30 — Sunnaria's Voice

'We can talk later, dearie.' Sunnaria says. 'You and your little friends still need to regroup and go back to Kivul. We'll have a few hours to chat once you're in the carriage, okay?'

'A-Alright.' Joezand says, getting up. He looks at a nearby pond and sees the big, stupid smile on his own face. He tries to strip it away, but his face still looks happy. Damn it. It's a bit embarrassing how glad he is that she's back. He missed Sunnaria like he'd miss his own mother when he was a child in Tokyo.

He comes back to the path, seeing the carriage already there. Lorelai has a few glass jars on her hand, and she's...

Gathering the snakow's venom? She's pressing above its fangs, squeezing the white liquid into the jar.

"What are you doing?" Joezand said. "We need to get rid of that thing so we can get moving."

"Gimme me a second." Lorelai says, putting the jar to her lips and drinking it. "Ahhh~ It's been a while since I had it fresh."

"Did you just—" Joezand says, frantic. "Did you drink poison?! Or venom, whatever. What's wrong with you?"

"Poison? Damn, you really don't know anything." She says, sipping it again. "This is where the milk you drink every morning comes from. Pretty gross, huh?"

"M-Milk..?" He says. "Ugh, whatever."

"Y'want some?" She asks. "I got more than enough. I also sliced the most tender parts, so we'll have some tasty meat for the road."

"Uh, no thank you. That's yucky." Joezand says awkwardly. "Just... finish up and roll the snakow off the road once you're done."

"Aight, you're the boss, princey."

"I'll help." Joezand says, pushing the head as Lorelai pushes the tail. They get it out of the way, and Lorelai grabs the jars, putting a lid on them.

"I'll put these on the cargo, then." Lorelai says and goes towards the carriage. Iaomai already brought it back, and he's now standing side by side with Agnes, hoisting her up. She only has one of the crutches. Anneliese is in front of them, her head down.

"How dare you steal one of my crutches! And break it, too!" Agnes berates the maid. "I could consider this treason, you know! I could have you executed."

"I-I'm sorry, Duchess Agnes! I don't know what came over me."

"Lay off of her." Joezand sighs. "She did it to help me. It was justified."

"Easy for you to say!" Agnes spits out. "You don't need those things to move."

"Then get another one." Joezand shrugs. "Didn't we pack spares?"

"These are hand-crafted for my height and my condition, you moron! There are no spares!"

"U-Uhm," Iaomai interjects "If I may, Duchess Agnes, I could carve another one from you. We could get wood from the forest."

"You shouldn't have to!" Agnes replies. "You'd be working overtime doing a difficult and boring task because someone else screwed up."

"Then, maybe..." Anneliese starts. "I could do it—"

"Oh, please. You can barely serve Joezand wine without stumbling over yourself. You could never carve something usable."

"Oh my god, can you stop being an annoying, selfish brat for every single second?" Joezand asks, crossing his arms. " What the hell do you even want from her?"

"My crutch back, for starters!" Agnes says. "And you're putting on the tough guy act now, of all times? When I'm completely, unquestionably justified?"

"P-Please don't fight. We can, uhm... let Iaomai carve another one." Annelise suggests. "Then I will owe h-him a favor. Is that fine?"

"Tsk. Fine. Whatever." Agnes puffs. "Leave me on the carriage and go gather the wood, Iaomai."

"On it, ma'am." Iaomai says, dragging Agnes with him.

"I'm sorry, Prince Joezand..." Anneliese sighs. "All I do is screw up."

"Don't fall for it." Joezand says. "That's exactly what she wants. She wants to get under your skin. I doubt Iaomai will ask for anything crazy, too. You're fine."

"B-But still, she's right. I actually broke her stuff—"

"Hey, lovebirds." Lorelai says from behind the carriage. "Come here."

They follow the voice, getting a view of the back of the wagon.  The milk glass jugs are already tucked neatly with their other cargo. Lorelai seems to be rummaging around a bunch of weapons.

"You brought all that?" Joezand asks.

"Of course. I'm more comfortable with a longsword, but I can use pretty much all weapons. If a bow was needed, for example, I could take one from here. Just in case." She takes something from the pile— A two-handed war hammer with a wooden handle. The metal head was blunt on one side and pointy on the other. She hands it to Anneliese. "Here. How does that feel?"

Anneliese takes the hammer. She feels the weight around her hands, doing some strikes at the air. She seems... surprisingly proficient. He remembers the way her arms were surprisingly muscular and how strong she was during massages. Not to mention how she demolished that snakow. Maybe the battlefield is more of her calling than being a maid.

"It feels very good. Thank you, Lorelai."

"No worries. Another fighter on the battlefield is good enough for me." Lorelai says. "Now we have four. And Agnes for support. We'll be fine if the need arises."

"By the way, Anneliese." Joezand says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You saved me. Don't dare blame yourself for that, okay?"

"I-I... Yes, Prince Joezand."

"And I'll be grabbing this, I suppose." Joezand says, grabbing another rapier from the pile. It's just not the same... He sighs. "Now, let's get back on the road already. I'm tired."

They all board the carriage again, ready for the last stretch towards Kivul.