章 65: Sandrift Gorge
"Brother... Please don't touch Tocchini in strange places..."
"Well, a full-body massage entails attending to the entire body."
Tocchini's soft protest in the carriage made Tyler feel that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly peculiar.
(Silly Nissen: Tyler, go ahead-o and continue, but remember, when your soul is judged upon death, these actions will be recorded!)
Tyler had nothing to hide and was not afraid of the silly loli's threats.
In reality, Tyler wasn't engaged in anything peculiar. Earlier in the morning, Tocchini had accidentally strained her waist while jumping around in the carriage. That's why she sought Tyler's help for a massage to alleviate the discomfort.
As for why Tocchini no longer hid her identity as a rabbitkin in front of Tyler, it was because her hat had accidentally come off during her jumping. Consequently, she had no choice but to confess to Tyler.
Initially, Tocchini had been worried that Tyler would hold biased views against rabbitkin. However, after Tyler expressed his unwavering stance of "standing with peace-loving demi-humans", her concerns vanished into thin air.
Now, there were no secrets between Tocchini and Tyler, at least from Tocchini's perspective.
As for Tyler, he was a secret abyss himself, with a pile of things he couldn't let others know that dwarfed mountains.
"By the way, Tocchini, do you know what your 'occupation' is?"
Taking advantage of their deepening relationship, Tyler wanted to learn more about the "Shaman" profession.
"I don't know my occupation yet. Uncle Marik said that we'll get it identified after we arrive in Emerald City."
"What about you, Brother? Do you know your occupation?"
"I don't know either. Let's go for the identification together when the time comes!"
"Yeah~!"
Upon careful consideration, it became clear that not knowing one's occupation wasn't exclusive to Tocchini.
Tyler speculated that even Avril and Rhode, despite their age, probably hadn't undergone identification yet, let alone having constant awareness of their occupation level changes and detailed skill information.
Among the numerous abilities of the Divine Eye of Transcendence, the identification ability appeared ordinary but was, in fact, exceptionally powerful.
·
After half a day had passed, the egress on the south side of Sandrift Gorge saw a team of horsemen approaching, stirring up a cloud of sand. They were the Gudetown Cavalry.
The captain, Laidell, glanced at the sun's height and ordered the entire team to set up camp nearby.
"The visibility in the gorge is poor at night, and it's risky to venture in now. The logistics rotation team, Camille, Auden, and Nicholas, make preparations for dinner!"
One must admit that Laidell's judgment had a touch of leadership to it.
While silently concurring with this assessment, Avril also felt a great sense of regret. If they had entered the gorge during the day, she could have left the team directly.
But for now, she had to wait until dawn to venture out alone.
—(Don't be afraid, Avril. With your sister around, there's nothing to fear!)
"Have you ever fought against monsters or demons, sis?" Avril asked in a low voice.
—(Well, no.)
"So, we should be cautious. If the soldiers do anything, you'll protect me, won't you?"
—(Hehe, of course.)
Recalling the sensation of "executing" the two thieves last night, Elle sincerely felt that their journey through Sandrift Gorge had been worthwhile.
·
Unlike Avril's calm composure, Rhode was still shaken to the core.
He couldn't figure out what had happened last night. It was baffling how the credit for killing the two thieves had ended up on his head. Captain Laidell even extended an invitation for him to join the Gudetown Cavalry once he turned two years older.
(Were those two thieves really killed by infighting...?)
No matter how unbelievable it seemed, Rhode was inclined to believe Avril, even though the whole situation sounded absurd.
Now that he had already lied to the cavalry unit about killing the two thieves, he had to stick to the lie.
However, the naive Rhode didn't know that the cavalry members didn't really believe him, especially Captain Laidell.
Laidell had examined the two bodies and concluded that the merciless precision displayed in severing their necks and tendons couldn't have been accomplished by someone as young as Rhode.
(Could it have been Avril's doing? But that's even more outrageous than if Rhode did it.)
Yet, this thought continued to linger in Laidell's mind, refusing to fade away.
"Tonight, we'll switch to a three-person rotation for night watch!"
"If anyone falls asleep during their watch tonight, I'll gouge out their eyeball tomorrow!"
"Yes, sir!"
Laidell spoke with great excitement, waving his sword to caution the soldiers. However, whether intentional or accidental, he suddenly lost grip of the sword, and it flew towards Avril, who was not far away...!
"Yikes!"
Startled, Avril fell to the ground. Fortunately, the sword missed her and only left a shallow scratch on her arm.
"Ah, I apologize, I apologize. It slipped from my hand...!"
Laidell quickly approached to apologize, retrieving a jar from his bag as he spoke.
"This ointment is my apology. The external skin injury will heal in a couple of days."
As Laidell handed the ointment to Avril, he noticed that her hand was still trembling, temporarily dispelling his suspicion of her.
In Laidell's opinion, given the circumstances just now, if Avril possessed the ability to kill, she would have instinctively reacted.
·
That night, the cavalry unit encamped in an open space that offered shelter from the wind. As usual, Avril slept inside the carriage, taking turns with Rhode to keep watch.
—(Damn it! The son of the b*tch! When I get the chance, I swear I'll take this Laidell down!)
"Sister, please don't get so worked up. It's because we drew too much attention last night that we invited suspicion. Unless absolutely necessary, we should endure it for now."
Avril pretended to play with the wild long-eared squirrels that nested in the gorge, but she was actually speaking to her sister, Elle.
—(Fine, fine...)
—(Hmph... Laidell... Don't let me catch a glimpse of your weakness...)
Although Avril did her best to persuade her, Elle couldn't suppress her murderous intent.
During the "throwing knife incident" earlier, if it weren't for Avril forcibly restraining herself, Elle would have taken over and charged at Laidell with her drawn sword.
·
In the middle of the night, darkness enveloped the land.
It wasn't yet Avril's turn to keep watch, but she was awake.
To be more precise, it was Elle controlling Avril's body that woke up.
Whenever Avril fell asleep, Elle would be responsible for vigilance, wandering in the shallow depths of consciousness without disturbing Avril's slumber. If anything unusual occurred, Elle would take direct control of the body.
What woke up Elle was the peculiar sound outside the carriage—a hissing, rustling noise. Oddly enough, Rhode, who was on guard duty outside the carriage, didn't issue any warning.
(What's going on...?)
Elle looked through the crack of the carriage door and saw that Rhode seemed slightly drowsy under the moonlight, but he was still awake.
Occasional voices could be heard from the sentinels on duty.
The campsite exuded an atmosphere of tranquility.
(Is it strange that I'm the only one who hears this eerie sound?)
Taking precautions, Elle gripped the giant pair of scissors, ready for combat at a moment's notice.
However, the hissing sound, as if sensing Elle's awareness, gradually moved away from the campsite until it disappeared completely.
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