When Mark woke up he opened his eyes and the first thing he felt was that sothing wasn’t right.
It wasn’t anything serious, more of a general discomfort.
A heaviness in his head, a slight burning in his throat, and that feeling of having a stuffed nose that made breathing slightly more uncomfortable than it should be.
’Don’t tell I actually caught a cold...’
Mark sat up on the grass and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
’Yeah, this is definitely a cold,’ Mark thought as he swallowed and felt his throat protest slightly. ’Great... just what I needed.’
He sat still for a mont, assessing his condition.
And to his surprise he didn’t feel that terrible, he could still move without trouble, he had no fever, and the discomfort in his throat was more of an inconvenience than actual pain.
’It’s not that bad yet,’ Mark thought. ’If I hide it well, nobody will notice.’
Because the last thing Mark wanted was for the journey to be delayed.
’If I tell them I’m sick, Rose is going to insist I rest, Yuki is going to suggest we wait another day, and Alice will probably want to carry or sothing.’
And none of those options were remotely viable for him.
’Best to keep quiet and push through... two days is nothing.’
Mark got to his feet, shook off his clothes, and began walking toward the camp.
The first thing he noticed was that Alice’s five companions were on their feet.
And not just on their feet, they were talking animatedly among themselves, with Alice and Rose.
Their voices blended in a conversation Mark couldn’t make out from where he was, but the tone was light and relaxed.
Mark approached the group and the five turned their heads toward him almost simultaneously.
"Good morning," Mark said, looking at them. "Glad to see you’re already recovered."
Everyone reacted imdiately.
"Good morning, my lord!" Alpha said with a smile radiating energy. "We’re ready for whatever you command!"
"Completely ready!" Beta added, nodding vigorously.
"Just say the word and we’ll get moving," Gamma said in a calr but equally determined tone.
"We’re at your disposal," Delta said.
"Whatever you need!" Epsilon completed.
Mark looked at them and couldn’t help noticing sothing he had overlooked the day before.
They were all quite pretty.
Without the wounds covering their bodies, without that layer of gri and exhaustion that had accompanied them since they ca out of the Demon Lord’s dungeon, the five looked completely different.
’Well... underneath all that ss there were always so pretty attractive won.’
Mark smiled.
"Glad to hear it."
Rose, who was standing beside Alice with her arms crossed, walked over to Mark.
"Your assumptions were correct," Rose said, looking at him.
Mark looked at her and shrugged slightly.
"It was lucky things went that well," Mark replied. "I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it would work on all five, but it seems Vorax had enough residual mana for everyone."
"Speaking of which," Mark said, looking around. "Where are Vorax and Yuki?"
"Yuki is watching the periter," Rose replied. "She’s waiting for your order to start the journey back."
"And Vorax?"
Rose looked at him for a second and then pointed toward her own hat.
Mark looked up at Rose’s hat, and before he could say anything, a familiar gelatinous shape peeked out from under the brim.
"Good morning, Master," Vorax said in a voice that sounded considerably more lively than the last ti Mark had heard him.
Mark couldn’t help smiling at the sight of the sli.
"Vorax," Mark said. "Really glad to see you’re fully recovered too."
"I feel better than ever, Master," Vorax replied with mild enthusiasm.
And then, without warning, Vorax jumped.
The sli launched himself from Rose’s hat directly toward Mark, landing on his right shoulder.
Vorax stayed there for a couple of seconds, as if enjoying being back with his Master, then slowly slid down from Mark’s shoulder and tucked himself inside one of his robe’s pockets.
Mark looked at the pocket where Vorax had hidden himself and shook his head with a smile.
"We should set out right away," Mark said, turning to look at Rose. "I don’t want to lose any more ti than necessary."
"I agree."
Then Mark took a breath and called out.
"Yuki!"
His voice rang across the clearing and faded among the trees.
For a few seconds nothing happened, and then, as if she had appeared from nowhere, Yuki was standing before them.
Mark never saw her arrive. One mont she wasn’t there, and the next she was.
’One of these days she’s going to give a heart attack...’ Mark thought.
"Master," Yuki said in her usual neutral tone.
"It’s ti to go, I want to get ho as soon as possible."
Yuki nodded once and then turned her head toward Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon.
"You five," Yuki said in a firm voice. "You’ll co with at the front and help clear the way for the Master."
The five straightened up at hearing Yuki and responded in unison.
"With pleasure!"
Yuki began walking to the front of the group and the five followed imdiately, falling into line behind her with a discipline Mark hadn’t expected.
’Well, they were warriors, their discipline wasn’t really surprising,’ Mark thought.
As the group began organizing to leave, Alice, who had been standing slightly apart, began making her way toward Mark.
The nun walked toward him with steps that were slightly slower than usual, as if she were hesitating about sothing.
Her expression was the sa as always, serious and hard to read, but there was sothing in the way her eyes moved between Mark and the ground that suggested she was about to ask for sothing.
"My lord," Alice said before reaching him. "Could we walk tog—?"
"Master."
Rose’s voice cut through Alice’s words before she could finish.
Mark turned his head toward Rose, who had approached from his other side.
"May I walk with you?" Rose said, looking directly at Mark and ignoring Alice completely. "There’s an important matter I’d like to discuss... privately."
"Uh, sure," Mark replied.
Then he turned toward Alice.
"Alice, could you cover the rear?" Mark asked. "I need soone I trust watching the back of the group."
"...Understood, my lord," Alice replied, after a pause that was just barely a second longer than normal.
Mark thanked her and began walking alongside Rose, moving away from the nun.
Alice stayed where she was, watching them walk away, and then she saw it.
Rose, while walking beside Mark, pressed herself against his arm.
Not subtly or discreetly, it was quite the opposite, as if her intention was for everyone to see.
And then Rose turned her head slightly back, to glance at Alice.
The vampire said nothing, she didn’t need to. The barely perceptible smile at the corner of her lips said everything.
"...She’s doing it on purpose," Alice murmured quietly as her eyes narrowed slightly.
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