Chapter 18 - CHAPTER 20: DEPARTURE

One week has passed, and today is finally the day that we are going to head to the capital. It is early in the morning, and I just finished packing the things that I will need while traveling. I head downstairs and find my father, mother, aunt Lyshia, and Chris also getting ready. They're diligently working in our supplies when they suddenly notice me and look my way.

"Will, you're up early; are you really that excited about heading to the capital?" Father asked.

"Aren't I the one who needs to say that to all of you?" I replied, and after that, they all laughed.

"Will you, if you're free, help Chris pack the food supplies?" Father said.

"Okay," I answered, then started helping Chris.

"We will just need five days' worth of food because we'll just take a stop in the city of Craud to restock our supplies."

After that, Chris and I started to prepare the food supplies. When we finished and the rest also finished what they were doing, we decided to prepare to depart.

We went outside and placed all of the supplies that we would need on our journey in the carriage. While we're doing that, Father heads to the shed to get Pride, the horse that will pull our carriage. I named him Pride because he doesn't let anybody ride him except for my father. When someone tries to ride him, he always shakes his body so that the one riding him will fall. I also fell victim to that when I tried to ride him, and that's why I named him Pride.

When we finished preparing the carriage, we started to say farewell to mother and aunt Lyshia. 

"Chris, don't cause any trouble while traveling, okay?" "Also, don't cause Will any problems in the academy." "Always behave yourself so you won't cause any trouble," Aunt Lyshia said to Chris.

"I already know it, mama," Chris replied.

"Also, we're not going to see each other in a year, so take care of yourself and always remember I love you," aunt Lyshia added.

"Yeah, I love you too, mama," Chris replied before hugging Aunt Lyshia.

"Remember to always protect Chris." "Don't let any harm come near her if you can promise that then we're good," mother said to me with the personality of the sword saint.

"Yeah, I promise," I answered.

"Also, take care of yourself and always follow what you think is right; always remember that I love you," she added.

"Yeah, I love you too, mother," I replied to her.

After Chris and I say our farewells, Father, Aunt Lyshia, and Mother talk for a moment to say farewell to each other. After that, we started to depart. The carriage started to move, and the waving hands of Mother and Aunt Lyshia started getting smaller until I couldn't see them anymore.

Chris and I are inside the carriage, while Papa is the one who's controlling the leash.

An hour has passed, and all I can see since earlier are grassy plains. I got bored after an hour of staring at the grassy plains. Chris also looked so bored, so I invited her to start training magic. She accepted it, and we started casting our spell outside the carriage, and that's how we passed our time.

After a while, it is already lunchtime. Father stopped the carriage under a large tree and decided that we would take our lunch under that tree. We had the vegetables that Mother and Aunt Lyshia had cooked earlier. We decided to eat it first because it is easily spoilable.

After we had lunch, we continued our journey. Chris and I started practicing magic again to pass the time, and my father, as if getting bored, gave us advice time and again so he could ease his boredom. We passed the time like that, and night finally came.

Father stopped the carriage and placed it on the side of the road. After that, he started to ask for our help getting the firewood outside the carriage while preparing to create a bonfire. After that, we had our dinner and finally headed inside the carriage to sleep.

Chris and I started lying on the floor of the carriage, which was now covered with a layer of blanket to make it comfortable to sleep in, but father didn't lay at all; instead, he just sat at the door of the carriage. 

"Are you not going to sleep?" I asked

"I'll sleep while sitting, so in case something happens, I'm prepared to take action right away," he answered.

"Isn't that hard?" I asked again.

"No, not at all." "I'm used to this because we always need to do this on the battlefield." He answered.

"So don't worry about me and start sleeping," he added, then smiled.

That night, Father looked so reliable that I couldn't believe my eyes that what I was looking at was my father, who normally looks so unreliable because of his frail build. 

After thinking about that, I started to sleep while thinking that tomorrow would be another day to continue our journey to the capital.