14 – A New Beginning

"This is what you guys wanted, right, mom, dad?" Cecil hugged his parents. "Why are you guys crying?"

"We're glad you're leaving this miserable village." Cecil's father sucked the snot that was about to come out. "We simply want you to have a better life."

"Look after yourself." Cecil's mother wiped her tears. "And don't forget to write to us."

Meanwhile, Lance stared at the road while tapping his feet. Trish should've left the hotel and arrived here much earlier. She chose to be alone in order to think calmly. So, she refused the offer to stay at Arthur Moryet's second house.

"Are you waiting for your third future wife?" Ruth muttered. "Well, it's natural that you don't want to lose someone as beautiful and sexy as her. Not to mention she can cook. And since she likes to fight, she must be really great in bed. Her stamina must be extraordinary."

"She is an important member of this project." Feeling that this was an urgent matter, Lance couldn't respond to his mother's joke. "I can't leave her."

Lance couldn't imagine having to look for another tester. Maybe he can find them, but can they be as good as Trish?

"It's a shame, but we have to leave now." Julian got off one of the carriages. "Sir Arthur values time. We cannot delay any longer."

"The project wouldn't have been possible without me." Lance replied in a sharp tone. "I'm not leaving until I get a clear answer from Trish."

Julian let out a chuckle. "Sorry, but we can't afford that… Where are you going?"

Lance had already walked away. "I will visit her and ask her directly."

Julian caught up with Lance and blocked his path.

Lance gritted his teeth, holding back his anger. "Move. You don't understand this."

"You are the one who doesn't understand. We have to go now." Julian hissed. "Just one second is worth something."

The two stared at each other, and Cecil moved closer to them. With a grimace, she said. "Errr… Trish has entered the carriage. She uses a different road from the hotel."

Lance looked back, finding the female warrior already looking out of the carriage.

"Sorry, last night I decided to come. But I slept too late, so I woke up late." She then sniffed her own armpit. "Damn, two days I haven't showered because I was thinking hard about this."

"Ah, thank you for coming with us." Lance smiled and approached the carriage with Cecil. Finally, he could breathe a sigh of relief.

"This is a terrible precedent, Lance Ashbourne." Julian crossed his arms. "You are unable to control your people as a leader."

"Lance." Cecil grimaced again as Lance kept walking. "He's talking to you."

Julian cleared his throat. "Did you hear me? You are the leader..."

Lance still didn't respond. He waved goodbye to his family and Cecil's, then got into the carriage.

Even though Julian was smiling, veins were already standing out on his temples and neck. "Hey, have you never heard of respect…"

"Hey, Julian. Why are you standing still like an idiot?" Arthur looked out from another carriage. "Move your ass and get in here. We're leaving now."

Trish watched Julian run to the carriage where Arthur Moryet was riding. The female warrior then muttered. "I heard him, boss. He wants to humiliate you. That's why I thought long and hard about joining you. I'm reluctant to deal with government people who consider themselves superior to us."

"Don't worry, you will work for us. I will make sure our work environment is comfortable." Just as the carriage was moving, Lance took out a portable table and placed it on his lap.

"That's impressive." Trish raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen a table that folds up like that."

Lance took out a piece of paper and started sketching. "Yeah, Cecil and his father made it from some spare wood and some screws."

"But the idea was yours, Lance." Resting her chin on her palm, Cecil smiled. "I never thought that your brain stored things like that."

Lance didn't consider it special. Portable tables like that already existed in his home world. The young man just copied it from his memory.

"Ah..." Because of the swaying of the carriage, Lance had some difficulty sketching.

"Do you have to do that now, boss?" Trish commented. "Can't you do that when you reach our destination? Why not just enjoy the journey?"

Lance remained focused on making the blueprints. "This is for Eve's seminar. She must give her best…."

The young man remembered his past, when he was buried in work. And drawing blueprints in conditions like this is not fun.

"Yeah." Lance rolled up the paper. "We might not have much free time again after this. Let's make the most of it."

Cecil widened his smile. "This is the Lance I know. Always take everything easy, but that doesn't mean you're irresponsible."

"I have something." Trish reached into her bag on the floor. "And luckily you have a suitable table for this."

The female warrior lifted a small wooden box containing a card game set. Cecil gasped, while Lance narrowed his eyes because he noticed something in the box.

"That's the erotic version, right?" The young man hissed.

"Yeah!" Trish threw the box up and caught it again. "Don't look at the erotic side! These cards are freaking hilarious!"

***

Eve peered through the back window of another carriage, checking on Lance's. As laughter occasionally emerged from that vehicle, Eve did that more often.

"You can't concentrate on hearing my advice, can you?" Arthur Moryet sighed. "You want to be with them?"

"No, father. I apologize." Eve closed the back window curtains and stared at the floor. Since childhood, she didn't dare look into her father's eyes for too long. "From now on, I will listen to your words."

Arthur leaned forward. "After I think about it, it's no use lecturing you about your responsibilities as a military member."

Eve didn't respond.

"So, I will ask you one thing. And I hope you can answer it according to your heart." Arthur continued. "Do you love doing this?"

This time, Eve raised her face. "Yes, Father."

Arthur's lips curved into a smile. "That's good, then."