Wesley had barely stepped out of the inn when a three-person team arrived.
They were the squad sent to escort Kate back to the Royal Capital. The mage among them was an upper-tier spellcaster whose strength was roughly on par with a B-rank adventurer.
Though she was only equivalent to a B-rank adventurer in power, in a small country like the Navora Principality, she was still in a league of her own. There were many mages in the Principality, but only those with special talents could join the Duke’s Private Knight Order.
The leader of the trio was the mage Kate had mentioned. She wore a mage hat that didn’t quite match her petite frame.
Beneath it, strands of silver hair peeked out. Under the brim of the hat were a pair of slightly upturned light-purple eyes, their color so pale they looked as if they had been touched by moonlight.
Her eyelashes were long and dense, her nose bridge delicate and straight, and her lips a soft cherry pink, lightly pressed together. A hint of baby fat still lingered on her cheeks. She looked like a delicate little person sculpted from frost and snow.
“Eileen, let me introduce you. This is Mia, the chief mage of our knight order. She’s extremely skilled in space magic. Ever since she joined, we’ve saved a lot of travel time.”
Kate enthusiastically introduced her colleague to Eileen.
In the first playthrough, Kate wouldn’t have even spared a second glance at a mere upper-tier mage.
But now…
This was a proper big shot.
Until her level rose, she would have to rely on Kate and her colleagues for protection to keep her horde of ex-girlfriends from showing up and chopping her into mincemeat…
“Hello, hello. My name is Eileen Beelzebub. Just call me Eileen.”
Eileen extended her right hand for a handshake, but Mia only gave her a cold glance before her gaze settled on Kate, completely ignoring her.
“Lady Kate, the teleportation array has already been set up at the church. Please head over at your earliest convenience.”
From beginning to end, Mia never spared her another look.
Eileen froze awkwardly, her hand hovering in midair, unsure whether to pull it back or not.
“Mia, at least respond to her,” Kate said, reminding her.
Only then did Mia turn to look at Eileen. She removed her lace glove and gave Eileen’s hand a brief shake. “Mia.”
“Sorry about that, Eileen. She’s not being rude on purpose, and she doesn’t have anything against you. She’s just… a little lacking in common sense. You know how geniuses tend to be a bit… well, you get it, right?”
Kate tried to smooth things over on Mia’s behalf.
“Totally understandable…”
As someone who had romanced countless female characters in galgames, Eileen immediately understood Mia’s character type the moment she heard Kate’s explanation.
White-haired, expressionless loli…
A golden legend!
Eileen’s interest was instantly piqued, but she quickly suppressed the thought.
This wasn’t a game anymore. She had to be extremely careful in these matters, or she could lose her life at any moment.
Right now, she already had Kate watching over her, her relationship with Atia was extremely ambiguous, and once they reached the Royal Capital she would also have to guard against Cassandra, who frequently traveled to the Demon Realm on business. On top of that, she had to stay vigilant against all her other ex-girlfriends who might come looking for her.
For the sake of her own safety, it was better not to get any ideas. Keeping herself alive was the top priority right now.
Seeing that Eileen wasn’t angry, Kate let out a small sigh of relief and turned to Mia. “Mia, I’ll be bringing two extra people back with me this time. Will the teleportation array be able to handle it?”
“No problem.”
Mia made an “OK” gesture with her hand. “The array was originally designed to carry five people. With me, Lady Kate, Lord Wesley, and your two friends, it’s just right.”
“We’re not bringing Wesley.”
Kate’s face was full of disgust.
The only reason she had tolerated Wesley for so long was because of pressure from the Duke. Otherwise, that brat would have died who knows how many times already.
Still, the Duke had only said she couldn’t harm Wesley. He hadn’t said she couldn’t make things difficult for him.
Crisel was several hundred miles away from the Royal Capital. Even on horseback it would take a full week. This was the perfect chance to enjoy some peace and quiet.
“Miss Kate, this… this really isn’t a good idea, is it?”
Atia was still a little worried. Kate had already publicly humiliated Wesley. Now she was even refusing to bring him back to the capital. Was she not afraid that Duke Carlyle would use this as an excuse to cause trouble?
The various principalities were always competing with one another. Although Duke Navora and Duke Carlyle appeared cordial on the surface, they both enjoyed stabbing each other in the back whenever the opportunity arose.
If Duke Carlyle found out that his youngest son had been abandoned by Duke Navora’s knight order in some remote border city, it could easily turn into a diplomatic incident.
“Atia, you don’t need to worry about these things. I know what I’m doing.”
Kate didn’t take it seriously.
She had nearly stabbed Wesley to death last time and nothing had come of it. This time she was only leaving him behind in Crisel. What could possibly happen?
Not stabbing him a couple more times while she had the chance was already giving Duke Carlyle plenty of face.
“Understood, Lady Kate. Then let us depart.”
Mia led the way, and the group followed. They soon arrived at Crisel’s church.
In the main hall, a magic array glowing with dazzling light was slowly rotating. This was the teleportation array leading to the Royal Capital.
Eileen took a glance. It was a low-tier teleportation array, usable only once.
To have an upper-tier mage travel all the way from the capital just to set up a single-use low-tier array and escort someone back… this level of treatment was probably something only Kate enjoyed in the entire Principality.
In the churches of larger cities, there were usually permanent teleportation arrays directly managed by the capital. However, maintaining such an array required an enormous amount of magical power—something a small city like Crisel simply couldn’t afford.
“Um… Miss Eileen, this is my first time using a teleportation array. Are there any precautions I should know about?”
Atia asked cautiously.
She had never used one in her entire life. Although she used to work with merchant caravans and traveled constantly, she had never heard of any caravan being extravagant enough to use a teleportation array. After all, teleportation magic was something only C-rank adventurers or mid-tier mages could use. Hiring them to set up an array cost far more than simply traveling the long way.
“Well…”
Eileen didn’t know how to answer for a moment.
This is your first time, but isn’t it also my first time?
It was true that in the first playthrough her main method of long-distance travel had been teleportation arrays. But back then she had been a player sitting in front of a screen. Using a teleportation array just meant pressing an interaction button and waiting a few seconds for it to load. Who knew what the actual precautions were in real life?
“If it’s your first time, just close your eyes. You don’t have to, but a lot of people who keep their eyes open the first time end up feeling extremely dizzy. It won’t kill you, but it’s very unpleasant.”
Kate gave a simple explanation, then began reminiscing. “I remember the first time Lady Cassandra used a teleportation array, she insisted on keeping her eyes open. She threw up so badly.”