Navigating the rest of the Aihiya Swamp proved surprisingly manageable. Akigami's peerless skill, combined with Lacerta's newly discovered ability, turned what might've been a more annoying task into something almost casual.
Witchbeasts still lurked in the gloom, their encounters desperate, wild scrambles toward the pair. The two had started relying on teamwork and efficiency in which Akigami would create an opening and Lacerta would deliver the final, crushing blow.
He was beginning to wonder if there was anything she couldn't do. A sense of urgency, born from Haldran's warnings about the swamp's corrosive influence, spurred them on as fast as possible.
Meaning that ever minute that they'd saved, was less time in the 'witch's miasma', which was definitely pleasing. After all, the effects of which, described by Haldran, didn't seem too... fun to be on the receiving end of.
The transition from the swamp to plains wasn't anything gradual. One moment, they were trudging through the suffocating gloom of the miasma, surrounded by lifless trees and dark, wet grass. The next, they stepped into clean air and brilliant sunlight. The oppressive weight on their chests lifted, replaced by the scent of fresh soil and nature. Before them stretched a vast, flourishing plain, its green grasses swaying in a gentle breeze.
Akigami: ["Your stamina is… rather impressive. Especially for someone so small."]
Lacerta slid the longsword into the sheath on his back before he swiftly turned to Akigami, catching her appraising gaze.
It was a fair observation. Most children couldn't match the endurance of a grown warrior, which made him an outlier. But then, when had he ever been like 'most children'?
Was his body simply built for combat?
Even after that long trek he's never known true physical exhaustion—the heaving lungs, the burning muscles he'd seen in his opponents.
Even his collapse into unconsciousness against Vola Dardain had felt… different.
Not a failure of his body, but a depletion of something deeper, something centered in his core. Mana, he realized with sudden clarity. Therefore, this power didn't drain his stamina; it drew from something else entirely.
Lacerta: ["Being smaller is an advantage if anything."]
Lacerta countered with a huff, turning to walk onward into the plains.
Lacerta: ["A bigger target would get decapitated by the same attack that would miss me.."]
A small smirk touched Akigami's lips as she fell into step beside him.
Akigami: ["That sounds suspiciously like an excuse. Don't worry. You'll know what it's like to be tall one day."]
Lacerta: ["…I'm aware. And you're not even that much taller than me."]
Akigami let out a soft laugh and retrieved the map Haldran had given them, unfolding it as they walked.
Akigami: ["First, we need to find a road. Haldran-sama said there'd 'likely be someone waiting for us.'"]
Lacerta frowned. How could information possibly travel that fast? It hadn't even been a full day since their journey began.
Lacerta: ["Well, alright then."]
The instructions had been illogical, but he didn't question them. He knew Haldran wasn't a man who spoke without reason, and that faith was enough.
As it turned out, his trust was well-placed.
Mere minutes after turning onto the first dirt road they found, they came upon an elegant carriage, clearly belonging to nobility. Lacerta was prepared to walk past it, dismissing it as a coincidence, until he noticed Akigami's sudden stillness.
From the carriage, a young woman—no, a girl, perhaps only a few years his senior—turned to face them. She was dressed in a maid's uniform and had pale, flowing golden hair and striking emerald eyes. As she offered them a graceful bow, a smile touched her lips, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth that glinted in the moonlight.
???: ["Greetings. I am glad to see you both arrived safely. I have heard that it's quite the dangerous trek you had taken."]
Lacerta remained silent, but Akigami let out a subtle exhale of relief.
Akigami: ["As expected... Haldran-sama would never let us down."]
While that was all well and good, a question burned in Lacerta's mind, one that he wanted an answer to with an unusual amount of desperation.
Lacerta: ["How did you know exactly where we would appear?"]
The maid's smile only widened, now tinged with an odd amount of pride.
???: [ "Roswaal-sama's intellect works in ways I cannot yet comprehend. I can assure you, he means you no harm and welcomes you with open arms."]
He couldn't disprove that, but a sense of unease still did linger, perhaps he was just being over-cautious? It didn't seem all that surprising considering the things that he's been through these past few days.
Lacerta: ["And... who are you?"]
The girl blinked, her expression blank for a moment before realization dawned. She let out a soft huff.
???: ["Ah, I suppose I still have much to learn before I'm a proper maid. I imagine little Garf would laugh at me for that..."]
Ignoring Lacerta's blank stare, she placed a hand on her chest and declared proudly.
Frederica: ["I am Frederica Baumann, a new maid in service to Roswaal-sama. As you can see, I still need some work..."]
Akigami: ["I believe you'll do just fine, Frederica-san."]
Akigami said with a reassuring nod.
Is this some sort of magical chemistry between maids or something?
Frederica: ["Alright then."]
Her focus returned, sharp and immediate. "I don't wish to keep Roswaal-sama waiting," Frederica said, her tone all business. "And I imagine you wish to see him as soon as possible, Lacerta-sama."
With an efficient gesture, she pulled the carriage door open and stepped aside, holding it for them. Akigami entered first without a word. Lacerta followed but paused in the doorway, turning back to the golden-haired girl.
Lacerta: ["I don't really like the honorifics. Just Lacerta is fine."]
Frederica's expression softened with a brief, polite smile, though she shook her head.
Frederica: ["Unfortunately, I cannot refer to an honored guest of my master in such a casual manner."]
Lacerta let out a light sigh and climbed inside, sinking into the plush sofa opposite Akigami as the door clicked shut.
The carriage lurched into motion. Hours soon bled into one another, marked only by the shifting angle of the sun through the window. The gentle, rhythmic swaying of the cabin and the monotonous blur of green forests and rolling fields were a potent lullaby. Despite his best efforts to remain alert, Lacerta's head grew heavy, and the world dissolved into a comfortable darkness.
A sudden jolt—a wheel hitting a stone, perhaps—threw him from sleep.
Lacerta: ["Hn——wha...?"]
He blinked, disoriented, and wiped a line of drool from the corner of his mouth. Across from him, Akigami sat as silent and watchful as ever.
To fall asleep so easily.... do I already trust her that much?
Shaking off the drowsiness, he leaned forward and peered through the open window of the cabin, past Frederica's silhouette at the reins. The strange, reptilian beasts pulling them were unlike anything he'd seen before.
Lacerta: ["What do you call those things?"]
Frederica glanced back, her eyes following his gaze.
Frederica: ["Ah, these two. I suppose the Vollachian Empire doesn't have them? Here in Lugunica, they go by the name of 'Earth Dragons' or 'Ground Dragons.' They're quite common for pulling carriages, as you can see."]
Lacerta leaned back against the cushions.
Earth Dragons.
An ironic pang of annoyance struck him. Here he was, learning the name for the beasts of burden in a foreign kingdom, while he still couldn't name the creatures that did the same job back home. Or at least, in Guaral.
Too comfortable in his seat to bother sitting up, Lacerta simply craned his neck and called out to the driver.
Lacerta: ["Are we nearly there yet?"]
Frederica's voice carried back to him, clear over the rumble of the dragon carriage.
Frederica: ["Not quite. The ground dragons need to recover their stamina. We'll be taking a short break."]
A break. Lacerta knew what that meant: stopping in a town of sorts.
Lacerta: ["Is that wise? I mean, you might be friendly enough, but I can't imagine everyone else will be so welcoming to a couple of Vollachians."]
A thoughtful hum was her only immediate reply. Then, she spoke.
Frederica: ["Many would be outraged, yes. Some might even want you dead. But... that's only if they figure out who you are, isn't it?"]
He couldn't argue with that logic. With a sigh, he resigned himself to it.
Lacerta: ["Fine then... where are we stopping, exactly?"]
Frederica: ["The Royal Capital, of course."]