The sun was high up in the sky, the breeze was just right, and forest birds would chirp whenever they saw the unfamiliar structure pass by.
The carriage wheels handled the forest terrain with ease, smoothly gliding over rocks, broken roots and unfavourable terrain.
The only ti they had to step out of the carriage was to dispose of a tree that had fallen, obstructing the road.
Besides that, the last six hours of their journey had been nothing but blissful.
It was like the adventure novels he had read back on earth, only that this ti, Eliron was experiencing it first hand.
He stared at the side, watching as the trees slowly passed by, the sun filtering through the leaves, then let out a pleased sigh.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself." Artie comnted as she turned to look at him.
Eliron had relaxed his back so much that he was practically lying down, his arms folded behind his head.
He was the one with the map, and was ant to be in charge of directions, but he had not checked the map once in the last five hours.
Pfft. It was a straight road anyways...
Besides, he was not the only one enjoying the journey. Yen was already fast asleep, surrounded by the many pillows she brought with her.
"Who wouldn’t enjoy such a ride? The small bumps on the way rattle my bones just right, I feel like I am enjoying one of Terra’s massages."
Artie cocked a brow. "Is that so, I didn’t know you were a fan of my best friend’s massage."
There was a certain edge in her voice that made him consider his next words carefully.
"Uhum..." Eliron cleared his throat. "Spewking of massages, I hear there are many luxuries in Kingsbridge."
Unlike Artaris that had just the bare minimum needed to support living, Kingsbridge was actually a bustling city.
Throughout the past month, Eliron had gathered eye witness reports from those that were in charge of getting supplies in the past, adding that to his knowledge from the novel, he was well inford.
"Luxuries? We aren’t going there on a vacation are we?"
Eliron scoffed then sat up straight, sitting next to her.
"Surely you don’t expect our trip to be all business do you? There’s a popular saying back where I co from, he who works deserves to eat!"
"Where you co from? Wouldn’t that be Artaris?" Artie asked, giving him a blank stare.
"Ehh—Focus on the bigger picture..." Eliron sighed.
"While we conduct our business in Kingsbridge, we won’t shy away from experiencing the city."
"I see..." Artie said, just before becoming silent for a few seconds.
Then she spoke, her voice a little strained this ti. "Then while we are there, perhaps you will show around the city?"
"For research purposes of course," she quickly added. "I’d like to see how they... structure their activities..."
Eliron paused.
’Did she just...’
It was absurd to think that Artie would even consider doing anything not beneficial to whatever hidden goals she had.
And yet, here she was asking him to explore the city with her.
Any normal person would think this was clearly her asking him out on a date, but knowing Artie, Eliron decided to not get too ahead of himself...
"I’m sure we can find ti to check out a few spots." Eliron replied casually, keeping the tone of her request.
Artie nodded. "Then it is a date."
"..."
She said it so boldly that her previous Tsundere attitude now seed a lot like an act.
And that caught Eliron unaware, a surprised expression appearing on his face.
"What?" She chuckled softly, her laughter sounding more blissful than it should have.
She was clearly enjoying herself.
Artie turned to stare at him, her forest green eyes boring into his. The sunlight glided into them at just the right angle, igniting the orbs like gemstones.
As if that was not enough, her red hair was swaying with the carriage, wavy strands of scarlet framing parts of her face.
Eliron swallowed.
Then he steeled his heart.
Artie was an unrepentant tease, he had been teased so much by this woman that he had practically grown a thick skin to it.
He would not fall for her trickery today.
Eliron grabbed his water skin and chugged down so water, trying to focus on sothing other than the vibrant beauty beside him.
Artie leaned close to his ear...
"We already touched our foreheads haven’t we?"
Her voice was low, with a sultry edge that sent tingles down his spine.
"One would say the next step is to be wed."
Eliron spat out the water he had in his mouth.
He had blushed all the way up to his ears, effectively failing once again.
Artie on the other hand covered her mouth with one hand as she giggled, enjoying his embarrassnt to the fullest.
Eliron coughed, trying to clear the water that had clogged up his wind pipe. "Y-you devil..."
It was only recently he discovered how much of a blunder he made when he touched foreheads with Artie.
Back on earth, it was just a sign of affection, a way to tease soone without going too far. But to the wood elves? It was even more intimate than kissing!
Yet, Artie had not said a word about it, she waited for as long as possible before revealing it to him in the most embarrassing way possible.
He sighed.
"Maybe I’ll have to reconsider this so-called date..."
"Not on your life. A deal is a deal." Then a small smile appeared on her face as she stared at the road ahead.
anwhile, Ash was watching from the back with wide eyes. He had never seen Lady Artie act this way in front of anyone...
Even the most talented n in Artaris were not afforded a second of her ti, and yet...
’Aren’t those two flirting?’
Sohow, Ash felt was was going to see more shocking things as the journey progressed...
They ended up taking a few stops along the way to allow the horse to drink water and rest a bit before continuing their journey.
The wood elves had strict rules against mail treating animals, since they were living beings, they were accorded respect as such.
Once night ca, the party found a comfortable stop not too far away from the road to camp.
Artie cooked them dinner with Yen’s assistance, and after eating, they sat in a circle next to the fire, discussing amongst themselves.
Yen sighed and laid back, using Eliron’s lap as a pillow as she stared at the night sky.
Eliron stared down at her and frowned. "Don’t tell you already want to sleep?"
"And what is wrong with that? Good night..." She yawned.
"Use one of your pillows."
"Nope, this is comfier."
While the party of four were enjoying a calm journey, little did they know—
That trouble was brewing in Kingsbridge...
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