Chapter 15

Their route took them west, through some mountains. Harsh weather covered the peaks, making crossing difficult and potentially slowing them down. Considering the possibility of someone chasing after them, it wasn’t a risk Neila wanted to take. So, instead of going over the mountains, they decided to take an alternative route going through the gaps between mountaintops. This route took them on a much farther route, but should allow them to move faster.

Another advantage is the fact that this route has multiple exits. If their enemies blocked one exit, they could leave through a different one.

Their carriage ran through the night. Neila made sure the horse was fine, while Astill gave it support magic every hour, something she rarely did. After that, she went back to the cargo section of the carriage, sitting among all the boxes.

They had scanned through each of them and destroyed all the rocks. Luckily, since they destroyed it without Astill seeing them, they didn’t affect her. After that, they began looking through the documents they had taken.

“Astill…” Syorin was speechless. Clearly, neither she nor Neila knew about Astill’s past.

“Don’t say anything,” Astill murmured. “I’m not interested in your condolences.

“... Okay. I’m guessing you’re more interested in getting revenge?”

“In making sure that this program stops once and for all.”

The study was conducted by the Ametai Empire, which sought to use the white dragon’s destructive tendencies to their advantage by turning them against their neighbors. In the past, the empire would receive unwanted children from their parents, then turn them into test subjects. Using magic, their physical properties were altered to be similar to those of dragons, to test the rock's effectiveness against them.

Astill was one of those test subjects. Everyone, including Kakashi, was surprised to hear that she was no longer fully human. Astill refused to elaborate, either.

On the other side, those rocks couldn’t affect normal people, so the civilians are safe, for now.

“We’re fighting both dragons and people…” Kakashi murmured.

“You can opt out of this. Rather, none of you should come,” Astill said, but Syorin shook her head.

“We’re in this together.”

“I may only know you for a couple of days, and I won’t pretend to understand your pain, but I’ll do my best.”

“... Helping me won’t get any of you anything. Even if I succeed, I won’t give you any reward.”

Syorin chuckled. “I know you’ll say that.”

Kakashi smiled. “I never expected anything.”

“Aren’t you glad to have such wonderful friends, Astill?” Syorin teased, poking Astill's cheeks. She swatted her finger off, putting no more attention to it than swatting a fly.

“As if I care.” She scoffed and looked away, a tinge of red on her cheeks.

“In my world, she’s what we call a ‘tsundere’.”

Syorin raised her eyebrow at this unfamiliar term. “A tsundere? What’s that?”

“A tsundere is someone who can’t be honest with themselves, so they’ll hide their feelings behind their harsh attitude.”

“Stop lying, no such things exist,” Astill glared at Kakashi, which prompted Syorin to laugh.

“That description definitely suits her!”

“Shut up, meathead!”

“Tsundere.”

“Idiot, dumbass, go to hell!”

Kakashi smiled wryly, relieved to see the old Astill back.

•••

After that momentary distraction, they return to the issue at hand.

“So, what do we do?”

They’re currently heading toward the empire. Their destination city was just a few days away from the border with imperial lands. The problem is entering.

“Ever since the princess disappeared eight months ago, entering and exiting the empire had been tough. You require a special permit,” Syorin explained.

“Are you from the empire?” Kakashi asked. Syorin shook her head.

“It’s just something I heard from someone.”

“That’s not the only issue they’re facing,” Astill added. “Unlike this kingdom, it’s uncommon for a girl to lead the empire, but they don’t have a male heir, so what I heard is that they’re trying to get the princess to marry someone. I couldn't care less about their internal issues, though.”

“Do you not marry someone for romance in this world?” Back on Earth, marrying someone for love, while common in the modern era, was uncommon in medieval times, especially among nobles. Marriage for power was the norm.

“Is there a case where you don’t marry someone because you love them?” Syorin asked.

“Well of course, meathead, things don’t work like that in high society, but you’re too dumb to know that.”

“Oh, is having my ideal romance so bad?”

“Stop being a child. The real world isn’t that beautiful.”

Kakashi didn’t want to get involved with the two, so he turned to Neila.

“Have you ever been to the empire, Neila?”

“...”

Kakashi thought she was concentrating, but the road ahead was clear. There weren't any challenges like the weather or the sort. It had gotten quite dark, so maybe that was why.

“Do you need someone to light up the way?”

“...”

“Neila?”

“Oh, huh, sorry,” Neila said. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Do you need any help?”

“What for?”

“Isn’t it dark?”

Neila shook her head. “I can still see.”

Thanks to the clear skies, the road ahead was still visible, even in the relative darkness.

“Alright. How far will we be going?”

So far, no one has come to pursue them. It’s unclear if they even saw their carriage or not.

“We’ll have to head straight to the city, I think.”

“No resting?”

“I drank some coffee earlier. So even if I want to, I can’t.”

“I see…”

Kakashi moved to sit next to her. Seemingly understanding that Kakashi wasn’t satisfied with her explanation, she elaborated,

“Our pursuers may be gathering their troops to chase us, and we can’t get a new carriage or modify this one until we reach the city, so I think it’s best if we get there as fast as we can.”

“That makes sense.”

“Do criminals not exist in your world, Kakashi?”

“They do. But, when they escape, they usually have more… advanced methods.”

“Like?”

“Like having a second carriage hidden somewhere, in a parking building, for example.”

She shifted her gaze at him, lifting an eyebrow. “Parking… buildings? What is that?”

“Do you remember my story about the carriages that go fast?”

Neila looked back forward before nodding. “Oh, I remember.”

“Parking buildings are large buildings where you, well, park them.”

“But how does going there help criminals escape?”

“A lot of these buildings are underground, away from the police- or city guards’ surveillance. So if you escape here, as long as no one follows you, you have a few seconds to change carriages.”

“Ah, the guards would then come and find the criminal’s previous empty carriage?”

“Yes.”

“I guess that’s similar to what we’re trying to do.”

“Just much slower.”

Neila chuckled. “Right. I can’t imagine zooming around like you do in your world, though.”

“To be fair, I never imagined I would be going this slow.”

“Is that a complaint?”

Kakashi shook his head. “It’s more enjoyable.”

“Glad you’re having fun, then,” Neila said, a small smile on her lips. “I hope we can continue having fun for the foreseeable future.”

“Me too.”