I yawned loudly as it was still the wee hours of the morning. Despite being well-rested, it was still way too early for my liking. Truth be told, even Rose was yawning too. But what's surprising is that Lily was wide awake without showing any hints of being tired. Lily, who was known for not being a morning person, looked like she was ready for war at a moment's notice. That was how pumped up she was for this mission.
In front of us was the very beast in question, who was wriggling itself, trying to break free from the restraints placed on it. Very few people were here to see us off. Peter, Daisy, Mr Wick, and a couple of other high-ranking officers were present. It would appear that Peter had fully recovered his leg in just a few days. How does he even do that? In fact, how can the founder of this city, who was supposed to be more than 100 years old by now, look like he's in his mid-fifties? Was he resurrected before, like me? Or perhaps Ivy had done something to him? Hmm.
We gave our farewell to all of them. Daisy was holding back her tears as she waved us farewell. We had already given her our farewell hugs and assured her that we would be coming back for her. It is always heartbreaking for any parents to be separated from their children. Despite going on quests often, I still miss her whenever I head out the door. It's not something you can get used to, but you have to do your duty as a father to provide for the family.
Rose and I shook the monster's body while Lily listened for the bell sown below the skin. She nodded in acknowledgement that she could hear it, and we began to release the restraints from the monster. Both of them backed off when only one restraint remained, and it was my duty to release the last. Will the beast turn to attack us, or will it just speed off and run ahead? Only one way to find out.
Mr Wick had informed us that they do not have much of a healing factor. The broken bones in the hind leg showed no signs of recovery, nor any of its injuries. Its stomach was completely empty, and the beast seemed to be malnourished. It did not even have any reproductive organs, which made us curious about how they even gained their numbers in the first place. Despite investigating a live one, we still know very little about them.
I released the last shackles and quickly placed some distance between us. Let's see what it's gonna do. Will it attack us for breaking its leg? Or will it try to escape? I was fully expecting it to turn its head to attack us, but surprisingly, it bolted off heading in a certain direction.
So begins our tracking quest. Despite only having three working legs, it was still pretty nimble. It was still a challenge for us to keep up with it at a constant pace. How strange, will this beast actually lead us to their secret hideout? Usually, they would have split up or found ways to throw us off, but this beast seems to be heading towards a straight path without detouring anywhere.
It is midday now, and we were still following the beast after some considerable distance from the city. It is clear that the beast was getting exhausted from all the running, but still it pressed on. How is it still able to run this much despite having nothing to eat and a broken leg? Doesn't it feel any pain or exhaustion?
"We might be out of the bell's range soon and will need to rely on following its tracks instead," said Lily.
No time for us to rest. We need to keep up with it, as I don't wish to lose it this quickly. When night falls, we will have no choice but to abandon the beast if it chooses to continue running. But it was just midday, and I'm not about to lose it this quickly. What to do, what can I do? Hmm.
An idea popped into my head. I squeezed Inazuma tightly and seemed to get a response from it. Seems like he is willing to help us.
"Everyone, get ready for a ride. Lily, you take point in guiding Kirin with his mane," I announced loudly.
Lily showed a rather confused look but let out a shriek when a spectral version of Kirin appeared at her side, cantering alongside her.
"Hop on and don't fall off," I told her as I leapt onto Kirin's back.
"W… wait, there's no saddle or reins!" she shouted as I pulled her up onto Kirin's back.
"Just trust him. All you need to do is guide him in which direction, and he'll do the rest. I'll need to hold on to you as there's nothing else that we can hold on to," I told her.
Lily was in the front to guide Kirin while I was in the middle, and Rose was seated at the back. Rose was already hugging me tightly from behind, and I needed to hug Lily to balance both of us. It was a bumpy ride, and I quickly held on to whatever I could. Hang on a minute, why am I feeling something soft and circular right now?
"Zen— now's not the time to be groping me! Watch where you're touching!" shouted Lily as she smacked my hand aside.
"I'm sorry! It's a bumpy ride, and I swear it's an accident! R… Rose, stop pinching me. I told you it's an accident," I quickly answered.
We started galloping after the monster, who was far ahead of us. What endurance does it have to be able to run for half a day with only three legs? We must catch up to it.
***
Nightfall arrived, and we had no choice but to halt our journey. According to Lily, the beast seemed to be resting, as the bell's volume remained the same and wasn't moving further ahead. Thankfully, the beast requires sleep; otherwise, we would have to purely depend on tracks to follow where it went. Following tracks is much harder than it sounds, as it can be covered by anything or ruined by rain unless you have miraculously have Witcher senses.
I inspected our map and marked our location on it. I was surprised there was some part of this continent that had a dense section filled with greenery. So much for not being able to grow anything on this continent. This is our only way of informing Peter about our whereabouts. Should we need help, he would be willing to send reinforcements to support us.
"Q, are you there?" I asked.
Q poked his head out of the ground. I handed him the map, and he bit it with his mouth. My precious family pet, who almost died when I fought Tom. I am forever indebted to Rose for saving his life. Both women had done so much for me during my revenge quest, yet I only chose Rose as my wife. Not to mention I had no idea what happened to Lily after she followed her brethren. I will ask her about this when I get the chance.
"Sorry to make you work overtime, Q. Give this to Peter, alright?" I gave him a little tickle before he nodded and dug back into the ground.
I turned towards the two. Rose was reading the prayerbook that she had traded recently and was reading intently. Lily, on the other hand, was admiring the rings that I had given her.
"Is it worth it?" I asked Rose.
"For sure. Zen, if I'm reading this right, this book seems to contain a solution to resolve our in-field problems. There's information here talking about healing spells. Zen, healing wounds with actual magic. This discovery is gonna change the world," she whispered.
"Well, are you able to cast it then? Surely it won't be that easy, right?" I clarified with her.
"Hmmm… it says to sling a seal between my middle finger and start chanting. But I need.. Faith to cast it? What does that even mean?" she started scratching her head.
"You'll get the hang of it. You always do," I smiled at her.
"Anything interesting with those rings?" I turned over to ask Lily.
I hadn't even realised that I was sitting between the both of them. Will things be like this in the future? I'm just worried that Daisy won't be able to acclimatise herself for having two mothers. And it's going to be my fault for being naughty and unfaithful. Sigh.
"It looks like any ordinary ring. Doesn't seem like there's any enchantment in it or anything. Get the feeling you got scammed with these rings," she chuckled.
"Hmm… knowing Quasimortuus, he never lies about the item that he's trading. I think it's real, despite not having any enchantments on it," I took one of the rings to inspect it myself.
"So, why give it to me? You said it's to give me hope. Look, Zen. You probably don't know, but— I was in pretty bad shape when you… didn't choose me. I certainly don't want to feel that way again. So I want you to be clear with me. Did you give me these rings with the intention of marrying me?" she gazed directly at me with a serious intend.
"Let's see, the short answer? Perhaps in the near future," I answered.
"W… what?! Rose, w… w… what happened?! Y… your husband changed his mind?! H… how?? What happened to his principles and all that nonsense he was so dead set upon?!" she stuttered with disbelief and excitement.
"Long story short, he's worried that he might outlive me with his current condition. Then, he's worried that he's not fit to care for Daisy alone. That's when he started thinking that perhaps having you by his side is not such a bad idea after all. Something like that," Rose spoke bluntly.
"So, that's it? I'm just a backup?" she pouted.
"Woah, woah… I never once thought of it that way. You think my heart would beat fast for just a "backup"? No, you were never a backup, Lily. Never in a lifetime," I gave her a straight answer.
"Gee… your heart had never beaten fast when you're with me. Talk about being biased," now it was Rose who pouted.
"That's different. You and I started out as siblings. Lily was my crush. Different feelings, ya'know," I shrugged.
"Are you trying to degrade me or something just because I gave you permission to be with Lily now?" she squinted.
"I'm just stating the facts. I can't control my heart nor my feelings, alright?" I sighed.
"Look, no matter what happens, the two of you will always be my two dearest friends and family. I don't have any relatives or anyone else. Grandfather was all I had, and now he's gone. May he rest in peace. I think that keeping both of you close to me is for the best. Just… don't fight among each other, please?" I held both their hands and asked after giving some thought.
They didn't answer, but I knew what their answer was with their smiles. I looked up at the starry sky, and it was gleaming brightly. Low chance of rain, which meant that we could sleep in the open. Of course, it won't be a good night's sleep as we can only sleep lightly in case of an ambush, but better than looking for a cave. I hoped these moments of peace would last longer, but I knew a battle was approaching with each seconds passed. Lily continued holding my hand but started giving her answer after some thought.
"Zen, I'm… happy that you're willing to accept me. Really… your words… made me really happy. I never thought you would actually change your mind. But, I think I need some time. To… sort things out, you know?" she wiped her tears.
"I'm not rushing you or anything. Truth be told, I would prefer that we only consider this when things are relatively safer. I get the feeling that we might have to fight the Demon King in the future," I confessed.
"There had been no signs of his revival, Onii-chan. The guildmasters had been searching for years on the Northern continent. Strangely, we have no idea what happened to Sladar, though. It's like he went missing. Is that what you're worried about?" asked Rose.
"It was actually the warnings from the yellow dragon that concerned me. When it spoke to me, it showed fear, not because it's going to die, but because of something else. It was the Demon King that had influenced it, causing it to fear him over its own death. No sealed Demon King is capable of doing that, Rose. He's coming back for sure, one way or another," I sighed deeply.
"I'm with Zen on this. The elves are actually preparing for the inevitable. We know something is coming, but we don't know what it is yet. Our seers couldn't pierce through the fogs to reveal the future. At least that was what I was told so far," she explained.
"Well, then I guess we just have to prepare ourselves when the time comes. I hope it's in the far, far future, where we won't see it happening," sighed Rose.
There was a moment of silence when we sat together and stared at the campfire. I thought of something that needs to be mentioned if our relationship is to be changed. Lily will need to know about the terms and conditions of getting married to me.
"Lily, should you be willing to accept to be my wife in the future, one thing you should know is that we don't keep secrets from each other. "Some" secrets maybe, but we can't keep secrets about important information. Are you on board?" I snickered.
"Why does it feel like you'll interrogate me the moment I say yes? And what makes you think I will say yes in the first place?" She gave a hmph, but she was blushing.
"Well, I'll just be asking about what happened to you right after my fight with Tom and what you did to resurrect me. That's the only question I have in mind for now," I whistled.
"Sigh, I'll do my best to answer that, but not now. Those two questions are... rather sensitive topics. You'll know in due time, I promise," she rested her head on my shoulder.
Alright, guess I'll just leave it at that for today. Time for us to rest for the night. It's been a while since I slept against a tree trunk. I hope I don't get any aches tomorrow. Or worse, come face to face with another Vessel or Champion.