Chapter 26: Eli is a Bad Girl

Against all odds, Elidranthia had snuck out from Shadowstep to chase after Alicia. Unlike Alicia, she was not short of money. That’s why she could hire a horse from the stables. Jadenbale was more than surprised when he found Elidranthia walking at night with her horse.

Light magic interferes with life. It can heal, it can also buff and even twist life. This was something that Elidranthia figured out on her own. When she cast it on her own body, the sleepiness came and went as she pleased. She often used this to help her sleep at night and to help her stay awake during the day.

But now, she used it for the greater good. She sure would have scolded Alicia the hell out of it if she turned out to be mistaken, but for some reason, she was inclined to believe her. With a dagger that was kept as a family heirloom, she chased after Jadenbale on the way to Shadowstep Crossing.

“Mr. Jadenbale!”

“Good Lord! Lady Elidranthia! What are you doing here?” Jadenbale said as Elidranthia visited him in the night while he was camping with his men. Unlike Eli or Alicia, they traveled at normal speed, intending to arrive at the Crossing in two days. They brought supplies, and their armor was heavy.

“I decided to come with you,” Eli said.

“This is not allowed, Lady Elidranthia! Please go back to the manor!”

“Oh? Are you going to let a frail lady such as myself go back home to Shadowstep alone?” Eli smirked, playing victim. This level of manipulation was an everyday occurrence when she was an assassin in her previous life.

“Of course not. We are going back to Shadowstep at once!”

“And postpone your important mission of searching for Alicia?”

“Ugh…” Jadenbale gritted his teeth.

“It would be better if I came with you, right? That way, you can protect me and search for Alicia at the same time. Moreover, with my magic, I can heal your horses so they don’t have to rest at night,” Eli offered.

“Count Shadowstep will hear of this,” Jadenbale said.

“Yes. I suppose I will get punished after this. But that is fine.” Elidranthia sighed. If she could secure Alicia, a high-ranking mage for Shadowstep, a scolding or two was nothing if it would help make the territory prosper. That’s what Elidranthia believed.

“Lady Elidranthia…” Jadenbale frowned at Elidranthia’s behavior.

“You see, about Alicia... Did you know she predicted herself becoming a mage before her examination?” Eli said. “I saw it with my own eyes. She dared to challenge my father. That’s how she became my maid. How did she predict it if not because she can commune with the goddess herself?”

Jadenbale looked at his companions, and they nodded. “Yes. Alicia said she would become a mage almost a week in advance. I’m friends with John. My son Nathan kept saying stuff about it—about how the goddess said she would make Alicia a mage.”

“So… if Alicia said John would be attacked by bandits, why didn’t you believe it?” Eli said. Eli wondered why no one took her seriously. Well, probably because she acted like an airheaded girl, with only two brain cells working against each other.

“Well… it’s almost impossible for knights to be attacked by bandits,” Jadenbale said. But he knew the chance of becoming a mage was lower than a knight being attacked by bandits. “Even if they did, there’s no way a few bandits would overwhelm three knights from the border.”

Knights from the border are not ceremonial knights filled with pampered noble sons and daughters. They had real skills and faced life-and-death situations multiple times.

“And so is the chance of becoming a mage,” Eli said.

“I see.” Jadenbale then knew this was not simply a child throwing a tantrum, but a prophecy.

“But sir…” a soldier complained, but Jadenbale sighed in defeat.

“I am going to get demoted for this… but that’s fine… Knights from Shadowstep are brothers. If they are in danger, we must protect them!” Jadenbale said. He then looked at his lady. “Welcome aboard, Lady Elidranthia. Alune, please return to the manor and inform our count that we have a stowaway. Meanwhile, we will continue with our mission.”

“Thank you, Sir Jadenbale!” Eli cheered up.

And so, they began a forced march to Shadowstep Crossing, only stopping for Eli to recharge their horses with her light magic. Thanks to Eli, they did not need to sleep, nor did their horses ever stop. Despite the knights wearing armor, the horses kept trotting as if they had just left the stable. In the middle of the night, they arrived at the Crossing.

After asking around, they learned John had arrived and left in the afternoon. Jadenbale and the knights soon departed, chasing after the convoy, while Eli returned the horse she borrowed from Shadowstep and took Alicia’s horse, which she had stolen from the manor earlier.

“Should we keep going?” Jadenbale asked.

“... Yes.” Elidranthia nodded. When she was in war, she often went days without sleep. Healing magic existed. But fatigue still built up. She was a child now.

“If you’ll excuse me.” Jadenbale lifted Elidranthia and put her in front of him. “You may sleep. Try to get some rest. It would all be for nothing if you collapsed.”

“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Jadenbale.”

“We are going to get a serious scolding if nothing happens. Not that I wish ill upon our brothers…” Jadenbale said. He sighed again as they marched because of a saying from a random peasant mage, treating it like some sort of prophetic dream.

When the sun was high on the horizon, bright light and explosions reverberated across the silent forest. The branches rustled as the shockwave could be felt even from where Eli was sitting. Eli looked at the sea of flame in the distance, agape.

“Knights! Draw your swords!” Jadenbale was quick on his feet. The trotting horse galloped. A wasteland. What was once a green pasture had turned into scorched earth several hundred meters in diameter.

Seeing Jadenbale coming with horses, the bandits fled. They were cowards. They fled once they realized they had lost numerical superiority.

“John! Loharn! Lain!” Jadenbale called out to his comrades.

“Sir Jadenbale! I am glad to see you! Lady Elidranthia!” John kneeled when he saw Elidranthia was with Jadenbale. When Lain knew they were safe, she dropped to the ground as if she were a puppet with its strings cut.

“Lain!” Loharn came to her. He then removed her leather armor, inspecting the gash caused by the ice spear.

“Here, let me.” Eli stepped down from the horse.

Light gathered in her hand. As motes of light rained down on the wound, it slowly closed until only unblemished white skin remained.

“Phew. We made it in time,” Eli said. The knights all breathed a sigh of relief as they took notice of their surroundings. The smell of cooked meat was hard to ignore.

“Alicia… Did you do this?” one soldier asked.

“Yes! Behold! I, Alicia, the greatest mage in Shadowstep, together with John, Loharn, and Lain, have defeated the bandits with my magic!” Alicia boasted like there was no tomorrow.

“Wow… never thought a mage child could do this. This level is already better than graduates from the academy,” the soldier assessed their surroundings.

“We’ve got the proof we need. The journey was not in vain. Sir Jadenbale, should we chase the bandits?”

“No. We should return to Shadowstep Crossing or Elynias. We need rest,” Jadenbale said. None of his soldiers complained. The horses, which had been buffed by Eli, had run out of gas and lay motionless on the ground. They are not dead, but they refused to walk a step further.

“Yeah. We are in no shape to chase them,” a soldier nodded.

“But these bandits have been harassing us! For the sake of our territory, we must vanquish them!” Eli said. Jadenbale nodded.

“They won’t get away, Lady Elidranthia. We will simply postpone chasing them until tomorrow. Light magic is a boon, but even then it has its limits. I am sure you are tired as well, Lady Elidranthia.”

“Ugh… I guess you’re right. But how are we going to chase them?”

“Bandits still need supplies, and our territories are wide. If local farmers in Elynias didn’t see them, then that means they escaped through the woods. We could catch them with a pincer attack if we went through the main road.”

“I see.” Eli nodded. Since Elynias was closer, the group went there on foot.

A few hours after dusk, the group arrived at Elynias—a village outside of Shadowstep, belonging to Count Elynias. The town was a bit livelier than Shadowstep since it was closer to the capital, but not by much.

“From here, we can go to the south, to Duke Luka’s territory, or we can continue west to the capital after passing Bron’s city,” Jadenbale said.

“We are going to the capital, right?” Elidranthia said.

“Erm… we should return back to Shadowstep. Now that the bandit problem has been dealt with, we should return. Or was there any more vision from the goddess, Alicia?” Jadenbale looked toward her.

“Huh? What vision?”

“The book!” Eli rolled her eyes. Jadenbale raised an eyebrow, but he ignored it. Visions or prophecies often have bizarre symbolism or imagery.

“Oh yeah. I dunno. My father was not captured, so we’re good, I guess?”

“Erm. I believe those bandits were here for John. They might not even be bandits but hired thugs. Ah, Lady Elidranthia, I owe you my life,” Lain said. She had regained her consciousness.

“Hired?”

“Yeah. They specifically pointed out John from our convoy, and they even brought mages with them,” Loharn said.

“Huh? Are you insane?”

“I wish I was. I laughed at it too when Alicia said there might be mages chasing after us.”

“Anyway, I’ve sent Alune back to Shadowstep. She will bring reinforcements. Then we can split the reinforcements—one group to escort John to the capital, and the other to escort Lady Elidranthia back to Shadowstep,” Jadenbale said.

“As expected of our captain! You are brilliant!” the knights cheered at their captain.

Meanwhile, in Elynias, Alicia saw a familiar traitor of a merchant and mercenary at the corner of her eye. Rage filled her to the brim as she remembered how she had been cast away earlier by them.

“I’m going to make that coward of a merchant have a taste of his own medicine,” Alicia said. “Papa, we have to take back our caravan fee as well! Let’s do it in a crowded place so everyone knows how crooked they are. That mercenary group too!”

“What about that merchant?” Jadenbale asked.

“Ah. They had five guards, but they all left us to those bandits.” Loharn scowled. “I hate traitors. Alicia, come here. I need to learn their names so I can blacklist their company.”

“Ah… I see.” Jadenbale turned grim. He then smirked. “Let’s visit them, shall we?”

Together with Alicia, they confronted the pitiful merchant and mercenaries. Never in their wildest dreams would the merchant expect the three knights and one mage girl to survive against over fifty bandits.

Alicia would have her vengeance!