“WHAT THE FUCCK!! THAT JERK! DICKHEAD! IDIOOOOT!” A plethora of curses escaped Len’s mouth as she stomped the ground again and again. The blue shimmer of light slowly vanishes as the teleportation comes to an end.
Suddenly, Kaira started to cry. From small sobs, Kaira’s crying rose in intensity as the small wolf pup in her arms join in the chorus. “WaaaAAaaA—aaaAhHH!!”
The wolf pup licked Kaira’s fingers in an attempt to comfort the little girl, but the small wolf pup is also sniveling which doesn’t help on the matter. Kaira’s crying just grew louder.
“It’s my fault, my mom died because of me… M-Matt died because of me… I.. I…”
“Shhh… shh… It’s okay now, I am here.” Len discarded her immature act of stomping and comforted Kaira. She approached the little girl and caught her in a hug.
“He’s not dead yet okay? I don’t remember much about him, but he’s a tough guy.” She added.
Kaira’s crying was reduced to inaudible sobs. The wolf pup in her arms rubbed its head at her chest. It was calming. Len too felt calm at the sight of the two little things soothing themselves with each other’s presence.
Len observed the wolf pup’s odd spark as if it possess a glimmer of intelligence. It didn’t just show traces of emotion, but also a concern. She petted the wolf pup and lovingly patted Kaira’s head.
“L-Len,” Kaira called already aware of Len’s name. “Y-you should stay away from me. You will die too.”
Len bit her lip, a bit of pain in her heart told her that all of this felt too unreal. Forget a mother’s instinct and amnesia, Len as a clumsy person just doesn’t know what to do or say.
The two haven’t been properly introduced to each other yet. Kaira remembered Len’s name as it was what Matt called her. Meanwhile, Len only knew of Kaira through Matt’s stories.
Matt is the connection that binds the two. Though they are strangers, they share a sense of unity and regard for each other.
“No, I won’t die. I am tough as a nail.” Len firmly said to Kaira. The little girl meekly nodded at Len’s strong resolve to make things work.
Ruins of not more than 200 years surround them. Len easily deduced from the slight markings on the walls and with a bit of help from her own magic. Radiocarbon Dating, she instinctively thought of this word vaguely aware of what it meant.
The feeling was peculiar. The logic as to how she observes and extracts information from her surroundings felt hidden to her. It’s like getting results without knowing the process. This is the same as how Len uses her magic.
A woman and a little girl held hands as they search their way out of the ruins. It was a short walk as they easily followed a path outwards of the ruins. In no time at all, they reached a major road.
“There’s a caravan ahead of us.” Kaira joyfully called. Len already saw it beforehand but is doubtful of what she should do. Should she approach them? Or not?
Aware of her own ignorance. “What do you think?” Len asked Kaira’s opinion.
“I think we should join them. It’s safer to be in a group, my mom usually said. As long as it checks out that they aren’t bad people, we can join them.” Kaira honestly offered her input.
“So, what do you think?” Len repeated not really getting what Kaira meant.
“Big sister, are you dumb?” Len was speechless. Though she was elated that she was called big sister, being called dumb is just too much for her.
“Hey, little brat… Just tell me, yes or no?” Len started pulling Kaira’s ear.
“Aw-aw-aw-ouch-stop it,” Kaira cried. “It hurts, stop it.” The wolf pup in her arms ignored the whole debacle. When Kaira was freed from the punishment, she rubbed her reddened ears. She then looked at the wolf pup in her arms begrudgingly for not helping her.
“Traitor,” She cruelly whispered to the wolf pup which again, just ignored her. “What are you, a cat?” Akira chided at the pup’s sudden aloofness.
Kaira looked at the caravan ahead of the main road. In the center of the formation is a large carriage. It’s surrounded by cargoes led by horses, some escorts on foot, and a mass of people at the tail. “Yes, we should go. It’s safe to assume it’s a merchant caravan. We can just sneak on the rear and join the tail. These people must be migrating, because there’s a lot of them.”
Len finally received an answer she was satisfied with.
“Hoooold tight!!” Len cast invisibility magic on the two of them. She carried Kaira over her shoulder and started jogging.
“Hey, it’s too bumpy. When Uncle Matt carried me, it was very stable.” At Kaira’s complaint, Len felt a strange sense of victory as she was called ‘big sister’ but Matt as ‘uncle’.
“Don’t complain!! Brat, do you want me to make you run?”
Shortly after, they reached the tail of the caravan. Len immediately dispelled her invisibility magic so that they can better mix with the crowd.
It was a procession of a merchant’s convoy surrounded by escorts. Len is not sure of the strengths of the escorts. She is not like Matt who can detect magic fluctuations. Even so, she can tell that these escorts possess relative strength.
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Their equipment alone tells Len how tough these guys are… She can’t say though if these escorts can survive a fireball from her.
Observing the people closest to her, she realized most of them looked like refugees. There are some with relatively clean clothing like her and Kaira.
“Big sister, be careful. There might be a thief around here.” Kaira carefully warned her in a whisper.
Len nodded acknowledging Kaira’s words. Suddenly out of nowhere, a relatively clean and handsome young man squeezed as to where they were standing. Len warily gazed at the man ready to give the first blow.
“He-y… I noticed you had a kid with you. A single mother?”
“…”
At the young man’s inquiry, Len chose silence. Strangely, she can understand what the young man was saying. This whole time, Len has been conversing with Kaira in the old tongue, specifically English.
Like how Len doesn’t know how she is able to cast magic and recognize a ruin’s age, she was able to understand the young man’s words.
“Hey, relax. I know why you are wary, but I am a good guy. Anyways, nice to meet you. You can call me El, as in Elvis…” The young man introduced himself with a familiar name.
Well, at least to Len, it sounded familiar. But again, she doesn’t know why.
Amnesia is like a ghost knocking at the back of Len’s mind, telling her she knows things she doesn’t remember. It was torturous, but Len doesn’t show it on her face. She showed a neutral smile at El and used her mighty fingers to pinch the young man’s side.
“E-eek~ Y-yowcH~” El yelped but he suppressed it. No one seems to notice his girlish cry.
“Are you a thief?” Len threateningly asked in the NoVum tongue, the tongue that El spoke.
Len was secretly surprised that she was able to speak the young man’s language. ‘Of course, if I can understand it, I can speak it.’ She inwardly thought to herself.
“W-what? N-no…” El struggled at Len’s merciless clamp. El was bewildered and can’t imagine how even the crazy woman in front of him managed to reach that conclusion.
Kaira face-palmed at the sight of this. “Big sister. He is not a thief. Look at his clothes. He looked rich enough to be able to maintain his clean and pristine appearance.” Kaira spoke in the NoVum tongue so as to chase away any misunderstandings.
“Ah. Okay.” Len freed the man just as quickly as she caught him. El grew quiet as he was caught in an awkward atmosphere.
The procession continued, but El can’t stay quiet for so long.
“So, the two of you are sisters? Where are your parents?”
“She’s my adopted sister. Mr. El, I suggest you don’t be too nosy lest you earn my ire. Even if you were a merchant’s son, I won’t show you any mercy.”
Like a hedgehog, Len showed her thorns distancing herself from the young man, but El is persistent. He isn’t surprised though that he was recognized by Len easily.
“Aa-ahh, looks like you’ve caught on… Hahaha, sorry about not telling you… You are right. So, what if I am a merchant’s son.”
“Wait, you are a merchant’s son?”
“…”
Len’s surprise can’t be faked. She’s a klutz and has truly embodied what clumsiness meant especially after being struck with amnesia. El was left speechless by Len’s remarks, his feelings a bit hurt.
Kaira though seems used to it already. Len and Kaira only knew each other for less than a day, so it’s surprising how much the two know each other’s quirks already.
El walked with the procession, swallowing a mouthful of air. He is a bit tired, but he continued walking on foot.
“I wanted to see the people much closer, so I kind of escaped the carriage without my father’s permission. I’d love that you keep this a secret though.”
“The Noven royalty and the Vulim republic are having a war again. My father and I escaped with all of our assets in the hopes of taking our chances to Iron City.”
“I on my own volition decided to call the neighbors and asked them if they were interested to escape together. Thankfully, father turned a blind eye to my actions.”
“These refugees you see here. Some of them are fallen aristocrats, quasi-knights, servants, peasants, and so on. There is a mix of Novenians and Vulimites in this procession.”
“It’s kind of funny how the old NoVum aristocracy got separated into Noven and Vulim when the people themselves still think of them as one. Look at all these refugees.”
El talked and talked and talked. Len and Kaira just idly listened. Len did because she thought it was interesting. Kaira though did it with the intention of knowing what kind of people they are associating with.
If they were to integrate with this group, it is important that Len and Kaira have identities that can be trusted. “My mother was a Novenian, and my mother was a Vulimite.” Kaira lied through her teeth.
When El heard it, he felt a heartwarming sensation in his chest. These emotions to him were faintly expected by Kaira. Telling El that her mother and father were of different but the same nationality was a scheme that Kaira devised for her own survival.
Kaira was brought up with a rough childhood. Len knows this but not to the extent that Matt does, that’s why she also believed Kaira’s words one-sidedly. El didn’t also doubt this as Kaira’s features do closely resemble Novenians and Vulmites.
Race’s feature in this era has changed and become more diversified. In a sense, it has also converged, making it harder for people to distinguish which race a person really belongs to. Who knows? Kaira’s ancestors might have a quasi Novenian or Vulimite blood in them.
In this era, nationality was no longer judged by racial traits, but by the association by person— patriotism, loyalty, money, and belief… the list goes on. However, there are always exceptions.
El aware of the too-distinct features of Len asked warily, “How about you? Are you an Empyrean?”
“I don’t know.” Len sullenly and honestly answered. “Memory loss, and it sucks.” She quickly explained not keen on dwelling on the topic.
El feeling that Len is too unreliable felt doubtful, but in the end, decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. “What happened?” But El still asked just in case.
“What happened!?” Len scowled at El, the veins in her head throbbing in anger. “Well, you want to know what happened? I am pissed. That’s what happened.” She was clearly triggered.
Len continued on her rant, reminded by what happened. “One day, I woke up in the middle of the forest without any memories. Then, I stumble on a weird guy who claims we are lovers. Then, that same guy fucking left me with this brat!! And now, we are here! Satisfied?”
“U— uum, yeah. Sorry about that.” If El doesn’t know better, he would think that Len was abandoned by her husband to fend for her daughter alone.
The main road is wide. They have walked for a long time, but they are still far from their destination. And dangers lurk on the roads. The most dangerous of them all is the bandits’ presence.
“Halt, we are the Steel Gang! As protectors of these roads, we demand payment. Leave half of your cargo, and we’ll let you pass.”
At that instant, the people panicked. Len immediately blew her lid off.
“What did you say!? FUCK OFF!!”
Her voice was loud and traveled fast even though she was at the rear end of the caravan.
That day, Len befriended a son of a relatively well-off merchant. And by that very same day, she almost vented all of her stress to the poor bandits. From the rear, Len summoned the GREATER FIREBALL that burned a forest in a day. With it, she threatened the bandits to make way.
“L-leader… They have a mage… She looks strong…” The bandit leader’s second hand voiced his concern.
“And she looks pissed.” The bandit leader gulped.
Fortunately, no one died that day and the caravan peacefully continued. As Len retracts her magic power, El looked at the crazy woman in awe. Instead of being fearful of the pissed Len, Elvis Norowan kind of fell in love.