Chapter Eleven: On to Seyruun!
Zelgadiss and Kera walked downstairs to the tavern. Lina, Amelia and Gourry were already eating breakfast. Amelia looked up as they entered and waved, then she continued eating. Kera stared, wide-eyed. Zelgadiss sighed and explained, "That's the way they always eat."
"Oh," said Kera as she watched Lina and Gourry quarreling over a thick slab of meat. "It's amazing how fast they can eat…"
"Yeah," said Zelgadiss, sitting down at the over-laden table.
"Hey, where's Xelloss?" Lina asked after she noticed that the priest was not with them.
"He left just now, saying that he had some business to attend to," said Kera, shrugging. "Don't ask me what it is, though."
"He's always disappearing for no reason anyway," remarked Lina. "Or rather, he has a reason but he won't tell us."
"That's his secret," muttered Kera as she bit into an apple.
Everyone stared at her in amazement. "Wha-what? What did I say?" Kera asked nervously.
"How did you know he always says that, Kera-san?" Amelia said. "Unless…"
"Huh? But… I knew him before I met you all," explained Kera. "Even before I met with Zelgadiss-san."
"So are you related to him or something? Who is he, really?" Lina questioned.
"I… don't know," confessed Kera. "He never really told me anything about himself. But what made you think I was related to him?"
Lina and Amelia exchanged a glance. "Well… for one thing, he takes very good care of you," said Lina. "If the injured person had been any one of us, I doubt very much that he would care that much."
"Oh, I didn't realize," said Kera. She looked thoughtful, then said under her breath, "It looks like he isn't lying about his master wanting me as her priestess."
"Did you say something, Kera-san?" Amelia asked.
"No, no," said Kera quickly. "I was just wondering when we are leaving. By the way, where are you guys headed?"
"Seyruun!" Amelia said happily. "That's my home and also, we want to have a look at the library. There may be some information on the Clair Bible there."
"Will you be travelling with us?" Lina asked. "We would love to have your company."
"Well… I don't have any place to go so I guess I'll follow you," said Kera. "That is, if you don't mind having me."
"Of course we won't mind, right, Zelgadiss-san?" Amelia said.
"You're welcome to come to Seyruun with us, Kera-chan," said Zelgadiss, smiling.
"Hey, Kera, you must reconsider," whispered Gourry. "Travelling with Lina is-"
"I heard that! What were you going to say, Gourry?" Lina growled, grabbing Gourry by the collar.
"Er… Travelling with you is very… fun! That's it! Fun!" Gourry said, sweatdropping.
"Hmmph!" Lina snorted. "Don't think I don't know what you were going to say."
"If you're done eating, Lina, could we set off now?" Zelgadiss asked.
"Sure, sure," said Lina. "Waiter, could we have the bill please? Oh, and while you're at it, could you bring three set lunches to take away?"
Kera, Zelgadiss and Amelia sweatdropped. "Lina-san… My father is going to kill me when he sees that bill," complained Amelia. "Could you please stop spending so much?"
"Nonsense!" Lina said, flashing the royal seal of Seyruun before the stunned waiter. Amelia facefaulted. "Lina-san…!" Amelia wailed.
"Ok, ok, Amelia," said Lina finally. "I promise that this is that last time I'll use the royal seal, all right?"
Amelia sighed in relief. Kera glanced at both girls thoughtfully. Zelgadiss got up from his seat and started walking towards the exit. Kera and Amelia quickly joined him. After paying for the meal, Lina and Gourry also followed suit. Soon, they were on the road to Seyruun.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Ah… I'm so full!" Lina said, contentedly patting her stomach. "What I would need now is a fight to make today a great day. If we meet any bandits, boy, are they going to regret they even heard of the name 'Lina Inverse'!"
"What will you do to them?" Kera asked cautiously.
"What I will do to them? Hmm… it depends on how polite they are," replied Lina, grinning. "If they are polite enough to hand over all the money that they stole, I'll be merciful and just chase them away with a Flare Arrow or two. However, if they are rude to me, they will get a Fireball and I'll still take their money. If they really make me mad, I'll give them a Dragon Slave! Heh heh."
"Lina-san!" Kera exclaimed. "That's terrible!"
"Eh? What's terrible?" said Lina, looking surprised.
"Surely simple bandits do not deserve a Dragon Slave!" Kera protested.
"Why not? Oh, I see," said Lina. "You don't want to damage the forest, right? In that case, I'll just blow them up into the sky. Will that be better?"
"No! You just don't seem to get it, do you?! I just don't see the need for you to use the Dragon Slave on anyone at all!" Kera shouted angrily.
"You are the one who doesn't get it!" Lina retorted, starting to get piqued. She thought, how dare this girl tell me what to do?! "How else am I going to deal with bandits and other annoying people?! Do you expect me to ask for their permission to hurt them?"
Meanwhile, Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadiss moved to a safe distance away from the quarreling pair. Unnoticed by anyone, a smiling Xelloss sat in a tree, watching them argue with each other.
"What do you think I am, stupid?" Kera argued. "Of course not! You could at least give them a chance to run before hurting them."
"What?!" Lina yelled, grabbing Kera by her collar. "What fun will that be? Travelling will be so boring if we did that all the time!"
"Travelling is boring! That's a fact and you can't change it simply by making others suffer," said Kera. "And, get your hands off me."
Lina released her and walked forward, her nose in the air. "Fine then, Kera-san. I'll let you deal with the next group of bandits that we come across."
"Fine!" Kera retorted, glaring at Lina.
Lina glared back, and then they both turned their noses up at each other and stalked forward. Zelgadiss sighed as he walked beside Kera. Gourry shook his head sadly as he caught up with Lina while Amelia looked unsure of who to support and she walked in the middle. They walked like this for an hour or so, until a large, bearded man with a thick club stepped into their path. "All right, the five of you can hand over all your valuables now," he said with a smug grin. "We've got you surrounded so don't even think about fighting back."
Kera and Lina exchanged glances. Lina shrugged and folded her arms. Hmm, this should be interesting, thought Xelloss as he settled down on another tree to watch. Gourry started to draw his sword when Lina stopped him. "Let Kera handle this on her own like she said she would. Go on, Kera-san, do your stuff," taunted Lina.
"Hmmph! As if I need your permission," muttered Kera.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Hand over all you've got," demanded the bandit, impatiently thumping his club in the palm of his other hand. "Or do I have to make you?"
"Why don't we do it the other way around?" Kera asked snidely, folding her arms. She toyed with her sword hilt confidently. "You hand over all the stuff that you've robbed from others and we'll promise not to hurt you too much."
"What?!" The bandit looked amazed. A girl who didn't look much older than sixteen was threatening him? "So what if you can fight?" he said, gesturing towards his men. "We outnumber you three to one. The odds are against you, girl."
"Hmm… well, I guess I have to warn you first," said Kera, confidentially whispering in the man's ear. She gestured towards Lina. "That redhead over there is the Bandit-Killer, Lina Inverse. You've probably heard rumours about her, but let me tell you, those rumours were all false. She's even scarier in person! She doesn't even spare her own travelling companions."
Her acting skills were coming in handy, thought Kera, grinning mentally. The bandit chief seemed to believe her. Well, what she was telling him was true, wasn't it? The bearded bandit looked at Lina, (who happened to be beating Gourry up for some reason) then back at Kera, who nodded dramatically. He sweatdropped, then ordered one of his henchmen to get some of their money. Kera gave a scornful glance at the handful of gold coins that they offered to her.
"Is that it? Didn't I ask you for all of your money? It looks like you need more persuasion," said Kera, sighing as if in regret. "All right, then. Let me tell you. I'm also a black magic sorceress and I can be as bad as Lina, or even worse than she is, if I wanted to. So, you'd better hand over all of your money right now, or else!"
She fired one Flare Arrow alarmingly close to the bandit chief's right foot. He jumped in fright. "That was only a tiny demonstration of my magic. If you don't want a pair of Dragon Slaves on your heads, please hand over the money right now," said Kera, smiling sanguinely.
The chief bandit hastily sent his henchmen to retrieve more of their treasure. Kera and Lina's eyes glittered at all the gold that was handed to them. While Lina watched sulkily, Kera pocketed all the money, then started walking again, grinning triumphantly. The others followed her. Amelia caught up with Kera and asked, "Kera-san! How did you do it? How did you manage to let the bandits give you their money?"
"That is a secret," said Kera, winking.
"Tell me, please?" Amelia pleaded, her eyes glittering with stars.
"All right," Kera said, sweatdropping. "I made use of mainly Lina's reputation, a some acting skills and a little magic."
Lina's ears twitched. "Did I hear my reputation?" she asked, suddenly catching up with Kera and Amelia. "If you used my reputation, I should get some of the money too."
"Says who?" Kera protested. "I did all the work. The money should belong to me."
Oh dear, here we go again, thought Amelia as she slowly backed away.
"Ha! But if it wasn't for my reputation, you wouldn't be able to do anything," argued Lina as the two girls glared at each other again.
"Who needs your reputation anyway? Even if you weren't here, I would still be able to get their money," declared Kera. "Maybe not this much, but still a considerable amount."
The two girls continued scowling at each other, then Kera sighed and looked away. "All right, since you insist on being so childish, I'll give you one third of the money," she said, reluctantly getting out her money pouch.
"Childish?! How can you say I'm being childish? I'm being practical here," said Lina, looking annoyed. "Who wants your dirty money anyway?"
"Oh? So you don't want my money now? Fine, I'll keep it, but don't regret your decision," mocked Kera as she kept the pouch inside her cape again.
Lina pretended that she did not care and continued walking sullenly. Zelgadiss, Gourry and Amelia sighed and sweatdropped.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My, my, thought Xelloss as he walked a short distance behind them. Kera's almost as good as I am when it comes to taunting people. My master certainly has good judgement, he thought, smiling. When Kera suddenly glanced behind, he disappeared again. Shaking her head in puzzlement, Kera couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being followed.
~ ~ ~ The End of Chapter 11 ~ ~ ~
I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to get posted. I sort of forgot about it… hehe…^_^;;