The carriage was moving quickly, Niall's face a first to many as they passed by. He would smile, wave or even converse with those that stayed up with their pace. When they finally left the small town that Duke Thorin watched over, he looked towards his group. The three girls were watching him with strange looks on their faces.
"Leen... you seem more comfortable like that than I would expect."
Kyra was squirming in her seat as she spoke.
"Hmm? Oh... did I not make it obvious? This, well, skin doesn't feel like anything. I feel what my body feels, what's underneath all of this."
Kyra's eyes seemed to calm down, but she couldn't stop looking quite agitated by Niall's appearance. Lyla, on the other hand, leaned in towards him.
"You smell like you. And you talk the same. I love you, so it's meh to me."
Niall knew her feelings, seeing the heart over her head, yet hearing her left her face scarlet. Both Kyra and Nora were left silent as well, their faces red for different reasons. Taking this chance, Niall decided to look over their heads. He focused enough to let the numbers appear.
'Lets see... so Nora is a two and Kyra is a three? That doesn't make sense, unless...'
The faint smile on his face faded as his thoughts continued.
'She mistook how she feels for me. She's confused.'
His eyes peeked out of the small window until Nora spoke up.
"So, N-Niall, we have the outer design for our group. What are we actually going to be doing?"
His mood not improving, he crossed his arms and spat his words.
"Just gonna make some scum wish he hadn't done something stupid."
Kyra reached out, but Lyla overtook her and nuzzled into his shoulder. Kyra sitting opposite Niall, had a look of jealousy on her face.
"Don't get so angry, Master! You can pet my ears if it can make ya fell better!"
Niall glanced at the eager fox. She wouldn't take no for an answer, already laying her head in his lap. With a soft sigh, he began to stroke her ears. Lyla quickly dozed off, her fingers gripping Niall's pant leg. Nora rolled her eyes and sighed as she asked again.
"But what does that entail? Having led a group of mercenaries for a... bit, knowing would be good for morale."
Niall's eyes fell on Nora, her own boring holes into him.
"There are five big operations they're pulling under everyone's noses."
His willingness to answer took Nora by surprise as she fumbled with her words.
"H-how do you know? Err... actually, I'm better off not knowing."
With a small huff, Niall pulled the curtain of the window closed. Before long, Aveline was sitting in the carriage.
"Not much to say. They have their fingers in a few pots, like beast herding and nurturing. Normally this isn't a problem, but they have bred dangerous and powerful beasts on the verge of becoming monsters. Besides that, they are manufacturing a drug to control and enhance their own soldiers."
Nora had wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Even Kyra was shocked. They both didn't know what to say.
'That's just two of the five things. The blessing of knowledge from my past life.'
As the carriage began to slow down, Niall reappeared and looked out the window.
"We've hit the next town over. We can become official here, in Vangru. It's a part of my father's territory, but far enough away to give us some more combat missions. Too many are scared of him to get close."
The group dropped the carriage, Lyla despising the short nap she got. Niall looked up at the carriage driver, an elderly man with many years of experience behind his eyes.
"Thank you. Please pass on to my father that we made it safely."
He was silent beyond his small nod. The carriage began to be pulled away by horses as the group headed into the city center. Nora dropped in close to Niall, leaning towards his ear.
"W-what about the other three?"
Niall spoke quietly, a soft bit of wind magic bringing his words to Nora.
"Bandits, slavery and materials. The last is mostly hidden veins of ore that they didn't speak of to the king."
Nora had concern in her eyes now, totally derailed by the massive amount of illegal activity they were planning to stop. Niall stopped walking before looking back at Kyra and Nora.
"So... wanna help me out? I may be the leader, but I've never been out of the forest, home or the capital."
Kyra blushed a little, turning forgetful, while Nora had a haughty grin. She completely hopped back in gear the moment something she could handle appeared.
"The newer guild is over there."
Lyla was pointing with a single clawed finger. Her eyes were narrowed and her nose was sniffing.
"Smells like it anyways."
Kyra and Nora were taken aback by the abrupt fox interruption, but Niall simply patted her on the head. His gaze lifted to see Kyra red in the face, the girl practically fuming as she began to walk towards the very building Lyla had pointed out. The rest followed, but Niall remained a little disappointed until his eyes fell lower.
'Not the worst view to see when upset.'
The group didn't stay in the guild long, quickly finishing up the creation of their mercenary group. They left the city, prepared to make a name for themselves.
-
"This is like the start of one of her old animes! She's so cute getting frustrated with Kyra's feelings as well! Oh Aveline, what am I to do with such a cute Champion?"
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Thank you,
Anna Haig!