26

26

In the following six months, with Roxy…

Dawn broke over the Kingdom of Shirone as Roxy made her way back into the city. Following the directions of Rudy's summoned spirit, Sprite, she made her way to a modest inn in the business district, not too far from the Adventures' Guild.

Upon entering, she found Lilia and her daughter Aisha waiting for her, having just started eating breakfast. Lilia stood from her seat at one of the tables, the taller woman hurrying across the floor and pulling Roxy into a hug. The little mage had to suppress a reflexive twinge of jealousy as her face was pressed into the other woman's much larger bosom.

"Thank you for coming for us. I don't know what we would have done if master Rudeus wasn't looking after us."

Roxy awkwardly returned the hug, patting the typically taciturn maid on the back. "Think nothing of it. All of you took me into your home. You're like family to me."

Lilia pulled away, smiling as she wiped at her eyes, relief evident on her face. "Of course, Miss Roxy—"

"Just Roxy," the bluenette corrected gently as Aisha came over, having finished her breakfast. "You must be Aisha. Rudy speaks of you and your sister often. …Mostly about how much he misses you and wishes he could see you more often."

Aisha curtsied, eyeing the bluenette with curious, calculating eyes. Eyes that didn't belong on a four year old (who wasn't Rudeus). "Big brother sent you?"

"He did. I'm to take you to him."

Aisha hummed quietly to herself. "So, when are you getting married?"

Roxy blushed slightly, but calmly replied, "In a few years. When he's a little older."

"But what about Sylphiette and Eris? They want to marry him too, don't they?"

Roxy resisted the urge to sigh and sent Lilia an exasperated look, practically begging for help. "This isn't really the time or the place for this conversation, is it?"

"Miss Roxy is right," Lilia said, patting Aisha's head and getting the annoyed look of all children who knew they were being patronized. "Have you eaten?"

Roxy nodded. "Rudy taught me how to summon his ready meals. I had one on the march. I have some money, so we'll purchase a couple of horses and a wagon, along with supplies before we set out. The journey will be long and dangerous, so prepare well."

"Of course. Shall we go?"

Roxy nodded, and the three of them set out from the inn to the market. First stop was too secure a covered wagon and two horses, along with the kit and some feed for the animals.

Over the course of the morning, they collected supplies that Roxy couldn't easily replace with magic. A cast iron pot, skillet, and kettle, utensils, plates, and cups, bedrolls, blankets, a tarpaulin, and rope, and a lantern and oil for ease of use for Lilia versus Roxy having to use magic. Some jerked meat, bread, a couple of wheels of cheese, and fresh vegetables so Roxy wouldn't have to dip into Rudy's cache of MREs too often. And a few other odds and ends to make the trip more comfortable, including a couple of new books for them to read on the way.

They stopped by a tailor and got new traveling clothes for Aisha and Lilia, along with heavier winter clothes and some cloaks for rainy days. Lilia was hesitant to part with her maid outfit, but eventually agreed that the traveler's garb would be more comfortable and practical for a long journey. So she carefully folded and packed away her maid uniform after changing clothes.

Aisha, on the other hand, couldn't wait to be out of her own maid uniform and absolutely loved the light brown pantaloons and forest green tunic Roxy bought for her. She tossed her uniform carelessly away and Lilia sighed as she gathered it up. As a simple matter of practicality for storage space, and the fact that she was outgrowing it anyway, Lilia sold Aisha's old clothes to the tailor to reimburse Roxy at least a little, but the mage was having none of it.

"Family doesn't hold debts over one another when they are in need," was all she would say on that.

Once everything was gathered up and loaded into the wagon, Roxy climbed into the driver's bench with Lilia while Aisha hopped into the currently uncovered back. Then, they were off, setting an easy pace the horses could hold for a while before needing to stop and rest, taking the main road south out of the city.

Perching herself leaning against the top of the bench between her mother and their mage escort, Aisha asked the demon woman, "So, now's a good time, right?"

Roxy sighed, holding the reigns loosely as she considered the question and the girl asking it. After a while, she decided to answer honestly—after all, she would learn the truth soon enough anyway. "Sylphie, Eris, and I have an agreement to all join hands in marriage with Rudeus."

"Mm, I see!" Aisha nodded to herself. "He must be pretty nice or something if you all want to be with him."

"As I have told you, master Rudeus is the greatest person I've even known and it would be an honor to serve him. We owed him our lives, before. Now?" She turned a questioning look on Roxy. "What exactly happened to bring us to the Shirone kingdom? The only thing I can think of with such an ability would be a dungeon teleport trap—something Paul and Zenith spoke of as a rarity in their adventuring days, but one of the most dangerous."

Roxy nodded, keeping her eyes on the road and the sparse traffic heading into the city—mostly farmers and merchants coming in to sell their wares or make purchases.

"That is the prevailing theory. I spoke with Rudy last night and this morning. Much of the Fittoa region was affected—structures, people, animals, and monsters alike teleported away at random. Sylphiette and Rudeus both appeared in midair. Sylphie witnessed someone else appear similarly and fall to their death. You were very lucky to only wind up within the Shirone castle."

A thought crossed her mind and Roxy frowned. "Or perhaps not. Had we not been able to communicate nearly from the first hour of the event and confirm your location, I would even now be walking towards Fittoa and you would likely have been captured. Given the seventh prince's… fixation upon me, had he learned of your connection to Rudy and myself, he would potentially have taken you captive. I would like to think he has more sense than that, but he doesn't. He is young, impulsive, headstrong, devious, and rapacious in his perversions. I could easily see him attempting to use you to lure either myself or Rudeus into a trap. Me, because of his obsession, Rudy for revenge out of jealousy and spite."

Lilia nodded, but contrary to the worry or disgust Roxy expected to see on her face, she found only a small smile and a look of absolute… devotion? "Then it seems master Rudeus has saved us the typical fate of those left to the mercy of the nobility." She practically spat the words. She turned to send a stern look to her daughter. "You owe your brother more than you know."

Aisha sighed, waving a hand as though to brush away the words. Turning her attention back to Roxy, she quietly asked, "What's he like? Really? I've heard so many things from my moms and dad but I've only ever met him once. You lived with our family and taught him magic, right?"

"I did," Roxy nodded, wondering how to answer that question. "Rudeus is… He's just like any other man, in many ways. He has his flaws and his faults. He can be very stubborn when he wants to be, and sometime, his way is the only way. And he has a bad habit of focusing on one thing to the exclusion of all else at times. He is also one of the most intelligent, kind, and thoughtful people I know. As a student, he always… made me feel inadequate as a teacher. He knew magic before I even met him. He taught himself to read through sheer, stubborn determination. Then, when he discovered magic, he set out to learn it with the fervor of a man possessed. He learned how to silently cast within hours of picking up a book on magic. Then, he spent every day after diligently learning and training himself to exhaustion multiple times a day, where most people would have simply quit."

Quietly, she admitted, "It was humbling that someone so much younger than I could have such prodigious ability. But instead of getting a big head over it or flaunting that fact, you brother took it upon himself to try to teach me, to elevate me to his level. I think I gained more from our time together than he did."

Aisha nodded along as she listened. "So what convinced you to marry him? You're older than him, right? By a lot, since you're a demon?"

"Aisha," Lilia warned.

"It's alright," Roxy waved off the woman's concern. "Yes, I am older than I look. Migurd age slowly and have a long period of our lives where we stay mostly the same, unaging. I haven't seen her in twenty years, but my mother would still look no older than me today."

A smile came to her lips as she explained, "According to him, Rudeus decided to make a wife of me the moment he saw me. He tried to impress me by showing how much he already knew and that he could cast silently. I… did not take it as well as I could have. He was unusually perceptive for a child his age though, and apologized that night for making me feel bad, as that had not been his intent. That was when he made his offer to teach me. Little did I know that while it was an honest effort on his part to help me, it was also part of a larger plan to seduce me over time."

She shook her head at that. "Me. Outcast from my own village because of a defect in my birth. A demon and outsider roaming human lands as an itinerant mage and tutor. With my blue hair, too-youthful looks, and underdeveloped body compared to women a quarter of my age. He chose me. At first because he liked the way I looked. He thought I was a teenager myself and would continue growing. Later, because he fell in love with my personality and intelligence. He didn't even care when I told him that this was how I had looked for the last twenty years and how I would continue to look for the next eighty or so."

"I see," Aisha murmured. "So he likes younger-looking women."

Roxy turned and flicked Aisha's forehead hard enough to leave a welt, earning a yelp and a flinch away. "No. I've heard about that rumor and it's stupid. Your brother is a gentleman, not some… child molester as that slander paints him. It would be best if you simply forget everything you heard about him in Buena. You don't want those rumors poisoning your thoughts of your brother."

As they slowly rounded a bend in the road, Roxy was pulled from her chastising of Aisha by the sight of a squad of soldiers having set up a picket in the middle of the road, horses off to the side of the road tied to trees. She saw they flew the banner of the Shirone kingdom and were stopping everyone leaving the country while waving people coming in through.

Upon spotting her distinctive blue hair from where she sat atop the carriage, they waved through the person they had stopped and closed ranks. Roxy slowed the carriage to a stop several yards away.

"Roxy Migurdia, by order of seventh prince Pax Shirone, you are to be detained and escorted back to the castle."

"Stay here," Roxy murmured to Lilia and Aisha, before taking her staff off the seat and stepping down from the carriage. Walking a few yards away from the carriage, placing herself between it and the soldiers, she called, "There has been a magical calamity in the Fittoa region of the Asura kingdom. A mass-teleport incident has displaced much of the population, in addition to structures and livestock. I go to escort these survivors to safety and offer my services. Is there no way you will let us pass in peace?"

The soldiers exchanged looks before their captain stepped forward. "I'm sorry, ma'am. The prince was… Insistent."

Roxy closed her eyes and nodded. "Then I am afraid that I must insist myself. Return to your king, not your prince, and inform him that his son threatens to provoke the ire of a King-level mage. I suggest you do so now and leave us in peace."

The man's hand fell to the hilt of his sword. "We don't agree with them, but we have to follow the prince's orders. Please, just come along quietly. Your friends may pass, so long as you do. But I think we both know you would never be able to get a King-level spell off before my men and I subdued you."

Roxy shook her head. "I was not speaking of myself, captain. Should you actually capture me, my fiance will know the moment you do. Rudeus does not give first chances, let alone second chances, when it comes attacking the people he holds dear. Shirone, or at least the castle, would disappear in a storm of lightning before we made it a mile and all that would await us would be a pile of molten glass."

The men exchanged looks that were mostly hidden behind their helmets. "Capture her," the captain ordered.

"But sir," one of the men protested.

Taking the choice from them, Roxy swung her staff, discharging the Intermediate-level wind spell she had been holding ready since getting down from the carriage. Many of the men were swept from their feet and knocked to the side, while several managed to stay standing and begin advancing. A silently cast Intermediate-level Water Blast scattered them across the road, leaving them soaked, muddy, and groaning.

"Sprite?" Roxy called.

"Yes, Roxy?" The spirit answered.

"You have a drone overhead, don't you?"

"Of course," Sprite answered. "I would have stopped them and alerted Master if they had gotten any closer, but I thought you wanted to handle it—"

"It's fine. Could you give me a view of the city? I know Rudeus said we can cast through the drones." She wouldn't do anything yet, but she wanted the option just in case they decided to be… unreasonable. She knew the king to be just, if stern, but if the seventh prince had staged a coup or something along those lines in the time since she had left, then she would be dealing with a childish buffoon.

The phone in her pocket shifted, leaving her pocket and floating in midair, where it projected a hologram of the city. "Can you project a hologram from here into the city?"

"I can. Do you want me to?"

Roxy nodded. "Please give me a second hologram of wherever the king is currently, if you can find him."

"He sits the throne," Sprite answered, and a new hologram joined the first. "Broadcasting… Now."

King Shirone looked up from his audience, the room going silent as Roxy's form sprang into being in a flash of light in the middle of the room, surrounded by a view of the road, the soldiers slowly picking themselves up from where she had scattered them, and a set of holograms—one of which could be clearly made out as the city. "Your highness," Roxy greeted.

"Mage Migurdia. To what do I owe this… Visitation?"

"Call," she clarified. "Your son, the seventh prince, sent soldiers to capture me."

The man drew in a deep breath. "Did he now?" He asked, turning to glare in a particular direction. Sprite rotated the display on Roxy's end to show Pax standing nearby.

"No! Father, it's a lie—"

"Be silent!" The king roared. Turning back to Roxy, he asked, "This was not what I wanted. I had intended for us to part on good terms. What do you feel should be done about this, to ensure there is no ill will between us?"

Roxy considered the man for a moment before giving her answer. "I will drop the issue so long as you recall your men and guarantee that nothing similar will ever happen again. I have told the prince time and time again that I am not interested in his advances and in fact have a fiance, but he has ignored this at every turn and insists on pursuing me. This is simply the most recent escalation in his attempts."

Nodding, the man asked, "Who's there with you?"

Roxy's gaze shifted to Sprite and she gestured at the men, who had since picked themselves up and gathered to watch, not willing to draw the wrath of their king. The hologram zoomed a bit on the king's side to show them more clearly. Looking them over, he pointed to the captain. "You. You're in charge there?"

"Yes, sir!" the man snapped to attention.

"Consider yourselves dismissed from Pax's employ. My son no longer has knights. You will be transferred between my other children—"

"Ah, with all due respect sir," the captain interrupted, drawing an annoyed look from the royal. "What about our families?"

A confused look briefly crossed the ruler's face. "What about them?"

"YOU SHUT UP!" Pax screamed from off to the side. "Not another word!"

"Guards! Subdue him and shut him up," the king ordered, watching as a pair of guards in the throne room stormed over to his protesting seventh son and did exactly that. He hadn't wanted to do this, not in front of the court, but the boy was giving him no choice. Turning back to the hologram of the captain, he asked, "What has my idiot son done?"

"He ah, he kidnapped our families sir. Threatened to have them killed if we disobeyed."

The sound of the king's teeth grinding could be heard from Roxy's side of the hologram, causing the woman to wince. Taking another deep breath, the king quietly ordered, "Gather your men and come home. I'll have this mess taken care of. Proper compensation will be paid out to each of you for this disservice and I will ensure Pax is never in a position to do anything similar again." Turning to Roxy, he asked, "Was there anything else?"

Seeing as she had him somewhat over a barrel, Roxy nodded once. "An unrelated matter." It wasn't and they both knew it, but appearances had to be maintained. "There was a disaster within the Fittoa region of the Asura kingdom yesterday. A mass-teleportation event that displaced many thousands of their citizens." Eyes shifting to Sprite, she asked, "Could you display the view from there?"

"Yes," the spirit nodded, and a new hologram propagated on both sides—that of the mostly barren landscape that had been Roa. Everything was labeled, just so there could be no mistaking what they were looking at.

"As you can see, this was once the Citadel of Roa. I've already spoken with the Adventurers' Guild in Shirone, but any assistance you can offer would surely be appreciated."

The king had gone somewhat pale, looking at the damage. "Yes, of course. I'll send a runner to Ars, letting them know we'll be cooperating on this issue within our borders and sending their people back, under guard."

Roxy nodded. "Thank you, your highness. Good day."

The man simply nodded and Sprite took that as her cue to shut off the hologram. That left Roxy standing across from a bunch of men looking at her like she had just done something impossible. "I believe you have your orders," she pointed out.

The captain of the soldiers fell into a bow, which his men were quick to copy. Then, he straightened up and began bellowing orders. "Men, clear the road! Get your gear stowed and get those horses ready. I want to be moving in ten minutes!"

"Yes sir!" the men under his command responded, and quickly dispersed to do their jobs.

Turning back to Roxy, the man pulled off his helmet, revealing a plain-faced man in his late twenties. "I apologize, ma'am. We knew it was wrong and went against what the king wanted, with wanting to keep up good relations with you, but the prince…"

"I understand," Roxy nodded. "We must be on our way."

"Of course. Safe travels, ma'am."

Roxy turned away from the soldiers and their frantic work, walking back up the road to where their group had stopped. She boarded the carriage and the soldiers waved as they passed.

"What just happened?" Aisha asked, curious and sounding somewhat worried.

"Diplomacy," Roxy answered simply, before turning to observe the small redhead. "Tonight, I will evaluate where you stand in your lessons and will take over the role as your teacher."

Aisha grinned. "Sounds fun!"

"Thank you," Lilia murmured quietly.

"Looks like you've got it."

Roxy nodded, sending a smile towards the hologram of her white-haired fiance. Sylphiette must have been happy that he changed it for her sake. Given a few years, I imagine it will look… dashing, really.

Slowing the 'truck' to a stop outside the village she and her charges would be passing through later today, having camped outside the village for the night as it was cheaper, she asked, "Is there some way you could cover the back, or add a frame to put a cover over it?"

Rudy hummed. "Sure, wouldn't be hard. I could just—"

"Allow me, master. I am already on-site and we have all the materials necessary."

Rudy sent Sprite an amused look. "Well, if you're sure?" The spirit nodded. "I'll leave it to you, then. That's all I've got for today and I need to get back to work. These first few days are crucial to any rescue operation. I need to get as much done as possible."

Roxy studied the reincarnated man for a moment before nodding. "Don't overwork yourself."

"I'll be fine," he waved her off. "Tell Lilia and Aisha I'm sorry I didn't have time to talk with them today, but I'll make time soon."

"I will," Roxy agreed. She bit her lip, a faint blush rising to her cheeks as she said, "I love you."

The boy's lips pulled into a smile and her heart did a flip, while her belly filled with the familiar heat of arousal. "Love you too. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Roxy agreed, and a moment later the call disconnected. She leaned against the steering wheel with a sigh and a quiet groan, before thumping her forehead against the wheel. "Never should have left."

Sighing again, the Migurd woman put away the phone and drove back to their cart, where she found Aisha and Lilia eating breakfast and a plate prepared for her. She pulled to a stop and shut off the vehicle before joining them, accepting the plate passed to her. "Thank you."

There was a whoosh of air as the drone shadowing them descended, before it went silent as it hovered over the cart. Thankfully, the horses were tied to a tree some distance away, so while the noise bothered them momentarily, they settled down quickly when it became apparent nothing would happen and the noise stopped.

They watched the drone work as it began taking apart the structure providing cover for the rear of the cart, then moved over and did something to the bed of the truck, before gathering parts of the frame and moving them over to the truck.

"We'll sell the cart and horses in the village and restock on food. Rudeus wishes he could speak with you more, but I can tell he's running himself ragged trying to get ahead of this."

Lilia shook her head. "No, it's fine. His first actions were to see to his family. With Zenith and Norn missing, I imagine everything he's doing is actually to look for them and anything else they accomplish is beside the point. Master Rudeus can be very single-minded in his focus at times."

"I know," Roxy agreed. "The morning group call should start in a few hours. We should get back on the road before it begins."

They broke camp shortly after that, Lilia driving the wagon and Roxy following behind with Aisha in the truck, beginning the girl's morning lesson by having her read out loud from one of the books Rudy had made for her and her sister and Summoned/Sent to Roxy the day she had picked Aisha and Lilia up from Shirone. They had two of Norn's books, but the third, the one on magic, was missing and could not be summoned.

They stopped in the village long enough to sell the horses and carriage and resupply, then were back on the road, Aisha in the middle of the front bench-style cushioned seat between Roxy and her mother as she did her lessons.

Not too long after, her phone chimed and Roxy pulled it out and set it on the dash. Lessons were put on hold as holograms began to pop up as people called in.

Sylphie and Ariel were first, followed by Eris, Sylvia, Hilda, Phillip, Sauros, and finally, Ghislaine.

"Good morning, everyone!" Ariel greeted with enthusiasm.

"Not morning," Eris yawned, while the others echoed the princess's greeting.

"Sprite, can you start by giving us a map with everyone's position, along with all of your drone assets in the field? Then give us a count of how many survivors have been found and their locations, please," Ariel asked, and a moment later, a new hologram propagated—a map covered in different colored dots, with a key out to the side, along with a list of the numbers and locations of the requested items.

"More keep turning up every day. That's good. Thanks to Rudeus, I believe we're going to come out of this smelling like roses," Sauros assessed as he read the map. "Or as much as we can, at any rate."

Phillip hummed, reaching out and touching something on his side. "He's doing what he did in Roa, isn't he? Laying down roads as he goes."

"Yeah. The plan is to cut a path for the survivors to follow all the way from Rikarisu to Wind Port. With walled in rest stations roughly every three or so days of travel on foot—all of them with shelter, food and water. The whole stretch is going to be patrolled by drones, so no need to worry about monsters," Eris supplied.

Sauros, Phillip, and Ariel shared a look that none of the others missed. It was the old man who looked to Roxy and asked, "And what would a safe trade route on the Demon Continent be worth?"

Roxy sent the trio a knowing look. "Let's say what we're all thinking. You mean to ask, 'What would the equivalent to the Holy Millis Highway be worth?' And I don't have an answer, but I imagine a lot. The Demon Continent has no centralized government or ruler any more, at least not in reality, and is instead governed in territories. In theory the country is still run by the Demon Empress, but no one has seen her in years. If she stepped forward to reclaim the throne, I imagine every other ruler would challenge the claim. In order to unite the Demon Continent, she would have to do so by force."

"What about resources? What sorts of things does the Demon Continent have to offer in trade?" Ariel asked. "When Rudy builds airships at some point, that opens up large scale air trade to, well, the world. If those of us in position already can get out ahead of it, we stand to make a fortune. A new trade empire, with essentially no competition. Shipments from one end of the world to the other in, at most, a week as opposed to months or longer by sea and then land routes."

Roxy hummed, thinking back to her time in her former homeland. "They are poor in any sort of food resources, do that would be a major point of import to the continent. As far as exports, they have a multitude of strong monsters and materials harvested from them—hides, bones, teeth, shells, scales, and of course, monster cores. As I recall, the area is mineral rich, but no one possesses the means to mine it without the sort of casters we once had, during the war so long ago."

Ariel nodded, before turning her gaze towards Hilda and Sylvia. "Please look into this in both the north and the Begaritt continent. We already know roughly what each holds, but some more detail and local pricing would be helpful. Moving along, have there been any be developments?"

And so it went, as they each reported in on everything that had happened recently and the status of various interactions with the Guild and government bodies.

Sauros had made contact with Millis, but instead of buying a horse and heading straight for Fittoa with his maid, be would be meeting with the Millis royalty/theocracy to discuss the teleport disaster and officially request aid finding their displaced citizens of behalf of Ariel (and by extension, Asura).

Ghislaine wasn't far from Phillip and they would be joining up shortly and heading back to Fittoa by bike. It was slow going mostly due to the dense forest not allowing for faster travel, and the fact that the Conflict Zone was, well, a literal war zone. She had already been engaged in a number of skirmishes (read: one-sided slaughters) along the way.

Ariel and Sylphie hadn't yet left Ars, but would soon. After Ariel met with her supporters in private and ensured they were on-side and would remain so while she was away for a while.

Neither Hilda nor Sylvia had much to do, given that they were stuck in their respective locations until someone came to escort them out. Sprite could help with that, but everyone agreed it would be safer to stay where they were for now. Hilda was already making inroads with the adventurers and the local Guild. Sylvia had put in a mission with the Guild in the north to spread the word about the search and rescue mission.

And Roxy, of course, was making her way to Rudeus with Lilia and Aisha and would likely pass both Ghislaine and Phillip, along with Sauros either on the road or in a city at some point.

"Ooh, I need a drink!" A loud voice announced as the door to the inn/tavern opened.

Roxy looked up to see two newcomers entering: a stout, bearded dwarf in full plate and carrying a two-handed axe over his shoulder and an elf woman in much lighter armor, wearing a buckler and a sword at her side. Across from her, Lilia hummed quietly as she sipped her ale while Aisha finished her supper.

"When do you not need a drink?" The elf deadpanned. Quietly, she added, "Though, after today, I think I'll join you."

"Aye. 'Twas a sorry sight," the dwarf nodded, stomping up to the bar and ordering for himself and his companion as the elf took a seat near Roxy's table.

Looking at the bluenette, the blonde elf smiled. "Oh, a Migurd? You're a long way from home. What brings you out this way?"

Roxy shook her head. "This is my home now. I left the Demon Continent twenty years ago. But… I suppose I'll be returning soon. I'm escorting these two to her half-brother and my fiance," she nodded towards Aisha.

"Which way are you coming from? We saw some posters in the Guild further south, so we're looking for news out of the Asura kingdom."

At that, Lilia shifted, moving her seat closer to Roxy so she could look at both women without craning her neck. "We come from the Asura kingdom. The Fittoa region. Have you heard what happened?"

The dwarf joined them then, dropping into the seat beside the elf. "Aye, lass. Sorry about this squirrely bint, she's got no manners. I'm Tallhand."

"Prick," she tossed back at the dwarf, taking her mug. "Elinalise."

"Roxy," the mage introduced herself.

Lilia however tilted her head sightly as she studied the pair. "You are members of [The Fangs of the Black Wolf], are you not?"

The pair exchanged a curious look before both nodded. "Yes, we're searching for our former party member's family. Paul Greyrat."

The redhead nodded. "Then you've found at least some of us. I am Lilia Greyrat, this is our daughter, Aisha."

"Well damn," Tallhand grinned, before throwing back his mug. "This calls for a celebration!"

Elinalise sighed. "As if you needed another excuse to get drunk." Turning to Lilia, she asked, "Is there any news of Zenith, Norn, or Rudeus? The poster we saw implied Rudeus could take care of himself, but, well… Paul's an idiot and by my math, little Rudy shouldn't be much more than ten."

She blinked as something Roxy had said registered, given the new context. Turning to the bluenette, Elinalise asked, "You're taking them to Rudeus?" Roxy nodded. "Who is… Your fiance?"

"Yes."

Tallhand snorted. "What'd you expect from Paul's son?"

"A little more restraint, considering he's also Zenith's son," Elinalise admitted.

"Rudeus is his own person," Roxy countered. "But this conversation is getting off track. We've had no word from Zenith or Norn. Rudy doesn't want to say it, but we suspect something happened to them."

Elinalise furrowed her brow. "You say that like you've spoken with him recently. Where is… The Demon Continent? But then how…?"

Roxy and Lilia exchanged a considering look, before the maid deferred to Roxy. It was Aisha who answered, however. "Because my brother is awesome! He's a King-level mage and made phones that let us talk anywhere in the world!"

"'Anywhere in the world,' she says. Hah!" Tallhand laughed, only to slowly stop laughing as he realized that everyone at the table was taking the claim seriously. "Really, then?"

"It's true. Master Rudeus is truly amazing."

Tallhand hummed to himself. Taking a sip from his drink, he turned a look on Elinalise. "If they're going ta the Demon Continent, they're goin' ta need more'n one little mage as an escort."

Elinalise pulled a face. "As long as we stay out of Millis."

"Aye," Tallhand agreed. Turning back to Roxy, he asked, "D'ya have horses? This many people, it'd be faster by carriage."

Roxy hid a smile behind her cup of water. "Something like that. We appreciate the help. Shall we gather outside the inn at first light?"

"That works for us," Elinalise agreed. Standing up, she stretched her arms over her head. "I think I'll go see what this town has on offer for tonight."

"Hope ya catch something detox won't fix, elf."

"Die in a fire, dwarf," the woman tossed over her shoulder as she sauntered out, a sway to her hips.

Humming quietly, Lilia asked, "You were saying something when you came in?"

Tallhand's mood dropped precipitously, from jovial to solemn in an instant. "Aye, that we did." Glancing at Aisha, he murmured, "This's a conversation not suited for the little one's ears, eh?"

"Aisha, go on up to our room and prepare the beds, please," Lilia instructed.

"But mom—"

"Now," Lilia cut her off.

"And when you finish on that, work on your fine control," Roxy instructed.

Aisha sighed. "Fine. Statues again," she grumbled, but hurried upstairs.

Once she was gone, Tallhand called the barmaid over. "Something a little stronger I think, lass. And leave the bottle."

Once the barmaid had dropped off an unmarked bottle of brown liquor, the dwarf opened it and drank straight from the bottle. He sighed, sitting it on the table, and his gaze became distant.

"Saw a bunch of buzzards circling on the first few days after it happened. Went off the road to have a look. We found a dozen… Puddles'd be the best word for it. Monsters eating the remains, but we found a good dozen or so sets of Millis faith vestments between them. Some of them were particularly small. Children, most likely. Near as I can figure, if this was like a teleport trap, those people would've had their hands joined in prayer at the time it went off and they must've fallen from a great height."

Lilia winced slightly while Roxy nodded. "Both of my students nearly suffered the same fate, Rudeus and Sylphiette. Sylphie saw another man die that way. But that was over a month ago…"

"Aye. About a week ago, we were camping near the road when we heard a commotion. A mother and her young son came running out of the woods, looking half starved and like they'd been hoofing it on the road for an age. They got run down not even ten yards out of the forest by monster wolves. Was nothing we could do. By the time we got to them, they were dead. Today, we saw something strange in a big boulder off to the side of the road. We went and had a look… We found the front half of a skull sticking out of this big rock. Picked clean by crows or something. The bone was fused with the rock where they joined. Some poor fucker got teleported into it. This whole thing looks like a shit show. I wonder how many people even survived the initial event."

Roxy and Lilia fell silent at that as the realization of just how close they and the people they loved had come to a horrible death set in. Lilia quietly excused herself and made her way upstairs, where she bundled Aisha into a hug and dragged her to bed, to her protests. Roxy made her own excuses and headed up as well.

That night, Roxy dreamed of falling.

The next morning, they met Elinalise and Tallhand outside the inn, before leading them around to the side.

"What in the blazes is that?" Tallhand asked as he took in the truck.

Roxy, Aisha, and Lilia climbed into the front seat of the cab. Elinalise looked it over before shrugging and sliding into the back seat. The dwarf eventually was convinced to join them and they were off. The ride was surprisingly smooth given the rough road, but much more comfortable than a carriage. With the windows open, there was even a pleasant breeze through the interior and the roof kept the sun off of them as they traveled.

"So, where'd you find this thing?" The elf asked.

"Rudy made it," Roxy answered simply.

Dwarf and elf exchanged a shocked look. "Zenith always said she wanted her kid to be a mage," the dwarf commented. "Guess she got what she wanted."

"Mm. Tell us more. How did you meet Zenith and Paul? And where do you come in?" Elinalise asked, directing the question to Lilia.

It was the redhead who answered. "Paul trained at my sword school when we were young. Then he defiled me and left. Years later, I became a maid to his and Zenith's household—"

Aisha frowned from beside her mother. "What do you mean, 'defiled?'"

Roxy shook her head, keeping her eyes on the road as she listened to Lilia. This was not a story she had heard when staying with the Greyrats, so she was curious. She just wished Lilia had been more tactful in her wording with her daughter present. Paul hadn't struck her as a bad sort of person, having a sort of natural charisma that she admitted she found appealing—even if he was impulsive and headstrong. Rudy hadn't quite inherited Paul's natural charm, but his own experience and nature more than made up for it in Roxy's book—it was a different sort of charisma from what his father in this world possessed.

She was sure the story was more complicated than Lilia initially made it out to be, and that thought bore out over the course of the next few hours as Lilia told them of her past.

I just hope this doesn't taint Aisha's thoughts of her father.

A glance at the young girl showed that that was likely a futile hope.

"There they are."

"Thank you, Sprite," Roxy told the spirit. She slowed the truck and pulled over to the side of the road. Roxy got out to wait and the others, seeing an opportunity to stretch their legs, did likewise. A few moments later, a black bike bearing two riders came to a stop on the other side of the road.

A tall, muscular woman with tan skin, white hair, and a white tail and cat ears slid off the front of the bike while a well dressed, if a bit worse for wear, brunet man got off from the rear.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Ms. Roxy," Phillip smiled at the much shorter woman, offering her his hand.

Ghislaine nodded. "This 'phone' thing is convenient, but no substitute for the real thing."

"Ghislaine!" Elinalise yelled, throwing herself into the big beast-kin's arms and leaning up to plant a chaste kiss on the woman's lips.

"Elinalise, Tallhand," Ghislaine nodded to each in truth.

"Been a while," the dwarf said, his greeting more subdued but just as heartfelt. Nodding to the bike, he asked, "Another of Paul's boy's contraptions?"

Phillip and Ghislaine nodded. Phillip grinned, adding, "Rudeus has come to me with stranger requests. I can honestly say that this is one of my favorite."

"It's about noon. Would anyone care for lunch?" Lilia asked, getting a round of confirmations in answer. She pulled Aisha along and together, the two of them began making something quick and easy to eat in the back of the truck.

"How's the road ahead?" Roxy asked.

"Don't stop to spend the night unless you set a watch. Mercenaries and bandits coming and going from the Conflict Zone and lots of monsters. Don't stop for anyone on the road, either. A group tried to ambush us that way by faking a monster attack."

"I see," Roxy nodded. "Thank you. I'll keep it in mind. It was peaceful on the trip down, save for the occasion monster. Or bandit who thought they could steal our truck."

"Mm," Ghislaine nodded. "What will you do once you rejoin Rudeus?"

The bluenette felt a smile pull at her lips. "Whatever I can."

The beast-kin's lips twitched into a smirk. "You'll have fun."

Phillip shook his head as Roxy blushed, but didn't deny it. "As for us, I'm going to organize the survivors within Fittoa. We need to begin rebuilding. I hate to ask him for it, but I'm afraid I must borrow Rudeus' strength and particular skill set for the task."

"How could anyone, even a child as smart as Zenith's, rebuild a city? It's just not possible," Tallhand protested. "You're expecting too much of the boy!"

Phillip laughed. Turning to Roxy, he asked, "You didn't tell them?"

"It didn't seem relevant," she shrugged.

Nodding, the man explained, "Rudeus Greyrat was a King-level mage pretending to be Saint-level when his father sent him to us, at the age of seven. He's probably Emperor-level by now. Aside from Sylphiette, who is almost as strong as Rudeus, he is the only mage I know of that could realistically undertake a project on the scale of rebuilding a city in anything approaching a reasonable timeframe. I've seen the boy make dragons of mountains, building a city will be child's play for him."

"That's insane," Elinalise muttered.

Smirking, Ghislaine leaned in and cupped a hand over the elf's ear. "He kept up with me and my student the night I popped his cherry. Wore Eris down and we only stopped because we had things to do the next day. He could've kept going."

"What the fu—" the blonde's mouth fell open.

Phillip ignored the side conversation and continued his pitch to Roxy. "More mages would be useful in the reconstruction effort. But more importantly, you understand the way his mind works the best of anyone, aside from the princess apparently, but she's…"

"Just as hard to understand," Ghislaine supplied.

"Yes. Quite. It's like they're speaking an entirely different language sometimes. I need someone who can translate. Sylphiette understands and can repair or maintain his work, but we need someone who can actually understand it and make it understandable to laymen. Someone who can teach others how to take care of whatever he builds."

"That's assuming the boy would even agree to take on this idiocy," Tallhand protested.

It was Lilia who answered that as she returned. "I guarantee that Master Rudeus is already working on a way to rebuild everything better than it was. If no one asks, he will likely simply do it of his own initiative when he's ready. Now, we've prepared sandwiches and tea for lunch."

"I'll think about it," was as far as Roxy was willing to commit at the moment.

Phillip took it in stride and the conversation shifted on to other topics. Once lunch was finished, the group said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

As she drove, Roxy considered Phillip's offer. She knew it would pay well, but it would require being tied to one place that wasn't necessarily with Rudy, and she was to the point that she didn't want to part from him again once they were reunited unless it was important.

There is one other who understands how everything Rudeus makes works. It just doesn't seem fair to put the job on Sprite. Well, we've got some time still before anyone needs to make a decision.