2 Hours later, 13:30PM—
"You learned magic at the age of 4!?" The carriage driver almost shouted while he was sitting beneath a tree.
Beside him, Syla was also sitting with a wooden box on her lap, she took a couple of dried jerky from the lunch box and ate it as she talked to the driver.
The two of them have been travelling for over 2 hours now and they had to rest at a nearby tree shade due to the horses already showing signs of fatigue, since the sun was also getting pretty hot, Syla thought that it would be a good idea aswell to have her lunch.
She bought a lot of dried beef jerky when she was still at Direwell, enough to fill her entire wooden lunch box right before meeting with the carriage driver whom she knew as Paroug, he told Syla his name moments ago and now they've been talking for over a hot minute while eating.
Surrounded with nothing but the vast grassy land was at some point in Syla's bucket list, although she had already experienced this when she was riding the carriage that was heading from Demiria to Direwell, where she met with Gauss and Lori, Syla still appreciate this second time of her surrounded by nature.
Previously, she told Paroug that she was able to use magic at the age of 4, mentioning that her parents was able to hire an instructor for her. At first Paroug couldn't really believe Syla's story, but after remembering that she was the girl that saved Direwell from a kidnapping incident, he had no choice but to believe since her power clearly doesn't just show up out of nowhere.
"Learning magic isn't something that can be taken lightly, i heard that you need to risk your life to be able to use magic.. What did you do back then?" Paroug asked, his eyes showed curiousity like never before.
"Well, i was put into some sort of an endurance test- Umm how do i say it.. Basically, my instructor would shoot fireballs at me and i was ordered to dodge it or else it will explode and kill me–" Syla was about to continue her explanation when Paroug suddenly interrupted.
"What!!? So your magic instructor told you to dodge a fireball or else it'll kill you!? Are you sure your parents didn't have something wrong in their head?" Paroug said, he was thinking that Syla's parents were cruel for subjecting her in such dangerous act.
"N- no no no.. You got it wrong, Well not really- The fireball part was real, however my instructor is extremely good at controlling his magic, he said that even if the fireball was flying straight towards me, it would curve its trajectory at the last second so that i won't get hit– Atleast that's what i believe, because i never actually got hit, so—" Syla explained quickly to put Paroug's misunderstanding down and calmed him.
"But it's still dangerous isn't it?! What if your instructor failed to control his fireball?" Paroug said.
"To be honest, i was the one that relentlessly asked my parents to teach me magic– So in one way or another, i already knew the risk, and it's just like what you said earlier, learning magic is not something that can be taken lightly— Some people could awaken their mana instantly when they escaped from a disaster that almost took their lives—
"However i was different, i was put in a fake danger so that my mana could awaken without actually being in real dangers, the difference is that learning magic with fake dangers takes a lot more time, my instructor said that people usually awaken their mana after a month or two of constant training, but fortunately i awakened my mana at just two weeks." Syla explained, she occassionally smiled amidst her words because she remembered the time when she was still a child, with her parents and Mr. Hensen.
"I- i see.. I never knew you could do that, but learning magic at the age of 4?.. And you succeeded? Isn't that a bit too crazy!? If you had enrolled in a magic academy, who knows how strong you'd be right now." Paroug responded, he was stunned by Syla's achievements and her maturity even at such young age.
"Magic Academy huh.. I've heard about it, but isn't it only available in cities? Let alone a city, i never even visited another town before i became a wanderer." Syla said
"Is that so— You're stronger than i thought, this is the first time i've met someone like you, to think that a demihuman like you existed, who knows how many more are out there, those who bear incredible talent, yet lacks the necessary resources to nurture it.. This world truly demands luck, no matter where you go." Paroug said with a solemn face and demeanor.
Syla and Paroug went on to have a chat over various topics, together they shared each side of their stories, despite their age difference, they surprisingly have a lot of things in common, for a youngster, and an adult.
A few minutes passed shortly after, accompanied with the continuous windy breeze from the mountains, Syla leaned onto the tree trunk and watched the sky as a flock of birds passed over her head.
Her stomach was full, and she had enough of rest, when the two of them were about to continue with their trip, Syla suddenly heard a group of footsteps in the distance.
Step!
Step!
Step!
"Hm!?" Syla's ears perked up, her eyes opened and she turned her head towards the source of the footsteps.
Far in the distance, coming from the inside of a dense grove surrounded by multiple deers and small cliffs, a group of people who looked worn down and tattered, wearing small armors and equipped with weapons was seen walking towards Syla's carriage, Syla immediately began to get cautious, she observed the person that was at the forefront of the group and noticed that his face was calm, but it had a slight hint of fear.
She also saw that one of the people in the group looked injured, he was being dragged by the shoulder and one of his leg was cut off. Syla quickly realized what their intention might be for wanting to approach her.
"What's wrong Syla?" Paroug asked.
"A group of people is coming, they're equipped with weapons and– Wearing armors on their shoulders and knees though their condition seems dire." Syla replied, her voice was quiet but audible.
"What? Are they bandits!?" Paroug's face quickly turn into worries as he didn't expect to meet with anyone in this place. "But this place should be far from any settlements, even bandits usually stayed within a forest or a cave."
"Hmm.. Im guessing, but i think they're not bandits." Syla said while still keeping a deep focus for the armed men.
"Then?" Paroug asked, wondering for Syla's answer.
"They looked more like a mercenary to me.." She said. "Still, you should stay behind me, i'll talk to them, they seems to have noticed us anyway."
"O- okay, be careful Syla." Paroug said, he was obviously scared, but he trusted in Syla's capabilities.
A few seconds later, the group of people had almost arrived at the carriage, and beside it was Syla standing, waiting for them. She could see some of the people in the group talking quietly, most likely wondering who she was, but she ignored it until their leader walked forward.
"Who are you people?" Syla said, her tone was serious and her face showed it even more.
"Ah, sorry if we looked like some sort of bandits, we're not what you think, we're just mercenaries." The person who looked like a leader, bearing the face of a middle-aged man with a tied up hair on his back and a sword on his waist, negotiated with Syla about their sudden appearance.
"Really? How can we trust you?" Syla said as she tried to gather more information from the mercenary's leader.
"W- well, i suppose there's not much we can do, but we just need a carriage to bring us to the nearest town, one of our friend got seriously injured after we fought with a monster, and he needed immediate help!!" The mercenary's leader seemed desperate, he pleaded with Syla to tag along in the carriage while providing coins.
"We'll pay you for the ride, if you think this isn't enough, then atleast we'll pay it when we arrived later!" He said.
Seeing their genuine worries, Syla then turned towards Paroug who was standing behind her, he heard all of their conversation and Syla thought that this matter would be the best to be decided by the carriage's owner and also driver.
"What do you think? Should we take them?" Syla asked to Paroug.
"Huh? Uhh.. Im not sure, but i think they're being genuine.." Paroug replied.
Syla stared at him for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and turned back towards the mercenaries.
"Alright, you can join us– But.. You need to put your weapons inside the carriage, not on your waist or your back." Syla said, her voice carried a bit of threatening aura that made the mercenaries gulped their own saliva.
"That's not a problem.." The mercenary leader said.
Syla ended the negotiation with a smile and greeted the mercenaries into the carriage before they continued their journey.