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It was finally time to leave. We were all gathered in the castle’s courtyard, loading our belongings on the carriages. Usually state guests like us would have to carry many gratitude gifts, but there were hardly such things in our carriage. On top of that, we had no guards or separate carriages for luggage, so we also had to keep our belongings to the minimum.

“According to the travel plan we’ll go through many cities on our way there, so we won’t have to worry about food and water. And in the worst case we could always hunt the wildlife there and live off that.”
“We’re all adventurers after all.”

Since we were treating the trip as a form of vacation, Luvias had been in a good mood since our departure was decided. Mostly because all the spies following her from the shadows would be unable to enter Barius. Some tried to protest when that was decided, but Grom managed to convince them to stay. That was also thanks to my reports on her progress. At first, she was only allowed to leave the palace under the condition that I always kept her close and guarded her, but after our visit to Barius, I would finally be able to treat her as a fellow warrior as she was independent from now on.

She was already much stronger than any silver rank adventurer, and was quickly catching up to Karin. Her magic power was also developing nicely – she had a decent command over fire spells and healing magic. Though overall she was still far behind Ciel. Either way, she had gotten much stronger, so I had no need to treat her as a novice anymore. The party overall had good synergy as well, everyone knowing the other members had their backs, and they always supported each other. Luvias had truly gotten very far from where she started.

“Also you three, I’m allowed to take requests now, so don’t you dare leave me behind next time.”
“We know.”
“You’ve lived for so long in castles and palaces, it’s about time we change that.”
“Man, you’re so motivated. I wish I was like that.”

The same permit that lets her travel to Barius also means she can leave the castle and live on her own if she wishes. She still had Sepia, the maid that followed her from the palace, with her, so she would be able to care for Luvias wherever she lived, but as things often happen around me, Luvias chose to live with us. So from now on, the entire party and Sepia the maid would be sleeping in my house.

When all that was decided, Sepia humbly requested we leave all the housework to her, but I politely declined. If she did that, then Maria would be left without a job, so I told her to just take care of Luvias’ room. But that might end up leaving her with too much time in her hands to know what to do with, so instead I asked her to educate Maria and Rina.

As a maid, she would be able to teach Maria to do her job more efficiently and properly, including cleaning, cooking, and just basic maid etiquette. Then she could also teach Rina how to read and write, and some maths, so that she had a fundamental education to help her with her future. Just a bit of education went a long way with opening one’s life possibilities. Maria also told me that since she started working for me, she was able to save up more than before and would be able to afford to move out of the slums and rent a nicer room. I was glad to hear she was doing better.

“Lapis, we’re done loading our stuff.”
“Thanks. Everyone, get in then. Goodbye Grom!”
“See you. I’m sure everyone will be safe with you around, but still, be careful.”

Grom came out to see us off, and after bidding him farewell I jumped onto the carriage’s driver seat. Then I wrapped the entire carriage with a wind-blocking barrier, cast an anti-gravity spell on everything, and activated my Flight Magic. The horse was shocked and began thrashing around as we lifted into the sky, but I gently patted it to calm it down.

“Woohoo! This feels like a new vehicle!”
“This feels so different to flying on its own, it’s so fun.”
“I guess this is how the magic carriages in fairy tales feel like. I never imagined I’d ride one myself…”
“I’m sure you could earn a lot of money by commercializing rides like this. Have you thought about that, Lapis?”

Karin was excited like a child, Ciel looked through the window with deep interest, while Luvias and Diaria voiced their thoughts. I could only force a smile hearing the ruckus behind me as I held the reins.

“Maybe once the world is peaceful again. Anyway, let’s go, everyone!”

I shook the reins and the horse began running through the air. The ground below seemed to scroll smoothly until it vanished behind us. The horse seemed to enjoy flying as well now, and I held my hair that began fluttering in the air while thinking of the seafood in Barius.