Ryoko gave Yuriko such a knowing look when she got home that she was compelled to give an explanation.

“Booze and card games.”

“Ah.” Ryoko smirked, then leaned towards Yuriko and breathed deeply. She clicked her tongue, though, and muttered, “It seems we have to wait for their return, but good job unwinding, young mistress.” There was a slight emphasis on the young part and Yuriko rolled her eyes.

“Breakfast in ten minutes, mistress. Please freshen up. You could stand to burn the alcohol stench off your dress.”

“Alright,” Yuriko muttered sourly.

The evening gown was too fragile to run her Radiant energy through it without disintegrating it. Forceweave was barely strong enough now and Yuriko wondered if she would have to create clothes out of materialised Animus if she wanted to stay clothed while fighting. Using Elemental Body destroyed her clothes back then, leaving only her forceweave underthings, but even so, they were nearly ruined. Only their self-repair enchantment allowed her to salvage them.

Hmm, that reminds her of Cillian and his great-grandmother, Monica Coinoch. She had rushed to the rescue, and while she did succeed in rescuing him, he had been irreparably changed by his exposure to Chaos. Monica had thanked her profusely, but she brought Cillian to Bresia City to seek medical help. She actually received a letter for her when she got back from the final exams, waiting in her postbox. The cover letter was merely Monica giving her an update on Cillian’s condition, which was basically, no change. He still retained full use of the limb, except it looked like he had an arm from a L’Tik lizardkin exchanged from his own.

The rest of the letter was a bunch of updates on the suspected kidnappers, as well as a web of conjectures and plots. The Chaos Fount overflows that Yuriko and the others fought against on the way from the border to Nirlith were not unique nor coincidence. It was a plot by Chaos Magi. At least that’s what the republic’s intelligence division thought. Monica wasn’t really supposed to inform Yuriko about it, but she explained in her cover letter that because she helped retrieve Cillian and other prisoners, as well as confront the plotters, she had been given special dispensation.

Not that it really mattered to Yuriko.

The tussle inside the Chaos Fount had been a bit exciting but the absence of an actual foe made the whole experience a bit lacking. Yuriko’s instincts borne from walking the Ancient's Way pushed to conflict. The growth of her Anima accelerated and quickened when she either fought strong opponents or when she experienced something for the first time. Hmm, but maybe the latter was more a consequence of the Davar Wanderlust, huh?

She only skimmed the rest of the report, and since it seemed interesting, she sat down at the kitchen table to peruse it while waiting for Ryoko to serve breakfast.

“Mistress! Your wolf pet stole the breakfast ham!” Ryoko yelled.

Yuriko blinked, then zeroed in on Fluffington, who was lying casually on his side…while chewing the meat slowly and carefully. His Anima was shaped into a humanoid hand and was grasping several slices of ham. Even as she observed him, he separated a slice from the pile and tossed it into his mouth.

“Fluffy,” Yuriko said in a flat tone, but the puppy simply grinned at her. “No stealing. Ask.”

He tilted his head as if asking how he was supposed to ask Ryoko for food.

“You’re a puppy and you don’t know how to beg for food?”

At that, the wolf looked vaguely offended, but she could feel that he mostly accepted it.

“No food left?” Yuriko asked.

“There’s food,” Ryoko said hastily, “I wouldn’t let my mistress starve!”

Yuriko nodded and went back to reading. The report labelled every Chaos Fount that had overflowed, though some had notes that stated that there were no signs of Chaos Magi when the Fount was delved. A total of fifty-four overflowed, and each one was right next to a village or town. None were near one of the four cities. Adventurers who delved reported that twelve of the overflow Founts had Life Essence when they reached the core chamber.

Ryoko served Yuriko a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and slices of ham, along with a cup of aromatic coffee. Yuriko added a couple of cubes of sugar as well as a dash of milk since she didn’t like it if it was too bitter.

“We’re likely going to Virtalla City with Sofia and Juliette,” Yuriko said. “Please get ready. I haven’t confirmed, but we’ll likely leave tomorrow. Or maybe later today.” Today was the 1st Day of Fire, she abruptly realised and felt a wave of nostalgia and melancholy. Another Atavism Ritual Day had passed. Oh, Mum was pregnant. Did she give birth already? Did she have a new sister or brother? Hopefully, she’d get a little sis, but then again, the odds of her getting back to Rumiga while the younger sib was still little was close to none. Yet another weight on her back.

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Oh well. When she made it back, Yuriko would make it up to her family. She had been taking life as it came, but shouldn’t she focus on trying to get back? She already spent many years away from Rumiga right after her Atavism, and she spent most of that time clamouring to return. What was life if she didn’t enjoy it? Was it the journey that was important or the destination?

Rumiga wasn’t in danger. The Chaos Duke had been killed, and even if the plane was a fraction of what it had been before, at least they weren’t sharing it with hostile people. A nugget of wisdom from the perverted old man floated up from the depths she consigned it to.

Live.

A single word, a simple concept, but it encompassed so many things.

Live.

Yuriko smiled and sipped her coffee. It was nice and sweet. She enhanced her senses, taste and smell, and she delved into the depths of flavour that the brew hid within its depths. If she didn’t look, she wouldn’t see. If she rushed, she’d pass everything by.

Half a decade of fighting, rushing, and training.

Live.

But what was life without power, huh? Damien’s warnings before he fell silent echoed in her mind. Always taking one step at a time, never stopping, never going back.

Live.

A sense of contentment filled her heart and her Anima, Mien, and Radiant Core throbbed. She didn’t look. She simply sipped her coffee and let her mind drift.

She spent most of the morning in leisure. The night’s excesses didn’t stain her physique. Her Radiant energy, once she allowed it to return from passivity, consumed all the remnant traces of alcohol, and infused every particle of her body, refreshing and strengthening her. For a moment, she allowed her Anima to release all of its bodily restrictions and she flexed her fingers.

Boom!

“What was that? Young mistress, are you alright?” Ryoko rushed into the kitchen in a tizzy. Fluffington bolted to his feet, proving that he had more than recovered from his maiming at the paws of the Earthen Bear.

“It’s nothing,” Yuriko said as she quietly restricted her body. The mere act of closing her fist had caused the loud noise and the shockwave that happened when she threw a pebble with her Animakinesis at full strength, a couple of years ago.

There was really no need to test her physique at the moment, ehehe. Not if she wanted to refrain from causing collateral damage to the buildings and environment. The next time she enters a Chaos Fount or an Elemental Conflux, then she’ll test.

Sighing, she left the dining room and thought about heading to the academy’s library to continue perusing the spellbooks. She needed to advance her ability to cast True Connection, then at least she’d be able to tell her family that she and the others were alive and well.

But when she opened the door, it was to the sight of Juliette about to knock.

“Oh! Professor!”

“You’re no longer my student,” Yuriko pointed out. “You can call me Yuriko.”

“Oh, of course, but uhm, I’d still like to continue learning about the Four Phases from you.”

“That’s fine.”

“Er, yes, uhm, I, er, I invited you to a Gala Presentacion in Virtalla, uh, we were both drunk, but I’d like to know if you were sincere in accepting?”

“Of course. I don’t go back on my word,” Yuriko said.

“Great! Ah, I’ll send a message home to include you in the list. Uh, we should take the caravan tonight, so we can get to Virtalla by the 3rd.”

“Tonight?” Yuriko frowned. “That’s fine, actually, but I can’t leave Fluffington alone. Will he be allowed aboard?”

“Ah, only if we hire the entire carriage.” Juliette mused, “Uhm, that’s nearly two golds as opposed to three silver per seat.”

“That’s acceptable,” Yuriko said.

“Great! I’ll come with you to book the ride.” The two of them walked towards the first layer.

“Sure. Are your boyfriends joining us?”

“Boyfriends?” Juliette frowned, “I’m not in a relationship.”

“Oh, I mean Mark and Javier, the wolfkin boys.”

“I haven’t asked.” Juliette said dismissively, “I’m sure they have other things to do during the vacation.”

“They seem like good company,” Yuriko teased.

Juliette snorted, “If you want to toy with their feelings, don’t include me.”

Yuriko giggled, “What makes you think I’m toying with them?”

Juliette raised an eyebrow. “The fact that you didn’t kill them after they had liberties with you?”

“What liberties?” Yuriko muttered.

“...nothing. I guess being a foreigner means you have different mores.”

“Of course, but most of your sensibilities match mine.”

“If you say so.” Juliette snorted.

“Anyway, it seems you and Sofia are getting along.”

At that, the dark-haired girl grew visibly flustered. “We were drunk. Drunk!”

“I see.”

The walk towards the station devolved into an awkward silence. They reached it after half an hour’s walk, and she paid to secure the carriage. The caravan would leave by four o’clock in the afternoon, which was less than seven hours away. Yuriko cast Message to Ryoko to prepare their luggage.

“See you later, prof…Yuriko!” Juliette waved goodbye.

Upon returning, Yuriko headed to the hot springs inn and informed Desire and Devotee of her plans. She figured both would like to come with her but was surprised, when Desire said, “Have a safe trip, master!”

“Eh?”

“Uhm, I’m close, very, very close to advancing. I can’t head to the Chaos Sea from here easily, but the Hot Springs Chaos Fount is still a good place to advance. If I head to the core, there should be enough free Chaos to shape. If I…we go with you, I’ll have to delay.”

“I see,” Yuriko said. “Very well.” She reached for Desire and gave the Chaos Lord a hug. “Do you need anything from me?”

“Chaos, distilled and crystallized, and an Animus construct containing some of your Radiant energy.”

Yuriko nodded and reached for Fri’Avgi. The artefact was still full of distilled Chaos, and it wasn’t much of a problem to compress and crystallize it. Well, it took a couple of hours, but by the time she was done, she gave Desire an octahedron of condensed Chaos the size of her palm. As for the Radiant energy, she plucked a strand of hair from her head, looped it around until it formed a ring, then infused Animus and Radiant energy into it. She etched a few containment runescript patterns on the ring, then added a mote of Radiant energy, contained within a ten-lumen chunk of of crystalized Animus, the equivalent of nearly a hundred thousand lumens of photonic Animus. That took another couple of hours to do, and by the time she was done, it was almost time to depart. Ryoko sent a Message spell a few minutes ago.

“Take care of her,” Yuriko said to Devotee, who nodded and looked at her expectantly. She smiled and gestured to the Chaos Lord, who happily came in for a hug.

“Safe travels, master!” both Chaos Lords said as Yuriko left Fount. She met Ryoko at home and brought a protesting Fluffington along. They flew towards the station and boarded the luxurious Steeld carriage. Juliette and Sofia had already boarded, and soon, the four of them were seated and shared a bottle of sweet wine.

A few minutes later, the Steeld caravan left the station.