After an hour or so, Issac woke up. His body felt sore all over. Stretching and massaging his limbs, he shimmied to the front of the carriage and poked his head out. The driver feeling the rustling behind turned around and greeted him, “Sire.”

“How much progress have we made?” Issac asked. He looked up – the sun was no longer overhead.

“We still haven’t reached Dinel Town, sire. It will take another hour to get there and two more days to reach Litera City from the town,” the driver replied respectfully.

“I remember you saying your family lives in this Dinel Town?”

“Yes, sire.”

“Then make a day’s stop in Dinel Town. Despite my hurries, I’m not that cruel to not let you meet your family.”

“Thank you, my lord!” the driver seemed to be a family man, as Issac’s words couldn’t make him conceal his joy.

“Don’t think much of it.”

“But sire…?” The driver fidgeted.

“Hmm?”

“You told me to say no one’s in the carriage if anyone asked, but the guards in front of the gate of the town would no doubt check the carriage; what shall we do then?”

“Do not worry; I can hide myself from some mere guards. If I did not have at least this bit of capability, the Duchy would not have entrusted me with this letter.”

“My lord, if you don’t mind me asking, Marquis Genia seems to have a good relationship with Duke Sawheim, even going as far as to engage the ‘Flower of Genia’ to the Duke’s only son. Wouldn’t going to the Marquis be easier for my lord?”

Issac stayed silent for a while before asking, “What’s your name?”

“My father named me Nikel, my lord.”

“Nikel, when I told you in the beginning that our carriage had been attacked by enemies, who do you think these ‘enemies’ were?”

“Weren’t they demons, my lord?” He had a look on his face like it couldn’t be anyone other than demons.

“If only it were that simple, my good man. They were humans, our kind.” Issac lied as he breathed.

“Impossible!” the news rang like thunder in his ears as he yelled out. Issac simply stared at him with reprimanding eyes, and Nikel turned meek again. “Apologies, sire. But ever since the ‘Joint Treaty of Humanity’ was signed at the end of the second war, there has been no such precedent.”

Hearing a new term, Issac’s interest was piqued. With an admiring expression, he said, “Oh, you seem to be quite learned for a commoner. Did someone teach you, or does your Dinel Town have a school?”

“My lord, there’s no one on the human side that doesn’t know about such a historic event!”

“Nikel, that’s what I thought too, but you would not believe the kinds of ignorant and shameless people I’ve talked to,” Issac ended that sentence with a wrathful expression. “Compared to them, you seem much more agreeable to the eye. Though I suppose Genia Marquisate is better at nurturing its inhabitants than most other places.”

Nikel stayed silent the entire time Issac spoke before asking, “My lord, are there truly people who don’t know about these things?”

“Of course, there are – me.” Issac thought, but of course, he couldn’t say that. Instead, he sighed deeply, “You don’t know half of it, my good man….”

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The carriage drove down the same straight dirt path surrounded on either side by a wall of trees. The scenery never once changed for the half hour they were talking. So much so that Issac felt like they had fallen into some kind of an illusion. But peering into the wall of trees, he saw something that broke that notion.

“Say, Nikel.” Issac’s pupil contracted when he saw what was hiding in the trees.

“Yes, my lord?” Nikel seemed blissfully unaware as he focused on driving the carriage.

“Say, you seem to have learned a lot. Learned anything from the adventurers you ferry.”

“A modest amount, my lord. Not every adventurer is as friendly.”

“Alright then, just to pass the time – let me ask you a question.”

“What kind of monster has eyes that bulge out of its socket, a round head like a human’s, a wide, nasty grin with no lips, and a body covered with pink and red flesh?” The monsters peeking from behind the trees continued to grow.

Nikel thought for a while before the answer clicked, “Ah, my lord, that sounds like a Mimic!”

“Continue.”

“I’ve heard from a party that these kinds of Mimics are especially dangerous since they have already consumed human meat and have gained a liking for it.”

“And do these Mimics stay in this forest?” The tension on Issac grew with every second as he could see numerous pairs of bulging eyes and creepy grins staring at him from behind the trees, with the number growing.

“Yes, they do.”

“Nikel,” Issac tore his eyes away from the trees and looked at the two horses pulling the carriage. “Do you happen to have saddles inside the carriage?”

Nikel frowned and shook his head, “No, my lord. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, there is.” Issac grabbed Nikel and sent mana to his legs; he jumped off the carriage and onto one of the horses. Issac conjured 『Night Blade』 and slashed the shaft that kept the horse attached to the carriage. Nikel’s scream when they jumped seemed to have alerted the horde of mimics in the trees as Issac suddenly heard rustling from both sides. Without even looking, he held Nikel tightly and dug his heels into the horse’s side. Issac let out a yell, and the horse began to run.

“M-My lord, what is the meaning of this!?” Nikel screamed as he struggled to sit upright.

Nikel held onto Issac tightly as he finally sat properly on the horse when the latter yelled, “The meaning!? Look around, you moron!” Heeding his words, he looked around, and his soul almost flew away. Hordes of Mimics seemed to pour out of the trees around them and made a mad dash toward them.

The poor old carriage driver Nikel screamed hysterically as he held onto Issac’s waist with every bit of strength he could muster. Issac couldn’t pay attention to him as he took the loose rope that was hanging off from one side of the horse’s bridle, wrapped it around behind its head, and tied it to the bridle on the other side of its face. Now, he had a fully functional rein.

“Kehaa!” the horde of mimics screeched at them from behind him as they ran behind them. Some ran on all fours while others ran at them on two like humans. Their bulging eyes and creepy grins were unnerving.

Issac kept his eyes on the road and screamed, “Nikel, stop screaming, you bumbling fool! How long can the horse run!?”

“Thirty minutes at best!” in his hysteria, Nikel had forgotten about the formalities.

“Fuck…!” a series of expletives left Issac’s mouth, and they only raised in pitch once he saw the leaves rustle beside them.

With a screech, a mimic jumped out of the trees on them. Nikel screamed even more when he saw that gaping mouth of the Mimic as it barreled towards them.

“Fuck-” Issac flicked his arm and cast 『Night Blade』. A fire axe as black as the night sky appeared with sparkling stars on its body materialized in his hand as he swung it to his left, where the Mimic was. The Mimic was hit with the blunt of the blade as its momentum came to a screech, and it flew behind, knocking down some of the front runners in the horde.

Looking at the Mimics falling down like dominos, Issac rejoiced. His split-second thinking had worked out. But looking at the trees rustling as the Mimics hopped from one to the other made him realize that he wasn’t out of the woods just yet, literally and figuratively.

The tree in front of them rustled as another mimic jumped out from the right. Just like before, Issac smacked it so that it would trip the horde behind them. But this time, some of the mimics in the front saw it coming and moved out of the way before it could hit them. The same could not be said for the ones behind the front runners, and just like before, they tripped on the Mimic that fell on their feet.

As Issac hit away the suicidal Mimics, he asked Nikel, “Old man, how long till we reach Dinel Town?”

Hesitantly, Nikel opened his eyes and looked around. His grip around Issac’s waist tightened, and he said, “Fifteen more minutes at this speed.”

“And is there a mage in the town!?”

“Yes, the city lord is Fifth Circle Mage!”

“Alright, hold tight!” Issac whipped the reins, urging the horse to go faster. He had created distance between them and the horde, but they were still hot on his tail, and more were popping up from the trees.