–He's a member of KGB, I'm telling you!
–Calm down, Sean, there is no KGB, – Cirael replied calmly, – at least not in this time. Enough of your theories from the future.
–But it's true! Intimidation by knowledge and vague hints! The most generic KGB agent ever! I bet he's got wiretaps all over the city too... the magical ones.
The angel clucked her tongue and closed her eyes. It wasn't the first time Sean talked about the "KGB" and other things his friends didn't understand. Oliver said with a sigh:
–Okay, whatever. What's your answer?
–Of course, I agree to go with you! It'll be fun.
With that, Sean put his empty shot glass on the table and Oliver put his own down. Clain, unlike his friend, drank juice, not alcohol. Cirael, who was obviously tired of being in a dark bar, said with an irritated voice:
–All right, have you decided? Then let's get out of here! I know you like being in places like this, Sean, but I'm not a fan.
Oliver chuckled a little, but got up from behind the counter, helped his wife up, and walked out. The head of the Clain family had a smile on his face – soon enough they will travel and they will no longer be "confined" to the capital! Here it is, freedom...
The four came out of the city walls – the black-clad heir, the armored angel, the maid with bright green hair, and the surgeon with his hands in the pockets of his coat. The two boys were excited about the adventures ahead of them, while the two ladies walked more slowly behind them, showing with their whole appearance that they didn't want to be here. Cirael asked the maid quietly:
–Maybe we should have just forcefully kept them from traveling...
Ciel did not answer. Oliver and Sean walked ahead of them, leading this "troop" wherever they wanted to go. They had been out of the city for hours, and now the road they were on was surrounded by woods. From time to time, people on horses and wagons passed by. To be honest, Oliver had no idea where they were going, but he had tentatively told the others that they were going to Berul, the large city that is the nearest town to the capital. The truth was that he had expected that, as in happens in all the fairy tales, some great adventure would find them on its own as this company traveled. However, that was not so far from the truth, as they would later find out.
–Look, Ollie, if we're going to Berul, wouldn't it be easier to hitchhike there?
–Now, now, Ciri, that would be too easy. It's about the journey, not the destination, – Oliver replied. – Besides, walking is good for your health.
–Ah, sure, I just see how good for one's health it is!
Cirael pointed to Sean, who was barely keeping up with Oliver and was having trouble moving his feet, though the doctor raised his right hand and gave thumbs up as if he was fine. It was decided, however, to get off the road and make a temporal camp nearby. It was getting dark. By "camp" they meant the following: a fire lit by Cirael's blazing sword and a couple of trunks it had cut down, on which the four unfortunate travelers sat.
–Master, we must not forget that Sean is a human being, unlike you, your wife and me. We can run for a week or more without getting tired, but he can't. Please plan our journey with that in mind, – Ciel said.
Oliver, with a laugh, replied:
–I suppose these words of yours are our excuse for "why didn't they fly the eagles right away?"
–Um... on the contrary, if we're asked such a question, we'll be stumped, because it would be easier to take a wagon or teleport because of fatigue, – Cirael remarked.
Oliver froze with a silly grin on his face as another one of his jokes fell by the wayside. Suddenly, there was a strange sound, like an animal rumbling. Immediately, however, everyone realized what it was – Sean's stomach. He was hungry. It's not strange – the travelers hadn't eaten all day. For Oliver, for some reason, for Cirael, who was an angel, and even more so for Ciel, who couldn't eat regular food at all, there was no problem with that, but Sean....
–Man, being a mere mortal sucks, huh? – Sean said, hiding his resentment behind the joke. – That mage fooled you, traveling would be much easier without me.
Annoyed by his own "ordinariness", the surgeon pounded the log he was sitting on with his fist. The log was destroyed and now he sat on the its remains. While Oliver and Cirael looked pitifully at their friend and said "don't say that" and "it's all right", Ciel watched calmly and muttered "I told you so". Sean's sadness, however, was to her delight – not only she disliked the doctor, but also such emotions fueled her more than anything else. But the problem remained: Sean needed to eat, and the underdog heroes traveled light. Luck, however, seemed to be on their side – while they were in the woods, Oliver spotted an animal that ran by. A short, one-handed sword with a beautiful hilt decorated with a carved Latin "C" appeared in the air next to it. Immediately, the sword went off like a shot, piercing the body of the unknown animal. As the animal drew its last breath, Oliver used the same telekinesis he had used to "shoot" it to draw the sword to himself, as well as the body of the rabbit that had been pierced by the blade. And if the surgeon and the winged one looked at it, the maid's gaze was fixed on Sean, as if Ciel was trying to catch the slightest movement of his muscles.
–So... does anyone know how to skin animals? – Oliver asked.
–It's not much harder than dissecting people, – Sean said, but abruptly realized what he had said and waved his hands in front of him. – I mean for surgeries, of course!
Scratching the back of his head, Sean pulled a scalpel from under his robe and picked up the body of the rabbit, happily beginning to skin it. And while Sean was in his element, Ciel walked over to Oliver and, under Cirael's suspicious gaze, led him away into the thick of the forest. The light of the fire still shone through the foliage of the bushes and trees, but otherwise darkness surrounded them. The girl spoke in a whisper:
–Master, you should be careful of your friend. Since the beginning of the journey, he has been emanating very strange emotions, and now they are only increasing.
–Alice, I've known Sean for five years. And he's saved my life more than once. If that's all, I'm going back to everyone. Don't say another word about this, okay?
The boy was about to walk back to the fire, but as soon as he turned away, the servant continued:
–You've known him not "already" for five years, but "only" for five years. You've known me almost since birth. And who do you trust more?
Clain turned and looked at his maid with obvious confusion. She never said anything like that all the time Oliver knew her. Was Ciel deliberately trying to quarrel Oliver and Sean with each other? Or did she really feel something bad?
–I'm sorry, El-- no, Ciel. I'm sorry, but I don't want to do it. There's no impostor among us.
The young man smiled, waved his hand, and, turning away again, walked toward the others at Ciel's dismissive words: "The joke about "Among Us" is out of place". Parting the branches of the bushes with his hands, Oliver saw that his friend had already removed the skin from their catch. Noticing the returnees, Sean waved them cheerfully with his free hand, and Ciel sighed. While the surgeon was folding the soiled scalpel under his robe, the winged one had already put the rabbit carcass on a stout stick and was holding it over the fire. Ciel's frown didn't seem to alert the two sitting by the fire, though.
–Well, I don't know what you've been talking about or what you're so unhappy about, but I'm going to go eat.
Sean, who said this, having put away the scalpel that was already unusable for surgery, turned his gaze to the rabbit and hardly drooled. At Cirael's words "you wait, it's not ready yet", Sean covered his eyes and smirked, then removed his pocket watch from his belt. With his other hand he reached up and snapped his fingers, and the clock hand instantly jumped forward an hour.
–That's it, done, – said the doctor proudly.
–You know that while you were messing with time, I was constantly holding it and spinning it over the fire, right? – Cirael asked, rolling her eyes. – So don't look so triumphant. It was only a moment for you, but it was an hour for us.
Everyone knew that Sean liked to brag about his time manipulation abilities, but that was more due to the fact that he didn't have anything else to his abilities... well, except for the first-class skills of a surgeon of the distant future. Sean was the first to eat dinner, eating the thighs of the hind legs, the rest alone, since Ciel didn't need to eat anything, and Cirael....
–Sorry Oliver, my stomach hurts a lot... I think I'll pass...
As darkness fell, a second inconvenience arose: Though the trio didn't need to sleep, Sean, who was human, was beginning to feel sleepy. He wouldn't have minded sleeping outside by the fire, especially since it was hot, but Cirael spoke up, looking up at the sky even though it was already dark.
–It's going to rain soon! I suggest we wait it out...
She cut herself off at the half word. And really, where should they "wait it out"? They were a day away from home, a long way from the nearest settlement. And Oliver's teleportation didn't work over such long distances. Ciel caught the winged girl's confused look, closed her eyes and said:
–Next time, Master, you should first look at the map of somewhere you are going to, – Oliver looked away at that phrase and whistled, – There's a ruin of an old manor nearby. I think, Master, you could lead us there from here.
She pointed in some direction and gave the approximate distance to the target. It was very suspicious information, which, however, did not arouse any suspicion in Oliver and Cirael – they knew Ciel all too well. Sean was the only one confused by this striking coincidence. But there was no choice, exactly because of him. Oliver stretched his right arm forward and the other three grabbed it. In less than a second, they were deeper into the woods.