INFINITE - 33
From a short distance away, Bell quietly stood beneath a tree with his arms crossed, leaning against the trunk.
He had been silently watching over the two the entire time.
His eyes followed Marc and Noria as they returned toward the campfire where Juro and Heth were waiting.
Bell smiled faintly to himself.
Then, without saying anything, he quietly turned around and walked back first.
...….
Meanwhile, back at the campfire, Juro glanced toward Bell.
Bell was leaning against the tree with his eyes closed.
"For a second there I thought you fell asleep," Juro said with a grin.
Bell slowly opened one eye and stared at him silently.
Juro laughed.
"Could you keep an eye on them?"
"Alright."
Bell pushed himself off the tree and quietly walked away into the darkness of the field.
Heth watched him leave before speaking.
"You trust that child quite a lot."
Juro smiled faintly while adjusting the firewood.
"He's way more mature than you'd think."
A brief silence followed before Juro casually asked,
"So... what exactly happened for the Princess of Nerlarnd to end up in a situation like this?"
Heth looked at Juro carefully for a moment.
Then he answered.
"We were ambushed."
Juro shook his head slightly.
"Calling it an ambush feels like oversimplifying things. I doubt the King of Nerlarnd would let his daughter travel without knights or mages assigned to protect her."
Heth gazed quietly into the fire before letting out a tired sigh.
His tone changed afterward, less formal, more exhausted.
"Haaa... it was a betrayal."
The crackling fire filled the silence between his words.
"Half of the forces assigned to escort Princess Noria back to the kingdom suddenly turned against us."
His eyes lowered.
"The others..the ones who truly came to protect her…fought desperately to buy us time. But the attack happened too suddenly..."
His expression tightened slightly.
"Most of them died almost immediately."
Juro quietly listened without interrupting.
Heth continued,
"The knight driving the carriage made a final decision. He snapped the reins and forced the horses forward as fast as possible."
"He then jumped off the carriage himself to hold the enemy back... even if only for a few moments."
The fire flickered across Heth's face as he spoke.
"But there were mages among the traitors. One of them used some kind of magic on the horses."
"The horses panicked. They started running wildly... even pulling in opposite directions."
"The reins eventually snapped, the carriage lost control, and we were thrown off the main road."
"And that," Heth finished quietly, "is how we ended up here."
Juro rested one arm over his knee.
"Got any idea who's behind it?"
"Unfortunately... no."
Juro stretched his arms slightly before leaning back again.
"Huh. Guess there are still plenty of stupid people around in this generation."
Heth blinked.
"Pardon?"
Juro smiled casually.
"The ones who betrayed the princess? They'll get punished soon enough once the king hears about this."
A faint smile appeared on Heth's face.
"Indeed."
Not long after, Bell returned and casually sat back down beneath the tree, leaning against it again.
Juro looked toward him.
"Oh hey, Bell. Where's Marc and Noria?"
Bell closed his eyes.
"Right here."
The moment he said that, Marc and Noria appeared from the darkness of the field and walked back toward the campfire together.
Heth immediately looked toward Noria.
The moment he noticed the smile on her face, his own expression softened slightly.
Noria noticed him staring.
"Is something wrong, Heth?"
"Nothing, Princess."
Suddenly, Marc raised his hand excitedly.
"Bell! Juro! I learned a new magic!"
He immediately began enthusiastically explaining the glowing hand magic Noria had taught him, talking so fast he nearly tripped over his own words.
Meanwhile, Noria quietly stood behind him watching.
Marc was acting unbelievably excited over what was, to her, an extremely basic magic taught to nearly every beginner student at the academy.
And yet...
Watching him happily ramble about it somehow made her feel warm inside.
A small smile quietly returned to her face as she listened to him talk.
…
Time slowly passed, and the night grew quieter.
Heth eventually stood up and walked toward the carriage.
After opening it, he retrieved several folded cloths along with a few small cushions.
He returned to Noria's side and carefully spread the cloth across the grass, smoothing out every wrinkle before placing the cushions down neatly to serve as pillows.
Once everything was prepared, Heth bowed politely.
"You should get some rest now, Princess. The knights and mages sent by the king will likely arrive very early in the morning."
Noria nodded before quietly sitting down on the cloth.
Nearby, Juro looked toward Bell and Marc.
"You two should sleep too."
Marc nodded immediately.
"Okaayy."
He casually leaned back against the tree beside Bell.
Heth glanced toward the two boys before speaking politely.
"If I may... would either of you children like a cushion as well?"
Bell shook his head.
"I'm fine."
Marc also shook his head casually.
"I'm fine too."
But then Bell slowly turned toward Marc with a strangely awkward expression.
"Uh... Marc... I think you should probably sleep on the ground with a cushion under your head."
Marc tilted his head.
"Hm? But I sleep perfectly fine leaning against trees though."
Bell's expression twitched slightly.
"R-really...?"
"(-｡-;)"
"H-ho..."
Bell cleared his throat awkwardly.
"But still... it's been a while since you've had something soft to sleep on, right? So just accept one."
Juro glanced at the two of them before quietly chuckling to himself.
Meanwhile, Marc seriously thought about it for a moment.
"Hmmm... but I really am fine sleeping against the tree..." he thought. "But if Bell suggested it, then alright!"
Heth retrieved another cushion from the carriage and handed it to Marc.
Marc awkwardly bowed while accepting it.
Heth blinked slightly.
"...?"
Marc then carefully placed the cushion on the grass before happily laying his head on it.
Noria quietly watched him for a moment before turning toward Juro.
"Mister Juro, would you like a cushion as well?"
Juro smiled and waved one hand dismissively.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
Noria nodded before laying down herself. For a while, she quietly stared at the fire crackling nearby.
Then her gaze slowly drifted toward Marc.
He was already asleep.
Noria watched him briefly before turning onto her back again, staring upward at the tree leaves gently swaying in the night wind.
Little by little, her eyes grew heavier.
Eventually, she fell asleep.
...
Meanwhile, Heth and Juro remained near the fire talking quietly.
Juro stretched his arms before glancing over toward the sleeping children.
"Looks like everyone's asleep."
"Indeed."
A brief silence followed.
Then Heth looked toward Juro again.
Juro noticed immediately.
"You've got something you wanna ask, huh?"
Heth gave a small smile.
"You truly are sharp."
After a brief pause, his expression turned more serious.
"Would it be possible to request that you accompany us safely back to the kingdom?"
Juro raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Why me? I'm just some stranger you met today."
He grinned teasingly.
"For all you know, I could be completely useless."
Heth smiled calmly.
"You cannot fool the eyes of an old man, Sir Juro."
The firelight reflected quietly across his eyes.
"You are not weak."
Juro stared at him for a few seconds before eventually smiling.
"Fine, fine."
He leaned back casually.
"We'll accompany the princess safely back to the kingdom."
Heth bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Sir Juro."
Juro stood up with a relaxed smile.
"You sure about this?" he asked. "Trusting a bunch of strangers?"
Heth smiled while standing up as well.
"To be honest... you all feel far more trustworthy than the people meant to escort us."
Juro tilted his head slightly.
"And why's that?"
Heth looked toward the sleeping children.
First at Noria.
Then at Marc.
"That boy proves it."
Juro glanced toward Marc for a moment before quietly smiling.
...
Meanwhile, Bell secretly smiled to himself beneath the tree.
He had been listening to the entire conversation the whole time.
After letting out one soft exhale, he finally allowed himself to properly fall asleep.
...
.….
Time passed quietly.
"Princess... wake up. The search party has arrived."
Noria slowly opened her eyes.
For a moment, she looked disoriented before sitting up and standing.
As she looked around, she noticed three new carriages had arrived nearby while several knights and mages stood around the campsite.
Meanwhile, Marc slowly woke up as well.
"Mmm..."
He stretched while yawning before noticing Bell beside him.
"Mmm Bell... what time is it...? It's still kinda dark..."
"Around five in the morning."
Marc stretched his arms again dramatically.
"Why are we all awake so earlyyyy..."
"We're about to leave."
Marc blinked sleepily.
"Hm? Leave to where?"
Bell looked at him calmly.
"To the Kingdom of Nerlarnd."
Marc nodded absentmindedly.
"Oh... I see..."
A second later.
"W-WUTTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?!"
…
Nearby, several knights and mages had already bowed toward Noria.
"Pardon us, Princess. We are here to escort you safely back to the
kingd-—"WOAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"—"
The knight stopped mid-sentence.
Marc's eyes sparkled while looking around.
"The carriages look so cooollll and there's so many knights and! MAGEESSSSS!!"
Bell immediately gestured for him to quiet down.
Marc instantly covered his mouth.
"Oop— ehehe... sorry..."
Juro burst out laughing from the side.
The knight awkwardly cleared his throat.
"...Ehem. Anyways, we were ordered to escort you safely back to the kingdom, Princess."
Noria nodded politely.
One of the knights then opened the carriage door for her.
Before stepping inside, Noria briefly looked back toward Marc and softly waved at him.
Marc immediately waved back with an enormous smile.
Meanwhile, Heth gathered the cloths and cushions from the campsite before placing them into another carriage.
Then Juro casually stood up.
"Alright kids, let's go."
Marc blinked.
"Are we walking to the kingdom?"
"Walk?" Juro laughed lightly. "Nah. Follow me."
He casually stretched his arms before walking directly toward the carriage Noria had entered.
But just before he reached it.
a knight stepped in front of him.
"Mister... what exactly are you doing?"
Juro looked at the knight and smiled casually.
"What else? We're here to protect the princess."
The knight's expression hardened slightly.
"You have already done enough. Leave the princess to us."
"I can't really do that."
A faint tension slowly began forming between them.
Before things could escalate further, Heth quickly stepped in.
"Ah, my apologies for not informing everyone sooner," he said politely. "Sir Juro and his students are accompanying us. I can personally vouch for them."
The knight glanced toward Heth before immediately bowing and stepping aside.
"My apologies."
Juro grinned before casually opening the carriage door and climbing inside.
Marc and Bell followed after him.
Marc let out a relieved breath.
"Phew... I kinda got worried there."
Bell quietly looked toward Juro.
"That man..." he thought tiredly. "He definitely did that on purpose just for fun... haah..."
Inside the carriage, Noria looked visibly surprised.
"What are you all doing here?" she asked.
Marc immediately sat across from her beside Bell and Juro.
"We're going to the Kingdom of Nerlarnd!"
Right after that, Heth entered the carriage and sat beside Noria.
"I invited them to help escort and protect us on the way back to the kingdom," he explained politely. "I apologize for not informing you sooner, Princess."
Noria smiled softly.
"It's fine."
And with everyone finally aboard.
the carriages slowly began moving forward.