Chapter 258

Zesshi squinted under the sun. "Is it supposed to hurt like this?" The half elf asked and hopped into the carriage. She took one look at Raymond's obviously painless expression and frowned a little bit. "No, no it isn't, is it? I really should get out more."

"There's nothing out here worth seeing." Raymond replied and crossed his arms while glancing out the window of the dark carriage. He drew the curtains shut as Zesshi pulled the hood down behind her back.

"If you say so. But even I get bored hiding away in that treasury as just an 'extra seat'." Zesshi crossed her arms and snorted with derision.

Raymond crossed the other set of dark curtains and then lightly touched the glow stone next to himself to create light for the two of them. The soft white glow was standard for the treasury, so he asked, "Is this better?"

"Generally dark, small, enclosed, with nothing but something old to look at? I don't know about better, but it is normal." She winked at him and brushed the dark side of her hair back a little.

"I'm about one third your age." Raymond pointed out with a bemused little smirk, "So unless I'm holding up a mirror that you're looking into…"

"Hmpf, age is relative. I'm a half elf," Zesshi said, "in our terms, I'm barely a middling teenager, meanwhile you're ancient."

"Ouch." Raymond pretended to wince, then spread his arms on the back of the high seat of the carriage, "So, games aside, here's what lies ahead, it will take us most of a month to get there, so we're going to stop as little as possible. I'm going to take care of everything on the way, you're the one doing us the favor after all. So why should you have to do anything but that?" He asked rhetorically and as reasonably as he could.

"That sounds fair." Zesshi answered with an agreeable nod. "So would that make you… my servant, old man?" She winked, and to her surprise, Raymond actually nodded.

"If that's how you'd like to think of it. I'll take care of everything, you can just wait in here or in our rooms along the way, we'll camp between cities and towns, and if you need or want anything along the way, just let me know and I'll make sure we get it." Raymond replied, then he leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees.

"The sunlight will take a lot of time to get used to for you, and we don't want you struggling, so you do need to spend some time outside, get used to the environment. I've been to Arwintar and to the arena, it's a big city, and a big arena, both are vastly larger than Kami Miyako. There's also a lot of people who are scammers, hucksters, frauds…"

"Okay, I realize that you're using words but… what are those?" Zesshi asked, pursing her lips together in a little frown.

"Like thieves, but they steal from you in different ways. They use cleverness and cunning to trick you into handing over your money, and they're all over the place. I have more experience with those and how to spot them, so…" Raymond coughed, cleared his throat and straightened up, "just let me deal with everyone we have to interact with along the way."

"Fine." Zesshi shrugged and looked toward the window as if she could see out of it. She couldn't, the curtains were far too thick and far too dark, but her ears caught the noise of voices. People were up and about in earnest, but her ears caught every word. She reached up and touched them. 'My father's ears…' She cursed the sense of hearing she got from him. 'A part I got from my mother's rapist.' She drew her hand away, took her hair and moved it to cover her ears again.

"Most people won't be that interesting anyway, if cardinals are any example." She chuckled at her own joke, and Raymond laughed along with her.

"I guess we can be a little stodgy sometimes. Especially lately." Raymond acknowledged when his laughter faded away. "Not that I blame the others, we've been losing influence since this Ainz appeared. Now there are two demihuman friendly countries and we're practically surrounded, and it looks like the Draconic Kingdom will be added to that list if they keep slipping into the Allfather's sphere of influence…" He sighed and rubbed his temple. "It gives me a headache though."

"How's that? You're not dying on me now, are you?" Zesshi asked, she wore a smile on her face when she asked, but also leaned forward a little when she said it.

"No more than any normal human." Raymond answered with a shake of his head, "No, it's the others." He said as the carriage finally began to roll forward and leave the city after it rocked a little with the carriage driver climbing up into place outside. "I'm as worried as they are, but some of them are just about frothing at the mouth over this issue. Dominic wanted to launch a crusade against Demalbion… but we haven't even finished-" Raymond briefly closed his lips, "finished with the war in the south, yet."

"I know, hopefully my father lives long enough for me to get to face him in the arena, where I can end his life for good." Zesshi's jaw clenched and for several seconds, neither said anything.

Perhaps eager for an end to the silence, Zesshi was the one to break it, "So when he proposed invading Demalbion, what did you say?"

"How do you know it was me?" Raymond asked, blinking back his surprise at her guess.

"Because you're practical. Nobody would want to fight two wars at once. Even I know that much." Zesshi said with smug confidence and sat with her back straight, fairly daring him to say she was wrong.

He didn't. "I asked him what army he planned on using in Demalbion. He sputtered for a few minutes and said we should just use you and the scriptures, then fight a holding action against your father." Raymond said, and cringed in his soul.

'I can't tell her what he really said. I can't tell her he said, 'Use the half breed spawn with the scriptures.' Raymond tensed his jaw and fought back the wave of anger that rose again when he remembered those words spoken against his Zesshi.

Zesshi's lips tightened the same as Raymond's did and she narrowed her eyes, "If that had happened, I would have refused to go. I'm patient because I have time to be. But I won't be put on hold for every little problem. Having me nearly killed my mother, and raising me nearly destroyed her. The least I can do is avenge her. I won't play second fiddle to politics over every upstart demihuman with a little bit of power."

"And here I thought you wanted strong opponents." Raymond remarked more evenly, glad for a semi-shift of subject.

"Not if I can't have a child with them. The Demalbion ruler is a woman." Zesshi snorted and crossed her arms, "I know I'm a little sheltered, but even I know better than to hold out hopes of a child that way."

Raymond didn't bother to suppress his shudder. "You're like a daughter to me, please do not put that image in my head."

Zesshi smirked, just a little bit, "Just three minutes ago you pointed out that I was older than you. Pick a seat, Old Man."

They shared a laugh that filled the carriage, and onward it continued to roll.

Brain walked the road with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. The road east was a good one, and whether he cared much for them or not, the Slane Theocracy knew how to provide security for their territory. The journey to Arwintar would have proven impossible at his current pace, at least in the time he had before the tournament. However, the swordsman had no intention of missing out on the chance of a lifetime, so each night while it was cool, he ran at a sprint that put horses to shame, slept for several hours before dawn, then walked while he ate and drank.

He took another bite out of a hunk of bread held in his left hand. The warmth of the day was such that he couldn't bring himself to hurry, it didn't bother him at all when the carriage raced past, there was no reason to rush, not until nightfall at least.

Boredom wasn't really a problem for the swordsman, after all, the prosperous human Kingdom had an abundance of travelers on the road. There was always a merchant to chit chat with, or a young man or woman setting out to make a name for themselves in the world. At high noon he found himself intersecting a young man with a cheap longsword at his side and a young woman in the robes of a martial artist. She had a tabard over her head that hung down her front and sharp blue eyes full of pride and confidence. Her dark hair was bound in a ponytail behind her head, and the young man occasionally tugged it playfully.

The young man, for his part, had short brown hair and wore no armor except for a breastplate over his dark blue shirt. 'At least that red headband on his head will keep the sweat out of his eyes.' Brain thought and tried not to mock the pair on sight. Exactly what they were was obvious to the former bandit. 'Village friends off on an adventure, ready to change the world… but probably die on their first assignment.' He felt a range of emotions then, looking at the pair. His own departure from his village, the enthusiasm to rise to the top, a kind of innocence he held onto for far longer than most because he was not confronted with loss or defeat for so long. But his heart panged for them as well, as most such people died before they even got their first adventure, and most of those who did, didn't survive the adventure itself.

Brain liked the pair immediately, so when they came near and saw his single sword, conversation was inevitable. "Off an adventure?" The young man asked while he looked Brain up and down, sizing him up.

"No, I just walk up and down the road holding this sword all day every day." Brain said with a little smug look down at the warrior. The young monk, or so he assumed her to be, broke out in a laugh at the sarcastic answer, but rather than let it continue too long, Brain chose to answer them seriously.

"I'm actually on my way to Arwintar to fight in the tournament. I've had a lot of adventures, but this is the one where I'm hoping for a real challenge. As for you two," Brain looked them both up and down, "I'm guessing you're novice adventurers?"

"Yep! My name is-" The warrior jabbed his thumb against his breastplate and started to speak, but cut off when Brain held up a hand with palm facing the young warrior and shook his head.

"Nope, no names, not in this business. Chances are we'll never meet again and if we remember anything, it'll be what we are. So I'll just call you 'Warrior'." Brain said and pointed to the young man, and then to the young woman and said, "I'll call you, 'Fighter' and you can just call me 'The Greatest Swordsman in the World' How's that sound?"

The pair sputtered and tried to speak for several seconds, but after trading the sort of glance at one another in a silent conversation which was only possible through life long friends, they shrugged it off and nodded. "So… you're really good?" Warrior asked, and Brain could only smirk. "I've tested myself from Re-Estize to Demalbion, and I've only lost one fight in all my life. I'm not sure if I'm at the peak now or not, but that is what I really want to know, so it's off to the tournament."

"Wow." Fighter said and clapped her hands together, "Maybe you could give a few lessons to my friend here," she put a hand on Warrior's shoulder, "We're heading toward the northern part of the Theocracy, there are goblin slaying quests up there that should make great practice before we try for the really hard adventures."

"Goblins, huh." Brain nodded, "I suppose I could show your friend a few things. They may not look like much, especially the wild ones, but a sword in the gut from a goblin hand will kill you as easily as a sword from me. Don't ever go in cocky, demihumans, even the lower intelligence ones, haven't survived this long in human lands without reason."

"I guess, but they are just goblins." Warrior said and tapped his sword, "I've chased them off before."

"Famous last words." Brain remarked, "But if you want, I'll teach you a bit when we stop at the next resting grove. I'll be leaving you tonight though."

"Resting groves are at all the major intersections, right? That's what my dad said, and he used to be an adventurer." Warrior replied with the question and looked down the long road, squinting his eyes in the hopes of finding such a grove was close.

"More or less, every now and then there's one without it, but the fruit trees are so easy to grow and so abundant that you can expect to find them at nearly every one." Brain explained, "Just remember the traveler's code and don't take more than you need right then. You'll be badly punished if they catch you pilfering."

Conversation flowed like that for a few hours until they found just such a grove, two roads intersected, one curving its way toward some distant northern hills, while the other continued onward. A cluster of trees sat at each intersecting corner of the road, thin things, no bigger around than Brain's own waist, but tall as an ogre, the branches spread out to create abundant shade, though they were bowed with the weight of various fruits. Apples, pears, and more.

"Alright, Warrior, show me what you've got." Brain said and took up position in a clearing among the trees. As the young swordsman charged across the distance, Brain swept his sword out, cut an apple from the branch, and began to fend off the young man while crunching on the sweet golden fruit.

Warrior let out a fearsome battle cry that was… not at all fearsome to the veteran, and Brain continued to munch as the wild swings came on. 'He's an undisciplined young man, but there's potential.' Brain thought as he batted aside another wild swing while Fighter simply sat beneath the shade and watched.

After several minutes, Brain targeted and led the boy toward a tree… and a wild swing buried the edge into the trunk. As Warrior struggled to pull it free, Brain thrust at the young man's fingers, jabbed at the thumb, and the sword fell from the young man's grip and thudded into the grass. "Boy, any opponent fiercer than time is too much for you to be confident about killing." Brain remarked, the apple wasn't even down to the core, so he crunched another bite, chewed, and swallowed. Warrior fell to his knees, sweating, breathing hard, and looking down at the blade on the grass with utter disappointment.

"Let me give you a few pointers," Brain suggested, "Your instinct is good, you want to be on the attack, but if there'd been more than one, even if the other was half as good as I, you'd be dead. You were too obvious, and you didn't use the environment. The best thing you both can do? Stop at the city nearest to where you want to go, trade labor for some lessons from some of the retired warriors who live there, and then in a year or three, go out and face off against goblins."

"But… I don't want to wait." Warrior mumbled.

"Maybe not, but the dead wait forever, trade some time for success, both of you. Monsters may kill you both, but they may also do a lot worse before that, so go when you're ready or die when you get there." Brain said and took a few quick bites of the apple before tossing the core just outside of the grove.

That brought silence to his short term companions, and while they mulled that over, Brain looked off in the distance and watched the sun begin to set. "Alright, Warrior, Fighter, good luck." Brain remarked, "And if you hear of a new emperor in Baharuth with a handsome face and blue hair, come and see me after your first success." He waited for no answer from the two, he only sheathed his blade, and took off at a run, leaving the pair to whatever fate they found for themselves.