She gave me a soft smile. “It’s depicted in a lot of the folk songs in this area.” “I didn’t know you had an interest in folk songs.” “Making connections with the local nobility requires that I be familiar with them,” Ariel answered matter-of-factly. Knowledge of old tales was apparently essential for cozying up to the upper class. That must be a lot of work. “But are you sure we can get to Lord Perugius from here?” “That’s a good question. I have no idea how it works, but…” I paused, looking at Nanahoshi ahead of us. She was shouldering an enormous backpack and having a rough time walking, thanks to the rubble. Even so, she kept on trucking without a backward glance. I was following her lead, but I wondered how she planned to get to Perugius from here. As far as I could remember, my readings on teleportation magic made no mention about such circles around here. Or maybe there was one, but it hadn’t been noted because it was hidden. “I’m more worried about whether he’ll be annoyed by how many people we’re bringing.” Ariel chuckled. “Lord Rudeus, you say some amusing things. This is the hero who earned himself the title of ‘king,’ you know. Our small group will hardly faze him.” “I hope you’re right.” I glanced around, mentally ticking off each person in our group: Nanahoshi, me, Ariel, Sylphie, Luke, Roxy, Zanoba, Cliff, and Elinalise. That made nine of us, enough to be a large family unit. Although royalty might not consider it such a big crowd. They often entertained dozens of guests at once, so a group of fewer than ten probably wouldn’t faze them. Norn had turned down my invitation; she was too busy with school. She had said she would work hard to balance studying swordsmanship with being a member of the student council. Maybe