Lilia's Tale

Chapter 17: Chase

As we arrived to the carriage, I could hear that they were putting our supplies into it. However, I couldn't see anything due to the dishes I was carrying. When Father and Kyo helped put the dishes into the carriage and I was able to see the carriage for myself.

Calling it grand would have been an understatement. The car itself was superb and large, allowing for everyone to be transported easily alongside the supplies. It looked metallic, contrasting with the usual wooden carriages, but wasn't shy about having small details to indicate its quality and price. The only thing I could think of was that such a carriage was worthy of a king, which was fitting.

I boarded it alongside everyone, and we started moving. Miyu instantly asked for what questions I was going to ask of her.

"Well, first of all I'd like to learn more about your king."

"King Ren? What do you want to know about him?"

"What kind of person I am, and how in general I should be acting in front of him."

"He's a very strict king, but he understands his subjects. I don't know him personally, but that's my opinion."

"So I should stay formal. Got it."

"I don't think he expects anything from you. He knows you're only ten, after all, which surprised him that we wanted you to go to the Mirror at such a young age."

"The Mirror?"

"Do you not know about it?"

"I only told her about the Chamber," Father explained.

"I'll explain what's inside of the Chamber then," Miyu followed. "Inside, there is a single artifact called the Property Mirror. When you will go in front of it and say a certain sentence, your reflection will distort and various statistics about you will show up on it instead."

"I think I see the idea. I'm guessing I will be told the sentence right before entering?"

"Yes. I am not allowed to tell you either."

"Fine by me. After all, this is a meeting to know whether I should go to the mirror or not."

The rest of the way was mostly silent for me. Miyu-san and Father talked about each other, including some stories of what had happened during Father's trial as a knight.

One of the stories was about a hydra that went rogue and attacked a village. This was the last battle that he had to do, and since he managed to neutralize the hydra without much, if any casualties, he was given a grace from his punishment and was released earlier than expected.

This made me think about Jormungandr, the Eldest Hydra. I felt like I now understood why he was where he was, but it also made me worry about both him and us. He didn't say directly whether or not he was pushed to the kill, so I couldn't assume anything. However, it was obvious the creature had been injured in the battle.

I found myself feeling sorry for Jormungandr and his fellow hydra, rather than praising Father for his accomplishment.

"Is something wrong, Lilia?" Miyu suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"You have a very gloomy look on your face, as if you're feeling some kind of remorse."

"Well, I can't say I'm not feeling remorse. I don't know why exactly, but it's not a problem. I'm just thinking about it all from a perspective I never thought I'd find myself have."

They both looked at each other, confused.

"You're feeling bad for the hydra I had to put down, right?"