Dawn Breaks For The Fourth Day

Dawn was breaking, and I was wide awake and ready to set off my first Mission as the Swordsman Pillar of the Barren Pillars. I wasn't sure if I felt good about it, but I had to make ends meet. Food won't fall from the sky, and I need shelter to survive.

I was dressed in my traveling outfit, the same blue dress from my first day, with black boots and armor padding on my knees and arms. I wore leather gauntlets with laces and summoned my sword to fit nicely on my back. I was thinking of a coat, but it didn't seem viable.

"Notice. Your Elemental Stats are as follows. Be sure to have sufficient for the upcoming battles. In addition, the armor that I have equipped you with is made with traces of the feather given by the Valkyrie on your first day. Thus, your defense has grown slightly higher," explained Vania.

Ah, I had completely forgotten that you could break down items that I've collected on my quests. Thanks, Vania. I'm sure that it'll come in handy with the fights. I checked all my bars, and everything seemed good.

When I went downstairs, I was greeted warmly by Mavislin and Bryan, who were both having a competition of how many sausages they could fit into their mouths. But unfortunately, I could hear Clement scolding the two Mages and their mouths full of food, trying to argue back.

As I sat down, Clement served me a full English Breakfast of scrambled eggs, baked beans, bacon, sausages, toast, and sauteed mushrooms. Coupled with a nice cup of joe, I enjoyed my breakfast. Tomoe and Raiyen were the next to join while trying to figure out what was happening.

"They are having a competition. By the way, I presume those participating in the Mission are ready to go after breakfast, right? I've checked on my terminal about the situation of the storm. We've got a day and a half to make it to the West Coast of the Teuton Domain," I asked.

"We are primed and ready. And I'll make sure we get there quicker," replied Raiyen, grinning as if he had something up his sleeve.

"If you must know, I'm not planning to ride on a beast to get there since this is supposed to be a covert task. We'll be using the tunnels, so don't saddle up your beast for this journey," I answered, shooting down Raiyen's idea.

"Aw... I thought we could use Mavislin's Familiar to travel..." complained Raiyen, slouching.

I quickly glared at the Time Mage.

"Ciel doesn't like being on land that much, so unless this Mission takes place underwater, I don't think that will be a good idea," replied Mavislin, finishing her breakfast and winning the competition.

Bryan continued to eat his breakfast in defeated silence while Duncan was the last to join the breakfast. The kid yawned a couple of times before digging into his food. After a moment had passed, I could feel Tomoe's eyes scanning me from head to toe.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at the Kitsune.

"What happened yesterday? You looked like you had fought against someone last night, but you said you were fine... I don't think you are alright," asked Tomoe, still not letting go of last night's incident.

I couldn't speak about the incident, especially if the Founders were around since it might affect their mood for the upcoming Mission. I shook my head and gave the same reason as before. Tomoe wanted to dig into the matter further but was stopped by Raiyen clearing his throat.

"Lady Elizabeth has already stated that she is fine. If she's uncomfortable telling you something, you shouldn't pry. It's not nice and not to mention annoying as well. It looks like we would have to do the old-fashioned way of using our feet to travel."

"The entrance to the tunnel that connects to Teuton isn't too far from here," said Raiyen, trying to get the group's attention.

"That's good to know. So everyone knows which target they are going after once we hit the enemy territory?" I asked, glancing at everyone.

Raiyen was set to be after Raijin. Tomoe is going to face Vastra. Duncan has got the easiest target, Astria Faust. Bryan's target would be the Black Knight, and my enemy would be the Iron Canine. I was hoping to finish the Hound off and help Bryan out with the Black Knight.

After all, I was being roped into this thing in the first place because Bryan had said he was afraid that this Mission might send him to an early grave. So, to prevent that from happening, I will finish my opponent in one fell swoop and proceed on.