CHAPTER TWELVE

"Welcome back, Milady!"

Leila froze at the sight of at least thirty employees lined up at the entrance of the hotel, bowing the moment she stepped foot inside the establishment.

While pondering what the heck was going on, a bespectacled man in a white suit appeared from within the line of employees.

He had the stern face and the unmistakable aura of a professional businessman in his forties. The man's overall getup didn't exactly flaunt his position, but his mannerisms are impressive enough to lead Leila to assume that he's the guy running the place.

He placed a gloved hand on his left breast and bowed his upper torso, "My sincerest greetings to Milady. My name is Stefan Steward, it's an honor to meet you."

Fighting the bewilderment expression forming on her face, Leila clenched the bags she was holding while inwardly cursing herself for taking off her mask before entering.

In her best unfazed look, Leila gave Stefan a light nod, "Likewise."

"Please allow the servants to take care of the bags for you." He said. The nearby employees immediately took everything Leila was carrying in a smooth motion. Afterwards, Stefan turned his body and his arms, a gesture to follow him. "This way please."

Stefan led her to a large private sitting room where Leila saw her companions comfortably lounged and drinking wine like they owned the place.

"You sure took your sweet time," Cilla popped a grape inside her mouth. "A lot has happened after you left; you should've seen Senpai when he went berserk. A pity you missed it."

"...Indeed, it is." Leila plopped down the nearest couch when Stefan left the room, claiming he needs to prepare more snacks and wine. A good excuse to offer privacy. "What did I miss? Fill me in with the essential details."

"There was an incident. Two servants who were tasked to serve our human companions went nuts and started mistreating them. Physically and mentally." Cilla clicked her tongue. She raised her hand and gestured at Senpai with her thumb. "Then this guy came in, scared the shit out of the people here enough for the owner to come running. Then the guy came in looking all haughty and drunk, turned out to be a useless and incompetent fool who did nothing but benefit from the work of others without doing some himself.

"Your dear butler here, seem to have a thing with incompetent people because they easily get him all pissed off. So, he kicked him out of the building, all black and blue, summoned the other guy who did all the work and threw him to the owner's seat with a flick of a finger."

Cilla took a sip from her wine, lifted her legs, and rested them in the cushion seat in front of her. "By the way, we used your name to threaten and provide support for Stefan, the new owner, just in case that dickhead went running back to demand everything back with authorities behind him."

"It was a reckless move, made purely out of the moment's fury." Senpai grumbled, using his thumb and middle finger to knead his temples. "Now we have to buy you a noble status because this happened. The trial will not be in our favor with enough influence-I doubt anyone would bother concerning themselves over two abused humans with no rights. They would find the whole thing absolutely ridiculous-like, who in their right mind would kick out the owner just because his employees harmed humans."

"I see your point." Leila furrowed her eyes, deep in thought. "We can use the opportunity, while Stefan's still the owner, to buy the hotel. Then, we could just have him take care of it in place of the owner."

"Yes, we've thought of that solution." Senpai replied. "However, we can't just do all those things without you around. It's your money and your authority, not ours."

"Well, next time, do what you have to do. You don't need my permission for everything involving money. But do tell me what you did with it afterwards." Leila held up three fingers with her index and thumb forming a circle gesture. "Capisce?"

Cilla brows knitted together, "What's that?"

"Don't mind her," Senpai butts in. "My master had a habit of inventing slang words, even I had quite a hard time guessing what those meant."

'Of course, that's a lie, telling you would be telling she came from another world.' He spoke down the bond, causing Leila to smile. 'Well said, my friend. So, what do you think about Cilla?'

'She seems nice, pretty laid back for a noble lady. Ya think she's loyal?'

'We'll see. It's too early to tell.'

To not invoke suspicion that they were talking mind to mind, Leila decided to entertain Priscilla's curiosity about her foreign words.

"Capisce is just a word meaning 'Do you understand?'" Leila shrugged, then her brows lifted in question. "So? What happened next?"

"That's just about all." Cilla chirped. "Anyways, what do we do with our human friends?"

"One thing's for sure, we can't bring them with us," Senpai said, crossing his arms. "The Capital is too dangerous a place for humans. They will be nothing but sacrificial targets for those ruthless nobles."

"We can just have them work here," Leila turned to Senpai. "I expect Stefan won't discriminate, what do you think?"

"He's got a good head on his shoulders," Senpai grinned. "Just say the order, he's indebted to you after all."

***

"Are you sure you won't be needing anything else, Milady?"

Leila secured her belongings at her new companion, King, and double-checked one last time before turning to Stefan. "We travel faster without too many necessities but thank you for asking."

Yesterday, Leila and her companions headed towards the horse merchant, were Senpai had ordered three horses prior to their journey to the capital.

Leila had chosen a beautiful pure black stallion. It was the one that had been the hardest to tame and was a rare beautiful breed at the same time.

It seemed to deeply loathe people and caused an impressive amount of causalities to its recent buyers in the last years and had been returned to the same merchant over again.

When Leila first saw the horse, she felt her heart beating and her blood rushing from excitement. She knew, at that moment, that she had to choose him.

The black stallion was extremely angry and had been thrashing wildly against the seven men who were all trying to calm him.

It was like he sensed her attention as his black eyes met her gaze. She saw his tail swishing on air and let out a powerful whinny. He gave a strong, furious shake of his head which forced the men to release the ropes used to bind him, jumped over their heads before galloping towards her.

The people around Leila immediately backed away and tried to alert her to do the same. However, Leila stood her ground and held out the back of her hand. The horse handshake known back on Earth.

The stallion slowed and cautiously sniffed around-then to her hand before giving it a gentle nudge. A sign that he has consented her to mount him.

Leila grinned, came closer, and trailed her hands unto the stallion's nose and unto his beautiful, glossy black mane. He had attracted her with his powerful motions and unyielding will that is very much like a warrior in battle.

Yes, this kind of behavior is very much like a- "King." Leila whispered. The stallion's eyes blinked. She felt it rest his head on the incline of her shoulder and relaxed. "Seems like you like it."

Leila turned her head towards the stunned horse merchant and grinned, "I'll take him."

The mere memory of it brought a pleasant smile on Leila's face and her mood instantly lifted.

She placed a foot on the stirrup of the saddle and lift her body up in one fluid motion before settling comfortably at the saddle.

Stefan bowed politely, "Have a safe journey, Miladies...Milord."

Leila stifled a laugh when she saw Senpai cringed at the word before nodding in acknowledgment. The hotel employees gathered at the front to bid their farewells. Leila heard them clicking their tongues at the horses before they started trotting forward.

Leila gave King a reassuring pat at his muscular neck and gently kicked his side with her heel.

King stood on airs and let out a majestic neigh before galloping to follow behind them.

***

Time passed, the trio raced towards forests and cliffs after calmly trotting through town to avoid startling people.

Leila let out a wicked laugh. Her long hair furiously brandishing against the wind and her body slightly jumping from both rapid movements and jagged trails.

Thanks to their versatile immortal bodies, the trio didn't require any stops for food, water, and rest. Thus, they had come a long way after maintaining their full speed most of the day.

Though she wasn't familiar with the right routes, Leila had still maintained the lead with Priscilla barking directions from behind.

By the time they had decided to slow down, it was nightfall of the fifth day of their travel. Although the horses were considered normal for a good breed, their strength, speed, and vitality are superhuman compared to those of Earth.

King, in particular, had a presence similar to those of a dragon. He excluded quite a bloodthirst for a horse, a very unusual feature as they're typically known to be very friendly and loyal creatures.

However, Leila begged to differ. For her, King had been a lucky charm. She was about to embark on another foreign and most probably, a more dangerous place unlike anywhere she had ever been. She has yet to fully realize the dangers that come from a world evolving around magic and the fact that normal logic would prove to be useless.

She was lucky to be chosen by King. Leila desperately needed loyal and trustworthy companions. Immortal or no.

Plus, since there is also the possibility of attracting bandits or monsters on the way, so an overwhelming presence is vital.

And King's bloodlust is exactly the kind of intimidation she needed.

They had no lanterns or any form of light, other than the moon, so they were carefully trotting amidst the smooth, slightly slippery rocky road at the sides of the mountain.

"Hey, look what I found!" Leila shouted, her voice slightly echoing. Senpai and Cilla drew close to where she was pointing.

It was large enough for ten. Jagged teeth-like rocks on the ground close to the sides and on the ceiling like a beasts' mouth. The slightly dim but cool air had made itself home making it comfortable and refreshing.

"It's...it's a cave." Senpai said in a matter of fact tone. She rolled her eyes at him, "Way to state out the obvious. What I meant was, now we have a place to take a break. Now scoot."

Senpai smiled and held his hands in defeat. He slowly backed away from his sister's path. "Mind your step."

After thoroughly searching the caves for monsters or hibernating wild beasts, the trio individually prepared whatever they think was necessary. The vanished Senpai came back with an armload of wood and was starting up a fire.

Cilla laid down some sheets on the cold ground for anyone who wants to take a short nap and fed and water the horses, who were also camped inside.

Leila rummaged through their stuff and brought out the thing she had Stefan prepare prior to their travel. She pulled the lid off the container and a familiar, mouthwatering aroma swept their noses.

Cilla's head swiftly turned to the scent, "Is that what I think it is?"

"But why the container? You can just wrap it up with some wide leaves." Senpai cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, I had it marinated that's why," Leila replied, somehow her voice was a bit low and distracted. "I didn't want to travel and eat only bland food when I'm starving."

She held the container towards Senpai. He took it and started placing the meat skewers unto the fire to be cooked.

He kept glancing at his master, who seemed disturbed for a while now. One thing he noticed after spending time with her, there was never a dull moment with Leila, and yet the said person had been too quiet for the last hour. It was simply too unusual to ignore. 'What's up? You seem distracted.'

'Nothing, it's just...' Leila stared blankly at the fire. 'It's this gut feeling I get when something's about to happen.'

'Is it a good omen or a bad one?'

Just then, loud screams and roars echoed from somewhere beneath them. The sudden sounds made them jolt as they scrambled to their feet and immediately fetched their weapons.

'Bad.'