The cards were sprawled on the ground, surrounding her like a cold field of flowers. The carpet softly caressed her skin. The gentle wind from the crystals blew the black and lone strands of hair on her head, making them dance peacefully over her eyes. It was a comfortable sensation, even when everything surrounding her was a mess. The wine glasses on the floor and the bottles on her belly weren't a problem, the comfort she felt came from waking up with no worries in her mind.

As her eyes slowly started to open, the sensations on her body begun to feel more and more real. She let a soft and sharp sigh escape through her nostrils and her right hand touched her forehead, pulling away the strands of black hair that tied up in her eyelashes.

Her head slowly turned to the right to see a simple bed, and figured she had been sleeping on the floor up until now. On the mattress, another short-haired girl laid with a wasted expression, her arm dangling from the edge as she dragged the sheets with her hand.

She should have told me she doesn't drink.

Suu thought with a mischievous smile while looking at Erina's exhausted face.

She grabbed one of the cards from her side and flipped it around. A jack of clovers, she whispered as she threw it to a side and it flew away towards the bed.

The card flew back to her, rotating like a star as it hit her forehead.

"..." She stayed quiet and thinking. "A jack... A servant to the king."

She searched for another card by her side, rustling the carpet with her hands until she found and grabbed the card of the king. Then, close by, she found the queen. She put the three cards together and sighed.

"If Thom's the king, I'm the jack." She said, forcing her whole body upward to end in a sitting position. "Then... I guess he'll find a queen soon." She made a warm smile with her lips as she thought about those words.

She grabbed one of the glasses from the ground and poured a little more wine in it. With a slight headache still bothering her, Suu forcibly stood up and rested her hands on the desk, drinking the wine like orange juice.

Several thoughts entered her head in an instant as she remembered her talks with Thom. How had things suddenly turned so upside-down? The young man who had spent all his life searching for a dream had suddenly obtained one, and it was bigger than any of what Suu had ever thought he would manage to wish for.

Being a king was not something farmers had the right to wish for. Suu knew that, and that man knew it too. For a good while, she was heavily disheartened about the fact that a single girl had managed to make Thom lose his sense of reason.

But after seeing him being so enthusiastic about it, she couldn't walk away from her promise of helping him achieve such a title. Even if it was not possible, even if it could not go well by any means, she still wanted to help him push for that stupid dream of his.

This was, maybe, because she had not found a dream for her own. She was trying to catch the rope that Thom had started to climb, but she was okay with this. At least, for the moment. If she jumped and caught her own dream later, then that would be enough.

She leaned over the table, letting go of a heavy sigh, and muttered.

"If someday I'll get to walk by myself... I'm fine with being the jack for now." She smiled.

「The will of the sixth has been handed successfully. Through the gift of the sixth, the repertoire of The Forest has now been inherited by the user.

The divine skill [Skill Master] has been acquired. The learning process of all skills contained inside the Forest's Repertoire has been upgraded by 10,000%.

As an additional gift, the sixth has also handed the user the subordinate skill [Bookreading Guide]. Your skills and spells will be assigned a name and analyzed by the Guide. The Guide will also inform you of any significant update concerning your person while it regards the fifth Heart's will.

The analysis of your current skils has been completed and listed below.

• The Fortress (Unique, grade F)

• Copper Skin II (Grade F)

• Ferro Osea II (Grade F)

• Poison Resistance (Grade G+)

• Innate Mage (Bloodline, Grade B)

• Swordsman Apprentice III (Grade G)

• Farmer (Grade G)

Presence of a magic system detected. Analyzing magical components in the user.」

Suu stayed quiet as the voice played in her head, looking at the wall without making a single sound. She had only closed her eyes, waiting for the words to stop flowing into her head. The air escaped her lungs with her harsh breathing, her short nails tapping on the table, her foot moving up and down. The voice didn't stop.

She moved her body and looked at Erina's sleeping figure.

「Majirical System origin: double majirical organ.

Majirical System length: 43,543 kilometers.

Majirical essence contained: 10 kilograms.

The user's system belongs to a mediral. Closing range of search. The user's magic system belongs to an olimorf. Closing range of search. The system of the user belongs to a humme. Closing range.

Final evaluation completed. Out of eight million four thousand three hundred and fifty-eight species in the Forest's Repertoire, the user's magic system has been identified to belong to a High Human.

Skill Master has successfully activated the dormant bloodline [Innate Mage]. Initiating decompressing.

Learning successful. The job-class skill [Magic Caster] has been acquired.」

"Will you shut up any time soon?" Suu asked with a face that indicated not only her headache, but her irritation steaming from the unstoppable voice that buried into her head.

「Learning successful. The passive skill [Detect Magic Energy] has been acquired.

Learning successful. The active skill [Search Magic Energy] has been acquired.

Learning successful. The active skill [Hide Magic Energy] has been acquired.

The user can learn 16 spells out of the seven hundred thousand four hundred and twenty-two available spells in the Forest's Repertoire. Learning process activated. Do you wish to be informed of all the successful attempts?」

"I'm good, don't do that. I think I've heard enough rambling that I don't get." Suu waved her hand with a very low whisper. "I'll check them later."

「Order comprehended.」

"I swear to the gods... Is this what Thom has to go through each time he does anything remotely capable of creating a skill?" She held her head in pain. "Now I know why he never gets drunk with me anymore..."

She felt the cold cardboard below her bare feet and moved the jack below her toes with a relaxed smile.

A jack, is it...? Well, if being a jack gives me this many benefits, I can't say I'm complaining. But Thom... With this sort of power...

"Being a king just falls short, doesn't it...?"

Her excitement clearly showed through her smile, perhaps a bit too much. She had raised her voice for a second, making Erina's ears twitch. The girl on the bed accommodated her body with a groan, pulled the sheets back, and rolled herself to look like a fruit sweet.

"How cute." Suu couldn't help but let go of a smirk. "Is missis Erina doing okay?"

"Hnghh..." The girl grumbled lowly. "I thought drinking only gave you hangovers if you were old..."

"Where did you get that from?" Suu grabbed the glasses of wine and started to put them together. "With a weak constitution like yours, you'd get a hangover from a beer."

"I'm dying..." She muttered. "This is worse than getting trampled by a Morolvar..."

"What the hell is that?" Suu placed the bottles beside the glasses and started picking up the cards. "Are you hallucinating? Do you need anything, dear?" Suu smiled as she spoke in a teasing manner.

"... A glass of milk."

"That'll make you puke." Suu giggled. "I'll bring you some fried eggs, toast, and mango juice from the cafeteria! Does that sound okay to you?"

"I hate mango juice..." Erina elongated the end of her sentence with a very spoiled-girl tone, but Suu thought it was cute enough not to nag her about it. She placed the ordered cards on the table, put on her boots, and walked towards the door.

"Be right back."

She closed the door with a soft clacker, and turned around to find Thom was also getting out of his own room. She stayed still as the young man locked his door and pocketed his keys, and then turned to walk towards her.

"Coincidence?" Suu asked with a smile.

"I was waiting for you." Thom said, combing back his hair. "Sorry if your wake-up rooster was a bit annoying. I need to discuss some things with you and I thought it would be quicker if you just received the notice from Skill Master itself. I may have, perhaps, found something we can do to make some advancements in this little plan of ours. And, well, I've got something else to discuss, too."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Eloquent as always, ain't ya?" She placed her hands on her hips. "I'm heading for the cafeteria right now. Wanna go? I don't think Erina's gonna wake up in a while so she can wait for her eggs a little longer."

They walked towards the cafeteria with a slight chatter, mainly discussing how badly Erina took alcohol and how bad she was at playing cards. They arrived at the main door of the dining hall, which was still packed full with people going in and out. There were, however, still empty seats.

They ordered their food, not without giving the cook a generous tip to accelerate the process, and sought one of the tables to sit down.

The trays made a loud noise as they touched the wood. Their butts fell on the benches, and Suu was the first one to stuff a whole bread inside her mouth without any sort of decency.

"..."

Thom's eyes scanned the place for a second, but could not find the person he was looking for. Suu noticed the man's pensive state as she pushed the bread in her mouth to a side with her tongue and asked:

"Looking for the cap?"

"Yeah... Valta didn't sleep in her room last night and wasn't in it the whole day either." He sighed. "It's not like I'm jealous or anything... But I'm slightly worried. Officials don't tend to go out on missions unless it's something really important, after all."

"Oho. So you're actually flirting with the cap." Suu giggled with mischievous eyes while covering her mouth.

"I wouldn't call it that, but she's... Forget about that, it's not what I wanted to talk about." Thom shook his head. "I will set off for Saltbide today. Miel had told me to take a squadron with me, but I think I'm gonna make use of some good old insubordination here."

"Oh?" Suu raised her eyebrow as if Thom had gotten her interested.

"Suu, I want you to be the only one to accompany me to the mission. I know Miel wants me to take a squadron with me because there's a probability of things going south. You know, since he has been very insistent on taking out the baron during the night. But, you see..."

Thom leaned forward, and Suu did the same.

"I killed Piston because I earned his trust first and I attacked him at a manor. I can't kill a baron in a fucking castle! The little experience in battle I have comes from Skill Master, I'm terrible at planning, and I don't think his guards are just twenty conscripts either! If there's even one knight at the level of Piston in that castle, we're fucked!" He whispered with a very angry tone.

"I see. That's a no-no then. Wouldn't it be enough if you tried to earn the baron's trust again and stealthily end it? Even if it takes you more time like that."

"Thing is, if I do that and I take a lot of people with me, I don't trust a whole squad to cooperate that easily." He put a spoonful of food inside his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "I need someone I can deeply trust, who can act well and has a fast brain. If you're with me, I've got this. I spent the whole night thinking about the plan."

"Hey, hey, hold it." She sneered. "When did we go from farmers to soldiers to professional assassins? Why didn't Miel hire an assassin specifically for this job? I thought from the very beginning that it was incredibly odd how you were appointed for this case instead of someone from Petyo's division."

"Hm... You're right." Thom clicked his tongue. "I thought about it too. The only reason I could come up with was that he wanted me far away from the city for a while. A trip to Saltbide from here takes about fifteen days, and another fifteen to return. If everything goes well, that is."

"Thom... I'm gonna be honest, and just so you know, I don't really like Miel. This whole situation is too weird for us even if we're just rolling with it. We might end up getting tangled into something we don't like." Her eyebrows furrowed with worry as she said that.

"I know that much." Thom blurred the end of his sentence and played with his food. "Suu, I'm gonna tell you something, but don't go around telling it."

"Of course." She smiled.

"The conditions in which I was employed were... Weird, to say the least. The reason why I accepted joining the army was go be freed from charges on Piston's murder. But now that all of that has passed and I have information that could cause problems even to the crown, I think I'll leave soon."

"Is that it?" Suu sighed. "I support your decision. There's nothing much to do about your dream if you just stay here, after all. But... Are you sure? What about Valta?"

"I mean..." Thom seemed troubled as he scratched the back of his neck. "It's not like we've got anything official going on. And don't worry about Erina and you, I wouldn't drag you out of this place if you don't want me to."

"I'm not going out with her, dork." She slapped Thom's wrist with a smile. "That girl is extremely dense."

"Be it however it is, I'm in a troubling position. The best I can do is finish this last mission and then put in a renounce notice. I'll make sure to tell Valta first."

Suu sighed and took a sip from her drink. Then, placing down the glass in total silence, she stared at Thom and his full cheeks.

"..."

She opened her lips as if trying to let go of some words, and Thom immediately raised his eyes.

"Hm?"

"I was thinking... Miel knows how you killed Piston. He may be planning for you to do the same with this baron. He's planning you to go against his orders, isn't he? It wouldn't make sense otherwise."

"For what exactly? Sends me on a suicidal mission which I can only complete if I stay away for a month and disobey direct orders from the general, to get what from it?"

"Is he planning to make up a reason to kick you out?" She smiled as if a candle had lit above her head. "That would solve you quite a bit of trouble."

"Yeah... That might be it. I don't think he liked the conditions in which I was employed, either. If I'm honest, I would demit the moment he told me he doesn't want me in here, but I don't think its gonna be that easy. Then, corporal, I would love it if you went with me to this dangerous mission. And, if life wants it that way, to get fired along with me."

Thom jokingly raised his glass as a toast, but Suu was quick on the uptake and raised hers too. They clinked their glasses and chuckled, before Suu spoke up forming a curve in her lips.

"Long live the king. I'll follow his wish."

When noon had come, Thom and Suu were ready to part.

The one to send them off was only Erina. She had accompanied them and gave Suu a pretty long hug before they parted ways, half crying out something about being left alone without anyone to talk to in the quarters. Thom was glad they had an opportunity to bid farewell before they went away for so long.

To reach the fief of Saltbide, the amount of land they had to cross was not laughable. The carriages would have to descend three hundred kilometers along the river and then cross the stretch, walk into the fief, and then arrive at the city. It was a long trip, and they would have to take several rests in the way, too. Thom had never done such a long trip before in his life.

At least we just have to go down the river... I would get severely lost if we had to use a map. Even more in a country where the only place I know is this city.

He looked at the high walls from afar, as he stood at the gates of the stables. The men were already preparing the horses for them, but it would take enough time for Thom to get rid of something he had been holding onto.

He got close to Erina, who was chatting with Suu, and waved his hand.

"Hey. It's gonna be long till we talk again."

"I really hope everything goes well..." The young Clawgold sighed. "I won't forgive you if anything happens to Suu!"

"Well, that's... actually scary, haha." Thom remembered the scars across his abdomen and unconsciously touched them. "But I wanted to hand something to you."

"Hm?" She blinked. "What is it?"

Thom reached into his bag and pulled from inside a bundle of papers. After handing them to Erina, he took a step back and held the bag's arm with his thumb.

"This is the report I made about the suspect for the assassination attempt. I wasn't able to find any similar auras in the city and asking around was of no help. Could you please hand that over to Valta when you see her? She'll report to Miel afterward, so I trust you with that."

"Sure, leave it to me." Erina nodded with a warm smile.

Haa... I really wish I could have given it to Valta myself. Saying goodbye could have been nice.

They chatted for a while longer until the horses and the carriage were ready, and then bid farewell to Erina. As she was walking away, they opened the doors of the carriage, and were about to board.

However, as soon as Thom placed his foot on the stair to the door, his silent prayers seemed to be answered by the gods.

He felt a strand of pointy, yellowish flames poking his gut for a second, and immediately turned around. Valta had come to a stop from jogging in front of the carriage, and was calming her breath when they met their gazes.

"Valta." Thom nodded with a smile. "I'm sorry I did not make a report directly to you before leaving, I didn't find you in your quarters. I know you are the captain, so, again, please excuse me. I will be leaving for a month or so but I'll make my report directly to you when I return."

Although Thom's language was respectful, the impish smile on his face was only an indicator to Valta of how little seriousness he took the business with. She got closer to him with slow steps, her face expressionless and her hands behind her back.

"It's fine." She said. "I hope you accomplish the mission swiftly."

"Heh." Thom smirked and jumped down the stair, landing in front of Valta. "Is that a hint of a joke I hear?"

Valta simply denied it with a shake of her head, making Thom giggle slightly.

"I was worried. Were you busy?"

"... Hunting goblins." She answered.

"I see. Those things. They're dangerous."

"Yes. They were making trouble."

"Will you make a report when you get back?"

"Yes."

Suu was observing them from afar with a stranged look, completely at a loss for words to how awkward their conversation sounded. The man preparing the carriages had the same pained face as he tried not to listen, and simply groomed the horses.

"I'll be leaving for a good while." Thom said with blurred out words, holding back a slight sense of regret in his voice.

"Yes... I know."

"Say, when I get back—" he looked at the carriage and then back at Valta. "Would you like to go out hunting again? Or for a coffee, whichever you like best."

"Yes." Valta nodded and placed her hands in front of her. "That would be good.

"Then... I'm already going." He said.

"I know." She nodded. "I hope you have a safe trip."

"Yeah..."

Valta turned around to leave, leaving Thom with a pretty sour flavor in his mouth. The smell of sweet coffee had been taken away from him as soon as her figure had turned around and shrunk slightly in the distance, which made him quite troubled.

He put a foot again on the stair, and saw Suu's face mockingly smiling at him.

"... What?"

"What a sad goodbye." She whispered, tilting her body to a side as if falling on the couch.

"Were you expecting something? Already told you, she and I are not in that kind of relationship."

"Whatever you say, lieutenant, sir." Suu placed her hand on her forehead. "But... I know you can do better."

"Oh, please." He slowly shook his head and smiled. "It's not like I could... It's not like..."

Thom felt a sudden wrenching pain in his gut and he gripped the door of the carriage with extreme anxiety. He felt his impulse overtaking him, and then, with gritted teeth, he looked away. His eyes focused on the captain's shape, still walking the road towards the north gates of Pontya. He had met that woman for so little, and yet, it felt like going away would mean he would never see her again, and that pained him greatly.

He jumped down the carriage again with Suu cheering behind his back, and activated his dash skill. He arrived at Valta's side in the brink of an eye. She had already turned around to look at his quickly-approximating image, having heard the frantic kicking of dirt from a quarter-mile away.

Thom halted in front of her, and then took in a deep breath.

"I know I might get in trouble for this, but I know how a soldier's life goes and I am not completely sure I'll come back. This is extremely too-soon and you might wanna slap me for it, but if I don't do this I'll die! Now, could you please close your eyes for a second?"

"What are you—"

Smooch!

Thom pulled Valta's face closer to his.

She opened her narrowed eyes wide into fine pearls, feeling her cheeks and ears go completely red. This sensation she hadn't felt in so long brought her quite a nostalgic air, and before she could notice, she was already holding onto Thom's shirt the same way he was holding on to her cheeks.

When he took his face away from her, a malevolent grin was printed on the man's face, a satisfied expression that told her it hadn't been just a stupid joke.

"See you in a month, cap."

He said, letting go of her face. Valta unconsciously loosened the grip on his shirt as well, and the black-haired man bolted away towards the carriage.

Had it been that same recklessness she saw at Piston's manor what had originally attracted her to him? She couldn't help but feel her tastes were particularly strange for a noble, but that quick thought vanished in no time.

"Bye-bye, cap!"

She saw Suu's hands waving at her from the carriage's windows, and Thom slapped the horses with the reigns. The carriage trailed away, and Valta, confused and perplexed, touched her lips.

A smile had formed on them, and noticing it had made her quite happy.