"Thank you, Helga!" After a bit of begging and convincing, Seraphina hugged her witchy friend in front of her tent after Helga finally agreed to help deliver her letter while she ignored the self-proclaimed fortune teller's muffled protests as Seraphina's large breasts tried to crush the witch's smaller pair.
"I'll pay you back triple! I promise!" Seraphina cried out with a happy smile as she dashed out of the alleyway while waving her hand goodbye, leaving Helga alone with a letter in her hand and a bruised ego because of the oppression she just received from her friend's larger breasts.
"Stupid cow…" Helga sighed, looking at the letter in her palm. The heart-shaped wax seal on the letter told her all she needed to know about what this letter would be about.
"Triple pay? That's just barely twelve silver coins... it barely covers my travel expenses," she muttered with a twitch on her lips as she tucked the letter away in the pouch on her belt. "I'll definitely extort more coins from you…!"
Helga scanned her surroundings with a quick look before she began putting all of her stuff outside the tent back inside, and then her fingers traced a complex pattern in the air like she was writing something in front of the tent before a small blue magic circle suddenly materialized on the tip of her two fingers as she tapped the magic circle on the tent before it faded inside the fabric of the tent.
A second later the tent shuddered and rippled like liquid before the mismatched fabrics folded inward in the middle and the tent shrunk down into itself, collapsing into a trunk-sized square-shaped box.
Within seconds, the entire structure compacted and transformed into a brown travel suitcase adorned with embroidered constellations.
She hummed and then gestured her hand to her side before her broom, a polished oak capped with silver fittings, flew into her hand from the wall of the antique store next door.
"Alrighty…" Helga then went and grabbed her suitcase before she straddled the broom, muttered a spell under her breath, and then the broom magically kicked off from the ground.
The lift wasn't graceful, as Helga almost slipped off the jerky broom as she held tight onto the handle before she managed to stabilize her riding posture. Wind whipped her bangs aside as she ascended above the city's many rooftops.
Below her, lanterns flickered like grounded stars as she accelerated westward away from the city, the wind blowing on her face for a moment before she activated the broom magic enchantments to shield her from the wind and cold.
Her destination is set as she heads towards the Croma Province. Helga is sitting sideways on her magic broom as she carries her luggage on her thighs while she watches the Karo's landscape of patchwork land filled with farmsteads and forested hills down below passing by her feet.
"My flying broom research really pays off…" Helga said with a proud smile as she enjoys the fruit of her labor after she succeeds in creating a new mode of transportation.
"I'll be very rich when I figure out how to mass-produce my flying broom..." This is her only problem, as she really has no clue how to do serious business…
÷×÷×÷
In the early morning, on the muddy path cutting through the marshland of Croma Province, the dark red carriage jolted as its wheels splashed a small pool of water on the uneven ground of the road as the group of black knights escorted the moving carriage in the middle of their group while they rode on top of their white horses at a moderate speed in a single long column.
The group's journey through the marshland so far was accompanied by the swamp's critters' very noisy chorus as the frogs croaked and insects sang, while somewhere in the distance, a marsh hawk's cry could also be heard from time to time along with some swamp monsters that were swimming inside the muddy water. The air of the marshland hung thick with mud and humidity as the magic runes engraved on the carriage constantly filtered out the swampy stench.
Inside the carriage, Zarba could be seen glancing outside the curtain slit with his brown eyes as he reclined on the seat next to the window, watching the mist outside start to thin as the sunlight shone down in multiple rays through the gray clouds with a thoughtful expression on his face. The incident from last night is still fresh in his mind.
Xin, on the other hand, could be seen kneeling in the corner inside the carriage before she stood up with a huff, having just finished engraving extra magic runes on the carriage to get rid of those accursed flies that have been following them since they entered the swamp, as the incessant buzzing near the carriage finally drove her to action to do something about them.
"Hehe, how's that?" She smirks with satisfaction as those annoying flies get zapped out of existence with mini magic sparks cracking around the carriage, and it also serves to drive most of the other flies away, effectively getting rid of the annoying buzzing near them.
Xin stretched languidly before she returned to the carriage seat next to Zarba and noticed his thoughtful expression. She could guess what was troubling him since he had already told her everything that happened last night.
"My husband? Still thinking about that silly attempt at scrying last night?" She asked as she poked at his cheek curiously.
"That... and other things." Zarba replied, closing the curtain shut and plunging the carriage interior back into soft glowstone light. He rubbed the magic ring on his left middle finger absently before he turned to face Xin's curious amber eyes.
"Someone's finally trying to find us with magic. My ring blocked it, but that doesn't mean that they can't rely on other indirect methods of tracking us." He said with a serious face because a persistent tracker could still guess their location with simple logic and deduction while following their physical trail through rumors and sightings from the travelers that their group has met on the roads.
"Well, we could lay low for a while if you want." Xin suggested, her hand falling down to Zarba's thigh before she caressed it with her hand as she leaned her head onto his shoulder.
"We could find an inn in town somewhere and spend a couple of days there to throw off our possible trackers." She whispered as her hand moved up his thigh, and then she slipped her hand inside his white shirt to feel the warmth of his bare skin and the shape of his abs. "Besides, I heard that this land breeds more than swampy things, as local legends whisper of green crystal mushrooms that can greatly increase vitality. Perhaps we can spend time searching for them? I'm sure that no one would expect us to stop and look around for magic mushrooms while we're on the run."
"It might work if we don't have a set destination..." Zarba shook his head with a wry smile. The more they spend waiting, the more obstacles there will be for them, so it's better not to let their enemies prepare and go straight to the border as fast as possible.
"We need to cross to Zenobia before they swarm the roads with mercenaries and assassins." If not, he can picture an ambush at every turn just like in the game, and trackers wouldn't need magic to follow a luxurious carriage with an entourage of knights either. If the exact description of his travel group becomes well known, then they can say goodbye to their relatively peaceful journey.
"Heh, it's not like they can stop us with me and your summons around." Xin shrugged her shoulders, her black dress strap slipping slightly off her shoulder as she smoothly slipped her hand under his pants, causing him to become stiff from her mischievous intrusion.
"We'll crush any riffraff assassins like insects if they actually find us. Besides," she leaned her body closer, her full lavender lips smiling sultrily and her hand moving around under his pants naughtily, making Zarba's body visibly tense, "I heard Croma also has these delicious swamp fruits that we could try while we're visiting the town…"
"Alright, alright, we can stay in the town for a day or two..." Zarba sighed as he caved in to her "persuasion" while he wrapped his arm around Xin's petite but curvy body and let her do as she pleased with his body. 'You just want to try some exotic fruits, huh…'
"Hehehe, I know you would see it my way, my husband." Xin giggles with her melodic voice before she looks up at Zarba with puckered lips, obviously begging for a kiss while she works her magic with her hand as the helpless-looking Zarba lowers his face to her, and then their lips meet in a deep and intimate smooch…
The two of them then spend time playing inside the carriage with each other through the journey without any interruption since no stupid creatures or reckless bandits want to mess with a platoon of knights until the carriage and its escorts finally arrive at the first town in Croma Province named Riverylove.
÷×÷×÷
"FIND THE NOBLES!! HANG THEM ALL!! KILL THE TYRANT!!"
There was a time when Zarba thought that maybe nothing was going to happen since this is real life and not some game, novel, or movie where the protagonist will encounter trouble just because he set foot in a new place.
There's also a time when he naively thought that maybe his daddy was not actually mad and just pretending to be crazy, but alas, when Zarking suddenly yeeted a very young servant through the window from the tenth floor for no reason other than his blonde hair triggering the mad emperor, Zarba couldn't help but become aware that he can't expect his new life to be peaceful or relaxing any time soon.
"FREEEEEEEEEEEEDOM—!! BROTHERS AND SISTERS RISE UP!! FIGHT!! FIGHT!!FIIIIIIIIGHT—!!"
And this time yet again the world is very eager to remind him why he shouldn't let his guard down...
"What the hell…??" Zarba stuck his head out of the inn window on the second floor as he muttered in disbelief while looking at the north side of the town that currently on fire.
"Why is it so noisy outside, my husband?" Xin walked to the window with a kebab of a yellow mango-like fruit in her hand before she also stuck her head outside as well.
"Oh my, the town is on fire..." Xin muttered with a surprised expression before they both went back inside their rented room while looking at each other's eyes.
"..." Zarba's gaze is quite intense while he looks at Xin's amber eyes, which makes the half-elf quite nervous as she takes a bite of her fruit kebab while averting her gaze. She understands that she might have put them in a troublesome situation…
÷×÷×÷
[ System Alert! ]
—Quest triggered!
—Quest: The double rebellions of Riverylove!
—Objective: Escape from Riverylove and stay at least 10 kilometers away from the town for an hour.
—Reward: [Random Civilian Template]
÷×÷×÷
"Are you for real…?" Zarba is mumbling with annoyance in his voice as he walks towards the door, while Xin follows him closely from behind as she makes a guilty expression while she continues to eat her fruit kebab.
They can't even stay in the town for a day peacefully before the people and slaves suddenly start their rebellion at the same time, from what the SSS has told Zarba.
'And the reward is also a fucking civilian template?! What the hell, SSS…? Can the civilian even fight?!' Zarba complains in his mind, as the quest reward this time is probably the worst.
Zarba opened the door of the room he rented and summoned four ranger knights in the corridor while commanding them to guard him and Xin.
"Let's leave this place." Zarba turned towards his slave-wife and opened his arm for her to come to his side.
"I'm sorry…" Xin mumbles as she gets close to Zarba and hugs him while Zarba places his arm around her shoulders.
"You can apologize later after we get out of the town safely," Zarba says as he leaves the inn together with Xin and the four summoned units with quick steps.