Rei was right, Miya had indeed slowed their progress. The path to the capital, which he planned to overcome in a day, now promised to stretch almost twice. But, for some reason, watching a little girl who, having spent only a few hours with two strangers, could play carelessly with Tessa, he felt his heart warm.

The joyful smile of Mia chasing Cess made his faith in people, which, after what he saw in the city resembled a smoldering candle, burn a little brighter.

Now their small detachment stopped for a forced break, because even though Rei helped the girl with souls, she still could not stay on horseback for too long.

Stopping, the cat lay on its stomach, allowing the girl to stroke the head, which was larger than herself. Rei couldn't help but be surprised at this behavior of the pet, because even Tessa did not allow himself to be touched too much, and with Mia he behaved unexpectedly soft.

- Nice cat. I'll introduce you to Ruth when we get home. You will definitely make friends with her. - the girl said, continuing to stroke the huge head of the panther, which closed its eyes, enjoying the caresses.

- Mia, - sitting down next to the girl, Tessa looked at her, - how did you end up in that carriage?

Hearing the question, the girl frowned cutely, but still answered:

- Uncle Farnes told me to sit there. And those uncles didn't want to take me back. - the girl stopped stroking Cess, and tears began to collect in her eyes.

At the same moment, the girl sitting in front of her caught herself and waved her hands, trying to calm the baby who was ready to cry.

- Do not worry! You will be home soon, Cess is very fast, you will not have time to come to your senses when you return to your mother.

During the short trip, Tessa managed to understand that the mention of the girl's mother and Cess in one sentence gives an incredible effect. And so, as soon as she said this, Mia immediately calmed down, rushing to hug the panther, however, it was too big and it looked like a girl crashed into a cat with her arms outstretched.

Tessa, satisfied with the work done, turned to Ray. Noticing her shining eyes, the guy realized that for some reason she was hoping for praise. It wasn't anything like that, so he smiled slightly and nodded at her.

Surprisingly, such an ordinary gesture made the girl beam. Joyful, she turned back to Mia, who was rubbing her face against Cess's soft fur. The cat obviously treated the baby very well, because she reacted quite calmly to the girl stuck to her cheek.

“Somehow all this is strange. Did the child really affect her that much? Ray thought as he watched the unusually peaceful scene.

“Although… Better that way than if she was thinking about something bad.”

Glancing at the sun, which had already gone down quite a bit, the guy got to his feet.

- Let's go. The less we rest, the faster we will get there.

Hearing his words, Tessa asked the girl:

“Miya, do you think you can ride a little more?”

The girl nodded, not taking her eyes off Cess's paws immersed in the grass, which he now squeezed, then unclenched, releasing huge claws.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

***

The journey went smoothly. They moved straight to the capital, mostly bypassing the well-trodden roads. Along the way, they met only a few horsemen, among whom only a strange red-haired girl, whose face was hidden by a hood, clearly stood out. She moved towards them and was the only one who did not even deign the colorful company with a glance. The girl just drove by without raising her head.

Rey wouldn't have paid much attention to her either, but Zess growled softly as she approached. True, the girl did not take any action that could harm them, so the guy quickly forgot about her.

On the same morning they reached the capital. The city was clearly the richest of all that Ray had seen before from a distance. So far, he could judge this only by the city wall, but it looked quite neat, almost five meters high, it could not be compared with those that the guy had seen before. The same was true for the guards. Six patrolled the foreseeable section of the wall and the same number were near the checkpoint at the gate.

The sun had only recently risen, and there were only two carts near the entrance to the city, waiting for an opportunity to get inside. Rey ordered Cess to slow down, so they got there just as the last cart was finished checking.

At Tessa's request, the guy made himself clothes from the fabric of her tent, because she did not want them to have the same problems again. Ray's skill in such a case was only enough to cut a hole in a large piece of cloth for a head. The resulting cloak now covered his torso and belt with daggers, and the guy’s legs were still dressed in armor, but it didn’t stand out so much without a hood and a breastplate.

- Stop! shouted one of the guards when the gate was about twenty meters away. These men were clearly not as brave as little Mia and didn't want Cess to get too close. They looked much better than the first guards Rey met. Shiny armor covered most of the body and, despite the rather hot weather, the men were not going to take them off, serving as expected. Each had a sword hanging from his belt, and four archers on the walls were already holding arrows at the ready, ready at any moment to shoot at the huge beast.

- For what purpose did you come to the city? – shouting asked the same guard.

We are mercenaries. We heard a rumor that the war would start soon, so we decided to earn extra money. Rey answered just as loudly.

The answer clearly satisfied the man, as he immediately gave a signal to his comrades and they cleared the passage.

- Come on in. - throwing a strange look at the child, he still did not ask anything more.

Rei didn't say anything either, asking the only question he was interested in after they had passed through the gate:

Why didn't they charge us for entry?

Tessa, having heard his words, thought a little, but the guy himself saw the quite obvious reason, he just decided to clarify.

- Well, they would have to approach Cess or ask you to go down yourself. It seems that their pride and hands are worth more than a few coppers. the girl said with a sneer, confirming Ray's thoughts. He just nodded and looked around.

The part of the city they were in was clearly a trading part, and the difference between the capital and the border town they visited was so huge that it was not worth mentioning. It was quite busy here even at this early time. Here and there, stalls and even rare shops that have been open since the morning were already opening.

Ray peered at the goods, trying to find something interesting. Now he had with him a rather impressive amount of money in gold, even by the standards of the capital, received from the guards, so he could afford some expenses. But, most of the merchants sold snacks or any everyday trifle, and the guy was ready to buy only arrows from weapons, but the gunsmith never caught his eye.

Mia, unfortunately, did not know the way to her house. She could only say that it was very large and beautiful, so she had to ask passers-by for directions. However, the estate of the First Minister was really huge and there were quite a few people in the city who would not know its location. True, Tessa still had to go down to clarify the path, because the townspeople did not approach Cess closer than one or two dozen meters.

And now, after almost an hour of wandering, they finally managed to find a huge building, with no less huge forged gates, next to which stood four armed guards. It, like most noble estates, was located almost in the very center of the city, next to a huge castle, thanks to which it was possible to find it. They were lucky and Mia was able to remember the way, starting from the palace, so now they were already approaching the guards, who also managed to notice a huge black panther stepping rhythmically in their direction