Rise of the Eromancer

"...Can I ask where Wilder is?"

"...Wilder is not a place. And you should get some sleep, Your Highness."

It has been an entire hour since Rhys lit up their fire for the night, and yet Princess Clio still has not even closed her eyes even once except to blink. She seemed to want to say something to her, but that definitely was not it at all — because Rhys could hear her thoughts just dancing all over his head.

When was the last time he had actually heard someone's desires and thoughts? A while, most probably — because this was the first time he was actually alone with a woman whose desires he could hear.

And it pretty much confirms one of Rhys's suspicions or at least adds to it being true — the higher the percentage of the god with one's blood, the lower the chance Rhys could actually hear their desires.

"I… am not sleeping yet," Clio let out a small sigh as she clasped her heart, "This is the first time I have really ever gone this far away from Calydon, I can't rest my thoughts."

"...This is the first time you've been this far?" Rhys could not help but blink a couple of times as he looked in the direction where they came from… and it wasn't that far.

"I know," Clio just let out a small sigh as she stared at the fire, letting everything else turn dark as her eyes were stuck there, "I know it's not even half a day's travel time, but that is just how it is — as the sweet daughter of the King of Calydon, I am not really allowed to go that far from the city without my father's blessing… and I have never gotten his blessing."

"...Please don't tell me that you're just rebelling," Rhys squinted his eyes as he looked at Clio, "Because if all the prophecy and being an oracle was just a ruse to get me to help you, I am going to leave you here and now."

"Why must you be so cold all the time?" Clio's eyebrows slightly furrowed as she quickly turned her eyes toward Rhys, and as she saw herself reflecting in her silver eyes, she finally realized that the two of them were all alone in the middle of nowhere, "That… I am going to sleep!

And I am not a liar, please do not treat me as such — and all will be proven once we meet the person that we are supposed to meet."

"Maybe it truly is best for you to sleep, Your Highness," Rhys nodded, "Maybe you can talk to your oracle there."

"It doesn't work like that!" Clio found herself raising her voice as she glanced back at Rhys one final time before just laying down her blanket; making sure to turn around as violently as possible when she laid down so Rhys would know that she did not like her tone, "I am going to sleep! Do not even think about going near me and let's keep the distance between us like this!"

The tone of Clio's voice bordered from being high-pitched and a downright growl. She waited for Rhys to respond to her, but the only response she was receiving from him was silence — she then very subtly sneaked a glance at him… only to see him suddenly sitting farther away now with his back against a large rock.

He was not even looking at her at all, he was just sitting there quietly with his arms crossed and his eyes open.

"You're… not going to sleep?", Clio then very slowly turned around so she could face Rhys. But of course, carefully covered herself with the blanket.

"Someone needs to keep watch, Your Highness."

"R… right," Clio just cleared her throat, "I knew that."

"Did the prophecy tell—"

"Good night!" Clio just once again turned her back to Rhys. She truly wanted to sleep, truly — but she could not help but be nervous with Rhys just sitting there. But of course, after a while, the fatigue finally caught up to her and she just fainted there and then.

"!!!" Clio then opened her eyes as she heard the sound of something snapping, only for a soft light to harshly hit her face — soft, as there was a cloth now serving as her roof–no, it was an entire tent; an entire tent she doesn't remember erecting at all.

She blinked for a couple of seconds as that was not really the only thing she didn't remember. She then sat up from the ground; her eyes blinking a couple of times before she finally remembered everything, and that she was actually hours away from the city now.

"Rhys…" She whispered as the next thing that came to her mind was Rhys's face, "...Rhys!?"

Clio then quickly crawled out of the tent, only to see Rhys still just sitting to where he was sitting before she fell asleep.

"Why… did you not wake me up!?" Clio quickly asked as she clumsily stood up and started fixing her hair and her clothes, "We… we were supposed to change places, right? That is how camp is supposed to go!"

"It's fine," Rhys just sighed before standing, "If you're already awake, then we need to go now. Wash yourself with that water there."

"Huh…?" Clio blinked a couple of times as she looked to where Rhys was pointing to, only to see a pail of water resting beside her tent, "...Oh."

"You don't have to hesitate, Your Highness," Rhys bowed his head, "I am not going to have you arrested for washing with water."

"I have already apologized for that," Clio, who was about to wash her face, could not help but just pause; the water dripping from her palms, "And I freed you, Rhys of Wilder."

"You seem to have the wrong recollection of the events there, Your Highness," Rhys sighed, "I could have broken free whenever I wanted to — I could say I was even inconvenienced by having to bring you."

"You are not bringing anyone, I am the one bringing you — perhaps we should lay that out for a second," Clio started washing her face, as well as her frustrations, "You came with me because of the prophecy, and since you know something about a prophecy, that would mean that whatever happened was meant to happen."

"Of course, Your Highness."

"That doesn't sound sincere—wait a minute…" Clio blinked a couple of times as she somewhat realized something. She doesn't know what it is yet, but after a couple more blinks, her eyes strayed toward the pail and then the tent, "...I do not remember there being a tent in the things that Pelopia packed."

"That is because it's not from them."

"What…?" Clio completely stopped washing her face as she looked at Rhys, only to finally realize that his tunic was covered in blood, even more so than the first time they met, "Wait… what happened?"

"Nothing you should worry about," Rhys let out a sigh while shaking his head, "Just finish washing up so we can continue our journey to… wherever your prophecy will lead us."

"But…" And then, Clio's eyes very slowly strayed toward the rock behind Rhys — which had what seemed to be an arm peeking out of it from behind. Clio then very quickly just rushed toward the back of the stone, only for her to just stumble back as a loud gasp escaped her lips, "...Those are Calydon's shoulders? You killed them!?"

"No."

"But they are—" And before Clio could finish her words, she noticed that there were also several corpses wearing the chest armor of Thebes; particularly the army of her betrothed.

"At first, they aimed their weapons at me and demanded that I return you," Rhys just shrugged, "Then those people from Thebes stabbed them in the back — I suppose they were hoping to kill all of us. That didn't really work out quite well for them."

"...Then Thebes truly is trying to kill me," Clio squinted her eyes before approaching her soldiers.

"What are you doing…?" And there, Rhys watched as Clio started pulling out her soldiers and separating them from the soldiers from Thebes; placing and crossing her soldiers' hands on top of their chests, "We don't have—"

And before Rhys could say anything else, Clio started opening their mouths. Rhys did not really say anything about that and just continued to watch as Clio placed coins either under or on their tongues.

"I wish I could send all of you to the rivers of Acheron — but I am afraid this is the only thing I could, I only hope that someone else ferries you to the Underworld," Clio then whispered a prayer to her dead soldiers.

As for Rhys, the only thing he could really do was let out a small sigh as he saw several silhouettes galloping from the distance, and from the chest armor they were wearing, they were soldiers from Thebes.

"..." Rhys turned to look at Clio, and when he saw she was still not done praying, he just shrugged…

…before grabbing a spear from one of the dead soldiers.

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