"I believe I don't need to remind myself of the importance of maps," but I still wrote it several times in my diary.

The birdsong sound outside the cave again, and I have never felt that spring is so beautiful. According to the time record, this winter lasted two months and nineteen days. It was much shorter than when I was in the Northeast, but isn't the Northeast only known for its two seasons, winter and summer? (laughs)

The land is damp, seemingly very suitable for planting. So, the first thing I did in the morning was to take out the seeds I bought in town and carefully plant them, not knowing what they will grow into. Rather than say I am planting vegetables, it feels more like sowing hope.

The travel plans have been arranged, only some essentials are needed, so today my wife and I will go to Night Fall Town to buy them. Speaking of my wife, her ankle got tangled by her tail, and Medusa, stretching out on the bed, had sleepy eyes.

"Wake up?"

"Mmm~"

"Feeling cold?"

"It's okay."

We really are an old couple now. She doesn't lean on me for warmth anymore. She used to be so cute, always able to guess what I wanted to do.

"Today, we're going to Night Fall Town."

"Mmm... let's sleep a bit longer."

"Go ahead, no rush."

"Come here..."

Just when I said she doesn't cling to me, she pulled me back into the blanket. Sigh, the drowsiness of spring and the lethargy of autumn. I wouldn't mind sleeping a bit longer, there's no hurry anyway. But I forgot one thing - we only have the cart now, the sheep had been eaten by us.

I slept in until eleven when I woke up, and then packed our luggage with her. Before hiking, we must make a plan for preparation, or else a strange phenomenon will occur - the more we pack, the more things we have. But Medusa doesn't have this problem at all. Besides her bow and arrow and her axe, all she needs is gold coins. Finally, she puts on her black cloak.

I packed a sack full of things - clothes and shoes for changing, all kinds of guns and ammo, a short-handled axe, a notebook, a sheepskin mattress, etc. When I confidently carried the sack to the side of the cold creek, the only thing waiting for me was the worn-out cart. The big sheep had forever lived in our hearts.

Sigh, let's go. I can't let my wife carry the sack for me.

After experiencing the difficulties of walking with a heavy load to Night Fall Town again, I decided that I must find a means of transportation.

"Simmon, cook whatever we have, except meat."

"Alright."

I smashed a bag of gold coins on the counter, feeling quite domineering.

"Wife, what do you want to eat?"

"Meat."

Wife, we've been eating sheep meat all winter! I want to bleat a few times now as well.

Because planting has started, Night Fall Town now has quite decent food available. I now find oatmeal porridge to be absolutely delicious. This western millet is quite good too, after getting used to it. As for my wife, she chose a big piece of meat. Night Fall Town's livestock industry only consists of four animals: fang-toothed horses, big sheep, cows, and jumping chickens. There's no need to introduce fang-toothed horses and big sheep, but the cow is the only normal-looking animal, with no distinctive black and white spots on its body like the ones I know.

As for the "jumping chicken," I could also call it the "bouncing chicken." It is another species that confuses me, after the long-necked rabbits.

This poultry, if you could call it that, is pronounced as "bo bo tu". I named it "jumping chicken" with a down-to-earth name. Usually, these chickens are bred near the oat fields as one of the sources of meat. The reason why they're called "jumping chickens" is that their actions mostly rely on jumping, and they can jump quite high. I once saw Park shoot down a chicken that jumped onto the roof with a gun...

What my wife is currently eating is a chicken leg bigger than two fists.

Therefore, the means of transportation is narrowed down to four options. First, the jumping chicken is excluded since, even though it can jump, it can't pull the cart. The big sheep is a good option, but, like the cow, these two gentle domestic animals won't run like horses. As for the fang-toothed horse, it's truly too dangerous. Even if it looks obedient, it is ultimately a carnivorous animal. Even in my world, humans rarely truly domesticate carnivorous animals."What's wrong, husband?"

"Ah, I'm thinking, is it a horse or a sheep?"

"Sheep!"

"I wasn't asking what you want to eat..."

Decided, it's you, big cow! This time I have no logical basis, just because in my impression, cows have always been hardworking. Considering the long journey ahead, a cow is probably the most suitable choice. But the reason for not choosing a horse is very simple. My wife eats meat, and I also need to eat meat. If the horse eats meat, where can we find so much meat during our travels?

Eleven gold coins, right, that's the minimum price for a big cow. Cows that can till the land and produce milk are very valuable resources for the residents of Night Fall Town. The cow bought with these eleven gold coins was sold by Wolfrang after much persuasion.

"Oh, Mr. Raul, Simmon has something to give you."

"Simmon? Yes, I also have something to ask him."

"Both of you, follow me."

Back in the familiar reception room, Uncle Simmon was sitting at the table writing something.

"Oh, Mr. Raul is here, please have a seat."

"Um, thank you."

My wife and I sat at the table, waiting for this senior to impart his experience to us. Simmon had been a black market dealer for over thirty years. He had revised the current black market routes and had seen more magical creatures than anyone in town.

"You can make use of these things, Mr. Raul should have no problem."

I glanced at the table. There were three items: a hand-drawn map, a telescope, and a metal emblem. The map was more detailed than the one I had seen before, with various markings around the entire southern plain, including a very prominent route, presumably the current black market's travel route.

The telescope was a single tube that could be extended and retracted, similar to the one in Pirates of the Caribbean, with a satisfying weight to it.

The black metal emblem could be worn around the waist. On one side was the black market's sun symbol, and on the other side was the inscription of Night Fall Town. According to Simmon, this was the earliest thing used to identify oneself as a black market dealer but is no longer needed. If confronted with aggressive magical creatures, showing the emblem might make them stop attacking.

In the past, black market dealers would trade within the territory of magical creatures, which was very dangerous. They had to use the emblem to prove their identity as black market dealers. Later, as the black market shrunk, current black market teams would simply set up stalls in safe places, and the magical creatures themselves would come in black cloaks to shop. This could also be considered a kind of commercial progress.

In summary, there was a map filled with text I couldn't understand, a usable telescope, and a protective charm whose effectiveness was uncertain. Well, having something is better than having nothing.

Later, I asked Simmon some questions about magical creatures, but the knowledge about them was too difficult to understand. Finally, Simmon marked a location on the map and told us to go there. "There are some women who can perform magic." That's what Simmon said, so I assumed that was the dwelling place of the witches.

After bidding farewell to Simmon, we visited Park. A craftsman's hands are rarely idle. When we arrived, he was hammering a piece of red-hot iron, and I didn't know what he was making.

"Hey, Raul!"

"Ah, Park, I'm here."

"Just waiting for you, come, take a look at this."

Proudly, Park showed me a brand new short bow, already strung. It was accompanied by ten heavy arrows with iron heads, clearly made for my wife.

The sturdy Park urged us to try the bow and arrows to see if they felt right. My wife shot three arrows in a row, indicating she was very satisfied. I also wanted to shoot an arrow for fun, but I couldn't even pull the bowstring taut...

I've been here for half a year now, and my body is much stronger than before, so why can't I pull the bow open?

What about bending the bow and shooting a big eagle?

Is it true that weaklings use guns while the strong ones use arrows?

"Ha, husband, stop pulling..."

"No, how can I not be able to use a bow and arrow!""Hahaha, Mr. Raul. This was never considered a human bow to begin with."

"Then why are you able to use it?"

"Because I am Park, haha~"

Who said that craftsmen must always use weapons they create? Can't I change my name to Chen Park?

In the end, I gave up on that seemingly sharp short bow because even my wife started making fun of me.

"Sigh... Park, what about mine?"

"What about yours?"

"You didn't give me one to use?"

I gave my wife a bow and didn't give me anything, this is unfair.

"It's for you to use... let me think."

Park rubbed his short hair and seemed to remember something, then handed me a wooden box. Listening to the rattling sound inside, I already knew what it was.

"I made this during winter, not sure how long you'll be gone, but it should be enough."

"Alright, this will do."

Hmm, there were ammunition for a revolver in the box, estimated to be around a hundred rounds.

We wanted to pay Park, but he insisted not to. In the end, we symbolically paid him a gold coin, and Park tapped it on his forehead and smiled at us with it in his mouth.

Alright then, let's start our journey!

The next morning, we set off towards the northern witch settlement in Mountain Dotch, riding in a cart pulled by oxen. The cart and oxen were newly bought, and driving oxen was much easier than herding sheep. I began to feel more anticipation in my heart.

"Raul!"

"What's the matter?"

My wife and I turned around, seeing Wolfrang chasing after us from afar.

"Take this!" He threw over a bundle of wolf fur tied with a thin rope, seemingly cut from his own body.

"What is this?"

"You will definitely make use of it!"

Wolfrang shouted at us. Though I didn't understand why, I decided to keep the bundle of wolf fur for now. Perhaps it was a werewolf tradition.

The cart shook once again.

Sanni-Harila! I said to myself.