Riezel's final destination on this journey was, of course, the neutral region between Jinas and Reiburg—a city built by a Sword Saint, home to the ancient ruin related to Moslow, a city called Sinielle.
Before setting off, Riezel had heard from Marilyn that entering Sinielle wasn't exactly easy.
"I heard that if you want to enter Sinielle from Mavros Territory, you have to get permission from the lord first."
Because of what Marilyn had said, Riezel planned to find a guide after arriving in Mavros Territory to figure out what was happening.
On his way to Karudia, Riezel had already asked Gerald about the details.
"It was a direct order from Marquis Mavros. To prevent enemy spies and troublemakers from sneaking in and out, the Mavros family had built a defensive line at the border with the kingdom's support for a long time. It had apparently been completed in recent years and officially put into use last year."
"From what I heard, the Mavros family not only stationed guards there but also set up all kinds of magic defenses to strengthen its defensive and warning capabilities. I don't know if it's true or not but I heard they even built a tactical-class magic barrier to completely block any invasions."
"Since last year, anyone from Jinas who wants to enter Sinielle and leave Mavros Territory has to get Marquis Mavros's approval."
In other words, if Riezel wanted to enter Sinielle, he had no choice but to deal with the Mavros family. Otherwise, the moment he reached Jinas's border and arrived at Mavros Territory's border, the guards and the magic barrier there would definitely stop him.
'Stop me? Can they?'
When Riezel heard about it, he didn't think much of it.
It was only natural.
Given he had plenty of teleportation magic at his disposal, unless that so-called tactical-class magic barrier and all the magic defenses set up along the border had effects that could block teleportation, he could come and go as he pleased.
One should know that this world wasn't like the world of Overlord.
Magic with teleportation effects was basically limited to space magic, and only those with Imaginary compatibility could use it. But those with Imaginary compatibility were extremely rare in this world, rarer than Tactical-Class Magicians, which meant that magic spells of the Akasha Continent had very few effects that could counter teleportation magic.
Riezel seriously doubted that the magic barrier and magic defenses at the border had any way to stop teleportation magic from the world of Overlord, so he didn't pay it much attention.
Nonetheless, even if they could, so what?
If he wanted to break through, did they really have the ability to stop him?
Maybe if the Guardian Sword Saint showed up, there would be a chance.
Ultimately, Riezel, after hearing Gerald's explanation, didn't bother thinking about it any further and made a simple plan—after dropping off Fanny and Gerald in Karudia, he would head straight for the border, pass through the guards, and enter Sinielle.
Of course, doing that would most likely attract the attention of the Guardian Sword Saint.
Considering the Mavros family was located in Bessare, a city near the border and also the closest city to Sinielle, if Riezel stirred up trouble there, the Guardian Sword Saint stationed in Bessare would probably take action.
Regardless, Riezel was still going to go for it.
If there was no way to negotiate his way through, he would just test the waters a little.
With that in mind, his mentioning that Bessare was also one of his destinations wasn't just random talk. Bessare was right next to the border, so it was a necessary stop on the way. If he wanted to reach Sinielle without using teleportation magic, he had to pass through Bessare.
Since their paths aligned, he didn't mind traveling with Nibald, Andrea, Fanny, and Gerald for now.
"Is that so?"
Upon learning Riezel's plan, Nibald finally got swayed.
"Alright." Nibald nodded and then turned to Fanny. "But, I'll only let you come along when I'm investigating things related to your younger brother. Other than that, I can't take you with me. Is that okay with you, Miss Elyssir?"
"Um, no problem." Fanny wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and agreed.
"Since that's settled, let's get ready to head out." Riezel stood up before glancing at Gerald. "As for your family's mess, you guys can deal with it yourselves. I don't wanna end up getting blamed by Viscount Elyssir."
Gerald could only nod helplessly, his face full of bitterness.
Lizbeth had no complaints at all as, seeing Riezel stand up, she immediately went to get the carriage, but just then, as if perfectly timed, Felix happened to return.
Felix no longer looked like a sweaty, nervous wreck like before but had a bright, refreshing smile as he walked up to Lizbeth.
"Since we're all heading to Bessare together, why not take my family's carriage?"
Felix spoke enthusiastically to Lizbeth.
"Our carriage is big enough to fit ten people easily. A beautiful lady like you shouldn't have to do a coachman's job."
"No, actually, a job like that was never meant for someone as beautiful as you in the first place."
"Come, join me. My carriage is right this way."
As Felix spoke, he instinctively reached out to take Lizbeth's hand, but when he noticed Riezel and Nibald standing nearby, he quickly held back.
"Uhh... what?"
Lizbeth seemed completely caught off guard by the whole situation. Watching Felix suddenly run up to her and start acting all gentlemanly, she was stunned for a moment before hesitantly asking him.
"Um... who are you again?"
With just this one sentence, Felix's bright, confident smile froze on his face.
"Pffft, Hahahaha—!"
Andrea immediately burst out laughing without a shred of restraint, making Felix's already stiff expression turn even darker—like a pig liver color.
Riezel couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to this so-called young master anymore, so he nonchalantly turned away and ignored him.
"Let's go."
Saying this, Riezel was the first to walk off.
"S-Sorry for being rude!"
Lizbeth quickly bowed slightly toward Felix before hurrying after Riezel.
Fanny and Gerald, on the other hand, were having a deep conversation.
Gerald seemed to be trying to convince Fanny of something, but she stubbornly shook her head, standing firm, which made him sigh over and over again. A while later, Gerald seemed to give up, so with a resigned look, he took Fanny along and followed Riezel and Lizbeth back to the carriage.
Felix, on the other hand, was completely ignored, his face still stuck in that pig-liver shade for a long time.
"Young Master Felix, we're about to leave." Nibald called out to the frozen Felix.
"Don't wanna come along, Young Master?" Andrea asked with a hint of mockery and sarcasm. "It's fine if you don't, though. Sir Brynhart's carriage is pretty big, so I'm sure it can fit the two of us without any problem."
Hearing this, Felix nearly lost his cool.
"I... I'll be right there..." Felix said, forcing a barely-there smile at Nibald and Andrea.
Nibald immediately shook his head before turning to leave.
Andrea, on the other hand, was more direct—she stuck her tongue out and made a face at Felix without hesitation before running off, following Nibald.
*Rumble!*
Once Nibald had left, the small stone pavilion seemed to lose whatever force was holding it up as it began to shake and collapse, sending a thick cloud of dust into the air.
*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!*
Standing nearby, Felix unexpectedly inhaled the dust and immediately broke into a violent fit of coughing, looking incredibly disheveled.
'Fuck them!'
Felix's face, which had already turned the color of pig liver, turned even more pale with fury.
He was mad.
He was furious.
He was mad that Riezel had no respect for him, furious that Andrea looked down on him, treated him like he was nothing, and had the nerve to be so dismissive.
In the next second, however, Felix suddenly smirked for some reason.
'You guys just keep being cocky... Once I get her, let's see who'll smile last...'
===
Outside one of the city gates of Karudia, two carriages rolled out one after another.
Instead of entering Karudia, they started heading south, toward the direction of Bessare at the southern border.
Riezel's carriage was in the front, with Felix's carriage trailing behind.
Surrounding them were numerous fully armored knights, forming a large, imposing procession—the clattering of the wheels and the sound of footsteps echoed through the main road, creating a far more impressive scene than when Riezel's group had arrived in Karudia.
At this moment, the advantage of having such a massive formation became obvious.
Such overwhelming sound and the knights marching in such a military-like, solemn manner had completely driven away the endless stream of bandits as they hadn't been seen since.
Of course, the refugees had disappeared as well, seemingly intimidated by the sheer presence of this formation, not daring to approach and obstruct their path.
Even monsters didn't dare to provoke this clearly formidable formation, allowing Riezel and the others to finally enjoy an undisturbed, peaceful journey—something they hadn't experienced since entering Mavros Territory.
By the way, the bandits Riezel had captured, along with their horses and equipment, were sent to Karudia by Felix's men, who wore forced smiles as they handled it all, resulting in a nice sum of money for him.
Now that those bandits, horses, and equipment were gone, Riezel's carriage became noticeably lighter. Even when compared to Felix's carriage, its performance and speed weren't that far off.
After about six or seven hours of travel southward, the sky slowly darkened once again, making the two carriages on the main road finally come to a stop while the knights accompanying the carriages began to slow their pace as well.
One had to admit that these knights were pretty impressive, as after chasing two carriages at such high speed for so long, they still looked unfazed, with not a trace of exhaustion on their faces—it was no wonder they were knights under a count's family.
And so, as soon as the two carriages stopped, the knights went to the cargo racks, unloaded tents and other items, and searched for an open area to set them up.
Under the glow of the partially obscured moon, everyone began to set up camp.