Another morning comes.
- The wyverns return early that day and are waiting around for the party's departure.
- Neither the wyverns nor Grimoire Girls are too happy with one another.
There is an unspoken collaborative effort by both sides to inconspicuously body-block Callie from the wyvern she was fighting with.
"Now that the heathens have all so graciously decided to bless us with their presence, we can continue flying to Mount Ixora and then to Fort Terra."
- The rest of the journey proceeds smoothly.
- Callie travels on a more patient wyvern than the one that tore off her arm.
- The wyverns avoid unnecessary stops.
- After a few days of traveling, the party lands near a village at the top of Mount Ixora.
- A few Guardian Angels are flying about attending to their own business.
- One of the Guiding Angels lands near the squadron.
The angel’s body is covered in wispy white feathers. The angel has well-defined eyes akin to the eyes of an owl with the same amber iris and black pupil. The angel has to squint its eyes to deal with the daytime sunlight. The angel has two pits in the place of a nose. Perhaps the most unnerving characteristic of the angel is the angel’s toothy smile. The angel’s feathers leave a gap around the creature’s mouth and cheeks revealing coarse gray skin—skin identical to the Seraphim monster the squadron of girls encountered.
The Guardian Angel is a creature with a humanoid shape but with differing proportions.
The arms of the angel end with chunky and long clawed fingers. The legs of the angel are long and end in claws. Other than the angel's hands and claws, the rest of the angel’s body has an elegant and ethereal slenderness quality. Every angel seems to share a base pair of wings, but most seem to have dysfunctional ones too. This particular angel has an extra minuscule wing not suited for flight.
- The wyverns growl at the Guiding Angel for no discernable reason.
- Ria tries to calm the wyverns.
- The angel creates an orb of lightning in its hand and casts a lightning bolt aimed directly down at the ground.
- "Begone heathens! You are not welcome here!"
- The wyverns step back out of fear.
They growl louder as a warning that they are ready to pounce the moment the angel so much as even scratches one of them.
- Once the girls dismount, the wyverns fly a distant distance away from the mountain.
With the wyverns gone, the Guiding Angel greets, "It is nice to see you again, Ria. Have you been taking care of yourself and eating well?"
- The angel and Ria exchange a friendly hug before introductions begin.
"This is Gira, this is Callie... I would like you all to meet Lisian. They are one of the angels that helped raise me."
- Lisian exchanges some pleasantries with the squadron.
Later, the angel effortlessly twists and turns its body around in a graceful one hundred and eighty degree spin by using its heel as the center of rotation.
- They beckon, "Come along, my dear. I have a place where you girls can stay."
- There is a village made up of a few log houses. The homes in the village all have cozy stone fireplaces.
All of the occupied houses in the village seem to house people of races other than Guiding Angels. A few elves enjoy the sight of snowflakes falling, nymphs laze about conversing with one another, a dragonoid with skin encrusted in scales shovels snow, and a frail demon helps.
Some of the houses appear empty and uncared for which makes Callie feel a tad uneasy at the terrible implication.
- Lisian leads the way to one of the empty houses.
- She asks, "How long will you and your friends stay with us?"
- Ria answers, "Only for a few days. I have a few important things I want to talk about."
- Lisian enters the log cabin and waits for everyone to enter before she continues the conversation.
"The other Guardian Angels will wake up after sunset. The conversation can wait until everyone is awake. I am going to monopolize your time while I have the chance."
The log cabin accounts for the size of the Guardian Angels; therefore, the Grimoire Girls find the proportions of the log cabin unusual.
- Lisian asks, "Does Syl plan to visit anytime soon, or do we have to visit the castle to see her again?"
"She's not going to visit anytime soon. She doesn’t do much other than neglect her duties. I’m not so sure that she cares about anything anymore."
- Lisian partially expected Ria’s disheartening answer.
- Lisian grumbles, "Such a problematic child."
- Lisian stretches out her legs and takes a seat on the floor.
- She offers, "Make yourselves comfortable. Sunset is only a few hours away."
- There is a wooden sofa with pillows stuffed with feathers in the room.
- Ria walks to the couch until Lisian beckons.
"Not you, darling, and not you, Reed. You two need to get a haircut. Your hair has grown much too long. You two will burn alive in Marigold's blistering climate."
Reed politely refuses, "No thank you. I do not mind the climate there. My grimoire resets my hair to this size when I make a new body anyway."
- Ria sits on the floor in front of Lisian and copies her pose.
- Roman and Gira sit on the bench.
- Callie excuses herself, "I’m going to go meet some new people. Maybe. I’ll see how it goes. Yay, okay, bye."
Reed subconsciously projects her autophobia—the fear of being alone: more specifically in Reed's case, the fear of being separated from her squadron—onto Callie.
- Reed trails after her, "I’ll come with you."
- Lisian runs her claws through Ria’s hair.
- A claw accidentally lightly cuts Ria.
- Ria does not feel much pain, but she feels as though she needs to react.
- "Ow."
- Lisian’s claws retreat and approach from another angle.
- "Forgive me, my dear."
- Lisian gently parts hair from Ria’s ear.
Lisian’s movements are rhythmic and follow a simple pattern. First, Lisian grips a sizable amount of hair in between two stretched and curled fingers. Next, Lisian uses a claw from her other hand to cut through the tuft of hair. Finally, Lisian’s fingers move farther down Ria’s hairline. The pattern repeats until Lisian is satisfied.
- Hours filled with conversation pass by. Enough time passes for the sun to set.
- Ria's once long silver hair is now shoulder length.
Ria does not like the haircut, but Ria can sacrifice some hair on account of how happy Lisian feels to be involved with Ria.
- Lisian leads to a cave by the village.
Gems line the walls of the cave providing dim lighting—remnants of a once active dungeon. There are houses similar in structure to the ones outdoors except without fireplaces.
- Guiding Angels leave their homes preparing for their nocturnal schedule.
- Guiding Angels swarm around Ria the moment they notice her.
They have a conversation with the same repetitive twists and turns as the conversation that Ria had with Lisian.
- As more angels gather, they relocate to a meeting hall.
One of the angels asks, "Are you absolutely sure that you have enough mana cores? Allium is far from here. You should take the opportunity to hunt for reserve mana cores."
- Ria is certain, "I’ll be fine. I can hunt when the need arises."
Another angel offers, "We can escort you. We have nothing better to do, and assuring your safety will ease our worries."
- Ria refuses, "I am traveling with a wyvern. Not many dungeon monsters have functional wings anymore."
- Yet another angel suffocatingly offers, "You can always live here. There are plenty of unoccupied houses."
- Ria’s patience wears thin.
- "I want to try living in the forest for a nice change of scenery."
- Ria can feel the Guiding Angels taking a toll on her mental state.
- "Please understand that's enough!"
- Ria's vision blurs as disinterest and repetition heavy enough to cause mental damage accumulates.
- She can already hear the angels asking more questions despite her clear disinterest and earnest refusals.
- She decides to herself, so be it.
Ria actively forces her vision to blur further to create a miniature mental defense. Her mental trick dulls her senses. Her mental trick avoids triggering her stress response of creating droplets of water.
- Her passive ability would otherwise be a dead giveaway of her lack of composure.
Ria experiences surreal clarity and detachment. The angels blur into white colors standing before a brown log cabin background. Her clarity resembles a person lost in a dream. A person lost in a dream does not question the proceeding events, nor does a person lost in a dream comprehend any form of complex feelings. Only after slumber can a person gradually come to terms with their experiences.
Ria’s temporary buffer is an unhealthy habit of forcibly repressing stress. For the time being, her buffer provides a beneficial illusion, but the cost of using the buffer is extravagant.
- Ria is aware that her buffer is not healthy and actively abusing such a buffer is worse.
For starters, the buffer gradually affects her temperament by making her susceptible to further episodes of derealization. In some ways, the buffer affects her mentality by making Ria feel isolated, making Ria feel as though other people are negligible, and making Ria feel helpless without the buffer.
At some point, Ria began to experience episodes of her buffer uncontrollably. She chooses to ignore the blightening issues.
- The buffer progressively worsens to the point of becoming a mental illness.
Ria made the mistake of assuming that she would recover from the argument with headmistress Syl and her entourage so quickly.
She was not prepared for the strain of visiting the Guiding Angels, even if some of them where from the group that raised her. Ria thought she could power through her anxiety and stress but she was wrong.
It is not as if Ria made a lackluster effort. She held out for a long period of time with the negative feelings of Syl's entourage, envy of Gira’s party, and the repetitive conversations with the angels.
Unfortunately for Ria, misery loves company but not in the typical sense of the miserable oversharing their troubles with others. Misery loves company in a much more common sense where misery is often accompanied by further amounts of misery from unexpected sources.
The sound of any form of humanity remaining in Ria's voice disappears. Ria's voice changes into something awfully dull and monotone.
"Do not misunderstand. I am not here because I am the naive type who has suddenly found compassion within my heart to forgive the guilty party for what you have done. Those poor wyverns. You are guilty pieces of garbage as far as I am concerned and should be seen as such. Let’s skip the part about ambiguity this time around too. I know the same applies to me for other reasons."
- Ria cannot help but glance at Gira.
"I will be out of the spotlight soon enough. It just so happens that I am forced to be here to warn you about something for the sake of the innocent ones. The ones who wouldn’t know anything about history. Headmistress Syl has reason to suspect that Vinderian’s demon of greed has been resurrected. Based on her description of the encounter, I believe that the demon of greed will return to plague this world. The demon peered through one of Syl’s spells and managed to drag away one of Dansa’s body doubles before disappearing."
- The Guiding Angels are startled.
Lisian refutes, "The demon of greed died off centuries ago. There is no reason why such a demon would resurrect now of all times."
Ria persists, "There doesn’t need to be a reason. Perhaps the demon’s resurrection happened by chance now that the nature of mana has changed."
- Another angel refutes, "If the nature of mana is changing, then your grimoire would cease to work."
- Ria persists, "Perhaps it is only a matter of time and the mana in the world is changing gradually rather than as a whole."
Yet another angel challenges the idea of resurrection, "Nothing persists after death. The nature of this world does not allow it and will never allow it. Any impossible chance of a resurrection occurring will only dwindle as time passes and mana changes. This is not Vinderian’s demon of greed. This is more likely a descendant of greed."
- The surprisingly sound logic pulls Ria out of her defensive state. Her perception sharpens.
Ria persists while conscious of her misery, "Logically speaking, that makes a lot of sense. I guess I just believed Syl’s assumptions blindly. I had a lot on my mind at the time. Even so, Syl is an S-class archmage, yet the demon scared Syl enough to make her justify resorting to mythology. Her concubines are S-class archmages, and they were frightened as well. I think their fear justifies the creation of an entirely new rank of difficulty for this monster alone. For simplicity’s sake, I will refer to this demon as Greed. I will declare that Greed is an SS-class threat."
The conversation persists until Ria is drained of every remaining drop of joy her brain allotted for the day, plus she burns out enough that the negative impact will bleed into the following few days.
She switches in and out of her buffer state uncontrollably and helplessly while grinding through the ceaseless conversation. Everyone is oblivious to Ria’s plight no matter what she does or says.
Discussing her plight is pointless. The Guiding Angels cannot understand her mentality. She has tried communication before, but they cannot relate.
Ria leaves the cave feeling soulless once every possible variation of the same few questions have been answered.
- Gira and Roman return to the log cabin they are staying at.
- Ria is absent. She is likely at another log cabin.
- Callie and Reed are asleep and cuddling with each other.
- Roman and Gira do not bother trying to sleep. They have too much to think about.
Roman frets, "Are Grimoire Girls just going to run around for all of eternity in a world like this? Fighting monsters, hunting for mana cores, and hiding away in our castle until something stronger destroys our grimoires? Life is draining. Chore after chore, I can barely muster any motivation for anything anymore."
"We have managed to handle living like this for quite some time. We are a capable squadron. It is not like other people have any special privileges. They run around hunting monsters to protect themselves too. If you really get tired of living like this—"
- Gira is hesitant to offer. She winces.
- "I can rewrite your grimoire again if you are desperate."
Roman nonchalantly brushes away Gira’s offer, "It would be unfair of me to burden you for my shortcomings. I will power through whatever issues I need to. There is one thing I feel a need to be clear about: I don’t intend to live a life as long as Syl and Ria have. A life like that is too long for my taste."
- Gira finds the reply oddly comforting.
- "I agree. Just because we can doesn't mean that we should."
- Roman is intrigued that they are on the same page.
"Right? I overhear some fledgling Grimoire Girls talking about wanting to live forever from time to time, and I have to hold back my laughter."
- Roman moves her hand to cover her lips out of habit.
- She recalls, "About the whole rewriting of our grimoires incident, I am grateful that you are willing to rewrite my grimoire and all—."
- Roman’s body shudders uncontrollably.
- She utters, "I plan to never go through that awful experience again."
- Another morning comes.
Callie and Reed wake up before Gira and Roman do. They quietly leave their cabin to avoid disturbing their sleep. They are familiar with dealing with Roman’s insomnia.
- Reed asks, "Do you want to go visit the nymphs again? They are pretty fun."
- Callie blushes.
"They are pretty, but no thanks. They invited me to a sleepover with them. I refused of course. I just don’t think I can look at them right now."
Reed teases, "But you can look directly at me without any problem. Do you think the nymphs are prettier than me?"
Callie lies, "No, I think you are prettier. I am just saying that the ice-elemental nymphs have their charms. Their lovely cold aura is something that we don't see every day at the academy. I can't help myself. I stare a little."
- Reed presses further than she should, "So would you prefer if I had their cold touch?"
Callie defends herself, "I would not change anything about you. You mean a lot more to me than the nymphs do. I just don’t want to give them any ideas."
Reed grins, "I know what you are trying to say. I think they are very pretty too, and they offered me the same thing. They likely know how Grimoire Girls tend to form polygamous squadrons and wanted to involve the whole party."
- Callie fiercely elbows Reed’s side.
"Then why the hell are you giving me a hard time? I was about to have a miniature heart attack trying to explain myself."
- Reed grunts.
"Well, I am interested in their offer. How can you not be? Nymphs may have a long lifespan, but even they aren't going to live forever. Plus with all the monsters roaming around, this might be the last opportunity we have for a sleepover with frost-elemental nymphs."
"Your persistence is distasteful. I don’t care if they all die out. I will not involve anyone else in our relationship."
- Callie takes a moment to mentally process the weight of her own words.
- "Wait, no! I didn’t mean that I didn’t care in the way that they die out but in the way that—."
- "I know, Callie."
- Reed asks out of genuine curiosity, "What if our whole party liked a person enough? Including you."
Callie adamantly refuses, "I will never allow anyone else to join. I am hurt that you are asking me about this kind of thing. Please stop."
"Well, it was worth a shot. I respect your preferences even though I disagree with some of them. I am only testing the waters. I just want to know exactly where we stand. How else could I possibly know what boundaries we should set?"
- The fact that some fragment of Callie’s mind can sort of understand Reed’s logic annoys Callie even more than if she couldn’t.
- Callie turns away in exasperation.
- "I hate you. Never ask me something like that again. My decision on the matter will never change."
- There is an awkward pause that frightens Reed.
By default, Reed feels as though the world moves a bit slow for her tastes. Now that Reed is anxious, the world seems to slow to an insufferable tempo. Reed cannot stand the ambiguity of silence.
- "Sorry, Callie. I love you."
- Callie remains silent. She is unsure of what she should say.
- Callie eventually replies in a disgruntled voice, "I love you too, Reed."
- Overall, Callie loves Reed. During this particular moment, Callie does not love Reed.
- Lisian gathers outside with three elves.
These elves appear as though they are similar in terms of age. They share the same shade of light purple skin, white hair, similarly-sized pointy ears, and friendly red eyes. The males have the same facial structure, and so does the female to a lesser degree.
- Callie finds their resemblance to one another uncanny.
- Callie invades their conversation.
- "Good-o morning. What are you guys talking about?"
- An elf perks up.
"Hey, girls! Say, do you two want to go on a short hike with us? We want to get a better view of the mountain range. Nobody else wants to go with us."
- Callie is interested. She checks whether or not Reed looks interested before deciding.
- Reed decides, "Sure, how long does the hike take? We were going to see what we could get for breakfast."
- A elf replies, "We plan to eat breakfast at the end of the trail and we have enough to share."
- Lisian quietly walks away while they are distracted.
- Callie stares and grows increasingly perplexed.
She asks, "Why do the three of you look the same? The two guys look eerily similar and you sorta resemble them to a lesser degree. You three are like our body doubles. I thought only Grimoire Girls have body doubles."
- One of the guys chortles.
One of the guys patiently explains, "We look similar because we are siblings related by blood. Siblings tend to look similar."
Reed asks, "What are you three doing at Mount Ixora? I thought that elves prefer living in forest environments like in the city of Allium."
- The man that was laughing earlier places his hands in the shape of a circle.
"That is correct. Plenty of people prefer forests over cold mountain ranges in general. In our case, we are tired of living in the same place. It gets kind of boring spending so much time in the forest. Every few years, some of us gather and travel to live elsewhere. The rest of the elves staying here are a part of two separate families traveling with us."
The girl interrupts, "By the way, that asshole’s name is Salvias. The other jerk’s name is Verbena, and my name is Cymbidium."
- Cymbidium bewitchingly flirts, "Ideally, I would prefer to be called Sin instead."
- Cymbidium winks.
- Salvias interrupts, "Alternatively, I am not seeing anybody if you prefer guys."
- Verbena pretends to gag.
"Can the two of you stop flirting while I am around? I don’t want to know your pet names. I don’t want to imagine any of that."
- Verbena gestures to Cymbidium and Salvias in a detached and visibly disgusted manner.
- Salvias is oblivious.
- "You just gestured to all of me."
- Verbena nods, "Exactly."
Cymbidium complains, "It's hard to make lasting relationships while traveling! We have to take our chances whenever we can. You would flirt around if you were still single!"
- Salvias adds, "That's exactly how you met your partner! You threw yourself at random travelers too!"
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
- Verbena tactically escapes his predicament.
- "I can neither deny nor agree with these absurd and outlandish claims. Do not listen to them."
Reed cannot entirely understand the platonic relationship the elves share, but she thinks their dynamic is kind of cute platonic-wise.
She refuses, "Neither of us are looking for anyone right now. We are content in our group of four. You two can try asking the girl with silver hair later. Her name is Ria, and I don't think that she is seeing anybody right now. The nymphs show interest in sleepovers too."
- Callie gleefully smiles.
In Callie’s eyes, Reed has redeemed herself slightly. The thought of assisting in what they both assume to be Ria’s inactive love life is pleasant as well. How kind.
- Salvias sighs, "The nymphs are pretty fun to flirt with. Too bad they aren’t looking for anything long-term."
- Reed turns to Callie expecting a reaction from her at the mention of the nymphs.
- Callie stays as still as a rock pretending that she doesn’t notice Reed staring out of the corner of her vision.
- Reed edges closer.
- Beads of nervous sweat drip down Callie’s face.
- Callie thinks to herself, "My death is imminent. Make no sudden movements or she will bite."
- Callie avoids turning her neck even a millimeter.
In a panic, Callie shouts out, "Our squadron is still sleeping! Let me wake them up real quick and we will be ready to go!"
Salvias dismisses the idea, "Let them sleep. We will be fine without them. The three of us are a strong A-rank party. More than anything, we are looking for some company. By the way, Cymbidium is a long-range dark-elemental mage, and we are short-range swordsmen."
- Callie feels some concern about traveling without the entire squadron.
- She refuses, "I don’t think that's a good idea. We don’t know about each other's battle tendencies."
- Reed eggs Callie on, "Come on, we will be fine! They will likely refuse the hike anyways!"
- The elves and Reed eagerly stare as they await an answer.
- Callie quickly folds and changes her tune.
"Okay then! For the love of grimoires, stop making those beady eye expressions. My name is Callie, and I am a light-elemental archer that can blind anything that relies on eyesight."
- Callie briefly pauses.
- She murmurs, "I suppose that is what blinding means."
- Callie chooses to omit the fact that she can use lightning-elemental magic. Reed catches on to the omission.
- "My name is Reed, and I am an opportunistic axe-woman that can use fire magic."
- Callie inquires, "So can you use magic, Verbena? How about you, Salvias?"
- Verbena claims, "Only Cymbidium can use useful magic."
- Salvias tries to terminate the conversation.
- "Go fetch your weapons, and we will grab ours. We can meet here again in a few minutes. Make haste. I want to eat breakfast sometime within this year."
- Cymbidium pulls his ear as a punishment for being rude and rushing them along.
The party of five returns armed with their gear. Salvias and Verbena are armed with sleek elven-longswords and a crude otherworldly version of honey locust wooden shields. Cymbidium has a minimalistic wooden staff in a rich purple color. The wood comes from peltogyne trees and is commonly called purpleheart wood. Salvias and Verbena are carrying excessively large gray leather bags with them.
- The party formation consists of Salvias and Verbena walking a few feet ahead of the others.
Salvias reminds the others, "Stick close to the trail or exposed stone and be careful if you have to tread in the snow. If you sink a few feet deeper than you were expecting, that's an easy kill for whatever monster that might attack."
- Cymbidium, Callie, and Reed bundle together.
Cymbidium feels an odd warmth coming from Callie that makes Cymbidium want to stay as close as possible.
"Say, Callie, I thought that you and Reed were crazy for dressing like that in this climate. Why do you feel so warm?"
Callie patiently explains, "All Grimoire Girls have some sort of passive ability that activates automatically in response to stress. My passive ability is the heat and dryness effect we are experiencing right now. Don't worry though. The ability is beneficial and helps keep me on my toes and prevents a lapse in concentration."
Cymbidium asks, "Why do you have the passive heat ability when Reed is supposed to be the fire-elemental mage?"
Callie answers, "I think that I would cry if I had to use fire-elemental magic. I already suffer from chronic heat exhaustion and high fevers. Having to overheat and burn out by using fire magic on top of my passive ability would make me miserable."
- Cymbidium looks worried on behalf of Callie.
- "I felt the same heat coming from you when we were talking earlier. Are you okay?"
- Callie replies, "Yeah, I wasn’t stressed earlier. I activated the ability on purpose back then to keep warm."
- Cymbidium feels a tinge of pity.
"I'm not so sure beneficial is the word I would use to describe the ability. From my perspective, the downsides are glaringly alarming, and your stress seems excessive."
- Callie doubts Cymbidium’s knowledge.
"Really? That kind of thing is pretty normal at the academy. In a way, it is my fault for refusing to rewrite my grimoire. I know that I can rewrite my grimoire to my heart's content, but I just can’t bring myself to do so. I know too many people that have changed for the worse. They completely lost themselves by doing so. It is fine though! Strength comes in many forms. We are building up experience as we go along, and we are dying a lot less than we used to."
- "Then why are you feeling so much stress right now?"
Callie answers, "Because I can’t stop thinking that we aren't going to be good enough without our companions. We work so well together as a squadron. We are created to complement one another and ease each other's burdens. I am worried that a monster we aren't prepared for is going to attack us."
- Cymbidium chooses to resign from the conversation before matters get too troublesome
She realizes that her efforts are probably meaningless; however, making one small final attempt before isn't so burdensome. She stops Callie and places her hands on Callie's shoulders confrontationally with a firm shake. Cymbidium makes direct eye contact.
- She commands, "Look at me and remember what I am about to say. Engrave this talk into your memory."
- Callie gasps in surprise.
- "But, I am looking at you?"
- A newfound severity appears in Cymbidium's tone as she says, "I have never seen it myself, but your academy is probably a lovely place. Despite that, one day you will inevitably get tired of living there. When that happens, you can always refresh your mind by traveling around. You can even join us someday!"
- Callie considers the offer.
"Maybe one day we can travel together. I don't imagine leaving the academy anytime soon though. I realize that I never considered what the members of my squadron want to do after we eventually stop working for the academy. I will discuss the matter with my squadron later."
- Cymbidium pats Callie's shoulders and releases her.
She reiterates, "Remember my offer. The offer will still stand five years from now, ten years from now, or whenever the offer comes to mind. You are not bound to the academy forever, and you are free to change your mind whenever you damn well please."
- Callie and Reed are both confused.
Callie supposes everyone has their quirks. She marks down the experience as some probable form of eccentric behavior unique to Cymbidium.
- The group of five follows a mountain trail.
- The trail ends at a point with a wonderful overlooking view of the landscape.
Freshly fallen snow appears like an endless cotton blanket wrapping around the village homes. The rustic village homes emit tufts of smoke nowhere near enough in amounts that can harm the environment. The vibrant green color of nearby evergreen trees tricks the body into imagining their citrusy and piney scent from afar. If asked, one would swear that they can smell a faint pine tree scent in the cold breeze.
- Three damp logs are lying around a covered hole full of ashes.
- Callie considerately dries out each of the logs.
- Reed stands by the edge of the cliff.
- She notes, "The village looks so much prettier from up here."
Salvias replies, "It’s gorgeous isn't it? We have been eating breakfast up here early in the morning and dinner late at night. Speaking of breakfast, can you help me start a fire for our stew?"
Salvias retrieves pieces of lumber from his leather bag. He places the split pieces of wood into the fire pit and dumps some oil over the wood.
- Reed creates an orb of flames in her hand that spews weak flames into the oil.
After the fire starts, Verbena retrieves a metal pot from his leather bag full of beets, carrots, turnips, and a single onion. Verbena places the pot in the fire. He searches around his bag for a few more vegetables that have fallen out of the pot. He places a few bizarre-looking otherworldly vegetables called catubeons into the pot.
The catubeons share a shape similar to a turnip, but they have a teal color instead of a turnip’s purple color. The catubeons have purple roots. They have tiny black seeds embedded into the vegetable that makes them appear spotted.
Cymbidium takes a wooden bowl from Verbena’s bag and scoops the clean freshly fallen layer of snow to dump into the stew. The clean snow at the highest point of a mountain where nobody ever wanders. The snow melts into water in the pot. She washes the vegetables, dumps out the dirty water, and then adds more clean snow to the pot.
- Verbena retrieves a knife from his bag and starts cutting apart the vegetables.
Verbena eats a small piece of catubeon. The catubeon tastes like a cross between the tartness of cranberry and the harsh bitterness of a carrot. The tartness of the catubeon overpowers its bitterness, but the bitterness is notable in the aftertaste. The aftertaste is not unpleasant. The bitterness cleanses the palate allowing Verbena to enjoy the tartness of the catubeon when he eats another piece.
- Callie and Reed patiently wait for the stew. They inseparably sit on the same log.
- Reed asks, "How long will the three of you stay here for?"
- Salvias does some quick mental math.
"We plan to stay here for eight more months. We relocate every four years so that the scenery never becomes something bland and overlooked. We haven’t decided on where we want to live next though."
- Salvias tries to strike up a conversation.
- "What does life at the academy entail? I have never been there before."
- Reed finds the topic interesting to talk about.
"At creation, Grimoire Girls are divided into squadrons of four people. These squadrons are created with the intention of living as lifelong companions."
"We attend the Marigold Academy and spend most of our early lives studying about the world that we live in. When we are older, we start to study less. Half of our time goes into learning the physical tasks of various trades such as farming, smithing, foraging, and spell-weaving."
"By age sixteen, most Grimoire Girls stop studying and start training to learn how to fight. We practice with one another and learn how to effectively use our spells. We train in preparation for roles related to fighting such as hunting, scouting, and battling. They are always the jobs with the highest demand."
"At age eighteen, the combatant types are considered fledglings. We join something called a division—which is just a group of four squadrons that regularly travel in caravans for trading purposes. Four is the academy’s lucky number after all. The fledglings shadow experienced squadrons to learn how to fight monsters."
"Finally, at age twenty we are considered independent squadrons that join with other squadrons to create a new division—also plainly referred to as staff sometimes. Our squadron works as Division Eight scouts!"
- Reed believes the proper etiquette between travelers is pretending to show interest in the other party.
- She asks, "How do elves live?"
Salvias replies, "I can only speak for a few of us. We lived together with our parents for about twenty years in the forest city of Allium. Allium is west of the town of Fort Terra. We went to an academy similar to yours that taught us about the world for about twelve years. The academy closed when the tragedy began. Shortly after, our parents took the role of teaching us combat instead."
"Though it doesn’t matter anymore, an interesting fact about elven history is that the town of Fort Terra was built at a time before Marigold existed."
"Historically, the town of Fort Terra was built to protect and serve as a buffer to the city of Allium during a time of war long ago. The cause of the war was a cruel mage by the name of Vinderian. She had the ability to unite legions of powerful dungeon monsters in a nearby city. The city is now in ruins, and the descendants of her monsters would roam around Fort Terra for centuries to come."
"Resuming my story, most of the residents of the town of Fort Terra were trained in combat. They had to fight in order to deal with the constant threat of monsters. Our parents were no exception. They made a living as soldiers before they eventually retired and moved to the city of Allium. They were great at teaching too."
"After learning how to take care of ourselves, we went our separate ways to visit different corners of the world. The three of us thought that we would enjoy living on our own. We were wrong."
"I joined a group of travelers that were visiting the same places that I have always wanted to. We shared similar interests, and the conversations we used to have were always fun."
"Despite our shared interests, I had a difficult time trying to adjust to the customs and the nature of my companions. We were traveling together for years, but we hardly cared for one another. I mistakenly believed that we shared as strong of a bond as traveling companions can ever hope to achieve until I started questioning the behaviors of my group."
"As part of traditional elven culture, I believed in silent companionship. I held a strong belief in parallel play—the phenomenon where people can create bonds with one another indirectly by doing the same activities independently. Traveling seemed to be exactly the kind of thing that companions would naturally bond over."
"I was wrong. We were not friends. We were distant strangers that occasionally talked and worked together. Of course, I made an effort to actively involve myself in the group and bond with the members. The effort amounted to nothing."
"I ran into Verbena one day on my travels. I resolved myself and decisively declared that I was going to leave my so-called companions. My companions hardly bat an eye in my general direction."
"I was hoping that they might have shown some kind of emotion after all the years we spent together. I was hoping that they might have tried to dissuade me and restore my wavering faith in them. They did not. There was no grand send-off nor a dramatic final farewell. There were only obligatory half-hearted goodbyes. I have no memento of that party. I have nothing other than memories to remember them by."
"I still long to re-encounter these companions one day and develop the bonds that we should have shared. I know better than anyone else this desire is an unattainable fantasy."
Salvias’ voice dies down with every word that he speaks in his final sentence. The words sound like stepping stones leading into a river of misery. Stepping stones that Salvias has to tread. Stepping stones that belong to a slippery slope.
Callie and Reed trail his journey as spectators walking by the river bank. He has possession of their attention for the moment.
- Verbena decides to take the opportunity to voice his frustrations.
- "The story does not end at that point. Salvias ran into my group of adventurers one day. He came to me to vent about his experience with his companions. I thought he was being overly dramatic until I realized that I was caught in the same predicament."
- "I tried to bridge the gaps between my companions over the next few months and failed."
"One day, my companion's pet wolf was killed by a monster while we were all distracted by the group’s tomfoolery. My companion wrongly blamed themselves for neglecting the pet and left the group. You would be disgusted with how quickly they were replaced. I was, so I decided to leave."
"The memories linger. The memories are unforgettable. To this day, I wonder if my companions are alive and doing well. I wonder if they remember me as fondly as I remember them. No, there was no point in saying that. I already know the answer."
- Verbena kindly fulfills his moral duty as the eldest sibling by passing the stage.
- "Cymbidium, you were in a scenario as equally depressing. Weren't you? I never really figured your story out."
Cymbidium usually avoids talking about her trauma in front of her siblings, but there is something therapeutic about ranting to strangers.
She vents, "I was a little better off than my brothers were for a while. I traveled with a group of young and inexperienced adventurers my age that I felt close to. I even became best friends with one of them."
- Cymbidium averts her gaze.
"There was a period of time where the dungeons started creating mutated monsters that were mutated and weaker than the monsters they created before the tragedy occurred. Everyone thought the dungeons were losing the ability to create monsters but we were all wrong."
"The severity of the mutations amped up and created monsters that nobody knew how to counter. An early mutation overpowered my entire group and killed a third of our members all at once. My friend is gone."
"The group lost whatever magic was holding them together. People began to drift apart. The leader of the group disbanded the party. We went our separate ways."
"Years later, I came across someone from the group. We caught up, and they told me that they heard rumors that the leader cheated on my friend. They told me the leader was having an affair with another member of the group for several months before my friend died."
"I couldn't stand the idea of those two cheaters defiling the romance that meant so much to my friend and the group that once meant so much to me. I carry that resentment with me."
"Half of my grudge sort of ended when I ran into the leader nearly five years later. Not really. Sort of. I beat the shit out of him. The more he resisted, the more wounds I inflicted. I couldn't stand the fact that he tried to resist as if he had the right to escape from his affair without any repercussions."
- "I will beat the leader’s illicite lover if I ever come across them too."
- Cymbidium weighs the pros and the cons.
"All in all, I am glad that the leader created the group. It was a part of my life that ended miserably, but there was some happiness along the way. I only wish that things could have ended in another manner."
"Our parents raised me to believe that when a person died they would enter a natural cycle of reincarnation. I no longer believe in that bullshit; nevertheless, some corner in the back of my mind still wants to regress to my old mindset. Some part of me wants to hope that someday I can see my friend again regardless of what form or shape it entails. I know my hopes are utterly pointless."
"Dreams were thought to be sacred in my culture. That's bullshit too. I have lived long enough to see that nothing mystical exists in our everyday lives. How is it that the world allows the innocent and righteous to be struck down while the cruel and wicked nonchalantly prosper?"
"The horrors that exist in this world only prove to me that there is nothing. How can I live in such a hopeless world and still try to resort to optimism?"
Callie and Reed try to sympathize with the elves. Sometimes good intentions have no effect, though that shouldn't discourage anyone from trying. Making an effort can create comfort for someone in need, and that reason in itself is reason enough to make an effort.
After a failed attempt to comfort and sympathize, there is a period of silence until the vegetable stew finishes cooking.
Verbena adds, "Now we mainly travel with other elves, including my partner. At the very least we can understand one another. Traveling with a group you have some kind of connection with is a bit easier."
- When everyone finishes eating, they clean out their plates by washing them out with snow.
- The party treads down the mountain trail back to the angel’s village.
Salvias demands, "You can consider today’s morning stew a gift, but you girls are going to have to help out with the farming for the food you will be eating while you stay with us. It shouldn't be a problem considering the academy taught you the basics."
- Gira gets out of bed.
- Gira wanders outside to find Callie and Reed farming with a few elves.
- She asks, "Why are you two farming?"
- Reed harvests some cabbages and leaks.
"Good morning, Gira. They don't want to trade crops for mana cores. They want whoever eats their food to help work at their farm."
- Reed introduces the elves to Gira.
- Gira finds that the task of farming is a better alternative than eating foul-tasting monsters.
Gira asks, "What roles do the villagers perform, and what are we expected to do other than farm? I'm sure you have noticed that we are new to the village."
Callie and Salvias are taking a break. They audibly express their fatigue by panting every so often. They are drenched in sweat and covered in dirt.
- Salvias generalizes their routines.
"Most of the diurnal residents living here have already eaten breakfast. You can take some of the crops here and wash them off to make a nice stew."
"The nymphs wake up before the sun rises to maintain a warm bath for the nocturnal residents before they go to sleep. The bathhouse is closed right now, but they start a bath in the afternoon too if you are interested."
"A few Guiding Angels stay awake during the day to serve as lookouts for Fallen Angels. They are common monsters around here. The elves do most of the farming, and we sometimes work as guards for the village and nearby areas during the day. The dragonoid contributes in whatever way she feels like helping and switches up her daily activities. The dragonoid’s frail demon companion sometimes wilts down trees into mulch."
"You girls can contribute to the village however you want. Just do something useful for a few hours every day, and we will consider it a fair effort."
Gira takes a break to wipe clean and eat some of the vegetables they harvest raw. The vegetables are unpleasantly cold. Gira does not want to take the time to wash and cook her food while the others are spending their time farming. She spends the next few hours farming to avoid feeling guilty for the resources she needs to consume during the day.
- Lunchtime approaches by the time the elves are willing to stop farming.
Reed realizes, "Shit, we forgot to feed the wyverns today. Callie, its your turn to be wyvern feed. We will go feed them quickly and come back in time for lunch."
- Callie and Reed leave.
Gira takes it upon herself to prepare lunch for the squadron. She returns to the farm with a pot to gather vegetables in random amounts figuring that the ingredients will probably taste decent enough when mixed into a stew.
- Gira returns to her log cabin, and she enters the bedroom.
- "It's lunchtime, Roman. I made some vegetable stew for the squadron."
- They join the elves for an outdoor lunch.
They are not the only ones outdoors. Some woodland elves, a dragonoid, and Ria are busy cooking. They are doing some preparation work before they can start to cook pots of stew.
As Roman and Gira eat, they see a few Guiding Angels return to the village and land near the lunch area. The Guiding Angels wait around for their lunch.
- The dragonoid feels a bit of pressure from their presence.
- "You all returned awfully early today. What happened?"
- The dragonoid starts to rush through chopping apart the vegetables.
Lisian explains, "There were hardly any monsters roaming around. There is likely a Fallen Angel roaming around and eating them before they have the chance to approach here."
- The dragonoid replies, "I should have started cooking earlier. You all must be hungry."
- Lisian shrugs.
- "I am not that hungry today. I didn’t fight very much. I can wait."
- One of the other angels mindlessly butts in.
- "Well, I fought enough for the two of us combined. I am starving."
- The dragonoid starts cutting apart the vegetables as fast as she can.
- "No worries. The stew isn't going to take long."
The dragonoid knows full well the stew is going to take forever. She is internally screaming and wishes her demon companion wasn’t busy making mulch elsewhere. She starts to regret choosing today of all days to work as a cook.
She babbles, "Surely there was some monster that looked tasty to eat. Was there? Was there? I’m getting tired of eating the same vegetables all the time. I can only eat so many vegetables. I have been craving meat lately. Oh, how I miss beef and pork."
- Lisian shakes their head from left to right three times exactly.
- "I am afraid not. They all look disgusting and inedible."
- The dragonoid starts cooking the first pot of vegetables and stirs fiercely.
- "What a shame, what a shame. That's too bad. Maybe one day we will get lucky."
When the first bowl of stew is ready, the dragonoid slows down her pace. She realizes that there is no reason to worry.
The team of cooks efficiently prepares the meals. They provide enough food for residents of the village as they arrive.
- The appearance of her demon companion reinforces her feeling of tranquility.
- The dragonoid happily pours her companion a bowl of stew and stops cooking to eat with them.
The demon praises the dragonoid's efforts and her cooking regardless of the fact that some of the other chefs can make a better meal.
- At the end of a long day, the Grimoire Girls enter the bathhouse.
- They find the size of the bathhouse smaller than what they are used to.
The heat of the water pierces through skin and comforts layers of the body deeper than bone marrow. The heat loosens tense muscles and provides relief from minor body aches. The steam in the room carries a woody scent that originates from the walls of the log cabin. Pine tree needles are spread around the bathhouse to spread a fragrant scent. Water splashes around in every direction as the villagers wash.
- A few of the nymphs make flirtatious comments, but they respect the personal boundaries of the girls.
Almost every villager has a scar on their body. Some villagers have scars several times worse than others. They all seem to have come from their own difficult walks of life.
A weak mana barrier activates around the Grimoire Girl's grimoires. The barrier protects their bag from the steam, water, and humidity of the room. Considerate stone benches are built for the Grimoire Girls to place down their bags.
- Reed talks with Lisian about the academy.
- Callie takes the initiative and strikes up a conversation with Cymbidium.
The girls return to their log cabin feeling refreshed both physically and spiritually. Warm baths have a reinvigorating and therapeutic effect ideal for relieving stress. They feel more confident, energetic, and flirtatious than normal.
The rest of the week proceeds in an easy and carefree manner. The girls contribute to the village as they see fit.
One afternoon Lisian returns hours earlier than normal from their position as a lookout. The people nearby flock to them. They recognize that a problem has arisen.
Lisian recruits, "I need a party to hunt a Fallen Angel. The angel is heading in the direction of the village and will arrive promptly."
- Cymbidium decides on their behalf, "My siblings and I will handle this."
- Reed volunteers, "I was created to counter Fallen Angels! I will come with you."
- Gira knows full well that Reed will try to drag her along.
Gira tries to dissuade her, "There are already four people going to battle the Fallen Angel. They will be fine. We will just get in their way without Callie and Roman."
Reed begs, "Oh, come on! Don’t be like that. It would be a waste of my talents to turn down a battle like this. Besides, Callie is busy cooking today, and Roman is unlikely to want to get involved anyways. Come help us out, Gira."
- Gira rolls her eyes upward in annoyance.
- "I don't really want to. I am tired from working all week."
- Reed persists, "Well, I am tired of sitting around all day. I want to battle something again."
- Gira remains reluctant.
- Reed offers, "I will give you a kiss if you come with me."
- Gira notices that their discussion has an unwanted audience unwilling.
- She yields, "Fine! I give up! Let's go hunting."
- A party composed of Gira, Reed, Lisian, Cymbidium, Salvias, and Verbena set off.
- The party encounters the Fallen Angel walking in the snow after about forty minutes of walking.
The Fallen Angel only has a single wing. A massive wing that bends abnormally to cover the front of the Fallen Angel. The angel’s head is nearly featherless and looks affected by both rot and frostbite. Only a small patch of the angel’s head seems unaffected that includes one eye surrounded by feathers that run down to the angel’s neck. The angel has legs that are visibly similar to those of a Guiding Angel except that they are warped in shape. The legs have extra claws cutting out of the Fallen Angel’s flesh above the usual pair.
- The Fallen Angel sees the approaching party.
In response to the party, the angel unlodges its wing from a chest cavity revealing the body. The Fallen Angel’s body is much thicker from excess flesh and is much less graceful than that of a Guiding Angel. The Fallen Angel has bulky featherless arms. The angel has hands with claws large in size but few in quantity. The angel has holes of unknown origins lining their arms and spread across their chest.
- The Fallen Angel lazily raises their arms while creating what can roughly be described as spheres of crackling lightning in each hand.
- The Fallen Angel coos and raises its hands in a lackluster effort aiming toward the party.
- Most of the party evades the slow movements of the angel’s hand until the angel gives up.
- The angel fires the lightning bolts at the easiest target: Lisian.
- The lightning bolts harmlessly strike Lisian's lightning-resistant feathers.
The Fallen angel lowers its wing to cover the hide the front of the angel’s body and starts to run towards the party.
Lisian flies a few feet into the air holding a borrowed elven longsword. They gnash their teeth together out of dreadful anticipation.
- "Brace yourselves!"
- Cymbidium raises her staff to cast a spell that creates a bright purple haze around the party.
"I have cast Claude Pepper. It's going to weaken the strength of its magic. Don't believe for a second that the Fallen Angel is going to stop trying! I’ll cast a strong damage-type spell when I see my chance."
- Ominous circle-shaped shadows spiral into a purple-colored center point form around Cymbidium.
- Verbena and Salvias raise their wooden shields and ready their swords.
- They chant, "Perennial Rosa!"
They cast a spell on their honey locust wooden shields that makes miniature roses and vicious thorns around seven to eight inches long sprout.
Lisian and Reed each fire off a lightning bolt at the Fallen Angel that harmlessly strikes the Fallen Angel’s resistant feathers. The attacks have the intention of harassing and suppressing the Fallen Angel rather than dealing damage.
- The Fallen Angel bridges the distance between both sides.
- The angel retracts its wing.
- The angel leaps toward Salvias and fires off two surprise lightning bolts at him.
Cymbidium’s Claude Pepper spell chews away at the lightning and reduces the amount of magic Salvias blocks.
- Lisian pesters the Fallen Angel with a lightning bolt.
- The Fallen Angel prioritizes blocking the spell.
When the danger has passed, The Fallen Angel slashes at Salvias’ shield. The angel’s claw shreds through the thorns and tears through the wood. Thorns shred through the Fallen Angel’s hand in retaliation.
- Verbena approaches the angel from the left side swinging his sword at the arm of the angel.
- Reed approaches from the right side swinging her axe.
- Verbena slashes the angel’s arm.
- The angel reacts by lowering its wing like a defensive shield.
The Fallen Angel chooses the lesser of two evils and charges after Verbena simultaneously creating some distance from Reed’s raised axe.
- Verbena shifts gears and rolls out of the way of the charge at the last possible second to throw off the angel.
- The angel cannot escape its momentum as quickly as Verbena can.
- Verbena starts running back to the group while he has the opportunity.
- Reed steps forward to guard Verbena while he rejoins the formation.
- Lisian is still flying above.
- The Fallen Angel turns around to face the party once more.
- Both sides reset to their starting positions.
- Cymbidium commands, "Lure it closer! It's out of the range of my spell!"
- Lisian circles around the angel while defending from the angel's lightning bolts.
- Lisian chants, "Amber Kiss."
- Lisian retaliates by firing a lightning bolt at the Fallen Angel’s head.
- The Fallen Angel raises its wing to guard again.
Lisian swoops down to slash at the angel’s wing while the angel is distracted. The angel’s wing is too thick for the sword to sever it off.
- Lisian retreats before the Fallen Angel can attack in retaliation.
- The Fallen Angel starts chasing after the party again.
Salvias holds onto his damaged shield. The wood on his shield is in the middle of regenerating, but having something damaged is better than nothing in a moment of desperation.
- Gira calls out, "I'm going to cast Oriental Poppy."
Reed responds, "Not yet. Let us get a second try first. I will activate my petals for easier coordination and leave the final decision up to you though."
Reed creates three petals made of mana that sprout from her back. The left petal is yellow and the center and right petals are red.
- Reed charges toward the Fallen Angel, "Advance, do not let yourself fall into the angel’s rhythm!"
Reed can see that the angel is learning how the party reacts. The impudent angel wants to rush through a burst of speed to finish them when they are vulnerable.
Reed is painfully aware of each passing moment. Her chronophobia—the fear of the passage of time—forces her to hyperfocus.
A scheming flicker of the Fallen Angel’s eye activates Reed’s passive ability. Reed’s body discharges small jolts of her mana contained in electricity that affects her party. The electricity shocks her allies and injects them with Reed’s mana. Her mana shortens her allies' reaction time and makes them move a little faster overall—something like ten percent faster.
- Reed baits the angel by approaching close enough for the angel to strike.
- She fires a lightning bolt at the angel that the angel easily defends.
- Reed smiles.
- Rhythmic.
- The yellow mana petal sprouting from Reed’s back disappears.
- The angel lifts its wing, and Reed simultaneously creates an orb of flames.
- She chants, "Gloriosa Lily!"
The angel prepares to slash at Reed but staggers out of fright when a ball of flames explodes against the angel’s arm.
- The angel did not perceive Reedas a threat because of her harmless lightning attacks.
- A red mana petal from Reed’s back disappears.
- The Fallen Angel fiercely flaps its wing to frighten Reed away while its arm chars from the flames.
- Reed is accustomed to seeing such a reaction from Fallen Angels.
- Reed switches her axe around to the left and right sides of her body in continuous movement.
The angel is bewildered by her odd behavior. The angel lowers its center point of balance. The angel is unsure of how to defend itself, so the angel falls into a trance where it follows Reed’s rhythm while attentively backing away.
- Reed uses the effects of her passive ability to run forward in a burst of speed the angel was unprepared for.
- Reed valiantly roars, "Grahhh!"
The angel clumsily backs away from Reed as fast as it can, but the axe strikes the Fallen Angel’s leg. The axe gets lodged in the angel’s flesh. The angel collapses to its knees shrieking from the pain.
- Reed backs away and fires another fire bolt at the exposed chest of the Fallen Angel that the angel ignores.
- Reed’s third mana petal disappears.
- Cymbidium takes the opportunity to chant, "Hollyhock Alcea Rosea!"
Circle-shaped dark-elemental magic with a purple-colored center point spirals toward the Fallen Angel as fast as a lightning bolt. The spell strikes the Fallen Angel’s wing shredding through the feathers and tearing through the flesh on the Fallen Angel’s chest.
- The angel jabs its leg and rips out bits of flesh to forcibly tear out the lodged axe.
- The angel rises to its feet with a limp and nearly falls again.
The angel forces itself to stand once more while pretending not to pay attention to the party. The angel occupies itself by jabbing at its chest wound and creating an even worse hole.
- Verbena and Salvias take advantage of the opportunity to rush towards the Fallen Angel.
- The angel rolls a sly eye in Salvias’ direction.
- Reed shouts out, "Dodge, you dumbass!"
Reed watches the angel drag its arm against the floor. The attack aims to strike Salvias with an underhanded swing avoiding his shield. With her sharp perception of time, she quickly realizes that she isn't going to be able to save Salvias.
Reed hastily fires off a massive fire bolt at the Fallen Angel to deter the monster. Her arm bursts out into flames and chars as a repercussion of straining her abilities. The Fallen Angel does not halt for a second even amidst the burning inferno.
Into the flames and smoke, Salvias teleports a short distance away from the angel's arm to a point on the side of the angel.
- Verbena teleports to the opposite side a few moments later.
- They both slash at the Fallen Angel's head. Their attacks decapitate the angel.
- Reed clutches her wounded arm. The sight is not pretty.
- She asks, "What was that ability?"
- Gira is irate.
"Why the hell didn't you tell us that you can teleport? We could have killed the Fallen Angel without any struggle!"
- Salvias guesses that he might as well answer now that their secret ability is exposed.
"Reed didn't tell us about her lightning either. We all need to keep some tricks up our sleeves just in case we come across some hostile travelers. That just means that we feel like we can trust you girls enough to show our hand."
Gira lectures, "I don't care! Our spells aren't the kind of shit that can instantly kill monsters! Refusal to communicate burdens the weak more than the strong! If you were fighting with any other race, they would be at risk of death, and if they did die-."
- Gira mockingly raises her tone.
- "You probably would have been like: OOPS! I GUESS THEY WEREN'T A THREAT TO US AFTER ALL!"
- Lisian quietly leaves and flies toward the village. They don't want to be involved with the bickering.
- Salvias doesn't want to deal with Gira either.
- "I don't see what your problem is. Just make Reed a new body."
- The elves walk away in a hurry to escape from Gira’s lecture.
- Reed retrieves her axe.
- She wonders, "What happened to all that talk we had back then? Am I not as important as their old friends?"
- Sometimes, arguments are pointless.
Reed's wounded hand trembles. The backlash of her hastily casted spell is terrible. Grabbing the axe with her damaged arm out of habit is a painful mistake for her flesh and nerves as the burned flesh of her hands has to squeeze against the steel handle to grasp the weapon.
- Reed glances at Gira. One look at Gira’s irritated expression is all Reed needs.
- Reed places the axe against her shoulder and holds the axe by clumsily using her undamaged arm.
Reed babbles, "My bad. Honestly, my fault. I am okay. Doesn't hurt that much. I will think twice about wanting to help out the next time I see these particular elves fighting against something. I don't want to bother you more than I have by volunteering us into all this unnecessary trouble."