12 | P a g e “All right, let’s talk about what we’re going to do from here on out.” The other two peered at the map with serious expressions on their faces. We’d done this enough that I expected them to be sick of it, but even Eris—someone with no patience for complex conversations—was listening in with a solemn look on her face. “There are three routes from here to the Asura Kingdom,” I explained, pointing at the map I’d just purchased. It was a simple map with rough outlines of forests and village locations. The manufacture and sale of detailed maps was strictly prohibited in this country, so as to prevent other countries from possibly getting hold of those maps. Well, it didn’t matter as long as we knew the basic lay of the land. “The first is a highway primarily used as a trade route.” I used my finger to trace the path, which detoured east around the King Dragon Mountains. “This is the safest route. Based on our travelling speed, we’d arrive in ten months’ time.” “Why do we have to go around like that?” Eris asked, understandably doubtful. I pointed to the western flank of the mountains. “Because if we detour to the west, we’ll run into a large forest. That’s the second possible route.” A vast, dense forest spread across the land west of the King Dragon Mountains, making it impossible to travel by carriage. If you were familiar with the path, you could take months off the journey by taking this route, but that would require riding on horseback. Eris and I couldn’t do that. Ruijerd could probably ride a horse, but no matter how small I was, there was no way three of us could fit on one horse. If we were going to take that route, we’d have to take it on foot.