Chapter CXXXV An Odd Request, and Departure (Patreon)

Amy knelt before Dewari’s shrine. One of many in the dungeon. She was careful as she knelt down, and soon began to pray. Hopefully, Dewari would hear out her request. Especially since what she was asking was important to her. Amy really did want to go back to the blissful ignorance of not knowing what really happened during those six months. The fake memories Aceri had given her of those six months were just so much better, and she frankly preferred the lie over the truth.

Almost before she realized it, the shrine seemed to shift, and a naked figure appeared before her. One that was similar to the idol, but that statue didn’t do this perfect vision of the female form justice. The goddess settled into a chair that formed out of dark shadows, her breasts bounced with the motion drawing Amy’s gaze to the delectable spheres. The goddess smiled, and began, “It’s not often that I get a request like yours.”

Amy shifted slightly, and replied, “I doubt you would, but it’s really important to me.”

“You do understand that this would require me to root around in your mind, yes?”

She nodded. Aceri had been in her head many times doing things. She knew what it entailed and involved. Vocally she confirmed after a moment, “I am very much aware.”

“Are you sure? You do realize that I could do things to you that you didn’t ask, if you invite me into your head. Are you absolutely sure you want to trust me?”

Amy nodded again, “The fact that you are saying this just shows you are trustworthy. Besides, you are a goddess and my Patron. If I can’t trust you, who can I trust?”

“A Solean would tell you to trust nobody with the sanctity of your mind. I would have to agree,” Dewari sighed. “Still if you insist, I can do it. I would request something of you, however.”

Amy didn’t even hesitate. She expected a cost, and was ready to pay any price. “Please just do it. I’ll do anything.”

Dewari gave her a look, “I can tell, my child. Good news for you, I don’t want much. There is a certain elf that you already know, who will sooner or later be asking the gods for help as well. I would like you to nudge her in my direction.”

Amy blinked, “Why? That doesn’t seem close to what I was expecting.”

“If you think about it, the answer should be obvious,” Dewari commented.

Amy thought about it for a moment, and then quickly dropped the subject. Shifting, she said, “I’ll try my best then.”

“I know you will. I’ll go ahead and seal those memories for you.”

An instant later she felt a presence enter her mind. A powerful, yet gentle presence. One that felt almost motherly in nature. Amy found herself relaxing, as it reached deep into her mind, and then wrapped around those old painful memories. In a mere moment she found herself unable to recall what they contained, only that they were painful. Somehow she felt that if she pushed against this newly formed barrier that it would let her in. However she recoiled at the thought of doing it. Amy still didn’t want to know what happened then.

Two days later:

Misaki looked over the wagon Phyllis had prepared. While she had been busy trying to gather more information on Rosewood, Phyllis had gone ahead and gotten a wagon ready for their trip into the Dwarven lands. Misaki didn’t really want to leave quite yet, as there was still one person she knew of that might have useful information. Unfortunately she was having a hard time finding them. It seemed they were trying very hard not to be found, but she knew not why. Maybe she would have better luck when she gets back.

Melisa was going to be working on the schooling project while they were gone, and she felt that her dungeon would be okay now without her physically present for a few weeks. Not to mention if something did go wrong, she knew she could fix it remotely anyway. No real need for her to be physically present.

Of course she was excited to meet this dwarf that Dewari had mentioned. Pushing aside her worries, she mentally ran over the checklist. The wagon was in good shape. They had draft animals to pull it. Along with feed for those animals. Naturally the draft animals weren’t horses, but some strange cross between an ox and a bird.  Phyllis had mentioned the name, but Misaki hadn’t been paying attention. It wasn’t all that important anyway. What was important was making sure they had everyone, and all the supplies for the trip.

Phyllis had purchased one of the larger wagons on the market. It was wide, very wide. Back in her old world she didn’t think it would be street legal. The wide base gave it plenty of room for a living area, and a storage area. It was a kind of wagon most often used by nobles and royalty. Although Phyllis had gone with a more plain decor. Still Misaki had little doubt they would stick out. Not that they had much choice, they needed the living area this wagon afforded or it would be hell transporting five infants. The logistics with a smaller wagon might not be possible. So she was quite grateful that the local draft animals were so large. The weird ox-bird hybrid was easily double the size of a horse. They had significant natural strength, and high strength growth per level, along with a very high natural endurance. However, they were not the most agile of beasts, and consequently made poor steeds. Most commoner wagons were only ever pulled by one, while those that needed a large wagon were pulled by two abreast. Three abreast was possible, but rarely did you see those. Very few roads were wide enough for vehicles that large. By international agreement here on Solkira all major roads needed to be wide enough for the two abreast wagons going both directions.

Misaki had to admit there was a logic to that, but her mind was focused more on the logistics of five infants. As it wasn’t just food, water and shelter she had to consider. There were their mana needs as well. Being part lust demon, her children actively fed on mana, specifically lust mana. Not to mention kids were more sensitive to mana in general, as their affinities weren’t set in stone quite yet. With that fact in mind, Phyllis had spent quite a bit of gold on outfitting the wagon’s living area to perfectly replicate the exact mana conditions of Bordertown. In other words no matter where they went inside the wagon, the mana conditions would match Bordertown. Even if they were wildly different outside the wagon. This was done through the use of complicated enchantments and crystals. Misaki found it fascinating as well.

Not to mention she knew how important it was to the health of her children. Misaki did also note the other enchantments on the vehicle. Some of the most interesting were the ones on the underside of the carriage. Those were designed to strengthen the chassis, wheels and axles, while also reducing the overall weight of the vehicle by half. It was quite ingenious, and allowed them to load heavier cargo without adding extra animals or worrying about the wagon breaking on them. Not that they were going to load anything heavy.

In fact, they had almost finished loading the wagon. The rear storage area was loaded with food, water, and the basic equipment they would need. Spare clothes were being packed in a dedicated space in the living area. Misaki had given the living area a quick glance. It made good use of the space, providing several beds, including a nice crib for the babies. An eating area, and surprisingly a small kitchen. It did help that the wagon was the size of a small house though. Separate living arrangements however were another story. It was a communal living area.

Misaki wasn’t bothered by that, but she didn’t know about Jesse. She knew Phyllis wouldn’t mind, nor would any of the demon maids they were bringing along. A surprise addition however was Emily and her kids. Those three were coming along with Sapphire and Crystal who were tagging along as part of the help. That covered everyone that would be staying in the wagon, but not everyone that was coming.

Given the size of their wagon, Phyllis had hired three parties of adventurers to escort them. One party led by a familiar dragon girl was coming not for the coin or the guild credit, but apparently to give their leader a bit of a break from a certain dragon. Misaki wasn’t sure that would work out all that well, but who knows maybe that certain dragon would follow them. It might even act as a really great deterrent to bandits. As Misaki had little doubt their wagon would make a tempting target, even with the guards. Although said bandits might end up a little surprised. Misaki had noted that her dungeon loyalty trait also affected the guild. The guild members were quite loyal to the guild, and by extension Phyllis because of that trait. In other words, since Phyllis only hired members of the Bordertown guild for the escort, their guards would be quite steadfast in protecting the wagon and everyone in it.

Suddenly Phyllis spoke up, “Ready to leave?”

Misaki was, but to be sure, she asked, “We have everyone? Everything we need accounted for?”

Phyllis nodded, “Yep, and if we need anything. I have a strongbox with some gold in it, in the wagon. Not much, but enough for anything we might need. In addition to the amount I budgeted for purchasing supplies for the return trip.”

She sighed, “In that case, yes. I just wish I had found that last person I wanted to talk to. I can’t help, but feel he knows something very important for me to know.”

“Knowing you, I know you will find him eventually, but remember finding this dwarf woman that Dewari mentioned is just as important.”

Misaki nodded, and stepped towards the wagon, “I know. Best to get this done sooner rather than later.” She glanced at Mira and her party for a moment. Silently she hoped that dragon would make herself useful if she followed Mira. It would be the first good thing that dragon did. Not to mention it would remove one of her nagging worries. Thankfully her dungeon walls still hid the signs of her mana well. Otherwise that nagging worry would be something far worse.

Misaki pushed the worries out of her mind, and focused instead on the trip. It would take a few weeks to reach their destination, and then perhaps a few days more to find the dwarf in question. Although she expected it to be faster than that. Dewari might just point them in the right direction, or point the dwarf towards them. In any case, she knew she wasn’t going to be back home for over a month, perhaps two. If this wasn’t so important she knew she would not be leaving.