“I did not expect you to be that kind of person, Lily.”

“Oh please stop. I haven’t seen Gramps for a while. I admit I got too excited and crossed the line… maybe several different lines.” Lily looked downward, sitting in the passenger seat, her face still red. Feodora sat between her and William.

“Ah… Why…”

“I do not think it is embarrassing. If anything, I think having a goal is commendable,” Feodora tried to soothe her.

She really needs to learn to put emotions into her voice. Remy thought, but apparently, Lily didn’t mind.

“... You think so?” Lily lifted her face toward her. Feodora nodded.

“I may not be able to describe it in a satisfying way, nor am I able to showcase my feelings particularly well, but I truly believe that your goal is something worth striving for.”

“... thank you.”

There were many stories that Grandpa Lukia told about them. Most of the stories Grandpa Lukia told revolved around her childhood, but some have something to do with her dreams of becoming adventurers like her parents. Her parents had settled down after marriage, with her the last member of her family who had an adventurous side to them.

She managed to gain it, even joining a high-ranking party. She went on journeys with her partners for a while, wielding a bow and becoming famous for her high accuracy. One of the party members got married, while the other took over their parents’ business, leaving Lily alone. Lily decided that it was time she retired as well, thus she took a position as a receptionist.

Her dream was to return to adventuring, what she was doing now. Before, it was a mere dream. She tried going with other parties, but she never fit in. It was what she told her grandfather, the hopelessness of finding people to go with. Everyone had their own parties, their own groups. She was alone. It hurt so much that, at one point, she could only cry. In a way, meeting Feodora was a dream come true. She joined her on the journey, and now the three of them were on their way to tackle the demons.

After all those stories, her grandfather gave her a new bow. The powerful weapon, enchanted with magic, had ridiculous firepower. It looked similar to a normal bow painted green, but its strings made the difference. The strings could be pulled rather easily, but once it was let go, the magic helped increase its velocity, propelling the arrow at a much faster rate.

It had been a while since she last fired an arrow, thus as expected, she wasn’t as good as she used to be. She could still hit the targets, though.

Lily turned to look at the brand-new bow on her back.

“You think I can be an adventurer again?”

“Of course you can. You are one now, are you not?”

“Well, I guess I am traveling with you two.”

“That is correct.”

“It’ll be only a while before you get your skills back.” William tried to cheer her up, although, in truth, he didn’t know whether it was true or not. He had spent a week without gaming one time, and his skills dropped in that week. It had been much, much longer since Lily last touched the bow.

“... You sure?”

“Umm… yeah.” He tried to look as certain as possible, pretending to concentrate on the road, hiding just how unsure he was.

“Thanks.”

Luckily for him, Lily didn’t push any farther. He let out a silent breath of relief, relaxing slightly.

After a few more minutes, they arrived in front of the sheriff's headquarters, where they would pick up some more supplies. Lily went inside while William went to the rear. A portion of the rear section of the metal box had been occupied by the turret’s structure and the shell dispenser, while the front right part was occupied by the operator’s seat. The front left part had been filled with various supplies they received at the adventurers’ guild.

This place will only shrink, huh?

Lily appeared back outside carrying a wooden box, three sheriff officers following behind her. William climbed onto the truck. He took the wooden box from Lily and placed it on the left side of the middle portion. He took the other three crates filled with various supplies like food and medicine and neatly arranged them in the truck’s metal box, giving as much space for his crew as possible while making sure that the boxes didn’t obstruct the railgun’s mechanisms.

“This should last you until you reach Haleo Berena,” Captain Daven said. They hadn’t told him of the truck’s speed.

“Thanks a lot.”

“No worries. It’s an honor for us to be able to help you.” Daven saluted. They did some final checks, and once everything was ready, William closed the rear door. An officer got onto his horse, waiting in front of the truck. William and the rest waved toward the officers before driving away, heading to the north gate, the same gate used when they arrived from Haleo Berena.

“Please stay safe, Sir.” The officer who guided them saluted along with the knights at the gate. All three waved to the guards before heading north, straight for the enemy.

* ••

“WOAH! Haleo Berena, here we come!” Lily yelled as they drove straight to the front lines. William pushed the gas, the truck going eighty kilometers per hour. The road heading north was a bit wider and straight, thus he could drive faster without risking an accident. Lily stood up and brought her head out of the truck, her tail wagging left and right, much like an excited puppy.

“You alright?” William had his right hand on the door frame while his left on the steering wheel. He had lowered the window for some fresh air. Feodora, meanwhile, looked as tense as ever, holding down the seatbelt.

“I am,” Feodora answered, although her body showed otherwise. William glanced at her. Upon noticing his eyes, Feodora quickly added, “Do not worry about me. We need to reach that place fast. Do not worry. I am much more used to this now.”

Time sure flies fast.

Two days in this new world and they were already preparing to fight a boss battle. William grinned. His railgun would roar once again.

I need to go faster!

Feodora yelped as the truck accelerated once more.

* ••

Things got so bad that they were forced to take a stop midway. Feodora vomited on the side of the road, and after that, all she could do was repeat her apologies.

"I am-”

“Look, Feodora, is alright, okay? Besides, I probably shouldn't have driven that fast,” William said, standing on her right. Feodora sat down, next to the front wheel. Luckily there was a small stream next to where they parked. William could only send silent apologies to the fish living there.

"Are you alright, Feo?"

"I am fine. I just need a quick rest.” Feodora waved her hand.

"While we wait, want to try driving the truck?" William asked Lily, who stood on Feodora’s left. They parked in the middle of a large empty plain. There were no animals or buildings in the immediate vicinity, with very minimal tree coverage. A large space perfect for teaching how to drive.

“Really? Sure.”

"I shall watch." She stood up, slightly wobbly, and moved to the side of the road behind the truck.

Lily then got up to the driver's seat, William sitting next to her.

“So, the basics first. This is the steering wheel. When you turn it left or right, the truck will follow,” he patted the steering wheel. Lily gripped the wheel, turning it left and right. It reminded him of the tutorials for games back on Earth. Something so basic, yet so alien to the people of other worlds. He then pointed toward the pedals underneath the driver’s dashboard.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“So those are the pedals. Right is gas, left for brakes.”

“Gas? Brakes?” Lily looked at him. William had the ability to understand, speak, and even write in this world’s language, but he didn’t know what the equivalent of gas and brakes were, so instead, he used the English term for them.

“Push gas to go forward and brakes to stop or reduce speed.”

William then pointed toward the shifter.

“This is for changing gears. To go forward, push it to D. When you stop for a long time, P. When you stop for a short time, N, and when you want to go back, R.”

“I see.” Lily nodded as she paid full attention to his words.

“And this is the handbrake. Press this button here, and push it down like this to deactivate the parking brakes.” William demonstrated. He pushed it down and pulled it up again before the truck had a chance to move.

Lily reached for the handbrake with both hands.

“Wait, don’t do that.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Keep your right hand on the steering wheel, your left on the handbrake, your foot on the brakes. Don’t release the brakes until after you return your eyes to the road.”

Lily did as told, moving her left foot to the brakes, pushing it down. She brought her right leg on top of the gas, resting it there. William waved his finger left and right.

“No, you need to use your strong foot for both gas and brakes.”

“So I need to use just one? How?”

“When you want to go forward, you push just the gas. When you want to slow down or stop, you push just the brakes. If you want to go backward, switch the gear to R then push the gas.”

“I see…”

Lily switched her legs, pushing down the brake with her right leg. She had her left hand on the handbrake, while her right held the steering wheel. She looked forward, straight toward the road.

“Alright, now try releasing.”

Lily’s thumb pressed the little button and pushed the handle down, letting the handbrakes go. She switched the gears to D, keeping her leg on the brakes.

“Good. Now that you release the handbrakes, you can return your left hand to the steering wheel.”

“Okay.”

“Move your foot to the gas, then push it down to start moving.” William continued instructing Feodora on the basics of driving. The truck jumped forward.

“Woah, push it lightly. Lightly.”

“You should have said so,” she said, grinning. It was obvious that this was a lot of fun for her.

I wonder how you’ll handle traffic.

But maybe driving really was fun, especially for those who didn’t need to drive in traffic routinely. Not many things could defeat the exhilaration of speeding down an empty road. Maybe he would miss those large, open roads, driving as fast as he could. He definitely couldn’t do it on his truck, and there didn’t seem to be a vehicle that could go faster than it.

Carefully, Lily pushed the gas again, this time doing very tiny movements. William looked down at her leg. She pushed it ever so slightly, making very insignificant movements, but it was fine. She had just touched a wheel, slow and steady would be the best. The truck started moving again. Feodora stood to the side, watching as the truck started moving forward, the colors restored to her face.

Lily carefully increased the speed. Three kilometers per hour, four kilometers per hour, five. Feodora walked next to them, observing the truck’s movements. Eventually, it began speeding up. Ten, and then twenty. Feodora could still keep up, but now that she was fresh, it was time for them to continue their journey.

“I think that’s enough for now.”

“Alright.” Lily pushed the brakes, bringing the truck to a sudden halt. She got off, heading for the left side of the truck as William took her place. Feodora got up, sitting in the center, Lily climbing after her.

“You alright, Feodora?”

“I am fine now. Sorry for delaying you.”

“It’s alright. Please stop apologizing.”

“Understood.”

William glanced at her and lightly patted her head.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the gesture. She looked like a little kitten when she was spoiled like this, hard to believe that she was the same fearsome warrior that destroyed that slime and took on the three grunts back in Pakihana.

“Ah, no fair! Let me touch it too!” Lily raised her hands and ransacked Feodora’s hair. “Your ears are so soft! Is it sensitive?” Lily poked around.

“No. While my ears are sensitive to sound, they are not as sensitive to the touch.”

“I see…”

William glanced at the two girls, wondering how touching their ears would feel like. He shook his head, returning his attention to the road ahead of him. The rest of the trip to Haleo Berena took only twenty minutes. At the middle point, Feodora and Lily switched places. William told Feodora to sleep so that she wouldn’t get sick again, while Lily observed him driving the truck.

The dirt path soon transitioned into stone, with dense forests on both sides of the road. On the end of the path were some tents, with mountains standing far behind.

A knight on a horse approached them.

“Halt!” the knight stopped.

“Feo, wake up.” Lily started shaking Feodora, while William gave the knights their documents.

“You must be the adventurers they’ve been talking about! Damn finally! It’s about time someone-” The knight almost forgot that William was watching.

“Ehem. Sorry about that, Sir. The field general is waiting for you. Please, come this way.”

The knight returned the documents and led the truck deeper to camp. They went past the ruined walls that surrounded Haleo Berena, driving into the shield dome that protected the town from attacks.

“What kind of shield is this?” William asked, keeping his eyes on the knight in front of them.

“This is an interesting shield, indeed. Most shields would not allow anything to pass, not even its creator,” Feodora, who had just woken up, commented.

“I think I’ve heard of this kind before. It’s a special kind of shield that lets nothing pass if they’re traveling faster than a certain speed, like that ballista’s projectile, for example,” she pointed up to the mountaintop. Far beyond them stood the ballista, facing straight for the city. From a distance, the repair work done on it was visible. Its sheer size made it a scary enemy, even when it wasn’t attacking.

“I’m surprised there’s no shield in Pakihana, though. Or any of the places we travel to, for that matter.”

“Shield casting isn’t an easy process. It took a lot of work to set one up and maintain them. Stone walls are enough for most cases,” Lily explained. William then turned his eyes upward. The ballista, the same thing that shot them just a day earlier.

“Can’t we just shoot that thing?” William murmured.

“I advise us not to. We are with the knights, thus I suggest we wait for the knights’ orders.”

“It’s unfortunate but I agree with Feodora. You just can’t go blasting things on your own.”

“Yeah… still, aren’t the knights scared of it?”

“Pretty sure some of the soldiers had enhanced eyesight, so they’re keeping watch on it twenty-four-seven,” As Lily said, there were some beastmen or demi-human among the soldiers. A lot of them, actually. There were even some goblins and goatmens talking to each other, a far different situation compared to the fight they got involved in back in Pakihana.

A different group stood on watchtowers, using binoculars to observe the enemy weapon.

“The weapon's sheer destructive power could be used against the demons. There may be a higher priority target. I assume that is why the knights did not ask us to use it.”

“That made sense.”

They arrived next to a sturdy tent that had been built next to a ruined stone building. Half of the building’s walls were nowhere to be seen, while the remaining side that stood was used by the tent as support.

“Please, come in.” The knight ushered them inside.

“Sir, I have brought our guests.” The knight saluted to the figure inside.

“Come in, come in,” said a girl inside the tent with a smile, her helmet tucked away on the side. She looked rather young, maybe around twenty years of age. Her pink hair was cut in a short bop, and appearing from her head were two fox-like ears, similar to Lily’s. She also had a thick tail on her rear.

“Brigadier General Ktala Zarez, feel free to call me Ktala. I lead the Kingdom of Piloto northern sector knights defense brigade,” she said.

“I’m William Ari.”

“My name is Feodora Atores Ari.”

“And I’m Lily Atores.”

Ktala looked toward William and Lily, then at Feodora.

“Your child?”

“No!” they answered at the same time. “It’s just, Feodora doesn’t have a family name, so we gave her ours.”

“Ah, understood. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” She motioned them to follow her. She went deeper into the tent. They sat next to a large circular table, the three on one side and Ktala on the other.

“So, I’m sure you already know why you’re here.”

“Yes. Should we take out the ballista for you?”

“No, you-”

A ruckus broke out all of a sudden. Panicked screams traveled through the camp, the alarm screaming at the skies.

A knight rushed into the tent.

“General!”

“What’s going on!?” Ktala asked, standing up.

“The ballista-”

A loud explosion came from outside the tent, followed by the ground vibrating.

“What was that!?” Lily asked in a panic. William tried calming himself down.

“That must be the ballista! It fired!”

“What!?” Ktala slammed her hand to the table and stood up, running outside. The three followed her out.

“Woah…”

The dome had disappeared. Outside, standing tall above the mountain, the ballista stared straight at them, smoke coming from its end.

“It’s active…”

The ballista was ready.