《Managing an orphanage in another world》


 Chapter 1: Thea and Leaf

    It''s time!

    My goal of opening an orphanage is here.

    23 years ago, I was ''enjoying'' a hard life on Earth when I died from exhaustion. I woke up here in this world as a baby. On the day I was reborn, I made it my goal to live a better life. A slower, simpler life. And most importantly an easy life.

    But after 23 years, I found that this world was filled with war. Kingdoms left and right start wars and turn the lands red. A lot of people are suffering from these wars. But what I really cared about is that children are also victims of the whims of these kings waging wars.

    So, last year I decided to open an orphanage here in the center of the Suyai region. This region is not controlled by any kingdoms because it is in the middle of a lot of them. If someone tried to claim it as their own, the other kingdoms would immediately deal with them.

    So a lot of refugees ran to this place. Along with the people who already lived here, this region is poor. All the kingdoms keep this place in check, so it ended up poor.

    So I decided on establishing an orphanage in this place, where a lot of children need my help. It was really hard to get the proper papers stating my ownership of this orphanage.

    Looking at the building in front of me, it needed a lot of repairing. The wood walls were full of holes. There was mold and trash everywhere. I''m pretty sure I can saw a family of rats on the roof. It was truly disgusting, this place. But after cleaning, this place would shine. And would become the home of many children.

    I could have cleaned all of that alone, but I wanted a helper. So it was time to get my first child!

    ***

    I had been walking around the area for half an hour. And I hadn''t seen many children. The ones I did see were with family. I didn''t see any children alone that I could take into my orphanage.

    I noticed that all the buildings in this area were dilapidated. There was barely any infrastructure that wouldn''t get destroyed by a strong gust of wind. I should get something done about this.

    But that''s for the future, right now I needed to find a child who needed me to take care of them. That''s when I saw one.

    In the corner of the street, I saw a little girl with green hair. I would say she was 11, maybe 12 years old. Her green hair was filled with mud. And her body was covered in dirt. It looked like she hadn''t taken a bath for weeks.

    Her face looked angry. But I could see sadness and sorrow behind her light green eyes. This, this was a child who needed my help. She needed someone to take care of her, someone she could lean on right now.

    So I approached her.

    "Hello."

    Now that I faced this child, I didn''t know what to say. I was originally a person who didn''t talk much. Even at the academy, I was distant from others and only talked with a few people.

    ''Oh right, there was that one girl who was always besides me. She would always talk and I would nod to her. I wonder where she is now.''

    The little girl looked up to me and responded.

    "What do you want, bitch?"

    I was shocked. The words that came out of her mouth were so rude and not childlike. She went straight to calling me a bitch. It really shook me.

    I was silent for a few seconds before coming to my senses.

    "You-you can''t call me that! It''s bad to do that."

    "What''s bad to say?"

    She had a face filled with confusion, as if she didn''t understand what she said.

    "You can''t call someone a bitch the first time you meet them. It''s a very bad word we save for those that deserve it."

    "Oh, I didn''t know that. My bad. But what do you want with me?"

    I don''t think she really understood what I meant.

    "What''s your name?"

    "Leaf."

    ''Wow, what a cute and fitting name.''

    "Would you like to come with me, Leaf?"

    "Where to? Are you a bad person?"

    "No no. I run an orphanage. I want you to join."

    "What''s that?"

    Leaf tilted her head.

    "You don''t know what an orphanage is? Well, it''s a home for children that don''t have a home. And I take care of you until you grow up."

    "But I have a home."

    Leaf diverted her gaze from me. Her body shook a bit.

    "Do you want to return to your home?"

    As if scared, Leaf turned to look at me and suddenly shouted.

    "NO!"

    ''Oh, poor girl. I think she''s been through a lot.''

    "It''s okay, I won''t force you to go back. And I''ll make sure no one takes you back. So come with me to my orphanage."

    "Really? Will you give me food?"

    "Here." I put my hand into the bag that was hanging from my shoulder and took out a piece of bread. This is a magical bag, enhanced with spatial material. I put a lot of food in it before coming to the Suyai region.

    "F-fresh food? Are you really giving it to me?"

    Leaf''s eyes lit up. Her stomach then made some noises. She must have been so hungry.

    "I''ll give it to you if you promise to come."

    Leaf thought about it for a moment. Then she looked away.

    "No, you''re weird. I don''t want to go with you."

    ''AH, I''m weird? She called me weird! I''m not that weird, okay! Well, I did just approach a child telling her to come with me. I can''t argue with her. Time to use my backup plan.''

    "Fine, you can have this. I''ll leave you alone."

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I gave her the bread I had in my hand. Then I turned around to leave. After walking a few steps, I could hear some sounds coming from behind me. I stopped to look back when the ''thing'' following me bumped right onto my back.

    I turned back to find Leaf with the bread in her mouth.

    "Why are you following me?"

    "Umm..."

    "Do you want to go with me to the orphanage?"

    "...yes." Leaf says in a shy voice. She just refused me a few moments ago. But my plan worked successfully. What plan you ask?

    What makes children feel safe? There are a few things. One of them is food. I lured her in using the food and my kindness. Hehe, it was a genius plan from me.

    I moved my hand and patted her head.

    "Ok, you can come with me."

    Plan, successful.

    We were walking back to the orphanage when I heard Leaf''s stomach grumble again.

    "You''re still hungry?"

    "I''m sorry." Leaf put on an apologetic face, as if to say being hungry is a crime.

    "Why are you sorry? It''s not wrong to be hungry."

    "I-it''s not?"

    ''Oh my god, how did this child live until now?!''

    "Here, eat this. You''ll love it. And you can ask for more, I''ll always give them to you."

    I reached into my magic bag again, and took out a cream puff. One of humankind''s best invention.

    As I was about to give Leaf the cream puff, I stopped.

    "But first, we have to clean you up."

    Leaf looked down at her little hands. They were dirty, full of dirt. And so many germs. I didn''t see it as a problem before because the bread was wrapped, but the cream puff isn''t. So it will directly touch her dirty hands. And we can''t have Leaf getting sick because of it.

    "Stand still."

    "Like this?" Leaf straightened her back and froze in place.

    "Wow, you''re like a statue. Okay, clean!"

    After I said the word, magic flowed from me to Leaf. On her hands, bubbles of water formed and travelled up her arms to cover all her body. All the dirt started to be removed from her. It''s not the best cleaning, since it doesn''t eliminate the germs. But it''s better than nothing.

    The water with dirt separated from her and flowed down to the floor, creating no splashes. I didn''t really need to care about keeping the ground clean as it was just a dirt path, it''ll dry by itself and no one will know. After that, I handed the cream puff to Leaf.

    Now holding the cream puff in her hand, Leaf''s eye lit up again.

    "Was that magic?!" Her eyes looked at me with so much admiration that it was blinding.

    "Yes, it was. Do you like magic?"

    "YES! Magic is so cool."

    ''Wow, she''s so fascinated by magic.''

    "Well, if you can be a good girl in the future then I''ll teach you magic. How about that?"

    I could see it on her face. She was shocked.

    "R-r-really? You''ll teach me?!"

    She was skeptical.

    "Only if you''re a good girl."

    "I''ll be a good girl! I promise! I''ll be the best good girl!"

    I received at immediate response. A very enthusiastic response even.

    "Well, first. Good girl Leaf will eat her cream puff."

    I reached out my hand and patted Leaf on her head as she bit into the cream puff. After taking a bite, she stopped for a moment. Her face silent.

    ''Is something wrong?''

    "THIS IS SO GOOD!" Leaf shouted. Leaf was amazed by the cream puff.

    "Enjoy them. I have more."

    Leaf nodded her head and continued to eat while we went back to the orphanage. I gave her two more cream puffs along the way. She really liked them.

    ***

    "Are you saying this is your home?"

    Looking at the state of the orphanage, no one would believe someone lived here. Well, no one lives here yet.

    "We have to clean first."

    "How are we going to clean all that? There''s also holes in the walls. Don''t you see them?"

    "It''s okay, we just need to sweep the floors and move out the trash. I''ll do the rest. Alright, here. We''ll start by sweep the upper floor."

    I took out two brooms from my bag. And handed one to Leaf.

    "After we''re done, you''ll take a bath."

    "Ok, but I have a question."

    "Go ahead."

    "What''s your name?"

    "My name? I forgot to tell you! My name is Thea. Thea Lawfaye."

    "T-Thea...Thea Unnie!"

    "Unnie?!"

    ''I was thinking of having myself be called caretaker by the children.''

    "Should I call you mother?"

    "No no, Unnie works!"

    ''I don''t even have a boyfriend, I can''t have a child already.''

    ***

    "Unnie, I''m done with the table."

    Leaf came to me to tell me about her progress. We had been cleaning since afternoon. It''s now around 7pm. So it''s dinner time.

    "Leaf, aren''t you tired? Why don''t you go sit down, leave the rest to me."

    Leaf had sweat all over her body from the cleaning she was doing. She had been cleaning for about 6 hours now. Every time she was done cleaning a thing, she would come and tell me.

    "No, I can do more."

    "No, you''ve done enough. You''ll rest now."

    "But..."

    ''Why doesn''t she want to rest?''

    "Why are you working so hard, Leaf?"

    "I-I''m just doing what I can..."

    "I know you''re working hard, but now is the time for you to rest. Can you do that for me?"

    "Y-yes..."

    Leaf seemed hesitant to rest. I sent her to the big living room area that you arrive to when you enter the building through the front door. That area was cleaned by us earlier, so it''s relatively suitable for resting for now.

    "I''ll be there in a moment."

    While Leaf went to rest, I pushed the gathered trash out the back door. After pushing all the trash together. I face my right hand palm towards the pile of trash.

    "Incinerate."

    My mana flowed towards the pile of trash and ignited it. Pretty soon, the trash was gone. If you were a passerby and you looked closely, you would see that there was no scorch mark even.

    After burning the trash, I headed back into the building through the back door to the kitchen. And then walked through the kitchen area to where Leaf should be resting. But...

    "Leaf, what are you doing?"

    I found Leaf with a brush cleaning the windows. Her back facing me.

    "Clearly, I told you to rest. So why aren''t you resting?"

    Leaf was startled by my sudden words.

    "I''m sorry!"

    She quickly apologized.

    "So why weren''t you resting? You kept working hard earlier too. Why is that?"

    "I-I-I..."

    ''She''s hiding something. Time to use my angry gaze to make her spit the answer.''

    Under the pressure of my fierce gaze, little beads of water formed in the eyes of Leaf and flowed down her cheeks. She started to cry.

    "W-what''s wrong? Did something happen?!"

    ''Was my gaze too fierce? Did I scare her?''

    "I''m sorry. I won''t stare at you angrily again. So don''t cry anymore."

    "O-okay."

    Leaf wipes her tears with her hands.

    "So why did you crying? Does it have something to do with why you''re working so hard?"

    "I-I thought if I didn''t work hard, you...you would kick me out."

    ''Kick her out?''

    "I will never do that! I said I''m gonna take care of you, so I''ll take care of you until you grow up. I will never give up on you!"

    I held on to Leaf''s little hands.

    "You don''t have to worry."

    "Waaa~"

    Leaf started to cry again. After 10 minutes of crying, she finally stopped.

    "Let''s have dinner now, okay?"

    "Okay. Are you going to cook?"

    "No, I already prepared food. But before that, we have to do something."

    "What?"

    "Just watch."

    I stood still and focused on my mana. My mana flowed out of my body and spread throughout the building.

    "Restore."

    The building was engulfed in a blue light. As the blue light shone, the holes in the walls disappeared and the wooden floor returned to it''s original state.

    "Wow, magic is so cool! But couldn''t you have done that before?"

    Leaf turned towards to me to ask.

    "I could have, but I didn''t want to."

    "What? Why wouldn''t you do it if you can use magic like that?"

    "Well, you see. It''s not fun if you use magic to solve everything. Plus, it was a good bonding experience between us. Wasn''t it?"

    "Oh, y-yes." Leaf''s face blushed a bit. I smiled a bit at her shyness.

    "Listen here, Leaf. You should live life slowly and enjoy it to the fullest. Just because you know of a shortcut to somethings doesn''t mean you have to use the shortcut. Some times, taking the longer path to the end is worth the efforts."

    "Oh, I see."

    "Well, it''s okay if you don''t understand. You just have to trust me on what I say."

    "Ok, I''ll do that."

    I put my hand into my bag and took out a pot. Leaf and I sat down onto chairs and I set the pot on the table. Inside the was rice with vegetables.

    "We''ll be eating this today. You can eat as much as you want."

    I took out some dishes and utensils and gave one set to Leaf. Leaf then took the ladle in the pot and poured rice into my dish.

    "Eat yourself first. I can do this myself."

    "No, let me do this. I want to do this."

    I let Leaf pour rice into my dish, she was were happy to do it so I didn''t stop it. Then she poured some for herself. She gave herself a very large portion.

    "Ok, let''s eat. Enjoy."

    I took my spoon and scooped a bite. The rice was still hot because my bag keeps the original temperature of things put inside it. It is a magical bag after all.

    After I finished around half of my food, I saw Leaf who was sitting next to me move her arm. She poured one more portion for herself. She must have been really starving.

    "Eat till you''re full."

    "Ok!"

    Leaf responded very enthusiastically.

    I finished my food and looked at Leaf as she finished eating.

    "Are you full now?"

    "Yes, I''m full."

    Leaf had a big smile on her face. It looked like she was very happy right now. I patted her head and went to put the uneaten rice back into my bag.

    ''Huh? Where''s the rest of the rice?''

    I turned to look towards Leaf. There was around 8 people''s worth of food in the pot. I ate one, so she ate 7 people''s worth. How did she eat so many so fast?

    I looked in awe at Leaf.

    ''Where is she hiding all that food? Well, as long she''s full and happy.''

    "Alright, Leaf. Go find yourself a room, you can skip the bath today."

    Leaf looked at me for a moment and then in a very shy voice she said...

    "Umm, which room is yours?"

    "My room is the first room you see. That one."

    I pointed towards the room you see first if you came through the front door.

    "Then I''ll take the room next to yours!"

    "Alright, that one is yours then. You go sleep now. I''ll see you in the morning."

 Chapter 2: Silver Wolf Merchants

    -In the forest to the north of the orphanage-

    A grey hair colored child could be seen running through the forest. The child had run a lot already, it could be seen from the shoes. The bottom of the shoes were worn away. And the leather was damaged in many places because of the forest environment.

    The child stopped before a tree and climbed into an opening at the bottom of the tree quickly. Being just small enough to be able to fit through. The child hid in the tree.

    A few moments later, two people came running from the same direction. They stopped right after crossing the tree the child hid in.

    "The footsteps end here."

    One of the man looked down at where the footsteps ended.

    "He must be nearby."

    "No, he jumped up. I''m sure of it."

    "What? How could a kid do that? Use your brain."

    "Are you calling me stupid? How dare you! I''m certain he went up the trees, he''s got those beast''s blood. He can climb up trees and go around."

    "You''re right. They''ve got those strong bodies after all."

    What these two men were talking about were the beast-people. A human like with animal features. Legend has it that powerful animals in the past blessed humans with their blood, transforming them into hybrids. The blood was passed down through generations and now most of them reside in the beast kingdom.

    Though outside of the beast kingdom, beast-people are not accepted in every place. There is prejudice against them. While some places actively hate beast-people, racism.

    "He must have gone to that town nearby."

    "Let''s head there right now. Maybe we can catch him along the way."

    The two people chasing the kid didn''t think to check their surrounding. If they had, they would''ve seen the small opening in the tree and found the child hiding. The two ran away without finding the child. The child could finally sigh in relief that they weren''t chasing him.

    "There''s a town nearby..."

    The child decided to head to the town where the orphanage was located. Hoping to find some beast-people that could give a helping hand to him.

    Strangely enough, the child looked 100% human. Normally, beast-people have characteristics of beasts. Like ears, fur or tails. But there were no signs of such things on this child.

    The child left the hiding spot and carefully went towards the town.

    ***

    *Knock knock*

    "Wake up, Leaf."

    I knocked on the door to wake up Leaf. Today is the second day of Leaf coming here. It''s also the day the merchants arrive.

    I was thinking of having Leaf take a bath, since she didn''t take one yesterday. But when I went into the bathroom, I found that there was no bathtub. I didn''t clean all of the building. And Leaf didn''t tell me about the missing bathtub. Maybe she didn''t know about it.

    The door swung open.

    "I''m awake!"

    Leaf with messy hair came out.

    "Sure you were. Come on, let''s get your face cleaned up. We''re going shopping today."

    "Going shopping?"

    "Yes, you didn''t tell me there was no bathtub in the house."

    "What''s a bathtub?"

    Leaf tilted her head. She didn''t know what a bathtub is.

    ''Ah, my bad. I forgot not everyone has a bathtub in their house.''

    "Anyways, we''ll go buy a bathtub later. And we''ll order some new things. This building is lacking a lot of things since it''s a very old place."

    "Ok, when are we going?"

    "After you wash your face and have breakfast."

    "Ok!"

    Leaf and I headed to the kitchen. I showed her the tap.

    "If you twist this, cold water will come out. I''ll get some material later to make one that also changes temperature."

    "Wow, that''s so cool! I didn''t have anything like this in my house."

    Leaf remembered her previous house, and became a bit sad because it brought up bad memories.

    "Come on, don''t just stand there. Try it out."

    To cheer up Leaf, I told her to use the water tap. She put her hand on the tap and twisted it. We waited for water to flow out.

    We waited....there was no water.

    "Uhm, it''s not working, Unnie."

    "Why isn''t it working? I set up the water source already though."

    "Maybe it''s broken?"

    "No way, let me check."

    I kneeled down to check the connection of the pipes. The tap was connected to a pipe and the pipe went into the wall at the bottom and out the other side.

    "It''s leads to the outside, let''s go check there."

    I went out to the back of the building with Leaf to check. But we found nothing, no pipes in sight.

    "There''s nothing in the middle connecting the water source and the outlet. Argh, who did it?! They stole the connecting pipes! If I ever find them, I''ll drown them under a tap!"

    "Haha."

    Leaf was laughing.

    "At least you''re cheerful. Come, I''ll perform a water spell."

    "A water spell?"

    "Yes, look. Water."

    Mana from me flowed out into the air and a blue dot appeared in the air. At a steady rate, water flowed out.

    "Wow, that''s so cool. Can you do other spells too. Like fire?"

    "Yes, but that would hurt to wash your face with."

    "I DON''T WANT TO WASH MY FACE WITH FIRE!"

    "I know, I''m just joking. Haha."

    Leaf made an angry pout.

    "Mean Unnie."

    "Come on, wash your face already."

    "Oh, right."

    Leaf quickly washed her face. I also quickly washed my face.

    "Come on, let''s have breakfast."

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    "Ok."

    "Oh right, I also need to water the backyard for the future."

    I made my mana flow out to over the whole area at the back of the orphanage. Blue light shone across the area and water fell down. This is for the future when I plant some herbs. I need the soil moist. There are spells for that but it''s better to build up the garden slowly.

    Because I need the soil to keep a lot of mana in it.

    "Wow, that was so cool. Will I be able to do that too?"

    "If you try hard enough, you can do anything."

    "I''ll do my best!"

    Leaf and I went back into the house. We had a simple breakfast of bread and strawberry jam.

    "Wow, what is this?"

    Leaf held up the jar of strawberry jam.

    "It''s made from a fruit called strawberry."

    "It''s not a berry??"

    "Yes, it''s not a berry."

    "Why is it called a berry then?"

    "I guess it''s because it looks like a berry, but it''s actually a fruit."

    "Can''t we change it''s name to strawfruit?"

    "Haha, you''re being funny. It''s too late to change something like that. Anyways, if you''re done eating, let''s go."

    Leaf and I stood up.

    And we left the orphanage.

    "Oh right, I should put a spell on the house."

    I pointed my index finger towards the front door. And mana flowed out from my finger.

    "Don''t let anyone new in without my permission."

    It was a simple spell that would stop any stranger from entering.

    A few minutes of walking later, we arrived at the center of the town. This town wasn''t that huge. There were a lot of people in this town though. But there weren''t enough houses for them. So they stay in the streets.

    In the center of the town, a big group of people could be seen. There were actually two groups of people. One were the poor refugees. The other group wore high quality clothes. Made of leather and high quality cotton.

    "Come! Get yourself some food! Fresh and warm!"

    One of the high class looking person yelled.

    "Form a line, please. Children first!"

    The man shouted again.

    This group of people were the merchants I called for. The silver wolf merchants. One of the top merchant group around. I have a few connections in the world, so I called for some assistance.

    "Miss Thea, how are you?"

    One of the merchants approached me. A young man with blonde hair.

    "I''m doing great. Is everything set up?"

    "Yes, the silver wolf store is right there. You can''t miss it."

    "Of course, did you put that giant wolf head like every other store?"

    "Of course!"

    One of the silver wolf merchants'' trademark. They like to put a giant wolf head wherever they have a store. This made them recognizable to everyone. And the stores can''t be missed.

    "My name is Silas, I was put in charge of taking care of your territory. I''ll work hard from now on!"

    The young man named Silas, went into a bow towards me.

    "Stop that! What do you mean my territory? I just own the orphanage here."

    "Yes, yes. I understand."

    "Are you giving food to the people right now?"

    "Yes! The master thought there would be a need to do so, so we prepared a lot of ingredients."

    "Good, we''ll help out. Come on, Leaf."

    "Yes, Unnie."

    "Wait, Miss Thea? You''ll help out? You can leave that to us though."

    Silas was flustered. The master of the silver wolf merchants had told Silas to take extra care of Thea and never cause her trouble. So he didn''t want to inconvenience her with this simple task.

    "Yes, do you have a problem with me doing so?"

    It''s good for me to work with the community. I will get to know the people around here.

    "No no, please go ahead. I have no problem with that."

    Sweat could be seen on Silas'' forehead.

    "Don''t be so tense, Silas. We''ll see each other often from now on."

    To Thea, this sounded like she was telling Silas to see her as a friend. But to Silas, this sounded like her telling him to listen to her and not make trouble for her. It made Silas even more nervous.

    There were a lot of people in the town. While serving food to the people, I got to know a young woman in the merchant group called Su. She had purple hair. And she was an elf.

    "Apparently, this town was abandoned until a few years ago. There were no people until the refugees started to settle here."

    "That must be the reason why all the buildings are in such disrepair."

    "We don''t know why this town was abandoned. But it was a really long time ago. Nobody decided to repair the town because no one wanted to anger the surrounding kingdoms."

    "Well, can you get some people to come and fix up the house? And get someone to manage this land and the people''s wellbeing. Someone reliable."

    "Yes, Miss Thea! I''ll relay your request to Silas."

    "Good, Su. By the way, do you know a lot about gardening? I heard elves are really good at dealing with plants."

    "Hehe, as a matter of fact, in my family I was the best at cultivating plants. I was actually the best at flower magic in my whole village."

    Su''s face was held high, she was proud to tell someone about her accomplishments.

    "Wow, that''s amazing Su. I would like to hire you then."

    "Yes, of course I''m amazing. Wait, you want to hire me?"

    Su was shocked for some reason.

    "Yes, I have need for your expertise."

    "But I''m already employed here."

    "It''s okay. Silas will let you work for me."

    "Ok, Miss Thea. Do you want me to work on your garden?"

    "Well...I mean. There''s no garden yet."

    "There''s no garden yet? So you want me to plant some flowers and trees?"

    "No no, I have the seeds already. I got them from...a friend. You just need to plant those and take care of them until they''re grown."

    "I see. I''ll be happy to work for you, Miss Thea."

    "Great!"

    We continued to serve the refugees food. Of course, I asked if there were any kids without parents or guardians. But the response I received was that there were no such people.

    After serving all the people, I talked with the children and learned quite a lot.

    Most of the refugees were from the west and the north. By the way, I was born in the south. There''s a small kingdom to the west called the Iselia Kingdom. The king there is a madman apparently.

    He ordered the villages at the edge of the kingdom to be destroyed in case there are spies in them. The adult refugees seem to believe the king was fed a potion that caused him to go mad. And that the people around him were replaced by the kingdom that was even further west.

    Well, it''s not important to me so I don''t really care.

    "But I heard king Almos was going to come here after us."

    "What was that? Is that true?"

    I heard some important information.

    "Yes, before we left the village. I heard one of the merchants say that king Almos won''t stop until everyone who escaped is dead. They said they''ll follow us to other kingdoms even."

    ''So the king of Iselia won''t stop until everyone is dead? What a pathetic king.''

    "But it''s not certain he''ll come after you."

    Leaf chimed in. Leaf was shaking a bit. I put my hand on her head and patted her.

    "Where are you from, Leaf?"

    "I''m from the south."

    "Ah, I''m from the south too."

    There are two kingdoms to the south. The nearest one is the most powerful kingdom in the world. The Zatiax empire. They call themselves followers of Zatix, the god of Sol.

    The second kingdom is further south, it''s where I come from. The Yurivia kingdom. It is separated by the ocean from the other kingdoms.

    "Leaf must be from Zatiax then."

    "Yes, I was born there."

    We talked a while more with the people there.

    "Let''s go meet Silas and order stuff for the house."

    Me and Leaf left Su and the others to find Silas at the silver wolf store. The giant wolf head was very eye catching. But it does make it easy to find the store.

    "Silas, I want to order some furniture. And I want someone to come and fix the pipes."

    I came through the door and loudly announced to Silas, who was busy writing something onto a notebook at the front desk.

    "Miss Thea, the master thought you would need some fixing up with the building, so we already prepared a bunch of common things for you. You can check them out. If they''re to your liking, we''ll move them to your storage immediately."

    "Oh! As expected of the silver wolves, you guys always think ahead."

    "You didn''t expect anything, Unnie."

    "You''re supposed to be on my side, Leaf."

    "Please follow me."

    Silas led us through the door behind him to the storage room. There, a large number of furniture was stored. Various different shapes, colors and designs. I chose a simple light brown colored furniture for Leaf''s room. And various other colors for each of the rooms.

    "And white wood furniture for me. "

    "Ok, we''ll move them to your orphanage. Is there anything else you need?"

    "Not really much. Get me some ingredients for cooking."''

    "Alright, we''ll take the payment out from your account."

    We left the store and went back to the orphanage.

    ***

    "Fuck! Why won''t this open?"

    We saw two rough looking men at the front door of the orphanage. The man at the front was trying to open the door to the orphanage.

    "Come on, just break it down."

    The other man was getting angry at him.

    "You think I''m not trying? This thing is not budging at all."

    "Move it, you''re just weak."

    The other man pushed him away and kicked hard at the door. Yet the door did not even shake. But the man stopped moving.

    "AH, MY LEG!"

    Even though the impact on the door was strong, the door was not damaged. But the man''s leg still hit the door hard and was stopped. The force was not dissipated onto the door but his leg. The bone in his leg was severely injured.

    "Wh-what is this door?!"

    In his pain, he asked a question. Fear could be heard in his voice.

    "Or rather, what is this place?"

    The other man asked the bigger question.

    "What are you doing?"

    Me and Leaf came up to them. I was a bit angry since they tried to break my orphanage.

    "I''ll give you 10 seconds to explain yourselves."

    I gave them the angry gaze.

    "And who you are? Get the fuck away."

    "She''s the owner of this place that you''re trying to break into, you bastards."

    Leaf answered for me. Though I didn''t appreciate her language. I''ll talk to her later about that.

    "So you''re the owner? Hurry up and open the door then. We have business in there."

    "Huh, how dare you demand something of me? You wanna die?"

    I was getting angrier by the second.

    "Just open the door before you get hurt."

    Hmm, I came up with a clever plan. A mischievous smile appeared on my face

    "Sure, I''ll open it for you. Wait a second."

    "Hmph, you should''ve done that when we told you to. Hurry up."

    A walked up to the door and gently put my hand on it and pushed down on the knob. The door opened.

    "Come on, Leaf. Go in."

    Leaf quickly rushed in. I turned towards the two men.

    "Now, if you want to come in. State your business first. Otherwise, the moment you make a step inside, you can say good bye to your life."

    The two men looked at each other and then laughed.

    "Haha, how dare you threaten us?!"

    One of them didn''t take my threat seriously and extended his hand through the door toward me. And his hand disappeared.

    Only the part that went through the door disappeared.

    "M-my hand! What did you do?!"

    "I told you, state your business or die."

    My eyes exuded a coldness that caused the men to finally speak.

    "There''s a kid in there that we''re chasing. We need to bring him back."

    "A kid?"

    It''s not Leaf since they just saw her. But there''s no other kid here.

    "There''s no other kid here. But...why are you chasing that kid?"

    Anger could be heard at the end of my sentence.

    "That..."

    "Get lost."

    The men turned around and ran away scared.

    If I had known they were after a kid, I would''ve actually cut that man''s hand. I had cast invisibility and paralysis spells on his hand only. It would wear off in a few hours.

    I''ll have to ask Silas to find out about this child they were chasing later.

 Chapter 3: Nem

    Pretty soon, Silas and his employees arrived with the furniture and other things.

    "Set the bathtub first."

    The furniture was moved in. The bathtub was placed, and a high class water pipe system was installed. I asked Silas to send someone to find out about the two men who were here before.

    "Don''t you need to connect the pipes to a water source?"

    Silas asked me a question like that.

    "I can help you find a water source nearby."

    "There''s no need for that. I made a water source myself."

    "You...made one?"

    Silas didn''t understand what I meant.

    "I made an infinite water source yesterday."

    "What?! You can do something like that? How did you make it?"

    Silas talked to me about a business opportunity. Apparently, nobody can figure out how to make a infinite water source.

    "The problem mages have had is that it never lasts more than a few hours. So how did you figure it out?"

    "I didn''t do anything crazy, I just used a 5 layered magic circle."

    "F-five layered?"

    Silas was shocked. Most magic spells exist in zero to three layers. This is the tier that most human mages would be at for their whole lives.

    Four and five layers is for only those that are proficient in magic. Such as the old masters of the mage towers. And the few that obtain 6th level are called Grand Mages.

    7th level mages are called Archmages. Archmages are practically unheard of. In the world''s history, they can be counted on one hand. They say magic beyond 7th level is not possible for humans. Beings such as elves, dragons are the only ones who can learn those.

    What had shocked Silas was Thea''s age. If Thea was a 60 year old mage, it would be perfectly fine for her to know 5th tier magic. But she was only 23 this year.

    "Can you make one for me?"

    "Sure, come back later. I''ll give you one."

    "J-just like that?"

    "You asked for one, didn''t you?"

    I was puzzled, he asked for one and he''s confused when he received one.

    "Anyways Silas, you can move the extra furniture and the ingredients to the storage."

    "Yes, Miss Thea!"

    Silas responded very loudly and enthusiastically. I seemed he had new-found respect for Thea.

    Silas and his employees started to move all the furniture to the second floor of the building. Now, each room had it''s own furniture for future use. I hoped the children will like the furniture.

    "I''ll move the ingredients to your storage."

    Silas also brought a massive amount of ingredients, too much to fit in my magic bag.

    "Leaf, you lead them to the storage."

    "Yes, Unnie. Come, misters."

    Leaf guided Silas and a few others to the storage in big strides. She had a very happy face since I gave her the task.

    "You can put them here."

    Leaf told Silas as she pointed towards the open space in the storage. It was at this moment that a sound of something moving could be heard from the storage.

    Silas immediately threw down the ingredients he was carrying down and ran in front of Leaf. he held up his fists. Silas was a martial artist, he trained his body and mainly used his fists in fighting. Though usually, he didn''t need to fight.

    "Who''s there?!"

    Silas shouted. The men behind him also took out their weapons, one of the men pulled Leaf to the back to better protect her.

    "Show yourself!"

    Silas shouted again. But there was no response even after waiting for a dozen seconds.

    "You guys wait here, I''ll check out what''s there. It could just be a rat for all we know."

    Silas took a step into the storage. There were a bunch of empty boxes stored there. Silas looked towards one of the corners. The boxes were stacked particularly in that corner. Almost as if someone was hiding in the back of it.

    Silas, with his guard up, moved towards the boxes. He knocked over one of the boxes to find a child shaking in fear. A child with grey hair. The same child who was running in the forest. And the two people were chasing.

    Silas let his guard down immediately upon seeing a child.

    "Kid, what are you doing here?"

    The child did not respond. He kept trembling.

    Silas turned towards Leaf and the others.

    "Call Miss Thea quick."

    Leaf quickly ran to me.

    "Unnie, Silas is calling you. Something serious happened."

    Leaf didn''t know what happened since she didn''t see what was hiding in the storage.

    "Something happened? Let''s go."

    I came to the storage and went to Silas.

    "What happened?"

    "Look for yourself."

    Silas gestured towards the corner where the child was hiding. I was shocked to see a child.

    "He''s not responding to me. I seem to have scared him with my voice earlier."

    The child looked towards me. His gold colored eyes met my blue colored eyes.

    "Calm down."

    I cast a magic spell that would calm him down at the same time. The child stopped shaking.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "What''s your name?"

    "...Nem..."

    The child responded in a very weak voice.

    "Well, Nem. Are you hungry?"

    "Huh?"

    The child, named Nem, looked towards me with wide eyes. And his stomach grumbled.

    My eyes cannot lie to me, this child was in need of help. It was fate that lead him to me. But one thing that concerned me was that there seemed to be magic cast on Nem. I could smell it.

    I used my magic eyes to check and I could tell that Nem was trying to hide his features. Nem was a beast-man. His ears and tail were hidden using magic. I didn''t try to pry into his circumstance.

    "Why don''t you come out and I''ll prepare something good for you to eat? How about that?"

    I suggested to Nem in a calm and inviting voice. Nem didn''t respond, but I could see it his eyes that he really wanted to. I didn''t wait for him to respond. I stretched my hand out to him.

    Nem slowly stretched his hand to me and I held it in my hand. I pulled him out from the boxes he was hiding in. I slowly walked with him to the kitchen. I had to crouch besides him because he was so small that his hand didn''t reach me when I was standing straight.

    I sat him down on the table in the kitchen. There was a big table out in the living room area for many people to sit and eat. And there was a small table here in the kitchen for a few people to sit at. I thought there would be a need somewhere for it, so I ordered it.

    Nem sat down and stayed quiet. While I turned my back to him and took out some eggs from my magic bag. I was just going to make a simple sunny-side up egg and toast for him. All this time, Leaf was in the corridor trying to secretly watch, but she was too obvious.

    I took the frying pan hanging on the wall and put some oil on it. The stove didn''t work as I hadn''t repaired the broken magic circle etchings so I used fire magic at a controlled rate.

    After the pan had heated up, I broke the egg and placed it onto the pan. A minute or two later, a perfect sunny-side up egg was completed. I sprinkled some salt on it. But as I was about to do the same with pepper, I thought of something.

    "Nem, do you want pepper on top?"

    I turned and asked a question. Nem immediately shook his head. I thought this would be the case since beast-people have very strong noses. Since pepper already makes normal people sneeze, it would be hundreds of time worse for beast-people.

    "Alright, then. Here you go."

    I gave Nem the sunny-side up egg and toast. He was about to pick up the fork to eat.

    "Aren''t you going to wash your hands first?"

    I asked him. In response, Nem jumped down from his chair and headed towards the sink. He was barely able to reach the sink and wash his hands. I applauded him for his efforts.

    "Very good, Nem."

    Nem came back and sat on the chair again. And he picked up the fork to eat the food.

    He made a very satisfied face while eating the food. Pretty soon, he was finished eating.

    "You''re done eating? Can you tell me how old you are?"

    Nem looked at his fingers and counted. Then showed me his fingers.

    "You''re 8 years old? You''re so well-mannered for an 8 year old, Nem."

    "I''m 12 years old, Unnie."

    Leaf was already standing besides me. She proudly declared her age.

    "Oh, our Leaf is a big girl."

    I patted Leaf on the head.

    "Does Leaf mean to say she''s big enough to live on her own now?"

    "What?! Unnie, what are you talking about?!"

    Leaf was startled at my joke.

    "I''m messing with you. Leaf is still a child."

    "Don''t joke about that."

    She looked away from me. It seemed I made Leaf mad with my "joke". I''ll have to make up for it.

    "How about this? I''ll teach you magic if you forgive me."

    "Really?!"

    Leaf immediately turned back around, her eyes were sparkling.

    "It seems you don''t want to learn magic..."

    "I forgive you. I wasn''t really angry."

    "Thank you for forgiving me. I''ll teach you starting tomorrow. How about that?"

    "Can''t we start today?"

    "I would but I need to do some stuff. How about Nem? Would you like to stay here with Leaf?"

    "...ok..."

    Nem decided to stay with us. Now I''ve got two children to take care of.

    "Alright! Leaf, you need to take a bath."

    "Can''t I take it later?"

    "No! You take one now or no magic training for you tomorrow."

    "Ok ok. I''ll go..."

    ***

    It was around 2pm. I gave Leaf a book to read after she took a bath. She was sitting quietly in the living room reading the book. Her legs were swaying back and forth. She seemed to be enjoying the book quite a bit. It was a story about an elf who found a cute little creature in the forest.

    While Nem had been hanging around me the whole time. Not really saying anything. Just quietly observing me. It wasn''t really annoying since I loved his presence.

    I had been busy myself with a few things. First, I fixed the stove''s magic circle. Then I fortified the water pipes just in case. Right now, I was busy with making the infinite water source magic circle for Silas.

    Why did I say I would make it for him? Because he said it''s an opportunity to make money.

    But it''s not the easiest thing to make. It required a lot of attention during the etching part. The material could be damage if the force applied is too much. And the whole thing could be messed up at any point if you make a mistake with the etching itself.

    Though that''s not really a problem with me because I know the magic spell restore. Other mages would have a hard time with these things.

    But it does take a lot of time with tools. I don''t like using my mana to etch because in the end it makes my head hurt and uncomfortable.

    "A~nd done!"

    Finally, I finished the etchings at around 4 pm. I put together the five layers of etchings and from the center water started to flow out.

    The thing people had difficult with making an infinite water source was that the magic circle itself would consume the material too fast. This was because of the nature of the magic.

    So I devised a way to keep the material from falling apart and keeping the rate of flow constant. It was much harder than a simple magic circle and ended up needing 5 layers of complexity.

    "Alright, let''s go to Silas."

    ***

    Me and Leaf left to give Silas the magic circuit. Nem was scared of coming out of the house so we decided to leave him. Of course, I told him that it would be safe in the house. Only then did he calm down and let us go.

    "Silas, I made the magic circuit for you."

    "That was fast!"

    "Yes, yes. Just check it out first."

    After waiting for Silas to appraise it, he came back with a shocked face.

    "This is crazy!"

    "How much would it sell for?"

    "What do you mean how much would it sell for? There''s no such thing on the market! It''s impossible to tell how much it would cost."

    "But can''t you make a guess?"

    "If I had to guess, it would be at least fifty thousand coins."

    "F-fifty thousand?!"

    Both me and Leaf exclaimed.

    "Yes, the price is only that low because the output of the circuit is so low."

    "So if I increase the output, it''ll be worth a lot more..."

    "Unnie, your eyes are turning into coins."

    What''s wrong with my eyes? Doesn''t everyone want more money?

    "Ok Silas, I want you to sell this magic circuit as fast as you can."

    "I''m afraid I can''t do that."

    "But you just said you could."

    "I meant to say we don''t know if there are any faults with the magic circuit. We have to check the circles themselves more."

    "Are you doubting Thea Unnie?"

    Leaf looked at Silas with scary eyes.

    "Stop it, Leaf. It''s perfectly okay to want to make sure of something like that."

    "Yes, Unnie. I understand"

    "But...are you really doubting my abilities."

    This time, I looked at Silas with scary eyes.

    "Unnie, you don''t look scary at all."

    "What do you mean I don''t look scary at all?"

    "It''s true, Miss Thea. I was felt more scared of little Leaf here."

    "Fine, you can sell it after checking. I''m going back."

    "Oh actually, Miss Thea. We have some news for you."

    "Some news?"

    "Yes, it''s about those people we were told to follow."

    "Oh those two!"

    "Yes, I sent someone after them. We found them in the forest heading in the direction of the branch of the bone hound gang. We suspect they are members of that branch."

    "The bone hound gang?"

    "Oh, they are a gang that-"

    "Wait!"

    "What''s the problem, Miss Thea?"

    I turned towards Leaf.

    "You go wait outside, Leaf."

    Leaf went outside and Silas told me the rest.

    "The bone hound gang''s base is located to the west of here. They mainly hunt beast-people that come through here from the east. Since there is no authority managing this place, they''ve been allowed to exist here."

    "They recently attacked a village in the eastern kingdom of the beast-people, Cleovantra. Reports say that they tortured the beast-people for hours. After they were done, they left their bodies sprawled out with all the limbs missing to show their might to the people of Cleovantra."

    "I''m assuming the king of Cleovantra has received a report, so why haven''t they done anything?"

    "We don''t know. It''s not the first time this has happened, so they should''ve received reports before. But as far as we know, they''ve been allowed to exist for some reason."

    "Who''s the leader of this bone hound gang?"

    "We don''t know, their leader is always in hiding. No one has been able to identify whoever the leader is. The two men we are following will lead us to their hideout. So we''re hoping to put a few people skilled in surveillance and figure out the leader''s identity. Or...would you like us to directly attack them?"

    "No, figure out who their leader is first. And figure out as many of the member''s identities. Report to me after, I''ll deal with them directly."

    I left the store in a sour mood. If my guess was right, the town they attacked previously was the same town Nem used to live in. It just made me so angry.

    "Come on, Leaf. Let''s go."

    "Unnie, did something bad happen?"

    Leaf could tell from Thea''s face that something bad had happened. And it made her worry.

    "Don''t worry, mister Silas and I will take care of it. You don''t have to be concerned."

    "W-will it really be fine?"

    I turned towards Leaf.

    "Of course it will be fine. I am not someone who loses. No matter what happens, I will always be the victor."

    I picked up Leaf into my arms.

    "How are you so strong, Unnie?"

    Leaf was 12 years old, she was not a small girl. And Thea''s arms weren''t particularly fit.

    "You''re very light, Leaf. You have to eat more if you want to grow up tall and beautiful."

    "Yes, Unnie! I''ll eat a lot."

    Thea did not tell her that she was using body strengthening magic.

    They returned home. Only to find that Nem had gone missing.

 Chapter 4: Trap

    "Nem! We''re back."

    "Nem?"

    "Nem, where are you?"

    We couldn''t find Nem anywhere in the house. He was scared to leave the house earlier, so we told him to stay inside. But now it seemed like he had left on his own.

    "This is all my fault..."

    I thought he would be fine in the house.

    "No, Unnie. I should have stayed with him instead of going out."

    Both of us were dejected.

    "He couldn''t have gone far. It''s only been 10 minutes since we left. He should''ve just gone outside to see the town, right?"

    Thea and Leaf stood up straight.

    "Let''s go and search for him."

    "Let''s ask Silas for help."

    We went back to find Silas at the silver wolf merchants store.

    "Silas, we need your help! It''s urgent!"

    "Yes, Miss Thea."

    "Nem is gone! Send people out to find him."

    "The kid? I''ll dispatch my people immediately."

    As Silas rushed to contact his people, an employee of his rushed in.

    "Sir, I have a report. Oh, Miss Thea. Perfect timing! I have information for you."

    "Information?"

    "Yes. While patrolling just now, we saw the kid that you took in today in the forest. He was running towards something. We caught him but he wouldn''t return with us and is resisting a lot."

    "Lead the way, hurry."

    "Yes, ma''am."

    Leaf stayed behind and we left for the forest immediately. Following the man who came to make the report, we started to hear some shouts as we closed in on an area.

    "Let me go!"

    It was the voice of Nem, demanding to be let go. Moving through the trees and bushes, we quickly came up to Nem.

    Nem was being held by a brown haired man. An employee of Silas. There was blood on the man''s arms from being scratched at. It was not a lot, but it was visible.

    Nem was moving around, trying to escape the man''s grasp. But the man wouldn''t budge at all. He firmly held on to Nem even though he was being hurt.

    "Sir, you''re here!"

    Another man who was besides the brown hair man quickly approached us.

    "What happened?"

    I couldn''t wait and immediately asked.

    "Yes, ma''am. We captured the child since it seemed something was wrong. But he doesn''t stop trying to escape. He keeps wanting to head into a particular direction."

    I approached Nem who was still struggling.

    "Nem, what''s wrong?"

    I stood in front of Nem and gently asked him. He looked towards me.

    "I-I have to go."

    "Where do you need to go? I''ll bring you there."

    "I don''t know, but I have to go."

    "Do you know the way? Are you sure you can lead me the place?"

    "Yes, I know! I can definitely go there."

    "I see. Silas."

    "Yes, Miss Thea."

    "You guys go back and take care of Leaf. I''ll go with Nem here and figure out what happened."

    "Yes? You''ll go alone?"

    "Yes I will, do you have a problem with that?"

    "No no, that''s not what I meant."

    Silas''s face was flustered.

    "We''ll be going then. Take care of Leaf."

    The man who was holding Nem let him go.

    "Good luck, Miss Thea."

    Silas waved us goodbye and we left.

    ***

    Me and Nem walked for a bit. Almost 15 minutes.

    "Nem, where are you going? Can you tell me?"

    I was following Nem silently. But I couldn''t anymore and finally asked a question.

    "I''m following the smell."

    "A smell?"

    "From there!"

    As if Nem suddenly found a diamond in a mine, he ran towards a cave on the side of a hill.

    "Nem stop!"

    We didn''t know what was in the cave, so Nem rushing in was extremely dangerous. But Nem didn''t stop at my command.

    "Float!"

    I urged my mana to make Nem float. Nem, who was running, slowly felt his feet not hit the ground. With each step he took, the feedback he received when hitting the ground was reduced. Until, he hit the ground no more. And was floating in the air.

    "Stop being in such a hurry. If you won''t tell me what you are after, then I will go check it myself."

    "No, don''t stop me. I have to go."

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    I wasn''t going to let Nem, who is just a child, go ahead of me. I could instinctively feel something. Inside the cave, there was danger. I didn''t know what kind of danger there was, but something that could harm Nem was in there.

    At moments like these, I wish there was a detection magic.

    Leaving Nem floating in the air, I headed into the cave alone. The cave was dark, around 10m was the depth. The end was pure darkness. I casted a simple light orb spell.

    "Light."

    In an instant, the whole cave was lit up. The darkness disappeared and the end of the cave was before my eyes. And what was in front of me was appalling.

    The body of a person. Cut into several pieces and sprawled over the floor.

    A normal person would feel their stomach turn from the scene and immediately look away. But I was a strong person....

    ''I can do this!''

    Feeling the urge to spill my stomach contents, I gathered up my courage and looked at the body. I could tell from the face that it was a older woman. And from the head, you could tell it was a beast-woman.

    There was a ring on the floor besides the woman. I didn''t see any other object of interest, so I went to pick the ring up.

    At that moment, there was a huge explosion in the cave.

    ***

    Before the explosion in the cave. There was a man on a far away hill. From that hill, he could see the cave''s location. The man was just sitting around doing nothing.

    "Goddamn it, when is that kid gonna show up."

    He was disgruntled.

    "If only those two idiots caught him before, I wouldn''t have to waste my time here."

    This man was a member of the bone hound gang. He was in a trio with the other two people who were sent to chase after Nem.

    He was waiting for Nem to follow the scent of his mother to the cave. He had planted explosives under the body and if someone got close to the body it would explode. He had planting a trap.

    At this moment, he heard a large explosion come from the direction of the cave.

    "Finally, now I can go back to report. The leader will be happy to know that the kid is dead."

    As if the death of Nem was confirmed, the man quickly packed his things and left to report to the leader of the bone hound gang.

    ***

    Nem was outside the cave, floating, when the cave exploded.

    "NO!"

    He got scared that Thea had died in that explosion. Then he started to blame himself.

    ''It''s my fault. I made the nice lady die. I killed her.''

    And Nem began to cry. Thinking he killed the lady who was nice to him.

    What Nem failed to notice was the blue bubble around him that appeared right as the explosion went off. He was too focused on his guilty to notice the barrier. At that moment, Thea''s voice was heard again.

    "Don''t cry, Nem."

    "I''m sorry...I''m sorry."

    Thea appeared from inside the explosion. Nem was still crying even though Thea was right in front of him. He could not believe that Thea was still alive.

    "Stop crying, Nem."

    Thea walked into the barrier and put her hands on Nem''s face. Only now did Nem calm down.

    "You-you''re not dead?"

    "Yes, Nem. An explosion like that can''t kill me."

    Nem was flabbergasted. He saw the explosion engulf Thea, so he didn''t think there was any way she would have survived.

    "I cast a shield on you and me right as the explosion went off."

    Nem was sniffing his nose, trying to hold back his tears.

    "Here. This is yours, right?"

    I gave the ring I picked up to him.

    "M-Mom''s ring..."

    As I thought so, the woman was related to Nem. She was Nem''s mother.

    "Let''s go back, Nem."

    "But my mom..."

    "She''s not there anymore. Let''s go back now."

    I didn''t tell him anything more about his mother. There''s no need to tell a small child what happened to his mother.

    "...ok..."

    With tears in his eyes flowing down, Nem softly agreed to go back. All along the way, my mood was sour. I figured out that they set a trap for Nem. It was obvious.

    ''Daring to kill a child.''

    It made my blood boil.

    ***

    We arrived back at the orphanage.

    "Unnie, Nem!"

    Leaf came to greet us at the door.

    "Nem is already asleep?"

    On the way back, Nem started to feel tired. It was expected. It was a tiring day for him after all. So I picked him up and he fell asleep on my shoulder.

    He''s sleeping very soundly it seems. I hope he gets only good sleeps from now on.

    "Yes, he just fell asleep. I''ll give him the room next to your, is that okay?"

    "Of course. I have no problem."

    After setting the sleeping Nem in the room, me and Leaf went and sat in the living room.

    "Leaf. Tomorrow your training begins."

    "My training?"

    "You said you wanted to learn magic, didn''t you?"

    Hearing my words, Leaf''s eyes lit up.

    "Really?! Are you really going to teach me?"

    "Of course, I said I will so I absolutely will."

    "Yay!"

    Leaf was jumping up and down in joy. She was clapping her hands. I could feel her excitement from her humming.

    I was going to teach her, but it was not going to be this soon. I had planned to start in a few days when some of the training materials for magic classes would have arrived. But I decided that I had to begin earlier because there was a need for it.

    First, there was the matter of protection. If I start with Leaf''s training earlier, the better she will be able to protect herself and others around herself. Secondly, there is some training that doesn''t need any teaching materials. It''s what Leaf will be doing for the next few days.

    "Thank you, Unnie."

    Leaf, who was celebrating her upcoming lessons already, suddenly turned to me and said. Her face was flushed red from shyness. I don''t think she had ever said words of appreciation to anyone ever before.

    "Not only did you take me into your home, give me food and water. And my own room to sleep in. But you''re even teaching me magic."

    "It''s nothing much, Leaf."

    "No, Unnie. You''ve done a lot for me. Is-is there anything I can do for you?"

    I put my hand on Leaf and slowly brush her hair.

    "Leaf, you''re a very smart child."

    "I am? I don''t think I''m that-"

    "You are a smart child, okay. And I want you to live a long and happy life. There''s no need for you to thank me."

    "but still-"

    "Okay, how about you do this one thing for me?"

    "Yes, anything!"

    "Try your best at learning in the future."

    "Of course!"

    "That''s all you need to do. Did you finish reading the book?"

    "Uhm..."

    Leaf''s face turned red once again and she looked away. Why would that be?

    ''It can''t be...''

    "You can''t read?"

    "...sorry."

    "What were you doing earlier then?"

    "Oh that...it had nice pictures to look at..."

    ''Well, she is a child.''

    "Seems I will also have to teach you how to read and write."

    I smiled at Leaf. It wasn''t really a tedious task. I welcomed the challenge of teaching.

    "Well...I wonder if you''ll be thankful to me starting tomorrow."

    "What do you mean, Unnie?"

    "Hehehehe..."

    "W-what training are we doing?"

    "You''ll love it."

    "I''ll love it? But what is it?"

    "It''s a secret."

    "What?! Please tell me."

    "Not gonna happen."

    ***

    The night went by fast. The three of us at the orphanage slept soundly while Silas and his people went after the people from the bone hound gang.

    In the morning, it was time for Leaf''s training. At the back of the orphanage, there was a big space. A part of it was going to be for my herb farm. And the rest was going to be a play area.

    "Alright Leaf, run!"

    "Run?"

    "Yes, that''s your training."

    "Ok."

    Nem and I were sitting at the side. I brought two chairs outside just for this. Around four minutes later, Leaf was panting while running around the edge of the backyard. She had such terrible stamina. Just a few minutes of running made her exhausted.

    "H-how long....?"

    Leaf asked through her breath.

    "For however long you can."

    "What..."

    "Good luck."

    "...Unnie...."

    Leaf kept running. Her body was covered in sweat and her face was starting to become red, but she still kept running. Honestly, I had expected her to stop very early.

    After ten whole minutes of running, Leaf still did not stop yet. So, I ordered her to stop.

    "Alright Leaf, that''s enough. Stop running."

    "...but...I can....still...."

    Leaf didn''t want to give up just yet.

    "Come here already, or you''re not learning magic."

    Leaf immediately had a burst of energy and rushed to in front of me.

    "Well done, Leaf. You ran for 10 minutes whole."

    "But...why do I need to run?"

    "Because you''re too brittle."

    "If I''m too brittle, I can''t learn magic?"

    "Exactly. You need a strong body to handle mana with. A fit body means a lot."

    "How so?"

    "Well, first thing. The body is a vessel for containing mana. A healthy body is able to hold much more mana. By training your body, you become more...aware of your body. This makes your mana control better."

    "So are you really strong?"

    "Me? Well...not really."

    "Unnie, why are you making me run so much then?"

    "Well, it doesn''t hurt for you to be healthy. Now, rest up. You''re doing more running in a bit."

    After resting up, Leaf was once again ready to run.

    "Ok, don''t run too fast. Just go at a nice pace and take deep breaths."

    "Ok, Unnie."

    Leaf started to run again. And behind her was Nem who wanted to run with Leaf. Leaf quickly started to lose her speed but Nem wasn''t even slightly tired. He had a steady breath and ran at the same speed as before.

    He didn''t run faster than Leaf and followed behind her at all times. It felt like to me that Nem was enjoying simply following behind Leaf.

    Just five minutes of running later, Leaf stopped running.

    "Alright, children. Come, let''s have breakfast now. And, well done today Leaf."

    The children washed their faces and had breakfast. Then it was time to teach them how to read and write.

    "You already have great speaking skills, Leaf."

    "T-thank you, Unnie."

    Leaf''s face blushed at the compliment given to her.

    "How about you, Nem? Are your speaking skills good?"

    Nem shook his head. I smiled and patted his head.

    "It''s alright, there''s plenty of time to learn. You''re only eight this year. Let''s try our best, okay?"

    Nem vigorously nodded his head. Very enthusiastic to learn.

    "Okay, let''s start our lesson."

    I tried to teach them the basics, but it didn''t work too well. The lesson ended with not much being done. In the afternoon, Su arrived to talk about her employment at my garden.

 Chapter 5: White Wolf and Mighty Dragon Protect

    Su arrived in the afternoon. She was very excited to start working with me.

    "Where are you planning to make a garden?"

    "I''m thinking of turning a part of the backyard into a place for the plants."

    "I see."

    "Come with me."

    I brought Su to the back of the orphanage.

    "What do you think? Would this area be good for you?"

    "Any place can be a place for horticulture."

    "Horticulture?"

    "The art of cultivating plants, for food, decoration, medicinal effect and such."

    "Oh, I didn''t know that word."

    "People usually just call it gardening. But anyways, this place is good for cultivating herbs. I can feel that the soil has a lot of mana. Things planted in this soil will grow very fast and will have great effects."

    "Oh, that''s great."

    "So, do you want me to choose some stuff to plant here? Or do you have specific things you want grown?"

    "I went around the world some time back and I was...gifted a bunch of plant seeds."

    "You were gifted seeds?"

    "Yeah, long story."

    "Ok, can you show me the seeds?"

    "Of course."

    I put my hand into my magical bag and took out the few seeds I had. They were stored inside of a red box.

    "Here you have it."

    "What seeds are they that they are stored inside of this fancy looking box?"

    Was it fancy? The box had some engravings in the color of gold but that was it. I didn''t think much about the box.

    Su opened up the box and inside were various colors of seeds. With all the seeds having different shapes. There were a total of five seeds.

    "What are these seeds? I''ve never seen them."

    "The guys who gave them to me called them elemental dragon seeds."

    "Elemental dra...ELEMENTAL DRAGON SEEDS?!!"

    "You''ve heard of them?"

    "H-heard of them? Everyone''s heard of them!"

    "Oh, are they famous seeds?"

    "They''re not just famous. These seeds are a legend."

    "How so?"

    "These seeds only grow on a dead dragon."

    "A dead dragon?"

    "Yes, and even then they don''t always grow."

    "Wow, so these seeds are some very rare items."

    "You don''t get it. They''re not just rare, they''re impossible to get. Once a dragon dies, the environment changes where it''s body falls. It becomes impossible for humans to go in. And also, baby dragons smell these seeds'' mana and get them before anyone else can. Who even gave them to you as a gift?"

    "Don''t worry about that. So are they hard to plant?"

    "I can try, but the conditions to grow these are very strict. I don''t think it will work."

    "What are the conditions?"

    "The most important one is that the soil needs a ton of mana. That''s why the ideal condition is a dragon''s nest."

    "Is there not enough mana in this soil?"

    "There''s nowhere enough. When I was in my village, the ground there had more mana than here and it still wouldn''t be enough to plant these elemental dragon seeds."

    Since Su is an elf, the place she lived in was filled with various rare and high grade plants. From herbs like Pendragon roots to trees like Azure Willow trees. If she says that it''s not enough, then it definitely isn''t enough.

    "Well, can you plant some other herbs then? Like medicinal herbs?"

    "Of course, those types of herbs are the first thing you learn to grow."

    "Oh, thank you then. I also want to have some greenery in the front of the orphanage. Could you also manage that?"

    "Yes! A place filled with greens makes it wonderful. It''ll be great for the people living inside and the people walking by."

    "I know. It helps elevate your mood and reduce stress. It''s such a great thing."

    "Then I''ll get started with planting medicinal herbs here in the back."

    "Alright then. Good luck with your work, Su."

    I left Su to do whatever she had to do with the plot of land in the back. She left in the evening while we were preparing dinner.

    "No, you can''t use the knife, Nem."

    "Leaf, keep the ingredients separate. We''re not mixing them before cooking."

    I was preparing dinner while Nem and Leaf were having fun. More so they were annoying me and making messes.

    "Achoo!"

    Nem even got some white pepper on his nose.

    ''Thinking about it, isn''t it time for the magic on Nem to wear off?''

    The magic on Nem seemed to be a magic that conceals his features of a beast-person. It was probably cast on him for his protection.

    ''Well, if he wants the magic to be recast then I''ll do that for him.''

    "Alright, the preparations are done. You two can go sit at the table, I''ll finish cooking the food."

    I finished cooking the dinner. It was mix of chicken and vegetables on rice.

    "Are you going to eat a lot again, Leaf?"

    "I didn''t eat that much!"

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Even during yesterday''s dinner, Leaf ate a lot. Nem already went to sleep so he didn''t eat anything. So I cooked a lot in the morning for him.

    Just like the days before, Leaf ate a lot. Nem ate a healthy amount.

    "Alright, let''s go take a walk around town. It''ll help you digest and get familiar with the town. We''ll be doing walks often from now on."

    "Okae!"

    Nem said in a cute little voice. He didn''t say many words since coming here. The most I heard was when he was trying to go after his mother. There was not much I could do to help him with his mother. So I hope he can accept the orphanage as his new home.

    "Alright, Nem. Give me your hand."

    We left the orphanage and I asked for Nem to hold my hand. I tried to hold on to it as I walked but Nem was incredibly small and I had to bend my back to hold his hand.

    "Leaf, you hold onto Nem''s hand."

    "Okay."

    Leaf held onto Nem''s hand tightly.

    "Don''t let go of his hand."

    "Yes."

    We walked around the town for half an hour. The town was looking much better than before. The silver wolf merchants had been helping the people.

    The town''s streets were cleaned, temporary tents for homes were built until people could build their own homes. Existing houses were repaired to accommodate people.

    On the streets, everyone was heading towards the same place. It was mostly men walking together.

    "Where are you guys heading?"

    "Oh, orphanage owner. We were heading to the pub. It was just opened today."

    "Oh, the pub? It was built really fast."

    "Yeah, the boss at the merchants said the pub is important. So he quickly built it."

    "Well then, I won''t hold you any longer. Enjoy your time at the pub."

    After the men left, we continued our walk.

    "Ah, that''s where I found you."

    I looked towards Leaf.

    "Please don''t remind me."

    "Haha. I meant to say I''m glad I found you."

    "..."

    Leaf looked down to the ground. Perhaps she was shy about hearing that from me, so I patted her head to lift up her mood.

    "You''re not mom?"

    The always quiet Nem suddenly asked.

    "What, Nem! She''s not my mom."

    The red-faced Leaf immediately answered back.

    "Haha, I don''t know what gave you that impression but I''m not her mom. Leaf is just like you. Someone I promise to take care of."

    "Like me?"

    Nem looked towards Leaf with new found interest. His big eyes were extra round and shiny as he looked at Leaf.

    "So try to get along, okay. Otherwise, I will have to give you to Silas. You know how scary he is."

    It is true. Not that I would give them to Silas, but that Silas is scary looking. He has a scar on the side of his neck running down from his ear. I don''t know what happened, but he looks like a seasoned warrior and it makes him look scary.

    I noticed it before. When Silas came, Leaf stood behind me. And Nem wouldn''t look at Silas when he was found. Both of them were a little frightened by him. Even though Silas seemed to me like someone who cares about his friends.

    (Call me big sister Leaf, Nem.)

    Leaf whispered to Nem.

    "Big sis!"

    "I love my brother Nem. He''s the cutest."

    Seems they were trying to put on an act of being close and friendly in front of me.

    "Hmm."

    "W-what''s wrong, Unnie?"

    "I sense some insincerity in your voices."

    Well, they have their childlike mind to think that would work.

    "Maybe I should call Silas..."

    Both of their faces were pale.

    "I''m just kidding. I wouldn''t do that. Haha."

    "You''re so mean, Unnie."

    Leaf made a pout. Which slowly turned into a smirk.

    "You also made Nem sad."

    ''Maybe I went too far with my joke.''

    "Soo....Nem demands ice cream."

    "Is that so?"

    "Uhh, yes. He just told me."

    "He told you? But I didn''t hear anything."

    "It was when you looked away."

    ''Though I haven''t looked away.''

    "Alright, I''ll buy you ice cream when it''s available."

    "Yes!"

    "Have you never had ice cream before?"

    "No..."

    "How about Nem?"

    Nem tilted his head in response.

    "Do you know what an ice cream is?"

    Nem shook his head. It seems where Nem used to live, ice cream was not available.

    "You''ll love ice cream. Alright, let''s head back now."

    We started to walk back towards the orphanage. We talked on our way back.

    "Silas is not a scary person. You can trust him."

    "But he looks so..."

    "Looks are not everything that a person is. I mean, do you think I''m scary?"

    "No, Unnie is very pretty and kind."

    "Thank you, Leaf. But what if I was an evil person with this face?"

    "That..."

    "The same thing applies to the opposite. Silas just has a scary look all the time and the scar doesn''t help. But deep down, Silas is a patient, nice and kind guy."

    "I see....so does Unnie like Silas?"

    "What?"

    Thea''s face blushed at the sudden question about her romantic interest in Silas.

    "Unnie talks about Silas like you like him. You two make good friends so it''s not weird to like him. But the question is if he likes Unnie back. Unnie should just tell hi-"

    Thea smacked Leaf on the head. She was having too much fun rambling on about that.

    "It''s not like that. I have no interest in him. He''s not my type."

    "Hehe, sure~"

    "You!"

    Leaf was smiling mischievously. Nem was on the side not understanding the things Leaf was saying. This was when the person of the topic showed up.

    "Miss Thea, there you are."

    "Ah, Silas?!"

    "Yes, I am Silas. I was looking for you but you weren''t at the orphanage."

    "Oh that. I took the kids out for a walk."

    "I see that, I have something to discuss with you."

    "Let''s head back to the orphanage."

    From the distance, we heard people shouting.

    "What''s happening there? Let''s go check it out."

    We arrived at a scene where a bunch of people were gathered. There were men and women, the people we met before heading towards the pub were also standing there.

    "This must be the pub?"

    A building made of hardwood. Just one story tall but the area it covers seemed to be huge. Easily able to house a hundred people inside.

    "Yes, it''s named the White Wolf pub."

    "The white wolf? I know that from somewhere."

    "It''s a local legend. In the story, it says the white wolf is the guardian of this region. Only appearing when there is danger to the people living here. It comes and defeats all the enemies in one fell swoop."

    "I remember now. It''s that puppy I met before."

    "P-puppy? And you met it?"

    "Oh yeah, when I was walking to this place before. It suddenly appeared before me and showed it''s fangs to me. It looked angry."

    "You didn''t kill it, did you?"

    Silas looked troubled.

    "No, I didn''t. I don''t go around killing animals like those adventurers."

    "Adventurers kills beasts, they are different."

    "Well whatever. I thought it was cute and it was intelligent. I just hit it a few times and it went away. It was quite understanding in the end."

    "Hah, you beat the white wolf? How can we even believe that?"

    Some of the bystanders overheard Thea talking about her fight.

    "In the first place, the white wolf isn''t even real. It''s just a story that people made up."

    Two people showed up together in front of the group. One tall and one short. Both of them were wearing bandana headbands.

    "The white wolf is a mighty being, said to have the power to destroy whole castles in one blow. How dare you lie about beating one?"

    The short bandana wearing person said.

    "Yeah, there''s no way a weak and frail girl like you can do that. At least try to come up with a better lie next time."

    The taller one said.

    "I''m not lying."

    "Yeah, Unnie doesn''t lie."

    "Mmm."

    Nem simply nodded his head vigorously.

    "Tsk tsk tsk. You''ve even lied to children. How despicable of you."

    "Stop you two."

    Silas stepped in to defuse the situation.

    "Miss Thea is not one to lie. And you have no idea who you''re talking to."

    Silas gave them a scary glare.

    (Close your eyes, Nem. Mister Silas is being very scary.)

    In the front, I saw Leaf whisper to Nem and cover his eyes. Are they really that scared of Silas?

    "And who are you to tell us?"

    The two of them were picking a fight with Silas.

    "I''m the guy who can ban you from ever entering this place ever again."

    "Haha, you think I''ll believe you? Only the boss at the silver wolf merchants can do that. You think you''re the boss? The boss is a muscular old man in his forties with grey hair. He exudes the aura of a seasoned merchant. You''re nowhere near that."

    "You''re talking to the boss of the merchants. You can ask anyone here."

    The two of them asked the other people around.

    "Yeah, that''s him."

    "Yup."

    "He built the pub right here."

    "He''s the boss."

    The faces of the two changed. I could hear their thinking.

    "We''re sorry! We messed up."

    "Please don''t kick us out. We won''t cause you any trouble again."

    They immediately dropped to the floor. The sincerity in their voice was high.

    "Don''t mind that, I think you should apologize to the lady there."

    "We''re sorry, Miss."

    They turned and apologized to me.

    "You guys did nothing wrong. What are your names?"

    "We''re the Jesper brothers. We came to this town on the orders of the guild to secure a building for the construction of the guildhall."

    "You guys were supposed to arrive during the day."

    It seemed Silas had already been expecting these two.

    "Yes, we know that. But there was a situation that kept our attention."

    "Report the situation to me later."

    After telling the Jesper brothers about what they needed to do, we finally went back to the orphanage.

    "Alright, you two. Go to your rooms and sleep."

    "Yes!"

    Leaf immediately moved to her room but Nem wasn''t budging.

    "What''s wrong?"

    I asked him. But Nem wasn''t saying a thing.

    "You can tell me, Nem."

    "Uhhm, I..."

    "He doesn''t want to sleep alone."

    Silas, who hadn''t left because he was originally coming here to tell me something, told me suddenly.

    "Oh, is that true? You don''t want to sleep alone, Nem?"

    I had forgotten since I always slept alone since the first memory I can remember. I had grown used to it. But other children didn''t sleep alone like me.

    "Okay Nem, have this."

    I took my magic bag from the table and took out something. It was a dragon plushie. I had bought it because it looked cute.

    "This will keep you safe during the night. It''s a mighty dragon that will deal with all the bad guys."

    "It will?"

    "Yes, you trust me don''t you? I would never lie to you."

    Nem was tricked by Thea and went to his room. That night, he slept with a dragon plushie in his arms and a smile on his face. During the night, the magic cast on him also faded away. And a pair of wolf-like ears appeared on his head.

    Like that, the day went by.

    "So what did you want to tell me, Silas?"

 Chapter 6: Little Cloud

    "I''ve stationed my men around the base of the bone hound gang''s base. We''ve identified most of the bastards in there but the top bunch always wear masks, so we don''t know who they are."

    "I see."

    "So what do you want to do? Do you want us to attack?"

    "No, I will do it myself."

    If Leaf was here right now, she would say that Thea finally looked scary. The Thea that was unable to make a scary expression before had a dark aura around her right now. Thea''s scary self only appears when she has genuine hatred towards someone.

    "Ok, we won''t make a move. We''ll let you handle it."

    "You made sure no one escaped their base right?"

    "Some left, but we made sure they were dealt with as soon after they left."

    "Good work. Let''s head over right now."

    "Right now?"

    "Yes, right now."

    "The hideout is very far away. It takes us 10 hours to get there from here on horses. The horses won''t move at nighttime, so we should go in the morning."

    "That''s okay, it''ll take me 3 hours max. And we won''t be needing horses."

    "We won''t?"

    "Yes, now let''s get moving."

    Thea headed outside. Silas was still thinking about what Thea said and headed out in confusion.

    "Stand close. Shield!"

    Silas walks up to Thea. After Thea said shield, a blue thin layer surrounded Thea and Silas.

    "Wind!"

    Thea said the magic word ''wind'' and they started to be lifted up by the wind. Silas could feel the cool wind flow around them as they reached high into the sky.

    "Which way is their base?"

    Thea turned her head towards the amazed Silas.

    "Oh, towards the east. You just follow the eastern path, their hideout is on a hill near the first split in the path."

    Silas points towards the only path leading to the east.

    "Oh yeah, we''ll be moving really fast. Try not to get dizzy."

    "What do you mea-"

    As Silas questioned Thea''s words, the scenery around him changed. They were already above the path in seconds.

    "You''re so fast!"

    Silas had never experienced this kind of speed before. He was an experienced horse-rider and has rode some fast horses in his life. Yet none of them could hope to match the speed at which Thea was flying.

    "Thank you for the compliment."

    "What is this magic spell? Is it a flying spell?"

    "Magic spell? I''m not using a spell."

    "There''s no spell? Though I''ve never seen one, I''ve heard of 4-star mages being able to fly using a wind magic spell."

    "I know that spell, but I don''t use it."

    "How are we flying right now if you don''t use it?"

    "I just command the wind through my mana."

    "You just...command the wind?"

    "Yes."

    Silas didn''t understand, but he also understood that the things Thea knew were beyond his knowledge. So he just accepted it as it was.

    "I see...the view from up here is amazing."

    Silas looked down towards the forest. Right now, he was experiencing this for the first time. He was not a mage so he didn''t have opportunities to fly like this.

    Silas looked at the forest below from high above. The wind was rushing by, enveloping him in whooshing sounds. But it was not too loud, in fact it was calming. He couldn''t hear the sounds of the forest, but watching the sea of trees go by gave him a sense of awe.

    "Haven''t you been on airships?"

    "I haven''t been on one."

    "I thought you would have since you''re a merchant. You should try it, they feel much different than flying. In a good way, of course."

    "I don''t travel as a merchant, I just do paperwork most of the time. But I''ll actually be going on one in the near future. So I hope it''ll be good as nice as this."

    ***

    After 5 minutes of flying, Silas was looking down on the forest when he noticed something.

    "Umm, Miss Thea."

    "Yes?"

    "There''s something strange."

    "Something strange?"

    I looked at where Silas was looking. He was looking down to the forest, where he could see a white streak. It was moving at the same pace as me.

    "What is that?"

    Thea didn''t know what it was.

    "It must be a beast."

    Beasts inhabited the whole world. It wasn''t weird for strong beasts to live in forests such as these. So a fast beast able to follow Thea wasn''t weird.

    "Should we take care of it?"

    "No, there''s no need to."

    "Sorry, that was wrong of me to say."

    Silas remembered something. Silas had heard that Thea doesn''t like hunting beasts. So suggesting to Thea to kill the beast was inconsiderate of him.

    "It hasn''t done anything to us, so why should we attack it?"

    Thea hated the way the adventures'' guild worked. Where adventurers go around killing every beast they see for profit. Even if the beasts had done nothing wrong, and lived a peaceful life. She especially hated the hunting of peaceful creatures. But Thea understood the need to kill beasts that caused trouble.

    Violent beasts like the tempered steel snake, lave gem tiger and many more. These are hard to hunt for normal adventurers. So they go and hunt defenseless beasts, like the seven flowers deer, red feathered thunderbird. Most of these creatures don''t even give valuable material. The adventurers'' guild suggests hunting these creatures for experience and practice.

    "Lets just leave it alone, it''ll go away soon."

    There are cases where these beasts chase after adventurers, because they stepped into their territory. So as soon as the adventurers leave, the beasts stop chasing.

    But this beast didn''t leave even after another 10 minutes of flying.

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Is it''s territory that huge?"

    Thea questioned.

    "I don''t think so, there has been no mention of any such creature in this region."

    Silas, who had looked into the history of the Suyai region extensively, had not heard of a single thing. If a creature with such a large territory was present in this region, it would for sure be marked down in books.

    "We should just leave it alone. It''ll stop following us soon."

    But even after that, it did not leave. It kept up the pace with Thea and soon they arrived at the hideout of the bone hound gang.

    "Let''s head down. And see what this beast is."

    I flew down and landed in front of the beast. The beast came to a stop.

    "You?"

    I recognized the creature in front of me. I had met it before.

    "Is..is that..."

    In front of us stood a big creature, around 6m tall. It had white fur and a mane like a lions. A long waving fluffy tail. It stood there with the aura of a majestic being. In it''s eyes was a gleam that would make other creatures bow. It had an effect of Silas as his legs felt weak after a look.

    "The white wolf?"

    Silas fell down to the ground. His legs had given up. Silas was just an ordinary person. He was an amazing merchant, but he was not a mage or a fighter with a strong body. The pressure from the white wolf was too much for him. His body was shaking.

    "Stop it!"

    Thea shouted at the white wolf and Silas'' body stopped shaking.

    "How could you do that? He''s an ordinary person."

    "Hmph, how would I know that?"

    The wolf turned it''s head to the left. A sense of indignation could be felt from the white wolf''s words. Silas was shocked to hear the white wolf talk. Thea was also shocked but at something else.

    "So it''s his fault for being weak? Is that what you mean?"

    "Of course. To appear before me, one must at least be able to withstand my aura."

    "The legends say you protect the people but I guess that was false. And also you followed us..."

    "..."

    The white wolf had no words in response. It was indeed true that the white wolf followed and appeared before them. And it was also supposed to protect the people of the Suyai region. But it did not want to be the one at fault.

    "It''s your fault for running around in my territory."

    "I thought I said I wouldn''t do anything. And it''s not your territory here is it?"

    "It is."

    "How is your territory so big?"

    "I just made it my territory."

    Thea was a bit amazed at the white wolf.

    "So why are you following us?"

    "I''m just keeping an eye on you."

    "On me? Again, I told you I''m not doing anything."

    "I''m just making sure."

    It seemed the white wolf was apprehensive of Thea.

    "Miss Thea, is that the real white wolf?"

    Silas, who was to the side asked. He couldn''t believe that the legendary white wolf was before him.

    "What?! You think I''m fake."

    The pressure of the white wolf''s aura was rising in response to Silas'' question.

    "Stop raising your aura. You don''t ever show your face to people, so who will know if you''re real or not."

    "Grr."

    The white wolf was gritting it''s teeth, but it couldn''t say anything against Thea''s remark.

    "My friend here is Silas, he''s a merchant. Don''t do anything to harm him or anyone wearing an outfit like his. This here is Maple, the white wolf you''ve heard about."

    "Maple?"

    "What?! Do you find my name funny?"

    "N-no! I would never."

    "Then you hate my name?!"

    "No! That''s not it!"

    Maple was staring furiously at Silas.

    "I-I just didn''t think the white wolf would have a name."

    "Why wouldn''t the mighty me have a name? Is this human stupid?"

    Maple turned to look towards Thea.

    "No he''s not. He''s actually a very smart one."

    "This one? Are you sure?"

    Maple looked towards Silas, glanced him up and down, then looked by to Thea.

    "Why are you doubting me?"

    At that moment, a low sound could be heard. A low cute growl.

    "What was that?"

    I asked Maple as the voice came from behind her.

    "Umm..."

    From the fur around her mane, something moved and a white cloud fell out onto the floor. It was a smaller white wolf.

    The small wolf stood up on it''s legs, it''s little legs shaking a bit. It was clearly a very young child. After standing on it''s paws, it met face to face with me.

    "OMG!"

    I immediately rushed towards the wolf. And picked it up.

    "Who is this cutie?!"

    The small wolf was so cute! I couldn''t resist it''s charm. It was small and white like a cloud. It fit in my arms and it''s fur was super soft.

    "Grr. Woof! Woof!"

    The small cloud started to growl and bark at Thea. It made sense, as Thea just picked it up. She was a total stranger to the cloud.

    "Grr."

    Maple also started to growl. But it was not at Thea. Maple was growl to the small wolf to stop it''s outcry which it did.

    "This is my child, he was born a few weeks ago."

    "A few weeks ago? This little one is so young then."

    I said as my face was fully in the fur of the small wolf. It felt amazingly soft and wonderful.

    "What''s his name?"

    "We white wolves don''t get names at birth. We seek a powerful creature and ask them to bestow a name upon us."

    "So he doesn''t have a name yet?"

    "Yes, that is correct."

    "I respect your culture and hope he finds a strong person to give it a name."

    Thea said while not knowing.

    "Give him a name."

    "Wait, you want me to give him a name?"

    "Yes, you are a strong person. Aren''t you?"

    "Well, you got me there. But are you really sure about me giving him a name? You might not like the name I give him."

    "We do not regret the names given to us ever! But don''t give him a weird name...please."

    "Then, thank you for giving me this honor. Let me think."

    ''A name, huh. Since he''s a white wolf, I should give him a majestic name. One that will fit him in the future. Are there any famous wolf names I can remember? Umm...there was Fenrir. But that''s kind of overused. There''s Sirius...Hati...''

    "Another name...."

    ''How about shortening the name Fenrir to Fen? That''s not bad, but it''s not good either. Oh.''

    "Gwyn! How does Gwyn sound?"

    "Hmm, a worthy name."

    Maple had a smile on her face. And a proud expression.

    "So you like the name. That''s good. Little cloud, your name is Gwyn from now on."

    "Woof."

    Gwyn barked in response, seemingly understanding Thea''s words.

    "So are you going to follow us, Maple? We have some stuff to do."

    "Of course, I''m keeping an eye on you. But what are you doing here?"

    "We''re here to deal with some very bad people."

    "Oh, let''s get going then. We should deal with evil as soon as you can."

    "Not we, just me. You''re not doing anything."

    "Not even one?"

    Maple looked at Thea with a sad expression.

    "No, not even one."

    "Tsk, stingy."

    "Whatever. Let''s get moving, we have to get back before the kids wake up."

    "The kids?"

    Maple didn''t know that Thea had opened an orphanage. Thea explained it to her.

    "Hmm, I see. That is quite noble of you."

    "Thank you."

    "We must hurry then."

    We left the place and arrived at the bone hound gang''s base in a few minutes. It was a building hidden by trees. It was nighttime, so there were no people outside. And it might be because of their confidence in their building being hidden, but there was no one outside keeping guard.

    "How are you going to deal with them, Miss Thea?"

    "You should just let me do it. One swipe of my paw and they''re all dead."

    "No, that would be too kind to bastards like them. I want to make them suffer."

    I already had decided to make the people that kill innocent people suffer. And I had a method already floating around in my head.

    "Oh, are you going to burn them till not even their bones are left?"

    "Good idea, but no. I''m gonna drown them."

    "Oh my, that would certainly make them suffer before death."

    "Alright, here I go."

    I pushed out my mana to cover the whole base of the bone hound gang. And then I slowly increased the moisture level in the air.

    "I thought you said you were gonna drown them."

    "I am, just very, very slowly."

    ***

    Inside the bone hound gang''s base. On the 3rd floor.

    This was the floor for people that had worked for the boss for a long time. Meaning, his most trusted allies.

    In a room, there was a woman lying down. Sleeping soundly with two men around her.

    "Hah."

    She moved a bit on her bed, her skin was wet and moist. There was water gathering all over her body. The same went for the men.

    "Oh fuck."

    One of the men opened his eyes and shouted.

    "Did one of you piss the bed?"

    He hit the women and the other man until they woke up.

    "Fuck are you on about? You calling me a bedwetter?"

    The woman woke up and immediately defended herself.

    "Then it was this fool. Wake up, you trash."

    The other man was still sleeping.

    "Something seems strange..."

    The women spoke.

    "I know right. How could this grown man piss on the bed at his age."

    "No, that''s not it. I don''t smell anything."

    "So what?"

    "What do you mean ''so what''? That means this is not piss. It''s just water."

    "So someone threw water on us?"

    The man left the bed.

    "Wait. Be careful."

    The women looked around her room. There was water everywhere. On the walls, floor, roof and on everything in the room. This was unnatural.

    The man didn''t stop and stepped onto the floor. His foot slipped and he fell back onto the bed and onto the women.

    "Fuck, move. Let''s get out first. Get me my clothes."

    A minutes later, the women was out of her room. Her breath was uneven and rough. Though she didn''t notice it.

    "Fuck, these clothes are also wet. What the hell''s happening?"

    "Sierva."

    Another women walked up to her.

    "You''re also wet?"

    Sierva looked at the new women.

    "Look around, there''s water everywhere."

    "Do you know what''s happening?"

    "I don''t know, but it''s making me dizzy."

    "You too? Let''s head down."

    The two women went to the stairs to head down. All the while, their bodies heating up from the moisture. One thing people don''t understand about humidity is that with high humidity, the bodies'' ability to sweat is hindered. And the body starts to heat up.

    Walking down, a bunch of people were gathered. Some where on the floor.

    "What''s happening?"

    Sierva asked one of the people gathered around. A thin green haired man.

    "They...they suddenly fell to the floor."

    "What are you saying? I can''t hear you clearly."

    Water had started to seep into the ears of the Sierva.

    "I...hah...I said, they-"

    The man was about to speak again when he suddenly fell to the floor.

    "Hey, what happened?"

    Sierva, who was shocked by the man suddenly falling down, asked.

    "I...can''t...breath...cough! cough!"

    The man''s esophagus was filled with water, making it hard to breath. And water had started to flow into his lungs.

    Water was filling in the people''s airway.

    The woman behind Sierva also fell to the floor, her eyes red.

    With each second passing, Thea was increasing the level of water in the air. With more water, the oxygen levels were dropping. With blocked airways, the oxygen was not at all reaching their muscles.

    This was happening to every person in their base. It had taken Sierva 5 minutes to go down a flight of stairs. Her brain was not receiving enough oxygen, her movement and thinking ability was becoming sluggish.

    Drowning is not a painful death. But water entering your lungs, that is the moment when drowning is the most painful. But here, for 10 minutes, the water would slowly enter the lungs. While the person was still alive.

    The people on the first floor would of course try to leave. But a wall made of stone blocked the exits.

    All the people inside slowly had their lungs fill up. Suffering until they lost oxygen to their brains and died.

    ***

    Outside, Thea and the others waited. And chatted.

    "So when was this little cloud born? I want the exact day."

    "He was born 12 sunrises ago."

    "I see, I see."

 Chapter 7: New Items

    "How is it?"

    "Woof."

    "Do you like it?"

    "Woof."

    I was feeding little cloud the food I had in my magic bag. It was just sweet stuff. Gwyn was happily eating the candies while sitting in my lap. He was responding by barking happily when I ask him stuff.

    "I''m glad you like it, little cloud."

    "Why do you call him little cloud when you gave him a name?"

    Meanwhile, Gwyn''s mother was at the side nagging me about how I call him.

    "Why can''t I call him little cloud? Just look at him."

    I held up Gwyn in front of Maple to show why he was a little cloud. White fur, a small body enough to fit in my hands. Extremely cute.

    "What are you saying? Call him Gwyn!"

    "No! I''ll call him what I want."

    "Grr."

    Silas was standing on the side, not saying anything. He understood that this was not his place to talk. Why would he risk his life when two powerful beings are bickering? Though they wouldn''t do anything to him even if he offended them somehow.

    "..."

    Maple was looking at me blankly after arguing and losing.

    "...But what are you feeding my son?"

    "Oh these?"

    I held up a orange colored ball. It was the diameter of a thumb. There was a spiral pattern on the surface of it, going from the top to the bottom. It was hard except where the spiral pattern was. It was soft there, almost jelly like.

    "Yes, what are they? They smell weird."

    "Why don''t you try one?"

    "Sure, give it to me."

    Maple took the small orange ball. It couldn''t even be seen on her big paw. Then she threw it into her mouth.

    At first there was no reaction, but then Maple''s eyes opened wide.

    "W-what is this? What is this flavor?"

    "Hehe, that was an exploding orange. How is it?"

    "It''s good, it''s delicious..."

    Halfway through her sentence, Maple was staring at my magic bag. It''s where I kept all my delicious stuff. her mouth was drooling a bit.

    "Do you want more?"

    "Yes!"

    "I''ll give it to you...on one request."

    "W-what do you want?"

    Maple was hesitant to accept.

    "It''s nothing crazy, just let me ride you."

    "Ride me?! How dare you!"

    Maple was angry at my request. It was understandable. To such a being, letting someone on their back, let alone giving a ride to them, is a big deal.

    "In my whole life, there has only been one person who has been on my back. How can you ask me to let you do such a thing?"

    Maple explained her anger. But I already understood this. All high rank beings had a thing like this, for example dragons never let anyone on their backs. They are the apex of beings of this planet. So unless literal gods ask them, they will never let anyone on their back.

    "So it''s a no?"

    "...well..."

    Maple was staring at my magic bag. Her mouth was drooling a ton.

    "I see....I was gonna give you a lot in return."

    I said the second part in a lower voice. But Maple''s fluffy white ears perked up. Just as I

    "Wait, I didn''t say you couldn''t."

    "Oh, really?"

    I pretended to be surprised at Maple''s sudden decision.

    "Of course, now hand over a lot of those!"

    "Okay, okay. Here you go."

    I took out a handful of the exploding oranges and gave them to Maple. Maple instantly put them in her mouth. Her expression was filled with joy.

    "Yum, but you didn''t answer me. What are these?"

    "These are called exploding fruits. They don''t really explode like bombs. But they do give an explosive feeling in the mouth."

    "Right, right. It suddenly explodes in my mouth, and then there''s a sweet and refreshing flavor."

    "The one you''re eating is an orange flavor."

    "These must be really rare and expensive. Thank you for sharing your treasure with me."

    "No, you have it wrong. These things grow on trees."

    Maple had a blank face in response to my words. Exploding oranges are a sweet from the kingdom I was born in, Yurivia. They grow on vines that hang from trees. There''s a bunch of flavors, like lemon, apple. There''s even one that tastes like coffee. They are a popular food.

    "Are you saying I sold my back for things that grow on trees?"

    "That''s right."

    "What?! I take it back. I''m not giving you a ride."

    "Oh, so the mighty white wolf goes back on their word?"

    "No...that''s not it."

    Maple cares about her image a lot, so it''s easy to fool her.

    "Great, it would have been a big deal if people found out."

    And I couldn''t believe that someone like Maple, who has lived for a long time, had never had sweet things.

    "Bark!"

    Gwyn, still in my arms, asked for more exploding oranges.

    "Yes, yes. Eat till you''re full, little cloud."

    It had been around 30 minutes after our conversation. The people inside the bone hound gang''s base should have been dead by then.

    "Alright, Silas. Everyone should be dead. Get ready to head in."

    "Yes, Miss."

    Silas stood up and was ready to head in when there was a sound from inside the building.

    "What was that?"

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I asked.

    "It seems one person is still alive."

    Maple answered me. Beings that train their bodies can develop aura, which is like mana but for body builders. They can''t use it to do magic, but they can enhance their body with it. It heightens their senses, allowing them to feel their surroundings. They can even use it to feel the life force of other beings.

    Though it takes a toll on the body to use it all the time, so they only activate it when needed. There are legends of people being able to use them at all times, but there is no proof of it.

    "How could someone have lived?"

    Silas questioned me.

    "They could have a magical artifact. One that can protect against my magic."

    Suddenly, at the front door a person appeared.

    "Where did he come from?"

    He appeared in an instant, there was no sound or anything. He was wearing a white mask, a white shirt and a gold colored coat going down to his knees. He was wearing like 5 necklaces, bracelets on both his arms and rings on his hands. The gold coat might be made of real gold, because it was very shiny even at this time of the night.

    "Miss Thea, that''s him. The boss of the bone hound gang."

    "That''s him?"

    A flash of anger flashed in Thea''s eyes.

    "Good that he survived, now I can kill him myself."

    Silas was thinking how that didn''t make sense, since she killed every other gang member herself.

    We walked towards the man.

    "Who are you?!"

    The man asked.

    "All you need to know is that today, you will die."

    Thea answered the man.

    "I am Lurana. How dare you show disrespect in front of me?!"

    One of the rings on the man named Lurana shone. And suddenly, two long daggers appeared in his hands.

    "Lurana?"

    Silas whispered to himself. He felt like he had heard the name before.

    "Come, I will show you despair."

    Thea signaled to Lurana to attack first.

    Lurana crouched down. He held the blades in front of him. And then. He disappeared.

    "What?"

    Silas was startled. He was just looking at him and now he had vanished. He turned towards Thea to asks. But he was shocked yet again.

    Lurana had appeared behind Thea, and his daggers were heading straight towards Thea''s head. All of this happened in a moment, there was no time for Silas to react. He couldn''t react even if he tried. He was just an ordinary human.

    The same went for Thea. She was a strong mage, but she was not a warrior. It was a well known weakness of mages that they would lose in close combat every single time. So they should keep their distance.

    Right before the blades would have pierced through Thea''s skull, something blocked the blades. It was the tip of Maple''s paw. Her claw. She blocked it just before Thea was hurt.

    "What?!"

    Lurana shouted at the sudden block. And then he disappeared again.

    Thea had just reacted to what had happened.

    "What was that?"

    "I just blocked him for you, that''s what happened."

    "No no, not that. Thank you though."

    Maple blushed a bit.

    "I mean, what did he just do? My went past my barrier somehow."

    Whenever Thea fights, she enacts a few barriers around herself. These barriers are invisible to everyone else. What they do is block incoming dangers. For example, if an enemy mage had thrown a fireball, it would be nullified by one of the barriers.

    One barrier blocks fast fighters from being able to damage Thea, since she doesn''t have the reaction time. The barrier works by stopping anything moving at a fast pace from entering. It works even with arrows. So it was weird how Lurana was able to bypass it.

    "How did you do that?"

    Thea questioned Lurana, but she didn''t expect an answer.

    "Hmph, like I''ll tell you."

    Once again, Lurana disappeared and attacked Thea. But this time, she caught a clue.

    ''The ring glowed.''

    A ring on his left hand glowed a purple light before he disappeared.

    ''A magic artifact.''

    Magic artifacts are special tools with magic enhancements and magic circle engravings. Lurana was wearing a lot of things on his body. All of them are magic artifacts.

    One has to know that magic artifacts are rare and expensive. It''s why the water producing artifact that Thea made sold for so much. If you want one, you have to be ready to pay multiple times, since the chance of failure is high. And increasing difficult with the grade of the artifact.

    Maple once again blocked Lurana''s attack. And he vanished.

    "Let me deal with him, Maple."

    "Hmm, do you not want me to protect you then?"

    "Yes."

    Lurana reappeared in the trees.

    "Haha, you think a puny mage like you can handle me alone? I was born with a strong body and I have trained since birth."

    "Stop talking, I''m not here to entertain you."

    "Hah, I haven''t even shown you my full power."

    As Lurana said that, the other rings on his fingers shone. A blue light, a brown light, another blue light and a white light.

    "See how you survive now!"

    Lurana disappeared again. But he was much faster this time in his attack. Before, there was a few seconds of difference from the ring shining and him reappearing. But this time, there was less than a second''s worth.

    He instantly appeared behind Thea and stabbed towards Thea''s back. His stab was much faster and it hit Thea. This time, the dagger actually connected with Thea''s clothes.

    ''Haha. Foolish mage-''

    Having felt an impact against Thea, Lurana was about to talk when he felt a chilling sensation on his hand. He retracted his hands immediately. And teleported back to where he was before.

    "W-what did you do?!"

    Looking down, his whole hand was covered in frost. Frozen.

    "Nothing much, just a little magic."

    "You think a some magic will work on me? It has no effect on me, for I have this!"

    Lurana put his non-frozen hand on his golden jacket.

    "Is that another artifact?"

    "Haha, at least your eyes can see the worth of this. That''s right, this is a support type magic artifact. Any damage you do will be gone in seco-"

    Lurana was flaunting his magic artifact when he stopped talking. He realized something, something that meant he was in danger.

    The frozen hand still had not unfrozen.

    "W-what did you do?"

    "Rot in hell."

    "Wha-"

    As Lurana was about to question what Thea said. He felt pain in his legs. Ice spikes were stabbed through his feet. Seemingly appearing from the ground.

    "ARGH! Wh-wh"

    "You didn''t think I would let you teleport again, did you?"

    Thea was still standing at the same spot as before.

    "I cast a wide range magic that would activate wherever you reappeared. Now..."

    Thea lifted her arm. Her fingers pointed towards Lurana.

    "W-wait! My father! He''ll kill you!"

    Lurana shouted.

    "I don''t care. If I were your father, I would kill you myself."

    "Now die."

    Mana left my arm and circled around Lurana who was stuck to the ground.

    "Flame tornado."

    "Nooooo!"

    Starting from the bottom, flames appeared in a circle around him. The ice in his feet melted. Flames circled around Lurana as they slowly rose up into the sky. In the end, only ashes remained and the boss of the bone hound gang was dealt with.

    "Oh wow."

    The cylindrical flame tower settled down and embers of fire fell down.

    "You could''ve killed him easily, why did you let him live for so long?"

    Maple asked me.

    "Well, I had to save the equipment."

    I pointed towards where Lurana had just been standing. Although the body had been reduced to ashes, the clothes he had were fine. Not a single scorch mark.

    "I was secretly casting protective spells on them so they would burn under my fire magic."

    "So that''s why. Did you even need my help at the start?"

    Maple''s head drooped down, she thought she was unnecessarily intervening.

    "I did need your assistance. That was dangerous for me, so thank you."

    ''Normally there would be someone to protect me. My best friend, but I haven''t heard from her in a while.''

    Thea looked a bit sad thinking about her friend.

    "What''s wrong?"

    "Nothing."

    Maple thought something was strange, but she didn''t ask any further.

    "So what are these items?"

    "They are magic artifacts."

    "But Miss Thea, you can buy magic artifacts from us, the silver wolf merchants. But I''ve never seen these type of artifacts."

    Silas chimed in.

    "Indeed you sell them, but these are different."

    "Different?"

    "Well, first of all. You don''t sell teleportation magic artifacts. There is no one in the world right now who knows how to make these."

    "It''s a lost magic, right?"

    "That''s right, teleportation magic is a lost magic. Only the empires have functioning teleportation circles that they don''t even know how they work."

    "I remember that a kingdom to the west tried to research it but it broke in the process. And nobody could fix it. So all research has been banned on it since then."

    "I asked to research one but I was denied."

    Thea looked a bit sulky, the empire laughed at Thea''s suggestion at that time. And she still remembers it.

    "Anyways, the more important thing about these artifacts is.....they are from the ruined magic empire."

    "Do you mean....?"

    "That''s right, these are from the era of the Dwakos Empire."

    The Dwakos Empire. Known as the ruined magic empire. 140 years ago, it stood at the peak of the world''s magic research. They created the teleportation circles in the current empires, which still stand till today.

    They kept their knowledge a secret from others. And they didn''t sell anything magic related to the outside world. So the few magic artifacts from that place are all illegal exports or thefts.

    There were a few gifted to various empires which are kept as heirlooms.

    So what happened to the Dwakos Empire? Nobody knows for certain, but there are records about it. On the day of it''s ruin, there was a huge explosion. And the whole empire was wiped away from the map.

    From what I learned at the academy, there were over half a million people living in the capital of the empire, Rainwyth. It had to be something like a nuclear bomb that killed all of them.

    The empire was in the middle of the ocean, an island. The remains of it were found later on to confirm it''s destruction.

    "These items will be worth researching."

    The Dwakos Empire had over 600 years worth of history. Just thinking about how much I could learn from these few items, it made me so excited.

    I put the items into my magic bag. Speaking of which, my magic bag was also one of these artifacts. Someone gave it to me a long time ago.

    I wanted to research it also. But I was scared if something might happen and I use it too much to be able to handle a mess up.

    "Alright, everything here is done. Can you check, Maple? Is anyone still alive inside?"

    "I don''t sense anything. But there are people all around us."

    "Those must be your people, Silas."

    "Yes, Miss Thea. I''ll stay behind and deal with this place."

    "Ok. Good work, Silas."

    I turned towards Maple.

    "What...why are you looking at me like that?"

    "You didn''t forget your promise, right?"

    "Tssk. I was hoping you would forget."

    "Haha, how could I? Where did Gwyn go?"

    At the mention of his name, Gwyn peeked out from behind Maple.

    "Woof."

    "Come here, little cloud."

    Gwyn ran into my arms happily.

    "Let''s go, Maple."

    I floated up to sit on Maple''s back. Her back was very big as Maple was huge. I was worried about falling off.

    "You won''t fall off."

    "Really?"

    "Let''s go."

    Maple didn''t wait for me and ran. For some reason, I was able to stay on top of her without falling. And there wasn''t a strong wind like one would expect when moving fast. In fact, there was a cool and stable wind. It was very refreshing.

    And much faster than when I fly. Strangely, I didn''t feel dizzy and exhausted like when I do when I fly fast. So it was wonderful.

    The whole ride was a wonderful experience.

    Maple dropped me off at the orphanage. It was already midnight, but I didn''t want to sleep. I went into my work room to study the artifacts I had just acquired. I felt so excited to research.

 Chapter 9: Not an espionage expert

    It''s been 2 weeks since I decided to build the orphanage. In a few weeks, it''ll be Winter. In this region, it will snow during the coldest days. Usually it lasts for 10 days.

    Recently, more people have been showing up to this region. As refugees, escaping from war regions or other things in their lives. Apparently, the word is that this region is a hot spot from future growth. I don''t know how it spread around, but it''s what people have been saying in the nearest towns that are a day or two away.

    Since they can''t take in refugees, they''ve been directed to this place.

    It''s fine if more people move here. But not right now. There is no basic infrastructure.

    I''ve been tasked with creating water through magic. There are some people who are working with the silver wolf merchants to plan out the town. I looked at the blueprint and I thought it looked a bit too big to be called a town.

    The adventurers'' guild''s temporary building was also built. The young men and women rushed to join in hopes of making a living. They promised not to hunt monsters unless necessary.

    I''m sitting here outside the silver wolf merchant store today. Since Su invited me to tea and talk about the plant seeds she finally got.

    "Hello, Miss Thea."

    A adult around his 30s greeted me. He was wearing armor and holding a sword. A stoic face with a few small scars. Dark green hair.

    "How''s work going?"

    This was Liyus. The captain of the patrol guards. Silas hand picked a few people to become the local patrol. Currently, there are about 6 people in the patrol. All are veteran guards who worked at other places before. More people are expected to join in the future since the number of people is increasing at a very fast rate.

    "Everything is good. There have been no conflicts today."

    "Keep up the good work."

    Liyus doesn''t smile at all. And he gives me a bad vibe. Not because he doesn''t smile, but something else. But he was picked by Silas, so it should be fine.

    Liyus left me and went back to his patrolling.

    "Oh, did Liyus have something to say to you?"

    Su came out from inside the store, bringing along with her a box and some cups. She had new yellow colored gem earrings.

    "No, he was just passing by and said hello."

    Su sat down in front of me and took out a lot of different types of plants.

    "The earrings look nice on you, Su."

    "Thanks, my mom gifted them to me."

    Su''s face was beaming with happiness.

    "So what are we going to do?"

    "Two things, one is trying out these teas. And the other is deciding if I should plant certain plants."

    "Oh, I look forward to tea tasting. So what do you have here?"

    Su was excited to share the things she had.

    "Almost all of these are from a place called the Island of Mysterious Plants."

    "Oh, that sounds like a very off-limit secret place."

    "It is! It''s the most secret place that we elves have."

    "Oh?"

    "Through the magic of the elves, plants from all over the world are kept there. Even plants that have been extinct in other places can be found there."

    "That''s amazing."

    "Only the best of elves of our people are allowed to go inside."

    "So you went inside to get these?"

    "Eh...no. My mother sent me these, she''s one of the best when it comes to horticulture."

    Su looked a bit guilty. Feeling bad that she had to rely on her mother to get these plants.

    "I see. Don''t be sad, you''ll be granted entry in the future since you work so hard. I''m sure of it."

    "I hope so."

    I tried my best to raise Su''s mood.

    "So what do you have here?"

    "First one is this, it''s called Glacier Lake Leaf. It takes 5 weeks to grow. It''s effect is the best during hot days...."

    Su talked about all the plants she had brought today. Most of them were different types of tea leaves. Of various colors shapes and sizes. They all had wonderful aromas.

    "Let''s move on to the more important plants."

    From inside the box, Su took out a fewer amount of plants. These were different from the tea leaves. There were roots, mushrooms, and fruits.

    "I''m thinking of planting meadow grass in your garden. Specifically this type."

    Su held up a grass blade, it was yellow in color.

    "Is there something special about this grass?"

    I don''t know much about grass, so I asked.

    "Try to feel it."

    "Oh!"

    I put my hand on it and I could feel a lot of softness from the grass blade. It felt like touching a marshmallow in the shape of a grass blade.

    "How is it so soft?"

    "This is a special grown grass in the Island of Mysterious Plants called Fairy Cloudgrass. It got that name for it''s softness."

    "That''s amazing, it might feel better to sleep on this than on a bed."''

    "It''s more amazing than that. It changes color with the seasons, always matching the weather to be the best color. It doesn''t break easy so it doesn''t get everywhere. Some say it even has special properties that help your body in various ways."

    "Is that true?"

    "We, the elves, have not been able to prove it but it doesn''t hurt anyone to believe it. And it''s not wrong that it improves your mental which can help you in the long run."

    "That''s true, being outside, be it in the grass or anywhere else, helps you a lot."

    Putting down the soft grass, I point towards the other things.

    "What about these?"

    "These are medicinal plants, I like to plant these for when they are needed. You can dry them when they mature, and can be kept for a few years at least."

    Su was really excited to tell me about the plants. We talked for a bit more until there was a commotion in the town which required our attention.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ---

    We walked into the town where a bunch of people were gathered. Almost all of them were young men and women. Some had armor and weapons, some wore robes, and others had books in their hands. There were a variety of people dressed differently.

    They were standing in front of a building. It had a sign at the front of a helmet with a sword and staff. It was the building of the adventurers'' guild.

    At the front, you could the people talking.

    "Is it true?"

    "Has the information been confirmed?"

    "Why is there such a monster in this area?"

    "Everyone should run away, it''s not worth dying here."

    It was chaos.

    "What happened?"

    Su walked to the front and asked.

    "The elf girl from the store."

    Everyone instantly recognized Su. Though some didn''t know Su''s name, she seemed quite popular.

    "What''s got everyone riled up?"

    "Haven''t you heard? A 3-star monster was just spotted."

    A young blonde women spoke.

    "There''s no one in the guild who can take it down."

    There is one reason for the adventurers'' guild to exist. It is to kill monsters. Monsters are different from beasts, but similar. There are two types of monsters that are commonly known.

    One is beasts that have been corrupted. It happens because of the mana of demons that exists alongside normal mana. It drives the beasts insane and turns them violent.

    The other is creatures born of mana. We don''t know why these creatures suddenly get born from nowhere. But they always seek destruction.

    Monsters are assigned stars based on their strength, starting from no stars.

    A 3-star monster requires a group of D rank adventurers to kill. Since this town doesn''t even have a name on the map, how could it have any strong adventurers? It''s just refugees that have come together. Almost all of them are non-fighters.

    "This is serious."

    The young men and women wore looks of fear. They had just had a big change in their life and found this place to maybe call their new home. But now even this new home was threatened by something they couldn''t go up against. It would make anyone despair.

    "What are we gonna do?"

    "Everyone!"

    At this moment, a girl in a white shirt, a brown vest and a black tiered skirt shouted. She was wearing a white hat that went from ear to ear. Her hair was a soft pink color. She looked like a 16 year old. She wore a ribbon around her shirt''s collar. And a badge could be seen on her chest.

    This was the outfit of the guild''s receptionist. Everyone quieted down to listen to her.

    "There''s no need to worry, everyone."

    The girl spoke up.

    "Help is on the way. We''ve just received a message."

    Everyone was waiting in anticipation for the next few words that the girl had to say. Everything depended on these words.

    "The hero''s party is on the way to deal with the monster!"

    The people took a moment to understand what the receptionist had just said. Then cheers erupted from them.

    "If it''s the hero, we don''t have to worry."

    "It''s easy for the hero to kill any monster!"

    Things like these were said. But while everyone else was cheering up, I saw that Su had a face full of doubt.

    "What''s wrong, Su?"

    So I asked her.

    "Actually, there''s something bothering me."

    "What is?"

    "Let''s move somewhere else first."

    We went back to the silver wolf merchant store where there were fewer people around. It was only a few dozen steps away from the guild building.

    "I didn''t want any of those young folks to hear this."

    Su turned to me as she talked softly so as not to let other people hear.

    "I heard a while ago something very important. But first, you know what the hero is right?"

    "Yeah, it was in the books at the academy."

    The hero is someone chosen by the gods of this world to defeat an oncoming threat. One appears every few centuries. It''s a big deal that the whole world pays attention to.

    Now how do they ascertain the hero was born and is the real deal? They have something called the hero''s sword, Requiem. It was bestowed to the first emperor of the sun empire. Legend has it, it was crafted by the god of smithing himself.

    But that''s just a legend. The truth has been lost to the flow of time.

    Requiem, the holy sword will shine when a hero appears. And only the hero can hold up the sword.

    "Only the hero can hold the sword. You know that a hero appeared last year, right?"

    "I didn''t know that."

    "What? How did you not hear about such a huge event?"

    "If it was such a big thing, then I should''ve heard about it. So it means it wasn''t that big..."

    "Well you''re not wrong...but still..."

    "Say what you were saying."

    "The information was received recently to the silver wolves. It hasn''t been confirmed yet. But the gist of it is that the hero ceremony was fake."

    "The ceremony was fake? Then that would mean...the hero was fake?"

    "Exactly."

    "But why would they do that?"

    "I can only guess it''s because of the fight for the throne between the two sun princes. The second prince was the one who found the hero."

    "He hopes to gain the support of the people through faking something like this?"

    "Keep in mind, this hasn''t been confirmed. The possibly fake hero hasn''t done anything in the past year. They always gave the excuse of secret training."

    "So why is the hero here to kill a 3-star monster?"

    "I can answer that."

    Suddenly, from the wall, a voice came out.

    "AAH!"

    Both me and Su got scared. From the wall a figure of a person appeared. At first it was invisible and then the figure gained color and appeared before us. It was the guild receptionist with the light pink hair.

    "My name is Sophily."

    "You work at the guild right?"

    Having calmed down, I asked the girl.

    "Yes, being a guild receptionist is my full-time job."

    Sophily said with a straight face void of emotions.

    "I''m not an espionage expert."

    For some reason she also added this sentence.

    "Why are you saying that?"

    "Because I''m not one and I have to let you know."

    "...ok, I guess?"

    I looked at Su, who was also as confused as I was.

    "Wait, that''s not it. Why were you hiding in the wall?!"

    Remembering what she had just done, I took a step back and asked.

    "I wasn''t hiding in the wall."

    Sophily calmly said.

    "Don''t lie, we clearly saw it."

    "I was hiding against the wall."

    Me and Su were dumbfounded. She did not just correct me on her hiding position.

    "Aha! But you were hiding!"

    Su said as she realized what Sophily''s sentence meant.

    "You are right."

    Both me and Su were again dumbfounded. She just admitted like that, without trying to refute.

    "If you want, I can pay with my life."

    Sophily took out a knife and held the handle side towards us.

    "No, no! Why do you need to do that?"

    This Sophily girl was so weird. Who offers to pay with their life so nonchalantly?

    "I can pay with..."

    Sophily was about to lift her shirt up.

    "You don''t need to pay!"

    But I stopped her. What is up with this girl?

    A moment of silence later. Su asked Sophily a very important question.

    "Sophily, do you always offer that to everyone?!"

    "No, that was a test. My master said to test people by saying that."

    "A test? Did we pass?"

    "Yes, you passed."

    I wonder what kind of test that was...

    "Anyways, what did you mean by you can explain?"

    "The reason the hero is on the move."

    "What''s the reason?"

    "Because he''s bored."

    Yet another flabbergasting sentence from Sophily.

    "What do you mean bored?!"

    "I don''t think I misspoke...do your ears not work properly?"

    Sophily touched her mouth to make sure her mouth didn''t disappear and then asked me something like that.

    "No...my ears work fine. I asked if you''re certain that''s the reason."

    "Please don''t doubt my information, I am the best when it comes to esp-"

    "To espionage?"

    "Being a receptionist! I am a full-time receptionist! I hear a lot of rumors."

    Sophily slipped up and revealed her real occupation....even though we already knew.

    "So the reason the hero is out is just something like that?"

    "Yes. The fake hero is really dumb. He was confined inside of the second prince''s estate for a whole year so he got bored and demanded to be let out. Or else he would tell everyone that he was not the real hero but a fake one."

    Sophily explained.

    "Wait, why did you come to find us? Actually how did you know about us?"

    Since her explanation was over, another explanation was need.

    "I came to find you because the hero''s party cannot deal with the monster alone this time. Since the fake hero is very dumb, he demanded that no one follow him. So he only has a few people secretly following him. But they are not strong enough to defeat the monster."

    "But since it''s the second prince of the sun empire, should there still be someone strong among them following him?"

    Su made a very reasonable conclusion. The second prince can''t afford to have the hero die. It would mean his road to the throne would disappear.

    "About that..."

    Sophily''s face turned a bit red.

    "Wait..."

    Su and I looked at each other.

    "They sent you!"

    "No! No, they didn''t. I mean! I work as a guild receptionist! I''m not tasked with doing something like that! I don''t even know them!"

    Sophily quickly tried to explain that she had no affiliation to the hero or anyone behind him. But it was too obvious.

    "Ok ok, we''ll believe you. You had nothing to do with the hero or the second prince."

    But since Sophily was trying to hard to hide the fact, I let her believe she convinced us. Sophily sighed a breath of relief and seemed happy at the fact that she successfully hid her real occupation from us.

    "So you came to us because you want us to deal with the monster?"

    I asked Sophily.

    "Yes, you''re the only strong person here who can deal with a 3-star monster."

    "Sure, I can deal with the monster but how did you know about me?"

    Thea generally tries to hide her power. She let''s people know that she is a mage and that''s all. Up until now, the only human in this town who really knows about her power is Silas. Not even the kids at the orphanage know how powerful Thea is.

    "What do you mean Miss Thea can handle it?"

    This included Su, who thought Thea was just some VIP customer of the silver wolf merchant group. A very nice and kind customer.

    "Oh, you didn''t know?"

    "What do you mean?"

    Su looked at Sophily and then looked at me.

    "Who are you, Miss Thea?"

    Su scarily asked.

    "Why are you suddenly talking like that? I''m the same person you''ve known till now."

    I explained to Su that I was just a bit stronger than an ordinary mage.

    "You should''ve told me sooner..."

    "I don''t like to tell people. I don''t know how Sophily here even knows about me. Wait...where''s Sophily?"

    The girl was gone. I didn''t even hear her walk away.

    "Miss Thea, she left a note."

    Su picked up the note on the floor. It was the location where the monster was last seen.

    "I''ll head there immediately. I don''t care about the fake hero, but I don''t want to see him die just because he''s doing something dumb that puts his life in danger."

    "Wow, you''re so kind."

    "Stop it. Su, can you go to the orphanage if there''s nothing for you to do?"

    "Yes, of course. By the way, Miss Thea."

    "Yeah?"

    "Do you have a favourite flower?"

    "I don''t think so?"

    "I see, I see."

    I don''t know why she asked that at the end. But we separated after that. Su went to the orphanage and I went to the forest where no one was and flew towards the location of the 3-star monster.

    A lindworm.

 Chapter 10: Erox

    Sophily slowly walked out from the back of the guild building from the shadows.

    "Sophily, where did you go?"

    A short hair black women called out to Sophily.

    "Sorry, sorry. Miss Lexx."

    Sophily always tries to look good in front of the guild''s master of this location, who is the person in front of her right now. Lexx Nylore. Wearing a uniform like Sophily but yellow in color.

    Sophily hopes to get a higher position and get better pay, so she''s trying to be a good employee in front of Lexx. Today, she had left for extra long because she had to talk to Thea.

    "Whatever, whatever. I don''t wanna hear your excuse. I''ll let you go this time. We have more important things to do."

    Lexx handed Sophily a small cube that fit in her hand. This was a magic tool called camera. Created with a rare material acquired from crown whales. Giant whales that have long appendages coming out from it''s head. Like tentacles. Giving the illusion of a crown.

    Their numbers are very small. It is said only 200 hundred or so exist. Crown whales fly in the sky, looking majestic as they fly above you high in the sky. Almost all cases of a living crown whale being seen have been when something historic was about to happen.

    The crown of these whales periodically falls off and is used in the making of cameras.

    "You need to go out and take pictures of the hero''s victory!"

    ''What? Me?! But why me?''

    Sophily wanted to stay away from the hero as much as she could. She followed the hero around at the order of the second sun prince, and she hated it very much. To her, the hero was obnoxious and unpleasant to be around.

    "Can I...not?"

    "I see. I get it."

    Lexx nodded her head. Seemingly understanding the feelings of Sophily.

    "I know it can be hard to do this job at first..."

    Or not.

    "But everyone has something they must do. Something they are born to do."

    "But someone else can do this. I can work at the desk."

    "It has to be you. There is something that you have that others don''t."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Because you have a perfect body."

    "What?!"

    "We''ve all seen them. In the changing room, when you''re changing into your uniform. All those beautifully sculpted muscles of yours. On full display for everyone to admire."

    Sophily''s face turned a shade of red. She was very weak to someone complimenting her fit body as she took pride in her body.

    "That''s why!"

    Lexx pointed at Sophily''s face.

    "I need you, the most athletic of the guild, to go and capture the glorious moment of the hero defeating the danger looming over us. Be sure to get some good angles for the pictures."

    Sophily was too red to respond in time. And Lexx kicked her out of the guild. Sophily could only run towards where Thea was. Hoping to get there in time, to stop Thea from killing the lindworm.

    If Thea killed the lindworm, it would mean that the fake hero doesn''t get to do anything. And that would further mean that Sophily would disappoint Lexx, which meant her guild career path would be a bit rough. Sophily didn''t want that, so she had to rush.

    It didn''t help that Lexx was a very vocal supporter of the second prince.

    ---

    Thea was flying above the forest and passed onto a grass field. She stopped above the grass field and took out a paper from her magic bag.

    "Exiting the forest....a stone structure...."

    It was the map Sophily gave her. The guild gives these maps for quests. So other people didn''t have this map because the hero would take care of it.

    "Ah, there. A sword shaped stone structure."

    Thea landed and observed the stone structure.

    "Doesn''t it look more like a dagger though?"

    It was called a sword, but it was short for a sword. Thea wondered if they should rename it.

    "I can sense the lindworm. But I can''t see it anywhere."

    Traces of the lindworm''s mana could be felt from the surroundings. But there was no clue as to where it was. There were no changes in the land to indicate it''s direction.

    "Can it hide itself?"

    There are monsters that have the abilities of invisibility which conveniently also doesn''t leave any marks when they move around. Most famously the 3 eyed snakes are masters of it.

    "It''s moments like this I wish I could use mana detection skills."

    I stood there and looked around for a few minutes for any clues. I noticed something in the distance, but it wasn''t traces of the lindworm like I wanted.

    "Who are you?!"

    It was a group of people. The person who asked me this question was a man. He wore green colored clothing like a terlig. His head was shaved except for the middle. It was kind of like a mohawk but the hair length was short.

    In his hand was a silver colored spear. Currently pointed at my face.

    Behind him was another man. He had long silver colored hair. A pretty face with jewelry. He wore bright golden colored clothing and had a bow and quiver on his back.

    There was a women besides them. She covered her face. There was a red outline over her eyelids. The wore a skin tight long-sleeved black shirt. She didn''t seem to carry any weapons. The most eye-catching thing about her were her legs.

    Long white legs. She wore booty shorts and leather shoes that came up to her ankles which made her legs look extra long. And very captivating.

    And lastly, standing behind these three was a man. He had long dark blue hair pushed to one side. His wavy hair flowed down just behind his shoulder.

    His clothes looked very fancy. White and blue. It seemed like the type to get dirty easy, but there was not even a speck of dirt on it. It was immaculately clean.

    On his waist was a white colored sheath. A sword was sheathed in it. A ocean blue handle that slowly melts into a golden hilt. You couldn''t see the blade, but you can imagine a nice shiny silver surface that complimented the hilt and the handle.

    ''Is that the hero''s sword? It has such a strong holy aura around it despite being a replica.''

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    All these things looked high class. Except one thing.

    His face.

    It was an average face, not handsome, but also not ugly. Just in the middle. But he had a really long nose.

    "Answer immediately."

    The man with the spear asked me again.

    "Wait, Jiro."

    Before I could say I was just passing by, the fake hero spoke up.

    "Let me handle this."

    He took a step forward. But still stood behind the man named Jiro.

    "You there, peasant!"

    He called out to me in such a rude manner. It made me instantly angry.

    "Do you know who I am?"

    ''I have to calm down...''

    "Of course you know who I am."

    I didn''t answer him in 2 seconds, so he presumed I knew him. How does one come to such conclusions?

    "I am Erox of Ozipius, the hero. Born with the destiny to save your world."

    He struck a pose. He put his hand on his face, and lifted his face high up. I couldn''t see half of it because he was blocked by the one holding a spear, Jiro. I think he put his other hand on his sword, but I couldn''t see it.

    "It is dangerous here, miss peasant. There is a strong monster around. Leave this area at once so that we are disturbed by your presence."

    ''What the hell is this? This guy is so insufferable to listen to.''

    "Are you really the hero?"

    I asked him in annoyance. I don''t know how, but Erox misunderstood and thought I was showing interest in him.

    "That''s right!"

    He pushed Jiro aside.

    "I am the hero. I was officially recognized by the Zatiax empire. The second prince is one of my closest friends. This sword here is proof of my heroship."

    He pulled out the sword on his side. It was a shiny silver blade. There were no imperfections or anything on the surface. At the end of the blade, there a small triangle on one side.

    The sword had a holy shine and aura around it. It truly gave the feeling of a holy sword.

    Erox stabbed the sword into the ground.

    "I shall allow you to try lifting up the sword."

    Only the hero can lift up the sword.

    "Sir Erox!"

    The man with the bow spoke up. He walked close to Erox and spoke in his ear.

    "What''s wrong?"

    "You cannot just allow anyone to hold the sword. What if more people like her demand to see the sword? What will you do then?"

    "You''re right as always, Shun."

    They were whispering or something. But I could still hear them. They weren''t that far away from me or talking that softly.

    "Ahem. I think you misheard me. Jiro will show you that only I can pick up the sword. Go on, Jiro. Use all your strength and try picking up my Requiem."

    Jiro did exactly as he was told. He put down his spear and used all his strength to pick up the sword. His muscles were bulging. His veins were also bulging along his neck, head and hands. He was clearly using all his strength.

    Yet the sword didn''t budge.

    "See. This is the real power of the hero."

    Erox put his hand out and easily lifted up the sword. Then he struck his pose again.

    ''Is it really the real Requiem?''

    I really wanted to try picking it up myself. But I couldn''t do it. Because I saw something.

    In the forest that was behind the hero''s party, I could see Sophily waving at me.

    ''Why is she here now after sending me here?''

    "I won''t take up your time, Sir hero. I''ll be on my way..."

    They let me go easily since they think I''m just a normal person. Or rather, a ''peasant''.

    ''I don''t wear fancy or expensive looking clothes. But I don''t look like a poor peasant...do I?''

    I wondered.

    What Thea didn''t understand was that to Erox, anybody who didn''t seem strong was a peasant. Since he couldn''t feel any power from Thea, he deemed her a peasant.

    I walked into the forest and found Sophily.

    "Why are you here? I thought you didn''t want to come here."

    "The situation changed. The guild master asked me to take pictures of the hero fighting the lindworm."

    "Fine, fine. So you want the hero to fight the lindworm alone. I have nothing against that."

    Thea was still salty about being called a peasant multiple times. So she wasn''t against the hero suffering a bit.

    "Uhm, actually..."

    Sophily''s expression looked a bit tired.

    "C-can you protect them instead?"

    "Protect them?"

    I was kind of taken aback.

    "You''ll see why very soon."

    "What do you mean?"

    "You remember the rumor Su told you about?"

    "The one about the hero being fake?"

    "There''s a reason it exists."

    "Is he really a fake? But that holy sword seemed real..."

    "That''s because it is the real one."

    "Wait, I don''t understand. Only the hero can pick up the holy sword. That''s what the legend says, right? If he''s able to use the sword, that would mean he''s the hero."

    "You''ll understand when they fight."

    After that, we waited for the lindworm to show up. It was hiding underground.

    "There!"

    We heard a loud sound in the distance. Following the sound, we found the hero''s party about to engage with a giant worm like creature. It had two short legs and stood at a height of four and a half meter. It''s two legs had sharp claws.

    It''s skin was a grey color with green strikes all over.

    The hero''s party had it surrounded. Jiro, the spearman, was furiously thrusting at the lindworm''s legs. Jun, the archer, was shooting his arrows towards the head. Specifically the eyes of it.

    And running around it was the women. She would jump at some point and launch a quick attack on the body of the lindworm. Before quickly jumping off and doing the whole attack from another angle. It''s not supposed to give time for the lindworm to counter attack.

    And finally, Erox was standing at the front with the holy sword in his hand. He was standing still.

    I think he''s gathering energy in the holy sword for a big attack.

    "Do they really need protection? They seem to be doing just fine."

    "That''s just what you think. Wait a moment, you''ll understand."

    Half a minute passed. Sophily was furiously taking pictures with the camera tool.

    "Do you have another one of these?"

    I asked her. I had never seen a camera tool before. Correction, I had never held one in my hands or had ownership of one before. I''ve seen a camera when I was a kid.

    "This isn''t even mine."

    "So you got it from the guild?"

    "Yes, which makes it guild property."

    "Say....could you ask them if they have extras?"

    Sophily turned to look at me with disbelief.

    "They wouldn''t have extras."

    "Doesn''t hurt to ask."

    I was asking politely.

    "Nevermind that. Look."

    Sophily told me to look towards Erox.

    "He''s done charging."

    Sophily said as Erox raised Requiem. It shone bright. And released a gust of wind.

    "AAAA!!!"

    Erox shouted as he charged towards the lindworm. He jumped and launched himself towards it''s head. He swung his sword straight down from the top.

    A direct hit. Erox fell down to the floor in a cool manner. A smirk on his face.

    "What..."

    "Do you see now?"

    There was no damage. Only a small mark was left on the lindworm''s skin. It was barely the size of my hand.

    The attacks from the other three had no effect at all also.

    "Look at them. They don''t have any stamina left either."

    What Sophily said was true. Jiro had sweat all over his body. The women was on the floor from running around too much. And the archer...his fingers were swollen somehow, unable to shoot anymore. All their attacks had done nothing.

    At this moment, the lindworm let out a cry.

    Illusory green wings appeared behind it.

    "It''s a poison attack!"

    Sophily quickly warned me.

    "Shield."

    I quickly put a mana shield around the four useless fellows.

    The lindworm attacked. The green wings transformed. Multiple projectiles shot out to the surrounding. Turning the area into a dark murky green color from the original grass field.

    "Who goes there?!"

    The shielded hero shouted out.

    "Let me go immediately!"

    Does he not understand that if I did he would end up dead?

    "Release me!"

    He kept hitting my shield with his holy sword, but it didn''t have much of an effect.

    "I''ll deal with you later."

    I flew towards the lindworm. Unlike when facing the hero''s party, the lindworm was vary of me. It showed it''s twisted fangs to me.

    It shouted a loud roar and the illusory wings appeared again. But this time, there was a dark air around them.

    "That''s..."

    I recognized this darkness around it. I had felt it in the past year when I went to the northern region of the continent.

    "What''s it doing here?"

    The lindworm launched itself towards me. It tried to bite down on me, but was blocked by my mana shield.

    "You''re strong. But not strong enough."

    "FIREBALL!"

    I conjured a fireball from my mana and launched it towards the lindworm. A scorched hole formed in it''s body where the fireball passed.

    It should be dead with that. But it attacked one last time before dying. It swung it''s tail at my barrier. It was covered in the dark aura from before.

    It put a dent in the mana shield. This was just a weak dying attack. But the power of this dark aura was to be feared.

    "I''ll found out what it is one day."

    I didn''t have any clue of what this darkness was. All I knew was that it was dangerous.

    "Now..."

    I turned to look at Erox.

    "HA!"

    He was doing the same attack he did against the lindworm. His sword struck the barrier and bounced off. Landing outside the barrier.

    I slowly flew down in front of the sword.

    "Oh."

    The area around here was still covered in the dark green things that the lindworm shot out. But the area around the sword was clean.

    ''It purified it?''

    That was my guess.

    "You! Give me back my sword!"

    Erox demanded. I didn''t really pay any attention to him.

    "Don''t let him get it."

    Sophily appeared besides me.

    "You!"

    "Yes! It''s me!"

    Sophily shouted. She seemed angry.

    "You''re supposed to be working for me! What are you planning with that woman?! Wait till the second prince hears about this!"

    Erox shouted.

    "Who said I work for you? You fucking asshole!"

    Erox''s words only made Sophily angry. I had to hold her back and calm her down as she kept shouting curses at Erox.

    "And you hero, you''re in no position to demand anything. So keep your mouth shut...or I''ll let her loose."

    Erox clicked his tongue but kept silent.

    "So this is the legendary holy sword. Requiem."

    I looked at the sword with curiosity. This is a mythical artifact, said to have been bestowed to humanity by the gods themselves.

    Any magic researcher would be dying to have a chance to learn more about this sword. Of course, this included me.

    "Too bad I can''t move it."

    Only the hero can move.

    "Wait no. Is this really the real sword? Why did it do no damage when Erox swung it?"

    I was asking Sophily for an answer.

    "That''s because Erox is weak and not the real hero."

    "Not the real hero? Are you certain?"

    "Of course, there is no way this pillock is the real hero."

    "So this must be a fake sword then."

    I was hoping to see the real sword. The real sword would''ve been able to deal with a monster of this level even if the hero was weak.

    "It''s not a fake!"

    The silent until now Erox spoke up.

 Chapter 11: Im taking it

    "It''s not fake!"

    Erox said.

    "How can we be sure?"

    I asked him just to make sure I didn''t hear it wrong. Even though it gave the feeling of a holy sword, the hero wielding it was too weak that it made me doubt.

    "I was given that directly by king Hyrovan. Everyone saw me pickup the sword. Why would I lie?"

    "You have a point..."

    The sword always teleports back to a certain pedestal after the passing of the hero. A monument that holds the sword until the next hero shows up. This monument is displayed for all to see at the front of the king''s castle.

    "But there''s no way you''re this weak. So there must be something else!"

    Thea still didn''t believe Erox to be the real hero. She suspected there must be something else going on.

    "Tell me what your secret is!"

    Thea demanded to know. She was very stubborn on this point. Thea knew that Erox was not the real hero for one reason. Erox did not fit as a hero in her mind.

    When Thea was in her original world, before she died, she was a lover of stories involving heroes. She was in fact a very big fan of the types of stories where the hero saves the world and gets the heroine. And in all of these stories, there is one thing that sets the heroes apart from others.

    Of course, the heroes are strong and lucky. But the thing Thea always liked was that the heroes in the stories are extremely charming. Handsome, pretty, sexy and other adjectives are always used.

    This Erox, was not handsome, to say the least. Combined with his nasty personality, he was more hateful than charming.

    "I don''t any such secret. How dare you assume that?!"

    A red hot fireball appeared on Thea''s hand as Erox refused to answer her.

    "Don''t worry, we have my ways of revealing secrets."

    At Thea''s words, Sophily quickly moved. Even though she was caught off guard by Thea''s words, she somehow still produced a pair of scissors.

    "NO! Stay away from me! Do you even know who''s behind my back?!"

    They moved closer to Erox. Evil laughs left their mouths. Sophily snipped the air with her scissors to produce an ear piercing sound. Thea''s fireball raged and Erox could feel the temperature rise.

    "Fine! Fine! It''s because of my ability! Please stop!"

    Finally, as Thea and Sophily were standing right next to the magic barrier, Erox spilled the beans. Revealing that he was indeed not the real hero. He was only able to act as the hero because he had an ability that allowed him to lift up any type of weapon.

    "And there''s no consequences. I can even pick up cursed weapons without getting cursed myself."

    Erox sighed a relief after Thea put away the fireball and Sophily put away the scissors.

    "Tsk, at least try to hold out a bit."

    Sophily was a bit sad that she didn''t get to do anything to Erox.

    "I explained everything, now let me go."

    "Wait a moment."

    Thea and Sophily turned away from Erox so he couldn''t hear them whisper.

    "I was right, he really wasn''t the hero."

    Sophily had a smile on her face.

    "Yes you were. So what do we do with him now?"

    "I suggest leaving him here for the monsters."

    "We can''t do that! That''s too cruel. He didn''t do any harm to others, did he?"

    "Well, if you count my mental...."

    As Sophily was talking, she shifted her gaze to somewhere far away. And held up a dagger in her hand.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Thea didn''t know what was wrong, but seeing Sophily''s cautious face did mean anything good.

    "I thought I felt something."

    "Do you still feel it?"

    "I don''t anymore. But we better be careful."

    Sophily was taught the art of assassins for many years. She knew that there were people who were much better than her in the world. But there was no reason for them to be here.

    She alone was sent to follow Erox in secret, so they wouldn''t send another shadow to follow him. And only her master was stronger than her at the empire''s shadow training facility. But her master would be too busy too do something like this.

    Sophily put this feeling away.

    "It must have been nothing."

    She chalked it up to a mistake in her judgement. In the distance, someone was running away. They were moving fast and dressed in all green clothes.

    "Okay, here''s what we''re going to do!"

    Thea looked at Erox after discussing with Sophily.

    "You''re gonna forget we were ever here."

    "What?"

    Erox questioned Thea. He thought he misheard.

    "I said! You''re gonna forget you met us today. If you tell anyone about us, there will be consequences. Like really painful ones!"

    Thea pointed her finger at Erox''s face. Trying her best to intimidate him.

    "This is not gonna do it, Miss Thea!"

    Sophily walked forward. She pointed the sharp tip of her dagger at Erox''s throat.

    "We should deal with him right here."

    "No, no. We can''t do that!"

    Thea was shocked at Sophily''s sentence.

    "Why shouldn''t we? We can tell everyone that he gave him judgement for the crime of impersonating the hero. Or do you have another idea? Perhaps a magic that let''s you monitor him from far away."

    "Actually, I do have something like that."

    Thea put her hands together. An expression like she just remembered something appeared on her face.

    "Let me try. Stulte, haec lux est tibi."

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Sophily took a step back at Thea''s words. Thea put her fingers on both hands together. In the center, a ball of purple light formed. The light swirled around and connected to her fingers. She then pulled her hands apart and the light stretched out.

    "This is curse magic."

    Thea threw the light towards Erox. It landed on him and wrapped around him like a snake before disappearing. Erox felt chills go down his spine.

    "If you say a word to anyone about what happened here, it will kill you. Do you understand?"

    Erox nodded his head. He was a fool, but he knew he wanted to live. He wouldn''t go against Thea''s words right now.

    "Alright, before I let you go."

    There was one thing that Thea really wanted to do. She put her hand around the holy sword, Requiem. Thea wasn''t about to give up the chance to try picking up a mythical sword.

    ''I know this won''t work, but I can give it a try at least.''

    "Hah!"

    Thea put her all into raising the sword. All of her physical energy was used, but the sword did not even budge. It was firmly planted into the ground.

    "It''s no use."

    Sophily voiced her opinion.

    "Wait, I''m not done yet."

    Thea said to Sophily. After which, Thea''s mana surged to her hands. And it immediately covered the sword.

    "Huh?"

    "What?!"

    Sophily and Erox shouted. One was still processing while the other was shocked.

    The sword had moved. It moved without any resistance and Thea fell backwards.

    "What?"

    Even Thea herself was flabbergasted. She did not expect this to happen. It was just a fun little thing to do originally. Like an attraction at a theme park.

    No one expected her to actually lift the sword.

    "How...how can you do that?"

    Erox asked while his voices was wavering.

    "I...don''t know."

    Thea answered.

    "Does that mean you''re the hero?"

    Sophily, standing to the side, raised a question.

    "No it does not. I''m not some hero."

    Thea quickly refuted Sophily''s claim.

    "But you picked it up..."

    Sophily tried to argue.

    "So did this guy!"

    But one point at Erox and Sophily understood.

    "Do you have the same ability?"

    "No, I don''t. But I do have some special talents, so it could be that."

    "I see. So what are you gonna do now?"

    "Well..."

    Thea looked at the holy sword in her hand.

    "Wait..."

    Erox felt something wrong.

    "I''ll take it with me."

    "No you can''t!"

    "I don''t have to listen to you. It wasn''t yours to begin with."

    "Yeah, don''t tell her what to do. You wannabe hero."

    Sophily defended Thea. But there was an underlying reason that nobody picked up. In Sophily''s mind, Thea was the hero. So she should take the sword.

    Erox felt it was unfair but he couldn''t do anything. No matter how much he begged, he would not get the sword back.

    "Alright, take your friends and get out of here. Stay safe."

    Erox left while dragging the people who came with him. All of them had fainted for some reason and wouldn''t wake up. I was a bit concerned, but Sophily said it was normal for them.

    All the while Erox was complaining how he needs the sword.

    "Did you really put a curse on him?"

    Sophily asked me after Erox had left.

    "Hmm? Like I said, I was just gonna pretend to curse him."

    Thea and Sophily had come up with an act. They would scare Erox into not revealing any information to others.

    "But that looked so real."

    "It''s just illusion magic. I''m not really good at it, so that was all I could do."

    "Wow, it looked like real curse magic."

    "Well, thank you."

    Thea smiled at being complimented.

    "What are you gonna do with this?"

    Sophily pointed towards the corpse of the lindworm.

    "I don''t think it''ll fit in my magic bag."

    Thea''s magic bag is a magical artifact from the magic empire from long ago. But even then, it didn''t have enough space inside to fit the lindworm.

    "Can the guild take care of it?"

    "It''ll be hard to give you the gold and kill credit."

    Sophily was worried. The hero was set to kill the lindworm, so all the credit would go to the hero. After processing the materials gained from the monster, even the gold would go to the hero.

    "Don''t worry about that. I don''t really care."

    "Really? You''re fine with that?"

    "Yes, it doesn''t bother me. Instead..."

    "..."

    "I''ll take the core."

    "But that''s the most valuable part?! How do I hide the fact that someone took the core? I''m a guild receptionist, so they''ll suspect that I secretly stole it."

    The guild takes care of monster bodies. Monsters of one and two star do not require the guild''s help. Starting from the three star monsters, the cores are fused into the body of the monster, unlike lower star monsters.

    So when you try to take the core, if you don''t know proper technique and use the correct tools, the whole body and the core go to waste. So the guild gives the options where they deal with it, or you take the monster body and sell it somewhere else.

    It''s written somewhere in the guild contract.

    "I know. And I have a plan."

    "What plan?"

    "You can just say the hero took it."

    "That..."

    "They''ll believe it. So don''t worry."

    "Fine. I''ll tell them that. But can you take the core out?"

    "How difficult can it be?"

    "So you don''t know how to do it?"

    "Yeah..."

    "Fine, just wait a moment."

    Sophily moved quickly after taking out a knife. Carefully cutting the monster up. It took something like fifteen minutes, and Sophily was sweating.

    In her hand was a green gem with black veins growing inside.

    "Here, take it."

    "Thanks."

    Sophily''s face blushed at Thea''s words of gratitude.

    "But there''s something strange."

    Sophily commented.

    "I know already."

    A normal monster core was a gem with only one type of color. It has been like that for all of history in this world.

    "The black veins..."

    But inside this gem, there were veins like tree roots growing.

    "Do you know what it is?"

    Sophily curiously asked.

    "It''s my first time seeing it in person, but I''ve found traces of it in the past."

    "Is it something dangerous?"

    "You don''t need to worry about that. No matter what happens, I''ll keep you safe."

    Even though it was a simple sentence, but it made Sophily feel relieved.

    "You better get going. The guild''s people should arrive soon."

    "Alright, alright."

    Thea returned back to the orphanage, leaving Sophily behind to deal with the monster body.

    "Miss Thea! You''re back."

    "Unnie!"

    I was greeted by Su and Leaf.

    "Where''s Nem?"

    I didn''t see Nem or Gwyn.

    "They''re in the back."

    Leaf said, but there was an apologetic look on her face.

    "What happened?"

    "Come and look."

    Walking to the back of the building, Leaf told me to look through the window at the back.

    "Oh."

    Looking through the window, I saw both of them. Playing around outside. Covered in dirt.

    "I looked away from them for only a moment."

    Leaf said.

    "It''s fine."

    "But I didn''t take care of them..."

    "It''s not your duty to take care of them, Leaf."

    Usually, Thea doesn''t leave the three kids alone for long. She went out to meet Su only for about half an hour. She would have been back in time to look after the kids. But the stuff with Sophily came up so she asked Su to look after them.

    So actually it was the duty of Su to look after them. But really, Su wasn''t that fit to look after others. Her mind sometimes goes a bit blank. A trait of elves in this world, perhaps because of their longer life spans.

    ''I''m sure she was talking to Leaf about plants and got distracted.''

    "Oh..."

    Leaf looked sad. In Leaf''s mind, she had thought that when Thea was not around, she would have to be the big person in the orphanage and take care of Nem and Gwyn.

    Hearing that she was not supposed to do that made Leaf feel like she was being a burden to Thea. Her dejection did not go unnoticed by Thea however.

    "Of course, it''s not your job to do it. But it''s very kind of you to take care of them on your own. You did great."

    Thea patted Leaf''s head which, along with the praise, made Leaf feel euphoric. A smile appeared onto her face.

    "Yes, Unnie. I''ll keep doing my best!"

    Leaf said in high spirits. As a parent, one would feel immense happiness if they heard these words from their child. For Thea, it felt the same.

    "Just keep being yourself."

    I just wanted Leaf to grow up and live a good life.

    "What about them?"

    Su asked. She was pointing at Nem and Gwyn.

    "Ha...it''s going to be a struggle once again."

    "I''ll help you, Unnie."

    "No, no need. I''ll deal with this."

    What am I dreading that is going to be a struggle? Well...over the past two weeks that that Gwyn has been around Nem, there have been a few difficulties. I discovered something in that time.

    A few days after Nem and Gwyn became friends, they were playing in the backyard area just like right now. They were covered in dirt also, so I asked them to clean themselves.

    That''s when I found that Nem learned a very bad habit from Gwyn.

    Both Nem and Gwyn required me to wash them, they were too small to do it themselves. Nem should be able to do it himself, but for some reason he doesn''t want to. And Gwyn is less than a month old, he barely knows how to do anything.

    The bad habit of Gwyn was an aversion to water. He hated his fur getting wet. But it was necessary to clean him using water since the dirt would get stuck in his fur.

    And Nem had somehow also picked up this. I had to physically hold him down until he was clean. But I''m not physically strong, so I was exhausted afterwards. At times like this, I wish I had someone to help me.

    But not Leaf, I didn''t want her to catch any germs from those two playing around in the dirt.

    "Let''s get them inside first."

    "Nem! Gwyn!"

    After getting them inside, the whole floor was dirty.

    "Get inside the bath, right now!"

    The floor me and Leaf work so hard to clean was full of dirt. And Gwyn also sheds his fur. So it requires constant cleaning.

    After I told them to get in the bath, they just stood there. Hesitant about getting in the bath.

    "Are you two being serious?"

    Nem and Gwyn looked at each other. And then ran away, all the while laughing.

    "Get back here!"

    I chased after them. These two were very agile and kept jumping around. Even if they were caught, they would slip out of my grip. It was so exhausting.

    "Ugh, my clothes. Stop playing around, you dirty pups!"

    To the two of them, this was like playtime. They were laughing while getting chased, having a lot of fun.

    ''Ugh, they''re also making my floor dirty.''

    While running around, dirt was falling off from them everywhere.

    ''I might have to clean with magic.''

    I personally liked to take things slow. I don''t use magic for much, unless it''s a situation that requires the usage of it.

    For cleaning, I like to sweep the floor.

    It''s also a good way for me to build a bond with others. Leaf likes to accompany me with cleaning.

    "Stop right now. Or no dinner today!"

    The two of them stopped immediately. This was my final attack move. It was undodgeable by the two.

    "Good, now get to the bath."

    While the two were disgruntledly waking to the bath, a knock was heard at the door.

    "Who''s there?"

    I asked myself. Since I was the closest to the door, I went to open the door.

 Chapter 12: Janna

    I opened the door slowly. Outside stood a woman.

    A very fair skinned, black haired women. She had a wolf cut hair style that went down to her neck. She wore a black leather jacket that was open in the middle. A white shirt under the jacket. Dark blue denim shorts. And a pair of black ankle high leather boots. Between the shorts and the boots were a pair of long snowy white legs.

    She was quite fit. She had well-trained muscles on her arms. There was a sword on her belt. She was a swordswoman. She stood slightly taller than me.

    Thea''s gaze met with the woman''s. Her silver eyes were alluring and enchanting. Her dazzlingly stunning face matched flawlessly with her eyes.

    "Huh?"

    Thea voiced out a voice of disbelief. On the woman''s face was an enormous smile. It went from one end of the ear to the other.

    Thea''s light blue eyes stared at the woman''s silver eyes. A smile formed on her face also.

    "THEA!!"

    "JANNA!!!"

    Thea threw herself at the woman and the woman threw herself at Thea. They came into each other''s arms and hugged tightly. The both of them jumped up and down at the same pace. All the while laughing happily.

    This continued for a while. Leaf and Su, who were talking in the kitchen, heard the two''s shout and came over to see them jumping in each other''s arms.

    "Unnie?"

    Leaf had never seen Thea this happy before. Normally, Thea seems happy as you can see her smiling all the time. But right now, there was a smile she had never seen before.

    Thea and Janna stopped as they came out.

    "Who is that, Unnie?"

    Leaf asked Thea.

    "My name is Janna Everlotte. Nice to meet ya."

    Instead, Janna answered and stretched her hand out in a handshake gesture. Leaf extended her hand to shake in response.

    "She''s my best friend."

    Thea added.

    "Your best friend?"

    Leaf asked as she was looking at Janna and shaking her hand.

    "I''ve known Thea for over a decade."

    "For over a decade?"

    "Yeah, I made her my friend on the first day of the academy."

    "The academy?"

    "Didn''t Thea tell you? She went to the Solhaven Academy."

    "Solhaven?"

    It was Su that spoke up. There was a surprised tone in her voice.

    "What is Solhaven Academy, Su?"

    Leaf asked Su.

    "I''ve heard of it before. Almost everyone who has gone to a school has heard of it before. Solhaven Academy is the goal of every learner. It''s the best academy in the whole world."

    "The best academy?"

    "Only the best of the best students can get into there. And everyone who goes there is usually royalty too. It''s said that each year only 30 students get in."

    "You''re wrong there."

    Janna interrupted Su''s explanation.

    "What did I get wrong?"

    "You said only the best of the best students get in. It''s never been like that. It''s always been a place for the heirs and children of royalty to mingle."

    "So Unnie is royalty?"

    "No. No. Don''t get it wrong. Thea got in because she''s a monster."

    Janna was laughing as she said it.

    "A monster?"

    Thea and Leaf questioned Janna''s word choice.

    "Haha! She got in because she beat every other kid up."

    "Unnie was a bully?"

    Leaf misunderstood Janna''s words.

    "A bully? Haha! You''re not wrong!"

    "Stop saying false things. I never bullied anyone."

    Thea defended herself against the allegations.

    "Really? I remember quite a few of our classmates hating you because you beat them up."

    "Those were practice matches and competitions. I won fair and square."

    "But you always made them feel like they were trash in front of you. That''s why they felt you were humiliating them and hated you."

    "It''s not my fault they were weak...wait, that''s not it. It''s more accurate to say you bullied them. Didn''t you drag out a match just to learn a new technique? I remember feeling pity for the guy who was against you."

    Thea and Janna were having a banter. Leaf was fascinated to learn about Thea''s past.

    "W-what was Unnie like?"

    She asked Janna this question with eyes full of curiosity.

    "Oh, you''re interested in that? I''ll tell you all about it later. Right now, I need a room."

    Janna pointed towards her back. There were a few bags of luggage.

    "Oh, so you''re accepting the job?"

    "Yeah, the one you said in the letter. I wasn''t gonna accept before because you know what I want to be."

    "So did you give up on that dream?"

    "Of course not. I just hit a wall....a big wall."

    "Oh, tell me all about it later. Leaf, guide her to the room across from my room. Nem and Gwyn are waiting for me to give them a shower."

    "Yes, Unnie."

    Thea left Janna and Leaf alone and went to clean up Nem and Gwyn.

    "How long have you been Unnie''s friend?"

    "Hmm, I think it''s been 11 years now. We met on the first day on the academy."

    "How did you meet?"

    "Umm, it''s a bit embarrassing. I broke into her room on the first day."

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "You were a thief?"

    "Do you always jump to conclusions this easily?"

    "...yes, Unnie always says that too."

    "Haha. It''s fine, you can at least speak your mind. You don''t need to be careful around us. But in the future if you meet someone that is strong, you should be careful."

    "Yes, I''ll be careful."

    Leaf felt a bit embarrassed to get advice from someone she just met.

    "Don''t worry. Whatever happens, you can always ask Thea and me for help."

    Janna put her hand on Leaf''s head and patted her.

    ''Same as Unnie.''

    The sensation Leaf felt from Janna''s head pat was the same she got from Thea.

    "What did you mean you broke into Unnie''s room?"

    "Oh, I tried to talk to Thea during the day. But she just kept ignoring me. And there was something I really needed to talk to her about."

    "Couldn''t you just try another day then? Why did you break in?"

    "Yes, I could. But I was a 12 years old at the time, I couldn''t think straight."

    "So what happened after you broke in?"

    "I saw Thea walking on the roof. Upside down."

    "On the roof?"

    "Haha. It was really funny to see. Her hair was longer than her body at the time, so she was mopping the floor at the same time."

    "Really?"

    "And then I burst out laughing. Thea''s face turned red and she finally decided to talk to me. Then somehow we became friends after that."

    They came to a stop as they reached the room for Janna.

    "So what was Unnie like in the school?"

    "Well, you know Thea pretty well now, don''t you?"

    "Yeah, I think so."

    "Then you know everything. She''s the same as she was 11 years ago."

    "I don''t believe you. No one stays the same."

    "You can choose to not believe me, but she really hasn''t changed. Well, except us becoming best friends. The way she looks at the world hasn''t changed."

    "The way she looks at the world? What do you mean?"

    "Well, I don''t know. Maybe you''ll figure it out one day and tell me about it."

    Janna left Leaf and headed into the room. Leaf still had questions but she didn''t want to disturb Janna anymore.

    "Did Su leave yet?"

    Leaf wondered as she left to find Su.

    ---

    In a bath, there was a wolf being washed by a woman. A young boy stood at the side.

    "Alright, you''re done too. No more playing in the dirt! You hear me?!"

    Thea finally cleaned up the two bad boys.

    "Now I''m gonna have to wash myself too."

    There was dirt on Thea as well since catching the two of them and cleaning them spread the dirt on her.

    "Oh, did I get dirt on Janna too?"

    Thea was thinking. She had hugged Janna since she hadn''t seen her in over a year. She probably got her dirty too.

    ''Should I get Silas to try and find a hot spring spot around here?''

    Thea wanted to enjoy a relaxing hot spring bath with Janna.

    "I''ll ask him later."

    "Unnie."

    "Yeah, Leaf?"

    Thea stood up to talk to Leaf who was outside the bathroom door.

    "Janna Unnie said some things about you."

    "I hope she said good things."

    "Is it true that you tried to sleep upside down on the ceiling but fell down and hurt your head?"

    "What?! Nothing like that happened!"

    Thea''s face was flushed. Janna was sharing embarrassing moments from her past.

    "So you can walk on the roof?"

    "It''s not that hard."

    Thea put her feet against the wall and walked. Both her feet were on the wall but she did not fall down. Then her feet moved again and she was upside down. Her feet were on the ceiling.

    If someone were to take a picture upside down. It would look like she was naturally standing on the floor.

    "Woah!"

    To Leaf, this was very cool.

    "How are you doing that?"

    "It''s a form of mana control. I''ll teach it to you in the future."

    "But Janna Unnie said your hair would touch the ground?"

    "My hair?"

    Thea was upside down, so naturally her hair should fall down to the ground. But that wasn''t the case. Her hair was flowing up. Almost as if gravity was pulling it up instead of down.

    "Hah."

    Thea sighed.

    "Only this one time."

    Thea''s hair fell down to the ground, as if they suddenly realized that gravity existed. Her hair touched the ground.

    "Pfft."

    Leaf chuckled a bit. Actually it wasn''t only her, there was a sound from behind her as well. It was Nem and Gwyn. Peaking their heads from the side of the door.

    Thea immediately came down from the ceiling. Feeling only a bit embarrassed.

    "That''s enough now. Get out now. I need to shower also. You guys go annoy Janna instead of me."

    The kids left Thea alone. Thea locked the door. She slowly took off her blouse to reveal her slender, beautiful body. Thea''s height was 174cm. Quite tall for a women of this world. Some would say that it was unnatural for women to be this tall, it was unsightly. But Thea''s height only added to her charm.

    Thea had white skin like Janna but it was not as illustrious as hers. But it still attracted the attention of people.

    Thea took off her long skirt. On her lower back, in the middle, right above her hips was a tattoo. It was two cats, in a yin yang pattern. Both were chasing each other''s tails. One was black, and the other was blue. The cats seemed happy and had smiles on their faces.

    Thea used a magic spell to clean the bathtub. She usually doesn''t do this as she wants to feel the joy of effort. But when she''s alone, she becomes too lazy. She turned the faucet to pour warm water. She got into the filled hot tub.

    "Right, I have to research the teleportation magic and the holy sword."

    Thea remembered her past goal. And the new goal she acquired today.

    "And improve the water making tool. Don''t forget that, Thea."

    Thea reminded herself. She had promised Silas that she would try to improve the complex tool she made that would create infinite water. Though she didn''t really promise it, she felt like she had to do it.

    "One thing at a time...hah..."

    Thea took a half an hour long relaxing hot bath. She came out of the bathroom to see Janna carrying Nem and Gwyn on her arms. Or rather, the two were hanging from her arms.

    "What are you guys doing?"

    Thea asked Janna.

    "These little guys wanted to know how strong I was. So I was showing them."

    Nem and Gwyn were laughing. Both of them were little kids. Nem was seven years old. I learned that he wasn''t eight years old. He just skipped over the number four and counted to eight. So he was actually seven years old. Gwyn was just a month old.

    So they liked being carried and swung around. Janna was spinning and to them it felt like a theme park. Children like theme parks.

    Sadly in this world, there was nothing like a theme park. There wasn''t even the idea of playgrounds for children...wait!

    "Another great idea, Thea."

    Thea applauded herself. She would later tell Silas the idea she came up with, rather the idea she stole from someone else.

    ''I think they already planned the construction of a school.''

    "Janna, are you done getting your stuff?"

    Thea asked her. When Janna came today, she only had a few bags with her. Thea had known her for a long time, she knew that Janna always had several times more bags than before.

    "How about your training equipment?"

    Janna carried her weights and other equipment with her. It always created a problem.

    "I was in a hurry and couldn''t get them."

    "In a hurry?"

    "Yeah, you remember the job I got?"

    "Yeah I do. It was...vice-captain right?"

    "No, I was assistant to the vice-captain."

    "Right, right. You got that job in the Idavoll kingdom to the north."

    Opposite the Zatiax Kingdom, the kingdom of Sol which was in the middle of the continent stood the youngest kingdom. It was formed after the previous kingdom had a rebellion. A little under hundred years of history, it is called Idavoll. The meeting place of gods.

    A little note about the north. Idavoll might exist is the north but not all of the north belongs to Idavoll. Idavoll is situated at the bottom of the north. It doesn''t get that cold in Idavoll. Further north from Idavoll, one would freeze from the temperature in seconds.

    It is said not even demons would want to go there.

    "You know, I tried to visit you in Idavoll but I was denied entry to the capital."

    Thea had gone to the north part of the continent during the last year. She went further north than Idavoll''s territory. On her way back, she had gone to the capital in hopes of meeting Janna. But she was denied entry for being a ''suspicious person''.

    "That''s not weird. Idavoll only lets verified people in."

    "So I asked them to deliver a letter to you. They almost didn''t accept it. They were so strict with their rules."

    "It''s for safety. Just forget them."

    "Earlier, you said you didn''t come here because of the job offer."

    "Yeah, I wasn''t gonna accept this job. I didn''t want to spend my time taking care of children."

    "I know. Your dream has always been to become the world''s best knight."

    "And you''ve never held any expectations about the future. Always just going along the flow of time. Is that still the same?"

    Janna looked Thea deep in the eyes.

    "I''m the same as always. I''m happy doing small things."

    "Taking care of these kids is a small thing?"

    "Of course not. I meant-"

    "I know, I know. It''s just a small thing compared to the whole world."

    Janna wanted to be someone important, well known throughout the world. While Thea wanted a calm, quiet, peaceful, tranquil little life. Two mentalities. One was the hot-blooded nature of a person who had just come to the world and wanted to make a name for themselves.

    The other was the wisdom of two life. It didn''t matter if one made a name for themselves by going through hardships. The only thing that matters is living life being happy.

    "Janna, I gave you that letter because I wish to see you happy here with me."

    "..."

    Janna was speechless. Janna had a lot to think about emotionally. And It''s not easy to talk about one''s emotions.

    "So why did you come here if not the job?"

    "Well...I kind of pissed off some people..."

    "These people are?"

    "Umm....the Idavoll royal family..."

    "Janna?! Those were your employers! And they''re royals! What exactly did you do?"

    Thea was a bit distraught.

    "It wasn''t my fault, okay! That Idavoll King''s idiot son was the one messing with me. I just did what you always told me to do! He deserved it."

    "What I always told you?"

    "You always said, ''if they try to do anything to you, then kick them in the nuts.''"

    "You...you did that?"

    Thea was flabbergasted. Janna had kicked a king''s son in the nuts.

    "What happened after that?"

    "I don''t know. I ran away as soon as I could."

    "Hah. Why did you come here and not go to your family?"

    "Well, I trust you the most to handle any situation. And you know how my family is."

    "Fair point."

    "By the way....this won''t stop me from taking the job right?"

    "Why would it?"

    "Like...I''m bringing trouble to you. You probably don''t want that..."

    "If it was anybody else, I would be mad."

    "But...you''ll make an exception for me?"

    Janna made a face like a cute yet sad and begging little cat.

    "Anything for you."

    "Yes!"

    Janna made a victorious exclaim. Thea gathered the kids who were around the room.

    "Listen up."

    Leaf, Nem and Gwyn stood straight. They could feel the situation was a serious one.

    "Let me introduce you again. This girl is Janna."

    Thea gestured at Janna. Janna waved her hand and smiled.

    "She''ll be in charge of all the cooking from now on. And hopefully for a long time."

    "Wow! How good are you at cooking, Janna Unnie?"

    Leaf asked.

    "Umm, I''ve had a lot of practice."

 Chapter 13: New chef

    "Umm, I''ve had a lot of practice."

    "Yeah, trust her. She''s had a lot of practice."

    Thea made an annoyed face.

    "Haha."

    Janna made an awkward laugh. That day, the dinner was made by chef Janna. She made a large batch of honey and soy-glazed salmon. Everyone loved it.

    After the dinner, Thea was in the room with Leaf as she was falling asleep. Thea made it a habit of putting the little kids to bed. Normally, she goes to Nem''s room first then Leaf''s as Nem falls asleep very fast. But that job was given to Janna today.

    "Unnie, you ate a lot during dinner."

    "It wasn''t that much more than what I normally eat."

    "No. You ate a whole lot more than what you normally eat."

    Leaf was surprised during dinner to find how much Thea was eating. It was at least four times as much as what she normally eats.

    "You''re gonna get fat if you eat that much."

    "I won''t get fat. Worry about yourself. Weren''t you the one who asked for seconds first?"

    Leaf''s face flushed.

    "It''s just Janna Unnie''s food was really tasty."

    "I know right?"

    "Did she go to a...food school?"

    "Haha. It''s called a culinary school. And no, she didn''t."

    "So she learned by herself?"

    "Well, I helped her."

    "If you taught her, then why isn''t your food as tasty?"

    "Ouch."

    "No, I didn''t mean that your food isn''t tasty."

    "It''s okay. Instead of helping her, it''s more accurate to say that she tortured me."

    "What?"

    "Since the first time we met...she would bring me dishes everyday."

    "So you ate her tasty food?"

    "...It wasn''t tasty at first...."

    "Oh."

    Leaf realized.

    "Then one day she just started to cook in my house. So all my meals were handled by her. It was hell."

    "I''m sorry, Unnie. Why didn''t you just tell her to stop cooking?"

    "I couldn''t do that. Janna wanted to be good at cooking so bad."

    Thea had the mind of an adult at the time, so she couldn''t tell a young child like Janna to stop cooking. Especially since Janna had so much passion for cooking. So she just went along with it.

    "Thankfully, it only took a few months for her food to become edible. It was bland but at least it was edible."

    "So that''s why she''s so good at cooking. I''m happy that I get to eat her food."

    "Alright, Leaf. You should go to sleep now. Sweet dreams."

    Thea rubbed Leaf''s head. Thea left and went to the living room.

    "Thea."

    Janna was sitting there and waiting. Thea sat next to her.

    "Did Nem and Gwyn go to sleep?"

    "They fell asleep in seconds."

    "They really like you, Janna."

    "How about Leaf?"

    "She loves your cooking."

    "Haha."

    "So how long are you staying?"

    "...I don''t know."

    "I guarantee that if you don''t have a date to leave by then you''ll get stuck here with me and the children."

    "Isn''t that what you hope to happen?"

    "I do. But I won''t stop you from achieving your dream."

    "I..."

    Janna stopped talking.

    "What''s wrong?"

    "It''s just that I''m not sure what to do."

    "How so?"

    Thea listened closely to Janna.

    "I wanted to be a knight to the king or someone like that. But now I''m not sure."

    "What changed that?"

    "In my time at Idavoll, I saw how the royalty there was. They were nothing like my family."

    "Didn''t I tell you that before?"

    "I know you did. But I didn''t want to believe you."

    "So after learning the true faces of royalty, you don''t want to be a knight anymore?"

    "No, don''t get me wrong. I still want to be a knight. Just not for royals."

    "Why not just go back to your own kingdom?"

    Janna''s family, the Everlotte family is from a small kingdom to the west. The aptly named Everlotte Kingdom is sandwiched between the Sol Empire, Zatiax and the west''s powerhouse, the Rocker Empire. It was just below the Iselia Kingdom where most of the refugees in the area of the orphanage are from.

    "I can''t do that. They wanted me to become the empress. But I just want to be a knight."

    "So many troubles. How is your family doing these days by the way?"

    "It''s actually not that good."

    "What happened?"

    "A lot is happening. There''s a revolt against my family''s ruling the kingdom."

    "What? But your family are good people, they always think of the people."

    "Thanks, but that''s not what the people think."

    "I don''t understand, the people of your kingdom love the king and queen."

    "I don''t know either, but the public wants my father and mother to resign and the family to leave the kingdom."

    "That''s serious. Shouldn''t you go help them?"

    "It''s okay. Don''t forget that my family is a bunch of strong freaks."

    "Right..."

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "I got a letter from them saying I shouldn''t come help. They''ll deal with it themselves."

    "I hope so."

    "Another thing, Thea."

    "Yeah?"

    "The seal is loosening."

    "The seal?...oh, that seal."

    Thea took a moment to remember

    "So it''s about time?"

    "No, no. I think it''s still months away. I''m just reminding you. More importantly, about Leaf..."

    "What about her?"

    Janna suddenly talking about Leaf had Thea worried.

    "Do you plan to send her to the academy?"

    "No, I don''t?"

    Thea was puzzled by Janna''s question. By the academy, Janna meant the best academy is the whole world where they both graduated from.

    "Argh, you didn''t even realize."

    "Realize what?"

    Thea was taken aback as Janna got a bit angry.

    "That girl has talent."

    "She does?"

    "Don''t you feel it?"

    "I know Leaf is hard-working and diligent..."

    "Not that!"

    Janna made a chop at Thea''s head.

    "Ouch."

    "Leaf has talent as a mage. If she goes to the academy, she''ll easily be a top student."

    "Really?"

    Thea had never felt such a thing from Leaf.

    "Yes. To you, everyone else must have trash as their talents. Imagine if I wasn''t here, Leaf''s talent would be wasted."

    "Don''t say that. It''s not my fault I can''t properly judge other''s mana."

    "That''s true."

    Thea only had herself to compare the quality or talent of mana with. Imagine you''re in a tree growing competition. You have a big and beautiful oak tree while the others have seeds and sprouts. Of course you would win. That''s how Thea is all the time.

    Her mana also interferes with differentiating the qualities of other''s mana.

    "Why can''t I teach Leaf myself?"

    Thea asked.

    "As the top student, I think I''m more than qualified."

    Thea put her hand on her chest and proudly declared.

    "Stop kidding yourself. You know you were only top student because the others forfeited all the time. You would be a bottom student these days."

    "What do you mean?"

    "The academy used to be based on your battle prowess right?"

    "Yeah, that was the case."

    "Well, since we graduated it''s changed. It''s now mostly dependent on your academic ability. So you would fail with your habit of sleeping during the class."

    "Oh....at least I was top student during my time."

    "Haha."

    "I''ll talk to Leaf about it."

    "You should make something for her to protect herself with. I never really liked that headmaster of ours."

    "I know. I think he secretly hated me."

    Thea thought for a bit.

    "By the way, wanna see something cool?"

    "Don''t tell me you''re gonna throw a snowball at my face like in the past."

    "Don''t speak lies, I never threw snowballs at you...I hurled them."

    "You!"

    Thea made a terrible joke.

    "Wait, wait. I really have some things to show you though."

    Thea went into her workshop and picked up her magic bag.

    "Look at this."

    First, Thea took out a purple ring.

    "A ring? Did you get married?"

    "No, why would you think that?"

    "To think you didn''t even invite me..."

    Janna was acting like she had been betrayed.

    "...Stop it..."

    Thea didn''t like it.

    "Try it on."

    Janna, now back to normal, put on the ring.

    "I don''t feel anything."

    "Try thinking of someplace and put your mana into the ring."

    "Nothing happened."

    "Ah, my bad. It has to be some place you can actually see."

    Janna did exactly that. She thought of the front door. And poof, she was at the front door. And immediately she started to fall because her sitting posture stayed the same. But she quickly spread her legs and weight around to stand on her legs. Almost naturally.

    "Did I just...teleport?"

    Janna was shocked.

    "That''s crazy, Thea. You finally did it."

    "Sadly, I didn''t make that."

    "Oh, here I thought your teleportation experiments finally had results."

    "My experiments are not useless ok?"

    Janna knew it was the fact that Thea''s experiments of the past decade on teleportation had been useless. There had not been any progress.

    "So did you find out how this ring works?"

    "I found some mechanics behind it."

    "So what are they?"

    "You see the stone?"

    "I remember you saying that the material used for magic artifacts is really important."

    "I said it''s the key to making anything possible. The stone used in this ring is a rare material that I''ll get soon. Then my real experiment will begin."

    "Oh, you must be so excited!"

    "YES! I AM!"

    Thea voiced her excitement through a high pitched voice. It was really cute.

    "Well, good luck on your research."

    Janna was also excited for Thea.

    "That''s not the only thing."

    Thea stopped shaking around and made a smirk.

    "W-what is it?"

    "Don''t get too excited with what I show you now, Janna."

    "What is it?"

    Janna was very interested and anticipating for Thea to take out the thing. To which, Thea put her hand in her bag again.

    "Why are you moving your mana?"

    Janna could feel Thea''s mana moving. Something that no one in the town has been able to see. Not even Sophily, who is a high-class espionage expert.

    "For this!"

    Thea took out a sword from the magic bag.

    "Wha-"

    Janna''s eyes were sparkling as Thea took out the sword. Literal stars in her eyes.

    "That''s not-?!"

    Janna was questioning if what she was seeing was real.

    "Yep, it''s the real deal."

    Thea nodded her head. The reason Thea had taken the holy sword was not only because she wanted to study it. The bigger reason was that Janna was a sword enthusiast.

    "C-can I hold it?"

    Janna asked.

    "Feel free to."

    Thea put down the holy sword on the floor. She stabbed it into the wooden floor.

    "Try to pick it up."

    Janna cautiously put her hands around the hilt of the holy sword.

    "HAA!"

    Using all her strength, Janna gave the holy sword a lift. Or at least tried to. The holy sword didn''t budge one bit. So Janna stopped.

    "How did YOU pick it up?"

    Janna questioned Thea.

    "That''s because I''m the hero and you''re not."

    Thea claimed.

    "I don''t believe that for a second."

    "Why do you doubt me?"

    "The hero is someone whose only goal is to help as many people as they can. There is no way you, Miss it''s-not-my-duty-to-save-everyone, are the hero."

    "Ok ok, I get it. There''s no need to say all that."

    "So is there some kind of trick?"

    "No, for some reason if I put my mana into the sword, I can lift it."

    "You don''t know why?"

    "No clue. My mana doesn''t even have the holy element."

    In this world, a person''s mana can have different elements. Most people have a primary and secondary element. The elements decide what magic one can use. Though it is possible to give new element to your mana, it is extremely hard.

    The primary element of Thea''s mana is fire. And secondary is water. She doesn''t have any other element.

    So how could Thea use wind magic to fly around? Well, that''s because she didn''t. Mages can use their mana to directly move the elements around them. Though it requires significantly more mana.

    "So I can''t move it then."

    "Well, I could do this."

    Thea put her hand on Janna''s shoulder. And her mana flowed through Janna to her hand. And the sword that was stuck in the ground finally got lifted.

    "Wow."

    Janna had fun swinging the sword around. As a sword user, her sword swings were very steady. And they showed a good understanding of sword paths.

    "Ok, Thea. We can stop now."

    Janna handed back the sword to Thea who put it back into the magic bag.

    "Ow."

    Janna made an exclaim of pain. Her other hand was on the arm that Thea passed her mana through.

    "Sorry, I''m still not good with that."

    Thea gave Janna an apologetic look. Thea''s mana caused some of damage to Janna''s muscles as it passed through. This was because Thea didn''t have much control to her mana. So when it passed through, it would be like tiny hammers striking at random points.

    "It''s fine, it''ll be healed by morning."

    ----

    Next day, in the morning. Su came to do her usual gardening work.

    "Oh, are you training?"

    Today, she was greeted by something new.

    "Yeah, we didn''t get to talk yesterday. I''m Janna."

    "Hi, Janna. My name is Su. I was hired by Miss Thea to work on the garden."

    "Miss Thea?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Why do you call her Miss Thea? We''re around the same age, so just call her Thea."

    "I can''t do that. She''s my employer, so I have to show her my respect."

    "She probably doesn''t like it, you know?"

    "She also said that, but I won''t budge on this."

    Su made a stern face and shook her head.

    "If Thea let you continue, then it''s fine I guess."

    "Exactly."

    "Oh, by the way, is it fine if I train here?"

    "It''s fine for me if you train here. Just don''t swing at my precious plants."

    "Don''t worry, I would never do that."

    "I''ll make a space for you where you can train, will that be fine?"

    "That would be perfect, thank you."

    "No problem."

    Su left Janna to train as she went to take care of the plants. When she looked over the plants before picking up the watering can. She noticed something.

    "What?!"

    There was a surprise.

    "How did this happen?"

    There was a sapling reaching to the height of Su''s knee. It had red leaves. It was a special elven tree. It would grow into having various colors. It was a tree that was great for mages. But it was hard to grow.

    She had planted it in the middle of the garden. People could gather around it and enjoy themselves. Kids could play and adults could sit down and chat around it.

    "It''s supposed to takes weeks still."

    What was surprising to Su was that this tree should not exist. At least not yet. It was too early for it to show signs of growth.

    ''I''ll inform Miss Thea about this. Wait, what''s this?''

    That was when Su noticed something. On the ground where the sapling was planted, there were small colorful things. She was too surprised by the sapling earlier to have noticed.

    "Fairy flowers?"

    It was small flowers the size of a finger nail. And there were a few in number. Though Su had never seen them before, she could tell that these were fairy flowers.

    "Is there a fairy around?"

    Fairies are a special creature born from nature itself. They are powerful and only a dozen or so exist. One such fairy lives in the elves'' most cherished Island of Mysterious Plants. So the elves have a very accurate description of fairies. The fairies leave behind flowers the size of finger nails when they use their unique magic.

    These flowers are translucent and colorful. Have a very sweet and charming smell to them. What Su found at the bottom of the tree sapling were exactly as described by her mother.

    "This is amazing!"

    Su was delighted to find out about this. Fairies tended to stick around in one place. Slowly transforming that place into a paradise for nature lovers.

    For the next few days, Su would try to catch the fairy in action. She would hide somewhere around the garden. Even going the whole night without sleeping. But every time, she would fall asleep just as the fairy would come.

    And everyday, Janna would come out to train her sword and find the sleeping elf.

    "Why do you keep falling asleep in the garden?"

    "It''s nothing."

    "I can see you''re dedicated to your work. But please sleep on a bed."

    "Yes, I''ll keep that in mind."

    Su had no choice but to listen to Janna''s request. She would let the fairy do her own work without ever meeting Su.

    It made Su sad that she didn''t get to see the fairy but there was nothing that she could do.

    ----

    A week after Janna became the chef at Thea''s the Guiding Star Orphanage. In the morning just before the sun rose, Leaf woke up.

    For some reason, she wasn''t feeling sleepy. So she went for a walk outside in the garden.

    As she was walking, she heard a little humming. Looking around, she saw a small light floating around the garden. Going from one plant to the next.

    And the light was humming a happy tone.

    Leaf approached the light. Her steps were light and slow. As she got closer, she could hear the humming more clearly. It was a high pitched humming.

    "Hello."

    Leaf said. The response she got was a high pitched scream. After which the small light figure fell onto the ground and slowly flickered out.

 Chapter 14: Leafs adventure and a new mission

    -A few hours after Leaf startled the fairy before dawn-

    On a small fluffy blanket lay the fairy. The fairy looked like a small little girl. A bit chubby. She had pink hair. Her hair were short and flowing. She wore a white colored dress that reached her knees. She had fainted after being startled by Leaf and was sleeping peacefully now.

    Leaf, being a kind little girl, could not leave the fainted fairy to sleep alone in the garden. She though, ''What if she gets attacked by a mouse?''. So Leaf picked up the fairy and brought her into her own room.

    She wrapped the fairy in her handkerchief so the small fairy doesn''t get cold. And laid her on her blanket since the blanket she received from Thea Unnie was very soft to the touch.

    Now, after a few hours the fairy opened her eyes slowly. She stretched her arms and legs. As if she had just awoken from a wonderful sleep. But what she was met with were the big eyes of Leaf in her field of view.

    "AH!"

    Thankfully, this time the fairy did not faint.

    "Wait, wait!"

    The fairy quickly hid in the handkerchief. And Leaf tried to stop her from hiding and talk with her. Since there was nowhere else to go, the fairy slowly peeked her head out of the handkerchief.

    "You..."

    Her voice was a sharp one, and not that loud.

    "YOU MONSTER!"

    A harsh accusation. It was a painful stab at the child heart of Leaf.

    "I''m not a monster!"

    "Only a monster can sneak up on me and scare me."

    The little fairy claimed.

    "That doesn''t mean I''m a monster."

    "No, only monsters do that."

    "But spies do that all the time. And they''re not monsters."

    "..."

    The fairy didn''t have any response.

    "See? So I''m not a monster. Say I''m not a monster."

    At the end of her command, she sounded a bit angry. It was because Leaf really didn''t like being called a monster, since her abusive father would call her a monster in the past.

    "What''s a spy?"

    But instead of receiving a confirmation, she was asked a question.

    "You don''t know what spies are?"

    "I don''t."

    "Well...spies are people that walk around without people knowing they are there."

    "What?! Why would they do that?"

    As if she had heard the most insanely illogical thing, the fairy questioned.

    "There can be many reasons. Like, the spy maybe needs to do it because they''re following some evil person and can''t tell them."

    "A-are you a spy?"

    The fairy carefully asked. Listening to Leaf, She got some weird perception of spies in her mind now.

    "I''m not a spy."

    "Phew~"

    The fairy felt relieved that Leaf was not a spy.

    "What were you doing in the garden?"

    Leaf was curious.

    "The garden? You mean the place with the nice plants?"

    "Yes, that place. Why were you there?"

    "Well, those plants were asking for my help."

    "Asking for your help?"

    "Exactly, I don''t know who left them there but they were struggling to survive."

    "Wow. Really?"

    Leaf didn''t think that Su was bad at horticulture. Maybe there was there some other reason.

    "Urgh, and recently that elf has been bothering me."

    "So that''s what Su has been doing! She was looking for you."

    Leaf was also wondering why Su had been acting weird these days.

    "I don''t like her!"

    The fairy declared.

    "Oh? But Su''s really nice. She wouldn''t hurt you."

    "No! I don''t...want to meet her."

    The fairy said while looking away from Leaf.

    "Oh, I see."

    "W-what?"

    The fairy looked flustered.

    "You''re shy."

    "No I''m not!"

    "Don''t lie. It''s bad to lie."

    "I said I''m not shy!"

    "Really?"

    "Yes!"

    "Ok, then that means you''ll talk to Su?"

    "Ah!"

    The fairy was stunned. If she backed out now, it would mean she was shy to meet Su. But if she didn''t, that would mean she has to meet Su. And she was in fact very shy to meet anyone. It was a dilemma that the fairy could not handle.

    Tears formed around her big eyes. She didn''t like being in this dilemma.

    "Wait, I''m sorry! Please don''t cry."

    It made Leaf flustered also. She didn''t mean to make the little fairy cry.

    "You don''t need to talk to anyone."

    "...ok."

    The fairy wiped away the tears.

    "I hate talking to other people."

    "I see. You don''t need to talk to anyone if you don''t want to."

    The fairy nodded her head.

    "Umm, does that you don''t wanna talk to me?"

    "...you''re fine..."

    The little fairy''s cheeks turned a bit pink and her gaze averted away from Leaf.

    "Really? Does that mean we can be friends?"

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    "No! I don''t want a friend!"

    The fairy was against it. Leaf felt a little let down.

    "I see...can I know your name at least? I''m Leaf by the way."

    "I don''t have a name."

    "What? You really don''t?"

    "What''s so weird about it? I''ve never had to use it before."

    "But everyone gets a name. Didn''t your parents give you one?"

    "What are parents?"

    "Parents....you know, they''re people that give you a name and raise you..."

    Leaf didn''t know much about why parents were parents. She also didn''t know that fairies do not have parents. Fairies are born from nature. They just exist one day and that''s it.

    "Why do you need someone to raise you?"

    Fairies are born with some intelligence so they take care of themselves right from the start.

    "Umm...because human babies are weak?"

    "How weak?"

    "Very weak. They can''t even move."

    "Wow, that is weak!"

    The fairy was surprised to learn how weak babies are.

    "If you want...I can give you a name."

    Leaf gave a suggestion to the fairy.

    "Fine, hurry up and give it to me."

    "Uhmm..."

    Leaf thought for a few moments.

    "Temtem!"

    She enthusiastically announced.

    "Tem...tem..."

    The little fairy really liked the sound of it. Her tone was filled with love for the name. And her face showed a satisfied expression.

    "Temtem."

    She pronounced her name once again. Feeling happy.

    "Ah."

    Temtem cleared her throat and stopped her smile. Going back to a stoic face.

    "Ahem. Thank you for the name, it is acceptable."

    Temtem stood up.

    "What are you going to do now?"

    "I''m leaving."

    "Oh, really?"

    "Yes. I have work to do."

    Behind Temtem, a pair of translucent wings appeared. She flew up.

    "Bye bye, I hope we meet again."

    Leaf waved to Temtem as she flew out through the window.

    And then began Leaf''s morning routine.

    First, Leaf tidied up her bed. She then left her room to go outside to the garden again.

    There, she would find a half asleep Thea. In the morning, Thea would make a cup of special tea that only she is allowed to drink. She then takes the tea outside in front of the garden to drink.

    There was a porch at the back where Thea would sit. She would watch the sky as the clouds went by and sip from her tea. Since Janna came, she would also watch Janna train.

    Sometimes Leaf would come out and see her sitting there. That''s when she discovered that Thea would fall asleep while drinking the tea. Usually not even finishing her tea.

    So Leaf sometimes looks at Thea and then sits besides her. She takes out a paper and draws on it. Thea said it''s good to draw as it helps you meditate. And it was enjoyable for Leaf to do it besides Thea. To her, it felt peaceful.

    Today, Leaf wanted to do something else.

    She shook Thea to make sure she wasn''t waking up. Thea was an incredibly heavy sleeper.

    Leaf took her hands to Thea''s hair. She wanted to make braids for Thea''s hair. Thea normally has long straight hair. She doesn''t style them or anything. She just lets them be.

    Leaf was curious and playful today. She had no experience with making braids but she had seen some of the other ladies have nice braided hair. So she wanted to give it a try.

    Leaf went to work. Her little hands did not do a good job. The braids were uneven and all over the place. She was only halfway done before she felt she was ruining her Unnie''s hair.

    "What are you doing?"

    It wasn''t Thea that spoke after waking up or anything. It was Janna who had been practicing her sword that walked up to Leaf.

    "Uhh...I thought it would look good on Unnie..."

    Leaf saw as Janna came close to her.

    "Haha, it might''ve looked good if you did it correctly."

    "...I know."

    "Don''t feel down. I''ll teach you how to braid hair later, how about that?"

    "Oh, I would love that."

    "I used to help my mom with braiding her hair. So I''ll teach you."

    "Have you ever braided Unnie''s hair?"

    "Oh, she hates braids."

    "Really?"

    "Why do you think she has only straight hair?"

    "Because she''s lazy?"

    "Well, you''re not wrong there. But the real reason is that she loves straight long hair."

    "I wish my hair were like hers."

    Leaf had hair reaching down to her back. They were long curly hair.

    "You have the same hair Thea used to have."

    "Unnie hair like mine?"

    "Yes, but they were way longer. I think when she turned 17, her hair changed to they are now."

    "So my hair could also change?"

    "No, don''t think like that. Your hair are beautiful as they are. There''s no reason to look like someone else. Just be yourself."

    "But..."

    Leaf was a kid. It is normal for kids to want to imitate adults. That''s how every kid learns learns. Leaf admired Thea the most because she was saved by Thea when she was at her lowest. There was no one else in the world she wanted to be more like than Thea.

    Janna patted Leaf''s head.

    "Thea wouldn''t want you to do that either."

    Leaf was quiet. What Janna had told her was true.

    "Okay, that''s that. Why don''t you help me with breakfast?"

    "But I don''t know how to cook."

    "It''s okay, you can learn with me."

    Janna took Leaf to make pancakes for breakfast.

    A dozen or so minutes later.

    *Yawn.*

    Thea woke up with a big yawn. She stretched her body.

    "That was a good nap!"

    She felt satisfied with her nap.

    "Hmm?"

    She felt something was wrong with her head.

    ''Why is my balance off?''

    Thea touched her hair.

    "What happened to my hair?!"

    Thea thought for a moment.

    ''Only Janna was out here!''

    She put the blame of her hair being messed with on Janna.

    "Oh, Thea. You''re awake. Come have breakfast. Leaf and I made pancakes."

    "You!"

    Thea was staring at Janna with viper like eyes.

    "I''ll have my revenge one day. Mark my words."

    "Revenge? For what?"

    "Tsk. There''s no use trying to cover it."

    Thea stood up and headed inside. Leaving Janna confused all by herself. But not before Janna saw the mess on Thea''s head.

    Janna would sometimes tease Thea with the words ''No braids today?'' starting from that day.

    Thea sat down at the table after washing her hands.

    "Here."

    Leaf came up and gave her pancakes.

    "Janna said you made pancakes with her?"

    "I only helped a little."

    Thea looked down at the pancakes. They weren''t as round as pancakes were supposed to be.

    "It looks amazing!"

    But since Leaf had made them, there was no way Thea could say they were not pancake like.

    "You can say what''s on your mind, Unnie."

    Leaf could tell that the pancakes didn''t look the best. She could tell from a look that Thea was hiding her real thoughts. They had lived together for a month now.

    "Say what''s on my mind? Then I''ll say it."

    "Yes, I''m ready."

    Leaf was bracing herself to hear some bad things about her cooking.

    "These pancakes are amazing since our cute Leaf made them. I know that these were made with the most amount of care and love put into them."

    Leaf was surprised.

    "Did you think I wouldn''t like them?"

    "Yes..."

    Thea patted Leaf''s head.

    "I like everything you make."

    Hearing this, tears formed in Leaf''s eyes.

    "There, there."

    "Do...do you also like the braids I made?"

    Leaf, while sobbing, asked a question.

    The question stunned Thea.

    "Go on, Thea. Answer it."

    While Janna had a smirk on her face.

    "I..."

    "Yes?"

    "I like it..."

    "So you''ll let me style your hair when I want?"

    "..."

    Thea really didn''t want to do that.

    "What''s wrong Thea? You don''t want to let down Leaf, now would you?"

    Janna, being a true friend, decided to betray Thea and watch her suffer.

    "...ok..."

    Thea said in a small voice.

    "What was that?"

    "Ok, fine."

    "Hahaha."

    Janna was having fun imagining the torture Thea would go through. But secretly, she also wanted to see Thea look nice with many styles of hair.

    "Maybe I''ll order some dresses from my..."

    Janna was about to make a joke about ordering some of the fancy royal dresses for Thea to wear. But then she saw the angry face of Thea and didn''t continue the joke.

    "Let''s enjoy the pancakes."

    Thea said passive aggressively. Even though the shape of some of the pancakes was not good, their taste was still amazing since Janna made the pancake sauce.

    Nem and Gwyn walked out from their room when they finished eating.

    "Good morning."

    Thea and Janna said to the two of them.

    "Why are you two so late to wake up every time?"

    Only Leaf was upset with them.

    "Woof."

    Gwyn responded. He had an attitude of ''whatever''. While Nem didn''t respond. He was being carried by Gwyn on his back, still half asleep.

    "Let them be."

    Thea asked Leaf to calm down.

    "But Unnie! They always miss breakfast."

    "Well, what can we do."

    Janna said while shaking her head.

    "I''ll make breakfast."

    Janna went and made breakfast.

    "Oh, Leaf. How about a punishment?"

    Thea suddenly suggested.

    "What? Did I do something wrong?"

    Leaf was shocked.

    "No, not for you. You didn''t do anything wrong. I meant for the two of them."

    Thea pointed at Nem and Gwyn.

    "Why don''t you practice styling hair on them?"

    "OOH!"

    Leaf''s eyes lit up. Gwyn was just a big ball of fur. He would be perfect to practice making braids and other styles.

    "If they''re late to breakfast, you get to make their hair for the whole day."

    "I''ll do it. Hehehe."

    Nem and Gwyn were subject to Leaf''s hands that day.

    After they had breakfast, Janna had something to tell them.

    "I''m going for a job interview today."

    "I thought your job was to be our chef, Janna Unnie."

    "It''s only a part-time job. I''m not always cooking for you guys, and Thea takes care of everything else so I wanted to do something in my free time."

    "What job are you trying for?"

    Thea asked her.

    "The local patrol. I heard they needed more people. So I''m just helping out for now until they get more people."

    "Ah, so you''re going to work for Silas."

    "Silas?"

    "You didn''t know?"

    "No, I was just going to meet Su and she was going to introduce me."

    It was Su that originally suggested Janna to join the local patrol.

    "Well, if you want I can talk to him."

    "Nah, there''s no need. Do you think I''ll fail?"

    "With your resume?"

    "Exactly."

    "I was just saying-oh right, if you''re there in the patrol team, can you do me a favor?"

    "What is it?"

    "Keep an eye on the current patrol leader. Something felt off about him."

    "I''ll keep it in mind."

    "Okay, now that that''s over. It''s time for training."

    In the afternoon, after they were done with the daily training of body and mana.

    Before Janna left for the interview. Silas came to visit.

    "Miss Thea!"

    "Silas, what''s the occasion?"

    "I''ve got some urgent news for you."

    "Do tell."

    "You remember you told me to keep an eye out for kids that needed special guidance?"

    "Yeah, did you find someone like that?"

    "I don''t know if this is it but this kid could be trouble."

    "What''s so troubling about this kid?"

    "The kid carries demon blood."

    "A part demon kid? Is that even possible?"

    "It''s a rare thing, but it does happen sometimes. Usually the mother is attacked by demons while pregnant and traces of the blood get into the body of the mother."

    "So while the child is growing in the womb, they become part demon?"

    "Yes, but normally either they die in the womb or shortly after being born."

    "Then how about this particular child?"

    "He''s already eight years old. And his birthday is in a few weeks."

    "I see. I assume there are many troubles with him?"

    "Yes, he has an....anger issue."

    Silas didn''t know how to put it into words.

    "Has he harmed someone?"

    "Thankfully, no one has died. But it''s only a matter of time. Every time he goes berserk, he gets more powerful. The people from his village are having trouble handling him."

    "I see. I''ll have to go myself."

    "Thank you. Please take care of the kid."

    Silas left after giving the information to Thea. Thea was lost in her thinking when she noticed something. Janna was standing to her side.

    "Who was that?"

    Her cheeks were pink.

 Chapter 15: Preparations

    Janna stood there, dazed. She was speechless.

    "Janna?"

    Thea called out to her.

    "Yeah, what?"

    Janna came back to her senses and hurriedly replied.

    "Why are you blushing?"

    Thea noticed Janna''s complexion. Her face was pink and blushing. Her breath was heavy.

    "It-it''s nothing."

    "Hmm..."

    Thea didn''t believe her. There was a smile on Thea''s face.

    "So it''s finally happened."

    "W-what happened?"

    "You''ve finally fallen in love."

    "L-l-love?!"

    Janna''s face turned beet red. Her words were stuttering.

    "I didn''t fall in love!"

    "Your face says otherwise."

    "No, no. This...this is just from exercising."

    "I see...got red from exercising your heart, huh?"

    "Exact-wait, no."

    Thea gave Janna a hug.

    "I thought you would be alone forever."

    "Wh-what are you talking about?"

    "You only ever had interest in your sword. I was sure that was your only love."

    "It still is!"

    "Don''t try to deny it. I don''t know what you like about Silas, but he''s a good choice."

    "I don''t like him!"

    "Hehe, sure. You can hide it from yourself, but I know you more than you do yourself."

    Janna was flustered. She had only seen Silas just now for the first time, but her heart started to race. It was the first time she felt this way. It was love at first sight.

    "Oh, by the way, he''s your boss."

    "My boss? You don''t mean..."

    "Yes, the one you''re interviewing today."

    "What?!"

    Janna didn''t know what to do. She was eager to go to the job interview today. But now she absolutely didn''t want to go.

    "I-I remembered I had something to do."

    She was trying to make excuses for not going to the interview.

    "What is it? I''ll help you do them instead."

    "Ah, it''s..."

    There was nothing Janna actually had to do.

    "You''re not trying to skip out on your interview, are you?"

    "What? I would never."

    "Great. Now you get to talk one-on-one with your crush."

    "One-on...one?"

    "Hmm, Janna. I know you''re nervous, but it''s better that you saw him before the interview. You would have been completely silent during your interview otherwise."

    Thea pinched Janna''s cheeks.

    "And now you can confess your love directly."

    "You!"

    Janna grabbed Thea and put her in an arm choke hold. Like an angry cat, she didn''t let Thea go.

    "Stop! Stop! I won''t say it again!"

    "You better not."

    She let Thea go. Thea walked a few steps away from Janna.

    "I lied!"

    "Come back!"

    Janna, like an angry cat was chasing after Thea, the playful cat. They were interrupted by Nem.

    "Are we playing?"

    He asked innocently.

    "No, we''re not playing."

    Thea said firmly.

    "Stop lying!"

    There were tears in Nem''s eyes.

    "You said no playing in the house and now you''re playing by yourself!"

    Nem felt like he was betrayed.

    "Come here, Nem."

    Janna called out to Nem.

    "I''m won''t! You were also playing!"

    Nem didn''t even go to Janna who he liked very much.

    "No, no. You''ve got it wrong. I wasn''t playing. I was stopping her from playing."

    "Really?"

    "Yes, so come here."

    Nem trusted Janna and went to her. Janna picked him up and cuddled him.

    "You see, Nem. Thea was playing all by herself. She''s so bad isn''t she?"

    "Yes, bad!"

    Nem shouted at Thea. He was clearly very upset with Thea for playing without him and Gywn.

    "Wait, that''s not-"

    "Uhem, we''ll be leaving now. You reflect on your mistakes, Thea."

    Janna left with Nem in her arms. Leaving Thea alone.

    "How could she?!"

    Janna knew that Thea cared and loved the kids in the orphanage. If one of the kids were to be angry with her, it would hurt Thea emotionally. This was Janna''s way of getting back at Thea for earlier.

    "I''ll have to make up somehow."

    Thea went into her workshop to make a magic device. Using her water element mana as a base, she completed the object in under an hour.

    "Good thing I''ve made this before."

    The device was something she had made during her days at the academy when she wasn''t progressing with her mana and she was feeling the summer heat.

    Thea headed to the storage room to get some things. And afterwards she went to the garden where everyone was gathered.

    It was a nice sunny day today. It was the later half of Autumn, but it was less chilly today. It was a rare warm day for the weather.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    After lunch, it was time for studying. The kids study for a few hours under Thea. But most of the time they would study on their own. Occasionally asking questions where they didn''t understand.

    But is was really only Leaf studying. Thea had discovered that after what Nem went through, his mind seemed to have regressed to that of a child. He was already an eight years old child, but his mind was acting like a four or five year old child.

    Perhaps it was a defense mechanism of his brain. His memory of his family seemed to have become vague. A terribly sorrowful outcome.

    What will happen in the future is uncertain. Thea could only hope that it gives time for her to help him develop new bonds. So that when he gets his memories and mind back, it will hurt less.

    "Alright, gather around."

    "What is that, Unnie?"

    Leaf asked about the object Thea was holding. It was a tall box shape with an opening at the front.

    "Oh my goodness, Thea! You remade the ice cream machine?"

    The machine Thea was holding was actually an ice cream machine. Ice cream did exist in this world, but it required ice mages to maintain the temperature. And ice mages were not easy to come by.

    Ice cream was sold in cities with many people and was a popular item. But it was consider an expensive delicacy because of the rarity.

    "It''s not for you this time."

    "I thought you said you wouldn''t make it again?"

    "Well, I made it as an apology to Nem."

    "I''m not forgiving you!"

    Nem chimed in.

    "We''ll see after you taste this."

    Thea put down the ice cream machine onto a table in the garden.

    "What does it do, Unnie?"

    "I had forgotten, but I made a promise to buy you ice cream when it was available, right?"

    "I don''t remember."

    "It was so long ago. But now you can eat ice cream."

    "Can this really make ice cream?"

    "Of course, after all it''s something I made."

    Thea may not be confident in her ability to use her mana in magic but one thing she was certain that she was good at was crafting magic tools.

    "You know, I vowed to never make something like this again because the last time I did, a certain someone ate too much and vomited over me."

    "It wasn''t Janna Unnie, was it?"

    Leaf looked at Janna in surprised. To Leaf, Janna looked like someone who was physically strong. She didn''t think Janna would be so weak as to vomit on someone.

    "I swear, Thea put something in her ice cream."

    Janna defended herself.

    "They were just too delicious!"

    "That''s called having no self-control."

    Even Leaf knew that.

    "Just wait till you try them first."

    Thea took the ingredients and put them into the machine. The machine''s lid could be lifted. She put in milk and sugar. The machine would turn the things into ice cream by itself.

    "Here it goes."

    Thea put a small bowl at the bottom of the opening in the machine. She then put her finger on the machine and pressed a button.

    The machine made a noise and out poured ice cream.

    "Ooo."

    The kids were amazed by it.

    "Who wants to eat first?"

    "Me!"

    Nem had seemed to forget that he was upset with Thea for playing without him.

    "Only if Nem forgives me first."

    This was Thea''s plan all along. She couldn''t let a child under her care be upset with her. That was like a sin for her.

    "...fine..."

    Nem muttered under his breath. He also turned his head slightly to look away from Thea.

    "What was that?"

    Thea could barely hear him speak.

    "...I said I forgive you..."

    "Oh, Nem is so kind. You deserve a reward for being so generous."

    Thea handed the bowl filled with ice cream to Nem. Nem instantly took a big portion of ice cream onto the spoon and shoved it into his mouth.

    "Wait! Slow down!"

    It was too late. Nem had already shoved it into his mouth. It was a bad habit of Nem to eat too fast. He would get stomach aches because he eats too fast and gets digestion issues.

    But now he would experience another type of pain.

    "Maybe this will teach him to eat slowly finally?"

    Janna tried to look at the bright side.

    "Ahh! My head!"

    Nem said out loud.

    "You''re not supposed to eat ice cream fast or it hurts your head."

    Thea explained.

    "The pain will go away in a few moments."

    "Unnie, give me too."

    Leaf asked for her portion. Thea made another portion and handed it to Leaf.

    "Don''t eat too fast."

    "Yes."

    Leaf looked at the ice cream in her hand.

    "Finally!"

    She was finally going to eat ice cream. She had heard from one of the kids that it was the best thing ever. The kid was an adventurer''s kid who came to defeat some monster. It was a few years ago and she had heard it from the side when the kid was boasting to the village chief''s children.

    "YUMMY!"

    Leaf took a bite and shouted. There was a big sweet smile on her face.

    "Don''t eat too fast."

    Thea reminded Leaf who was about to eat more.

    "Ah, yes!"

    Thea handed a portion to Gwyn and Janna next.

    "Did you change something with the recipe?"

    "I don''t know what you mean."

    "I''m definitely sure this tasted much better the last time."

    "Maybe it''s just you. You''ve grown up a lot you know."

    "No, that''s definitely not it. My taste didn''t change."

    Janna wasn''t convinced.

    "There''s no other reason."

    Janna glared at Thea. Thea had in fact changed something within the machine. She had turned down the taste element created by magic. In the past, the only reason Janna had gotten addicted was because the element was too high.

    So the reason Janna puked on Thea in the past was actually Thea''s fault. But she wouldn''t tell Janna such a thing.

    "I feel like you''re hiding something..."

    But Janna had a special sense of intuition when it came to Thea.

    "Anyways...I have something to talk to you guys about."

    "Is it what...Silas talked about earlier?"

    Janna''s face blushed a bit.

    "Yes, it''s what your crush-"

    Janna pinched Thea''s stomach with her fingers.

    "Ow-what Silas told me."

    "What do you want to do?"

    Janna asked Thea for her plan.

    "Of course, we''re going. We have to help children when we can."

    "When are we leaving?"

    "We are leaving tomorrow."

    "So fast."

    "You can stay behind if you want."

    "Why would I let you go by yourself?"

    "Are we going together?"

    Leaf asked.

    "We''ll travel by foot. It''ll take weeks. You''ll get very tired along the way. If you don-"

    "I''ll go!"

    Leaf cut off Thea''s sentence.

    "I knew you would say that, but I have a condition."

    "A condition?"

    "You can only come along if you can move your mana by the end of today."

    "But...I can''t..."

    Over the last month of teaching Leaf, there was a problem. Actually it wasn''t much of a problem, but it was something that Leaf couldn''t do.

    It was the ability to feel and move mana inside of the body. A normal person would take up to a year starting from training to do it. A person with good talent would be able to feel it in half a year''s time. While a gifted person would take less than a month.

    How about Thea then? How long did she take to feel her mana?

    Thea could feel her mana starting the moment she was woke up as a baby in this world.

    Even after sensing their mana, it could take a considerably long time for a person to move their mana.

    It took Thea a minute after she first sensed mana to move it from her head to her toes.

    It went beyond the level of a gifted millennium genius.

    Janna had said that Leaf was a gifted person. So it wouldn''t take her long to sense her mana. That was indeed the case. Leaf could already feel her mana. It had only been a month since she started to learn.

    But now she needed to move her mana. It wouldn''t matter if she sensed her mana fast if she takes a long time to move it.

    Thea was trying to give a push to Leaf. She knew that kids could do anything if they put their mind to it.

    "If you can''t do it by today, then I''ll leave you in the care of Su."

    "No, I want to go."

    "Then you better hurry."

    "I''ll do it today!"

    Leaf finished eating her ice cream and went to train.

    "Why''d you do that? You''re planning to take her with you anyways, right?"

    Janna whispered to Thea.

    "I want to train her magic while travelling."

    "Isn''t she too early to learn to battle with magic?"

    Janna instantly understood that Thea wanted to make Leaf familiar with battles.

    "It''s never too early."

    "What''s got you so worried?"

    There was a look of concern on Thea''s face.

    "I worry if she''s fit for the academy."

    "Oh, I see."

    Janna also understood what Thea was worried about.

    "Well, you''ll just have to make her fit."

    Janna encouraged Thea.

    "I''m trying my best."

    ---

    Late at night, around 10 pm.

    Leaf was still trying to move her mana.

    ''Why isn''t it working?!''

    She was getting frustrated with herself.

    ''Am I just not good enough?''

    As she was trying to manipulate her mana, she noticed that Thea was looking at her through the window.

    ''If I don''t do it now, I''ll get left behind.''

    This was the final push Leaf needed. She pushed all her body and mind for this one moment. Thinking about Thea, the person who saved her, leaving her behind. Thinking of Nem and Gwyn who were kids she felt she needed to take care of.

    All these factors and emotions finally pushed her to succeed. Her mana finally moved. It felt like a rock moving in her stomach. Like a hard object going down her throat, being very hard to swallow.

    But it did indeed move.

    As any mage would tell you, once you''ve moved it once, it''s not hard to do it again.

    Leaf tried it again, and she could feel it move. It still felt like a rock.

    "Are you able to do it?"

    Thea, who saw the change on Leaf''s face after she succeeded, came out to ask.

    "Yes, I did it just now!"

    "That''s great!"

    Thea clapped her hands.

    "Let''s not miss this moment. Keep pushing your mana."

    "Yes."

    Leaf did it again. And again. She kept trying to move the rock like mana. It wasn''t working, as she was getting the same result.

    "Keep going! You can do it!"

    Thea was there as a cheerleader to Leaf. There wasn''t anything she could do for her.

    "Unnie..."

    Leaf was covered in sweat. It takes the whole body to do what Thea was asking Leaf to do. It was literally a full body workout.

    "You have to keep going, Leaf."

    Thea had read about this exact thing in books while at the academy. She herself didn''t experience such a thing. In the books, it was said that the was one of the most crucial moments in a mages ability going forward.

    Some people would stop right after trying to move the rock-like mana. Or at least only try it a few times before giving it a rest. It was logical to say.

    Many of these people had been trying to control their mana for the tiniest bit. They had spent months sensing their mana. Then another few months trying to move it. So finally when they do succeed, it would be only correct to want to rest.

    But that was in fact wrong. This moment was much more important than they think.

    The problem had to do with the body. If the body felt like there was a change, there would be a response of some kind. Like an infection, that the immune system''s cells would respond to. There was a similar defense mechanism for mana.

    Even though it had already existed since birth, but now it was moving. Before, it didn''t interact with the body at all.

    "I want you to give it a punch!"

    "A punch?"

    Leaf was shocked by Thea''s words.

    "Yes, just think about giving that rock a punch and give it your all."

    "But..."

    Leaf felt really tired.

    "You can''t stop now. This is the final hurdle. You said you wanted to be a great mage, didn''t you? This is the only thing stopping you from becoming just that. Give it a punch, do it!"

    Thea''s encouragement worked well on Leaf.

    ''I want to be a mage like Unnie!''

    Though the reason was a bit different.

    "Punch!"

    At Thea''s word, Leaf gave it her all and ''punched'' the rock of mana.

    It shattered into countless tiny pieces. And Leaf coughed.

    "It''s okay, you''re okay Leaf."

    Thea held Leaf in her arms.

    "You did it, Leaf. You did it."

    Thea looked at Leaf''s face.

    "Thank you, Unnie...."

    Leaf fell asleep mid-sentence. She was too tired from the whole day of training and pushing her limit.

    "No, it was all you, Leaf."

    Thea groomed Leaf''s hair with her hand as she fell asleep.

    "You''ll be an amazing mage like you want someday."

    Thea herself felt proud of Leaf''s accomplishment.

    "Now, let''s get you to your bed."

 Chapter 16: Towards the city

    "Got everything?"

    Thea asked the others. To which, all of them nodded.

    It was the next morning after Leaf had unlocked the ability to move her mana. And it was the day for them to leave for the child with demon blood that Silas had told Thea about.

    "Everything is packed."

    Leaf responded to Thea. She had a pink colored bag hanging from her shoulder. It was a gift to her from Su.

    "I told you, you don''t need to carry your bag. You can just put it in my magic bag."

    "There''s no need for that. I want to carry this myself."

    But Leaf refused.

    "What is there anyways?"

    Thea asked her about the contents of the bag.

    "It''s a secret weapon."

    "You won''t get to use it with me and Thea around."

    Janna said.

    "That''s good then. This is just for emergencies."

    "Ok fine. Let''s head out."

    Thea locked the door behind her as they walked out of the town.

    "How long will it take to get there?"

    Leaf asked Thea.

    "According to the map, it takes about four days. But we''ll get there in five days."

    "Why five days?"

    "We''ll take the scenic route along the way."

    "I see."

    Leaf was happy they''ll get to see beautiful landscape.

    "And you''re receiving special training along the way."

    Leaf''s happiness was stopped by the words.

    "Special training?"

    "Yes, it''s very important training for you if you want to become a mage."

    "What is the training?"

    "I can''t tell you now."

    "I''m guessing I won''t like it?"

    "Uuh..."

    Leaf had correctly guessed it.

    "Well, if you''re giving this training to me even if I like it, then I guess it must be good for me."

    They walked a few hours along the road. Heading towards the north. There was a road already made from people travelling between the regions. They just had to follow the road.

    Occasionally there would be carriages on the road. Most things where transported by horse drawn carriages in this world. Except to the west where the Elseya kingdom was.

    A big kingdom rivaling the strongest power of the Zatiax empire, the kingdom of sol.

    While Zatiax heavily invested in their military power, putting war and conquering as their focus, the Elseya kingdom instead focused on magic. Giving birth to many strong mages. They laid the foundation to become the leading kingdom of the world in terms of magic.

    They had the best magic engineers in the world. They were able to make trains that went across the whole kingdom and didn''t need horse carriages to travel for long distances.

    The academy Solhaven was also located in this kingdom. It was put close to the border with Zatiax because originally it was an academy for the two kingdoms to make peaceful ties at. At least that was the original plan.

    But pretty soon the academy became a way for the kingdoms to compete using their children. And it became known as the best academy in the world. Only allowing the best in.

    Elseya kingdom used to ''win'' in the past, But in the last few decades, the Zatiax kingdom had produced some high tier mages that started to win the political war in the academy.

    And in the last ten years, only the Zatiax kingdom placed at the top three of the graduation rankings. Well except for the year that Thea and Janna graduated.

    Two kingdoms that were not really contending for the top spots managed to get the first and second place. And very dominatingly to add. The Ruwel kingdom to the west where Janna is from and the southern kingdom of Yurivia that was separated from the rest of the continent where Thea was born.

    "Alright, let''s take a break."

    Janna told the others it was time to rest for a moment. The sun was high in the sky. They had walked for a few hours.

    "Unnie, why can''t we take a carriage like the others?"

    Leaf asked the question, she was sweating from head to toe.

    "You don''t always get to ride. And it''s not as comfortable as you think."

    "Is it really bad?"

    "Yes, you just need to ride it once and you will never want to ride another time."

    "Don''t listen to her, Leaf."

    Janna told Leaf.

    "She''s the only person in the world that hates riding in carriages. For some reason, she gets sick from riding in carriages."

    "You and everyone else are the weird ones. How can you guys be fine after riding in those things?"

    "See, Leaf. She''s the weird one here. You''ll be fine in riding carriages."

    "But will I ever get to ride in one?"

    "Hmm? Why wouldn''t you?"

    "I mean...I don''t have....money."

    There was a moment of silence.

    "Haha, that''s what you''re worried about?"

    Janna laughed loudly. This made Leaf very embarrassed.

    "Leaf, you''ll make a lot of money in the future. There''s no need to worry about something like that."

    Thea comforted Leaf.

    "Anyways, it''s time to cook lunch. Thea, take out the ingredients."

    They made lunch and enjoyed the food before heading out again.

    "Wait."

    While walking, Janna suddenly shouted out.

    "W-what is it?"

    Leaf asked cautiously. Nem was looking around the area. And Gwyn was growling towards a direction.

    "It''s a monster."

    "A monster?!"

    When travelling along roads, a person encounters a monster once a day. That''s why they always have guards on carriages. Only strong people travel alone.

    The chances of encounter monsters goes up when you venture into the forests or places where there are no signs of humans.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Come Leaf."

    "What?"

    "You''re fighting the monster."

    "What?! B-but I don''t know how to!"

    "Then it''s time to learn."

    Janna pointed to the ground.

    "Stand here and face the monster."

    Leaf walked up but her face was extremely scared and nervous.

    "I won''t help you with it. It''s a no star monster."

    "Unnie..."

    Leaf looked at Thea for help. But Thea just shook her head without saying a word.

    "You''re on your own, Leaf. This is for your own good."

    A few moments later, something could be heard from around them. A low squeaking sound. Almost like a mouse. Then a figure appeared before Leaf.

    It was a weird decayed looking creature. It was small, only reaching to the height of Leaf''s knees. It''s overall shape was like a bird''s, a parrot like beak that had green and yellow mold in some spots. It had some feathers here and there, making it''s grey and ugly skin very visible.

    A disgusting pair of wings was on it''s sides. The wings couldn''t be used as it was very thin. It was almost only bones but there was some webbing connecting the bones.

    This was a no star monster, born from recently dead creatures. It was natural in this world. By killing other similar leveled monsters, it would be able to absorb energy and when it gets enough it will be able to evolve to one star.

    "I-I can''t do it."

    Leaf voiced out.

    "There is no ''I can''t do it''. You only have the choice of doing it."

    Janna gave some stern words to Leaf.

    "Use the spell I taught you."

    Thea finally spoke something.

    "R-rock bullet."

    Listening to Thea''s command gave enough courage to Leaf to use one of the most basic spell she learned from Thea.

    Leaf''s mana was of the earth element.

    She put her hands out and moved her mana. It flowed really smoothly. A mass of rock matter formed in front of her hands. It was barely the size of a finger nail.

    The monster didn''t stay put for Leaf to attack it. It quickly moved to attack Leaf before she could attack it.

    "Now!"

    Thea shouted for Leaf to launch the attack. It was either attack first or die in this type of situation.

    Leaf used her mana to launch the small rock at a fast speed towards the monster as according to the spell she was taught. But-

    She missed.

    She had aimed at the monster, of course. But her control of her mana was not good. It hadn''t even been a day since she learned to control her mana. Small loss of control during the shooting process caused her to miss the target.

    Now the target was going to attack her. There was no time to cast another spell. This was the end of the combat.

    Leaf closed her eyes in response to the monster jumping at her. It was going to attack her.

    But of course, it didn''t.

    "It''s fine, Leaf."

    She heard the voice of Janna and Thea together.

    She opened her eyes to see that Janna was holding the monster in her hand by the neck of it. The monster couldn''t move at all.

    "You did good."

    Thea told her.

    "But I missed?"

    "That doesn''t mean you didn''t do good."

    "Why did you do that?"

    Tears were forming in Leaf''s eyes.

    "I told you it''s what''s best for you. You''re too kind, Leaf. We were worried that you wouldn''t be able to fight a monster because of that."

    "I''m too...kind?"

    "Exactly. We''ve seen how you are everyday."

    "You''re always thinking of others first. And it made us worried, that you wouldn''t be able to attack when needed."

    "I''m sorry."

    "No, it''s not a bad thing. It''s one of the best qualities you have, Leaf."

    "But you said..."

    "You should be able to be kind and able to protect yourself. There is no need to forget kindness when attacking."

    "I understand."

    Leaf nodded her head in understanding.

    "Now, you still have finish the task, Leaf."

    "Mmm."

    Leaf nodded her head. She understood what she had to do.

    Janna was still holding the monster.

    "Are you ready?"

    She asked Leaf.

    "Yes!"

    Janna let the monster go. It dropped to the floor. It glared at Leaf.

    "Rock bullet!"

    Leaf once again gathered her mana. Formed a rock in front of her hands. But this time there was a determination in her eyes.

    The rock formed this time was bigger than before. Almost twice as big.

    She shot the rock. This time she did not miss. And the rock moved much faster than before. It pierced into the body of the monster.

    It was Leaf''s first monster kill.

    "How do you feel?"

    Thea asked her.

    "I feel bad."

    "That''s good. But remember, that thing was a monster. Killing it was actually an act of kindness from you."

    "I get it. It was already dead before."

    Leaf nodded her head. A moment later, Thea asked her a question.

    "Was it scary?"

    "Huh?"

    Leaf didn''t expect such a question.

    "Mm."

    She made a noise and nodded her head. Tears welled up in her eyes again.

    Thea pulled her into her arms.

    "It''s okay to be scared."

    She patted Leaf''s head. Leaf couldn''t hold it back and cried. Fighting against a monster was a very scary experience for a child of her age.

    After Leaf was done crying, it was time to move again.

    "Next, Nem will fight against a monster. Pay attention to how he fights, Leaf."

    Thea told Leaf.

    A couple hours later, they encountered another monster and it was Nem''s turn to fight. The fight was over in a second. Nem didn''t even give the monster time to look at him.

    "How can he attack without even thinking about it?"

    Leaf asked Thea.

    "Nem has a sense of survival. Actually, people of his race all have such an instinct. They don''t care about things like doing harm to monsters. They only care about themselves."

    "Isn''t that just being selfish?"

    "There are two reasons that make it not selfish. First, it''s not wrong to put your life before other''s. It''s the only thing you have after all. And secondly, they will put their own life in harms way first to protect the people they want to protect. It can''t be called a selfish instinct if they do that, right?"

    "I guess so."

    "You should learn to be a bit like Nem in this way."

    "Yes."

    After cleaning Nem up because he got blood from the monster on his hand, they headed out again.

    "Is Gwyn not going to fight?"

    Leaf asked.

    "It''s not that he can''t fight, but that there''s no need for him to fight."

    "What do you mean?"

    "You didn''t notice this, but I was blocking Gwyn''s aura since earlier."

    "Gwyn''s aura?"

    "Yes, all creatures have an aura. Even you and I. But ours is very small because we focus on magic instead. Aura is the power of the physical body. The more someone trains their body, the stronger their aura gets. And Gwyn, being a baby white wolf, was born with a strong body that gave him a strong aura. Monsters avoid beings that have stronger auras than them."

    "Does Janna Unnie also have it then?"

    "Yes, I do."

    "Anyways, let''s keep moving. We need to hurry if we want to reach the village in time."

    The days went by. Leaf got used to fighting against monsters. Now she could do it without much hesitation. And soon, they reached the city where the child with demon blood was located.

    "Wow! It''s a big city!"

    It was the kids'' first time seeing such a big city. They were all awed by it''s size. It easily had over a thousand people living in it.

    Such big cities weren''t rare, but half of the world''s population lived in small towns scattered all over. Usually having only around two hundred residents or less.

    There was a wooden wall built around the whole city. All cities build a wall because the world is a dangerous place. There are monsters all around and the wall helps keep the citizens safe.

    They walked to the gate where a few guards were stationed. After confirming that there wasn''t anything suspicious with them, they were allowed to enter the city.

    "The security''s pretty lacking."

    Janna commented. Remember, she used to work as an assistant knight. She would have seen many guards during her time.

    "They were barely paying attention."

    "I also felt the same. There''s also no protective magic cast on the walls."

    Usually mages would have the task of casting magic spells on a city''s outer walls. This was done so that people couldn''t just climb over the wall and get in.

    "And is it just me or is there something weird about this place?"

    Janna looked around as they walked through the city. There were a lot of people going about their lives. Doing normal daily activities. There were mothers going out to buy groceries. Kids playing with each other. Workers carrying materials through the street.

    It all looked normal. But there was something that Janna and Thea didn''t like.

    "I can''t put a pin on it."

    But they weren''t sure what it was.

    "But there''s a weird scent around."

    "A scent?"

    Janna could smell something.

    "It feels familiar, like a demon''s."

    "We are after a demon child, aren''t we? Could it be that?"

    "That''s not possible. Only pure blood demons leave a scent. And...would all the people also carry the same scent?"

    "You mean to say you smell it from all directions?"

    "I think so."

    Janna had a strong nose. She could pinpoint a locations smell within six meters in seconds. It was an ability that she was born with.

    "Unnie!"

    Suddenly, Leaf called out from behind.

    "What happened?"

    Turning around to look, Leaf was holding Nem in her arms. His face looked purple, like he was sick. Thea immediately got scared. She rushed over to Nem.

    "...dizzy..."

    Nem was able to express what he was feeling somehow.

    "I don''t know, he just suddenly pulled on my arm and said he felt sick."

    Thea checked him all over the body, looking for signs of wounds or anything that might''ve caused him to become like this. But then she realized.

    "The smell!"

    Being a beast-person, Nem had a much stronger nose than Janna. The scent of a demon was a strong negative smell. This was his first time smelling such a thing and he had a bad reaction to it.

    Thea covered Nem with her mana.

    "It takes time to get used to a demon''s scent. I''ll carry him for now. And let''s find a place to stay first."

    The small amount of demon scent around couldn''t penetrate Thea''s mana. The same was true for Gwyn. Being a white wolf, he was born with a good amount of mana which was the reason he was okay even though he had a significantly stronger nose than Nem.

    "We''ll wait for him to get used to the scent."

    After finding an inn to stay at, they spent the night there. Thea stayed up taking care of Nem.

    The next morning, Thea was slowly letting Nem become familiar with the demon scent. It took hours but Nem was finally able to tolerate it. It will take a while for Nem to become able to smell normally.

    "Let''s go."

    It was finally time to find the child with demon blood.

    "Hello there, pretty ladies!"

    A man by the front door of the inn called out to them.

    "Stay away."

    Janna showed him her fists and the man backed away.

    "Did you see that, Thea?"

    "I did."

    It''s not that Thea noticed the man. She couldn''t have missed that. What they had noticed was that compared to yesterday, nothing had changed.

    How could that be a bad thing? Wouldn''t things staying the same be a good thing?

    But what if literally everything stayed the same?

    Thea and Janna had noticed it. Yesterday, when booking the rooms for the inn, they first met the man. At the same spot, he said the same words.

    There was the innkeeper, a young brown haired girl wearing white clothes. She still stood at the exact same spot, giving them the same smile that they got when they walked in.

    Now, looking around the city, they could see that the people were anything but normal. The workers were moving the same materials back and forth. The same mothers were going out to buy groceries.

    The shops were full with the same people as before. And the kids were still at the same place playing.

    "They''re under some kind of spell."

    "A brainwash spell of some kind. It''s making them do the things they were doing when the spell was cast. Over and over."

    "How do we break it?"

    "Sadly, I can''t use nullification magic. So we''ll have to find the source of the spell."

    All magic that is cast on a large scale or meant to exist for a long time must have a source. Either a single magic circuit or a collection of circuits. The same thing is true with the orphanage, the magic circuits are kept in Thea''s workshop.

    Thea and the others headed to where Thea felt a concentration of mana. They failed to notice that someone who was in the shadows, observing them.

 Chapter 17: Saving the child with demon blood

    "A mage..."

    A figure standing in a dark alley muttered under it''s breath. And in seconds, it disappeared into the darkness.

    Thea and the others arrived before a house. It was separated from the other houses nearby. And there were barely any people around. Except there was a mob of people gathered at the front of the house.

    "Get him out here!"

    "Kill him!"

    "Hand it over!"

    There were various people shouting.

    "What are they doing?"

    Leaf asked.

    "It''s some kind of protest I think?"

    Janna answered, but she wasn''t sure herself.

    "They''re demanding the handing over of someone. And since it''s the house we were told about, they must be after the child."

    Thea made a guess. The location was the same as the house Silas told her about.

    "Let''s head in from the back. There''s too many people here."

    Walking to the back of the house, there was a door. It wasn''t locked, so Janna went in first.

    "Nothing''s wrong, come on in."

    After finding no traps or anything, they headed inside.

    "Who are you?!"

    Suddenly, someone came out from a room with a knife in their hand. It was a women in her thirties. Wearing an apron on top of a grey colored dress. It was more like a robe than a dress. And she had grey hair all over her head.

    There were also wrinkles on her face.

    "We''re not here to harm you! Please calm down."

    Janna quickly said as she raised her arms up. She was facing a civilian, so she couldn''t show hostility. Instead, she showed that she was surrendering to gain the other person''s trust.

    "W-why did you come in?"

    The women, now having calmed down a bit, asked a bit nervously.

    "We''re looking for-"

    Janna was about to say something, but her mouth was covered by Thea.

    "Let me handle this."

    Thea whispered to Janna.

    "Hello, ma''am. We just arrived in this city yesterday and couldn''t help but notice the strange things happening."

    "The strange things?"

    The women seemed to know something about the magic spell cast on this city.

    "Do you know anything about it?"

    "I-I-I don''t."

    The women denied knowing anything about it.

    "Please. If you know anything, please tell us. We can offer help."

    "Offer help? How could you offer help?"

    The women seemed to have heard something funny and laughed.

    "There''s no helping this city."

    "What do you mean?"

    "They deserve the curse cast on them."

    The women suddenly shouted. She was visibly angry.

    "All these years! They never offered us help! Always looking down on us! Always saying hateful things about us! Showing us those faces full of hate!"

    The women had been treated harshly throughout the years by the people of this city.

    "Ma''am. We''re not from this city. We can help you."

    Thea held the women''s hand.

    "...you can''t help...no one can..."

    The women showed a face that wanted help at first because of Thea''s words but then she showed a face that was void of any hope.

    "Where is your child?"

    Thea suddenly asked.

    "H-how do you know?!"

    The women was startled. She thought that they didn''t know since they were from outside the city.

    "That''s not important. We came here to help you and the child."

    "How can I...trust you?"

    "Unnie can really help you!"

    It was Leaf that responded to the question.

    "She''ll do everything to help you."

    "I see...follow me."

    Perhaps because it was a child that said it, but the woman put her trust in them. The woman stood up and guided them to a spot. She lifted up the rag on the floor and revealed a secret room. A basement room.

    It was barely three meters on each sides. It appeared to have been dug by hand.

    "There''s not much space, so only you come with me."

    The woman pointed at Thea. They headed down to see something on the floor. It was a person laying on the floor. The room was dark but the person was visible because there was a red glow on the person.

    "What happened to him?"

    The child appeared to be thirteen years old or so. But his hair was white in color. It was very unnatural.

    "It''s been happening for months now."

    The woman was holding back tears.

    "At first, it was just headaches. But now he isn''t even responding anymore. I can''t even hold him in my arms."

    The woman started crying. As a mother, not being able to hold your own child that you spent years raising in your arms is one of the most hurtful things to the soul.

    "Is it because of the red glow?"

    "...yes. If I approach it, it makes my hands hurt."

    "I see..."

    Thea could see the glow. It was actually the same as mana. But it was different somehow. Mana of nature is blue or white in color. Of course, there are exceptions. The golden mana of the worshipers of the god of the sun is one such mana.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Thea has never heard of a red colored mana. But through the clues, it is not hard to understand it.

    ''It must be the mana of demons. True demons.''

    Demons were a class of monsters as stated in the adventurers'' guild''s guidebook. And most of them were disgusting meat blobs that went around by sliding on the floor. They had the mana of monsters, a gray colored mana.

    But what if it were demons of four stars? Would their mana be the same? The mana of liches changes to a purple color when they reach five stars. There are many other monsters whose mana changes color as they evolve. There is no reason for demons to not also change.

    But there has never been a record of demons evolving to four stars or above. All four star and above demons always seem to appear from thin air. It was quite rare to see demons actually. Janna had seen one from afar during her time as a knight. The other senior knights handled it while she was at the back protecting citizens.

    Thea put her hands on the child on the floor.

    "Wait stop!"

    The woman tried to stop Thea because she knew that it would hurt her. But Thea didn''t stop. She covered her body with her mana.

    "H-how?"

    The woman saw as Thea was able to touch the boy.

    "I''ll check on him first."

    Thea opened the boy''s shirt to reveal a black mark on his chest. It was a circular shape with a symbol in the middle and lines of unknown language on the outside.

    "Do you know anything about this?"

    "No, that wasn''t there before."

    "I need you to do something for me."

    "Yes? What is it? I''ll do anything."

    "Can you go up and explain to the black haired girl about this? I need something from her that will help me."

    "Yes, of course. I''ll be right back."

    The woman left the secret basement and came up to the surface when the base was covered in a barrier.

    "What?! Wait!"

    The woman banged on the barrier but nothing happened.

    "Let me back in!"

    She demanded but nothing happened.

    "What happened?"

    Janna who was standing around asked.

    "You! Tell her to let me back in!"

    Since she couldn''t ask Thea to let her in, her desperation naturally turned to the people that came with Thea.

    "Please explain what happened first. Why did you come outside?"

    The woman explained everything that happened.

    "So she didn''t want you there."

    That was the conclusion that Janna came to.

    "Didn''t want me there?"

    "Thea is not the type of person to not think things through. If she didn''t want you there, then there must be a reason."

    "What could be the reason? Why can''t I be there?"

    The woman was desperately asking. She, as a mother, wanted to be close to her child who was in a state where life and death was uncertain.

    "I don''t know. But please trust Thea. She won''t bring any harm to your child."

    The woman was crying. She felt useless and powerless as a mother.

    Inside the basement, after Thea had sent the mother away, Thea was beginning to examine the boy.

    "You must be scared."

    She talked to the boy. The boy''s eyes looked at Thea. His red irises were full of pain. A deep suffering behind them was apparent. The boy was actually not unconscious. He faked it so that his mother wouldn''t see him suffer. And perhaps he didn''t want to see his mother suffer.

    Thea could feel the pain of the child.

    "You''ve been brave, kid. I''ll do everything I can to save you. But I need you to be strong for a little bit more. Just this one time and you won''t suffer anymore."

    The boy nodded his head slightly. He didn''t have much hope. Why would someone help him now when his family had been suffering for years because of his birth?

    But he wanted a chance to live with his mother for longer.

    "I''ll begin now...sorry, this will hurt."

    Thea poured her mana into the boy''s body. She had noticed one detail earlier when she arrived and held the boy. When the red mana clashed with her mana, they annihilated each other.

    So if she could use her mana to annihilate all the red mana, it would be fine. The strange unknown magic circle would lose it''s power source and cease to function. But the problem was that most of the red mana was inside of the boy''s body.

    Only Janna could handle Thea''s vast amount of mana unharmed. It was because of the special connection they had. If her mana went into the body of someone else, it would leave severe and even permanent damage.

    She would have done some research on the magic circle on the boy''s chest to think of another way to save him. But there was no time for it. Whatever the circle was meant to do, it was almost the time for it to do it.

    As Thea poured in her mana into the boy, there were screams for a while. But they then disappeared as the boy fainted.

    Underneath the skin, where the unknown language was written, it was like the roots of a tree.

    Thea took great care to eliminate most of the red mana in the boy''s body. She also tried her best to bring as little harm as she could. But it was not possible for her to eliminate all of the traces.

    First, she couldn''t go too deep under the skin. She could only eliminate the top layer of the red mana. If she went too deep, the damage would be too much and irreversible. The middle of the body still had a lot of the red mana left that didn''t come up to the surface.

    And more importantly, the real source of the red mana still remained. And it''s location was a big problem. It was near the heart, or maybe even inside the heart. Thea couldn''t be sure because she can''t sense it without causing irreparable damage.

    What Thea was doing right now was basically a band-aid solution that didn''t fix the root problem. But it was good enough for now.

    The unknow strange characters disappeared and the red mana was subsided.

    Thea made the barrier go away and brought the kid up to the surface.

    "Son!"

    Thea handed the child to his mother, who was finally able to hold her child.

    "Thank you..."

    The mother thanked Thea.

    "I just did what anyone should."

    While treating the boy just now, she noticed that by removing the circle, a signal of it''s destruction was sent out to somewhere. Probably the person who made it.

    Thea turned towards Janna.

    "We need t..."

    "Open the door!"

    As Thea was speaking, there was a shout from the door. Followed by loud banging on the door.

    "Why are the people at your door?"

    Thea asked the mother.

    "They think we had something to do with the sickness going around for the past month."

    "A sickness?"

    "I don''t know if it was caused by my son...but he''s been sick for much longer."

    "Don''t worry, he''s not the cause of it. Please wait for a bit."

    Thea cast a sound blocking spell around the room. The shouts and banging on the door were immediately cut. She then pulled Janna aside to talk.

    "I''m thinking a demon is behind the sickness."

    Thea told Janna.

    "And it''s controlling them through that?"

    "Yeah, it must be some form of magic that''s causing the disease. That''s why you could smell a demon''s scent on them."

    "So we just have to destroy the magic, right? Can''t you find the core?"

    "It''s not that easy. We have already found the core of the spell."

    "You don''t mean?!"

    The boy was being used as the core of the magic.

    "Isn''t there another way?"

    "We have to kill the demon who put the magic circle on him. If the intent of the circle is gone, then the circle should disappear too."

    "Can you find the demon?"

    "I don''t think we need to. Since I broke the magic circle, it should be coming to find us. Like, right now as we speak!"

    "So we''re fighting here? But the people?!"

    Janna suddenly realized.

    "I''ll take the demon on by myself while you get the people away from the fight."

    Thea was going to hold the attention of the demon by herself while Janna evacuated the civilians.

    "Can you do it alone?"

    "Of course. I can at least hold on until you come back."

    While Thea had insane amounts of mana in her body, she was only a three star mage, a high mage. The ability of a mage depended on many factors, including how they can use their magic. For Thea, she always relied on power. She would put a huge amount of mana into a spell and overwhelm her opponents.

    But there were a lot of problems with this method of hers. First, she can''t control the power of the spell. Like only the ashes of bone hound gang leader remaining after being hit with a flame tornado from Thea. Thea has to be careful to concentrate the power in one place so that others don''t get harmed. Or to not destroy the city in the process.

    Secondly, it''s not hard to dodge an attack from Thea if you''re just a bit fast. And most people would be able to dodge her attack.

    Third, the demon was at least a four star. It would be a hard fight for Thea alone.

    "Are you sure?"

    "It''s fine. I can hold on until you come."

    After the plan was made, they walked through the front door. They told the people to leave but the people weren''t listening to them. They demanded that the child be handed over. That was until two figures showed up on the roof of a nearby building.

    "What''s that?"

    "Hey, maybe we should listen to them?"

    The people finally started to pay attention to the two of them. They started to run away.

    But the demons saw that happen and jumped down the building.

    "Hey, triangle face and flabby whacker."

    But they were met with Thea. Her insults were accurate to their description.

    They were both red colored and had weird slouched bodies. And both of them had bat like wings in the back. But their faces were different from one another.

    One had a triangle-ish face, and seemed more feminine. And the other had a big round face, with several big warts all over the face. Almost like a whack a mole game table. Except for the fact they had a head, two arms and two legs, they were nothing like humans. They were truly demons.

    "What did you just say, human?"

    The triangle faced demon spoke up to Thea. Her face was facing towards Thea but her eyes were moving around.

    "I said, come fight me triangle bitch."

    "You''ll regret saying that!"

    The demon got angry at Thea''s insult. It was exactly as Thea wanted. To hold the demon''s attention until Janna got everyone away. But she hadn''t expected there to be two demons.

    "Karvaan, attack her."

    The demon order Karvaan, the round faced demon to attack. Karvaan started to grow big in size, almost doubling his height. And his muscles also grew.

    It was a weird technique. Maybe it was magic, or maybe it was a trait of demons. But Thea didn''t have time to think about it as Karvaan struck down at Thea.

    Thea was able to dodge because it was a very slow attack.

    ''Where did the other one go?''

    But in that moment, the triangle faced demon disappeared from Thea''s sight.

    "Looking for me?"

    There was a whisper from behind Thea.

    Not giving any thought, Thea threw a burst of fire towards her back immediately. A wave of fire flew towards her back. But there was no one there.

    "Where are you looking?"

    Karvaan attacked again. Thea was able to dodge, but the attack seemed a bit closer than before.

    ''I need to take care of the triangle face first.''

    The big guy''s punches were not difficult to dodge. The real trouble was the other demon, she seemed to be a speed type demon. Just now, if she had attacked, Thea wouldn''t have been able to block. Of course, her basic mana shield would have blocked the attack.

    "Hehehe, we''re just getting started."

    The demon laughed. A fog started to form around Thea. The surroundings became shrouded and the sky darkened. It became hard to see much. Even the big figure of Karvaan started to be blocked.

    ''Shit. This just became so much harder.''

 Chapter 18: Super Karvaan

    The fog blocked Thea''s view of her surroundings. It was thick enough to even block the huge figure of Karvaan.

    Thea prepared to command wind to clear up the space around her. But a shadow from above her headed towards her location. Thea abandoned the thought and dodged to her left.

    A successful dodge. But this dodge was too close for comfort. And it was not over yet.

    As Thea dodged and the fist was heading down. A chain like sound could be heard. But the sound felt a bit off, it was not the sound of metal bumping into metal. It was more like stones dragging on other stones.

    A hook appeared from the fog, heading towards Thea. The hook was transparent and red. It looked to be made of mana. It was some kind of magic spell.

    The hook struck Thea''s right arm and bounced off. Thea''s simple magic barrier had blocked the magic attack.

    The strength of the barrier faded a bit. A magic barrier can absorb a certain amount of damage before it needed to be recast.

    Magic barrier is a three star magic spell. It''s one of the more difficult spells to cast as it requires a lot of knowledge. It has to be able to block physical attacks, elemental attacks, and mental attacks.

    Recasting it takes a few minutes at least for a seasoned mage. All types of magic depend on the knowledge or familiarity that a person has with the type of magic it is.

    For example, a fire mage would be able to cast the spell flame burst significantly faster than a water mage. It is just how magic works.

    Though Thea could use mana directly to form a barrier, that requires a significant amount of mana usage. And it is not efficient. By magnitudes of hundreds. As logic helps to guide mana and perform significantly better results.

    The hook thrown by the female demon was bounced off and the attack from Karvaan landed on empty space once again.

    Thea took the chance to chance to cast a simple fireball spell and threw it at the hand of Karvaan before he took his hand back up.

    The attack hit and there was a scorch mark. The area where the attack hit was turned a little dark.

    ''Tssk. He has thick skin also?''

    Karvaan was like a huge gorilla. He had a huge body, strong defense and strong power. Thankfully, he didn''t have the speed that real gorillas had.

    Well, it was like that at first.

    ''He''s getting faster.''

    Every time he attacked, the attack was faster. As if he was just warming up his body. Soon, it''ll be impossible for Thea to dodge. It was time to go on the offensive.

    Thea is a mage. But when you think of a mage, what do you imagine? Normally, you would imagine someone wearing a robe and holding a wand or staff. Looking quite intelligent and wise.

    Thea did not fit the image of a mage. She wore things like pants, trousers and long skirts. Never has she worn anything like a robe. All her clothes were loose and easy to move in.

    She didn''t even own a wand or a staff, the significant tool of a mage. A mage was seen as a long range position in a battle, like an archer but they used magic instead. Wands and staves help to focus mana when casting spells, increasing the speed and accuracy of the user.

    Most mages benefit from these tools, but not Thea as wands and staves explode when held in her hands. There was the chance that the top tier tools could be used by her but the problem with those was Thea''s lack of money. The only thing that Thea had created that could make her money was the water making tool that fetched thirty thousand on it''s first selling. But it''s value quickly fell as people realized the output was too low to be useful.

    It was only useable because Thea''s mana supplying it. Thus, it was able to create water for a lot more people. But it was worthless for others.

    In the end. she had to use magic without tools, and only rely on her mind and hands. But that made her excel at close ranged combat. She wasn''t as good as people that solely focus on training their ability to fight hand to hand.

    But she could hold her own against foes.

    A moment after Thea decided to switch to being on the offensive, a red shine appeared on Thea''s skin. Like a viscous layer of jelly about two centimeter thick.

    This was a type of body strengthening magic. Specifically, it was only the type of magic that increased power. It was the most basic form of magic that fighters applied.

    The logic behind it was simple in that it created fake muscles made of mana and increased the power output of the caster''s muscles. The more someone trains their body, the better the effect of this spell. Of course, this was the lowest of the lowest body strengthening spell that even kids could learn.

    It''s weakness was it''s simplicity. It just was not efficient and it''s output was not good enough. Any kid who learned it would move on to learn better spells within days.

    But it was good enough for Thea until now as her mana would fill in the holes of the spell, making it a useable spell.

    Karvaan lifted his fist back up and prepared to attack another time. The sound of chains rattling once again rang out as a semi-transparent hook flew out from the fog.

    This time however, Thea sent a punch towards the hook. The red jelly like layer of mana and the hook clashed. The hook bounced off and fell to the floor. Thea wasn''t fast enough to catch the hook in mid-air.

    As the hook fell to the floor, Karvaan launched another punch down. But this time, he was met with a counter attack. Thea punched directly towards the incoming fist. The forces cancelled out each other. The fake muscles absorbed most of the counter force and Thea was fine.

    The back and forth continued. But Thea was at a disadvantage. The magic she had cast was very taxing on the caster''s body. She only had a few minutes until her muscle fatigue would be too much and the magic would turn off.

    And her mana barrier was on the verge of shattering. She couldn''t block anymore attacks from the two.

    She needed Janna to arrive fast. But for some reason, she was taking longer than Thea had expected.

    ''Could something have happened?''

    A thought occurred in in Thea''s mind. She was too caught up in the possibility of Janna and the kids encountering a dangerous situation that she failed to block the hook heading towards her.

    Her magic barrier broke.

    The hook was finally able to land on her body. It stuck to her back and pulled her. The female demon laughed as she pull in the chain. Thea was now directly in Karvaan''s attack. Up until now, she had been deflecting the attack to the side while punching back. But now she was right in the center of the fist and there was no time for her to block.Stolen story; please report.

    The attack hit Thea and she took the full force of the attack. There was a loud bang as the fist struck down. It immediately came to a halt.

    The ground was destroyed and clouds of dust flew up.

    "Is she dead?"

    The demon with the triangular face reappeared and asked the brute demon.

    "No, Karch. It felt like I hit a rock."

    Karvaan waved his arm and the wind moved along with the motion. He cleared the dust away and revealed what had happened.

    Moments before the attack struck, Thea moved the ground and formed a wall of rocks to block the impact. It had worked but there were serious repercussions to her actions.

    Thea stood there with her arm bleeding. It was red and a bit bloated. What had happened was Thea is not supposed to be able to move the ground like that.

    First, she didn''t have any earth elemental mana. Her mana was primarily fire and water as second. A three star mage is not able to use mana of a different type because there are restrictions in place.

    Of course there are ways to pass this restriction. One is to become a higher rank mage where the vessel of mana goes through an awakening. The second is to pay a big price.

    The price can be two things. The body or mana. Normally, Thea uses her mana to pay the price. For example, when she uses wind to fly around. But that method is very slow and thus only useable in some cases. Like when she lifting herself and flying around takes a dozen seconds.

    The other method is fast but not practical. The mana rushes out in a fraction of a second and does what the mage wants. But that destroys the body in the process. The damage can be limited by the pushing mana from the arms or legs, so that the heart or vital organs are not damaged.

    Thea stood there with her bloody left arm. She had pushed her mana to the left arm, thus only limiting the damage to that area. But now she couldn''t use her left arm.

    ''Shit. Four star demons are such a pain.''

    Thea was really struggling to fight two four star demons by herself. Her life was in danger.

    "Still alive, huh?"

    Karch, the triangle faced demon, sneered at Thea.

    "...don''t worry..."

    Thea slowly voiced out.

    "What?"

    "You won''t be seeing me for long."

    As Thea said that, she raised her functional right arm and launched herself towards Karch.

    "HAHA! What do you think you are doing?"

    Karch laughed at the attempt of Thea. She jumped back to dodge Thea''s fist.

    "What?!"

    The ground moved and locked her lower body down. She couldn''t jump back. Just now, when Thea used earth magic to make a wall. She also cast a spell of earth binding. She had hoped that Karch would reappear.

    With Karch locked down for the moment, it was the opportunity Thea needed. She put all the magic she could to her right fist. The red muscles from the body strengthening magic all gathered at her fist. And her fire mana also gathered at her fist.

    The fist lit up from the fire mana. It was a powerful fire fist attack. Karch couldn''t dodge and was hit directly to her chest.

    "Karch!"

    The brute, Karvaan, shouted.

    He threw a punch towards Thea. But his attention wasn''t at Thea so he was slow and Thea was able to jump away.

    "Karch! Are you okay?"

    "K...k..."

    Half of Karch''s chest had been blown up by Thea''s full power punch. But she was still grinning and laughing even though her laugh was barely audible.

    Thea was able to take care of at least one demon by herself. But now her hand was injured. It was scorched from the fire. It wasn''t serious as the body strengthening magic had absorbed most of the heat. But it still was affected and would be hard to move it until it was healed.

    Something unexpected happened as Thea was catching her breath.

    Karvaan moved his arm and held Karch in his hand. He then picked her up.

    ''What is he doing?''

    Thea was flabbergasted as she watched Karvaan open his mouth and swallow Karch whole.

    A gulp sound reverberated.

    Karvaan''s body changed color. Karvaan''s blue color combined with Karch''s red color and his skin turned purple. He grew smaller and became almost human like. Before, he had a weird curve in his back, but now he stood straight and tall.

    "Thea!"

    From faraway, Janna finally arrived. Karvaan didn''t react.

    "What happened?"

    She asked Thea.

    "I think he absorbed the other demon''s energy."

    "Sorry for being late. There was a third demon."

    Janna looked at Thea''s injuries and felt apologetic.

    "Are the kids okay?"

    "Yes, no harm was done to them."

    "Good. Are you ready for the fight?"

    "Are you kidding? I''m always ready."

    A burst of fog spewed out from Karvaan''s body. He opened his eyes to look at Thea and Janna.

    "Another human? You think just two of you can stop me?"

    His voice had changed. It felt more feminine than before. But also more human.

    "Well, it doesn''t matter. You''re both dying here today."

    Karvaan''s new body had a few features. First, it was much smaller than before. Second, there was a red aura around him. And lastly, his hands had turned into the hooks that Karch was throwing at Thea earlier.

    He crouched a bit and jumped at Thea. His speed was much faster than before. He expected to kill Thea in one hit. Even though he was a demon, he also felt sadness for losing Karch in battle.

    However, as his hook was heading for Thea''s head, it was deflected. Janna had swung her sword at the same time and the direction of the attack was changed.

    "Don''t forget me."

    Janna said to Karvaan.

    "Hmph, so you blocked once. But how many times can you block? I''m only starting."

    Karvaan attacked once again. And was blocked by Janna once more.

    While the only thing Thea had was her mana, Janna excelled at multiple things. Her speed, attack, and defensive capabilities were all the best. But she lacked mana.

    The human body can only reach a certain level, Janna already reached that level at a very young age and couldn''t go beyond. All fighters afterwards learn to incorporate mana into their bodies to become even stronger. This type of technique was entirely different from mages'' magic and was separately called aura.

    But Janna was born without mana. Rather, her mana had no elemental affinity. It was a weird situation that no one doctor or mage could solve. She couldn''t use it to train Aura because there are no techniques in the world based on elemental-less mana.

    That was until she met Janna and they used a different technique. She was able to train her aura even though she had no mana. And at the age of sixteen, she was already a three star swordswoman.

    "You can attack us all you want, but can you block my attack?"

    Janna had only been defending until now. She swung her sword at Karvaan. It was fast and aiming for his torso.

    "Hmph, you think your sword can hurt me?"

    Janna''s sword struck his torso and the sound of hitting a board rang out. But there was only a small sword mark.

    "Your sword won''t cut my skin!"

    "What is that?"

    Janna was taken aback. Her sword had never failed to strike down her foe before. This was a first.

    "Janna, he already had strong skin before but now it''s even stronger."

    "Does he have any weakness?"

    "Haha, come up with a plan all you want. You''ll fail in the end."

    With his growth in power, Karvaan also became arrogant.

    "Let''s stop holding back, Thea."

    "Alright."

    "What are you two doing?"

    Karvaan was standing to the side, watching. He didn''t think Thea and Janna were any trouble to him so he let them be.

    "Hehe, struggle all you want. After you''re dead, the vessel will be ours once again."

    "The vessel?"

    Thea''s ears perked up at the words of Karvaan.

    "No use telling someone who I''m going to kill."

    Although Karvaan wanted to act like he was lazy to share, but the truth was that he didn''t know the details himself. He was only sent to complete the ritual.

    "Whatever, thanks for giving us a clue. Now die."

    At Thea''s words, Janna ran towards Karvaan. But this time, it was different.

    There was a red glow around Janna. The same glow as what Thea had before. The body strengthening magic. But it was much more compact and it was a different type of technique. This was the real body strengthening technique used by fighters. It''s effect was directly on the muscles and the body unlike creating the fake muscles like Thea.

    But Janna shouldn''t be able to use mana since she was born without the ability to do so. However, the special magic spell that Thea and Janna had come up with was that when Janna was close by to Thea, she can use Thea''s mana as her own.

    Janna''s sword was also covered in the red glow. She attacked Karvaan again.

    "Hmph, tricks!"

    Karvaan used his hook hands to take on the sword strike. There was a sound of metal hitting and a spark in the air.

    "You''re stronger now. But it''s not enough!"

    Karvaan pushed away Janna''s sword with a burst of strength.

    "Did you forget me?"

    Thea took the chance and was already within an arms distance to Karvaan.

    It wasn''t only Janna that received benefits from the special spell, Thea could similarly use Janna''s physical attributes. Her speed was significantly raised.

    Her fist held a ball of red hot fire and she pushed it into Karvaan''s face. Earlier, Karvaan''s skin was damaged by Thea''s haphazard fireball. This fireball was a much stronger one than that.

    There was a explosion as Karvaan''s head was engulfed in flames rising two meter high. Thea tried to control her mana input as much as she could, but the result was a huge out of control fire.

    Karvaan screamed in pain.

    "When will you be able to control your power, Thea?"

    "Who knows? Maybe it''s tomorrow."

    "You wish."

    "Haha. At least you have some control."

    The magic spell also shared the ability to control mana from Janna. But since Janna wasn''t born with mana that she could use, she wasn''t good at it either.

    "You should train more."

    "I already train the sword. And I already reached the limit of what little mana control I could train."

    "Ha...why is life so difficult..."

    Thea complained about the difficulty of their lives.

    "We were just born unlucky."

    Janna said as she nodded her head in agreement to Thea.

    "Hehe."

    But suddenly, Karvaan''s laugh sounded out again.

 Chapter 19: Karchs evolution

    "He''s still alive?"

    "I hit him hard but I guess it didn''t work."

    Karvaan''s body was laying on the floor after the fire from Thea''s attack had went out. It was charred black from the fire and he wasn''t making any sounds, so they had thought that he had been killed.

    Thea and Janna took a combative stance, in anticipation of Karvaan attacking.

    Suddenly, Karvaan''s arms moved. The muscles twitched and wiggled. His hook hands transformed back into hands. His arms positioned like a person doing pushups and he lifted himself up.

    His upper body was basically gone. It was like charcoal on top of human-like legs. But the charred remains started to crumble and reveal a new layer of skin underneath. And soon a face appeared.

    Karch!

    It was the other demon that Karvaan had swallowed. But her skin was more red and crimson than before. Her face was more human like and almost beautiful.

    The rest of Karvaan''s body crumbled away, revealing the new body of Karch. An adult female figure with sexy curves. However, her skin was still not human. It was crimson red and had the texture of an animal''s skin. The transformed Karch fell to the floor.

    "Kekeke!"

    Karch stood on her knees, supported by two hooks. And she was laughing creepily.

    "What''s that? I feel a lot of power from her."

    Janna felt a pressure from the transformed Karch. Like the air was pressing down on her.

    "She''s learned to use aura."

    Thea could tell immediately. The whole feeling she got from Karch had changed. She was now much more dangerous than before. A completely different danger.

    "Don''t let your guard down, Janna."

    "I won''t."

    Janna''s eyes focused on Karch. Her body prepared and her grip on her sword tightened. This felt like the time she was an assistant knight. Although she only saw the senior knights and the king fight the demon from afar, she clearly remembered the pressure the demon exerted on the whole army.

    It felt like this. It made Janna''s blood rush. A desire to fight against a strong opponent.

    Janna was watching the demon when the demon stood up and started to speak.

    "Y...you...killed...Kar...."

    It was an anger filled voice.

    "Are you...feeling sad?"

    Thea looked at Karch and asked. The curious learner she was, Thea just couldn''t help but try to understand the emotions of a demon.

    "S-sad? SAD?! ME?!!"

    Karch shouted. She bent her body forward and rushed at Thea. Her face was full of rage.

    Karch''s speed was faster than Karvaan. Thea could barely react. Thankfully, Janna was around. As Karch was running towards Thea single-mindedly, Janna''s sword swung at her.

    It was a direct hit since Karch was only focused on Thea.

    Or so it seemed.

    Janna felt her sword being pulled. Karch''s hook was around her sword blade and she pulled on it. Janna quickly moved her sword down and got it released from the hook.

    ''I didn''t see her move the hook.''

    Janna was shocked for a moment. Karch had become so fast that she couldn''t even see her move her hand.

    ''Am I gonna have to use that?''

    "You''re weak!"

    Karch shouted as she swung her hook in a large motion towards Janna. Janna moved her sword to block. She was able to block but her arms felt numb from the impact.

    At this moment, Thea suddenly appeared behind Karch.

    "What?! How?"

    Even Karch was surprised, she was keeping Thea''s location all this time. She could feel Thea''s presence from another place when it suddenly appeared behind her.

    On Thea''s hand was the teleportation ring that she had gotten from looting the bone hound gang leader. She had taken it out from her magic bag earlier when she gave the bag to Leaf.

    But Thea was reluctant to use it as she was unsure how much of her mana the ring could handle. And she was correct to be worried as a small cracks formed on the ring.

    If the fight went on for any longer, and she used the ring a few more times, then the ring might get destroyed. But now was not the time to care.

    Thea took the chance to put her hands on Karch''s body. And she moved her mana around her hand. Fire abrupted from her hands. She had cast fireball spells where her hands were.

    It maximized the damage done to the target, but it also damaged the user in close proximity.

    "Thea!"

    Janna saw this and was shocked.

    "I''m fine! Kill her!"

    Thea shouted from the fire.

    With no time to think, Janna swung her sword overhead towards Karch''s head. She was aiming for a quick kill by splitting her head.

    Janna''s sword was heading towards Karch''s head when there the sound of chains. Janna''s sword was stopped right before it hit Karch''s head.

    "Keke...did you think that was it?"

    Karch talked. She twist her body and hit Thea in the stomach, knocking Thea away.

    Karch''s chain that she had before attached to her hook had become invisible. And seemed to be moving according to Karch''s will. As Janna''s sword had been stopped mid-air even though there was no support for the chains.

    "I don''t know what you did but that won''t surprise me again."

    Karch turned to look towards Thea. But there was no response.

    "Hello?"

    Karch called out to Thea but there was still no response. Even Karch was astonished. She didn''t think her hit could have knocked out Thea.

    "Looks like I couldn''t control my strength. So it''s only you left."

    Not paying attention to Thea anymore, Karch turned to look at Janna.

    "...No..."

    Janna was stunned herself. There was a shocked look on her face. It wasn''t known if her best friend was even alive. Understanding the situation, Janna burst with anger.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    She charged towards Karch much more violently then before. She didn''t care about her safety and was rushing head first.

    She swung her sword at Karch who was able to deflect it pretty easily.

    "What''s got you so angry? You''ll see her soon anyways."

    Even while deflecting, Karch was gloating. She was easily defending Janna''s attacks.

    "Are all you humans so weak? It''s honestly so pathetic."

    Karch''s hook weapon glew and was enveloped in the red aura of demons. She hit Janna''s sword with it, knocking Janna and the sword away.

    Janna was hit against a wall and her sword was knocked a bit to her left.

    There was blood everywhere. It was a horrible scene.

    "Is that all? You''re not even fun to play with."

    Karch looked as Janna moved her body. It was very slow, there was almost no strength in her body. She slowly lifted her hand towards her sword, crawling ever so closer to the sword.

    "Pathetic. If you''re weak, then know your place."

    Karch laughed as she swung her hook to Janna''s head. This was the end for Janna. There was nothing she could do to dodge. All the strength in her body had been used up.

    "HAHA!"

    Karch was laughing loudly. Was this really the end?

    Karch''s hook was bounced off the air, just before it could hurt Janna.

    "What?!"

    Like an invisible wall, the reverse impact made Karch take a step back.

    "What is this?"

    Karch looked at Janna and asked.

    "Why are you asking me?"

    The just now basically dead and struggling Janna stood up. All of her strength seemed to have magically returned. She picked up her sword and pointed the pointy end of the sword towards a hole in a wall.

    "You should be asking her."

    "H-how?!"

    From the rubble where Thea was thrown earlier, the rubble moved and a light blue haired lady walked out.

    "How are you moving?"

    Karch was sure she had knocked out Thea before with her attack.

    "It''s simple."

    Thea talked while walking closer.

    "We''re not as weak as you believe."

    She raised her hand and raised her middle finger to Karch.

    At the same time, the ground beneath Karch was lit ablaze. A magic circle around her formed and fire was spewed out.

    It was a pillar of high temperature flames, molten red colored. There was an invisible barrier around the center that was blocking the fire from escaping to the surrounding. The flame was escaping through the top.

    After a few seconds, the flames stopped. In the center was the burnt crisp body of Karch. Still standing, but she didn''t seem to be alive anymore.

    "...mas...ter..."

    She muttered as her body fell to the ground.

    The fight was over. It was a hard fought battle that took everything from Thea and Janna to win.

    "Thea!"

    Janna walked up and caught the falling Thea. Thea had fainted. She had used multiple magic spells beyond her rank and caused severe damage to her body.

    "Hmm?"

    While carrying Thea in her arms, Janna noticed the burnt body of Karch slowly crumbling away. It was the same as when the other big demon was killed earlier.

    Karch''s body disappeared into the wind and revealed a dark colored orb on the ground.

    Janna picked it up, knowing that Thea would love to research it.

    She then walked back to where the others had been evacuated while carrying Thea in her arms.

    "Unnie!"

    Leaf rushed out from the crowd of people. But when she saw Janna carrying Thea in her arms, tears burst out.

    "No! Unnie..."

    "She''s just fainted."

    Janna quickly cleared up the huge misunderstanding of Leaf.

    "Oh..."

    Leaf, now knowing that Thea wasn''t dead, smiled as she hugged Thea.

    "Where are the others?"

    "Oh, hurry! They need help!"

    "What happened?"

    "Just hurry!"

    Janna followed as they walked through the crowd of people. They all stared at Janna and Thea.

    "Grr!"

    "Woof! Woof!"

    Janna could hear the sound of Nem and Gwyn through the chatter of the crowd.

    "Stay back!"

    She walked upon a scene of them and the mother and child from before being surrounded by a bunch of men. Some of them were wearing armor and holding weapons.

    "What happened here?"

    There were a bunch of people knocked out on the ground.

    "Hurry and stop them, Janna Unnie."

    "Alright."

    Janna walked up to the four people. Leaf followed closely behind her. She put Thea down against Gwyn''s body.

    "All of you!"

    She stood in front of them and shouted.

    "I just killed three demons, if any one of you takes a single step forward...I won''t hesitate to strike you."

    The people had observed earlier when Janna killed the third demon. They didn''t underestimate her strength. Some of them backed off immediately. But some remained.

    "We just want the child."

    One of the people still holding their weapon said. It was obvious which child they wanted. They thought that all the misery had been caused by the child with demon blood flowing in his veins.

    "You''re gonna have to go through me if you want the child."

    Janna pointed her sword at the man who spoke up.

    "Are you confident enough to defeat me?"

    Janna''s voiced was heavy on their hearts. They weren''t seasoned warriors, just some ordinary citizens. At most, they had fights with low rank monsters. Janna''s voice carried a weight that they hadn''t felt before.

    It waned the confidence of the majority of them. But a few young folks still remained. Some brave souls.

    "Why are you still trying to fight?"

    "B...because if that kid lives, our lives will be miserable."

    One person spoke up. It was a teenager. It looked like he was almost turning into an adult.

    "You''re brave."

    Janna commented on the bravery it took to still stand while everyone else had backed down.

    "T-thank you."

    The boy was complimented and responded.

    "But don''t get it wrong. If you''re still wanting to fight, that bravery of yours won''t help."

    Janna took a step forward.

    "In a fight, it''s strength that matters."

    She took another step forward and stood in front of the teenager.

    "Are you ready to die?"

    The boy dropped his sword in fear.

    "Good choice."

    Janna turned her scary face back to her usual happy and smiling face. The darkness from her face disappeared. Everyone''s tension subsided a level.

    "And don''t worry. You won''t have to deal with the child you hate so much."

    "What do you mean?"

    Someone from the crowd asked.

    "We''re taking him with us out of this city."

    After hearing that, the crowd of people started to go away. Only a few remained, most of them were guards in the town that wanted to keep an eye on the outsiders.

    "Let''s leave this town fast."

    Janna muttered under her breath. Janna didn''t like the people of this town. Without understanding anything, they were angry at a child that didn''t do anything.

    "Madam."

    Janna walked up to the mother who was named Eimta.

    "You''re going with us right?"

    Even though Janna had said that they were leaving the city, it wasn''t actually talked about with the family members themselves.

    "...yes."

    Eimta gave a nod. She too hated this city that made them suffer for over a decade and wanted to leave.

    "But..."

    Eimta wanted to take some things from her house. So they went to the house to take the items. She picked out a few boxes of things and held on to them.

    "Is that all?"

    "Yes, that''s it. I can''t carry any of the other things."

    "Who said you''re the one carrying stuff? Just take everything that belongs to you and put it in this."

    Janna put down a leather bag. It was Thea''s leather bag. After telling Eimta about the magical features of the bag, Eimta went around and put everything into the bag. Clothes, rugs, wall mirrors, literally everything.

    "It''s really fine, right?"

    "Uuh, yeah."

    Janna thought she would put more clothes into Thea''s bag, not the whole house.

    A few minutes later, Eimta had emptied her house into Thea''s magic bag.

    "That''s all, right?"

    "Yes, now we just need to get my husband. He works on the farms to the south."

    "We''ll hire a carriage first and pick him up on the way."

    The group went to a place with horse drawn carriages, it belonged to a merchant group since merchant were over half the customers of these carriages. It was a good business. The rest of the clients were adventurers on quests and ordinary people.

    Sitting in the carriage, they left the city. They picked up the husband along the way. The carriage was crowded with so many people.

    "Stop moving!"

    Gwyn hated being in the carriage and was kicking around.

    "Where''s Nem?"

    "He''s on the roof, Janna Unnie."

    "Get back down here! It''s dangerous to be on top of a moving carriage."

    It was chaotic.

    "Is Unnie going to wake up soon?"

    "Yeah, yeah. Don''t worry about it. She''s fine."

    Janna casually said as she was trying to get Nem down.

    "I hope so."

    But Leaf couldn''t help but worry about Thea.

    "I find it weird."

    "Huh? What''s weird?"

    Janna sat down with a defeated Nem in her hands.

    "You two had so many wounds on your bodies but now there''s nothing. Not even a scar."

    It was true, the fight with the demons didn''t come without damage. They lost a lot of blood and their bodies were full of open wounds. But now there was nothing, no sign of any fight. Well, except the damage to the clothes.

    "Oh, that...it''s a secret. I can''t tell you."

    Leaf made a pouty face and the little grumbly noise in the throat that kids make when displeased.

    "Don''t be mad. It''s a family matter."

    Leaf nodded her head in response. She really wanted to know but it wasn''t right for her to be displeased from not knowing.

    "....ugh..."

    "Unnie!"

    Thea slowly opened her eyes, finally having rested enough from the fight.

    "Where am I?"

    "We''re going back home."

    "Already? Ugh, my head..."

    Thea held her forehead as she felt a sharp headache.

    "Are you alright?"

    "Yeah, yeah. I''m fine....it''s just my head."

    Thea could feel something else.

    "This...this feeling."

    "What''s wrong?"

    Janna asked Thea.

    "I think I''m ranking up."

    "Now?"

    Janna was startled.

    "No, not now. I can set up a barrier before that. There''s enough time."

    "Phew."

    Janna sighed a breath of relief. What had gotten her so worried?

    "Why are you so worried?"

    It was Leaf that asked.

    "Thea taught you about mage evolution, right?"

    "Yes. It''s when the mage''s body goes through a change and they get becoming stronger."

    "Well, that''s simplify it. Your whole body''s mana gets changed with a higher quality mana. So where do you think the original mana goes?"

    "Into the environment?"

    "That''s right."

    "And...more is released when you''re a higher rank mage?!"

    "Good thinking, Leaf. That''s exactly it. The release of mana is very explosive, because it also changes the body to allow for better mana control. And that can hurt the people around."

    The day went by fast while riding in the carriage. Around evening the next day, they arrived to the orphanage.

    "Waa! We''re back!"

    The kids were happy to be back. They ran into the building immediately. Nothing is better than home.

 Chapter 20: A childrens story

    "We''re hungry!"

    Nem shouted while sitting on the living room couch.

    The group had just gotten back and it was night time already.

    "Should we go out and eat today?"

    Janna suggested. Normally, she would be cooking but they had just gotten back and it had been an exhausting few days of travel.

    "Janna...suggesting eating outside food?"

    The suggestion from Janna shocked everyone in the room.

    "What? Why''s everyone looking at me like that?"

    Janna didn''t understand what they were doing. Thea and the kids hadn''t eaten outside food one time since Janna came to the orphanage. Janna always prepared sufficient amount of food for them to eat. It was healthy, delicious and filling food.

    So they didn''t even think of eating outside food for the whole time.

    "Are you angry at me?"

    Nem walked up to Janna and pulled on her shirt.

    "What? Why are you saying that?"

    "I''m sorry, I did a bad thing..."

    "No, I''m not angry. Thea! What are you teaching this kid?"

    "Why are you asking me? Why are you angry at us?"

    "When am I angry at you lot?"

    "Then why did you suggest eating from outside?"

    "What? I''m just saying there''s no time."

    It was late in the evening and Janna didn''t have time to prepare food.

    "She has no time for us."

    Thea put on a shocked face.

    "Stop making that face."

    There was a bump on Thea''s head afterwards. They followed Janna as they went out to eat.

    They went to a restaurant called the Little Laguna. It was the most popular restaurant that popped up in the past months since people started coming here.

    "Hello. How many people do you have?"

    A person greeted the group at the front gate. She wore blue colored employee uniform.

    "We have five people."

    "Sorry? Are you counting the dog?"

    "Yes, is there a problem?"

    "Umm, sorry but we don''t allow animals into the restaurant."

    The employee answered.

    "If you''re worried about him spreading fur, then don''t bother worrying."

    "No, it''s not that. Our policy is no animals allowed since it will disturb the other customers. We are terribly sorry."

    "Well, can you make an exception? He won''t do anything that will disturb the others."

    "I''m really sorry, but I can''t make any exceptions."

    "Oh man. Let''s go."

    They turned around to leave and check at another place.

    "Hey, let them in."

    Someone from inside the shop shouted. The restaurant had an open structure. And Janna''s words could be heard inside by the people close to the entrance

    And one of the customers had shouted to let the group in.

    "Sorry, but the restaurant''s rule stay the same."

    The employee was flustered. She had never encountered such a situation. She didn''t know what to do.

    "Don''t you know who they are?"

    Another customer stated.

    "It doesn''t matter who they are, no animals are allowed inside."

    "That''s Thea, the whole reason you can be here in the first place. Are you really gonna not let her through?"

    "Thea?"

    The other customers, who were further in, that hadn''t paid any attention since earlier turned their heads. Their ears perked up at the mention of Thea''s name.

    "Thea''s here?"

    It seemed like everyone knew who Thea was. Some left their seats and came up to the entrance.

    "What happened?"

    "She said Thea''s not allowed to come in because she''s got a dog with her."

    "Let her through."

    One person shouted.

    "Yeah, let her in."

    The others joined. This prompted the manager to come in person. After the employee informed the manager of what had happened. The manager came up to Thea''s group.

    "We are very sorry to have inconvenienced you, Miss Thea."

    The manager made a bow towards the group. It shocked even the employee from before.

    "Miss Thea, you are always welcomed here. We do not mind if you bring along any animals. Please come in."

    "There''s no need to do this. We will follow the rules, same as everyone else."

    "NO!"

    The manager suddenly shouted. It shocked everyone here because up till now, the manage had showed a calm appearance. And now they shouted with a desperate tone. As if the manager''s life depended on it.

    "You have to let me repay you, Miss Thea."

    The manager added some explanation. But it still did not explain anything.

    "Repay you?"

    Thea asked the manager.

    "Do you remember...a few months back, you gave water to some people on the road when you were passing by?"

    "Uuh, I don''t remember such a thing. Sorry."

    "Ah, that''s fine..."

    The manager looked dejected. A sad expression appeared on their face.

    "We were a group of twenty people travelling on the road from the South. And we had run out of water for a few days. Miss Thea was walking in the same direction as us and you used magic to fill up our water source. It was only thanks to you..."

    The manager appeared emotional.

    "...that my daughter and the other children survived."This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Oh..."

    Everyone around gasped and awed. They looked at Thea like she was a saint.

    "So please! Let my restaurant serve you."

    "If that''s the case, then we won''t reject your sincerity."

    "Yes, thank you. Please come to the second floor."

    The second floor was for people that were more important. Like merchants and minor nobles that were passing by. This restaurant was the best one in this region but it was a far cry from being suitable for famous merchants and nobles to enjoy a meal at. They would call it eating from a dog''s plate.

    "I thank you for your consideration. But there is one thing you people got wrong."

    "Sorry?"

    The manager didn''t know what to say.

    "Gwyn is not a dog. He is a white wolf, and he hates being called a dog."

    Thea''s words reverberated throughout the crowd. The crowd turned to look at Gwyn. Gwyn was standing there on his four paws, with his tongue out and a happy expression on his face. His tail was wagging left and right.

    Other than the fact that Gwyn was larger than a normal dog, there was nothing about him to suggest that he wasn''t a dog. The crowd was confused by Thea''s words.

    "Why are you guys looking at him like that?"

    Thea saw their looks at Gwyn.

    "N-nothing. So he''s a wolf. We understand."

    The crowd collectively agreed to call Gwyn a wolf.

    The manager brought Thea and the group upstairs.

    "Wow."

    The place was decorated like painting. The roof let in moonlight and gave the whole place a blue hue. In the center was a pond and waterfall that made the place have a cool feeling. They were going for a riverside restaurant feeling.

    "It''s a great day to come here today."

    The manager said.

    "Is that so?"

    "Ah, do you perhaps not know?"

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about."

    "Really, Unnie? Even we know about it."

    Leaf said that everyone knew. It seemed only Thea was unaware. This was normal because Thea was aloof most of the time and didn''t pay attention to things much. Like how she helped the manager of the restaurant only a few months ago but had already forgotten it.

    "Tonight''s the night of the moon goddess, Selene!"

    Leaf said.

    "I''ve never heard of it."

    Thea replied.

    "The moon of Selene disappears for twenty three years and reappears for two year. They are many stories about it."

    "It seems you''re very excited about this moon? Are the stories that good?"

    "Yes, the stories are amazing."

    "Tell me about them then."

    Leaf told Thea about the story of the moon goddess. One day, the sun god, Zatiax, the same god the Sol empire worships, stole away the beloved moon of the goddess. The goddess cried every day after that and the other moons felt her sadness. So the moons used their mystical moonlight to bless a single mother.

    The boy was born with the blessings of the moons. The boy would have luck and strength in his life. Because of this blessing, he found many opportunities in life to help people and become even stronger. They called him the hero of the moon as a result.

    And on the twenty third year since the disappearance of the moon, the hero would steal the moon back from the sun god and gift it to the moon goddess. The goddess was very happy and joyful so she asked the hero for a wish. The hero said that he didn''t want anything in return and only wanted to see the moon high in the sky every night.

    The goddess fell in love with the hero at that point so she used her power to make the moon be the center of attention during the night. Every night, the people of the world would look up and see the moon.

    But it also blessed the people and the land. So the moon also brought luck to the people. It gave bountiful harvests to the farmers. Inspirations to writers. Mages'' would experience faster growth. And warriors would be blessed with a stronger body.

    But two years later, the hero would marry a woman and break the goddess'' heart. She took the moon away and kept it hidden. But it''s said the hero''s child would look up at the moon when he''s grown up and the goddess would look back. Reminded of the hero, she would put the moon back out for the people to see. And thus, the cycle of the moon disappearing and reappear began.

    "Wow...that is so tragic. So the goddess is forever reminded of her love by her love''s future generations? Even after the hero has passed away."

    Thea came to this conclusion.

    "No, no. The message is that anybody could be the hero and bless the world if they catch the attention of the moon goddess."

    Janna told Thea what the original message of the story was.

    "How am I supposed to understand that? And wasn''t the hero a man in the story? How are little girls supposed to relate to that?"

    "The goddess looks at the soul of the person..."

    Janna shyly said.

    "How is that not a leap of logic?"

    "It''s a story for children. So who cares if there''s a few holes?"

    "Ok, ok, Janna. Why are you getting mad?"

    Janna''s voice was getting annoyed at Thea''s questions.

    "Wait a second. Do you still believe that story?"

    Thea came to a conclusion.

    "S-so what if I do?"

    "Haha, you still believe in a children''s story. Do you want me to read it the next time you go to bed?"

    Thea was hit in the head by the red-faced Janna.

    "Please order some food."

    The poor manager was still standing to their side and was waiting for them to order.

    "Ah."

    Coming to their senses, the group ordered some food.

    The dishes came out pretty quickly. While they were eating the food, Janna found the food not good enough and was shouting at the manager to cook the food better the next time.

    It was rude, of course. But the manager saw the insight of a great cook that Janna was giving and was writing down everything. There was even an audience of chefs around Janna. It was quite the scene.

    "Ah, that was good."

    "Are we getting dessert?"

    "Sure, why not?"

    As they planned to order some dessert, some people walked up to the group.

    "What the hell is this?"

    It was a group of six people. They had rugged appearances. All of them wore armor and had swords, shields or bows. On their belts were hanging badges. They were silver in color and there was a mark on them.

    A group of D rank adventurers. The one standing at the front had big muscles and looked like a seasoned warrior.

    "Why is a dog allowed up here? Do I have to eat with dogs now?"

    The other people were silent. In this small town with a couple hundred people, D rank adventurers were the top bunch and everyone had to walk carefully around them.

    Since this restaurant was the best one in the town, these adventurers came here to eat everyday. They were treated as VIPs of the restaurant. Today, they had come to eat as usual and saw that the place that they ate at had a dog from nowhere eating also. This made them angered.

    "Ah, Sir Benoik. Please don''t mind them. You can come sit and order from that table."

    One of the employees walked up to the group''s leader, the one at the front. He pointed towards another table.

    "What did you just say?"

    "I said you can order from-"

    "You think I''m deaf?"

    The man suddenly held the employee''s neck and picked him up.

    "Why the hell is there a dog where I eat my food?"

    The man shouted.

    "Throw it out, right now."

    The man demanded.

    "Hey."

    The calm voice of Janna sounded out. But her face was anything but calm. It was annoyed and gave a chill to the people sitting in the restaurant.

    "Put him down."

    She said calmly. The man didn''t put down the employee but walked in front of Janna.

    "Who let you command me?"

    "I''ll say it one more time. Put. Him. Down."

    Janna stood up. Her eyes were looking up at the man''s eyes. It was like the eyes of a tiger. An angry tiger.

    "What if I don''t?"

    "Then I''ll have to beat you up."

    "You..."

    The man threw the employee away. He then threw a punch towards Janna. But before the punch could reach her, Janna jabbed the man''s face with her own fist.

    The man took a step back. He held on to his face. When he looked at his hand, there was blood from his nose bleeding.

    "How dare YOU?!"

    He shouted. He took of the sword that was hanging on his back.

    "Kill her."

    He commanded the other adventurers to attack together.

    "Don''t think about leaving here alive."

    The man shouted and rushed at Janna. He wasn''t really that fast in swinging the sword. There was power behind it but it was slow. Janna maneuvered just enough to avoid the sword and counter-attack by hitting the man''s wrist.

    The man''s sword fell down to the ground. The other five attack but Janna easily avoided them. They were nothing like their leader. They were much weaker and slower than him.

    "Pathetic. You guys are D rank adventurers?"

    Janna had seen adventurers in her life, a lot of them actually. She used to be a gate guard to get some experience. She had seen quite a lot of D rank adventurers and could tell these guys were not at that level.

    "Is the guild just handing out a badge to any worm that crawls by these days?"

    "You....you''ll regret this."

    "Sure I will. Get the hell out of here, you worms."

    The men dragged away their leader. They walked out looking miserable.

    "Sorry, manager."

    "It''s fine. I just hope they don''t come back to cause more trouble."

    "You should file a complain with the guild. The threat of getting their badge taken away will keep them from causing trouble here."

    "Yes, I plan to do that. You were going to order desserts, correct? What would you like?"

    The group ordered dessert.

    "What is that, Unnie?"

    "It''s called cherry cheesecake. You want to try some?"

    Leaf ordered a chocolate cake piece for herself but was interested in what Thea ordered. Dessert was the reason the restaurant was popular. There was no other place here that could serve desserts like these.

    "Yum!"

    Thea gave Leaf a spoonful of the cherry cheesecake.

    "You should order it next time."

    "Yes!"

    Though the price of the dessert was very high because of the difficulty in making them.

    After enjoying the desserts, the group paid and left.

    "Why was it so expensive..."

    Thea was thinking about how much she just had to pay.

    "I''m really gonna have to focus on those magic artifacts from now on."

    Thea had a lot of magic artifact research to do. Like the mana to water conversion artifact that produced infinite water, that even ordinary people could use. Or the tool that emits fire. Or the magic axe tool that cuts down trees in one shop.

    There were also ideas of combat artifacts. The craft of magic artifacts was not respected in this world. People found it very difficult to engrave magic circles on to the materials. So nobody really researched it. It was only Thea that was interested in this craft.

    "Can you make one that can make me fly?"

    Suddenly, Leaf asked Thea for a custom item.

    "Well, I can make you fly already, you know?"

    "Yes, but what if you''re not around and I want to fly?"

    "That''s true. I''ll try to make it."

    "I also want other kids to experience flying."

    "Oh, you don''t want to keep all the fun to yourself, huh? That''s so like you, Leaf."

    Leaf felt happy to be praised by Thea.

    "Ah, look!"

    Janna pointed towards the sky suddenly and called out to the others. In the sky, something wonderful was happening.

    It was like the sky was a painting. The usual sky was a lot more colorful as the stars shone with rainbow like colors. All the stars blurred a bit as the attention was drawn to something new in the sky.

    A new moon, much bigger than the other moons, hung high in the sky. The clouds swirled under the moon as if they wanted everyone to see the moon in all it''s glory.

    It was a bright white silver colored moon. Closer to white. It was marvelous.

    "Wow."

    The group and everyone around awed at the sight. It felt like a wave of mysterious energy suddenly swept through the land and lifted everyone''s spirits.

    "It''s so beautiful..."

    Leaf said softly. She turned to look at Thea.

    Thea had also witnessed the moon. She found it beautiful too. But after laying her eyes on it, she felt stabs in her body. She felt her consciousness fade away immediately afterwards. The last thing she saw was Leaf shouting her name and Janna rushing towards her.

    And she felt something weird in her abdomen.

 Chapter 21: While Thea was unconscious

    "Come on, use your strength."

    In front of the adventurers'' guild building, a group of people were carrying a person in armor to the front door. It was the same few people who had picked a fight with Janna at the Little Laguna. They were carry Sir Benoik on the back as he had been knocked unconscious by Janna.

    "Wait, is that...?"

    "Isn''t that the guild''s ace?"

    "That''s the D rank Benoik and his party, right?"

    The other adventurers around were moving out of the way. Everyone knew of this party and their attitude on the daily basis, so they moved out of the way to avoid causing any problems with them. But everyone was curious of what happened to their leader for him to be knocked out.

    Rushing through the door, the party found a healer inside. Every guild building must have at least one healer present in the building, for emergencies and stuff. So a healer quickly rushed and helped their leader.

    "What happened here?"

    A female walked up to the party. A dark skinned female with a fit body and short black hair. She was wearing a black buttoned female suit with a light blue colored shirt underneath. And long black pants that widened at the bottom.

    It was Lexx Nylore, the guildmaster. The one who runs everything in the guild.

    "We got in a fight with someone."

    "I have eyes, okay? I can see that myself. I''m asking how did the best warrior in our guild come back with a broken jaw?"

    "She was too fast for us. It was a bad fight."

    "And who was this person?"

    "I don''t know. But she was with that blue haired owner of the orphanage."

    "Thea?"

    "Yeah, her."

    "Tsk. Why the hell did you dumbasses pick a fight with her?"

    Lexx was in a sour mood. Anger could easily been seen on her face. It was already a bad thing that the best adventurer of the guild was picking a fight with someone else. But it also had to be a VIP person.

    "Get me a report on this."

    Lexx ordered the staff to investigate and went to her office. Since it happened in a place full of people, which included many adventurers, a report was produced pretty quickly.

    "So the one who defeated Benoik is called Janna Everlotte? Is she who I think she is?"

    "Yes, she''s the only daughter of the royal Everlotte family of the Ruwel kingdom."

    It was Sophily that delivered the report to Lexx. She overheard Thea''s name and took the opportunity to meddle in the situation. For some reason, Sophily found herself very interested in the things that go on around Thea.

    "What are you going to do?"

    Sophily asked.

    "Isn''t it so embarrassing? The Everlotte family is famous for being righteous people. And a member of our guild was abusing his power in front of one of them."

    "Is it that big of an issue?"

    "You don''t know because you just started but if the people on top hear about this then we''ll be in big trouble. More importantly, the people settling here will be in big trouble."

    "The people will be in big trouble?"

    "Yeah, think about it. Who will hunt down the monsters in the area? The guild exists to protect the people from monsters by exterminating them. And if the place is attacked by monsters or something else, then we can immediately respond and help."

    "So the people will be doomed if the guild is in trouble itself."

    "Exactly, we receive capital from the nearest guild branch. And if they think we don''t need it then we can''t pay anyone in the guild."

    "Then no one will go out to hunt the monsters and the monster population will increase."

    "And finally they''ll attack the town after gathering, because that''s what monsters do. Everyone will be left to die."

    "Ah, a monster wave."

    Sophily remembered the term from a lesson from her teacher. It was a common event in small cities and towns.

    "We''ll have to apologizes to Thea and this Everlotte family member. One complaint from them to the guild branch and we''ll be under trouble."

    "What do you plan to do?"

    "I''ll go myself to apologize. This is too important and I need to show my sincerity."

    "Ok, I should try to limit the spread of this information, correct?"

    "Yes, you understand quickly."

    "I''ll head out the-what''s that?"

    Before Sophily could leave, she wanted to more about something on the table. She had noticed it as soon as she came into the room because she was trained to always pay attention to her surroundings. It was a crucial skill of being an espionage expert.

    "This?"

    Lexx took up a piece of paper.

    "This is from last week when I sent you to take pictures of our amazing hero defeating the lindworm."

    It had been over a week since Thea had killed the lindworm and stolen the hero''s sword. Around 10 days. And in that time, she fought and killed demons in another city.

    "When they printed out the pictures, I found a few of these...weird pictures. I was going to ask you about them later since you took them."

    On Lexx''s desk were a bunch of pictures, some were of the hero, some of the lindworm, but the ones Lexx was pointing to were the ones in the middle. It was blurred pictures of someone. A person standing there with blue colored hair. And they were standing in front of the hero and casting magic of some kind.

    Sophily was very nervous right now. She had taken pictures of the hero and accidently took some of Thea too.

    "Do you know who this is?"

    It seemed Lexx didn''t know who the person in the pictures was. The photo was extremely blurred and the person''s face couldn''t be seen. Only feature that could be seen were the blue colored hair.

    "I don''t know. I didn''t see their face."

    "I see...this person didn''t stick around?"

    "No, I don''t think so. I was far away from battle but I didn''t see anyone after the lindworm was killed."

    "And the hero was alone?"Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    "No, he had a few people with him. They were already fighting when I got there."

    "We need to find this person in the picture."

    "Why''s that? Weren''t they in the hero''s party?"

    "No, there''s no mention of this person. This person stole the monster''s core and needs to be found. Our guild can''t have a stain like this. We''ll be laughed at by the other guild branches."

    "I''m really sorry, I can''t help at all."

    "No, no. It''s fine. I didn''t expect you to know anything anyways. Don''t worry about it."

    "I''ll tell you first thing if I learn any more information. I''ll be leaving now."

    Sophily left the room. At which point, Lexx took out a letter from her desk.

    "''Find this person immediately. Share every information, no matter how small.'' Argh, how am I supposed to find someone when I don''t even know a single detail about them."

    Lexx read a few sentences in the letter and complained.

    "All I know is that they have blue hair, that''s all."

    It seemed Lexx didn''t think the culprit was Thea.

    Three days later.

    "Why?!"

    Lexx was on her desk, fuming. Sophily and a few others were standing in front of her.

    "Why won''t they meet me?!"

    Lexx had gone to Thea''s orphanage for the past three days. And every single time, no one answered her at the door.

    "Are you sure they are at home?"

    "Yes. I''m sure they are living there. I heard them in the garden at the back."

    Lexx answered in anger.

    "Guild master, did you do something to make them hate you?"

    "What the hell do you think I did?"

    "Sorry for asking."

    The guild employee felt embarrassed for asking that question.

    "Maybe they just don''t want to see people right now?"

    Sophily, the culprit behind why Lexx couldn''t meet with Thea and Janna, spoke up.

    "Your report said that Thea was carried out of the restaurant by the Everlotte, correct?"

    "Yes, something happened and Thea fainted in the restaurant. I believe the mood right now at the orphanage is not good."

    "If we offer some healing items, do you think they''ll meet us at least?"

    Lexx came up with a plan.

    At the orphanage, Leaf was in the garden practicing mana control. She had been diligently training her ability to control mana. And she was slowly increasing her mana levels.

    But she had trouble focusing for the past three days since Thea suddenly fainted.

    "When are you waking up, Unnie?"

    She was talking to herself while feeling sad.

    "Hey!"

    Suddenly, she heard a faint whisper. Turning towards the small tree spouting in the middle of the garden, she spotted a faint light.

    "Temtem!"

    It was the little fairy Leaf saw last time.

    "How have you been?"

    "What would happen to me?"

    "No, I mean like have you been happy?"

    "Happy? That''s what I should be asking you. You looked so sad like you''re about to cry."

    "That''s because I am sad. Thea Unnie fainted and isn''t waking up."

    "Are you really sad?"

    "Yes, of course I am. Why do you ask?"

    "Well, it''s just....I saw her bullying you last time...and then she took you away..."

    "What are you saying? Who bullied me?"

    "That blue hair woman! I saw her shouting at you and then made you stand her all alone for the whole day."

    Temtem suddenly became furious and was shouting.

    "Oh, that....you got it wrong, Temtem. Thea Unnie was helping me."

    "Whaa?"

    Temtem was confused.

    "She was helping you by bullying you?"

    "First of all, she didn''t bully me. And I chose to stand there myself. Thea Unnie was only helping me. Okay?"

    "Then why did she take you away for so many days?"

    "We went on a trip to help someone."

    "So she didn''t take you away because she''s bad?"

    "No, she didn''t. Did you come here to tell me you think Thea Unnie is evil?"

    "No, I didn''t say that."

    "Then why did you come here? I thought you didn''t want to talk to any humans?"

    "It''s...just...."

    "Yes?"

    "I saw you being sad! And I started to feel sad!"

    Temtem said with her face turning red.

    "So Temtem cares about me?!"

    "No-no I don''t."

    Temtem was shy about revealing her feelings.

    "I just came to give you this."

    Temtem took out a flower from her back. And gave it Leaf. It was a small green petal flower. It had five swirling petals. It was beautiful.

    "Thank you, Temtem. It''s lovely."

    "Eat it."

    "Do what now?"

    "Eat it now."

    "Why would I eat a flower that''s so beautiful? Why would you want me to?"

    "Stop asking questions and eat it!"

    Temtem flew to Leaf''s hand and took the flower. She then flew to Leaf''s face and shoved the flower in her mouth.

    "Ahh!"

    Leaf chewed on the flower in her mouth and it released sweet liquid.

    "Mmn. This is so delicious!"

    Leaf found the taste to be amazingly good.

    "It''s like it melted in my mouth. Wow, I''m amazed by the taste. What did you feed you?"

    "I think you humans call it a mystic flower?"

    Temtem said while not really understanding herself.

    "Never heard of it."

    Leaf hadn''t learned of it yet from Thea. If Thea had been here, or basically any mage, they would be shouting and screaming. A mystic flower is one of the rarest things in the world. It''s a plant that''s been modified by mana.

    It''s so rare that even if someone searches for it for a hundred years, they might not find it. It''s a mythical object to mages as the consumption of it does amazing things for mages. It clears the mana channels in the body, enhances the quality and quantity of mana, increases affinity with the elements and basically just overall improves all abilities related to mana massively.

    "Anyways, you''re a fairy so you must know everything happening in the forest. Is there any healing herb that''s really good for humans in the forest?"

    "Of course, I know every little thing that happens in the forest."

    Temtem held her head high and put her hand on her chest. She felt proud of herself.

    "Then can you get one for Unnie?"

    "For that bully?"

    "You call her a bully one more time and I''ll never talk to you again."

    Leaf was showing Temtem some seriously angry eyes.

    "Okay, okay. I won''t say it again. But the herbs won''t help her."

    "What do you mean by that?"

    "There''s nothing wrong with her body. From what I saw, her mana was all so...chaotic and swirling around inside her body."

    "Isn''t that bad?"

    "Not really, I didn''t feel anything bad from it. So she''ll be fine."

    "If something happens to Unnie, you have to tell me."

    Temtem laughed it off. She gave Leaf some peace.

    -----

    In a building, somewhere, a fight had just taken place.

    There were dead bodies lying all over the floor. The wooded floor was drenched blood. A man in white clothing walked out from the back. His hand held a long thin blade that was still dripping from blood.

    But his clothes didn''t have a single drop of blood. He had killed everyone in this place all by himself, and masterfully so.

    As he walked out of the front door, he stopped. The evening sun revealed his face. A face full of white beard. A head full of white silver hair. But his skin wasn''t that of an old man. He just had white hair.

    Rennet was a blue rank swordmaster, the 5 star sword wielder equivalent to a mage.

    "What do you want? I completed my mission and now I''m off-duty."

    Rennet said to the empty air.

    "You have a new mission."

    But a voice came out from above Rennet. A man in a dark robe had appeared.

    "I''m not taking a new mission. I said I''m off-duty."

    "It''s from the king, so you don''t have a choice."

    "What is it?"

    Hearing that the mission was from the king himself, Rennet immediately knew that he couldn''t refuse. So he asked for the details instead.

    Rennet was a beast-person, specifically a bear type beastman. He had a lot of strength naturally and held the sword at a very young age. But he had hit his skill ceiling in the past decade and was stuck as a blue rank swordmaster.

    He worked as a mercenary these days to earn money for his family. The pay was great as he occasionally got missions from high ups.

    "The mission..."

    The shadowy figure then explained the mission to Rennet.

    ---

    On a bed, Thea was lying unconscious. This was her room. A very messy room with all kinds of materials thrown all over the place. There were flowers, herbs, rocks, minerals and anything else you could think of.

    On the side of the bed, Janna had just walked in. She had been taking care of Thea for the past three days while she was passed out.

    "Thea?!"

    When she walked in, her footsteps made some noise. And Thea''s eyes twitched in response.

    "Thea?! Wake up!"

    Janna held Thea''s hand and urged her to wake up. And Thea opened her eyes slowly.

    "...ugh...."

    Thea made a low grumble noise.

    "...Janna?"

    "Thea! You''re awake!"

    "What?"

    It seemed Thea still was not fully awake.

    "Unnie?!"

    Janna''s shout a dozen seconds ago had been heard by Leaf. She rushed in and jumped to Thea.

    "You''re awake!"

    She hugged Thea tight. But Janna pulled her arms away from Thea and picked her up.

    "Stop it. She just woke up. Do you want to make her pass out again?"

    "...sorry."

    Janna put her down gently. Nem and Gwyn also came in but they didn''t rush and hug Thea. Gwyn licked Thea''s hand and Nem stood by quietly.

    "What happened?"

    Thea spoke up. Her voice was a bit raspy.

    "You don''t remember anything?"

    Janna asked Thea.

    "I....think I saw the moon at the end?"

    "You saw the new moon and passed out."

    "I was...in a dream..."

    "What was the dream?"

    "I was on the moon...with this giant lady. She was like a marble statue, only she was shining like the moon. I saw...she was lonely. And very very sad. It felt so real."

    "I''m just glad you''re awake now. No more dreaming for you today. I''m preparing so much food that you''ll burst like a balloon."

    Janna left them alone and went to make food.

    "She''s so shy, isn''t she? She never shows herself being sad in front of other people."

    "Not even you?"

    Leaf asked Thea.

    "Well, I''ve seen her cry a few times. You can''t imagine this but she used to worry and sulk all the time. She''s all grown up now but she still hides her sadness."

    "Why do you sound like a granny that''s talking about her daughter?"

    "Haha. Maybe I''ll talk about you like that too when you grow up."

    Thea pinched Leaf''s cheek playfully.

    "Ow."

    "Nem."

    Thea turned towards Nem, who was quietly standing in the corner.

    "Don''t just stand there, come here."

    Nem slowly moved, but only took a step or two forward.

    "Come on."

    He took a few more steps and stood in front of Thea. Thea put her arms around him and pulled him into her embrace.

    Nem started to cry while hugging back Thea.

    "There, there."

    He too was hiding his emotions like Janna.

    After a while, Nem stopped crying.

    "No matter what happens. Until you''re all grown up, I won''t leave you guys here alone. You don''t have to worry about me leaving you guys."

    "Yes, Unnie!"

    Leaf and Nem answered together. Gwyn also barked.

    "Are you fine now?"

    Suddenly from behind Leaf''s head, a voice came out. It was Temtem.

    "My my, who is your little cute and adorable friend here, Leaf?"

 Chapter 22: New element

    "My my, who is your little cute and adorable friend here, Leaf?"

    "Oh, uuh...hello."

    Thea''s compliments flustered Temtem.

    "Her name is Temtem. Actually, I gave her the name myself."

    "Temtem, hello. I am feeling perfectly fine now. Thank you for caring."

    "Well, it''s good that you''re fine. Now Leaf doesn''t have to feel sad anymore. Promise that you won''t make her sad again!"

    Temtem got really demanding towards the end.

    "Yes, yes. I promise."

    Thea looked at the children around her. She felt she had to protect herself so that she could protect them.

    "Hmm, I said I feel fine but I also feel different."

    "I also feel like you changed."

    Temtem added.

    "Let''s see."

    Thea held out her hand. She stretched her index finger out and concentrated. She divided her mana a few times and pushed it out of her finger. And there, a flame appeared.

    "Wow."

    Thea exclaimed.

    "This is elemental creation."

    Thea moved her mana more and made a circle out of fire. What Thea was doing right now was different from before when she made fire. For mages that are three star and below, there are two ways to create magic of their respective elements.

    One is the normal method of forging a pattern through mana, a magic circle. This is done by either directly drawing a magic circle in the air or using an item with a magic engraving. The mage has to study for years, understand the elements, understand the logic behind the patterns and finally utilize the magic circle. This is the safe method.

    The second is to brute force it. Using your will and sacrificing the mana channels in the body, the mage can bring out power that they cannot wield normally. This is reserved for emergency situations usually. Thea used this technique during her fight with the demons. But only because she knew that there would be no permanent damage due to Janna.

    The second method usually means the end of a mage''s life of magic since it destroys the magic pathways.

    But after reaching four stars, the mana channels clear up and the body evolves. It allows for a mage to let mana flow through the body unobstructed and have a better control over the mana in the body overall. And so using only will of oneself alone, a mage can generate elements without needing magic circles.

    It was still better to use circles because of efficiency and complexity of the producible magic spells. You wouldn''t want to will fireballs repeatedly into existence. It would take too much effort. A magic circle that creates fireballs is much easier to do.

    Thea looked at her hand.

    "This means I have reached four star rank."

    "Didn''t you say that there would be an explosion if that happened?"

    Leaf remembered Thea talking about it in the carriage.

    "I know, this is so mysterious."

    Thea looked inwards to her mana channels. The flow and quantity of mana seemed to have stayed about the same. Normally, a mage sees an increase but for Thea it was barely noticeable. What was more important was that her control seemed to have doubled or even tripled. How much it actually increased was something that needed to be check after getting familiar with the new upgraded body.

    While looking inside her body, Thea noticed something. Something weird. A foreign structure but something that also felt familiar.

    It was fully constructed with mana.

    "I need to head to the garden."

    Thea wasn''t sure what it was so she wanted to go to the backyard area to check it out immediately.

    "NO! NO!"

    But her plan was thumped by an angry Leaf.

    "How can you even think about leaving your bed when you''re sick?"

    "Eh? But I have to..."

    "Go, Nem. Call Janna Unnie, we''re making a complain."

    "Wait, wait! Stop, don''t call her."

    "Okay, Nem. Wait. It seems Thea Unnie is willing to listen after all."

    Leaf had learned that Thea''s one weakness was Janna''s disappointment. Thea didn''t want to make Janna disappointed by anything she does.

    "Now here''s what''s gonna happen, Unnie."

    Leaf looked like an angry mother scolding her young kid for eating ice cream late at night.

    "You will stay in bed until we say it is okay to leave the bed."

    "Yes..."

    Though Thea was reluctant, she had to listen to the children''s demands.

    "Can I at least get my books?"

    Thea was talking about her research books. It had all types of concepts and observations done by mages throughout the centuries. There was also a book that Thea had written herself, though it was mostly ideas and nothing important.

    "You can have your books. But no experimenting!"

    With Leaf''s command, Thea could only read.

    At night time, Sophily came to visit the orphanage with Lexx. Originally, they would have been turned away but since Thea had woken up, the mood of the orphanage had risen and they let them come in.

    "Thank you for agreeing to meet."

    "It''s no problem."

    "Did the owner wake up yet?"

    "Yes, she woke up a couple of hours ago."

    "Is that so? We can provide you with a healer''s service from the guild."

    "It''s fine, you don''t need to. I don''t want to owe the guild."

    "You misunderstood. This is an act of apology. There will be no fee and you won''t owe the guild anything."

    "In that case, thank you for helping out. Is that all you came to say?"Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Janna wasn''t comfortable talking to Lexx. And she hadn''t met Sophily before.

    "Actually...we have a favor to ask."

    "A favor?"

    Janna wasn''t too sure about listening to this favor.

    "Please! Don''t report our guild branch!"

    Lexx put her hands together in a praying posture.

    "What are you saying?"

    "I mean the fight with Benoik, please don''t report it to the higher guild branch."

    "Fight? Oh! You mean that fight three days ago? We never thought about reporting you guys. I didn''t even remember the fight because those guys were just so weak."

    Lexx''s face was full of shock. She had been worrying so much for the past few days, only to learn that she was worrying over nothing. Janna didn''t even bother to remember the fight.

    "If there is nothing else, please leave. I need to prepare dinner."

    Janna wanted them to leave quickly. She had been cooking a feast for Thea''s awakening when she was interrupted by them.

    "There''s one more thing."

    "And what is this thing?"

    Lexx was silent for a few seconds. She was hesitant to say it.

    "...we...could use your help..."

    "Huh?"

    Janna didn''t listen any further and pushed them towards the door.

    "Please listen first! It''s really important for the safety of the town."

    Janna stopped when she heard safety of the town.

    "Speak fast."

    Safety of the town concerned not only the people of the town in general, but more important it was related to the kids of the orphanage.

    "In the forest, an ogre was spotted."

    "So? Don''t you have people to deal with that?"

    "No, our guild doesn''t have anyone strong enough to deal with it. So we planned on doing a group raid."

    An ogre is a three star monster, but a very strong one that even four star monster would lose to. So hunting an ogre required the strength of a C rank adventurer. Or a group of D rank adventurers.

    "But our vanguard was defeated by you."

    "That Benoik guy?"

    "Yes, and now we are in a bit of a pinch. So we are asking for your help."

    "Fine, since I''m the one at fault here, I will help you guys out. But only this one time."

    After telling Janna about the plan, Lexx and Sophily left. Janna went back to cooking.

    The day went by fast. Leaf allowed Thea to leave the bed the day after.

    Thea and Janna stood outside in the garden. They were investigating what the weird thing was inside Thea.

    "Are you sure you wanna do it here?"

    "Yes, I set up a lot of safety measures here. It''s safer than being anywhere else."

    "But these spells are only three star defensive spells, right?"

    Since Thea had only just become a four star mage, so she hadn''t learnt any four star spells.

    "It should be fine. I found something in the books that is eerily similar to what happened to me. If what I read is correct, then there''s nothing to worry about."

    "I hope you''re right."

    "Let''s begin."

    Thea sat down and crossed her legs. She swirled her mana towards the foreign object in her body. It was like a transparent pearl. Thea''s mana was repelled by the pearl, like magnets. Only thing Thea could do was push harder.

    As she pushed harder, the ground and space around Thea also saw an effect. The grass was being shook and the air was continuously being moved. Like a swirl in a pool or a tornado.

    Thea pushed hard, and finally a single point of mana touched the surface of the pearl. The repelling effect disappeared and Thea''s mana fell to a single point immediately. Thea couldn''t control it anymore because of how much force she had already put in.

    As the mana clashed in the center, it had an effect on Thea''s body. She spit out blood and Janna rushed to her immediately.

    "Thea!"

    "...I''m fine..."

    Thea barely could speak a word. Her insides were like a hot soup right now. Her mana was settling down. A few minutes later, Thea had recovered.

    As her mana settled and calmed, the pearl had disappeared. But Thea could feel it still. It had melted and fused into her mana.

    "This is..."

    Thea looked at her hand and conjured forth some of that mana. Since she was a four star mage, she could create the elements in her mana immediately.

    She used element creation only for the new aspect of her mana. Tiny beads of dirt from the ground started to float up.

    "Gravity mana?"

    "What? You only have the fire and water elements so how are you controlling gravity?"

    Janna was confused.

    "I don''t know how I got it but that thing that was in my body was likely a elemental heart."

    "What''s that?"

    "It''s a special magical construct that''s naturally made. If someone eats it then they gain the power of that element."

    "So now you have this gravity element?"

    "I think it''s more than just gravity element."

    "Can you...lift me up?"

    Janna asked while looking in awe.

    "I can try."

    Thea immediately willed her mana to be moved.

    She tried to lift Janna with her newly acquired mana element. Janna''s hair moved up and that was it.

    "Sorry, I need more time."

    Like all mages, the affinity with the element had to be increased. This gravity magic was also more intense than other elements. It required more mana than her fire element. If the fire element required a white grape sized volume of mana, then this gravity element needed at least the amount of a basketball''s volume.

    It was much more demanding to use this element. The higher mana usage also meant a greater toll on the body in prolonged usage.

    "It''s fine."

    Janna was slightly disappointed that Thea could lift her, but she understood.

    "But Thea, you need to go back to bed."

    "What? Why? I''m fine. Plus, being close to you helps me heal faster."

    Thea was talking about the special magic she and Janna had.

    "Doesn''t matter. I''m in the house anyways so the magic works just fine. You just injured your body again. So you are staying in bed for a few more days. And no using magic!"

    Janna pointed at the mouthful of blood on the floor.

    "I shouldn''t have asked you to lift me just now. What if you got hurt more?"

    Janna was too caught up in the moment earlier and didn''t think too much and asked Thea to lift her. She felt guilty for asking Thea.

    "Fine, I''ll go to my room. But I want delicious food in return for listening to you."

    "Okay, I will compromise."

    "I want chocolate pudding."

    "Yes, yes."

    The day went by again with Thea being in the bed. She had been stuck in bed for the whole week almost. Now it was time for Janna to join the guild and go hunt down the ogre that had appeared in the forest. Leaving it alone would be too dangerous for the people of the town.

    "Why can''t I join?"

    "Because we don''t need you. It''s enough if I go alone."

    Thea wanted to join Janna in the hunt but was shot down.

    "Hmph. Isn''t having a four star mage better for you guys anyways?"

    "And how many four star spell do you know, Master?"

    Master was the title given to a four star mage.

    "I learned one."

    "One is not enough. Besides, we really don''t need you. We have everything that''s needed prepared already."

    And with that, Janna went alone to the guild''s hunt.

    "Hmph. Who said I can''t take a walk in the forest?"

    Meanwhile, Thea was too bored of being confined to her bed and left to go to the forest. Her path in the forest was only coincidently the same as the place the guild went.

    Thea had to keep her mana hidden and couldn''t let Janna know that she was being follow. The hunting party approached the latest location of the ogre.

    The area of the location was flattened. The trees lay on the forest ground. It seemed like a truck had driven into the trees and knocked them over.

    In the middle of the area, there was a huge figure. A green large boulder like figure. It was awoken by the footsteps of the hunting party. The hunting party readied their weapons.

    The monster ogre stood up. It reached a height of three and a half meters. It''s two large red eyes looked at the adventurers. It had a fat body. A big short nose. And a sharp teeth filled mouth.

    Dirt was all over it''s coarse skin.

    It bent it''s legs a bit and stretched it''s arms. Then it let out a roar that made all the birds startle and fly away.

    "Wow..."

    Thea exclaimed in hiding. It was her first time seeing an ogre. At the academy, they used monsters in combat practice but they were all low rank and safer monsters.

    An ogre on the other hand is known to have two great strengths. The first is it''s strength. Its large body isn''t just for show. Filled with muscles, an ogre can punch through rocks.

    The second strength was its endurance. Unless an ogre is killed immediately, the fight can last for hours. And such a fight is not advantageous for adventurers.

    So the common tactic is to strike fast and hard. Aim to kill it in one go.

    The hunting party engaged with the ogre. There were three tanks. Big guys who had big shields. They would attract the ogre''s attention and absorb the ogre''s damage.

    Then were the three damage dealers. Janna, the only sword wielder. While the other two were spear wielders.

    Lastly, at the back were support mages. They would buff the tanks and damage dealers. There were only two of them since mages are hard to get.

    The ogre walked forward and struck towards one of the tanks. Taking the brunt of the attack with the heavy shield, the tank stopped the attack. The other two tanks didn''t sit idly. They used their shields to hold the hand of the ogre down immediately.

    With it''s hand down, the ogre''s movement was restricted. This allowed the damage dealers to get close and do damage. The spear holders stabbed at it''s arm and body. While Janna aimed for it''s head and neck.

    But the ogre had strong muscles. They could only leave wounds on its skin.

    Janna covered her sword in mana. A technique that was simple and effective on monsters. She made her sword become sharper and stronger. Attacking again, some of the muscles got torn.

    Blood flowed from the ogre. Now began the real battle. The ogre was enraged. It pulled its arm out from the two tanks hold and swung it at Janna.

    Janna used the force of the attack to push herself out of the way. The ogre''s attacks were very simple and Janna used it to her advantage.

    The two spearmen moved back.

    An enraged ogre is much more dangerous because it doesn''t care about its body and will do damage at all cost.

    The fight continued with Janna moving around quickly. Getting some hits in with her sword and dodging the ogre''s attacks. The tanks would restrict the ogre''s movement as much as they could and the spearmen would wear it down with their barrage of attacks.

    Ten minutes later, the ogre was pretty worn down. But its attacks still continued. Janna had been aiming for its neck the whole time and had caused a lot of damage. Enough that she was thinking of ending the fight soon.

    A strong attack that would kill it immediately. She gave the signal to the others and prepared herself.

    Janna readied the sword, holding it her two hands. She imbued it with mana. A blue glow swirled around the sword. This was Janna''s family swordsmanship. It ranked pretty high in the world, often being called one of the ten best in the world.

    The blue dragon swordsmanship.

 Chapter 23: Jannas transformation

    The blue dragon swordsmanship.

    It was strong but required some time to imbue the weapon with mana. After that, the mana can be released like a sword cut through the air that will do a ton of damage.

    It wasn''t a good and practical skill of the blue dragon swordsmanship since it too long to gather the mana. In an actual fight, it was like putting a target on oneself. You had to stand still and gather the energy which gave plenty of time for the opponent to attack.

    But here, with the ogre being locked down by the tanks, Janna had more than enough time to gather her energy.

    Janna swung her sword from above. A projectile following her sword path left the glowing sword. It was a wave of blue light through the air.

    It hit the ogre and cut it in half right down the middle. Janna took a few breaths to get her stamina back. The technique was powerful but also intense on the body.

    With the target dead, the mission was over.

    Or so it seemed. A roar reverberated in the party''s ears. The blood of the slain ogre flowed into the trees that were around since earlier. As if there was a whirlpool, the trees started to move towards the ogre.

    "Move back."

    Everyone quickly moved back.

    The trees disappeared into the ogre.

    "It was evolving!"

    Evolution for monsters is when they reach the limit of their strength. Like a glass being filled with water. The glass will expand when it''s filled to allow for more water.

    For the ogre, it would go from a three star monster to a four star monster.

    "It just had to be now?!"

    Janna complained. She was sure she had killed it in that strike.

    "Do we retreat?"

    One of the adventurers suggested.

    "No!"

    But Janna didn''t want that.

    "It''s at its weakest at this moment. We need to strike right now."

    A monster that had just undergone evolution was at its weakest. So if someone wanted to deal with the monster, the best time to kill it was then.

    "Understood, get back in formation."

    The other adventurers got back in formation and the fight continued.

    The second round was much harder than the first. The tanks had to be more careful. The monster''s strength had increase threefold, their shields were only designed for three star monsters. So they had to direct the power of the ogre''s hits towards the side and the ground.

    But it wasn''t easy to do so. Pretty soon, one of the tanks got too injured and was thrown away by a punch.

    "Janna, we can''t do this. Let''s run."

    "Tsk, I get it. I''ll get its attention, so take the chance to run."

    Janna shouted at the ogre and gained its attention by attacking it a few times.

    "Now!"

    Giving the chance for the others to run away with the injured tank. Now it was only Janna, guiding the ogre around the forest and looking for a chance to disappear herself.

    ''It''s too annoying, damn it.''

    But the ogre wasn''t letting go of Janna. It was running through the trees and chasing after Janna. Not giving her a chance to escape.

    "Fire prison!"

    Suddenly, a cage formed around the ogre. It was made of bright red and yellow fire. The ogre stopped when it bumped into the wall of the cage.

    "Thea?!"

    Janna knew the voice instantly.

    "How are you here?"

    Thea appeared from behind a tree. In her hand was the cape that she had used to hide herself. It was a magical object that concealed the user.

    "I followed you."

    "You shouldn''t have done that. But I''m glad you''re here now."

    Janna looked at the ogre punching the fire cage.

    "Is that thing gonna hold?"

    "You think a three star spell can hold a four star monster?"

    The ogre punched the wall of the cage and a hole appeared in the wall. The spell disintegrated following that.

    "I guess not."

    "Fire seems to work very well though."

    The ogre evolved into a tree type mutant ogre. A woodland ogre. So fire would be the perfect counter to it.

    "You ready a spell while I hold its attention."

    Janna said as she rushed out. She ran circles around it and let Thea prepare a spell.

    In the back where the ogre wasn''t looking, Thea was weaving together an intricate new magic circle in the air.

    "I''m ready!"

    She shouted. Janna jumped back immediately. She lured the ogre to right in front of Thea. An ogre was a dumb monster and was caught in the magic circle. A smarter monster would be able to avoid this effortlessly.

    "Flame pillar!"

    A magic circle appeared below the woodland ogre and a pillar of flames shot up, enveloping it. The flames burned the monster.

    After the magic circle was done spewing fire, it disappeared along with the fire. In the middle stood the ogre, now only half the size it was before. Most of it had burnt away.

    "Thea. That was a lot stronger than before."

    "Yeah, the strength of it increased."

    With four star mana and the newer level of fire affinity, the spell Thea made became a lot stronger by itself.

    "But it was probably damaged from your battle earlier."

    Still the flame pillar shouldn''t have been able to do this much damage since it was a three star spell originally.

    "Alright, let''s finish it."

    Janna said as she readied her blade. But something else struck the monster before that.

    Something appeared from above the ogre and slashed down. Another sword, this one a bit thicker and wider than the one Janna uses. It cut through the ogre effortlessly.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    "Who?!"

    Both Thea and Janna were on guard. Someone had stolen their kill on the ogre.

    As the body of the ogre fell to the ground, the figure of someone appeared. A man with a big sword on his shoulder.

    His shiny armor that had marks everywhere told them it was a seasoned warrior.

    "Who are you?"

    Janna asked the man. But the man didn''t answer immediately.

    "He looks like a bear..."

    Thea stated.

    "I don''t look like a bear."

    Said the man who looked like a bear. He had a beard and a large figure. Round ears on his head and his silver hair that flowed to the sides. He also had big muscles like a bear.

    "You..."

    The man lifted his blade and pointed at Thea.

    "What are you?"

    "What?"

    Thea and Janna were confused. This man just appeared out of nowhere, stole their kill and started to question what Thea was.

    "Hey, can you answer us first? Who are you?"

    "The name''s Rennet. A master swordsman."

    "A master?"

    A master swordsman was two levels above Janna''s rank. That was a five star swordsman.

    "A master swordsman wouldn''t just come here for no reason."

    Thea said. The highest rank swordsman in the guild was only three stars, an advanced swordsman like Janna.

    "Heh. You''re not stupid I see. I was sent here on a mission."

    "What mission?"

    "To kill you."

    He was looking at Thea.

    "But before I do that, you still owe me an answer. What are you?"

    "I don''t understand."

    "All humans and creatures have a scent. But you...you don''t smell like anything I''ve ever encountered before."

    Thea was silent for a few moments. Her face lowered and her eyes looked sharply at Rennet.

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. I''m just a regular girl."

    "Haha. So you don''t want to tell me. That''s fine with me."

    Rennet took a step back and came into a posture with his sword put on his shoulder.

    "Prepare to die."

    He pushed strongly with his legs and at an incredible speed headed towards Thea.

    "HA!"

    His big sword pushed forward at Thea. There was no time to dodge. The attack hit Thea directly. Just like that, the sword pierced through Thea''s body. And blood spattered everywhere.

    Or it should have. There was no blood and Thea''s body dissolved into the air.

    "First rule when fighting a warrior. Don''t let them get close to you."

    On top of a tree, the real Thea stood. In her hand was a magic circle. The illusion spell that she had used to trick the fake hero into taking the sword.

    "Hmm, of course I knew that."

    Rennet wasn''t caught off guard the least. He was just playing along with the tricks.

    "Did you also see this? Fire prison."

    A fire cage appeared around Rennet. It was the same as the one that trapped the ogre but it was much smaller. Taking the chance, Janna stabbed towards Rennet.

    "HA!"

    She stabbed Rennet''s stomach. The attack went through a gap in the armor but didn''t go in much as Rennet moved his body and sword in a spiral pattern. Knocking Janna''s sword back and breaking the fire cage.

    "Come again."

    Janna''s sword was glowing red using the simple body strengthening technique. But Rennet didn''t even need to do anything as even only through his sword moves and his physical strength he could overpower Thea''s magic and Janna''s sword.

    It was like an adult running against a child in a competition.

    Janna was on the defensive with Rennet swinging his sword at her. With each swing, Janna felt great force on her arms.

    "Thea!"

    "I know! Fire prison!"

    Thea swung her left hand. In it was another fire prison spell.

    "Ha! This didn''t work before."

    Rennet swung his sword and destroyed the cage again. But Thea was already next to him.

    "I was looking for this chance."

    Thea''s right hand was ablaze. She struck forward at Rennet.

    "Flame strike!"

    A cone of fire burst forward from her fist. Thea had created that fire prison just for this moment. After Rennet had swung his sword, he needed a moment to catch his footing. This was a chance to land a powerful attack on him.

    The flames died down and revealed Rennet. He was covered in a brown aura like the ground below.

    "Haha. That was a nice try."

    A few of Rennet''s hair had burnt away. But the damage done to him was minimal.

    "But you two are too weak."

    Rennet sprinted at Thea and kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing into a tree. He turned around and blocked the attack from Janna instantly. Knocking her sword away. He then punch her in the stomach and dropped her to the ground.

    It was a huge gap between them.

    Rennet stood there victorious. The dust settled and showed the two girls lying on the ground defeated. Rennet started to walk towards Thea. He was going to finish the mission.

    Was the fight over? Not yet. Janna put her arms the ground and pushed herself to stand up. A blue aura surrounded her. She stood up with difficulty. Her posture was one of great exertion. She was covered from head to feet in blood. Her breath was heavy.

    "...stop right there..."

    She said as the blue aura increased. This new variable forced Rennet to turn his body around.

    The blue aura became even bluer as something started to change in Janna. Small blue scales formed around her eyes and in some other places among her body. Her hands turned blue and became like that of a reptile. Covered in blue scales and growing out sharp claws.

    Her hot breath could visibly alter the air. Her eyes looked like a predators.

    "What?"

    Rennet was seeing something like this for the first time.

    She bent her body downwards and jumped. Her speed surprised Rennet. Without the sword, Janna used her hands to directly attack him. Her hands which were now sharp claws.

    The claws struck the armor Rennet was wearing. He would have paid no attention to it before. But sparks flew from the spot where Janna struck. A small scratch formed also.

    "How?"

    Rennet realized that this Janna was not to be taken lightly. Whatever had happened to her, to change her into this form, was something dangerous to him.

    Rennet swung his sword at Janna. At the blue scales on the side of her arm. The tip of his blade touched the scales and there was not much damage to the scales. He realized that the scales were very durable.

    "So your defense also increased?"

    He kicked Janna again in the stomach. But Janna wasn''t pushed back much.

    "Hmm?"

    Confused, Rennet looked down. The shoes Janna had been wearing were ripped apart. Instead, she now had lizard like feet. The claws were preventing her from being moved back too much.

    "What are you?"

    The fight was getting more heated. Janna seemed to be growing in strength. With each blow that Janna made on Rennet, he realized that the power behind it was increasing.

    And with each strike that he made on Janna, he realized that the scales on her skin were hardening more.

    "This is like..."

    Rennet remembered something he had heard about in his mercenary group.

    "...a dragonkin!"

    People born from the joining of a human and a dragon. It is said that they exist in some parts of the world, but don''t like to interact with the other races. His mercenary group''s leader said that he had encountered one when he was young.

    A person that had the shape and characteristics of a human but was covered in scales and had features of a dragon. They showed immense strength and couldn''t even be defeated by a group of B rank adventurers.

    "Hey! Are you one of them?"

    Rennet asked Janna for confirmation but received no response.

    "It seems you''re not there anymore."

    Rennet had realized early on that Janna''s attacks seemed more barbaric than controlled and calculated. It seemed to him like he was fighting a beast and not a human. Not that there were not humans who had a fighting style like monsters. But Janna was also physically looking like a monster right now.

    "I guess your transformation also changes your brain. But that''s not good as a martial artist."

    Rennet didn''t like Janna right now. Earlier, he had respect for her as a martial artist so he was willing to trade some blows with her. But now she was using a power that she couldn''t even control.

    "You shouldn''t use a power you can''t control. That is a failure as a martial artist."

    Rennet raised his big sword over his head. A brown glow swirled up it. His sword got covered in rocks that just formed.

    Rock breaker. A technique used by Rennet''s family.

    "I will defeat you now."

    Rennet''s words carried a conviction behind them. He was going to defeat Janna now.

    On the other side, Janna had gone through more transformation. She was even more covered in blue scales, up to her biceps. Her pupils were vertical now, like a cats. The teeth she showed were not human but like a wolves, sharp and pointy.

    Rennet made the first move. He launched himself forward and struck down at Janna.

    Janna directly took on the attack with her hand. The attack broke most of the blue scales on her hand and showed the red flesh underneath. Using the other hand, she attacked Rennet''s face.

    But Rennet dodged it with simple movement.

    "Too slow."

    Rennet swung his sword with strong force from the side now. Aiming for Janna''s legs. If he did significant damage to her legs, her power would diminish greatly.

    A successful hit. A big gash appear where the sword struck. Red blood burst out. Janna screamed at the top of her lungs.

    She slashed her claws around randomly like an animal.

    Rennet didn''t give her time to do more and launched more attacks at her. Cutting her on her arm, shoulder and legs. Severely injuring Janna. She couldn''t move around anymore.

    "Good. Now to finish this."

    He swung his sword at the center of Janna''s body, right above her abdomen. The quick attacks knocked Janna away.

    There was not one moment where Janna could have counter attacked. The movements from Rennet were too fast and too many.

    Rennet looked at where Janna crashed.

    "No way."

    From the rubble of trees, a sorry figure stood up. Janna was dripping with blood from every limb but she still stood up again. The cuts from Rennet had already started to heal and close up. It was a very fast healing factor.

    "It seems you''re truly a monster now."

    Rennet once again readied his blade.

    "If you don''t snap out of this. I will have to take drastic measures."

    In response, Janna just roared. It was a very loud roar.

    "Very well. Steel-"

    "Wait."

    Thea had woken up just now after getting knocked out by Rennet earlier.

    "Let me handle her."

    Thea held up her hand. A magic circle appeared below Janna immediately. From behind Thea, several string like mana threads shot out and connected to the magic circle.

    Janna fell to the ground and screamed. Her body shrank a bit as the blue scales went back into her body. Her skin transformed back to human skin. She had returned back to being a human. She lay on the floor afterwards.

    Whatever magic Thea used worked to stop the uncontrollable power within Janna.

    "I should''ve woken you up earlier."

    Rennet expressed. He looked at Janna and turned to Thea.

    "I guess I won?"

    Both Janna and Thea were unconscious. So as the last one standing, Rennet won. But he was not the least bit satisfied or content with the victory.

    He just sat there until the two woke up.

    "This is so boring..."

    He took out a small knife and picked up a piece of broken wood. He started carving while waiting.

 Chapter 24

    Thea opened her eyes slowly. She was still in the same place she fainted. In front of her sat Rennet on a tree stump.

    "You''re finally awake."

    "Ugh...where''s Janna?"

    Standing up, Thea asked about Janna first.

    "She woke up a while ago."

    Rennet stood up and pointed to Janna.

    "She can''t talk, can''t move. Do nothing at all."

    Thea walked up to Janna and crouched down. She poked her cheeks. The awake Janna could only blink her eyes in response.

    "That is to be expected. And deserved."

    Thea pinched Janna''s cheeks and pulled.

    "If I ask, will you give an answer?"

    Thea looked at Rennet. She stared for a few seconds and spoke up.

    "What do you want to know?"

    Rennet scratched his head.

    "How did you know I wasn''t gonna kill you?"

    What Rennet was asking was that at the end of the fight, Thea did something and locked away the uncontrollable power that was transforming Janna. But she herself also used up her power and went unconscious. Leaving both of their lives undefended in front of an enemy.

    "I knew from the moment you appeared before us."

    "How could you have possibly known that?"

    "I have my own secrets. I''m not telling you what it is though."

    "Ok, fine. But what happened to your friend?"

    "The curse of the Everlotte family. Have you heard of it?"

    "I''ve heard of the Everlottes, but never anything about a curse."

    "That''s because it''s only passed down between the family. It has never been leaked to the outside world. And Janna here is the sole daughter of the Everlottes."

    "So this curse is passed down through blood?"

    "Exactly."

    "But if it''s a curse like that, why doesn''t anyone outside the world know about it?"

    Rennet saw Janna grow blue scales and transform her limbs lizard like claws. It would be easily noticeable if such a transformation happened in the outside world.

    "Well, normally. The young ones learn to control it somewhat. Janna was a special case."

    "I remember! The Everlottes are often called dragonkin because of the way they look."

    "They show those characteristic of a dragon because of the curse."

    "So this little one wasn''t able to control that power?"

    "More like she won''t ever be able to control it."

    "But you can control it?"

    Remember that Thea was the one who stopped Janna''s transformation earlier.

    "It''s more like I can suppress it."

    "Well, you better suppress it. I felt like I was going to lose fight that thing."

    "You would have lost."

    "Really?"

    "The more time passes, the stronger she would have grown."

    "Hmm? Could you have stopped her then?"

    "Maybe."

    "Maybe? What do you mean maybe?"

    "Let''s get out of here."

    "Hey, how can you leave it at a ''maybe''?"

    Thea picked up Thea in her arms.

    "You got heavier, princess."

    Since Janna couldn''t move and talk back, Thea took it as a chance to joke. Janna was furiously batting her eyelids.

    "Are you going to leave me here?"

    Rennet was standing there like a tree.

    "Don''t you have anywhere else to go?"

    "I really don''t."

    "..."

    "Can''t you welcome me as a guest?"

    "After you tried to kill us?"

    "I wasn''t going to do that."

    "Follow us."

    After a few moments of silent staring from Thea, she allowed Rennet to follow them. They went to the guild.

    "Hi! Hi!"

    It was Sophily at the desk.

    "Hi, Sophy. We have a report to make."

    "You can make the report but...is Miss Janna okay?"

    Thea was still holding her in her arms. It was quite awkward.

    "She''ll be fine. Just take the report now."

    "Ok, if you say it''s fine. What do you want to report?"

    "Janna''s mission was completed. The ogre was slain and this here is the proof of it. You can also check the forest area where the monster was fought. There should be a burnt corpse."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "What?! You guys defeated that thing?"

    "That''s what I said."

    "But the ones who returned said that it underwent an evolution...?"

    "It did and we killed it. That''s all I have to report. We''ll be leaving now. Bye, Sophy."

    "Okay...bye."

    Sophily was a bit shocked and amazed. They killed something that even other similar level adventurers would struggle to kill in a group, which was shocking. But it also showed their strength, which awed people.

    Thea and the other two arrived at the orphanage after visiting the guild. The kids were playing in the garden with Leaf studying magic.

    "Hewwo."

    Nem came up to Rennet and greeted him.

    "Wow, such a cute kid. Hello to you too."

    "I''m Nem!"

    Nem put his left hand index finger towards his face and spoke in a cute voice. It was a voice that could charm anyone. Combined with his tiny figure, it was incredibly cute.

    "Well, Nem is a powerful name where I come from. So it''s nice to make your acquaintance."

    Rennet extended his hand and Nem shook it. He then ran away to play with Gwyn.

    "Haha. What a cute kid."

    "That''s crazy. Nem usually hates people but he seems to like you a lot."

    "I just have one of those faces, you know?"

    Rennet smugly said as he made a big smile.

    "Whatever. I''m gonna go put down Janna."

    After putting Janna in the chair in garden that Thea herself usually sits in, Thea went to Leaf.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Ah!"

    Leaf was reading a book and quickly smashed it shut when she heard Thea''s voice. She had been so focused that she didn''t even see Thea come back. Something that never happens.

    "...are you hiding something from me?"

    "What?! No, I''m not..."

    Leaf had an awkward face and a nervous laugh.

    "You''re terrible at hiding your misdeed, Leaf."

    "What misdeed?"

    Temtem came out from Leaf''s cotton jumper. It had a pocket at the side, just big enough to fit the little fairy.

    "I have to ask, Temtem. Did you form a contract?"

    "A what?"

    Temtem looked at Thea with mindless expression. The word contract wasn''t in her vocabulary.

    "I guess that means you didn''t? Leaf, did I teach you about contracts?"

    "Uuh...was it when a powerful spirit forms a relationship with a human?"

    "Close. It''s when a mythical creature, usually born from the natural flow of mana, comes into a deal where it shares it''s power with a chosen entity. The entity doesn''t have to be human. Actually, it''s almost always not a human."

    "Is it that good of a thing?"

    Leaf asked in curiosity.

    "I wouldn''t know the actual effect of it. But the records speak for themselves. It is an effective procedure. The first kings of the current kingdoms'' all had these contracts. Every hero in history has had a powerful contractor. It''s like a cheat to becoming stronger."

    "Wow. Does Unnie have one?"

    "...no. But I don''t need one to be your Unnie."

    "Hehe."

    "So, Temtem."

    "Yes?"

    Temtem was chewing on a leaf she had picked up from the ground. As a fairy of the forest, she liked the taste of the leaves in the orphanage''s garden.

    "Are you willing to form a contract with Leaf?"

    "Yeah, sure."

    Temtem didn''t even think for a moment.

    "You should think it thro-....no nevermind."

    Thea was gonna help Temtem understand that it was a very important thing to fairies like herself. But then Thea abandoned this thought because it would be equally beneficial to the two. Even if they would have to stay together for maybe their whole lives.

    "Okay. Let''s do it now!"

    Thea clapped her hands together.

    "First thing first. Gifts!"

    "Do we have to give gifts to each other?"

    "Usually only the weaker party has to give a gift that will satisfy the condition. But I guess you can exchange gifts if that''s what you guys want to do."

    "Temtem already gave me a gift. So only I have to give it now."

    "Hehe. I expect a tremendously fabulous gift."

    "Where did she even learn those words?"

    Thea was taken back by Temtem''s words.

    "I don''t have anything like that, Unnie."

    "It''s fine. I have many objects that could be sufficient."

    Thea held up her magic bag and started to pour out the contents inside. Hundreds of gems, scrolls, dozens of books and other objects came out.

    "Wow!"

    Both Leaf and Temtem were awed by the sight.

    "How much stuff do you have in that bag, Unnie?"

    "I don''t know. I just throw stuff in it."

    "It''s not going to explode, right?"

    "Probably not?"

    "What do you mean ''probably not''?"

    "Don''t be so worried about the bag. Is there anything you like, Temtem?"

    "What''s this?"

    Temtem pointed at a small cube like thing.

    "Oh, this?"

    Thea picked up the cube and looked it over.

    "It''s supposed to be a camera. But it''s broken."

    It was one of the things that the various guilds monopolized. Since it uses a very rare material as its core. The flying whales called crown whales. The material shed from their crowns is used as the object which allows a picture to be stored inside of it.

    Since the number is so limited, so only the guilds and the royalties are able to use them. Even having the camera cube without the crown material is illegal.

    "I want that!"

    "You want this camera cube?"

    "No! Why would I want that? I want a picture!"

    Temtem''s demands were very high.

    "I don''t know if that''s possible..."

    Even Thea, who had travelled the continent for a year before forming the orphanage, hadn''t seen a crown whale. Even asking Silas to get a piece could take years. That''s only if that was even possible as it''s illegal to be in the possession of one.

    There were literally no options.

    "Isn''t there anything that you can do, Unnie?"

    Leaf looked at Thea with a hopeful expression.

    "So what?!"

    Thea said out loud.

    "So what...?"

    Leaf was taken aback.

    "So what if I don''t have a crown whale''s crown? I can just use another material. And if that doesn''t work, I''ll just invent a new type of camera!"

    The fire had been lit. Thea was not going to stop until she completed this task. Thea stood up and went inside the orphanage and to her workshop room.

    "What did I do?"

    Leaf still didn''t understand what had happened. For Thea, if the kids wanted something, then it had to be done. Within moral reasoning of course. But it was one of the things that Thea wouldn''t look over.

    Since Temtem wanted a picture, then she will get one. Since Leaf wanted a camera, she will get one. Thea already thought of Temtem as a child she had to take care of.

    For the next seven days, explosions could be heard from Thea''s workshop room. The whole wall exploded one time, but was quickly repaired by calling for Silas and his workers.

    Janna could move the day after they came back and was now training with Rennet. They were practicing sword fighting using wooden swords.

    The kids were watching from the sidelines. It was a very amazing show of skills and they found it very intriguing.

    "Do you not know any swordsmanship?"

    Rennet asked after landing on his feet.

    "I do but I''m not allowed to use it."

    "Not allowed?"

    Rennet was puzzled.

    "It would destroy the garden, you see."

    Janna explained why she couldn''t use it.

    "I see. But that''s only for the moves that use energy, right?"

    Rennet was a swordsman himself. From his understanding there were a few types of swordsmanship. Or more accurately, swordsmanship had many factors. This included things like cutting, slashing, piercing, body manipulation and other things. There was also the things every swordsman strived for, aura and sword energy.

    "Well, all my swordsmanship uses energy."

    "What? Such a thing exists?"

    "It''s my family''s blue dragon swordsmanship. My father and brothers can control it but I can''t control the strength. And it''s really ineffective in actual battles because I need to stay still to gather energy."

    "Hmm. There is nothing that can''t be done. You just have to find a way to go past these problems yourself. My master used to tell me ''There is no problem that cannot be solved with effort.''"

    "I don''t know...no one in my family has every done that. And believe me, they''ve tried."

    Janna''s family is old and has a history of hundreds of years. It was founded about six hundred years ago. And in all that time, the swordsmanship has stayed the same. Janna doesn''t believe that she could be the one to change and improve it.

    "All types of improvements begin with believing in oneself."

    "I don''t know."

    Janna looked a bit down. It''s not that she didn''t want to push her family''s swordsmanship forward, but she wasn''t confident that she could do it.

    "I noticed this during our fight. You are so scared."

    "What?"

    Rennet''s sudden words shocked Janna.

    "No, let me rephrase. You are a coward."

    "Why are you calling me a coward? I''m not!"

    "Really? Are you really not?"

    Rennet stabbed his sword at Janna. Janna was forced to block it with her own sword.

    "When we fought, you were afraid to kill."

    "No I wasn''t."

    Rennet swung his sword again.

    "You''ve never killed anyone in your life, have you?"

    "..."

    Rennet was striking harder.

    "You''re afraid to use your power."

    "Afraid that you''ll lose control."

    Each strike was also a mental strike on Janna.

    "You won''t even try to discover a new technique. That''s how scared you are."

    "No..."

    Janna didn''t really have anything to say back. What Rennet was saying was true. Janna was actually afraid to do a lot of things. She was afraid that she would mess up somewhere.

    Rennet broke Janna''s wooden sword with a final strike.

    "Why are you trying to wield a sword?"

    "...because..."

    "Why?"

    "...I want to be a knight."

    "That''s a goal, not a reason."

    "..."

    "Why did you pick up the sword when you were young?"

    Janna was silent for a few moments. She spoke up in a melancholic tone.

    "...I was six I think. I saw a child being beaten up"