While Taiki sailed back to Merumo, I leaned on the hull, thinking. The danger was gone for the day, so I wouldn’t need to use Cherub’s power in an emergency. I could ask a question that had been on my mind ever since I saw the stained-glass design in the wizard’s study. I closed my eyes.

“I need an answer, Cherub, please. The symbol on the window was exactly the same as the one on Kossi’s neck, so why couldn’t I understand the magic behind it, just as I read three other symbols today?”

“Because you don’t read the symbols. You read the magic itself.”

The angel’s faint presence vanished from my mind again. The answer made sense. There never was any magic in the window. But I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

I can understand and alter existing spells, but I’m unable to ever cast them. What a strange situation.

Behind me, Catalin insisted on using a healing spell on Taiki’s scalp wound, but he kept waving her away like an annoying bug.

“Come on, I’ve seen worse! How do you think I got the scar on my nose?”

“I don’t know, but right now, you need care. I may only know the most basic cure spell, but it can ease your pain.”

“You’d only make things worse. You know it as well as I do, even high-level magic can’t do miracles, so I don’t trust your freshman tricks.” As she tried once more to put her hand over his head, he caught her wrist. “Stop! If I ever need your help, I’ll tell you.”

Catalin’s tail whipped the air. She didn’t reply, but she looked upset.

Of course she feels bad. She wants to help and he turns her down. But Taiki said something interesting. Healing magic doesn’t sound as powerful here as in D&D.

I waved.

“Catalin, my head is still ringing, so you can tend to it if you want.”

It was true. My head still hurt after hitting the floor so hard, right after deactivating the golem. My back was also sore, but I was more used to it.

Catalin turned away from Taiki with a bitter smile, tail wiggling, ears low.

“Are you doing this to comfort me?”

I winced. “Partly. But also because pain’s not my thing.”

“All right. I’m coming.”

She moved her hands around my skull, her fingertips brushing my hair. Her magic wasn’t powerful, but it did relieve me. Did Taiki refuse her help because she was inexperienced, or because she was a Zimeon? Judging by his general attitude, he might just be too proud to admit he was hurt. After almost losing my companions to a golem, I didn’t want to start another fight, but unspoken conflict inside the team was the last thing I needed.

I spent the rest of the journey trying to cheer everyone up, focusing on the unbelievable work we’d done and how we still had a few days left to try and save everyone.

I could even say “everyone and their dragon”.

At the end of the day, we were back in Merumo. We walked to the Sapps’ house, tired and aching, just happy to sit on comfortable seats and move as little as possible.

Taiki washed the blood out of his ashen hair. As it turned out, he only had a minor scalp cut that didn’t need stitching. Then he found gloves for Catalin to study Turoch Garnet’s grimoire without touching it.

Chess rested against a big pile of pillows to relieve the pain from the fight. They, too, had refused Catalin’s healing spell, probably because they didn’t want Taiki to think they were weak. There was some sort of competition between the two fighters. They were both young, after all. They had yet to learn that feeling better was more important than hanging on to misplaced pride.

We didn’t do much that evening. We focused on recovering from our expedition. Catalin squinted at some pages, complained that the text made no sense, and whenever I looked over her shoulder, I could only agree. The grimoire was undecipherable to me.

What if I’d refused to bring Catalin along? I’d be stuck with a book I can’t read. Just let her do what she’s good at.

I’d saved the day, after all. I could leave some achievements to the others.

But on the next morning, the idea of just waiting uselessly became too much for me.

It’s been four days since Kossi crashed into the council room. We’re nearly halfway to our deadline. How long will it take Catalin to find the right spell? I need to do something in the meantime.

The Sapps fed us very well, but they didn’t appear to have a sweet tooth. We hadn’t had dessert, or anything sweet, since we arrived in Merumo. Yet, there had to be local specialties, pastries of some kind, that I had yet to discover. This sounded just like the kind of side quest a hero like me could complete during the morning.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

I put my hair up and grabbed my bag.

“Where are you heading, Al?” asked my fiancée from the armchair where she tried to read Turoch Garnet’s grimoire, her hands protected by the gloves Taiki had given her.

I smiled.

“Shopping, breathing fresh air, getting to know this world. If I’m going to live here, I must learn to feel at home. And I’d love to taste local delicacies. I won’t be long.”

“If you like, but be careful!”

She waved at me while I left the house.

I blended in the bustling activity of Merumo, with its horses and pedestrians, carts and wheelbarrows. One street would smell of soap because of an open shop. The next would be busy with people removing piles of manure. Every building was slightly different and yet in harmony with the next, round arches made of stone or simply painted on the facades, white shutters, stone balconies. I felt like a tourist, rather than a hero on a mission.

Careful not to get lost, I followed the general course of the shore, never straying too far from the lake. Nobody paid attention to me. Right then, right there, I could remain anonymous. The people of Merumo didn’t know my face yet.

“Wait for me, ma’am!” called a familiar voice.

I slowed down. Chess walked up to me at a fast pace, looking left and right as if there was anything to fear. From the way they moved, I could tell they still ached from the fight with the golem.

“Thanks for coming. I really appreciate your wanting to escort me, but you should be resting. You got nasty blows yesterday and we may have to fight again soon.”

Chess shook their head.

“I had a good night’s sleep, ma’am. It’s more than enough to get me back on my feet.”

“I suppose I should just ignore the limp, then? You’re only doing it to confuse the enemy?”

They blushed and looked down at the cobblestones, their face hidden by strands of black hair. I crossed my arms and added:

“Look, Chess, I’m grateful for your dedication. You’re brave, you’re strong, you’re admirable. But I want to keep everyone alive and as safe as possible. Good as you are, you need to give yourself time to heal.”

“Time is a luxury we can’t afford, ma’am.”

The phrase was so unexpected, coming from them, that I couldn’t find a suitable answer. In the end, I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“You can come with me if you think I need protection. Just don’t do anything too heroic, okay? We’ll be heroes when we free Kossi from the spell and watch him put Saegorg’s pants on fire. Today, I’m just strolling through Merumo, and possibly buying a cake or two.”

A man chuckled at the corner of the street. I gave him a furious look before realizing he probably couldn’t hear us talk from where he stood. He was literally across from us, with several bystanders in-between. His laugh had to be a coincidence.

“Come on, Chess. Let’s try and look inconspicuous, if such a thing is still possible.”

We walked past the other man in silence. I couldn’t help eyeing him in passing. Despite having silver hair that curled to the side of his face, he looked young, with a thin figure, a straight nose in a heart-shaped face, tan skin and olive-green eyes.

He must be rich, with his embroidered vest and that jewel on his forehead. Is that gold? It looks like gold. What’s a wealthy man like him doing alone in the kind of busy street where he’d most likely send his valet?

I must have stared at him a bit too hard, because he smirked and walked away. When I turned around, the crowd had swallowed him. He was nowhere to be found.

A few steps later, a delicious smell caught my attention. Somewhere around, someone baked… possibly buns. Sweet or savory? I had no idea, but I needed to know. My love of cakes would be the death of me. The second death, at least, the first having been caused by my love of party decorations. I raised a hand.

“Wait a second.”

“Ma’am?”

“Just follow me, Chess.”

I walked on the cobblestones, avoiding a wheelbarrow, looking at all the shops around. I just had to locate the one that smelled so good. And I found it. I pointed a finger, borderline ecstatic.

“There it is! I knew there was a bakery somewhere around here! Will you come with me and buy a few samples?”

It wasn’t a real question. I wanted to taste this new food no matter what, so I didn’t slow down as I spoke. But Chess grabbed my upper arm. I froze.

“Ma’am!” they warned me in a low voice.

Just a few feet past the bakery, the street opened into a small square, with a handful of food stalls. None of them smelled as good as the buns did, but I did catch a nice smell. I frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Over there.”

The square was busy with customers and passers-by, but Chess pointed at a group that stood out. For one thing, the armors they wore reflected the daylight; for another, the gray-haired woman who led them was showing a piece of paper to every shopkeeper on the square. She seemed to be asking questions. Even though I couldn’t quite remember who she was, I thought she looked oddly familiar.

“I know this woman, don’t I?”

Chess nodded. “She’s Mistress Jemos, my instructor at the Royal Sword Academy. She shouldn’t be here, unless…”

They left the sentence hanging, but I didn’t need the last words to know we should get out of sight as quickly as possible. I turned around, grabbed Chess’s arm and pretended to be chatting with a friend.

“She’s looking for us, isn’t she?”

“Not just her. She’s leading a squad of ten soldiers.” They gave a quick look over their shoulder. “She’s not following.”

Chess relaxed a little. We kept walking together, pretending to pay attention to the shops. I couldn’t help feeling angry at the soldiers for standing between me and the possibility of a delicious second breakfast.

Maybe I’m a bit of a hobbit inside. Are there hobbits in this world? Or halflings, in case of a copyright issue?

I sighed.

“What do you think? Is it possible for these soldiers to be here for a reason unrelated to our presence in the city? Could they be gathering intelligence about the dragon Kossi, for example?”

Chess shook their head.

“Merumo’s not on the way from Carastra to Kossi’s lair. It’s not on the way to Inabar either. So, wherever Kossi is right now, there’s no reason for them to be here if they’re investigating.”

They looked over their shoulder again.

“I can’t pretend to know everything, ma’am, but I see no reason for Mistress Jemos to be in Merumo right now. She’s an instructor, not a spy or anything. She hasn’t been on an away mission for ages.”

“Then what is she doing…”

“She can recognize both of us, which is more than can be said of most officers.”

I looked at the other streets. We should aim for the busiest ones, but what if we get lost? We must warn Catalin and Taiki as soon as possible!

I turned right, and Chess didn’t protest. I could almost feel the whole city staring at us.

“We both think Mistress Jemos can’t be here by accident. Right now, we must assume she knows we’re in Merumo and she’s looking for us.”

“But how would she know?”

“We weren’t exactly discreet when we sailed from Carastra’s upstream port, in the middle of the night, with a ball of light to guide us! We chose to be fast rather than unnoticed. Now, this is the result.”

Why did we decide to spend a second night at Taiki’s house? It gave King Esthar time to catch up. But we were so sore and tired… Look how Chess still has a slight limp, and they’re a healthy seventeen-year-old kid!

I walked faster.

“I’m afraid Mistress Jemos knows we left with Taiki's boat, so if she doesn’t find us in town, she’ll go get us at his family's house. We must leave now.”

Chess nodded, but their pale face was tense.

“Leave? Where to?”

“I’ve no idea. I just hope Taiki will be more inspired than me.”