In & out

-----Yui's

Soon enough, we came up to the gate of Oakvale, but unlike Maemont's gates, the gate in Oakvale was open with only 4 guards stationed. What was even more surprising about the open gate was that they weren't even drawing their weapons. Of course, Alice already had her rapier drawn, ready to engage at a moments notice.

Natalie: "Did they forget to close the gate?"

Alice: "Maybe they know their effort will be futile."

Iris: "...Stop at the gate."

Driver: "Milady?"

Iris: "I said stop at the gate."

Driver: "Yes!"

And with that, we stopped just a little past the gate as the 4 guards came up to us. For a second I thought they were about to be hostile but once I saw their weapons were still not drawn, I figured we were still fine.

Guard1: "We'd like to join you, lady Leinhart."

Guard2/3/4: "Yes!"

They all bent down on one knee in unison towards my mother. Alice was still on guard, pointing her rapier towards them. Did they maybe hear about what was happening and decided to switch sides with us?

Iris: "I figured. We don't have much time. Get in the caravan over there."

Immediately, they thank my mom before rushing over to the caravan behind ours. In my opinion this is far too risky. It could just be a trap set up by the king. But maybe that's why mom sent them to a different caravan? And even if they try and do something, they're close enough for us to do something. Looking at it like that, this might be the safest option.

We continue on the move further into Oakvale, picking up some people along the way. We have quite a lot of caravans, but I think I counted maybe 30 or so people? But unlike Maemont where we only picked up humans, this time, even demi-humans were amongst the people that hopped into the caravans. We maybe stayed around for 15 minutes before we were on the move again. There were some more guards that saw all of this happening, but stayed back after seeing mom's soldiers. My guess is that they'll join up with the army that's chasing us, but mom insisted for us to leave instead of taking them out now.

The exit gate however was closed, unlike when we came in here. There was another 4 guards who did end up trying to fight, in which case, Alice quickly cut them down while Kaede broke open the gate like she did before.

Marcus: "She's quite something, huh."

Yui: "Yeah."

Marcus: "I feel like she was holding back when we were fighting in the tournament. Seeing her break that massive gate open in a single strike... That's just-"

Alice and Kaede came back into the caravan, cutting Marcus off before the caravans began to move once more. I half expected Kaede to being back another ball of blood, but she came back empty handed, with a short yet sharp glare towards Marcus.

Iris: "Thank you, Alice, and Kaede."

Alice: "My pleasure."

Iris: "How far away is the army?"

Kaede: "...Roughly 3 hours away, maybe less. Mai says that they're moving a bit faster now."

That may not be it. I think it's because we're going slower, I felt it as we all woke up. I remembered the beat of the horses hooves before going to sleep, and when I woke up, I could tell they were slower than before.

Iris: "...This isn't good."

Natalie: "You think they'll catch us?"

Iris: "We'll need maybe 2 more breaks before we arrive in Azalea. With only 3 hours of wiggle room, it'll be close..."

Everyone was nervous as mom said those words, keeping silent as we all likely are trying to think of ways to maybe buy us more time.

Iris: "...When we get Azalea. I need all the soldiers stationed behind the caravans. Buy us as much time as you can."

Alice: "Yes."

Yui: "We're going too!"

Iris: "Ellen..."

Kaede: "Don't worry. I'll protect her."

Yui: "Trust me, mom."

Iris: "..."

I can see that she really wants to deny my request, but the fact that she hasn't yet means that she's actually considering it.

Yui: "I'm quite strong. You saw me in the courtyard that one day, remember?"

Iris: "Yes... But."

Kaede: "She'll be behind me through the whole thing. I'll make sure she's safe. You did hire me as her bodyguard, hehe."

Iris: "Hah~ Okay. But retreat the moment you two are being overwhelmed."

Yui/Kaede: "Thank you."

Alice: "And I'll make sure of that. When I say go, you go."

Yui/Kaede: "Got it."

Iris: "Fufu. I'm proud of you, Ellen."

Yui: "Thanks mom."

Now with mom accepting us joining in the fight, I now just have to mentally prepare for what's to come. So essentially, I'm just a red herring to Lucien, forcing a handicap on the army, even though I might not actually be able to stop his magic. As long as I can give Kaede some breathing room, then my job is done.

Alice ended up jumping from caravan to caravan, notifying the soldiers about the plan when we arrive in Azalea. She sort of looks like a ninja when she's doing that as I watch from the back of our caravan.

Marcus: "I'll also fight."

Iris: "You don't have to."

Marcus: "If those girls are fighting, I can't just sit back and watch."

Iris: "Hehe, okay. But when Alice gives the word, you'll also retreat, got it?"

Marcus: "Yes, ma'am."

With Marcus now joining us, I feel just a bit more confident. I might not know how strong the army is, but I've fought Marcus twice now, and his strength sure is impressive, and actually, I think with him, we have access to every element. Mom has fire, Marcus with both wind and earth, Alice with water, and Kaede with light magic. Sure Natalie also has wind magic, but she's in no form to be fighting... Not yet at least.

Eventually, one of the needed breaks happened as I could see the horses that were pulling our caravan had now slumped to the ground, with the driver desperately trying to feed and hydrate them. What was worrisome was that Kaede never said that the army had stopped, so we're to believe that they're still on the move as we speak. Alice also came back during the stop, finishing with notifying the soldiers.

Driver: "Milady. These horses... They need a proper rest."

Iris: "We don't have that luxury. We need to make it to Azalea."

Driver: "They're exhausted."

Iris: "I understand, but we really need to move. How long of a break do they need?"

Driver: "...Close to maybe 2 hours?"

Yeah, that's not good. I wouldn't be surprised if the army catches up to us by then. If not then they'll most certainly be on our tail.

Iris: "Can you get them up sooner?"

Driver: "I can try, milady. But they desperately need this break."

With a heavy sigh, mom leaves the driver be and comes back to join us. I can just see the stress that's accumulated on her face as she begins to pace. I'm not entirely sure how to help the situation, but I need to try something to calm down mom.

Yui: "We're nearly there, mom."

Iris: "Hah!~"

Again, she breathed a heavy sigh. It kind of reminds me when I lost one of my matches back in my past life. This one time, I was so close to securing our school with first place, but was overtaken right at the very end. I was so frustrated, just like how mom is right now.

Kaede: "Hey, it's not over until we say it is. You're doing great."

And just like an old memory being played in my mind, Kaede moves in to comfort my mom, using the same words she said to me on that day after the match.

Iris: "Thank you."

Mom smiles at Kaede as she stops pacing back and forth, seeming to have calmed down a bit.

Iris: "You're right. I'll make sure everyone gets out safely, so please let me know of our enemies movement."

Kaede: "On it."

Alice: "Your mom sure likes Kaede, haha."

Natalie: "Hehe. Kaede almost looks like she's trying to steal your job, Alice."

Alice: "Oh please~"

The 3 of us laugh amongst each other as I watch over Kaede who I'd assume is talking with Mai right about now.

-----Kaede's POV

Mai: "They're still on the move. Are you guys still resting?"

Kaede: "Yeah. Looks like it'll be a couple hours before we move again."

Mai: "Cutting it close, don't you think?"

Kaede: "Yeah. I think we'll be engaging the army at Azalea."

I'm quite full on blood still from all those bodies I drank from previously. That's not to mention the 2 bottles of blood I stored in my bag as well. So I think when it comes to the fight, I'm more than prepared. If anything, I feel like I could take on a thousand soldiers by myself. The only concern is Lucien...

Mai: "If you plan on getting yourself hurt, please don't. It's bad enough I have to deal with that stupid stabbing pain every time you have to feed Yui."

Kaede: "I'm sorry. I try to be gentle every time."

Mai: "Yeah, well as "gentle" as it is, I still have to deal with the pain. How can you even do that to yourself without batting an eye? It's not fair."

Kaede: "I'll try and not get myself hurt then. Iris said so herself."

Mai: "Good. Just don't engage that man."

Kaede: "Huh? You think I'll lose?"

Mai: "That's not what I'm saying. But even without seeing him fight. Just seeing his aura in person like this... It's quite intimidating."

Kaede: "Really? Someone as mighty as yourself find him intimidating?"

Mai: "Don't make me laugh. If I wasn't bound to you and stuck in the material plane, I wouldn't even look his way. But I have my limits now, thanks to you."

Kaede: "Hey, you're the one who saved me."

Mai: "Yeah yeah~"

Makes me wonder now whether Mai is stronger than me or not. I had an feeling I might be more powerful due to my mana sense being greater than hers. But her existence is god knows how long. She knows a lot more than I do, so I still think there're things that I still need to catch up on.