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Chapter 369: A Suspicious Person Right Away

Our destination this time was the largest city of the Stolla domain, Stollar.

It was at a five days distance to the north by highway, a palace beyond the mountains where Den resided.

“Still, you sure have grown, Nicole. And into total beauty too.”

“R-Really?”

“Michelle has grown lovely too, of course. I almost failed to recognize you.”

“Ehehe.”

Ellen, one of the Adventurers, was giving high praises towards our growth. I did meet them under disguise before, but this was technically our first reunion in my current form.

“As for Finia… You look the same. Rather, the fact that you look the same is something to envy.”

Finia, being an elf, had shown no growth whatsoever during these few years. From the perspective of a human like Ellen, it was something worth envying.

“Right, the two of you have grown quite taller. I was surprised.”

“That’s not something you say when praising girls, you know?”

“But children would usually find that to be a praise…”

“There is no girl who would be happy being called a child.”

“Really?”

Listening to their exchange reminded me of how Cortina and I were in my previous life.

I see, I was oblivious to the fact before, but seeing it from the side, I can see how we would appear to be close. I can see why Maxwell would get worked up if he was shown this scene over and over.

“Hey, hey? Thinking about it, aren’t those two quite into each other?”

“Right, it’s too obvious…”

“Yeah. That’s so nice, I can’t help but admire that.”

“Michelle, you were quite popular too, you know?”

Finia pointed it out to Michelle who was agonizing with a hand to her cheek. These two were quite opposite in both personalities and figures, but they somehow got along very well. They were like sisters even.

“Huh, really? I don’t think that was the case.”

“Well, yeah, you were quite popular in every place.”

“Mgh, you’re such a bully Nicole!”

There were many organizations that sought Michelle. From the armies to nobles. Even Raum’s Adventurers had an eye on her.

My sarcastic comment got an immediate reaction out of her.

It was because of her reactions that she was loved by everyone. Before I knew it, Ellen was looking ecstatically at our way.

“Ahh, beautiful sisters is a really nice sight.”

“Michelle and I aren’t sisters, though?”

“I know that, but it’s so fun to watch girls being merry.”

“We’re not a show, you know…”

“I think your beauty is worth the appreciation, Nicole.”

“I’m not really happy about that.”

I liked looking more than being looked at. It was extremely fun to observe Finia and Michelle. I was observing Michelle as she was being soothed by Finia even now, and they appeared so much like sisters it soothed my heart.

Thinking about it, Finia accompanied Maria during her church-related work too, so she seemed to have known Michelle from the times they took care of kids. They had quite a long-standing relationship. It was natural for them to be close.

“Hm, what’s wrong, Nicole?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Really?”

The way she tilted her head was also unbiasedly cute. Given her appearance and her skill with the bow, everyone would want to have her on their side even if they weren’t Lichtenberg.

Because of that, it was my duty to protect her. She was my lifesaver, battle comrade… and my friend.

I turned my gaze forward to dodge her questioning. It would take us five days to reach Stolla. Though it was a highway, it was still running through the forest and there weren’t many people around. It was an ideal place for thieves to attack us.

Naturally, Adventurers dealt with such ruffians as much as they could, but no matter how many you get rid of they would still pop up.

Merchants like Temuru that traveled long distances were especially appetizing prey for them.

That’s why he was employing Fourth-rank Adventurers like Leon.

That said, it wasn’t like they were always so skilled and gifted as Adventurers. Back during our previous trip, they were quite clumsy due to youth, so when they were even younger newbies, they must have had their share of troubles.

In the five years since our parting, they had gone from third to fourth rank, so they were quite literally making their way up.

As such, they did not forget to be vigilant.

“Hmm?”

“Ah, Nicole, did you notice too?”

“Yeah, there’s someone sitting there.”

“Yeah. Would be good if it’s just some traveler resting.”

I understood what she wanted to say. Pretending to be resting travelers, getting close to the travelers and attacking them once their guard was down. It was a common bandit strategy.

“Leon.”

“Yeah, I know. Sir Temuru, please get inside. Ellen, you monitor the rear. Nicole and Michelle, you guard sir Temuru inside.”

“Understood.”

“Cloud, you come with me. And miss Finia, you support Ellen.”

Leon quickly issued instructions. They didn’t seem to be behaving oddly, but he still deployed a solid formation.

Michelle and I entered the canopied carriage and stood next to Temuru. Leon took on the coachman’s role, with Cloud walking by his side.

He was not riding because that way he would not be able to react to battle situations immediately.

Behind the carriage were Ellen and Finia, monitoring the rear. It was a common strategy to attract attention from the front while attacking from the rear.

Before long, the carriage reached that person.

Sitting there was an ordinary traveler at a glance. They wore a little battered mantle and thick beard, giving off an air of uncleanness.

“Hey, nice weather, huh.”

The man who greeted us was full of pretense. Leon seemed to have felt it too and didn’t erase his vigilance.

“Yeah, it is. Are you resting?”

“Yeah. The weather was so good it made me a bit dizzy. It sounds a bit silly.”

“Do you require help? We could offer you water at least.”

“Yeah, if you will… One sip would be enough. I collapsed just before reaching the city.”

It has been a few hours since we left Raum. It was certainly tough to run out of water given the distance left.

Receiving Leon’s signal, Cloud went to get the water sack. The man accepted the water and took one gulp.

“Ah, you saved me there. I can manage to get to Raum with this.”

“Glad to hear it. But be careful. Running out of water in the middle of a trip can be life-threatening.”

“Yeah, true, it was a big blunder. I’ll be careful from now on.”

He waved with a bright expression and sat down once again.

Drinking water wouldn’t get someone so lively all of a sudden, so this was not strange.

Cloud returned to the carriage’s side and it started to slowly move.

The man also waved a few times at us, and left the place behind with no further events.