For the past forty minutes, Li Han had sat in stiff silence behind Drack, exactly where the half-orc had effortlessly deposited him. Every time he gathered the courage to open his mouth, the words caught in his throat. He just couldn't figure out how to break the heavy tension, or if he was even allowed to speak at all.
*This silence is driving me mad,* he thought to himself, his anxious gaze darting between the broad back of the half-orc and the elf riding beside them. *They haven't spoken a single word since we left the checkpoint. Are they always this quiet, or are they doing this just to intimidate me?*
He gave his head a subtle shake, trying to clear his nerves. *Okay, I need to say something. I have to start a conversation, or I'm never going to get any information out of them.*
Gathering his resolve, he took a breath and parted his lips.
"Hey, human," Mae suddenly called out, cutting him off before he could even make a sound.
Li Han swallowed his intended words and snapped his attention to her. "Yes?" he asked quickly.
Mae pointed down the road. Up ahead, the dirt path split into a distinct fork. A weathered wooden signpost stood between the dividing roads, though it was carved in a local script the two foreigners clearly couldn't read.
"Which way are we meant to go?" she asked, not bothering to look back at him.
Li Han raised a hand and motioned toward the left path. "That wa—"
Before the word could even fully leave his mouth, Mae and Drack sharply snapped their reins, guiding their horses down the left road without a second of hesitation. The abrupt motion completely derailed his train of thought, instantly killing whatever natural conversation he had been trying to build up to. But he couldn't give up just yet. He had his orders from the captain.
Li Han awkwardly cleared his throat. "By the way... you two called each other by your names earlier, but you never exactly introduced yourselves back at the checkpoint," he remarked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Mae didn't even turn her head. "Yeah. So?"
The sheer, uncaring bluntness of her response made Li Han freeze for a second, but he pushed through the awkwardness and kept going. "So, maybe tell me your names? Actually introduce yourselves?"
From right in front of him, the half-orc spoke up in his deep, rumbling voice. "Drack Ironblood."
And that was that. No further elaboration.
Mirroring his bluntness, the elf spoke up a moment later without turning around. "Mae Eirina Qinra."
Li Han let out a heavy, inward sigh. *By the Emperor, these two are worse than trying to talk to a cliff face,* he thought miserably.
Just then, a sudden realization popped into his head.
"Didn't you order me to tell you everything I know about the blue-haired, blue-eyed girl that passed through the checkpoint?" he asked Mae, leaning forward slightly. *Yes,* he thought triumphantly, *this should finally get a real reaction out of them!*
However, his confident assumption was immediately shattered.
"Yes, I did. So go on and tell me," Mae replied, her tone completely flat and aloof, a stark contrast to the intense desperation she had shown back at the garrison.
Li Han practically ground his teeth together. *What in the hell is it with them!? What do they actually want!?* He supposed he had to tell them anyway, but this assignment was already proving to be incredibly frustrating.
"It happened three days ago," Li Han began aloud, resigning himself to the task. "It was late at night, and I was rotating in to take over the late-night guard duty..."
As he spoke, his mind drifted backward, reminiscing about that strange, quiet night.
Li Han let out a long, exhausting yawn, vigorously rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Why do we even need to guard this road so late at night?" he muttered bitterly to himself. He leaned his weight heavily against the wooden shaft of his spear, staring out at the empty dirt path. "It's not like anyone in their right mind is going to be traveling right now."
Just as the complaint left his lips, a faint sound drifted through the cool night air.
It was a soft, rhythmic melody. The tune was strangely pleasant, carrying a soothing quality to it. Li Han distantly thought that if he listened to it for much longer, the gentle sound might actually lull him straight to sleep while standing up.
"Is that... humming?" he wondered aloud, blinking away his heavy drowsiness.
He turned his head toward the source of the sound, and the breath hitched in his throat.
Walking straight down the dark road toward the checkpoint was a lone girl. She wore an intricate dress and possessed striking blue hair paired with bright, glowing blue eyes—making it blatantly obvious that she was a foreigner. Despite the late hour and the armed checkpoint ahead of her, a bright, unbothered smile graced her face as she casually strolled right up to his guard post.
"Excuse me," she chimed in a cheerful, seemingly friendly manner. "Can I pass through here?"