Inside of the carriage, the Risha sisters looked at the ice dome which contained Daimon before looking at Aisha.
Leslie placed her hand on the dome and then asked.
"Is he truly alright, those flames feel different to the ones he showed us before?".
Normally Demon Light has clean white color, despite it containing darkness element into it, but now they had black patches spawning from time to time.
Earlier, when Aisha was wondering in the better way to cross the swamp, she got a "call" from Daimon.
'Use this', it was just a couple of words, and then the crimson flames that were covering his body vanished just to be replaced by white flames, but unlike the usual they had those black patches and also instead of the calm flow Daimon has had since their creation, the flames were enraged, as if they were roaring.
Along with that pair of words, Aisha was able to feel Daimon's current aura for a split of a second, it didn't affect her nor the Risha sisters but she could feel it going downwards, threatening the crocodiles to stay away from them.
Besides that, the flames which volume increased were limited to three or so centimeters of advance, and then no matter how much they tried they were unable to keep moving, as if Daimon has prohibited them from doing so.
Which was probably for the best, as Liliana could immediately tell that the stress on the ice dome multiplied a lot when the flames changed, she had to reinforce it using the left overs from Daimon's mana she was given, which made her feel a bit disappointed as she was saving it for later, to confirm something.
A shocking discovery the Risha sisters made just recently, was that Daimon's mana didn't occupy space in their magic cores, meaning that it was a surplus, so even if they have their reserves completely full, they can still accept Daimon's mana, as if it was nonexistent, it was strange to say the less.
Even Daimon didn't know about it, while Daimon has given his mana to Aisha, her magic core absorbed like it was hers, probably because she is his soulmate, the other girls haven't had a need to take Daimon's maa lent, and when Daimon did a combination spell with Yvonne, it didn't work like that.
Only when he helped Leslie rain down fire over the ships of the skelefiends at the battle near the island, some time later Leslie realized there was a bit of Daimon's mana left, but she accidentally used it up when she was showing Yvonne and Liliana.
"Yeah, if he was out of control those flames would have already melted the carriage… also Lili, how come I could feel Daimon's mana in you earlier when you reinforced the dome~", said Aisha in a playful voice.
Liliana blushed a bit before she explained their discovery, it's not that they were keeping it a secret, but it was such an irreal situation that when Leslie showed it, the three still had their doubts, their mothers explained them that since they were the first ever to find a proper center, then their situations were unique and unpredictable changes might happen to them.
Aisha contemplated things for a couple of seconds, it was indeed something unheard off, going up the limit of one's mana reserves shouldn't be possible.
"Oh, I see, that sounds like a useful ability, maybe it is indeed related to your lineages, since you feel at ease even after using your wings when Daimon is around".
Liliana nodded as she stole a gaze at Daimon's calm eye closed expression.
"Mm, it's a strange sensation, I think that instead of being absorbed in my magic core, his mana ends up staying in the mana circuits of my back… the same ones that are used for my wings".
"No fair, back then when we used a combination spell, I still didn't have the capacity to use my wings", mumbled Yvonne.
"You can't complain, if it wasn't for this travel, it would have taken more time for us to find out he could use fire and ice elements too, so for some time you were the only one with a compatible affinity"
"Mm".
Both Leslie and Liliana stuck their tongues at Yvonne as they got back at her for complaining.
"It's an interesting ability, I suggest you three to tell Daimon so he can help you confirm it, he can see mana circuits to a certain extent after all".
The Risha sisters exchanged gazes and then nodded.
All the previous happened while they were crossing the swamp and by the time they reached the other side, the flames covering Daimon's body calmed down, making the girls wonder if he was watching them over, although there were no signs of Daimon being aware of his surroundings.
The other carriages that followed them were also able to safely cross the swamp, and as soon as the last one which was drove by a peak Arch rank, was completely on the floor, the ice trail sank into the swamp.
The other drivers slowed down after crossing the swamp, they saw Daimon's carriage advancing without stopping and the drivers stared at each other with slightly hesitant expressions.
"Wait, little friend in that carriage, there might be traps ahead, we should wait for a moment and inspect the forest before going it", the same driver that invited Daimon to join the carriage called them, to stop them for a moment.
Unfortunately, just like Daimon said, they weren't going to stay with the group if they dragged them down, so Aisha ignored them and their carriage didn't stop.
And that wasn't all, the other carriage which was drove by a peak Arch rank also just kept advancing, but the driver at least turned to see the others to say.
"The sun will settle in a couple of hours and being in the open is more dangerous than into the forest, I suggest you keep advancing, we'll have to camp midway anyway".
Without saying anything else the peak Arch rank drove the carriage into the forest, following Daimon and the girls with a distance of just a couple of meters.
The other drivers exchanged gazes with each other, doubting what they should do, until the windows of the carriages lowered down and the nobles saw each other.
"We are all from second grade families, and if I'm not wrong, none of us serve any bigger family, so that neo noble won't look for troubles with us, as for the other carriage, whoever they are at least they didn't treat us a fodder cannon unlike that fucker from the Blackfin family".
"The other carriage doesn't have an emblem though, maybe both are neo nobles, but one is in decent terms with the Blackfin family, since they have some connections to the army too".
"I say we group with them, neo nobles only care about strength instead of status, if we contribute to the group there shouldn't be any problem if we tag along until we reach the Warhammer city".
Having reached a conclusion, the nobles all entered the forest too, the road was quite wide leaving space for at least five carriages to drive side to side, so a couple of carriages increased their speed and actually passed Daimon's and the other positioning themselves in front of them.
"The friends in the two carriages, there are no cowards in my Jube family, please let me open the path as a thanks for helping us back there".
"Same here, I Fernando from the Venerel family always return kindness with kindness".
The two carriages driven by middle stage Arch ranks willingly took the role of being the frontline of the caravan, the nobles inside of the carriages even presented themselves as that is the custom.
The other four carriages that were custodied by early-stage Arch ranks took the rear of the caravan, so now Daimon's and the other carriages were in what could be considered the safest spot of the caravan.
"We might not be as strong, but my Rizar family is good at defending, so let me take care of the back".
"My Damar family is good at dismantling and arming traps".
"Troy Enoch at your service, my family specializes in tracking".
"Aida Delieri, my family has one of the best restaurant chains, based in the capital, I know all the poisonous plants and magic beasts in the kingdom, and can handle them if needed".
Inside of Daimon's carriage Aisha raised an eyebrow at all those nobles presenting themselves, but remembering her darling needs more information she decided to give them a chance, in any case they weren't in a rush, since Daimon was training right now.
"I guess it's fine as long as they don't try to leech of us", mumbled Aisha.
"If those pirates were the ones that destroyed a bridge strong enough to drive away those crocodiles, then being in a group seems to be a good idea", said Yvonne.
"Mm", Leslie and Liliana agreed too so they didn't try to leave the caravan, and the other carriage was the same.
Seeing the carriages in the center don't try to leave, made the other nobles let out a sigh of relief, it would be too shameful to be rejected even after introducing themselves and their families.
…
Leaving that little episode aside, the caravan advanced deeper into the forest, the driver of the Enoch family who was the one with the strongest mana sense among the present Arch ranks, inspected the road ahead of them to make sure they were going in the same way as the previous caravans.
And as the sun left the sky and the night came after about five hours of travel, they safely reached the middle point of the forest, the kingdom set up some indicators for travelers, in this case it was a small camping area in a clear with a small stream of fresh water running near of it.
"The magic beasts are too active in the second part of the forest, I suggest we camp here at least until 6:00 AM, what do you think?", the driver of the Enoch family spoke out loud, but the caravan only stopped once the two carriages in the center stopped advancing.
Taking that as a yes, the other carriages also stopped, the nobles came out of their carriages to stretch their legs and the drivers hurried up to settle a camp.
The only ones who didn't come out where Aisha, the Risha sisters and the woman in the other carriage, but the peak Arch rank driver did lend the others a hand.
