The Perfect Knight and the Illusionist (BL)
Chapter 37: Something Impossible

Chapter 37: Something Impossible

MARIUS

Just as Skylark managed to light the firewood using the rock-against-rock method instead of magic, strangely, Isabelle and Beatrice came back with water. I was very impressed by the capability of the two ladies, as they were carrying a rather large water sphere together, albeit visibly straining. The water ball floated between them with their hands stretched beneath it, palms up, as if they were carrying a piece of furniture together without touching it.

"That is truly excellent," I remarked.

"Can we find a place to put it down soon, please?" Isabelle asked.

Skylark looked somewhat downcast, but there was a more important logistical concern that only came to my mind now. I couldn’t let Beatrice and Isabelle keep the water floating forever.

"We need to find a way to contain these water balls somewhere," I said.

"I know!" Skylark exclaimed, his face lighting up again.

The rest of us looked at him, curious how he’d solve this problem.

Then Skylark started to dig into the ground with his bare hands.

"Eh? What are you doing, Leo?" Isabelle asked.

"You are dirtying your hands," Beatrice remarked.

"No big deal. We just need to dig a hole in the ground, lay Sombre leaves inside, then we can keep the water for about a day," Skylark said triumphantly.

"That’s a great idea—but what are ’Sombre leaves,’ and surely there’s got to be a better way to dig a hole in the ground?"

"No, this is the faster way. Indi used to do it all the time," Leo said.

And he was very good at it, I had to say, but a new question was inevitable.

"Who is Indi?" Beatrice asked this time.

"My old dog," Leo answered.

That made both Isabelle and Beatrice laugh, but I made a mental note that this was actually something I could learn from. Of course, there is a strong tradition in martial arts that learns from the behavior of great predators such as lions and tigers, but I had never thought to learn a trick from dogs.

Just as we managed to put the water into the hole Skylark prepared, I heard big, steady thumping some distance into the woods, but it was getting closer to us. It immediately alarmed me, and I drew my sword as I told the others,

"Watch out, something’s coming."

Isabelle took a position to the left of me and produced a small fireball in each hand, while Beatrice stood next to me preparing a water ball, which, with the strength of her shot, could probably do decent damage to whatever was coming.

I looked at Skylark, and he seemed a little scared, and my mission had always been clear, so I quickly spoke to him,

"Get behind us!"

He did not move, though. His legs trembled a little, but he suddenly clenched his jaw tight and pulled out his saw.

"I will fight too!"

He roared with striking valor, which, for a single heartbeat, had me reflexively shifting my weight to dodge as if I were the one in danger. But then I noticed his legs were wobbling while his grip on the saw was tight and trembling, as if half of his body was shaking in fear while the other half was gearing up for a fight, however—

"How are you going to fight with a saw?!" I yelled.

It was then that something big jumped out of the thick bushes. Isabelle immediately sent a fireball, and Beatrice shot her water ball with great velocity and superb accuracy—right onto Dimitri’s chest.

"Wha—?!"

Dimitri screamed and dropped the wild boar he was carrying on his back, which he must have caught.

"Oh, sorry!" Isabelle shrieked, and Skylark let out a sigh, mumbling,

"Oh dear..."

Luckily, it seemed that Isabelle’s fireball reached him first, and Beatrice’s subsequent water shot extinguished it.

It was a great mistake that luckily didn’t result in serious harm.

"I’m sorry, Dimitri. I failed to identify you quickly enough," I apologized, walking over to him and offering him a hand.

But to my surprise, Dimitri burst out laughing and said with a hearty growl,

"Hahaha! That was hilarious!"

Skylark was the first one to join Dimitri in laughter, then Isabelle laughed too, and Beatrice giggled. I wasn’t quite sure how to react, but I was glad that the team was able to source all we needed for the night.

The five of us then proceeded to build the shelters, with each one of us getting an umbrella-shaped ’tent’ that Skylark devised, which we positioned in a circle around the campfire.

There was a slightly tricky moment where I had to establish an inconspicuous premise for Skylark to sleep between Dimitri and me—for maximum protection—without arousing any suspicion that this was my mission, as I had to keep Falken’s orders confidential.

But I managed, citing the gentleman’s etiquette that a man should not interfere "between" matters of women, as any alternative arrangement would have had one of the boys positioned between Beatrice and Isabelle.

Fortunately, my tenuous effort met its reward, and Skylark took the spot next to me.

With the sleeping positions assigned, we proceeded to cook. Dimitri was very skillful at deboning the boar, while Skylark went off—which I reluctantly allowed without my accompaniment, on the condition that at least one person go with him, to which Isabelle volunteered—to collect herbs for seasoning.

Beatrice and I, with little to offer in the culinary task, decided to investigate the area to ensure that we were clear of threats and perhaps make some sense of why we were ’trapped’ in this location in the first place.

As we swept through the area in a circle, we came across the site where Skylark and I had chopped and collected the wood.

"Beatrice, so according to Skylark, Green Trees don’t burn well, but Black Trees do. And those Sombre Trees over there are the ones where we got the leaves. And—"

"Marius, stop," Beatrice suddenly cut me off.

Thinking she might have heard something my hearing did not catch, I kept quiet and listened for any unusual sound.

I could not hear anything, but Beatrice kept silent for a little longer, and finally spoke,

"You see that tree over there?"

She pointed at a particularly tall tree that stood much taller than the Sombre Trees I was just explaining.

"Yes. And...?"

"That tall tree wasn’t there the second time we arrived at the camping site."

"What do you mean?"

"A tall tree like that—it is clearly visible from the sea-turtle rock location. I would have noticed it earlier."

I gave it some thought, but there wasn’t any plausible explanation I could think of.

"So what do you think?" I asked her.

"Either that tree grew so tall in a matter of hours, or the camping place we are at is not the same place we arrived at the two previous times."

"Both scenarios are impossible," I said.

"Yes," Beatrice admitted.

We stood in silence, unable to find an answer.

The sun was starting to set, and soon we’d face the night,

With unsolved mysteries and unknown dangers.

I clenched my fist and reminded myself—

This was not a camping trip.

It was a survival test.

And we’d have to be at our most vigilant to rise to this challenge.