Eve and I regrouped with Seras and the others, who had been waiting ahead.
"We were waiting for you, Lord Touka."
"With this, the matter of who killed the Five Dragon Warriors should stop progressing for a while."
"So the plan worked well, then."
"To be honest, I didn't expect it to go this smoothly."
Liz ran over to Eve.
"Sister…"
"Were there any problems while you were waiting for me?"
"No… Seras-sama was really kind to me…"
"When we were moving the luggage, Liz helped with all her might."
Seras said.
"Thanks to her, I was able to manage too."
"Seras-sama…"
Liz's eyes were slightly teary.
She probably had little experience being praised.
Helping was only natural.
She had never received words of appreciation.
It was easy to imagine how that mistress had treated Liz.
Liz walked over to me.
She neatly brought her feet together and bowed deeply.
"Thank you… If Touka-sama had not saved us… both my sister and I…"
"Don't worry about it."
Liz looked up timidly.
She seemed worried about whether she had been rude.
"Is there something you want to ask me?"
"Um…"
"You don't have to hold back."
"Is Pigi-maru… okay?"
Liz asked with a determined expression.
Right then, a protrusion wiggled out from beside my neck.
Its movements were a little slower than usual.
The strain must have affected it.
The protrusion stretched out and stopped in front of Liz.
"Pini♪"
Liz touched the protrusion.
"I heard from Seras-sama that Pigi-maru also worked hard…"
"Puyu!"
"Good work."
"Punyuu~♪"
Pigi-maru turned a light pink.
"…Ehehe."
Seras, standing beside her, softened her eyes.
"When Liz is interacting with Pigi-maru like that, she seems especially free from tension."
Liz's expression had indeed relaxed.
Could Pigi-maru even heal the wounds in Liz's heart?
"What the hell is with that guy's all-purpose feel…"
"Fufu, as expected of Pigi-maru."
The horses we had used as decoys had run off somewhere.
So from here, we had to switch to the horses the duke's group had been using.
Fortunately, Seras and the others had already tied the luggage onto the replacement horses.
"It'd be nice if we had a magic item with infinite storage."
I put my hand inside my robe.
The things I had taken from the scene were only a small portion.
Just gold, gems, and ornaments.
There was a limit to how much weight we could carry.
I wanted to keep the amount of luggage as low as possible.
"All right, let's go."
Eve and Liz had finished their preparations.
I got on a horse and held on to Seras from behind.
"Sorry for the trouble. It's because I can't ride a horse by myself."
"Please don't worry about it. Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not. Besides… I'm happy I can be of help to you."
Eve and Liz's horse started moving.
But the horse I was on did not move yet.
"Seras?"
"I'm sorry, Lord Touka. Could you… hold on a little tighter? It feels unsteady when it's loose."
"…Got it."
I gripped Seras's body firmly.
"Nn—"
Seras let out a slightly pained sound.
"…Was that too strong?"
Had I misjudged the strength?
It might have been the effect of the status correction.
I loosened my grip a little.
"How about this?"
"Yes… this is fine."
With that, the horse finally began to walk with a steady clip-clop.
The sound of hooves.
The unique swaying motion.
To be honest, I still could not say I had gotten used to riding a horse.
"Lord Touka, your reading of the situation this time was impressive as always."
"I wonder."
I continued.
"If I had really seen everything perfectly, I would have noticed the strain on Pigi-maru and the target limit of the skills. I'm not as good at reading ahead as you and Eve think. There are parts where I'm just winging it."
"Even so, when unexpected things happen, you never stop moving in confusion. You respond quickly… That is exactly why we can follow your instructions with peace of mind."
If the person giving orders started panicking, it would make everyone uneasy.
That was why I had to stay as calm and composed as possible no matter what.
I said it half-jokingly.
"Well… if I'm going to be treated like a master, I have to act in a way that matches that treatment."
"Fufu, those are reassuring words."
"…Like I said earlier, I can't see through everything perfectly. I just always want to get as close to perfect as possible."
"Then I will have to work hard to become a perfect vice-leader for your sake, won't I?"
"You're already doing more than enough. Especially since we arrived in Monroy, there have been many situations where I've had to rely on you."
"It makes me happy that you rely on me. Like this, when we ride the horse together."
"Hey, Seras."
"Yes?"
"Is riding a horse something you can learn easily if someone teaches you?"
"If we have some free time, shall I teach you next time?"
"Please do. Riding double slows the horse down too."
"Understood. If that is what you wish, Lord Touka."
"Also, having to cling to you from behind every time we ride feels weird, right?"
"No, I don't mind at all. It's you, after all, Lord Touka… not some other person."
"It might be nice to hear that, but… when thinking about the journey ahead, it would be better if everyone could ride by themselves."
Seras fell silent for a moment.
"Well… that is true."
△
After traveling for a while, rain began to fall in scattered drops.
The rain gradually grew heavier.
We found a small cave along the way and decided to take shelter there.
"The sky looked suspicious, but the rain came down hard all of a sudden…"
Seras and Liz wrung out their soaked clothes.
I handed them dry cloths to use as towels.
"Dry your hair well. You might catch a cold. Well… I don't know if high elves and dark elves catch colds the same way humans do."
"Colds? Yes, we do catch them."
Seras continued while carefully wiping the water droplets from her bangs.
"However, it is said that elves are less prone to illness than humans. Or rather, humans are recognized as a race that catches diseases more easily than other races."
Seras stepped closer and began wiping my hair with the cloth.
She was standing on her toes just a little.
She smiled at me as if seeking agreement.
"You need to be careful not to catch a cold either."
"…Yeah."
It would be bad if I caught a cold and it got worse here.