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Two figures stood isolated in the vast, sprawling grasslands.

"Is it noon... yet?"
"The sun hasn't moved far from Mount Dagul, meaning it's still tilted quite a bit to the east. It'll be a while yet."
The giant man, Akudo, replied with a hint of exasperation.

"That's why I told you we should've slept a little longer at night... It's not like you're the type to get impatient."
“……”

Koai hadn't been able to sleep at all during their two nights of camping out, and both times had forced Akudo awake to start moving before dawn. However, she had no intention of telling him the reason was simply that she couldn't sleep.

Back when she was known as the "King of Magic"... she had camped out several times.
But just like back then, even among the trees, by the side of the bonfire... sleeping there was, for some reason, cold.
A coldness she shouldn't have felt back then.

And what made her forget this coldness she shouldn't have felt... was her, her painted image.

At night, Koai would lie on her side with her back to the bonfire, take out the cardboard with the drawing of her from her breast pocket, and just gaze at it.
And when the bonfire died down, she would light the embers again... and when the gathered wood had completely burned away, she would forcibly wake the grumbling Akudo and set out.

"Trying to use light magic while people are sleeping, waking me up before the sun's even risen... what a selfish king, yaaawn..."
Akudo couldn't finish his sentence, letting out a yawn instead.

"For now, I'll go tie up the horses in the forest ahead."
"I told you noon is still a long way off. Once you've tied up the horses, you can go back to sleep."
"Oh, thanks. I think I'll do that..."

Koai sat down on a suitable patch of grass and looked around.
As far as she could see, it was a mostly flat plain with a gentle slope, rising towards the north. The ground was mostly covered in uniform grass, but here and there, reddish-brown earth was exposed.