Eve finished securing the luggage to Slei's body with leather straps.
Slei was once again in its second form.
The third form consumed a large amount of MP.
On the other hand, the second form only required 1000 MP to transform.
And if it was just for carrying luggage, this form seemed more than sufficient.
I touched the perfectly secured luggage.
"You are good at this."
"I have a long history of traveling. Well, Seras could have done it too."
This was still an area I was not good at.
My travel experience was shallow.
I needed to learn these things properly for the future...
But for a while longer, I would probably continue relying on my companions.
"You have a special power that only you can use. In exchange for relying on that power, we will compensate for the parts you are not good at... So there is no need for you to do everything yourself."
"...Was it showing on my face?"
Eve let out a short, muffled laugh from the back of her throat.
"It is rare."
She usually found it hard to read my expressions.
▽
We advanced further into the depths of the Demon Zone.
The sunlight pouring down was increasingly blocked by the branches and leaves, growing fainter.
Along the way, we had picked out several locations that could serve as potential campsites.
If we did not find a good spot ahead, we were prepared to turn back toward one of the picked locations around sunset.
Even so, the existence of Eve's map was a huge help.
Thanks to it, it was easy to grasp the position of our destination even when turning back.
We only needed the bare minimum of markers for the return trip.
If we had no map, we would have needed to advance while creating one.
That would have significantly slowed our progress.
Liz was riding on Slei along with the luggage.
The girl had been carrying luggage on her back without a single complaint, walking diligently.
But it was clear that Liz had the least physical strength among us.
In that sense too, Slei's addition was welcome.
However... Liz was still very understanding.
She showed signs of restraint, but she knew when to stop.
She was the only one riding a horse among us.
At first, Liz had been hesitant.
But she quickly accepted it.
She had probably understood in her head that it would be a waste of time.
I could tell from her expression and voice.
She observed the others' states and judged the action she should take.
It was an ability that naturally developed when growing up while constantly reading the moods of one's "protectors."
"..."
She was a clever child.
I moved beside Slei.
"Liz."
"Ah—yes, Touka-sama."
"People who are always reading others' moods often get criticized for it."
Liz listened silently.
"But sometimes it can be useful. Being able to properly read people's moods often brings benefits."
"...Yes."
Liz's cheeks softened.
"However, constantly holding back is not good either. When you really want to assert your own opinion, speak your true feelings properly. It is fine. We will not deny you outright."
I gently patted Liz's small waist while she was on the horse.
Pat.
"Got it?"
"Thank you for your concern, Touka-sama..."
"Also, I am counting on you with Eve."
"Eh?"
"That one is slow on the uptake."
"I can hear you, Touka."
I grinned at Eve, who had turned around.
"Well, I said it so you could hear."
"Kus."
Liz smiled on the horse.
"Yes. Then please leave the parts about older sister in that regard to me."
Eve opened her mouth wide in surprise.
"L-Liz..."
▽
We continued encountering monsters as usual.
I could have scattered them with status abnormality skills, but Eve made this proposal.
"I want to fight strong monsters to train my combat senses."
Fighting against the strong was the most effective training.
Especially, real combat experience where life and death were at stake became powerful nourishment.
Seras also showed agreement with the proposal.
As long as the difference in strength was not too great, she wanted to fight the monsters.
She wished for that too.
"However, I will leave the finishing blows to Touka-dono as much as possible."
"Understood."
For me as well, it was better if the two of them improved their combat abilities.
And if there were signs of a difficult fight, I could stop the monsters' movements with my skills.
Seras fought the monsters while coordinating with Eve.
They seemed to be building combinations.
Seras's body movements evoked a graceful dance.
Her movements were smooth and without waste.
She lightly dodged the monsters' fierce attacks.
Being able to weave in spirit power appropriately was also one of her strengths.
Also, when she judged an opponent to be strong, she occasionally used her spirit equipment.
She wanted to test how far it would work against various monsters.
On the other hand, Eve's movements could be called those of a ferocious warrior.
While releasing wild beast-like ferocity, her movements were refined.
Compared to Seras, her characteristic was a fierce wildness.
Once she swung her sword, the slash violently tore through the monsters' flesh.
Physical strength, agility, reflexes, technique, wild intuition...
All of them were flawless.
She could be called a true warrior blessed with natural talent.
As instructors to improve my future combat techniques, the abilities of the two were more than sufficient.
▽
For three days, we advanced single-mindedly toward the witch's dwelling.
We had still not encountered any humanoid types.
▽
We came to an area scattered with rubble from ruins.
It seemed there had once been buildings from ruins here.
The buildings had been thoroughly destroyed.
There were no roofs left.
Only scattered, isolated walls remained.
Even so, they were sufficient as cover.
For now, this place also seemed worth considering as a campsite candidate.
When I looked up at the sky, I could see it faintly dyed with the color of madder red.
A flat area surrounded by a great tree zone that blocked the sky.
However, the overly good visibility was something to be careful about.
That said, there were currently no signs of monsters in the surroundings.
I sat down and checked the map with Eve.
"It looks like we have gotten quite close."
"Yes. Distance-wise, we seem to have covered about two-thirds."
I glanced at the black horse grazing beside Liz.
Slei's addition had greatly increased our traveling speed.
Moreover, Slei had not shown any fear toward monsters even once.
Did it have guts?
Or from the perspective of Slei in its third form, the monsters so far were not threatening enough to feel fear from?
In any case, that concern about Slei had been dispelled.
For now, at least.
"It seems we have gotten quite close to the witch's dwelling."
Seras leaned forward with her hand on her bent knee and peered in.
Eve, sitting beside me, placed a hand on her chin and nodded.
"Yes, just a little more."
I glanced at the sky.
I checked the pocket watch in my hand.
"For today, let us advance another hour or two."
Eve stood up straight.
"Touka, I will go scout a little ahead."
"Be careful."
"Yes."
Eve melted into the dark forest that was beginning to fill with twilight.
With her sensor-like detection ability, she was also suited for reconnaissance.
Seras smiled wryly.
"Fufu, Eve is full of energy—whoa..."
Thud.
Seras fell forward.
She quickly put her hand on the wall beside me and steadied herself.
On the other hand, I was in a posture just before catching her.
"――――――――"
Our faces were almost nose-to-nose.
"...You suddenly staggered, but are you all right?"
"Y-yes... I am sorry."
Seras forced a composed smile.
"B-but I am fine..."
"That is a lie."
"I-I am indeed a little tired, but..."
"..."
It was a failure.
I had not noticed Seras's fatigue.
I had only been paying attention to Liz's physical strength.
I had known that Eve's physical strength was not a problem.
She showed it easily on her face and attitude.
If she was tired, I could tell immediately.
And I myself probably had less fatigue due to status correction.
But Seras was not someone with that much physical strength.
"I am sorry... I should have paid more attention to you."
Seras usually always had a composed face.
But she was quite the poker face as well.
Just as Eve had said it was hard to read my emotions.
Seras was also surprisingly difficult to read emotionally.
"If it is just another hour or two, there will be no problem—"
"No."
I grabbed both of Seras's shoulders, gently pushed her back, and stood up.
"We will rest here for today."
"...I am sorry."
"Do not apologize. There is fault on my side for not seeing it. As the leader, that is not good. However—"
I patted Seras's shoulder.
"Do not push yourself. Got it?"
"...Yes."
"How about it?"
I twisted the corner of my mouth as I asked.
"You were impressed by the leader's kindness, right?"
Seras lowered her eyelashes happily and placed a hand on her chest.
"Yes, very much."
"..."
It had been a joke to lighten the mood.
But it seemed Seras was tired enough in her head that even the joke did not get through.
"Touka."
Eve had returned.
"What is it?"
"There appears to be a huge ruin-like building a little further ahead."
▽
After passing through another great tree zone, there was indeed a huge ruin sitting ahead.
It was probably because the great trees had been blocking the view.
From far away, it had not been visible.
"It is big."
The degree of destruction was low.
The shape resembled a pyramid.
Yes, that.
The ruins of Maya civilization.
It had an exterior that reminded me of that.
There was a door at the top of a long staircase.
We climbed the stairs.
Slei also climbed skillfully and followed.
The sun was already beginning to set.
"..."
If this place was not usable, we would return to the earlier ruins for camp.
We reached the top.
We looked around.
If it was in a direction without a dense growth of great trees, we could probably see far.
But night was already beginning to fall.
So all that spread out was dim darkness.
I turned back toward the door.
"This is—"
There was a gem on the door.
Ah, the usual one.
I noticed.
"Hm? The gauge is a little filled..."
"Actually, before I went to call you all, I tried pouring in some magic essence."
Eve could handle magic essence to some extent after all.
"But only this much accumulated. As expected, it seems I have to ask you for these things."
"Leave it to me."
Status open.
I displayed MP.
In other words, this was high ground.
It would be troublesome now if monsters spotted the gem's light and came closer.
I asked Seras to take out a large cloth from the luggage.
I had her cover me and the gem with that cloth.
This way, we could minimize the leaking light.
I touched the gem and poured in magic essence.
The door opened with a grand sound.
"Impressive, Touka."
Seras, who had stepped inside first, illuminated the front with the power of a light spirit.
"Hm... It does not seem to be a very wide space. I do not sense the presence of any other creatures for now."
"Then it might be usable as tonight's lodging."
With Seras at the front, everyone entered inside.
I suddenly looked back.
Far in the distance, a light was flickering.
The flickering repeated several times.
At that distance, I thought it was still within the Demon Zone...
What was it?
Were monsters fighting each other?
"..."
I recalled the positional relationship on the map.
If Ulza was south, then the direction where the light was intermittently occurring was northeast...
Ah, that is right.
Now I even felt a strange nostalgia.
Come to think of it, that direction was—
"The direction of Alion, which the shitty goddess hates."