"We're somewhere within the Delgid Kingdom, the southern part, I believe." Replied Alexander lightly as he glanced at Jasmine, who closed her eyes and laid back down while slightly nodding.
"W-Why are we-" Asked Jasmine tiredly as she yawned and rolled onto her side, only for her to freeze while snapping her eyes open.
With her remembering what we were doing and where we were, she quickly sat upright before grabbing her cloak and wearing it, followed by standing up while cautiously observing her surroundings, causing me to faintly smirk in amusement.
"We're fine; there is no one near us." Remarked Alexander lightly with a yawn as he stood up and glanced at Jasmine, who nodded while continuing to scan her vicinity.
"Anyway, now that you're awake, do you have anything to do before we hit the road? Maybe use the bathroom or something?" Asked Alexander lightly as he leaned against a tree and looked at Jasmine, who faintly blushed at his words.
"B-Bathroom, o-out here?" Muttered Jasmine weakly in slight disgust as she glanced at Alexander before looking at the ground while he nodded.
"Well, I know it's not exactly as easy for a woman as it is for a man, but you're not in any position to ask for a luxury outhouse or anything of the sort." Said Alexander lightly with a slight gaze of pity while shaking his head and looking at Jasmine, who lowered her head.
"B-But, I-I need to do b-both." Said Jasmine embarrassingly with a deep blush, her words causing Alexander to furrow his brows before slightly wincing.
"Ohh, um, I can't help you there, sorry. I mean, I can burn your waste afterward?" Stated Alexander awkwardly as he rubbed his head before wryly smiling, causing Jasmine to bite her lip while tightly clenching her cloak.
"C-Could you hide behind that tree, Alex? A-And cover your ears?" Asked Jasmine weakly, her words causing Alexander to nod while his eyes faintly glowed with a purple light.
Using [Heroes Gaze], I carefully scanned our surroundings just to be sure everything was safe before I did as Jasmine asked.
"Just try not to go too far, Jasmine." Said Alexander as his words prompted Jasmine to meekly respond before she turned around and walked a decent distance away.
Once I could no longer hear Jasmine, I quietly hummed to myself as it helped pass the time.
'So, you're not going to look, Master?' Asked Zartha coldly as she raised her head and looked at the sky, eyeing Alexander, who frowned before shaking his head.
"First off, I'm no pervert. There is a fine line between admiring a woman's beauty and being a pervert; secondly, she's using the bathroom, and that doesn't interest her. Why don't you watch her instead?" Remarked Alexander as he rolled his eyes before summoning Zartha and tossing his sword behind him, causing her to lodge into a tree near Jasmine.
"A-Alex! W-Was that you?" Asked Jasmine fearfully and concerned as she peeked her head from behind the tree while looking for Alexander, who had outstretched his arm before giving her a thumbs up.
Without Zartha's voice, I continued humming for the next ten minutes, only stopping when I heard Jasmine approaching.
"Are you ready?" Asked Alex as he glanced at Jasmine, who kept her head down while faintly nodding, still deeply embarrassed of her actions.
Stepping out from behind the tree, I grabbed my shirt, which Jasmine had slept on through the night, and wore it; surprised at how fresh it smiled, I looked at Jasmine before shaking my head and leaning down.
"Up we go." Said Alex as he lifted Jasmine into a princess carry, causing her to subconsciously wrap her arms around his neck.
"W-What are you doing, Alex?" Asked Jasmine in shock as she looked at Alexander, who exited the forest with her in his arms.
"I'm going to carry you as I run; it will be MUCH faster than walking. I would teleport us, but I've been anywhere else. Why? Do you not like this? If that's the case, I can place you on my back instead." Replied Alexander lightly as he glanced at Jasmine before curouly raising an eyebrow while she softly shook her head.
"Um, n-no, i-it's fine. I-It's just, I-I've never been carried like this." Said Jasmine softly as she lowered her head once again while Alexander gazed at her in surprise.
"Really? Has your dad or brother never done anything like this for you? Not even as like a joke?" "I-I don't have a brother, and my father is busy." Remarked Alexander and Jasmine, respectively, as the former curiously looked at the latter, who faintly shook her head.
"Oh, well, you better get used to it, 'cause I'm going to carry you like this for a while." Said Alexander with a faint smirk as he glanced at Jasmine before raising his head and staring into the distance amidst the dirt trail.
Infusing mana into my body, I used both [Strength Augument] & [Speed Augument] before I pushed against the ground, causing me to launch myself forward as I sprinted across the dirt trail, surprising Jasmine at our speed.
"W-Woah! S-So fast! W-We're even faster than a Lou!" Remarked Jasmine with widened eyes as the pressure of the wind forced her into Alexander's body while he smirked in amusement.
I had no idea what a Lou was, but I figured it must've been a land mount native to the Nsemo Continent, though what I found amusing was that I wasn't even going as fast as I could; I hadn't used [Lightning Cloak], so I could still go much faster.
'Master, what about Sister? You just left her in the forest.' Asked Trina softly as she skipped in a circle while raising her head and staring into the sky.
'Eh, I'll summon her eventually, but let her stay there for now.' Replied Alexander lightly, his words causing Trina to pout while he promptly ignored her as well.
___
___
"Where is my Daughter, dammit!" Yelled Volkun angrily as he slammed his fist onto the armrest, his fury vividly felt throughout the throne room.
"Y-Your M-Majesty Crestfallen, b-but the neighboring kingdoms–" Said a slightly timid noble as he stepped forward, only for Volkun to interrupt him.
"I don't care! If anything other than news about my daughter is spoken to me, I will have you executed! Understand!?" Exclaimed Volkun furiously as he pointed at the timid noble before glaring at the numerous other important and high-standing people in the room.
After my declaration, all that was left was silence, which only further angered me as it meant no information on my precious daughter was found; however, before I lashed out in anger, my Queen did so in my stead, probably saving the life of an unfortunate noble in the process.
"The hell are you all still standing here for? If you have no information on Jasmine, go and get it!" Stated Gothel venomously as she glared at the nobles while waving her arm, causing everyone to swiftly nod before turning around and quickly leaving.
Once everyone finally left, leaving just Gothel and me alone, I could no longer hold myself as I stood up and ripped my throne out of the ground before throwing it at the ground, causing it to explode into hundreds of different pieces. Furious wasn't enough to describe the anger coursing through my body; it's been over two weeks since Jasmine entered the Delgid Kingdom and roughly four days since we lost contact with them.
I've sent every available spy I had planted in the Delgid kingdom to the last known location of Jasmine, yet there has been no news as of yet, which only made me fear for the worse.
"Jasmine… Jasmine, please be okay. Your father won't know what to do if you're…" Muttered Volkun softly as he leaned against the wall while whispering to himself with bloodshot eyes.
"My King, we will find Jasmine, okay? She will be fine; she will return perfectly safe." Stated Gothel softly as she gently patted Volkun's shoulder, causing his anger to ever-so-faintly subside, though it wasn't enough to notice.
"W-What if she isn't Gothel!?" "Then we slaughter everyone until we figure out who is responsible. You and I both know it was an inside job; there is a traitor among our high court, and we shall kill everyone until we figure out who it is." Stated Volkun and Gothel, respectively, as the former yelled at the latter, who responded with a vicious and bloodthirsty expression.
As I nodded in agreement with my Queen, the doors to the throne were suddenly opened, and before I could order their execution, I closed my mouth, praying it had something to do with my daughter.
"We've received information from spy Hawk, Your Majesties. Her Highness, Princess Jasmine's carriage had been attacked; 20 Silver Fire assassins had struck, killing every guard and destroying the carriage…" Stated the older man sternly as he read the paper's contents while Volkun's expression worsened, his heart dropping.
"M-My D-Daughter." Muttered Volkun weakly in defeat as tears threatened to escape his eyes.
"... However, Princess Jasmine is believed to have escaped; her footprints point her heading East." Declared the older man as he closed the paper and raised his head, looking at Volkun, whose eyes widened with hope and joy.