Chapter 37 The Singing Girl

Logan sat on the grassy hilltop, gazing sadly at the group of forty to fifty people resting below. This was the fifth time that day they had stopped for a break that day. Logan was accustomed to the compact efficiency of ANBU's elites.

Then, after a fierce ideological struggle in his mind, Logan finally succumbed to reality, threw his head back in resignation, and felt the soft earth beneath him wrap around his back.

"Sigh…"

The warm sunlight streamed through the gaps in the clouds, casting golden waves over the undulating greenery. Logan sighed, whether out of resignation or enjoyment, he wasn't quite sure himself.

He had been with this envoy from the Land of Fire for a week now, but the distance they covered was like a turtle running a race. If it's Logan's usual pace, he could have made the trip to the capital and back again.

The entire group consisted of ordinary people. Originally, Logan had approached their slow travel speed with tolerance and understanding. But after a week, he realized that he was wrong. This envoy's mission was definitely not to promote friendship between the Land of Fire and its neighboring regions. They are clearly on a taxpayer-funded vacation.

After walking for a while, they would take a break. Sometimes, the group would deviate from the route to explore other places...

"Hey, Ninja from Konoha, want some food?" The handsome and extraordinary Samurai captain climbed up the grassy slope and said with a hint of reluctance, shaking the things in his hands.

Logan, still lying sprawled out, turned his head slightly. When he saw the delicate lunch box in the captain's hand, he quickly got up and said, "Oh, thank you, thank you. I'll have some."

This Samurai captain's name is Sanada Hanjiro, and he was said to be a genius Samurai from a certain Samurai Clan.

Seeing Logan taking the lunch box, he curled his lips. If it weren't for the orders of the envoy, he wouldn't have bothered with this seemingly unenthusiastic ninja from Konoha.

As the second-in-command of this group, aside from the envoy himself, he was undoubtedly responsible for the task of communicating with this Konoha's Ninja.

If Logan could hear Hanjiro's dissatisfaction, he will definitely be more dissatisfied than the other party. He would have said, 'Hey, clearly it's your envoy group that's the problem and can't get motivated, not me. I'm just a part-time worker and I have no choice but to cooperate with you rich people.'

When he was alone on the grassy slope again, Logan opened the lunch box. Compared to dry rations, he was very excited about this food, as this was definitely a luxurious meal. He heard that this was made by the envoy. Out in the wilderness, it was really impressive. But not many people would receive such treatment.

'It is indeed a tourist group, with all the cooking utensils and equipment.' Logan looked at the fire and white smoke rising below, and his lips couldn't help but twitch. Well, spending a lot of time solving the problem of meals every day was probably the reason for the slow progress of this group.

It's not that Logan has never escorted high-ranking figures, but back then, those figures were always in a hurry due to important matters, that's why they're willing to spend a lot of money to hire Ninjas, as they wanted to rush to their destination as fast as possible. Because of that, Logan didn't notice much difference in the travel process.

But this time, as an official envoy from the Land of Fire... Maybe the other party really wasn't in a hurry to fulfill their duty.

Eating his meal, Logan surveyed the surroundings. From the high vantage point, the terrain was clearly visible. He had not forgotten his responsibilities after all. Due to various reasons in the past week, he had not interacted much with these forty or fifty people. He seemed to be borderline indifferent, disregarding these people. However, Logan will definitely fulfill his mission as an escort.

In the afternoon, they continued on their way. After crossing a small mountain road, the arrogant Hanjiro told Logan to check the surroundings for any lurking bandits with a serious expression. The carriage had shaken strongly when crossing the mountain road earlier, so he decided to stop for a while to let the envoy rest.

"..."

What else could Logan say? Naturally, he stiffly went to search for the unfortunate bandits in the vicinity.

After traversing rooftops and walls for a while without seeing a soul, Logan returned angrily. At that moment, the group had just resumed their journey.

The central figure of this group was the envoy sitting in the carriage, who is responsible for the culture, etiquette and music of the Land of Fire. When Logan heard this, he found it quite strange at first, and thought, 'Did such a thing even exist in the Ninja World?'

The envoy is a young and adorable girl who always wore a shrine maiden-style red and white kimono. Logan had glanced at her a few times and remembered her appearance well. Of course, not for any indecent reasons that some people in front of the screen think, but because she was the focal point of their protection and needed to be remembered carefully.

In the evening, they set up camp at the foot of a mountain. The flames and chatter didn't die down until late into the night. Logan didn't bother to stop them. After all, they're in the Land of Fire's territory, so there was really no need to be on guard, even though these people seemed completely relaxed and unguarded...

Nearly half of the Samurai took turns keeping watch at night. Logan yawned and stared at the loopholes in the defense. However, just like the previous night, there were no ruthless Rogue Ninjas attacking this official envoy group.

Suddenly, a distant song flowed softly to Logan's. He glanced towards the center of the camp where the envoy was singing again. Every night, the girl, who looked less than 20 years old, would either sit or stand upright, practicing melodies Logan had never heard before.

Hearing music in the Ninja World was quite unusual. In Logan's busy life, apart from festivals and rituals, he rarely encountered truly melodious songs.

Music was a mysterious thing, just like background music in a film. Those who have their own BGM are usually the protagonists, while those who don't have BGM are pale and powerless. The presence or absence of background music made a huge difference in interpretation.

In the modern era where the economy is booming and creativity is constantly developing in all fields, Logan had seen and heard a lot, but after being exposed to killing and boredom, he had never felt it again.

Leaning against the trunk of a large tree, Logan couldn't help but try to catch a glimpse of the singing girl. The ethereal voice, in this world defined by a brutal tale of hatred after hatred, represented a beautiful artistic existence in a corner. On that night, with an unfamiliar melody, she sang with raw authenticity.

After drifting off for a while, the song turned into background music, and Logan fell asleep unknowingly.