In the Land of Leadale - Volume 1 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

After that, the enraged second-in-command ordered them all to bed. Having determined that the wood golem Cayna created on their way to Felskeilo posed no issues as a night guard, this time he had her use several. 

Having the wood golems patrol at night also allowed everyone to get a good night’s sleep, which made the golems a big hit. However, that was if you could put up with the extreme discomfort of passing one when you got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night… 

Before Cayna went to sleep, Arbiter came to her to apologize. 

“I’m real sorry, miss. I shouldn’t have told ya to suddenly spar with me like that. I got a little crazy.” 

“‘Crazy’?” 

“Yeah. When I charged at you, for some reason, I felt like I had to. After it was all over, I realized that wasn’t like me at all. So I’m real sorry!” 

Arbiter put both hands together in front of him in an apologetic gesture, and Cayna replied, “You really are serious,” with a smirk. 

“Honestly, I didn’t even get hurt or anything,” she reassured him. “I went overboard, too. I’m sorry.” 

“No kiddin’. I never would’ve figured you were that good. Sorry for underestimating you.” 

“You’ve done more than enough apologizing. Let’s call this one a draw. Otherwise, I’ll owe you even more.” 

“Huh? You mean like when I told you about all that stuff? That was just advice I wanted to pass down from one adventurer to another. Just forget about owin’ me for any of that.” 

“Sigh. Okay, if you say so.” 

Cayna noted (that is, told Kee) that she’d make it up to him once they reached Helshper. 

As the two conversed quietly, a warning came flying at them from the second-in-command. 

“You two!” 

““Y-yes?!”” 

They hurriedly flew away from each other and slipped under their own covers. They were relieved to avoid any further reprimand. 

Cayna’s sleeping area was a hammock tied between two carriages. Another carriage nearby had been turned into sleeping quarters for the merchant women. 

She was still a bit tired from running around. She’d surely sleep soundly once she calmed down. Cayna released the tension from her body but opened her eyes when a report came in from Kee. 

“Around the start of your mock battle, there was evidence that Buff had been cast over a wide area of people in the campsite.” 

“Huh?” 

As if in answer to her question, Kee brought up a screen in front of Cayna, displaying the log from her and Arbiter’s sparring session. Sure enough, it said “Enhancement Effect Denied.” While the merchants had been getting ready for bed, Cayna and the mercenaries who had gathered at the center of the campsite had been cast with some sort of enhancement magic. 

Furthermore, the mere fact that the second-in-command had been elsewhere and was the only one who’d remained calm helped Cayna come to a realization: 

The effect itself was weak enough that it got interrupted by the slightest disturbance. 

“That may explain the unnatural aspects of Sir Arbiter’s apology.” 

“Oh, right. You mean the part about ‘feeling like he had to’ or something?” 

“I believe it was most likely a form of sound-wave hypnosis that carried on the wind and ordered him to attack.” 

“…Seriously?” 

“It is only a conjecture, but I can confirm there is about a seventy percent probability.” 

Since Cayna hadn’t been the one to cast it, she didn’t think it was too big a deal, but this was one seriously roundabout and elaborate prank. 

Furthermore, while the list of people she knew who might do such a thing was short, she had a pretty good guess. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” 

However, even if the person was trying to send a message, there was no sign they were going to suddenly appear out of the shadows and laugh upon being found out. On top of that, Cayna had no idea what was to be gained from doing something so roundabout. 

“I’m kinda nervous to find out what else is in store.” 

Her mind a complicated mix of anxiety and joy, Cayna obeyed the call of sleep and closed her eyes. She prayed she wouldn’t wake to find that person’s traps greeting her the next morning. 

She also had a feeling this was somehow the only good night’s sleep she was going to get.