I was so focused on coming up with a plan of attack to break through Sol’s emotional armor that it took me a moment to comprehend the meaning of the emperor’s words.
“…Huh?! It’s okay to bring them with us?! Lord Louis said it would just be the two of us…”
“Euche said it was okay. It’s best if the elemental kings familiarize themselves with your named monsters. They should already know all about your ‘knight,’ Shinki.”
If it was okay to bring them along, I certainly wouldn’t argue. I felt better having them with me. Even if it turned out not to be okay, I doubted the elemental spirits would do anything to my monster friends, but since I didn’t want to put them in danger, I figured it would be best to double-check with the elemental spirits, just to be safe.
Once I parted ways with the emperor and returned to my room, I informed Shinki and the others of the plan for the following day. Since I’d already told them they would have to stay behind, Haku and the others were ecstatic to hear they could go after all.
“Lady Neema, Haku, and the other small monsters should be no problem, but how do you intend to transport the larger monsters like Seigo, Rikusei, and Kai to the elemental palace?”
I froze for a moment after Paul asked this very astute question.
I hadn’t thought about that! Haku and Gratia can ride on me, but if I’m riding with Shinki on Sache’s back, there won’t be room for Kai. Not to mention Seigo, Rikusei, and Inaho… It would be difficult to carry all of them in our arms and still hold on so we don’t fall off ourselves.
“…What should we do?”
“Mistress, I can fly…” Kai pointed out, tilting his head slightly as if confused.
…Oh, that’s right! I forgot!
Kai had been in his human form so much lately that it skipped my mind that, like all sirens, he could also transform into a bird.
If Kai will also be flying, we can split the load!
“In that case, will you please carry Seigo and Rikusei?”
“Sure.”
However, since a siren’s arms transformed into wings when they took their bird form, we would need to prepare a basket of some kind for the kobolds to ride in that Kai could grip with his talons. I asked Paul to take care of it.
“Peep!” Nox let out an inquisitive cry that seemed to ask, “What about me?”
Hm, I wonder if it’s okay to bring Nox? The emperor said to bring my monster friends, but he didn’t say anything about animal friends…
“Elemental spirits, can Nox enter the elemental forest?”
I could neither see nor hear the elemental spirits myself, but I knew that there were always at least a few of them hovering around us at pretty much all times, and they could hear me even if I couldn’t hear them. As long as Shinki was around to relay their responses to me, we could communicate just fine!
“They say it’s fine if he’s accompanying you. They also say, ‘Don’t eat any of the creatures of the forest; they are poisonous to animals from the outside.’”
“Poisonous?!” My voice rose sharply with alarm at the unexpected word.
That bit of information wasn’t written in any of the books I read! I’ll have to give Nox an extra-large meal before we leave. Oh, but that will make it difficult to fly…
“Nox, can you resist eating anything while we’re in the forest?”
“Peep?”
That did not sound very reassuring. All right, once we enter the forest, no more flying for you, Nox! If I’m holding him, he won’t be able to “accidentally” give into temptation and eat anything.
The next few hours passed in the blink of an eye as we prepared for the journey.
At Kai’s request, the “basket” for carrying Seigo and Rikusei ended up being more like a set of messenger bags that he would wear crossed over his chest. Apparently, it was easier to fly with the weight distributed evenly on both sides of his body.
Unbearably curious about the bags, Inaho sniffed them thoroughly before ducking inside one. Her head and most of her body disappeared into the bag, leaving just her tails hanging out. The four tails that stuck out, giving away her location, wagged happily.
“Inaho, time for bed!”
Inaho burst energetically out of the bag and raced for the bedroom, dragging Haku and Gratia with her. Seigo and Rikusei were already in there, curled up on their cushions, yawning. Shinki and Kai slept in the neighboring servants’ quarters, and it seemed they’d already returned to their room for the night.
I wonder if it makes them anxious to share a room with Paul?
I’d planned to contact Sol and tell him about tomorrow’s plans before I went to sleep, but Inaho plopped right down on my bunny backpack and promptly fell asleep.
Dang, she’s fast! But that’s my bunny backpack!
Inaho seemed drawn to the bunny backpack, probably because it radiated a strong aura of Sol’s fire magic, which calmed her as a fellow fire-affiliated creature.
Oh well, I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow morning to call Sol.
With a last jealous glance at Inaho peacefully sleeping, I, too, climbed into bed and positioned myself to use the Hanley stuffed animal instead of a pillow.
“No oversleeping tomorrow,” Paul cautioned as he pulled the blankets over my body.
I obligingly agreed, “Okaaay.”
“May you pass the night in safety and peace.”
Paul spoke the traditional nighttime greeting and dimmed the lights. Karna was still awake, so he was compromising by dimming the lights instead of turning them off completely.
I can feel Gratia squirming around. Is he having a hard time getting comfortable? Either way, I can’t keep my eyelids open any longer, so I’m going to sleep!