Despite Alice nearly dying from the events before, she seemed to be much more relaxed.

Whether for better or for worst, Kazius believed in his new friends… And it seemed the sentiment was shared among the group… Or so Kazius would guess.

Azanor and Alice both looked noticeably less on guard. Not relaxed as Eve, but there was a significant difference.

Of course, they could not fully take it easy.

Knights could show up… Kazius was well aware of that, as were the others.

It unnerved him. A part of him hoped any Knights that came after them would choke on Mana and die… But he doubted anyone sent after them would be weak enough to not survive… Knight were also not their only concern, none of them fully knew what was out there in the Wastelands.

Speaking of the Wastelands… Even small things caught Kazius off guard.

The greenery around the area was also bigger, thicker… The trees were imposingly tall, as if they had been there for centuries. It was no Wasteland of death… If anything, the land out here seemed so much more fertile than anything Kazius had seen in Ratier. Another lie of the Church…

A normal human would be able to survive in such a place and prosper… Were it not for the Mana difference… Which only confused Kazius all there more about why Mana was the way it was in Ratier… Azanor made it clear the amount out here was what was normal, not the other way around.

The savage lands took up 90% of the continent and now he knew how good the land was… It began to make Kazius wonder if there really were no settlements in such a place… The Mana in the air would do better than any fertilizer that he knew of. There was no way there were no settlements or cities.

Monsters did live here… Perhaps they found their own way after the war… Perhaps some could even be better off than The Three Kingdoms.

One way or another, after this… Kazius no longer believed anything about the founding of Ratier… Part of him wondered if Alice was feeling the same… Such a thing was likely quite the painful situation for her, considering her family…

But maybe the fact she accepted Azanor meant that she was coming to terms with that.

He would stop his thoughts once they found a good spot near a river to camp.

Something Kazius would quickly notice though… Was the fish in the river… Not only could he tell the river was deeper than any he had ever seen, but he could see the fish were quadruple the size… Some even looking a bit different.

‘Look at those things… Maybe we could hold onto our supplies and try and get one for dinner instead… Are they like that because of Mana?’ Kazius would wonder to himself.

“I think we can rest here… Are the fish here edible, Azanor?” He told the others before looking at The Demon. The question earning Kazius a concerned look as if he had grown a second head.

“Of course we can, it is a normal fish. Probably better for you than any of the garbage in Ratier… You will understand how weird that Kingdom is the more you see what the real world is like. This is what fish should look like.” Azanor informed, looking almost shocked at the question, as if he had asked something obvious.

“I didn’t know my question was that strange…” Kazius admitted, wondering how warped his sense of reality was… As he did this, he would gently place Alice down.

“I wish I had known… Maybe… If I noticed how much was wrong with Ratier sooner…” Alice began, looking quite concerned at Azanor’s words. Ratier was terribly messed up and she felt responsible for it.

“…Anyway, I will help set up camp; I think I can stand now.” Alice assured, seeming to want to keep herself busy to not think about it. She still looked exhausted, but she was stubborn.

‘Why won’t she just rest a little?’

“Alright, I believe you… But please, take it easy… We both used a lot of energy back in Remus.”

“I will.” Alice assured with a small smile.

“I will go catch one of the fishies!” Eve exclaimed, running off towards the water. They had no fishing pole of anything… And Eve was…

As if noting Kazius’ concern or even out of his own concern, Azanor would go after her.

“I will help her… And make sure she doesn’t fall in.” Azanor stated with a sigh.

‘Now that I think about it… Azanor seems to stick close to and worry about Eve… Is it because of their contract?’

Kazius would watch them from a distance while in thought. Eve was mostly poking at the water with a stick she found and Azanor was simply watching her. Kazius would look back at Alice and their supplies. He decided not to worry about it for now and would set up camp while Alice started to get a fire going.

Things were a bit awkward for a bit, Alice and him both being rather quiet while they worked. Perhaps she was still a little flustered about being carried by him? Or maybe she had a lot on her mind. Finally, after a bit of silence though, Alice would speak up.

“So… Aren’t you going to ask?” Alice questioned in dismay.

“Ask what?” Kazius asked, looking as confused as he felt at the sudden question.

“You must be wondering how I am alive. I am sure you were told of my execution.” Alice admitted with a sigh.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious… I figured bringing it up would upset you though.” Kazius admitted hesitantly.

“You saved my life… And… We… We are friends now… And will be traveling together… I may as well tell you… Long story short, Everything that happened was my fault. The execution happened because I got careless. My family died because of me.” Alice stated in shame.

“How do you know they are dead if you made it?” Kazius questioned in confusion.

“Because my handmaiden, Ivy, saw them get apprehended… I will start from the beginning… During my Coming-of-Age Ceremony… It sank in that The Church had long overgrown the size it was supposed to be and was abusing their power. The Royal family… We never passed any laws, we haven’t for a long time. They just make us pray and act the part… Call us heroes… But they have never shown me or my parents anything other than contempt. For me, The Ceremony was the last straw. I don’t know how much you know about politics… But there are many ways to remind someone that they are worthless or beneath you, without using words. The dress I picked that day was taken away. I was forced to wear the most modest clothes they could justify… Forced me to wear silver, knowing it is tradition to wear gold for the parade. Maybe it sounds like the ramblings from a rich spoiled Princess to you… But that day I realized how much time The Church spent trying to make even my father, the King feel worthless.” Alice began, sounding bitter.

‘So, I really wasn’t imagining it… She did look sad.’ Kazius thought to himself, remembering that day well.

Alice took a deep breath to calm herself.

“After that day, I started reading about The Ceremony, traditions… And also, the sort of laws passed in the past… I read all I could about what The Church and their relationship with The Royal Family over the years… I did that in secret for the sake of when I would become Queen… And you know what I found? That over time, The Church went from having no power to slowly eliminating The Royal Family’s power. So… Last week… I decided to try and find any writing left behind by Ratier… But there are many books that were missing from The Royal Library… I think The Church must have been slowly removing books… That tell whatever really happened 1,000 years ago. While searching for any firsthand accounts from 1,000 years ago… I ran into… The Edict that personally guards The Royal Family… The one that has made sure I was nothing but miserable my whole life… He beat me and locked me in my room when he realized what part of the library, I was in.” Alice continued, reflexively touching her cheek, as if making sure it wasn’t bruised. As she spoke, the fire in her eyes seemed to almost dull.

Kazius was shocked at what he heard. Despite having much more luxury than him… It seemed The Church gave the same treatment they did to those at The Orphanage to the Royal Family… To humble them… To control them…

“The day we met… Was the day my handmaiden and friend… Ivy… She… She knew everything. I had been sharing with her what I found… She may have been my maid… But she was like a sister… I spent more time with her than with my own parents to be honest… She came to me early morning… And managed to sneak into my room… She brought me my dad’s sword and a bag of supplies… And told me to… run…” Alice managed out, her voice quaking towards the end.

“She caught my parents arguing with some Edicts… About what I did… And my punishment… And execution was brought up…. My parents freaked out and got apprehended… They were called heretics… So… Ivy came straight to me to warn me… She… She made me swap clothes with her… I tried to tell her that wasn’t necessary… But… She wouldn’t listen… She said she would get into my bed and pretend I was asleep to buy me time.” Alice finished, she looked like she wanted to cry, but she was fighting it quite hard.

“It isn’t hard to guess who they executed in my place… Were it not for her… I would be dead…” Alice finished in dismay.

Kazius could not help but reach out for her. He gave her a half hug with one arm around her.

“It isn’t your fault… None of this stuff is your fault… You said it yourself… They acted like they planned to get rid of your family for some time… They were going to find an excuse one way or another. That is just how The Church is… I know how they are. I am sorry to hear about Ivy… I wish she were here too, with you… But… You are not alone… We are alive… And hopefully one day… We can make them pay.” Kazius assured.

Alice was shocked by the embrace but did return it with a full hug. She clung to him, shaking a bit. She remained like that for a bit before she would take a deep breath, recovering from her moment of weakness.

“Thank you… For everything… I… I owe you my life as well….” Alice admitted, smiling weakly.

“Of course… I owe you my life as well, you know?” Kazius responded with a small grin. It seemed like his reassuring helped her some… Which made him happy… But he did feel like quite the hypocrite… Because deep down, he felt like the one with the most bottled-up despair was him… But he would push it down. He felt better knowing he was not alone… He had friends now, people that he wanted to protect… People that he could count on… As long as he was secure in that fact, he would be okay.

As they spoke, they heard Azanor clearing his throat.

They both perked up, surprised at the fact the two were back.

Azanor was looking at them, having a brow raised. Next to him was Eve, who was holding an enormous fish the size of a pig. She was hugging the fish to her chest, eyes watering.

‘Did she actually manage to catch the thing or was it Azanor?’

“Flirting while we were gone?” Azanor questioned with a smug look.

“How long were you standing there?” Alice questioned with a frown.

“Not that long, not like it mattered. We heard all of it. We already weren’t far, but have we great hearing.” Azanor pointed out with a roll of his eyes.

“Your story was so sad! They were so mean to you!” Eve exclaimed, hugging the fish tighter like a teddy bear before Azanor would take it from her.

“It wasn’t like I was going to keep that from you, so it is fine if you know…” Alice sighed out.

“I think we should all try to be more transparent… Anyway, how about I cook the fish?” Kazius suggested, figuring it would be best to not talk about it more for Alice’s sake.

Still, their conversation did make Kazius acknowledge something. He felt the need to protect Alice. He felt a kinship with her.

…Or perhaps it was the crush from his teen years making a comeback talking.