The carriage was moving at such a slow speed that Lilynn was sure she would have already reached the gates of Ahon city on foot. Twice. And after another uncomfortable night in the tight carriage next to Erwand, she was almost convinced to choose that way instead.
While the horses were ambling along the muddy road, Erwand was inspecting his alchemy gadgets from a little satchel. Lilynn had enough of staring at the sparsely appearing trees around them, and suddenly broke the silence:
"Erwand?"
"Hm?" he growled without looking up.
"You never really told me, but... Do you really plan to do this all the way with me?"
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"My revenge. Killing people. I still do not understand how you could just risk everything to escort me."
He did not answer. He was staring far into the foggy, empty horizon ahead of them.
"Just like you, I have a duty. And I will fulfil it."
That sounded nothing like the childish man Lilynn had first got to know after her first moments as a demoness. Erwand did not continue and instead forced his attention even more on the little potions in his hand.
"So, you are not going to tell me?" Lilynn demanded.
That tiny smirk appeared on his face again.
"We all have our promises to ourselves. Things that we will do at any cost, even if it means the end of our lives. I do have one."
"I'm not trying to invade you with questions. I am just asking."
Erwand let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry about my mood today. I checked out the rune calendar before sleep. One year ago, I lost someone on this day."
Lilynn remembered the little calendar he had in his cart hanging on its wall. This day had a poorly drawn X on it, but Lilynn had no idea it was an emotionally important day for him. Most people mark their calendars for birthdays or harvest feasts. However, Erwand was no man with an even relatively ordinary mind.
"All right, alchemist. I respect that, and I'm sorry you lost someone."
Lilynn tried to smile, and finally, Erwand seemed a bit happier.
"You never told me that you also learned magic," Lilynn wondered.
"I would not even call it that. I was awful at it. Started it at nineteen in Emerstead, the big mage-center of the kingdom, where my father also learned it. Spent three years on nothing, only remembering a few basic spells. Trust me, you should be glad that there are no demon-magic academies."
"I would be glad to learn from fellow demons. Or even talk to one."
"Until they turn on you and attack you from the back," Erwand said. "People with magic are never to be trusted. I don't know about demons, but..."
Lilynn raised her eyebrows.
"...but if they are just like you, I might take them over humans any day," Erwand finished his little speech.
"Seems quite interesting that your precious duty is so similar to mine that we have to take the same path."
"Mine ... I'm afraid has no clear place as a goal. So might as well just escort the Demoness of Vengeance on her way to justice."
Happiness filled Lilynn from his semi-ironic but always kind words. Erwand had no reason not to go on with his business alone, but there was something of a special connection forming between them. Something that likewise wouldn't have separated Lilynn from him.
They stopped at an abandoned well next to the road around noon. A pleasant autumn breeze blew Lilynn's face gently, and fallen yellow leaves circled in the air.
"We have food for a few days, but soon we will need to hunt ourselves something bigger," Erwand said as he was packing something inside the carriage. Lilynn decided to walk around for a little and let her head relax by the calm nature around them.
Hunting. Sure, she had never done it before, but with her new demon-reaction time she might have had to chance to bring down at least a rabbit.
They were at the edge of a forest, where a lot of trees stood sparsely.
Lilynn let out her black hand-saber, at swung it at one of the trees. The powerful swing cut it in half with one move. Lilynn did not stop; she cut through branches and bushes, as if they were dozens of Lady Urlas. Chopping off their heads, one by one.
"Practicing like that will not get you anywhere," she heard from behind her back. Erwand was standing there with a sword in his land.
"If you just stand still like this, you will end up like one of those trees. Demon powers or not, you should learn how to dodge."
Lilynn held up her sword-hand and Erwand did the same with the metal sword. Erwand quickly swung it from the right, and Lilynn was shocked for a moment at what to do. In a real scenario, she could risk blocking it and perhaps damaging her arm, or defend with agility. Instead of a counter-attack, Lilynn tried to dodge it. But she could not back up quick enough and the Erwand stopped the sword right next to her chest.
"You have to make quick decisions. The moment I swing my sword, I don't have a second chance at making a move. One someone makes a powerful move, you can play around it and quickly surprise them with something else."
"It is just... hard to make up my mind. I just get blocked in the middle of anything."
"Those demon powers must be somewhere in there. Give it everything you got!"
Erwand struck again with a heavy swing, and this time, Lilynn decided to duck down to attack.
As Erwand had all his power concentrated into the sword swing, he could not stop immediately to aim at Lilynn again. She called the demon saber back not to hurt Erwand, but her position told him that she could've done a fatal blow if necessary.
They practiced a few other dodging moves, as well as attacking ones. Erwand showed Lilynn everything he knew about the different angles from which a sword swing can kill enemies - and how it could be executed from above, below, or the sides. Lilynn did not memorise everything, but gathered a lot of information about swordfight.
At least she was finally properly armed with knowledge against pesky guards.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the shadow of the forest, and Erwand and Lilynn both turned to the trees.