Unsurprisingly, Ritz asked to call for a halt shortly before sundown. As using just to get a bit more distance didn't make for an appealing decision, I agreed. After all, the four had already exceeded my expectations.

The high grasses of the shrubland were suffering an incursion of bushes. About five feet in height, an individual bush would be almost perfectly spherical, but they grew close together making it look almost like a rendering program accidentally overlapped their shapes. Along with a distinctive green-gray leaf, dark in hue, but waxy enough that it almost had a silvery sheen, I could easily identify it.

“A Yotta bush? While it's apparent they can thrive in the wild out here, aren't they typically found in more mountainous regions?” Seeing Corsair removing the almost woody leaves from an area, he was at least aware of what they were.

Frisbee throwing a few off into the distance, he shrugged.

“We’re getting close to the river. Medean sits pretty close, so a lot of traders pass nearby. Seeds from all over probably get carried away by the current and sailors. All sorts of weird plants will show up for a season or a few years. These grasses keep them away for the most part though.” Taking a some deep breaths, he set back to work.

While more of an agility type than Ritz and Lukas, Corsair still wasn't lacking in muscle. Even so, in stubbornly wanting to set up their tents, they needed to cut down a space. Here the grass grew three feet high, and two of the primary species were cylindrical and rigid. Trying to push it over just snapped it, leaving an uncomfortable lump.

They'd rather take out their machetes and hack away at the brush than sleep on the dirt road, or try making a more novel shelter. Ritz said it was to show how they would set up camp to Tagalong Girl. She silenced her sighs, but they were frequent enough that it seemed like she was breathing harder than the beast hunters.

What an absolute trial, simply watching them back away at the brush...be thankful you sleep in the back of the wagon little girl.

“Right, I might as well help so Lucy can get on with her regular lessons.” Turning around, I reached down into the cart, and grabbed a sword from . Spinning it about in my wrist to get a feel for its weight, I spared a glance towards Lukas to match his strength.

And whishhhk-k-k…

Cleanly slicing several inches, before leaving another of jagged tops, perhaps I'd not lowered my strength far enough. Even at the height I struck the plants were fairly dense, and my work looked like someone sawed partway through a log before breaking it off. It was much to clean for a manual strike to freestanding grass.

Using my foot to push it over near the roots, I cut near the base, gathered the stalks, then tossed them aside.

Either no one noticed the excessive display, or weren't confident in what they saw, so I continued to help scalp the small patch of land. The labor was a bit droll, but my stamina didn't even consider inching down. With some invisible support from , the bases of stiff grasses were crushed back down. Layers deep roots gave an uncomfortably spongy feel to the ground, and tamping it gave it at least some semblance of rigidity.

However level ground sufficed to set up the tents. They had two tents, which were fairly simple set-ups. One was rectangular with higher poles in the middle, more comfortable for sleeping in; while the other was pitched like a low circus tent, to cover more ground and meant to store more luggage.

Tagalong Girl disembarked the wagon to learn the proper way to pitch tents, with proper knots and stake angles and whatnot. Proactive in her choosing, she stepped up to Lukas’ side to observe. Well, if she wasn't particularly thrilled with her lesson, it was good she could at least mitigate how irritating it would be.

While she learned some trivial, yet ultimately useful stuff, I hopped over to Ria.

“*Heyo, heyo, wake up! We can't eat if you're sleeping!*” I didn't shout the line properly, but I also didn't have a partner to say it with, so fidelity was a no-go out of the gate. Besides, spooking Ria awake in front of company was not nice.

Okay, or any other time, but it was especially detrimental with Ritz and Co. around.

“Hey lass, open those eyes to the sight of your handsome Kazuma. I've got a right tasty bowl of stew to tide you over ‘till dinner.” Rummaging through my ‘packs’, I brought out what was needed for a suitably hearty cold meal that could be explained away without having access to a fire. “We’ll be traveling with some adventurers for a few days, so mealtimes will probably get switched up for a little while.”

“Hannnnd it over.” After several weeks of feeding her mana, Ria seemed to have stabilized. Constantly short of breath, slurring only about a syllable out of four and being generally more level-headed was a relieving improvement.

Grabbing the bowl out of my hands, a small amount slopped over the side. Using mechanical movements that overshot, or were corrected after realizing her arm wasn't quite in the right place, despite a lack of finesse and strength, it was a lot more reliable than it used to be. I couldn't tell if the results were due to the natural progression of the condition, or because of a physical therapy angle. Probably both, so when Ria was active, I tried getting her to move about a bit more than she otherwise would.

“Don’t just slump back, try sitting properly for once.”

“I'd like sommmme food to get to my faaaace.” Refusal. Not being insulted every time she regained consciousness was pleasant, but she still acted a bit ornery. “Can't do thaaaat if I'm woooobbling upright.”

“Then at least don't fall back asleep as soon as you're done. Eventually you can get out of this cart, and that day’ll come faster if you make an effort.” Probably; at the very least exercise didn't seem to inhibit her ability to take in mana, or use up some store. Well, there was some reservoir of vitality, but the size of that reservoir didn't shrink with activity.

In any case, Ria didn't seem enthralled by the idea.

“So what? Just goinnnng to ride along anyway. Let meeee eat and go away.”

“Think more positively; after you've gotten better, you'll want to move about on your own, won't you?” Steadily consuming the stew, Ria stopped responding. “Just keep that in mind. When we finally figure something out, you'll be the one regretting you didn't put in any effort.”

I couldn't just force her to exercise, and it wasn't like a cure was over the next hill. For the short term I just accepted the progress that came with time.

Fiddling with my grave shadows, luckily it wasn’t all that long before Lukas finished setting up the tent. While there was plenty to be learned from our traveling companions, very little of it would be practical for Tagalong Girl.

While her back turned away, I sent her spear flying. Lukas tensed up, and drew in a breath to shout something, but that was enough for her to dodge to the side and reach out to grab the projectile. She only managed to knock it off course, but that was still impressive.

“What was that?” Ritz called out. Only catching the event in the corner of their eyes, he, Corsair, and Leitha made their way over with weapons drawn. Lukas on the other hand glued his eyes to Tagalong Girl.

With the knowledge that it was just me, her choice to grab the spear and move evasively was understandable. Still, good habits should be encouraged with practical lessons. A few balls of tightly knotted grasses flew by her. Attempting to move out of the way, Tagalong Girl ended up crashing into the thicket.

“Evaluate your surroundings as you react. You’re much more nimble than before, but lying on the ground puts you at a mighty disadvantage.” A sphere of vegetation impacted, before I knelt down to put together some more solid projectiles.

Tagalong Girl properly grasped her weapon before standing up. Throwing more grass towards her, she used the spear to bat it away despite still getting on her feet.

“Well, this...it may not be my—” For the first time since we met him, Ritz seemed to be at a loss for words. As it he did not have a strong presence and wavered in his objection, we ignored him, freely cutting him off.

“Alrighty then, good work! It looks like ‘Intro to Projectiles’ is almost complete. Your final exam will start with 15 minutes. Every time you’re hit, I’ll add more time to the *clock*. Of course I won’t throw everything I’ve got, but you are allowed any means to try and pass.” Her win condition remained the same practical task in all of her combat training; to survive.

Even as I dictated my expectations for the end of her first step of training, Tagalong Girl already had the presence of mind to begin backing up and examining the land more carefully. She’d grown a lot since leaving Salt Village, becoming at least as capable as some of those Poran fellows, at least in terms of technique. Though I did deserve a pat on the back for my excellent tutoring, it was her definitely unchildlike drive that supported her growth.

She was like this when I found her. Don’t treat me oddly because of this Corsair.

Unfortunately from the looks on the adventurer’s faces, the training went beyond their expectations. Well, I wasn’t about to sacrifice the efficacy of Tagalong Girl’s instruction, so they would have to deal with some evasive answers in the future. At the moment, I pitched two clods towards my student.

The more accurate of the two was knocked down, while she leaned slightly to avoid the other. Feet moving slightly to maintain her center of balance, she otherwise remained still. Streaks of green flew towards her at an increasing rate; each one was countered, but the hair by which they were dodged was completely accidental in some of the cases.

Bend like a reed in the wind, little one.

I sagely thought the line to myself, even as I readied my arm for a fastball. Tagalong Girl’s dodging, in particular the gracefully small moves and economy of motion demonstrated were superb. It would be better for her not to escape the trial unscathed though. It was only the one area with great promise; even if I didn’t want to be discouraging practically speaking all she could do was deflect attacks.

Slightly leading one of my shots, a mushy projectile exploded on her left arm. The energy from the impact dispersed the lightly pulped grass, but enough momentum transferred to send Tagalong Girl stumbling across the ground. Struggling to scamper away from a weak follow up, she began pushing her way into a sparser part of the thicket.

“What is going on?” Ritz interposed himself, with a sharp tone. Beyond him, Tagalong Girl’s movement through the grass slowed for a second, but I waved her along. Being distracted fit within ‘any means’ although she didn’t exactly instigate it. I would land a few additional hits later to make up for lost time in that case.

Though Ritz stood before me, Tagalong Girl’s disappearance into the foliage remained unobstructed. While not short for normal folk, I was still at least a head taller than him, which also didn’t do much for what I assumed was meant to be an intimidating stance. Hoping it wasn’t, I wanted to quickly mollify the adventurers and get back to business.

“As much fun as simply relaxing together is, Lucy can’t forgo training altogether. While not the greatest spearman in the world, I am quite confident in my ability to teach what I know to her. And a part of that is vigorous training.”

“Patriarch knows, she’s only, what? Nine? What justification could you have for teaching a child to fight?” Head shaking as he spoke, his hair appeared amusingly animated, writhing about.

“Is there any reason not to?” While slightly unusual, training Tagalong Girl didn’t seem like something that deviated from the setting too much. “We walk a dangerous road, and it is best she learns early. Besides, there’s little else in the way of productive habits as we travel.” Shrugging, I tried watching the fields from the corner of my eye. Using magic to find her would be unsportsmanlike.

Corsair’s hand clapped down on Ritz’s shoulder to calm him, but his narrowed eyes focused on me.

“Understandable, but your methods feel excessive. Children should be able to choose their own path in life— even if it is useful in the future, let Lucy have this time. An education is fine, but wait until she’s at least grown before teaching her to fight.”

“You seem to be under the misapprehension that I’m forcing her into training.” I may have encouraged it, but Tagalong Girl definitely sought to improve of her own accord. “We’re traveling to find a cure for Rea; there’s no telling how long that will take, but the both of us will go to the ends of the earth if need be. Lucy is young, but she understands we aren’t on a mere day trip. Please do not ask of me to disservice her by withholding any lesson that can help aid her sister.”

“I…I see. If that is what she wants…” Ritz bowed his head away from my stare after a moment, eyes wandering until they met with Corsair’s, who had stepped up to his side. From there a silent argument ensued; generally in agreement, but disapproving of each other’s desired compromise.

Unlike his previous tempered reactions, Corsair’s tense face showed stern disapproval. Ritz backed off too much— if that’s the case, then he shouldn’t have hinted on how I could placate him. Displaying a penchant for extremes, though Ritz hesitantly accepted my explanation, he shook his head, probably denying any interference at all.

Despite being able to converse without words, they failed to come to a resolution together. Hissing slightly through clenched teeth, Corsair decided to continue holding things up.

“Even if she does, this is too extreme. Perhaps a spar now and again, but making her into being the target of a manhunt? Even if there is no inherent danger she’ll still feel pressure from it, even more so seeing how seriously she takes it. It may help, but you underestimate the mental weight this training causes.”

“Ah, so I suppose you can assess what Lucy can handle better than I?” Scoffing, a soft rebuttal wouldn’t work quickly against him. “Just what kind of training can she handle then?”

“Look, I understand she can’t live an idyllic lifestyle, but as her elder you need to think about the consequences she doesn’t understand. A path of—”

“Corsair, it’s unacceptable to try and force a middle ground into this situation. If it is her will, then we have no place to intercede. At most we can offer her our own tutoring while we are with them.”

“You!” Corsair’s face reddened. “Just a moment ago you were asking what possible justification there could be!”

“And the answer he gave leads me to accept the situation. It’s not one that inspires me, but for the same reason I will not interfere.”

As short as their responses to one another were, the gravitas that weighed down their heavy speech and laden pauses felt excessive to me. A philosophical conflict of friends is fantastic drama—one any observer would be loathe to pass up, but it just wasn’t the time.

“Thank you for recognizing the importance of the matter Ritz. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

“Listen—”

While internally groaning at Corsair’s attempted interruption, he was surprisingly interrupted by Leitha in turn. Although glancing in my direction, she avoided direct eye contact. Though saying it was nervousness or the like doesn’t do justice to her personality. It may have just been being able to read the mood, but the way Leitha’s eyes slid around my personal space made my skin sense a slithering sensation.

Turned slightly away so her lips couldn’t be read, the way Corsair turned to me afterwards made me feel wrongfully maligned. Even so, however the words were phrased, he didn’t seem willing to contend with me at the moment.

Letting out an exasperated sigh of relief, I gave a nod of thanks to Ritz. Comprehending the situation, accepting it despite his dislike; I felt gratitude— even if his interpretation was slightly misled, that was no fault of his own.

Taking some advantage of the high tension in the air I momentarily activated . Perhaps she was distracted, or the magical response was somehow different, but Leitha only reacted a few seconds after it had already deactivated. It seemed whatever she saw only detected magic by proxy. An interesting revelation, but it was time for me to play a bit with Tagalong Girl.