Chapter 6: Road Trip!

*Erika’s POV*

With my cheating, the ride was very comfortable. Petra even fell asleep on my shoulder. How cute of her.

Anna: “Do you two know each other well?” Anna asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “No. We only met yesterday.” I reply.

Anna: “Oh? Under what circumstance, if you don’t mind me asking.” She asked with a curious tone once again.

Erika: “I wandered into a Goblin nest. Inside were around a little over 500 hundred Goblins. Petra was one of the women being held captive by them. And I saved her.” I explain.

Anna: “You killed that many by yourself?” Anna asked with an unsure tone.

Erika: “I did. Although, it did take an hour to do so.” I say with a chuckle.

She then looked to be in thought for a few minutes. Then she looked like she had a revelation and then looked at me.

Anna: “Would I be right in assuming that you aren’t from this dimension?” Anna asked with a serious tone.

Erika: “Do I really make it that obvious?” I ask with a head tilt.

Anna: “I’ve met a few people not from this dimension before. You just act like them, don’t worry about it.” Anna said with a small giggle.

Erika: “…”

Anna: “You see, I am the only princess, and heir of Cosian. My trip is a diplomatic one. With the goal of achieving peaceful relations with the new queen of Klein.” Anna explained with a serious tone.

Erika: “From what Petra told me, their queen is a Savior.” I explain.

Anna: “Ah, with you here, she clearly wasn’t just making up that she was with that group…” Anna said with a thinking pose.

Erika: “I have no idea if she is actually with them, though. I am what’s known as a Dark Savior. Though, we don’t really have a group.” I say.

Anna: “You’re not with any group?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Erika: “I am but, Dark Saviors in general don’t have a specific group that they align with. At least, from my knowledge.” I explain.

Anna: “And would you happen to be on good terms with the Saviors?” Anna asks.

Erika: “Um… well, I doubt it. I’m pretty sure that they hate my guts, and probably even have a warrant out for my death.” I say with an embarrassed laugh.

Anna: “What reason would they have to hate you so?” She asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “I’ve stopped them from taking over quite a few dimensions. On top of killing a few of their members, as well as converting, or outright getting their members to give up.” I reply.

Anna: “Give up?” She asks with a head tilt. Cute!

Erika: “I can either convert them into Dark Saviors, or get them to give up their powers as a Savior. If they give up, they get sent back to their original dimension.” I explain.

Anna: “I see… would this cause any issues with Klein’s new queen?” She asks.

Erika: “I don’t think so. I haven’t fought or messed with any higher ups from their group. Mostly just grunts.” I reply with a shrug.

Anna: “What did you mean by them taking over dimensions? Is that their goal here in this dimension as well?” Anna asked with a serious tone.

Erika: “No.” I outright say.

Anna: “Is this dimension special then?” She asks.

Erika: “No, and yes. Dimensions that certain groups want to take over are just only lower ranked ones. Dimensions like this aren’t possible to take over.” I explain.

Again, she seemed lost in thought before sighing deeply.

Anna: “Well, please just try to be amicable.” She said with another sigh.

Erika: “Will do.” I jokingly say with a salute.

Anna: “Funny… do you happen to have another pillow?” She asks.

Erika: “I have many more, why?” I reply.

Anna: “Frankly, I’ve never felt comfortable enough to sleep on a carriage but, with your space magic, and this pillow, I feel sleep coming to me.” Anna explained with a slightly embarrassed tone.

There were two long seats in this carriage so, she could easily lie down. I couldn’t, though, because of the cute Petra leaning her head on me. I don't mind. Cute girls she always be allowed to continue being cute. This is a sacred law long written down.

Erika: “Sure, here’s a blanket as well.” I reply with a smile.

She took the blanket after the pillow but then froze. She seemed to be mesmerized by how soft and comfortable the blanket was.

Anna: “This is the softest blanket I’ve ever felt!” She said with an excited tone.

Erika: “Please enjoy it, I’ll stay awake just in case something happens.” I reply with a laugh.

Anna was oddly not very reserved for a princess. She fell asleep pretty quickly. Even in the presence of unknown people.

Here I am, sitting in this luxurious carriage, with two beautiful women sleeping in close proximity to me. Honestly, I am quite blessed.

How cute girls can heal me, by them just being around me, is a mystery. Not that I mind. In fact, I love realizing this.

Unfortunately, I had no idea how long this little trip would take. I did forget to ask Anna about it. So now I have to stay awake for an unknown amount of time…

*Six hours later.*

Everything was still peaceful. Both of the cute girls were still sleeping soundly. All of a sudden, I heard the sound of fighting break out. Not wanting to disturb the girls, I used magic to shield their ears from the sound.

Then I stepped out of the carriage to see what had happened. A group of “bandits” were assaulting our caravan.

They definitely weren’t actual bandits. They had far more skill and coordination as a group than bandits would normally have. The military service member in me tells me as such.

By the time I made it to the battle, most of Anna’s guards were severely injured. Either from the lack of experience, or because they underestimated the “bandits” to some degree.

One of the men was about to cut down one of the guards. I quickly got into position to block their strike with my sword. Him trying to harm a cute girl means that I accidentally put too much force into blocking the attack.

Rather than a block, it was more like I gave him an attack of my own. Doing so, I ended up breaking his sword, and cutting him in half, all in one strike. Ew, gory…

I sliced my sword in the air to get rid of his blood off of it. Then I prepared to take on the rest of the soldiers.

Problem was, they weren’t stupid at all. Oh, why couldn’t they just be like enemies in an action game? Instead of attacking me one at a time, they all attacked me in unison.

It was fine, though. A sword cut to my cheek there, a spear stabbed into my gut here, and a few other minor wounds. But who’s laughing? Me! Death by a thousand cuts? Not when you get healed every twelve seconds!

They could injure me. Mainly because I didn’t really care to dodge or block any attacks that wouldn’t give me a bad injury. On their side, though, for every injury that they gave me, I killed two of their men.

What were their numbers? At the start, they had about 50 in their group. By now, thirty minutes into the fight, they had only 15 members left.

Again, they were smart so they had caught on to how to fight me. Instead of trying to get a hit on me at all costs, now they protect themselves and each other.

Fuck... annoying assholes! Looking so tough while you hide behind each other and take pot shots at me...

Clearly, their main priority was staying alive so that they could get to Anna. Not on my watch.

Erika: “Really? A cat and mouse game? This is getting to be boring.” I say with an evil sigh.

It was an evil sigh since I was still covered in the blood of their fellow men. Sure, I could have easily gotten rid of it but, being covered in blood helps in intimidating them.

My white dress helps with this as well. Although it does hurt to see my precious dress covered in blood. It won’t be for long, though.

Someone, who looked like a commander, had come to the front of the group.

Commander: “Why are you protecting the princess? Don’t you know that she is going to sell out our dimension to the other worlders?” He asked with a serious tone.

Erika: “I am just a hired adventurer. What her goals are aren’t relevant to my mission in escorting her.” I say with a shrug.

Commander: “Wonderful! We can pay you double the coin that she is paying you. All you have to do is give her up.” He demanded.

Come to think of it, I completely forgot to even check what the payment for this mission was. Oops…

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Erika: “I don’t care for payment. I am doing this for fun after all.” I say with a laugh.

Commander: “Fun… Yeah, I can see that. Are you just going to continue to toy with us? Or are you going to fight for real?” He asked with a fed-up tone.

Erika: “If I fought for real, you all would already be dead.” I say with another shrug.

Anna: “Erika, kill the rest but leave the commander alive.” Anna asked.

Erika: “Sure thing.” I say before snapping my fingers.

In that split second, all of the remaining soldiers, besides the commander, were struck with lightning.

Damn… I should have known. Lightning leaves burnt corpses as well. God, this smell horrible. The commander looks like he pissed his pants, though. So, mission success?

I went over to him and dragged him back to Anna. On the way back, I went ahead and healed, as well as cleaned all of the guards.

Anna: “Who sent you? Speak! Unless you want to die like your soldiers.” Anna said with an evil tone.

Commander: “Fuck you, traitor! Just kill me, I won’t tell you a thing!” He yelled after spitting on Anna’s face.

Bad call dipshit! How dare you defile such a beautiful woman!? As such, I sucker punched the back of his head. Doing so clearly rattled the hell of his brain, since he started to throw up. Oh well, he wasn’t using it anyway. Oh, I made sure to clean Anna off again as well.

Anna: “Erika, I appreciate the thought but, was that necessary?” Anna asked with a sigh.

Erika: “No. But it felt good. I just couldn’t stand the idea that he spat on you.” I say with a shrug.

Anna: “Is this how you are going to conduct yourself if Klein’s new queen insults you, or makes you upset?” Anna asks with a serious tone.

Erika: “No. It would take a lot to make me upset with a pretty girl. Honestly, cute girls can get away with anything in my book.” I say with a giggle.

Anna: “Hm… good to know. Now, what should we do with this one?” She said while looking at the commander.

Erika: “That’s up to you.” I reply.

Anna: “I doubt that you would have helped my guards if you thought they were bandits. What made you think otherwise?” Anna asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “A few reasons. For one. I am ex military. Bandits wouldn’t have a military like group cohesion as this group did. Second would be that since you’re a princess, it was more likely for them to be pretending to be bandits.” I explain.

Anna: “Interesting. What do you think about torture?” Saying this, the man flinched.

Erika: “It doesn’t work.” I say with a sigh.

Anna: “Why not?” Anna asked with a curious expression.

Erika: “The information will usually be false or not the full truth. Especially if it comes from a person who had been trained to resist torture. The only real way to get information is to buy it, or give the person with the information something they very much desire.” I explain.

Anna: “Haha. I’ve never met another person like me, who thinks that torture is worthless.” Anna says with a hearty laugh.

Erika: “What do we do with this guy?” I say while pointing my sword at his neck.

Anna: “Just kill him. We’ll find out who sent them later.” Anna said with a nonchalant tone, as she got back into her carriage.

As that was her order, I quickly beheaded the commander. His secrets die with him. I then flick my sword to get the blood off of it. Just to make sure it was clean, I used cleaning magic on it, as well as on myself and my clothes. I didn’t know that these clothes had this function but, if I don’t want them to be clean automatically, they won’t.

A very useful feature! Meanwhile, the guards all looked at me with a mix of admiration and fear.

Female Guard: “Um… Miss Erika, we’ll handle the bodies.” She said with a slight stutter.

Erika: “Very well, carry on.” I say with a wave as I walk back to the carriage and get into it.

Once inside, Anna just kept looking at me.

Anna: “Erika, forgive me but, I just can’t shake the feeling that you have or might betray me.” Anna said with a sigh.

Erika: “And what brought up that feeling?” I ask with a head tilt.

Anna: “I've always been a cautious person... Why did you confront those soldiers without waking me up first?” Anna asks with a serious tone.

Erika: “The moment I heard the sounds of battle, I used magic on both you and Petra to shield your ears from the sound.” I explain with a calm tone.

Anna: “Why?” She asks.

Erika: “I like, no, I love pampering cute girls. That is the only reason.” I said with a proud tone.

Anna: “I find that hard to believe…” Anna replied with a tone of disbelief.

Erika: “If only you could talk to my wives, then you would understand.” I say with a sigh.

Anna: “You’re married?” Anna asks with a confused tone.

Erika: “Just to one of them. Though, I will be marrying the rest when I get the time to do so.” I reply.

I understand why she would be uneasy with me. I just have to be completely honest with her, and hope she understands.

Anna: “That sounds… nice. Is there any way that you can prove that you won’t or haven’t betrayed me?” She asks.

Erika: “Let’s see… I only came to this dimension yesterday. There are no witnesses to this, though. When I came to this dimension, I ended up in a forest with giant trees. When I came out of it, walking in a random direction, I ended up getting attacked by Goblins. I let one Goblin live and tracked it to its cave. That’s how I met Petra.” I explain.

Anna: “That would be hard to verify… You said that you had tasks that you needed to complete in this dimension, right? What are they?” She asks with a serious tone.

Erika: “Let me check… Ah, my Tasks in this dimension are, Kill or Convert two Saviors, Kill or Convert all Saviors, Bolster Demon Queen’s Group, Recruit 5 New Dark Saviors, and stop something called Calamity.” I answer while looking at my phone.

I looked back up at Anna, and she was just stock still. That was until she burst out in laughter. My magic was still on Petra, whose head I had repositioned back on my shoulder, so she didn’t wake up from Anna’s fit of laughter.

Anna: “Ah, as fate would have it, I am the Demon Queen mentioned in your task. I assume that you have a Task Pact, yes?” She asked.

Erika: “That’s correct.” I reply.

Anna: “Wonderful! Erika Ardent… I’ll be honest, I was told your name and how you would look but, I still had doubts that I would be getting help.” Anna said with an excited tone.

Erika: “You knew I was going to help you?” I ask with a head tilt.

Anna: “That I did, tell me, I happen to smell my sister on you, why is that?” She asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “Sister?” I ask.

Anna: “Yes. You see, I ended up dying and reincarnating in this dimension. Do you know a Victoria?” She asked.

Erika: “Hm? Yes, I do.” I reply.

Anna: “And, how well do you know her?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Erika: “I know her a decent amount. She was the one who I got the Task Pact from. Most important, I am one of her wives.” I reply with a smile.

Anna: “She’s… married?” Anna asked.

Erika: “Yes. I am her sixth wife.” I answer.

Anna: “That’s good. I’m glad that she is happy. You said that she gave you a Task Pact? Are you sure? That’s something only a God or Goddess can do.” Anna asked with an unsure tone.

Erika: “Victoria is a Demon Goddess.” I reply.

Anna: “Damn… I’ve really missed a lot then.” Anna said with a sad tone.

Erika: “I’m sorry that you’ve missed out.” I reply with a remorseful tone.

Anna: “It’s fine… I hate to ask but, do you have any proof that you’re her wife?” Anna asks.

She’s really asking a lot of questions. Not that I mind. Her voice is nice to listen to.

Let’s see… proof… ah, maybe my ring will work? Going with that idea, I showed her the ring that Victoria gave to me when she proposed. I took it off since I didn’t want to damage it while working so, I had to use my phone to put it back on for her to see.

Anna: “That… that indeed is our family seal.” Anna said with a smile.

Erika: “Is it? From what I know, all of her wives have identical rings.” I reply.

Anna: “Yes, but that family name has long since faded away. I’m happy that she still kept our clan emblem, though.” Anna said with a laugh.

I wished to continue talking to her longer but, Anna said that she needed time to think on her own. Which just so happened to mean that she wanted to go back to sleep.

Aww… if she just wanted to sleep more, she could have just told me. Hah, I feel like she would be pissed off if she heard that thought.

Although she didn’t give me any proof that she was who she said she is, I just felt like she was telling the truth.

*Four hours later.*

Damn… This trip is truly taking a long time. I heard a knock on the carriage door. One of the guards said that they were stopping for the night, and setting up a temporary camp.

Anna: “We will sleep in the carriage.” Anna replied with a yawn. Cute!

Petra: “More sleep? Hm… what? Did I miss something?” Petra also said with a yawn. Also cute!

Erika: “Nothing much. Did you sleep well?” I ask with a laugh.

Petra: “Like a baby!” Petra said with a proud tone.

I don’t think that’s something to be proud of… Also, your peaceful sleep was because of my efforts…

Anna: “I’ll have one of the guards bring us some food soon.” Anna said.

Petra: “No need. Erika has it covered!” Petra said with an excited tone.

Anna: “What does she mean, Erika?” Anna asked.

Erika: “I have many meals stored in my inventory.” I answer.

Anna: “And, they stay fresh?” She asks.

Erika: “Yup. As fresh as the second Nadia and I put them into it.” I reply with a chuckle.

Anna: “Nadia… is alive?” Anna asks with a shocked expression.

Erika: “Alive and one of Victoria’s wives. Also, she is my wife as well.” I reply.

Anna: “I haven’t had Nadia’s food in so long… Do you really have her food?” Anna asked with an almost desperate tone.

With a smile, I took out teriyaki chicken with fried rice once again. Three servings this time. Anna didn’t ask anymore and started to eat her food. After a minute, tears started to fall from her eyes but, she kept eating.

Petra: “I really did miss something…” Petra said with a sulky tone before starting to eat her food.

Her upset mood lasted until she took a bite. Then she was as happy as could be. We three had a small chat over our meal until we were finished.

Anna: “Somehow… Nadia got better at cooking. Well, I suppose that it’s been a long time… Anyway, I’m sorry that there isn’t a better way for you two to sleep tonight. It won’t be a perfect rest, with you both sharing the one seat.” Anna said with a remorseful tone.

Looking at the floor of the Carriage, there was clearly enough room for four people to sleep on it. As such, I took out three sleeping bags for us to use.

At first, they were confused, so I showed them how to use a sleeping bag. Following my example, they got into theirs. And then they commented on how nice it was.

They both quickly fell asleep, with me soon following them into dreamland.

Now here is the funny thing, I could have sworn that I only slept for a few minutes. Then I woke up with my head in intense searing pain… To whom it may concern, I am in pain…

Looking around, I could see the crushed remains of Anna’s carriage. I could also feel some amount of blood flowing down my head.

Looking up, I could tell that we had fallen down a cliff. Was it intentional? I have no idea. Though, it most likely was.

I lost 85,000 HP from the fall. I guess even powerful beings like me aren’t immune to gravity… My head did land right on a spiky rock, though… I healed and cleaned myself, then I got up from the ground.

When I got up from the ground, I realized that my bracelet that Sofiel gave me, was cracked. Which means that I actually died from the fall, and it saved me. I didn’t lose 85,000 HP, by the time I woke up, that was what it was healed to, by my accessories.

Shit… I can’t believe that I came so close to dying for the second time… Note to self, don’t fuck with gravity. You won’t win. I started walking around the area, to look for the others.

Then I found, what I hope to not be the bodies of Petra and Anna. Heavily injured but, still both alive. I’m glad that they were both unconscious. Petra’s arm was facing the complete opposite way, and Anna’s legs surely shouldn’t be looking like that.

Some crunchy bone sounds later, they were both healed. I wish that I had a higher level of healing magic. Having to set their arms and legs the right way before being able to heal them, was very disturbing.

Having to see such beautiful girls in such horrible states, will truly haunt me for as long as I live. Like I said, at least they were still in dreamland.

Oh look, some wolves have shown up, how fun. I don’t like hurting animals… I threw them some food from my inventory and then they left. Fun.

I now have the most difficult decision to make. I can float one of them behind me but, who will I choose to carry like a princess? Hm… Victoria’s sister wins that battle.

I mean, she is technically my niece. I then set off to walk in the direction of the road above me. As long as I follow it, I will eventually end up at our desired location, right?

*Seven hours later.*

I should have REALLY asked how far Klein was. Did I pass it? I have no clue. This stupid path goes on forever. Petra and the little princess still haven’t woken up yet.

Why is that a problem? Oh, because apparently using space magic on a living creature drains the hell out of your MP. I’m down from 126,000 MP to just 8,000…

I should stop for the day. Deciding this, I went away from the cliff face and further into the woods. Cut some trees down, including dealing with the stumps. Flattened the ground. Then I placed down a huge tent. Set up sleeping bags in the tent, and put Petra and Anna to bed.

I also got into a sleeping bag. Hopefully, this time, I won’t wake up at the bottom of a steep cliff. Well, technically I already am... Now that gets me thinking, what the hell happened?

Did I become too soft living in that modern dimension? Normally, I would have noticed something going bad fast. Which would give me more than enough time to deal with it.

And yet, I didn’t even notice anything until I woke up with a major head injury. Imagine waking up with a chunk of your head missing. Not very fun, I’ll tell you that.

I probably woke up fast since my injuries were still present. If not, I would have woken up completely healed via my gear. I am glad that I woke up so fast. If I didn’t, I might not have been able to save those two.

Thinking back on it, I didn’t see any of the guard’s bodies anywhere. Did we get set up? I’m reminded of how that woman had knocked me out with magic. I assume something similar happened. Which was why I couldn’t react to it.

Here I was, thinking that I had all the items I needed. And yet, I had nothing to stop someone from putting me to sleep. Drugs? I could fight off those but, not magic induced sleep.

I should have realized something was off when I fell asleep so damn fast. Well, it’s not like I could have prevented myself from falling asleep. I’m just glad that I took this mission. If I didn’t, Anna would have died.

Eh, no use crying over spilled milk. Now I just need to nurse this splitting headache, and actually go to sleep of my own volition. Tomorrow is going to be “fun” I just know it…