It didn’t take long for our caravan to resume moving after we parted with Greyward. Though I said it like that, we were just really moving through the border checkpoint. One after another, the wagons slowly proceeded, getting waved through by the guards. And before long, it was our turn.

“Just keep calm now and let the waroxen walk on their own, Karen.  Yes, just like that. No need to be nervous.”
“I’m not nervous, Lily. I just… don’t feel very comfortable with all of them staring…”
“Haha, of course they are watching with these cute girls around!”
“That’s not making it better, Lily.”

Karen sighed, concentrating on the waroxen in front of her. She slowly ushered them through the checkpoint, passing the guards and the barricade. The guards watched us in silence, not hurrying us or anything. I did spy a few of them smiling wryly, though. Maybe it was easy to notice that Karen wasn’t very experienced in handling the waroxen.

“That’s good, girl. You’re through. Welcome to the Kingdom of Aldreigh, hope you’ll enjoy your stay.”
“Ah, thank you, sir.”

The guard that had welcomed us grinned before moving to the back, watching the next wagon.

“We’re back…” muttered Karen in a quiet, barely audible voice.
“Are you nervous, Sis?”
“... I don’t know. I have no idea.”
“I see.”

I gently touched her shoulder, to tell her that I was there. Her eyes wandered to me, and seconds later, she smiled.

“Thanks, Yumi.”
“Nn.”
“Now, let’s follow the others and take that break, right?”
“Nn. I’ve been waiting for that. Our break and lunch.”

Karen giggled, as well as Lily and Rina, who had likely overheard me.

“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, Yumi. Hehe, it’s  just reassuring that you’re just like always.”
“The heck’s that supposed to mean?”

I tilted my head, completely confused why the others were so amused. I didn’t get it…

“Oh, it looks like we’ll be camping right here already?”
“Nn?”

I looked over to the other wagons in front of us, only to find them already moving to the side of the road and into the plains. Some of them had already stopped and the mercenaries were streaming out, setting up a small temporary camp.

“We really just passed the checkpoint and take our break right behind it… Well, I guess that’s fine.”

Greyward probably just wanted to deal with the border checkpoint as soon as possible.

“Karen, move over there.”
“Mh? You mean here?”
“Yes, that’s good. Stop the waroxen now.”
“Ehh… Like this, right?”
“Yes. You’re doing great already, Karen!”

The wagon came to a halt, the waroxen bellowing in response.

“Let’s get them out quickly. Rina, wanna help me?”
“Yes!”

Lily and Rina jumped off the bench and set out to get the waroxen out of their harnesses. They bellowed again and shook their giant bodies. Despite that, the wagon didn’t so much as shake.

“Nn, should we get our lunch then? Or, maybe calling it dinner would be more appropriate?”
“It’s a little late already…”

It would also depend a little on whether this was our final stop for the day or not… Though from how I had understood things, we would stay here the night and leave tomorrow. Probably in the morning.

“Either way, we should get our food.”
“Right. But before that, Yumi.”
“Nn?”

Karen stopped me for some reason. I hadn’t forgotten something, had I?

“Maybe you should try to see if you can contact Mr Captain first.”
“... Ahh, now that you mention it. That might be a good idea… But can’t we do that after we had dinner?”
“I think we should do that first. We don’t quite know if we can even contact him, after all.  And…”

Karen paused, glancing at Lily and Rina.

“I’d like to give the two a little time together.”
“Huh? Well, I don’t mind…”

They seemed quite energetic to me, though?

“Yumi. Let’s first get into the wagon.”
“Ah, okay.”

We jumped down the driver’s bench and entered our wagon. Sweet home. That said, we didn’t move immediately to the tentacle room but rather sat down on the bed. It seemed that Karen wanted to talk about something first.

“Sis, is something wrong?”

I asked, curious what this was about? I didn’t mind leaving Rina and Lily alone so they could have some time for themselves—after all, it also meant I could have some alone time with Karen—but it seemed to me that it wasn’t about that this time.

“It’s not like something is wrong…”
“But?”
“Well… How do I say it…”

Karen stared at the door, keeping silent for several seconds. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, seemingly looking for words.

“Is this about Rina?”
“Yes… It is…”

Was something wrong with Rina? But it didn’t seem like there was anything bothering her. Then again, Karen probably knew her better than I did.

“Yumi, you know… coming back to Aldreigh… It’s not easy… Not for me… and I think especially not for Rina… She remembers even less than me.”
“Nn.”
“I don’t know how she feels about us coming here… She didn’t tell me anything, after all. But if it’s Lily…”

Karen closed her eyes, averting her gaze from the door again.

“If it’s Lily, I’m sure she can help Rina.”
“...”
“Well! Maybe I’m also just worrying for nothing. That… would be the best.”
“Nn. It would be.”

But we both knew it wasn’t likely to turn out to be a pointless worry. Rina had already told Lily about her desire to take revenge. We both knew about it. But what could we even do? Rina didn’t confide in Karen or me. The person she talked with about these topics was only Lily. As such, we could only rely on Lily.

“Ah, but, does Lily know about this?”
“I talked with her about it, so she does.”
“Huh? You did?”

Karen nodded, confirming it.

“We talked about it earlier. Lily was also worried about it, after all.”
“Huh…”

Earlier? Just when did she have the time to do that without me or Rina noticing? Well, not like it really mattered. It wasn’t like I was always staring at Karen anyway and checking what she was up to. Though we were together nearly the entire time.

“Anyway, if Lily knows about it, then I’m sure she’ll do something.”
“Mhm... I hope so.”

Lily was a smart girl, after all.

“With that said, there’s no point in worrying, right? Then let’s see that we get our food out there.”
“You’re right. Sorry, I forgot about it for a moment.”
“Don’t be. I’m always there if you need to talk with me.”

I smiled at Karen as best as I could, hoping it would reassure her a little.

“Come, let’s get the food.”
“Wait, Yumi.”
“Nn?”
“You forgot we wanted to do something else before that.”
“Something… Oh, right. Contacting the captain.”

I had already forgotten about it again. And it had been barely a few minutes… I wasn’t that old yet, right? Maybe I should train my memory…

“Then, let’s try to contact the captain first.”
“Yes.”

I stood up from the bed and turned around to Karen, offering her my hand.

“... Thank you, Yumi.”
“Always a pleasure.”

She took it and stood up with a smile. Yes, this look suited her far more.

“Now then, let’s take a look at the tentacles and that door.”
“Sure.”

We entered the separate room, once again entering the pink-dominated room, filled with the wriggling appendages. We waded through the tentacles, to the wall where I had set up the small door.

“Now, let’s see… Nn, it closed. Not really surprised about that. And it barely has mana left, too…”
“Should I fetch some of the crystals?”
“Nn, if you could.”

Karen left the room and returned after a short while, carrying just about every single mana orb she could fit into her arms… or rather, fit into the hem of her shirt. There were so many she couldn’t carry them in her arms anymore. Glad she didn’t just bring the entire crate. Might have been easier, though…

“Sis, that’s clearly overkill…”
“We still don’t know how much it’ll take at this distance, Yumi.”
“I mean, you’re right but… No, I guess you’re right…”

I didn’t really have an argument against it… There wasn’t one, after all.

“Actually, with all of these, I can’t carry them. So you’ll have told them…”
“That’s okay, I’ll just hold them like this.”

She lifted the hem a little higher as if emphasising that it was fine. All it did, however, was to give me a full view of her stomach. It looked soft.

I want to squish it…

Even though I had seen Karen’s naked body quite a few times already, this view was somehow… captivating.

“Yumi? Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. Then, if you could hold them up like that, it’d be great.”
“Sure.”

Yes, I was going to thoroughly enjoy the view of that stomach.

But I also have to do my work or Sis is going to notice.

Not like there was much to do, actually… For now, I simply held my hand over the mana orbs and the other over the tentacle door, letting the mana flow from the orbs to the door. It guzzled mana like an endless hole. After a few mana orbs’ worths of mana, it finally seemed to have enough.

“Good, that’s one thing dealt with. Surprised how much it actually took, though…”

Technically speaking, I hadn’t exactly refilled just the tentacle door, but the entire tentacle growth just now. Whatever had happened during our trip, it had emptied this room of all its mana reserves.

“Well, next is—”
“Yumi, look!”
“Nn? Huh? Wait, no way!”

The small tentacle door… had opened. On its own. It had connected to its partner just like that, the moment it had enough mana to do so.

“This is… a bit of a surprise, I admit.”
“Yes…”
“But, I guess that means that this level of distance is fine for them.”

On the other side of the tiny door, I could spy the grey stone walls of the fort’s basement. It wasn’t completely dark either. It seemed there was a light source inside.

“Yumi, how are we going to contact Mr Captain through this?”
“... Well, that’s a, err, good question. I’d like an answer myself.”
“...”

The hole was… pretty tiny after all. Barely enough to put my hand through. Maybe we should write a letter… but how would he even find it… Should we call for someone? But who would even hear me…

“Oh, I got it.”
“You have an idea, Yumi?”
“Yes. Just watch me.”

There was someone who would definitely come running if I called for them.

“You dolls, come over here!”
“... Oh, that might work.”
“Nn.”

After all, they always came running the second I called for them. It was a mystery how they could even hear me from just about anywhere in the first place but right now, it was a welcome skill of theirs.

“... They will come, right? Sis?”
“I’m… sure they will…”

Alas, nothing came. Not a soul in sight.

“Did they not hear me after all? Nn… This is bad…”

Right then, I could hear the screeching of a door being opened.

“Ah, there they are.”

Through the small door, I could see dozens of dolls flooding into the room, lining up right in front of the wall and saluting me.

“It really worked.”
“Nn. But this is great. Dolls, please fetch me the captain, yes?”

The dolls saluted again, before turning towards the door… and remaining motionless.

“Err…”

I glanced at Karen, unsure what to do. This had never happened before, after all… However, she could only stare blankly back at me. She was just as clueless.

“What is it, I heard someone called for me?”
“Huh? Captain?”
“Mr Captain!”

A massive frame entered the room on the other side.

“What’s this… Yumi? Karen? Spirits take me, I’m not dreaming, am I?”
“You aren’t, Captain.”
“... I always thought it would be useful but now I really realise just how useful it is… To think I can actually see you… Tell me, where are you right now? You can’t be at Melfin already, right?”
“Right behind the border checkpoint into Aldreigh.”
“I see. That’s where you planned to rest until tomorrow. Makes sense.”

Korwen nodded in understanding, staring curiously through the small door.

“Then, you’re in your wagon right now?”
“Nn, we are.”
“Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe this.”

Yeah, it didn’t. It was too amazing even for me, the one who did this.

”But I assume you didn’t call me out  just for telling me this works, right?”
“Nn, Greyward told us to contact you.”
“Greyward did? Then I guess this is a little more serious, after all.”

So it wasn’t serious if it was just us reporting on our own? Well, whatever…

“Nn. The guards at the border told us that there was a large accident in the city and it might be hard to come by supplies.”
“A large accident? Did he say what happened?”
“Err, something about a magical tool exploding?”

Korwen raised an eyebrow in wonder.

“Mr Guard said that a magical tool laid the… development area, he called it, to waste. Part of some, uhm, project…” added Karen.
“Ahh, now I see… the expansion project, I guess.”

He nodded in understanding, though I wasn’t quite sure what exactly led to this…

“Captain, what is this expansion project?”
“Mh? Well, how to say it… The Aldreighan government wanted to improve the economy so they called this project into life. The details aren’t public but it’s apparently about supporting merchants and craftsmen, building residences and workshops and all that stuff.”
“That sounds nice but why would that lead to an explosion?”

Last I checked, a building wasn’t very combustible on its own. It better not be, or I wouldn’t take a step near it.

“That’s the thing. When we were in Aldreigh the last time, rumours were floating around that the whole project was just a smokescreen for something else. Usually, I wouldn’t trust random rumours like that, but those workshops they built look… weird.”
“Weird?”
“Yeah. Like someone was… Mhm… Right, like someone was trying to model it after a waroxen.”
“...”

Okay, now I was seriously confused… How the heck was I supposed to imagine a building like that? Was it going to stand up, bellow at me and then walk away to eat some grass? If so, that was some amazing architectural feat on its own.

“Believe me, I have a hard time explaining it, too. It’s better you just take a look at it yourself. Well, that’s assuming any of those buildings were left standing after the explosion.”
“Nn…”

Nothing to be done about it. If he had no idea how to explain it, then it really had to look weird.

“Mr Captain, should we even proceed with going to Melfin then?”
“Yes. You already passed the border anyway, right? If it looks like there’s no chance of getting the supplies we need, then you can just come back immediately. Tell that to Greyward.”
“Okay, we’ll do that.”

Pretty much what we expected. Probably because Melfin wasn’t far away, anyway, so it’s not like it would really hurt us to take a look. And I couldn’t deny that I was curious about what had happened in that town.

“Was that all you wanted to report?”
“Nn, I think it was. We got over the border just fine and everything else was uneventful.”
“That’s good.”

It definitely was.

“Then, let’s discuss a little something.”
“Nn?”
“Next time you want to contact me, don’t scare half the camp shitless by calling the dolls, please.”
“... Uhh, what?”

We had scared the camp? How?

“Just imagine, dozens over dozens of your little friends that were helping out, suddenly swarming into the hall and rushing past everyone and everything. If someone told me I was seeing a nightmare, I would have believed them on the spot.”
“...”

The dolls had to move from the camp to the tentacle door and then into the fort’s basement. Through the hall where everyone was working into the hallways up to this room…

Okay, yeah, if they suddenly swarmed into the hall, that probably caused a bit of a surprise…

Somehow, I was a little sorry… but we didn’t exactly have much choice…

“Mr Captain, we didn’t know how else to call for you.”
“Mh? Don’t you have any dolls over there?”
“No, we don’t.”
“Then make one.”
“Well…”

That was doable, sure, but we didn’t think this would become an issue in the first place so it never entered my mind.

“Actually, what about Mr Yuu?”
“”Mr Yuu?””

Karen and I repeated his words together. Who the hell?

“Why am I not surprised. Don’t you remember that the Black Guards are taking care of one of your little dolls and named it Mr Yuu?”
“... I completely forgot about that.”
“Already getting old, Yumi?”
“...”

Being told that by someone who was actually old from my point of view was a little…

“Anyway, just send that one next time. The hole should be large enough for a doll, no?”
“Nn, I think so.”
“Then that’s good enough. Just do that next time and spare me the extra trouble.”
“Sorry.”

Korwen smiled wryly at my apology.

“It’s fine. Just remember it next time. Anyway, the men are going to worry if I take too long. Contact me tomorrow evening when you arrived in Melfin. And tell Greyward to proceed as planned.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Yes, Mr Captain.”
“Good. Then I’ll leave you to it.”

Korwen nodded a final time before making his way out of the room.

“... Well, that’s the report done.”
“I guess so. Should we get our dinner and go back to Lily and Rina?”
“Nn, let’s do that.”

I closed the tentacle door to prevent it from sucking up so much mana again. No need to experiment any further on this, seeing how much mana it had consumed. If I didn’t, I was going to run out of mana orbs within a few days.

“We stashed the food in the back, didn’t we, Sis?”
“We did. It’s the previously empty crate.”
“Nn… This one, right…”

After we left the tentacle room and fetched the bread we had stored in our wagon. I was a little worried that it wasn’t cooled down but according to Mrs Korwen, that wouldn’t be an issue. There wouldn’t have been a point to this bread if it was a problem anyway.

“Okay, these ones were Lily’s and Rina’s, right? Then where are…”
“I got ours, Yumi.”
“Oh, good. Then let’s get outside.”

With the bundles containing the bread in our arms, we left our wagon. A quick glance to the front of our wagon revealed that the waroxen had already been freed from their harnesses, grazing nearby on the grass. A little off to the side sat Lily and Rina, making themselves comfortable.

“Lily! Rina!”
“Karen! You two sure took your sweet time, didn’t you?”
“Big Sis, Lil’ Sis, welcome back!”

The two greeted us with smiles. I looked over to Rina, a little worried considering my earlier talk with Karen, but there was no sign of anything wrong in her face. If anything, she seemed as happy as usual.

Maybe we were just overthinking things…  or she simply changed her mind… Who knows? But if not, she’s one hell of an actress.

Alas, that felt equally unlikely to me. With that in mind, I decided to trust in Rina and Lily.

“Here you two, these are your portions.”
“Oh, thanks, Yumi.”
“Yay! Thank you, Lil’ Sis!”
“Yes, yes.”

After having handed off my load, I sat down on the grass next to them. Karen sat down opposite me and handed me my share as well.

“There you go, Yumi.”
“Nn, thanks.”

Now, this was what I had been looking forward to for quite a while. It was time for dinner. My stomach was already screaming at me. I removed the cloth we had wrapped the bread in, revealing the reddish-looking bread.

“Mm, this is so much better than the rations, after all!”
“Agreed.”
“The rations taste weird, after all.”
“Rina, you can say that they taste bad. Don’t worry about us.”
“Okay. Then… Haaa… The rations are horrible!”
“I didn’t mean for you to shout it?!”

What the hell were these girls doing…

“Yumi, not going to eat?”
“Nn, no, I will.”

I bit into the bread, glad I could finally fill my stomach.

It’s not really great but it still tastes pretty decent. Incomparable to the rations, yeah… Except for the dried fruits, maybe. Those are delicious.

Delicious and equally rare. We only ever got a few of them. Considering we had filled our bread with dried fruits, we actually got more than usual of them, too. Was that fine?

“By the way, Lily.”
“Yes, Karen?”
“The Black Guards were taking care of one of Yumi’s dolls, weren’t they?”
“You mean Mr Yuu?”
“Yes, that one. Did it come with us?”

Lily stopped eating, turning around to look towards the other mercenaries scurrying around between the wagons.

“Mm, I saw it earlier so it should be around somewhere… Mmm… Can’t find it.”
“No, there’s no need to look for it. I just wanted to know if it’s here.”
“That it is. Well, if you need it, it’s often with Papa or with Wendl. Sometimes you see it around Wormaz or some others, too, though.”
“It sure got… quite the range of activity,” I commented.

It was with the Black Guard’s former captain, their magician, their craftsmen… Wasn’t it basically just about everywhere then?

“They took a real liking to it, after all.”
“And they did give it a name, too.”

But if it was here, that would mean we could ask it to help us tomorrow with giving our report to Korwen. Should make things easier. And less stressful for Korwen.

“But why are you asking about Mr Yuu suddenly?”
“Well, we might need its help tomorrow. The captain asked us to.”
“Mm? The captain? Wait, you really managed to contact him?”
“We did.”
“Wow… that’s amazing.”

Lily’s eyes widened from the surprise as she stared at me and Karen alternatively.

“You’re actually useful, Yumi.”
“Hey, Lily, you thought I wasn’t useful?”
“Well, I mean… I guess your squishyness is great?”
“Ah, that’s true! Lil’ Sis is really nice to hug!”

Glad you liked it. I enjoyed being hugged, too.

Come here, Rina, hug me more!

I spread my arms towards her and she promptly dived in, giggling all the while as she hugged me full force.

“Squishy Lil’ Sis!”
“Ah, Yumi, no cheating!”
“I’m not cheating. I’m just making myself useful according to Lily.”
“Wait, are you blaming me for this now?!”
“... What am I even supposed to say to that? Mm… I see, it’s Lily’s fault. Lily, prepare yourself.”
“Huh?! Wait, what? Me? Karen? That’s not funny! Woah, stop! Don’t!”

Lily jumped up and ran away, Karen right on her trail, chasing her. They circled around the wagon, trying to use it as a shield and trying to outsmart each other. Not with much success from either side.

“Hehehe, look, Lil’ Sis! They’re running after each other!”
“Nn, I’m looking.”

Still hugging me, Rina was watching the two older girls chase after each other. She had a really big smile on her face, clearly enjoying herself to the fullest right now.

I don’t know if we were just worrying over nothing or not… but at the very least, I’m sure she’s happy right now.

There was no mistaking a happy smile like this one.

“Go, Lily! Go!”
“Sis, don’t give up!”

We cheered for the two, only motivating each of them even more.

“Lily, stay still! You need to be punished for making Yumi cheat on me!”
“Why am I being punished? That’s not my fault!”
“That’s what all of them say! Repent and let me… tickle you!”
“No way! I don’t want to! And why the hell is the punishment tickling?”

Still running back and forth around the wagon, they kept their banter up. Karen was grinning, enjoying herself just as much as Rina was. As for Lily…

“Keep still, Lily, or I can’t tickle you!”
“I don’t want to be tickled so of course, I am running? Woah, careful there!”
“Ah, I missed…”

Karen jumped towards Lily, only to be evaded by her jumping upwards, right on top of the wagon. What a time to demonstrate her acrobatic skills…

“Hehehe!”
“Hey, Rina, are you enjoying yourself?”
“Mhm! I am!”
“... That’s the most important part.”

She replied with such an honest smile that I couldn’t help but return it with a smile of my own.

“Go, Lily! Go, Big Sis!”
“Wait, Rina? Why are you cheering her on, too?” asked Lily, taken by surprise.
“Huh? Because it’s Big Sis!”
“Hehe, did you hear that, Lily? Rina is cheering for me. There’s no way I can let you escape now, can I?”
“Woah, stop there Karen! No, don’t! Wah!”

Karen jumped up the wagon, far less elegant than Lily but nonetheless successful.

“Prepare yourself!”
“Stop, Karen! Waah! Help me! Yumi, stop her! Please!”
“Good luck, Lily.”

Having lost her last sanctuary on top of the wagon, Lily had no way to escape Karen anymore… and was subsequently captured.

“Now, let’s begin, Lily.”
“Please don’t, have mercy, Karen! Eh? Ah! Ahhah?! Sto— Haha! Do— Not the— Ahahahaha!”

Today I learnt… Lily was surprisingly ticklish.

Your sacrifice shan’t be forgotten, Lily. It will be remembered for generations to come.