"We've arrived miss." the carriage driver said.
"Already?" Hajime asked.
The carriage had windows but they were stained, covered in grime, making it impossible to see out of. Hajime looked at his shoulder, where Octavia rested her head on, sleeping, her cute little snores masking the fact that she could destroy an entire city.
"Octavia. Wake up," he lightly shoved her.
Octavia stirred. She cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms.
"Alright, let's go."
She stepped outside, followed by Hajime.
Hajime's eyes widened.
They were in the middle of a large green field. The sun was directly above them, lighting the whole area. The grass was short, barely touching their ankles. Countless miles east you can see mountains, with forests decorated around it. To the north, the ocean, the one he had seen with Aveline on the tower.
"Uh, Octavia. Aren't we in the middle of nowhere?"
She nodded.
The carriage driver turned the plain carriage around, facing the direction they came from.
"Um, why is he turning around?"
Hajime's eyebrows squished together. The carriage driver said they had arrived, so it was Octavia's plan to stop here. But there wasn't anything here.
"To go back duh," Octavia said.
"But there's nothing here Octavia. No Villages. No houses. No cabins. This is a perfect spot to kill someone and bury the body."
Octavia smiled.
Hajime leaned back. A slight shiver ran down his spine. Something about her smile didn't sit right.
"Exactly. No witnesses. No one around to hear your screams. No one to save you from what I'm about to do."
Hajime scratched the back of his neck.
"You going to spank me?"
Octavia grabbed Hajime's shoulders, her eyes twitching, "Are you messing with me right now?"
"Of course not. I'd never dream of messing with an Aicte."
Octavia massaged her forehead.
"You're supposed to act scared."
Hajime shrugged his shoulders, "Octavia. I've known you for a few years. Plus I can see your status. It literally says you're going to play a joke on me."
Octavia raised an eyebrow, "I don't feel anything looking at me. And you said you couldn't see the status of someone stronger."
"Yes, I couldn't. The keyword being couldn't. After meeting Tella and having the System hide itself. I used some points for some quality-of-life upgrades."
"What are they?"
Hajime smirked.
"I'm afraid Sakura prohibited from spilling any more secrets," he said in a dramatic tone, "Or else I'll be tortured in unimaginable ways."
"I can torture you."
Hajime wiggled his eyebrows.
"Kinky."
Octavia's fist met his cheek, sending him tumbling across the grass. Laying with his back flat on the grass, Hajime stared at the sky.
"That hurt," He rubbed his cheek.
"Oh? Is that so? I guess you're a masochist then."
Hajime snorted before sitting up.
"Alright, alright. Tell me why are we in the middle of nowhere?"
Octavia sighed, "I said the lawyer lives on the outskirts of the Empire. You do know we wouldn't get there in a day right?"
"I thought she lived in one of the towns or villages."
"No, she lives in a cabin. Alone. Away from everyone."
"Why?"
Octavia shrugged her shoulders.
"Beats me. I never bothered to ask."
Hajime leaned back on the grass.
"So how are going to get there?"
Octavia clapped.
"Like this."
The ground rustled. Dirt flew upwards, like a volcanic eruption. A single root shot up from the ground, like a tentacle. The root turned towards Hajime, flying towards him, reaching a few feet before him, circling him until Hajime was completely engulfed in a sphere made of roots. Like a hamster ball, except larger, the size of an adult.
"What the fuck Octavia?"
Hajime banged the sides of the orb with his fist.
Octavia was laughing, holding her stomach, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Relax. It's a method of transportation. Unless you'd rather break the sound barrier without protection."
"I was never a fan of roller coasters Octavia."
"We're not going to ride a roller-coaster. We're just going to run really fast."
Hajime groaned.
"Please be gentle."
"I can't make promises," she giggled.
She stretched out her arms and began to mimic a maestro. With every movement, every gesture, the sphere shook.
Hajime clenched his ass cheeks.
Suddenly, Octavia stopped moving her arms, and the sphere launched forward. Hajime's head slammed against the wall of the sphere then his feet lost touch with the ground, floating in midair.
With each passing second, the speed of the sphere increased until everything was a blur.
Octavia saw the sphere shooting through the empty fields, ripping through the land, tearing apart the grass in its way. A satisfied grin on her face.
"Enjoy the ride Hajime."
Her body turned into roots and she disappeared into the ground. Like a worm burrowing through the dirt, Octavia's root shot forward, following after Hajime's sphere, moving even faster than the sphere.
Hajime couldn't see anything but he could hear. He could hear the crunching of the grass, the snapping of the trees, and the air whizzing past him. He was traveling at an incredible speed. At one point he could hear the crunching of bones, probably from a poor animal.
Then suddenly everything was silent. No wind whistling in his ears, no crunches of wood, no crunches of bone, no squishing of flesh. Everything was dead quiet. He didn't have time to process what happened.
Hajime was flung into the wall of the sphere, his head hitting hard. Pain reverberated through his skull, like a hammer slamming against it. The sphere had stopped. The world was spinning. Hajime felt his lunch coming up.
He vomited, his liquid splattered onto the brown root.
"Ugh," he groaned.
Hajime rubbed his forehead.
"Did you just puke on me?" Octavia's voice came from below.
Hajime's eyes darted to the source of the voice. Octavia's roots had formed a little patch of soil below his sphere, forming a crude face.
"You just broke the sound barrier Octavia."
"Not my fault you have a weak stomach."
Hajime flipped her off.
"You know it's rude to flip someone off who gave you a ride."
"You know it's rude to launch a man in a wooden cage at the speed of sound."
Octavia giggled before the sphere slowly returned back into the dirt.
Hajime's shoes sank into the dirt and his legs wobbled as he used the sphere for support.
"Are we there?"
His face was white from throwing up.
Octavia emerged from the ground.
"Yes, yes we are."
Hajime's eyes widened.
They were in front of a cabin, which looked more like a log house. There was a chimney attached to it, with smoke billowing out.
"She's not a witch right?"
Octavia ignored Hajime's question. Instead, she walked to the door and knocked.
"Lys, you still alive?"
"Go away," a feminine voice answered.
"Come on. Open the door, we have an emergency."
"Emergency my ass. I told you I'm done with being a lawyer. Go away Octavia."
Octavia sighed before she walked back to Hajime. She put her hands on his shoulder.
"Hajime, you convince her."
"How am I supposed to do that? You're her friend."
She shrugged, "I'm not the one who needs a lawyer. You have a week. There's a village down the mountain. There's a forest full of magical beasts. Have fun."
"Octavia wait. You can't just leave me here."
"Watch me."
Before Hajime could argue, Octavia's body turned into a bunch of roots, burrowing into the ground. In the middle of a forest, in front of a cabin, Hajime stood there, with mouth agape.
"She left me."