"Yumi. Wake up! Yumi!"
"Nn... Lily..."
"Yes, it's your beautiful and cute Lily, pursuer of all the cute girls. Now, wake up or you'll miss it."
"... Miss?"

Rather reluctantly I opened my eyes. At some point I had fallen asleep it seemed.

"Mh... Where? Uhh, it's cold."
"Ah, Yumi, don't move, my blanket. My Yumi blanket!"

What was this girl even saying? I wasn't a blanket, was I? Oh.
I actually was a blanket.

"Lily..."
"Hey, don't look at me like that. You fell into my lap on your own. And if I had tried to move you, your hair might've gone away as well. And I like it warm!"
"..."

Well, whatever.
I sat upright, stretched myself and let out a yawn. Honestly, I felt quite sleepy and it still seemed to be dark. I hoped she had a good reason for waking me up so early.

"So? What's going on, Lily?"
"How about you try looking to the front?"
"Nn?"

I did as I was told and looked in front of us, onto the road. Or where most likely the road was.

"What? The trees are... glowing? What is that?"
"It's the Fairy's Light."
"The Fairy's Light?"

I tilted my head. In the distance, I could see a pale, green light stretching out horizontally. It seemed to cover the trees. Or maybe the trees themselves were glowing?
In any case, it looked quite pretty. Or rather, it looked really magical. After all, when else would you see glowing trees on the horizon?

"Hehe, you should look forward to it. We're going right through it, after all."
"Is that so? But... what even is that? Oh? There's a lamp."

Suddenly a lamp shined up, most likely from the wagon in front of us.

"Ahh, can you give me the lamp? It should be on the side somewhere."
"Nn, let me take a look."

I cautiously stretched out my hands, trying to get a feel of where the said lamp was. It took me a moment until I hit something that felt like metal. Right under the bench, actually.

"Lily, this?"
"Yes. That's it."
"Here."

I took the lamp away from its little spot and handed it over to Lily.

"Now, let's see... Ah, here we go."

A few seconds later the lamp lit up. It was a dim light that was comfortable even in this darkness. Although it seemed there was no candle or something inside. Did it run with some kind of elemental stone? Actually... Didn't I see something like this before? I felt like I did...

"Can you try hanging it up on the side there? There should be some kind of hook."
"I'll try."

I took the lamp and once more tried to feel my way to my goal, namely the hook.

"Ouch!"
"Yumi?! Did something happen?!"
"Ah... No, I hit a splinter, I think."
"... Don't scare me that much."
"Sorry."

At least it didn't feel like it caused an actual wound. Getting a splinter into your hand or anywhere was quite painful. But even without that, it still hurt quite a bit.

I wish I could actually see in the dark. Lily said that pretty much all monsters can deal with the dark, so why can't I? Why is this the one thing that I can't do? So unfair.
"Ah, I think I found the hook. Is this right?"
"Yes, looks good."

After I reached out once more, this time with a bit more caution, I found the hook and hung up the lamp.

"So, what is this for?"
"Ahh, so we don't get lost in the darkness. It's getting darker, after all."
"Huh?"

I scanned my surroundings and then the night sky. The previously starlit sky was now a large and mostly dark ceiling.

"... Bad weather?"
"Probably. Hard to make out when it's so dark."
"True."

It must've been dark even for her. Her night sight was making me actually a bit jealous. At least we still had a little bit of light with the lamp and the remaining stars.

"Also, the lamp might be of help when the fairies try to mess with us. Wouldn't want to lose sight of the caravan, right?"
"... The fairies?"
"Fairies."

So fairies existed here. What else existed in this world? I've seen weird animals and quite a lot of fantasy creatures. Next, they'd tell me some famous monsters existed as well.

That reminds me. Didn't they say that elves were fairies and that a high elf like Emily was related to them?

I couldn't quite imagine Emily being a fairy. Would she grow wings at some point? Please don't...

"So... Lily. We might see fairies?"
"Well... Yes..."

Her expression turned a little dark. She didn't seem to like the idea of seeing fairies.

"I just hope it's not pixies or leprechauns... brownies would be a lot nicer..."
"Ehh... What?"

Suddenly a bunch of names sprung up.

"Ahh... Different kinds of fairies. Depending on which kind of fairies live in that forest, we might have either an easy way through or severe troubles. Well, I doubt it's brownies, considering the situation... Probably elves... If I had to take a guess..."
"Okay. And... that means what?"

I wasn't quite sure anything she'd explain would stay with me right now, I was still not yet quite awake. But if it was going to be a problem, that was a different thing and I wanted to know in advance.

"In the case of elves, the Fairy's Light would be a warning."
"A... warning?"
"Yes... 'Do not approach the forest.'"
"But... we are approaching."

As a matter of fact, it would probably only take a few more minutes until we would enter the forest. The so-called Fairy's Light had gradually grown stronger and more pronounced. By now I could even make out what exactly was glowing. The tree crowns.
It might be actually a beautiful and magical sight, but my worry was this might be a warning... It dowsed the experience a little.

"Elves do this in case something is tremendously wrong with the forest. I haven't heard anything about a fairy forest here, so I believe that is the most likely one. It's a very rare occurrence for elves to light the forest, after all..."
"And yet, we're still going to enter?"
"It seems so. Well, I'm not the one to make that call, it's whoever is in the front. I just hope they know what they are doing."
"..."

Yeah, one could only hope.  Really...

"Lily... Just what could be so wrong with a forest, though, that they'd... cause this?"
"... A monster outbreak, for example... Or something of a similar size..."
"..."
"Yumi, do you remember when we were called by Korwen and he and the fort's commander talked about a job for the band?"

That time we were just sitting there and listening? I still had no idea why we were even there in the first place...
In any case, since I did remember, I nodded in response.

"If you recall, they talked about the garrison investigating something. About disappearances..."
"Ah... I remember that... So, you think this might have some connection?"
"In the worst case, yes."

That... sounded bad. I really hoped she was wrong on this one. But there were many things that fit... Too many.

"We can only pray that we get through this unscathed."
"Nn..."
"But, regardless of what it is in the end. We can still take at least a little time to enjoy this view, right?"

As if trying to dispel all the worrisome thoughts, she grinned from ear to ear and pointed forwards. Looking forward, I found that the forest was now right in front of us. The first wagons had already entered. Well, they probably had quite a while ago already. I couldn't really confirm it. They might have put up lamps as well but the lamp from the wagon in front of us made it impossible to see.

"Are those... the leaves, that are glowing?"
"They are. To be honest, this is only the second time I've seen it as well."
"Huh..."

As if on demand, the wind blew and rattled the trees, causing the glowing leaves to sway around. An impressive visual spectacle.
Really, it was quite a breathtaking view, and one I'd sure love to enjoy if we had some more leisure.

"Yumi, Lily? Is something... What's this?"
"Sis? You are awake?"
"Oh, Karen, you got some great timing."

The door behind had opened up and Karen was peeking out.

"Lily, what is this?"
"The Fairy's Light. Heard of it before?"
"Eh? Really?"

Karen sounded surprised. She must've heard of it before then.

"Wait a moment. And, here we go..."
"Sis? Ahh! That's dangerous."

Karen climbed from the door over, holding onto the wooden roof. Completely disregarding our surprise Karen swung herself over and sat down next to me. Then she casually took a look around, letting out an astonished 'Ohh.'

"Karen."
"Yes? Why do you look so serious, Lily?"
"Don't. And I want to emphasise it. Don't. Climb out of a moving vehicle. That's dangerous. What if you lost your grip and got below the wheels?"
"... Ah."

Karen awkwardly averted her gaze, definitely having realised it too. It was unusual for her to be that careless.

"Karen. Don't do that again."
"... I'm sorry."

She apologised in a small, barely audible voice while looking down.

"As long as you get it, it's fine. Just don't scare us like that, yes?"
"... Understood. Sorry."
"Haa... Well, rather than continuing with that, just look at the surroundings. It's not something you'll see that often."

Prompted by Lily, Karen raised her gaze again and looked at the forest surrounding us.

"It's beautiful."
"It is."
"It reminds me a bit of the crystal forest back in Aldreigh. Although that was beautiful in a different manner."

A crystal forest? So, crystals in the form of trees? Or actual trees that looked like crystals? Either way, it surely looked quite impressive as well.

"Oh, I heard of that one. Heard it looks absolutely stunning at dawn and dusk."
"Unfortunately I didn't get to see it at those times, but I heard that too. But this is also breathtaking. Really."

Karen held her hair down, which was being ruffled by the wind and watched the forest for quite some time. Neither of us said a word, simply enjoying the view.

A serene, beautiful forest. Honestly, just calling it beautiful doesn't even do it remotely any justice. I never would have thought... that I would ever be able to see such a thing.

The Hollow had been impressive, in size, in impact, in its sheer massiveness. But this was different. Quiet, the steps of the magic beasts and the wheels hitting the road, our breaths and the rustling of the leaves in the wind. Those were all we heard. The damp smell of a lively forest and the incredible sight of the glowing leaves.
Over a vast area, illuminating everything around us, to the point where we could see ahead as if the stars and the moons were still shining.
Only us three, sitting together, huddled up on the bench of the wagon. It was calming.

I wish this would go on forever. 

---

Sometime later, I honestly had no idea how much time had passed, we had collected ourselves and Lily had shared her worries with Karen.

"I was told by Ria that this forest goes on until the capital, though. Are we sure this is fine?"
"I have no idea. So far everything seems fine. No fairies and no monsters. Which only worries me more, if you ask me."
"Is that so..."

Seemingly lost in thought, Karen once more stared into the brightly illuminated forest for quite some time.

"Nothing we can do except wait..." she murmured.
"Yeah... At this rate, we should actually arrive in the capital in around... two and a half hours? Assuming everything goes as planned."

That sounded like a prelude. A prelude for something we wouldn't like. At all.

"Yumi."
"Nn? What, Sis?"
"I've been wondering but... Why are only you and Lily wrapped up? What about me? It's cold."
"Oh..."

I honestly had completely forgotten about my hairy blanket. Well, it wasn't really much of a problem, so I extended my hair and wrapped Karen up as well.

"Mh... It feels a bit odd, but actually quite comfortable."
"Haa..."
"Yumi, did you ever try out how much you can extend your hair?"
"No, not really. But at least at this length, it's still quite fine."

My hair had extended quite a lot in fact, right now. Wrapping up three people to keep them warm did require quite a lot of length. Still, despite it probably being at least three or four times or even more in length compared to my height, I still could control it just fine. Actually, that was quite impressive.

"Yumi."
"Nn?"
"Hand! Ah, no, hair!"
"Eh?"

Karen held out her hand. Although not in front of me, but in front of herself, while looking at my hair. It took me a while to understand what she was on about. Humouring her request, I extended my hair even more and laid it into her hand, as if I was a dog giving her a paw.
With a smile, she grabbed onto the hair.

"Do you even feel anything if I touch it?"
"No, not really."
"Huh... Odd, even though you can move it so well."
"Nn..."

Was it that odd? If my hair had a sense of touch and I had it extended to this degree... That sounded like a veritable flood of information. Not sure whether I would like that.

"Speaking of weird, Karen, Yumi can't see in the dark either."
"Huh? Really? But couldn't you see pretty well on your first days here?"
"Eh? I did?"

That was news to me. Or maybe she mistook it for something else? At least, right now, I was completely and utterly unable to see anything here without some form of light and I honestly had no recollection of being able to see in the dark before either. It wasn't much of an issue right now since the forest itself was quite bright for now, but still...

"Odd... I wonder why..."

Still murmuring about what Lily said, she was nonetheless continuing caressing the hair in her hand.

"Oh, right... That reminds me. What are we going to do regarding the payment anyway?" asked Karen.
"Nn? Payment?"
"Our agreement with Mr Korwen."
"Ohh... That one."

We had promised him quite a lot of my hair, didn't we?

"We'll have to wait until they come to the capital as well, I guess. Not much we can do before then."
"Mh... I guess that's right."

Karen stopped caressing the hair in her hand and instead looked forward again. With a serious expression.

"Lily."
"Ah. Yumi, get the large bag beneath you."
"Eh? Uh, this one?"
"Yes."

I heaved the surprisingly heavy bag onto my lap.

"Get the crossbow inside out and ready it."
"Nn, got... it?"

I paused. Crossbow? Readying it?
I took a glance at Lily who was holding a long something wrapped in cloth. Most likely her sword.

"We got company."
"..."

Company. That meant... we were being attacked?
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I shouldn't hesitate. I definitely shouldn't. Opening the bag I found a pretty large crossbow inside. It was a lot larger than the one I had used before, but the construction was pretty similar. It didn't take all too long for me to insert a bolt, also coming from the bag, and crank the string back.

"Done, Lily."
"Hold it ready, if you see something suspicious, shoot it."
"Nn."

The sudden, tense situation caused my hands to sweat, making the grip feel uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I held the crossbow ready.

Yet, nothing happened. For five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. None of us said a word, only watching the forest in silence.

"Was it only my imagination?" muttered Lily finally.
"But Lily, I saw it too."
"Weird... Maybe it was a fairy prank."

Lily let out a sigh and finally relaxed, loosening her grip on the weapon.

"The other wagons are still fine too, so maybe it was really a prank. Yumi, you can let down the crossbow. Ah, but keep it ready. Just in case. Though you should remove the bolt, to be safe."
"Nn."

I put the crossbow onto my lap and took the bolt away. Even if it would accidentally go off, it wouldn't endanger any of us now. Although I was sure that it would still hurt quite a lot if it did. That thick string snapping back was sure to cause quite some force onto the crossbow itself.

"Lily... can I wind down the string too?"
"... Well, it should be fine."

Thankfully she agreed. That made me feel a lot safer, ironically. I didn't like having a primed crossbow in my lap, able to go off any second.
I let out a deep breath and leaned back, relaxing my body and leaving the tension behind.
Once more, we all fell quiet, silently listening to the sound of the forest surrounding us.

"By the way... Is Rina inside the wagon?" I asked, trying to start up a conversation.
"Ahh, we carried her in when took a break."
"A break... huh... I think... I need one..."
"Yumi?"

Maybe because of the sudden relaxation, there was a certain, uncomfortable feeling. It was also known as the call of nature.

"Yumi? What's wrong?"
"I... uh... have to go."
"Go? To where."
"That's... The bathroom..."
"... Oh."

A wry smile appeared on Karen's face.

"We can't make a stop here, Yumi."
"..."
"Can you hold out for a bit?"
"... How long?"
"Around two more hours."
Isn't that like four earth hours?! No way! I'll wet myself!

I vehemently shook my head. Thankfully, the ride wasn't particularly bumpy, so I wasn't shaking left and right. That would've just made it worse. And I probably would've failed to hold it in already.

"Well, that's a bit troublesome. Ah! I know something!"

Lily leaned forward and reached beneath the bench. Was there another bag?

"Mh, Karen, can you check on your side? There should be a small bag."
"Eh... Maybe this one?"
"Yes, that one."

Karen had pulled up a small bag, a really small one. And then she took out its contents.

"Lily. You can't be serious."
"Well, we can't stop for you right now, I don't want to stay in this forest longer than necessary. So, it's either that or you wet yourself."
"..."
"Also, we've already seen each other naked. That's not much of a difference anymore."

No, this was a huge difference. A really huge one. No way in hell would I pee in a wooden mug now, especially not in company. I still had some dignity left. Well, actually, maybe I didn't...
Anyway, this was just a big, big no. And especially not with these two girls right next to me. On both sides of me. Have a little compassion for me. Have mercy on me.

"Yumi, it's fine."
"Sis..."
"I'll make sure that Lily won't catch a glimpse!"
"..."

That wasn't what I was worried about, though?!

"Now, Yumi. You surely can't hold out much longer, right? Right?"
"Sis? Wait, Sis? You're scaring me."
"It's fine!"

Karen was steadily inching closer and closer, mug in hand. For some odd reason, she really seemed to approve of the idea. Ignoring the fact, that I absolutely didn't.

"Sis, please, spare me! Really!"
"I won't tell anyone!"
"That's not even the problem though!"

Karen grasped my shoulders, causing me to slightly jolt forwards.

"Ah..."

The limit was close. Very close. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Was this the only path left? Would it have gone differently if I had chosen a different route in the past? Ahh... I probably would never know.

Someone, please save me. I don't want this. Not this of all things!
"Now, Yumi! Before it gets worse!"
"Sis, wait, let me, let me at least prepare myse— Ah!"

She grabbed the hem of my clothes, trying to get rid of everything in the way. And unfortunately, I didn't even have remotely the strength to stop her from this.
There was no escape for me.

Ahhh...

And so, with the rather forceful help of Karen, all of my dignity was lost.

---

It's over... Life is over... Why even bother anymore...
"Yumi, I'm sorry. Really. So, please don't ignore me."
"..."
"Yumi..."

My dignity was taken away. And I was quite angry, much to Karen's chagrin. I knew it wasn't really her fault. Nature came to everyone.
But even though I knew, I couldn't help but feel angry. It was complicated. I wanted to cry.

"Uhh, Lily... Say something to her too."
"Well, Karen. Good luck."
"Lily..."

Thankfully, Lily chose to not get involved. In fact, Lily just pretended nothing had happened. Which hurt a little in its own way. She didn't even tell us to stay cautious even though she was still keeping her sword ready in her lap.

"I'm really sorry, Yumi. Really. I promise I won't do it again..."
"..."
"Yumi..."

Tears were visible in the corners of her eyes. Maybe I was overdoing it a little. Still, I felt a bit reluctant to just give in now. That's just humiliating the whole thing had been.

"Yumi..."

In the end, though, my heart was too weak. I just couldn't deal with those tears, could I? Disregarding the fact that I was more or less close to crying myself.
Thinking about it for a little, I decided that it was probably enough. So, I turned towards her.

"Sis... Don't do that again."
"I won't! I promise!"

She leaned forward to me, once more brimming with energy as if her previous dejected self was but a lie.

"N-, Nn..."
Maybe I should've left her hanging for a bit more... Oh well.

Nothing I could do about now. And honestly, I didn't like being angry anyway. I just still hoped she wouldn't do this again. Doing this outside, in public, was just... My heart couldn't bear it.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Then I rubbed the tears in my eyes away.

"What's done is done, let's just forget this ever happened."
"Okay. I understand!"

Yes, it never happened. Therefore there was no need to worry. No need to feel sad. No need to cry.
Except trying to deceive myself wasn't really working all too well. It was better than nothing, at least.

A change of topic would be great. Lily, help!

I turned towards our busy driver slash coachwoman, hoping she would understand my call for help. At the very least, she noticed that I turned towards her.
Although she just questioningly tilted her head. All the while keeping an eye out on the road and the waroxen.

Nn? The waroxen? Oh! Found a topic.
"Lily, what kind of... animals... are waroxen?"
"Oh? You're interested in them?"
"Nn."

I nodded in response. I had been wondering about them anyway, so now was as good a time as ever to learn one more thing. It was an eternal cycle of learning after all, and this world just had so many things I had never seen before.
Thinking about it, it sounded like a little child asking their parents about every little thing... I hoped I wasn't too annoying. Now I was a little worried.

"Well, they aren't exactly animals, they are called magic beasts. They are a creature resulting from crossbreeding a monster and an animal. Although they are basically just animals with an extremely high amount of mana."
"Huh. So, they all resulted from a monster and an animal?"
"Mh, no. Waroxen are one of the few magic beasts that can keep breeding among themselves. That's what made them so widespread, after all."

Oh, so that's why there were so many.

"But why are they called waroxen?"
"Well, they are popular in wars... They have high stamina, are resilient and are incredibly strong. There are even some armies that use them as mounts for their soldiers."

A mounted warox... They outwardly looked just like an oversized, extremely muscular ox, or rather a bull in particular. Dark red skin, and long, thick horns on their heads. Intimidating, to say the least. They probably wouldn't even notice me if they ran me over.
Nevertheless, they were pretty quick despite them pulling the wagon. Certainly not a speed I would have expected from an ox-like creature.
Still, someone riding on these beasts probably looked... amusing, to say the least.

"I heard that many countries started to breed them for other purposes now. Their meat is pretty good, their hide is strong and the horns can be made into weapons. And apparently, their milk is quite good as well. I never tried it, though."
"Oh?"

Wasn't this... just like cows? I mean, they did look like oversized, super muscular cows, yes, but...

"Ah, I tried their milk before," interjected Karen.
"Oh? Was it good?"
"It was... a little odd. But delicious. It's quite thick, and I was told it's healthy."
"Huh. Was that when you were still in Aldreigh?"
"No, probably not... It was a bit after we left..."

Lily's face showed her surprise at those words. Understandable surprise. It couldn't have been during her time in the slums, most likely.

"When Rina and I were running away, we ended up at a little... farm. For some reason, the owner was keeping waroxen, and he also grew some strange plants. They were all delicious, though."
"How surprising. Was that in the Akkian Empire already?"
"I have no idea, Lily. I was a little girl, I didn't know anything about country borders and things like that."
"... Good point."

It was already nothing short of a miracle that two little girls survived such a long journey by themselves. Although, they haven't told us anything about that journey. I was a little curious about it.

"Oh?"

Lily pulled the reins back and slowed the wagon. The wagon in front of us slowed down as well. Wary, Lily gripped her sword and readied herself.

"I wonder if something happened," murmured Karen.
"Nn... I thought we weren't supposed to stop?"

Lily let out a dry laugh.

"Can't always expect it to always go like one expects, right? Right..."
"Nn..."

We watched the situation for a while, but nothing happened.  For really quite a while...

"Hey, Lily, Karen."
"Yes?"
"I guess this is long enough for a bathroom break, right?"
"..."
"Right?"

They both awkwardly averted their gazes.

"Well, Yumi, you see... The forest is dangerous, right? Can't have you get into trouble, right? Right, Karen?"
"... Lily is right. It would be bad if something happened to you!"
"..."

There was no way in hell something was going to happen in those two minutes with Lily around.

"I see. In that case, I guess you two really thought that through, huh? Well, I hope you won't need to relieve yourself until we reach the capital."
"That..."
"Ah, but you two shouldn't hold back, yes? It's not good for your body to hold it in."
"..."

Well then, I had successfully delivered my small revenge. Albeit, if they really needed to go, I wouldn't force them to suffer the same fate. But I didn't have to tell them that, right? Right.
They both didn't look all too pleased with my little threat, so I assumed I had reached my goal. Hopefully, they learnt from this.

"So, Lily, why are we even stopping here?"

I had brought it up myself but I still didn't want to dwell too long on that topic. So, I decided to ask... the obvious. Lily took a little bit to answer, though.

"... I want to know as well, Yumi."
"How far are we even away right now?"
"If I had to guess, we're about halfway through? Probably one and a half hours away."
"Mh... That was surprisingly quick."

We had left in the evening yesterday and while I slept a little, it probably wasn't for much longer than a few hours. The capital was astonishingly close. Was it really fine for a capital to be this close to a border?
Anyway, it wasn't that long anymore. We still had to talk with the others about what we should do regarding leaving the mercenaries.

I still don't even know what work we could do outside of being mercenaries... Although, maybe mercenary really doesn't suit us...

Despite the need to stay wary, we had been messing around. Maybe we simply weren't suited to stay cautious and on guard. Although, Lily stayed cautious the entire time through. Even throughout Karen's and my antics, she didn't say a word and kept calm.
Still... Just what were we supposed to do? If we didn't work, we wouldn't be able to eat. And assuming the seven of us stay together...

The three little ones can't really take on work and Rina I don't know... That means that it would be Lily, Sis and me who would need to find work... The captain gave me this letter to the academy, but I should still consider what other options there even were...

And then there was still one final issue. The Akkian Empire didn't like women working on their own, according to Wanda. So, how was it in Lafria? Could we even find work? The more I thought about it, the more worried I became. Maybe I had been spoiled by the sudden safety of having a job. Although, it really was mostly charity from them... The more I considered what happened the past days, the more ashamed I felt, realising that it was mostly their goodwill, that fed us.

We've been completely taken care of... Even with the money we got, we barely did any real work, did we...

We had just been riding the flow. Completely and utterly.

"Oh? Lily, Yumi. Someone is... coming?"
"Oh? You're right."

My self-deprecating thoughts were fortunately interrupted.
Next to the wagon in front of us appeared a man. He seemed to be talking with their driver. The man in question wore armour, but even the armour couldn't hide his race.

"A beastkin soldier? Oh, I think I get what this is."
"Nn? Please enlighten us, Lily."
"I haven't heard of a checkpoint here so it's most likely a military patrol. Thinking about it, it's no wonder they dispatch soldiers right now, huh..."
"So, they are doing an inspection?"

Lily nodded in response.
Well, if what Lily told us was true, then it's no surprise that the capital dispatched soldiers to investigate the forest.

"Well, it's good for us, though. Oh? Someone came out."

The door of the wagon in front of us and a middle-aged woman appeared. She seemed pretty furious. And it didn't take long for her to rage at the poor soldier.

"Ah, that's bad. Why are you picking a fight with the military? Are you stupid? Ugh..."

Lily rubbed her temples in exasperation.

"And who is that anyway?" she asked.
"No idea."

Never seen the woman before, so it was unlikely she was one of the women from Korwen's wife's groups. And Fenna's squad completely stayed behind.

"Reminds me, weren't Korwen's wife and them originally in our wagon too?"
"They stayed behind," answered Karen.
"Eh? Really?"

A wry smile appeared on her face.

"Well, they didn't want to leave their husbands behind or something along those lines."
"..."

They didn't want to leave them behind, huh? Seemed that Korwen and the others were deeply loved. How nice it must be.

"Oh no, this is bad," mumbled Lily next to us.

I directed my attention back forwards, towards the woman that had been quarrelling with the soldier. Emphasis on had been. Right now, she was being pressed down on the ground by said soldier while she hysterically screamed insults at the man. And her choice of words was quite... colourful. Although she mainly insulted the man's genitals.

What are you? An elementary schooler?

While her vocabulary was not the most sophisticated, it did manage to make the man quite mad. From behind the wagon appeared a few more soldiers, restraining both the woman and the other soldier, as it seemed he would assault the woman any second. The woman kept spewing insults, though. Now directed at the new soldiers.
Maybe having woken up from the ruckus, someone opened the door from our wagon.

"Mh... What's going on?"

And out walked Lefa, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Lefa? You woke up?"
"Mh..."

She walked up to the driver's bench and climbed up next to Karen, falling onto her lap.

"Le-, Lefa?!"

Albeit the person in question was quite bewildered by that action.

"Warm..."
"Hey, Lefa? Lefa?!"
"..."

Having closed her eyes, she seemed to be back on her way to dreamland. Alas, that trip was denied.

"Lefa! You can't sleep here right now!"
"Mhh... Stop... Don't... Shake..."

Karen shook her about, forcing her to wake up again.

"Uhh... I don't... feel good..."
"Are you awake now?"
"Mh... Am... awake."
"Doesn't look like it."

Although awake, she kept lying down, though.

"Oh, they're coming to us."
"Mh? Soldiers?"
"Yes, Lefa. Probably a patrol. And Yumi, get your hair back to normal. I don't want that to be questioned."
"Nn."
"Ohh..."

I retracted my hair back to its normal length. It was still incredibly long and due to the wind making it move, it tickled my feet and my legs.
In the meantime, Lefa heaved herself up and sat down properly. Just in time for a young man in armour walking over to us. The armour seemed to be a cuirass and chainmail beneath. It looked odd...

"Excuse me. Do you ladies also belong to this caravan?"
"Yes, we do. Did something happen, Mr Soldier?"
Woah, Lily, you suddenly sound so polite.

With an impeccable smile, Lily answered the man. He seemed a little flustered, being the subject of her smile. With a cough, he collected himself and scrutinised us. Although his gaze stayed on Lily for quite a while.

"Excuse me, Miss..."
"Lily."
"Miss Lily. Are you mayhap related to the Karker family?"
"... No, I'm not."

The soldier furrowed his brows a little.

"I see. My apologies, you resembled Lady Karker so much, so I held a little hope. Please forget I ever asked."

He bowed deeply. Yet, he didn't straighten up and kept his upper body down in a bow.

"Although it may be presumptuous of me, if you do know anything about a young girl related to the Karker family, please do not hesitate to tell us."
"Uhm, what's going on?" asked Karen, clearly confused.

The soldier finally straightened his back and turned to Karen.

"Lady Karker's only daughter has been missing for a long time. The Lady is deeply saddened and has been searching for her daughter for a great many years. If you have even so much as a clue, you shall be you will be rewarded well for it."
"I see. I hope you will find her. Do your best."
"Thank you, young lady. Knowing that a pretty lady such as you encourages us, will motivate us even more."
"Ahaha..."

The man bowed once more while casually complimenting Karen. It honestly annoyed me a little.

"Now then, everything seems to be in order. I wish you well and a pleasant stay in the capital. Some of our soldiers will accompany you, as the forest has been dangerous as of late, but have no fear, for they will protect you all, my ladies. May we meet again."

He saluted, turned around and left. In the end, he never even told us what was going on...

"Annoying," spat Lily out, after the man left hearing distance.
"Lily..."
"What? I'm not some little lady that needs protection. I don't like men that think I'm a little girl that needs protection."
"He only meant well."

He certainly only meant well. But his priorities were also quite clear. He didn't even so much as glance at Lefa nor at me, outside of the initial lookover.

"Sis, don't get seduced by bad men."
"I already got seduced by a bad girl, I think that's enough for a lifetime for me."
"..."

And here she was calling me sly all the time. That made me a little embarrassed. Just a little. Really.
Lefa tilted her head, apparently not understanding what Karen meant.

"Oh, it seems we can continue. Lefa, if you want to get back in, do so now."
"Mh... Okay. I'll try to sleep a bit more, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
"Night."

Lefa stood up, jumped down from the driver's bench and disappeared into the wagon.

"Now then, time to continue. Let's hope this was the last interruption."

The waroxen continued moving forward slowly. Our escape to the capital continued, through the forest illuminated by the fairies.
In the hopes that everything would go well.