After realizing that he was once again depleted from electric mana, Lawrend started to feel its effects. His body felt sluggish, and thinking became hard. However, it was tame compared to when it happened to him the first time.
"Ugh…"
Lawrend held his head and tried to rest his body against the wall of the carriage. Drowsiness was slowly overtaking his eyes as he slowly fell asleep.
In the corner of his eyes, Lawrend was able to see Allen touch him and transfer some of his energy to him. After that, Lawrend felt better, but he still decided to sleep as the drowsiness had already consumed him. Sleeping is enjoyable, after all.
Several hours later, the carriage had stopped, and Lawrend opened his eyes. He looked around and noticed that the sky was already dark. There was a constant humming of crickets in the background.
Lawrend peeked outside and saw the darkness that reached unendingly. Beside that was a small village that was lit up with torch lights. With another turn of his head, Lawrend saw Aleshia walking towards him. She was carrying a small lamp, and there was a surprised look on her face as she looked at him.
"Young Master, did you just wake up?"
She asked without much emotion.
"Yes, why?"
Lawrend became puzzled at the way she was acting. He thought that she was finally starting to open up to him, but it looks like she became distant towards him once again as she felt quite cold tonight.
"This village does not have any lodging for outsiders."
Because this was a village that does not experience regular travelers' visits. They don't have any lodging that they rent out to travelers. So it was simply not worth it to start one when only so few would occupy them.
"I see. So we're gonna stay out for the night?"
Lawrend guessed immediately.
"Yes."
Aleshia replied solemnly.
"Okay. So you want to stay inside the carriage... Or..?"
Lawrend thought as he realized that she could only sleep outside if she didn't sleep inside the carriage, and it would not be good if she does.
"I… Yes…"
Aleshia looked away as her face started turning red from embarrassment. Last night they shared a bed, and this time she would once again sleep with him, but it would be much closer. Compared to the spacious bed in the inn, the inside of the carriage was relatively small.
Even if they are separated by the gap in the middle of the carriage, she was still concerned with sleeping near him, especially now that he was already strong enough to resist her. Somehow, she thought of Lawrend differently now.
"You're embarrassed?"
There was a smile on Lawrend's face as he looked at her. For some reason, he could keep guessing what's on her mind tonight. Of course, it might just be his imagination, but it seems that his mind was running faster than usual.
"Uh… Yes…"
Aleshia was taken aback that Lawrend was able to guess her emotions. Usually, he would just ignore it.
"Don't worry. We could hang a curtain to separate both of us."
Lawrend proposed to her with a comforting smile on his lips. He was doing his best to earn her trust even now.
"Yes. Thank you for your understanding, Young Master."
Aleshia turned around after thanking him. She was astonished that Lawrend seems to have become a bit smarter. It was like his cognitive abilities were raised by another level.
Soon after that, Aleshia cooked food, and they both ate together.
When it was time for them to sleep, Aleshia faced Lawrend's direction as she laid down on the left seat of the carriage. At the same time, there was a curtain separating both of them.
Allen crawled under the curtain and looked up towards her. In curiosity, Aleshia brought her hands closer to the slime slowly and carefully. When her hands were close enough, she started rubbing on its top very carefully.
Contrary to her expectations, stroking the top of a slime was actually quite enjoyable. Slimes are very cold, so she immediately felt a satisfying cooling sensation on her hand when she touched Allen.
She continued stroking the slime's top before she fell asleep.
The moment Aleshia woke up, she found a heavy feeling on her head. She felt the top of her head and realized that it was Allen resting on her head. The moment Allen noticed that she was awake, it rolled down to her chest and fell to the floor of the carriage.
Aleshia was startled when the slime bounced at her chest. She looked at it with furrowed eyebrows and a small pout on her cheeks. Allen looked at her and turned around to enter the other side of the curtain. She could barely imagine Allen displaying a cheeky grin to her.
They left the village after eating a quick breakfast. Lawrend was studying the flow of the electric mana inside his body by stopping his chants mid-way. So far, he was just at the first word of the chant.
A few hours of peaceful travel later, a stone was suddenly hurled at them from the tall grass on the right. Aleshia turned her head and only saw the tall grass of the Vanhan Plains. She squinted her eyes and tried to get a better look at it.
But before she could see anything from the right side, a stone was thrown from the left side. And as if it was the signal, a dozen several stones rained down to them from the sky.
The stones were about 2-3 inches in size. It was big enough to make someone bleed when it hits their head.
Aleshia covered her head with her arms and jumped inside the carriage. Lawrend had already opened his eyes. The sound of the stones hitting the carriage startled him.
"What's happening!?"
Lawrend asked her in a panic. The continuous sounds that the stones were making when it hits the carriage made Lawrend very nervous.
"We have been ambushed!"
Aleshia answered him solemnly.
"What!?"
Lawrend was alarmed after knowing that they were ambushed. They would not be able to escape as there are only two of them.
"I think they're not humans, Young Master."
Aleshia told Lawrend. It was just a guess on her part, but no one ambushes using stones. It would either be magicians attacking with their magic or bandits running at them.
"Is it Goblins!?"
Lawrend immediately guessed in shock. Goblins are everywhere in the world. Even Lawrend, who has never left the city ever since he was born, was aware of them.
"I think so. Only they attack like this."
Aleshia furrowed her eyebrows. Goblins are very numerous, and there are only two of them. It would be tough for her to fight against them alone.
"Young Master, we have to team up."
Aleshia looked straight into Lawrend's eyes. Although she didn't want to admit it, Lawrend was already strong enough to fight against her. If he could use his magic well, they would be able to tide through this ordeal.
