CH 339

Mia’s Travelogue

Mia got off the boat and was immediately scared by how dark it was. When she looked back, she saw the glow of a torch-lit Saint-Noel in the distance. Its shimmering shape was a stark reminder of the world she had lived in just a few hours before and the world she stood in now.

Only the moon kept her from being in total darkness.

Slowly, her eyes started to get used to the dim light.

“Well, it looks like I’ll manage… Tell me something, you. Where exactly is this Bandoor Village?”

“Bandoor Village? That would be north of the grassy area. There’s an old road that goes there, but no one lives there anymore. Buildings that are falling apart and… Oh, but I guess that makes it a great place for a secret date, doesn’t it?”

The merchant smiled like he was in on something. It was clear that his mind was having a good time swimming in the gutter.

Mia, on the other hand, thought this was a great idea. So it’s not surprising that he hadn’t asked why her helper wasn’t there. A princess who was only interested in herself and wanted to slack off would definitely avoid being with her servants. It really was the best excuse for her to sneak off the island alone.

In this merchant’s eyes, she was the perfect picture of a young, infatuated princess with more heart than head. That was fine with her, because she didn’t care what the man thought of her.

She looked to the north and said, “If I just have to follow a road, that seems doable.”

“You can use that horse if you’re afraid of getting lost.” The man pointed. “I was told that it knows how to get there.”

Mia followed his finger and found a…not very impressive horse. It wasn’t nearly as good as Kuolan. Which wasn’t really a fair way to look at it. Since the fall, she had only seen moonhares, thanks to Kuolan, Kayou, and Skyred Hare. Because of this, she had probably become too picky about the quality of horses.

The mushroom-meister is out, and the mount-meister is in.

She shook her head and said, “I appreciate the thought, but I’ll ride my own horse, thank you.”

Hmph, I mean, it’s probably not a bad horse, but Kuolan is definitely faster. I think they gave me this horse because they knew that even if I tried to run away, it would be easy for them to catch me. Nice try, but I know what you’re up to.

“Okay, then…”

She patted Kuolan’s neck, grabbed his saddle, and began pumping her legs rhythmically while chanting, “And a one, and a two, and upsy-daisy,” in a very grandmotherly way. Then, with a very laboured grunt on the “up,” she climbed onto its back.

To her credit, she knew that it was a good idea to warm up before exertion. The chanting and grunting might have been unnecessary, but if it kept her from throwing out his back, well, good for her. Note that it wasn’t because she had been out of shape for so long and was getting old. No one can deny that she was as fresh as a daisy.

The shopkeeper didn’t care about what she did.

“If you say so. Be careful out there.”

He went back to the boat right away.

Mia wondered if he had more passengers to ferry. Would he pick up any merchants who were waiting to leave? Or, since he now has more confidence, would he help get other students off the island? There were plenty of couples who would jump at the chance to sneak off the island on a date.

He would be stupid to do that. If Miss Rafina finds out, he will never forget it. But that’s up to him. After all, everyone gets what they sow…

She neither had the desire nor the time to warn him. He had already made his choices, so whatever happened to him after that was just his due.

“Let’s go, Kuolan.”

The rough whinny of her horse could be heard all over the moonlit grassland.

Mia soon found a road going north, just as the merchant had said. Guided by the faint glow of the moon, she followed the road towards the deserted town.

“This road looks just as deserted as the town.”

She knew this would happen. These people were going to do some very bad things. They would choose a place where they wouldn’t be seen. Even though she knew this, it was still scary to travel through the grasslands by herself.

“Ooooh… I’ve heard that this area is pretty safe, but who knows if that’s true? What if I come across a wild animal? It sounds awful to be killed, but it sounds even worse to be eaten. I hate this so much…”

The scary darkness ahead seemed like the perfect place for dangerous animals to hide and wait to attack. As soon as she had this thought, everything started to look a lot scarier.

Her scared heart looked for comfort, and it found it in Kuolan’s steady steps as he walked down the path without the least bit of worry. Matching the rhythm of his walk, which she’d gotten used to after all the practise she’d had, gave her something familiar to focus on, which kept her fear from growing.

“I want you to do well, Kuolan. We’re leaving as soon as a scary beast shows up, okay?”

“Neeeigh.” Kuolan answered in Horse and turned his head towards her as if to say, “Leave it to me, boss!”

Mia smiled, feeling a little better about the situation.

“By the way, is it just me or do you seem a lot happier lately? Do things look good for Kayou?”

“Neee-ei-eigh.”

“Is that right? Well, good for you. But remember to treat your child nicely, okay? And don’t make them call you ‘papa’ if you don’t want them to hate you.”

Alas, the growing fear was too much for her, and she broke. She started talking to her horse as a last-ditch effort to get her mind off of things. Even Malong of the proud Kingdom of Equestria couldn’t pull off such a wonderful feat of communication between different species. It was the kind of thing that made one worry if one day, she’d find herself disgusted by the barbarism of humans and gallop away to join her brethren in the land of the horses.

Her potential renunciation of membership in human society aside…

She was having a nice conversation with Kuolan when suddenly a shadow jumped into view.

“Eeek!”

Mia almost jumped out of her skin. When Kuolan started to run, the shadow stopped him by putting itself right in their way.

The horse let out a low, rumbling grunt.

While usually bold to the point of belligerence, he held his ground cautiously and refrained from any sudden movement, for he recognised the creature that stood before them…

“Is that a wolf?”

And it was a big one.

It stood as tall as Kuolan, and thick muscles wrapped around its body. It looked like power itself.

Compared to the horse, it was a different beast—literally. The first one was built to run, but the second one was clearly made to jump and kill. The wolf looked at Mia with a predator’s eye, which sent a chill up…well, nowhere.

My, how odd. It doesn’t look like I’m very scared. A look from Dion is much scarier.

It turned out that her frequent interactions with the Empire’s Finest Mia-Beheader had made her less sensitive to threatening and murderous looks.

On top of that, this wolf doesn’t even look like it wants to attack us.

She’d even developed the ability to distinguish between different flavours of menacing glares. A budding connoisseur of murderous intent, she was well on her way to becoming a murder-meister!

…Maybe “murder-meister” is not the best word. Anyway.

The wolf looked at her face for a moment, then turned around and started to walk down the path. It looked like it was a guide.

“Perhaps this wolf is a follower of our enemy?”

She thought back to the part in the Princess Chronicles that said she’d been eaten by wolves. At first glance, the story made it sound like her enemies had just killed her and dumped her body in the woods.

But based on how this wolf was acting, it seemed likely that her furry enemies had a hand in both her death and the hiding of the evidence afterward.

“No matter what, it doesn’t look like it will attack us right away. For now, let’s follow the wolf, Kuolan.”

“Nee-eigh.”

As usual, Kuolan answered in Horse.