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We set out once again, and the trip continued without problems. Our progress fell slightly behind due to the morning and evening training Haumea and Cole provided, but even then, three days would be enough to reach our destination.

To speak of the problem, it would be Michelle.

“Is it like this…? Or this? Yah!”
“Wah! Michelle, don’t swing your bow inside the carriage!”

Currently, Finia was holding the reins while Haumea sat next to her.

I was supposed to be resting inside in preparation for the night when I had to be alert, but Michelle was practicing the close-combat moves with the bow.

Thanks to that, the inside of the carriage had been turned into a danger zone.

“Mr. Cole, tell her something too!”
“Hmm? Right… You should tighten your left armpit some more.”
“I don’t mean that.”

I thought this guy was an unsociable gloomy elf, but is he actually just an airhead? He started pointing out Michelle’s mistakes and she started to swing the bow again.

“Hah! Yaah!”
“Uhya?! Michelle, are you intentionally aiming at me?”
“N-Not at all! I’m totally not trying to pay you back for earlier or anything.”
“You’re clearly out for blood!”

Looks like she held a bit of a grudge against me for forestalling her just when she thought she would have her chance at close combat.

Well, that said it was just some silly payback so I wasn’t angry… but it was a pain in the a̲s̲s̲. We ended up running around inside the carriage and I didn’t get much rest in the end.

Her puppy-like unfettered liveliness was both her charm and fault. That said, I was used to staying up awake a day or two since the past life so it did not matter, but I had to lecture her once she calmed down.

On the second day of our travel with Haumea and Cole, just as we drew near to our place of destination, we were met with an obstacle.

Violent rain suddenly poured down on us, turning the road into a quagmire where we couldn’t move our carriage. The carriage roof gave off violent sounds as if it was being hit with a tree branch. This roofed carriage that was sultry during summertime was useful for times like this.

“Looks like we are stuck here for a while.”

Haumea said with a sigh as she stared outside.

We put chocks at the carriage wheels so there was no fear of it moving on its own.

Cloud had also come down from his horse and was taking shelter inside. The horses were pitiable but we tied them under an overhanging tree.

Still, they should be able to survive the rain there. If lightning strikes… we’d have to give up at that point. It would be troublesome without horses, but if they died in the unlikely chance, we could just buy new horses and bring them here from the city.

I’ve mastered the Teleport spell enough to carry a horse with me.

“The sultriness inside can be ventilated with Finia’s Breeze spell, so just say the word if it gets too hot.”
“I can do that much on my own, so don’t worry about me. We were the ones who asked to ride along, so we’re already thankful that we didn’t get drenched in the rain.”

I proposed that to her, feeling bad that we stopped on the way, but she didn’t seem to be particularly bothered, so I felt at ease.

“Speaking of which, why are you two heading to the United Three Nations? Weren’t you mainly working between Raum and the hot-spring village?”

It has been a few years since then, but I remembered she said so before.

Their main work was guarding the merchants traveling between Raum and the hot spring village.

Heading for the Tarkashire domain would be swerving from their original area of work far too much.

“Ah, well… I’m not sure why, but a marriage ceremony invitation came from His Highness Elliot…”
“Come again?”
“It appears that he was wedded to his childhood friend guard or something? That sounds nice, but that invitation reached my place for some reason, and thinking it must be some fate, they asked me to participate.”

Hearing that much, I felt like holding my head.

Elliot’s marriage partner was most certainly that junk guard Priscilla Raglan. She was from a count’s household so there would not be much of a problem. The problem was that it reached Haumea. The reason was probably that I used her name when I deceived Elliot.

It should’ve been easy to trace the clues all the way to her using the United Three Nations’ intel powers. And they should’ve also realized that she was someone else. However, since I used her name, Elliot might have guessed that I had some connection with her.

And by sending her an invitation, he could meet me again… Or was I reading too much into it? He was already being married so I think there was no longer a need to reunite with me.

“Well, I doubt he would go for a girl from the past right during his new marriage. Maybe it’s just a coincidence?”
“Speaking of which, you were proposed to by King Elliot before, right, Nicole?”
“It wasn’t even a verbal promise, just people making wild assumptions.”

In the first place, not even Lyell acknowledged it, and I refused it too. It was something Elliot kicked up by himself and also something he ended on his own. That said, this wasn’t really bad news. Rather, it was happy news for me.

Elliot was someone I cared for in the past life, so I would naturally bless his marriage. Besides, seeing that the feelings of that devoted guard of his were reciprocated, I would want to bless them.

“I guess Elliot’s eyes aren’t closed when it comes to choosing his women.”
“Huh, I think they are pretty clouded when he did not choose you.”
“That would be a massive pain!”
“I thought my friend would become a princess.”
“If they married, she would become a queen, not a princess.”
“Oh, right.”
“Pfft.”

Cloud ended up snorting at Michelle’s comment. It seemed that he couldn’t hold back a laugh after imagining me as a queen.

“Well, I didn’t think being royalty would fit me either. Still, it’s rude to laugh at a girl.”

I commented and threw a dried strawberry at him.