Chapter 49: Setting Out on the Journey

The blazing sun shone brightly.

Nadiesse was waiting on the dock with a team of people.
When she saw us coming, she first waved to greet us.
She was about to say something, but then she saw me holding the sleeping Little Nia, and she quickly swallowed her words.

Then she lowered her voice and asked.

“What’s wrong with this child?”

I thought for a moment.
It felt a bit complicated to explain, so I simply answered by getting to the root of the matter:
“She misses her mother.”

The simple four words made Nadiesse nod as if she understood.
She then stroked the little person in my arms a couple of times.
Her movements were very light, as if afraid of waking the child.

“Little Nia, have a good sleep~ you’ll be able to see your mother soon.”

As expected, I was right.
The next part of our journey is to meet that Blade Witch.
To be honest, I’m a little nervous.
Before I understood the situation, I was truly fearless, thinking, “We’re both witches, how different can we be?”

Now I know.

The gap between me and her is so big it’s laughable just thinking about it.

It’s like an ant and an elephant comparing their weight.
Very comical.

“Nadiesse, do I need to make any preparations before I meet her,” I asked nervously, craning my neck.
“I won’t be arrested and severely tortured, will I?”

In most movies and TV shows, business tycoons are more or less cruel.
If the other party is cautious and suspicious, I might be treated as a spy or something, and then tied up in a small dark room, my mouth gagged.

Then, sitting opposite me would be a mature-looking beauty with a cold aura and phoenix eyes.
She would sit on a magnificent chair with her legs crossed, holding a glass of red wine in one hand and taking a small sip.
Then she would look at me as if I were trash and ask:
Speak, or die? Choose.

Such a scene gradually formed in my mind, making me shiver under the scorching sun.

“No, Verona, you weren’t this cautious before, were you?” Nadiesse looked me up and down with a strange expression, then smiled noncommittally.
“Are you scared by the scale of our merchant guild? Relax, relax.
Coevid is not a tyrannical person.
Right now, she’s probably at home making black tea, sitting on the sofa and sighing with a worried expression, completely unaware that her daughter has returned.”

Her fox ears twitched, and Nadiesse’s amber eyes were filled with the word “cunning.”

“We’ll set off now. We’ll take a camel beast from the coast, and we should be able to arrive by evening, to give the great Blade Witch a huge surprise.”

I think this surprise is more like a fright.

However, I caught another piece of information in Nadiesse’s words:
take a camel beast, arrive by evening.

“Camel beast” is most likely an animal with a function similar to a horse, and what I’m more interested in is “arrive by evening.”

This City of the Sea of Trees is bigger than I thought…

“The area of the City of the Sea of Trees is not small.
You could say that this is the second most prosperous city in the Freistadt Federation, after the main city.
It also serves as a border defense and an import-export trade hub.
In terms of economy, it even surpasses the main city.
And this city has another name—Woodson.”

Elvira saw through my thoughts and explained at just the right time.

“Miss Elvira is right. We are now on the outermost edge of the City of the Sea of Trees.
It will take a while to get to the central area.
Without further ado, let’s go.”

The City of the Sea of Trees, Woodson.

This place has left a good impression on me, much better than that godforsaken place in the Holy Nation!
If possible, I’ll try to settle down in Woodson and find a “home” for myself in this world, at least for now.

Leaving the docking platform, Nadiesse led us across several suspension bridges, and we finally arrived at the coast.
In a sparsely wooded area by the sea, a few tall and huge beasts were particularly eye-catching.

At the junction of the beach and the land, the giant beasts were chewing on leaves, their four limbs on the ground.
Each leg was several times thicker than an elephant’s, and their bodies were naturally much larger.
They were grayish-white in color.
From a distance, it wasn’t much, but when we got to the giant beasts’ feet, there was a faint sense of oppression.
And these were the camel beasts we were going to ride.
The staff beside them had already gone to prepare the camel beasts for us.
We just needed to wait for a moment before we could set off.

By the time we got here, Little Nia had also woken up.
The small body I was holding was wriggling restlessly.
I put the little one down, and swung my slightly sore arms, my body instantly feeling relaxed.

I need to properly train this weak body of mine later.
It would be best if I could train it to be stronger than Elvira.
That way, I can pin her down and watch her shy and angry expression, and then tickle her!

Just as I was letting my imagination run wild, a heavy breath mixed with the smell of an animal sprayed on my face, almost blowing off the hat on my head.

I quickly held down the brim of my hat and held my breath.
I looked up at the source of this turbid wind.
I saw a giant beast I had never seen before looking down at me.
It looked like an enlarged giraffe, and its large eyes revealed a clear stupidity, as if it were very curious about me.

But the experience of being stared at by this thing at close range was not very good.
And the smell from its nostrils was not something everyone could accept.

“Don’t be afraid. The camel beasts are very gentle and have a good temperament.
That one is just a little curious about you.
Verona, you can try to pet it,” Nadiesse shouted from not far away, encouraging me to interact with the giant beast in front of me.

Actually, it would be a lie to say that I wasn’t curious about the camel beasts at all.
As the friendly animals of this other world, I really wanted to pet one.
So, I did just that.

I spread my palm and raised my arm, aiming my palm at the camel beast’s large head.
I stood on my tiptoes and tried my best to touch its grayish-white skin, but I couldn’t reach it.
The camel beast was still a bit tall.

The next moment, the giant beast let out another breath, a dull sound, and then lowered its head.
Just as I was about to touch it, and was marveling at how intelligent this big guy was.

The camel beast bit my witch’s hat!

“Don’t bite it! Although it’s woven from plants, it’s not edible.”

I can’t guarantee that the camel beast won’t be pierced by the thorns after eating it.

I retracted my arm and tried to grab my hat, but I grabbed nothing.
The camel beast had already picked up the witch’s hat, at a height that I couldn’t reach.
When I jumped up to grab it, the giant beast raised it a little higher.
I jumped several times, and it also raised it several times.
I was like a cat attracted by a cat teaser.
The most infuriating thing was that I was being teased by an animal that looked clumsy and simple-minded!

“Hahahahaha, your motor skills are not good, Verona,” Nadiesse’s undisguised laughter came.
I turned and shot her a glare.

Before I could say anything, a gust of fragrant wind passed by.
Elvira leaped up lightly and took back the hat.
Her movements were as smooth as flowing water.
She then placed the witch’s hat back on my head and adjusted it, and then gently tucked the slightly messy strands of my hair back behind my ear.
The tips of her slender fingers brushed past my cheek.
The touch was cool, but it brought a flush to my face.

“Th… thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Our relationship is not that distant.”

I took a step back, breaking the ambiguous distance between me and Elvira, my gaze flickering, not daring to look at her.

And she just smiled gently and said nothing.

Our camel beast was very strong, carrying a small house on its back, like a carriage.
It’s just that this carriage was a bit large, but it was also stable.
Me, Little Nia, Nadiesse, and Elvira, the four of us, rode on one, and the room also seemed very spacious.

With the sound of heavy footsteps, we gradually entered the dense forest.
The tall, verdant giant trees blocked our view, connecting heaven and earth.
The masterful work of nature was overwhelmingly breathtaking.

And so, we set off on the road to the central area of Woodson.
But the journey was long and tiring, so we needed some fun, didn’t we?

And so, Nadiesse said, “Want to play a game of Tarn cards?”