44 Chapter 04 - Journey to the Capital

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• Words: 1575

• Estimated Reading Time: 00:06:18

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A bit over lunch, Merlin and his entourage were on the way to their next destination. Merlin and Llusse were sitting on a wooden bench, side by side, on a horse-drawn open carriage, which was driven by their new member—Mila Micola, the wolf demi-human maidservant. Meanwhile, Filia, Aina, and Tianne were sitting on another wooden bench across them. Filia was right in front of Merlin while Tianne was in front of Llusse; Aina was sitting between them.

"So, our next destination is the capital," said Merlin, opening a conversation.

"Indeed! We will reach the capital in two days," replied Filia, smiling.

"Then, what are our plans there?" Merlin inquired again.

Filia made a pensive face for a moment before replying, "Yes. You will first seek an audience with her Majesty the Queen. We will arrive there in two days, so we will set up camp at nightfall."

"I see..." Merlin nodded, understanding.

In truth, Merlin already knew about all of this, but he had reasons to feign his ignorance in front of his group. If he acted as if he knew what would happen, he was afraid of his girls believing that he could foresee the future. It could get ugly real fast if they thought so yet he lost his foreknowledge. He did not want his image lowering in front of them. Thus, he decided to feign his ignorance to build a foundation for when he lost his advantage.

"By the way, Tianne, Aina," Merlin said, and the girls mentioned perked up, "would you help me learn this world's writing system?"

"Yes! I'll help!" (Tianne)

"Indeed. We shall help you!" (Aina)

Tianne and Aina responded positively. They were pleased that Merlin needed their help.

After that, Aina got a book from their luggage before starting to teach Merlin with Tianne's assistance. Meanwhile, Filia and Llusse chimed in the middle of the lesson. Merlin used cheap chalk to train his handwriting on the wooden floor of the carriage.

Thanks to his enhanced mind, Merlin became proficient in this world's writing system in no time. If you ask for his opinion, his learning speed reminded him of certain genius siblings who got transported to another world where games used to end conflicts and learned the language used by the equivalent of humanity in that world in less than an hour.

After that, Merlin kept training his handwriting and chatted with his girls.

Roughly two hours after they left, their carriage stopped, surprising them.

"What's the matter?" Filia asked, confused.

"There is a group of monsters ahead," Mila replied, looking at Merlin and his girls over her shoulder.

She'd been silent so far, and due to that, Merlin had forgotten about her because of his writing lesson and chat with his girls.

Mila turned her gaze ahead and continued, "Hellhounds... They are showing up on the main road."

After listening to Mila's words, they stood up and looked ahead. They saw a pack of wolves blocking the way.

Those wolves had jet black fur with glowing green eyes. Their claws and fangs seemed so sharp like a dagger, and they were salivating as if they were starving. They were snarling and growling in the direction of Merlin's carriage.

To Merlin, those beasts looked eerie because of their glowing eyes, savagery, and abnormal behavior. They were suitable to be called 'monsters' indeed!

"Blame the Dark Lord's resurrection," Filia said with a sharp gaze as she watched the pack of Hellhounds blocking the main road.

"Oh, well, it can't be helped," Llusse said suddenly and prepared her bow.

Merlin and the rest of his girls were looking at Llusse, who was posing. When their attention was on her, Llusse continued, "I will deal with them in no time for the sake of our hero here."

Llusse looked at Merlin over her shoulder, her cheeks blushing. 'I will show you what I'm made of! Be ready to praise me!'

Merlin and the rest of his girls were smiling wryly. All of them realized Llusse was trying to show off but held their opinion.

As the Hellhounds dashed to them, Llusse put on a solemn expression and took three arrows from her quiver at the same time. She gripped the butt of the arrows between her fingers and pulled the string back, after which she released all the arrows at the same time, hitting the skull of two Hellhounds, though the last one was off the mark.

Llusse frowned and quickly took one arrow from her quiver before shooting it, hitting the skull of the last Hellhound. She killed all Hellhounds before they could reach their position. Even so, she seemed dissatisfied.

Merlin caught the slip, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't surprised because of his foreknowledge.

"Good job, Llusse!" (Filia)

"That was excellent!" (Mila)

Filia and Mila praised the elf archer at the same time.

"W-well, yeah..." Llusse replied haltingly, her mind somewhere else. She looked deep in thought.

After that, they continued their journey.

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At nightfall, Merlin and his entourage stopped to set up camp; the horse was freed from the carriage, tied to a tree, and given feed; some baggage was taken off the carriage while the rest stayed there; a big tent was erected, and meals were prepared.

Even though everything was Mila's job, since she was their aide, Merlin and his girls still helped setting up their camp. There was no reason not to help the silent demi-human since they were free.

After setting up the camp, Merlin and his girls were sitting around a campfire, a bowl of steaming stew or a mug of ale in their hands. They were sitting on wooden benches that were taken off the carriage. Llusse and Filia were sitting on one bench; Merlin was sitting between Tianne and Aina on another bench, and Mila was standing behind Merlin. While having dinner, they were talking about something.

"Your power is getting weaker?" Filia asked, surprised.

"Yeah..." Llusse nodded despondently, her gaze on her stew, "Something felt off as I released my arrows. The third shot should have hit as well in my powered-up state. In fact, I should have done better after my third shot!"

Everyone was looking at Llusse as she spoke with a glum expression.

"Perhaps the effect wears off after a certain amount of time?" Tianne wondered.

"It might also have to do with the amount we were...absorbing," Aina shared her theory.

Llusse nodded slowly, looking uncertain. "Yeah...I think so too...Last night, we were busy preparing for today's journey, so we were not able to get as much..."

"So, the effect will only last for about half of a day?" Filia mused questioningly.

"If so...it would be wise to prepare beforehand for whatever might occur in our journey," Mila commented, surprisingly enough since she was content as a listener so far.

All the while, Merlin was silently listening to the discussion; he already knew about all of this, thanks to his foreknowledge. He had nothing to say and was content.

"Shall I prepare for tonight, then?" Mila inquired again.

Filia, Tianne, Llusse, and Aina flinched subtly. Meanwhile, Merlin raised his mug and sipped his ale to cover his smirk; he caught their subtle reactions and understood why they reacted like that.

When Merlin took a glance at Mila, he caught a light blush on her face despite her flat expression. It looked like Mila was not oblivious to what she was offering, after all.

"W-well, it's a good idea! We have to be fully prepared because we are in the middle of a forest!" Tianne agreed with a blushing face.

The other girls exchanged glances and nodded quietly, blushing as well.

"If you have decided, then who am I to deny?" Merlin shrugged his shoulders after putting down his empty mug. As a man, he happily agreed to have another night of debauchery with his girls.

After that, they finished their dinner in a hurry...

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Moments later, Merlin and his entourage had finally finished their dinner and entered the tent. Meanwhile, Mila was standing outside of the tent.

"I shall stand to watch outside," said Mila from her position.

Merlin, wearing only his underwear, looked at her through the small gap on the tent's entrance, smiled appreciatively for her efforts so far, and replied, "Right! Thank you, Mila!"

"Now, if you will excuse me, please enjoy yourself." Mila nodded and shutting off the cloth. Her cheeks were blushing faintly, knowing what would occur within the confine of the tent.

After that, Merlin turned his attention to his girls and resisted a sudden urge to smirk as he saw them before him. In the end, his lips curled into a smile.

His girls were invitingly presenting themselves on the rug-covered ground; Filia and Tianne were resting on their sides, propping their bodies with their elbows, facing each other while looking at him coquettishly; Aina was behind Tianne, while Llusse was behind Filia, sitting sideways while propping their body with their hands; they were blushing all the while.

"O Milord~♡! Please, if you will~♡!" Filia said coquettishly.

Merlin's smile turned into an eager grin. As he approached his seductive ladies, he mused loudly, "Faced with this, how could I possibly resist?!"