Dawn- An Age Of Darkness

I felt bad for lying out of my teeth like this. I felt like I was just using her and taking advantage of her. After all, my goal was to overthrow the Duke of Xylax, her uncle. 

And for that, I was just using her. 

This was Alisa's plan and I didn't like it. But I had to agree, for the time being, this was the best plan. We were going to get what we want, avoid a war and also overthrow a tyrannical ruler.

But if I ever felt like I couldn't do this, I wasn't going to. I had enough of betrayals and that's why I didn't want to betray another. 

I just didn't see another way. 

"Take a left."

"Now to the right."

"Straight ahead."

She was commanding like a veteran but even moments ago her voice was small. I guess she was getting used to all this fast. And thanks to that, our journey became a lot easier. My opinion of her improved a bit. 

We were avoiding monsters while also taking the shortest routes. I had no idea how to use a crystal ball but I sure wasn't going to worry about it either. After all, that's why I left it with the girl in the first place. 

But anyway, if we were lucky we could have shortened this two-day journey to a single one, meaning we could make it to the capital by midnight, or even before ten if we were really lucky. 

"Say, princes-" I stopped. 

Apparently, she was glaring. 

"Say, Viola-" She was glaring no more. "Would returning to the capital really be safe for you?"

It would have been the best thing for us if she really were to travel to the capital but I was having second thoughts. 

She didn't say anything. But then- "Father-" She paused and looked ahead, pale. 

The horse shrieked and made an abrupt stop. I barely managed to calm it down in time. "Whoa, whoa, calm down boy."

There was someone in front of us, who wasn't here even a moment ago. He was wearing a robe, hooded, and he looked no older than fifteen. 

I could see where this was going, eyes closed. My eyes weren't closed though. 

I got off the horse, the bunny stayed behind.

"Can I help you?"

"Leave the girl here and we will at least not take your life." He snickered and a lot of other snickering fellows came out of the bushes. There were at least twenty of them and they came in all kinds of sizes, all wearing hooded robes. 

This guy however had a rather strange voice. I wasn't quite manly, and it wasn't quite womanly either. 

"Oh? You expect to rob me too?" I grinned and brought out my knife. 

"Smart but-" The guy charged at me, but while going left to right. "You should have been smarter." It was almost as if he was drunk. 

His moves were very unconventional and before I could react, he'd already sliced me in three spots. 

I managed to avoid my vitals but now he was behind me and running towards the princess. 

'Damn.' If he actually decided to attack me instead of attacking the princess, I would have been in trouble. 

I switched gears and quickly brought out a sword, a typical one but definitely better than the knife. 

I swung my sword in an arc and the guy jumped over my head and away from the princess. 

Apparently, I'd made the mistake of underestimating my opponent, but I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice on the same day. I imbued my body and the sword and looked sharp. 

"You can still move? That's a nice armor you have there."

This armor was recovering. I'd almost forgotten about this feature. Depending on my mana control I could harden or even soften the armor. But I never consciously tried it, or even the recovery one. Why?

Regrettably, I'd forgotten. 

"I know, right?" I tried to sound like this was typical but yeah, it was embarrassing to even think that I'd forgotten such an important thing. 

It was broad daylight, so creating light balls was easy, and blending them in with the surrounding was easier. 

Meaning, "AH!"

One of them fell on the ground, a bit burned, followed by several others. The light balls were the size of small apples but- they were definitely effective.  Of course, the burned guys were getting up one by one too but more were falling victim at the same time. 

"What the hell?" The guy who attacked me, however, dodged my light ball. "Retreat, he knows invisible magic!"

They picked themselves up and scrammed. 

Well, that was fast. 

"What the hell was that about?" I wondered aloud. 

They attacked us, demanded our things and when they learned they were going to get hurt, they ran?

"I believe they are the resistance. They harbor ill feelings to the royals and the soldiers of this country," Viola said, looking a bit relieved. 

The bunny was in her hands and I could visibly see the little thing twitch. She just got another evil idea. 

Sigh. 

"So, they weren't plain thugs." I climbed on the horse. 

The princess didn't say anything and we just moved. I didn't know why but the silence just kept growing and growing. 

***

By noon we were already halfway there. 

We stopped by a village of sorts. 

There were all sorts of people and even bunny girls! Unfortunately, they looked like the same ones that captured us back in the mountains, but at least they weren't macho! 

But before I could even approach any of them, Alisa kind of stood on my shoulder and just glared. It was almost as if she was saying, 'Aren't we good enough for you?'

'There goes my dreams.'

After resting and replenishing our supplies we started again. 

The villagers didn't seem to be alarmed by us. They were a bit afraid of the girl next to me though. I guess it was the uniform.

Apparently, one Xylax gold had almost the same value as a Destoan gold. Meaning both were only one-tenth of the value of Alfeim gold. 

The price of things was also cheap, so technically fifty gold was a lot of money. But- since the princess had change, we used those. After all, I couldn't just use money from other countries here and I sure didn't want to sell that gem either. 

After ending all this, I planned to return it to the maid. 

I sure hoped she was doing okay. 

I still got a distinct feeling that those guys didn't charge us much because the girl behind me was wearing a uniform though. 

***

We took a break during the afternoon near a small pond. There were no monsters nearby and if our pace was stable we'd arrive at the city borders before ten. I didn't have a watch but after spending so much time on this world I kind of had a gut feeling about time. 

The water was calm and birds were on the trees. This part of the forest was relatively calm and there were villages scattered across the place. 

"Would it be alright with you if I were to take a shower?"

"No," I said calmly. "First of all, we don't know if there are any monsters down there. Second, I'd have to keep watch over you to make sure of your safety, and third, do you even have spare clothes?"

"There are no monsters here according to this. And I do have underwear. And-" She blushed a bit. "I-I don't mind you watching."

'But I do mind.'

I cleared my throat. "Look, you're a princess and-"

She grimaced. "So, what if I'm a princess? Everyone just asks me to behave like a princess. What even is a princess!" She shouted the last part and was now in tears. 

Did I step on a nerve or something?

I was kind of taken aback. "S-sure, go ahead and shower."

She glared at me for a moment and then just went over to the horse. 

Alisa stared at me with dull eyes from my shoulder. 

"What else do you expect? I don't know how to deal with girls. How'd I know!!" I whispered, very vigorously!

The last time I dealt with pampered girls, my little sister was still little and very much alive. And that was a long time ago. 

Alisa rolled her eyes and just looked forward. 

We both sighed. 

***

We got back on the road and continued on. 

This time, the girl behind me was sulking a little and she didn't talk unless necessary. 

Though she did provide directions, she was definitely mad.

The teleporting path was actually over by the time we'd reached the village, so now it was basically just a matter of using the shortest monster-free route. So we didn't need that much talking between us. 

And we weren't heading for the villages either, as it would have slowed us down. 

Though I was kind of hoping to break this awkward silence. 

"I'm sorry," I said. I was genuinely sorry. 

I should have considered her feelings. She was pampered and sheltered. But at the end of the day, she was also a living breathing girl. Perhaps she wasn't a human like me. But she was alive and had her own problems. 

"It's okay." 

And the conversation ended there. I really hoped to talk some more but- yeah. 

I sighed. 

Around evening, I lighted up a pyre and the girl- Viola held it while I kept on pushing the horse. It was getting tired but we didn't have time to stop. 

If we kept up for just another hour and a half, we'd see the city walls.

But I was also getting tired and the horse was slowing down considerably. 

"Maybe we should stop for ten minutes," The girl whispered. This was the first time she actually suggested something and I felt like if I turned her down, she won't say another word. 

"Alright."

We stopped and I made some coffee. I was really glad I bought some back in Saram. I was sad I couldn't buy any in the capital though. Maybe next time!

"That ring works as a storage artifact?" The girl asked, a bit curious. 

I guess there was no hiding it now. 

"Yes. It's a memento."

"I see. You said you were part god, would it-" She paused, her gaze was on the boiling pot. But she finally looked at me. "What sort of god are you?"

"I have the blood of Trerortra in me and I'm the apostle of Xerphas. The former is the god of light while the latter is the god of courage." I had enough with lies. 

She smiled faintly and looked at me. "I see. Will you- will you, really protect me? You won't abandon me? Betray me?" Her eyes were glistening and she was eagerly waiting for my answer. 

Betray huh? 

I took a deep breath, calmed my mind, and made a decision.

"I'll be on your side." If not, then why the hell was I doing all this?

Perhaps, I'd jeopardize this whole mission if I went out of line, but since I just made the commitment, there was no going back. It almost felt like Alisa was sighing, awfully cute. 

The coffee was done and I started pouring. I always made terrible tasting coffee and today was no exception. It smelled good though. 

It was terrible. The girl still took sips with a smile and even burned her tongue. Poor girl. I healed her tongue with a bit of magic and she seemed happy enough. 

I could heal minor wounds but anything more than that was still out of my jurisdiction. My healing capabilities did increase when I used the gem or the pendant though. 

In a way, this girl reminded me of my sister and if she was still alive maybe she'd have been Viola's age. I sure hope she wouldn't have turned out like this though. 

I didn't know why but she seemed a lot childish for her age. I guess this was why people just claimed she was selfish and pampered?

But to me, she just seemed like someone who wanted attention. 

"You seem to be in a good mood." She took careful sips, trying not to burn her tongue too much. 

"Don't mind me." I chuckled.