346 Leaving Half Moon Village (1/2)
Camie was both nervous and sad about leaving the village that had taken her in for years. Zenobia stood in front of everyone else and as the Chieftess, she was in charge of giving them a speech to wish them well on their journey.
”To Camie who has been a big sister to Half Moon village, we will miss you dearly. There's no need for tears and goodbye. Family don't say such things to each other. Just know that should you wish to return home one day, we will always welcome you back with open arms. As proof that you are irreplaceable to us all, this is a village token that the lab rats made. An obsidian tag specially enchanted with protection spells by our village head to be worn at all times. With that, have a safe journey, Camie, Zero and Truen.”
The three of them set off on foot and the warriors escorted them as far as the bridge at the entrance before stopping.
”This is goodbye but not farewell,” the centaur smiled and gave the giantess a hug.
Camie smiled at Crudgel and returned the hug twice as hard, choking the archer. She grinned. ”I'll send letters, lots of it on the way to tell you all the things Zero did.”
”Hey! No fair!” Zero protested and Truen chuckled. Despite maturing physically and mentally, Zero still had a little of his childish tendencies from time to time, especially when he was caught off guard. The other warriors weren't as touchy-feely and simply offered handshakes or hard slaps on the back as well as some travelling advice.
The twin magicians exchanged a look before going up to Zero. ”Village leader, we would like to seek permission from you to leave the village as well before you go.”
Zero wasn't expecting such a sudden request and asked why they wanted to leave too. Xyval didn't hold back and revealed that he and his sister received a summon from the Great Grand High Witch of the greatest magic school on Earth. Zero had never heard of the Great Grand High Witch and gave Truen a confused look.
”She's the owner of the biggest magic cult in the United Nation of the Uncanny and currently the biggest leading faction in their civil war.”
Zero made a face. He didn't like the sound of it. ”What's her name?”
Yxaan smiled sadly. ”Her name is Sylvia the Silver Witch and she is our great grandmother. To be more precise, she is our creator. We're chimaeras born from one of her experiments and she has summoned us through the covenant bond on our backs. We cannot refuse her.”
With a sigh, Zero chose to look the other way and pretend not to know the shadows behind the twin magicians. Instead, he placed a finger on the twins' foreheads and chanted a short incantation. On the surface, it looked like it was only a good luck charm or blessing spell. However, only Mii and Wii knew that Zero had done more than that. Zero used Origin to help him give them powerful defensive spells in case the twins were harmed or attacked. The spell couldn't last forever but even Merlin would need months to undo such a complicated spell. The doctor had to thank his magic teacher for teaching him how to create shortcuts for casting complicated spells in short chants using the grimoire.
Now that he had taken preventive measures, Zero waved goodbye to the party and walked into the forest with Truen and Camie in tow. The trees were big and tall so Zero felt like he was walking forever in the dense forest with no exit in sight. While he walked, Mii updated the maps. Zero was amazed by how little the surroundings had changed. Apart from a few new villages appearing at the foot of Endow Hill, everything else remained the same.
”How much further do we have to walk?” Zero complained on behalf of his stomach. They left after breakfast and it didn't take much to make Zero hungry again.
Camie giggled. They were walking for almost an hour now in silence. She tried her best to slow down so that the smaller people could keep up but Zero looked like he was suffering regardless.
”Zero, it takes a week for us to walk out of this forest. If you have to eat every hour, I'm afraid we might take a year. Even the twins would be able to leave faster than us,” Truen teased and Zero growled.
”You said that I cannot use overpowered magic in towns and places when there are people watching us. Can't I use magic now? Why do we have to walk when I can make us fly or teleport us?”