Now that Radeca was awake, getting out of the Sylphid Alliance’s territory didn’t prove too difficult thanks to her extensive education regarding her home country during her childhood.

It had only been half a day and we were already near the nation’s borders. With only a few more hours of travel, we would be well on our way to safety.

More importantly, we would finally be in a position to kick back and leisurely strategize our next move. Although travel had mostly been smooth thanks to Radeca’s help, the three of us were still in a constant state of high alert thanks to the innumerable patrols that had been dispatched to capture us.

It was honestly pretty mentally taxing despite my high stats, but I suppose mental fortitude wasn’t something that could just be casually boosted just by numbers.

For now though, we decided to make camp inside of a small glade that was obscured by a thick treeline and countless bushes. The Sylphid Alliance’s territory was essentially one massive forest, meaning that hiding places were in an abundance. That was the sole saving grace here.

As it turns out, I ended up taking the first watch since I was the least fatigued from travel. We didn’t have a chance to retrieve any of our belongings, so Radeca and Liandra were forced to sleep inside a makeshift shelter we’d constructed with the nearby foliage.

I spared a glance toward them for a brief moment before returning my gaze to the treeline. I’d been worried that they would be unable to sleep due to the situation we were in, but it turns out that they were sleeping just fine.

It occurred to me that it’d been quite a while since I’d actually taken a night watch alone like this. Usually, Lucrezia, Priya, or even Antenora would keep me company.

At the very least, it gave me time to think.

Priya, Lucrezia... I wonder what you’re doing right now. I sure hope Antenora’s at least managing to keep Aurelia’s chaotic kitchen experiments in line though, ahaha...

I let myself reminisce for a little longer until Liandra woke to relieve me from my watch. The rest of the night passed uneventfully after I settled myself inside the shelter to get some sleep in.

I woke at the crack of dawn the next morning. The food that we had to eat actually wasn’t too bad since it was freshly hunted and the game inside of the forests of the Sylphid alliance were quite delicious, but we didn’t really have any time to savor it.

“Once we reach the border, there’ll be a checkpoint,” Radeca explained. Apparently the nation was surrounded by a magical ward that would notify the authorities of anyone passing through it, as well as enable immediate teleportation to the affected area.

The only way to cross the border without triggering the ward would be to pass through one of the checkpoints that dotted the border.

“The checkpoint that we’re heading toward is led by a soldier who answers directly to my family. If I explain the situation to him, we should be able to pass without issue.”

“One of the guards who serves your family? You mean, like the guards and attendants that abandoned you at the academy?” I cocked an eyebrow in Radeca’s direction.

At first, it sounded like she didn’t fully grasp the situation that she’d found herself in just yet, but to my surprise, she shook her head. The look in her eyes was one of determination.

“I apologize, but that’s not entirely correct, Ryuuko. My retinue at the academy was assigned to me. The soldier posted here is someone we can trust.” She insisted. 

I could tell that she was desperately holding on to this last vestige of trust in her people. It would be rude of me to try and convince her otherwise, so I simply shrugged.

As long as I wasn’t fighting an entire army, I was pretty sure that I could take on whatever the Sylphid Alliance chose to throw at me while protecting Radeca. Plus, the checkpoint was supposedly a fortified building, meaning that any interior passageways would be narrow and tight in order to create chokepoints for any would-be attackers.

While such a construction technique was normally effective, Liandra’s magic thrived off of confined spaces as it would allow her to fill the area with poison mist much quicker.

A potential confrontation wasn’t what I was worried about. Rather, it was something else that Radeca had mentioned.

“If you say so, Radeca. I gotta ask, though... What do you mean your retinue was ‘assigned’ to you? You guys don’t pick your own guards and servants in the Alliance?”

As far as I knew, Princess Sella’s bodyguards and servants were always handpicked. Perhaps that’s why Cyrus felt such deep loyalty toward her since he knew that he was personally selected for his skills.

I would imagine that the Sylphid Alliance followed the same custom since it would not only allow the royal family to reward the efforts of those who strove to become royal servants, but also build rapport and loyalty between servant and master.

In short, it was highly unusual for Radeca’s retainers to be assigned to her, even if they were only for the duration of her stay at the academy. Her next words only served to confirm my suspicions.

“Normally, I select my own guards and attendants. However, this time was different.” Radeca shrugged before continuing. “I’m not sure why, but my parents decided to have them assigned to me for the academy.”

The hell? What kind of parent wants to kill their own daughter...?

“You, uh... Did you get into a fight with your parents or something?” I asked, mentally smacking myself almost immediately after speaking.

Goddamnit, Ryuuko! Way to be fuckin’ insensitive!

Radeca shot me a withering gaze before silently turning her attention to the road. Liandra was positioned a good bit ahead of us and acting as something of a forward scout, so I took the moment of silence to check on her using [Eagle Eye].

After confirming that Liandra was alright, I cleared my throat awkwardly. “...Sorry ‘bout that, Radeca.”

“I know you’re just looking out for me, Ryuuko. I’m not upset at you, it’s just...” She paused, hanging her head like a dejected puppy. “I’m not in denial, alright? I just... I just know that there’s no way my parents were involved in the attack.”

“...Right.” I had a feeling that there was a little more to it than Radeca was willing to tell me, but I didn’t feel like prying it out or arguing with her right now.

Besides, the fortress that acted as one of the Alliance’s border checkpoints was coming into view ahead of us now. It was a massive building and I could see that the stones which made up the bulk of its walls were shimmering with a faint green sheen even from my current distance.

If the three of us actually ended up needing to fight through the structure, I could already tell that it would be an incredibly annoying ordeal. Instead, I put away all thoughts of a three-man siege and turned to Radeca.

“So, how the hell’re we gonna go through that thing?”

“Well, I suppose we’ll just walk in.”