Mages and humans. Their conflict had begun ever since the humans started to fear the mages' capacity to master the elements of the world. Humans, who lacked the necessity to become like us, decided in the end to just eliminate all of our kind ensuring a brighter future for themselves. Selfish little fools as always. Yet now... What they once feared is now something they want to own? Truly despicable, lowest of the low. Why did they not accept us in the past? Must they be the ones to have power? Truthfully, utterly despicable.

"That old faker, how was he able to use magic?" I asked myself as I seemed to have been over thinking again. I was in the search for my veiled hat somewhere around where we fought the bandits. This was the place where Milla and I first became close, with all her gentle prancing and spinning. She was partly a very annoying human. Now I wonder how could she be doing? A day has already passed since our separation from each other. Hopefully Sebas won't be too much of a nuisance.

And speaking of nuisances...

"Friesha! It's not in here either..." I seem to have one myself. "Man, where could you have lost it?"

"Like I told you, it's none of your business," I huffed.

All the while I try to brush him off, yet he keeps on coming back. Like a lost puppy wanting to be adopted (only that puppies are cute while he is... NO!), tailing me wherever I go. "It's an important item for me to cover my ears on the way to my destination. I don’t need your help."

Now that I thought about it, how did he know I was a mage?

"I'm hungry all of a sudden..." Yes, I could hear his stomach growling for the past hour. "Oi, let's find some food first. We could've bought food from a nearby town if only you accepted that tall guy's reward."

"Hey, you. I have a question."

"And I have a name. You just said my name before, why not now?"

“I don’t care. Just answer me.”

"Oi, what's with that attitude? My mother once told me that being insensitive will not get you a good partner in life. Though I don't know what that means..."

"How did you know I was a mage?" I stood firm and asked him seriously. Based on his answer, I may not need the veiled hat anymore.

"I just knew after I saw your ears," he answered while caressing his demanding stomach.

"I mean how did you see my ears?" I never once carelessly removed my veiled hat. That time at the mushroom-cursed village, I already met him. Which could only mean one thing...

"I just saw you taking a bath, that's all."

"HAAAAAAAHHHH??!!!!" I knew it. There was no other explanation. However, I never wanted to be right. "Y-y-you s-s-s-saw wh-whaaat?!!"

"You taking a bath. Why?"

"WHHHYYYY??!!!" Can I kill him? Please dear gods, tell me it's sinless to kill this creature in front of me.

"Come on, let's find food first..!"

"Find your own food! You father of all idiots!!" and I turned my back at him before stomping my own way.

"Oi! Wait!"

After that fight against those humans sent to kill Milla. I immediately continued on my journey, starting off with finding my veiled hat. Once I find it I'll definitely make a staff first. It's annoying to keep on casting a spell, or hurting myself with unstable magic. As for this idiot. Perhaps I should deal with him once and for all. I'll give him the fight he wants and defeat him in the worst manner possible, that way he'll finally lower his tail as he leave.

"Ah, Friesha is that... " he suddenly called out to me as he pointed to a direction. I followed his gaze and saw a familiar thing...

"AAAHHH!!! YOU!!!" he was pointing at a doe in weird coloring and for weird reasons, had flowers and mushrooms on its newly grown horns.

"You're that doe that drank all my magic essentials last time!!" And those flowers, mushrooms, and weird coloring of green, yellow, black, and red are the proof. This time, it had my veiled hat covering it's butt.

Immediately, it hopped off as fast as it could.

"Wait!!" I immediately chased after it with all my speed. Just then a figure passed by me. It was Felgard also in pursuit of that thing. Did his speed increase? I didn't quite notice during that battle.

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"Got you!" he leaped out in order to grab the doe. He successfully managed to grab hold of it but failed to notice he was falling towards a river. "Huhuwaahhh!!"

"Hey, you!" before I could say anything, he had already fallen with a splash to the river. Unfortunately, the river was flowing fast. I couldn't see him as the water current was too strong with huge boulders.

"Hey! Where are you!!" I heard no response as I ran following the river's trail. "Answer me!"

I then cast a flying spell and flew up the water as I followed it. "Where are you Felgard?!! Can you hear me?!!" Still there was no response until a huge splash emerged from one boulder.

"You called?!!" there, Felgard emerged and clung unto the boulder with his left hand as he held the veiled hat on the other.

"Hold on, I'll cast a levitation spell on you," I then began chanting words of the wind and with a lift of my hand, lifted him up in the air as well. Carefully, I lead him towards land and immediately placed him down.

"Oi, that hurt," he then caressed his butt. "Ah, it's wet now..."

"Well of course, you both fell down the water, airhead," I immediately grabbed my veiled hat from him.

"You won't say thank you?!"

"Yes, thank you."

"Put some more life into it!" he pouted as he sat on the ground. "You're mean."

"So what if I am?"

"I got you your hat you know."

"I did not ask you to. I could've easily done it myself."

"That's so mean of you. I was being nice."

"Yes, you were being a fool. Let me tell you this, in this world, being nice means you're being foolish; doing stuff where you gain nothing in return. You will only be taken advantage of by those around you."

"...Does that mean you were being a fool too?"

"What did you say?"

"...You helped that rich-looking girl escape. That kid and his slime mother too. You were being nice to them. Do you feel like you were taken advantage of?"

"N-no..."

"So you were being nice?"

"I-I wasn't being nice! I was uhh... I was learning them. I was learning how human minds work. That way I can identify their weaknesses and strengths. Yes, truly that was my intention..."

"Then why'd you help me this time?"

"Because you have my veiled hat of course! I have no other reason to spare your life."

"You could've just grabbed your hat and leave me on the river..."

"........."

"........."

"Anyway! Just be grateful I saved you too!" I turned my back from him without a word.

I could feel the realea of his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

Disregarding him, I chanted yet another spell. This time was a flame magic to produce heat and instantly dry my veiled hat. "Okay!!" I then put it back on. "Ah, Now I feel half complete."

"Unfair, dry me to..." he was slightly in a bad mood, which mattered not to me.

"Dry yourself up."

"Okay fine," he then started taking off his clothes.

"W-w-w-w-wait!! Stop, stop! Okay, let me just dry you up!"

"Really?" he looked happy.

"I have no other choice," truly I just don't want to remember how naked he was before.

There, Felgard sat down on the ground closing his eyes as I chanted heat magic to dry him up. Slowly water vapor and water realea left his clothes. I could've done this in one wave of my staff, if I had one.

I stared at his face (of corse I had to look), I guess he wasn't that bad, I mean he had the appearance of a young boy.

"Hey, how old are you?" he opened his eyes and suddenly asked out of nowhere.

I really didn't want to answer him but, "I'm ten years old." I ended up saying it anyway.

"Huh?! Really?!! So your like a year older than me then."

"So you're still nine years old?"

"I'll be ten next month!"

"Okay."

"You don't seem interested."

"Not really..." I then stopped the spell since he's already dry. "There you have it."

"Hooo! Thank you!" and there's that irritating half smile on his face, which soon vanished after his stomach growls chased it away. "Ah... I'm so hungry I cannot take another step."

I took a deep breath and sighed, "Can't be helped huh?!"

A while later, I placed the pierced animals I recently caught right next to a fire I just started. What I had there were three fishes, a lizard (not Flamebelly) a hare, and a rock mountain mouse. It is a lot easier catching them through magic than cooking through magic. While the food was still being cooked and Felgard on lying on the ground,

I meditated to try enhancing my magic and control it for the time being without a staff. I closed my eyes and emptied my mind, feeling very single movement of realea around me. I was unable to meditate back at MIlla's mansion. Perhaps now would be the right time.

After for about a while, I reopened my eyes and was shocked the food wasn't fully cooked yet. It would seem my meditation length has been shortened. Could this also be because of me being unstable? Just then Felgard got up and yawned, stretching his arms in the air.

"Ooh, finally your awake," I chuckled at his sleepy face which was quite funny to look at.

"Mmmh... Oh, food! You prepared all these by yourself?" he went near the fire (or the food).

"Of course I did," it's not like there's someone else here. "You'll be having the rock mountain mouse."

"Oi!"

"I did caught them all by myself!.."

"I would've helped you if you woke me up."

"Well, now that you're awake, wanna find your own food?"

"..." and he just sat down, pouting as he held his cheeks on top of his palm.

There was a minute of silence in the place until...

"Thank you..." Felgard suddenly spoke.

"What?"

"For preparing food for me..."

"H-haah? It's not like it's all for you. I'm hungry too you know. It's just..." I felt like my face was flustering, so I looked away. "It's for the Flamebelly lizard kebabs you treated me with..."

"Still, you plan to give me some... So thank you. And for last time too."

"What time?"

"That time we exchanged names. I was super hungry at that time, too. Just like now."

Thinking about it, the only thing different about before was it was at night. It was our first time eating together... first time together...

"Humph!! Just forget about that. It's no longer important."

"It is, to me."

"W-why do you have to be so grateful all the time?" I was feeling weird.

"Because my mother once told me to always cherish the good things, even the tiniest ones, for sometimes they are greater than the big things."

"........"

For some reason I just looked away and was afraid to look him in the eye. Was this guilt I felt? All this time he was being a stupid foolish nonsense, while I kept on pushing him away. Could I be feeling guilty?

"Ah, the food got burned," he said.

"What?!! Aaaaaahhh!! I've had it! You're not getting anything!!"

"What did I do?!"

Seriously, he's so annoying...