- Shari -

 

After I calmed down from my mental turmoil the journey is proceeding smoothly.
When we pass the village at the crossroad to the estate, I have to hide my face again within the hood to avoid raising unwanted attention or causing a mass panic.

It's almost weird, but the news about the destruction of the estate apparently hasn't reached this place yet.
At least everyone looks calm.
This might be due to the fact that the count gave an order that no one leaves the grounds.
The reasoning might be that if our enemies would hear that we took heavy losses but managed to survive, they may want to finish us off.
So no one, not even the servants, should be able to spread this story.
This comes in handy for me as it's granting me a bit more time till the participation of two certain slimes in this incident will be disclosed.

The only ones who could expose us might be the enemy soldiers who escaped.
I don't know if any survived, but even if that's the case I doubt that they would directly spread such rumors.
Instead, it's more likely that they would regroup at their headquarters.
I'm quite sure that the common soldier isn't able to run directly to the big boss of some great conspiracy.
So our job is also to request at the royal palace that reinforcements and supplies be sent before anyone else can send their troops for different reasons.

Even after we leave the settlement I continue using the hood.
I don't like it but have to pay attention from now on as there'll be more people on the road.
But it should be safe, as I am well-hidden among our group, even with my secretive appearance.

 

The journey proceeds smoothly.
Even Alec isn't making as many problems as I thought but diligently looks on the road for hostiles.
The others do the same, while half of the crew is taking their chances to rest.

If not for our weapons, which are hidden under a rack that we all can access quickly, we look like a perfectly normal group of travelers.
Men, women, and a child, all of us in casual clothes.
It should be hard for our enemy to spot that there's something unusual about us.
Speaking of the enemy, I'd like to hear the others' opinions about this situation.
Whoever is against us had exceedingly vast military power at their disposal.

 

"I am still curious where such an army even came from. Such a large band of mercenaries or private army should be known, but what I gathered was that none of the other soldiers had even an idea who they were." (Shari)

"That's because they weren't natives. It's very likely that they came from Koreso, along with their weapons." (Dion)

"Koreso? Does this mean this is an invasion?" (Shari)

"Unlikely. If that's the case they wouldn't attack at such a small scale. Rather this might be an act of politic treason, aided by outer forces." (Dion)

"How can this be? I mean, who has so much power that they can move such a number of troops through the land? I know you said someone who can silence any raised questions, but who concretely is able to do such a thing?" (Shari)

"You already answered your own question." (Dion)

"Sorry, you lost me there." (Shari)

"Only the highest instance of power could perform such an outrageous act. Considering that we can exclude the king from this list, this leaves one of the four pillars." (Dion)

 

Okay, that is outrageous.
The four pillars are the greatest powerhouses in Rakis.
One for each cardinal point, with the capital as the center.
The three marquis, who control the lands from their respective towns, and the marshal of the army, as the one who keeps the creatures from the Barrens at bay.

Regarding loyalty, I don't believe the marshall would have his job if he wasn't trustworthy.
This leaves the marquis.

 

"Do you believe it was the lord of Ekoras? After all, the count's son was held captive there." (Shari)

"Such baseless assumptions can be dangerous. Also, I doubt it. The marquis of the south is a weak man, evident in the state of his own territory. I cannot see him as the leader of a conspiracy." (Dion)

 

So not this guy.
And I barely know anything about the others.

 

"And who do you think is responsible?" (Shari)

"My bets are on the one who controls the only passage to Koreso. The marquis of the west, Leronne Eras." (Dion)

 

Honestly, I don't know a thing about this man.
Only that the marquis of the west is also the master of Siras.
The second largest city in Rakis and maybe the wealthiest.
All the trade to Rakis runs through this chokepoint of a city.
That is to say, Rakis is quite isolated with only Koreso as his direct neighbor.
So the assumption that the lord of the west has some shenanigans going on isn't too farfetched.

But high-treason?
That's quite much.

 

"Isn't this claim a bit bold? There are certainly some officials powerful enough to bribe the right men to even overlook invading foreign soldiers. They'd just have to occupy the right positions." (Zeon)

"That's certainly true, but I'm a friend of considering the most simple explanation first. For my option, it just needs a single man to use his power to make things happen. In your depiction, you'd need so many nobles with such accumulated power, that they can prevent information from spreading. And this while they have to convince all the usual officials who handle such things, always at risk to get exposed. I don't know how it's for you, but I believe my version is more likely." (Dion)

 

Seems like Zeon lost this discussion.

However, it's still a dire thought.
If it's like this, the country is on the verge of a rebellion that might be fatal.
Forget about the many losses such a civil war will bring, if the army gets diverted from the border and significantly weakened, we might as well invite the hordes of the Barrens to come and eat us.
This country can't afford a conflict.

One more reason to keep the sole heir to the throne safe.
Those might be worrisome prospects with this naive girl on it, but an heir brings legitimacy, and any harm to her would weaken the king's position.
No, this certainly wouldn't be good.

But I should also focus on my own well-being.
We're heading right now to the goddamn capital.
If there is a more dangerous place for a monster like me, I wouldn't know.
Dion's influence might be helpful but there's always the chance of stupid, rash reactions from narrow-minded people.
Also, I'm glad I've dug out my powder from the catacombs, so I can hide my very special features in the worst case.

On the other side, I worry if this will be enough.
The guards at the capital are surely more professional than those in Ekoras.

 

"Dion, do you really think we can enter so easily?" (Shari)

"You have your adventurer cards with you, which should help. Aside from this, I have a document with us from our lord which should grant us free passage. If we can stay inconspicuous, it should be a mere formality. Which reminds me, how is Liqu?" (Dion)

"You mean is she going to blow our cover and cause a ruckus?" (Shari)

"I wouldn't word it like that, but I wanted to know if she will act as a separate entity at that time." (Dion)

"That might prove difficult. She's still weakened. She might slowly recover but we don't have the resources to generate her a whole new body, and we can't halt to hunt something big enough." (Shari)

 

Also, her state might make it even worse for her to play a convincing role.

 

• "You know, as I said, I think I could." (Liqu)
   
• "Really? Wouldn't you be a bit sluggish?" (Shari)
   
• "Don't know. Depends on how strained I would be." (Liqu)

 

As things are, I'm stuck with this slime for a bit longer.
It sounds best to pass the checkpoint with her stored safe and then within the city, we'll buy her some food so she can generate a body.
Next Zeon stares.

 

"So you really have her consciousness inside you? Isn't that strange?" (Zeon)

"It's totally weird. But I could endure it until now and apparently will do so for a while longer." (Shari)

"The bad side of this is that, in the case of an attack, she would be more helpful." (Alec)

"Hey, I can stand my ground." (Shari)

"But you can't annihilate a whole battalion of hostiles on your own. You're already struggling in close combat." (Alec)

"It was enough to own your ass. I'm just not good with dissolving things, or rather people. I don't want to." (Shari)

 

Alec sulks after this comment.

 

"This inability could prove as a fatal weakness in a fight." (Zeon)

"Still, I don't want to dissolve humans." (Shari)

 

I like to state this, as it might make me look better if I'm no man-eater.

 

"By the way, how did you two manage to get out of the fight in such a pristine condition? I've heard it got pretty bad and you said yourself that the elite got hit particularly hard." (Shari)

"Tsk, I was simply smart. The others were so eager to go where the fight was the worst. And subsequently, they got the backlash of such recklessness. Different from them I just did my goddamn job. Maintaining the position, staying alive, and holding the line is as valuable as everything else." (Alec)

 

Hm, to me this sounds like a nice way to describe cowardice.
He just abstained from getting close to where the fight was the worst.
And because of this, he came almost unscathed out of this battle.

 

"And you Zeon?" (Shari)

"Uh, it's an embarrassing story." (Zeon)

"More embarrassing than what Alec just told us?" (Shari)

"Hey, I did my job as well as it was possible in that situation!" (Alec)

 

Truly, I can't blame him.
It's not like one can expect a soldier to risk their own neck more than the orders afford.
Personally, I wouldn't go that far.
However, I was about to hear an embarrassing story, and he won't deny me this.

 

"So, how did you survive that fight? From what I've gathered, you seem to be the kind to give it their all and head to where it's quite dangerous." (Shari)

"Well, yeah. And that was the reason why I couldn't fight any longer." (Zeon)

 

I don't really understand.
He doesn't look as if he sustained any greater injuries.

 

"Seriously?! You burned through? That's like the absolute basics they taught us!" (Alec)

"Uggh." (Zeon)

 

Burned through?
What does he mean?
Zeon looks as if that was a mortal blow to his honor.

 

"Excuse me, but what are you referring to?" (Shari)

"He basically just admitted that my approach was the right one." (Alec)

 

Zeon isn't even retorting.
Was it so bad?

 

"Sigh, I'm going to explain it. 'Burning through' is a lax term the elites use to refer to the occasion that they used their body enhancement too severely. A human body can only store so much magic. If it's completely depleted, the body will lose all its strength. For a soldier practicing body enhancement, this can lead to a state where they're no longer able to move. Which is a bad thing to happen in a fight. A normal soldier, naturally, doesn't have to worry about such a thing since they don't touch their reserves." (Dion)

 

I look over to Zeon.

 

"It's as he says. As soon as I became aware of the attack I sprinted in the direction of the enemy. With my increased speed, I was able to dodge any projectiles coming my way and took out a good number of their crossbowmen. Yet, rushing from one position to the other drained me far quicker than I anticipated, and before I knew what had happened, I was lying flat on the ground. My officer noticed what happened and knew that I wouldn't be able to fight for the rest of the day. So they dragged me back to the headquarters, where I was bedridden for the rest of the day without as much as a scratch. And this even throughout the whole final battle." (Zeon)

 

Uh, okay that's pretty embarrassing.
At least, it earned him some chuckles from the soldiers on the carriage.
But there's one good point to it.
The general mood got better and things settled down with this problematic group.
I can only hope this will last.

The carriage might need four to five days till we reach our destination.
The atmosphere and common temper might take a turn for the worse during that time.
But maybe I'm worrying too much.
With some luck, everything's going to be fine.