As I sat opposite of Duke Gorgan and his wife, they didn't beat around the bush, play tactically, or ensure they gained the advantage, as I imagine most nobles behave. They answered every question I had regarding the mission with a sense of urgency, even providing additional information that was usually unnecessary, but it helped me understand the love they had for their son.
Thanks to their helpfulness, the conversation didn't even last an hour. "Thank you, Duke Gorgan and Lady Gorgan. I'm much better prepared now; I'll gather my party and immediately set off." Faintly smiling, I slowly stood up, prompting both of them to do so as well. "Is there anything you need? Weapons? Means of travel? Items? Artifacts? Anything?" As Lady Gorgans' anxious voice entered my ears, I promptly shook my head.
"Nothing I can think of, Lady Gorgan." Gently refusing Lady Gorgan, who looked like she was about to push for me to take something, the Duke placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "How long will it take you to arrive at the Abandoned Forest?" Furrowing my brows, I folded my arms with a thoughtful gaze. "If I rush, my party and I can arrive within several hours." My words slightly stunned them, as the Abandoned Forest was about a week away by carriage, and by horse, it was probably only five days.
"Only a few hours? That is quick. One of your party members must be a powerful space mage." With an expression of intrigue, the Duke curiously looked at me, prompting me to point at myself. "That would be me, Duke, Gorgan." Clearly, the Duke wasn't expecting me to be the powerful space mage, and he wasn't exactly wrong; I wasn't that powerful.
I was merely going to use Talis to first take me to the Abandoned Forest, and once I got a good look at it, we'd return, and I'd use [MassTeleport] in jumps to get closer to the forest. "Anyway, I shall be leaving, Duke and Lady Gorgan. Hopefully, when we meet again, it'll be with your son." As we all leave the room, I slightly bow to the two of them, causing the Duke to nod before he gestures to one of the guards to lead me out of the estate while giving me words before finally parting. "Bring our son back, Alexander."
After a few minutes of following the guard, I finally stepped out of the Duke's estate, causing my fake polite smile to vanish while my facial expression returned to normal. 'Man, interacting with nobles is such a pain.' Massaging my jaws, I take a few steps before using [Teleport], appearing just outside the Adventure Guild, only for a fully grown moose demi-human to be flung out of the building while crashing into me.
"Ugh, that woman, she packs a punch." "Um, Roose, can you get up?" "Alex? What are you doing?" Tapping Roose's shoulder, I enlighten him of my presence, and he looks down at me with a surprised gaze before quickly standing up while offering his hand, which I take. "What was I doing? I was just standing here, but then I was suddenly hit by a several-hundred-pound man flung out of the building like an arrow, and what worries me is I can only think of a few people who would do that."
Dusting myself off, I blankly eyed Roose, who snorted before folding his arms. "Yeah, who else but Yuki would do that? She's like everyone's wife; even if you win an argument with her, she still resorts to violence." As Roose rubbed his broken antler, quietly cursing to himself, I couldn't help but wryly chuckle. "Ah, I think that's just an Oni thing; they resolve most things by fighting." "Fuck, really? I wish I'd known earlier; there was no winning against her from the beginning. You must have it tough dealing with her."
Shaking my head, I patted Roose's shoulder, very clearly understanding his sentiment. "Heh, the only thing I have tough is satisfying her." Just as I finish speaking, another grown man is sent flying out of the building, prompting Roose and I to step aside before we turn and glance at the dog demi-human man. "Looks like she got another victim." "Seems so."
Entering the guild, Roose returns to his table while steering clear of Yuki, who was arguing with another group of adventurers about food. "Ha? Are you stupid? Avocados are better, Yuki!" "No, bacon is superior!" Angrily, Yuki punches the woman, flinging her out of the guild while standing up with a furious expression as she addressed the entire guild. "Who thinks avocados are better than Bacon!?" Of course, as no one wished to be punched, no one argued with Yuki.
"Haa, calm down, Yuki, do you want to be suspended by the guild again?" Approaching Yuki, I gently hit the back of her head, causing her to glance at me before huffing in annoyance while folding her arms. "Well, she deserved. Avocados are good, but they aren't better than bacon." Shaking my head, I glanced at Jasmine, Talis, Vanye, and Lazuli, gesturing them to converge.
"Alright, I've got us a quest." Handing the paper to Yuki, who had read it before passing it on to the next person, I briefly informed them of some other vital information along with my plan, which they accepted easily. "The Abandoned Forest is a rather dangerous place, more so than the dungeon we frequent." "Yes, but it'll work similarly to a dungeon; the deeper into the forest, the stronger the beasts, and we should be somewhat safe on the outskirts. Only when we enter the inner parts of the forest will we need to worry." Glancing at Jasmine, who seemed the most concerned, my words helped ease her worries.
As for actually searching the inner parts of the forest, such a thing was unnecessary; the Duke had stated their son wasn't that strong, so if he happened to go that deep, he'd be dead. "C'mon, this is a rescue mission, so let's leave quickly." "If we're faster, do you think we'll get a little extra bonus?" "Possibly, but don't be so greedy, Talis. 30 gold for a single mission is already very generous."
Exiting the guild, we headed to the entrance of Cassandra, leaving the city and stepping out onto the dirt-paved road. Finding an isolated spot a distance away from the city, Talis leaped onto my shoulders, firmly grasping me within her talons before flapping her wings.
"We shouldn't be long." "Hmph! The Queen of the Skies is the fastest!" Ignoring Talis's claim, I waved my hand at my wives while I was swiftly lifted into the air, their figures swiftly turning tiny before vanishing as Talis soared through the sky. "Talis, wrong way." "O-Oh."
With Talis changing directions, she quickly upped the speed, easily breaking the sound barrier, and thanks to her mastery of wind magic, I wasn't subjected to the terrifying pressure of the air. Looking down, I watched the ground below pass by in the blink of an eye; it was almost always a different piece of the earth. One moment it could be a hill, and the next, a lake.
Watching Talis vigorously flap her wings with an intense expression, we continued to speed up, causing me to whistle in awe. "You really might be the fastest bird, Talis." "Of course, Alex. I was born for speed." Softly nodding, we descended into silence, and after nearly five minutes, we began to slow down, prompting me to raise my head, only to see dense forest rich in mana. 'That must be it.'
Talis didn't land; instead, she just slowly flew around, letting me get a good image of the place where I would teleport us before eventually knocking on her leg. "I got, we can return now, Talis… See if you can beat the five-minute mark." Taking my challenge to heart, Talis turned around, flying us back to our party while she pushed herself, and after four and a half minutes, we returned.
"I-I did it. Ugh, s-so exhausting." Spotting my wives, Talis rapidly descended, causing me to nervously gulp and grab her legs. "Hey, Talis, you awake?" "Y-You deal with the landing, Alex. I'm too exhausted." Glaring at Talis with a twitching expression, I quickly used [Mass Teleport], plopping on my butt in the middle of my wives while Talis landed on my head. "Ouch." "Is Talis okay?" "Haa, yeah, she's fine." Roughly pushing Talis off me, stood up and grabbed Vanye's hand.
"I've got the image in my mind, so let's start." At my words, everyone grabs each other's hands, with Yuki grabbing my other hand while one of her hands was carrying Talis. "Ready?" "Yep." "Yes." Nodding, I closed my eyes and performed [Mass Teleport], causing us to vanish from our spot, reappearing in the middle of the woods a reasonable distance away, while I clutched my heart.
"Ugh, running out of mana is such a pain."