The next day, we said our goodbyes to the old chief and the villagers and continued our journey. The weather was a little windy, but it was somewhat hot since the ground was made up of dry sand.

The path that we were traveling on was close to the bank of the Serpent River. And as the village chief said, the road was sandy. The horses were doing alright because of the magical harness, but our speed had been reduced to less than half.

When I looked through the window, I could see the sun setting in the western sky. As I was looking through the window, we changed the route, and now we were traveling westward towards the Serpent River.

Considering how this area was filled with monsters, it was a wise idea to spend the night near the Serpent River that most monsters detested.

Even though we had a monster warding light in the wagon behind us, it was always a better idea to be extra careful than too assured.

The road that we were traveling on was even sandier than before, but after traveling for around ten minutes, we reached the bank of the Serpent River. The river looked smaller than last time as it wasn't the rainy season, and the water looked clear and transparent.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the knights started setting the tents up. I was planning to help them, but like last time, Garo came and knocked on the door right before I could open it.

"Everyone, you can come out."

I nodded and opened the door. The four of us then slowly climbed down from the carriage. Like last time, I helped the princesses.

"We are preparing the camps, after which we will prepare the dinner. We can't promise a feast, but we will try to make it to your liking. Also, please do not go near the river or too far from here."

He was being overprotective, but considering his position, that was only natural. The ladies of his team — which included Alisia, Vina, and Fifi — were preparing the dinner while the men in his squad were setting the tents.

"That's alright. But can we help in preparing the dinner?" Princess Anna asked.

"Wh— I mean, princess, I don't think that would be a good idea. Your tent is set, so please rest in your tents."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Markus said; he then turned towards me. "You girls can rest in the tent while Nara and I will go and wash our sweats in the river."

That.. sounded manly, but not something that I was interested in. Although looking at his all excited face, I couldn't deny him, so I turned towards the girls.

"Alright. See you guys later."

Garo's face was clearly saying 'don't go,' but he didn't let a single word out. However, Jackie jacked walked up to us after hearing the conversation.

"Let me join you two. It has been a while since I bathed out in the open."

That was okay, but there were two problems with that. Firstly, this was not the kind of venue where he should be saying that so casually, and secondly, we weren't bathing; we were just going to freshen up.

"Alright, the more, the merrier."

It looked like Garo was about to say, 'let me go too' out of the concern about Markus's safety, but he couldn't since he had princesses to protect here.

After the conversation, the three of us walked towards the river bank. It was getting dark, so Jackie carried a magic light to illuminate the way.

The stones were slippery, so I had to walk carefully to avoid falling in the river. Even though it was just starting to get dark, it was hard to see things at a long distance.

I bent down and tried touching the water. As I did that, I could feel the positive energy flowing through it. But it somewhat felt different than last time. I could sense that it had become dilute after mixing with the whole river, but the mana composition had decreased a lot. It was hard to believe that it was still warding off monsters.

It could be that it had become some kind of habit of monsters to avoid crossing the river, and that was why they were still avoiding it, but there was something definitely wrong here.

"Something feels off here. The water in the river isn't as it used to be."

I knew that it was pointless to worry about things that were out of one's pay grade, but discussing them beforehand was better than ignoring them entirely.

"What do you mean?" Markus asked while trying to touch the water and examine it himself. Since he couldn't sense mana, it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to feel a thing.

"The amount of mana in the water has decreased significantly compared to the last time. I am not sure what happened, but this isn't good. The villages will start feeling the effect of it sooner or later."

"...could it be."

Jackie looked concerned, so the two of us turned towards him to hear what he had to say on the matter.

"The Satan he has been revived, and because of that, the creatures of miasma and evil spirits have become more active. As it goes, where there is a high concentration of mana, miasma can't exist, and where there is a high concentration of miasma, mana can't exist. I have heard that in several tales during my travel."

Markus nodded. "I, too, have read something similar in the books back at the castle's library. It describes how there is a balance between positive and negative energy in this world. I didn't read much, so all I know is when the balance is tipped even if that is in favor of good, there will be chaos in this world."

That made sense, but that would mean that we would need to migrate the people who lived near the river bank and warn the travelers who traveled around these regions.

I looked towards Markus, but before I could tell him anything, he continued.

"This is concerning. I will send a message to my father and the royal capital tomorrow. For now, let's—"

He pulled his sleeves up and was about to splash some water on his feet, but right then, his left hand caught something. He turned around to look at it, but much to our surprise, it turned out to be a human arm.