Alicia panicked and did not know what to say. It was not until she heard Dena"s m.u.f.fled words that she finally understood why Dena was crying. "Thank you so much for saving us. Otherwise, I would have lost my purity to some dirty bandit. If you did not show up I was going to kill myself so I would not need to suffer the shame!"Rose went over and rubbed her older sisters back. Alicia calmed down and smiled. "It was lucky that I was pa.s.sing by. Maybe it was fate that we have met. Let me heal your wounds. "
A green light engulfed the two girls healing the cuts and sc.r.a.pes on the two girls. "There you go, as good as new. "
"Alicia, we really do not know how to thank you." Dena who had finally fully composed herself said once again.
"I just did what anyone who was aspiring to be a knight would do." Alicia answered.
Rose who was at the side had her eyes glued to the top of Alicia"s head. Loeri had been trying to ignore the little girl"s stares but she was starting to get annoyed so she couldn"t help yell out: "You know it"s rude to stare at someone like that."
Rose ignored Loeri"s scolding and pulled on Dena"s sleeve as she shouted: "Dena, Dena look the white animal talked!"
"Rose cut that out, that is rude! That is Alicia"s pet you can"t stare and point at it!" Dena covered Rose"s mouth and scolded Rose causing Rose to pout.
Loeri"s face went black after being repeatedly called a pet, animal and it. She was about to yell some more when she felt a rustling underneath her and Frey poked her head out. "Mother, it"s hot! Aunty Loeri is too hot! Bleh, sweaty!"
Rose"s eyes bulged out when she saw Frey. Frey did not pay attention to those around her as she shook her body and rubbed her wings. Even Dena could not keep a straight face upon seeing Frey. "Alicia this is?"
"This is Frey, my adopted daughter. She"s cute, isn"t she? " Alicia poked Frey causing her to giggle.
"Hehe, Frey knows she"s cute, Mother calls Frey cute all the time." Frey stood proudly with her hands on her hips and her nose in the air. This caused everyone to laugh.
With the mood lightened Alicia figured it was time to get going. "We should go see Rick and the other guards. They are very worried about you."
The two girls nodded and followed Alicia out of the carriage. As soon as Rick saw them exit his eyes filled with tears and fell to his knees. "Young Misses it is great that the two of you are okay! If anything ever happened to you I do not know how I would be able to report it to the Master. He truly loves the two of you very much!"
"Rick we are fine now please get up. You and the others all risked their lives to protect us. Rose and I are gratefully in your debt. Thank you for protecting us and I am sorry for the loss of your comrades." Dena bowed her head to Rick and the other two guards.
"Young miss it is our job to protect you. I am just sorry that we were not able to do a proper job. Thankfully, young lady Alicia was here. If not for her something more terrible could have happened." Rick waved his hands to Dena. He did not dare to receive her grace if he had failed at his job. "Speaking of young lady Alicia, where did she go?"
Dena and Rose only now noticed that Alicia had disappeared. They felt a bit disappointed since they didn"t even get to say a proper goodbye. But for Dena and Rose Harper, Alicia had left an ever lasting impression on the two.
The person in question Alicia had used her wind magic to speed down the road, quite far away while she spread her detection magic out to the max. She wanted to make sure the road ahead was completely clear of any bandits so that Dena and Rose could make it to their destination safely wherever that may be.
"Alicia if you are going to wipe out every bandit group on the route to the capital to keep the two girls safe, why did you not just hitch a ride with them?" Loeri asked.
"As a knight, I do not need to receive an award of any kind. Plus I can move more freely if I do not need to protect anyone. If I was held up in the middle of battle and those girls were put in the same position again because I was tied up in a fight, would I not fail as a knight for not protecting those under my charge? By wiping out all the bandits along the main road I can at least make the path clear for them." Alicia also could move faster by herself. She would lose valuable training time if she was stuck in a carriage. There was still a lot to prepare before the squire test so she had to make sure she was in the capital a few months in advance.
"I see. That is true that you can move faster than a carriage. I will support you to the best of my ability." Loeri said as she lowered her head and closed her eyes.
"Thank you, Loeri!" Alicia smiled as she sped along. Frey sat on Alicia"s shoulder enjoying the feeling of the wind against her face.
Alicia had traveled for almost three days until she finally detected some movements with her detection magic. With her current magic power, she was now able to detect things a few kilometers away. "Loeri did you detect them too?"
"Yep, they seem to be hiding out in a cave little ways into the forest. Most likely a group of bandits." Loeri replied.
"Alright, you know the drill lets go get rid of them."