By five in the evening, she was back at the collection office.

Tergol and the rest of the party didn't come up, just Daire.

"Aeryth, I am sorry for what happened..." Daire said. "He gets hyper quickly, but he is not cruel."

"Mr. Daire, I am unable to lie, so please, can we hold off the conversation until I take off these rings."

Daire's raised a brow in amusement. "You want to lie."

"No. But, I will speak harshly of what happened right now, and I know you will not like it. So, please, just let me write the report so that I can take it off."

"About that. Can I ask you to omit the situation with Ricker after I broke his hand?"

"Why would I do that?" Aeryth asked. "It only serves to bolster his arrogance and lack of discipline."

Daire's fist clenched. He let out a breath. "Look, Aeryth. I know that was not right. But he's working on his anger. He's trying really hard to get his life back on track... if you report him, he'll destroy his life. Please. I know how this may seem to you, but... I will make sure this never happens again. Just let him off this once..."

Aeryth didn't say anything. She was not fuming anymore, but she was far from content with his behavior.

"I promise you, next time, before anything like this happens, we will stop him. That's enough, right? You're kind, right? You can show some to him too, like you did with that... Ricker guy."

"I...." Aeryth couldn't find a word to refuse his request. Her first thought was to ask for an apology from Torgoal before making a decision, but she knew how that would go. It was unnecessary and cruel, not different from what they were doing today. "Fine. I will not write about it if that's possible."

So the omission of truth is valid, as long as I am not that specific question.

"Thanks." Daire breathed a sigh of relief.

Was Daire an ugly part of the city? Or the kinder, like Grace and Sera? Aeryth couldn't tell. He seemed to fall on neither. He broke Ricker's hands just like that. Yet, here he was, worried sick about Torgoal.

Daire showed her to the desk where she was supposed to write the report.

There was a device to record instead of a copy and pen.

"Do you know how to use a recorder?"

Aeryth shook her head. "I don't."

He showed her the way. Instead of writing down the whole day, which might take a more than day depending on how detailed she went, she just had to speak, and the device would write it on the parchment for her.

She sat on the table and began with the morning. And went over all the details, except for the minor altercation.

Eye of Truth is not as effective if I can omit something from the report.

Once she was done, she walked down the stairs and saw everyone there. Counting money.

"Aeryth." They all sombered like she was a grim reaper.

"I did not report on the incident." She said. There was a collective sigh of relief. They all seemed to be equally worried. "About the proof of trust..."

"I will write the letter to the Realm Traveling Commission. You will be summoned tomorrow or the day after," Daire replied.

Aeryth nodded. "How do I take this off."

Daire touched the power stone, and it dimmed. "That should do."

Aeryth nodded. She took it off in Daire's office. Placed everything in the box and tied the ribbon back.

"I'll take my leave," Aeryth said as walked out.

"One moment," Daire said. He had a stack of cash. "This is your part of the chicken sales."

He put it in the envelope and held out his hand.

"I don't..."

"No! That's not how we work. We worked as a team today, despite not being as pleasant as it could've been, but the end should be on a happier note, right?" Evy said, taking the envelope and forcing it into Aeryth's hands.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Just take it," Shanil said.

"Fine." She put it in her purse. "It's been a long day. I'll take my leave then. I hope you all have a very pleasant tomorrow. Farewell," She bowed slightly and walked out.

I will never see them again.

She told herself. For once, that didn't make her heart grow heavier. She didn't want to meet them again. Ever.

---

It was seven by the time she reached the library. It was being closed by the guardsman.

"Would you mind if I take a book? I'll return it in the morning." She said to the guardsman, who groaned but stopped.

"Be quick."

Aeryth nodded. She walked up the third floor in quick steps, wondering if there was any ghost to claim her soul. She didn't meet any and took the book that Ricker had asked her to. It was about monsters, volume two of the thing she read a few weeks back.

Dropping it in her purse, she walked down and bid good night to the guardsman, and left.

"I have money... I can go to Yura's shop today." She changed her path.

---

"Aeryth, right?" Yura smiled as she watched Aeryth step inside after cleaning her shoe on the mat.

Aeryth nodded. "Good evening, Miss Yura."

There was someone else sitting on the counter. She skipped a few seats. Yura glared at her and pointed at the seat beside the stranger. "Skipping seats not allowed in my kitchen."

"Sorry," Aeryth said, sitting beside the stranger. They wore traveling clothes. Like a gown, it hid their entire form. And a cowl to cover their head, long enough to hide the face from the side.

The stranger didn't look her way.

"You want to cook?" Yura asked.

Aeryth shook her head. "I doubt I will be able to."

"Do as you wish." Yura nodded, "You can afford it, right?"

"I wouldn't come here in hopes of borrowing," Aeryth replied.

The stranger raised their hand and showed two with her fingers, or was it V, Aeryth wondered. The fingernails covered in red and black nail polish gave away that the stranger was a girl. Her form was also not broad enough to be a male.

"Trying to bankrupt me," Yura hissed under her breath.

Aeryth wondered what was that about.

Yura brought another cooker, but it was far more robust, pitch black, and had no gloss of steel.

"Go ahead, I'll pour you some soup."

The stranger pointed at her and the cooker.

"You want me to try?" Aeryth asked.

The stranger nodded.

Aeryth shook her head. "I don't know how."

The stranger made a hand sign to Yura.

"She says, focus mana sense on her hand. She will show you how."

"I understand sign language. Thank you." Aeryth focused her senses. Stretched it and pulled it closer to her body, focusing it around the stranger's hand. Aeryth felt the mana flowing through her veins.

The stranger still didn't turn to Aeryth but gestured with the other hand.

"Flow in the ebb," Aeryth said out loud. The sign language this woman was using was different from what a mute would use. It was more of a hunter's language as they went quietly on the hunt and couldn't use words or even two hands to communicate. It lacked many words, so normal communication was impossible.

The stranger squeezed her hand, which meant no.

"Flow of mana?" Aeryth said.

The hands sign continued.

"Gather it on your palm."

"Rune. Power. Reserve." Aeryth blinked. "I need to draw a reserve rune to contain the mana in my palm and then use the power rune at the point of strike to do it?"

The stranger showed a V sign. Great Job.

"Why are you teaching me?" Aeryth asked. It was weird.

The stranger looked toward Yura.

"She's feeling generous. Not every day she meets someone for dinner and not some with an amicable presence as you."

Lip Reading?

Aeryth was sure a stranger could talk, so why was she hiding from her?

"Thank you," Aeryth said. She didn't know what else she could say. Why was the person helping her?

She trusted Yura. Because she was of Tor's age and Sera's friend. Those who liked Sera were usually nice people, or she would like to believe. Even the manager just gave away the chicken at noon.

Focusing her mana sense on the stranger, she saw how mana was used to weave the reserve rune. Stranger took over a minute to weave it to show Aeryth how it was done, step by step.

The stranger did it again, but a bit faster, showing the steps that were later skipped, and then the final time, which didn't even take a tenth of a second to create. It followed all the steps after the second skip but did it all unilaterally, at once, instead of one step at a time.

"I remember it..." Aeryth replied to the hand gesture, asking if she followed.

She closed her eyes and tried to go through it step by step, her brows knitted. She could guide mana in her body very easily. She went through the steps. But failed on the third out of the eight steps. Her eyes snapped open as she breathed sharply. Her hand quivered, red from the pain that came from the chaotic discharge of the pooled mana.

The stranger showed the steps again as if not trusting Aeryth to remember.

Aeryth went over it again, making it past the initial stumble, but not too far.

Yura and the women prompted her to try again. Over and over.

After about an hour, she was covered in sweat and lightheaded, but the reserve rune was formed in the palm of her hand, invisible to the eyes.

The stranger clapped. Aeryth remembered the first hunt she went to and shot down the wild boar after a whole day of chasing. Her mother also clapped proudly at that time.

The woman showed the second rune. The rune of discharge. It was from the family of power but a sub-branch that focused solely on the act of releasing mana with the intention of causing an impact—a strike.

After about another hour, Aeryth succeeded in creating it.

The stranger had wasted so much time on her. Aeryth didn't even know how to thank her.

"Thank you for teaching me. I don't know how can I repay you."

The stranger looked at Yura, "You can treat her next week, same time, same day if you are free."

Aeryth nodded. "I'll be glad to."

Now came the time to cook. The stranger gave Aeryth the first chance.

Aeryth closed her eyes, created the reserve rune, and filled it with all her mana, the little she had. The power rune manifested after some effort. Opening her eyes, she mashed the plate above the cooker.

It let out a siren's hiss. Not loud enough to match Sera. But Aeryth smiled proudly. This was the first time she had used a rune skill.

[Fundamental skill: Mana Discharge Strike learned.

Mastery: 26%

Cost: 40 MP]

Aeryth smiled. Not only did she learn something new, she even gained a skill from it. Fundamental skill.

But she was confused now. The ward was a fundament skill, yet it was imprinted on her hand, and this one was created out of her mana. Didn't that mean, there were two ways to learn the same thing? This one seemed harder, though.

She heaved as she sat back on the seat. "I've exhausted all my mana."

The stranger patted Aeryth's back gently. Then she struck the cooker. It hissed so loudly that Aeryth almost jolted out of her seat and fell back. The stranger's hand on her back saved her from embarrassment.

"My cooker will break if you show off," Yura scoffed, putting two bowls of soup on it.

Aeryth sat there in shock, mouth hung wide open. What kind of power was that? Sera didn't even get that loud, and she could burn entire lanes. She shivered as she imagined how strong this stranger must be.

The stranger apologized in signs.

"Sorry, I am fine," Aeryth replied.

Yure placed the bowl of soup in front of them. "Go ahead."

Aeryth nodded and took a bite. Her eyes cleared, wide as an owl. It was even tastier than the last time she ate.

The stronger the strike, the tastier the dish...

Aeryth kept that in her mind. One day, she would eat something tastier than this and that too by her own hand.

They ate in silence. Aeryth opened her purse.

"Don't bother. She asked for two people," Yura said bitterly.

The stranger smiled, showing a V sign. Yura's expression further soured. "Out!"

Aeryth promptly got off the stool. "Thank you, Miss Yura. See you next week."

Yura smiled. "Come back anytime, as long your purse can afford it."

The stranger also got off and walked out. She did say their dinner had been pleasant and that she looked forward to next week before leaving.

"Thank you. I'll be looking forward to next week as well."

The stranger left.

When Aeryth walked out onto the streets, the stranger was nowhere to be seen. Aeryth didn't even know her name, yet she had learned a new skill. She could practice it further to heal. And it had given her some ideas. Using it with lighting would be powerful, but what if she used it with life affinity? What kind of reaction would she get?

She didn't intend to learn too many things and bog down her progress. Mastery over one skill would be of better use than four barely learned skills in most circumstances.

Wait... How did the stranger know I could cook? My mana should be hidden right? Could she sense me past the bracelet's protection? No, that can't be right. Tor said no one from this place should be able to sense it. Does that mean she is from somewhere else? Or someone beyond Tor's expectations?

Aeryth walked down the mostly empty streets. She also knew I could control my mana sense. Is that something expected from a blessed? Or could she just tell that I can do this? If so, how?