After getting out from the cave, we saw what seems to be a small settlement of some sorts from a distance.
But we were cautious about it first as it might be a mirage.
The four of us are exhausted and definitely hungry that soon, Khamsin threw his cautiousness in the wind and ran towards it.
Of course, I didn't run at all as Alpha insisted on carrying me again after bickering with Orm.
Orm calmed down after Alpha told him that it will be his turn next time.
Thankfully, it was not a mirage but a real trading post.
The settlement is quite miniscule compared to Khamsin's city. After counting all the buildings that they have, which turned out to be around 15-20 based on my estimation, Khamsin and Orm began asking around for a place to stay which didn't take long for them to find.
But it took long for them to settle with the innkeeper as according to Khamsin, it was quite ridiculous on how much they are going to charge us for staying.
After hearing my stomach growling with hunger, the three of them immediately began bickering again as each of them insisted on paying for everything.
The innkeeper widened his grin towards them as it is quite obvious that the three of them are going to pay no matter how much he is going to charge them.
But I don't trust the innkeeper as his grin is quite suspicious to me.
I got down from Alpha's grip, who doesn't seem to mind as he is still quite busy in bickering with Orm and Khamsin.
I gave the innkeeper a sweet smile and asked him if he could show me the accommodations of the price that he gave us.
Yep.
Just as I suspected.
He is trying to scam us.
Good thing that there is another inn that I confidently told him that I will take my business elsewhere and immediately pulled the three toddlers towards the exit.
It didn't take long for him to instantly apologize for his actions and offered me the best room he has...
For a price that is still way too ridiculous.
And for that, I shrugged at him and was about to go outside his establishment despite the three toddlers' protests as they told me that they can definitely afford it, when the innkeeper begged me not to go elsewhere and offered me a somewhat lower price than what he initially offered in the first place.
Business must be definitely slow in his establishment or he would not be this desperate.
I can't blame his establishment on being slow as he tried to scam us earlier.
And for that, I introduced the three males and the innkeeper the wonders of haggling.
....
Ahh..
This is the life!
Despite the haggling, the innkeeper is quite happy on having us as customers as the room he gave us is quite lovely.
Of course there's only one bed but it was quite big enough to fit the four of us despite the heights of my companions.
Hmm..
Well, the deserters are quite tall so it was not surprising at all.
Khamsin protested again when Alpha covered his eyes with a thick cloth as we all went inside the bathroom.
This time, I'm sitting on Orm's lap though Alpha doesn't seem to mind as the two of them are bathing me.
Surprisingly, Alpha is quite good in washing my hair as he placed something that made it more softer and glossy than usual.
What an unexpected skill of his!
I remembered that whenever he styled my hair, it was quite better compared to the others.
Of course all of them especially Lion are good in styling my hair but Alpha's skill is on another level.
I got plenty of compliments with my hair if it is his turn in styling it.
....
Alpha and Orm happily sat down with their backs in front of me as I told them that I am going to comb and tie their hair.
Although Orm doesn't like someone touching his hair, he loves it whenever I comb and style his hair.
I smiled at the memory of Orm brawling with Ghost, who had accidentally pulled his hair. It took quite a while for them to settle down in which I had to use my weapon at that time.
I missed making weapons but since the time we met Heph, there was no need for me to make one as Heph used extraordinary materials in making the pack's weapons though the design is still the same.
The pack still kept their old weapons though and brought it everywhere despite not using it.
....
We stayed for two days, replenishing our energy and bought much needed supplies before continuing with our journey.
Of course I went with them as I introduced the shopkeepers the wonders of haggling.
They don't seem to mind as we bought several huge quantities of the items.
Wholesale price!
Another new concept for them in which Khamsin exclaimed that he would definitely apply what he learned from me in his future dealings with the traders who will visit his manor.
Good plan as he is an impulsive buyer.
Impulsive enough that he bought me several jewelry, much to Orm and Alpha's annoyance that they also bought a lot of jewelry for me too. I have no idea how to wear all of them since they bought so many that it might take me several months to wear everything, even if I wear many of them at once every day.
I protested at first but soon bit my lip as they looked like they're having fun in choosing and buying jewelry for me.
Not just jewelry but clothes as well.
They must think that I'm some sort of a doll.
But I don't mind as they are quite good at choosing clothes for me to wear that I didn't miss designing my own clothes.
And oh, the clothes are so comfortable too and I'm not complaining if it's a bit revealing as I'm used to the fashion of this world.
After buying everything that we need and want, we went on our way.
....
After several days of traveling, we arrived at a town with an oasis.
It was a bit depressing since we haven't found the rest of the group and time is definitely running out for them if they are in danger.
The three males tried to cheer me up to no avail, making them decide to stay at the town as they tried to ask for information around the area.
We are almost done exploring the north, making us think that the rest of the group are not here, despite all our efforts in exploring every weird structures, oasis, settlements...
I began to sob again, making the three males enter in the nearest establishment without checking it first as they tried to find a way to lift my mood up.
Oh, my.
The establishment we went inside was a restaurant of some sorts in which the deserters that served the food are very, very, VERY attractive...
Ahem.
I tried not to look as I can feel my companions' regret of not checking the establishment first before entering it.
And I should not make matters worse as Orm and Alpha became quite clingy while Khamsin seems to be in a bad mood.
Why is he in a bad mood?
He fiddled with his ring, which used to be one of my earrings and spoke with the servers with such sternness that I tried to think of something that will lighten the mood for everyone.
Hmmm..
Ah! I know!
I'll teach them a game while we wait for our food!
I asked Khamsin if he has an empty scroll in which he handed it to me enthusiastically, delighted at the attention that I gave him.
Using the quill that he gave me, I wrote several lines on the scroll.
With a grin, I introduced them to playing tic-tac-toe.
Soon they are having fun with playing it that our food started to get cold.
They didn't seem to mind me eating first. I enjoyed watching them have fun in which I realized that they were used to surviving for too long that they forgot to have fun with simple things.
Their lives are monotonous, same like mine before.
Would I end up like them if I managed to live longer?
....
The room that we are staying is quite spacious, especially the....
A loud moan seems to interrupt my thoughts.
I tried to ignore it as I examined the rest of our room while the males' faces turned into a lovely shade of red.
Then another louder moan sounded, followed by several groans and grunts of pleasure.
What the?
I hope that they will finish soon as I want to sleep!
....
They didn't finish yet.
I'm in a foul mood despite Orm and Alpha trying to soothe me.
As for Khamsin...
He's in a much worse mood than me.
The creatures next door are so loud with their intercourse that I'm tempted to yell at them to shut up.
But of course I didn't do that as I recalled the time at the snowy mountains when Lion and I had several noisy rounds of intercourse that the rest of the pack had dark circles under their eyes.
They didn't complain though.
And surprisingly, their mood back then didn't sour.
So I should be patient and understanding too.
I started to relax, much to Orm and Alpha's relief when suddenly, the walls banged with a force that seems to shake the room that finally, I had enough that I stood up and angrily marched towards the other room.
Khamsin also followed as he too is in a bad mood.
Orm and Alpha's patience finally ran out too and they immediately walked alongside of me.
I banged on the door of the noisy room loudly, yelling for them to shut up in which the moans and the rest of the noises settled down instantly.
I sighed in relief and was about to go back to our room when the door opened and out came..
BUBU!!!
She immediately embraced me as she nuzzled me all over, telling me how glad she is to see me and..
Bubu..
I sighed and asked her if she's done with her activities as she is currently naked.
She glanced back and gave a grin to whoever she was with then immediately left the room in which I heard several voices protesting when she went out.
That Bubu...
When all of us got back to our room, I immediately pulled her inside the bathroom and told her to take a bath.
Of course she won't take a bath unless I join her so I did.
I asked her what happened to her since I got separated from the group in which she just shrugged and told me that she ended up in this town.
I see.
So she's definitely in a better spot than us.
Ah and also she has some information for me which she learned from one of her many bedside partners.
I don't want to know how many bedside partners she has.
But what I do want to know is what information she has for me.
There's a rumor of an ancient city in the west that contains all sorts of treasures.
Among the treasures, there is a magic stone that can give humongous power to the user.
The transformation stone!
But, what about the rest of the group?
We should have a meeting with the males after taking a bath.
...
We all sat down on the bed in which everyone tried to share their opinions.
Khamsin told us that after asking around, he learned that there isn't much to see in the rest of the north.
Which is a good thing as it means that the influence of the cultists haven't reached that far yet.
Bubu asked me what Khamsin is talking about and I patiently gave her a short summary of everything that we've been through before we met her.
To my surprise, Bubu looked outraged after hearing all about the cultists and murmured about something like how she's going to report everything to Deus.
Which is understandable as Deus has his own territory to protect.
She asked me if I saw what the cultists are worshipping in which I described it to her vaguely.
Is she familiar with the creatures and beings of the netherworld?
I'm hoping that she is as it will be easier for me to explain.
To my surprise, she told me that she is definitely familiar with them and she continued to nag me to properly describe what the cultists are worshipping.
There's no problem with Khamsin as all the deserters knew everything about the Netherworld and hell.
Same with Orm and Alpha as all magic users knew everything about all sorts of magic, especially dark magic.
I remembered Lion telling me that some magic users practiced dark magic, especially those who were members of the high council.
The influence of the demons have been going on for quite a long time.
I cleared my throat as I described to everyone what Khamsin and I saw at one of the cultists' structures.
After hearing my description, Bubu clenched her teeth and began muttering all sorts of curses, making me realize that she is in her serious self this time.
As for Orm, he shook his head and told us that he will make sure that nobody is practicing dark magic back in the territory.
Alpha sighed and asked us on what are we planning to do next.
Oh, right!
We all got distracted!
Alpha continued talking, asking everyone if we are going to proceed with our original mission of finding the transformation stone or focus on finding the rest of the group.
I... I... don't know...
I wanted to find the others, especially Lion as I'm worried about him.
I'm also worried about the others too.
But Lion...
Lion...
Bubu embraced me as I sobbed uncontrollably, whispering all sorts of comforting words until I finally calmed down after a long time.
Seeing that I finally calmed down, she told me that she knows that they are still alive as I still have my mating mark with them.
Oh.
That was observant of her.
I can't believe that I didn't realize it.
I still have four of my mating marks.
Lion and Sly are still alive.
I gave a sigh of relief before I suddenly remembered that Ghost is not my mate and I have no way of knowing if he is still alive.
Tears began to flow down my face in which Bubu asked me why I'm crying again.
I told her that I have no way of knowing whether Ghost is still alive, making Khamsin's eyes widened in astonishment.
He exclaimed that he thought that Ghost is already my mate as he looked too attached to me, not to mention the displays of affection that he gave me.
Alpha mentioned to him that Ghost also did the blood bonding despite not being my mate, making Khamsin look confused.
Me too Khamsin, me too.
I don't understand why.
He's dear to me and I know about his feelings towards me yet somehow...
Why he isn't my mate yet?
But I don't want to ask him that.
....
As for Deus, Bubu told everyone that he can manage to survive on his own and we don't need to worry about him, even if he is facing creatures and beings from the Netherworld.
She thought for a bit before commenting that it's only Maelsa that he's afraid.
Why?
I asked her why in which she just grinned at me and told me that I should decide about our next step before thinking about unnecessary things.
Oh, right!
Hmmm..
Seeing that I'm still torn, Khamsin told me that he's confident with Ghost's fighting abilities, especially his earth elemental magic as both of them trained for a bit before the incident with the sandstorm.
Orm, who was quiet most of the time, assured me that there's no problem with Sly and Lion as they can easily manage to survive on their own.
He's right.
With that assurance, I gave a huge yawn then told everyone that they know what to do next. After seeing them nod, I closed my eyes and snuggled towards Bubu, who embraced me while telling me that she will sleep next to me, despite Orm and Alpha's protests.
After hearing their bickering for a while in which Khamsin told them to shut up, I sighed and gave another yawn then finally fell asleep.