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“You got an invitation from Barius’ hero?”
“Yeah, a messenger from the capital came this morning. Apparently, Bandit wants to invite our hero’s party. He mentioned ‘Luvias, Lapis, Karin, Ciel, and Diaria’ so he definitely wants all of us there.”

Some time had passed since Karin and the others became Dragon Slayers. Today Luvias came to our house and read that letter, stored in a leather case. While she was reading it, I began to wonder if it really was alright to carry an important letter like that around the city, though if Luvias, a princess, did it, then I guess it must be.

“Wait, I’m mentioned too?”
“Yup, it says right here ‘Diaria’. Apparently, he knows Zelvis’ hero is here.”

I only remembered conversing with Bandit at the dinner party organized by Leble. We did speak a few more times after that, but those were very short exchanges and it was hard to call them conversations. He looked somewhat rough, but he was a really nice guy, or at least that was the impression I had gotten. I did not think we had gotten all that close after that, so I was curious why he was inviting us over now.

“Does the letter say anything else?”
“Well…There isn’t much else that sounds important. Only that he wants to fulfill his promise from that night…”
“A promise..?”

Had we promised anything back then? I crossed my arms and tried to remember everything that happened there. We had met the hero’s parties from other countries that night, including Barius’. There was the hero Bandit, followed by his sisters, the older Avenis and younger Epsilon. The older sister had a maniacal personality that made her challenge anyone that was remotely strong, while the younger Epsilon was more wise and thoughtful. The three of them had tan skin and looked rather healthy. Then, when we parted ways…he mentioned we should visit him sometime. When I recalled that, I lifted my gaze and struck my fist against my palm.

“I remember now! He did mention something about visiting him.”
“I know, at the time I thought it was just lip service, but apparently he actually meant it.”

Luvias seemed slightly troubled as she said that. But in that case, did that mean he was only trying to fulfill that vague promise?

“As far as I could tell he didn’t seem like a bad person though.”
“Mhm. The two girls in his party also were pretty pleasant, unlike certain people from a certain country. Maybe they really just want to keep their word?”

Karin added, taking a short break from practicing her sword swings. Ciel also agreed with her, lifting her gaze from the magic tome she was reading. I also thought the same, it was hard to imagine that Bandit plotting something. He sounded honest and straightforward, so if there was anything he wanted to talk about he would mention it plainly. We did not really get into any arguments though, so there was little reason to suspect anything. But I wanted to hear Luvias opinion first.

“Should we go then?”
“Sure…or rather, we should. Maybe we could afford to ignore it if the letter came from an enemy country, but Bordaule and Barios are on good terms. Their hero personally invited us, writing all our names in the letter, so either way, we would have no option but to go.”

The only member who was roaring to go after that was Diaria, the party member who was threatening to become the strongest. She did not look too interested at first, but when it became more likely we were going, she quickly became excited about it as she leaned forward on the table.

“Then let’s have as much fun as we can! Barius is that country with the famous seafood, right? I’ve never tried raw fish before, but I really want to try it.”
“Raw fish? Is that safe?”
“I heard it’s really good. It’s one of Barius’ famous dishes.”
“Hehh. That sounds interesting.”

Ciel sounded skeptical, but Karin was intrigued. There was a time long ago when I had tried raw fish myself. It was cut into thin slices and had a very particular taste and feel, which was actually nice. Apparently, there were things that had not changed in the three hundred years I was away. Bandit’s goal was still unknown, but if going there meant I could eat that again, then going there might be good after all. Things had gotten pretty stressful lately, so taking some time to relax could be a nice change of pace.

“I guess we should start getting ready then, since we have no choice but to go. We’ll never know what Bandit wants by just sitting here and talking after all. So let’s just think of having a good time there.”
“Master…you’re right. You’re entirely right. I’ll go pack my stuff now as well. We’re going there as guests, so we should try to look our best.”

The hero represented the entire country, so we could not just fly there. If we were going to spy then sure, that was an option, but we were guests there now. But I had something in mind. It was true we had to keep our appearance in mind, but there was nothing that said we had to do the entire trip on carriages. Luvias was about to leave the room, but I hurried to stop her.

“Luvias, are you going to give them an arrival time?”
“Yes. As soon as I get to the castle I’ll use a magic tool to contact them. I have to tell them how many people are going, as well as a rough date for our arrival at the border.”
“Then, can you tell them we’ll be there in a few days? Traveling in carriages is so boring.”
“Huh..? A few days? I don’t think there’s any horse that could travel so fast…”

Luvias looked confused, so I explained my plan.

“I’ll fly while carrying the carriages all the way there. That should shorten the time needed, right?”
“Ohh I see! That’s a great idea. Now that I think about it…such a trip would usually take more than a month. But yes, I’ll tell the carriage drivers that as well. Now I should be on my way!”

Luvias shot out the door and went to the castle. While it was not as bad as in the royal palace, she still had a lot of things to take care of before she could leave. In the meantime, we should get our stuff ready as well. Packing our things, gathering food rations, and I also had to tell Maria we were going to be away for a while, so she only had to worry about cleaning.