(Q’s POV)

  We stopped by a stream to let the horse drink and refill our water for the road. In fact, I didn't really need water, so I was busy with something else.

  Standing by the field, I held an apple in one hand and Joji’s sword in the other. No—my sword now. Back in Apelfaund, we’d gone to a blacksmith to replace the winged guard. As payment, the guy took the old one and even threw in a bag of extra stones—all thanks to Vergo’s silver tongue.

  I didn’t want to be associated with the Order anymore, so the swap was necessary. Oh, and the smith said this sword wasn’t as simple as it looked. Supposedly, it was some powerful artifact, especially when paired with its sheath. Not surprising, considering who its last owner was.

  I took a bite of the apple and swung the blade. Nothing happened. Despite my mediocre physique, the sword sat comfortably in my grip. Now, if I could just crack its secret, I wouldn’t have to cosplay as a steak when fighting dragons.

  "I’m ready," Vergo announced, hopping onto the horse.

  I tossed the horned nag the half-eaten apple and climbed up after him.

  Evening was coming, which meant we’d have to make camp soon.

  Crickets, mosquitoes, and all sorts of other bugs buzzed through the forest where we’d stopped for the night.

  Even though we’d been traveling together for three days now, Vergo still didn’t fully trust me. He stuffed all his personal belongings into his sleeping bag and snored with them clutched to his chest. That night, he kept sneaking glances at me, pretending to sleep, before finally passing out for real.

  Didn’t bother me. Hell, I was getting exactly what I’d tagged along for. He’d told me about the Titans, the mages who Followed their gods’ Paths, and even gave me a crash course in geography.

  We were on Shaya, which is the name of one of the five continents. It sat damn close to the world’s center.

  With a stick, I sketched the continent’s rough shape into the dirt based on Vergo’s descriptions. The rest of the world called people from there Velisatians, since the whole continent was just one country—Velisatia. Six major nations existed in total, and Velisatia was one of them. Why some were considered "major" and others weren’t, I’d forgotten to ask.

  But global politics didn’t matter right now. Back to Velisatia—it was split into two regions: Talonia in the south and Odyssey in the north. They’d once been at war, but that was ancient history.

  We’d reach Talonia’s capital soon, but first, we had to hit a city called Lapreuse.

  When Vergo tried to info-dump every Velisatian city on me, I shut him down. Names and locations were enough—I didn’t want to spoil the adventure. Well, traveling, really. Calling this an "adventure" was a stretch. Most of the time, I was just bored.

  Only in fairy tales—where dull moments got cut for the sake of plot—did the road seem romantic. In reality? A constant ache in my ass and crotch from bumpy roads. Same damn scenery, only occasionally broken by something actually cool (like those floating islands we saw the other day). Conversation was a bitch too, what with the wind blasting your face and the risk of biting your tongue clean off.

  And the worst part? I couldn’t even sleep. My brain never got tired. As contradictory as it sounded, my only escape was death. Dying was the closest I got to passing time, like some fucked-up imitation of sleep.

  Back when I traveled alone, the thought of suicide crossed my mind more than once. I just wanted a break—a way to shut my own thoughts off for a while.

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  But I never went through with it. Not because I was scared… It just felt disrespectful to life itself.

  Now? I’d taken up night shifts as a makeshift guard, so the urge had faded.

  I tossed a branch into the fire and held my hands over the flames, soaking in the warmth.

  We set out early the next morning. After passing a couple of abandoned villages, we finally reached our destination by noon, greeted by the sound of crashing waves. Dark clouds gathered overhead, and the wind picked up. Vergo had mentioned autumn was coming, so rains would be constant soon. Didn’t matter to me, but it sure did to him. Hopefully, it wouldn’t slow us down on our way north.

  We stood on a hill overlooking Lapreuse. The city was built on a thirty-degree slope at the foot of a mountain. Paved streets, fountains, neat rows of houses and shops—all carved from white stone—stood out sharply. Despite the waves, I could clearly hear the marketplace’s noise: people arguing over some kind of disease, the clang of a hammer (someone fixing a roof). At the center loomed the main temple, its grand staircase swarming with townsfolk. The architecture screamed ancient Greek—marble columns, symmetrical facades, tiled roofs.

  But lower down, near the shore, the city changed. Flooded districts began, with only rooftops, arches, and broken columns still visible. The water was so clear I could even spot a school of colorful fish weaving around the sunken statues.

  "I wanna eat…" I groaned, rubbing my stomach.

  "I’m sure Lapreuse has amazing seafood," Vergo said. "But remember what I told you?"

  "I hate you, so I won’t feed you!" I mocked his voice.

  "That’s a lie! I never said anything about hating you!"

  "Tch… When we first met, I thought you had a generous soul. Turns out you probably pawned your grandpa’s war medals," I sighed dramatically.

  "You don’t even need to eat!" Vergo snapped.

  "And you didn’t need to drag your ass across the world to study dead things, but here we are. We live for what brings us joy—you know that." I stretched and yawned. "Guess I’ll have to catch fish myself. No rod, no money for one. Guess I’ll dive. Oh wait, I can’t swim. So I’ll drown. But if that doesn’t bother you, fine! I’ll drown!" I hammed it up, mocking him.

  "If I told you I know a way for you to earn money, would you shut up?" Vergo grabbed the horse’s horn and turned to me.

  "All ears."

  "Lapreuse has a branch of the Echo Association. If you register, you can take monster-hunting jobs. Plus, it’ll help my research. Two birds with one stone."

  "Ah, so that’s the catch. You don’t give a damn about your starving travel buddy. You just wanna dig through monster guts."

  "Not true," Vergo muttered, turning away almost instantly.

  His reaction was hilarious—because I was right.

  "Whatever. By the way, ‘Echo Association’ is a cool name. Why ‘Echo’?"

  "Because the deeds of its members echo across the world."

  So basically an adventurer’s guild, but less cliché.

  "Wait, what do they call the members?"

  "Officially? Echoes. But I just call them mercenaries—most of my dealings were hiring them. Though the Association has all kinds."

  "Badass. ‘Echo Q’ or ‘Q, the Echo!’ Wait… Now that I say it out loud, it sounds lame. Too short for my already short name. Thoughts?"

  "No title would fit your name…"

  He wounded my pride and didn’t even realize it.

  "Maybe it’s not too late to rename myself ‘Qute.’ ‘Qute the Echo!’ Sounds adorable," I laughed.

  "Changing your name… Oh, right! You don’t have an identifier!"

  "The hell’s that? Medieval passports? You guys getting too fancy?"

  "It’s a special pendant with personal records. You won’t get into any major city without one!"

  "So what do I do?"

  "Don’t worry, it’s easy to get," Vergo tugged the reins, steering us onto a side street.

  "Let me guess—it costs money," I said, scratching my nose.

  "I know what you’re thinking. I’ll pay."

  "You said that way too easily. Now I’m suspicious."

  "I’ll pay for now. You’ll pay me back."

  "Next you’ll say I owe you for that shitty ale too."

  "Oh, good, you brought it up! I was too embarrassed to mention it myself," Vergo grinned.

  "Wow… You’re the type who asks his ex to return every gift after a breakup, huh?"

  "How do you know?" He blinked.

  I couldn’t figure it out. The guy was smart, well-read—so why was Vergo this dense sometimes? Or was it all post-irony, and he was just trolling me?

  "Dunno, man. Just a feeling," I sighed heavily.