"How long has it been, twenty years?" Eve mumbled to herself as she clutched the letter in her grasp, trying to recall the last time she had ever received something like this.
Though she couldn't remember, she was certain that it had certainly been a very long time.
"What does it say, mistress?" Skull inquired. He knew the demonic seal too well; after all, he had been with his master from the moment she had Awakened her class.
He was, after all, her first undead. Though his memories were now vague because of the passage of time, Skully remembered that he was a higher demon who had served Eve's mother when he was alive.
Due to a series of unfortunate events, he lost his life but was brought back to life by Eve. As such, their bond was powerful, so powerful that he could freely ask her personal questions.
"That man is up to something again," Eve replied in a cold voice, her eyes narrowing. "And it's going to involve all the Kingdoms in the human domain."
"He finally wants to make a move?" Skully wasn't surprised; instead, he was confused as to why it had taken so long for the tyrannical Demon Emperor to finally act.
"But, mistress..." Skully suddenly spoke, earning a look from Eve. His green eyes were filled with hesitation, and the skeleton butler seemed to struggle with what to say.
"Go ahead," Eve nodded her head.
Taking in a deep breath that rattled his bony ribs, Skully stated, "If it comes to that, what side would you be on?"
Eve turned to the distance, watching the carriage galloping east. Discover more stories at m,v l'e-NovelFire.net
"I don't know," she said a moment later, her voice filled with uncertainty . "But when the time comes, I'll make a decision."
"You have to hurry, mistress," Skully said in a serious voice. "The emperor isn't one to accept betrayal, regardless of family or not; after all, that concept is only a name in the empire."
Despite hearing the serious tone and the hidden warning in the message, Eve remained silent and continued to watch the carriage go. Her expression was calm on the surface, but in her heart, a tumultuous battle raged on.
---
Inside the carriage...
"How long will it take us to arrive at the capital?" Serena yawned, tears in her eyes.
"The last time I went there with Doombringer, it barely took a day and half," Nyx responded. "With the carriage, if we don't stop, I think it should take us a few days to reach."
"Ugh, sitting down in one position for so long will be very tiresome," Serena sighed. "Times like this, I wish Doombringer was here. Grandpa Nathan could've taken us to the capital and returned quickly."
At that moment, hearing Serena's words, Nox pondered seriously to himself, "I should find a way to get a flying mount for journeys like this, but they say those are nonexistent in the western region. I wonder if I'd be able to find one in the east."
'I doubt it.' Nox shook his head. According to what he had learned in the past years, the east was much more developed with cities, not towns. He was certain that it was nearly impossible to find wyverns or any other flying mounts there.
'This narrows everything back to dimensions. According to grandpa, there are several high-level dimensions there. Certainly, one of them should contain a flying mount if I search seriously.'
If that doesn't work, he could also use the dimensional key in his possession to hop from dimension to dimension. After all, it only had a three-day cooldown after each use. With time, he'd definitely find a mount.
"Well, we won't stop, so we should make it to the east in three days, four at most, but I'm sure it won't take longer than that," Nox chimed in, sitting upright from his leaning position.
"I'll try to make myself as comfortable as I can then," Serena murmured and snuggled closer, placing her head on Nox's shoulder and closing her eyes, a soft smile on her face.
She seemed so peaceful and beautiful asleep. This was because the beautiful, chocolate-skinned girl felt secure when she was with Nox and Nyx.
Now that she was much older, Serena no longer hid her feelings and made actual advances. It was just so unfortunate that Nox was too preoccupied to notice any of it.
Just as Nox had said, the carriage continued unhindered. A day flew past in the blink of an eye. They didn't encounter any monsters on their path. In fact, after the killing spree five years ago because of the beast tide, it seemed as if almost all the beasts in the west had gone instinct.
This was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because mundanes felt much safer in the wild, and a curse because it forced almost all Awakened in the west to pay huge chunks of money to Nathan to access the dimensional rift in the Cromwell barony and the Duchy in order to increase their level.
And of course, the mad dog didn't shy away from taking their precious golden coins. In fact, he even charged his enemies double. Yes, he was that petty. He was never one to forget a grudge easily.
On the second day of their journey, however, the carriage suddenly came to an abrupt stop, confusing the travelers. After all, they'd just stopped a few minutes ago to clean up; they shouldn't have stopped anytime soon.
Nox excused himself from the ladies and stepped out of the carriage. As he did, he realized their carriage wasn't the only one that had come to a halt, as there were several more carriages that had arrived earlier with impatient coachmen and passengers.
"What's the matter?" Nox asked their coachman, who had just finished talking to another coachman.
"It seems there's a fight going on ahead," the coachman replied.
"A fight?" Nox mumbled to himself as he strode ahead, passing several more carriages before arriving at the front. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
There, he witnessed a girl no younger than fifteen years battling a massive boar. She seemed to be having an easy time and was actually forcing the large creature with brown fur backward. Without a moment of hesitation, Nox used [Analyze] on the beast.
[Ravenous Kretus Boar - King Tier - LV7]
Then he glanced at the girl fighting the massive boar that towered over her, and his eyes flashed when he...