Tavana stared in amazement at the dark, double-edged sword in Jared's hand, a dark, dull sword that looked very out of place in her hand. It was almost impossible to hold it up in the cramped compartment, so it had to be laid down flat. But Tavana didn't notice that Caroline subconsciously moved away from the sword, pulling her clothes back so that it didn't touch any part of her body.
But Jared didn't have any hesitation, only to see that he stretched out his right hand and wiped it on the blade of the sword, immediately, a strand of fresh blood flowed out along the long sword, and then was automatically sucked into the black long sword body. Seeing this scene, little Tawana couldn't help but cry out in shock. She looked at Jared uneasily and tried to take out a handkerchief or something to bandage the wound on his finger, but Jared just shook his head and stopped her useless efforts.
"First of all, what I'm going to tell you is the principle that Caroline and I have."
He spoke.
"The most important thing is that if we take out our weapons, then we must see blood. Whether that blood is the enemy's or ours."
Jared's fingers flicked the double-edged sword. For a moment, his eyes changed to blades.
"This is my magical weapon, Aozora. Tawana, keep this in mind, if either of us pulls out a weapon, then we will not stop until the other is injured or dead." He looked into Tawana's eyes, the little girl clearly at a loss for words." We are your 'guardians', and I think that you should understand when we will draw our weapons. However, you should also realize that whenever we use our weapons, it means that blood will be seen."
"A ... certainty?"
Tawana asked with some trembling, after all, she was still a little girl, and the bloody scene a few days ago when Jared had cut down a dozen people in an instant was still deeply reflected in her mind and hadn't dissipated. And now, she finally knew why.
"Definitely."
Jared's tone was firm, non-negotiable.
"Therefore, we will be very careful in the use of weapons."
Still, he could see Tawana's uneasiness, and then added.
"We do not initiate the use of weapons unless it threatens our personal safety, or yours."
(Of course, that's no reason for you to condescend, Tawana.)
After Jared had done the dirty work, it was Caroline's turn to do the dirty work. And indeed, they were worried that if they told her about the principle, the weak girl would not be able to suppress her feelings or even put up with the bullying. After all, it wasn't the same as going home and telling her parents to give her a spanking, and it would be horrible to just get hurt, but to give up a life over something as trivial as that.
(You just have to do what you want...)
Caroline's voice was gentle, and Tavana, reveling in that gentleness, nodded unconsciously.
"I know ... Sister Caroline ."
She looked up without a hint of hesitation in her expression. But then the look changed to one of curiosity.
"So, what's the name of my sister's weapon?"
(Gotterdammerung.)
"... This is, what does it mean?"
(Translated into a language you can understand, it's 'Twilight of the Gods'.)
Caroline gently played with the umbrella in her hand, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She didn't turn the umbrella back into a sword like Jared did, nor did she have to. After all, there were no enemies now, and according to their "principles", once a weapon was summoned, it had to be seen in blood. Caroline didn't want to stab herself once for no reason, and since Jared had already explained it to Tawana, there was no need to summon it again.
Perhaps it was the strain of the last few days, or perhaps it was the exhaustion of the journey, but in any case, in the bumpy carriage, Tavana just cowered in a corner and fell into a deep sleep.
Both gazed at Tawana's relaxed sleeping face and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Then, Caroline was quick to ask questions.
(You shouldn't have made me use 'implied' ...)
"Just a little bit, and I'm sure you know how far to go."
Jared has no remorse.
It's true that Caroline's "Thought Communication" is not mind-reading, but since she communicates directly with the other person through her "thoughts", her ability hides an exceptionally unique talent. -Mind Suggestion. Simply put, this is a kind of psychological suggestion similar to hypnosis. However, Caroline seldom used this ability, and even if she did occasionally, she defined it as an auxiliary position, rather than being used to dominate a person's thoughts and feelings, or even personality. This ability, she only told Jared, even the other partners, she did not confess to them. This is not only because a controlled "thought communication" that replaces the function of speech is acceptable, but a "thought communication" that is mixed with "hints" is very easy to cause panic and suspicion. But a "thought communication" mixed with "hints" can easily cause panic and suspicion. After all, you don't know if you're talking to the person you're talking to and you're falling into their trap.
Only Jared believed her.
That's why Caroline has no reservations.
And this conversation, Jared also explained to Caroline beforehand, not to let Tawana have too many boring concerns." You just need to let her be the same as she was before, then we can take care of the rest." That's what he told Caroline, so Caroline kept the hints to a minimum. All that was needed was an opportunity, maybe some time, and as long as the "hint" lurking in Tawana's subconscious really worked, then she wouldn't have to bear so many burdens that weren't hers to bear in the first place.
"It's a matter of principle ..."
Jared gently tapped the black twin blades in his hands, not taking them back.
"We must protect Tawana, at least, until she can stand on her own two feet. Maybe we can be there for her all the time, maybe not, either way, I think we have to be ready."
The trip was boring.
Not only there are no bandits and pirates, not even half a dozen roadblockers can be seen. According to Tawana, although San Marino is not a big country, and one third of the whole country is desert, one third is Gobi, and only the remaining one third of the land is suitable for human habitation, but as the saying goes, "the sparrow is small, but all its organs are intact", in the land that human beings can manage, San Marino Empire has been able to manage. However, as the saying goes, the San Marino Empire has already tried its best to do the best in the land that human beings can manage. Although compared with the neighboring countries, San Marino's army is very small, and the border guards are just for show. But no country has ever dared to try to invade it, and this is precisely because there are five Great Chanting Ambassadors in San Marino Empire, and it is they who established the Academy.
An academy for the training of magical talents.
The Academy is not the only one, but it is the best in terms of quality. After all, in other countries, there weren't so many Aria Ambassadors, moreover, none of the countries knew how the five great Aria Ambassadors of San Marino came to be. Although in essence, the Chanting Ambassadors are basically tied to the interests of the country, because their Chanting Magic is too powerful to be used in solo battles. But to be honest, it's not hard to wipe out an army when a Chantress is at work. After all, the spirits of magic don't care if the war is just or not, they don't have a concept of it.
In fact, Jared and Caroline didn't really believe Tawana's claim. After all, according to her, San Marino Empire only has these five Great Chanting Ambassadors, after that, the most appearances in the academy are only trainee Chanting Ambassadors. Even if they were five weapons of mass nuclear strategic destruction, weapons have a life span, so do people, even if they can live for a couple hundred years, it's always the limit. It's impossible to live forever, so it's a bit of a pipe dream to think that five Chanting Ambassadors can keep a country safe forever.
But it's not their business, after all, the two of them just want to live a smooth life.
And in the midst of this boring journey, something strange happened.
Being rather bored, or perhaps interested in magic, Caroline took it upon herself to ask Tavana to teach her magic, even the basics. It seemed that no matter how noble and elegant and calm this young lady appeared to be. After all, she was still a girl at heart, and was very interested in this kind of magical and romantic things. And Tawana loved Caroline so much that she taught her the simplest "Light Spell" that almost everyone on the continent could learn. It's the magic of making a gesture to entice the spirit of magic to condense in one's hand, creating a bright light. And therein lies the problem.
Caroline can't cast this spell.
No matter how precise a gesture she made, there was absolutely no response. This obviously surprised Tawana, because according to her, it could be considered the simplest of basics. Whoever practiced it would be able to perform it. But the truth was, Caroline couldn't use it at all. This could only happen to one person, an idiot or a lunatic who had no mental power at all. But obviously, Caroline wasn't one of those people.
After Caroline told Jared about it in a very unhappy manner, Jared, who was originally uninterested in magic, suddenly became interested, but after he tried, he realized that he, like Caroline, was unable to use any magic. He couldn't even feel the spirit of magic that little Tawana was talking about.
"Looks like we're either crazy or idiots."
In the end, Jared had no choice but to come to this conclusion to Caroline. Naturally, Caroline didn't agree, but she didn't know what was going on. As for Tawana, it was even more difficult to say. Although ordinary people had a weak sense of the magic spirits, they would at least have a small effect. Jared and Caroline had no effect at all. This was really puzzling to Tavana, but she was only a Magic Envoy after all, so she didn't have much of an explanation for it.
Finally, after several days of long-distance traveling, the three of them finally arrived at the capital of San Marino Empire, Lily City.