Chapter 104

I followed Tarklin around the carriages before running into Kiana, the half-elf woman who rode Nikka when I wasn't. I handed off the reins to her before following Tarklin to where the corpses of our attackers were laid.

"What do you plan to do with them?" I asked.

He scratched the back of his head. "We're on a schedule and bandits aren't usually given any kind of burial. We've lined them up in this burned-out building here. Since this is the route to Traehall, someone will eventually resettle this town and deal with them then."

This didn't feel right to me, I didn't like that we were just leaving their bodies here. I unslung my bag and pulled out a handful of copper coins, standing over each of them, I placed a coin on each of their eyes. "May Charon lead them to their next life." Tarklin watched but didn't comment on the little ritual. I stood up and Tarklin continued to lead me past the corpses before stopping at a quiet nook away from the rest of the caravan.

Tarklin leaned against the wall. "I'm just curious, what was the language you were speaking to Nikka back there?"

My eyes widened, I hadn't realized I was talking in a different language...

"You're a world traveler, aren't you? You weren't speaking a native tongue here, was that your original tongue?" He asked.

My left hand gripped my sheath and I prepared to draw my sword if it came to it. I felt a pulse of readiness from Mimi who sensed my emotions immediately. But before I could move Tarklin was suddenly standing right in front of me with one hand on my wrist. For a split second, all of the powerlessness I had felt that night at the inn came rushing back.

"Relax, I'm not here to start a fight. Like I said, I'm just curious."

I relaxed my grip on my sheath and stopped fighting, after a moment he let me go. I was still wary and shaken from the intrusive emotions that came over me but they faded once he stepped away.

"I just wanted to ask-" Tarklin stopped mid-sentence before to looking over my shoulder. I took another step away from him and looked over to see what spooked him.

It was my party.

All four of them were standing there with resolved looks on their faces. Silva's grip on her spear was so strong I was afraid she was straining her hand, barely holding back. Torien already had an arrow ready, nocked but not yet drawn. A storm of turbulent mana swirled around Morrigan, ready to snap in place. And Bella stood in front, glaring daggers at Tarklin.

Tarklin held up his hands. "Whoa whoa, I'm not sure what brought on this level of hostility, we were just talking."

Bella looked at me, the entire party looked like a coiled spring, straining to hold back. I looked back at Tarklin. "Are you going to tell anyone?..."

Tarklin shifted his stance, a hand landed on his sword in a gesture I was familiar with now. He was prepared to fight.

"No... well, I'll have to tell my queen..." He studied my face for a moment before continuing. "I didn't ask you this to create conflict between us... but it looks like it's a touchy subject for you. If it pleases you then perhaps we can talk about this more later. I had hoped this would be a quick conversation but it seems you might need to unruffle some feathers. I don't intend to use this information against you if that's what you're worried about."

Tarklin walked backward away from us, only starting to turn once he saw my party mates relax. "We should get moving soon, I'd like to get moving again within half a bell."

A sense of relief came over me when he walked away. I slumped against the wall and Bella wrapped herself around me almost instantly.

Silva's eyes followed Tarklin as he walked away from our group. "What was that about anyway? Bella suddenly yelled that you were in danger and ran over here."

I took a deep breath and pulled Bella away from me. "Tarklin found out I'm a [World Traveler]. Apparently, I spoke in my native tongue when talking to the uuna earlier."

The twins awkwardly looked at each other before Torien spoke. "Was that it? It didn't look like he was trying to attack you over it..."

Bella looked at me with concern. "Are you okay? I felt really strong emotions from you. like you were in danger."

I swallowed nervously. "When he first told me I panicked and reached for my sword but he was fast and grabbed my wrist. It... reminded me of something unpleasant. You were probably sensing that..."

Silva quirked an eyebrow and looked back and forth between the two of us but didn't say anything.

"Look, it's not important. He found out but Tarklin has been nothing but kind to me, I just overreacted. Let's go." I walked back towards the caravan. I felt anxious and on edge but I just wanted to forget about this stupid ordeal. I don't even know how I let my emotions get the best of me, it made me feel stupid, weak.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I flinched away from it, only to realize it was Bella a moment after. The pained look on her face made my heart sink so I reached out and took her hand in mine instead. I couldn't say anything right now, my thoughts were too mixed up so I just quietly walked towards the carriages while holding her hand.

When we got to the carriage Bella had been riding this morning, I was surprised to find Morrigan plop down right next to me. I probably shouldn't be surprised, they had been together this morning but... I just assumed she would go hang out with her sister instead.

Morrigan hesitated before placing her hand on my thigh. "You don't mind right?"

Something about the concern she showed softened my mood so I placed my hand over hers. "No. I don't mind." I squeezed Morrigan's hand and leaned against Bella's shoulder. I let my tumultuous thoughts drift away and instead focused solely on the moment. I was sitting between two women I loved, my hands intertwined with each of them.

The caravan was off in no time after that and before I knew it, the fatigue I was feeling caught up to me. I dozed off the second I had a chance to relax.

***

When I woke, it had been several bells. We were well into the late afternoon now, evident by the sun in the sky. I turned to the north... Was it even north? Did the sun rotate in the same direction around this planet? Were the days longer? Were the seasons?

"Woah there, you alright?" Morrigan laughed.

I blinked and turned to her, still feeling groggy.

"You woke up and were suddenly staring northward like you were trying to figure out some strange puzzle."

I rubbed my eyes. "I was just thinking about... the way the sun traveled on the horizon."

"Well, it rises in the east and sets in the west. But you obviously know that." She said with a grin.

I did know that. I guess I was just second-guessing myself again, thinking about how my base assumptions in this world might be wrong. What if the north pole was the south pole here and whatever magic translated my words just gave me the best approximation?

I shook my head, these thoughts were unproductive.

I looked over my left shoulder, Bella was passed out and leaning against me. She must have fallen asleep too.

"Are you alright Lilith?" Morrigan squeezed my hand. "You gave us a bit of a scare. Bella and Mimi always seem so in tune with your emotions, like they can read your mind."

I glanced over at the coachman, he didn't seem to be paying attention but this wasn't something I wanted to talk about openly. I cast [Zone of Silence] again, it was quickly becoming an indispensable spell. And apparently, I was using it enough to level my illusion magic.

[Illusion Magic has increased from level 3 to level 4]

Morrigan's ears twitched and she looked over the horizon. "We can talk like this but we should at least keep our eyes out for attackers. I'm listening, I promise." Her ears wiggled cutely to illustrate.

I took a deep breath. "When Bella first turned into a Succubi she gained some kind of emotional connection to me. I have something similar, something called [Soultouched Connection] that lets me share my thoughts, feelings, and emotions with the other people bonded to me. In a sense, Bella, Mimi, and I can read each other's emotions, or talk to each other silently. Whatever Bella has is different though, she has access to [Soultouched Connection] but she could sense my emotions even before I got that, she likely has something stronger."

"...I admit, I'm a little bit jealous of the connection you two have. I shouldn't be, I have my own connection to the two of you. I love both of you, that much is clear to me now. But the connection you two have is even deeper than that, it sometimes makes me feel like I'm intruding." She laughs. "Like when the two of you fall asleep leaning on each other, it's pretty cute."

Morrigan sighed. "I wonder if I should take you up on that offer, become a Succubi like you two... and Mimi. Though- I don't think I could do it unless my sister agrees too. Or wants to, I wouldn't want to push her into something like that. Being her twin sister is too important to me. We worked hard to be able to be sold together, to not be separated, I can't give that up."

I smiled and squeezed her hand. "Don't then. If the two of you never want to become succubi then I won't push you, if you both want to be succubi then I'll do it for you. Either way, it's your choice. The choice to become a different species entirely isn't one that should be made lightly and I'll respect your decision either way."

"...You kind of need more Succubi though right? You're a brand new race, you need to reproduce." Her face suddenly turned bright red and she turned even farther away from me, continuing to look off in the distance. "N-not like that, you know what I mean!"

She coughed and took a moment to recompose herself. "I know we've been really busy but you haven't really made any kind of plans for spreading your species yet right?"

I rubbed my nose, not sure I was happy where this conversation was going. "No. I haven't given it much thought yet. Like you said, we've already been rather busy. I also... don't know how to go about something like that. I have to simultaneously hide my true nature from others so I don't... turn out like that other origin species-"

"The Moraley," she quickly added.

"Er, right. Moraley. But I also can't just turn others into succubi against their will. Even if it was ethical to just change someone's species without asking, the one who would be transforming has to give informed consent. It's pretty explicitly stated in the ability."

"Right... then we should probably look for people who would appreciate the offer but wouldn't alert others even if they turned you down."

I laughed. "Right. And where are we going to find people like that?"

"What about the refugees?" Morrigan looked down the empty road, likely imagining the various caravans we had passed by.

I frowned. "I don't know, it could work. There might be people among them who are desperate enough, but it's risky. The Tamin church is trying to do the same kind of thing and anyone who turns me down could immediately tell them about me."

She sighed. "I don't think it's quite the same thing but I can understand your point regardless."

"Isn't it?" I asked. "Finding people who are vulnerable and offering them hope? A transformation that requires a binding oath to never work against me?"

Morrigan looked offended. "It's not the same. They take those vulnerable people and lock them in cells, force them to repeat and repeat their scriptures until they don't know what's real anymore. Reward them when they recite their delusional ideals and punish them when they don't. They create people who hate beastkin and people who lie with the same sex. It's not the same."

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I still don't know the extent of what they do to people. But where I'm from there's a pretty famous quote from somewhere, 'Whoever fights monsters should be careful not to become one themselves. If you stare too long into the abyss the abyss will stare back into you.' or something like that. I don't quite remember the exact wording."

"...I don't really understand," Morrigan said.

"It's a warning. People need to be careful that they don't let 'good ends justify evil means.' How you get somewhere is just as important as getting there most of the time. All I'm trying to say is that I can't let my own ethics slip when it's convenient. I can't take advantage of people to spread my race like the Tamin church does. It's important to me that I don't cross a line like that, I would frankly rather let my race die with me."

The words hit her a bit harder than I intended but she didn't argue, rather she looked introspective instead.

"I'll have to think about it." Her cute ears twitched on her head again. "But I think you are underestimating the importance of spreading your race. Bloodlines are important. You have the potential to make the world stronger. I don't know exactly how it works but your new species probably comes with some traits. If any of them are refined into something powerful and you pass that on to others who pass it on to their children, the sapient races may get a better foothold against the monsters. It might mean less death, less suffering."

I swallowed and looked at the sky. Perhaps spreading my race is more important than I think. Maybe in a way, it is a duty of mine. To give people better tools to survive. ...To have children someday as well.