Our trek to Rosemburg continued.
"Hey," Sara said, stepping beside me and bringing both hands behind her back. "That magic you did... the silent one, it was much more efficient than Mimir's."
"Ah, yes," I replied. "I think he was intermediate rank, right?"
"Yes, he was." Sara looked at me without stopping.
"Well, in my case I am advanced rank in healing magic and pseudo-saint without incantation."
Rudeus looked at me weirdly when I mentioned this. It was true. I had never told him I was capable of ranking up. It was a technique that, while effective, burned through a lot more mana than usual.
"Saint? Now I understand why I healed so fast."
Rudeus stepped in front of me and kept walking backward.
"Let me see if I understand..." he started to say while pointing a finger at me. "You reached that rank and did not mention it to me?"
"I did not see it necessary to show it." I looked at him. "Besides, so many things happened that it really slipped my mind."
It was true.
The journey, the moments with Eris, then the encounter with the Dragon God, her leaving, and everything else made me completely forget the level I had reached, a forbidden rank on the Millis continent, which was exactly why I had to hide it.
"I see." Rudeus turned around and returned to the same formation as before. "It seems the Saint rank is forbidden in Millis, right? That to obtain it you must have a connection with the church or something like that."
"Yes, Cliff was going to help me with that, but then you arrived and I had to leave. I plan to resume it, though."
"Anyway, will you try to teach me at some point?" Rudeus asked.
"If we have the time, sure, but for now... hmm, tell me, do you still grasp the image of perfection? Seeing the tissue as just another element?"
"No..." Rudeus lowered his head. "But maybe there is another approach. Sylphy managed to do it, why couldn't I?"
"You're right, but you need to find your own approach, not just focus on a woman's breasts. Got it?"
Rudeus stopped and looked at me with his mouth half open, as if he wanted to defend himself but could not find the words.
In the end he let out a sigh and looked away.
"That was a low blow..." he muttered.
"But a necessary one," I agreed, nodding. "Now come on, you are going to fall behind if you just stand there catching flies," I added with a slight smile.
He simply shook his head and kept walking.
I could have sworn I heard Sara laugh.
[Humor helps calm people down. I am starting to realize that. It is a good thing, isn't it? You seem a lot more relaxed, that is for sure.]
'Yeah, Ayam, that is how humans survive. Sometimes humor brings relief... other times, it just wears you out, but for most people, it works.'
[I did not expect you to say something like that, but I am glad.]
...
It was almost dawn by the time we made it back. Halfway through the trip, Sara suggested we set up camp, but we scrapped the idea since we were already so close. Plus, I could tell Rudeus was anxious to get back.
"Ah!" someone shouted.
Standing outside Rosenburg were Timothy, Suzanne, and Patrice.
Were they actually waiting for us?
"Daiki, Rudeus, Sara!" Suzanne called out.
"Suzanne!" The second Sara saw them, she broke into a sprint and buried her face in Suzanne's chest.
"Thank goodness, Sara..." Suzanne sobbed.
"Daiki saved me, Rudeus too!"
None of them could hide their shock as Sara recounted what had happened. Once she finished, they all turned to look at me, eyes wide with disbelief.
"So you took down a massive Ice Treant..." Patrice muttered.
"And not only that, you brought her back without a single scratch, as if she had never been in danger," Timothy added.
Suzanne was the one who walked up to me.
She placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me into a hug.
"That much was obvious, guys." She let go and stepped back toward her group. "When you asked where you got separated from her, the look on your face made it clear you were going after her. And that together, it would be easy."
"Yeah, well..." I started. "I failed to save some people in the past, so this was my way of redeeming myself. And thanks to her, I also figured out that I could heal, that I could be saved even while saving others... so really, I should be the thankful one."
"No, as the party leader, I am the one who owes you thanks," Timothy interrupted. "If Sara had not come back alive, I would have regretted for the rest of my life. Thank you. How can we possibly repay this debt? Feel free to ask for anything you want."
"In that case... how about a round of drinks?" I said with a straight face. "I am kidding, you owe me nothing. I did this on my own."
"But..." Timothy was not about to drop it that easily, but a hand landed on his shoulder.
"You know how he is, you are not going to change his mind," Suzanne said.
"Suzanne is right, it is a lost cause," Rudeus chimed in.
"Alright... Fair enough. Well, we will be right here if you ever need us," Timothy concluded.
Timothy and I shared a firm handshake.
"Good luck, Timothy. You know where to find us if anything comes up," I said, offering a smile. "Oh, and if you ever need backup on a quest, do not hesitate to call me. I do not want a repeat of today, alright?"
"Yeah, I understand." Timothy smiled. "See you around, then."
"See you later, Daiki!" Sara called out to me.
Sara really is a tough woman.
She had been up all night, got attacked by a buffalo, then dragged off by a Treant, and she still had energy to spare.
"See you, Sara. Get some rest, okay? A lot of it."
"You too!" she shouted back.
"Yeah. I definitely need to."
...You have to know when to rest, son...
I will take your advice, Father.
...
We arrived at the inn, and I headed straight for my room.
Rudeus tagged along this time, wanting to see what I had been working on.
"Look, Rudy, this is a different kind of gun."
I aimed it at him and pulled the trigger.
The characteristic click was heard.
It was not something so complicated to make, I just made the trigger push a small wooden tab inside. When it tensed a little and released, it hit the inner wall and produced that dry sound. Nothing shot out, there was no magic or gunpowder, just wood hitting wood.
Rudeus blinked a few times, clearly more fascinated by the internal mechanism than the weapon itself.
"Can I see it?" He reached out with a reverence that felt a bit dramatic for something so simple.
"Sure, just do not break it." I handed it over.
He started getting a feel for the gun, adjusting his grip and pulling the trigger a few more times.
"Wow, this is actually pretty addictive... If Zanoba saw this, I am pretty sure he would lose his mind."
"You think so?" I asked.
"Yeah. He might even agree to take on two masters. But, brother..." He handed the gun back. "Are you absolutely sure you want to introduce guns to this world?"
"Yeah. Why not? There are plenty of people out there who cannot properly defend themselves. Besides, I am not planning to sell it or mass-produce it. It would just be for me... maybe for Lilia, since she cannot run very well, or for our mother when we finally find her."
I paused for a second before adding:
"And magic is still way more effective anyway. An advanced-rank swordsman could dodge these bullets without breaking a sweat."
Rudeus opened his mouth to argue, but exhaustion caught up to him first.
"Weeeell..." he yawned, not even trying to cover his mouth, "if you put it like that... it does sound useful... Anyway... catch you later, brother."
He rubbed one of his eyes, already half-asleep.
"See you, Rudy."
He shut the door behind him. I stripped off my clothes and collapsed onto the bed.
'Where are you, Mother? It does not matter... I will find you.'
With that thought in mind, I pulled the blankets over myself, and sleep finally dragged me under.