75 Familiarity

While waiting for the convoy to depart, Linnaeus' Party got to know Yorgen's a bit better. There was a very real chance they would be fighting alongside each other so it was necessary for them to have, at the very least, a basic understanding of each others' roles.

As the total number of people in a Party could not exceed four people, Yorgen's three members were a thin and lanky man named Zezim, a rather weak looking youth named Cyrus, and a dark-skinned woman named Amanda.

Zezim was a member of the Kyrie race, a group that could be demarcated due to their thin figures and, most importantly, the small wings that protruded from their backs. Though incapable of flight, they allowed the Kyrie to glide great distances and, while not the most powerful ability, SP could be sent into the feather to make them as sharp as low-quality blades. His role in the party was a mid-line Vanguard, supporting Yorgen in the frontlines with his quick and nimble attacks.

Though Zezim stood out quite a bit, Cyrus had the more unique features, at least from Linnaeus' perspective. Despite being an adult, he had a short stature of around 120cm and, in stark contrast to the vast majority of races, his entire body was covered in fur. Though it was light around his face, a much thick coat covered the rest of his body while, poking out from behind, a rather thick tail could be seen extending nearly to the ground.

Linnaeus had never seen one for himself, but Eliza informed him that Cyrus had features similar to a fox, including two large ears that weren't all that different from Emilia's. His fur, however, was a burnt orange mixed with browns, greys, and a bit of black. At the end of his tail, the color faded away to a pure white and, as could be expected from someone so small, they specialized in ranged attacks.

Cyrus was purported to be the fastest member of Yorgen's Party and, to capitalize on this speed, he used a series of small cross-bows, one in each hand. When those didn't provide enough firepower, he would swap to a miniature arbalest on his back, a two-handed weapon that had enough kick to send most people backward unless they steeled themselves.

The final member of Yorgen's Party, Amanda, actually stood out the least amongst their group based on unique features. She more than made up for this in her beauty, however, as she had unblemished olive-brown skin, slightly pointed ears, a shapely figure, brilliant purple eyes, and pale white hair. She was a hybrid of two different races, a Hume and a Licenai, a tribe with similar features to the Elvaan people.

Though physically inferior to the rest of her Party members, Amanda was considered their Ace as she was their only magical attacker. She was the only one to openly reveal her Blessing within Yorgen's Party, both as a result of her pride and the fact it couldn't exactly be hidden. After all, even during their first encounter, she had a large white tiger following beside her, it's tail flickering with a ghostly blue flame.

Amanda's Blessing was the relatively rare [Spirit Summoner], an ability that allowed her to summon a variety of different Spirits, creatures comprised of pure elemental energy. Though this required the user to form a contract with each Spirit they wanted to summon, exceptionally high Charisma and a fair amount of persistence had turned Amanda into a relatively capable Summoner.

Overall, Yorgen's Party was both balanced and, based on first impressions, exceptional. Linnaeus felt it was fortunate to have been assigned the same carriage as them, even if Amanda caused Eliza and Emilia to stick to him. She looked at him with the eyes of a woman who had found something fun to play around with, a look Linnaeus had grown used to during his travels throughout the Slums.

Fortunately, she didn't do anything overt to sow discord between the two Parties, a testament to the fact she cared about her own image. At most, she sent Linnaeus a playful wink before pretending to ignore the warning look from Eliza and the focused gaze of Emilia...

---

By the time both Parties got to know about each other, the convoy leader, a Merchant named Kross, had given the order to prepare for departure. This required Linnaeus and co to board the carriage, piling into the opening at the back or sitting on the staging perch. Since the inside was cramped due to the supplies, they decided to take turns resting while everyone else would be posted around the carriage to keep watch.

It was all but guaranteed the convoy would be attacked at some point as, even if it was a deterrent to most bandit groups, monsters rarely made such considerations. The fourteenth carriage may be towards the latter half of the convoy but that actually increased the chances it would be attacked as bandits often targetted the final few vehicles in order to 'encourage' those in front to keep going.

Fortunately, they weren't close enough to the back to have to worry about such a thing so, from the time of the departure until just before the light faded from the sky, Linnaeus spent most of his time making idle conversation with Yorgen and Cyrus.

Linnaeus came to learn that Yorgen's Party had actually been together for three years at this point, meaning they had already lost the chance to leave the Crucible of Souls. Despite this, they lived their lives to the fullest, often traveling around between the various regions, seeking adventure and, when funds were tight, fortune.

Since a major expedition was scheduled to take place at the beginning of next month, they decided to head to the Monster Ant Colony to make advance preparations. After all, it was a lot easier to get a good position within the expedition if you arrived earlier, rather than arriving last minute. This was due to the fact that the leaders of each expedition spent a considerable amount of time planning so if you arrived late, they had no way of fitting you in as anything more than fodder or cleanup troops.

Though Linnaeus had already known about the upcoming Expedition, he still enjoyed talking with the amiable duo. They were very helpful and informative, something Linnaeus couldn't even consider in the past as kindness had always been a rare commodity within the Slums. Now, he was beginning to realize that most people weren't the malicious opportunists he had suspected them to be. Rather, so long as their livelihoods weren't threatened, a surprising number of people turned out to be nice.

---

While Linnaeus was having an amicable conversation with Yorgen and Cyrus, a very different kind of mood existed within the carriage's interior. There, Eliza and Emilia sat across from Amanda and her squirrel-like summon, a wind Spirit named Fei-Fei. The two sides stared icily back at each other, the atmosphere in the carriage lowering to match.

Originally, Linnaeus had shown a fair amount of concern about what was taking place within the carriage but, after inquiring, all three girls unanimously informed him that nothing was wrong. Since then, he had emulated Yorgen and Cyrus, willfully ignoring the cold atmosphere that seemed more than a little counter-intuitive to their cooperation...

Fortunately, when the time to battle actually came, there weren't any major hiccups as the monsters were easily dealt with by Cyrus and several other ranged attackers. Other than the convoy slowing a bit, in order to make it easier for the ground combatants to catch back up to their original carriages, nothing remiss had taken place by the time a loud horn blared, signaling they were stopping for the night.

Since the girls were supposed to be resting during the day, they were the first half of the night's watch while Linnaeus, Yorgen, Cyrus, Zezim, and Krone all squeezed into the carriage's interior. It was a tight fit, especially for Zezim, but he managed to find a suitable position for himself on top of the less angular supplies.

Overall, it wasn't the most pleasant experience but, perhaps as a result of their individual pride, none of the 'men' deigned to complain about the arrangements. Instead, they made idle conversation in subdued tones, discussing various topics that had no real relevance to their current situation...

Though they all seemed to get along relatively well with each other, the fact they had only just met made it impossible for anyone to sleep peacefully. This was especially true for Linnaeus but, due to his past experiences, he was the least affected by their situation. Even if he had to stay awake until they reached the Monster Ant Colony, he wouldn't be affected so, until it was time for them to swap with the girls, he engaged in the hushed conversation while laying next to the unsurprisingly warm Cyrus.

When it finally came time for the changeover, Linnaeus was the first to squeeze out of the carriage. There, he found Eliza dangling her legs off the side of the staging perch while Emilia and Amanda were nowhere to be seen.

Without waiting for Linnaeus to ask the obvious, Eliza made a show of yawning before stating in a sleepy tone, "Emilia and that vixen are both scouting further out. Someone from the Company came around to have the night watch spread out in order to detect enemies at a greater distance. I don't have [Night Vision] so I stayed behind."

Hearing Eliza's response, Linnaeus gave an understanding nod before extending his hand to her and saying, "Try and get some rest. We don't know what the coming days will bring so it is important to sleep when you can."

After accepting his hand and allowing Linnaeus to pull her up, Eliza surprised him slightly by giving him a hug and whispering, "Make sure to follow your own advice, okay?"

So as not to make him too uncomfortable, Eliza released Linnaeus immediately after her words fell. Then, after waiting for the other men to exit the carriage, she crawled inside to find a comfortable spot for herself. It would be impossible for her to get any meaningful sleep with Amanda in the same carriage but that didn't mean she couldn't secure the most comfortable position.

Shortly after Eliza entered into the carriage, a high pitched whine that sounded both loud yet quiet could be heard echoing through the night's air. This seemed to be informing those less attentive to the schedule that it was time for a shift change as, for a few minutes, silent chaos could be seen by those with eyes attuned to the darkness.

By the time the somewhat annoying noise faded away, Emilia and Amanda had both returned, the latter with what appeared to be a large python coiling around her shoulders. What separated it from a normal snake was the fact it had four distinct eyes while, along the ridges of its brow, small white feathers could be seen forming a shape similar to a crown.

Linnaeus had a distinct impression that Amanda could be a very dangerous opponent so he was hoping Eliza and Emilia didn't upset her too much. Though he wouldn't hesitate to cut her throat or pierce her heart, none of Yorgen's Party members seemed to be bad people so it would leave a bad taste in his mouth if they came to blows.

Fortunately, Emilia seemed to have lost her interest in Amanda during the time they had been apart as, without even sparing the snake-bearing woman a single glance, she happily hugged him before jumping into the carriage immediately thereafter. As a result, Linnaeus could hear Eliza utter a harsh complaint, followed by a dry laugh and apology from Emilia.

Having seen Emilia hug Linnaeus, Amanda cocked her head to the side in amusement. She seemed to consider saying something but, before she could do so, Zezim placed his hand upon her shoulder and whispered, "Amanda, darling, please don't cause any trouble...can't you at least wait until we get to the settlement before you do anything...regrettable?"

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In response to her companion's warning, Amanda gave him a sidelong glance with her purple eyes before forcing him to retract his hand as her snake tried to slither across it. This caused Zezim to sigh before looking toward Linnaeus with an apologetic expression and shrugging helplessly...