The day of departure finally arrived.
Ansu led Radish out after a long absence, tightened the reins, and turned his gaze toward the carriage that had already been loaded behind him.
The carriage was stuffed with many bags and parcels, all carefully prepared gifts.
As if sharing a telepathic connection, Freya lifted the window curtain and looked at him with a smile in her eyes.
For some reason, this scene felt more and more like deja vu...
Wasn't this just like visiting the parents for the holidays?
"To think my big brother would actually see the day he brings gifts to meet a girl's parents..." Vera looked at Ansu, putting on the relieved expression of an elder as she sighed, "Sigh, he's grown up. He's really grown up..."
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Ansu gave her a speechless glance.
Vera covered her mouth and giggled.
Ansu stroked Vera's soft hair and instructed, "Your brother is going on a long journey. Remember to eat on time, rest on time, and contact me whenever anything happens. If you encounter danger, you can go find Celia or the cult elders..."
"I know, I know." Vera dodged her brother's large hand, her gaze moving back and forth between Ansu and Freya in the carriage, as if she were looking for something.
"Celia... didn't she come to see you off?"
Vera blinked curiously. Her big brother was going on a long trip; even if Celia wasn't going along, shouldn't she at least come to see him off?
"She knew her mood would definitely be bad if she came, so she simply didn't come," Ansu explained.
"Oh." Vera nodded, then couldn't help but mutter, "But I'm still surprised... Her jealousy is so strong and her personality is so overbearing, yet she actually let you go."
"Cough, cough, cough..." For some reason, Ansu suddenly looked left and right.
"Don't talk nonsense. This is all for the sake of the career. There's no such thing as letting me go or not letting me go..."
"But she's definitely monitoring you secretly, right?" Vera asked curiously.
Based on her understanding of the bad woman, the other party would love to keep her eyes glued to her big brother at all times. Letting him go on a long journey with Sister Freya was something she would definitely have a backup plan for!
Ansu looked at her and silently nodded.
"Of course..."
"She probably even heard the sentence you just said."
That was why he had wanted Vera to say a few words less just now.
Vera was startled and immediately looked around, "Ah? Where... where is she?"
Ansu followed her line of sight to scan the surroundings, his gaze fixing on several 'fixed camera positions' before he slowly looked up toward the azure sky.
"The Witch... is everywhere."
Vera froze, then felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Celia was too terrifying.
She immediately shut her mouth, never wanting to mention this topic again.
"Well, okay then... Big brother, Sister Freya, I wish you a safe journey..."
Freya waved gently from the carriage, and Ansu sat in the driver's seat at the front, gripping the reins.
"Mm, we're leaving."
...
Just as Ansu and Freya's carriage headed north.
Inside Lawrence Manor in the city, in Celia's room.
Heavy curtains blocked out all outside light, and dozens of faintly flickering magic images hovered in mid-air like giant screens.
The entire room was like a monitoring center, displaying everything inside and outside the carriage from every angle.
These 'monitoring screens' included medium shots, long shots, and even several close-up shots from very nearby.
【Reconnaissance Golem】 followed silently like ghosts, while 【Eagle's Eye】 looked down on everything from the sky, capturing the winding road and the moving carriage in their entirety.
Celia leaned back lazily in her chair, her gaze sweeping across every Ansu on the screens.
A dark smile slowly rose at the corners of her mouth.
Not going along didn't mean she would let things take their own course.
Otherwise, how could she possibly feel at ease letting the two of them be alone together for so long?
At this moment, this airtight, invisible net woven from countless magic eyes was the source of her confidence.
She would keep watching Ansu, on and on...
Celia leaned forward slightly, her fingertips almost touching Ansu's silhouette in the projection, her gaze becoming increasingly strange.
"Hehehe, now... do you still dare to do anything behind my back?"
The light and shadow shifted in the room, reflecting her cheeks which seemed to be shrouded in shadow. Celia slowly revealed a confident smile.
Everything was under control.
And so...
One day, two days...
Just like that, she pushed forward with her magic research while taking a peek at Ansu during her leisure time.
Of course, sometimes a single peek would last half a day.
For the first few days, the two of them were very well-behaved.
It was just that Freya's gaze, which was gentle to the point of being nearly burning, and Ansu's posture of accepting it calmly, made it quite eyesore for her.
This journey was unexpectedly harmonious, as if they really were a young couple going home to meet the parents... On the contrary, she felt like someone hiding in the shadows peeking at someone else's happiness...
Hmph... I need to give them a warning!
However, on this day, which was the fourth day of the journey—
All the screens suddenly disappeared.
Whether it was the high-altitude 【Eagle's Eye】 view or the medium and close-range 【Reconnaissance Golem】, they all lost contact at the same instant.
Celia hastily stopped the experiment at hand. She cast spells rapidly, attempting to reconnect to every viewpoint.
However, no matter which viewpoint she switched to, the only feedback was a hollow void...
Even the magitech communicator, Communication Amulet, and every other means of communication she could think of could no longer reach Ansu himself. It was as if the two of them had vanished into thin air!
Only the sound of her gradually quickening breathing remained in the room. All her previous confidence and composure were replaced by the panic in her heart.
Celia's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared fixedly at the endless darkness before her.
Ansu and Freya...
Were missing?
...
Time went back to three hours ago.
The carriage traveled along the rural dirt road, bumping all the way.
Ansu gazed toward the north. The Talin region was the northernmost autonomous territory of the Empire. Starting from Norvigel, the carriage had already passed through Count Karl's territory and the territories of several small border nobles before finally reaching the boundary of the Talin region.
Towering snow-capped mountains rose and fell in the distance. Even in summer, the wind here already carried a hint of chill.
He was just about to remind Freya in the carriage to add some clothing.
However, several figures in tattered clothes appeared on the road ahead. They looked panicked, and they were all demihumans.
The closer they got to the Talin region, the more such demihuman refugees there were.
Ansu and Freya exchanged a look. He jumped down from the carriage nimbly and went forward to inquire.
After a long time, he returned to the carriage with a heavy expression. "These refugees said that the Wolfgar tribe has been plundering Staya territory extensively these past few days, burning down several villages. They are homeless."
"The Wolfgar tribe..." Freya repeated softly, her brow furrowing as well.
A hint of worry flashed in her eyes as she explained to Ansu, "The Wolfgar tribe, also known as wolf-born demihumans, are aggressive by nature. They pride themselves as children of war and often bully other weak demihuman tribes..."
The image of such demihumans immediately appeared in Ansu's mind.
Whether it was in Benalu City or in that simulation in Norvigel, the destructive power caused by wolf-born demihumans was very great. This group of irritable and power-worshiping savage warriors had always been an unstable factor in the cities.
"I wonder how my parents and the village are doing..." Tension and worry surfaced on Freya's face.
She unconsciously gripped Ansu's sleeve tightly. "Lord Ansu, we have to get home quickly!"
"Don't worry." Ansu pressed her hand steadily, his gaze looking toward the foot of the snow-capped mountains. "We'll head over there at full speed right now."
He returned to the driver's seat and cracked the whip to urge Radish and the other horse. The carriage suddenly accelerated.
Rate on N.U.
