Departure

Breakfast was mostly quiet. Veliona was too busy eating to argue over anything with Rei, who had sat herself at Aldrich's other side. They did exchange glares from time to time, though. Levi wasn't quite sure what was going on between the three of them, but he knew it was probably better to stay out of it.

So instead, he focused on his own food. It had taken some time, but he had learned how to use chopsticks without stabbing the food. He should probably tell Aldrich that Van Salvatorre had been there, he thought while chewing.

"You should try the tamagoyaki, Aldrich," Rei said as she placed one of the egg rolls onto his plate. "I'm sure you'd love them."

"And just how would you know that?" Veliona scoffed. "You met him only yesterday."

And just like that, the silence was broken as Veliona and Rei began to shoot comments back and forth. Aldrich had given up on trying to mediate and was just focusing on eating.

Then both of them suddenly fell silent, and Aldrich placed his chopsticks on the table quickly. Levi wasn't sure why they had done that. They were all staring at something behind him, so he followed their gaze to find a man at the entrance to the dining room. A man with the same blonde hair and ice blue eyes as Amane Rei. He wore intricate traditional clothing. Behind him were two guards.

Aldrich got up quickly and gave a low bow. "Greetings, your Imperial highness."

Veliona and Rei stood up as well and curtsied. Levi began to do the same, but the emperor raised a hand and gave them all a large smile. "No need to be so formal, now. I'm the one interrupting your breakfast after all."

They all sat back down at the emperor's signal. "Sadly, I won't be staying long. I still have some matters to attend to. I just wanted to say hello before you left for Yves. And to tell you that I've appointed Yasuo to accompany you."

Veliona lowered her head courteously. "That is very kind of you, your highness. But I don't believe a guard is needed."

The king shook his head. "I'll have to insist. You say you were abducted, yes? A quite serious matter, and the fact that I have not received any word about it from Yves is quite worrying. I might be wrong, but please just bear with me anyway."

Veliona seemed to think it over for a while before answering with a small nod. The three of them would be accompanied back to Yves.

Once the emperor took his leave, Levi turned to Aldrich. "Who's Yasuo?"

×

The serious looking attendant named Yasuo returned Aldrich's cleaned clothes to their room after breakfast. Levi introduced himself and received a curt nod in return. Yasuo reached into his pocket and brought a medallion out, then proceeded to toss it at Aldrich.

It was the medallion Van Salvatorre had given him. He must have left it in his clothes' pocket.

"You should try not to lose that," Yasuo said. "It is a decently powerful blessed relic."

Yasuo left after, saying they would find him at the stables once they were ready to leave. So Aldrich got changed and he and Levi made their way to the Palace stables.

They found Yasuo saddling the horses. He had also changed outfits and had a singular sheathed katana strapped to his back.

A few minutes later Veliona arrived. Her dress had been returned to her earlier but she had decided not to wear it. Instead she had changed from the yukata into a simple white shirt and brown leather trousers and boots. She had also tied up her hair.

"What?" She asked Aldrich who was staring. "Fighting with a giant skirt and heels isn't as easy as I made it look. This feels much better. I also never get to wear these kinds of clothes."

Princess Rei came out to wave them goodbye. "Maybe I'll come visit Yves soon." She said to Aldrich as he mounted his horse.

Veliona, already on hers, strutted forward. "Thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to tell the guards not to let you in under any circumstance."

She and Rei exchanged one more ugly look before they set off.

×

The first half of the ride was quiet, with the only sounds being the surrounding nature and Veliona's sounds of excitement at every new thing she saw. She had been outside before, she insisted upon seeing Aldrich's questioning glances. But she had always been inside a carriage and never this close to the nature.

Yasuo rode behind them in silence, his face as serious and stoic as ever. Levi was a few metres ahead of him.

"I'm surprised you know how to ride a horse." Aldrich commented, giving his a little kick.

"Horse riding is a part of my daily schedule, actually." Veliona replied. "Though I don't ever get a chance to do so outside of them."

A rabbit darting through the grass caught her attention and she let out a little squeal of excitement. The party advanced at a slow pace since Veliona stopped every few metres to look at something she had never seen before.

But Levi didn't mind. It was quiet, and peaceful. Abaddon would hate it, Levi smiled to himself.

After a few hours, Veliona exclaimed again. But not about a tiny woodland creature this time. "Look!" She pointed towards something ahead of them. "There's a town, in the distance."

"A town?" Yasuo repeated, this was the first time he had spoken since they left. "There are no towns near here to my knowledge."

But Veliona was right. In the distance, a small, but very much real, town was visible. Yasuo looked confused.

"It's getting late, we can stay the night there, right?" Veliona said. "Surely they have an inn."

"I thought you wanted to experience nature," Aldrich laughed. "You seem a bit too eager to sleep in a bed rather than outside."

"I'd say I've had enough nature for one day."

A chill ran down Levi's spine when they neared the town. The atmosphere suddenly shifted, a small enough change that the others didn't seem to notice. Levi did though, it smelled different.

A little girl ran out from the town to meet them. She had an excited look on her face. "Welcome!" She said loudly. "We never get any visitors, I'm so happy you're here!"

A frail looking woman with graying hair walked up and pulled the girl to her side. "Calm down, Momo. They have only just arrived, you wouldn't want to scare them away already, would you?"

The little girl, Momo, shook her head and clung to the woman's dress. "Sorry." She apologised in a small voice.

The woman smiled lightly at the girl before moving her gaze to the four of them. "Welcome to our humble town, travelers." She began. "I am Musashi Takahara. Please, do come in."