The journey with Princess Rainy continued to be fraught with hardships.
It wasn’t just the physical strain; attending to her needs felt like courting disaster at every turn due to the aura of bad luck that clung to her.
"Bind up all the women and kill every last guy with a dick!"
"Look at that bitch’s tits! Before we sell her off, we should... kuh!"
The troubles began the very first morning when a sudden raid by bandits led to a skirmish.
“Krurrrk, kehheheheh!”
“Eeeeek! Ghrrr, kehheheheh!”
The second night was marked by an hours-long battle against a goblin horde led by an orc general.
"Hold up. Who gave you permission to haul that carriage around here?"
"This is Lord Jeremoff’s domain. If you wish to pass, you need a decree from the baron."
“If you don’t have it, we’ll need to...uhk!”
At times, criminals tried to impersonate nobles, leading the carriage astray with feigned authority. Even in the outskirts of the kingdom, the security was appalling, with encounters with bandits or monsters every half day.
-Clang, crash!
“Wah! What was that?!”
“Apologies! The carriage wheel hit a rock and broke. We’ll need to repair it using the spare wheels. Please disembark momentarily!”
Even when it seemed like there were no obstacles, the carriage itself became an issue. No less than five wheels had broken during the journey; it was a wonder the carriage remained intact while only the wheels bore the brunt of the wear.
Watching Lydia calmly swap out another spare wheel from the storage made me wonder if this was why the original story had taken over a week to reach a neighboring country that should’ve taken three or four days {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} at most.
And as mentioned before, due to Princess Rainy's cursed nature, stopping in villages was not an option, ensuring this difficult journey would only continue.
“Stop! This area belongs to General Kargan. You dare trespass without—”
“Again?”
Agnes, recognizing the familiar tone outside the carriage, sighed. Only two hours earlier, she’d torched a swarm of monsters, and she didn’t bother to hide her irritation.
“We’re just passing through to leave the kingdom. High-ranking guests are in this carriage, so please mind your manners.”
“And how can we trust a word you say? If you strip down and lie prostrate, we might let it slide. Oh, and about those guests—mind introducing us?”
“Let’s step outside. I can sense about thirty presences outside.”
“There are fewer than last night. Try to stay positive, Agnes.”
“...What a bother.”
“Hey! Get out here! What kind of fancy folks are riding in this gaudy carriage... urk?!”
An arrow from Silena embedded itself squarely between the brows of the bandit peeking behind the carriage, sending him toppling backward.
“What the hell?! Roden got taken out! Get ‘em! There’s an archer insi—!”
-Slash!
“If there’s an archer, don’t you think there’d be someone with a sword too?”
With Silena’s attack as the cue, the rest of the heroes charged out, myself, Ethan, and everyone but Princess Rainy joining the skirmish outside. By now, everyone was frighteningly skilled at dealing with human enemies.
-Squelch!
“Urgh, agh...!!”
“The bandits on this side are taken care of, Hero!”
“Same here! Agnes!”
“The ones who tried to run are over there.”
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone approaching from farther off. Even with my elf sight, I can’t spot anyone.”
Pointing at the charred remains of the former bandits, Agnes wore a weary expression, and Silena’s voice confirmed the situation was resolved.
“Thank you all for your hard work. Truly, I appreciate your assistance.”
“We’re getting a free ride, so it’s the least we can do. Let’s handle the bodies quickly and move on.”
“Yes, I confirm we’re ready.”
We gathered any gold or silver coins from the bodies, leaving the rest. Agnes had burned a few with fire, so wild monsters would likely finish off the remains soon.
Over the past few days of rifling through bandit pockets, we’d accumulated almost a single gold coin. I hadn’t bothered to count precisely, but it was close.
“It’s remarkable how many bandits we’re encountering on the empire’s border. Lady Lydia, I suggest caution when navigating with the carriage.”
“Really? My village was also on the border, but we didn’t see nearly as many as here, right, Thomas?”
“Well, Ishya Village was peaceful by comparison. Not all borderlands are equally dangerous.”
“Hmm, is that so? I’ll trust Thomas if he says so!”
“...”
“...”
Aside from Natalia, everyone likely suspected for days that the endless bandit and monster attacks were due to Princess Rainy's cursed nature.
Her reputation for misfortune was well-known even before she enrolled at Luminor Academy, and having traveled with her, everyone could now see firsthand how unlucky she truly was.
However, knowing that didn’t allow us to voice any complaints. The hero’s team functioned on the principle that the hero’s decision came first, so most followed simply because he insisted. Ethan, too, came along reluctantly because I was traveling abroad.
“......”
“...Then, let’s depart once more.”
Unable to hide her guilty expression, Princess Rainy lowered her head, knowing her bad luck was burdening others.
We all feigned ignorance, boarding the carriage and bracing ourselves for the trials that would follow.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
After nearly a week of delays, our caravan finally reached the capital of the Kingdom of Defrin. Disembarking from the carriage, we proceeded directly toward the royal palace.
“I can’t believe we have to walk when we have a carriage.”
“It’s necessary, Lady Agnes. Riding something as large as Princess Rainy’s carriage through the capital would cause a crash within ten steps.”
“I’m well aware.”
By now, Agnes had witnessed Rainy's “bad luck” in countless forms. Once, Rainy’s misfortune nearly caused her to suffer from Agnes’s own magic.
A bandit had randomly picked up an object to shield his face from Agnes’s spell, which turned out to be a spell scroll. That scroll, by coincidence, reflected the magic back toward the carriage where Rainy sat, narrowly avoided by Say’s wind magic, which redirected it just in time. A single misstep would have resulted in severe burns for Rainy, just days before her twentieth birthday.
Bringing her into a densely populated area with the carriage would undoubtedly result in similar chaos. Children might dash into the wheels, drunkards stumble into the path, or other carriages collide, each posing real threats.
Reducing the impact of her misfortune to a “manageable level” was Lydia’s role as her maid.
-Swipe.
“...Oh, pardon me.”
-Crunch!
“Ow! Aaah!!”
“Of course you should be sorry. Boldly stealing someone’s wallet like that.”
I expected as much.
Not even five minutes into the capital, a pickpocket who dared to snatch the hero’s wallet was immediately subdued, marking the first of several small incidents.
“Eek!”
“The horse is mad! Everyone run!”
“Argh! Stop! Somebody stop it!”
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“I’ll handle it! Stay behind me, everyone!”
As we entered a main street, a startled horse broke free, charging toward us, only to be subdued by Thomas’s shield.
“Did you just insult me?”
“Yeah, you got a problem? If you’re so upset, pay back my money!”
“Hey, can you all step aside? We need to pass through here.”
“And who the hell are you?! Some freak parade with a harem of women?!”
“...Of course, no one reasonable would make a scene in a place like this.”
Attempting to avoid more horse incidents by entering an alley, Ethan was swept into a brawl with drunkards.
“Heh. You guys there. If you know what’s good for you, hand over the women and scram.”
-Slash!
“We’ve been delayed enough. Let’s just kill these fools and move on.”
“Damn, this girl just took out Regéon in one shot...!”
Of course, deeper into the alley, a gang lay in wait. Lydia ended up decapitating one of them, setting off yet another skirmish.
With every step, it seemed we were embroiled in new fights and mishaps. Only after three hours of repeated brawls were we finally able to reach the royal palace gates.