It is my third day sparing with Brute. He was more than happy to help, as he is practicing for the same tournament. "Your skill is definitely on par with mine, but you still lack experience." Brute is complementing me and matching me strike by strike. He is being very open about teaching his skills and techniques, but I know that he is holding back his massive speed and strength. My life force level is only 12, and his is 21. Sure I am catching up, but the gap is still massive. Each level increase strength, speed and stamina relative to the natural abilities of the body. All essential for a spear duel. At level 12 I am already abnormally strong, but compared to a normal human a level 21 is practically a super human.

As it grows dark I head home. The girls are busy preparing for tomorrows journey. It feels a bit like the night before going on a vacation. I guess to the girls, this is like a vacation. The tournament appears to be a big deal. Kira comes up to me to confirm our travel arrangements. She has been booking seats on a carriage heading towards the city the tournament is held in. Think it is the same city I spotted on the map in the library. It is south east of here, but it is still the westernmost city in the kingdom. If Lago is ever classified as a city, it will be the westernmost city in the kingdom. Still don't know what the difference between a city and a town is. Might have something to do with nobles.

Lawra grabs my hand and leads me into one of the bedrooms. To my disappointment she tells me to store a number of bags in my soul storage. At least I got a peck on the cheek for it. I do my own preparations for the trip, which consist of a look around my room to make sure anything I might need is in my soul storage, and I am done.

After dinner things have calmed down, but everyone seems ready for bed. I can feel the creeping urge of my Lust skill. Should I ask someone to join me in bed? I would normally just sweep one of them off their feet with a flurry of kisses, but the atmosphere isn't quite right. I head to my room alone. I got my own room on the ground floor in the northern corner of the main building. Short distance from the workshop and separated from the girls much larger shared bedroom by the living area and kitchen. Good for sound isolation. Not much use tonight.

As I get into bed, Lynne comes in. "Hi, I am on bed warmer duty tonight." I get that bed warming usually involves working up a sweat, but did she have to call it a duty. "You don't have to if you don't want to." My comment lacks conviction. Lynne ignores me strips and jumps on top of me. "Come on, we might both be tired, but we can't have you jumping one of the female passengers on the carriage." True, the journey is going to take a couple of days in a carriage. Lack of sleep and the Lust skill might just make me do something stupid. These girls really do look out for me in every way.

Not long after Lynne is lying on top of me, asleep and dead to the world. It didn't take long to fully exhaust her. Still I think I can manage to keep my pants on for a couple of days. It is the least I can do. She really doesn't weigh much. I can easily breath with her fully weight on my chest and stomach. Wonder what the next couple of weeks will bring.

The next morning we all head to the carriage station on the east side of town. With five of us in the carriage, it is half full, but as more travelers arrive, it soon fills up. Rin is staying at the farm to keep an eye on it and Nadi promised to drop by to keep her company from time to time, though I haven't seen Nadi since our meal. I am hoping she hasn't forgotten.

As the carriage sets off, I remember why travelling in one is not a memorable experience. Crammed together in a small space with constant noise and shaking, we endure a day long journey before stopping at another station for a break and change of horses. 12 hours between toilet breaks is more like torture. Makes sense that the carriage smells of pee.

After three stops and about 48 hours journey we arrive at our destination. The speed is still amazing me, but the comfort is sorely lacking. Nobles must have their own way of getting around. These carriages are clearly aimed at normal people and hunters without their own means of transport. After two nights of poor sleep in the carriage I am expecting the girls to want to head for an inn for sleep even though it is still morning, but they look too excited to sleep. Guess we are sightseeing the first day.