Eating something was definitely a good idea, bringing a hot soup to their mouths slightly changed everyone’s mood. They are no longer as tense or distrustful, I can see a little more hope appearing in their eyes.
The younger children are playing with some kind of ball after filling their stomachs, some of them are inviting me to play with big smiles. Children in this world are certainly built differently.
Most of the women older than thirteen or fourteen still have somewhat different opinions. Some have decided to trust me, as if I were their only hope or last option; others still doubt a little, thinking this is too perfect to be true.
Could I carry them by flying? I think about it for a moment. My control over gravity has improved considerably, I can keep several people levitating at the same time without issue, and my mana pool is much larger now.
The problem is the amount of time I would need to keep this huge number of people floating and the possible risk of being attacked. Flying grade 3 monsters tend to be more territorial and aggressive, though they are harder to find than ground monsters.
Walking is the easiest option, the only problem is how long it would take to return on foot. The children shouldn’t have much stamina, no, none of these prisoners should be in condition to walk so many kilometers in such cold weather.
Trying to think of a fast way to travel through the snow, only two things come to mind: a sled and Santa Claus. I let out a silent sigh, that would be much more efficient in terms of mana consumption and mobility.
“Um… excuse me. We already finished cleaning and organizing.” The same woman from before approaches me to speak. They didn’t let me clean or cook, they didn’t want to leave all the work to me after I had saved them. “What should we do now?”
“Thank you for your help.” I stand up to store everything inside my dimensional bracelet, once everything is ready, I return to continue speaking with all of them.
“We’re heading to the nearest village.” My words brighten their faces for a moment. “It’s quite far away, it will probably take a couple of days or a little more if we only walk.” I can see their surprised and fearful reactions, I have to hold back a small smile.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything, no monster will approach us and I have a way to transport us faster.” They all seem to calm down a little, even those who don’t fully trust me can’t really say anything, they have no better option.
I’m sure they will come with me no matter what, after all staying in this place means starving to death, and leaving without my protection means dying to the monsters in this snowy forest.
“Be ready, I’ll be back in around five minutes.” Seeing most of them nod softly, I teleport to where all the corpses are. There is a cabin filled with various things, I’ll take everything possible before leaving, including all the storage bracelets from the corpses.
How many villages have they looted? How many people have they killed? They have huge amounts of money, valuable objects, cores, and many other useful things. These people truly accumulated a mountain of treasures.
My eyes shine when I notice an item thrown in the very back, I didn’t expect to find something so useful for my current situation. I quickly approach to inspect it, it really is perfect for our return trip.
It is a small wagon for transporting materials, and it’s in perfect condition. The materials look relatively new and very durable, I can even feel several enchantments around it. It looks like a large wooden box with a few minor details and four wheels, while the front has a small seat for the driver.
The moment I sit on the seat, I activate its functions with the mana core already inserted. I immediately feel several enchantments, reinforcement over the wheels and the entire wagon in general, I can also feel a gentle warmth coming from inside the wagon. When I step inside, I see a knob that can slightly adjust the temperature.
I thank the heavens for this gift, if I had left without checking, I would have missed all these treasures. When I return, I’ll tell Brendu to get me the best possible small carriage, I need to store one inside my storage bracelet for emergency situations.
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This completely surpasses my idea of creating a block of ice to transport everyone. I can control the temperature of my constructions, but it would have been much more uncomfortable for them and I would have needed to spend huge amounts of mana levitating the entire structure with all the people inside.
When I return and show them the wagon, everyone climbs inside quickly. Through my Personal World, I can see some children hugging the warm floor, others playing the board games I gave them, and overall everyone seems far more relaxed.
The return trip became more peaceful than expected, I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery around me. Right now we are having a small meal beside a beautiful lake, everyone is eating inside while I’m the only one sitting outside on a large cushion, admiring the beauty of the lake.
We haven’t been attacked directly by monsters, every attempt at aggression was stopped instantly. First I sent signals through my Imra and Dominion to every monster nearby, most of them decided to retreat and avoid trouble; the foolish ones came directly to their deaths.
I sense someone walking toward me. “Young sir, I brought you some hot chocolate.” She offers me a cup when our gazes meet.
“Thank you, you didn’t need to trouble yourself.” I quickly take the cup. The situation becomes slightly awkward because she remains standing beside me. “It’s delicious.” The flavor is perfect, slightly bitter and sweet.
She continues standing there with a bright smile, so I take another cushion from my storage and offer it to her, she sits down immediately, her speed of response surprises me.
“Did something happen? Do you need anything else?” It wouldn’t surprise me if they had made a delegation and chosen her to speak with me. Nanly was the first one to interact with me and she is beautiful enough to captivate any man.
Her eyes widen and she quickly waves her hands side to side. “No, no, no, nothing happened, and we don’t need anything else. We already have more than enough from everything you’ve offered us, not only did you save our lives, you gave us food and safe transportation toward a village, asking for more would be greed on our part.” Something about her caught my attention, her way of speaking is unusual.
“Are you a noble?” I ask directly, her way of expressing herself is very eloquent, I noticed certain noble manners while she was eating and she has a strong character.
Nanly opens her eyes wide, blinking repeatedly, taking several seconds before answering. It doesn’t matter if she denies it, I already reached my conclusion, she is a noble or connected to nobles.
“Yes, I am the second daughter of a baronet from this territory and… I’m engaged to the third son of this territory’s governor. That confirms my suspicions that you aren’t from nearby, otherwise you would know who I am just by seeing me, because I’m sure you are also a noble.” Her gaze is filled with conviction.
That was surprising, her status is quite high. Being the wife of one of the governor’s sons gives her a very elevated position, in the empire it would be like being Arisa’s husband. She is not someone who can simply be ignored.
“What makes you think I’m a noble?” I haven’t mentioned anything about my life, I even introduced myself as Emago to her. I haven’t given any clear indication that I’m a noble.
“You are incredibly strong for your age, you can’t even be twenty yet, your face gives you away; you have manners in the way you speak, walk, eat, or simply sit, even when you try to look ordinary, unconsciously you still make many refined movements and there are many other reasons.” I say nothing, my expression doesn’t change while she speaks.
“Speaking of your face, your appearance is very beautiful, any noble woman would have already sent offers for you to become a trophy husband.” Trophy husband… they aren’t very common, but there are many cases, and I think my beauty does fit that mold.
I’m not going to deny or confirm anything, I’ll let her think whatever she wants for now. Her status is becoming a slight headache, I can’t ignore her and leave her abandoned in that village, she will definitely be questioned by her family about who helped them. If she gives my description, it will be easy to trace me, I doubt there are many people with violet eyes and reddish-brown hair.
Shit. Now I’m doubting whether I should have kept those cloths covering my head. No, they wouldn’t have trusted me if I had remained that way. Now I have to decide between denying everything once I return or escorting her all the way back to the main city of this territory.
If she arrives first, I’ll have problems, they won’t let me use the teleportation machine before interrogating me; if I arrive together with her, I won’t be interrogated, I’m sure they won’t dare force me because they’ll know who I am, they won’t risk antagonizing so many families supporting me, maybe I can delay the spread of information about me if I speak directly with the governor.
Damn, what a headache. “I can’t ignore your situation, young Nanly, now that I know your status, I’m obligated to accompany you all the way to the main city for your safety.” In the end, I choose the second option, it has far fewer disadvantages.
She lets out a very natural laugh, something rather anticlimactic in this situation, it was so unexpected that it relaxed both of us. “I’ll play along with your game because you saved me, but I hope that when the time comes, you’ll reveal who you really are.” Both of us remain staring at the lake while drinking hot chocolate.
“I’m not someone as special as you think.” My response makes her roll her eyes.