Ascension of the Monster Queen

Leaving the town was difficult for Nessa, and despite her trust in them, she was uneasy because of the dangers this world held, dangers they hadn't se yet.

While walking along a wide road beside a river on her way to Mascra, Nessa smiled at Akio, who had shrunk himself just so he can stay beside her.

"Thank goodness we can ask for directions and have a map; we've be walking for hours; are you okay?" He looked at her wh she asked.

"Don't worry, I am fine, my lady," He responded, and she patted him on the head. They th came to a halt and sat under a large tree, where she brought out food for both of them to eat.

Nessa looked at the water flowing in the river while eating, remembering the cycle of her previous life, not missing a thing except some of its food, which she knew she could bring to life in her town and wanted to do so wh she returned.

After Nessa and Akio finished their meals, the girl sighed, stood up, packed her bag back, and lifted the wolf up in her arms and he looked at her.

"I can walk just fine," He said and she chuckled.

"You're so cute in this smaller form," She replied, and he lowered his head, not saying anything else as they continued on their way to their destination.

Nessa was still walking wh night fell, and she became tired, but she knew they had a long way to go and she needed to get there without wasting too much time.

While walking, Nessa noticed a few armored m on horses passing by.

"Be careful," Akio cautioned as she pulled aside to allow them to pass, and she smiled nervously as one of the guys stopped and looked at her.

"Do you need some assistance, miss?" He asked.

"Uh... No thanks," She responded wh he looked at her bag and her pet.

"Are you certain? We are a merchant caravan from the kingdom of Leosna, and we wt to deliver a few items to another city; where are you going, miss?" He inquired, and she sighed.

"The kingdom of Mascra," She responded, and they all turned to look at her.

"You are walking there?" Wh one of the guys asked, she looked at him, th at the guy who had first approached her and he got off his horse.

"Leosna is the kingdom a long way before Mascra, you won't be able to get there on foot for a while, come with us to Leosna, you can take transportation from there th be on your way miss, I assure you, we mean no harm," He said, and she looked at Akio, knowing that she would take longer on foot to get to Mascra, and decided to accept his offer.

"All right, I'll come with you." He smiled and took her bag and placed it in one of the caravans, which she and Akio tered and sat down.

"My name is K, nice to meet you," He said. The guy was tall, muscular, seemed to be nearing his thirties and fair.

"Nessa, nice to meet you as well," She replied, and he smiled before mounting his horse and riding off again, hoping to arrive at the Leosna by the next afternoon.

"Why are you traveling alone to Mascra, Miss?" Wh she looked behind her, she jumped, th sighed as she noticed a wolf-like creature beside her.

"You are?" She asked and he smiled at her.

"I am a beastman, originally from a nation filled with beastm, my name is Sikro," He said as she stared at his brown fur and he smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Nessa," She replied.

"Nice to meet you, Nessa; have you se many beastm before?" He said, "You seem unfazed," and she smiled.

"Not really," She replied, "but I expect the unexpected if that makes sse." He chuckled.

"Yes, it makes perfect sse, I can assure you, these m mean no harm, they guinely want to help," He assured her and she sighed.

"I appreciate their assistance as well, and to answer your previous question, I am going there on business," She said, and he smiled.

"I see, be careful there, that place is extremely dangerous, especially for a young lady alone," He replied.

"I'll heed your warning; are you a merchant?" He nodded wh she asked.

"Yes, I have be for a few years," He responded.

"That's nice," She said and he sighed.

"You can say that, I wanted to do something more with my life, despite the fact that mixing humans and creatures like myself can be difficult at times," He replied, and she lowered her head.

"I understand," She said as she passed her hand on Akio's head and Skiro smiled.

"Is that your pet?" He asked.

"More like a frid and a guardian," She responded, and Akio oped his eyes and looked at her, th she smiled and he rubbed his head against her palm as the caravan came to a halt and K got off of his horse and th approached them.

"What's the problem, K?" Skiro inquired, and K sighed.

"The m and horses are tired, I don't think it's going to be good going any further tonight, so we'll camp here for the night and leave in the morning, is that okay with you, Miss Nessa?" K asked as she looked at him.

"You can just call me Nessa, that's fine with me, is there anything I can do to help you guys?" She asked and K grinned.

"Nope, you are our guest, there is no need for that, you just sit back and relax, there are a lot of them, and they can manage just fine, come on, join us for a hearty meal as well," He responded and she smiled as she stepped out with Akio wh she saw the other m had started to set up a campfire and a few tts.

Wh they finished they all sat a the fire after feeding the horses, who had grown hungry and thirsty after a long ride.