20th day of the third month.

With the nature mages finishing their work at the village yesterday, we depart on first light.

We entered the village with our transports mostly empty but left with some samples of different crops grown in the village.

It's so nice to be well rested.

"Yawn, will we be able to reach the next village by the end of the day?" I ask as I wrap an arm around the metal pauldrons of the cute dwarf beside me.

"Not a chance, we'll arrive tomorrow late afternoon at best so we'll be camping out tonight," Neri replies in a neutral tone, not reacting at all to my advances.

That sucks.

We'll have to camp outdoors again... All this outdoor stuff may be novel at first, but as someone used to modern luxury, I'd much prefer sleeping in a proper bed in a comfortable attire instead of this annoying armor.

Trying to release some of my frustrations, I lean over towards Neri's straight blue hair that is neatly tucked into her armor and take in the nice scent it's giving off thanks to my efforts in washing her hair.

"...Master, what are you doing... someone's going to see... Haven't you had enough last night and this morning..." Neri complains while trying to keep a straight face without changing positions.

But she is unable to hide the faint blush that is starting to show on her face.

"It's not like anyone will be able to see us through those crates behind us, and there's no one in front of us besides Faris. Perks of being the first in line."

I press my lips onto her cheeks, causing Neri to try to escape to the opposite side.

My hand on her shoulders instantly move to push her back towards facing me, allowing me to take her lips before she can rebuke.

I can't help but curse this armor in my way once more. Can't help it though, our safety comes first.

Being only able to feet the warmth of my partner through our connection up top, I increase the intensity of our connection.

As my tongue is enjoying its exploration, the wagon suddenly jerks to the side as the horse neighs in complaint, followed by the sound of metal colliding.

I look up to see the horses turning slightly left to follow the curvature of the road, dodging a large rock on the side of the road that we almost ran into.

I look back at Neri who is holding onto her helmet, it seems it almost fell off from the seat beside her when the wagon suddenly turned. Luckily she managed to catch the helmet which explains the metal noise from earlier.

"MASTER!" Neri barks.

Her face is red and I honestly can't tell if it's from embarrassment or anger.

"Sor...Sorry." I weakly let out to placate her.

"Hmph."

Neri snaps her attention back to the road and ignores me.

Shit, I guess I did screw up. Let's not agitate Neri further and let her cool down a bit.

I hope people in the back didn't notice...

With no choice, I keep to myself, waiting until it's my turn to scout around with Blacky.

I'm starting to really hate traveling, I hope I can get used to it by the end of this.

---

I look at my magic-powered pocket watch and find that it's almost two in the afternoon.

We barely stopped for lunch as we marched on, eating the rations we've prepared beforehand while our horses drink at the small river we find.

The only good news is that my butt is starting to get used to this bumpy wagon.

Putting away my watch, I look up to see my lovely Faris slowly but surely returning with Blacky.

It's time to switch, with me scouting ahead with Blacky instead.

"I'm back master," Faris says as she deftly dismounts her ride and jumps onto our wagon.

"Come over here, I missed you!" I declare while widely spreading my arms for a hug.

After my little incident this morning with Neri, she ignored me for a while but started to talk with my normally once more around noon.

But still, she glares at me with a dissatisfied face if I try to be even a little intimate. I could practically hear her saying "Don't distract me while I'm driving, or else..." from her glare, and I would've heard her saying it too if I wasn't her master so she had to hold back a little.

So my attachments to Faris has exponentially gone up during the rare few minutes we are together as we switch roles.

I watch as my cute Faris unbuckles her headgear and places it to the side before shyly entering into my embrace.

I love my little Faris. She truly heals my wounds, no matter the source of its affliction.

"I love you, you're mine and only mine, I won't let you go," I whisper into Faris's ear while I nudge my cheeks against hers.

"Mmm, master will always be my master."

While I enjoy my skinship with Faris, I look over her shoulder to make eye contact with our driver. I spot her stealing some glances our way so I convey to her that I know you've been watching through my gaze.

In return, she gives me a look that screams "I can't stand watching you two being so cheesy" and snaps her attention back to the road.

Even if your head is on the road, I know you'll continue stealing glances.

Knowing that Neri is still keeping tabs on us, I turn my attention back to Faris and push her away from me a little so my lips can connect with hers.

I start a steamy make-out session with Faris and occasionally catch Neri's eyes wandering over.

Heh, watch all you want.

My lovey-dovey time is cut short as we are technically on the clock, having to resume our duties.

I mount Blacky and start proceeding ahead to look for possible threats amongst the scenery.

For the next hour, I get used to focusing my gaze into the treelines, trying to spot anything suspicious. I feel like I'm playing the game where you spot the difference between two similar-looking pictures non-stop.

Just as I'm starting to feel the fatigue in my eyes, something that really stands out catches my attention from the edge of my vision. I look over stupified, not being able to believe what I'm seeing in the middle of the road.

Really?

Suspecting my eyes are playing tricks, I rub my eyes before looking again.

In my view, I watch a dozen orcs frolicking around in the middle of the road. I instantly recognized they are orcs from their green skin and large muscular bodies. Their jawlines are square, with two large fangs sticking upwards from the bottom of their mouths.

They're two in the middle who are currently engaged in what looks to be a wrestling match while the others are spectating happily around them. I almost thought they are a group of cavemen from their attire consisting of rags and wooden clubs if not for their starking green skin.

What the fuck? Are they just casually fucking around in the middle of the road? I guess they either don't have the intelligence or the patience to even set up an ambush...

I backtrack a little to make sure I'm in view of the caravan and start signaling for medium-low threat detected.

The only thing I know about orcs is that they are at least as strong as bronze ranked strength enhancers in physical strength and they work in teams like goblins.

Since we haven't fought orcs before, I signal for medium-low threat, asking the Relentless Waves to send one or two people over to support us.

I stay in the same spot, making sure the entire caravan has received my signal before returning back to my wagon.

The first person that greets me is neither of the girls but is the liaison of the caravan instead. I quickly notify him of our current situation, which isn't urgent at all considering those dumb orcs haven't even noticed me at all.

The liaison quickly departs to spread the message and our party starts heading closers to keep an eye on our foes.

"There they are, they're still oblivious to our presence and are absorbed in what seems to be a wrestling match?" I speak while pointing at the spectacle in front of us.

"Master, that's the orc's way to earn prestige and attract mates by displaying their strength. It's pretty common seeing them like that if they aren't led by an orc commander." Neri explains dutifully as if accepting her role of being my walking encyclopedia.

"So we should be glad that there aren't any strong orc variants around?"

"That's right."

I look over at those green muscle-heads and back to my cute girls and can't help but to worry a little, considering we haven't fought monsters who are both physically superior and in greater numbers than us by a large margin before.

"Both you girls rely on melee combat, are you confident you can fight them without a big risk of injury?"

"Don't worry master, I've fought them before during my training. They aren't a match for me, they can't even land a hit on me." Faris confidently replies.

"I've fought monsters of similar characteristics before as well. I can safely fight them defensively even if they're properly armed to the teeth so these orcs who barely qualify for the word 'armed' aren't a threat at all." This time, it's Neri's turn to reply with confidence.

"Okay, we're still going to wait for support from the Relentless Waves before engaging. I assume it's safe to launch a sneak attack this time?"

The two girls nod in unison.

Now all that's left is for us to patiently wait for our reinforcements.

They must be clearing our flanks of any threats before heading over, I sure hope they hurry it up. We place our attention back on the movement on the orcs in front of us.

Having waited for a few minutes, we finally hear a pair of footsteps quickly approaching from behind.

"You're he---"

I turn to a scene that stops my sentence midway.

Sera, the green-haired girl who is a part of the fourth nature mage division is stomping her way straight at us.

"What are you doi---"

The girl who seems to have had her fuse lit pushes pass me and start heading straight for the orcs.

"Get out of the way weaklings, you're taking way too long so I'm going to clear our way for us."

Without sparing us a glance, Sera continues her way to where the orcs are.

Just as I'm about to start chasing after her, sounds of footsteps from behind reach me once more.

I turn to see Vorn along with another member of his party walking casually.

"Vorn? How'd you let that girl storm off from the rest of our clients? I thought you said you'll keep your eyes on her! Nevermind that, let's go after her."

"Hey, don't blame me. Mr.Lensly told us to let her relieve her stress against those orcs since she was having a scene in their carriage. We've been requested to let her do what she wants and only intervene if she's going to get hurt, so let's get going." Vorn replies with a shrug and continues his leisurely pace, after Sera.

Mr.Lensly is allowing this?

With five of us in tow, we slowly chase after the haughty brat who's been giving us a lot of trouble.

Let's hope this somehow teaches her a lesson and knock her down a few notches.

Although Sera is a distance ahead of us, there are no obstructions on the road and we have a clear view of her and the orcs. It seems the orcs have just noticed her and are preparing for battle.

I cast my ice shields as have them on standby, ready to intervene. My sudden spell cast caught Vorn and his teammate off guard as I hear them gasp while looking my way.

I maintain a poker face, acting as if I haven't noticed their gazes and continue walking forward.

"To cast ice magic so quickly..." The man besides Vorn mutters.

Yep, I am amazing, this sure feels good to show off. At this moment, I totally understand why they are so many show-offs garnering for attention now, it certainly feels good. But I must maintain my poker face, letting the attention get to me will only make me look lame and shameless.

The scene of the lone nature mage versus the group of orcs progresses as the orcs start charging her way, letting out a fitting warcry.

At this point, the green-haired girl finally stops in her tracks and starts casting a spell. Her spellcasting is by no means fast but the power and scale are certainly there seeing the giant ball of earth that is gathering in front of her.

Once the earth ball reaches a size that eclipses the lone girl's figure three times over, it stops expanding. The girl, Sera, makes an exaggerated pose of pushing the giant ball of earth as she launches her attack flying at the approaching orcs.

The speed of the spell is so fast that the orcs who are in a charge are unable to react. The result is like watching a giant bowling ball hurling its way towards moving green bowling pins.

The simple but deadly spell leaves a scene of knocked over orcs in its wake. The orcs are motionless on the ground with a few struggling to stand up.

Before I'm able to witness if the surviving orcs are able to stand or not, another ball of earth, except much smaller in size interrupts, smashing into the orcs and penetrating into their bodies like a bullet.

A pool of blood starts to bloom for each of the orcs hit.

"I guess they're all dead and we aren't needed," I mutter under my breath.

The two girls, having heard me, nods in agreement as we continue to take in the aftermath that was presented to us before we could breathe.

Her spells are all simple earth balls but the amount of power and size behind the attacks is truly impressive. I guess that is the strength high-level magic gives you.

 

Sera pauses her steps in front of us, staring at Neri for a brief moment, as if wanting to say something, before continuing her way back towards the caravan.

"Good for nothings."

We finally regain our bearings as Sera brush pass us, clearly more agitated than before.

Sera hasn't touched any of the mana crystals so we agree to split the loot with the Relentless Waves half-half before we going back to resume our journey.

Not long after we reach return to our transports, the liaison from the fourth nature mage division greets us, delivering thanks from Mr.Lensly for taking care of Sera and a bunch of other pleasantries.

Basically put, he's thanking us for tolerating her behavior and that they are still truly grateful at having us escort them.

The last part can't help but sting me a little, seeing how strong Sera is. But I definitely see her fatal weaknesses in her fighting abilities as well. Though there's no point dwelling on it right now, let's just focus on my job.

The journey resumes smoothly and is met with only one other attack from a group of goblins near the end of the afternoon.

What is supposed to of been our fight is interrupted when Sera shows herself again, launching earth balls as we are in the middle of the fray.

Thankfully, she has enough decently to aim farther away from us but it still feels like shit, having your kills taken.

Those are my experience points being taken away! I may not know how much more until leveling up, but every chance to gain experience counts!

Not long after the last encounter, we find a spot to settle down for the night.

Goddamn night watch again... Can't even go to sleep in peace.

---

21st of the third month

Another day on the road.

I can't wait until reaching the next village, then I'll be able to take a bath as long as I find someplace suitable for me to employ my water magic. I hate the feeling of oily hair, maybe I need a haircut...

Forcing myself to ignore the quality of life changes that I hope for, we set off once the girls and the rest of the caravan are ready.

Unlike them, I had last shift of night watch which means I'm already prepared even before they woke up.

Having set off for an hour, Faris reports finding something other than the road and trees, signaling that an unknown and non-urgent threat is spotted.

After confirming that her signal has been received by the caravan, she returns by my side.

"Master, there seem to be two broken-down carriages ahead with a group of people sitting nearby."

Broken down carriages again? Is it bandits again? If it is, can someone tell the bandits to start cooking up new tricks please? Because this one is getting real old.

"Do you think they are bandits?" I ask Faris this time, seeing how she has gone through our previous encounter with bandits together.

"Hmm... a few of them seem to be armed but they aren't even trying to hide, they look more like they're waiting for rescue... but I'm not sure."

"So there could be more people hiding nearby to ambush us if we draw near."

"From what I saw... that's right... Sorry master, that's all I could find out." Faris replies dejectedly.

"No need to apologize, you did great as it is. Let's discuss it with the caravan and let them decide."

I look over to the liaison who was listening quietly nearby and nod to each other to show our understanding of our next step.

The two of us follow the liaison back to the center of the caravan where Mr.Lensly is, leaving Neri behind. Mr.Lensly himself is already standing outside his carriage along with a few others who are waiting to hear more about the situation.

Vorn is among the group waiting as I nod at him in acknowledgment before heading over to Mr.Lensly. Faris starts explaining what she found to the group while I chimed in with speculations of the possibility of this being a trap.

"So you say they could either be regular folks who have in trouble or bandits in disguised and we have no way to tell for sure?" Mr.Lensly repeats apprehensively before turning to give Vorn, the leader of the Relentless waves a look.

"Our party excels in upfront battles, we don't have any means to confirm or deny Aster's suspicions or not," Vorn replies while shaking his head.

Well, I guess it is as it looks, the Relentless Waves are not a balanced party. They have four mages and two strength enhancers to hold the frontline so they can't help much either in the information gathering aspect.

"...Very well, then let us proceed with utmost caution." Mr.Lensly declares after a brief moment of deliberation.

---

Looking around the at the trees and bushes around me, I can't help but be reminded of the dungeon we frequent, Greens Filth.

Just like I'm used to, I follow Faris in the lead trekking through the treelines to be able to sneak up close to our target with one big difference. Our target this time isn't the usual goblins but actual living breathing human beings who could be much stronger or weaker than us.

My only assurance is that we have four members of the Relentless Waves with us while the other two members are staying back with the caravan along with Neri.

Mindlessly following Faris while trying to keep as quiet as I can, we finally make it to the edge of the treelines where I can spot the clearing that represents where the road is.

Since Vorn is still back at the caravan, I'm the one who will be taking charge of our detachment though I'm sure it's in name only. The other member of the Relentless Waves probably won't listen to any of my plans that they themselves don't agree with.

"We still don't know if they are friendly or not, so why don't I approach them along with Kelvin and Woody while you guys stay hidden in the treeline, ready to reinforce us if anything goes wrong?" I explain to the group.

Kelvin and Woody are the strength enhancers who are actually slaves and from what I've seen, they don't hold any power to choose their assignment, only following orders. With Faris use to listening to my calls, I'm basically only trying selling my plan to the two mages of the Relentless Waves.

Well, the sorry excuse of a plan only puts me and their two slaves at risk so I doubt they will oppose it. On the contrary, they're probably gleaming with joy, being assigned to the easy job.

"Sure, just give us the signal and we'll jump into the fray." The young man replies in a neutral tone.

Okay, time to get this over with.

The sooner we continue our way, the sooner we'll reach the next village, and the sooner I'll be able to relax.

I start approaching as quietly as possible into the clearing alongside the two men in metal armor. It won't be long before we will reach where the broken down carriage and where the group of unknown men are located.

I look back to the three people who are behind us to see if they are in positions and notice the worried gazes from Faris.

Don't worry, I'm confident that I'll be able to get out unharmed with my abilities. Besides, as selfish as it sounds, I plan to fully take advantage of these two hunks of metal as my guardians and I plan to use them to cover my escape if anything goes wrong.

There is nothing more important than myself after all. I ain't no saint, that's for sure.

I raise a hand towards Faris and give her a thumbs-up before continuing to move forward.

Now that I think about it, do thumbs up even have the same meaning in this world?

Well, whatever.

Having made some distance with the three people behind us who are in positions to ambush the unknown party, I signal the two guys beside me to quicken their movements, no longer trying to be stealthy as I follow a small distance behind the two armored enhancers.

"...Wh...Who's there?!" A well-rounded man loudly asks.

The fat man in fine clothes stumbles away from the treeline we emerge from, obviously startled at our sudden appearance.

Behind him, several people scramble toward the fat man and take up defending position toward us, their sudden visitors.

It totally feels different when a goblin does it but it really gets on my nerves when a bow is aimed towards me. Maybe it's because it isn't the familiar crappy bows that the goblins use and instead, it's a full-grown man with a large longbow.

Why do I suddenly feel like I'm visiting some aliens and I'm trying somehow convey that we come in peace?

Well, let's hope for the best...