"Do you think that manager will try to secretly cause trouble for us later?" Flandre Scarlet asked with an excited expression, leaning out to watch the two men pulling and pushing each other as they trudged back to their camp.
"No, because that guard captain will be keeping a tight eye on him. Unless they can be entirely certain our identity isn't that of some high nobility," Clever spoke up, her voice calm.
For a merchant guild, provoking a noble is a thoroughly irrational act. A noble represents far more than just a single person; they represent the vast network of connections standing behind them. After all, if you offend a noble, there is a very high probability that any business in the region belonging to that person will be instantly suppressed. It was a dangerous move for a merchant group that depended entirely on traveling the roads for trade.
"Then how about I go tell them we aren't actually nobles..."
Before Flandre could finish her mischievous thought, Remilia Scarlet pressed a hand down on her head with a crisp smack.
"Don't go looking for trouble!"
Flandre could only look back at the distant caravan with a face full of regret, rubbing her head.
After that brief commotion, things fell back into tranquility once more. Nothing else disrupted the night; even the wild scavengers that came creeping out, drawn by the scent of death, stayed obediently by the pile of Pincerbug corpses to feed, never daring to approach the crowd gathered near the roaring fires.
The next morning, Flandre's group got up, washed, and prepared to set off. At this hour, the caravan was busy making breakfast. Most long-haul merchants operate on a strict two-meal system, meaning they eat one hearty meal in the morning and one in the evening. They wouldn't stop during the rest of the day unless there was an unexpected accident on the road. If anyone got hungry in transit, they could only gnaw on hard, dry rations. Since they needed to remain active all day, breakfast was particularly substantial.
As Sakuya prepared the carriage to leave, the other party noticed their movements. The guard captain proactively walked over, politely asking if they required any fresh hot water for their journey. Sakuya declined on Remilia's behalf, stating they would be leaving immediately. Then, under the watchful gaze of the entire merchant crew, the vehicle slowly drove away from the campsite.
As they left the clearing behind, Flandre muttered with a face full of regret, "Why didn't that manager guy come out to object!"
Everyone else in the carriage was left completely speechless. Just how much bloodlust did this girl harbor?
The way Clever looked at Flandre also carried an indescribable feeling. Flandre had left a profoundly deep impression on her during their short time together. You could say she acted entirely recklessly, yet she was extremely law-abiding when it came to certain things. These boundaries weren't the harsh 'rules of the strong,' but rather the ordinary conventions of the mundane world.
Just like last night. When those two men were whispering their secret plots, every single word they said was heard clearly by everyone in the vehicle using magic to eavesdrop. If it were any other powerful caster being targeted, that merchant manager would likely be dead without a trace of his bones left. Clever knew that every single occupant in this carriage besides herself was fully capable of wiping them out. Yet, unexpectedly, not a single person made a move against him.
When she had asked about it earlier, Flandre had looked at her strangely.
"He didn't hatch any actual conspiracies to attack us, nor did he insult us; he was just heartbroken over his money being spent for nothing. To kill someone over a petty grievance like that would be far too unreasonable. Of course, if he had actually taken any hostile action, we would certainly have taken him out. But if he didn't, then there's no need, right?"
Hearing those words, Clever more or less understood their way of thinking.
At noon, the carriage arrived at the outskirts of a small town. People were coming and going through the streets, making the area quite lively. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day; had they encountered this settlement around four or five in the afternoon, they might have chosen to rest for the night. But as it stood... After Sakuya bought a few fresh daily supplies, the carriage passed directly through the thoroughfare to continue onward.
"Aren't you guys traveling for fun? I see quite a few interesting places to play in this town, so why are we in such a hurry?" Clever asked curiously. She was beginning to feel that Flandre's group wasn't as aimless as they claimed to be.
"Not exactly, it's just that the scenery here is far too monotonous, nothing special about it," Remilia spoke up, looking back at the receding town through the carriage window.
"If you put it that way, I suppose you're right. But speaking of unique places in Leithanien... You aren't planning to go to Zwillingstürme, are you?"
If one were to talk about a place unique enough and beautiful enough in all of Leithanien, the twin-spire capital was second to none. Whether it was the towering Black and White Spires or the beautiful main city, it was simply a different world compared to the industrial smoke of Londinium. If Londinium was a massive factory, then Zwillingstürme was a grand park. For any tourist visiting these lands, it was a place worth seeing.
Of course, that was for ordinary travelers. But what if the passengers possessed highly volatile identities? For instance, this carriage carried two Vampires, and three out of the six people were Sarkaz. Daring to run straight toward the heart of Leithanien gave Clever the distinct feeling that they were tired of living.
She pointed at herself, then gestured toward the two sisters. "Do you know that we are Sarkaz?"
"So what?" Remilia asked, genuinely puzzled.
"That is the capital of Leithanien; they will never allow Sarkaz to enter the city gates," Clever said, gesticulating wildly to emphasize her point.
"You're being far too rigid. How could it be impossible for a Sarkaz to enter?" Remilia replied smoothly.
Beside her, Flandre also nodded along. "Yeah, yeah! Not only do I know there are Sarkaz in Zwillingstürme, but someone is even a teacher in a school there!"
"Huh?" Clever felt as if her memory might be fundamentally flawed.
As an old neighbor of Kazdel, Leithanien's suppression of the Sarkaz was a brutal reality that had existed for generations. Unlike Victoria, which focused heavily on technology, the Leithanians played with pure magic. To them, the Sarkaz were the best tools and experimental subjects. The reasoning was simple: the Sarkaz's natural tolerance for oripathy was the strongest among all known races. Going to Zwillingstürme was like walking straight into a trap.
"Don't worry! Just like when we were in Londinium, we have Patchy. She'll cast a Confusion Charm on everyone when the time comes. No one will recognize our identities," Flandre patted Clever's shoulder to comfort her.
"This is Zwillingstürme we're talking about. If you throw a stone and hit five people, three of them will be accomplished casters. Furthermore, the Empress's hidden eyes and ears, as well as Leithanien's strongest combat formation, the Gendarmerie, are all stationed within those walls. Are you certain our magic won't be instantly seen through?" Clever was still deeply uneasy.
"It's precisely because of that density that it's even less likely to be discovered. After all, other places are like a perfectly clean lake where everyone can spot an anomaly at a single glance. But a sea of magic hides everything."