The trio left the village after Signy and Eleonora finished eating and showering. Odemore was their destination, and after both girls begged for a regular journey, not one made entirely of teleports, it would take quite some time.
Arthur tried to understand their point of view, and anyone who visited a foreign place wanted to know it better. So even though traveling by carriage would take a lot longer, it was a period they could relax and enjoy.
It was cheap to get a carriage, and any town offered the service, so they only walked a short distance until reaching the nearest town. After that, all they had to do was look through the carriage's window, feel the refreshing breeze on their face, and appreciate the scenery.
"Look, I never saw a bird like that!" said Eleonora, pointing toward a tree where a bird was making its nest.
Everything differed from continent to continent, so it was customary for them to see many animals which could not be found anywhere else but there, on the central continent.
Arthur felt better after seeing both Signy and Eleonora happy with their new adventure, lightening up his mood and making his thought about the demon continent go to the back of his mind.
Another thing Arthur noticed was the number of dark mages and bandits' attacks, which was almost close to zero! Sure, it was still common to see bandits attack carriages, but it was not that frequent, like when the war was still happening, and that was only for the bandits, as the dark mages were not showing their faces anymore.
The fact meant the situation in the central continent stabilized, the war was officially over, and both sides were recovering. A more significant threat could be on the horizon, waiting for them to relax to end their miserable lives, but at least one of their problems was long gone, and that was better than nothing.
"Holt!" A voice came from the front of the carriage.
Arthur's coachman stopped the carriage after seeing who spoke those words. They were official mages and ones from a new special squad created by the Archimage.
That squad was responsible for checking the carriages to ensure no illegal businesses were going on and looking for any dark mages. No one wanted a surprise attack like what happened in the last war.
The mages got closer to the carriage, and one of them said to the coachmen, "who is the person using the carriage?"
Their tone was not a friendly one. Arthur was unsure if that was because the coachman was just a regular human or because those mages thought too highly of themselves.
He got out of the carriage and appeared in front of those mages, saying, "I am the person who owns this carriage. Is there a problem?"
Although Arthur's name was famous throughout the continent, and he was considered the strongest mage and a hero, not everyone had a clear picture of his face inside their minds.
"We are mages from a special team created by the Archimage, and we need to see all the things you are bringing with you and your identity!" The leader of the mages said.
Arthur did not feel like losing more time than he already was, and he disliked how those mages were rude to his coachman.
"My name's Arthur, so can we skip this whole thing, and you can move out of my way?"
It was a group of six mages, all with the power of a rank one official mage. They were young, so that made them even bolder and more reckless. They all chuckled when they heard what Arthur said but returned to their serious faces right after it.
"Please, get out of our way, or we will use force."
"Use your force; it is not like you can win against me. Come, all of you, against my left army only."
The sentence hurt the pride of those youths, and they were ready to attack Arthur, but their leader, who was the most experienced of them, quickly caught some details of the situation, and then he suddenly asked, "are you Arthur, the hero?"
For him, only one person could have the name Arthur and act like that in front of six official mages. He was unsure if his guess was correct, but it was better to ask before doing anything stupid.
"Yes, that is me, but I will still punish your squad. Is that okay with you?"
It shocked them, and the leader said, "please, do it, I will do it myself after we get back to our headquarters."
Arthur liked his attitude, but he still used his mana to send them some pressure, making the entire squad kneel, powerless when in front of such power.
They had sweat dripping from every pore of their bodies, and they all gritted their teeth in pain. The leader was the only one who did not suffer from it.
After thirty seconds, Arthur stopped doing it and said, "I will let it pass this time, but be careful next time."
"Of course, we are so sorry. Can we scout you to the next town as an apology?"
Arthur knew they were getting near an area famous for their bandits' attacks, and he did not feel like leaving his carriage to deal with them, so a scouting group was something he liked.
"Sure, why not?" Arthur said as he turned around, going back inside his carriage.
Three of those mages went in front of the carriage, and three to the back, protecting the carriage. With such people covering the carriage, Arthur did not need to worry about anything and could relax inside.
The most surprising thing for him was that some bandits tried to attack them even after seeing six official mages.
These bandits were either dumb or could not clearly sense the mages' power, resulting in such stupid attacks. They protected Arthur's carriage until they reached the next city, where their headquarters were.
The squad leader promised to punish them as they parted ways after reaching their destination. Arthur did not know if he would punish them, but he had forgiven them after such incredible bodyguard service.
With that, they kept going until they reached Odemore, which took them ten days!
Eleonora and Signy left the carriage and had their mouths wide open after seeing the incredible structure of the school. What caught their attention was the protective barrier around it, which they had never seen before.
"Who did this? Was it you?" Signy asked.
"No. Sybille, a friend of mine, did it."
"Impressive."
When they arrived in Odemore, Jane, Wisa, Sybille, and Elena came to see them!
"Husband, Eleonora, Signy!" Wisa and Jane said, rushing toward the trio and hugging them.
The school still lacked students, but now that Signy was there to take control of it, it would soon flourish! She first needed to reach rank 2, but with Arthur's help, that should not be a problem!
Eleonora and Signy explored the school and chatted with their friends, but Eleonora had something else on her mind.
"I loved here, but I want to see someone else," Eleonora said to Arthur in private.
"Do you wish to go now? It is not that far from here."
"Yes!"
Arthur left Signy with Jane and Wisa to learn more about the school and how she would handle it while he and Eleonora left for Ouroboros.
"Father, I am coming!" thought Eleonora, holding on to her tears.