Taliyah had mostly taken small solo missions after the dungeon escapade. Her whole team felt it. The presence of that white glob was unlike anything she had ever felt, yet the witch had pulled of a miracle. It made The Wall feel small. So they engaged in solo missions to bolster their strength.

Eerie had defeated the boss in an instant. One second the boss was there, the next second Taliyah blinked. When she opened her eyes, she stood back in the forest. The only remains of that boss was the small floating candle. The incident had shaken Taliyah’s heart. She couldn’t believe it. Was there an adventurer who could do that?

No, even the S-rank tiger was flung like a ragdoll. The king came close, but he paled even compared to Mary. Mary herself was a monstrosity. The demon queen was thought to have been dead. In all of the history books it said she had passed long ago. But none of that was as ominous as the power of a single witch.

That seemingly aloof girl was stronger than a Demon who had been around for more than a thousand years? There was no way she was a measly adventurer. No, there was no way she was even human. There was only one thought that made sense to Taliyah. That witch is a goddess.

A hand on her shoulder shook the thoughts. “You still thinking about that?” Marik asked.

Taliyah could only nod. It seemed that when she linked back up with her team today, the thoughts had returned. She looked at Marik’s face, and it looked like he was going through the same struggle. Even Tror was the same.

She sighed as the carriage bounced. Her hand reached out, catching a snowflake.

They didn’t have many details for their current mission. Count Ahole didn’t request a bigger envoy.

It was strange to her. Why would a count take a trip to the border city? She wondered if there was business with the Snuffle Empire. Relations between Candlewax Kingdom had calmed in recent years. Maybe something happened?

Regardless, it wasn’t really her place to question a noble. The only thing they could do was ride along and defend the Count and his few servants.

“Isn’t this entourage strange?” Tror asked, voicing the unspoken.

Marik patted his shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Plus, that guy looked angry at the guild.”

“He looked angry?”

“Yeah, he looked like his head would pop. I have no idea, but something serious must have happened.” Marik lowered his voice to a whisper. “I heard him mumbling something about the assassin’s guild.”

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Even Taliyah could barely resist screaming out at that. Assassins were even more secretive than the most notorious bandit gangs. If Count Ahole was tied into those, there was no telling what enemies they could face. As soon as she thought that, the carriage skidded to a halt.

Marik shouted towards the team. “Defensive positions!”

They leapt out of the carriage, but the sight that greeted them was unexpected. Two igloo forts stood next to the road, and one of them had a blue flag. The whistle of a floating witch caught her attention, and Taliyah almost fainted.

“Eerie!?”

The witch floated down and landed in front of Taliyah. The aloof woman smiled. “Do I know you?”

Before Taliyah could sigh, Count Ahole burst out of the carriage with a red face. His forehead scrunched, and his eyes narrowed. “What’s the meaning of this!? Why have you halted our carriage!?”

Eerie tilted her head at the man. “You stopped the carriage on your own?”

“W-well, that’s because my driver said an unknown fort was seen. Are these forts your creation? Remove them at once.” The count’s eyes darted behind the witch, spotting a few heroes. “Wait! The heroes? I know you! Dammit…”

“Have I met you before?” Eerie asked.

The count took a few deep breaths. The veins on his forehead seemed to recede, and he smirked. “I more or less understand the situation now. Come. This carriage could use more protection.”

Count Ahole didn’t look back to make sure his words were heard. He climbed back in the front of the carriage, taking the witch’s silence as affirmation.

Miss Witchhat lowered her voice in front of Taliyah. “Um, is that guy always like that?”

Taliyah nodded. “I am sorry. You don’t have to join us if you don’t want to. There is no rule for adventurers to be the slaves of noblemen.”

Eerie shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, but you seem awfully familiar with me. Have I met you somewhere?”

A pain pierced Taliyah’s heart. Am I that forgettable?

“Don’t mind Eerie.” Mary hopped to the side of Eerie and squeezed the witch’s cheek. “This one would forget ancient magics like it’s nothing.”

“Yeah! This one would drop you from the sky onto a broom like it’s nothing!”

“Somehow, these two things don’t seem related to each other,” the witch complained.

Marik didn’t get caught up in their game. He cut their antics short. “None of that matters. So, are you joining or not? It would make this mission a cinch, but it’s not like we can’t handle ourselves.”

“Oh! I remember now! The nameless adventurers!” Eerie shouted.

Taliyah pouted. “That’s not our name! We are The Wall!”

Marik grumbled and took Tror by the arm. “Come, Taliyah. We are leaving.”

“Wait! We will come, too,” Eerie said.

After that, they didn’t stand on ceremony. Waiting too long would incur the wrath of that noble, and it would only delay their quest. It was a tight fit, but they all managed to squeeze into the back. Eerie sat across from Taliyah and held the demon queen’s hand.

Marik had said before that the journey would be a cinch if the witch joined them, but Taliyah was able to see the bigger picture. The journey would not be a cinch. No, anytime Eerie got involved trouble would surely find them.

The only thing Taliyah could do was sigh.