Chapter 62: 33.2

Chapter 33-2: Distant Relative (2)

The wounds on Onean's belly were aggravated slightly as she got up into a sitting position, and cold sweat began to pour down her face again, but she paid no heed to that as she looked out at the twin mountains outside the window of the carriage in silence.

Only after a long while did she turn her gaze back to Erwin as she said, "Those are the twin Reydnold Mountains. Once we pass this place, we'll have left the province. Beyond these two mountains are the renowned Terarody Mountain Ranges. If we head northeast from here, then we'll be traveling toward Burmen, while Fooz is in the northwest."

Erwin couldn't help but develop a sense of admiration toward Onean upon hearing this, not because of her geographical knowledge, but because she had a rough idea of where they were even though she had been lying in the carriage this entire time.

"I must admit, I'm quite impressed, Your Highness. How are you able to guess where we are even though you've been lying in the carriage all this time?" Erwin asked with an intrigued expression.

"I can sense roughly how far the carriage is going each day, so I have an idea of where we are. Isn't that simple?" Onean asked him with a perplexed expression, which then quickly turned into one of mockery as she jeered, "Oh right, I forgot that it must be quite difficult for someone like you, who rarely ever goes anywhere."

"I thought you were mostly lying unconscious from your injuries in the carriage over the past few days," Erwin said. "I didn't think that you were conscious the entire way here."

"I already told you this: my injuries look very scary, but they're not actually as severe as you think," Onean replied.

"You're pushing yourself too hard," Erwin sighed. He was well aware of just how severe her injuries were. The fact that she was able to maintain her consciousness for most of the journey thus far was a clear indication that she had too much on her mind to fall asleep.

Onean offered no response to him as she carefully began to lay back down onto her bed. Erwin hurriedly rushed over to her and supported her back with his arm before gently lowering her down. This time, Onean didn't have the energy to push him away.

She was too exhausted to bicker with him any longer, and she laid a hand onto her own forehead, closing her eyes to rest with her brows slightly furrowed with pain.

Erwin left her to rest in peace as he sat down in front of the desk and began to flip through the pages of the magic potion book.

...

Truth be told, Erwin didn't want to keep this a secret from Larwood and the others, but Onean had insisted that he kept his friends oblivious to her presence in their mercenary legion. At this point, his friends had already noticed that he had been acting quite strange these past few days, and he was worried that it would strain their relationship if he were to remain silent for any longer.

Thus, after emerging from the carriage, Erwin took the initiative to go and find them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Deputy Commander Erwin. To what do we owe this honor?" Chase asked in an unfriendly voice upon seeing Erwin.

Erwin could only heave a resigned sigh in response.

"Go on then, tell us what's going on with that distant relative of yours," Larwood said with a smile. "I knew Lanyon would immediately go and tell you what we discussed. Chase was actually dumb enough to think that Layon would actually keep the secret!"

"Yeah, who is this distant relative of yours? Did your father ask you to take them with us?" Kaiba asked with a curious expression.

"Erwin's father is the general of the regular army's right branch! He could easily arrange for the regular army to bring one of his relatives with them, so why would he entrust this relative to Erwin and our dodgy mercenary legion instead?" Larwood chuckled.

"Hey, I wouldn't call our mercenary legion dodgy. I think we have a decent group of people assembled," Erwin protested. "Also, going by your logic, wouldn't that make you the commander of a dodgy mercenary legion? That doesn't sound like a great title to have."

"Don't try and change the subject! Tell us who's in the carriage, and why have you been hiding this from us this entire time?" Chase interrogated with furrowed brows.

"Do you think I wanted to keep this a secret from all of you? I have no choice in the matter," Erwin sighed.

"So who is it? I'm even curious now after hearing you say that," Kaiba said with an intrigued expression.

"Could it be that you brought one of your lovers with you and are too embarrassed to tell us?" Chase asked with a displeased expression. "Didn't we promise one another that we're going to focus on the war and not bring any women with us?"

"Do I look that horny to you?" Erwin grumbled. "Besides, I'm the deputy commander of this legion! Even though I don't really do much, I still understand the importance of leading by example."

"Alright, then tell us who's in that carriage," Larwood prompted in a calm voice.

"I can tell you who it is, but all of you have to keep this a secret, alright?" Erwin asked as he swept his gaze across his group of friends.

Judging from Erwin's demeanor, the three of them could tell that this was an important matter, so they all nodded in response after exchanging a quick glance with one another.

"It's Princess Onean," Erwin finally revealed in a quiet voice.

"What? Prin..." Chase's eyes immediately widened with astonishment as he stared at Erwin, but he then quickly lowered his own voice again as he continued, "Princess Onean? Why is she with us instead of traveling to the north with His Majesty and the regular army?"

Kaiba was both astonished to hear this and also full of admiration toward Erwin.

In contrast, an extremely grim look had appeared on Larwood's face, and it was clear that he had realized the gravity of the situation.

"How could you be so reckless?" Larwood hissed in a low voice as he glared at Erwin. "We're only a mercenary legion of 500 people! How are we supposed to protect Her Highness on the battlefield? To make matters worse, the route that we're taking is an extremely dangerous one! Who knows how many enemy mercenaries we'll encounter along the way? We'll be screwed if any of them discover that Her Highness is with us!"

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"Exactly! All of the enemy mercenaries will do everything in their power to capture her so they can turn her into the Skycourt Kingdom for money!" Chase chimed in in a grim voice.

"How are we going to answer to His Majesty if anything happens to Her Highness?" Larwood asked as he stared intently at Erwin.

"Going back to the same question from before, why is Her Highness traveling with our legion instead of sticking with His Majesty and the regular army?" Kaiba asked.

"After she sustained those grave injuries during her match against Jeff, she's still yet to recover, so neither His Majesty nor Master Piro were willing to take her to the front lines," Erwin explained.

"How is Her Highness's condition right now?" Larwood asked.

"She's not doing very well. Her injuries have worsened even further during the past few days of travel," Erwin replied in a resigned voice.

"I can't believe you decided to take her with us when even His Majesty and Master Piro didn't dare to take her with them! Aren't you worried that she could die on the way there?" At this point, Larwood's expression had completely darkened. "If something happens to her on the way to Burmen, all of us will be executed as well!"

"How could you be so foolish?" Chase also heaved a faint sigh, then mused, "Having said that, I'm also struggling to understand Her Highness's decision. With such severe injuries, why is she running around with our mercenary legion instead of staying in Sarus to rest and recover?"

"Come on, guys, there's no point in blaming Erwin for this. What's happened has already happened, so let's just pretend that we don't know anything. If none of us tells anyone about this, who's going to know?" Kaiba asked.

"You can't just treat everyone here like they're stupid or blind! If even a single one of them manages to identify the princess, then everyone will know! If word then spreads outside of our legion, then the consequences will be catastrophic!" Larwood said in a grim voice.

"I had no choice! I owe her my life, so I had to agree to anything she asked of me. What was I supposed to do?" A guilty look appeared on Erwin's face as he spoke. "Also, seeing as I already made a promise to her, I can't deceive her. I told her that I'll be taking her to the front lines, so I have to follow through on that promise."

"Is it because of that Springlay Fox bone marrow potion?" Larwood asked.

Erwin nodded in response with a wry smile. "If she hadn't used that potion on me, she would've been able to use it on herself, which means that she would already have recovered by now."

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. No one knew what to say in this situation.

"Seeing as you already made a promise to Her Highness, you have to fulfill it," Larwood finally said. "You'll be responsible for her safety along this journey."

"Of course," Erwin replied. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention this. Her Highness has already changed her own hair color using a magic potion, and she also changed her hairstyle as well. If we get her a set of male clothing, she should be able to pass as a man as long as no one looks too closely."

"It would be ideal if no one can recognize her," Chase said with a slightly relieved expression.

"What I'm most worried about right now is that Her Highness may not be able to last the entire trip," Larwood said with a concerned expression.

"That's why I came to you guys," Erwin said as he pulled a magic potions book out of his backpack, then opened the book to a certain page before showing it to everyone.

"Falcon Beak Lizard?" Chase began to read aloud from the book. "Magic potions refined from the internal organs of this creature are excellent for treating internal injuries. These creatures mostly reside at the entrance of the Terarody Mountain Ranges. They are pack-dwelling creatures with a sharp sense of smell, and they excel in ambushing creatures weaker than themselves as prey... You know what? These things sound like they're pretty cunning."

"You're not proposing that we go and capture one of these lizards, are you?" Larwood asked with an incredulous expression.

"I've read through the entire book, and this is the only suitable option that we can encounter at the entrance of the mountain ranges." Erwin cast his gaze toward the Terarody Mountain Ranges, which laidbeyond the twin Reydnold Mountains, then continued, "All we need is to kill one or two of these things, and that'll be enough for us to refine this magic potion."

"But none of us has any experience in refining magic potions!" Kaiba said with tightly furrowed brows. 

However, a thought then quickly occurred to him. There was no way that Erwin would be carrying a magic potions book around, so it had to belong to the princess. With that in mind, a smile appeared on his face as he asked, "But Her Highness is a very skilled potions master, isn't she?"

Erwin nodded in response. "Her Highness will definitely be able to brew this magic potion, so our priority now is to find a way to kill a Falcon Beak Lizard or two."

"Venturing into the mountain range to hunt for magic creatures is not a task to be taken lightly. Are you sure you want to do this?" Larwood asked as he stared intently at Erwin.

"I have no choice. Her Highness's injuries are quite severe, and if we don't treat them soon..." His voice trailed off there as a grim look appeared on his face. "I know that it would be selfish of me to endanger the entire mercenary legion for this cause, but..."

"Don't overthink it. We've been friends for so many years, we can't just stand by and watch as your future wife succumbs to her injuries!" Kaiba said as he patted Erwin on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll come with you."

Kaiba's lighthearted joke instantly dispelled the tense atmosphere.

"You're right. Who cares if she's the princess or not? This is Erwin's future wife we're talking about here! If all it takes to save her is killing a couple of magic beasts, then I'd be more than happy to come along," Chase said as he patted his own chest.

Erwin offered no objections to the assertion that Onean was his future wife. In fact, just considering the possibility was putting a wide smile on his face.

Everyone had already made their intentions known, so Larwood really had no choice but to join them. With that in mind, he heaved a resigned sigh. "Fine, let's go together then. We've done everything together, I can't just sit out this one. I'll get Sherry to instruct everyone to set up camp here, and we'll work out a plan after that."

Despite the gravity of the situation, everyone was feeling quite excited, and they began to work on a plan to hunt down Falcon Beak Lizards.

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