Ironically, while suffering from a head injury of sorts, Tagalong Girl could follow me more easily than ever. In a sense it was only natural, what caused her mind problems had long been integrated into my usual thought process. Truly overlapping concepts isn't literally inconceivable, just unsuited for those underdeveloped and unsure of who they are. With a few remnant chaotic strands of thought, it helped loosen her mind and jump between topics and make associations more easily.

Alas, not only would such temporary measures not last, she would likely not retain half as much as she usually would, even if it felt simpler in the moment. And there was the fact stringing along her thoughts this way was far too direct for my liking. She was more mature than you'd think at first glance, but lacked that necessary self-acknowledgement to keep from being casually molded by others.

"Mmn, speaking of predators and prey, name the common biologic features and hunting methods they are meant to reinforce." I tossed out another question while moving to Ria's side, tending to her as Tagalong Girl thought through her answer.

Without touching her horns, she began to stir. Could she sense cast upon her, or was it simply being a restless sleeper? Tagalong Girl hadn't arranged for any of the bags to be used as pillows, so Ria might have been just uncomfortable.

"How have you fared in my absence?" I intended for the question to be more or less rhetorical, but even under half-lidded eyes, I caught the glance Ria sent Tagalong Girl. Restraining my urge to sigh, I continued. "We're heading out tomorrow, so why don't you spend this time stretching your limbs before we get back on the wagon?" As an aside, I quickly corrected a misconception about conflating climbing claws and those used for hunting before Ria responded

"Alright."

Positively.

Eh? It seems like she's really starting to come around! Sitting up on her own and trying to get to her feet! We'd been making progress in the past, but those determined sleepy eyes...oh, don't tell me it's because of whatever conversation these two girls had.

What's done is done, I just had to make do and guide things as necessary. For the moment, I satisfied myself with Ria's newfound drive.

"In that case, since I've taken care of the goblins nearby, we can head out for a stroll. *Tagalong Girl*, you'll be tasked with helping locate materials Lorn and Harlod might need. No need to actually gather them, simply taking inventory of what's around is already more than is necessary. But it will be good practice." Good practice for support roles that will have you interact with other people, that is.

"If you say so.”

Nodding to her nod, I gave her some time to grab her spear and wander about the house to get an idea of what to look out for.

With that settled, I went to speak with the owners of the house.

On the plus side, Lorn and Harlod really were the sort of common folk who worked hard to reclaim their place in life, I hadn’t been mistaken on that front. Problems arose because I failed to understand the entirety of what it meant to be a ‘common folk’ in Derriad.

Salt Village being an outlier, even those small hamlets and townships exhibited a religious bent. However, it was easy to see why travellers wouldn’t usually see this side of the Tiaism. While they venerated strength, the powerful apparently weren’t completely beyond reproach if they were wasting their potential. I’d been moving through the lands too quickly, and acting with too much assertion for anyone to try and challenge me yet.

This time, in stepping back to let Tagalong Girl take initiative, I displayed too much passivity. Lorn and Harlod, well most likely just Lorn, felt Tagalong Girl and Ria were keeping me from properly contributing to Church and Country.

How I was to respond to the matter required quite a bit of thought to be put in as I went to converse. If it had come from a more selfish place, I would readily fight against it, but even if Tagalong Girl didn’t share the values of her country… they weren’t all that bad? Demonstrated through monsters that roamed, the histories I’d listened to, and even the artworks back in Glaucen, all of civilization was built on blood, perhaps even more literally than expected. To maintain such a large empire with vast tracts of wilderness, constant suppression was needed. Even if the Church fleeced its populace, it still had to be spending huge amounts keeping territory safe.

It undermined individual prosperity, and even wealth on some communal levels, but the responsibilities of the strong kept the country powerful.

While there is no problem with prioritizing the needs of a nation, in the end I decided to make the decision for Tagalong Girl myself.

The essence of a Hero is individual. As much as I’d like to let her decide her own direction, there was too much of a chance to be consumed. Derrish society didn’t seem like it considered unnecessary interference with developing minds. So even if my hand was a little forced, I’d make sure Tagalong Girl could reach an outlook both heroic and satisfactory.

“Ah, Lorn, just the lady I wished to speak with.”

“Oh, what is it you’d like to discuss?” Maybe I’m just a bit fixated on what led to my misinterpretation, because even now that she was beginning to paint a veneer of respect over her words, Lorn still held herself aggressively.

I really only ever had secondhand experience with cultural transitions; they were either fictional, or stories that Kat told. That’s what happens when you grow up in a monoculture, observational abilities can only get you so far without enough practice to back it up.

“Lucy and I will be heading out to take inventory. In addition…” I paused for a moment and, as expected, Lorn started to look impatient. “No need to be so hasty. After all, we are doing most of the heavy lifting.”

“You are doing most of the heavy lifting. I don’t see why you must drag your weak sister-in-law along with you; I’m starting to think the price we’ve paid you is too much if you aren’t going to bring your full strength to bear in this task…”

“Do you know why the Church supports you all?” I frowned on the outside, but internally I was glad. While I couldn’t find out the particulars of a society in an instant, it was still fairly easy to tell what an individual would say. “Because you can’t do anything for yourselves. Aye, you can struggle forward here, but if not for the Church you’d never have a chance in the first place. The strong get to dictate the terms, and so I will decide what your pay is worth.

“And if I didn’t have the generosity to train even my sister-in-law, where would I find the charity to help you?”

“That’s… it’s still the pride of the strong to give their all. ‘The warrior who at last lost his ambition, met with the soldier who lost his power.’ And in the end the soldier is the one who won—“

“And the second act of that saga is the sage who struck down the fated one for stumbling upon his sanctum, for the crime of interrupting his tea. The sage the soldier sought for help and refused him. Do you think you understand the scriptures better than I do?” And that would be the lead-in to my victory.

Not the stammering sort, Lorn purses her lips several times preparing to speak, before swallowing her words to rework her own angle.

But by casting myself as an ‘expert’ in scripture, even hard headed fools of Derriad would bend. It would be too similar to disagreeing with a Disciple if they spoke wrongly, which is why quotation was the favored method of debate.

Luckily the Poran had their fake sermons, which usually focused on more narratively structured books. Picking and choosing lines from The Soldier’s Epic gave a much better appearance of well-rounded knowledge than a few hours of actual lectures. Lyssa’s tutelage was naturally still very important, however cowing the peasantry was more about showmanship than actual knowledge of the values that were represented.

“Then in that case—“

“In that case, you’ll leave her alone. I’ve upheld my end of the bargain so far, more so than you have any right to expect. You have only experienced gains through our presence. If you continue to repay kindness with enmity, you can learn for yourselves why the weak take shelter under the strong.” An open threat would be a bit much, but leaving them to fend for themselves unsettled Lorn. I’d be doing that anyway, but framing was important.

With that our conversation drew to a close. I sighed internally, wishing I had more experiences with the culture. Alas, my own role meant I could only be one sort of person and receive a narrow band of perspective— that is, so long as I stayed near Tagalong Girl and Ria.

Not that I regretted jumping into someone’s business right upon my arrival to the world, I was just wondering how to better fine tune Tagalong Girl’s training.

“Alright, then let’s head out. You lead the way.” I opened the door for her, and gestured.

“May I know where you fought the goblins?”

“Mmn, good. In a rancher’s abode on the south end of town.”

“How many were there?”

“15.”

At that point I just did my best to zone out and follow along, just letting her make decisions without any hints. There were several occasions where it became necessary for me to use to sculpt away traces of Clavi. Troublesome, troublesome critter.

Moving along main roads, she properly attempted to prioritize the buildings that looked to contain valuables, skimming those that looked ransacked by goblins, or in a state of disrepair.

She hesitated for a few moments upon opening a chest full of iron nails and hinges. As we were about to leave, I hesitated for a moment as well, and felt satisfied as she both noticed and mentioned it.

“Isn’t this worth more than you’re being paid? This doesn’t appear to be… an efficient course of action.”

“Perhaps if our goal is to make money, then you are correct.” I nodded along as she took the time to find her words “Yet do we lack money? There are plenty of places to make a fortune more efficiently than doing mercenary work for farmers.”

“But other than the goblins on arrival, what has been left for me to do?”

“There’s a lesson less trite than ‘enjoying the journey’ to be had. It’s not something that can be felt other than through experience. You just need more time on the road and it will come naturally.” After all, she was naturally predisposed towards detachment— if this became some sort of fixation for her in the future instead of a small learning experience I’d purchase a hat and eat it.

My confidence in the situation didn’t necessarily transfer; Tagalong Girl remained uncertain.

“I know you know mechanical skill is only a part of what you should learn. Abandoning contracts when you come to dislike someone— well there may be certain cases for that, but this isn’t one of them. Lorn is only a displeasure to work with. And no doubt you’ll have to work with plenty of disagreeable people in the future.” Now she seemed to have an inkling of a related idea, so I stopped short of giving any suggestions.

Tagalong Girl gave her nod of tacit understanding, followed by a swivel of her head that looked for the more tangible objectives at hand. I refrained from sighing aloud. At the moment I couldn’t be certain of her internal monologue, but we had plenty of time for her to simply digest her thoughts.

Ah well, back into the fray.

With a casual to clean the dust she’d kicked up with her movements, she had a quiet epiphany and changed her footwork. I smiled, but we’d see how long that silent lesson lasted.