As the group would begin to have breakfast together. It was overall pleasant and a lively experience, but Kazius could not help but notice that despite their smiles, his companions looked like they were all thinking about something. Even Eve.

Kazius could not help but notice Caleb wasn’t having breakfast with them… But that is probably normal, so that can’t be it for Damon… It did bring into question as to why Caleb didn’t say or do anything about how Damon was treated. He did not treat him poorly, but from what it seemed… It did not appear like he was doing anything to stand up for Damon… Hence his loneliness.

Then there was Alice… She said she felt better, so Kazius was unsure why she would be upset… Then again, the stuff about Zelphar probably weighed heavy on her mind… But Kazius felt like there was more to it than that.

As for Eve, the lack of Azanor was definitely why she would randomly look at an empty chair on the table next to her and frown.

“And then I carried the whole beast down the Mountain to show Caleb! You should have seen his face! He didn’t think someone that young could climb Mount Ulf! Buahaha! He wasn’t sure whether to scold me or praise me for going up there alone. Jokes on him though! I am pretty sure all that climbing is how I got strong!” Damon would finish his story with a laugh. During their meal he was telling all sorts of stories about great hunts he had done. Most amazing of all was the fact that all fighting he knew was self-taught. He really did love battle and hunts… Kazius had wanted to ask him how he got so strong, so to think he did that alone was incredible… He could not help but wonder what drove him.

If it was to defend himself that would be one thing… But that had clearly been far from the case. He seemed no more vicious than a pup in front of his sister, Luna… In fact, he did not mention her once in any of his stories… And the subject of parents and his home life and how they reacted to his accomplishments were entirely left out as well…

To someone that did not know his situation, it would almost sound like he had spent the whole breakfast story bragging. Kazius knew better though. He was lonely and had no one to share such tales with… Kazius also suspected that the Werewolf was trying to impress them with his stories.

“You are so strong! When you saved us, you were all like BAM! WOOSH! It was amazing! I… I can’t do that though… My… My friends almost died… But I actually can’t do anything…” Eve admitted in dismay with surprising clarity.

Alice perked up, shocked to hear the cheerful Elf talk like that.

“No way! You healed us! We would have been in trouble without you, Eve.” Alice assured.

“No, you wouldn’t. I am very bad at Magic, even with Azanor’s help… I can’t even help make you guys happy… He is my best friend and he still left all sad…” Eve stated with a frown. Seeing her frown like that was not something Kazius expected to ever see.

“Eve…” Kazius trailed off, unsure of what to even say. It seemed like she was blaming herself for everything.

“You don’t suck at Magic, Eve. You just don’t have aptitude for Healing Magic… And it isn’t your fault... I was sad… I am sorry… I shouldn’t have left like that…” The group suddenly heard from the doorway. It was Azanor. He was back, his head hanging quite low in shame. He looked quite worn out, his cane in one hand and an old-looking journal in the other. He then looked at Damon.

“I am sorry for how I acted yesterday… I… I might be a Demon, but that is no excuse for me to let myself go like that… I already apologized to Caleb… Just a bit ago actually. Still, you are The Chief and not only saved us, but also took us in. I like thinking that I am better than that… So I am sorry to you as well.” Azanor stated with surprising seriousness.

Kazius felt like he was being too harsh on himself, but he knew Azanor well enough by now to know that despite being a Demon… He prided himself in acting unlike one. His lack of lies above all. There were many times where he would make excuses for himself for when he acted like a Demon… It was clear certain things were in his nature and he constantly made sure to remind them of that… But he also wanted to be better than that.

Eve’s eyes widened at the sight of him. It was like she could not get up from her seat fast enough, rushing to hug him.

Even Azanor was shocked at the sudden show of affection. His gaze held a mix of happiness and sadness to it, gently stroking her hair to calm her.

“I missed you too…” Azanor stated softly, hearing the phrase without Eve having to even say it. As he held her, he looked like he was using great restraint to not do something. As to what, Kazius was not sure if he was imagining things.

Damon was frowning a bit when mention of him being chief was brought up, but he did seem to cheer up and grin at Azanor’s apology.

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“Buahaha! I already forgot all about that! Don’t worry! Glad you and Caleb made up!” Damon beamed.

Azanor looked relieved that his apology was accepted. He seemed awkward, like he was not used to apologizing to others. It was then he noticed quite the pouty expression on Eve, the Elf still not letting him go.

“I’m alright, I promise. And that is the truth, you know I don’t lie… But… I am sorry… Again… For leaving you behind like that. I won’t do it again.” Azanor assured with quite an amount of warmth.

He wasn’t so obvious about it until now, but it was clear that Azanor thought of Eve as more than just a ‘best friend’…But there was something more there…

“Okay.” Eve started with a little huff, looking relieved.

“Now come join us! Eat!” Damon exclaimed, motioning Azanor over.

With that, Eve sat back down and Azanor joined her.

“I’m glad you woke up.” Azanor told Alice once he sat down.

“Thanks… I am feeling a lot better after eating…” Alice admitted contently. Indeed, color had returned to her face after a filling meal. Damon was a pretty decent cook, surprisingly enough, despite his appearance making most think he only enjoyed fighting.

“So, what is that book you have there?” Kazius decided to finally ask.

“This is Zelphar’s journal… Caleb told me I could borrow it… I already read some of it, I rather not talk about what it says.” Azanor admitted only to then grin a little.

“Unless you are curious enough to let me have your soul.” Azanor mused with a sly smirk. At least he was back to his regular self it seemed. Though now that Kazius knew him better, he realized Azanor did not actually want him to ever take up the offer.

“Yeah no.” Kazius chuckled out with a bit of a scoff at the end.

It was then Kazius remembered what Azanor had said when he showed up.

“Can you at least finish what you said when you came in? What do you mean Eve does not have aptitude for Healing Magic?” Kazius questioned.

“It means exactly what I said. Eve has no aptitude for Healing Magic. I would even say she has a negative affinity for it. To be fair, it isn’t like she has low Magic aptitude. She actually has quite the extraordinary Mana reserve… It is just she insists on doing Holy Magic when she had zero aptitude for it… Which is why those hags at The Church were so harsh on her… I would love to go back and snap their little necks… If only she had been able to summon me earlier…” Azanor trailed off, his words turning into a grumble.

“They did treat her quite badly.” Alice agreed, remembering what Eve had described.

At this Damon perked up a little, he probably could relate to a lot of what they had all gone through… Once they got the chance talk about it.

“She does?” Kazius would question, surprised at such a fact. Maybe Eve could learn advanced Magic… If she could comprehend the spells… Though there were all kinds of Magic out there... So Kazius could not even begin to know anything about what she could do.

“If you ask me, they were jealous.” Azanor scoffed out, acting quite prideful when he spoke of Eve.

“Of what? I am not very smart and can’t do Holy Magic…” Eve trailed off in dismay.

“…” Azanor would look at Eve and say nothing, his eyes momentarily trailing off to her well-endowed chest and rear. At his wandering gaze, he seemed to catch himself, his face turning a bit pink for only a second. He then awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Don’t worry about it… Anyway… Something I will never understand is your obsession with Holy Magic… You have no idea how difficult it even was to allow you to have the ability to heal… Granting Holy Magic is normally more simple.” He would state, skillfully changing the subject.

“But I am a Priestess.” Eve protested, getting quite pouty. She gave the Demon a grumpy look.

“You aren’t… Remember? You thought I was God… And you only remember your time at The Church, but you had a life before then.” Azanor reminded her. He truly did sound like he knew exactly who she had been before her time at The Church.

“…So…So…. I…?”

“Don’t have to follow the laws of a Church you are no longer part of and can use whatever Magic fits you better… I would honestly prefer if you one day burned that uniform.” Azanor explained. It seems Eve was shocked, clearly having been slow to catch on.

“Oh!” She exclaimed finally in realization, her face brightening. She was a little slow, but she did her best.

“But then… Wait… What kind of Magic am I good at then?” Eve questioned eagerly, her expression brightening….

“I will help you with it.” Azanor stated…

It was then Kazius would examine himself. He too wanted to get rid of his armor and uniform… And to get stronger.

“I want to get rid of this stupid armor too.” Kazius admitted with a sigh.

“I also rather burn these…” Alice admitted in dismay.

“If it is new clothes you need, I can help. I can find you something here for sure! There is a lot of clothes that aren’t being used here.” Damon admitted.

“Thank you, Damon.” Kazius admitted, though he was confused. This massive home was almost empty except for Damon, Luna, and Caleb… Just what happened here?

“Yes, thank you.” Alice admitted, feeling relieved.

“Thanks!” Eve chirped out.

“I just remembered… You mentioned you got strong because of the Mountains… Are you really sure about that?” Kazius decided to ask.

“Buahaha! Yes I am! I did promise I would show you the mountains, want to come along?” Damon questioned excitedly.

“I have been wanting to do some training, so I would appreciate your help with that… If you don’t mind.” Kazius suggested.

“Really?!” Damon exclaimed, clearly excited at the idea of some company for one of his favorite activities.

“I… I want to go with you guys.” Alice spoke up suddenly.

“The more the merrier!” Damon beamed, clearly happy.

“But if you really want it to be like training, I won’t let you slack off, that goes to both of you. The mountains here are pretty dangerous… But you will be fine if you come with me. I will make sure of it.” Damon assured contently.

“Then we will be in your care.” Kazius agreed. Of course Kazius had two concerns with the situation, but he decided it would be fine. The situation with Damon’s house was strange, but he did trust their new friend. Perhaps after spending more time with him, he would explain what was happening in the town. Then there was Alice... She was recovering, but her gaze and words had been so determined that he did not have the heart to argue against her wanting to join. He decided to trust her judgement... And his own.