"His Highness, the Prince is here. Of course, he will be leading the Expedition!" Damien Lawcroft declared with enthusiasm.
Bradford looked at me for confirmation, most likely finding it hard to believe that someone as pathetic as Fabian would be taking the lead.
However, I gave him a slight sigh and shrugged.
After this, though, I winked at the sharp man.
"Hoho! I see!" He caught my signal and laughed.
"My mistake, then. Let's get along then, Fabian. You too, Damien!"
Both the prince and his assistant looked extremely pissed off, but any more display of their dissatisfaction would simply sully their honor and non-existent authority.
So, they grudgingly accepted the enthusiasm of our newest member.
Bradford went on to greet Ivan--who looked to be in awe of the man.
His brother, Maro, was also a Researcher and Magic Engineer, so he must have mentioned Bradford to him quite a few times.
After greeting the sheepish Ivan, Bradford went on to speak to Maria.
Her reaction, as expected, was completely bland and calm--the complete contrast to Bradford Levyfield.
It was like pouring cold, icy water on heated flames.
The sight was quite funny to see.
"Oh? Looks like everyone is here already!" The voice of our final participant rang out.
Hearing her made me smile unconsciously and I glanced in her direction.
"Serah! I heard you were coming! This is so sweet!" Bradford yelled and dashed in her direction.
'This guy... even to Serah?' I asked internally, somehow looking forward to how things would turn out.
"Bradford! So you decided to come? That's so great! Hahaha!"
To my surprise, or rather... should I have been surprised, Serah and Bradford hugged and exchanged what I could only describe as friendship handshakes and fist bumps
'Of course! Why didn't I see this coming?'
In terms of personality, they were almost the same, weren't they?
"Nice day we have today, isn't it? You are welcome, Miss. Serah." I smiled, moving closer to the Grand Mage.
Everyone else bowed in her presence--except Fabian, of course.
"Please, call me Serah, Jared. I believe we've reached that point, as per our agreement."
'What's with these people and their preference for informal speech?'
It wasn't like I had a complaint, though.
This was perfect for me.
"Alright, Serah." I smiled back, staring into her confident vermillion eyes.
"Well, well, well. Since we're all here, why don't we head off?"
I couldn't agree more.
And so, we all left the room.
***************************
There was no Grand Parade.
It wasn't necessary.
Besides, since we left at the first sign of dawn, the entire city wasn't quite awake yet.
The Envoy mission was abrupt, but also urgent.
That was why... even when we arrived at the entrance--or rather, exit--of the Capital, there was no crowd bidding us farewell.
Other than the tightened security that bowed before us, no one could be seen.
'So, they already took care of this place, uh?' I smiled, looking at the spot where my Golem had caused a ruckus just some hours ago.
The Capital sure moved fast.
"So, how exactly do we get to the Elf Kingdom? Has anyone here been there before?" Serah said, looking around her.
For the first time, someone actually asked the question. Who would have thought that the sensible one would be her?
All eyes instantly narrowed on me.
"I indeed told the King to leave the means of transportation to me..."
To be honest, even if we used the Kingdom's finest transit tool, we would never reach the Elf Kingdom in time.
We had less than three days to make our debut, but merely a journey to the border would take longer than that.
I was fast enough to get there in time. Serah was most likely the same.
'But, can the others keep up?'
I knew the answer to that.
Which was why... a simple solution was best.
"We'll teleport there."
My tone was nonchalant and calm, but everyone looked at me with shock.
"WHAT??!"
Some people were surprised that I actually thought such a thing was possible.
Some were disappointed that that was my plan all along.
And Maria simply looked stoic. It confused me on what her actual take on the matter was.
Fortunately...
"It's possible! He can do it!"
... Ivan came to my rescue.
He looked at me with a bright smile and nodded.
After experiencing my power firsthand, he had actually grown. I could tell that he was more broad-minded than before.
Besides, I did give them some Demon Beast Corpses using Space Magic.
He must have surmised that I was capable of teleportation as well.
"That's right. It'll simply be faster if we went by teleportation. We'll arrive there in an instant." I smiled at everyone with confidence.
At least, almost all of them were in the King's Palace when I gave my speech. They must have known that my confidence wasn't without reason.
"Sigh. Very well. We'll go with Jared's plan." Fabian said, trying to exert his authority as our leader at the last minute.
I found the whole thing amusing, considering the fact that no one--except Damien Lawcroft--actually considered him to be our Leader.
Still, I let him believe in his delusions. That way, he would be happy and not completely stand in my way.
'From what I see, he's oddly easy to manipulate. No wonder he has that guy as his personal assistant. Pfft...'
Since everyone was prepared--
Fabian Lestrome
Damien Lawcroft
Ivan Smith
Maria Helmsworth
Bradford Levyfield
--I activated a Spell Card I had in my pocket.
It contained an Instant Teleportation Spell.
This was similar to the Card I used against Legris Damien, so it would disappear after a single use.
Still, I preferred using it instead of an Arcana.
>VWUUUUUSSSSSHHHHHH<
A bright blue light enveloped our crew, and everyone was surrounded by a massive Magic Circle.
The Spell activated in less than a second, and we all felt our bodies warp.
"One final word, everyone..." I smiled.
They all looked at me, wondering what I would utter when we were almost at our destination.
"... We're going into enemy territory, so... get ready for combat!"
I could see Fabian freeze up.
"What are you--?!" He made to speak, but the teleportation was done before he could finish his statement.
And so, we finally vanished from the Capital in a burst of blue and white radiance.
