Hey guys, MT here!

I'm very sorry for being gone for nearly a month but I had a tremendous amount of things to deal with. Aside from being severely sick for a week (which I am still recovering from), I also went on vacation with my family, had to plan out some things for my sister's wedding, had to deal with preparations for my second semester of college, and had some family issues that didn't leave me in the best of mindsets to write. I tried to write what I could for this chapter but I still need to get back in the flow so please forgive its lacking in the normal quality it would normally have.

ENJOY!

Chapter 61

Two days later…

Everyone had collected their things and gone back to Des Ornières to stay together and plan as they awaited the day they were going to leave. That day had finally come and the group of four and two was now getting their things together and preparing to World Door over to northern Germania, where they would stow away onto the carts of Dwarven allies.

"Everyone ready?" asked Saito after picking up a duffle bag, Derf, and Vivlio. All the girls nodded and Saito turned to Louise. "Louise, let's go."

Louise nodded and Saito placed a hand on Tenshi and then held Louise's free hand. Louise opened a World Door and the small town they needed to go to was visible.

Normally, Louise could only open a door to a place either she or Saito had seen but there was no way they'd be able to go and see the town in only a couple days. In their place, Tenshi traveled over to it, using her Acceleration spell to help her along the way. Apparently, Louise was able to use the images of someone connected to Saito, i.e. Tenshi.

The group funneled through the door and found themselves in front of the town square, attracting minimal attention from the townspeople. Nearby, the Dwarves that would take them were leaning against two big carts.

"Yo! You all got here quickly," said one of the Dwarves. "Name's Gan. Lookin' forward to workin' with you all."

"My name is Don. I'm also looking forward to working with you," said Don.

"Same here. Hopefully everything goes smoothly," said Saito, causing both of the Dwarves to laugh.

"Ah, you all are here. Are you all ready?" said Axel as he exited the town hall. Saito nodded and he grinned. "Good. I wish you all the best of luck, and please keep Henrietta informed. She was telling me about how nervous she was."

"I'll tell her," said Louise from behind Saito. Axel smiled and nodded before turning towards the Dwarves and their carts.

"Now, you all see the carts you will be riding in, correct?" said Axel as he pointed to the carts. Everyone looked at them and they seemed to be ordinary old wooden carts, stacked with rocks, and a single seat for the driver. "You will be hiding out in these carts in order to avoid suspicions."

"Uh…this is a cart full of rocks. Where exactly are we supposed to be?" asked Asuna, confused by the lack of space.

"Eh? Oh, guess even you wouldn't have noticed it, miss," said Gan as he walked over to the cart. He knocked on it, hard, and a hollow echo could be hear. "Y'see, they're actually hollowed out inside. Basically, you guys are gonna hide inside and we'll just seem like miners coming back from the mountains."

"That's a very good idea!" said Gwen, amazed by the plan. Gan chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment at the compliment of their idea.

"We should probably leave soon. We have to keep the schedule," said Saito. Everyone nodded and the Dwarves began to move the rocks before pulling the top of the wooden back off. Everyone began to put their things in the back of the two carts and they slowly slipped in. Saito was the last one but Axel stopped him for a moment.

"Saito…be careful, alright? Aside from being heroes, you all are good friends of my friends. I don't want to have to watch Henrietta or Harold cry," said Axel, seriously. Saito stared at him, a bit surprised, but then smiled.

"I hear you loud and clear. Make sure to have a feast ready for us when we get back," said Saito. Axel grinned and Saito turned around and hopped into the cart before laying down.

The Dwarves resealed the cart and put all the rocks back on top before the group finally felt the cart moving. Sadly, it was very uncomfortable in the space that was only around 2 feet tall. Everyone was forced to lay down in the cramped space but it was the price to pay in order to sneak into the Dwarven kingdom.

Around 16 hours later…

It had been what seemed like an eternity for the group, only being allowed out of their small prison for 15 minutes at a time for bathroom breaks and stretching. It was a good thing Gwen and Tenshi had brought books for the trip. Most of them spent a good amount of time reading and sharing the stories.

The carts had long passed the border between Germania and Lukamagiska and were already beginning to go up into the mountains. The trip was going to last 3 days so nobody was getting too stressed as it was. Well, Saito was since he was formulating a strategy for when they arrived. Around that time, Saito was asking Vivlio as many questions as possible in hopes of receiving some information about the Dwarven capital.

"Can you show me a layout of the castle?" asked Saito, hopefully.

"No," said Vivlio, simply.

"What kind of metal they use and its weaknesses?"

"No."

"The name of their king and any and all princesses or princes?"

"No."

"Their general?"

"No."

"How long have they been going at that?" asked Asuna, wondering how long Vivlio's stubbornness to reveal some information had been going on.

"Four. Hours," said Louise, annoyed by the continuous asking of her husband next to her. "I think I'm going to kill myself if I don't hear a 'Yes' soon."

"Can you tell me the time that everyone is in the market?"

"No."

"Ughhhh!" said Louise before smashing the book into her face in frustration.

That was going to be a long trip.

It had been a little while after the previous scene and the two carts had stopped for a bathroom and meal break. The two dwarves released everyone from the carts and the girls hurriedly ran over to the forest, reaching the limits of holding their needs since the last time they stopped for a break was nearly four hours prior. Saito laughed as he watched them go, Asuna transforming into a cat before quickly entering the forest with the others.

"Huh. So Asuna does that to go in forests? Pretty useful for the girls, I guess," said Saito to himself. He turned and began to take out all the supplies for lunch and it wasn't long before the girls came back, all wearing relieved expressions.

"So how much longer until we get to the Dwarven capital?" asked Asuna after transforming back into her human form.

"Mmm…We've still got around 20 hours more or less. This area is pretty flat but that's only cause we've climbed up to a small plateau. After this area we're going to get into some more mountainous terrain," said Gan. Asuna and Louise sighed in disappointment at the fact that they would have to remain cooped up for that much longer and they sadly walked up to Saito.

"Saito, can I please have the sandwich Siesta made me," said Louise, drooping her head. Saito smiled and pet her head as he handed her her sandwich.

"C'mon, Louise. Do you not like being pressed up against me for a long time like that?" said Saito, perversely. Louise blushed and snatched her sandwich from him before spinning around and walking over to the pile of rocks from the cart and sitting down on one of the bigger ones.

"Hey, hey, Saito, can I get my sandwich, too," said Asuna, hoping for a comment from Saito. Saito handed her the sandwich and she pouted at the lack of affection. "How come I can't get pet too?"

"Why would I pet you?" asked Saito, making her pout more. She set her sandwich down on the edge of the cart and transformed into a cat before leaping up onto Saito's shoulder and rubbing against his head.

"Pleaseeee Saitoooo. Nyai want you to pet me," purred Asuna causing Saito to roll his eyes. He sighed and pet the girl in her cat form, causing said girl to purr happily before leaping off his shoulder and grabbing her sandwich in her mouth and running off next to Louise. Saito then handed off food to the rest of the group and everyone sat to eat, Tenshi sitting next to Saito to spend some time with him since she had been in the other cart.

"So, Saito-sama, h-have you thought of a-any plans?" asked Tenshi, eliciting groans from Louise and Asuna.

"Ah, well, I've been trying to squeeze whatever information I can out of Vivlio before I actually finalize any plans in my head. He's really stubborn and I just need some kind of information to help out," said Saito, sheepishly. Tenshi nodded in understanding and got up before walking over to the cart where Vivlio was.

"Eh? Oh, hey, Void mage lady, what's up? Wait, what are you doing? Don't just yank me out of the cart! That hurts like a mother!" shouted Vivlio, annoyed. Tenshi came back to where she was sitting prior, this time with extra baggage.

"Tenshi, what are you going to do?" asked Saito curiously.

"N-Nothing. I'm just g-going to coax Vivlio into h-helping you," said Tenshi. Saito was confused by said statement but chose to ignore it and instead turned to face Louise and Asuna in hopes of not seeing Tenshi doing horrid things to their relatively new friend.

There is so many antics left for this trip.

So? What did you guys think?

I literally started writing this chapter a month ago and continued writing it on Friday so it might seem to jump suddenly. I hope you guys at least somewhat enjoyed that chapter and I would appreciate a Review for feedback!

Until next time...byeee :D