“'It’s nice to see the countryside like this, isn’t it, Leo?’ Is what Rexir said.” Leresa blew a strand of hair out of her face and sighed.

They’d only been on the dirt road leading into the heart of the Golden Continent for five hours, but she was already sick of it. Leo’s two weapons, Hazeel and Vanessa, were in the back of the caravan.

Leresa herself was sat at the front, where Leo was steering, and Rexir had joined him in order to get a good view and ‘feel the breeze,’ as he put it.

It hadn’t helped that in between scorning his subjects in favor of adventure and leaving, they had ran into several seriously upset officials over Rexir’s decision to abdicate the town, and to a foreign power nonetheless.

However, all signs of resistance had been quashed by the Princeling himself, who decided to have Leresa strong-arm them into agreement with knowledge of their black market dealings.

The nobles, to their credit, had been very supportive after that show of power by Rexir, and vowed to help the prince scorn his father by giving the Azurian representative as warm a welcome as they could.

That promise was almost certainly false, but it became real soon enough. Shortly after the meeting, Leo had warped… transported? Leresa didn’t quite understand the nuances of the mode of travel yet, but he had gone back to the Azure Continent, and returned within seconds with General Conrad Morrow.

Of course, it wasn’t just the good general himself, but also a whole hoard of his soldiers, complete with weapons, gear, and mounts. It wasn’t until Leresa had seen that display of power from Leo that she had believed meeting him to be a good thing. Having the ability to transport a large army anywhere instantly was a great boon, even if the soldiers would need to undergo training in order to keep their lunches down after the fact.

Leresa marveled at the tactical strength of the power, and Rexir had merely smiled upon the confused and fearful faces of his court. Thus, after properly seating General Morrow on the symbolic throne, they had left the city.

Only, Leresa’s worries didn’t end there. She had been stuck in this godsforsaken cart pulled by a godsforsaken Azurian horse named Biscuit, who’d had the most emotional reunion with Hazeel that Leresa had ever seen a horse have.

Not to mention, she had been stuck as Rexir’s translator for almost the entire time they had been riding, while he spitballed ideas with Leo and tried to learn some of the mechanics behind the use of photons.

According to Leo, they acted as a sort of magnet. When too many photons were in one place at the same time, they caused a black hole to appear? Leresa was still confused on the matter, but too mentally exhausted to keep up with the two men.

“Is that so? We should stop here. Less looks as if she’s about to collapse from boredom.” Leo grinned at her, as did Rexir, and it was only then that she realized what she had said.

“You idiot! Why did you make me say that!?” She gave Rexir a light punch, and his grin just made things even worse for her.

Don’t worry, Less. I know you want to take care of me, and you wouldn’t ever say it to my face, but I can be a boring person to be around, sometimes.

Leresa went slack jawed, but Rexir wasn’t finished. It’s ok to tell me when you are tired, or when you are no longer in the mood to speak on my behalf. This is a relationship, and like any relationship, in order to be as healthy as possible, both sides need to be honest.

Leresa opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She tried again and again, but words failed to come to her. Seeing her plight, Leo said, “Why don’t you head into the back of the cart with the other girls? The last I remember, they were playing a game together. Perhaps you could recharge that way, and come back more energetic than ever for Rexir?”

Leresa nodded vehemently, and for once, was thankful for Leo. She made her way into the back, and her gaze instantly dropped onto Vanessa.

The woman was smiling and laughing while talking with Hazeel, the wood elf. For how little they had known each other, the two seemed to have been getting along great. “What were you talking about?”

Leresa’s words had an instant effect, and Vanessa immediately lost her smile and averted her gaze from anywhere near Leresa. Hazeel sighed and patted the spot next to her and across from Vanessa.

“We were just discussing politics in our respective countries, and the places of women in them.” Leresa’s eyes widened. She had never considered the subject too hard before, but with the very first female ruler of the Azure Continent coming into power, it wasn’t too far fetched a conversation to have.

She took her seat, and stared across at Vanessa, who still couldn’t look in her direction. Leresa’s mouth turned into a frown as she studied the otherworld girl. If only they hadn’t ever appeared. Rexir would still-

Leresa took a deep breath in order to calm herself. She knew in her heart that Vanessa wasn’t at fault. In reality, it had been Rexir’s own greed for a new power, and her own onus for not wrangling him back from the precipice of danger, as she had done so many times before.

“I… I’m not upset with you, Vanessa.” Hazeel smiled at the words, and Vanessa shuddered upon hearing her name. She slowly looked up, tears in her eyes.

Leresa sucked in deeply, and moved closer to Vanessa, who flinched at the motions. Before Vanessa could react, however, Leresa embraced her in a solid hug, holding her head close to her heart.

Vanessa was breathing heavily at first, but eventually her breathing calmed, and she hugged Leresa back. “I’m so sorry. Everything… everything with Rexir was my fault. I should’ve just let Leo take care of everything. My memory hasn’t been the best since my revival, and I…”

Leresa just held the woman closer until she stopped speaking. “I don’t want an apology. Let’s just get along from now on. Know that I am grateful for all you’ve done. It must have been frightening to be forced into such an important role so soon after waking up from such a long nap. It’s not your fault.”

Vanessa started to tremble in her chest, and a wide smile from Hazeel denoted that Leresa had done well. In truth, she had only mimicked the words her sisters had told her before, but no one on this ride needed to know that.

Leresa heard a rustle, and looked up just in time to see a smiling Leo mouth the words, ‘thank you,’ and return behind the curtain.

Leresa smiled to herself as the girl clung tighter to her. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

---

“...And that’s why I’m fully expecting this trip to be some sort of shit show.” I almost chuckled at the look of horror on Rexir’s face.

He tilted his head, and I replied, “Yes, it is a true story. I didn’t think there’d be a town of cannibals on our way from the mansion in the country to the royal capital, either, but it didn’t really brighten my perspective on travelling in this world.”

He sighed soundlessly and shook his head. Or, it was what I assumed was a sighing gesture, at least. Seven hours after we started our journey, and a couple after Leresa and Vanessa had worked things out, we were just starting to make the outline of a village.

It was perfect timing, as the sun had already been down for a half an hour, and Biscuit was starting to get skittish. We rode up to the village gate and stopped at the behest of two guards.

“Lord Minami, we’ve been expecting you. We’ve heard about your announcements from our scrying well, and I fear that our province has dark days ahead of it without you at our helm. However, we are cautiously optimistic about new trade deals with the Azure Empire, and Songrande’s merchants.”

Rexir smiled and held up his hand for the two guards to wait, and a moment later, Leresa staggered out of the back of the carriage. She had a piece of paper stuck to her face, and yawned while looking at Rexir.

“What is it, Rexir? I was trying to take a nap.” The former prince pointed at the guards in delight, and watched in excitement as Leresa’s face went from confused, to upset, to just plain embarrassed.

She wiped the drool off of her face and tore off the piece of paper before making herself look presentable. Rexir grinned from ear to ear, and the sentries had to cover their mouths to prevent Leresa from seeing their own smiles.

She cleared her throat, a light blush present on her cheeks, and said, “'I thank you for your kind words. However, you needn’t treat me like a lord any longer. I have denounced that title. You may instead treat me as one of your own, and I’d like to request a living space for the night,’ is what Rexir says.”

The two guards bowed before Rexir. “Nonsense, Lord. You’ve made the Lumin Province prosperous for as long as my son has been alive. Having him growing up without having to worry about feeding him, or ever having him go hungry as I had in my childhood is a debt that cannot be repaid by me alone. Please, let me escort you to the village chief.”

“We appreciate the gesture, and would love to take you up on your offer.” The guard nodded at Leresa’s words, and guided us into the small village. It was night, so no person was outside, and most were having dinner inside their homes.

A guard took Biscuit to the village stables, and we were ushered into the house of the village chief. “Rexir, it’s been too long!”

A large, wide woman hugged Rexir, which caused his face to contort in… was that pain, or annoyance? “Rexi says hi, Kokoro.” Leresa hugged the woman from behind, and the large beauty smiled.

“Oh, Leresa as well! I was only expecting Rexir. Well, isn’t this a nice surprise. Well, why don’t you introduce me to your friends?”

The woman spoke so fast that I had to strain myself to keep up with her, and I could tell that Hazeel and Vanessa didn’t understand a single word that she had spoken.

“My name is Leo, it is nice to meet you.” I spoke slowly for the two behind me to hear. Getting the hint, the two of them introduced themselves as well.

“This woman is Kokoro Sano, chief of this village and Rexir’s old wet nurse.” Ah, that would explain the discomfort. “Please, come in, make yourselves at home! Dinner should be done in ten to fifteen minutes. While we’re waiting, I’m sure Rexir has plenty to tell me, especially about what exactly happened to ensure that he now needs Leresa’s help speaking now. Right, Rexir?”

Kokoro pinched his cheek, and a shiver went down my spine from the sympathy embarrassment. We all started to move to the dining room, but Hazeel collapsed against the wall, and Vanessa fell to one knee herself.

My eyes widened as I walked up to them quickly, and knelt down beside Hazeel. Are you alright? Do you need to…” I trailed off as I realized what was happening, and my heart started racing.

God damn my luck. The two of them were experiencing photon overdoses at the same time. One look at their flushed faces and probing them with my photons revealed the fact.

I stood up and sighed. “So… Can you ladies hold yourselves together until dinner is over?”