Sara couldn’t tell how they moved at all.
Elm’s lecture wasn’t over. “There are still horned rabbits after us. Can you tell how many?”
“Three. One in front to the right, one on the same side in the back, and one behind Sara.”
“Huh?!” Sara turned around, but she couldn’t even tell whether or not there was a horned rabbit there.
“To be precise, there are seven. There are four more behind those three.”
“Eep!”
She finally understood that the reason there were so many crashes against her barrier when she was just standing there was because there were a bunch of horned rabbits hiding all around her.
“People have strengths and weaknesses. You’re fine as you are, Sara.”
She didn’t feel comforted by that at all.
“That talent will be wasted among the knights. Ann, don’t you want to be a Hunter?”
“Umm, Elm, I...”
Elm was a former knight himself, so Sara thought he probably shouldn’t tempt her too much.
“Wow! That was incredible!”
“You’re pretty good, Ann.”
“Heh, I knew Ann had potential all along.”
The three young Hunters surrounded Ann and sang her praises. She looked like she didn’t know quite how to respond. But Sara had something to say as well.
“I-I knew Ann could do it too.”
As a fellow Invited, she didn’t want to lose in the fight for Ann’s affection.
“But you were worried about her, weren’t you?” Allen smirked. Meanie.
“Aww, you were worried about me? I love you, Sara!”
In the end, Ann hugged Sara, proving her the victor.
Maybe she had been worrying too much. Ann seemed to be the robust type of Invited, like Haruto. She had impressive physical abilities, aimed high, and spared no effort.
“Thank goodness. Looks like she’ll be fine.”
Sara’s voice was quiet in the early spring meadow, lost under the other voices of excitement. As the wind blew, Sara’s worries blew away with it.
“Huh? We’re camping out again tonight?”
Hadn’t someone said they’d only be camping out on the first day?
“We’re not gonna do it every day, of course. I’m thinking just every other day for now.”
“Why?” Sara felt like she knew the answer, but she asked Elm anyway.
“Because I want Ann to get a little more training in.”
Sara glanced over at Ann, who didn’t seem the least bit bothered by this.
“She can’t go into dungeons until she has her Hunter’s license, right?” he noted. “So, horned rabbits are gonna be about the only monsters she’ll run into until we get to the capital.”
“Horned rabbits are strong monsters, you know.” Sara felt that this needed saying. “Umm, can’t she train after she gets her Hunter’s license, though? You can go with her on your days off or whatever, since you’re her guardian and all.”
“What? You won’t come with us, Sara?”
For some reason, this was the only thing Ann herself spoke up about.
“Of course I won’t. I wouldn’t be of any use if I did.”
If Ann were weak and needed protection, she’d come with them to do her barrier thing, but that hardly seemed necessary to Sara.
“I bet it’d be more fun if you came with, though.”
“Dungeons aren’t a place for merrymaking.”
If that was all she was wanted for, then it was all the more reason not to go.
“You’ll have to make do with just chatting with me at night.”
“Okaaay,” Ann said and left. Sara chuckled. She was just as free-spirited as Haruto.
“Based on my experience with the knights, she won’t have much free time in the beginning. I’m guessing if she went into dungeons after training or on her days off, they’d just tell her to be using all that free time to train more.”
“I see...” Well, there wasn’t much she could do about that.
“I’d rather she get some experience hunting monsters before she has to conform to the knights’ mold.”
“Hmm... What does Ann say to that?”
“She’s all for it. Seems excited too.”
Right, Sara thought. Ann’s the outdoorsy type. Well, that was fine, then.
Sara had made dinner on their first night after crossing the mountains, but now Haruto, Allen, and Kuntz would take turns doing the cooking and cleanup, so she didn’t have to do much. She insisted they do some sightseeing in the towns they passed on their way so that the whole trip didn’t end up being all hunting, though.
As they hunted just off the roads and camped out at night, word of the sheep-based destruction made its way to the capital, and people started repairing the road through the mountains. They found this out when they stopped in a town and mentioned that they’d come from Gardenia, and were asked if they’d faced any danger.
“The workers all got their orders, and a big group of them just headed for the mountains.”
“Wow, already? That’s good.”
“Couriers will have to carry goods on foot over the mountains while they’re fixing the roads, but regular carriage service is continuing to at least the foot of the mountains, so it seems like things are going pretty smoothly for now.”
“I guess it’s only the old people with bad backs who will be having any trouble getting to Gardenia, then,” Sara said to the innkeeper, thinking back to the old woman and her daughter waiting with the luggage on the mountain road for help.
“Not likely to see many old people trying to go there anyway,” said the innkeeper.
“I guess not.” Sara had in fact seen one, but she elected not to say so.
“It’s just like Elm said.” Haruto sat down somewhat sulkily. “Would’ve gone faster with my help, I’m sure, but everything’s fine, even without us doing anything.”
“Yep. I’m glad I listened to Elm back there.”
Ann sat down next to Haruto. Of the two, her expression was a bit more complex than Haruto’s, but they looked almost like siblings to Sara, which amused her.
“It’s not like we didn’t do anything,” Sara told them. “Not only did we help those travelers, we sent word to Ed in Gardenia and to the capital once we were over the mountains too. That’s why repairs have already started.”
“Still...we didn’t do anything when you went and helped those people.”
It must have really eaten at him to have to sit there and not be able to help.
“We just happened to be the ones who went back and carried the luggage and people down the mountain, but it was the whole team who made sure word got out.”
“Team...” Haruto said the word awkwardly, like it were a food he was trying for the first time, and Sara couldn’t help laughing.
“The Invited might be able to display incredible power all on their own, but that doesn’t mean we have to work alone.”
“There’s nothing we have to do alone, huh?”
“We made those walls together before, didn’t we?” She reminded him of the continental tortoise incident.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“You’re not there helping with the repairs right now, but you’re with us, and we’re enjoying having you here, so isn’t that enough?”
“I do light up the room, don’t I?” Haruto stood, having regained his energy. “All right, let’s do some sightseeing! Come on, Ann, let’s go!”
“Yeaaah!”
Sara was relieved that they were enjoying being in town too.
“We should go see the sights too.” Allen appeared behind her.
“Allen. Where’s Kuntz?”
“Went out with Elm.”
So, the two of them could sightsee all they wanted.
“Umm, think we can hold hands?” Allen asked her.
“Umm, okay.”
Allen’s slightly warm hand enveloped Sara’s slightly cold one.
“Haruto will probably make a big deal of it if he sees us.”
“Yeah, he probably will.”
Sara walked off, feeling a little embarrassed, and Allen followed, tugged along by her hand.
As expected, Haruto spotted them and did make a fuss about it. Regardless, as the group alternated camping and sightseeing, they eventually arrived at the capital. By then, Ann was more or less used to horned rabbits. Their long journey was finally coming to an end.
When they arrived at the townhouse, for some reason the usual butler wasn’t the only one there to greet them.
“Milady Ann! Where in the world have you been all this time?!”