Traveling with unexpected people

Lince began traveling with the people who had saved his life. He felt as if the heavens were finally smiling upon him because, in addition to the ride, the young ones also gave him some breakfast leftovers.

The food was served cold and inside the moving carriage since they couldn't risk stopping on such a dangerous road. It was a portion of lamb meat and cooked vegetables covered in a sweet and sour sauce he had never tasted before. It tasted very good, or perhaps it was his hunger that made it taste so good. Either way, he devoured it all at once and chewed quickly to swallow. Sometimes he got sauce on his face, so he wiped it off with his hand, then cleaned it on his clothes, always careful not to soil the seat of such an expensive carriage.

"It looks like he was really hungry," commented the pink-haired girl.

She was sitting next to Lince and had been watching him attentively for some time.

"Thank you very much... I don't know... how to repay..." he said with his mouth full of food.

"You don't need to speak now," the young man in white interrupted gently. "Finish eating first."

Lince felt a little embarrassed after hearing him. He continued with his old habits, even though Lord Micaelo had taught him the correct way for a noble to behave during meals. Even though this wasn't a common situation, he should display these formalities on all occasions from now on, especially when traveling in the company of such illustrious people.

After that awkward moment, Lince ate the rest of his meal in silence with his head down. When he finished, the pleasure of satisfying his hunger made him sigh and smile with satisfaction. Either the girl's magic or the food, one of these things had made his body feel very well and full of energy.

"Do you want more?" asked the mage girl precisely.

Lince raised his head towards her with a gentle smile on his face as he replied:

"No. Thank you for the food."

As the carriage continued its course along the winding road, Lince discreetly looked around. He was traveling in a larger and more luxurious carriage compared to Lord Micaelo's. The interior was white with parts of silver-plated metal, while the seats were upholstered with soft fabric and leather. It comfortably accommodated four people.

Lince noticed a family crest displayed on the carriage walls, a white sword over a black crescent moon. He wasn't particularly interested in the symbol, but he wondered which family it belonged to. After all, only noble families had emblems.

Despite Lord Micaelo always claiming to be a mere administrator of infertile lands in the interior, his carriages were more luxurious than Lince's own home. This one even resembled the interior of a palace; he could easily live there for the rest of his life if he had to. He chuckled at the thought. Rude would certainly call him an "ambitionless idiot" if he knew that.

Unknowingly, the brown-haired boy himself piqued the interest of the others. When he noticed that they were all staring at him, he looked down at the floor to hide his embarrassed face.

"I don't know how to thank you," Lince suddenly whispered with a bashful voice. "You saved my life. And you also gave me food and a ride... I have no way to repay you for any of this..."

"You don't need to pay us for anything," the young man in white replied. "We're not doing this for your repayment, after all."

"In fact, it's almost offensive to think of us that way," added the pink-haired girl.

So Lince took a deep breath in an attempt to overcome his shyness and looked the young man in white in the eyes. The one in front of him was a tall young man with a friendly face and long dark hair tied with a black ribbon in a ponytail. Lince didn't think he was much older, maybe a year or two more, but his succinct behavior made him seem more like an adult than his appearance suggested.

He wore clothing similar to that of a knight, similar to the way Rude liked to dress. Although his "former friend" didn't have the same elegance in his manner as the young man in front of him. He also always kept his right hand close to his sword, as if ready to join a battle at any moment.

Next to the young man in white was a girl. She was only slightly shorter, perhaps their ages were the same. She had dark hair styled similarly to the young man's but tied with a white ribbon. Her body was slender; she wore a pair of boots, tight pants, and a simple white shirt with a black vest over it. Her way of dressing was somewhat less feminine compared to the pink-haired girl. In fact, she even resembled a knight, just like the young man. She also carried a sheathed sword fastened to a leather belt on her delicate waist.

Her beauty could enchant anyone at first glance, thought Lince. On the other hand, her stoic demeanor seemed to repel people. For example, she hadn't said more than two words since he boarded that carriage. Their faces suddenly crossed paths briefly, and her eyes seemed like deep blue lakes full of mysteries. He quickly averted his gaze before panicking.

Lince wasn't familiar with such situations and didn't know how he should act. He hadn't had much contact with girls before, and his experiences were limited to casual conversations with Lord Micaelo's maids, most of whom were already past their thirties.

But when he turned his face, his eyes met those of the pink-haired girl next to him. She seemed to be the youngest of the three, perhaps around fifteen, just like him. She was also the most cheerful and friendly. She wore a short skirt and a sleeveless red shirt. Her pale skin, combined with her slender frame, gave her an air of fragility.

Lince observed her closely because she was the mage who had healed him. She gained his attention for that reason, as his contact with magic had always been limited. In the end, his impression of these three young people was as good as it could be. He was already grateful not to have encountered a group of common bandits in that area, and now he had to thank the heavens for putting such good people in his path.

He needed to show his gratitude to them, Lince considered. So he wanted to bow forward to pay respects to the noble people who had saved his life. It was a custom for the citizens of Asterl to greet their superiors with bows; he had learned this in Lord Micaelo's lessons and wanted to put it into practice. However, he became nervous when he said, "I... I wanted to thank you for saving my life..." His voice came out fast and trembling, and, unfortunately, the carriage ran over a stone that the wheel couldn't crush. There was a sudden jolt inside; Lince lost his balance and almost tumbled between the two young people sitting in front of him.

However, he managed to throw himself to the side just in time to avoid the worst and only hit his shoulder against the carriage door. The scare made his heart race.

At the same moment, they all heard the coachman's voice apologizing for not avoiding the obstacle in time.

"Stay in your seat while the carriage is moving," said the dark-haired girl, giving Lince a stern look.

"I'm sorry... I wanted..."

"Don't worry about these things," said the young man in white after understanding what the brown-haired boy wanted to do. "Just enjoy the ride."

Lince settled back in his seat. Then he lowered his head and nodded in the direction of the young man, who was smiling a little. As for the dark-haired girl, she crossed her arms, turned her face toward the window, and resumed observing the scenery as she had done before.

She really made Lince nervous. The untouchable aura around her and her stern expression reminded him of Rude, even though she didn't seem to have the same arrogance as his former friend. Perhaps that's why he didn't know how to act in her presence.

The journey continued, now in silence and monotony. More than just bored, Lince felt uncomfortable there, but he didn't know what to do to change things.