“We’ll be here. But if not, then we’ll be in Latarus.” Luine pointed at the map, showing Elfrafim where else we might be.

“Are we going out? I was planning on staying here for my evolution, just finish this arc in my life you know…”

“Oh. There have been recent movements in the town of Borail.” The village of that one shepherd we met in The Endless Dive had become a whole town in itself in recent years. “I think they may finally be moving on to the wonderzone.”

“What? So we’d have to flee?”

“Yes.”

I looked around at the place that I had called home for the past four years or more. A sinking feeling fell on my chest at the words left unsaid. I refused to leave them unclear.

“What happens… to the base?”

“We’ll have to collapse it. It’s best if we take out all the valuables left in storage too.”

“Eh, can’t we just hide it?”

“There’ll be armies worth of people passing through here, eventually whole caravans, and you want… to keep the base hidden?”

“...yes?”

“Nope. Not gonna happen. They are absolutely going to scout and survey the place.”

“Then we can fight back. Kill anyone who comes!”

She looked at me blankly. “Even if we win all those battles, that’ll just inform them that there’s something here. Also, I hate the empire as much as anyone, but even I think you were a little too callous with life there.”

“I… yeah. You’re right. Sorry.” I chewed on my lip. “It’s just… Is there nothing that can be done. This is like… a second home to me at this point. A secret base! I’ve always wanted a secret base.”

“It’s not yours anyway. It’s mine. And I say it’s gone.”

“Oh…” I didn’t know what to say to that.

Luine sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. “No. I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. This was just a hole in the ground before, and wouldn't have raised any eyebrows even if found. You and Moonwash built it up far more than I ever did. It’s more your home than mine.”

“Well, I… am not going to disagree. I think we all built it, in our time here together.”

“Yeah…”

“So that’s it? We should really get rid of it? Why? Can’t we just leave it be? if it gets found then that’s too bad, but maybe it doesn’t get found?”

Luine shook her head. “I would be very surprised if it’s not found once a full expedition is launched. But more to the point, yes. I don’t know what exactly they can find here. If it can even be linked back to us. Or if there’d be any consequences if that happens. But they’re going to take it all away anyway. Do you really want to just give this place to them?”

“...No. Definitely not.” The answer was obvious.

“Exactly. And that’s why I vote on leaving and never looking back.”

I sighed deeply. “You’re right. I know you are.”

“It’s okay.” She rubbed my back. “I know that you’re sad. But we’ve had a fun four years here, we achieved our purpose for coming and more. It is time to let it end, as all things eventually do.”

I sniffed. “Yeah.” The tears came out, and I cried on her shoulder.

Elfrafim was still there. She joined the pile of hugs.

~~~

The noon was bright as we all gathered in front of our secret base that might soon cease to be. Elfrafim was about to leave to find hekaton blood for me, but Moonwash first had a gift of her own for the elven woman.

Elfrafim raised her brow. “This is?”

“A jetpack.”

“Oho? A jetpack! What does it do?”

“You put it on your back, and then you pull this thing here to unfurl the gliders. Afterwards, it should be able to act as a magical apparatus specifically for flying. The design of it is made solely for that.”

The inspiration for it came with just how potent Elfrafim’s bow was. It was decorated to high heavens, made from focuses, repositories, and other exotic high-level materials. And at the cost of narrowing down its magical function greatly, it was just as good as a wand if not better at the one task it was meant to do.

To. Shoot. Arrow.

So Moonwash applied the same principle here, creating a magical glider with wind repositories and focuses that would ultimately allow her to fly.

“Weeeeeeeeeee!!” Elfrafim immediately tested it out. The movements were awkward, but she lifted off the ground. She was flying. “Wow! I love it Moonwash! I didn’t bring anything specifically for flight with me, and this is just what I needed!”

My friend wore a smile at the compliment. “Thanks. Have fun and good luck and your quest.”

“Hah! I need no luck, I have skillll!!!”

Elfrafim shot off into one direction in one burst. Her flight seemed erratic, shifting like a plane with a broken engine, but I was sure she’d survive and get the hang of it sooner or later.

I waved goodbye at my friend, as Astan too followed her. They both stopped in the air for a moment, to wave back.

And then Elfrafim fell.

Their journey was off to a great start.

~~~

I became a shut-in.

Well, not really. I still went out to the surrounding forest often. I got some fresh air and touched grass, did some recreational slaughter, all the good things. But I wasn’t grinding so hard as I once was. All my Mutations had already reached the threshold of level 20, and Elfrafim was getting the last ingredient that I was waiting on. All the killing I still did, was only done for the love of it.

And so I chose to spend most of that time at home, crying about how I would someday soon lose our one and only secret base. I slept everywhere, I memorized every cut in the stone, and I hung out with the people that I’d spent the most time with in this place.

I helped Moonwash with her projects, and we stuck with mainly doing the non-combat things for a change. I watched her paint this grand masterpiece depicting our time here. She sewed clothes and made figurines out of wood. Moonwash put makeup on me that I actually liked. It was very fun, I had to go on a quest for fresh local ingredients, which she then turned into a powdered form. Fire, earth, and wind magic were all used for the process.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

That was nice. Makeup was almost entirely ruined for me because of how everytime I used the thing, it was for the purposes of hiding what I was, when I loved myself so much! But today, instead of the tan of human flesh, Moonwash applied reds and darks that accentuated my features and truly made me look like some sort of Demon Queen. I loved it and I hugged her. We stayed like that and cuddled for a while.

~~~

Luine announced at some point that the preparations were done in a nearby village. We left our home base while pulling whole wagon loads of stuff. Thankfully, we didn’t need to make it all the way to our destination like this. A carriage was prepared for us in the nearest road, and the drivers were–

“MOM DAD!”

I slammed them into a hug. They barely budged from my charge. My power was still far from theirs, but I was getting there.

We spent the wagon ride to Borail village catching up, and they comforted me in losing my second home. Once we neared our destination, I got all of my extra gear and cosmetics together, transforming into ‘Haell the heavily armored human’ once more.

The guards waved us through the tall walls without problem, content with the many badges of identification the oldest among us provided. I had to remember that my parents, as well as Luine, were actually nobles. Knights that couldn’t hold a settlement of their own, but nobles nonetheless.

We drove the carriage through the wide central road, never going for any of the narrower side streets because… we were headed straight for the… Lord’s manor? What?

We entered through the gates and parked our carriage right next to the expansive gardens. I recognized the large nearby building that was their church. I haven’t been to one since I was one.

We didn’t go there, of course, nor to the central mansion. Instead we went to the servant homes and toward a half-filled warehouse. Someone opened the doors for us and just left, and then we unloaded our goods inside. Luine informed me that they would be distributed from here and sold through many channels or just straight-up funneled toward New Grandera.

“Ah! But your share will find its way to you in gold, for sure!”

“Sounds good. I don’t really mind whatever.”

“I do.” Moonwash spoke for herself. “I want mine in the form of random materials. It could be anything of roughly equal value.”

“Haha! Well, I’ll keep that in mind.” She patted Baston’s shoulder. “You’re fine with everything of yours being funneled to the revolution right?”

“What? No. Cold hard gold only.”

“Ehhh. Come on. Don’t be stingy.”

The two friends prodded each other for a while, until I felt a presence that immediately put me on edge.

They arrived a moment later, two armored bodyguards and a shepherd that looked very familiar…

I shook my head. It must just be their passive mental influence. As good as my brain was, I had a resistance to mental effects, not an immunity.

“Hello Luine,” she smiled. “And oh my, I remember you. Haell was it?”

I blinked. “You! You… what? Who? Why do you know me!?”

She chuckled. “Relax. You’ve been tense around me from the start… We met at The Endless Dive.”

“Oh. OH! You’re the shepherd from back then!”

She giggled again, as if genuinely unoffended. “Yes. I am Ozara, since you seem to have forgotten. And I’m glad to see you’re doing just as well.”

“Err, quite. Yes. More than well.”

“Excellent. I’m happy to hear that.” She paused and took in our entire group, eyes lingering on Luine. She’s married! Hands off! Not that I actually know if they’re monogamous or whatever, and shit. I should not be so hostile to her just because she’s a shepherd. I definitely don’t want to be dictating what species someone can and cannot get married to. I banished away the incoherent thoughts that certainly came from my menace mana. “Might I invite you to some tea like last time? I assure you that the accommodations would be leagues better than the embarrassment I was able to cobble together before.”

“Eh, we were in the middle of the wilderness. A wonderzone, even. Only a fool or the equivalent of a dragon would expect luxury in such a place, and I am neither. Not yet.”

“Ah, so you’re still becoming a fool?” Only a slight grin betrayed her humorous intentions.

“Exactly!” I bellowed, unable to help the genuine joy and laughter that came. There was a very brief suspicion that these feelings were not my own, but I knew they were. I’ve had plenty of practice with spotting those kind of things.

Ozara chuckled loudly into her hand, still trying to maintain some decorum. “In all seriousness, those were some very wise words. I am glad to see that Luine has chosen only the best company. Now, shall we?”

Wait. The tea party? Did I… agree to this?

“Of course.” Luine answered for our group, placing a reassuring hand on my back.

Oh well. I just went with the flow, keeping a pulse on my menace mana, just in case it became necessary.

~~~

We went into the noble mansion, and it was every bit the frivolous display of wealth that I imagined, with white-painted walls and works of art cluttered around it. Nevermind that the trophies kept by my own folks were even more expensive. They earned that fair and square, and most weren’t even bought!

We climbed up the large stairs, and then went a long way left, until we arrived at an unassuming door. Ozara opened it and gestured for us to follow, leaving her guards behind. Inside I found a normal reception room with two couches facing each other, and a table in between for whatever nobles and rich fucks got up to. The door closed behind us, and a sliding switch was flipped along the wall, causing the enchantments to thrum to life along with an updraft of wind.

I tensed.

“Well then,” Ozara took a seat, unbothered. “We are now in private. Let us talk.”

Finally, it clicked in my mind. The enchantments had a very familiar effect, for it was the very same as what was in Baston and Fiya’s enormous bedroom.

Soundproofing.

Shit. I really have no idea what’s going on here.

Has Ozara already taken control of everyone!?

Luine took a seat beside her, which did not help my suspicions.

“Y-you!” I pointed an accusing finger at the shepherd woman. “What did you do!? Is she mind controlled?!”

Ozara’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked sad when she spoke. “N-no. She’s level 40… and she’s Luine. I’d be killed on the spot if I tried.”

“Wha… that makes sense, actually.” I pushed Moonwash behind me. “But what the fuck is going on?”

My parents and Baston were more confused than enraged.

“Okay, Haell. Calm down.” Luine sighed, and gestured for Ozara to do the same. “She’s on our side. Or well, my side really.” She looked at all of us in turn. “Everyone, meet Ozara. A proud citizen of New Grandera.”

“New Grandera…” I paused. “You mean the resistance movement and new nation that you’re a part of?”

“Yep.”

“The one that’s opposed to the Angelore Empire, and its current regime, which puts shepherds real high up as the de facto rulers for most territories?”

“Uh-huh. You got it. Good job, Haell.”

“This is no joking matter!” There was a beat of silence where I chuckled silently. “Okay, it is a little funny, I’ll give you that. But this… Did you know from the beginning?”

“You mean like when we first met? The Endless Dive?”

“Yep. Back then. Was our meeting there like, scripted or something?”

“Oh, no no. Not at all. I only found out about her a year or so ago when some of our… tasks crossed paths. I was surprised too!”

“Oh…” I processed that for a moment. I didn’t care to ask what those tasks were. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“Uhh, you didn't ask? Am I obligated to give you those updates?”

“Well, no. But it's such a curious thing, a big coincidence! Seems relevant enough to at least bring up in passing, you know?”

“Pfahahaha.” Luine laughed way too hard. “I'm not just going to talk about the people I'm doing treason with, Haell. I know to keep my mouth shut. I'm not you.”

“That was one time, Luine. ONE fucking time!” I fumed, but that only made the infuriating woman laugh harder. Everyone else had relaxed by this point, and they began streaming into their own seats. Even Ozara was looking at me amusedly.

I sighed and followed after them. “I’m sorry about that, Ozara. I really didn’t mean to be, well… I don’t know, discriminatory? But you just have this passive mental tug at people, and I can feel it. I don’t like getting my head messed with.”

“No worries, Haell. I understand. That’s already better reception than I get from most!”

“Eh. Most would grovel at your feet for that alleged guidance.”

“Exactly.”

I looked at the serious face she made and smiled.

All things considered, I think I quite liked her.