Although both Ms. Knight and Ms. Meister had experience traveling to that ruin, the latter still led the way. The three of them did not speak after setting out, and as Shade walked, he felt the atmosphere was rather awkward. He was also worried that if they kept walking in silence, someone might fall behind without the others noticing, so he took the initiative to ask:
"Ms. Meister, since time is tight, how about I carry Ms. Knight and we each use our abilities to speed up toward the destination? Walking like this is simply too slow."
"This desert has many interesting effects."
The barefoot lady replied in a relaxed tone:
"Besides the confusion of space and time, there is also a rule here that absolutely forbids haste. The rule is simple: the more anxious you are, the faster you will faint beneath the sun. And the more urgently you head toward your destination, the farther away it will seem. Simply put, if we run, we might take even longer than if we walk."
"Um, there isn't some rule like 'a calm heart naturally feels cool' here, is there?"
Shade asked hesitantly. The lady merely smiled and shook her head.
Shade deliberately tried to draw Ms. Knight into the conversation, so he asked the Female Knight, who was half a step behind him:
"How are you feeling now?"
"I feel fine. I can keep going."
The voice from within the helmet was somewhat muffled. Shade could not imagine how stifling it must have been in there, though the advantage was that it effectively kept the sun from directly striking her skin.
"Can you tell what breed this cat is? All right, it isn't my cat."
Shade awkwardly searched for another topic. The Female Knight glanced at the kitten with the