Chapter 54 – Off to Vanworth

Third person POV

The next morning, just before sunrise, Robert, William, Emma, and Peter, alongside Colt and Masanori, hopped in a covered horse wagon and left Keystone with some belongings, food, and water, and towards Vanworth, which was southeast of Saverfort. Just before Robert left, Blaise told him that she'll return to Peacewood in three days, so Robert don't have to stay in Keystone after the diplomatic mission. Robert agreed with her without any hesitation though.

Along the way, Robert passed the time by reading, memorizing, and summarizing the instructions on how to say in a peace negotiation with the king of Vanworth. William was reading a book, while Emma and Peter are playfighting like kids. Masanori is wiping his weapon while Colt is sitting next to the driver. They are going through the thick Yeager Forest, home to some goblins, who made the forest their home. One dirt road cuts through the forest, and that's the road the covered wagon was traversing through. The wagon rattled as the driver, a man with black hair and blue eyes, kept on whipping the horses swiftly every half hour.

"So, uh, Robert-kun," William asked while reading, "how's your memorization?"

"It's going well, but a bit difficult," Robert answered back while reading the three pieces of paper and his dictionary book simultaneously. "I had to learn the definitions of some words."

"It's not that necessary to learn those words," replied William back. "We'll learn them once this winter break ends."

"That's okay, I just wanted to learn about them."

"I see."

Then, Emma's elbow accidentally hit William in the back, causing William to be very annoyed, and he turned around. "Hey! Stop that!"

"Sorry, cous," Emma replied back while smiling on how funny her playfighting is with her older brother.

"Seriously, you guys are like that ever since you two are kids," William responded back. "I thought you two had grown up."

Noticing this after hearing what William said to Emma and Peter, Robert asked, "Are they?"

Sighing in mild annoyance, William responded, "Yeah, they like to playfight whenever they're not serious at the moment."

The heat of the sun causes some sweat to drop from Robert's face to his newly personalized cloak, which then got stained by the sweat. But, the cloth used to make it take a long time for it to absorb any liquid, giving Robert enough time to wipe it off using a towel.

"Robert-kun, I'll teach you how to wield and attack with a melee weapon," Masanori said to Robert, "along the way, to be exact."

"Oh, thanks, Masanori-sensei," Robert positively replied back, before going back to his work of practicing.