Oh god. Not long ago my heart was beating full speed while imagining the scenery hiding behind the fog. Let's just say what happened thereafter almost made it explode!

Of course, I'm fine, physically that is. Mentally I'm still totally shocked. Let's just say the white mist wasn't enough to hide the youthful figure that stood, then knelt in front of me.

On her skin, I could see pearls of condensed water slowly trickling, giving her an enchanting glow. It kept sliding down toward her twin peaks where it dripped back in the pond sending ripples through it.

Then the old grandma started guiding her, very thoughtfully. In another world that grandma would have clearly been a popular pornstar, yes even at her advanced age! That's how godlike her teachings were!

A "massage" is all that happened but… let's just say I still can't focus on sleeping right now. At first, I was a bit reluctant, but then they told me something shocking and "attacked" while I was lost in thoughts. After that, it just felt so comfortable that I didn't want it to end.

Somehow it seems like the warring has been going on for more than 2 years already. It means I've spent that much time in that other cockroach realm! Ah, or was it the void? That explains why it felt so long!

I'm kinda worried about a few points. Are my few friends still well? According to my host, there are skirmishes everywhere all the time, a sect or another gets taken out every other day, but the bigger players are still biding their time.

Another point, how long is the lifespan of a Wolf? I'm pretty sure it's relatively long but I'm no expert. I just hope Wolfie is still fine. Who knows maybe she'll be way bigger? I still remember that rank 4 giant wolf king, the black one with lightning. Now that I think about it, I never saw it fight, kind of a waste really.

This also means she's probably been eating carrot soup for 2 years haha. How overjoyed will she be when I finally come back? I'll cook some barbecue and she'll disdainfully topple over a bowl of soup symbolically or something haha.

So right now I'm not exactly sure how to proceed. I keep thinking about the very recent past that felt so damn good and my goals for the future. I'll take it slow as I usually do, I'll rely on my disciple too.

We kinda started on the wrong foot, but all she wants is someone to help her train. While I can't do anything directly, I'm sure I can give a few half-decent ideas if I really think about it. They say having a fresh perspective on things can be helpful.

Well, she's trying hard (real hard) to make sure I forgive her for attacking us in the first place. I always thought it was bullshit of protagonists to suddenly forgive a female enemy and all.

After what happened in the bath, I kinda changed my mind a bit. Ah, but not completely. Had she caused actual damage I would be the first one to nail her alive on a wall or something.

These guys have water mages. I wonder if they have other branches elsewhere. What if they can use water elementals for information gathering? If I want this to be efficient, I need to convince the people in power here to use all their resources for my purpose.

There are 5 Head-mages and one is already an ally. Now I wonder, is there political tension here? Did befriending one instantly sour my relations with the others? I hope not.

Now, I should probably offer tangible benefits if I want them to help me. What if I showed my worth as a warrior? I may not be that strong overall, but I can take a beating for sure. Such a thing should be very valuable for mages, vanguard and all.

I could also offer to cook for them, but my specialty is poisoned pies…not the best for either consumption or offense.

As for poison itself, I doubt they would be happy to buy aphrodisiac either. It is hard to use against most enemies. The only reason it succeeded back in Eaglevein is that I used a LOT of it, that sect was also unguarded while meditating and it was kind of their counter.

Anyone experienced would simply rub one out real quick and it would fix the issue. It just so happened that doing so meant losing all of their power for my victims.

I also have my illusion magic. I could use it into enemy lines to cause confusion, but I'm not sure I want to use that as a bargaining chip. From what I've been told by Gran, rest her soul, it looks very abominable.

What if they ask for a demonstration and start hating me from the weird aggro effect after seeing it? I could totally see that happen!

What else can I do? Ah! I have a scouting ability! I could tell them about that. The only concern is would they become guarded against me for that too? No one enjoys another having the power to peep on them secretly.

Well, it's annoying to use, migraine-inducing and takes lots of effort. Right now I could use such an ability to spy on my disciple. She should be easy to find as she just left after showing me my room, but I feel like it would be wrong haha.

I guess I'll just stick with the first option. It is simple, reliable, and will make me look powerful too. Plus, I've already kinda proven this ability of mine both on the mountain and by putting my hand in the barrier.

Yep, this sounds like a good plan. Now, I'm just wondering how my naked companion is doing in his quest. Was he already turned away by everyone? Is he now sleeping somewhere in a ditch?

Meanwhile, I'm here in this luxurious room. The bed is soft, the room looks regal with walls sculpted carefully to depict a wondrous river mosaic, there is even a tiny stream with bonsai-looking plants lazily running through the room giving it a magical forest vibe.

For once it's nice to be valued. I'm not that one guy that is disdained as too lowly to be a champion, or that one guy that isn't accepted as a hunter, or that one guy that has no talent in taming, or….

I comfortably nestle myself in my soft duvet and slowly drift into sleep while being glad of how lucky I am. I feel in security, I feel loved, I feel awesome, I… *Yawn* Zzzz