During the winter, an amusement park was opened near the village, so to speak.

The frozen river was cleared of snow to allow ice skating. The children also created several snow forts in a nearby meadow and an ice track on the side of a hill to serve as a slide. Once the work given by the parents was done, most of the village children spent time here.

Since the older children did not want to play with the little ones like Tao and Safia, the younger age groups often went to the entertainment area in the early afternoon when most of the older children were still busy.

"There you go!" Sofra said.

Yangita and her little brother were perched on an old piece of hide that Tao's mother pushed in, letting them slide down the hill on the icy surface. When the two children reached the bottom of the hill and the sliding stopped, the girl took the piece of hide in her hand and started climbing back up. Meanwhile, Safia and Tao sat on their own piece of leather, which Sofra also pushed.

This is probably the fastest I've ever moved in this world... Tao thought as the wind started whistling past his ears.

For a moment he felt like an Olympic luge racer until the slope of the hill became gentler. The speed of the slide slowly slowed and the two children came to a stop on a patch of leather. They had to get up and climb back up to the top to go down again.

The children's mothers were not the only ones looking after the young children.

Eshea, Ascar's daughter, who served as the village gatekeeper, was also standing on the hill. She was talking with Sofra and Reyte’s sister, dressed in an ordinary hooded winter coat. Unlike the other women, however, she had a long sword sheathed at her side.

Is it just the usual caution with so many children outside the walls... or is it because of me? Tao wondered.

As far as he knew, Indres had not told the other villagers that Tao might be the target of an attack. Eshea didn't look much at the boy either, so his fears were probably pointless. The conversations between the women did not indicate anything of the sort.

"Are the guys treating you well?" Tao heard Yangita's mother address the warrior.

"What do you mean...?" Eshea responded.

"Well, you're the only girl among the gatekeepers."

"Nah... a few stupid jokes now and then, but that's it."

"I hear the younger ones who aren't married are quite enthusiastic..."

"Uh. That's their problem." Eshea frowned.

"Hm... you're not interested in getting married yet?"

"With one of them? No, thanks."

"Then... if among the gate guards, someone else... a hunter, perhaps?" Sofra chimed in.

" ... "

When the young female warrior didn't answer, a smile appeared on Tao's mother's lips.

"What do you think of Arwain?"

"W-why do you mention him?"

Even Tao could tell that Eshea's voice expressed too much concern to be without reason.

Is that what people do when they don't have access to soap operas? Make them up themselves? He wanted to roll his eyes.

Luckily, Safia had no desire to watch this silly adult drama either; the girl tugged on her mother's coat to signal. Sofra prepared a piece of leather and pushed the children forward again.

Children slide on ice down the hill, women compose melodramas, but how do men entertain themselves? Drinking? Tao came to mind while trudging down the hill.

His father seemed not to fancy drinks, but the boy would sometimes, especially in the evenings, hear drunken male voices from other houses or on the street. Although village life was not all work, the entertainment opportunities fell far short of what Tao's previous life had offered.

Well, it would be a sin for me to complain, Tao smirked.

Tao's reserves of spirit power were so great that he had no idea how to measure the increase. The boy could concentrate the spirit power and distribute it in the body in a few moments. He could jump to the ceiling or lift an object of his own weight. He learned to enchant his sight, hearing, and sense of smell, and to move water without touching it.

Indeed, Tao's life was anything but boring.

Today was no exception.

"Hey! Tao!" came a voice from the snow nearby.

Safia hurried to climb back up the hill faster, so she didn't notice that her brother suddenly stopped and squatted down as if noticing something interesting on the ground.

Well, in a way it was amusing how a sort of molehill formed in the snow, from which a tiny girl's head with greenish hair emerged. Tao made sure that nobody could see this tiny doll-like creature from the hillside. He held out his gloved hand, letting the spirit of the forest perch on it. The boy then hid Eleya under his hood by his right ear.

"Uhh..." he gasped.

"What?" The tiny creature asked.

"You're cold again. Because of the snow."

"Give me a moment."

Tao felt the tiny body grow warmer, which was nice. Funnily enough, hearing Eleya's voice close to his ear also seemed normal. But the tiny body moving and touching his skin was strange. Tao had to make an effort not to shake the forest spirit into the ground, like a large insect or a tiny rodent that somehow got into his clothes.

Instead, the boy pulled his hood tighter over his cheek and hurried after his sister to the top of the hill.

"I'm considering changing the colors, you know. It must be white in winter, so you don't get found in the snow... " Eleya spoke as the boy walked.

"I don't quite fancy it though, green suits me better, doesn't it? But digging in the snow so many steps every time, and when I say steps, I mean normal, human steps, not mine... Yes, every time I have to dig dozens of steps to meet us in the field because a pile of green leaves on top of the snow would be too weird..."

This new Eleya no longer shied away from small talk and even seemed quite chatty at times.

"You can change the color?" Tao spoke softly, keeping a fair distance from his sister.

"Yes, but it requires expending strength. I can't decide if it's necessary... what do you think?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you're the only one who sees me, so you could say I'm trying for you... " Eleya seemed to pout.

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"Sorry."

"Hmp. Boring answers. I didn't notice it before, but you're not a skilled speaker."

"Is that so?" Tao felt offended.

"You know the words, but how to use them is something else. Just like with the power of the spirit. The amount isn't everything."

The boy felt the urge to roll his eyes for the second time today.

"I have enough to learn. Witty words will wait."

"You are no fun."

"Now you're looking for fun?"

"For almost a year I was in bad shape... it certainly was not fun. Will not recommend."

In a way, Tao was able to understand that. Despite his ability to manipulate the spirit power, the child's body was still a burden. His short legs prevented him from running fast or even walking normally, his hand grip was weak. Everything was too big or too high. Thanks to many physical exercises, Tao's movements were more coordinated than other kids his age and even older children like Safia, but his physical strength, agility, and also his stamina were still many times behind an adult's. Even now, when climbing a hill, the boy had to take smaller, more cautious steps to avoid losing his balance.

At the top of the hill, in front of the adults, Tao did not dare to speak with spirit even in whispers, so he sat down again behind his sister on a piece of leather to slide down.

"This is fun somehow. You like it?" Eleya asked as they started climbing up again after the slide.

"Somehow, yes... "

The forest spirit seemed to ponder something before continuing the conversation.

"You know, worrying all the time isn't going to help." Her tone changed; the frivolity seemed to disappear.

"Thank you for your concern, but I have my own ways of relaxing."

"Really?" Eleya expressed doubt or simply wanted to hear more.

Either way, Tao wanted to change the subject.

"I don't know how long I'll be allowed to be here. So, if there's anything important to talk about..."

"I think checking on your progress is important enough."

"Well, I'll keep training as usual. I don't know what else I can say."

"Do you feel that your spirit power is growing?"

"I would say yes. Not directly, but I regularly need to concentrate a larger volume than before to distribute in the body, or do it for longer before the reserves run out."

"So it seems. Your little adventure with the light spirits... The difference that day from time when you learned to create the barrier was obvious. It would be interesting to know exactly how much spirit power you have."

"Can you... measure it somehow?"

Eleya pondered.

"Usually it's done by spells, for humans that is. What's the strongest spell you know? How many times can you summon it?"

"No way! The strongest spell I know is for fire magic, and I can't summon it even once without making a noise or leaving a trace."

Tao couldn't do this in secret. Besides, it would mean seriously breaking his promise to his father.

"Maybe I can teach you another spell? One that doesn't make noise? But magic usually leaves traces behind. If you do it many times in a row, someone might notice... Never mind." Eleya ended up rejecting her own idea too.

Safia was already waiting for Tao at the top of the hill, sitting on the makeshift vehicle. As his mother pushed them in again, the boy felt Eleya poke her head out of her hood to get a better view of the ride down. Fortunately, Safia's attention was focused on what was happening in front of her, she didn't notice the doll-like creature near her brother's face.

"You can be spotted like that." Tao reprimanded the forest spirit after the slide.

"I already told you not to worry about it. If she looked back, I'd be able to hide." Eleya claimed.

"You're sure? Kids can be... observant sometimes."

"And all they'll see is a pile of leaves... Leaving that aside, how are you getting on with the sinsura?" This time the forest spirit changed the subject.

Tao sighed but decided there was no point in being obstinate.

"It's not as easy as I thought." He confessed.

The ability of warriors to concentrate the spirit power into a form that protected the body against physical injury was one of the skills Tao wanted to learn. Unfortunately, so far without tangible success.

"If you demonstrate for me, I can perhaps give you some guidance." Eleya offered.

"I can't do that here. Mother will think it suspicious if I sit on the ground to concentrate my spirit power instead of sliding down the hill."

"Since I came back, you always do something that makes you move around a lot."

"It's winter, the children are playing in the snow."

"Hmm... you really can't go outside for a while alone?"

Tao couldn't be said not to have thought of such a possibility. If he was in a place where he didn't have to worry about being seen, heard, or disturbed, the boy would be free to put his physical and magical abilities into practice. But these thoughts were more fantasy than real plans.

"Ah! Safi!" Tao heard his mother's voice.

Safia slides past the boy, sitting on her bottom. Without waiting for her slow brother, the girl slipped off the piece of leather, either accidentally or on purpose, and slid down without it. The other two women just laughed.

Unfortunately, Tao was not allowed to go down alone. The boy had to wait until his sister came back and got his mother's reprimand too.

"So annoying..." the forest spirit fussed in his ear.

Even worse, she started to poke Tao in the cheek with her tiny palm, as if he was to blame for what had happened.

Yeah, annoying for sure... Tao could only agree but for other reasons.

This wasn't the first time Eleya's personality changed, though. In the beginning, the forest spirit had called the boy 'mighty' and had been very polite. Only with time did she become a pushy and demanding teacher, who now seemed to have become a frivolous teenage girl.

Would I think the same if she still had no body? Tao didn't know the answer to that.

"Well, I don't want to go to the village, but if there's no other option... I think I could handle being indoors if I had to." Eleya spoke up again after another slide.

"Indoors? You mean in my home?"

"Yeah... I'd rather avoid that, though. Even with the bond, it takes a lot of strength for me... so you'd better be grateful!" The forest spirit poked the boy in the cheek with her hand again.

"Yeah, grateful." Tao tried not to sound sarcastic.

He wasn't thrilled with the idea either but didn't feel confident that he could postpone everything until spring.

"You know, we'll have to figure out something to stay together for a longer time without disturbance anyway," Eleya said thoughtfully.

"How so?"

"Remember how I helped you link your spirit barrier to your breathing? Teaching you to see the spirit power won't be any easier."

"You figured out how to do that?" The boy immediately focused his attention on what Eleya had said.

"Not quite. I just have a few ideas in mind..."

"What ideas?"

"If we find someone else who can sense spirit power, I could try to bond with you his eyes... or his nose."

It took Tao a moment to take in what was being said.

"You seriously expect me... to walk around with an animal's nose?"

He was too shocked to feel anger.

"I don't even know if I could do it, but you asked for an idea..."

Tao couldn't see Eleya's face but judged that she was pouting again.

"The answer is no! I don't want animal eyes or noses!" the boy stated firmly, louder than he would have liked.

"They don't have to be animal body parts..." the young girl's voice added.

Tao involuntarily stopped. He turned his head slightly to the side, although it did not allow him to see the forest spirit.

"What did you say?"

"...It was a joke."

"...A joke."

"Ahaha..."

Tao began to climb the hill again, deciding it was better not to pursue the matter.

And yet, this is progress, the boy thought to himself.

At least now it looked like Eleya had a better understanding of what was unacceptable to humans.

On the other hand, in Tao's previous world, some individuals would love to have animal eyes, noses, tails, and, of course, ears for themselves. Or on others. Perhaps he was too harsh with Eleya in this matter.

Or she was secretly into catgirls.

"I have another idea." The forest spirit spoke after one more trip.

"I'm afraid to even ask."

"Hey! That's not nice!"

"Like ripping someone's eyes out..."

"Fine, fine! Let's put that aside. This is something else, I don't even know if it's possible."

Tao felt Eleya's hand touch his cheek, softer this time as if to calm the boy.

"All right... what is it?"

"Spirits usually sense the spirit power of other beings naturally, but there is a way to find a distant spirit power over a wide area, or if someone is trying to hide from you. It's a technique that spreads the spirit power around in a kind of wave that bounced back against the spirit power of others and came back to you, pointing to the place where it happened."

"Like sonar..."

"Sonar-what?"

"Nothing, never mind... " the boy realized he had said the word in English.

"Well, learning to feel the power of your own spirit seems easier. So, if you could do that, this technique might work... although I don't know anyone born in the flesh who used it."

"Interesting... but if you already knew, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Tao asked.

"Oh, I... I had forgotten the technique because of my situation." Eleya's voice expressed a sort of shame.

"You said spirits lose their memories when they diminish, right?"

"Hey! Don't say it like that!" A tiny hand pinched the boy's cheek.

"Eh? Say what?"

He almost raised his hand to squash Eleya like a bug after the unexpected pinch.

"That word... with d. "

"You told me that yourself."

"But not about myself... It's shameful! Don't mention it!"

Is it like wetting in bed? Or something worse? Tao couldn't understand.

But the culture of spirit beings, or the mental state of Eleya, were not the objects of the boy's intrigues at the moment.

"All right, forget it... Then will you be able to teach me this technique?"

"It has its drawbacks - you have to openly spread your spirit power over a large area, so you can't do it in disguise. You'll be able to find the spirits, but they'll know what you're doing. And you have to be able to feel your own spirit power. But if you can do that, I will teach you."

Learn to feel your own spirit power.

To find an opportunity to train with Eleya undisturbed for a long time, preferably outside the village.

Learn this sonar technique of spirit power.

Tao didn't think it would be easy. But a difficult task was undoubtedly better than an impossible idea. Step by step, he would make it a reality.

***