"Tch. Do not fall!"
The group started to walk slowly this time, the slave traders did not urge them to move forward as hard as before despite how their words did not seem to match their actions.
Isadora found it a little strange, so she kept a keen eye on the two traders. However, they did not seem to have any interest in chatting this morning.
'I wonder what made them so tense in the short time I slept at.'
According to her calculations, she should have slept for a few hours max. Nothing longer than two hours. And yet, something seemed to have happened in that short period of time.
"Hey," Isadora softly whispered to the female slave next to her, "Did you notice? They seem to be a bit lenient on us today."
Instead of asking directly about the reason, the white-robed woman tried to ask about a different matter. It was more or less a simple tactic to be able to extract as much information as possible from the person in front of her.
Usually asking something directly would cause the person to be alert and defensive against that thing. For Isadora who had been a veteran in that line of job, such tactics were only the basics.
As she had expected, the woman's shoulders relaxed, her face slightly showing relief and a hint of skeptic gaze.
"I'm not sure what happened, but I think we were in danger."
"Oh? What kind of danger?"
"Wolves," the woman shivered, "The little child was able to find some bones and torn flesh of our friends, I suppose?"
Noting the semi-casual tone the woman was using, Isadora realized that her identity was a secret for most people. Perhaps the Pharaoh found hiding his daughter completely to be the only right choice.
Thus, she tilted her head, casually adjusting her robe, "You aren't sure?"
"No, I am not, at all."
The woman smiled awkwardly as she explained under Isadora's questioning gaze.
"Yesterday, a young kid found something weird and freaked out. Upon his scream, a few wolves howled very loudly. We are alone and without any guards; the two traders immediately decided what to do."
"Ah."
Letting out a gasp of realization, Isadora nodded lightly. She quickly scanned the people around her and saw a kid limping.
'That must be the little kid. I don't doubt his punishment was not easy,' just looking at his pitiful state was enough.
Then after that, Ox and Muran must have come to a decision that this place was no longer safe for them or the slaves.
'The reason behind the movements being slow must be their attempt to catch up with the search party while also escaping the wolves since it was the morning.'
From her humble understanding, the wolves were only attacking at night. Hiding between the shadows and bathing under the moonlight.
In the morning, they hid from the scorching sun and protected their furry bodies from the terrible climate.
It was a good balance, especially for the travelers, and the slave traders as well.
Isadora thanked the woman softly and looked back at Ox, the aura he emitted yesterday was the exact opposite of his current aura, but she decided to let that slide for now, too.
The man was clearly not someone she could use, whether in his previous self or now. One was too unreliable and hypocritical, and the other one was too mysterious to handle.
But somehow, Isadora felt as if some sort of connection was established between them. Even though she had no idea what kind of connection it was going to be.
Their group continued to move forward as the sun rose higher into the sky. Once the sun was in the middle of it, the two traders finally paused their movements.
"Rest! We will have a short rest now."
Hearing that, the slaves stopped and flopped to the sand. They gasped in relief after finally catching their breath. Ox slowly approached Isadora before grabbing her robe lightly, as if afraid he would cause it to fall off.
"Hey you," he called, "How is your body?"
The question caught Isadora off guard for a few seconds. Although the question was kind of normal, it was not what she had expected. Especially given Ox's weird aura since morning.
'His eyesâ…'
The gaze in his bottomless black irises was different from what she had seen before. It was just like the first time she had seen him now.
'I suppose this is the difference between the two people. The atmosphere surrounding them is completely different.'
An idea struck her at that moment.
"I would like to ask for some time alone under some shade. My body is not on good terms with the sun, as you may have known already."
The slave trader gave a heavy sigh while looking around. The spot they were resting in was not a bad one, a small pond and a few planets were around, which allowed the slaves and the camel to drink water and rest.
Ox knew from this alone that there should be a shaded place near them. The travelers were always sick of how the sun would burn their skin mercilessly, so they attempted to build a small shaded place near any source of water.
It was their only choice to survive in the wide desert.
At that moment, Isadora was telling him to search for one with her and take her there to rest. Now, if she was any other slave, he would have whipped them to death.
But this person was different.
So, despite him being unwilling, Ox dragged her by her hand, "Fine. We are going. Muran! I will be back later."
Under the robe, Isadora smiled coyly. What she did not know was that someone was smiling just like her as he gazed at them.
The person who was observing them from a decent space was fully covered in a black cloak, nothing was visible of him aside from his smile.