A nostalgic feeling

A few weeks later, we officially left the capital and crossed the barrier, saying goodbye to Nixie’s capital… It was a bit uncomfortable with Nixie stalking usーKnowing that I can see her.

And because of that, I wanted to leave as quickly as possible… But these three insisted. I sulked.

Shaking my head walking, yawning loudly as we continued along the other side of the capital through the forest, our next stop now was to Friedenswald. And its pointed hat was none other than Lotea Irminhilde.

Now, this capital is more of a struggle compared to Nixie’s. It is located in the mountainous region, which means we’d have to ascend uphill, and bear the negative temperatures. 

Astrid’s tail swayed left to right.

“So what you’re saying is… There’s this border separating the Imperial Vascht and Friedenswald?” She tilted her head.

“The journey would take a minimum of two months, quite a long journey, considering its extreme climates.” I continue looking at the map in my hands. “If we’re lucky and not get caught in a blizzard, then we won’t exceed three or four months.”

Annaliese cleared her throat. “ーIt’s fine, we’re not in a rush or anything. Worst case scenario, months worth of journey is manageable. Considering Marieka has a month left after, with mistress Eilise teleporting back to port Kalyiar.”

Beside her, Astrid's expression shot up, transitioning into a mischievous smirk.

“Mistress Eilise. Anna here wants the journey to last long because she doesn’t have many friends other than me.”

“WHA…” Annaliese stiffened as her cheeks turned red. “YOU… ASTRID…”

I tilted my head, looking at her.

“Do you not have many friends…? Annaliese…?”

Annaliese's eyes widened, giving a sheepish smile before slouching. “J… Just as Astrid described… I was not adept at making friends… The only reason why I found Astrid, was because she’d kept on sparring with me throughout my training.”

Astrid chuckled, covering her mouth.

“That’s because you were swinging your sword alone in the practice field. I thought I wanted to help you out, Anna did look lonely.” She teased.

Annaliese clenched her fist which made Astrid take a few steps back. Meanwhile Marieka turned to Annaliese, smiling at her.

“Don’t worry Annaliese, we’re all here as your friend! You don’t need to feel down at all.”

She gave a short exhale, before smiling back at Marieka.

“Thank you, Marieka… Astrid, please be more like her next time.”

Astrid crossed her arms and pouted.

“Hmph… Don’t try to blame me for who I am!!”

I cleared my throat.

“You three. I hope you’re paying attention to your surroundings… Behind me. Four large magical wolves. In front, two king bears. Please do the honors and support both sides.”

Wasting no time, the two of them quickly unsheathed their sword, initiating a stance. And in a blink of an eye, two sides of the forest were cut in half, trees split as they swung, wind blew in all directions, rippling towards me.

Marieka recoiled, her robes swaying violently.

“THEY'RE SO QUICK… OH MY GOODNESS!”

“Make sure not to destroy the environment’s ecosystem, you two!” I raised my voice.

Minutes later, the forest was cut open, leaving layers of branches scattered that were split in half at the aftermath. The damage wasn’t enough to destroy the environment, however it still left a scar.

“I told you not to destroy the ecosystem…” I exhaled. “There’s multiple organisms here that need trees to survive…”

Annaliese and Astrid bowed their heads in sync, apologizing, sheathing their sword with a click.

Though I don’t mind at all, I’m just worried about ruining the forest around the Imperial Vascht…

I coughed. “Good job you two, it’s great to have one more frontliner, despite being temporary.”

Astrid nodded, her face was filled with a hint of jealousy towards Annaliese.

“Yeah, I’d be jealous of Anna getting to travel with Mistress Eilise but… I have a job to do and only stopped by the Imperial Vascht…”

“No problem… I’m glad you went along too.” I assured her.

Marieka was shot back.

“It’s rare for you to say that, Eilise…?”

“Really…?” I tilted my head before turning to Astrid. “`So… Where will you go after? Would you want to share? Or best if we keep it classified.”

“Simply put, mistress Eilise. I’m heading somewhere in Vanhaert. So maybe after we leave the border of Friedenswald.”

I nodded, she is a temporary member. So we have no problem letting her leave.

Annaliese cleared her throat. “By the way… How many camps and lay-overs do we have getting to the capital of Fredienswald?”

“As far as I remember, ten approximately. Friedenswald is massive. And remember, we’re crossing the mountains. So we better hope there’s a village or town around.”

“Noted. But when’s the nearest village here…?” She tilted her head.

“We’re still in the territory of the Imperial Vascht, so around six hours of walking we'll get there..”

Marieka placed a hand on her chin.

“One question!! When will it take until we cross the border?”

“Two weeks, then going uphill mountainsーThree weeks, then finally to the capital, three weeks. So sixty days, two months and a half if we include the lay-overs and so on.” I replied.

She groaned. “Ehh??? Then I’d like to rest as quickly as possible…”

⇔ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔

My brows twitched…

Five hours of walking later, we’ve been surrounded by a pack full of large magical wolves, most likely coming to aid the few from earlier. Annaliese and Astrid were each on different fronts, holding their sword and pointing at the wolves.

I stood guarding Marieka as usual.

Compared to earlier, these were larger in size, including the numbers. They have quite more mana as well, hence why Astrid looks hesitant. I turned to look at her.

Judging by their expressions, I noticed the journey from Port Kalyiar, about Annaliese’s fighting style. Which indicated its weakness, meaning they share a trait…

Exhaling, I was left with no choice. Fine, I can step in… I really don’t have a choice because it's my job as a pointed hat.

I held out my hand and summoned my staff, taking a step forward and teleportingーclosing the distance faster than they could react.

As I stared at the wolves eyes, I pointed my staff towards them before a magic circle was cast in front of me.

BANG.

A ray of black light was shot towards their direction, which blew eight of themーinstantly killing them all in the process and leaving only a massive trail that served as their graveyard.

The wolves on the other side stepped back, cowering in fear. I looked over my shoulder and raised a finger, summoning a large magic circle above them.

“Vue.” I skipped its chant and it exploded. A loud boom echoed through the forest, the smoke covering the place where the wolves stood before it fadedーleaving a large dent on the ground.

And just as quickly as it ended, everything happened faster than anyone could react.

I recalled my staff back, yawning and slouching my back.

“Let’s move forward everyone…” I turned to them, yet they all stood frozenーstaring at me dead in the eyes. “....You three? Hello…? You guys okay?”

A few minutes later. Still no response, awkwardly standing upright without a single movement.

“Uh… Please say something….”