Chapter 155 - The Journey to the Luncheon and Their Pasts
The olive groves continued on, as they always had.
The sunlight grew harsher. I started to wonder if this scenery would stretch on forever, if we would ever reach the castle.
As long as we kept the horses at a walking pace, they were obedient. The gentle swaying was rather pleasant. Beside me, Aira was also letting her horse amble along in the warm sun. I found myself wishing the three of us could just keep on trail riding like this.
Behind me, Cecily pressed herself against my back, even resting her head against me.
She complained about the heat when I did the same thing to her.
"Cecily."
"Hm?"
"Make up with Aira."
My eyes met Aira's.
"…Make up with Aira-sama."
"No."
If I left them alone, they would probably make up on their own eventually. But I wanted to solve this problem now.
I didn't think I could stand this tension on the way back, too.
"I wonder if Fam's all right…"
"Huh? Why are you thinking about another girl when you're with me right now?"
"Oh, uh, speaking of which, Cecily, why did you become an adventurer?"
I hurriedly changed the subject.
"No special reason. I was thinking of becoming an apothecary, but I had brothers and sisters at home, and when I went to the church, I found out I could become a mage."
Her original profession was apothecary. The fact that she went to the church to change it must mean something happened.
"You have brothers and sisters?"
"Yeah, two older brothers and two older sisters. They're all in the imperial capital now."
Aside from Maira and Aira, she was the only one in our party with a family. What would have happened to them if they had been in Richelle when she was branded an enemy of the gods? The thought was a little terrifying. It was probably best to avoid using Goddess Summoning on people as much as possible.
I was surprised to hear she was the youngest sister. She loves taking care of others, and she has this constant big-sister vibe in the way she talks. Maybe it was a reaction to her place in the family.
I glanced over at Aira. They were both younger sisters, but comparing her and Cecily, it felt like Cecily was the older one, contrary to their actual ages.
"Aira-sama, you need to get along with Maira and Cecily."
"I won't."
She, too, shot me down with a single word. I wish they'd stop banding together on strange things.
"Why not! You—no, Aira-sama, you totally look up to your big sister. You have the same hairstyle, wear the same clothes, the same accessories, and carry the same weapon. You even went dungeon crawling with Aidan together, didn't you?"
"I did at first, but then Maira started going by herself."
"For someone who says that, you handle a mace just like she does."
Neither of them was particularly strong. The way they gripped their heavy maces and skillfully swung them using centrifugal force was identical. When it came to weapon handling and healing powers, Maira was superior—on the same level as her chest size—but I kept that thought to myself, knowing it would absolutely tick her off.
"I trained during our sisterly quarrels."
"…You hit each other with maces?"
What in the world was she talking about?
"Yeah, but we stop just short, so we don't get hurt."
She said it with a perfectly straight face. I could understand sparring with short swords or even fistfights. But was it even possible to swing a heavy weapon like that and stop it just shy of impact?
"…We can heal, too."
Aira mumbled, her voice almost too quiet to hear. Could it be that they grew stronger by fighting each other?
They really were a terrifying pair of sisters. And Maira, of all people. She was beautiful, kind, caring, and had a playful, cute side to her. This was about to change my impression of her. Just like Fam, it was probably best not to anger or trouble her. In contrast, my impression of Aira hadn't changed at all.
I couldn't imagine Maira starting a fight, no matter how much she might nag as an older sister. It must have been Aira who initiated them.
"How long do you plan on talking to Aira?"
A voice came from behind me. She still sounded angry.
"Hey…"
"Hm?"
"I'm not going to stop you from going to magic school anymore. And I know you'll have to leave the party for a while. But I don't want it to be over once we get to Migul."
"Then why didn't you just tell me that, huh?!"
Cecily hugged me tightly.
"I'm telling you now."
"That's not what I mean!"
Her grip tightened.
"I wasn't told, either,"
Aira added.
"Told what?"
"I don't know. I hate you."
"…You two really do get along, don't you?"
Come to think of it, I felt like Mizuki had said something similar. It was about Fam, I think.
"Wait, do you two want to play the nipple-guessing game, too?"
"What are you talking about?!"
Cecily lifted her head, trying to pull away from me.
"…No?"
"No!"
After Cecily's reply, I checked with Aira.
"It's fine if we do it, so long as it's before."
"Alright, then next time we do it!"
Aira nodded. I had no idea what 'before' she was talking about, but apparently it was fine as long as it was before. Still, it didn't seem to be the right answer.
"…Do you want to wear Racshell's panties or something?"
"What have you been on about this whole time?!"
Cecily finally blew up. Well, she had been angry this whole time.
Maybe it wasn't about Fam, then. As I pondered this, the sound of clashing metal echoed through the air.
Up ahead on the road, I could see a single carriage. A battle seemed to be taking place around it. Metal armor and bare blades glinted in the sunlight.
"Looks like a fight. What a pain… Can we go around?"
I scanned our surroundings. The view was wide open. The fighting was confined to that one spot, with no one else in sight. It didn't seem like we'd get caught in the crossfire.
I didn't want to get involved in a fight between people. It could be a bandit attack, but there was no way to be sure.
The road was a single path. Furthermore, the olive trees were planted far apart and were too short to provide any cover. Hiding and waiting for it to pass wasn't an option.
"We have to help them! They're being attacked by goblins!"
Hearing Cecily's words, I took another look and saw that the attackers were indeed monsters. Five goblins. All of them had bows on their backs, but right now they were swinging swords at the people. Two figures were fighting back. One person was already down.
Since we were on horseback, I wanted to launch a surprise cavalry charge, but my current skill level made that impossible. Besides, these were Mateo Trading Company horses. If a horse got injured, it could be a bigger problem than if I got hurt myself.
I took out my bow.
"Aira, come with me. Cecily, provide support from the rear. And keep an eye out for any reinforcements."
"It's Aira-sama."
Neither Aira nor I were particularly skilled riders. We dismounted, left the horses with Cecily, and approached at a brisk pace.
The combatants seemed to have noticed our presence.
Two of the goblins switched from swords to bows and loosed arrows at us. The distance was great enough that we had plenty of time to dodge.
I returned fire as I closed in. My arrow missed the monsters completely and stuck into the carriage behind them.
Just as the monsters were about to fire a second volley, a fireball rained down on them. The goblins abandoned their attack to evade it.
It was from Cecily. I turned around to see that she, who I thought was far behind, had brought the horses right up to our position.
"Mash! Now's your chance!"
Even before Cecily shouted from atop her horse, Aira was already running. Their coordination was perfect.
While the monsters were distracted by Aira's approach, I let fly a second arrow. Aided by wind magic, it pierced a goblin's shoulder.
Aira closed in on the uninjured goblin. It hastily fired an arrow, which she batted away with her mace. Without losing momentum, she spun her body and slammed a powerful blow into the goblin. The monster let out a final, dying scream.
Then she faced the goblin wounded by my arrow. Just as the monster was trying to switch back to its sword, a fireball struck it squarely.
While those two took care of the monsters, I headed over to support the two who were still locked in combat. I switched my weapon to my katana and ran.
One of the goblins slashed at me, so I raised my katana to block it. Then, I aimed a kick at its calf.
Seeing the goblin's posture crumble, I shoved it back. As it staggered away, Aira brought her mace crashing down on it.
That kicking attack seemed to work better than I expected.
"Aira-sama, check on the one who's down!"
"Got it."
I moved behind the goblin fighting the knight.
"Thank you for the assistance!"
the knight called out.
"Are you okay over there?!"
I was about to slash at it from behind, but before I could, the knight it was facing collapsed as if their strength had given out. The monster turned and swung its blade at me.
I had been leaning forward to attack, but I managed to stop myself at the last second and dodge back with a step.
The monster's swing had been too wide, and it stumbled. Not missing the opportunity, I cut it down with a diagonal slash.
I moved behind the last remaining goblin. It became wary of my movement and eased up on its attack. Seizing that opening, the knight thrust their sword forward.
The five goblins vanished.
"…Thank you for your assistance,"
the lone standing knight said again. I couldn't see their face through the helmet, but the voice was a woman's.
I was about to check if she was alright, but I stopped. She was leaning on her sword as a cane, breathing heavily. Blood was flowing from her elbow. I turned my gaze to Aira.
"Aira-sama, is the person on the ground okay?"
"They're badly injured, but they'll be fine."
Cecily brought the horses over.
"Doesn't look like there are any other enemies."
Aira and I both nodded.
Fighting the goblins reminded me of my encounters with Mizuki and when Aidan took us out. Back then, I was practically on the ground, terrified. But now, I even felt a sense of composure. Had I grown stronger? Or had my sense of fear just become numb?
I sheathed my katana.
It was a story I'd heard before. A luncheon was being held at a castle to the south.
It seemed they were attacked while transporting food for the event, though it didn't look like a large amount. That was likely because half the space was taken by the knights who were riding along. They were guests as well, apparently.
Now, as we headed towards the castle, Aira was inside their carriage, treating the wounded.
With two of their escorts down and one injured, there was no one left who could fight. They asked us to escort them the rest of the way to the castle.
Besides the three knights, there was an old, well-dressed nobleman and an equally old coachman, but neither looked capable of fighting.
We followed behind the carriage on our two horses. With Aira inside, Cecily and I were riding together.
"They have the same destination as us, right? I wonder if the person in the carriage is attending too?"
Cecily brought her horse close and asked in a low voice. Although the road was packed earth, the ruts were deep and scattered with pebbles, making the carriage wheels bounce and clatter loudly.
With the sound of the horses' hooves as well, I doubted anyone else could hear us even if we didn't whisper.
"Probably."
"Is it okay to attend dressed like this?"
She was wearing her usual black one-piece robe. I didn't have any clothes fit for a castle invitation either.
I washed them with water magic every day, so they were cleaner than what the common folk wore. But compared to the clothes they were wearing, the fabric and quality were completely different.
"They haven't realized we're invited too, have they?"
We had only told them we were heading south. We agreed to accompany them for now, but we also told them that we would flee if we encountered more than three enemies. Since monsters rarely attack a carriage with such a small group, it meant we'd probably run if we met any.
The olive groves came to an end, and now we were passing through a forest. Just as I was thinking how much it would suck if monsters were hiding here, a spire came into view.
"That must be our destination."
Cecily seemed to have noticed it too.
Soon, the entire structure became visible.
It was the same as the castle north of Flucht that we had stopped at before. It was a fortress, protected by high, stacked stone walls.
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