy in check.]

Eridian only promised to “reduce” his jealousy, never saying he’d get rid of it entirely.

Still, being a god, he wouldn’t childishly sulk about it, right?

Seo Woohyun swallowed hard and nodded.

---

Even the seemingly endless forest had its boundaries.

After making it out of the woods, the group settled in a nearby domain.

Tia left with Justin, Marvin, and Caro to buy provisions.

Since receiving a white messenger bird from Sihero, Giselle had spent more time discussing matters with Raullet.

It was about excommunicated clergy, known as apostates.

Since it was a more complicated issue than expected, Seo Woohyun chose to feign ignorance.

He didn’t need the added stress.

“Ciel, check this out. It seems like it’d suit you.”

“What is it?”

Seo Woohyun turned his head.

He had gone to explore the market with Eridian and Malrang, and now Eridian was holding a straw hat.

Made of woven, dyed straw, the hat was placed on Seo Woohyun’s head.

“The weather’s getting warmer. You should wear this when we travel.”

Eridian tapped Seo Woohyun’s cheek with his finger, then placed a smaller hat on Malrang’s head.

Malrang, overjoyed, wiggled in delight, while Seo Woohyun leaned in to whisper to Eridian.

“Clergy members aren’t supposed to wear things like this.”

“Why not?”

“Well, it’s because…”

Seo Woohyun closed his mouth.

According to what he had learned from Sihero and the books in the library, priests of the Erdian Temple were always required to dress neatly.

Especially from the rank of priest onwards, there was a decree advising them to refrain from using personal items other than the clothing designated by the Temple.

“We’re supposed to refrain from personal items as much as possible…”

“Refrain doesn’t mean you can’t buy them at all, right? Even Lord Erdian would probably approve of priests wearing straw hats in the hot summer. At least, that’s what I think.”

Without a hint of shame, Erdian used his own name to justify himself.

The hat merchant, encouraged by Erdian’s smooth talk, eagerly tried to make a sale.

“This priest is absolutely right. If you share this cute hat with the little boy here, even Lord Erdian will look upon you favorably. And with your fair skin, a straw hat is a must in the summer.”

“This merchant knows his stuff,” Erdian said, crossing his arms and nodding in agreement.

“Brother, let’s buy this! Let’s get a hat for El, for Justin, and for everyone!”

“My, the little boy here has quite the generous hand! If you buy hats for your whole group, I’ll give you a great discount. How many people are in your party?”

“Let’s see. One kid and ten adults. I’ll take the same hat as Ciel, so give me eight more of whatever looks good.”

“Understood! Would you like the packaging to be fancy as well?”

“Show me the hats first. They’re supposed to be gifts after all.”

“Of course! I’ll bring them right out.”

The merchant hurried to the back of the store and brought out the hats.

Erdian inspected them carefully and pointed to one, asking for it to be marked separately.

Seo Woohyun, who had been standing there wearing a hat and watching silently, finally asked Erdian.

“Why did you ask for that one to be marked separately?”

For once, Erdian responded telepathically.

[There’s a slight fading in the dye that’s hard to notice. I don’t want to give that one to one of our own, so I’m planning to give it to that brat of a prince.]

Seo Woohyun looked at the straw hat in the merchant’s hands, who was busy with the wrapping.

Erdian wasn’t even thinking of giving it to one of the porters caught stealing, but to the prince himself.

‘Could he really be… jealous? In such a petty way?’

The thought crossed Seo Woohyun’s mind, but he kept it to himself.

He simply focused on not clenching his hands too tightly.

* * *