Viviane asks herself sometimes how she became what she is today. The only daughter of a maid and a knight, she was raised to follow in the footsteps of her mother.
Fate had other ideas for her and at age six, the young girl healed her friend from a nasty scratch.
Her parents took her to see a mage, demanding an ability test. The result could not be contested: Viviane could do light magic.
Now, having magic ability itself is not a concern, but having light ability guarantees you a spot in the church or the healing division of the royal knight. A light mage is rare enough for them to be sought and fought for.
Her parents did not want her to become a sister at the church. With her becoming a knight, at least her father could check on her and Viviane would not have to live somewhere else far away.
Yes, she does know that her captain likes to put her on missions with other knights mainly because of her good teamwork ability, but she did not think he would want her to be a Hero companion.
There was no way she would refuse. Even if she’s not talking about the salary, her parents would be proud of her for defending the nation. Viviane has confidence in her capability to withstand the journey and return victorious.
This time the Hero comes from the Royal family. The young woman was surprised to hear it. She thought only the son of nobles was chosen to be a Hero. Her history knowledge is a bit rusty, but she managed to barely remember that the first Hero was of royal descent; he retired due to injury after his battle against the demon king.
The knight Misha was one she knew of. Viviane saw him training from time to time and even had one or two conversations with the man. The fact that he’s a Prince was a surprise. wasn't the son of the king’s brother the only heir? She probably wasn't alone in thinking that, she heard the maid talking about the same thing on the way to the training hall.
Maybe she will ask him one day.
Prince Misha looks like nothing bothers him, but after interacting with him he seems like an anxious man, mostly about the future. She found it funny the first time he could not talk familiarly to her after he said to drop the formalities.
What was not funny was the reality of what is coming. The only help they will have from the nobles is their money. No men from influential families nor any knights would be coming with them.
The sad part is that Viviane understood them. It’s like a never-ending circle. Before, it was an honor to be chosen, now it’s a bother.
The mage hopes to find good companions on the road, or else the final goal will be unattainable.
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Over the two weeks before departing, she was able to say goodbye to her parents and friend. Misha and Viviane agree to wait before going to buy new equipment for the journey. they should go together so as not to have double.
She also wrote letters in case she doesn't come back, the young woman entrusted them to Captain Richard.
Ready, the mage knocked on the Hero's office door. Misha, like her, was in travel clothes more easy to move in than the formal royal knight uniform. Identifying the wearer was the royal guard crest embroidered on the back of the cloak and over the heart. to finish it off, the crest was graved on their sword sheath.
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Together they made their way to the castle entrance. There was no parade awaiting them, only the stable boy waiting for them with their horses.
Misha told her earlier that the departure date was not made public. The King did not want the enemy to know about the Hero movement.
The horses had bags strapped to their saddles. The stable boy handed the prince a list of the inventory before giving each of them a horse rein. Wishing them good luck, the servant went back to his job.
‘’So, as we talked before, we will ride to the nearest adventurer guild to register. I don’t believe we need to go to the store, seeing the inventory.’’ Misha says while reading the parchment paper.
Having nothing she didn’t already do, Viviane was ready to go.‘’Great! I don’t have any objection, we can depart.’’ mounting the horse was an easy task, her muscle memory going through the motion for her. The horse led them through the city until they stopped in front of the guilt.
registering with the receptionist did not take time. Only when she asked about the party name did they have a problem. After much consideration, Viviane filled it with ‘28’, alluding to the 28th generation of heroes. They got their E-rank adventurer card in less than thirty minutes.
Misha chooses three quests to take on for the time between the capital and the next city. Being E-rank, they had to do the basic stuff no adventurer wants to do but every merchant needed; like collecting medicinal herbs, slime extermination for the core, and collecting special mushrooms.
Finally, they went to the closest city gate. The journey to the next big city will take approximately 3 weeks, but fortunately, there are villages along the way. According to the map Misha showed her, they had to camp for two nights until the first one.
Already on the first night, the knight and the mage had to come face to face with reality. Viviane was too used to traveling with a large procession, usually acting as a bodyguard for nobles or healer for an extermination force. The point is; this time no servant will make them lunch, set up the camp, make a fire camp, or all of the necessary things in wild camping.
She glanced at Misha hoping he would know more, however, the prince looked as lost as her. This would be fun.
Why did they not have a class on camping !? wasn’t this the basis of being a knight? traveling and knowing how to take care of oneself? She didn't understand.
Reluctantly, they set to rummage through their bag, hoping the tent came with instructions. it did! Obviously, it was not in the same bag as the tent. What followed was one hour of bickering back and forth while trying to build it.
In the end, they were both exhausted, sitting on the floor outside of the newly erect tent. One of the horses was judging them not too far away.
With that done, they now had to make a fire. Viviane was optimistic about this one, she was a mage for god sake! So while Misha painstakingly went out collecting branches, she cleaned an area to put the fire camp on.
For the relief of the prince and her, the fire was lit with no problem. If she nearly set the whole camp on fire, well, no one but her as to know.
Meanwhile, Misha found little folding chairs in one of the bags. He set them up near the would-be fire.
Ok, so tent, fire, and a place to sit. What else? right, they need to eat. For that, they have very convenient jerky in their bag. Absolutely no need to cook.
Yes, she is a maid’s daughter. No, she doesn’t know how to cook. Not for a lack of trying mind you. The last one she burned the egg. The one before that she mistakenly used salt instead of sugar. Good old times.
The young man next to her had no protest in eating the jerky for dinner, she suspected that he was in the same boat as her.
Securing the horses to the tree Viviane did some protective spells around the camp before going to bed. The tent was designed to have two spaces shaped like a triangle. A flap in the middle separated the space.
The two adventurers did not sleep much that night. Not yet comfortable sleeping in the center of a forest. Through the next 2 weeks, they slowly settled into a routine, spending one to two days in each village across the way, enjoying the bed at the inn and the fresh food.
They were not yet in the area the monsters posed a real threat, encountering some slime and horned rabbit on the way. Misha voted to sell the rabbit meat instead of trying to cook it, which Vivane thought was valid.
Currently, the companions were in the last village before the big city; handing over the quest-demanded materials to the receptionist. getting the reward, they made a stop at a merchant stall, buying jerky, nuts, and fruits before setting off again.