Chapter 33. Reinforcements
After successfully rescuing the girl, we soon returned to the tavern and were now sitting at the table in the corner that this pair seemed to have grown so fond of.
"You..." the noblewoman began, her face carrying a very complicated expression, but she immediately fell silent.
"What is it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her behavior.
"Allow me to introduce myself; you may call me Cecilia Eaglemoor."
"And I, as you already know, am Lona Foldin," I decided to introduce myself as well, since things had come to this.
Nodding at my greeting, she gestured toward the burly man next to her. "This is my assistant, Greyrat."
"Honestly, I'm impressed," the aforementioned decided to put in.
"Listen! I didn't expect to be rescued by some commoner," Cecilia said rather bluntly.
"Mind your manners, my Lady," Greyrat rebuked her sternly.
"Oh, leave me alone! Stop lecturing!" the girl snapped back, clearly still shaken by her recent abduction.
"...All right, I've seen a lot in my travels. Everything: from robberies to rapes and murders. I've been taught all my life: 'It is the duty of the nobility to protect the people,'" she said the last part with particular pride, then suddenly seemed to deflate. "Uff... To be saved by someone I swore I would protect... Do you understand what that feels like?"
"I'm afraid comparing me to other commoners would be inaccurate," I smirked involuntarily, especially since, unlike her, I was the one responsible for ending the time loop—simply because there's no one else to do it.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Your magic isn't something accessible to commoners... Listen, I owe you my life, so if you ever need help, just say the word, and I'll help however I can. For now, at least take this," she offered me a gold coin.
"Thank you," I replied, a calm smile on my face as I accepted the money. It was funny how little value gold coins now held for me after our raids on slavers, but of course, I wouldn't refuse.
"Well, my friend is waiting, and I need to prepare for the journey, so I'll leave you for now. Take care—and be careful with Lord Noer. If he finds out you're interfering with his slave-trading plans, he may send assassins after you."
"Wait," Cecilia suddenly spoke up.
"What is it?" I looked at her.
"Are you saying you know who's behind everything?" The woman's voice was filled with astonishment.
"Of course. The city's mayor constantly incites the refugees to all sorts of mischief, like attacks on the priestesses of the Holy Church who come with humanitarian aid. Thanks to this, he manages to make people stop seeing the refugees as human, so it's easy to justify slavery—which brings him a lot of profit, especially from trading with the fishfolk."
Cecilia's eyes were wide in shock. "Would you, by any chance, want to work with us?"
"I don't mind, but first, I have three urgent personal matters to attend to. I have a promise to a friend—to investigate the ruins of the legendary false god-slayer, Berserker. Then I need to visit the Island of the Fishfolk. Finally, I have to start dealing with the Black Mist, because otherwise all your efforts will be in vain—everyone will die anyway."
"You think the Black Mist will reach Noer?" the girl asked, biting her lip nervously. She had clearly heard how an entire region fell in a single day, and even now, soldiers at the border were fighting daily skirmishes with flesh demons.
"I don't think—I know," I declared with resolve.
"In that case, we're coming with you," the noblewoman stated.
"Are you sure? This will be a very dangerous journey, and I'll have to go alone to the Fishfolk Island anyway, since that will be my personal business."
"If you really know how to stop the Black Mist, then I am absolutely sure of my decision."
"Well then, welcome to the team," I smiled. Even though I was planning to send Indiana home by ship, knowing I'd still have two reliable allies with me was certainly encouraging. No matter how strong I became, with flesh demons you always had to stay alert, and having someone to watch your back at night could be invaluable.
"I hope our cooperation will bear fruit," Cecilia extended her hand for a handshake, and I accepted it without hesitation.
"I hope so too," I replied with an even wider smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go look for my partner so you can meet him. Trust me, he's a reliable old man—he's been through two world wars on the Great Continent."
"All right," the young woman nodded, obvious interest in her eyes. She knew about the Great Continent—as did everyone here—compared to it, our island was like a grain of sand. My description had clearly intrigued her.
Naturally, I went to Merimi first. If anyone could have seen where he went, it would be her, and frankly, I didn't believe he'd just stayed at the tavern to rest.
"You could look for him yourself, instead of distracting me from my work," Big Mama grumbled as soon as I addressed her. But then again, this was one of those times when she'd complain and then answer anyway: "He went to the marketplace to buy gear for the trip."
"So impatient," I sighed and, knowing her love of money, handed her a copper as a reward for the info. "Thanks for the tip."
"Oh, don't mention it. Drop by any time," the woman suddenly brightened.
"I certainly will," I smirked and headed back to my new party members.
"Is something wrong?" Cecilia asked at once, seeing I'd returned alone so quickly.
"Well, Indiana has apparently already gone to the market to buy supplies and gear for our journey. It'd be best if we catch up to him since he's only counting on two people, not four. Plus, we can look for materials so I can enchant your gear as well."
"Enchant? I don't have nearly enough mana to use artifacts," Cecilia frowned, and Greyrat's look grew suspicious.
"There are all sorts of enchantments; you won't need any mana for these. Don't worry. And mainly, I'll be working on my own equipment to cast the necessary spells faster."
"I've never heard of artifacts that don't require mana from their user."
"Heh, that's because you haven't met mages like me," I said smugly, deciding that everything I'd gained from memories could be considered part of my own life—it was simply easier that way, and it gave me reason to be proud of my magical achievements.
Cecilia exchanged a look with Greyrat, who only shrugged in response.
Sighing, she looked back at me. "All right, and how much will this cost?"
"Don't worry about the price for now. I'll just do a couple of simple enchantments: make your blade sharper and Greyrat's shield lighter for him, though just as heavy for anyone else. Consider it a welcome bonus. Luckily, I've got more than enough money for now."
"...Fine."
And so, accompanied by the noblewoman and her butler, I set off for the market—where I ended up finding the Archaeologist, who was quite surprised to see we'd picked up new allies.