"Wow! Easy, man!” Adriel screeched in terror, his voice hitting the highest pitch he had ever hit in his life. Despite trying to calm the Chieftain down, he couldn't control the panic that made his body jump. His arms wrapped around his own body in a protective manner, one that could elicit laughter from anyone. But the situation was so intense that everyone was afraid to even breathe too hard.

Everyone, except for the Chieftain. He seemed quite prepared to issue battle orders. His eyebrows rose as his eyes widened. The wrinkles on his forehead extended to the front of his bald head.

He picked up a bat that had previously been lying on the ground. It was the size of an adult's hand with lots of nails stuck in the end. The man’s strong hand held it tightly and swung it in front of Meyara's face. Their narrow distance made the girl have to tilt her head slightly, her eyes almost crossed.

But never once did she take a step back.

"I'm afraid you misunderstood what I meant." She glanced alternately at the Chief and his weapon. Her face was not etched with any negative emotions even though her heart was definitely racing a mile a minute. “Nobody wants to destroy anything. I just want to do something for myself.”

"And what is that?" The Chieftain insisted, his voice leaving no room for any more arguments or lies. His firm voice made it clear that one wrong move would cost them a punch in the face.

In a split second, Meyara tightly held the tip of the bat with her bare hand. The nails dug into her palms painfully. "I just want my magic spirit back!" she shouted. “Without that I'm just a poor helpless girl. I can't even do anything if you take my soul right here right now. But maybe it's for the best since I can't live without my magic anyway."

Despite her act of bravery, she started to stammer. Not out of fear, but because of the sadness that coursed back through her. Saying her will out loud like this made her vividly remember the pathetic reason that had driven her to undertake this nearly impossible journey.

“But if you let me now, I will do everything I can to get it back. Once I'm back to my best self, I'll gladly repay all of your help. Just say the word!"

The Chieftain stared at the blood that was starting to drip from the girl's palm. If it was just an ordinary nail, it wouldn't pierce human skin that easily. However, it was one of the skills of Oxcross men to increase the function of an object to be many times more effective. He didn't need to use all of his strength to hurt the teenager.

Then something came to his mind after he processed what Meyara had said. His eyes immediately lit up in recognition.

"Oh, so you're the gifted mage girl."

Both the girl mentioned and Adriel widened their eyes. Simultaneously, they tried to remember when they had told that fact to the man.

"Did Warren tell you that in his letter?"

"He should be, but no. Lucky or not, your story has spread to so many villages." The man answered Meyara's question calmly. The bat that was between the two of them began to be lowered. He didn't care in the least with the hiss of pain escaping the girl's lips. “Alright, since your intentions are clear, I've lost any reason to torture you two. It's a shame, but life doesn’t always go your way, does it?"

"Right!" Adriel answered nervously. He dropped his body to sit casually on the ground. With a little haste, he opened his bag and took out a clean cloth. He pulled Meyara's hand to sit beside him and wrapped her hand with the cloth. “So … did we pass your interrogation? I ... I would really appreciate it if you told your guys to sit down.”

Meyara looked at Adriel in confusion. She knew how scared the young man was. His breath was panting, his hand that was caring for the bandage that wrapped her palm continued to shake unstoppably. But then he was still able to mutter a few sentences in that state. Maybe she should give more appreciation to her companion who tried to be brave after all of this.

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The Chieftain seemed to ponder Adriel's request for a moment before he shrugged and chased his men away with a hand gesture. Then he snapped his fingers so some boys around 10 years old came over, carrying a table with plates of food that looked like roast meat. The burnt tracks that adorned the outside of the browned meat and the billowing smoke made anyone who saw it swallow their saliva involuntarily. But Meyara knew better than to be tempted by food at a time like this.

She could hear her stomach growling and surely Adriel’s too. But she paid it no mind.

"You can eat first. Don't worry, it's not poisoned. Killing by relying on poisoned herbs is not our style.”

"I can tell." Meyara nodded while glancing at one of the children whose face was covered in bruises, while another child had minor injuries to their arms or legs. They were left dragging their feet a bit.

The Chieftain who followed her line of sight laughed proudly. “This world is running brutally. You must be strong to survive. Especially for those of you who are determined to travel through deserts and seas.”

"Yes, it was very difficult and it will be even tougher." Adriel sounded a lot calmer after he used his spell and a bit of his own potion to inspect the food in front of him. When it was clear that there was no danger there, he threw away all his caution and started digging. One piece was offered to Meyara who refused with a frown. “Come on, we need to recharge our energy. Our supplies are running low.”

Meyara ignored him and asked the Oxcross’ leader she was no longer afraid of instead . She stayed alert, of course, but she no longer felt the need to get defensive anymore.

"Listen to this man who has a wealth of experience, your journey will not be easy even though you have our charms," said the bald man after Meyara boldly asked the tips for success in meeting with the Royal Family. "So many of our people died to convey the Royal Family's requests. And that must be saying something since you already know how strong my people are."

"Well, we don't know it firsthand, but we do." Adriel said with a mouth full of meat that he still didn't know what animal meat it was.

"It's not too late to experience it."

The poor young man choked and downed a glass of water in one gulp. He coughed so hard his eyes watered. "N-no thanks."

Meyara remained silent throughout the whole situation. Waiting for the Chieftain to continue.

The man pointed at a large map that seemed to be engraved on the table. Meyara and Adriel deftly removed the plates and glasses that covered it. "If you want an easier route, it's better to meet the Mayor of Dawnlake Village, from there you can go straight along Everford Lake to the palace," he explained too quickly. “But to get there, you have to go through Frostfell. And I have to say that you can never hang in there with your lousy clothes. So just stay a while. My people will make something for you.”

"Excuse me, could you repeat the route again?"

"You will?"

Meyara and Adriel spoke in unison for the umpteenth time since they traveled together. It was surprising how they managed to come together in such a relatively short amount of time and Meyara started to get annoyed by it.

"I already memorized the way, so just answer my question," she said, ignoring the heavy sigh that escaped Adriel's lips.

“Yes, we’ll give you what you need, except for our charms. It’s forbidden to be carried by anyone other than Oxcross’ people,” the Chieftain explained. He waved the crumpled letter in his hand, his smirk quite scary. "You should be very grateful to your Chief, little kid."

With that, there was no longer any reason for the two adventurers to be afraid. They dutifully followed the Chieftain's directions to rest in a hut that looked more like an abandoned barn, but they kept their mouths shut. It was already a blessing they still had their bodies intact.

They sat in silence, each facing the other at an opposite point. There was only a medium size rug in the center, the shape was odd and not enough to completely cover the ground. The two teenagers preferred to lean against the wall of the hut even though only their feet were on the rug.

Meyara was busy thinking about what they would receive when Adriel spoke.

"My father and I used to repair my family's barn at my house. It looks similar to this place," he mused. “Now that I think about him, I wonder what he was doing at this time? I guess he went berserk knowing I left without his permission.”

Meyara furrowed her brows. "You didn't tell him?"

The young man just grinned shyly, and Meyara had half a mind to strangle him alive.

***