He couldn’t have been more right. The trip was as annoying, if not worse than he’d expected.
“What is your esteemed opinion of the arranged marriage between the Melika house and Luwian house, Your Excellency?” The son of Viscount Meroan asked, forcing Percy to answer if the other nobles weren’t busy bombarding him as well.
“The Eberwood trading business is declining due to the commoner’s fear of the Demons. They are too afraid to leave the safety of their towns and villages’ safety to lumber trees. How do you think we should handle this situation, your Excellency?”
“The Imperial training will soon end. Can you imagine our livelihood will improve again once we can be certain the Demons in the kingdom won’t be an issue anymore, Your Highness?”
“Are you planning to negotiate with the Beast King? Will you threaten him with an all-out war, or are you trying to go down the path of peace, Your Excellency?”
The nobles had been bothering Percy with questions about his political standing, his understanding of the kingdom’s trading businesses, the crown’s actions against the increased Demon sightings, and much more. His only advantage was the sudden decrease in questions once they departed. The bombardment stopped as they left for the Beastlands since the nobles had to return to their carriages.
Only the Imperials were riding on mounts. Everyone else, except Percy, did not waste a single second thinking about riding to the Beastlands by horse. Their journey was too long to consider such an ordeal. They would have to travel on the horse most of the day for weeks. Nobody was willing to go through such torture if they had other options.
That excluded Percy because he had the means to procure a runic carriage but didn’t bother acquiring one. It was not that he considered it useless, quite the contrary, Percy would have purchased a runic carriage and used it if possible too. However, he learned enough about Beastmen and the Beastlands to know that there weren’t any cobbled streets. They would have to switch to riding horses in the Beastlands either way. Thus, to prepare his body for the ordeal and adapt to the condition early on, Percy decided against purchasing a runic carriage.
I sure hope they don’t complain too much once they’re forced to leave the carriages. It might be fine for a while, but they will lose the Beastmen’s respect long before meeting the Beast King if they act like softies…which they will.
Percy’s attention shifted to the Imperials. They were his only hope to gain the Beast King’s respect. Maybe also Melissa and her friend. The duo used the same carriage and didn’t leave the carriage for any reason. Percy was unsure what they had been up to, only to perceive that they did exactly what he would have done if he didn’t have to adapt his body to traveling by horse for long hours every day; They trained with their Egos and improved their mana circulation.
He couldn’t train his Ego in a carriage, in the first place, while improving his mana circulation while riding on the horse was good training to enhance his multi-tasking skills. That being said, Percy was glad to be riding on the horse rather than using a carriage. Nobody, except for the Imperials, bothered him, and even the Imperials didn’t really bother him either. They were curious about his training, asked him how long it took to get such a great body, and chatted a little bit about unimportant topics once they noticed that the crown prince was different from the snobby nobles.
***
The first few days of their journey passed without any issues. They progressed faster than expected and would be halfway to the Beastlands by the end of the day.
Percy got to know the Imperials and learned a lot about the snotty nobles. He unraveled everyone’s reasons for joining the envoy to the Beastlands and made an impression on everyone, given the lackluster intel at his disposal.
“Are you lonely, Your Excellency?” Melissa, riding on a young Stallion, approached Percy from the side. She smiled teasingly at him when he turned to look at her.
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“To think there would be the day I see the esteemed Lady Reeze riding on a horse rather than enjoying the luxury of her runic carriage. The Seven Hells are probably about to freeze,” Percy responded, flashing his white teeth.
Melissa cursed quietly but told the Stallion to keep trotting next to Percy. At the same time, she turned around to look at her friend, who was also riding on a horse rather than staying in the carriage. She was clearly inept and struggled to keep up with Melissa and Percy, but the young woman was trying her best.
She pressed her cherry lips together, forming a paper-thin line, and furrowed her brows in her endeavor. Long, silky gold cascaded her back, single strands sticking to her sweat-covered forehead. She wore a long white tunic engraved with multiple runic enchantments, but Percy knew none of them.
The young woman was around Percy’s age, but she seemed both older and younger at the same time. She looked like a younger sister in her endeavor to keep up with Melissa and Percy, yet something about her presence confused him. It was almost like her presence was of an older, dependable woman…a woman he wanted to rely on.
“Don’t stare at her like that. She can still sense it when others stare at her even though she cannot see it,” Melissa hissed, taking Percy by surprise. It was only now that he looked at her eyes. The faintly glowing, milky-white eyes.
“Don’t be mistaken, Your Excellency. I am not blind!” The young woman said, her sonorous voice resounding in his ears like a chorus.
Percy activated [Hawk Eyes] for a moment and understood right away.
“You use mana to see,” He noted.
“That’s correct, Your Excellency,” The woman responded between two heavy breaths. She groaned softly when the horse accelerated slightly to keep up with Percy but kept smiling.
“Spreading your mana into the surroundings in incredibly thin layers,” He murmured, “That’s not a bad idea. You can probably see more than some of these idiots.”
Percy conjured an arrow from mana and pointed at the runic carriages. The young nobles have already started complaining about the time spent on traveling through the Kainesh Kingdom. They weren’t even training or doing anything but complaining about boredom.
Percy proposed to them to train a little or loan them one of the many books his grandfather had given him before their departure. The books were related to the history of the Beastlands and very interesting. Percy read it once since they departed and would read it again once his multi-tasking skills improved. He was not yet up to riding a horse while simultaneously reading a book and training his mana control.
Melissa’s friend chuckled. She flushed at Percy’s praise and hinted at a polite bow. Then again, she might have been struggling to stay on the horse and didn’t plan to bow in the first place.
“Don’t even think about flirting with Fiona. I understand where you’re coming from because she is beautiful, BUT Fiona belongs to the Angy house and won’t fall for your dirty schemes!”
Percy had no idea what he was supposed to do with this intel. Why was it important that she came from the Angy house?
The Angy house is also known as the House of Healers, isn’t it? There was something about that house, but…what was it again? Something about fated mates, soulmates, or something along those lines…right? Wait, in the first place…
He frowned deeply, “I wasn’t flirting with anyone!”
Melissa gave him the ‘Whatever you say’-look, clearly not believing anything he said. She cleared her throat, dismissing her anger, and gestured to Fiona.
“She sensed something ahead.”
Percy squinted his eyes and looked at Fiona.
“I have a Monster Card with the [Danger Sense] Augmentation,” Fiona explained, “I might not know what exactly is going on, but I can sense danger ahead.”
“Can you distinguish the danger in some way? Like the danger level or the type of danger?”
Fiona nibbled on her lower lip while giving her utmost to stay on the horse’s back, “Once we’re getting closer, I should be able to tell you something, but–...”
She suddenly stopped speaking, and the hair all over her body stood up to its end. Percy might not know Fiona for long, but he was familiar with this kind of reaction. He glanced at Melissa, who sighed deeply.
“Demons?” She asked, but Fiona could only shrug.
“All…All I can tell is that something is coming for us…something strong…”