Chapter 18: Target

"Where am I..?" Muttered Alfred as he opened his eyes.

He lifted his body up from the bed and looked around, and was surprised by someone's sudden reaction when she realised he had woken.

"Alfred!" Said Eleanor as she hugged him.

"Young lady..?" Muttered Alfred with a confused tone.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Asked Eleanor with teary eyes.

"I humbly apologise, but I had no other option." Said Alfred.

"Your only option was to keep moving on without telling me that you were poisoned?!" Asked Eleanor as tears fell onto the bed.

"Young lady, I would gladly give my life if it meant saving yours. Yet you ended up saving mine, I do not deserve such kindness," Said the butler with a smile as he gave Eleanor pats.

Eleanor seemed to have calmed down after receiving pats, seeing this was heartwarming.

"Alfred... What do I always say..?" Asked Eleanor with an annoyed expression.

"A... A thank you would be better..." Alfred said.

"That's right..." Said Eleanor.

"Th-"

Alfred was interrupted by Eleanor who said, "Not me, them." As she pointed at us.

John waved at him, while Ariel and Serena were moved by the heartwarming event and had a teary smile formed on their faces.

'Even Serena? Was it that touching..? But I'm not crying? C-Could it be?! I'm insensitive!?!' John wondered.

"John," Whispered Ariel.

"Y-Yes?" He said.

"is everything okay?" Ariel asked with concern.

"Yeah, why?" John replied.

"The expression you were wearing made you look deeply worried," Whispered Serena.

"Is my expression that easy to read?!" John said.

"They are..?" Alfred asked.

'Crap... I was too loud.' John realised.

"They're the people that saved us..." Replied Eleanor.

After Eleanor said that, in nearly an instant, the butler bowed, while he was still on the bed and said, "Forgive me for not realising sooner, I am greatly indebted and hold deep gratitude to you three for saving our lives!"

"You don't have to be so formal..." Muttered Eleanor.

"Mr, Alfred. There is no need to bow to us, you also risked your life and fought for el- The young lady, she also considers you her saviour. For your efforts and dedication, I thank you." John respectfully replied.

'Was that too formal..? Was I supposed to thank him for saving a stranger? But she's not a stranger at this point, right..? Ah, maybe the last line was unnecessary…' John thought.

Alfred who heard John's words stared at him for a few moments before facing Eleanor who said, "That's right, Alfred is also my saviour." with a happy expression.

Alfred, who had thought that he wasn't able to be of help, was deeply moved by their words, so much that he covered his face.

"J-Just a moment, young lady." Said Alfred as he covered his face and faced the other direction

'He's crying, he's definitely crying.' John said to himself.

A few seconds after, he wiped his face and got up.

No one mentioned anything about him crying, so John decided that he'll do the same.

"You don't have to get up." Said Eleanor as she tried to stop him.

"Do not worry, young lady, I've made a complete recovery." Said Alfred as he got up.

They hadn't changed his clothes, and he was still wearing the same clothes from the time they had fought against the shadow wolf.

"How long have I been out for? And where are we?" Asked Alfred,

***

John then explained to Alfred how he was out for 3 days and that they had now reached Xoleria and ended up finding an inn, which is where they were now.

"I see... Where is this inn at?" Alfred asked.

"Just a random inn near the entrance." John answered.

After he said that, Alfred made a worried expression.

"How long has it been since the sunset?" Alfred Asked.

The sun had already set, and it was getting late. They didn't do much before he woke up, and they didn't have an opportunity to get cake either.

"It had set recently, right before you woke up." John answered.

'What a coincidence…' He thought,

"Then it's not too late..." Said Alfred as he began to prepare himself.

"Um..? Alfred, what are you doing?" Eleanor asked.

"Young lady, you must prepare your things, We must go to the master at once." Alfred stated.

"Eh? But the sun has already set, shouldn't we go tomorrow?" Eleanor asked.

"That is precisely why... The master gave me clear instructions to bring you to him the moment you arrived, no exceptions." Said Alfred.

"Alfred! We're staying here until you get enough rest!" Said Eleanor.

"But my lady, it's not safe." Said Alfred.

"Alfred, get some rest. This is an order, There is no reason to meet father straight away." Said Eleanor.

"No, he's right." John said.

Everyone's attention in the room turned to him after that.

"What do you mean?" Eleanor asked

"Just trust me. Serena, Ariel, we're heading out." John said.

"Understood." Said Ariel as she nodded.

"Give us a break..." Muttered Serena as she sighed.

After that, the two began to prepare her things.

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Asked Eleanor.

"We don't know either, but John's good at sensing danger, if he says something's wrong then he's usually right," Said Ariel.

"Although I hate to admit it, it's true." Said Serena.

"O-Okay, I'll go get ready." Said Eleanor.

***

After everyone was ready, they left the inn and got on the carriage; John made sure to pay the innkeeper in advance so there we no problems, Eleanor was still confused, but she could tell that something was wrong, probably from the expression on his face.

The one who drove the carriage this time was Alfred, John, Serena and Ariel were at the back with Eleanor.

"The lamp posts sure are pretty at night," John said.

The lamp posts illuminated the roads. One could see people of both the human and other races walking around, either going for a drink or whatever they had to do.

"Yeah, beautiful in fact. Mind telling us now why you made us come out at night?" Serena asked.

"Sure, Deprehendre," John chanted.

Eleanor was watching when he muttered deprehendre, but they couldn't really tell that John cast anything without chanting since deprehendre doesn't show any cool effects after he uses it.

'One.. Three.. Five…' John counted.

"Basically, We're getting chased right now, and the one they're after is Eleanor," John said.

Alfred seemed to already know that, which is why he was trying to get them away from here. In other words, reaching Eleanor's dad's place would be the best option.

After John said that, the only one surprised was Eleanor.

"You two already expected this?" John asked.

"Obviously." Said Serena.

"I believed that John had a reason for doing all of this, and she was being targeted by the shadow mage, so..." Said Ariel.

"Yep, that's right, I'm not sure if these guys are like the shadow mage since they're not able to hide their presence like him, but I hope I'm wrong..." John spoke in an unsure tone.

"How many?" Asked Serena.

"5... There could be another one hiding his presence, I'm not sure." John replied.

After he said that, both Serena and Ariel readied their staffs.

"W-Wait a second, are we really going to fight them?" Eleanor asked.

"No, our job is to get you to your residence safely. Moreover, we're in the middle of a city, there are people nearby, I doubt they'd atta-"

John stopped once he noticed that the assassins had revealed themselves and surrounded the carriage.

"Nevermind, looks like we're going to have to fight our way through." John spoke.