We already reached the northern boundary of Pekoland after around a week of walking. We either camped outside or rested in an inn of a city we passed through. It was a long journey but it was far from over. I wonder how Temma and Noel were back in Westa.

After a few more days, we arrived at Pavolian, the Peafowl Kingdom’s capital city. It was great that we found it since it meant that we could stay in an inn. I was getting tired of sleeping outside and I felt bad for Moona who had to stay up and keep watch.

A bit further north of Pavolian would be the Krev Valley. But before we have to go there, we had to find information about the “black sandstorm” part of the riddle. That was why we had stopped by Pavolian. Hopefully, we could find something in their library or a citizen would recognize something.

We entered the city and many people were walking around. It was easy to differentiate between the tourists and the citizens. The citizens were wearing elegant clothes. I heard that Pavolian was a prosperous city since it was a trading center between different kingdoms.

“So... What should we do, peko?” Pekora asked.

“First off, we have to secure a place to stay”, Amelia answered.

“Sounds like a plan”, Moona said,

We walked around and found out that most of the inns were full. Apparently, there was going to be a festival in Pavolian celebrating the kingdom’s 300-year founding anniversary. There was even going to be a parade around the city.

It took us some time until we found an inn that had some rooms but...

“You only have 2 double bed rooms?” Amelia asked the innkeeper.

“Sorry. Most of our single rooms are taken already”, he answered.

Our arrangements in the inns we came so far was that I would be in a separate room from the girls. If possible, Amelia would also be in a single room. Pekora and Moona would always share the same room since it was Moona’s duty to keep an eye on Pekora.

“What should we do? Find another inn?” I asked.

“No... We’re already lucky that we found one with vacant rooms”, Amelia said.

“If that’s the case, I’m sharing a room with Moona, peko”, Pekora chimed in.

“So that means...” Amelia looked at me.

“W-Well... It’s just for one night, right?” I asked her.

“Yeah. I know you won’t do anything inappropriate”, she replied.

And so we rented the rooms of the inn. Everything was solved... At least that was what was supposed to happen until we dropped our bags in our room.

“Wait a minute... I thought our room was a double bed”, Amelia said.

I couldn’t comment on anything since I could feel the awkwardness.

We thought that the double bed room meant two beds... But instead, we got one huge bed that was meant for 2 people.

“Let’s ask Moona and Pekora about their room. Maybe they would agree to switch with us if they got separate beds”, I suggested.

We went to their room and found out that they also had one huge bed instead of two small beds.

“Well... There’s no problem, peko! You two are friends, right?” Pekora asked.

“Y-Yeah... Friends totally share beds”, Amelia was flustered.

“I don’t really know about that since I lost my memories”, I replied.

“Don’t tell me you have feelings for each other and are afraid that things might escalate”, Moona said.

“N-No! Mikage and I are just friends, right?” Amelia said.

“Y-Yeah. I wouldn’t have any problem sharing a bed with her”, I added.

“Then the problem is solved, peko. Now let’s find some information about the black sandstorm!” Pekora went outside of the room.

I guess it was better to focus on trying to find information.

We went to the library and researched on the books that talked about Krev Valley and the surrounding areas around it.

Pekora’s story about the Krev Valley was true. The battle between the two armies did change the river’s water from blue to red because of the blood that was spilled. However, it didn’t have any other information so I returned the book.

In the bookshelf, I saw an interesting book. It was a book about Dark Magic. I picked it up and started reading it.

Basically, Dark Magic involves controlling your own darkness using mana. One could compress darkness and shoot it out, control their shadow, and even make a room dark with artificial darkness. One could even wrap darkness around their body part and make it move like a puppet on strings. That way, a dark mage could fight despite having his bones broken.

I wonder if that was what the bandaged man did to his black arm. Speaking of the bandaged man, I thought he would come after me but it’s been several days. We even entered the Peafowl Kingdom without any troubles.

It wasn’t that I was complaining. I actually liked it when there were no problems... But they had answers to the questions I have. I was the vessel for the Primordial Dark... It made me wonder why it was specifically me. Moona was a vessel for the Primordial Moon and she was a citizen of this world. So why was I summoned to become a vessel?

I returned the book to the shelf and continued searching for books related to Krev Valley. Grabbing a few books, I returned to the table to continue reading.

“This is boring, peko”, Pekora complained.

“Do your job of finding information”, Moona told her.

“Hey. I’m the princess here! You shouldn’t order me around, peko!”

“Right now, you’re not Princess Pekora. You’re Pekora Usada. You said it yourself.”

“I hate it when you’re right, peko.”

I sat down near them and placed the books on the table.

“Find anything?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, no”, Moona answered.

“I found out that the Peafowl Kingdom has delicious eggs and turkey meat. The turkeys they raised here are all high quality since they were fed with lots of boosters and raised with magic, peko”, Pekora said.

“...... That’s helpful”, I didn’t bother scolding her.

“No clues in the books so far... I guess we need to ask someone”, Moona said.

“I already asked the librarian and she had no idea. Even the books here are not helpful... I got spoiled by Rosalyn”, Amelia joined our conversation.

We were stumped... What could the black sandstorm mean?

“Huh? Mikage, is that you?” a voice behind us asked.

I turned around and saw a blond man. His warm smile made me relax. Where did I meet him before?

“Temma? What are you doing here?” Amelia asked.

Ah! He was Temma. My roommate in the 13th unit’s barracks. He was also the vice-captain of our unit.

“Amelia. Good timing! We could use your help”, he said.

“Help? What for?” she asked.

“Spade Echo is coming again.”