Alex was slightly creeped out right now. He was currently having breakfast at the dining table with the family. His discomfort was due to his sister who was acting rather unnatural ever since she woke up.

Vanessa kept sneaking glances at Kyle while smirking weirdly. Sometimes she even let out a small laugh for no apparent reason.

Alex could not figure out the cause. When he tried to fish out the reason from Kyle, the man acted as if he knew nothing.

Seeing as it wasn’t really anything of importance, he chose to ignore it for the time being.

“Alex, have you put everything you need on the carriage? Miss Amelia will be here soon.”

“Yes, brother in law. All ready to go!”

“Little girl, don’t play with your food. We have to get you cleaned up if you are finished.”

Vanessa was in her little dreamland and both Kyle and Alex failed to get her to snap out of it. Kyle had to run around by himself, making sure everything was ready on the morning of departure.

“Wife!”

“…”

“…’nessa!”

“Yes, dear!”

Kyle sighed and got Vanessa to get Kaylee ready for the trip. Alex smirked after hearing the exchange. He looked at Kyle with a knowing smile.

Kyle could only glare at him causing Alex to not say anything yet trying hard to hold back a laugh.

Vanessa carried Kaylee upstairs to clean up. Kyle had Alex attach the horses to the carriage together with Bill while he went to move some of the luggage out to the porch.

Just as the horses were harnessed, the front gate of the mansion was opened, and Amelia along with guard Captain Ruby sitting on the driver’s seat of a wagon came inside. Alex hurriedly greeted his lover and helped the guard captain park the wagon.

Kyle also greeted Amelia before starting to load the wagon with their belongings that they were going to take to their new house.

Today was the day that Kyle, Vanessa and Kaylee would be moving to the elven forest. After Alex’s pleas, the husband and wife decided to have a family holiday at the joint city before moving towards their new home.

Kyle did not mention anything about knowing any elves, causing Alex to be rather worried about their future. Vanessa had to reassure the boy that they were going to be fine. Perhaps, it was partly due to Kyle’s strength, Alex gave up pursing the matter.

“Good morning, Amelia. Are there no other guards today? Only Captain Ruby accompanying you?” Vanessa placed Kaylee on the coachman’s seat and asked Amelia, who was helping Alex with the loading.

Amelia had a pondering expression while she answered. “Father said there was no need and only sent Sister Ruby with me. He reassured me that it’ll be ok. Honestly, Sister Ruby says that same thing.”

Amelia glanced at Kyle with an inquiring gaze mixed with confusion and wonder. She gathered that her father would not let her go on such a dangerous trip if it was not absolutely safe. Since Captain Ruby, a master ranked warrior, was definitely not sufficient for protection, she assumed that it had to be Master Kyle who would keep her out of harm.

***

Tony ran. He did not dare look back from the scene that reminded him of the worst nightmares from his childhood.

He ran, while struggling to hold back his fear. He noticed his companions similarly making a break for it beside him, but he could not pay any mind towards them.

After what seems to be days, yet only a mere forty minutes having passed, he could run no longer and tumbled face first onto the rough ground.

The pain jolted him awake from the fright. No longer able to run, Tony hurriedly looked back in search of the demon that ripped his merry band of bandits apart in mere seconds.

His mind having calmed down somewhat after taking a few deep breaths, he noticed that there were no pursuers. Perhaps, the demon saw no purpose in chasing after their worthless lives. His underlings were no where to be seen. An expected outcome considering that he had the highest stamina and could run the furthest.

Still cautious and not able to completely rid of the fear that enveloped him, his first thought was to find a hiding place. Tony headed further south, away from the barren plains void of any vegetation.

There was no food nor water around here. Anything that used to be edible now contaminated with the remnants of miasma from long ago. Tony decided to circle back to the location of their hideout after wondering around aimlessly for half a day. It was indeed difficult to travel without horses in these wastelands.

He did not dare approach the main roads. He was by his lonesome and his face known to all guards and soldiers that accompanied that merchant caravans. He would be killed on the spot if he was to seek help from travellers.

Being a master ranked warrior meant that Tony could go without sustenance for quite some time. After a full day of walking, he finally made it back to the underground cave that he called home.

“Boss! You’re back!”

Tony found five of his men shuffling about inside the cave. They seemed to be packing the loot and riches that they’ve hoarded over the years.

Tony glanced at the fresh corpse at the corner of the cave.

“So…what might you all be doing?”

The five men looked at each other. They were all good friends within the group. It was obvious that six men came back to the hideout and what has happened to the last individual.

Although Tony also ran off similarly, he was still much stronger than the five of them combined!

Finally, one of them spoke up, maintaining a flattering smile.

“We’re just getting the loot ready so that it’s all good to go once you come back boss!”

Another chimed in afterwards, seeing that Tony’s expression was a bit gloomy.

“Yes, that’s right! Boss, it’ll be difficult for you to carry it all. We’re just helping!”

Tony remained in thought while the five men nervously waited. They did not dare to move. Even if they had weapons and Tony was unarmed, it was not hard to predict who would win if they were to have a fallout.

“Hmph! Put those on the carts and get the horses ready! We’re going south!”

***

*Clip clop clip clop clip clop*

Kyle drove the carriage out of the tunnel, with Kaylee sitting on his lap. Vanessa, Liz and Amelia were tormenting Alex with their girls talk inside the cabin.

Guard Captain Ruby drove the wagon carrying the luggage, with a face void of any expression. The woman had rarely talked or smiled ever since Kyle had seen her. She took up the driver’s position for the wagon without anyone hinting.

Kyle told Kaylee stories of the elves that were found in popular children’s books as they traversed the roads. This time, they were behind a rather sizeable convoy of merchants. It just happened that Kyle’s group exited the city at roughly the same time and date.

Kyle didn’t mind this as it meant that he did not have to take up a troublesome task if one arose later down the road.

The journey itself was rather boring. The scenery was filled with flat barren land, not a tree in sight for as far as the eye can see. The only thing of interest was the convoy of wagons in front accompanied by guards. Kaylee eventually got called in by Vanessa into the cabin.

Lately, Kyle had purchased a lot of children’s story books as well as learning materials for Kaylee. Vanessa would teach Kaylee to read and write for a few hours a day.

The little forest that the group had stopped by a few days earlier came into sight just as the sun reached over their heads. The merchant caravans had slowed down to a halt, taking up a large chunk of space in the clearing, intending to take their lunch break there.

“Do we want to stop here for lunch? Or do we keep going?” Kyle asked the occupants in the cabin.

A few of the guards on watch eyed Kyle’s group with unfriendly eyes. It seemed that they were cautious of strangers.

Vanessa’s face cringed a bit, remembering the clash with the crown prince.

“I think we should keep going dear.”

Kyle asked for the opinions of the remaining members before deciding to have lunch as they travelled.