First, it was the sound of a portal activating, and then-

 

A painful headache, one unlike she's ever felt before assaulted her head and threatened to make her puke- and everything suddenly went back to normal.

 

Lucille’s teleportation induced lethargy disappeared and her head cleared, she braced her knees not a second after she felt the ground and tensed her legs to hold her swaying body steady- she failed and stumbled but thankfully reached out in time to catch a wall.

 

“Goddess-” her pleading call for the Goddess was cut off by her gag, then she remembered Neo’s advice to her for when she teleports for the first time.

 

Lucille closed her eyes and breathed, slowly, she heaved and opened her eyes to a much clearer vision.

 

“I am not going to do that again if I can help it,” Lucille glared at the blue portal they had just come out of, “I genuinely thought that Neo was joking when she said that my first teleportation wouldn’t be easy on me,”

 

“Well it was for us,” Lucille snapped her head at Yhaine, who smirked before going near Lucille to try and support her by lifting her, “now come on- wow you’re heavy-”

 

“S-says you!” Lucille, now embarrassed- and her pride might have taken a blow just now too, - pushed Yhaine away before using every ounce of her remaining strength to stand up.

 

“You’re fat!” Lucille mocked her with the first words that came to her mind.

 

“Uhuh,” Yhaine drawled and she crossed her arms in the same infuriating way she usually would whenever she wanted to emphasize her “assets”, she moved her arms, and her chest went with them, “are you talking about these?”

 

“No!” Lucille’s face felt warm and she looked away before it could any worse.

 

Her eyes went to their team’s remaining members. If Zyra and Karsten cared about their playful exchange just now, the two didn’t let it show, mostly because they were focused on the piece of paper that Neo had given them.

 

Curious, Lucille got close to the two, “what are we doing again?”

 

Karsten was the one who answered, “we’re hunting Eukaleafs but there’s nothing about them here,” the church servant said with an odd tone, she frowned, “I heard that usually, missions would have the basic description and request in their respective file but apparently, this one does not.”

 

“And… now what?” Lucille shared Zyra’s confused look, followed shortly after by Yhaine.

 

When no one answered, the heroine decided to look around in a vain attempt to get away from the awkward atmosphere.

 

The room that they had emerged into was spacious, with various benches, tables, and even a keg of water and a few cups in one corner. The building had been made from stone blocks neatly stacked on top of each other, with the walls looking like it would belong more to a castle rather than a Port a village away from it.

 

“I suggest we go to Neophyte’s sister,” Karsten’s declaration got Lucille to turn back to everyone else, she gave the girl a nod of agreement, which Karsten returned with a small smile, “as I believe that the Royal Family would be the ones to have the relevant information in regards to the mission,”

 

Zyra rolled the parchment and nodded, “I agree,” she looked at something behind Lucille and the heroine followed her gaze to the open exit, there was no door, just a semi-oval shape hole on the wall, “it’s still early so I think we can get there fast enough for us to reach the castle before noon,”

 

“Are we going to ride a horse?” Lucille asked as they started walking, everyone stared at her and she shrugged, “I’m just curious,”

 

“We’re slayers, so it’s best if we find a flying carriage and ride it out to the main capital of Vulnaza,” Zyra replied, she looked at Karsten, “we have enough money for it right?”

 

The pious girl nodded, “yes,” she fished out a silver colored card from her pocket, “The Saintess provided this for us,”

 

“How much is inside of that card?” Yhaine’s tone was laced with something that Lucille only assumed was greed, “and how much are we allowed to spend?”

 

“A lot,” Karsten’s answer got Yhaine to grin, “and we’re allowed to spend all of it if we have to but-” she raised a finger, “- I assume Neophyte only said it because she, The Saintess, wants me to spend all of it helping the various villages across the Vulnaza,”

 

“It makes sense if she gave you a card for charity…” Zyra hummed thoughtfully, “but how are you going to help out while we hunt?”

 

“I won’t be going with you to the forest,” Karsten replied as if it were obvious.

 

“Wait what?” Lucille stopped staring at the field of greenery surrounding them and stared at Yhaine in judgment, “but aren’t you supposed to be our support?”

 

“I am,” she answered, “and I can provide support for all of you even from a great distance,”

 

“How?” Zyra asked.

 

“You’ll know when I do it,” the answer came as vague and confusing and left Lucille with more questions than answers so instead of wondering about it, she kept walking.

 

They followed a dirt path that, for a while, had nothing other than trees and shrubbery to the side, the constant vegetation even got Lucille to look back to the box-shaped building covered in moss and vines they had come out of and seeing all of the plants growing on its walls didn’t surprise her in the slightest, she even felt that it gave the portal room a sense of mystique.

 

Conversations passed and animals got spotted, the more steps they took, the more of the creatures popped up.

 

It all came to an end when they neared the village they had been eyeing for a while now.

 

It was nothing more than a large line on the horizon when they first saw it after breaking past the treeline but now, the village walls were clear for them to see, and the large logs drilled into the ground looked intimidating from their point of view.

 

Lucille felt small compared to the 12 foot tall wooden walls and the guards carrying bows patroling on top it did nothing to dissuade her of the notion.

 

Her feelings only lasted for a minute or two though as the wooden gates of the wall opened up minutes after they arrived.

 

None of what she felt just now showed on her face.

 

It was Neo’s suggestion to look stoic and Lucille understood the theory behind it; that it’ll help with keeping everyone respectful to her and in the case of the three, well armored, spear carrying guardsmen walking up to them; make her easier to trust as a competent and well trained Slayer instead of a possible bandit dressing up as one.

 

Zyra introduced them, “we are first years from Pledge Academy-” the guards’ faces fell when they heard the words ‘first’ and ‘year’ but picked back up when they realized just which school they had come from, “- under the recommendation of her majesty Neophyte Astral Everlast, The Saintess,”

 

All four of them waited for a reply, which didn’t come because instead of talking to them, the guards whispered to each other and then the one at the center rushed back inside the walls and disappeared from their line of sight.

 

“What proof do you have of being sent here by the princess?” One of the guards- a tall, muscular man with a beard of black hair growing from his chin, - asked with barely disguised suspicion.

 

Lucille idly watched the spear he was carrying, it didn’t look all that intimidating, if at all, and the size of the fin-shaped spearhead looked heavy enough that in a close combat scenario, he would have a hard time lifting or moving his weapon around.

 

And not to mention, with the weight of the weapon's head, slashes to the side would be hard to pull off and an upward swing is downright impossible, even with the guard’s muscles.

 

But clearly, these weapons were meant for something right?..

 

Lucille's gaze shifted over to the wall and she quickly spotted what she was looking for; holes between the logs, they were placed side by side close enough that they could support the platform full of archers up above but they also had gaps underneath for the spearmen to be able to stab from the other side.

 

It was an effective method of defense and one that Lucille was quite familiar with thanks to all the years she spent traveling with her father. Running from one settlement to the next had been a constant for her back when she was training her stamina too, and walls like these weren’t uncommon, especially if the town is near a sizeable forest.

 

In the corner of her eye, Lucille caught Zyra take out the letter Neo had given them and she handed it to the guard, who took the envelope before squinting at the seal, “well, it’s definitely made of Holy Silver, and that’s the Everlast crest but I’m not going to let you in without explicit permission from the Baron,”

 

“We can wait,” Zyra didn’t sound offended and even nodded, so Lucille thought that everything was going well.

 

A few more minutes of waiting came by and Lucille started to get annoyed from the way the guards were staring at them in suspicion but the Baron did eventually arrive in horseback. The man was just as, if not more muscular than the guards surrounding him and the sword hanging from his hip told Lucille all she needed to know about his confidence in fighting.

 

He shook off his helmet and a clean shaven, handsome face was revealed, he smiled and hopped off the horse, his face and posture calm and relaxed, completely unlike the guards around him.

 

“I heard that you were sent here by the her majesty Neophyte?” The girls nodded, “do you have any proof?”

 

“We have a letter sent by her for her sister, Calcite,” Zyra showed it to the Baron who held his hand out, Zyra slowly stepped forward and gave him the letter.

 

The Baron then took out a monocle from underneath his plated armor and used it to inspect the crest.

 

Nodding, he handed the letter back to Zyra, “come with me,”

 

Lucille and the rest looked at each other the same way the guards did before deciding to tail behind the Baron, when they entered the gates, the man started asking them questions, “what connections do you have with the princess?”

 

“We’re being trained by her, sir,” Yhaine replied with a bow.

 

“Hm.” The Baron looked at them one by one and eventually stopped on Lucille, his eyes went to her Pledge and he nodded, “I suppose I wasn’t being respectful,” he started, “let me apologize by introducing myself, I am Baron Owen Trent Pilton, and this here is the humble town governed by my family,”

 

Owen went on to talk about the various things that his town has; such as how its main produce was lumber- the log walls were a clear sign, - and how the place acted as a frontier town for the Greatape Forest, which was where Lucille and the rest were headed.

 

When the Baron learned of it, he asked them what they were there for and they answered as honestly as they could, “Eukaleafs huh?..” he trailed off and eyed the skies, “I’ve heard that they’ve been starting to populate it for a while now and my scouts have spotted several tribes of worrying sizes…”

 

“We only need to hunt one of them I think?” Zyra replied, but she sounded uncertain. And so was Lucille, how many did they need to wipe out? The mission didn't exactly say…

 

“Oh, I’m aware,” the Baron said with a smile, “you kids going out there to wipe out the various Eukaleaf tribes is a bad idea in of itself and I’m guessing that Her Highness Calcite only sent out a request for aid to help with training first years such as yourselves,”

 

“You’re most likely right yes,” Zyra looked thoughtful, “we are beginners after all, and this is only our first weekend,”

 

“Then the princess picked the right mission for all of you then,” the Baron replied with ease, “an easy mission to start things out is a good idea and I’m glad that she’s moved on from… you know,”

 

The girls nodded and Lucille held back a wince, “we’re aware,” Lucille's smile was wry as she replied, “she’s doing her best to change,”

 

“She already has,” the Baron sounded like he believed what he was saying, but there's an underlying tone beneath it all, spite? “Especially if her ability to fight a Demon Duke and kill it is to go by, then we’re in good hands,”

 

Their conversation shifted between each other after that and the Baron asked them various things about themselves- such as Lucille’s fighting ability or if she had any experience fighting monsters before, Zyra’s tactical knowledge, and the martial arts that Yhaine knows, - while giving out information about himself in return, which were enlightening to say the least.

 

Lucille already had a hunch that the man before them used to be a student of Pledge Academy, and even if he was nothing more than Infantry back then, Lucille still felt that he would beat her current team without breaking a sweat.

 

Eventually, they reached the local postal office and there, he sent out the letter through a carrier who flew off using a Griffon.

 

As the man and mount took the skies, Owen faced them, “I’m sure that the princess will receive her sister’s letter in half an hour,” he smiled disarmingly, “how about you guys enjoy yourselves for now?”

 

All of them met each other’s gazes, “okay,” Zyra answered for them, “taking our time to laze around never really crossed our minds though so uh, is there anything here that’s interesting? Sir?”

 

“The market has a few shows being put on occasionally,” the man answered, “but if you want to sleep, then there’s an Inn near the red light district,”

 

Zyra nodded gratefully, “thank you,” her nod turned into a bow, “we’re going now,”

 

They all moved out of the postal office as one and when they were far enough to be out of earshot, Yhaine spoke, “we’re not going to the shows.”

 

“We can eat?” Lucille suggested and everyone shook their heads, “why?”

 

“No.” Zyra answered bluntly and without providing any explanation, “we’re also not sleeping,”

 

“... so what do you guys want to do then?” Lucille asked them, then she had an idea, “we can split up?”

 

“And then what?” Zyra eyed her.

 

“Karsten can maybe go to a church-” the girl in question nodded and said something along the lines of agreement, “- and Yhaine and you can do whatever you want,”

 

“And you?” Yhaine asked.

 

“I’m going to check out if there’s a seamstress here,” she’s heard stories of Kingdoms having their own culture and sense of fashion before and Lucille wanted to see it for herself, mostly out of a desire for inspiration.

 

“Hm… fair enough,” Zyra nodded, “we can work something out,”

Yhaine meanwhile turned to Karsten, “are you going to take out money or?..”

 

Karsten nodded, “let’s go find a place to do it,”