Author’s Note: So I really, really apologize for how long this chapter took to come out. I’m still not entirely satisfied with it but I think this is the best I’m going to be able to get and I want to actually move on. Like I said in my previous post, I have no idea why this chapter’s content caused me such issues to write. The chapter is a bit shorter than normal but please enjoy and I hope I’ll be able to post the next chapter in three days.

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Chapter 19

I was dozing when Seran started waking up. I wasn’t sure how long I had been half asleep, but it looked like it was around dawn, or close to it judging by the amount of light I saw through the small window in the room. I’m a bit surprised Seran is waking up this early, but on the other hand she did go to bed a lot earlier than she had been during the journey here. She also didn’t need to stay on watch for half the night. Maybe I had been a bit unfair waking her up before?

Seran was groggy as she sat up looking around the room. She seemed a bit confused about where she was. I could see that her eyes were a bit red and puffy from the crying she had done too.

“Good morning Seran. Feeling better?” I gently asked.

Her eyes finally focused on me and blinked rapidly. She then rubbed her eyes a bit before groaning. “I shouldn’t have drank so much of that wine last night. I can’t believe I started telling that story. How did you manage to drink so much with such a small body? You were drinking way more than I was!” I laughed in response to her accusatory tone. “Hey, it’s not funny! Oww my head really hurts.”

I just laughed more and patted her head a couple times. “There, there! It will be alright. Now you know not to try to match me in drinking again. I wouldn’t be surprised if all those other ladies that were down there last night drinking with us are going to be feeling extra delicate this morning just like you are now.”

Seran rubbed her forehead a bit before she spoke up again. “At least being drunk made it so that I woke up early. I wanted to have a chat with you about some things before we had to separate and I lost the chance to do so.”

“Oh? What sort of things?” I inquired. She probably just wanted to try to get me to agree to visit her clan.

Seran looked at me directly, well it wasn’t perfectly directly, and the serious look on her face was somewhat marred by the hangover she was suffering, but I have to give her points for trying. “Sorry, this might be a bit intrusive, but I want you to know that I’m willing to give you any support you might need.” I was confused about where she was going with this. Seran took a deep breath before continuing, “Seri, did something happen to your family?”

The unexpected question hit me like a sledgehammer. Why!? Why is she asking that? I tried to reply calmly but my voice was unsteady. “I, I don’t know what you mean. Didn’t I tell you all about my family during the trip?”

Seran nodded. “Yes, you did. That’s also why I’m sure something must have happened to them. When you were telling those stories you didn’t show much emotion at all. It was like, you were recounting a story you had heard somewhere else and were adjusting it to make it appeal to what I wanted to hear. I thought maybe you were just hiding it because you didn’t trust me, so I didn’t want to push you on it.”

I was trembling. Had I really been that obvious? Lynn was urging me to stay calm, but I was having great difficulty accomplishing that. I hadn’t been mentally prepared to think about my family and Seran’s earlier question had cut into me deeply. I felt like I was going to be overwhelmed by the grief that I had been pushing aside for the last week since my break down. I worked myself up to speak, “If you decided you weren’t going to push me, then why did you ask now?” I glared at her.

Seran looked a bit ashamed of herself, but she still returned my glare calmly. “Simple. It’s because I want to help you if you are in trouble. Also, because I know I probably won’t get another chance to have this conversation with you since I’ll be back at the fortress.”

“Why do you think I need your help?” I hissed at her.

“It’s been pretty clear from all your questions that you are lacking a lot in knowledge. Look, Seri, I really do just want to help you. Can you trust me and tell me what happened? If you say you can’t then I’ll leave it at that.” Seran said.

I bit back my instant response to deny her. I instead thought hard. It would be a huge boon to have someone actually from this world as a collaborator, but there’s all those risks involved with actually sharing the truth with anyone. I’ve only known Seran a few days, after all. Seran might catch on again if I don’t tell her the full truth. I’m not sure how much help she would be if I don’t tell her the full truth either. It would be hard to explain why I need certain materials without her knowing. It would be really nice to have someone else I could talk to openly and maybe connect with.

Lynn interrupted my thoughts with her own opinion. “Mistress, you can’t tell her no matter what. She’s a soldier for this country and she’s already stated that the noble that runs this town was interested in you, most likely because that fortress commander told him about the title. It’s entirely possible that she might be attempting to get information out of you to then hand over to the country. If you have to tell her anything, just tell her that you’re separated from your family because of your wandering and home sick. It’s the truth without any real detail.”

Lynn’s words poured cold water over my thoughts. She was right. I had started feeling a bit too close with Seran despite the short time I had known her and was ignoring the fact that she wasn’t just an adventurer or independent person. She was a soldier that had to follow orders. There was no way I could let any country discover my ship and technology.  I really hadn’t thought of the possibility that Seran might be observing me for her superiors, but now that Lynn put it out there it’s definitely a possibility I should have considered sooner. Was it just because I was enjoying her affection that I didn’t consider it? Then again Lynn has been very biased against Seran since that first hug. Well not like that matters any. Between anyone else and Lynn, I’ll always choose Lynn, so I guess I won’t tell her the truth. Should I at least tell her the simple version Lynn suggested though? It might get her off my back if I do. Or should I not? Hmm decisions, decisions.

A quick glance told me that Seran was still sitting there waiting patiently as I mentally considered. With a thought, I tossed a link to her, but she was surprisingly pretty blank. She was thinking simple thoughts like wondering what the inn would serve for breakfast and if she would have time to take a bath before Gormon and her would have to leave. Well, and wondering if I would tell her or not. Her mind just felt weird though. The feeling reminded me of people I had met in the game who were guarding their thoughts. I don’t feel any psi or anything from her so I know it’s not that. Is this something to do with magic? Can magic do this? Or is this just how her mind always feels? I kind of regret not testing a link on her before now.

Damn it, I just can’t help but be suspicious of Seran now. I’ll tell her Lynn’s suggestion and end this conversation there. “Seran, I’m just homesick from being away from my family for so long. That’s all.”

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Seran was surprised at the sudden answer but she nodded. “Alright. I’ll leave it at that then. I would like you to have this though.” She pulled a carved wooden pendant out of her bag. “This pendant says you’re a member of our clan. It’s carved from a small piece taken from the Great Tree that we’ve always cared for. I just want you to know that you might be currently separated from your family, but you still have other family, okay? Also the pendant might help you out if you get into trouble. Even if our clan isn’t high in status, the main family is only a barony, we have risen to high positions in the military from time to time.”

I took the pendant from her and sent my psi senses scouring through it. I didn’t notice any magic in it at all. It really appeared to be just a carved piece of wood, though I can’t recognize what type of wood it is. Also, despite my new suspicion of her, I was thankful for the gift. Of course I’d have to make sure it really doesn’t have any kind of magic on it later, but for now I’ll take the gift at face value as a sign of Seran’s concern for me. “Thanks Seran, I’ll treasure it. Isn’t this your pendant though? Will you be in trouble without it?”

“No, I just happen to have two of them.” She had a bitter expression as she said that so I assumed it had something to do with her dead lover. If that was the case, I’m astonished that she would part with such a memento.

I wanted to end this turn of conversation before it became troubling again. “Why don’t we use the time before breakfast to bath, Seran? I’ll even let you go first.”

Seran brightened up and agreed. She wobbled a bit after standing up but she made it to the bathroom alright. I hope she doesn’t take a long bath, since I want to take one too. Now I need to do something to kill some time. Let’s try playing around with the ambient magic with my psi. Should be a good time killer. The fact that it would let me ignore the sounds of Seran bathing in the next room is only a coincidence! Even if I know now that she might actually be something like a spy against me, a sexy woman is still a sexy woman after all.

I probably didn’t need to, but I got into a meditation pose by sitting up straight and crossing my legs. It just seemed like the most appropriate first step for this sort of activity. I then started sending my psi out around me like I was spreading a web. According to Seran’s explanation, the ambient magic exists all around so I just need to search for a type of energy that I don’t recognize. Of course, I doubt I’ll succeed on my first attempt. From the explanation, it sounded like ambient magic might exist in a somewhat different form from the magic power that has been manipulated. I’ve only felt the latter and not the former so it might take a while to properly identify.

Once the web was fully formed, I began to sweep the room with it. I was looking for a reaction of some kind. I noticed reactions from some of the items in the room like the lamp and surprisingly there was a reaction from the window too, but I wasn’t finding any kind of free floating energy. I increased the density of the web and continued to no avail. Is it possible that the ambient magic exists in a sort of dormant state until it’s touched upon and used? I suppose that does make sense, but it makes detecting it difficult. I might need to come up with another method to try and find it.

It sounded like Seran was getting out of the bathtub, so I cancelled my psi web, fell back onto the bed and relaxed until the bathroom became free. That kind of overly detailed scan can be a bit draining. At least psi restored itself quickly so I’d be back at full capacity in probably only twenty to thirty minutes.

The bathroom door opened and Seran walked out totally naked and I basically shut down mentally for a moment. She walked over to her pack and took out her underclothes and armor. I knew I was staring blankly so I hurriedly picked up my own pack and slung over my shoulder and then picked up Coa. “Come on Coa, you’re getting a bath too.” Coa immediately sprung out of my hand. I caught her with my other hand before she traveled even ten centimeters. I was a bit annoyed that she had jumped in Seran’s direction.  I’m never even sure if Coa comprehends what I say to her, but apparently the word bath got understood loud and clear. Why do pets always seem to hate baths so much?

Coa whined the whole way into the bathroom as she struggled in my grip while Seran was laughing. I closed the bathroom door behind me. It’s too bad there’s no lock on the door. In the bathroom, I turned on the warm water and stripped my clothes off. I sat my pack down next to the toilet and then pulled out some soap and the oil for Coa. I stopped the water at a low level and then put Coa in it. She tried to jump out immediately, but I kept her in the water. I scrubbed her body gently, being careful of the cracked scales. Then I pulled her out of the water and she shook her body and wings like a dog, sending the water everywhere. I dried her with a small towel and then laid her down on the towel. She enjoyed the oil being put on her scales, and stretched and curled every which way so I could reach all her spots. She then sighed and went back to sleep again. Such a lazy little creature.

With Coa taken care of, I could now enjoy my own bath. I immediately filled the tub with hot water and climbed in, let myself float in the water and felt the tension flow out of me. Ahh, I really missed this pleasure. I need to make sure I continue to stay at the best inns from now on. While I soaked, I faintly heard a door being opened and some muffled conversation, but I paid it no mind. I assumed it was just a servant coming about breakfast. <((This series is only officially posted to royalroad.com. If you are reading this series on any other website, then you are doing so without the permission of the author, Xacual. If you have paid money for this story, please file a report and request a refund as it has been stolen and is being sold illegally.))>

My happy bath time was interrupted by the bathroom door opening, forcing me to open my eyes and see what was going on. In the doorway was a young maid, that looked like she was of the demon race judging by the horns. Her horns were probably the largest I had seen on anyone so far. They started from the top of her head and went along and down the back of her head surrounded by her very dark hair before ending in a slight curl. She was actually quite beautiful and looked similar to me in age. Now that I think about it, I saw this girl last night downstairs in the dining hall. I think she was the girl serving me wine?

She bowed before stuttering out a greeting, “G, good morning your ladyship! M m my name is Myura and I have been assigned to be your personal handmaiden during your stay! Please allow me to help you wash up!”

Oh no. Now I have to put up the noble act even in my room? Let’s try to get her to leave. “That will not be necessary. I am quite self-sufficient and am not in need of the services of a maid.”

Myura smiled and excitedly said, “That won’t do milady! You showed such dignity and elegance last night so there’s no way a lady of your status can go without having a handmaiden. It would create rumors! Your escort in the other room even said it was a good idea since you would be separating today.”

Damn you, Seran!