47 Departure (1/2)
Today is the 5th.
The traditional waking is left for later as we wake up in a small hurry. The paintings, the plants, the decorations, the furniture, the drapes, the cutlery, the ceramics, the clothes and finally our ”picture” at the Tree of Mana, all of that is taken into my ”Items”.
The house looks empty, cold, and gloomy. The place we all met and lived for a few months, my first real ”home” ever since I changed. The tea time at the balcony, the calming training sessions in the living room with the fireplace on, the physical training outside in the backyard, the meals we shared at the wide table, the sexy times in the bath, the comfort of the bed, it is time to abandon it all and hit the road.
In front of the fireplace we make another ”picture” with the gnomic magic tool, a closer one of our face and with the fireplace in the background.
”Well...” I start to think of a speech but the words get stuck on my throat.
”We will have another home one day,” Alissa says and drops her head on my shoulder.
We spend a few minutes in calm silence until the landlord comes for the inspection. The old man and his son look at us weirdly for a moment but quickly move on and inspect the house.
”All done, no damage. You are one of the best tenants we ever had,” the old landlord says.
I give him he key and we take one last look to the house before moving on.
The air is full of mist and still dark, the people are just starting to stir from their homes.
We quickly pass by the Quizzical Emporium just as it opens. It's a place full of ridiculous objects that are being used as flying vehicles. Brooms, plates, chairs, beds, staves, carpets, cloaks, drapes, wagons, saddles, wooden carved horses, wooden carved humanoids, shoes, boots, high heels, golden shoes, shields, scabbards, a wooden dildo, even a sword itself, but the most popular are bathtubs, for some reason.
A thin and long man with hair styled and colored like a peacock comes out of the entrance carrying a rocking horse. He slid on the ground as if he were wearing roller skates, his golden high heels shines when the light hits the jewel embedded on them just at the right angle.
He stops near us and lets the rocking horse on an empty spot, then he turns to us and strikes a pose, one hand on the hips and another up in the air. ”Welco~ome to the Quizzical Emporium! We have a wide variety of magical vehicles but don't fret, we also have all kinds of other enchanted items or useful magic tools!” He says in a slightly high pitched voice.
”Y-yes, uh, we want a reinforced shell for our flying dinghy,” I say and pull it out.
”Hm, yes, just replacing the shell or do you want another [Fly] tool too?” He asks.
”Replacing only.”
Inside the store there's more enchanted items, I see all kinds of cooking equipment, power tools, house utilities, and cleaning tools. I feel like buying the auto-fryer and the pressure cooker but they are not necessary for now so I'll leave it for later. On an only slightly conspicuous corner are plenty of sex toys.
Ciel looks around warily but Hana and Alissa look with interest. Roxanne simply turns around and leaves, a little pale, she knows who will suffer if these toys are used.
Lina comes back and calls for us, she found a rather sleek looking boat with a metal frame and a windshield. The husk is actually cheap, only 20 gold coins to trade for the old husk. If we wanted the magic tool too it would cost much more than a single rose coin. Our dinghy's magic tool is not the best but it's serviceable, though not the most mana-efficient but we aren't going to start racing with our flying boat anyway.
”Thank you for your purcha~ase!” The vendor adds tremolo to his voice.
We wasted enough time, now with a much safer and wider boat we fly to the west gate.
The sun rises and the mist slowly disperses. Multiple caravans stir and start the preparations to leave town. Customs officers do final checks on wagons and quickly review space mages [Item Box]'s contents. You can make a pre-check the day before to make things faster.
Rather close to the exit Hana finds our caravan, a significantly smaller one in comparison to the others.
A small bundle of brown fur comes out of a wagon and immediately dashes towards us. She tackles Hana square in the gut but she takes it without a flinch. I can finally see who exactly she is. A long and furry tail that seems as long as her body, round cute furry ears peeking from under brown hair on a bob cut just like Alissa's, toned, long and very lean arms and legs, a toned midriff showing from below the short shirt, small patches of fur all over her body and cute round face. A weremonkey, brown monkey, I don't know the proper name for her type. All her skin and fur is a cute chocolate brown, even her wide eyes are brown.
”Hello again, Klein,” Hana says in a warm tone.
”Hanaa! We are finally back together!” Klein hugs Hana's waist and rubs her head on her belly.
”Yes, yes. Now, introductions, show your courtesy to my master.”
”Oh, right!” Klein releases Hana and stands straight, giving me a military salute. She's just slightly smaller than me. ”Klein, wereape archer, reporting for duty!”
”Uh, Wolf Ryder, leader of Helios,” I say and extend a hand for her to shake.
She stares at my hand, still in salute, and tilts her head. Then she smiles, stops the salute and shakes my hand repeatedly. ”Heard a lot about you, both from Hana and the hunters guild files.” Then she releases my hand and looks at Alissa. ”And you too, Miss Alissa of the Blinding Arrows, I think it will be hard to compete with you.” She bites her tongue in a mischievous smile.
Alissa answers with a smile of her own, ”I've been trained ever since I was a child, plenty of people would easily be able to compete with me if they had the same training.”
”Modest, hm-hm?”
We continue the introductions, though the other three girls look at her a bit suspiciously.
”Oh! Your choker is so cute, I love it!” Klein exclaims as she greets Lina.
”T-thank you,” Lina says, flustered.
After this Ciel and Lina softened a bit.
”C-can I pet you!?” Klein asks Gify with eyes open wide like a maniac.
”Gih.”
I grab GIfy and she smothers him on her modest chest. He rubs his head on her and I see a flicker of a smug smile get sent towards me.
I have 6 women for me, I'm not jealous, you cheeky little shit.
As Klein fawns over Gify I see movement from the caravan, a duo comes towards us. A tall, muscular, and slightly tanned silver elf man and very curvy brown-skinned silver elf woman.
The man has a rather soft and youthful face, on par for the elves, his lips and nose are thin, and his face has long dimples formed by his wide smile, his glacial blue eyes stare not at me. He walks forward with confidence and arms that don't fully touch his sides due to his wide muscles. He wears tight pants and a sleeveless shirt that exposes his arms and sticks to his pecs.
Soul Info
Name: Rande Parado | Race: Silver Elf | Level: 30
MP: 132 | Magic Power: 20
Stats of a spell warrior.
The woman looks to be on the beginning of her forties, not much older than the man, but since she's an elf and level 44, I think she's much older. Her lips and nose are also thin but her mouth is much smaller and pouty, the pupil of her eyes are red, their shape is slightly droopy like Lina's, her face is very angular, she walks with a sway on her wide hips and a visible jiggle on her large breasts. She wears traditional elven clothing, basically a bikini with multiple pieces of cloth dangling, her midriff, thighs, calves, arms, and cleavage are uncovered by the thin clothing.
If I could search ”dark elf milf” on google I bet I would find her.
Soul Info
Name: Osaria Parado | Race: Silver Elf | Level: 44
MP: 810 | Magic Power: 190
Stats of a mage, though her level is quite high, must be from when she was a noble.
The man suddenly shifts his eyes to me and his smile hardens. ”Mr. Ryder, I suppose?” He asks, his voice is youthful but low pitched.
”Correct,” I answer with a small nod.
A sultry voice softly whispers in my ears, ”Pleasure to meet you, I am Osaria,” says the dark elven woman.
Ugh, another one with high ”Charisma”.
She extends her hand towards me, her long fingers have beautiful ornate nails, the first I have seen in this world. I grab her hand and give it a slow and soft kiss, the elven standard.
”This is my son Rande, Este company's owner,” she adds.
They didn't mention their last name, they must have really became fallen nobles then.
We continue the greetings and Hana also grabs her hand to kiss. Rande grabs Hana's for a kiss and he lingers more than me. Osaria grabs Roxanne's hand for a kiss and makes her fluster. The others merely touch the forehead with the hand.
Lina's Trivia: Elves still hold on some older traditions, kissing someone's hand has some connotations on admiration or romantic interest, depending on the context. Mine and Hana's was merely respect, Rande's was romantic, Roxanne's was ambiguous.
”You are what I expected but it's still very hard to believe your file,” Rande says and his thin silver eyebrows knit. His youthful face distorts into worry and a hint of anger.
”You want me to prove it? What would you prefer? Magic? Summoning Duel? Sword sparring?” I ask with a wide grin. I'm getting tired of people acting like this even though they have seen my file in the hunters guild.
He looks back at the line of caravans, there's still people in the way, the animals are getting fed and the warriors are putting on their armor. We have some time.
”Sure, what about a spar with me,” he turns back and grins maliciously.
Intimidation failed.
”I am a magic swordsman, remember that I don't spar without magic.”
”Fine, I will use my enchanted sword then, let's make it a duel.”
I look back and see Ciel roll her eyes, the others have more encouraging expressions with a variety of intensity, Lina and Alissa show a hint of anger too. Klein looks calm and interested in the duel, Gify shows no interest.
”Squash, him,” Aoi says and I rub below her chin.
I glance at Osaria and she seems amused, her lips curved in a faint smile.
We move to an alley where nobody is moving through. With a *poof* his mother pulls out a gambeson and some chainmail that he quickly puts on.
He draws his longsword, there's a gem in the pommel and silver engravings along the blade. I draw my fang sword.
”Not going to use armor?” Rande asks.
”Don't need,” I say flatly.
”Suit yourself,” he shrugs.
”Rules!” Ciel yells and stand by the side. ”I'll say when it ends and you will obey me or I will smack you until you are unconscious, this goes for both of you, understand!?”
”Yes, Miss,” Rande says with a confident smile.
”Yes, my love,” I smirk and his expression twitches.
Ciel sighs deeply. ”Ready? Fight!”
His sword catches fire and I fake chant a shortened [Gravity Crush]. He swings the sword and a blade of flaming oil oozes out of the silver engravings, it flies in a crescent towards me. It's much smaller than the Lord's own flaming oil sword, Rande's is not an artifact.
I sidestep the first blade and the oil splashes on the ground near me, the oil burns for long seconds. Well I guess that parrying him is useless.
He launches two more horizontal ones in different angles. I contort myself and [Dodge], maybe I should add [Acrobatics] to my style too.
He huffs and dashes forward, throwing more blades of flaming oil. I step back and finish my spell, he immediately stops in the spot and nearly tumbles. His movements slow as I increase the pressure, veins start to appear in his face and he grunts in effort.
CrushcrushCRUSH! CRUSH!
I dash forward.
I dodge another blade with some difficulty and reach him. He grunts harder in effort as he finds the strength to slash with his sword towards my chest. I flicker a [Rush] and twist my body to dodge, pain flares in my head as I dual-cast.
I feel the heat of the oil pass near my face painfully close. He tries to raise his sword but fails, I flash mine towards his neck.
”STOP!” Ciel yells and rushes forward. My sword is a centimeter inside his neck, blood drips profusely.
I end my spell and he falls on his knees, coughing blood.
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Ciel fakes a [Heal] chant and touches his neck, then she casts two more on his chest and his mother gives him an HP potion.
He chuckles and rises, ”Damn boy, what's your 'Magic Power'?”
”High,” I say and store back my sword in my ”Items”.
”Suffered enough?” Osaria asks her son with a slight amusement in her sultry voice.
”Yes, mother,” Rande pushes away both and removes his armor. He looks at his bloody shirt and gambeson and sighs.
”Give it to Oura, she's slacked enough,” Osaria says and they start walking back to the caravan. She turns to us, ”Mr. Ryder, come with us, we will deliver you your horses. I know you have a town pass so you can wait outside.”
”Actually we are waiting on some acquaintances so we will leave town right behind you,” Ciel says.
”Suit yourself.”
We return to wait near the caravan and Klein seems very happy, her tail is high up and the point keeps twitching.
”Wow, Mr. Ryder, that was amazing, you crushed him in an instant!”
”Most magic and spell warrior duels are like that,” Hana says.
Lina's Trivia: magic swordsman/warrior is someone who fights with magic, like me; spell swordsman/warrior is someone who fights with offensive enchantments, like Rande.
”Still, he couldn't even move due to the pressure you put on him! And was that a double-cast!?”
”Say, Klein, did you see Rande duel with others often?” Ciel asks, distracting the monkey-girl.
”Oh, hardly, he likes to show off but only if someone interesting comes he challenges them. Oura is very grumpy and tired of healing people due to his duels so he has been trying to contain himself but I guess Mr. Ryder's fame got him interested. He's got a bit of fame at Goldcross so people just surrender once they see his flaming sword, it's quite nasty and painful to duel him.”
The girls spend a good 10 minutes talking to Klein. Roxanne is the ”I don't care” type of airhead, Klein is the ditzy type of airhead. Lina shuffles to my side and I sling a hand over her shoulder, she's not that comfortable with extroverts and neither am I.
I nearly jump out of my skin when suddenly Silvane and Nononya appear out of a corner.
”Ryder, Alissa, Lina, I came to see you one last time,” Silvane says with a beautiful bright smile.
”H-hello, Silvane,” I say and bow respectfully.
”Please, no need to bow.”
”Hello, Wolf,” Nonoia says with a shy smile.
”Hello, Nono, glad you came,” I say and we shake hands, hers is so delicate it's just like Lina's.
We say our greetings and Silvane gives Alissa a tight hug.
”It's a shame that Rabanara would lose your fellowship but I hope for your success in the future,” Silvane says with soft voice.
”Thank you Silvane, I appreciate your concern and I consider you a friend. We will definitely miss you,” Alissa says, her voice is calm but her tail sways rapidly.
Silvane turns to me and Lina, ”I wish to see the name of both of you in the cover of a book in the future, don't disappoint me.” And she giggles twice.
”Y-yes, we won't!” Lina exclaims and lowers her head, blushing.
I pull out a stack of notes out of my ”Items”.
”Here's all my notes related to Summoning.” I offer them to Nononya.
She opens her eyes wide and take them slowly.
”W-w-wolf! T-thank you!” She wraps her hands on my neck and gives me a tight hug. Her hair touches the side of my head, she's just as fluffy as I thought and her perfume is very sweet. I feel the squash of her perky breasts and bad premonition coming from behind me.
Nono releases me after a few seconds and I try not to look behind. She gushes with happiness and starts to flip through them quickly. She stops in a page and starts reading intently. ”[Monster Summoning]...?” She raises her eyes to me in complete disbelief.
I hold a finger over my mouth, asking for silence and Nono nods repeatedly. She starts to flicker through the pages again until she finds another even more interesting, [Bind]. Though I didn't develop chants for those two the notes will still be useful in helping her increase her [Summoning Magic] level.
A minute after Bitar, Arantos, a plump woman, and a few other priestess appear.
”Bitar!” Ciel exclaims with happiness. She walks over to him and stops awkwardly, Bitar's face is rather somber.
He looks up at her and smiles painfully, ”I... I couldn't let you leave like this. I'm sorry for what I said,” he says in a weak voice.
She matches his smile and grabs his shoulder, ”I understand, I know what you feel and what you think, but I have made my choice, I have someone I love and I have my path to take. Live or die, I am sure now that I have made the choice that I wanted, not necessarily the one who will let me live the longest but the one who will let me live the happiest.”
Damn, those words pull on my heart strings. I won't disappoint you, Ciel, we will live long!
He throws his arm over her and pulls her on a tight hug. This time he doesn't seem to be trying to push her breasts to him, only her head.
She takes the hug for a few seconds but pushes him away, still not comfortable getting close to him.
The other priestesses and the plump woman give Ciel a short hug and a few words. Arantos gives her a quick hug and a kiss in the forehead.
As Bitar approaches me I see Lyle and Nour appear at the same time.
Bitar stops in front of me, his eyes tired and his expressive eyebrows lifeless. ”Well, Ryder, I only have one thing to ask, keep her safe.”
I extend my hand to him, ”I will.”
He takes it and after a limp shake he gains some confidence and gives me a proper one. He nods and we release, then he turns and sighs deeply, seemingly in relief.
Arantos comes next along with his wife. She has short blonde hair, the pixie cut, her face seems to be stuck on a smile, which fills her round face with little curves and dimples.
”Wolf Ryder, I relinquish my responsibility over Ciel, she's all yours,” his soft voice rings in my ears and we shake hands.
”I will take it with pride.”
”Anyway this is my wife, Alana,” he points to the bubbly woman.
”Keep her happy and well fed,” she says with a giggle. Arantos shrugs with a wry smile.
I merely nod and they go back to Ciel.
Nour and Lyle seem to recognize the target destination of each other and slow down. Toroo comes out from behind them and approaches first.
”Have a safe journey, Wolf, make sure to come back,” she says and gives me a quick hug. ”Gimbo sends his farewell to Lina, he's quite tired and couldn't make it.”
”I understand,” Lina says with a happy nod.
I notice the very small bump on Toroo's belly.
Lyle comes after. ”I'm sure you will be fine,” he smiles mischievously, ”You got more card on your sleeves than there is on the deck.”
I smile back and he moves on to give a tight handshake to Lina. She smiles adorably and this time I don't feel so much jealousy, progress.
”Hope you write a book one day, you have the right mindset for a historian,” He says to Lina.
”Thank you, I hope people would enjoy reading something written by a slave,” she answers meekly.
”I think you won't be a slave for that much longer, so you don't need to concern yourself with this,” he smiles warmly at her and she nods shyly.
Garanae gives me an awkward goodbye.
”You are... a good person, Wolf,” he says.
”And so are you, I'm sure you are taking good care of Hatara.” He chuckles once and nods.
Then it gets even more awkward when he goes to Alissa. Hatara pinches his bum and he gets completely flustered, we have another sadist in the making here.
”Thanks for your help, Alissa, I will never forget it,” Hatara says with cheeky grin.
”Don't mention it,” Alissa answers and they share a hug.
Nour recognizes Silvane and takes some time before finally coming to greet us.
”Quite the crowd you have here, Wolf,” he says mid-handshake.
”I guess I made a variety of friends, a rather mixed variety of friends,” I say with a wry smile.
”Keep yourself safe, Mr. 'Good Luck', you have a thing for danger.”
”Keep your wits about you, you also don't have the best of luck, eh?”
He chuckles and moves on.
Midori fawns one last time over Aoi, her confident demeanor crumbles when she thinks she won't be able to see Aoi so soon again.
Safiya and Lina share a few quiet words and a giggle, then she gives a respectful and confident handshake to Roxanne.
Iana is just as bubbly as ever and greets us all happily. Bellatrix is still acting as the androgynous butler and give a strong handshake to Alissa, Hana, and Lina.
Selina comes running, flanked by Thomas.
”Hah, good! We made it in time!” She laughs and catches her breath.
She gives me a hug, then Alissa, then Roxanne, then Hana, then Ciel, then Lina, and a pat in the head of Aoi and Gify.
”Make me that journal, Alissa,” Selina demands. ”I already know you will all be fine so I want to hear all about the goodies,” then she turns to Hana and Roxanne, ”specially you two. Bring me a piece of the biggest thing you kill, if anything remains, though. The way your spells are going you are just going to make things turn to dust one day.”
”Ohohohoh!” Roxanne laughs evilly, ”Now that's a good idea for a spell, one that even Wolfy won't feel sick when I use it. Poof, just make things disappear.”
Thomas gives me a firm handshake.
”Take care, your fellowship is strong, you should live long,” he says with a confident smile and I nod back.
Lyle and Nour turn to talk to one another, seems like they are making a connection through me.
I look at the caravan and they are crossing customs, finally.
Silvane and Arantos come to my side.
”You have some good friends, Wolf,” Arantos says, ”Your roots here will last for quite some time but Rabanara will always be a home for you. I will wait your return.”
Silvane winks at me and says, ”Indeed, Mr. Ryder, your connections are quite broad,” she glances at Arantos and he gives her an odd neutral look. ”There will always be someone willing to help.”
”Thank you,” I lower my head to them, ”but now we must leave, the caravan is departing.”
I call over the girls and some last goodbyes are said.
Feels bittersweet, now I don't want to leave anymore. I give a slap to my face and move on.
We show our ID's to the guards and cross the moat, one last look, one last wave, and we depart.
Klein comes running and catches up to us, she didn't have a town pass too so she wasted a few seconds with customs.
The caravan is just outside, a few wagons with ”horses” pulling them and a crowd of people following.
As far as I know, horses aren't supposed to look so... muscular and threatening. I can see blood dripping out of the mouth of a horse as he chews on something. Another horse neighs and I see sharp teeth below his lips. They stare at anyone who gets too close with hungry eyes and huff in annoyance.
The fuck are they feeding these monsters?
A short silver elf boy with long hair comes towards us with 7 horses behind him on leashes. His face is very feminine and if it weren't for the sleeveless loose shirt I think I would mistake him for a cute girl like Silvane.
”Here's the horses for the Helios fellowship,” he says as he approaches us, his voice is high pitched and crystal clear. ”My name is Nito and I take care of the horses.” He bows lightly to us.
We introduce ourselves and he distributes the leashes, Lina's the smallest while mine is the largest. I look at Nito but his face is solid like stone.
I sigh internally and put on 10 points into [Riding], masking it as we pull out our armor and put it on except the helmets.
”So, be careful with the horses, please, consider them as rentals so you will pay for any wounds on them,” Nito starts once he deems us ready to mount. ”They like to eat goblins and orcs but please don't put them in battle, only let them eat the bodies not live ones. Keep your dragon with you, they might mistake it for a Dragolite and try to eat it too.”
From Hana's shoulder Aoi puffs smoke in the air and the horses huff in response. ”They, won't, try,” she says with a glare towards the horses.
Through [Animal Tongue] I see that they are quite nervous about Aoi.
Nito turns to the horses and speaks in Dioma, the high elven language. I feel he's using [Animal Tongue] too and trying to calm the horses, he's saying Aoi is friend, not food.
The horses calm down and Nito motions for Hana to approach, she obeys and the horses don't become more nervous to see Aoi approach.
”Seems fine. Right, continuing, I will follow you with my own horse so in case you need to drop the horses to battle don't worry, they will obey me and not get scared at the sounds of battle. In case I'm not present once you dismount, the horse will try to return to me so don't go too deep or too far from the caravan so the horse doesn't get lost. Also don't stay too long inside the Sea of Trees, they don't like it in there.”
We nod in understanding and approach the horses to mount, the beasts remain still and barely respond. Once I approach, through [Animal Tongue], I feel amusement coming out of my horse, the other horses seem curious about me.
I put the left foot on a stirrup, grab the mane and reins with the left hand, and with the right I grab the saddle's cantle. With all my leg strength, and with the help of [Telekinesis], I spring up and swing my right leg over the horse in one smooth movement, allowing me to sit perfectly on the saddle. I grab the reins properly and try to look for the right stirrup, with a little fiddling I find it and put my right foot on it. Perfect mounting, I'm very proud of myself.
My horse's amusement increases and the others lose interest.
Lina has the most difficulty and requires Hana to pull her up, her horse is small but it's still a little too big for her. Roxanne awkwardly mounts on hers but succeeds, Ciel does it slowly and gracefully, the other two are naturals and do it effortlessly. Klein mounts the same horse as Hana and I get suggestive situations in my head with the two of them together.
”They look old but they are perfectly trained,” Hana says while patting her horse tenderly, I feel it is quite content with its rider.
”Well... they served nobles once,” Nito says and scratches the back of his long ears uncomfortably.
He looks at me while I try to handle my horse, making me sweat a little. I have very little idea how to do it, even with the skill. What the skill does give me is ”intuition”, so I follow it, without any idea of what is going to happen next.
”Click for walk, squeeze for speed, smack the rump lightly for a canter, and add a 'yah!' for a gallop,” Nito says.
I pull the rein to the side and turn, I bump my heels on the horse's body and click my tongue, the horse obeys and starts to walk. My body sways along with the horse's, uncomfortable and a little nauseating.
Alissa quickly comes to my side and says, ”Doing good for a first time.”
Ciel comes on the other, ”Doing good for a fake.”
I feel a little too tense to respond, this is a beast I'm riding. I feel small on top of the mean-looking monster, smaller than normal at least.
The horse huffs and I got the feeling that I'm not in full control.
Gihihih.
What are you laughing at? I'm doing perfectly fine, Rande's attempt to embarrass me didn't work.
Gih.
No, that just makes me look more manly, a small man on top of a large beast is like a short man surrounded by many tall women. You get curious at which member of him is magical.
We continue forward towards the caravan. The crowd following the wagons is being herded by men with spears and flimsy-looking armor. There are many families in there, few look like they are polygamists. There are a lot of children, though, this makes me quite uncomfortable.
They look at us curiously, confused, or surprised. I think they know we are responsible for keeping the monsters away and our composition brings smirks to many men.
We pass by the four wagons, inside is packed with things and a few people sitting in very comfortable-looking chairs. Those are the space mages, they get treated well because they are transporting the perishable goods.
At the front are a few more guards and Rande. He's on a horse beside a carriage. On the window of the carriage I see Osaria, a tired-looking gold elf woman wearing mage's clothes, and a lean weredog archer. He looks like a husky, white face, black fur and hair, glacial blue eyes, and a perpetual frown.
”Mr. Ryder,” Rande says with a wide smile once he sees us. Osaria looks out of the window satisfied while the other barely look interested.
”Rande,” I greet back.
”I see you are doing fine with your horse, a fine beast, is it not?”
”It is a magnificent beast,” I say and caress the side of the neck of my horse.
It neighs happily.
Rande raises an eyebrow, ”I see, so you are using [Animal Tongue]?”
”Indeed, I'm the one who tamed the nature spirit after all.”
Gih.
Yeah, but he doesn't need to know that.
He looks at Alissa, who's holding Gify and enters deep thought. He must have believed that Alissa did it, this is why he thought he could embarrass me by giving me the biggest horse.
”Anyway,” -Osaria starts, bringing attention to her- ”these are Oura and Laertes,” she points to the two on the carriage. ”We are enough to keep the caravan safe from goblins and such if you need to move away to deal with something else.”
Oura is a baggy-eyed woman with long, slightly unkempt hair and a delicate, round face. Laertes is serious and rugged but young man with an oval face, his permanent frown makes him look older than he is. They give us a short greeting.
Laertes leans over Oura and speaks out of the window of the carriage, ”Klein, how long are you going to keep out there?”
”Aaaall the time, I have a lot to catch up!” She answers with a satisfied smile.
Laertes looks at Hana and then to me and his frown becomes slightly deeper. ”Your job is with the caravan, not them, understood?” He asks sternly.
”Yeees, daddy.”
He cringes and returns to his position, Oura already fell asleep.
”He's not my actual daddy, but he acts like it,” Klein says lowly.
”Mr. Rande,” Hana says and approaches him.
”Just Rande, please,” he says with a grin.
”What are the combat capabilities of the other guards?”
”Meat shields,” he says flatly.
I share a concerned look with Ciel.
”Can we rely on them for something?”
”We can rely on them as bait, they are only there to keep the commoners from doing something stupid, don't expect them to show much loyalty.”
”Talking about the commoners, you brought more commoners than we had agreed,” Hana says and narrows her eyes at him threateningly.
”Last minute changes and a few desperate poor commoners were in need of help. Shouldn't make things much more difficult for you,” he calmly says.
”It's not your name that gets dragged in the mud when people die,” Hana hisses at him.
He hardens his expression and swallows nervously.
Hana moves past him and we follow.
”You told me he would do that but it's still annoying, the more commoners following the more monsters that will come to us. If they remain until the High Forest then it will make things harder for us,” she says.
Klein smiles wryly, ”That's his biggest fault, I guess, the easy money always charms him.”
”Does he even know you are a Blood Slave?” Ciel asks.
”Don't think so, at least, I didn't show the mark to him,” Hana answers.
”Keep it that way,” I say, me and Hana share a knowing smirk.
”Wolfy, your horse is big enough, can I go with you?” Lina asks.
”Getting spoiled, aren't you?” Ciel asks with smirk.
”Yes,” Lina answers and shyly lowers her head.
”I'll miss giving you two a ride,” Alissa says.
”We can still scout ahead once in a while, just us three,” I say.
”I would highly prefer that you didn't do this often,” Ciel says with a worried look.
”I know, I know, just something to pass the inevitable boredom,” Alissa says.
”Have you ever ridden Alissa?” I ask Ciel.
”Oh! If we are doing this then I want a ride too!” Roxanne exclaims.
”Me too!” Klein lifts her hand high in the air.
”Same,” Hana says with fearsome smile that leave Alissa concerned.
She looks Hana up and down then says, ”You might be a bit too heavy for me, so I won't last long.”
”Sure, just like always.”
We smile at each other but Alissa pouts.
I lean over to my horse and softly whisper on his ears, ”Can you handle one more person?”
It huffs in disinterest.
I will take that as an ”eh, sure”.
I stop my horse and Lina drops from hers, with help of [Telekinesis] I pull her up to my saddle. Her horse immediately turns back to Nito, who's following us from a distance. Lina leans over my chest and closes her eyes in satisfaction when I hug her tight.
I summon two birds, a Holly, and a Shad and spread them out except the Shad.
”Oooh, [Summoning Magic]?” Klein asks curiously, she takes the reins and pulls her horse beside mine. I nod to her. ”How is it? Having more eyes and senses than normal?”
”Straining and nauseating, specially if you have too many senses coming all at once,” I answer.
”How did you learn it?”
”Secret,” I smile wryly.
She immediately pouts cutely.
”Really?”
”Really, can't tell.”
”Muuh...” She groans like Aoi.
”Curiosity got the monkey eaten,” Hana says and Klein pouts harder.
”Say, Klein, do you have any stories about Hana?” Roxanne asks with a smirk.
Hana's face hardens and she keeps looking forward.
”Girl, do I have.” She smiles evilly, ”There's plenty but I think it's hard to beat the time she pissed on a noble's mouth.”
She what?
”Klein! You weren't even there when it happened!” Hana complains, her hands grip Klein's shoulders strongly.
”But I heard all the details from Mimi,” she grins evilly.
”N-not that one, please, I was too stupid at that age,” Hana pleads with a frown.
”Too late, I want to hear that one,” Roxanne says. Ciel comes beside Hana and nods repeatedly.
”What about that time that you ate some 'shrooms and tongue kissed your Da?”
Hana facepalms and speaks, ”Oh Gods! I'm already regretting coming!”
”Okay, now, what?” Ciel leans closer with a smirk.
”It's exactly like that, she got some weird 'shrooms from Betoverd Bos and we shared them and boy, did I trip hard on that, I still remember it vividly how I could see sounds. But for Hana it was worse, she got all horny and masturbated, I think, I don't remember, Mimi told me what happened. But then she was so horny she kissed the first man she saw, which was her Dad.”
Now that is an awkward memory.
Hana blushes and starts laughing. She shakes her head and then covers her face with her hands. ”That was a tongue kiss! My first real kiss!”
”Oof,” the girls, including Aoi, all groan in sympathy.
”Now that we are talking about it, who was the first kiss of everybody?” Klein asks with suggestive grin.
They all start by staring at me and I suddenly awake from my blissful trance induced by their pretty voices.
”I think I was 10, I don't remember the name of the girl anymore, she was the maid's daughter,” I say.
”Maid? So you do come from a wealthy family,” Klein says.
”Kinda,” I smile wryly.
Alissa frowns at me, and the others look disappointed.
”Men,” Ciel says lowly and they nod.
”Oh come on, I was 10, I barely remember the name of anybody when I was that age,” I protest.
Ciel's tone turns colder, ”It was your first kiss, possibly for both of you, you should at least memorize her name due to how important that is.”
”Thirty years,” I say with a shrug.
”What?” Klein asks.
”Nothing, internal reference,” I say.
Ciel sighs, ”Fine you get a pass, this time.”
We turn to Alissa.
”Nen, Nenvieu, oh wait, no, it was Ofilia,” she says and blushes.
Oh wow.
”The Blood Slave your family had? A woman?” I ask, impressed.
”Yeah but it didn't count, it was for my slave training.”
”So it was Nen then?” Ciel asks.
Alissa nods and blushes harder.
”How did you do it? Was he your first love? Did you really ever think about another man before Wolfy?” Roxanne asks with a smirk.
”Well...” Alissa's mouth moves silently a little, she's getting really flustered. ”Ofilia told me to lose my virginity before I met my master so it wouldn't hurt so much...” Alissa finds difficult to continue talking.
”Ohohoh, so you did love him?”