In the three days in Great Zhou, I secured a job, learned more about Sorah’s family whereabouts, and went under a discipleship. Attaining three major breakthroughs in this world, it appeared that more revelations were to come.

“Uwah… Why did this have to happen?...” Kang walked up to me sobbing. I faced her and stood up. The sun was still at noon, and a crowd gathered to see what had happened. The D’Orientois laid there on the ground exasperated, all grabbing a part of them that had been cut by Maîtresse.

I lowered my head. “I’m sorry, Miss Kang. And… Thank you for healing and supporting me.”

“Not that! I’m hungry!” She continued to wail while I stood back. Now that I thought about it, my stomach rumbled as well. “What happened to eating lunch?”

As she continued to wipe the tears beneath her eyes, her sobbing demeanor soon changed. Her eyes narrowed. I turned around to see people in white coats rushing down the street. Maîtresse stood ahead, while she moved her head a bit and whispered a few words.

I felt a tug on my shirt as I was brought into the adjacent alleyway. Kang pulled me close while officers of the Royal Marshal passed by, stopping at Maîtresse. My lips frowned while I reared my head towards the street.

“So even a citizen of the Great Zhou is afraid of the Royal Marshal?”

“Keep quiet.” She placed a finger on my mouth. “No one wants to get involved with them. I hope ‘Maîtresse’ will be fine…”

While we hid in the alley, it seemed Maîtresse spoke some words with them. I didn’t have any listening comprehension with the Aweda language, so unfortunately I couldn’t decipher anything that was said. After a hot minute passed in what felt like fifteen, the petite woman walked at the entrance of the alley.

“You two can come out now, they’re already gone.”

“How did you—”

“I didn’t mention any of your names, by the way.” She interrupted my question, raising her hand up. “Ah, it’s so hot today.”

Kang peeked her head over my shoulder. “Maybe you should take off your coat—”

“Shut it!” Maîtresse came over to me, while I clearly towered over her. “Young Saqui. You got a job?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then we’ll start tomorrow. After your shift, come over to Baiyun Pavillion. It’s not far from here. Got it?”

“Understood, Maîtresse!” I stood at attention as she already turned around and went back onto the sidewalk.

She raised her hand, the sunlight blocking my view as she disappeared into the crowd. “That’s the spirit.”

I deduced that Maîtresse was able to speak three languages. She spoke Zhouhua to Kang, Wawaqi to me, and Aweda to the Royal Marshal. For whatever reason, she gave off a more powerful sense than what she let on. After this encounter, Kang and I finally ate lunch together before going back to the clinic.

The next day I woke up freshly motivated. I jumped from the bed and nearly fell off the stairs of our townhouse. Morning light warmed my skin through the skylight. Dust flew off the handrails while I slid down to the ground floor. I smelled the scent of tea leaves, a whisking smoke of steam rising from the parlor.

Ruri sat at the table and sipped her cup. She stared at me. “Well, look who’s excited. You’re acting creepier than you were last night.”

“Who said that I’m creepy?”

“I did. You’re being really creepy right now.”

“Is that right?” I went over and got myself water. By now, I could force my stomach to down the type of water served in this world no problem. It’d been half a year already. “But, to think I’d beaten a D’Orientois at a one on one fight…”

“Uh, I think that was a given. You move pretty well.” She stood from her chair and moved her dishes to the sink. “Now stop with the small talk and prepare to head out. We’re both burning time.”

That was right. I had to do my position as a data entry clerk at Yang’s Pharmaceutical Company, and then head to Baiyun Pavilion for Maîtresse. Whether I knew if it would be exhausting, I left it to later’s me.

When Ruri and I were prepared to head to work, we both exited the terrace house and went separate ways.

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Later would soon come. After breakfast I commuted to the clinic, around a fifteen minute walk. I clocked myself in, as my new coworkers greeted me. Kang wasn’t here, apparently at a client’s place, everyone told me. So I sat down and got to work.

Loads of papers and scrolls arrived at my desk while I attempted to sort them out. Kang had taught me to read the seals on the documents, it was time to put it in practice. Every once in a while Doctor Yang came from his office to beckon customers into his office, while others continued to brush diligently till their inkstones dried.

Eventually Kang returned to the clinic, wiping sweat off her face. She announced her presence like always, and immediately checked to see how I was doing.

“Miss Kang, I’ve been curious,” I said to her while unrolling a scroll flat on the desk. “Yesterday with the fight with the D’Orientois, why did your skills use some sort of incantations?”

“Oh, that?” She stood from her leaning position and thought about it. Right at the moment I said ‘D’Orientois’ she flinched for some reason. “Hm… If I remember only the Koronese and Zhouhua Branch Classes use incantations. The Aweda and Wawaqi Branch Classes don’t.”

“Why is that?”

Kang tilted her head. “I dunno. I’m not an expert at that sort of stuff. Also it’s a bit disheartening to hear ‘Miss Kang, Miss Kang!’ all the time, so call me Yuanyuan～”

“Huh? Then why did you let me call you Miss Kang for the past few days?” I finished sorting out that scroll and moved onto the next one, archiving each one carefully in bins.

“You were a newbie and I had no idea if you were going to stay or not, duh!” She rested her arms on the back of my chair with a smug face. “You’re going to train under that woman right? Do you even know where Baiyun Pavilion is?”

My hands paused for a second, before letting out an embarrassed laugh. “No, I don’t. But I could ask someone—”

Yuanyuan pushed off my chair and shoved me into my desk. She put her hand on her chest with a proud grin. “Then I’ll guide you to the pavilion! I wanna watch the great Saquisaqui receive his master’s tutelage!”

“Be honest, you want to see me suffer.” I recovered and looked back. Yuanyuan covered her mouth excitedly which gave me the cue that it was her actual intention. This girl… I didn’t dislike her, but being with her was too tiring for me. Even so, I found it weird she would react strangely to D’Orientois. During that fight yesterday she never said anything except chanting the skills Quick Heal and Winged Feet of Zhaoyan.

After a day’s work Yuanyuan and I headed towards what Maîtresse described—Baiyun Pavillion. It was simply an empty monastery, with rotting wood pillars that surrounded the eroded stone plaza. The place was also farther out of Xanton than Laolu Fang, where the buildings’ quality faded with distance.

There Maîtresse sat on the stairwell to a temple-like structure behind her, abandoned and ruined. She jumped off and began walking towards us.

“Finally, you arrive, my future disciple!” She folded her arms as she took a stance.

“Wait… Just how long have you been waiting here?”

Maîtresse looked away for a moment, before scratching her nose. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you do what I say as long as we are in Baiyun Pavillion, Young Saqui.”

I looked behind me, and saw Yuanyuan waving from a distance. I knew it. She really just wanted to watch me suffer. So I turned back to Maîtresse. “How much money do I pay you?”

“Money?” She scoffed at me, fixing her red coat and white scarf. “That is the least of my concern. Attention!”

She pointed at me. My back went rigid. “Yes, Maîtresse!”

“Sixty jumping-jacks, thirty push-ups, now!”

This was awful. As I began to follow her routine, I could see Yuanyuan smiling and cheering me on. I wanted to enact true gender equality. Forget that, my body could barely handle these exercises. Fortunately my lack of weight saved me on the push-ups. On the thirtieth one, my shaking arms thrusted into the ground with all of my might.

Maîtresse laughed and strolled, her feet coming into my view on the ground. “Are you warmed up yet? Stand and face me.”

While I spent a brief respite stretching my fingers, she took out her blade from her coat’s inner pocket.

Unsheathing it, she placed the short sword to the side and held the scabbard. “Let’s simulate what happened yesterday with that big D’Orientois you fought. Just ignore my height.”

“Really?...”

“Take stance and try to do what you did yesterday. Render my weapon useless.”

I could barely feel the ground with my legs. My arms felt numb from the push-ups. If this was a rehash from yesterday, then this should be no problem. She would maybe explain the mechanics of what I did. After circling each other for a few seconds I went in.

My arm almost flailed as Maîtresse threw a jab. I voided it and saw the elbow. And then everything went black. My face stung like a bee sting. Stumbling back, I blinked twice to see her still beckoning me to come. I had been punched in the face? I didn’t even process what happened. I came back at her again with more vigor.

This time, I got whacked in the face and I collapsed to the floor. Panting, she twirled the scabbard in your hands. “Things are a bit different now that you’re tired, huh?”

“Of course I’m tired… After those push-ups and—”

“You will not complain. A real fight is when you’re hungry, you’re thirsty, you’re nervous and sweaty, your bones and ligaments don’t work the same, all these factors.” Maîtresse pointed the sheath at me with her back perpendicular to it. “If you don’t learn to fight under pressure, then you will revert back to what humans really are—useless cowards. And when they become cowards, they die. Everyone fears when something doesn’t go their way, yet warriors must maintain skill. Come at me again, and let us break you down, Young Saqui.”

I stared down, knowing she was exactly right. I’d held preconceived notions, and had condescending thoughts. Staring at the ground, I picked myself up off the floor and assumed a stance. In order to find Sorah’s family, there would be obstacles that would threaten my life. So it was time to grind my physical capabilities.

“Yes… master.”

“It’s Maîtresse!”