“Mmm~” Lilia happily ate her meal, or in this case both our meals. It seems like she finally gave in the idea of using me to try extra dishes. 

 

“...” Seeing her so happy, I also felt a happy feeling in my heart. Although I was still feeling a little sleepy. Burying myself in my arms, I closed my eyes while listening to the conversion around me.

 

“Hah, it looks like the city lord’s son kicked the bucket.”

 

“Finally?” One of the orcs said in a low whisper. 

 

“Hehe…. Heard his corpse was found along with the rest of his gang, each with an arrow through their forehead.” The goblin said in a low whisper. “Probably allowed his lust to get control of himself and kicked an iron wall.”

 

“You’re not afraid of the mayor taking out his anger on you?”

 

“Ahem, you’re right. It’s time for me to run away as well.” Afterwards, the goblin ran outside, however not long after, his screams sounded from outside as someone entered the place with heavy footsteps. Along with it was the familiar stench of blood.

 

Sneaking a glance at the newcomer, I found that it was a large goblin, one of his hands still dripping with blood.

 

“M-mayor!” The orc seemed to inadvertently leaked out a sound. 

 

“Hmph,” The large goblin snorted as an aura started to spread around him, causing a slight chill to run along my spine. I wanted to move closer to Lilia, however it didn’t seem like a good time, so I could only remain like this.

 

“Sir,” suddenly, the receptionist’s voice dispelling the cold atmosphere. It wasn’t the one behind it, but the one from this afternoon. 

 

“Hmph,” The Mayor went and sat on the table while crossing his arms before slamming the table. “Honey Roasted Chicken Skewers, as well as Frost Pearl Beer!”

 

“Yuna!” The fox lady called out a name.

 

“Yes madam,” the waitress by the side bowed before heading back into the kitchen. “I’ll take it from here.” She said to the one currently standing behind the counter.

 

The dog-eared lady nodded before stepping away.

 

Not long after, the waitress came out with the food he ordered along with his drink. The large Goblin then started to eat lavishly before staring at the surroundings. “Continue with what you were doing.”

 

Everyone started to eat again, while I returned to burying my head in my arms. However, I suddenly felt an uncomfortable feeling.

 

It felt as if a large beast was watching me, wanting to devour me whole.

 

Suddenly, I felt something drape over me, although it couldn’t block the gaze, it seems to have worked as that uncomfortable feeling disappeared. Sneaking a glance around me, I found that Lilia had draped her robe over me, the one that she usually wore.

 

She smiled at me before going back to her meal. It seems the commotion hadn’t stopped her from eating as she was almost done.

 

Like this, time slowly went by and people started to chatter again. Although not as freely as before. My tiredness had also gone away.

 

“Mitra,” hearing her voice, I looked at her. “Let’s head back.”

 

“En.” I got up and followed her up the stairs. Hopefully that mayor doesn’t come after me…. It should be okay right? Lilia was protecting me afterall. 

 

“It’ll be okay.” When we reached the room, Lilia patted my head. “I won’t let anything happen to you….”

 

“En…” I nodded before heading over to the bed.[ Afterwards, I faced the wall. For the first time since I woke up, I wished I was stronger. At least, I wouldn’t have to worry about that Mayor if I was. However, I couldn’t learn magic. Nor did I have any weapons.

 

I guess the only way is to absorb mana…. 

 

Luckily it wasn’t like I was completely hopeless, since the amount of mana I had directly correlated with my strength. However, that goblin had a lot more mana than me, even a little higher than Lilia’s.

 

Releasing my territory, I began to absorb mana from the surroundings and soon, I fell asleep, this time with my territory still on.

 

____

 

The next few days, we remained in the inn and didn’t go out like usual. Lilia hadn’t looked into my soul core either, nor did she observe the bead anymore. 

 

As for me, the time I slept had increased, causing me to skip out on dinner. Luckily, Lilia didn’t wake me up like the first time. 

 

Days passed and soon we were riding on a carriage to the next city.

 

The greenery flashed by as we made our way down the road.

 

Woosh.

 

A few shadows dashed past the carriage. It was a party of an orc and 2 beastkin as they made their way to the next city.

 

“...” their backs disappearing into the horizon. It was a common sight, due to their stats being a lot higher than the horses, it was usually quicker to run to the nearest fort. Which was why the carriage was a once a week thing.

 

“How long will it take?” I fixed my position after Lilia patted my shoulder.

 

“Probably 5 days.” Lilia answered me. 

 

“Oh….” 

 

The large goblin in front of me smiled. “Young lady, is it your first time heading to Heim’s fort?”

 

“It is! What’s it like?” 

 

“Hahaha, it’s gigantic.” The goblin stretched his hands out as if demonstrating the size. 

 

He began to explain that not only was it large, it was ruled by a Shura Duke. 

 

“I heard he’s already about to break through tier 9.” The goblin showed a look of admiration.

 

“How strong is tier 9?” 

 

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “But rumours say he can slice a mountain in half.”

 

“...”