The next day.
The sun had just risen, and there were still dewdrops on the weeds by the road.
At the entrance of the academy, Eight-cloud Ink was preparing saddles.
There were three horses, one for him, Louise, and Patrice.
Even though Patrice and Yakumo had never ridden a horse before, they were able to directly communicate with the horse through their mental powers. They could completely ignore this point.
As usual, Eight-cloud Ink was wearing a gorgeous black robe. The Yin Yang Jade pendant on his robe jingled in the morning breeze.
Patrice was also dressed the same as when she was in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She was wearing pajamas with a laced skirt.
"That, Miss Yakumo, Miss Noreki, is it appropriate for you to ride a horse like this?"
"It's fine."
Eight-cloud Ink shook his head.
"By the way, Louise, didn't Angelietta say that she'd arrange for someone to lead the way for us? Why isn't he here yet? "
"I don't know."
"Tsk, I could've taken you there through the gap after you pointed out the location of Albion."
Louise's face turned pale as she recalled the terrifying scene in the gap. She shook her head: "No!!"
"Miss Louise!! Mister Yakumo!! "
Suddenly, Shesta's voice came from the academy.
"Shesta?"
Shesta, who was wearing a maid uniform, ran to the academy gate with a bag on her back and the Emei Piercer on her waist.
If it was in the past, after running for such a long distance, Shesta would definitely be out of breath. However, after so many days of training, this distance was no longer a problem for Shesta.
Shesta, who was not out of breath, ran to the side of the three and clenched her fists: "Miss Louise, Mister Yakumo, please bring me along!!"
"Shesta, how did you know?"
Sheesta lowered her head in embarrassment when she heard Louise's question.
"That, I'm sorry. Last night when I sent the laundry over, I accidentally overheard Her Highness. I'm really sorry for eavesdropping!!"
Toward the end of her sentence, Shesta bowed heavily and apologized loudly.
"But Shesta, we're going to carry out a secret mission. It might be dangerous."
"It's fine!"
Shesta straightened her back and made a serious expression.
"After cultivating for so many days, I will definitely be able to help! As a token of gratitude to Miss Louise and Mr. Yakumo for saving me, I am also Miss Louise's personal maid, am I not? "
"If you put it that way …"
Louise realized that she couldn't find a reason to refuse and could only agree resentfully.
"Someone's coming."
All of a sudden, Patrice, who had been quietly reading her book, spoke.
From the faint morning light, a tall noble appeared.
He was wearing a hat with feathers and a cloak on his back. He was tall and thin and had a mustache on his chin.
"Everyone, good evening. I received the order from Her Highness to travel with you. If it's only you guys, I'm still worried. But since it was a secret mission, they couldn't send a troop to accompany them. That's why I was appointed to assist you. "
The tall noble took off his hat and bowed.
"Her Highness the Queen's Magic Guard, Captain Griffin, Viscount Waludo."
"Lord Waludo …"
After seeing who it was, Louise's voice trembled.
"It's been a long time, Louise! My Lois! My dear fiancée! "
Louise stood up and spoke in a trembling voice.
The man named Waludo had a charming smile as he walked to Louise's side and gently hugged her.
Eight-cloud Ink raised an eyebrow. The man in front of her seemed to have a close relationship with Louise.
Fiancée?
Who would have thought that Louise, this little girl, actually had a fiancé already.
"Long time no see."
Louise, who was in Waludo's arms, blushed as she spoke in a low voice.
"You're still as light as before! Just like a feather. "
"That, I'm sorry to be called that …"
Eight-cloud Ink ignored Waludo and Louise who were throwing flashbangs as she mounted the horse.
Patrice put away her magic book as her petite body slowly floated up and sat on the horse's back.
"It's getting late, are we still not leaving?"
Eight-cloud Ink played with a strand of hair in front of her chest as she glanced at Louise and Waludo.
"I'm sorry."
After putting Louise down, Waludo nodded to Eight-cloud Ink and Patrice.
When he saw Patrice, his gaze lingered for a moment. When he saw Eight-cloud Ink, the man named Waludo was stunned.
— Then Eight-cloud Ink immediately hated this guy.
"This … Miss …"
"Although I'm sorry to break your fantasy, but … I'm a man."
Ah, he lost his color.
Waludo stood there in a daze.
Patrice couldn't help but laugh.
Louise puffed up her cute bun-like face.
With an awkward smile, Waludo turned around and looked at Louise.
"Miss Norej, we've met once in the palace. Then, this … Mister, do you want to introduce us? "
"Eight-cloud Ink."
After saying his name, Eight-cloud Ink ignored Waludo.
Fake smile, hateful aura.
This man was very suspicious.
"Yakumo …? Is this Louise's familiar? I've heard of her. "
"Yes, yes!" Louise nodded and looked at Eight-cloud Ink with pride. "Yakumo is very powerful! Very powerful! "
When she thought of the rune card that Eight-cloud Ink gave her, Louise felt a surge of excitement.
After the evaluation, Louise, who knew the power of the rune card, used all kinds of methods to get a few rune cards in her spare time while learning magic from Eight-cloud Ink.
"Alright, Mister Yakumo, we're acquainted. Also, perhaps it's rude to say this, but we're on a mission —"
Waludo looked at Shesta.
"— Is it appropriate to bring a maid?"
"You're underestimating Shesta?"
Eight-cloud Ink glanced at Waludo.
"This girl may not be your opponent now, but in a year, you won't be able to defeat her."
"Interesting … The lucky maid who learned a mystical skill from Mister Yakumo?"
Waludo looked at Shesta meaningfully, and the maid was so scared that she hid behind Louise.
"Alright, let's go. Your phantom beast should be nearby, right? I can smell it from afar. "
Waludo looked at Eight-cloud Ink in surprise. What keen insight.
A whistle sounded, and Griffin appeared from the morning mist.
Its upper body was that of a vulture, and its lower body was that of a lion.
It had beautiful feathers.
Waludo stepped on Griffin gracefully and extended his hand to Louise.
"Come here, Louise."
Louise lowered her head hesitantly and carefully glanced at Yakumo. Yakumo chuckled to himself when he saw this.
He did not have any improper thoughts about Louise, but it seemed that after these days of interaction, this little girl slowly started to value Eight-cloud Ink.
In particular, every time she mastered a new spell, Louise was always the first to report the good news to Eight-cloud Ink. After receiving a compliment from him, she was like a pet cat that received a reward from its owner. She smiled happily and foolishly for the whole day. Even when she was teased by Churuk, it did not change.
"Shesta, do you know how to ride a horse?"
Seeing that Louise seemed to be hesitating, Eight-cloud Ink turned to look at Shesta, who was standing nervously on the side.
The little maid shook her head in embarrassment.
"Then, Louise, how about you ride a horse and bring Shesta with you?"
"Okay!"
The little girl immediately nodded without hesitation, and at the same time, she was secretly relieved.
Waludo shrugged nonchalantly and directed Griffin to walk in front.
⑧
The journey from Port La Rochelle to Toristine took about two days on horseback.
This port city located at the entrance of Abion was designed as a narrow passage in a narrow valley.
The population was only about 300 people, but counting the people who came and went from Abion, there was ten times the floating population of the natives.
In the narrow mountain path, with its back against the cliff, various shops and hotels were lined up.
Perhaps because of the landscape, the architectural style was generally rough.
However, the rows of buildings were all cut from the same piece of rock and looked very similar to each other.
Because the city was located in a valley, it was slightly dark even during the day.
Golden Wine Cup was the name of the hotel where Eight-cloud Ink and the others were staying.
However, it was just a nice name, the hotel looked like an abandoned house.
"Because we are carrying out a secret mission, it is better not to choose a hotel that is too good to avoid attracting attention."
That was Waludo's explanation.
Eight-cloud Ink and Patrice both frowned.
Especially when they saw the mercenaries drinking and making a ruckus, the two were even more repulsed by this hotel.
"Forget it, just one night is enough."
With a sigh, Eight-cloud Ink's clothes fluttered as she opened the door and walked in.
The strong smell of alcohol assaulted their nostrils, causing the demons who had no resistance to alcohol to immediately retreat with a dark face.
Although during the banquet in the Fantasy Village, the demons would also make the entire banquet hall smell of alcohol, but the alcohol was carefully brewed and he could still tolerate the smell.
However, when Eight-cloud Ink smelled the inferior alcohol, he almost couldn't hold back his demon power and razed the place to the ground.
Although he could block the smell, his clothes would inevitably be contaminated with the smell of alcohol. This made Eight-cloud Ink, who had developed a slight obsession with cleanliness due to Lan He and Ashina's care, who had started to be picky about all aspects of life, unable to tolerate it.
"Hey, you guys stay here, I will look for another place."
"Louise, if there is any danger, just use the rune card I gave you. No need to be polite."
Before leaving, Eight-cloud Ink glanced meaningfully at Waludo.
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