With Leo’s entire group moving from the forest to the actual road, one could believe the atmosphere would improve.

Camila was returning to the city she was born with, after all, a place she knew a lot better than the edge of the forest where all sorts of dangers lurked.

Leo, on the other hand, was following the girl to her city, so that he could gain all the insight he needed over what kind of valuable items he could simply purchase off the market and thus start earning his keep as a rift walker properly.

In other words, everyone within their group had all the right to be all smiles, and yet…

The morning conflict caused by the end result of having everyone sleep while bunched up still lingered in the air, even if everyone had already acknowledged no one could be faulted for it.

‘I wonder how long is she going to be all moody,’ Leo thought as he looked up to Camila’s back.

Ever since they packed up and left the forest for the duchy’s capital, Camila insisted on moving at the very front of the column. And while one could assume it was a matter of a noble’s pride… The truth was likely a lot simpler.

After freaking out in the morning and nearly strangling Zion in her attempt to free herself from the mess of tangled bodies, Camila was simply too damn embarrassed to let anyone see her face.

Thus, despite the dangers of moving at the front of a formation, she refused to let anyone pass her, always speeding her steps up whenever she sensed anyone getting closer.

Still, while Camila’s behavior certainly put a dent in everyone’s mood, the presence of the three mystical Gray Edgehounds was more than enough to compensate for it.

‘Am I really that simple of a man?’ Leo wondered whenever his eyes would draw towards the frolicking pup, the dignified step of the pack leader, or the graceful trot of the female, fluffy doggo.

Just watching them move along with the rest of the group was enough to soothe his tired mind and exhausted heart. And their presence was also a reason why Camila could brave the dangers of being at the front of the group.

After all, even if there was a madman out there willing to go against those mythical beasts, the chances of said madman being capable enough to actually challenge those lovely dogs were so small they fit right in the statistical error.

‘Knowing my luck, though, we are bound to encounter a crazy dude or dudette like that,’ Leo thought, sighing as he no longer had the mental strength to deny it.

There was something wrong with his fate. Otherwise, how would he end up dropping right in the middle of trouble whenever he dropped to a rift world?

‘Once is a random chance. Twice is a coincidence. But something like that happening thrice…’

Leo’s mood took a dive for a moment, only to lift itself upright the next moment when the pup of the pack ran up to him while holding a huge tree branch in its mouth while his eyes were filled with pride.

“Woah, that’s one nice stick!” Intentionally overreacting with his voice, Leo praised the pup as he got down on one knee and patted the young dog’s head. “Or maybe you want to play fetch?”

Hearing an unfamiliar word, the pup dropped the massive branch and cutely twisted its head to the side, looking up at Leo’s face with curiosity.

With a sigh, Leo reached out for the branch the pup brought before snapping a sizeable stick out of it and raising it back up to his feet.

“I’m not sure if it will be any fun, but…”

Raising the stick in his head to draw the pup’s attention to it, Leo then took a wide swing, startling the rest of his group in the process, before tossing the stick out as far as he could!

“Bark!”

The pup voiced out its excitement before twisting its back as it turned on the spot and gave chase after the flying stick, moving far faster than any dog Leo had ever seen.

‘Wait, isn’t it moving faster than the stick?’

Stolen story; please report.

By the time Leo realized that fact, the pup already reached the destination it had in its mind, raising its snout and opening its mouth… Right in the exact time and place for the stick to simply fall between the pup’s jaws!

‘Oh damn…’

As unexpected as the result of this little game was, judging from how quickly the pup rushed back to Leo only to drop the stick at his feet and sit down while wagging its tail… The pup actually enjoyed this simple game of catch?

“Well, maybe it’s a drive all dogs share, regardless of the world?” Leo thought out loud, raising the stick and throwing it even harder, going as far as to use the help of the nanites to give his muscles just a tiny bit of an edge.

“Ugh…”

Up ahead, Camila proved it wasn’t the hound pup that had the most fun with the game. Judging by how hard she was clutching at her chest, the duchess finally forgot about the unexpected way she woke up.

“Are you back to the usual?” Leo asked as he rushed up only to reach Camila’s side and match her pace while constantly aware of the keen stares that both of Camila’s servants gave him.

At first, the girl turned her head and gave Leo a prolonged stare. Yet, after just a short yet tense moment, she sighed and shook her head.

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” Camila announced only to stop in her tracks and turn her head over her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she turned her head back to look at Leo while trying her damnest to pretend she couldn’t tell how red her cheeks were turning. “I apologize for causing the scene in the morning. The way I woke up really…” Camila hesitated for a little only to finally avert her eyes as she could no longer ignore the burning feeling of her cheeks, “it really startled me.”

“No biggie,” seeing how hard the girl had to try to speak those words while keeping a fresh memory of what happened, he opted not to include any half-assed jokes that, while aimed at relaxing the atmosphere, were likely to only make things worse. “Oh, and on another note, could I ask you to give me an order with that authority of yours?”

Stopping for the second time in a matter of seconds, Camila raised her eyes to Leo’s face, the blush on her cheeks vanishing when the young man put her on the spot.

“Wait, you want to…”

“Just the light one, like…” Leo hesitated for a second, “the suggestion, not the order?”

Even after all the young man heard about the authority and the likes, his understanding of it was still extremely shallow, superficial even. And so, when it came to asking Camila to use this power on him, Leo didn’t even know how to word it properly.

“Non-compelling order, huh?” Thankfully the girl caught up to Leo’s intention. Yet, as she tilted her head to the side and gave him a curious look, she proved she couldn’t really see the point.

‘Her face is almost screaming, if you don’t want to become my subordinate, why do you want me to order you around?’

According to what Leo learned in one of the discussions he had with the girl before they all went to sleep, the process of acknowledging one’s authority above oneself was pretty simple and involved just three steps.

First, one had to fall under the influence of someone’s authority. Or, in other words, be ordered to do something by the person in question.

Secondly, the subject had to willingly acknowledge the authority trying to exert control over him, letting go of his own free will and allowing the authority to guide his actions as opposed to what Leo kept doing, which was a path of unyielding resistance to this strange force.

Finally, one had to act out the scene of submission according to one’s own understanding of it. And just like vassals in Earth’s history would kneel down and kiss their king’s or senior’s hand, the nobles of this world exhibited all sorts of rituals to accomplish the authority binding. Some knelt down, others kissed their senior’s feet, and there were even some who would seal the deal with a kiss or went as far as offering their finger as a sign of submission and belonging.

As such, it was no wonder Camila’s thoughts went the way they did when Leo requested for her to order him around.

“I mean, it’s fine?” Camila replied after taking some time to think before pausing for just a moment and going, *“Jump every two steps you make, would you?”*

‘Shit…’

The pressure weighed down on Leo right away, nearly compelling his body to follow Camila’s suggestion. And in all honesty, if not for the help of the nanites, his chances of overcoming the ordeal were nigh impossible.

‘Good,’ Leo thought, feeling as if his body would be torn apart by two forces, of the compulsion and his natural resistance to it. ‘Just like that,’ ignoring the additional burden and walking forth as usual, Leo gritted his teeth as he suffered through the slight torture.

The expression on his face had to give something away, given how both the fluffy and the alpha doggos suddenly appeared on his side while giving him looks of concern.

‘Just a little bit more…’

Normally, Leo’s mind would simply reject the idea of resisting a force he couldn’t see, touch, or even understand. Yet, ever since his first nanite injection, Leo’s understanding of the invisible forces started to quickly change. And by now, after everything he went through, he already treated the nanites in his bloodstream as an integral part of his being rather than just some unnatural crutch.

And it was with the help of those nanites that Leo managed to resist the compulsion of Camila’s words for long enough for her order to get lost in the abyss of time and for its pressure to start to fade.

It wasn’t pleasant by any means. And given how this wasn’t the first time Leo asked for this unpleasant treatment, it didn’t seem he could develop a resistance to this power just by resisting it over and over again.

But that didn’t mean the process was useless.

Not at all. In fact, the only reason why Leo persisted and kept trying to resist Camila’s power-etched words was because in the process of doing so… a distant yet familiar sensation would well up in Leo’s soul.

The sensation he last felt a moment before starting the battle with Camila’s pursuers.

Or, in simpler words, the feeling he got back within the dimensionless well of probability.