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Author Note:
I had some problems with my computer and had to replace the hard drive, so until the new hard drive arrived, I couldn't post.
Anyway, the chapters were ready, all that was left was to post them and that is what I will do now.
I hope you enjoy it.
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***Illianna's point of view***
Although I questioned why Sian didn't take us with space magic to meet the demon lord, he said he wanted the girls to enjoy the trip.
Even if I find it inefficient, I am in no position to complain, and in the end, this is also a good opportunity to see what the demonic continent is like.
After we returned to the mansion, a carriage was waiting for us.
It was surreal how extravagant the carriage was.
It was black with a medium size and had large glass windows on both sides. The carcass was filled with gold ornaments and jewelry that looked as if they had been carved by first-rate craftsmen.
Not only that, even the four horses pulling it seemed out of the ordinary.
They were as black as tar. Their completely red eyes coupled with their muscular bodies made them look menacing. But counterbalancing this, their long manes and tails gave an air of extreme elegance.
As for the coachman, it was Bethony, the sheepkin from before. On the way here, I found out from Milka that she is Sian's personal maid that Uncle Frank provided for him.
But because she is not suited for the dangerous journeys that Sian has taken, she spends most of her time in the mansion.
Amazed by the carriage, I cast a sideways glance at Sian.
"Although you look like a beggar on the central continent, here you seem to be different."
"It was a gift. Although I found it a bit flashy, it was free, so I accepted it."
He responded as if it was nothing and said, "Now let's go inside. We have a trip to do."
***
After we drove far enough down the road that I could no longer see the mansion, I noticed something strange.
"Why doesn't it have a protective wall here?" I asked Sian. "Aren't you afraid the monsters will show up?"
"It seems that you still don't know the master well," Milka, who was sitting in front of me, turned her nose up. "Despite being a pervert, master is very skilled in magic formations. Since this is a dangerous region here, he has prepared a formation that keeps weak monsters away."
"What about the strong ones?"
Seeming to have the same doubt as me, Tina asked.
"If they are strong, that means they wouldn't dare come close."
Although Milka responded as if it was something natural, I felt lost.
Just as I was about to ask for clarification, Bethony's voice came from the coachman's seat.
"Master, Teshar is coming."
At her words, I, along with the children, looked around, but saw nothing. Since we were in constant motion, my map had no time to analyze it, so it had no information.
"Yeah, I saw it."
As if expecting something, Sian opened the window and put his arm out. Seconds later, an orange-red bird the size of a crow landed on his wrist.
Its glossy feathers and extremely long tail were something I had never seen before.
I was amazed at the beauty and elegance of the bird.
"Welcome back, master."
"!!!"
Upon hearing the bird speak, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Although they were also surprised, the children just kept looking with curiosity.
"Did the little bird talk?!" Emily, who was on Sian's lap, looked excited.
"Yep," Sian brought the bird closer to her. "Want to touch it?"
Just as she was about to touch the bird, I acted unconsciously and stopped her, pulling her from Sian's lap to mine.
This action made me receive the stares of everyone, including the bird.
Although not typical of me, I felt the cold sweat trickle down my back.
"What's the matter?"
Sian looked at me with a confused face, as if he couldn't understand what I had done.
"What's the matter?!" Almost shouting, I said, "That bird spoke!"
To my knowledge, any non-humanoid being that can speak is something to be wary of. Despite its pretty and harmless appearance, this was undoubtedly an extraordinary creature.
Even if it was not as strong as a dragon, it was still strong enough to easily bring down a kingdom.
Taking the hydra as an example, it was strong enough to endanger the existence of a kingdom, even so, it could not speak.
"What about it?"
Sian looked even more confused, and he was not the only one. Everyone inside the carriage, including the bird, who tilted its head, seemed to be the same.
"Sorry to intrude, master," Bethony's voice came from the coachman's seat. "But as you and Milka are used to a lot of things, Teshar talking may seem normal, but it is not. On the central continent, where the concentration of powerful monsters is lower, the appearance of a talking one usually means danger."
"I can understand your concerns," the bird looked at me, "but I wouldn't do anything that might upset master."
Master!
Because of my surprise, it was only now that I noticed something so important. Besides being perched on his wrist, the bird called him master!
"Oh, I understand now," Milka said, "I guess spending so much time with master made me lose some of my common sense. But there's no need to be afraid. Teshar is like our guardian, and she eliminates any monster that the barrier can't hold."
"Like Milka said, Teshar is a good girl," Sian stretched out the wrist the bird was on toward me. "Try to pet her."
***
After I understood the situation better, I was able to calm down.
While introducing the children and me to Teshar, Sian called her to come with us. Acting as a faithful guard, she said she would eliminate any monster that approached.
Strangely enough, when I was stroking the bird and praised its soft feathers, Sian acted as if he were a child proud of his pet. Which is strange, considering that this bird can be a kingdom-destroying killing machine.
It seems that things around him are more unusual than I thought.
Interestingly, with the fact that the bird, Teshar, is female, this makes it so that besides Sian, everyone with intelligence in the mansion is female.
Is this just another coincidence? In the end, I can't really know...
On the road, I realized that Sian's mansion was located deep inside a forest, where the only road that existed was the one we were passing. Out of curiosity, although it was not a stone road, there were no irregularities, which showed that it was regularly maintained.
Given the quality of it, the horses were moving at an absurdly fast speed and the vegetation alongside looked like blurs.
Due to curiosity, I have adjusted my map to scan in a straight and narrow line, this way the skill can map around 20 meters per second.
The starting point of the mapping is the place where I was when I started the analysis, and for the mapping to continue, I must stay in the already mapped area. But as soon as I started mapping, the skill was cancelled due to not being able to keep up with the speed of the horses.
I may be jumping the gun, but we were moving at least 80 to 100 km/h.
Even after an hour at this pace, we were still in the extensive forest.
When I asked why he lived there, Sian said that he chose that place because people would not bother him. But according to Milka, even with the location, some would show up from time to time.
"Look there, Daddy, a big dog!"
Emily, who had returned to Sian's lap, pointed out through the glass window.
"No," Tina denied, "It's a big cat."
"Although it's a feline, I'm sure it's not a cat," I muttered.
The creature that was approaching the carriage looked like a saber-toothed tiger, but it was the same size, or even larger, than the carriage.
When I tried to analyze the monster, it turned out that the difference between our levels made this impossible.
Ever since I arrived here, it's like my system got useless. If I hadn't already proven how good it is, I'd probably be complaining that the gods scammed me.
Meanwhile, the tiger-like monster was getting closer to us. I was about to ask if Sian wouldn't do anything, but before that, the monster disappeared.
More precisely, it was enveloped in a tornado of fire and in a matter of a second or two, turned to ashes.
Not even a bone was left to tell the story.
It was as if he hadn't even existed.
It was so surreal that before I got surprised, I began to doubt what I had seen.
"Amazing!"
"Was that magic?"
While Emily was impressed, Tina, thirsty for knowledge about magic, wanted to understand what had happened.
"Well, even if it doesn't look like it, Teshar is amazing," Sian said as he puffed out his chest. "When it comes to fire magic, she puts anyone in the shade."
As I wondered if this was just a trick by Sian to show off to the children, I heard a beep from the system.
*Ding*
---
Magic essence has been collected!
---
It was a message I had never seen before. But given the similarity of when Sian created the connection between us, I understood what it was, the magical essence of that tiger came to me.
If this happened, it means that it was killed with a hundred percent certainty.
Because of this fact, I was sure that my eyes had not deceived me. Although I don't know every aspect of the system yet, I have been using it long enough to know how capable it is.
I already knew that if I killed a monster, I would receive its magic essence, but it seems that even if someone else kills a monster, the same thing still happens.
Is it because Teshar doesn't have a system?
Not knowing the answer to my question, I opened the system interface and checked the collected essence. Although it was available to be distributed immediately, I opted to do this another time, as this was not the ideal moment.
***
Along the way, the same scene that happened with the tiger repeated itself a few more times. The difference is that as we proceeded, the monsters that appeared were weaker and weaker.
Of course, just as before, whenever Teshar turned them to ash, the system also collected their essence.
Using a telepathy spell, I talked about it with Sian. Strangely enough, he seemed excited about it and even offered to go monster hunting with me.
Knowing how important strength is in this world, this was a great opportunity for me, so I accepted his proposal.
In total, we ended up taking about two hours before we saw any signs of civilization.