Today was the 3rd day I woke up as a matched woman. Wow….

I was surprised at how excited I still was about this. After all, the man I would be spending the rest of my life with was a complete stranger to me mere days ago. Instead of feeling nervous about this whole affair, I felt free- as if a world of possibilities suddenly opened up to me.

It was love at first shot- my heart skipped a few beats when I saw him executing that shitty rapist in cold blood. No courtesy, no apology, no mercy- that was how a real man should deal with such filth. The fact that he looted his corpse like he was some mana-beast in the Wilds was a very nice touch. I would’ve loved it had he torched the corpse for good measure, but nobody’s perfect.

When I first learned magecraft, the first thing I wanted to do with <> was to burn all the disgusting criminals hiding behind their noble titles, dicks first. Let the fires of justice do its work and purge the world of such dirtiness! But Tali reminded me that one talented mage wasn’t enough to challenge the status-quo of the cruel world we live in. She was right, of course. But I bet even she couldn’t have predicted that one lone ex-Ranger challenged the status-quo and won. That was what made Rummy so special- he was talented and crazy enough to pull it off.

Rummy was no ordinary man- that much was clear from the moment I met him. Most men here accept their given fate- the nobles play their roles as arrogant oppressors, while the peasants play their roles as helpless victims. My betrothed refused the fate he was given- and he was crazy enough to rebel against his fate. I wonder what kind of harsh life shaped him to be this way. I wonder what kind of hardships he endured to sharpen his iron resolve. So many questions, so little time. I’ve asked 3 questions so far, and his answer to each question only raises more questions!

Strangely enough, he didn’t try to ask more about my past. His questions mostly centered on my favorite food (a hearty stew- it warms the soul!) and my best friend (Cory- ever since we were children). I hoped he was doing okay in the city holding things down. I felt a little bad for Cory that he didn’t get to go with us. But given how clumsy and anemic he was, I suspected that he’d rather dress up as a Lady Natalia decoy than to go into the Wilds with us~

Strength and cleverness aside, there was just something else different about him compared to every other man I’ve met so far. For example, when Rummy figured that I was no longer a virgin, he didn’t see me as a lesser woman, or used goods. I’ve known plenty of abused maids who had to settle for alcoholic losers as husbands because their “purities” were taken away and nobody else would even look their way. Very few of them lived happily ever after…

Rummy aggressively courted me despite knowing all of this; even going as far as asking Tali for her blessing. Add this attitude to his blasphemous attitude towards the Emperor and the Empire in general, it’s almost as if he wasn’t from this world. That’s how much he stands out to me.

Sure, his dream of a large family with multiple wives was a little concerning to me as his future wife, but if he is strong enough to provide a safe and prosperous home for all of his wives and children, then I say let him! I would rather be one of many wives to a strong man than to be the sole wife to a weak one. After watching my pathetic father make excuses on why he had to sell me to pay off his business debts, I was done with weak men breaking my heart. No, I would never give my heart to men who would just lay down and die when things got hard.

Gods, even recalling that sniveling worm made me so irritated that I wanted to burn something with a <>. Whatever, that was the past. I needed to look forward.

With only one eye open, I groggily got up from my bed roll. Rummy, tired from the first watch, remained soundly asleep next to me. His handsome features compelled me to give his crotch a loving squeeze before getting up. I couldn’t wait for him to fulfill his promise and take me as his wife. But I had to do my part too! We are leaving the city and building a new home in the Wilds. I needed to be the best Mage I could if I wanted to ensure its success.

Good thing Rummy captured an Archmage for me to learn from!

“Good morning, Sapphire.” I greeted as I looked up.

Tied to a tree trunk 2 meters up, the brunette Archmage woke up and returned my greeting. “Good morning, Mistress.”

“Did you sleep well?” I asked politely, knowing full well it couldn't have been a pleasant rest.

“Yes, mistress. The way Master tied me up here was simply exquisite!” She replied with a blush on her face.

Wow, that was pretty troubling. It seemed that Rummy may have gone overboard when he captured her. Her will had been completely shattered. At this point, she seemed beyond mortal help. Not that I had any time to even try- I needed to quickly improve my magecraft for the turbulent times ahead.

I cleared my throat. “Uh… right. Anyways, if it’s not too much trouble, I would like you to explain the higher elemental magic and how they work.”

“As you wish, Mistress. I shall explain the spells of the force, life, time, and space elements.”

She began with the force element. “Mistress, the force element is known as the element of Knights. The Beginner-level spell <> could increase the strength and speed of the caster by up to 10 times if sufficient mana was used.”

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The Archmage scratched the itch on her nose by rubbing it against the tree bark before she continued. “But the true power of Knighthood was the use of the Adept-level spell <>. It grants the ability to disperse any incoming attack, physical or magical. As long as the Knight is aware of an incoming attack and has sufficient mana to cast <>, it is almost impossible to kill them. Although I suppose that is no longer true now that Master forged a weapon capable of piercing through...”

“With all due respect to my future husband, he ambushed a bunch of brats pretending to be Knights with a weapon they have no understanding of. Things might be different with veteran Knights who were properly prepared.” I cautioned.

“I doubt it, Mistress. If you’ve ever been shot with Master’s weapon, you would understand. It was so quick and so sharp that my dragon leather armor was pierced through before I realized I was attacked. Knights are trained to anticipate and deflect arrows, but it would take a Knight with extraordinary reflex and skill to be able to react to it in time to deploy the spell. And even if they could cast it in time, it might still pierce through…”

Hmm, good point. On an unrelated note, I should consider myself lucky for not being on the wrong end of his weapons.

“Interesting point, Sapphire. Now tell me more about the life element.”

“As you wish, Mistress. <> can instantly cure shallow wounds like cuts and bruises. In the hands of the skilled, it could even temporarily stop the bleeding of a moderate wound. Of course, to cure such wounds, <> would be required. With skillful casting, <> could even cure diseases.”

This was good news. The fact that Rummy looted one Adept-level life elemental mana crystal would ensure that we would be immune to diseases when we make the dangerous trip out of Carnwennan. As long as Sapphire was around to cast, none of us should be brought low by disease. Wait, what was I thinking? I could learn it myself and we’d have 2 healers in the party.

Sapphire continued with the lecture. “The time elemental Beginner-level spell was named <>. It enables the user to perceive things 2-4 times faster than normal. That was the secret behind how we could dodge arrows- from our perspective, the arrow was flying at us a quarter-speed.”

“And the Adept-level spell?” I politely asked.

“The time elemental Adept-level spell was named <>. The spell’s designated target would increase speed and thought process by 2-4 times faster than normal. You can cast the spell at yourself or an ally that you're touching.”

“Have you met any mages with time elemental affinity?” This was the question I’ve really wanted to ask. I knew I had an affinity to fire, but since my hair was purple, I couldn’t help but wonder what element affinity had a blue hair color.

“No Mistress, but the textbooks described them as having blue hair.” Sapphire answered.

“I see. So that’s my other affinity.” I replied absentmindedly. After all, My other affinity is fire, represented by red hair. Red and blue makes violet.

“Yes, Mistress. And for the space element, there is <> to store items and the Adept-level <> to quickly teleport.”

“How much can <> store?”

“Depends on how much mana is channeled. It could be anywhere from 1-100 cubic meters (roughly the size of a box to the size of a big room) depending on the rate of mana input .” Sapphire replied.

“And <>. How far can it go?”

“Again, depending on the mana, but anywhere from 5 to 10 meters out. “

“And the associated hair color?”

“Black, just like the Master’s hair.” It seemed that Sapphire had seen through my questions. Clever girl… Well, it appeared that Rummy had 2 affinities too- Air and Space. There are very few people with only Air affinity- they were rumored to have translucent hair and fair skin, but they rarely survived to adulthood for some reason. The ones that did usually had another affinity. This was a perfect match for him- he loved to loot and always looked sad that he had to “leave free stuff behind”. Having this affinity would double his <> carrying capacity!

The image of his handsome face and slim-but-muscular frame instantly put me in a better mood. I visualized his black hair in a crew cut in my mind. Hmm… I wondered if his carpet matches the drapes… Bah! What was I thinking?!? Focus, Emma!

“Right. Thanks for explaining.” I said in a slightly higher pitch. “Rummy said you also have an Expert-level space-affinity crystal? What spell could you cast with that?”

“It is called <>. It grants the location of any duplicate of whatever material the caster is holding for up to 1000 meters.”

“I see. So if the range of the spell was this short, then how did you know about the Elf village?” I asked.

“We traded favors with another Witch squad who used to conduct operations in the area. They told us about an Elf village around the Acheron River. We used the spell to do the rest.”

“One of the worst decisions you and your sisters made, I’d imagine.” I wistfully replied.

“No, Mistress. One of the luckiest days of my life!” A crazed expression surfaced on her face. “I dearly miss my sisters, but now I get to live their dream- to serve a worthy Master who actually wants us!”

Wow, that woman was truly beyond any mortal help. I’ve heard that Witches were trained and indoctrinated at a very young age so they’d be obsessed and dependent on the Emperor. The recent trauma of being abandoned by her abuser and losing her sisters in such a violent manner must’ve really messed her up inside.

But I didn’t think she was a danger to us. Not anymore. Rummy might be too paranoid to trust her, but I wasn’t. Call it a woman’s intuition- I believed she had mentally replaced her devotion to the Emperor with her new devotion to Rummy. As long as she thought of my future husband as her “Emperor”, she would be unquestionably loyal.

Maybe someday we’ll help her overcome this mindset. But not now- we simply didn’t have the time for such luxury. “Sapphire, I have some questions on how to improve the efficiency of my <> spell so I can cure diseases...”