"Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked, more than a bit of doubt filling my voice and wrinkling my brow. We were heading east along a mostly open hillside, avoiding turning towards the smoke-tinged northern horizon. I'm not against avoiding signs of fire by any means… As my recent adventure of out-running a forest fire was enough experience for one life.

But still, it felt weird not to even take a careful peak over the edge of the hilltop to see if there were any threats nearby or what the next valley over looked like. It's hard to pick the best path to travel if you don't know what's around, but that was what Leeroy was for, wasn't it? Maybe I was just uncomfortable, as I had never really trusted someone to guide me so completely since my father… No.

What bothered me was more than my insecurities, as Leeroy just seemed… off. I didn't know him that well, but he kept glancing around. But given what he could do, that could be normal. It was just that I couldn't help but notice his eyes looked a little too wide, and his hands were kind of twitchy.

And this wasn't the steady swivel of scanning one's environment but a jerky, panicked movement of someone being hunted. Normally, I wouldn't have second-guessed Leeroy, given his abilities, but he has seemed off for a while now. Last night, as he joked around and ate, it might have been a little… forced at times. However, again, it's kind of hard to judge, given our limited experience with each other.

We had set out from the cave hours ago after quickly smothering the fire and collecting our gear. From there, we traveled across the valley before making our way across the bottom of the opposing hill as we steadily walked up at an angle. Really, it was any old day of travel in a mountainous wilderness, except the hill we were moving along looked like it was starting to curve south slightly. If we traveled much further, I found it hard to believe we wouldn't just be making our journey longer and more challenging for no reason.

"Yep," Leeroy said, his voice filled with energetic confidence. "All we have to do is go this wa…" But as he spoke, the confidence trailed off, making his words unintelligible. He started turning around until his glazed-over eyes passed over the surroundings and them, until his upper body had almost turned all the way around, and he ended up looking to the west.

"Ha!" grunted Jankans to my back before he took on the instructive tone of a master. "You haven't experienced Leeroy yet, so you may not know, but you just have to step back and enjoy the ride. He could walk back and forth in the same hundred feet a dozen times before taking off at a right angle to loop back around the line we were just walking on, somehow avoiding the nearby search party. Just following and shutting up is for the best. You couldn't imagine what we did while you were chasing us."

I opened my mouth to reply that what he had just said was ridiculous, but I could only close it without a sound coming out. There was nothing for me to say. I might not have been with their group, but I have experienced being the search party Leeroy miraculously avoided. Over and over and over. Completely putting aside what I discovered about the man, that pain in the ass of a chase was enough for me to shut up and follow.

“Yeah…" I reluctantly agreed after a moment, choosing to ignore the snickers coming from the direction of a certain badger-kin who was ambling along nearby. "I guess you're right."

Leeroy continued to spin in place as he bumbled along the hillside like some country bumpkin walking through the gates of a large city. Turning on his heel and finally coming to a decision, Leeroy faced east, nearly bumping into me as he cut back, double-timing it up the hill. “Ahh… this way."

Following along like a trail of baby ducks to their mother, the line hooked around to follow after Leeroy. After taking seventeen steps, Leeroy made another near one-eighty and started heading in that direction. And then he did it again.

Looking over my shoulder, I looked back into the valley, half anticipating to see the flashes of clothes belonging to a band of Crescent Moon Kin who had suddenly come upon us. And now we were avoiding their line of sight by using a thick clump of trees. But I saw nothing obvious, not that I was really expecting to. If Leeroy was using his gift, I shouldn't see anyone. But I couldn't stop the growing doubt in the back of my mind.

From what I could see, all we were doing was making our way up the hill by following switchbacks only Leeroy could see. It didn't make sense why any legionary would willingly subject themselves to such an inhuman marching path without being ordered to. There were even a few times that he walked down the hill before returning to following his non-existent switchbacks over nearly the same area again.

We continued walking in circles in such a manner until I looked around and saw a quarter-mile-wide area where we had all but matted down the grass as if a legion had marched over them. Before Leeroy came to a stop, spinning in circles.

"Umm," I hesitantly said, "is this normal?"

"No," Jenkins said, his voice tight, "I have never seen this before." Looking back at the others, I saw that everyone had unconsciously shuffled together and gripped their weapon's hilts while looking around nervously. So, I guess it wasn't just my imagination.

Leeroy's face was plastered with uncertainty. His eyes were wide, showing their whites as they darted around. His forehead had a slight shine of sweat, and his hands kept clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Understanding what was happening in a rush, I stepped next to him, dropping my voice so only Leeroy and probably the sharp-eared kin could hear as I spoke, "Leeroy," and waited for him to look up at me. "This is new for you, isn't it." Before he could deny my claim, I shook my head, saying, "I'm not talking about leading people through the wilderness, as you have been doing that for a while now. I'm talking about consciously leading people as you follow your instincts. You've never done it before, and now, you keep on second-guessing yourself in fear that you're getting it wrong. Am I right?"

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“…Yeah," Leeroy muttered somewhat reluctantly, but his voice, while having a tinge of embarrassment, was also filled with relief as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his large hands like he was finally putting down a pack weighing him down for a while. "I just… can't be certain. Every direction just feels right and wrong, and it just… I don't know where to go."

I nodded my head in understanding. "You ever thought about throwing a rock?" I asked, letting my voice and eyes drift off like I wasn't paying attention to him, but I kept his dejected form in the corner of my eye.

"Umm, no." He finally said after a few seconds when it was clear that I wouldn't speak until he answered.

"Well, it's far more complicated than you would think," I said, falling into my instructor's voice. I wasn't a scout instructor long, but I found it surprisingly gratifying if a hassle. As were the handful of other times in my life that I had played at being skilled at something. Sharing my knowledge just felt… right. "To do it well, you must plant your feet properly, twist at your waist, flex your core, cock your elbow before extending your arm without it being too stiff or loose, and let the rock roll off your fingers while never looking away from your target. Every task we perform on a daily basis can be broken down, and when it is, the steps will sound complicated. And yet, people do them without ever thinking about what they are doing. If they spend a moment to really think about their task and try to control every step, they will start fucking up as too much will be going on in their head."

"So I'm overthinking it?" Leeroy asked after I stopped talking, sounding unsure.

"Yeah," I said, "In short, you're overthinking it…" Turning back to him, guilt squirmed in my gut, finally prompting me to speak again, "Which I must apologize for. I told you what you were doing, and while it may let you gain some control over your ability, it could also irreparably harm you. It could be that you will never be able to use your ability again, or more likely, you will only be able to use it on a rare occasion, but never when you genuinely need it. Idiot savants of casting abilities are called that for a reason, and telling them of their ability can cause more harm than good. So, I am truly sorry."

With that being said, I bowed my head to Leeroy, causing him to become flustered and stammer out half-formed words as he reached out to raise me. “No… Uhh, Scou… Green, there is no need to."

"But there is," I said, "If I didn't make it so you have all but lost your ability, how many of your comrade's lives will you fail to save in the future, all because I didn't keep my mouth shut. I was the one who knew, and I knew the risk, though I may not have remembered it at that moment. I was too irritated that you had dodged me for so long to put proper thought into my words. But with the past already being written, I suppose we don't really have a choice now, do we."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you are incapable of leading us, I will just have to take over," I stated. "We might run into danger, get lost, or encounter impassible terrain, but any action can be better than inaction at times. Don't worry, Leeroy, you no longer have anything to worry about, as nothing will be on your head anymore. Just agree with what I say, and it will be fine. "

Putting my words into action, I turned and started walking straight up the hill, calling out to the others in an arrogant tone, "Leeroy is incapable of leading us so I'm taking over."

Within a half-dozen steps, I heard the sound of the troops start following me, even if there was also the sound of a rushed muttered conversation between them. No doubt, asking Leeroy what was going on. It was only a few more steps after that when I felt a tendril probing my mind. Expecting it, I mentally reached out to accept the invitation and completely destroyed the tip of the foreign tendril and my own, "Oww!" I grunted in pain along with Optio Lun from behind me.

My brow furrowing in confusion, I thought about what had just happened. It was like… when you tried interacting with another person's body. Or the mutual destruction of mana and mental energy. But it wasn't mana, as Kanieta infused me directly with her mana before… It was what happened when my mental energy was exposed to mana infused with the world's energy.

But… that couldn't be the case unless… my mental energy is the same as mana now? No, I rejected the idea after a moment of thought. There is still a small difference between mana and mental energy, but when I formed the tendril, I didn't exert the same amount of willpower I used in the past. Maybe if I…

The rapid thoughts running through my head had only taken a few moments, and I quickly reformed another tendril, but this time, I fortified the walls of the tendril with my will until the world's energy could no longer seep into it. Lashing out at Lun's retreating casting, I touched the two together, this time not causing mutual destruction.

"Sorry about that," I immediately sent, suppressing my thoughts on my discovery for later. "I'm not entirely sure what happened, but there was some kind of interference with a new casting technique I am using." None of what I told him was a lie, but it also didn't really convey what had happened, and I was okay with that.

“…Okay," Lun sent, "It's not really a problem, but try not to let it happen again; that was quite a bit of wasted psy."

"Yeah, that's my bad. I haven't been in a union for a while and like experimenting with new casting techniques. I guess I have picked up some bad habits to sort out. So, what did you want to talk about."

Accepting my explanation, Optio Lun asked, "Were you serious about what you said to Leeroy."

"What did you hear?"

"All of it; you weren't being all that quiet, though I made sure the others couldn't listen in. No need for them to hear that."

I guess I really should have moved further away to talk to him… Ahh, whatever, it's for the best. "Yes," I said, letting some of my regrets seep into my message, "He could very well lose his ability. But that is not the only reason I told him about it and took over."

"What is the other reason?"

"To take the pressure and expectations off his mind while putting him in a situation where he can step up. If I can get him to do it once, he should be able to do it again."

"Don't we have better things to do?" Lun asked. "Like getting to the 14th?"

"Yes," I sent back, "But I have little idea where it's located and no idea what the fastest path to get there is. Not to mention, I don't know where the Kin scouts are between us and them, but I am positive they are out here somewhere. With Leeroy unable to perform, me taking the lead would be the next best thing. And if we fix Leeroy, all the better, as he will save us some time. If not, it will only be a few dead ends and a couple of wasted hours before we arrive, nothing to be overly concerned about."