Chapter 18
Mercury rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not entirely sure myself." he said, answering Daenerys' question. "I just had this sudden gut feeling."
"Gut feeling?" Daenerys repeated.
"It's kinda hard to explain." Mercury said. "I just kind of... knew."
"Uh-huh..."
Following the path, the darkness of night slowly began to fall. Yawning, Mercury began to fight to stay conscious, as did Daenerys.
Glancing into the back of the carriage, Makoto was out cold, sitting against the wall with her arms around her legs and her face burried.
"Hey, what'dya say we call it?" Mercury said.
Daenerys yawned as she pulled the carriage into an opening off to the side of the path. Hopping off the carriage, Mercury unhooked Daenerys. Changing into her human form, the two hopped into the back. Daenerys laid down behind the seat of the carriage as Mercury sat next to Mercury.
As his eyes slowly closed, Makoto shifted her body, resting her head on his lap. Pushing a strand of Makoto's hair behind her ear, Mercury let his eyes close.
The following day
Back to traveling, Mercury couldn't help but sigh. He was used to having something to do, and with the next wave getting closer each day, he was beginning to get anxious. It would still be a while before the wave occured, but Mercury wanted to use this time to build his skills. However, that proved difficult, thanks to that king and his bitch of a daughter. Sure he didn't run into them much, but just thinking about what they did to Naofumi fueled Mercury with hate for the two.
Running a hand through his hair, Mercury sighed softly. "Mercury?"
"Yeah?"
"We have a problem." Daenerys told him.
Looking forward, a single hooded figure stood on the path. "Slow up, Daenerys." Mercury told her. "Let's see what they have to say. And if it's a trap, we'll deal with it."
"Okay."
Coming to a stop in front of the figure, Mercury slowly hopped off his carriage, dagger in hand.
"I intend you no harm." the figure said. Their voice sounded more on the feminine side, but Mercury couldn't tell if they were actually male or female, their clothes hiding their identity and sex. "So you can put down your weapon."
Mercury glanced down at his dagger before looking at the, presumed, woman. "Give me a reason to."
The woman bowed her head. "Very well." reaching into her cloak, the woman pulled out a blade, placing it on the ground.
Mercury, still on edge, slowly put his dagger away. "What do you want?"
"You're the Shield Hero's friend, correct? The new Dagger Hero?"
"That depends. Who's asking?" he crossed his arms.
"The Queen of Melromarc."
End of chapter 18