Chapter 37

The next day, everyone is climbing into the carriage except Vain, Lumia, Luxia, Veto, and Void. Luxia held onto Heo's reins, while Vain guarded the right, Lumia on the left, Void in the back, and Veto rode on top of it. Before they left Vain called for his summons, "Come Lem, Ray, and War. Ray and Lem when you come be in big mode." Two black magic circles and one brown magic circle appeared. Ray and War both came out of their portals and a large brown mechanical golem came out of the brown portal. He had turrets on his shoulders, wrists, feet, knees, and elbows. Ray and Lem were as big as the mansions and Vain told Ray to guard the back and Lem to guard the front. As for War, he was told to guard the inside of mansion with Zec and Sia. Vain then told them to kill anyone who wants to force their way in or enter without permission. They all nodded their head and got into place. So Heo started to pull the carriage and they all left toward their destination.

They travel at a leisurely pace so everyone could enjoy the sights and Luxia calculated that at the speed they're going they should reach their destination in five days. The two girls were peeking their heads out of the carriage and looking around. Luvia was worried they might fall out but Lumia said, "Don't worry Luvia. I'll catch them if they do." Luvia smile at her response and Rexalia stared at Lumia. Lumia noticed her gaze and waves toward her. She smiled, waved back, and they started talking. Luxia was talking to Vain making sure they were going in the right direction. Until Nezerand pokes his head out and said, "Hey master, there's a few things I want to learn." Luxia giggles and said, "Looks like you're needed." Vain then slowed down to the windows and said, "What is it, kid?" He started to ask questions and Vain gave him answers when he asked about certain things. Void then came up to them and said, "I thought you hated idiots Vain?" Vain reply, "I do but if they're asking questions as a way to learn, are they really idiots?" Void laughed and said, "I guess you're right about that." So all three of them started to talk while explaining stuff to Nezerand.

Ruby heard them talking and decided to talk to Luvia to learn more about cooking. So Luvia explained to her in detail about how to cook and answered any questions she had. Flayna puffed her cheeks so Lumia asked, "What's wrong?" Flayna reply, "Well everyone is learning something but me." Lumia then said, "I see, then what are you interested in?" Flayna replied, "I don't know.Is it weird for me to not be interested in something?" Lumia laughed and said, "No, it's perfectly fine. Some people know what they want to do early in life and for others, they want to check their options. When I was little I did a lot of things, though there are some things I'm bad at. So take your time and when you're ready you can pursue it with passion." Soon Lumia, Rexalia, and Flayna all talk to each other about various things.

After some more traveling, the sun starts to set and Luxia stopped Heo, as they all set up camp in an open plain. Vain and Void were on guard duty, while Luvia and Ruby cooked. Luxia was checking the carriage's condition and Veto slept on top of it. When the food was ready, they all came to eat, and after they finish they all went to sleep, except for Vain, Void, Veto, and Luxia. Veto and Luxia cleaned the plates, bowls, and utensils while Vain and Void stayed guarding the area. Luvia was sleeping with the twins and Nezerand, but Vain saw her coat wasn't big enough to cover them. So he took off his coat and cover them with it. Void also took off his coat and covered Lumia and Rexalia with it. When they were all snug and warm, Vain and Void went back to their original positions. Their journey continued like this, but on the third day, Void detected some bandit scouts. So he quickly knocked them out and returned without anyone knowing he was gone.

Finally, they reached the lake and while they set up camp the kids went to go play in the water with Luvia and Luxia. They took off their coats, shoes, and boots, before jumping into the shallows and splashing water at each other. Vain then removed Heo's harness and he sat down in the water, letting his body soak in the cold waters. Once Vain, Void, Veto, Lumia, and Rexalia finish preparing the camp they joined the others. Soon it was time for lunch and everyone ate some stew and drank some tea and fruit juice. When Vain finished eating, he stood up and walked away further into the forests. Nezerand followed after him and everyone else went back to play in the water. Lumia dove into the deeper parts of the lake, with her clothes still on, and after seeing there was nothing in the lake she resurfaces. Her black hair was shining in the sunlight and she swam back to the others. She took Rexalia's hands and pulled her deeper into the lake, but Rexalia quickly hugged Lumia when her feet weren't touching the ground.

Lumia gave a small giggle and said, "You don't know how to swim?" She shook her head and Lumia said, "I see, then I'll teach you." Lumia swam back and they stood on the ground in chest deep water. Lumia held her hands and told her to use her legs to paddle. So she did and Lumia stepped back as she moved forward. They practice together and the twins saw them and wanted to learn how to swim as well. So Luvia changed her white skirt to white shorts and started to teach both of them by herself. Because Veto was sleeping on top of the carriage, Void dove into the deeper waters, and Luxia was busy cleaning. They each held on to one of Luvia's hands and she walked through waist deep water as they paddle their legs. Luvia wasn't going to go any deeper so that if they stop paddling they can touch the ground with their feet.

They all swam for a long time until the sun started setting and they all got out of the water. Heo also got out of the water, placed some sticks in the campfire pit they made and lit the sticks on fire with magic. Luvia then cast magic drying everyone up and changed back into her skirt. She then took out some ingredients to cook and Ruby helped her. Flayna, Rexalia, and Lumia sat by the fire waiting. Vain and Nezerand both returned and their clothes were covered in dirt. So they went into the lake and cleaned themselves off, before sitting by the fire and slowly drying up. Void then surface from the bottom of the lake and joined the others, after drying himself with magic. Vain talked about a cave that they found and they took a little looked around inside. But they stopped looking as the sun was starting to set. So Vain and Nezerand were going to take another look inside of it tomorrow to see if they can find anything useful. Void then told everyone he also had found something. He found a magic crystal and a cave under the water. He didn't take the crystal and only examined it. It turns out the crystal is what keeps the lake clean and filled with water. So he was planning to examine the crystal more before heading into the underwater cave.

Soon dinner was ready and they all ate while talking to each other about what they did. Void was impressed and said, "When you guys all get better at swimming, maybe we can take a look at the crystal together." That made Flayna and Ruby excited to swim again so they ran towards the lake. But Luvia stopped them and said, "I know you guys are excited, but you need to sleep. If you don't sleep properly it will be bad for your health and you'll be tired tomorrow." Flayna puffed her cheeks and Ruby ran back over to Luvia and snuggled in her arms. Flayna slowly walked over and cuddle with Luvia as well. Luvia hugged them both keeping them safe in her arms, before looking at Nezerand. He shook his head and slept next to Heo. Luvia would've let him, but she remembers she was busy taking care of Rexalia that she didn't apply protections onto the clothes. So she started to worry that Nezerand might get cold, but Vain wrapped his coat around him and told Heo to slightly heat up a bit. Heo obeyed and his body started to lit up as the air feels slightly warmer.

With her mind at ease, Luvia kept the twins warm as they fell asleep. Rexalia and Lumia also fell asleep, leaving Vain, Void, and Luxia staying awake through the night. Void then detected a group of one-hundred bandits on horses coming towards the forest, so he teleported in front of them. They stopped their horses and Void said, "Leave or I will end you." Void raised his left hand and pointed his palm at them. A barrier then covered the front of them and that confirm Void's observation about mages in the group. One of the men then said, "End us? I'd like to see you try and get pass the barrier." Void then said, "I gave you a warning but if it's a demonstration you want, Eraser." A black beam shot out of his palms, easily passing through the barrier, and when it reached the man Void canceled the magic. Everybody stared at where the man used to be, turned their horses around, and ran away in terror.

Void then quickly return to camp and Vain said, "I have no right to stop you if you want to be a killer. Just be prepared for the consequences. After all, killing has no heroes or villains, you'll save some people, you'll hurt others, some will praise you, while others seek revenge, you'll save families, and in turn ruined others." Void then said, "Yeah I know. Because I was an assassin, Lumia almost died in our world. So many people wanted to kill me and get revenge. So I just got rid of them, but then more rose in their place. Soon they found out my identity and that put my family in danger." Vain then said, "Yeah... that's why I try not to make friends and work alone. Having children is pretty difficult since you'll expose them to the danger." Void chuckle and said, "And yet here we are. One teen and three kids." Vain sigh and said, "Nothing we can do about it. Our group is filled with a lot of kind hearted people. So we just have to work harder and that's the way I like it." Void laughed and said, "I couldn't say it any better." The moon beautifully reflected in the lake, lighting up the night, and creating a beautiful night scenery.