"Huh?"

Tibaut couldn't hide his surprise.

Avis and Albus turned to each other and weren't sure what to make of this development.

The person that had made the proclamation seemed cool on the outside, however.

("Oh no, why'd I say that? I mean I don't want him going by himself somewhere dangerous but…")

"Listen, Jake, I appreciate the gesture but I can handle this without your help. Just listen when I come back."

"Well, uh, couldn't you use an extra hand? Surely you aren't thinking of going somewhere like that with three people."

"Is one extra person going to help?" Tibaut questioned.

"(Why am I still talking!?) Well, my magic is great against a group of people so it would be fine if it came down to it." His voice lowered as he said that last bit, hoping they'd leave him and let him stay here.

"(AOE magic? I guess my fire could also work but I suppose it wouldn't be too bad to have more.) Hey Albus," He turned to the man who looked quite interested in this development. "Can he come with us?"

"Why not?"

"Lord Bradley!?"

The one who was surprised by this was his maid Avis. She was about to say something but he touched her lip and shushed her.

"Now, now, Avis, we need all the help we can get don't we?"

Her eyes wavered and it was clear she doubted this decision, but she let it go and accepted her Lord's decision.

"I-I suppose."

"(Oh no, I've joined something shady!)" Jake thought to himself.

"Thanks for this, Jake."

Jake looked at him, unsure what he was thankful for but Tibaut continued.

"To be honest, I was kinda doubting this thing as soon as I came here. But now, I don't know, the confidence you had when you showed up makes me kinda hopeful. After all, you're in the same league as Elizabeth and Ezekiel, so I'm curious to see what you can do."

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Jake could feel the weight of Tibaut's expectations slowly crushing him but he kept his calm.

"I nearly forgot but you are just a kid aren't you? I guess I can show you what your senior can do. (I guess I have to commit to this now, I think this is the first time someone's had hopes in me when it comes to adventuring.)"

"(Hoh, is he one of those guys that change as soon as they get to work?) I'll be happy to see."

"Are you two done yet? We're getting ready to leave."

Tibaut and Jake soon exited through the fence but they noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Avis?" Tibaut asked.

The clopping of hooves was heard coming from the trees and a horse revealed itself with a rider on top.

"I hope you don't mind, Lord Bradley, I wasn't able to get it out without removing its saddle."

Atop it sat Avis, with no rein, or crop in sight. The horse was as natural as the day it was born. Tibaut had no idea how she controlled the horse, but he supposed there was a time when people rode horses without those things, so he didn't question it.

"Ah, dammit, I knew I was forgetting something," Albus commented.

"Are you telling me you accepted him without realising this?" Avis commented in a venomous tone.

Albus did his best to look innocent and his maid seriously contemplated retiring, here and now.

"What's the problem?" Tibaut asked.

"There's one horse. Honestly, I was just planning for three to ride it but four people might be pushing it."

While the horse did look stout, Tibaut assumed there was probably a good reason he never saw more than two people on a horse in most of the movies he could remember.

"Is it that far?" Tibaut asked.

"It's just a few hours away, on foot," Avis commented. "My master however thought the distance too much and asked for a horse instead."

"Don't make me sound like a pansy, Avis, we need to conserve our energy until we reach there."

"Whatever you say, Lord Bradley." She said with a dash of indifference.

"Wait, wait, does that mean?" Tibaut asked.

"One of us will have to run alongside the horse, personally, I have no qualms doing so," Avis added.

"No way, Avis, you're the only one who can control that thing."

The horse neighed in reply as if saying "Who are you calling 'that thing'!?" and Albus blew raspberries at it.

As she contemplated finding a new employer Tibaut turned to Jake.

Before he could even ask him who'd be the one running, he started walking and jumped on the horse.

"You're a pretty strong guy Tibaut so something like this should be easy for you."

What pissed Tibaut off the most was how genuine he sounded.

He adjusted himself on the horse and left a space between him and Avis, which he assumed Albus would fill.

Albus wasted no time sitting between the both of them and putting his hands around the waist of Avis.

"You can switch with me when we take a break!" He shouted to Tibaut.

"I'm good."

After seeing how close they were, he decided he wasn't too mad about being forced to run there. With how bumpy a horse ride is he dreaded imagining what would happen to him if his heavenly soldier decided to stand up when he was so close to Avis. Or worse, it happening to Jake and being forced to endure.

"(I'd say I hope he doesn't have a sensitive guy down there but I honestly wouldn't mind if it happened to Albus. I think he's the only person who I wouldn't mind it happening to, honestly.") With dark thoughts in his mind, he walked with them until they reached a main road and set off.

Within a few minutes, Tibaut was lagging behind.

"Huff We were about the same pace puff for a few hundred meters but I suppose cough it'd be ridiculous if I was faster than a horse."