Reincarnated extra refuses to die

Arc 2. Chapter 2-7

"Do you have everything?" mom asked for what felt like the millionth time. Doing my very best to be patient and not yell at her, I took a deep breath before nodding.

"I got clothes and some food and money that should last us enough for the whole trip."

"And the salves and bandages in case you get injured?"

"I got those" Lucas said, smiling reassuringly at mom. "Don't worry Diane; I'll be sure to keep Elaine safe."

Ugh, this again... just because my father said something about leaving me in his care he has been repeating that phrase over and over for the past day. I don't need your protection. The way we are now the two of us are equally vulnerable. As if his sparks are going to save anyone.

"Don't forget to protect yourself too" mother said, looking from him to me with arms crossed and pursed lips. She wasn't happy about this development. It was pretty apparent even without her saying anything remotely condemning.

After dad spoke to her, the next day she looked pretty bummed. She refused to meet my eyes and instead went about collecting different things she thought we would need for our trip. These things ranged from vital items like clothes and food, to medicines, bandages, and the most surprising being knifes and even a slingshot she gave to Lucas. To protect ourselves, she said.

Well, it shouldn't surprise me she gave a pair of children weapons. Childhood has quite a different meaning in this world and era than in modern Japan, but part of me was kind of stunned, regardless. I suppose since she couldn't do anything to prevent us from going, she was trying to equip us as much as she could so she could have at least a bit of peace of mind while we were gone. That Lucas had magic helped. If only she knew how underdeveloped it was, though...

There was still a tense air about us, too, not because I didn't try to apologize, since I did, and a lot, but because she refused to hear me out and just found something new to do every time I got close enough to her. It was irritating but well, it was mom. She probably felt guilty like dad but didn't want to confront me yet. I was pretty hurtful too, so that contributed to the whole mess.

"After all, maybe just knifes aren't enough. Dear, do you still have that shotgun we used to keep for hunting?"

"Really, stop already! I don't even think I'm strong enough for a shotgun!"

Does she want us to kill somebody?! Well, with our technology a shotgun might not be enough to kill, but it could still cause some heavy damage... that could eventually lead to death... nope, nope, don't even think about it!

"Don't be silly, Elaine. You're not going to use it. Lucas will" the mentioned boy blinked in surprise while I just rolled my eyes, but mom ignored that and instead turned to dad. "So, do you have it?"

"Yes, I do, but the whole thing is rusted, so I don't think it still works. At worst, it might explode on your face if you try to shoot with it."

"Why do you even keep that thing, then?"

"It works for intimidation."

Mom clicked her tongue and shook her head, but said nothing more. I decided that, from then on, I would completely ignore her until the carriage we asked for arrived. I didn't want to hear anymore of her ridiculous ideas.

The wait was long and frustrating. The day before, dad and Lucas had gone to town at dusk and asked if somebody was going in the direction of the White Forest, which was where the necromancer currently resided, so we could take a hike and go with them. They were lucky, and we got a carriage with a travelling merchant who had stopped to spend the night at the town's sole inn. He accepted to take us to the nearest big town with a stage station in exchange of a few coins. However, it was already half an hour later than when he said he would come and I was growing impatient and anxious from the wait. Of course, mom's constant questions and reminders and strange new ideas didn't help.