Nnngha! Good morning world! That was one good night sleep! Feather Assassin, you did a good job as my sleeping bag! I could get used to this.

"Good morning lady Ruth".

"Good morning-!" wait, who said that? I open the cloak that is the Feather Assassins body and sits up while looking around. On a stone a few meters away sits Erica with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. She's dressed in a beautiful black morning gown, covering most of her body except her neck and head. When she sees me she closes her book while giving me a vague smile.

"E-Erica, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I simply thought it would be nice to take a stroll in the forest when I happened upon you" Erica says while taking a sip of tea. Liar, who would bring tea on a simple walk in the forest? Seeing my doubting glare Erica sighs.

"Ok, you got me. I wanted to greet you now in the morning but I didn't have the heart to wake you up when you were sleeping so peacefully".

"But how did you know I was here?"

"Oh darling, everybody in the castle knows" she says, laughing slightly.

"Huh? Know what?"

"Well rumors had it that yesterday night you were seen walking a drunk Esther back to her room. And because you wasn't in your room this morning I came to the conclusion that you never left" Erica concludes while taking another sip of her tea. Wow, she sure seems cool when she acts like that.

"Wow, how can a rumor spread that fast?" I say, slightly amazed.

"Well, a lot of maids and butlers saw it in person but it's mostly thanks to Sotos. Nothing happens in this place without him knowing about it. It doesn't make it any better that he is a terrible gossiper!". Wait, that guy gossips? But he's their spymaster! A spymaster can't gossip or their secrets would be revealed! How even-! Ah, this place... Oh, that's right I forgot!

"How are Florent and Esther doing? Last time I saw them they were knocked out by alcohol".

"They are fine, if you don't count the massive hangover they are experiencing right now. Really, even thou we put up seals around the alcohol to stop Esther from drinking she managed to break through. What was she thinking, drinking dragon sake like that?" Erica says with a tired voice while massaging her forehead.

"Have this happened before?" I ask.

"Sadly, yes. Dryads are sensitive towards alcohol and Esther is not an exception. And whenever she gets sad she wants to drink!". Wow, that sounds like a mayor problem! That woman is a total wreck!

"How did she ever become a general?" I mutter.

"Well, while she does have her many faults she is without a doubt completely loyal to the cause we serve and a force to be reckoned with" Erica explains. "And even if she appears like this she is actually quite intellectual when things gets serious". I find that a little hard to believe but if Erica says so then I guess it's true.

Suddenly Erica stands up and her cup disappears into thin air.

"Unless you have something more to do, how about having some breakfast?" Erica says while brining out a picnic basket seemingly out of nowhere. Does she perhaps have a storage ability similar to mine? An inventory perhaps?

"Breakfast... Yeah, I would like that" I say, giving her a bright smile. She responds with a smile of her own while she opens the basket. Inside is sandwiches with different kinds of toppings and a tea kettle. How did she..? You know what? I don't even care right now. Let's eat.

Erica and I settle down on the bare ground with the basket between us. While eating we are chatting about various things. I immediately notice that despite how she acted when we first met she's actually pretty normal. It's just that she sometimes loses her temper, especially when it comes to Orethon.

"He's a good leader and all but sometimes he acts to much like a child!" Erica exclaims with an irritated voice. "Hah, I get annoyed just thinking about it..."

"Well, he's certainly... eccentric" I comment, unsure what to say, while taking a bite of my cheese sandwich (yummy). I just recently met him so I don't have such a clear opinion on his personal traits.

"Yeah, he really is something else..." Erica says before sighing. "But that's what makes him so unique. His way of seeing the world is unlike anything I have encountered before and he doesn't care who you are, everyone is equal before his eyes".

Hearing Erica talk about Orethon like this I understand that while she sometimes complains about him, she wouldn't have him any other way. They must have been through a lot together.

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"How did you two meet?" I ask. Hearing my question Erica pauses  for a second, thinking about it before answering.

"We first met when Orethon wished to create an alliance with my father, the king of vampires. But my father... is a very prideful man. It doesn't make it any better that he sees any other race than vampires inferior and with the same worth as animals". When saying this Erica looks furious. She does not seem to like her father.

"He refused to even talk directly to Orethon saying that he doesn't have time for "such vermin". I knew already back then that my father's narrow mind would stop our civilization from evolving so I decided to talk with Orethon myself".

"Didn't your father oppose your decision?"

"He would have if he had known but I didn't tell him. So I met up with Orethon in secret, one thing led to another and, well, here I am!" Erica concludes.

"Wait, you seem to have left out some things there!" I exclaim. "Like how you joined his cause and why!"

"Well..." Erica says while squirming, not looking into my eyes. "It's difficult to explain and... uhm...". She seems to feel uncomfortable talking about this. Perhaps I shouldn't dig into this anymore. For now at least.

"It's ok, you don't have to tell me now if you don't want to" I explain. Silence follows my words and for a while we don't say anything.  The light pink sky is slowly turning blue as time goes by and the forest is starting to wake up.

Erica puts away her cup of tea and carefully wipes her mouth with a napkin. How elegants

"I just remembered something" she says. "This is yours, right?". From behind her back she pulls something out. It's... My grimoire!

"I was wondering where it was!" I exclaim as she hands it to me.

"After you passed out Orethon had all your stuff taken care off. He was planning on giving it back but never had the opportunity to do so" Erica explains. "So I decided to do it instead".

"Thank you Erica, that's really nice of you!". A wide smile spreads across my face.

"Too dangerous..." Erica mumbles. Eh? What's that? I glance at her and notice that she staring at me. "Uhum, anyway" she continues when she sees my glance, "after you have changed clothes you will meet up with Bekkhildr for your first training session":

"Training session?" I ask.

"Well yes, now that the goddesses know about your existence they will without a doubt target your life. And even thou we will always do our best to protect you, the time may come where you have to fight yourself. Therefore we have to prepare you".

Ah, that explains it. They can't protect me all the time and if something like an ambush would happen then I will probably have to fight myself.

"I see, where do I find her?"

"The maids will take you too her so there's no need to worry about that" Erica replies. Suddenly she looks into the basket. "It seems that we have eaten all the sandwiches too so how about I make you company to the bathing area. I will send a maid that will bring clothes".

I simply nod my head and thus we make our way throughout the forest and towards the door. After that Erica does just what she said she would do and brought me to the bath.

"Thank you for the company" I say when we arrive and bow slightly.

"Oh, it was my pleasure. Well, see you later!" she says and waves my good bye. What a nice woman.

________________________________________________________

After the bath a maid arrive with a set of clothes, just like Erica said. It's Charlotte!

"Good morning, my young lady" she says while bowing deeply.

"A-ah! Good morning Charlotte-san". Hearing this Charlotte flinches and gives me a conflicted gaze.

"There's no need to address me with such honorifics my lady, simply calling me Charlotte is enough".

"Oh, uhm, ok then... Charlotte. But if I can't use honorifics then you can't either!" I exclaim. "From now on you will call me Ruth"

"Eh!? B-but I can't do that! My lady is too important!"

"Well, you are important too" I say. "Everybody is important, right?". Charlotte stares at me with a surprised face and does not know what to say. Well, this is awkward. I am just standing here, talking to here, with only a towel covering my body. It's getting kinda cold. "Well, it's time to get dressed. Thank you for bringing the clothes. You can wait outside while I change. I will tell you when I'm done".

Charlotte snaps back into reality and bows, kinda clumsily, before exiting the room.

I was expecting a dress or something but contrary to yesterday these clothes are not your typical noble stuff with frills and ribbons. It's pair of black pants and a white jacket with a deep blue shirt underneath it. They look really fancy and it's easy to move in. I like it.

When I am done dressing myself I exit the room. Outside stands Charlotte with a composed expression. Well, except for that heavy blushing of course.

"You look amazing my la- I mean Ruth" she says. "Would you like me to bring you to Bekkhildr-sama?"

"Yes, that would be very nice of you Charlotte" I respond, smiling gently. Oh, her blush is getting even heavier!

Charlotte leads me through the castle, keeping her mouth sealed the entire time. She is so cute when she's embarrassed! I could just hug her... No! I am not like that dryad! I don't snuggle people randomly! Well, except for that one time with Leo but everybody makes mistakes! Talking about Leo, I wonder how he's doing? I haven't seen him since Ozlem was put into lockdown and I didn't see him during the fight... Crap, I have the urge to pet something now. Babbit, help me!

While I pet Babbit, I notice that the halls have changed. Gone are the elegant designs and chandeliers, they have all been replaced by glowing crystals and cold stone.

"This is where our blacksmiths work and soldiers train" Charlotte explains, sounding quite excited. "Bekkhildr-sama is responsible for this area. We are currently in one of the east corridors and straight ahead of us is the coliseum, where she is waiting for you".

"You seem to know a lot about this place" I comment.

"Well, uhm, you see... I really respect and look up to Bekkhildr-sama but I am not warrior material so I rarely visits this place... Ah! I'm sorry for speaking with you in such an inconsiderate tone my lady!"

"I already said it's ok and please, call me Ruth, we are comrades after all!"

"Comrades..." Charlotte mumbles, thinking about for a second before smiling. "Well then Ruth, follow me!". At last she seems a little bit more comfortable around me. I don't wish to be treated differently, I just want to be friends. Besides, she's even cuter when she smiles!

We exit the hallway and enter a massive colosseum surrounded by rows of benches. The sky is clear blue and there's a slight breeze. You could fit an entire mal inside here! No, two malls! Ah, so spacious... Hmm? There's a huge figure standing in the middle of the colosseum. It's Bekkhildr. Seemingly sensing me she turns around towards us.

"Ah young lady! I am glad you could come!" she says while giving me a vague smile while walking towards us. Beside me Charlotte is shaking out of excitement. She's totally fangirling right now. I know how you feel gurl, I have been there too... Mhm! Back to the present!

"I wouldn't miss this for anything" I say. And I'm not just being nice! I am really excited to learn new things and become stronger. Besides, having an expert like Bekkhildr coach me is incredibly exciting. Hehehe, this is gonna be awesome! But I am not the only one that will take advantage of the training... "Excuse me, but there's something I wanted to ask you. I have some friends that would also like to train, would it be okay if they joined me?". While they sure are strong, training like this would be very good for them.

"Of course" Bekkhildr responds, without a sign of hesitation in her voice.

"Thank you" I say while smiling. I summon the others that appear beside me. Babbit jumps up on Zars head while Rowan takes a step towards Bekkhildr and bows.

"I thank you for this opportunity to train under you. I promise not to disappoint you" he says. Bekkhildr doesn't immediately respond but stares at us instead. A chill runs up my spine. It feels like a predator watching prey. After a few seconds she nods with a satisfied expression on her face.

"This is one fine bunch of warriors" she says. "They have a lot of potential. Now then, if you're ready, let's get started". Suddenly giant armors rise from the ground, surrounding us "These are my Iron Golems. They will be your opponents for now. I will observe from a distance but I will stop them if it gets out of control. You ready?"

I stare at the Iron Golems. They sure look threatening but it excites me. I glance at the others and see that they are ready as well. Heh, this is gonna be fun! I give Charlotte, signaling her to put some distance between us. She understands and head towards the benches. When she's there I turn towards Bekkhildr with a wide smile.

"Bring it on!"