1

Anyone seeking to get into the imperial territory of Tratovia from the southern kingdoms would have no choice but to take the scenic route. Why more direct paths didn't exist, why none had been constructed over the long centuries, the reasons for that were chiefly political. They were rooted in the experiences gained through those long centuries, in the distrust the times had ingrained in the locals. War and peace alternated frequently enough on the continent for no one to forget the former even when the latter prevailed.

A straightforward highway access to all the major cities would have made an invasion by the continent's greatest military might that much easier to carry out, whenever they wished to attempt it. No more complex reasons were needed. The greatest defense of the principality of Luctretz, as well as its neighboring kingdom of Langoria down south, were not their valiant knights, not the heavy stone walls guarding their capitals, not their swords, shields or spears of quality steel, or even the cunning of their leaders. Before all those, they were shielded by the geography of their respective domains. The vast distances which made moving infantry and cavalry a risky, time-consuming, resource-consuming effort, even to a powerful economy.

Dividing the southern continent of Noertia were barren, rocky mountain ranges and deep, dark gorges, where detached communities of dangerous beasts occasionally made an appearance. There were wide rivers with powerful currents splitting the otherwise shapeless expanses of lowland, with very few larger bridges to cross them. There were isolated batches of thick, unkempt forest here and there, that easily hid guerillas and supplies for the defenders. There were places where sharp, treacherous bits of bedrock peeked through the grassland to ruin wagons and carriages.

Weeks, if not months, of warfare on open land would follow the crossing of the border, before either nation’s capital could be claimed. So long as any chance of the effort proving wasted remained, no one would dare to even consider a conquest. And so, for these practical, natural reasons, the Emperor of Tratovia silently suffered the presence of his less ambitious neighbors, despite his well-known desire to unite all mankind under his flag.

While the general opinion in Luctretz had turned mixed over the recent years, Langoria had no intention of ever joining hands with a foreign power, no matter the reasons, and so they vehemently vetoed all the Merchant guilds' proposals for a new road or two.

Thanks to this state of affairs, traders, mercenaries, messengers, travelers, vagabonds, and adventurers alike moving between the nations had no choice but to spend some weeks on the roundabout, poorly maintained roads, to cross distances that could have only taken a few days as the crow flies.

“This isn't quite what I had in mind,” the woman from Earth, Itaka Izumi remarked, looking over the endless green lands spreading before her eyes from her seat at the back of a carriage.

The carriage in question, veiled with a tent-like cover, steadily pulled by a pair of large oxen, was certainly tedious to someone accustomed to the speedy 21st century vehicles, never mind the hectic pace of racing games.

Izumi had little against the peaceful travel speed per se, but she was also painfully aware that she wasn't growing any younger while the journey lasted.

Ever since being summoned to the whole world of Ortho a week ago, Izumi's goal had been to explore her new home, all the lands, and all the races, every nook and cranny of it.

The adventure had certainly started in a thrilling fashion, if not too much so, but luck was on the earthling’s side.

As Izumi made her hasty departure from the small town of Grelden with her friends, she realized she had forgotten her original clothes in the little room she'd been staying in. All she had was the glamorous, albeit dirtied ball gown she had worn to the mayor's earlier banquet, but going back to town was not an option. Thanks to the commotion, the lady had become wanted far and wide, and not in the romantic sense.

With great difficulty, Izumi managed to scrub the dress clean of all the blood by a small brook and then sold it to a merchant in the next town. Using the coin gained, she purchased herself a new, more appropriate costume at a local flea market. A simple shirt, capri pants, light shoes and a knightly surcoat—all secondhand, of course, but mostly intact.

Izumi’s companions brought her fashion sense to question several times.

The surcoat was obviously for men and too tight around the chest to be buttoned, but the woman herself took a liking to it. Her intention was to become a sword for hire, and for that, a certain rebellious look was necessary, or so she reasoned it. There wasn’t enough money to buy proper armor, but neither did Izumi want any.

“I always play the glass cannon build,” she explained. “Armor restricts movement, slows reactions, and it's awkward when I'm not used to wearing any. And since I’m already...chronologically challenged, it would tire me out too soon.”

“But without armor of any kind, you will die in one strike!” Her companions tried to make her see the good points of protection.

“Well, you can die even if you wear armor, you know?” Izumi retorted. “If you’re going to wear some, then you'd better go full Havel or there's no meaning.”

“What manner of expression is that…?”

“Anyway, all I need to do is to not get hit, so it’s okay.”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s not, if you get good.”

“Where exactly is this bravado coming from…?”

Now looking and feeling like a true adventurer in a medieval fantasy world, Izumi's journey had resumed with renewed vigor.

And yet…

It had already been three days and a half since they last saw a village, and there was no hint of adventure looming on the horizon. No monsters, no bandits, no magic or dragons, absolutely nothing even remotely thrilling, that would have allowed the tourist to forget her impatience.

Only grass, rocks, and the long road, as far as the eye could see.

Ever since she was a child, Izumi had prayed for a miracle that would take her to a whole new fantasy world from her old. She had lived for that dream and nothing else. One could say she had wasted her life, but as unlikely as it had been, the dream had actually come true. Regrettably, it seemed her portion of luck in this life was spent in the process.

The world she had ended up in continued to betray expectations at every turn.

“Please bear with it.”

Sitting opposite of Izumi was a young woman in a white dress and a shiny metal armor adorned with beautiful engravings, a deep blue cloak over it. Together with her clothes, Yuliana Da Via Brannan had regained the dignity and nobility appropriate to a true princess.

“We couldn't afford horses of our own, so this is as good as it gets for us,” Yuliana said. “As far as I can see, fortune has favored us only too kindly.”

Their ride, provided by a carpet and textile merchant from Estua, had the women travel together with the merchandise in the back of the carriage. Under the condition that they took off their shoes and didn't spill food or drinks while on board.

It was certainly a great deal more comfortable than an average bus ride, but the large beasts pulling the carriage weren't among the speediest of animals.

The merchant himself, a white-bearded, dried-up and tanned little man in his mid-fifties, had been looking for mercenaries to guard his goods on the way to the northern markets. He only had his adult daughter and the animals for company. Due to the modest size of his enterprise, he couldn't afford to pay much—or so he insisted—which was why he had experienced difficulty finding suitably street-credible escorts.

Yuliana and Izumi were not especially imposing in appearance, but content with only a ride out of Luctretz and food for payment. Both parties saw the deal as a dream come true, so compromises were made in other regards.

There was also a third passenger.

Though she was only a girl not much older than the princess, as a traveler she was by far the most experienced among the three of them. And also dressed for the part. Her thick vest, made of laminated leather, tough black riding pants, and dull brown cloak showed visible signs of wear, which could only result from long days on the road. The same message was conveyed by her tanned but attractive face and dark curls that long exposure to sunlight had turned from black to gray-brown.

“You should've been on the ride I came to Grelden with,” this third passenger, assassin Riswelze said, sitting on a crate to the left of Izumi. “It was smaller than this one, but had people on two floors, packed like sardines. The smell was—indescribable. My rear still remembers the coarse board it had to sit on for two weeks straight.”

“That would not have been a prison carriage, by any means?” Yuliana inquired in a dry tone, not very sympathetic.

“No,” Riswelze answered just as icily. “It was a slave carriage.”

“Surely even an uncultured manslayer like you is aware that there is no slavery in Luctretz. It was abolished by a law over a hundred years ago, before you were even born.”

“Oh, pardon me, your highness. I believe they call them, recruit carriages these days. Naturally, you won't see them during the day, since they only bring them in by the night, when it's well past every nice little princess's bedtime.”

Yuliana's face became flushed with anger again, as she evaded Riswelze's playful gaze.

“I should know better than to listen to the gossiping of a turncoat killer,” the princess said. “I rather put my faith in the Prince of Luctretz, who happens to be my good friend and an excellent, honest young man in all respects.”

“And no doubt just as detached from the realities of his land.”

“Lady Izumi, could you please tell your friend of questionable character to either be silent or else get off this ride? I'm sure I don't need to tell you which is my preference.”

“That's my line, your highness. Remind me again, Izumi, why must we babysit this uptight crane? We'd get a pretty penny selling her off to some noble at the nearest town. By prior experience, the demand is high.”

“You will address Lady Izumi with more respect than that. And stop trying to tempt her to villainy by your side,” Yuliana's tone was turning sharper still. “As the summoned champion of my people and the bearer of my family's heirloom, she is dramatically above the level of petty criminals in stature.”

“As her highness makes painfully evident by her every breath, rank alone doesn't make a person worth the clothes they're wearing. A friend of heart is the highest title attainable to a human, and such is she to me, above anything else. Not that you would understand such commoner concepts, having never had a real friend in your life.”

“That is…!” Yuliana jumped up from her seat. “Whatever senseless, lawless bond you believe you've made with Lady Izumi, after she bothered to rescue your worthless hide out of sheer charity, is not only fallacious from beginning to end, but nothing compared to the mutual respect between us.”

“Why don't you drop the holier-than-thou maiden act already? We both know the value of your bonds, seeing how quick you are to go along with any and every male that comes your way, whether they be town guards, pretend-nobles, or their brainless goons. Did you actually even want to get rescued? Maybe we interrupted something we shouldn’t have…?”

“Why, you villain—!” Bright red, the princess could barely contain her rage. “You will pay for those words!”

“Fine by me,” Riswelze stood up as well. “Making stuck-up princesses cry is my favorite pastime.”

—“Oh, pipe down, both of you,” Izumi interrupted their escalating bickering with a groan. “Aww, my head hurts...”

“Are you still feeling under the weather?” Forgetting about the assassin, Yuliana knelt beside the woman and asked. “Really, you should be more mindful of your age before getting carried away with drinking...”

“That's not it!” the woman dejectedly complained. “I need my morning coffee...! Why does no one in this world know coffee…? This is just awful! Awful! I'm starting to see why the Gods took off...”

“What’s this 'coffee' anyway?” Riswelze frowned. “I've never heard of such a thing before. Would be helpful if we knew what it's even made of.”

“Well, it's these beans...”

“Beans?”

“Yeah, you roast them...Where do they grow anyway? In a tree or a bush? Either way, it's a...Oww, I can't focus! My brain can't wake up without a cup! First I get the hangover of the century and then no coffee...As I thought, this world really sucks! Sucks, sucks, sucks!”

“The hangover part was purely your own fault, though,” Yuliana sighed.

“I know I'm not young anymore...” Izumi muttered.

Then, her tension suddenly spiked. “Oh, I got it now! Oww...”

“W-what?” Both Yuliana and Riswelze were startled by her sudden exclamation.

“Of course, why didn't I think of it sooner?” the woman resumed with a wide (only a bit pained) smile. “I know it now! My goal, my purpose as a character in this fantasy world! I'm going to find a way to make myself young again! That's it! That's just the thing! This is a world of might and magic where you can do anything. An elixir of immortality, a formula of everlasting life, anything goes! Where will I find it? Who do I have to kill to get it? Well? Tell me! Tell me! Hurry! Hurry up now!”

Izumi crawled to Yuliana and clung to her skirt hems, demanding an answer.

“Get a hold of yourself!” Yuliana tried to make her settle down, before turning to Riswelze. “Of course, there is a way. You know one, don't you?”

“R-right!” Riswelze tried to quickly recall the stories she had heard during her travels. “Yes, I know just the thing. Bathing in the blood of a dragon is said to make one invulnerable, and the tears of a phoenix can heal wounds, so it shouldn't be too far-fetched to think there's magic to make one young again...Or not! What am I saying? Why are we suddenly going along with this nonsense! Of course, there is no such thing! Those are fairy tales! You don't look that old to me! Get a grip!”

“When you reach my age, you'll know what I'm going through...” Izumi sank on the floor. “You'll change your mind then. You'll understand...Just you wait...It will happen before you know it...”

“Are you trying to put a curse on me now!?”

—“You lasses sure are having a jolly good time there, by the sound of it!” The old man driving the carriage turned to yell at them. “Just don't trample my merchandise, you hear me! Sit nice!”

“Ah, I'm sorry for the rowdiness!” Yuliana was quick to apologize.

“If it's youth you're looking for,” the merchant unexpectedly continued, “why don't you look up the spring of Felorn while you’re at it? Haha!”

Everyone traded glances, all equally confused.

“The spring of Felorn?” the princess repeated.

“Why, the source of everlasting youth,” the man said. “A spring hidden deep within the heart of the Felorn woods. It is no legend, ladies! Agelaos of Ealtram found the spring, a good four hundred years ago, that he did. Many books have been written about the wise wanderer. You heard of him? A vial of the water he brought back with him still exists and is on display in his hometown, as a proof that it happened. I've seen it with my own eyes! Being an Estuan, you know.”

“And yet, let me guess,” Riswelze commented, a sardonic smile on her lips, “that Sir Agelaos is long dead now, in spite of the youth he supposedly found, and that spring actually did no good to anybody.”

“Die he did, yes,” the merchant answered. “But not of old age! No! Don't you know the story? It was quite popular back in the day, what a shame. It is the water of youth in the spring, not of immortality! Agelaos died, as anyone would, when the great wyrm of Gornhull tore his head off and chewed it up! Ventured into the wrong land, he did. But, as those who last saw him said, not a hair of his head aged past the day when he found the spring. In fact, they say his corpse still lies there, on the slopes of Mt Eremitas, fresh as though he were killed only yesterday! Even though four hundred years've passed.”

The passengers listened in silence, and that silence persisted even after the old man had finished.

Izumi was the first to recover.

“Where's that spring, exactly? Did that Akko guy leave a map, by any chance?”

“Felorn woods spread along the west coast of Tratovia, with the southern end reaching over to Luctretz,” Riswelze answered. “It's not far at all. This very road takes us right by the forest on the way to the north.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

At her unexpectedly serious answer, Yuliana directed a suspicious glance at the assassin.

“What are you up to now?”

“Water that makes you young again? Isn't it obvious?” the dark-haired girl answered. “Imagine what it would be worth. Any old noble would be willing to pay tens of—hundreds of thousands in gold for just a drop. The business idea of the century.”

“Provided even a drop exists,” Yuliana retorted. “Don't tell me you believe this nonsense? Didn't you say it yourself? Those are nothing but fairy tales. The good mister here is playing us for fools, clearly enough. If it’s this easy to fool you, then you are even below the—exceedingly—low rating I've given you.”

“Dragons exist,” Riswelze argued. “Immortal, ever-young races exist, as do those that can live for hundreds of years. There's a grain of truth in every fairy tale.”

“...”

“The point is, it doesn’t have to be real! It's a matter of marketing, creating an appealing impression, dropping subtle hints here and there, mixed with innocent facts. The trick is to get other people to tell the story for you, and then the product practically sells itself. All we need is people who can vouch that we actually went there, and something passable for a miracle draught.”

The princess was less impressed by the plot.

“Do I need to remind you how many have gone missing in Felorn over the ages? It's one of the greatest and deadliest expanses of unexplored wilderness left upon the continent. Hostile elementals, dangerous wildlife, there could be tribes of trolls or goblins. You'd be mad to think we can simply ride in there and back again, the three of us, like it's the simplest little trip in the world. Spring or no spring.”

“First off, trolls don't live in forests and goblins have been all but eradicated from Noertia.”

“You're only arguing with me out of spite!”

“Well, there's that too.”

“You...”

“You're with me on this, aren't you, Izumi?” Instead of trying to convince the princess, Riswelze turned to the summoned champion with a mischievous smile, knowing Yuliana wouldn't be able to oppose anything the woman decided.

“Well, it does smell fishy,” Izumi thought for a moment. “That kind of thing is almost always a guaranteed lie or otherwise not worth the effort. Buuut, if it's really so close by, then it might be worth risking a lame moral lesson at the end of the day to check it out! Yes, of course, I’m going. I don't want any more wrinkles...”

“How old were you again?” Yuliana sighed. “I don't see any wrinkles on your face in the first place...”

“No, there are! Look closer! See?” Izumi brought her face closer to the princess and pointed at the corner of her eye. “This is number twenty-eight! I've had three new ones since last week! It must be because of all the stress and exercise! At this rate, I'm going to turn into a mummy after a month in this world! Oh, there’s no question about it! We're going to find this spring of wonders and when we do, I'm going to empty it!”

“Oh my, you'd snatch such a unique wonder of the world all for yourself!” Riswelze acted horrified, still unable to hide her triumphant smile. “Are you even human?”

“Well,” the woman cheerfully added, “even if we don't find the real deal, I can always go pick up the bottle that whats-his-name brought home and chug it!”

“ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN!?” Both Yuliana and the merchant hollered, in perfect sync.

No one at the time took this decision as official, far less final. They were only fooling around, to pass the time. The Felorn woods were hardly “close by” or easily explored, and nobody knew where within its vast depths the spring was hidden. Izumi did have an interest in reclaiming her lost youth, but she also lacked the mindset to commit to such a distant goal. Meanwhile, Yuliana's personal aspirations had nothing to do with eternal youth or the forest of Felorn, and she outright refused to consider it. And Riswelze—lived in the moment and went with the flow, like anyone in her trade.

“Ah, reminds me,” the assassin suddenly spoke. “Here, have this.”

She pulled something out of her bag and tossed it to Izumi. It was a bundle of leather straps and buckles resembling a harness, with a strange, smooth, circular plate attached at the center.

“This is…?”

“The stone there’s magnetite,” Riswelze explained. “A holder for your sword, so that you can wear it on your back. It’s heavy to drag around, isn’t it? This way you can have your hands free wherever you go. Pretty nifty, huh? Found it at the markets before.”

“For real? It’s way too cool!” Izumi examined the harness closer with excitement. “Is it really okay for me to have it?”

“Of course, it’s for you that I got it.”

“My, my, you sure scored yourself a ton of points now, Rise!”

“What points…?” Riswelze asked, but looked exceedingly pleased.

Yuliana directed a narrow glance at the other girl, less impressed.

“I’m surprised you had the coin for such a gift. It had to have been costly, by the looks of it. How much was it again, exactly?”

“I’m an assassin, not a beggar,” Riswelze shrugged and evaded the princess’s gaze. “Though I engage in occasional thievery as a hobby, I don’t need to count every copper in my pocket.”

“Oh, really? That’s good then. Here I was almost starting to think that you stole this thing from some poor aspiring mercenary...”

“Jealousy isn’t a pretty thing, your highness.”

“J-jealous?” Yuliana’s emotions were all too visible on her face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Yes, yes...”

2

The carriage continued to crawl across the endless lowlands of north-eastern Luctretz along a narrow road, which resembled a great tapeworm spread out against the green background. Verdant grass swayed in the gentle spring wind all around, the immaculate cerulean midday sky for a contrast. It was by all means a pleasant, sunny day, warm but not too hot, and nearly ideal for outdoor excursions. Perhaps too much so. The soothing air rendered the travelers lethargic and kept the conversations brief.

The lack of landmarks on the ground level was one thing, but there was nothing too fascinating in the skies either, as Izumi idly observed. A few small, pale celestial dots were visible even in broad daylight, which Yuliana identified as the three small moons orbiting Ortho, as well as the faraway planet Deneval, respectively. But upon a quick look, they were no different from spots of dust on a windshield, barely noticeable unless you were looking.

Izumi had expected to see something more surprising in this alien world, like exotic gas giants dominating the view, three colorful suns, black holes, or fancy nearby nebulae weaving intricate patterns over the canvas of outer space. Regrettably, as life on Ortho resembled that on Earth to a disorienting degree, it also meant that the planetary conditions were close to identical. Izumi thought she felt slightly lighter here, but whether that was due to a difference in the effect of gravity or simply loss of weight following exercise, she couldn't say.

Considering it further, even if the physical conditions were dramatically different in this world compared to her own, it was possible that Izumi's existence itself had been automatically adjusted to it, similarly to how she had been able to understand the local speech from the get go. She had adopted the prevalent standards for normality as a matter of course, and her point of reference became warped in the process.

For example, if she were to come across streetlights in this world, where green designated free passage and red prohibited it, could she say for sure it was a concept copied from her own world—or did she only feel they were the same, because the corresponding ideas were translated and equalized in her mind on the fly? Perhaps, if she were to be transported back into her original world now, as she was, she would come across some incomprehensible gadget controlling traffic and not understand any of it, and streetlights were only an impression retroactively restructured by Orthan concepts.

Concluding it was all a gigantic waste of time to think about, Izumi returned to nonchalantly gazing into the distance.

Shortly after noon, the travelers stopped on a wide mound to have lunch. Finished with her meal, Izumi sat on a rock and looked east, where tall rock formations far in the horizon caught her attention.

They were like groups of towers sticking up from the grass, with no other buildings near them. First imagining they were possible ruins of a past, now lost civilization, Izumi kept squinting at them, before making an alarming discovery.

“T-the rocks are moving...?”

“Titans,” Riswelze sitting close by informed her.

“Titans?”

“Yes, Titans. For a long time, they were mistakenly believed to be a subspecies of giants, but they're actually Earth Elementals, spirits of the land.”

“Spirits? Like Divines?”

“No,” Yuliana joined the conversation. As someone taught by the wisest of professors in Langoria, she didn't want a street-learned delinquent to outshine her. “Divines are high-ranking spirits created directly by the Gods themselves, and embody various aspects of them, while Elementals are spirits that spawned from nature on their own. They are a crystallization of the creative will coursing through all existence. They are similar, yes, but you could say their existences are perfectly opposite of one another. Divines are fated to one day forget their godly origin, lose their individuality and merge back into the flow of nature, whereas Elementals spontaneously gained individuality and separated from that flow—”

“Do they kill people?” Izumi asked what interested her the most.

“N-no, I don't think so. At least, I have never heard of that happening...”

“Oh, the princess doesn't know?” Riswelze didn't fail to goad at Yuliana. “Could it be, they don't teach that bit in the school where all the rich kids go? Yes, that would expect the old coots who write the books to actually step outside their lonely ivory towers and see the world for themselves. Relying on hearsay is so much easier...”

“H-how dare you! My professors have seen more of the world than you could ever dream about! If only you had a fraction of their wisdom, we wouldn't be in this tiresome situation.”

“So do they kill people or not?” Izumi repeated.

“They're barely even self-aware,” Riswelze shrugged and admitted. “They couldn't care less about people. Unless you get too close and let yourself be trampled over, then there's no danger.”

“Ehh, right,” the woman returned to silently staring away.

“...It's almost as if you're disappointed they don't?” Riswelze snorted.

“That's not it,” Izumi shook her head. “It's just, if they killed people, then somebody out there would want to get rid of them too. I bet you could make a load of gold by taking down just one, since the difficulty level looks pretty high.”

“Excuse me? You'd actually fight one of those? Just for gold?”

“Why, it could be a bit interesting to try.”

“Not even I'm that desperate for coin. They're huge, made of rock, see? Whenever one winds up too close to a city, a whole squad of wizards is needed to turn it away. What could a single sword hero do?”

“Oh, I have an idea. It's just like Shadow of the C******s in real life. Just need a horse.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about...Forget it. It's impossible.”

“Oh reeeeaally...”

Whether it was possible or not, Izumi's competitive spirit didn't like being told what she could do and what she couldn't.

“Ah, that's right, Lady Izumi,” Yuliana recognized her train of thought and spoke up in an effort to distract her. “I recall you saying you wanted to learn magic, yes? I do not mean to brag, but I happen to have some rudimentary knowledge of the Art. Ever since making the contract with my Lord, my understanding keeps expanding each day. If you like, I could share some of this knowledge with you, now that we have the chance.”

“Oh!” Izumi cheered up and turned around. “I do! Teach me! What can you teach me?”

“Very well,” the princess happily said and cleared her throat. “First, all magic depends on two things: Potential and language. Potential means the possible forms that magic may take through you. You, as a caster, are the channel through which the Power manifests, and, like people themselves, each person's magic is a bit different from everybody else's. Imagine your potential like a tree that grows within you. That tree slowly extends and grows thicker, separates into branches and blooms as you learn and practice the Art. There are also things like affinity and orientation to consider, but let us keep to the basics now.”

“Right, the basics.”

“Besides mysteries unique to each sorcerer, there are also common spells that virtually anyone can learn. Let's begin with one. This is called Ghost Light. All it does is generate a bit of light and you cast it like this.”

Yuliana held out her palm, concentrated and spoke,

“Iota.”

Soon enough, an orb of light appeared hovering above her hand. It was tiny but visible even in broad daylight.

“Hm...?”

Then, before the curious stares—the orb suddenly started to expand and grow in magnitude. Like the flash of a camera, it momentarily outdid the sun itself and then quickly disappeared, leaving everyone stunned.

“The heck just happened...?” Riswelze blinked her eyes, blinded.

“I—I don't know,” Yuliana replied, water gathering in her eyes. “I suddenly felt a surge of force greater than I intended to release and lost control...”

“Ai-chan's prank...?” Izumi speculated.

“Aren't your eyes hurting?” Riswelze asked her.

“Well, I knew she'd mess it up, since it's Yule we're talking about, so I was ready for it.”

“Excuse me!”

"And there's a super simple way to deal with flashbangs," Izumi happily explained. "Just keep the other eye closed while looking with the other. After the flash, open the eye you kept closed and close the other to adapt quicker.”

“Um, I've never seen you open either eye...”

“That's right! I'll only open them when I get serious!”

“Serious about what…?”

“Flash...bangs?” Yuliana repeated the odd word. “Is that magic of your world?”

“It's nothing that special,” Izumi replied. “Every worthwhile tactical FPS has flash grenades. Like SW*T or Splinter C***...”

“Oh boy, here we go again...”

The two girls were already used to their companion spewing otherworldly lingo and knew that the best medicine was to simply ignore it.

“Fiiiiine,” Izumi gave up explaining. “Then, what do I have to do to cast the flashbang?”

“'Ghost Light'.” Yuliana coughed dryly and resumed her lesson. “Let's do this step by step. The wise adepts teach us that each person has not only a physical body but also a spiritual one, which overlap with one another. Your spirit is the catalyst by which all spells manifest. Now, close your eyes and concentrate. Turn your thoughts towards your heart. Not the physical heart, but the core of your spiritual body. Picture it as this little sphere of energy deep within you, a bit above the navel, pulsating as you breathe...”

“My mentor told me to imagine it as a gate, though,” Riswelze commented, following their lesson from the side while chewing on a straw.

“T-the image is unimportant, so long as you focus on the right spot,” the princess said. “Now imagine the energy of this sphere gradually intensifying...”

“Much quicker and easier if you just picture the gate opening.”

“Please be quiet about your dark arts. Now, start to draw energy from the sphere...”

“So wasteful. A little sphere can't fit much in it, can it? But a gate can have unlimited quantities on the other side.”

“We do not need 'unlimited quantities' for one simple spell! I told you to be quiet, you charlatan! Or do you proclaim to be a master magician too, on top of a thief and a cutthroat? Some good your magic ever was, letting yourself be captured and—”

—“Excuse me, who was the one who got herself captured first, despite being a princess and apparently also an excellent adept? How did that happen?”

“I-I allowed myself to be taken away! I was not captured, I went along with them in good faith and had my noble intentions mercilessly exploited—”

“And, what do I do next?” Izumi interrupted the escalating bickering again.

“Ah, yes!” Yuliana hurriedly seized the opportunity to distance herself from Riswelze. “Keep drawing the energy steadily. Next comes language. Every spell gains its form through the old tongue; the universal language spoken tens of thousands of years ago, during the Golden Age. We humans have mostly forgotten that speech by now, but it's the native tongue of elves and goti, for example, so it's still possible to learn it. You have potential, you have your spirit for a catalyst, and the words form the blueprint which tells the spell what to do. The more complex the spell, the more details you need to provide to make it work, while for simpler things, just one word is generally enough. However, simply saying the word will not suffice. It is essential that you also understand the precise meaning of it, the concept the word represents. In this case, as you heard, the incantation used for Ghost Light is, 'iota'. Translated to our tongue, the word means 'to turn on'. But it doesn't mean turning on, as in pulling a lever, or activating in general. It's used exclusively for turning on a light, starting illumination...”

“The explanation is taking too long...” Izumi groaned.

“Pay attention, or it won't work! Now, reach out your hand. Yes, the palm up like that. Picture the energy inside flowing through your veins, up your arm. Feel it gather on your palm...Are you imagining it now?”

“I am,” the woman mumbled, a frown of concentration contorting her forehead.

“Good. Now, speak the word.”

“...This is kind of embarrassing to do when people are looking.”

“Just do it.”

“Um, iota?”

“….”

“…..”

“...That’s strange,” the princess mumbled. “There should be at least a slight glow appearing about now. That's the way it worked for me. Did you really understand the meaning of the word?”

“Yeah, like flipping on the light switch, right?”

“Er, what switch?”

“I told you the image you use for channeling energy is not intuitive,” Riswelze said. “Try my way, and it will work right away, I am sure of it.”

The two proceeded to share various cognitive tricks to aid the visualization and execution, but to their collective dismay, all attempts proved equally fruitless. Izumi wasn't able to create one little spark, let alone a stable ignis fatuus.

Perhaps she simply had no potential for this particular spell?

The princess and the assassin went on to try and share other spells from their limited repertoires with the woman but to no avail. She couldn't cast Compass of Light, Weapon of Light, Light Marker, Cloak of Shadows, or Silent Footsteps. That is, none of them.

In the end, the tutors had no choice but to declare their poor student a hopeless case.

“Well, though everyone has spirit and potential, that doesn't mean just about anyone can draw upon them too,” Riswelz shrugged, unwilling to admit that her level as a magic instructor might have been lacking. “Perhaps your core has simply degraded from going unused for so long?”

“Sorry for being too old...” Izumi mumbled, dejected.

“I-it's not like I have a problem with that, personally! I mean, I'm sure you have some wisdom to you, that only...maturity may attain. Yeah, I like you better this way.”

“Yes,” Yuliana agreed. “I don't know about your wisdom, but having seen what a simple sword can do in your hands, I shudder to think of the consequences of you obtaining the power of magic as well.”

Izumi pouted at this unexpected jab,

“And I so would've wanted to become a magic knight. It would've made my life here easy mode. Like D*** Souls with a pyromancy build...”

“Ehh, right...”

“That reminds me,” Izumi said, “you mentioned the people of this land used to be more advanced tens of thousands of years ago, didn't you? Any chance there's a magical mech lying somewhere underground, waiting to be discovered? Finding a nifty airship will be the next item on my to-do-list, right after my eternal youth!”

“Air..ship?”

“Please spare us, I have no idea what you're talking about!”

The lunch break went on like this, and it soon came the time to continue on. However, before they could, a distraction arrived along the road.