"Mana Capacity Test?"

"Yeah. Mana Capacity Test."

A Mana Capacity Test, he said.

In Wendl's hand was an odd device. A rod with half a dozen round spheres placed at even intervals. One end was a grip and the other was a sphere.

"So, err, how does this work?"

"You grab this end and put in mana, as much as you can."

"Haa..."

"And so, girl, try it out."

"Eh? Me?"

He handed the rod to Helma.

"Yes, you. Who else? Or did you ever do such a test?"

"No... I didn't."

"Knew it. For the brat, it's clear that she can use magic, but whether you can is an entirely different matter. I can teach you all you want, but if you lack the mana capacity, you won't be able to apply most of it. If you can apply anything at all."

"..."

Helma frowned at those words. They were harsh words after all. Maybe he didn't want her to have any false hope. Most humans apparently didn't have any talent for magic, after all. At least I hadn't heard of a way to change your mana capacity, yet. Or of a way to use magic without mana.

For a few seconds, Helma stared at the rod in silence. Wendl furrowed his brows, seeing her lack of action.

"Going to do it today? Just do it like with any other magical tool. Just, don't hold back, put in as much as you can.

"... Okay."

She took a deep breath and held out the rod in front of her chest, strongly clutching it with both hands. She closed her eyes, her hands shaking with nervosity.

A few seconds later the first sphere began to glow. The intensity was slowly rising and then the second sphere began to glow as well. She kept pouring in mana, but the rod didn't show any change anymore from that point.

"Mh, it's not bad but not really good either," commented Wendl after a short while.

"Uhm, that means what?"

Helma stopped providing mana to the rod and the spheres darkened again. Her face was full of anxiety. For someone who was more here because of a coincidence, she seemed to be a lot more worried than I had expected, fidgeting and glancing at Wendl.

"You have enough capacity for most magic, but not enough for most types of combat magic."

"I... I see."

Helma's expression was a little torn between a smile and disappointment.

"Don't let it get to you too much, you are still quite blessed. Even having an aptitude to this degree is rare for most humans. The majority wouldn't even be able to make the first sphere glow. And some mages have even less than you, so it's mostly a matter of hard work from now on."

"I see..."

She let out a small sigh, looking down at the ground. But from the corner of my eyes, I could spot a small smile and a clenched fist in front of her chest.

"Let's see, the first move would be teaching you to perceive mana then. Mhh... That should take around a month at best and three at worst."

"That... That long?"

"Yes, that long. Of course, the harder you work at it, the faster you will learn, but there's no real hurry. Take it at your own pace."

It took that long? But... Karen learnt it in less than a day. Odd. Why was there such a difference?

"Mr Wendl. I have a question."

"What, brat? Spit it out."

"Lily taught my sister in under a day how to sense mana, so..."

"Little Lily? Ahh..."

Wendl sighed and shook his head.

"Just taking a guess, but your sister is a manakin?"

"Nn..."

"Obviously... Manakin have a very strong affinity with mana. There are even some manakin who can sense mana from the get-go. That's why they are also called natural magicians in some countries. Lily herself, and I guess your sister too, only needed a little help and they can sense it."

"I see. So, it doesn't work for people who aren't manakin?"

"Exactly."

Wendl took another book from his table and flipped through the pages.

"Here, look at this."

"Nn?"

He turned around the book and showed us an illustration. Two humans were shown. Their surroundings were filled with something glitter-like. And one human's body was filled with it as well.

"This glittery stuff is the mana. And as you can see on this one, a manakin is filled with it as well. It's their natural state, so to say. But normal people have to first imitate this state before they can learn to sense mana."

"Imitate?"

"Yes. That's why it takes so long. Most of the time spent is used to stimulate what we call the mana sensory organ. Only then can we activate it and become able to sense mana. But due to the manakin's natural mana, this mana sensory organ is already stimulated and sometimes even active."

So manakin were basically skipping the entire stimulation part.

"Mana Sensory Organ? Does something like that really exist?" asked Helma.

"It's just a name. We don't know what it is or if it even exists physically. It's just a name for whatever enables us to sense the mana."

"That's quite vague," I add.

"It is. But even if it is vague, we know how it works."

He slapped the book once, looking at the illustration.

"We barely know anything in this world, this is just a tiny part of the things we don't know. Delving into magic makes you realise how we truly know nothing of our world. There are so many mysteries, not even ten lifetimes would be enough to unravel the tiniest bit of it."

"That, that much?"

Helma stared at him, wide-eyed.

"You will soon understand it yourself, girl. Using magic is simple, but understanding it is nigh impossible. And magic is just one part."

He put away the book with the illustration, stood up and then walked over to a very unorderly shelf, books in danger of falling out or loose paper sheets sticking out. He grabbed yet another book and sat down in front of us again.

At this point, I was a little fed up with standing around so I sat down on the ground and Helma quickly followed me suit.

"Many researchers believe that magic is the answer to the world's deepest mysteries, but I and a few others think there's a little more behind it. Magic is a vast mystery, but it is not the answer to everything. Many weapons, tools and other things work without any magic. A pistol can work completely without magic. The fire stone is only a more convenient way to make it work. There are other ways. And yet, many researchers claim that those are either magic as well or some machinations of gods."

He opened the book and handed it to us. The page he opened was about theories regarding freezing water. They ranged from the water having a will on its own, water crystallizing and growing in mass, taking in mass from the surrounding atmosphere but also about tiny beings and other things. I only skimmed through them with my limited reading abilities, but some of them were downright ridiculous or quite amusing.

"That book was written by the Academy here in the capital."

"Here?"

"It's the safest place for research of this nature. Research, that goes past magic and religion."

The safest place?

I glanced to my side and saw Helma frowning.

"This book... won't they hang you for having this?" she asked timidly.

Hang? You mean, they'd kill you for having it?

You would get executed just for having a book? Seriously?

A shudder ran down my spine, just imagining it.

"In most countries, yes. It's blasphemous for those religious fools who believe that their supreme god or gods are responsible for everything."

He shook his head in exasperation.

"Thankfully, most beastkin believe in the existence of greater spirits that manage the world, but it's also a rather loose belief. It's more like their way of living than an actual belief. But that makes it easy for researchers. Books like these aren't banned here and they won't kill you for slighting their god."

"Haa..."

I glanced once more at the book. I had to keep this in mind, for the future. To think this was that dangerous... I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"Anyway, that's neither here nor there. I got a little sidetracked. If you got an interest in those things you should go to the Academy. Not to brag, but they are pretty much the forerunner in science."

He smiled smugly. Maybe he was a graduate like Ria? At least, he was quite proud of it, so it was likely he had some relation to it.

"Back to the topic of magic. We can't do much until the girl learns to perceive mana. I could teach you about the theory but in my opinion, it's better to actually see things with your own eyes. It might not be good enough for combat or vast ritual magic, but you got enough mana for pretty much everything else. Case in point, I'll give you these things for now and that's it."

After rummaging through his desk, he handed Helma two rather crude bracelets and a small notebook.

"These are?"

Helma tilted her head curiously, holding up the bracelets and scrutinising them.

"Mana bracelets and a guide on exercises. Just wearing the bracelets and periodically supplying them with mana until you run out is already good practice, but with those exercises, it's even faster."

"Just wearing them and supplying mana?"

A little doubtful, Helma put them on. After staring at them for a little more, she took a breath, probably to prepare for trying them out.

Her reaction... was a grimace of disgust.

"What's this?! It feels unpleasant! Disgusting!"

"Obviously they do. Those bracelets draw in the surrounding, natural mana and disperse it inside you. The dose is small enough that it's not harmful, so don't worry about that. It just feels incredibly unpleasant, but it's very effective."

"Ugh... And I have to do this all the time?"

"You have to. And don't take breaks. If you take too much time in between you might waste your effort until then."

"Really? Ugh..."

Helma let her head hang down, but then shot up again, clenching her fists in front of her.

"No, no. The chance to learn magic doesn't come so easily again. I just have to get through this."

"Oh? For a woman you sure got some guts, don't you? Just don't come crying to me, I won't make it easy on you."

Wendl put on a wide, mean grin. Helma inched back a little, but she quickly caught herself and looked forward with determination in her eyes.

"Ugh... I... won't cry. Just you see, I'll show you that not all women are like you think!"

"Good luck, ha!"

From the looks of it, they had found some common ground for now. But, the chance didn't come so easily... Karen had told me before that it was rare for magicians to teach someone. Apparently, having never gotten the chance before, she sure seemed intent on making use of this now.

"Nn, is it that rare to have someone teach you magic? What about Ria and the other two? Couldn't they teach others?"

"Well, they turned away everyone who came to them..." told me Helma.

"Of course they do. A human with a talent for magic is rare, they would have to tell nearly all of them that it's impossible. And even if there are some, teaching even one person takes a lot of effort. That's why magicians carefully choose their apprentices. Well, even then you get idiots like that one."

Wendl pointed at the still-alive corpse lying face-down in the corner.

"... I see... Mr Wendl, it might be rude but... In that case, why are you teaching me?" asked Helma with an anxious expression.

"No real reason. I got some free time on my hands and if I can get someone interested in magic and science, then that's time well spent."

He grinned, probably the first smile he had shown us so far.

"Is... that so..."

Helma was bewildered at his answer, that much was clear.

"Not satisfied with that? then, let's see... There aren't many people that are truly interested in science and magic, but girl... What do you think most people would do when they hear my ramblings magic?"

"What they would do? I... don't know."

"Ha. Most people would just nod off. They don't care for such things as theory or science, but they still want to learn magic. Yet you listened through every word. That's already good enough for me to teach you."

"Haa..."

I see. Someone completely disinterested would've quickly shown that on their face. But neither Helma nor I did that. And most people would probably get bored quickly. Maybe even more here, where basic education wasn't as widespread.

And teaching someone who only wanted to learn magic but didn't want to actually learn...

"Now, if we got that cleared up, go and read through that guide. You're free to stay here but there's a corner over there where you can also try those exercises. If you got a question, just give me a holler."

"Mh, okay. I'll go over there for now, then."

Helma stood up and walked to the corner Wendl had pointed at. She quickly disappeared behind a curtain and was now gone from sight.

"Oh, found a chair. Nice."

"..."

So there had been a second chair, after all. Damn.

"Now then. Do you want to try the rod first as well?"

"Nn, well, it doesn't hurt I guess."

Wendl held up the rod in front of me.

To be honest, I was a little interested in the result. My mana capacity was apparently quite low, despite being a manakin. My mana crystal took most of the mana in my body, after all. But just how much was 'low'?

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

After receiving the rod from him, I examined it for a few seconds. It wasn't that obvious at first, but now that I was holding it in my hand I could see that it was a quite well-crafted and probably expensive tool. There were markings at each of the spheres with letters I couldn't read. Probably a different language than the one common here.

Oh well, here goes nothing.

I took a breath and inserted as much mana as I could into the rod. The first sphere lit up and then...

"..."

"..."

"Nn. What does this mean?"

"How should I know? How did you even manage that?"

The first sphere was glowing weakly. And so were the second, the third and so on. All spheres in the rod were lit up dimly.

Wendl leaned forward and stared at the rod from close up, stroking his chin and the non-existent beard.

"Odd. How did you even do that? Mh... Brat, are you still putting in mana?"

"Nn? No, not really..."

"Not. Are you actually... No, but... Brat, are you still controlling that mana?"

"Nn. I am."

I nodded to the question. Wendl stared at me wide-eyed.

That reminded me, Lily, or maybe Karen even, one of them told me that humanoids couldn't control mana that left their body. But... I could still control it. Actually, I didn't even know how to let it go...

"I see. I see. That's interesting. How much mana did you insert?"

"As much as I could, comfortably."

"... Mh, but... The spheres are only glowing a little... Then... That's not a lot of mana, is it?"

"Nn... Lily said that too... That's why I'm usually using mana crystals to compensate for that."

"Wha—

His mouth agape, he stared at me. Suddenly, he closed in, his face right in front of me.

"You use mana crystals? You mean, you can make use of the mana in the crystals?"

"Nn."

"... Unbelievable. Unbelievable... Brat. Absolutely keep that a secret. That's dangerous knowledge. Incredibly. Dangerous."

"Nn?"

I tilted my head in curiosity. Wendl leaned back and rubbed his temples before facing me again.

"Making use of mana crystals... With that, you could in theory cast magic that vastly surpasses an individual's power all by your lonesome. With enough crystals, you could cast ritual-level magic. That's beyond dangerous."

"I heard the term quite a lot, but what exactly is ritual magic even?"

"... It's actually not a kind of magic but more classification of magic. Ritual magic encompasses all types of magic that far surpass an individual's power. To give you an idea, even simple ritual magic could easily wipe out the capital city."

"..."

Wipe out the capital city? That... That was... indeed dangerous...

"Usually such magic is cast either using sacrifices or with dozens of magicians at once. But if you can use mana crystals, you could just horde a large amount of them and then cast that spell. Do you see the problem?"

"Nn..."

"But... One thing I'm curious about, you said the only magic you know so far is in regards to your three attributes, right?"

"Nn. It is. I couldn't cast anything else, even when I tried."

At least nothing happened if I tried to do anything else.

"That's interesting. Really interesting. Well, there's no ritual magic I know of among those three attributes. But it might stand to reason they are just larger types of existing spells among those. I guess you'll just have to try out what you can do for now."

"Nn."

That was basically what I had come here for anyway...

"Mh, I think I got a book about the witch worshippers' magic in general here. It's probably easier for you to take a look and then try out whatever you find."

He stood up and went once more to the disorderly shelf. A few seconds later he brought a rather new book to me.

"Let's see, ah, around here should be of interest to you."

"Nn?"

He opened a page and handed me the book. The page started with an introduction to forbidden magics and various attributes, including those three.

"If you need anything, tell me."

"Nn."

This... was a little bit different from what I imagined. I expected him to teach me and not... just hand me a book.

I was actually looking forward a little, to a magic lesson, you know? How unfortunate...

With a wry smile, I shelved my disappointment and dived into the book.

----------------------------------------

Magic was scary.

Magic was incredibly scary. This book was brutal. It didn't mince words about the magic those worshippers used, nor did it even attempt to hide what their magic was used for. There were a good dozen different attributes' spells listed in this book, but pretty much none of them was... subtle. Not even remotely.

I never imagined that... Magic could be used like that.

It was simply astonishing. Thinking about the things I had just read made me shudder. But, even so, I learnt quite a few very interesting things.

I got a few ideas for my own magic, I guess. I'll have to try them out, but still... Can't say it was in vain.

To my surprise, I hadn't been the first one to think of making dolls with life and soul magic. Albeit the witch worshippers used them mainly for reconnaissance and ambushes, they were used quite extensively by them. It seemed the dolls could be made of nearly any organic material. Even an animal's flesh was fine. In fact, the worshippers apparently preferred a fresh corpse over any kind of plant matter. Maybe that was also the reason for the very grotesque flesh doll illustration...

I think I'll stay with wood in the future... But still...To think they would add inorganic matter as well...

Yes, the inorganic matter could be incorporated into the dolls. The worshippers made metal sheets and added them to the dolls for protection. It was even possible to incorporate other things into their bodies. Like... explosives.

The worshippers used dolls filled with explosives for surprise attacks and attacks on buildings. I wasn't that surprised at the existence of explosives themselves. They already had pistols and firearms, after all. But the way it was used... was beyond unpleasant.

Nonetheless, explosives still seemed to be actually quite rare, which was a little bit of a blessing. The existence of magic made conventional explosives less popular. Instead, something called Witch's Fire was frequently used by the worshippers. And this Witch's Fire reminded me strongly of something I had seen before, long ago.

Greek Fire. The predecessor of modern Napalm, huh?

Using a container inside the doll's body filled with some substance, the dolls were sent to attack mainly structures, but also people. Shattering the container would ignite whatever was inside, causing a fire that couldn't be quenched easily by water. Just like Greek Fire. Even the name was similar.

That's quite terrifying... And many places probably use wooden houses... and fields are most likely a target too. And if a person is caught by them... They'll literally burn to death...

Yet, that was only one single thing. There were quite a few other gut-wrenching methods of attack deployed by those worshippers. They didn't hold back. At all. Whatever seemed practical, they went through with... No matter how brutal it was. Whether it was making use of something like Greek Fire, voracious animals they tamed or even acids, poison and diseases. If it was useable, it was good enough for them. According to the book, they even destroyed entire regions of land, making it uninhabitable with magic or poison, starving entire villages to death.

I hope I won't ever meet those... They don't even seem to have any objective... Or, at least the author of this book doesn't know it... Anyway, there are more important things I should look at. Better try and forget these for now...

Alas, it wasn't easy to forget something you had once seen. The best I could do was not to think about it. Either way, there were other things I found. Things that weren't about the most brutal ways of massacring a person... For example, the Charm that I had used, more or less accidentally, was listed as well. In fact, most of the Lust attributes' spells tended to be in this direction. The book was actually quite detailed about Lust in particular, probably due to an interesting note.

'Lust' is one of the primal desires, a primal attribute.' What does that even mean? From the way I understand it, Lust is actually one of the most basic attributes in magic? But isn't Lust something that's only present in animals and humans?

It was odd. A 'desire' being a basis for magic? Just what did that mean?

Shouldn't it be something more scientific-like? Like, I don't know, 'Energy'? 'Light'? Or anything, really...

Unfortunately, nobody was around to answer my question. With a sigh, I decided to move on. I didn't have an answer, nor did I know someone who had it. Well, I did know someone who might know it, but I wasn't keen on asking her. Not just because Greyward had warned me, but also because I had the feeling it'd become troublesome if I did.

Let's see. Lust magic mainly manipulates 'sexual desire'. But 'sexual desire' actually seems to encompass quite a lot. Even regular affection or just liking someone seems to fall under this. So, it's not actually pure 'Lust'...

The main uses for Lust magic seemed to be straight-up sexual topics, like making someone horny, and affection of any kind. This affection could then be used to strengthen someone's motivation, urge or even instinct. That was apparently what I accidentally did back then. The mercenaries saw me in a positive light, maybe they thought I was cute or a nice kid, or anything, really. In any case, because they did, I was able to motivate them and stimulate their motivation to protect me. Or maybe to kill my enemies? Whichever, really.

But, the whole thing can also go the other way around...

Just as I could motivate them, it was also possible to do the opposite, weakening it. As long as they saw me positively, I could stop them from wanting to attack me and others. Or, even to fear me. Apparently, the stronger the affection, the stronger the effect of these spells.

So, basically, it's a type of magic that requires me to be well-liked? What the hell? But it already works if they just think I'm cute, apparently... How weird...

Magic was odd. And scary. This was basically like manipulating someone's mind, just in a less direct manner...

The more sexual kinds of magic were about as much as I expected. Making some horny, or lust after me. These magics were, in fact, unrelated to the affection and were probably used to gain the necessary affection in the first place. There were also comparisons with common monsters' Lust magic, most notably the roper. Interestingly, ropers apparently made use not only of Lust magic but also of Life magic. Maybe Wendl had a book about monsters with more details on them.

With some luck, I can find out even more about these attributes...

There was magic that also made use of more than one attribute. In fact, the magic for the dolls counted for this as well. But in the case of Lust magic, it was also possible to... temporarily grow... certain things in combination with Life magic.

Uhh... I didn't really need to know about this... Really...

Despite having had one until just two weeks ago, I felt quite a bit of apprehension at the thought of this magic. There was not even the smallest bit of desire to reclaim what was lost. In fact, just thinking about a man's genitals at all made me feel... uncomfortable. Even a bit disgusted. A certain ogre from a few days back flashed through my mind and a shudder ran down my spine.

Still, it's strange. I'm absolutely certain that I never held such feelings before I came here. Is it because I changed? Or because of that incident with the ogre? Uhh, whatever. It got nothing to do with me! I refuse to think about it! I already got the tentacles anyway!

Thinking about those tentacles, or rather my tentacles, wasn't as big of an issue. Despite them being functionally similar to a man's lower part. Maybe because I knew they were part of my own body. They still made me feel a little apprehensive, but for a slightly different reason. Tentacles didn't belong on a person. And simply having them made me feel... less human.

A small sigh escaped me.

I might not be able to escape them forever... They are a part of me. I... I should try and get used to them, sometime. Sometime. Not now.

In any case, Life magic actually has quite a lot of applications. Lust magic could also be quite useful. But...

Even the book could barely comment on Soul Magic. The only instance was the dolls. It was a 'mysterious' attribute that nobody could quite explain. There were a few spells employed by the worshippers that they suspected to belong to this category, but they didn't know for sure. The whole attribute was utterly incomprehensible. That was about all the book said in regard to it.

"Haa... Guess, I'm done."

I closed the book and stretched my arms. I had been sitting on the ground for quite a long time. I had moved to a wall so I could lean on it but that hadn't changed much. If only I had a cushion it would've been a lot more comfortable...

Wait. I can extend my hair. Couldn't I have made my cushion to sit on? Ahhh, I'm so stupid, why didn't I think of trying this?!

"Oh? Brat, you're done?"

Wendl turned around in his comfortable chair, glancing at me. I felt a little irritated at him sitting in a chair and at my own stupidity. Why did one always have to think of such things afterwards, when it was too late...

"Nn... More or less, I got a few ideas... Ah, do you have a book about monsters? About ropers and such in particular."

"A book about monsters and ropers? There is a general monsterarium and a shorter one about the roper family and similar monsters."

"Nn, I'm kind of interested in both..."

Assuming a monsterarium was a bestiary for monsters, I might be able to find out a few things about monsters in general. I was a little interested in their ecology since it was also related to me. But, ultimately... The ones closest to me were, most likely, the ropers... It was a conflicting feeling, being similar to such a creature...

"You can take both of them with you and read them."

"Nn? It's fine to take them with me?"

"It is. Brat, try taking a look outside."

Glancing outside as he told me to, I quickly understood what he meant. Most likely I had been reading for a few hours, the sun had travelled quite a bit. If I had to guess, it was probably late afternoon about now. Well, I wasn't really quick with reading, so it was to be expected. It served as good practice, though. And the book had been quite fascinating, despite a few minor problems.

Uhh, Sis and Lily are probably back by now, aren't they? I hope they aren't too worried. I didn't tell anyone that I'm here.

I stood up and put the book down on the table. Taking a quick glance through the wagon made me realise that I really had been absorbed in that book. The former corpse in the corner was gone and Helma wasn't around anymore either. A quick question later and Wendl told me that his 'good-for-nothing' apprentice was out doing chores and that Helma had left for some preparations for dinner.

"Mh, where did I put that one... Here? Ah, there it is. Then, here you go. Bring them back in one piece, you hear?"

"Nn. Thank you."

Wendl handed me the two books, both quite thick and heavy, and turned back to his desk, doing whatever he had been doing.

"Thank you for your help."

I once more said my thanks and left him alone in his wagon.

"It's really gotten a little late... Ah, now I didn't even try out any magic. Guess I'll ask Lily or Sis later to help me."

Clutching both books in my arms, I made my way back to the others.

----------------------------------------

"Yumi! There you are!"

After having a little trouble finding the way, I returned to our wagon. As expected, Lily and Karen had returned. Or at least, Lily had. She was sitting at a small makeshift table. With Rina. In her lap. It looked quite mismatched since Rina wasn't that much smaller than Lily, but the latter didn't seem bothered by that at all. In fact, more like the opposite, judging from the grin on her face.

"... Did I miss some auspicious occasion?"

"What?"

"Well..."

"... Ah."

After following my glance, Lily, fortunately, understood what I was hinting at. After all, I couldn't just say it in Rina's presence.

"That's... No. No auspicious occasion, sadly."

"... I see."

"Lil' Sis, Lily, what are you talking about?"

"... Nothing."

Keeping it vague had been a good choice, after all. I spotted a small, quite a familiar book with illustrations in Rina's lap.

"Nn, isn't that the book I used to practice reading?"

"It is. I'm teaching Rina. Or rather, we're practising."

"Huh."

Right, Rina probably didn't know how to read and write either. She had been locked up for quite a long time. But if she said practising, that meant she could already read a bit?

"Lil' Sis, did you also get books to practise reading?"

"No. These are for research."

"Research... Yumi, where were you anyway? Karen was quite worried, you know."

"Ahh... I was with Mr Wendl, he taught me a little."

"... Wendl? That womaniser?"

Lily's face turned into a grimace.

"I mean, don't misunderstand me, he's actually quite nice, it's just... If he wouldn't always try to pick up women... Haa... Speaking of which, I heard earlier that he caused a ruckus again."

"Nn. He was mistaken for a paedophile and had a little bit of a... rough experience."

"Haa..."

Lily sighed deeply, holding her head and shaking it left and right.

"It doesn't even surprise me anymore... I can't really feel sorry for him. He reaps what he sows, I guess."

"Ahaha..."

"Haa... Well, did you find out anything then?"

"Nn. A few things. If possible, I'd like to try out some of them later with you and Sis."

"Later? Well, after dinner, then? Should have time then."

After dinner was probably a good idea.

"Nn. Anyway, where are Sis and the others?"

"They are at Kohno's for their leather armour. Ah, Kohno is the tanner."

"Ah, I know. I was there earlier too and met him."

"Oh? That means you got some armour then?"

"Nn..."

Lily's former dress slash armour. I took a long glance at Lily, trying to imagine a smaller Lily with that armour. It was nice. I wanted to see it for real. I especially wanted to see a small Lily. A small Lily. Must be great for hugs... Too bad that wasn't possible...

"Ah, that reminds me. I was supposed to meet him again... In case he needs to make adjustments."

"Is that so? But... No... Yumi, did they give you an old armour?"

"... Nn."

"..."

Lily frowned for some reason.

"Yumi, I'm just going to take a guess but... It's not my old armour, is it?"

"It is."

"... I knew it. Haa..."

Lily rubbed her temples and her fluffy ears twitched.

"Yumi, if you want something more normal... You don't need to wear that, you know? I'm sure we can find something more normal."

"... Well, they already went through the trouble of making it useable, though..."

And I wasn't actually that much against it either. I wanted a mirror to see if it would actually suit me, though.

"Is that so... Ugh, Rina, let's postpone the practice, okay?"

"Why?" asked Rina, turning around to look at Lily.

"... I want to make sure they do a proper job on Yumi's armour..."

"Okay."

Something told me that wasn't the real reason. But I couldn't quite pinpoint what this feeling was...

Rina closed the book and jumped off Lily's lap. Lily looked a little sad, alas, she was the one who wanted to leave, so it was her own fault.

She stood up and put the small book into her bag.

"Ah, where do I put these books?"

"How about the wagon? There's enough space there."

"Nn, will do."

After finding a neat little spot in the wagon, we made our way to Kohno.