Emotional payment

And once again, my embarrassingly pathetic stamina gets the better of me. In less than an hour, my legs turn to jelly, and I can barely shuffle forward without gasping for breath. My heart hammers like an overtaxed engine, and I can't even manage a coherent sentence.

Sensing my struggle, Eris comes to a halt and leans forward, beckoning me. "Hop on," she says.

Tears of relief well up in my eyes.

"H-huuhuu… Erisss…" I sniffle, then climb onto her back, settling my arms around her shoulders. I could tough it out if we took a break, but then we'd risk not reaching our destination before sundown.

Of course, Eris is strong!

She doesn't appear bothered at all by the extra weight—she's barely breaking a sweat.

Ahhh~ this is nice!

I relax myself on Eris' back.

No need to walk, enjoy the scenery.

And most importantly, hugging Eris!