I yawned loudly as it was still the wee hours of the morning. Despite being well-rested, it was still way too early for my liking. Truth be told, even Rose was yawning. But what's surprising is that Lily was wide awake without showing any hints of being tired. Lily, who was known for not being a morning person, looked like she is ready for war at a moment's notice. That was how pumped up she was for this mission.
In front of us was the very beast in question who was wriggling itself, trying to break free from the restraints. Very few people were here to see us off. Peter, Daisy, Mr Wick and a couple of other high ranking officer were present. It would appear that Peter had fully recovered his leg in just a few days. How does he even do that? In fact, how can the founder of this city who was supposed to be more than 100 years old by now looking like he is in his mid fifties. Was he resurrected before like me? Or perhaps Ivy had done something to him? Hmm.
We gave our farewell to all of them. Daisy was holding back her tears as she waved us farewell. We had already given her our farewell hugs and assured her that we will be coming back for her. It is always heartbreaking for any parents to be separated from their children. Despite going on quests often, I still misses her whenever I head out the door. It's not something you can get used to, but you have to do your duty as a father to provide for the family.
Rose and I shook the monster's body while Lily listened for the bell sown below the skin. She nodded in acknowledgement that she can hear it and we began to release the restraints from the monster. Both of them backed off when only one restraint remained and it was my duty to release the last one. Will the beast turn to attack us or will it just speed off and run ahead? Only one way to find out.
Mr Wick had informed us that they do not have much of a healing factor. The broken bones in the hind leg showed no signs of recovery nor any of its injuries. Its stomach was completely empty and the beast seems to be malnourished. It did not even have any reproductive organs which made us curious on how they even gained their numbers in the first place. Despite investigating on a live one, we still know very little about them.
I released the last shackles and quickly put some distance between us. Let's see what it is going to do. Will it attack us for breaking it's leg? Or will it try to escape? I was fully expecting it to turn its head to attack us, but surprisingly, it bolted off heading towards a certain direction.
So begins our tracking quest. Despite only having three working legs, it was still pretty nimble. It was still a challenge for us to keep up a constant pace following after it. How strange, will this beast actually lead us to their secret hideout? Usually they would had split up or find ways to throw us off but this beast seems to be heading towards a straight path.
It is midday now and we were still following after the beast after some considerable distance from the city. It is clear that both the beast and us were exhausted from all the running but the beast pressed on. How is it still able to run this much despite having nothing to eat and a broken leg? Doesn't it feel any pain or exhaustion?
"We might be out of the bell's range soon and will need to rely on following it's tracks instead," said Lily.
No time for us to rest. We need to keep up with it as I do not wish to lose it this quickly. When nighttime falls, we will have no choice but to abandon the beast if it chooses to continue running. But it was just midday and I am not about to lose it this quickly. What to do, what can I do? Hmm.
An idea popped out of my head. I squeezed Inazuma tightly and seems to get a response. It would appear that he is willing to help us.
"Everyone, get ready for a ride. Lily, you take point in guiding Kirin with his manes," I announced loudly.
Lily gave me a confused look but let out a shriek when a spectral version of Kirin appeared at her side cantering along side her.
"Hop on and don't fall off," I told her as I leaped onto Kirin's back.
"W.. wait, there's no saddle or reins!" she shouted as I pulled her up onto Kirin's back.
"Just trust him. All you need to do is guide him to which direction and he'll do the rest. I'll need to hold on to you as there is nothing else that we can hold on to," I told her.
Lily was in the front to guide Kirin while I was in the middle and Rose was seated at the back. Rose was already hugging me tightly from behind and I needed to hug Lily to balance the both of us. It was a bumpy ride and I quickly hold on to whatever I could. Hold on, why am I feeling something soft and circular right now?
"Zen… now is not the time to be groping me! Watch where you're touching!" shouted Lily as she smacked my hand.
"I'm sorry! It's a bumpy ride and I swear it's an accident! R.. Rose, stop pinching me. I told you it's an accident," I quickly answered.
We started galloping after the monster who was far ahead of us. What endurance to be able to run for half a day with only three legs. We must chase after it.
***
Nightfall arrived and we had no choice but to halt our journey. According to Lily, the beast seems to be resting as the bell's volume remained the same and not moving further ahead. Thankfully the beast requires sleep, otherwise we will have to purely depend on tracks to follow where it went. Following tracks is much harder than it sounds as it can be covered by anything or ruined by rain unless you have Witcher senses.
I inspected our map and marked our location on it. I was surprised there was some part of this continent that had a dense section filled with greenery. So much for not being able to grow anything on this continent. This is our only way of informing Peter about our whereabouts. Should we need help, he would be willing to send reinforcements to support us.
"Q, are you there?" I asked.
Q poked his head out of the ground. I handed him the map and he bit it with his mouth. My family pet that almost died when I fought with Tom. I am forever indebted to Rose for saving his life. Both women had done so much for me during my revenge arc, yet I only chose Rose as my wife. Not to mention I had no idea what happened to Lily after she followed her brethren. I will ask her about this when I get the chance.
"Sorry to make you work overtime, Q. Give this to Peter, alright?" I gave him a little tickle.
He nodded and dug back into the ground. I turned towards the two. Rose was reading the prayerbook that she traded recently and was reading intently. Lily on the other hand was admiring the rings that I gave her.
"Is it worth it?" I asked Rose.
"For sure. Zen, if I am reading this right, this book seems to contain a solution to resolve our in-field problems. There are information here talking about.. healing spells. Zen, healing wounds with magic. This discovery is going to change the world," she whispered.
"Well, are you able to cast it then? Surely it won't be that easy, right?" I asked her.
"Hmmm.. it says to sling a seal in between my middle finger and start chanting. But I need.. Faith to cast it? What does that even mean?" she started scratching her head.
"You'll get the hang of it. You always do," I smiled at her.
"Anything interesting with those rings?" I asked Lily.
I didn't even realised that I was sitting in between the both of them. Will things be like this in the future? I'm just worried that Daisy won't be able to acclimatise herself in having two moms. And it's going to be my fault for being naughty and unfaithful. Sigh.
"It looks like an ordinary ring. Doesn't seemed like any enchantment in it or anything. I guess you got scammed with this rings," she said.
"Hmm.. knowing Quasimortuus, he will never lie about the item that he is trading. I think it's real, despite not having any enchantments in it," I took one of the ring to inspect myself.
"So why give it to me? You said it's to give me hope. Look, Zen. You probably don't know but... I was in pretty bad shape when you.. didn't choose me. I certainly do not want to feel that way again. So I want you to be clear with me. Did you give me these rings with the intention of marrying me?" she asked with a serious look.
"Ummm… short answer? Perhaps, in the near future," I answered.
"W.. what?! Rose, w…. w… what happened?! Y.. your husband changed his mind?! H.. how?? What happened to his principals and all that nonsense he was so dead set upon?" she stuttered with excitement.
"Long story short, he is worried that he might outlive me with his current condition. Then, he is worried that he is not fit to care for Daisy alone. That's where he started thinking that perhaps having you by his side is not such a bad idea after all. Something like that," Rose said bluntly.
"So, that's it? I'm just a backup?" she pouted.
"Woah woah.. I never once thought of it that way. You think my heart would beat fast for just a "backup"? No, you were never a backup, Lily. Never in a lifetime," I gave her a straight answer.
"Gee.. your heart had never beaten fast when you're with me. Talk about being bias," now it was Rose who pouted.
"That's different. You and I started out as with a sibling relationship. Lily was my crush. Different feelings ya'know," I shrugged.
"Are you trying to degrade me or something just because I gave you permission to be with Lily now?" she squinted.
"I'm just stating the facts. I can't control my heart nor my feelings, alright?" I sighed.
"Look.. no matter what happens, the both of you will always be my two most dearest friends and family. I don't have any relatives or anyone else. Grandfather was all I had and now he's gone, may he rest in peace. I think that keeping both of you close to me is for the best. Just.. don't fight among each other, please?" I held both their hands and asked them after giving some thoughts.
They didn't answer but I knew what their answer was with their smiles. I looked up to the starry sky and it was gleaming brightly. Low chance of rain which meant that we can sleep in the open. Of course it won't be a good night sleep as we can only sleep lightly in case of an ambush but better than looking for a cave. I hoped these moments of peace would last longer but I knew a battle is encroaching closer. Lily continued holding my hand but started giving her answer after some thoughts.
"Zen.. I'm… happy that you're willing to accept me. Really.. your words.. made me really happy. I never thought you would actually change your mind. But.. I think I need some time. To.. sort things out, you know?" she wiped her tears.
"I'm not rushing you or anything. Truth be told, I would prefer that we consider this after things are relatively safer. I.. get the feeling that we might have to fight the Demon King in the future," I confessed.
"There had been no signs of his revival, onii-chan. The guildmasters had been searching for years on the northern continent. Strangely, we have no idea what happened to Sladar though. It's like he went missing. Is that what you're worried about?" asked Rose.
"It was actually the warnings from the yellow dragon that concerned me. When it spoke to me, it showed fear but not because of me. It was the Demon King that had influenced him, causing it to fear him over it's own death. No sealed Demon King is capable of doing that, Rose. He's coming back for sure, one way or another," I sighed deeply.
"I'm with Zen on this. The elves are actually preparing for the inevitable. We know something is coming but we don't know what it is yet. Our seers couldn't pierce through the fogs to reveal the future. At least that was what I was told so far," she explained.
"Well.. then I guess we just have to ready ourselves when the time comes. I hope it's in the far future," sighed Rose.
There was a moment of silence when we sat together and stared at the campfire. I thought of something that needs to be mentioned if our relationship is to be changed. Lily will need to know about the terms and conditions of getting married to me.
"Lily, should you be willing to accept to be my wife in the future, one thing you should know is that we don't keep secrets among each other. "Some" secrets maybe, but we can't keep secrets about important information. Are you onboard?" I snickered.
"Why does it feel like you will interrogate me the moment I say yes? What makes you think I will say yes in the first place?" she gave a hmph but she was blushing.
"Well, I'll just be asking about what happened to you right after my fight with Tom and what you did to resurrect me. That's the only questions I have in mind for now," I whistled.
"Sigh, I'll do my best to answer that but not now. Those two questions are... very sensitive topics. You'll know in due time, I promise," she rested her head on shoulder.
Alright, guess I'll just leave it at that. Time for us to rest for the night. It's been a while since I slept against a tree trunk. I hope I don't get any aches tomorrow. Or worst, come face to face with another vessel or champion.