"If I am the strongest warrior then the other combat tribes will submit easier?"

Muyaun says "Absolutely!"

"Then the question is, can I defeat the ogre champion?"

Muyaun says "From the little I have seen of your strength I would say yes."

Asuna says "Daddy can beat anyone!"

"While I appreciate your confidence in me, that isn't true. There is always someone stronger. Even if I was the strongest in this world, this is not the only world."

Asuna says "Daddy isn't the strongest?"

"No, Asuna, I'm afraid not. I don't even know if I am as strong as the demon lords yet. The dragon for sure is way stronger than I am."

Asuna sits there looking rather stunned, like she doesn't know how to take what she heard. I feel kind of bad to shatter her illusions at such a young age, but they could cause her problems later. While I want her to believe in me, it can't be unconditional belief.

Muyaun says "You may not be the strongest in the world, but I believe you are the strongest beastman ever."

"That's the trick, like you I am not really a beastman."

Muyaun says "Either way, I doubt the ogre champion could defeat you."

"Could you defeat him?"

Muyaun says "In a fair fight, no. In a real fight, probably!"

"Alright, guess I need to visit the ogre clan."

Muyaun smiles, happy to have helped, and I pull out my map of the beast lands. I have her mark the locations of the four tribes and any other tribes I might run into along the way. Once she is done I start planning a route that will hit the tribes and a couple of mana beasts.

Due to the ogre tribe being all the way in the south of the beast lands it is going to be a long trip. Not only do I need to figure out the path but also who to take with me. I plan to travel by land, which means riding Lizzy, so unless I take the carriage I have limited room for people.

To take the carriage I need someone with mana, which Myria now has, but she doesn't know how to use it. Although binding to the carriage should be fairly basic, I might be able to guide her through it. It would delay her starting her mage knight training, so I will ask her what she wants to do.

"This is the route I plan to take and I should be leaving tomorrow or the day after. If you need to pass me more information you will need to send people along this route."

Muyaun says "I understand. If nothing else comes up I will meet you at the ogre tribe's camp."

"Oh? Why?"

Muyaun says "If they submit to you it will be a big deal. I plan to bring along people to witness it and quickly spread the word."

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Ah, good idea. Alright, I will see you at the ogre tribe."

Muyaun takes the hint and leaves, but Asuna chases after her to have a private talk. After asking Sarah to keep an eye on Asuna I return to the tower and go looking for Myria. When I find her she is exercising, but it is obvious she is doing so to vent her anger.

"I am going to be leaving for a while."

Myria says "Wasn't that already the plan? Are you taking the fox with you?"

"Which fox? If you mean Asuna, then probably. If you mean Muyaun, definitely not."

Myria says "Why not? From what Kitara says she is incredibly beautiful."

"Because I don't trust her. She only submitted to save her life, she is probably plotting something."

Myria says "Then why not just kill her?"

"Because the fox tribe is insanely loyal to her. If I killed her I would probably have to massacre the entire tribe."

Myria says "You are too soft. You are setting yourself up to be betrayed just so you don't have to kill her tribe?"

"Yeah, I guess I am, but I can't just kill them all."

Myria says "So, what are you going to do?"

"Carry on with my plans and not worry about it."

Myria says "What if this fight with the ogre champion is part of her plot?"

"Then she is underestimating me."

Myria says "Or you are being overconfident."

"That's also possible. We will just have to wait and see."

Myria says "We? Are you letting me go with you?!"

"If you want to, but it will mean delaying your mage knight training."

Myria says "Of course I'm going with you!"

"Alright, in that case, Yui can you bring the carriage?"

Yui says "Sure, but it still requires mana to activate."

"That's fine, I will guide her through using it."

Yui says "Okay, that should work."

When the carriage arrives I have Myria sit with it in her lap and I sit behind her. Then I place my hand on her lower back and start manipulating her mana core. Since it is still a mystery I take it slow and use extreme caution as I move a tiny amount of mana.

Guiding the mana through her body to her hand and then into the carriage. When the mana reaches the carriage there is a reaction as a different mana returns following the same path. The mana enters her core and then just sits quietly inside, not mingling with Myria's mana.

Myria says "Wow! I can feel the carriage! It's kind of weird!"

"Does it hurt?"

Myria says "No, it doesn't hurt. It's kind of like having an itch you can't scratch. Yet at the same time I can feel the carriage, like it is a new part of me and I can control it."

"That was kind of the point."

Myria says "Okay, now what?"

"Now we go to Illium and see if we can figure out how to rig it so Lizzy can pull it."

Myria says "Sure!"

Myria stands up, holding the carriage in her arms, and follows me to the teleporter. We pass through and quickly head outside to Lizzy's stable, where Myria enlarges the carriage. The noise catches Lizzy's attention and she comes out to see what is going on.

Lizzy says "Nice carriage, but isn't it a little much?"

Myria says "Yeah, it is, isn't it? Let me see if I can fix that."

Lizzy says "Yeah, that's better!"

"Lizzy, can you stand here between the poles? We need to figure out how to connect you to this thing."

Lizzy says "Sure!"

The poles of the carriage have traces for four horses and I have no clue how to attach them to Lizzy. Unfortunately, the traces are part of the carriage so they can't be removed. My only thought is to somehow connect the traces to Lizzy's saddle, but I don't see a way to do so.

"Myria, can you modify these traces?"

Myria says "Let's see. I can, but only a little. What should I do?"

"See if you can simplify them, or make them end in hooks?"

Myria says "That's the best I can do."

"That's what I was afraid of. Okay, plan B. Sarah?"

Sarah walks out and says "Yes, Ash?"

"Could you go fetch Walter please?"