Knowing that he'd be used in some way, shape or form, Mathias waited to see where Erik would take him. Sure enough, Erik must have been served tea by the middle-aged woman at the cafe. Which allowed him to vet the tea.

Since Mathias was forced into a teaching role.

At least, he remembered that much.

They were not the first there. Tanner and Jack were sitting at a table, with Stacy and Jill.

"Yo, Erik! You couldn't resist either, huh?"

"Yeah, we needed boots and since we were out, we just came to see if they had anything for his throat."

Erik nodded to Mathias as the little greeted them again. "Hi! 'Gain! Come!"

Whether he knew it or not, the boy was quite proficient in getting the two groups together. He pushed a circular table towards the end that Lisanna, Ayla, Wendi, and Jennifer were at, and grandly motioned them forward.

"Cake?"

"Cake," Erik confirmed laughingly, adding, "and tea too."

"Okay!" He first grabbed the two chairs and ran back to talk to his smiling mother.

Ali was already sitting on Wendi's lap as she played with the stasis stones. Being so entranced in the adorable actions, Wendi squirmed cheerfully before suddenly looking up.

"Oh! You came too! If you need any more help with the sculptures, let me know - ah, especially you, Mathias."

Mathias blinked and sat next to Lisanna, who Wendi was winking towards. Lisanna's mouth moved rapidly but she said no words.

'... Her voice isn't bad, too, is it?' He pondered.

Even so, Wendi was nodding along with the unspoken words and actions - as if it was a comprehensible language in-and-of-itself.

"Okay... so we were seriously wondering:" Ayla looked at the two boys who set their bags to the ground. "Which is worse - mud or sand?! I-I hate it both! I hate it so, so, so, so much! I need help deciding!"

"... Mud," Erik said and Mathias nodded.

Almost drowning in something makes the memory more pronounced.

"Really? I thought the sand was worse," Jennifer grumbled. "At least I could move after the mud, but sand...!"

She shivered.

Ayla nodded excitedly. "See! That's why it's so hard! If it did try to devour you then sand all the way, but, but... ugh! It's so difficult! Now, if it was quick-sand - no question, no question at all! But this?!"

Mathias pointed to Ayla's forehead and quirked his head. He did not see that one, but with the water-logged hair covering her face like some possessed corpse at the time, it was not something he spared much effort in concentrating on.

"Awe! You're concerned about me too!?" Ayla pushed up her bangs and showed a deep scar. Since it was already dealt with by the healers, it should technically be fine. "Hey, hey. I'll give you money if you deal with this? Wh, what do you say?!"

Ayla stammered as him saying no briefly flickered in her mind. However, since he could not convey things properly with his voice, he looked around.

Lisanna noticed his difficulties and gave him paper and a pen.

"... Th-" He choked back the cough.

And the tea arrived. He nodded at the woman and she silently departed.

What he wrote was the following: "I'll do it when I'm better. 1 gold per head, arm, leg, front, or back. No males. And only when I want. Who I want. I reserve the right to say no. And no one can question it. If you're annoying, I'll stop without notice and no refunds."

Ayla was the first to read the not but Wendi peeked over her shoulder to read it as well. "Wh-?! That's it?! Okay, let's do it now!"

Ayla was already giving him money. Apparently, it was a lucrative business for the image-conscious.

Nevertheless, he shook his head.

"Fine, fine. Afterwards - and before the gallery! I want to be perfect before that! ... Or at least my face!"

There were many scars on her body so it only made sense to wait since it was still so early in the year.

Mathias quirked his head and shrugged his should noncommittedly. Ayla grumbled her complaints, but the note got passed around to the others, before circling back to Lisanna.

"... Eh? Should I pay too?" She asked.

"... No," his voice held for the single syllable. And only she could fully hear the words.

Lisanna looked away, unsure of what to do, but reacted as Jennifer whispered something in her ear. Lisanna's face burned, but the other girl only smiled weakly at the scene.

Unaccustomed to not being able to speak well, he carefully drank the tea that seemed to be carefully chosen for his throat. It was slightly numbing, but that was a welcome difference to the scratch that occurred with every swallow in the beginning.

And the door opened again.

A clean-shaven young man, with auburn, fluffy hair looked at the group dutifully. He wore two blades at his waist, a crescent blade and a broadsword, and a familiar crest appeared on his dark cloak.

"N-no way..." Erik dropped the fork he was using on the ground as he stared at the interloper. "A-A Guard...?"

"... Doesn't look like a guard to me?" Ayla said before restraining her shout. It should be a normal person after all.

However, when he turned to her side, she saw Wendi was lowering her own fluffy auburn hair as she was playing a game involving poking Ali to see if she could react in time. If not, she would be tickled.

His sight finally rested on the two boys at the end of the table.

"Are you-" Then he saw the fluffy hair bounce back up. "Wendi! Oh my God!" He smiled so innocently and brightly that none could react from his indeterminate face.

"Eh...? Eh!? Wh-what are you doing here?! I thought you were supposed to come back tomorrow!"

Wendi hugged Ali to keep her secure at Church completely forgot about his task.

Before Wendi could speak, Church immediately took a bag from his cloak. "Look! I got you these from the forest of Draner, these from the Hunt's Peak, and these from Liona's Gulf - don't you think they're gorgeous?! I had them especially made for you!"

He passed her jewelry of amber, ruby, and amethyst that she hesitantly took as she stammered, "b-but I thought-"

"Ah, it doesn't matter! I'm here!" His expression darkened as he parted her hair. "Who dare lay a hand on my side?! To raise a blade against her is to raise it against me! Name yourself!"

Fara looked up across from him. "We fought in a school match once. We tied though."

"Hmph! Fine, for the purposes of training, that is fine, but why didn't you tell me?! I would have just trained you so you couldn't be beaten by anyone!"

He was clearly still angry at Fara - who couldn't care less and ordered another cake - but he stifled his anger. It was fine if it was a girl, but then he suddenly noticed the two boys again. "You! What you do think you're doing sitting so close to my sister!?"

He shouted at Erik who was just staring at him in wonderment. "... A-A Guard... I-I'm s-so please... pleased to meet you... I-I just made Farmer-stage...!"

He immediately showed the crescent blade he carried and Church nodded grandly. "You must keep going - but if you dare sit shoulder-to-shoulder to my sister - you'll regret it!"

He turned to Mathias.

"You! You're just as guilty as he is- he... is..."

As mentioned before, the resemblance between Mathias and Erin was uncanny. Since he was male, he managed to catch up to her tall frame and both had similar, soft features. And the scars that clearly were present signalled his association with that family.

"Y-you... you're Mathias, are you not?!"

"...?"

Church was used to being ignored by Erin, but he had not seen Mathias in action. Thus, he only gave him (or 'her) three seconds to respond before he shouted again.

"You dare ignore me?!"

"He-"

"Silence!" Church brought his broadsword to Eric's throat before the other boy could finish his statement.

Mathias, meanwhile, melted the ice that was around his neck and pointed. Raw flesh, slightly improved, was exposed. No one at the table thought it strange and even Church ignored it as a fashion statement.

"You cannot speak? Is that so?" Church growled after a minute, fury blinding him from noting the difference immediately.

"Yes! Church! Stop pestering him, it's embarrassing!" Wendi shouted as she covered Ali's ears.

"T-that... if she says so..." Church returned to a reasonable tone and looked at Mathias in the eye. "You best not think about my sister."

The face was uncannily similar to Erin, almost strikingly so, and the numerous scars were a clear attribution to a familiar family tree he served under; yet, the Mathias he knew was a girl with long hair and clear, unblemished skin. Well, some scars, but long hair.

That worked in a parlour with her mother. It was just a month they saw one-another last so Church was certain that this one was different.

This one his senses told him was a threat to his sister's purity - therefore, a man. Even his accomplished senior could make a mistake given such similarities, he thought. The two siblings lived much different lives, after all.

Alas, he knew his time was up. He waited for a little too long to see if they ought to live after meeting up, but he, unfortunately, felt to not disappoint his master, Erin. He had to find the real Mathias.

He removed the blade from Eric's throat. And ran towards Wendi.

"Wendi! I cannot stay much longer! I have to inform the Fellstone Clan of the mission's failure. I'll be-"

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"Wait." Wendi hugged frightened Ali for emotional support. "We'll be having a gallery-"

"I'll definitely, definitely come! Please recite your poetry to me again!"

Church got down on bended knee, begging his little sister.

Wendi's cheeks puffed out a little, embarrassed, but also grumbling. "I-it isn't that. We're making sculptures with magic to be shown on Sunday at the dorms. We just got the stasis stones for it! It's going to be an auction too so I was asking if you wanted to come..."

"Yes! I'll tell everyone! Everyone! Everyone just got paid so I'll make sure they help! I'll round up everyone from the Fellstone Group as well! Ah, I'm going to sprea-"

"No! You can only tell people tomorrow, okay?"

Church stopped and whimpered. "F-fine... but tomorrow! Tomorrow I'll tell everyone! I'll make sure to bring enough to buy yours - so make sure it's something nice for your big brother!"

"I'm not making it for you! I'm making it for Ali!"

Church looked away wounded, backing up several steps as a little girl poked her head out from Wendi's arms and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I-I'm... I was gone too long! Forgive me... I shan't fail you - I won't be replaced!"

With tears streaming out of his eyes, Church ran from the cafe. Ali let out a victorious cheer and immediately began reaching for the cake the two were sharing.

"No, no. Use a fork. Like this: say 'ahh'"

"Ahh"

Wendi fed Ali and squirmed in delight, apparently washing away all the negative feelings from the encounter with the simple action.

"Kya! So... so cute... Ah, I'm melting..."

"Ah...?" Ali reached up with the empty fork to Wendi's mouth and the two immediately bonded as the rest were awash with questions.

"Erik... is he another sword-freak like you?" Ayla broke the silence.

"Hey! I'm not! And... well, he is. He's at the next level from me, a Guard of the Fellstone Way. There aren't too many of that rank so... maybe he's one in a hundred?"

"Is that good?"

"Obviously! He trained with the legendary Erin Fellstone and Claude Fellstone! I'm... I'm jealous... I've practising to beat her, but it's impossible to even get close..."

Mathias patted Erik's shoulder. He understood the feeling of being unable to measure up to her in the realm of combat, even if it was forced on him.

"Oh! She's so sweet though!" Wendi exclaimed. "Church introduced us one time a few years ago and we saw each-other every now-and-again. It's been a while now though... but she's was really cute too!"

"Hey? Did we miss something?" Hunter asked, motioning to the door.

Eldrich nodded. "A guy just ran out of here like he was in a major hurry."

"When he saw our uniforms-"

"He said he'd kill us if we made a move on Wendi..."

"Don't worry about it!" Ayla shouted. "It's just her older brother and he just threatened those two, too! It's probably fine!"

"Probably?! He's a Guard, you know! A Guard!"

"I don't know what that means!"

"He's mastered the sword I use! One that is insanely difficult due to the shape, weight, and length!"

"Then use a better sword!"

"It's for training - training!"

"... Hah..."

Lisanna sighed as normalcy finally reached the table. At least the moment the two started fighting, it became lively once again. More cake even showed up the middle-aged woman brought a cup to Lisanna who graciously thanked her.

Both Mathias and Lisanna just watched as others trickle in, cake passed around, and a comfortable atmosphere envelope the group.

She even caught herself taking glances at Mathias as a strange feeling rose in her chest. She looked at the scars she was once indifferent about, recalling her father's words about parlour treatments being frivolous wastes of money, but wondered if people thought they looked bad.

She was more concerned with her hair when she saw the cut braid, which she kept for reasons she could not put to words or coherent thought. However, she became conscious of how others began mentioning his name, mentioning things pertaining to becoming 'cuter' or 'more pretty' and wondered why they wanted to so that far.

Was it for him or for another? She thought worriedly.

-------

"Say, would you... maybe... if you feel like... help with some... of the rest...?" Lisanna murmured shyly as finally turned to Mathias.

"... okay."

Lisanna sighed, "I thought so- eh? Did you agree?"

She assumed he'd say no. He was terribly injured after all. They both were. However, he just nodded, rubbing his throat a little as if testing the efficacy of the tea.

"... R-really?"

"...?"

"... I mean, really?"

"...?"

He already said yes so he was perplexed. He nodded again so it was more clear.

"Really?"

He sighed.

Lisanna finally took that as an affirmation. "Hey, you never told me what else you can do. Do you mind telling me sometime? Like, the parlour ones."

Mathias saw the paper that was passed back to Lisanna and reached to grab it. She hurriedly helped him as she grew more interested.

He just started jotting down various things on the back, pausing in thought on occasion, before beginning to pass it to her. He immediately wrote 'not available' at the top as he saw Ayla look over at the conversation slyly.

Lisanna caught the gaze and read it carefully. Jennifer still snooped behind her, but that much was to be expected. It read:

'Not Available:

-Skin hydrating,

-Skin tightening (wrinkles, etc.),

-Skin cleansing (acne, blackheads, etc.),

-Skin rejuvenation (removes uneven sun-spots and tans),

-Artificial weight-loss

-Scar reduction,

-Scar removal,

-Scarification,

-Tattoo removal,

-Relieving muscle tension,

-Relieving bone tension,

-Reducing fatigue,

-Blood purification, bacteria, viral, or poison,

-Reducing symptoms of chronic disease,

-Curing basic venereal diseases,

-Curing dysentery and other water-borne illnesses,

-Curing early-stage infections,

-Minimizing age-related accelerated muscle degradation,

-(Very) Basic recovery magic (with or without scarring - no promises)

-More specialized treatments

-And others.'

He covered that which was most commonly requested of him. Or things that he noticed and was bothered by so he dealt with them anyways. For that reason, after ridding a red-light worker of an STD, they were a common sight in the parlour. So much so that his mother had begrudging did the same.

Normally, since it was troublesome, she would just do as they requested - no more- but as they were extremely well-versed in gossip, she made a special case for them.

"... There's more?"

He shrugged. He couldn't think of anything he else he did in the last year, but there were always different cases that popped up that didn't seem memorable at the time. He'd been doing it for a few years now, after all.

"Hey! Give it to me-" Ayla gasped as she retracted her hand. The burst of blue flames engulfed the paper and it burned so thoroughly there weren't even any ashes remaining. "No fair! Jen, what'd it say!?"

"... There was too much and I didn't get a good look..."

She lowered head apologetically. Ayla grumbled. She turned to Hana. "Hana! What can parlour water mages do?!"

"How should I know!? My mom might - but I don't care about that stuff!"

"Hmph, fine! Then... Kira! What do water-mages like that do?!"

"... I-I don't know... I'm sorry. I could never afford one so..." Kira turned her head completely down, not simply just looking away.

"Jasmine! You're up!"

"Ah, about that. I don't know the details. I've used them, but they mostly just advertise beauty treatments, beautification, relaxation or fatigue, or other such services. I do highly recommend seeing one if you have the chance. The spells were completely different from most recovery spells I know; as such, it would be impossible for me to replicate it. At least I've tried and failed."

"... Hmm, fine. So be it! Once he can talk, I'll get him talking!"

Mathias raised a brow at the threat and asked for a new piece of paper.

After scribbling down on it and passing it over, she paled.

"Fine! I won't!" Wind slashed the paper to microscopic pieces.

Wendi narrated the much shorter message she spied. "It said he won't clean sand or mud from anyone who tries... it's kind of a big deal for the next one so let's leave it at that!"

"... Hmm? I thought I did a decent enough job," Jasmine commented.

Wendi sighed. "You did, but it's just completely different. After tomorrow, you'll see... but more importantly, since we almost have everyone! I'll pass out the stasis stones!"

With a few more joiners coming in sporadically before, there were almost twenty of the twenty-five person class here.

Fara saw a gaze directed at her and she looked at the boy who was sitting beside her reverently. "Get the bag."

"Okay! Cake?"

"Something different this time."

"Okay!"

He ran back to a fair table where the girls had left their belongings, grabbing a large bag, and recieving four cookies from his mother.

"Here!"

"Thank you. Here."

She passed the bag to Wendi who graciously took it. Ali was playing with a few of them, but she stocked up on more than they needed, as it was on clearance, they amounted fifty stones.

She just did not want to relinquish her prized shared seat with Ali.

She took one of the egg-shaped stones into the palm of her hand and showed it to the group. "This is a stasis stone! We got the better ones that can be refuelled with mana to preserve the image so it's a little easier to sell the statues! With a simple command, "open", a field opens up. Based on the amount of mana you inject in it, it opens up different sizes. It maxes out at a few meters across from the base of the stone."

Wendi cheerfully shouted, "Form!"

And a simple orb of sediment and gravel appeared in her arms. Ali reached out for the new toy, but she was pacified with one of Fara's cookies. Fara just shoved it in her mouth. The other went towards the boy who sat beside her. To his credit, he acted quickly and selflessly to earn it (or selfishly, if seen through a different lens) as he stared at the magical display in wonderment.

Wendi concentrated on the orb and quartz crystals slowly appeared, born out from its center, and she immediately pushed it into a small wavering space made by the object. It remained stationary.

"While it's less important for me, it becomes more clear for other elements. Ayla? Lisanna? Do you mind adding in yours?"

"Sure!"

"Okay...?"

Blue flames appeared and glowing, incandescent wind swept forward tightly into the orb. Both originally wavering in the open environment ceased any-and-all movement the second they crossed the threshold. And their momentum was stopped before it even managed to get part-way in.

"Woah, it's hard to position it."

"... Yeah."

"Just keep going! It's a little difficult because the space freezes the basic inertia and holds the spell. Just push it next to the crystal."

They did.

And the stationary flames and glowing wind looked strange to the class.

"Close," Wendi said. "That's the command to seal it. You can reopen it with the other command, but for demonstration purposes..."

She grabbed other crystals she was forming in the meantime and tried to force it into the space. It was immediately rejected and could not bypass a transparent barrier.

The indication of it being anything more than space frozen in time could only be seen in the effects inside.

"It isn't impervious to outside forces, but it is resistant to them... also! Look! Contract!"

The small grew a size smaller, still maintaining its original scale, until the image shrunk into a size that fit a cupped hand.

"Expand!"

It grew back to the original size.

"It can't go further than what it was originally designed... but it is still cool, right?! Ah, just the possibilities! So, so, so many things can be fit inside!" Wendi paused for a moment. "Right! You each can take two! They're by no means fragile, but they're not invincible anyways. Ah, right. Do you two mind taking the fire and wind out? Open."

The wavering appeared again and Lisanna and Ayla struggled a little to pull the mana out. It seemed much more difficult than actually putting it in.

They succeeded after a few minutes.

"Normally it isn't that hard, but with the more mana-dense creations, the space adheres to them more strongly. It wouldn't be a bad idea to practise with one and use the other for the project!"

After everyone grabbed two, leaving still quite a few remaining, they talked amongst themselves and played with the stasis stones.

"Open," was a word heard quite frequently as they practised inputting their elements.

"Alexi. Tea, please."

"Okay!"

The little boy dutifully did his job, relayed the message to his mother, as he squeezed close to Fara. The precocious child had even managed to start ordering the tables in a cross, sitting at the corner of the innermost area to ensure he could catch a glimpse of all the mysterious going-ons all around him.

Even receiving treats for his effort by those who wanted to buy his favour. However, he was still partial to the mysteries of water and ice that he was first exposed to, feeling them to be much more comfortable to gaze at than the others.

"... Hi." His mother spoke a word.

Alexi cheered. "Good! Ma talk! Good! Yay! Tea!"

"Thank you."

Fara said, briefly glancing at the nervous woman. Fara nodded and the woman relaxed, apparently nervous at the interaction.

"'Tank u?'"

"Mean: hurst. Good! Polite!"

"Thank you," Fara repeated again as the woman stumbled over the words.

"...----?"

She asked in her own tongue, looking at Alexi.

"Ma say: pretty, nice! Why cake, me - Alexi? She say."

"No reason," Fara shrugged and went back to her task.

"... Thak yo."

"'Thank you.'"

"... Thank you," she amended quickly with a smile. She turned to offer Wendi tea, adding, "Thank you."

"Eh?! I should be thanking you! Ali is too cute! Hey, hey! Can I ask for your help tomorrow?! I wanna make a sculpture of you two! It'll be so, so, so cute! Please, please say yes!"

"...?"

Alexi translated what he could.

She nodded.

Wendi squealed in delight, grabbing Ali gently and lifting her up onto her shoulder before giving her mother a one-handed hug.

"... ----?"

"Ma ask name!"

"Ah, I'm Wendi, Wendi Aliel!"

"Wendi!"

"Wendi, hi... Alyssa."

Wendi smiled brilliantly and she took the mother off to the side to tell her about her plans, regardless of whether or not they understood. They felt included so their intent was understood if nothing else. Alexi ran to translate what he could, somewhat half-heartedly as he kept his vision locked on the table.

Mathias was looking at Lisanna from the side, making slight adjustments to the miniature figurine he was making. The bulk of it of in clear, reinforced ice for the ease of it all, but he began slowly adding the azure overtone to it as it started to grow more defined.

He was essentially directed to do one of her anyways. Making it shift into poses was challenging, but his control was good enough with the clear ice. The azure ice was a bit too much to work within the space freely, however.

"... Is that me?" Lisanna asked, noticing his repeated stares for a long time now.

He nodded.

His latest modification to its stance was akin to dancer, mimicking the movements he saw earlier in the day, but without a blade.

"I like it." She turned to her own.

It was surprisingly detailed already. Far and above what he was making, even using the differences in colour released from the azure flames to add depth and the appearance of shadows on the figure's skin.

Lisanna was just inputting the flames inside, separating it on the side, and picking the colours that worked together as if it was a painter's palette to work with. It was an interesting tactic. He copied it when he noticed the subtle differences in his own. Where her's generated light, his reflected light. So it was hard to discern the composition of each small fragment, but the more he investigated it, the more interested he got in it.

Both were only as tall as their hands, but working on a larger one would be an issue at a table with others at their sides.

"I got it!" A crescent sword appeared in the wavering light of Erik's canvas.

It was made of ethereal smoke, but some segments actually held a new opaque visage.

Ayla cheered and a bright, glowing figure appeared in hers.

Everyone was making progress and hours passed by. It became dark before they knew it and they all had to clear up their tabs and head back before it got dark.

Once again, Alexi gave Mathias cookies he did not ask for. "Hur'! Eat la'er! Wen betta!"