According to Quintina, the cottages are located downstream of the river and can be seen as you walk. She said it in a tone as light as "the pizzeria is just a walk away a block away." But the truth is far from it. The fact is—Augusta and Kefir went down the river, the terrain on both sides gradually became flatter, and the forest extended, but they walked for a whole day, until night fell, and they didn't see half of the "holiday cottages" shadow!
Augusta was tired and hungry. He hadn't been in such a mess since his sophomore year when everyone was trapped in the mountains because of Cavodian's wrong navigation. At noon they tried to stop and eat, but there was nothing to eat! No food, no cooking utensils, not a single fish in that damned river, and they can't eat dirt for a living! So Augusta had to go hungry and move on, imagining how to cook a delicious charcoal-grilled unicorn meat to satisfy his greed when he arrived at his destination.
Until night fell and the stars rose, they didn't see any holiday cottages. They didn't know if the cottages were far away, or Quentina simply pointed in the wrong direction. Augusta desperately looked at the silver-white river in the distance, thinking that he might have to risk his life here this time.
Kefir is still full of energy, and it's not a big deal for him to miss a meal or walk ten kilometers more. He noticed that Augusta's speed gradually slowed down. "Sir, are you tired?" He asked with concern.
"No, I'm fine!" Augusta replied angrily, "It's just cold. Don't you think the temperature is too low now?"
Kefir touched his neck: "It's true that the night is colder than the day, but it's not unbearably cold... If you can't bear it, you can put on my coat..." He gestured to unbutton it.
"No! I won't wear it if I'm dead!"
"Can you teleport us to the vacation cabin?"
"No, I have to know the location of the hut before I can teleport there."
Kefir scratched his head.
"Why don't you rest for a while and build a bonfire to keep warm. I can run faster, so I can go explore the road and come back to pick you up after I find the hut."
Augusta looked around, the forest was dark, the ancient dense branches covered the night sky, only a little light from the stars and the moon flowed down through the gaps. The river murmured and reflected the starlight, the little light they had. The darkness is full of wildlife, from birds on the branches to bugs in the mud and perhaps a dangerous beast lurking behind a bush. If Kefir is sent to explore the way, then he must stay alone in this dark, ghostly place, facing the unknown and terrifying nature. He doesn't want it!
"It doesn't have to be so troublesome!" Augusta said, "It's a waste of time. Let's keep going!"
He took a step, accidentally tripped over a tree root, staggered and almost fell. Kefir supported him from behind. "Could it be... are you scared?" The voice of the werewolf youth was smiling.
Augusta's face turned red, but fortunately the night covered the crimson on his face. "Blind, what nonsense! I will be afraid? Me, Archmage Augusta? Haha, what a joke in the world! You should care about yourself! There are dangers everywhere under the night, especially in the wild. What about the danger?"
"So you are worried about me?" Kefir asked happily.
"That's not it!" Augusta was furious at being so misunderstood, but now he was so exhausted that he didn't even have the strength to get angry, "Shut up and walk!"
They continued to move forward in the dark, and not long after, Kefir suddenly stopped and sucked his nose twice.
"Your Excellency, I smell the smell of barbecue." He sniffed the air deeply, "There is probably no one else in this forest except us, Miss Quintina must be grilling meat!"
"Heh, maybe it's some unknown monster that uses the aroma of barbecue to attract travelers who don't know the truth, and then turns them into new barbecue..."
"Look, there seems to be a fire ahead."
"Perhaps the fire was deliberately lit by the monster to attract travelers."
"No, it must be Miss Quentina!"
"How can you be 100% sure?"
Kefir looked at Augusta silently. The magician swallowed nervously: "Why are you looking at me like this? What I said makes sense!"
"Because Miss Quintina is hanging behind you."
Augusta turned around abruptly, and saw a woman in black hanging upside down from the treetops, with long hair on the ground, a pair of blood-red eyes sparkling, facing Augusta, when she smiled, her mouth was exposed. The blood-sucking fangs in it.
Augusta sat down on the ground in fright. Quintina giggled and fell off the branch, landing lightly without making a sound.
"I heard you and Kefir talking from a long distance, so I came here to take a look." She said, "Your speed is too slow! The unicorn and I have arrived a long time ago, and we still have time to explore the surrounding area Environment, by the way, I shot two hares. The unicorns just need to eat grass, and I let the hares bleed." She licked her lips with still insatiable desire. Augusta and Kefir shivered at the same time. "You came just in time, the rabbit is almost ready."
While Augusta silently thanked the hare who sacrificed for them in his heart, he said to Quentina, "I'm a human being, and of course I'm not as fast as a vampire or a unicorn!"
"It's not as good as a werewolf. Why don't you let Kefir walk on your back, I'm sure even with you, his speed is much faster than you walking alone."
Convinced that he was safe, Augusta regained some strength, enough to make him angry. "Rude! Extremely rude! I am Archmage Augusta Hollich, a human male with healthy body and limbs, and you let someone walk behind my back? You are insulting my dignity!"
"If you don't want to be carried on your back, then let Kefir hold or hold you."
"Quintina!"
The female vampire changed the subject and asked sharply, "Do you still want to eat roasted hare?"
"… think."
Augusta Holwich, known to the world as the Archmage, has once again succumbed to the tyranny of the vampire Quentina.
Under the leadership of Quintina, they advanced about half a kilometer and finally arrived at the holiday cottage. As stated in the advertisement, the hut stands by the river and has only one floor. It is difficult to make out the specific shape in the night, but it looks quite large, and there should be enough rooms. There was a dim light in the windows of the hut, and a bonfire was lit in front of the door, and the unicorn stood by the bonfire, chewing a handful of hay bitterly. A simple grill was set up on the bonfire, with two roasted hares inserted on it, and the tempting aroma wafted around with the wind.
Kefir cheered and ran towards the bonfire. Augusta National followed suit. He was exhausted, and now that he finally had a chance to relax, he felt dizzy instead. He sat cross-legged by the campfire, his body warmed a little, but he still felt cold. Kefir took two roasted hares from the fire and handed him the larger one. Augusta accepted it gratefully, and took a big bite without thinking. The unicorn "vomited" beside it, and said contemptuously, "Brutal! Bloody!"
"You are the only one with noble civilization!" Augusta retorted.
"Nonsense! Of course I am much more civilized than you savages! Dining with you, that is my self-deprecation! You should be grateful! Usually you are not qualified to sit at the same table with me!"
Augusta was too lazy to bother with it. He touched his throat, probably because he choked on water when he fell into the river, and his throat was always aching. He put the roasted hare back on the fire: "Is there any water? I'm thirsty."
Quintina replied, "The hut doesn't have running water, but I get water from the river, and the water tank is at the back of the house."
"Is this really a holiday cottage?! Why do I feel like a place of penance for monks in the Middle Ages!"
"At least we still have electricity! Although it's a diesel generator..."
Augusta was about to faint. This is not a vacation, it is simply being exiled to a wild place outside the civilized world for punishment!
He got up and staggered towards the back of the house, looking for the water tank. Quentina folded her hands on her chest in dissatisfaction: "What are you complaining about? Isn't this condition good? Have you experienced the Middle Ages? Do you know what it means to live without zippers and toilets?"
Kefir grinned: "We have to look forward, Miss Quintina..."
"Hmph, young man, do you know what it means to remember bitterness and think sweetness! You know how to pick and choose all day long. Be content!"
They chatted in a hurry, and about ten minutes passed, and Augusta hadn't come back yet.
"It doesn't take so long to drink water, right?" Kefir muttered, "I'll go find him."
"He may be losing weight. Don't bother him," said the Unicorn.
Kefir persistently left the fire and walked to the back of the house.
"Hey! If Augusta goes after you violently, I won't intercede for you!" The unicorn opened his throat.
"Ah!" A scream came from behind the cabin. The unicorn and Quentina looked at each other, and rushed towards the source of the sound together.
Augusta, of course, did not violently chase Kefir. The werewolf youth half-kneeled by the water tank behind the house, while Augusta fell face down on the ground, not knowing whether he was dead or alive. Seeing this, the unicorn took a few steps back in horror: "Quintina, did you poison the water? You tricked us into this deep mountain forest, and you really have ulterior motives!"
"Damn it, didn't you poison it? You finally murdered Mr. Augusta! I've been suspicious of you for a long time!" Quentina cursed regardless of her appearance.
Kefir turned Augusta over and put him on his lap. Quentina squatted down and felt the magician's pulse: "There is still a heartbeat... Hey, why is his body so hot? No, I am a vampire, and anyone feels hot..."
Upon hearing this, Kefir immediately put his palm on Augusta's forehead. The skin under his palm was astonishingly hot, as if a fire was burning inside the magician.
"He's running a fever... No wonder he's been feeling cold all the time, I didn't even notice... His Excellency Augusta must be sick! Woohoo, it must be because he fell into the water..." The werewolf youth was on the verge of weeping.
"Bring him into the house quickly!"