“Oh, I know what you humanoids call this. It's the walk of shame, right?”
Rusty said it in a tone that made the three people who could hear him flinch. Previously, Astrella and Syber had their bands disabled whenever the teacher was present, but now they could hear everything Rusty was saying.
“R-rusty...”
Gwen lowered her head even further as she walked. They had just left the carriage and entered the heavily defended waypoint. It was a stone fortress surrounded by high walls that kept the outside world at bay. Hundreds of people had gathered there, not only students from their academy but also students from several others who seemed to have arrived earlier.
News of the rescue operation had clearly spread ahead of them. Walking behind Professor Quinten must have felt humiliating, or so Rusty thought. He knew humanoids were prideful creatures who took their social standing rather seriously. People whispered as they passed. Some even pointed and laughed.
“You really know how to rub it in, don't you, Rusty?”
Astrella sighed as she spoke. Syber remained silent, and Aranea had no magical item that allowed her to understand Rusty. She seemed the most composed of them all, but she had clearly noticed that a conversation was taking place without her. Every so often, she glanced back at them.
Now that Rusty understood humanoid social bonds better than before, he decided to bring her into their group. Her spider was quite powerful, likely on par with the creatures belonging to the A-Class students. Allies like that were worth keeping close.
“Gwen, why don't we give one of those bond bracelets or rings to Aranea? I think she feels left out of our conversation.”
“Oh? Lady Aranea is feeling left out?”
Gwen raised her head slightly and caught Aranea peeking in their direction. The moment the pale girl realized she had been noticed, she snapped her head forward and straightened up like a board.
“Uh... she does seem interested.”
“Let's just give her Syber's. It's not like he ever contributes anything insightful to our conversations!”
“That’s only because you never stop talking long enough for anyone else to say anything.”
Syber fired back as usual, causing Astrella to grit her teeth. Before the argument could continue, they finally arrived at their temporary lodging. The hotel was smaller than the previous one, built from stone and fitted with narrow windows through which no attacker could easily slip.
“Return to your rooms. The servants inside will show you where to go. We will discuss your punishment... in the morning.”
Quinten looked annoyed, though little of it showed in his voice. Eager to avoid any more attention, the group quickly headed inside. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by two familiar students, Eldric and Aldric.
“Lady Venomridge, thank the gods you're safe!”
Eldric was the first to rush over. Without touching her, he circled around his lady, checking for injuries.
“Cease this, Eldric. I am perfectly unharmed.”
Aranea spoke, and all traces of the personality she had shown in the carriage vanished. With her two retainers present and watching, she seemed to retreat into her usual stoic self.
“The professor arrived before the situation could worsen any further.”
The two men let out simultaneous sighs of relief, their shoulders visibly relaxing. Aldric then turned his gaze toward Gwen, Astrella, and Syber, his expression hardening into one of anger.
“This is all your fault! If you lot had not...”
He was ready to blame them for everything, but before he could continue, Aranea’s spider shot a small web onto his cheek. The spider was in its smaller form, and the web carried no poison, but it was still quite sticky.
“Ack!”
The young retainer recoiled in shock as the sticky substance made contact with his face. His voice was rather high-pitched, causing Syber to snicker from behind Gwen and Astrella.
“Enough of this foolishness. I’m tired. Guide me to my room.”
Aranea spoke, and the two boys quickly straightened up.
“Forgive us, Milady!”
Aldric stammered, frantically peeling the sticky strands from his cheek while trying to maintain his dignity. Eldric gave a quick, stiff nod to the group, clearly unwilling to lower his head any further. The three then moved toward a wooden staircase that seemingly led to the rooms.
“I think we should go too...”
After a short pause, Gwen pointed toward what looked to be the hotel reception, where several other students were gathered. Their teacher remained outside the hotel for some reason, perhaps to make sure that no students tried to sneak out again today.
“What did you say? A snake? Was it that idiot who did it? We have to report it to the teacher, but first let me get in a few punches!”
Rusty and the two girls were gathered in a shared room. Luckily, this time his summoner was not alone, so another snake attack seemed unlikely, especially after everything that had happened today. Astrella had been furious after hearing the truth, but Gwen quickly stopped her from doing something they would all regret.
“Calm down, Astrella. We don’t really know who was responsible.”
“Yes, it could have been anyone. It could even have been the teacher.”
“The teacher? But he even helped us.”
“That’s true, but weren’t there a lot of eyes on him? The soldiers and the other students. What if you three hadn’t rushed to save Gwen?”
Astrella slumped her shoulders and sat down on her bed. Rusty had managed to convince them not to trust anyone who had not directly helped them. Even though Quinten had assisted them, it was still possible that he had only acted once Aranea and the others had sneaked out of the waystation.
“Oh... that’s true...”
“W-we shouldn’t be so suspicious of everyone. What if it isn’t any of the students? What if it’s something or someone that followed us from the academy?”
“Hm, that could be true. I also thought it might have been someone hired from outside.”
“Hired to harm me?”
Gwen was clearly shocked and stressed by the conversation. It was one of the reasons Rusty had previously withheld the information, but now he knew it needed to be shared. The idea of an assassin or saboteur stalking them across the wilderness was not entirely far-fetched either.
“I’m not sure someone from outside would be able to enter the hotel and the waystation that easily, but it is a possibility...”
Astrella commented in a soft tone, trying not to upset her friend.
“Don’t worry, Gwen. Now that we know, we can prepare. My fairies, even in their current state, can place detection magic on the door and windows. If someone comes, it will trigger a loud alarm, and the guards outside will be alerted!”
They weren’t undefended. This waystation had plenty of armored guards, and a few even stood watch in the corridors outside. Since they could not confess to the teacher, who was also a potential suspect, this was probably their best option. Astrella’s fairies had been depowered, but they could still cast a small spell that would alert everyone to an enemy's presence. Rusty was there as well.
“Don’t worry. If anyone comes, I’ll wake you up with this.”
Rusty declared as he pulled a metallic cord attached to a bell sitting on a table near the window. The moment he tugged it, a loud chime rang throughout the room.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
“Agh... that’s really loud! Even Gwen won’t be able to sleep through that!”
Astrella laughed as she brought up her friend's reputation as a heavy sleeper. Rusty did not need sleep, so he could stand guard throughout the night, but the fairies would disappear once Astrella fell asleep.
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
Eventually, the two girls drifted off to sleep. Despite everything that had happened, neither seemed to have any trouble falling asleep. If Gwen had one superpower, it was the ability to fall asleep in under five minutes, even in the most stressful situations. Rusty remained standing watch, but just as he expected, no enemies appeared. By the time the morning sun rose outside, the night had passed without incident.
The morning itself was uneventful, but the calm atmosphere did not last long. Shortly after the girls woke up and gathered their belongings, a loud knock echoed through the heavy wooden door.
“Students, Professor Quinten expects you in the main hall immediately.”
A guard’s muffled voice called from the corridor. Gwen and Astrella exchanged nervous glances, their earlier relaxed moods vanishing in an instant. Rusty, however, was unconcerned as it didn’t include him or his summoner.
The three troublemakers were gathered together and given a stern lecture while Gwen and Rusty waited outside. Since Gwen was the one who had fallen from the wagon, she was technically the victim in all of this and had no reason to worry. After about fifteen minutes, the group was dismissed and allowed to head to breakfast.
“Ugh... supplementary classes... m-my vacation...”
Even the usually talkative Astrella seemed speechless after the scolding, and Gwen was afraid to ask what had been said inside. Even Syber looked irritated, while Aranea appeared largely unfazed. Her two retainers were with them as well, though neither said much, unsure of how to start a conversation.
The moment the door opened, however, they immediately addressed their lady.
“Lady Venomridge, allow us to escort you to the dining hall.”
Aldric spoke, and the three were about to leave when Rusty quickly reminded Gwen of something.
“Why don’t you ask Aranea to eat with us? You can give her that extra bond band.”
“Uh...”
Gwen was clearly not the best person for the task, so Rusty quickly turned his large helmeted head toward Astrella.
“I think you’ll have to do it, Astrella.”
“Fine, leave it to the great me!”
Astrella puffed out her chest and marched right past the two stiff retainers, stepping directly into Aranea’s path before the noble girl could leave.
“Hey, Lady Aranea! Since we all survived a stampede and a massive scolding together, it only makes sense that we eat together, right? Come sit with us!”
Aldric and Eldric both frowned instantly, their posture tensing as though Astrella had just insulted their family lineage.
"Insolence!"
Eldric hissed like one of his snakes, though he kept his voice low enough to avoid drawing the attention of anyone nearby.
"Milady dines with proper decorum, not with a band of noisy troublemakers who nearly got her killed!"
Aranea, however, did not look pleased with her servant's outburst. She raised a delicate hand, silencing him instantly. Her violet eyes flicked from Astrella to Gwen, though her attention was truly focused on Rusty.
"Quickly, tell her about the band, Gwen!"
To Rusty, who did not know any better, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to reel in a new ally. For Gwen, however, who had spent quite some time as a social outcast, taking the first step toward making a new friend was far more difficult. Still, she tried.
"Um... Lady Aranea, if y-you wish, we have these bond bands that will allow you to hear my summon…"
"A bond band from thee?"
Aranea looked at the ring-shaped band. It was small and crafted from silver. She clearly recognized what it was and immediately looked back at Rusty, her eyes somehow shining brighter than before.
"Milady, you need not concern yourself with this foolishness. Let us simply..."
Aldric tried to interrupt, but before he could finish, his lady said something unexpected.
"I accept your offer. Let us dine together."
"I knew it would work! Good going, Gwen and Astrella!"
Rusty exclaimed as the scheme had somehow succeeded. With this new addition to their group, Gwen would have another layer of protection, and he intended to make sure this alliance lasted well beyond the current mission.
The two retainers looked as though they had just swallowed something sour, but neither dared argue with Aranea directly. Instead, they fell into step a few paces behind the group, casting identical venomous glares at Rusty, Gwen, and Astrella. Syber simply rolled his eyes and lagged behind, clearly wanting to distance himself from the impending social disaster.
"So with this, I can finally..."
After they arrived at the table, Aranea was given the bond ring. She examined it as though it were a priceless treasure and slipped it onto her finger without hesitation. After channeling a bit of mana into it, she glanced over at Rusty, who waved at her with his small halberd.
"Hello there, Aranea."
"Oh my... such a proper voice and manner of speaking..."
She seemed stunned by the way Rusty sounded when communicating through a summoner bond. His voice was quite mature. To some, he might have sounded like an older man, though in reality, he was the youngest member of the group.
"Do not let my appearance fool you, Aranea. I am not merely a living suit of armor, and I even have a proper name. Rusty."
"Thou are Sir Rusty?"
"Sir Rusty? Oh, I like that!"
If Rusty had a mouth, he would have been grinning. He was not entirely sure why, but he had always felt that this girl held a particular interest in him. At first, he had assumed she was merely cautious of him, perhaps even worried that he might outshine her spider. Now, however, after coming to understand teenage humanoids a little better, he had a different impression.
They were often awkward when it came to expressing themselves. In the end, they simply longed for friendship and some form of companionship.
“Sir Rusty, huh? He can get quite bloody for a knight.”
Surprisingly, it was Syber who interrupted them this time, commenting on Rusty's prowess in battle.
“I am not one to shy away from danger!”
Rusty raised his tiny halberd high into the air. The weapon looked more like a fork than a proper polearm, which made all three girls smile. The bonding plan had been partially completed. Now he just needed to bring them even closer together.
Some time passed as they continued chatting over their meal, but before long, it was finally time to move on. Students who had overslept were forced to cut their breakfasts short, and soon everyone gathered outside the stone hotel before continuing their journey.
“Oh? I don't see that wagon anywhere.”
“We won't be using it for this part of the trip. The wagon will remain here until we return from the Rose Knight Academy.”
Astrella spoke with a smirk on her face.
“Oh, so what will we be using instead?”
“The Arcane Train, of course!”
Astrella struck a dramatic pose and pointed into the distance, where Rusty noticed something moving. He followed her outstretched finger and watched as a colossal metal construct emerged from behind a massive stone partition in the fortress walls.
Unlike the carriages and wagons he had seen before, it did not ride on ordinary wheels. Instead, it rested upon long iron rails laid across the ground. A deep rumble echoed from within the machine, and he could sense a strange, magical power emanating from its front section.
This would be their next means of transportation, and perhaps it would take them directly to the Rose Knight Academy.