"Ah, what a moment we were able to share~ But you do know I wasn't gonna trust you any less regardless, right?"
"Even so, I felt like I owed you that promise."
She suddenly gasped as if realizing something, whcih he ffelt like he would have rather it stayed a secret. A firm grip landed on his shoulders as her eyes beamed up at him with excitement.
"Master, don't tell me… You were actually feeling bad about it and this was all to ease your feelings of guilt!"
"Not really. What made you come to that conclusion?"
"Why else would this have been so important to you? Ah, look how you deny it~ Aren't you flustered that I was able to make you feel that way~?"
"Fine, yes I felt bad. Happy now?"
"Because you hate seeing me sad~?"
"Yes."
"Because you looove me unbearably much~?"
"I already confessed my love to you…"
"Just say it one more time, please?"
"…I love you."
"Ahh! Like an arrow piercing my fragile, little heart…!"
She squealed as she jumped around in bliss, making Yamato focus on the forest behind them. Yuki had mentioned disturbing things about it earlier, though nothing pointed at it being something he would need to worry about. Much rather did it seem boring to him, and definitely not like a place he would want to stay at for more than necessary.
So what he needed to do now was find Lucy, who was no where to be seen.
"Yuki, do you know where Lucy is?"
"Mhm…~ Oh, that's right, I completely forgot about her! I sense her over there, deeper in the forest. Let's go look for her!"
"If she's that far out, she must have found something. Let's go."
Before they left, Yuki demolished the house again. There was no way she would let anyone else use it once they left. Her magic was exclusively meant to service Yamato, after all. Just the thought of someone besides him using something created by her for him made her spiral into violent fantasies about death and despair. Once everything was back gone, there was no trace of a house ever standing there. She even cleaned up all the damage caused by Iky's fight during the night, destroying the helmet, sword and whatever else remained in the grass in the process. As they arrived where Yuki felt Lucy's presence, they where surprised to find her reading tracks like a hunter, which was definitely not what Yuki had envisioned when she sent her off.
"Oh, hey you two. Wait, Yamato? I thought you were dead sick??"
"Ah, I'm all better now. Thanks for worrying though."
"Wha-, I thought you would die!"
"…Like I said, thanks for worrying."
"So I tracked them back all this way for nothing…?"
"No, we will still go in the same direction. We would have done so either way. But since you say tracked like that… Were you able to get any information out of here?"
"Yes, actually. They were three people, two male, and one female. The female was most likely a mage, since next to her steps I also found traces of a staff, which is commonly used by mages with a lot of mana so it helps them channel their energy. It's also common for all mages regardless of mana amount to use them in the north, as it is more of a cultural preference instead of casting magic without staff, so it's likely she was born there. It can also enhance spells of people with less mana, but that's very exhausting and not really a reason to carry one with you. So we can assume she was talented. Neither of the two males had a staff, so I'd assume they had different roles. One was significantly heavier, so maybe he wore large armor, which would make him being a knight very likely. I can't say much about the last one though. I think I saw a road a bit more northeast from here earlier from the top of a tree, it's very likely that they took that road."
"…You have experience in hunting people down or something?"
"I used to hunt as a kid with my father… That's how I know…"
She gave him somewhat of a smile, though he felt like there was more to it, he let it be for now.
"That makes sense… Not many people can tell this much about people from just their tracks in the dirt, y'know? You're really talented."
"Ah, it's not that big of a deal. I'm sure you could have done the same."
"I lack common knowledge in certain areas, like with the staffs. I had no idea about any of that. I'm glad you are with us, Lucy."
"Oh, uh… In that case, I'm glad to be of help to you!"
Though she had stayed quiet until now, Yuki was internally screaming and bursting with envy. Though she magically calmed down when Yamato held her hand as they walked to the road Lucy found. Now all she could think about were bells ringing in the background while they stood at the altar to enter the vow of marriage.
And sure enough, following the road they arrived at a relatively large town, though slightly smaller than Lunis and with a completely different feeling in it. Entering through the gates, poverty was visible left and right. Clearly, with their clean and more expensive clothes, the three sticked out and immediately attracted attention from the people, though everyone kept their distance. Doors and windows closed, and it was apparent that they were intentionally being avoided. However their distance was not out of respect of status or anything alike, but more a fear which Yamato thought might be towards aristocracy in general, for the people of this town. Which was not that surprising, as when he looked at the condition of the town, he could already imagine where those feelings came from. The few people that were walking on the street seemed to be busy, all with a goal it seemed. No one was just slandering around or having fun, which again, was not vers surprising but… Sad? Not the word Yamato would use to describe his feelings for them but more to describe the situation. His capacity for feelings was still limited to just Yuki after all, a fact that she herself of course welcomed but he had mixed opinions on the matter. On one hand, it was optional to only feel have feelings for Yuki and no one else, as it meant it would not affect his "strategic preferences" as much, if at all. On the other hand, it felt incomplete. But first things first, it was already about to get dark again, so they would need to find a place to slend the night. Obviously, Yuki could not just create a house in the middle of town, and getting far enough away again would also be really inconvenient. They had enough money left from Elara left anyway, though it was all they had, spending one night at an inn would not be a problem. Just walking along the main street, they found a tavern which also had rooms for guests on the second floor, which would be just fine for their purposes. Though as they entered, the whole mood seems to shift. Music and laughter went down in just an instant, and all eyes were fixated on them.
"I think you guys got the wrong place, pal."
The bartender said as he put down an empty glass and filled it with what appeared to be whiskey. He wore a white shirt, though it probably had been a while since it had actually been white. Though, Yamato was not an expert on alcohol. Actually, he knew almost nothing about it besides the chemical properties.
"Really? Is this not where one would go to spend the night?"
"Well that depends."
"We have money if that's what you mean."
"That ain't what I meant, kid. You aren't from around here. At least I never saw you here before. So I can't help but wonder, what's your business here?"
Yamato walked up to the bar counter and took a seat, whereas Yuki and Lucy looked around the bar, finding multiple people that seemed ratzer hostile sitting all around them.
"I'm not sure yet… But I believe there's a misunderstanding here about our status."
"Is that so? Well, I don't like to point with fingers, but I think I speak for everyone present that you look like you're here to meet the Baron…"
"The Baron? Is that the person in charge in this town?"
"Don't play dumb with us… We can tell just by the look of your clothes that you think you are better than us."
"I have no idea who that Baron guy is. We'd just like a place to spend the night, if you have room for three. Two separate rooms, if possible."
"Hm… Well, it's your lucky day. Just for three gold coins, I have a two for one special. How does that sound?"
"That seems like theft. But you obviously don't trust us, and I'm willing to accept a higher price in order for that to change. How about one gold coin?"
"Oh, negotiating are we… Two gold coins."
"One and five silver coins."
"One and nine silver coins."
"Two gold coins and the price drops by three silver coins each following night we stay, until it reaches one gold coin, final offer."
"Ugh, you drive a hard bargain… But if you were just some spoiled aristocrat kid you wouldn't negotiate so hard… Y'know what? I changed my mind about you, I accept. Can I give you a drink? First one's on the house. And for the ladies in the back too, of course."
"Ah, how kind of you. Just a water for me, please."
"Oh… In that case for me too, please…"
Lucy was not used to such attention and exposure, so she was rather nervous. But since the mood had seemed to have improved again, she sat down next to Yamato together with Yuki. Yuki on the other hand felt a little bit more daring, so she spoke full of confidence.
"I take the strongest one you have!"
"Right to the point, huh, miss? Two water and the strongest one I've got coming right up."
"It's been an exhausting last couple of days…"
"Pft, as if, alcohol doesn't even work on me. But if Master sees how tough I am he's gonna be all over me, I bet!"
Just then the door was kicked open, and a boy maybe 15 years old followedby two armed guards entered the tavern.
"Good evening, I hope we don't interrupt. Sadly we couldn't help but notice you are behind on your taxes, so we come to help out where we can and- Ooh, what do we have here…? New faces, and cute ones at that…"
The just improved mood immediately darkened again, and suddenly Yamato understood the hostility he was greeted with at first. The boy sat down next to Yuki and put his arm around her shoulder, which Yamato did not like at all, though he could not quite identify the feeling yet.
"Why don't you let me show you around the town for a bit and I will even let you stay in my quarters after. It's already late and a cute thing like you shouldn't stay at a run down place like this…"
His eyes moved down from her place to look at her other features, which he seemed quite pleased with.
Yuki stayed silent for a moment, her face unreadable. The moment the hand of the boy had come into contact with her skin, her eyes went empty. Yamato was quite sure that if he did not intervene right now, that guy would not leave this bar in one piece, if ever at all.