“You’ll love the next town, Bigstone,” Beldo said as he walked down the road with Lusya and Ariya. “The baker, Raman, makes the best cakes I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot over the years.”

“That sounds great!” Ariya exclaimed. “Did you hear that, Lusya? The best cakes in the world.”

“That is not what he said,” Lusya said. “But someone with two thousand years’ experience likely has a large reference pool. His recommendation carries weight.”

Beldo grinned and seemed to stand a bit taller at that. “You won’t be disappointed, trust me.”

“Although, your impression of the inn’s food in the last village does offset that somewhat,” Lusya said. “It is clear that your sentimental attachment to this region clouds your judgment at times.”

“Hey, taste is subjective,” he replied, his smile replaced by a frown as he deflated.

“Yes, and most subjects lack your fondness for this area as a factor in forming their opinions.”

“Lusya has a point,” Ariya said. “That food really wasn’t as good as you said.”

Beldo sighed. “Look, whatever the reason, I really like the cakes. You two can try them and decide for yourselves how good they are.”

“Okay!”

“I suppose we will,” Lusya said. She looked to Ariya. “But you will have to refrain from sweets before and after for some time.”

Ariya groaned but nodded. “Yes, Lusya.”

There was a pause before Beldo spoke up again.

“You know, you could have just gone with the flow of the conversation,” he said. “You don’t always have to say everything you think.”

“I am aware, and I do not,” Lusya replied. “I saw no reason not to disrupt this particular conversation and avoid Ariya’s disappointment by tempering her expectations.”

He chuckled. “I’d hate to hear the things you hold back.”

They continued walking through the countryside. A couple inches of snow had accumulated on the ground, and more fell at a steady rate, flake after flake drifting down to the ground.

Other than that, there was not much notable about the area they were passing through. It was a flat, wide-open plain that stretched to the horizon in all directions. It was an ideal road for travel, especially in this weather. In summer, the shade of a forest could be useful—at least for others, as Lusya was fine in just about any temperature—but a plain was the safest place to be. There was nowhere for someone to lie in ambush. And if an attack did come, one would at least see it coming.

Ariya stared at the snow-laden ground as they walked. She seemed to be deep in thought, until she finally looked up at Lusya.

“Lusya, can I make snow shadows?” she asked.

“If you wish, you may do so when we take a break,” Lusya said. “We will not stop specifically for you to do so.”

Ariya nodded. “Okay, that makes sense.”

They walked on in silence for a bit longer.

“Can we play ‘I see?’” Ariya asked.

“There is not much material for that game in the vicinity,” Lusya replied.

Ariya looked around and sighed. “You’re right. How about Guess and Give?”

“If you wish,” Lusya said.

“Beldo, do you know how to play?” Ariya asked.

Beldo shook his head. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of that game before.”

It was a rather common game. “Guess and Give” was just the name Ariya had chosen to give it. Lusya had played similar games with both her parents during her childhood, as well as with other children during her time living with Mother, though not much. Other children had found her unsettling, and so she had never had many friends or consistent playmates, despite Mother’s best efforts to arrange some for her.

The rules of the game were quite simple. One player thought of something. It could be just about anything, but Ariya chose to restrain the boundaries to physical objects. That included living beings, but abstract concepts were not allowed. Any other players—which was just Lusya, most of the time—took turns asking yes-or-no questions to narrow down the answer, until the number of questions asked reached twenty. If they wished, a player could demand a hint instead of asking a question, but that counted as two questions. That was the “give” in the name, giving a hint.

Ariya explained the rules and Beldo nodded in understanding.

“Oh, I see,” he said with awe in his voice. “That makes sense. How creative!”

Ariya scowled. “You don’t have to lie. Lusya already told me lots of people play this game.”

Beldo glanced at Lusya and cocked an eyebrow.

“I saw no point in attempting to deceive her,” Lusya said.

“To be encouraging?”

“It’s fine,” Ariya said. “Now I try to think of new games sometimes. That’s fun, it’s almost like a game by itself. One day, I’ll definitely make something Lusya hasn’t heard of before.”

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“I do not know why you insist on that being your goal,” Lusya said. “I am not an expert on children’s games. My ignorance does not guarantee your creation is original or unique.”

“Yeah, but you’re the only one I have to ask,” Ariya said.

“I will accept that explanation.”

Ariya smiled and nodded. “Okay, now, everyone think of a number. Whoever thinks of the highest number is the thinker first.”

After a pause, she prompted them to give their numbers.

“Seven,” Beldo said.

“Two thousand seven hundred forty-five,” Lusya said.

Ariya groaned. “Two thousand six hundred seventeen. I wanted to go first.”

“You may if you wish,” Lusya said.

“No, rules are rules…What’s wrong, Beldo?”

Beldo was staring at them, his mouth agape. “What were those numbers?”

“We have done this many times before,” Lusya said.

“That doesn’t really answer my question, but fine.”

“Have you thought of your thing, Lusya?” Ariya asked.

“I have. You may begin.”

“Is it a weapon?” Ariya asked.

“No.”

Beldo looked bemused at that opening question. “An animal?”

“Yes.”

They continued asking questions as they walked. Most were the normal, expected questions in such a game. Did the animal have fur, could it fly, and so on. A few stranger questions came about as well, such as whether the animal could breathe fire and if it was born of Malice. Ariya seemed to consider minor-rank demons animals, and Lusya supposed they met the requirements to be classified as such.

“Is it a cat?” Beldo asked as they neared the end of their allotted questions.

“Yes,” Lusya said.

Beldo nodded. “That was a good first round, now—”

“That was not the final answer,” Lusya said.

“It’s more specific than that?”

Lusya nodded. “Yes.”

“No fair,” Ariya said. “It was my turn.”

Beldo blushed. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

“Is it a tiger?”

“No,” Lusya said.

Beldo frowned. “Is it a tabby cat?”

“No.”

They exhausted their questions guessing at various subclassifications of cats, some of which were correct but not the final answer. That made Lusya the winner. There was no particular benefit to winning, but she saw no reason not to try. She had put less effort in at times, but Ariya had complained that Lusya letting her win was “no fun.”

“So, what’s the answer?” Ariya asked.

“Lord Whiskers,” Lusya replied.

Beldo scowled. “What is Lord Whiskers?”

“A mysterious stray cat my mother adopted when it appeared in the manor,” Lusya said.

“Oh,” Ariya said, understanding dawning. “The one that didn’t like you at first.”

“Correct.”

“I should have guessed that…”

Beldo sighed. “How am I supposed to guess this very specific cat I didn’t know existed?”

“You are not,” Lusya said. “That is what makes it an effective choice.”

Beldo cocked an eyebrow. “Do you two always play the game like this?”

“More or less.”

“It’s fun!” Ariya added.

“As long as you’re enjoying it, I guess it’s fine,” Beldo said. “By the way, who named the cat?”

“I did,” Lusya said. She wondered if Lord Whiskers was still alive. He had been a young cat when he had first appeared, so it was a distinct possibility. She hoped he was and doing well.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that was your naming sense.”

“It is not. It was when I was five years old.”

Beldo shrugged. “Probably still wouldn’t have guessed that, but fair enough. I believe you’re next, Ariya.”

Ariya nodded. “Yeah. I already know my thing, so I’m ready.”

They began guessing at what she was thinking of, but they did not make it far. Just a bit farther down the road, they encountered a wagon with one wheel dislodged on the side of the road, along with several other undamaged wagons. A man stood beside the damaged one, looking down at where the wheel at once been with a pensive look. Meanwhile, a handful of other men and women were scattered around the area on either side of the road, rummaging through crates, sacks, and barrels.

There was no sign of a struggle, suggesting these were the workers of this caravan, inspecting their goods to make sure they had not been damaged in whatever incident had taken the wheel off of the wagon. The horses drawing each wagon stood nearby, breath steaming from their noses, waiting for their masters’ work to finish.

“Looks like they could use a hand,” Beldo said.

“Yeah, we should help!” Ariya said, the game apparently forgotten.

“They seem to have the situation under control,” Lusya said.

Beldo shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to ask if they could use some help.”

“Yeah,” Ariya said. “We gotta ask.”

“Very well,” Lusya said. Strictly speaking, it could hurt, but she doubted it would be anything she couldn’t handle.

“Excuse me,” Beldo said as they neared. “You look like you’re in a rough spot.”

The man turned to him and smiled. “You could say that. Hit a bump in the road, and this wheel fell clean off.” The man nudged the fallen wheel, sitting in the snow beside him, with his foot. “Probably gonna lose a day fixing it.”

“That’s a shame,” Beldo said. “None of us are exactly experts in this kind of thing, but is there anything we could do to help?”

“Actually, yeah,” the man said. He drew the knife hanging from his belt. “Hand over your coin and everything worth so much as a copper on you.”

There was a series of hisses of steel on leather as the surrounding workers drew their weapons as well. Several of them openly wore knives or swords. That was not abnormal for protection, so Lusya had not paid it much mind. The rest seemed to have been concealing weapons somewhere.

“It seems we will need to deal with them,” Lusya said.

Beldo replied with a sheepish smile. “Ah, there’s no we, sorry. Can you handle it?”

Lusya cocked her head to the side a bit. “Very well. Ariya, close your eyes.”

“Yes, Lusya,” Ariya said.

She had already seen her fair share of violence. She had witnessed Lusya’s fight with the demon in the Elzen Valley, as well as with the Thirteenth Paladin. Although she had seemed fine after those events, there was still no need to expose her to more than was necessary.

The lead bandit opened his mouth to say something, but Lusya closed the gap before he emitted a single sound. Her fist shattered his skull and sent him flying backward through his wagon and beyond.

“What just happened?” one bandit exclaimed.

“I didn’t see her move, did you?”

“Where’d the boss go?”

Lusya held out a hand. “Lunera.”

The rest of the fight lasted less than a second as she carved through their ranks. The likes of them would never have been a challenge to her. Since acquiring her Full Release, defeating them was like crushing ants underfoot.

With them dead, they continued on. It wasn’t until the wagon was out of view that Lusya allowed Ariya to open her eyes. Had Lusya used Miudofay in the fight, Ariya could have opened her eyes immediately, but Lusya had called on Lunera first without much thought. That happened often lately, even though she had historically turned to Miudofay first for battle.

“Beldo was it a cool fight?” Ariya asked. “Lusya won’t tell me about it.”

“It was very cool,” Beldo said with a patient smile. “It was so cool my words can’t do it justice. Just imagine the coolest thing you can, and know it was at least as cool as that.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool!”

“Why did you not participate?” Lusya asked.

“And do what, exactly?” Beldo asked with laughter in his voice. “Killed them a couple milliseconds faster? You didn’t exactly need my help.”

“That is correct,” Lusya said. “I would still like to know why you specifically refused to take part.”

Beldo shrugged. “I just wasn’t feeling it today. We all have days like that, right? I’m sure even you have off-days.”

“No, I do not,” Lusya said. “My capacity to dissociate thoughts and feelings that might be distracting prevents ‘off-days.’”

Beldo stared at her in silence for a long moment, his mouth opening and closing as he seemed to debate what to say. “Good for you,” he settled on at last. “But you understand the concept, right?”

“I suppose. However, I do not think that is the true reason.”

“There…might be more to it,” Beldo said.

“But you will not tell me.”

“Not now,” Beldo said. “Maybe when I know you a little better. Now come on, Bigstone’s cakes won’t enjoy themselves.”