It was another night that we didn’t sleep much, not that I complain, it’s my favorite kind of insomnia. Ok. Here we start our normal, morning (despite the fact it was already afternoon) routine.

- “Gis. Sweetie, get up.”

- The dragoness only snorted and pinned me even stronger to the bed.

- “Seriously, we will make Florian wait, if we would make him wait, he would be irritated, and an adult dwarf can stay irritated up to three months. When an adult dwarf is irritated he keeps nagging and yapping. Which means that we will have to deal with his moods for the entire journey. Then you will have to pamper him to in order to make him happ.. pardon me, less grumpy.”

- “Wait…” She opened one of her eyes. “.. why me?”

- “Because you would be the reason why we would be late. Get up.” I pinched her.

- Yet, her my actions turned against me. My little tease indeed woke her up, the problem is that it also made her “playful”.

- “No. Nononononono! I can already see where it is heading. Bad dragon! Leave it! Stay! Staaay!” Yet she pounced at me kissing deeply.

- Maybe I would allow it, just for a minute or two… NO! Focus, Zari, focus!

- “Get… off… me!” I said chuckling pushing her away.

- “You no longer find me attractive, do you?” She puffed her cheeks like a spoiled child.

- “Oh, yes. Definitely. We have been [playing] for those few days in a row because I find you hideous. No, do you know what we were supposed to do yesterday?”

- “Hm? Nothing really, just to collect equipment and… oh.”

- “[Oh] indeed.”

- She bolted from the bed collecting stuff.

- “DAMN IT! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME TO GET OFF IF BED EARLIER?!”

- “Pardon me?”

- “Lift your ass, you lazy bum! We will be late because of you!”

- “PARDON ME?!”

- “What should I take? Sword? Axe? Glaive? Leather armor or reinforced with chain’s-links?”

- “Take the bastard, it’s the most universal, also two smaller one handed war-axes, just in case. The best armor is pure leather – in the mountains weather changes quickly, and having metal on your skin can make you lose your body heat faster. Also, it is easier to maintain.”

- “Got it! What about food?”

- “I already asked kitchen’s stuff to prepare us some rations. We will just pick it up.”

- “Wait, why aren’t you preparing?”

- “Hm? I always have one or two sets of equipment prepared in my room in case of emergency quest – you know, if monster would appear and started rampaging around. I think I will just use one of those.”

- “CHEATER!” She yelled. “You did that on purpose! You were having your way with me cuz you know that in the end you would do nothing and watch me struggle! I have never felt so betrayed before! HELP MEEE!”

- “I already am. I am telling you what you should take!” I sat on the bed smiling watching her getting dressed as she was running from one corner of the room to another picking stuff from the floor and throwing it in direction of traveling bag.

- “It would take you less time if you would kept you room tidy.” I just pointed out.

- “Don’t bring that again! My room - my rules! Only boring people are having everything in order, but geniuses such as myself can easily rule over the chaos!”

- “I can perfectly see how well you are [ruling over chaos] right now. If you are looking for your pants, then I am sure that I have seen some relatively clean under the drawer.”

- She jumped under furniture I pointed out. By total “coincidence” it was exactly in front of me.

- “…Hey, there is nothing here!”

- “Are you sure? Try reaching bit deeper…” I said as I enjoyed the view of her butt raised in the air and pointed exactly in my direction.

- I will never get tired of that.

- “Sorry, my bad, Actually, check in basket.” I said after my eyes already feasted on that round, divine…

- “Damn you!” She said raising from the ground. She cursed me only because I wasted her time, not because she noticed the true reason behind giving her wrong location. Good. It means I can use same trick next time.

- In the end I picked my own clothes off the ground, dressed up and helped her completing what she needed.

- “You took some spare clothes?” I asked.

- “Sure I did! It’s not first journey, damn it!”

- “Yeah? How about potions?”

- She pretended to be confused.

- “W..what wrong with them?”

- “Do you have any?”

- “…”

- “Gis?”

-

- “I…I mean… I…I thought that if you are an alchemist, then maybe… perhaps…”

- “I will provide you lifetime supplies?”

- “… One, no life time… just from time to time… and… Um… ok, maaaybe a little? Still, the way you said that sounded bad…”

- “I have already prepared your batch.”

- “You are the best!” She gave me a thigh hug.

- “I know.”

- We left the room, quickly stopped by mine so I could take my stuff, yet I had everything already prepared we didn’t spent there more than a minute. We moved down to the inn.

- “Also, it’s not like you are giving me those potions for free!” she yelled as we were already down. I only raised my brow instead of asking a question “… You remember when I brought you breakfast to the bed? You better tell me if it was good!”

- “So that’s what you want to do today, yes? You want to argue…”

- “I am sure it wasn’t that bad… it was, right?”

- “… There is a room for improvements…”

- “So it was. Sorry, hun, will do my best next time…”

- “You have just suggested that you made last breakfast half-assed.”

- “…”

- “Yes. Staying quiet is best thing you can do now…. Hello everyone!” I yelled to everyone in inn.

- “Fucking asshole…” I heard a quiet whisper in response. “... another sleepless night. The hell is he eating to be able to last that long?”

- “Oh, stop it. Be kind, they do great job… I heard that they are living for at least couple of days.”

- “Are you shitting me?! A couple scream-less nights in a row?! Which goddess passed this miracle upon us, unworthy?”

- As I was walking past their table I left a small vial on it.

- “You asked what am I eating to keep my… stamina high…. “ I whispered to him. “…Two to four drops of it mixed with water. No more, you hear me? consider it as free sample”

- Man looked at yellow liquid for a moment, before clasping his hands together in thanking gesture and raising them above his head.

- “May the goddess bless you, kind man! Mean words addressed to you shall never be heard from my mouth again!”

- Actually, I gave him some improved stamina potion that I did not yet try. Welp, he will be great experimental mice. It was a formula I made for Madam Godamn – the owner of the brothel that I have the honor and pleasure to visit. I hope it doesn’t have side effects… well, serious side effects at least.

- We collected food supplies. I just yelled as we were leaving. “Goodbye everyone!”

- As soon as we moved a little from the guild I heard people rejoicing inside, something like. [They are gone, hallelujah!] and [DRINKS ON ME, BASTARDS! DRINK WITH ME, FOR WE HAVE A GOOD REASON TO CELEBRATE!].

- “Aw, these guys are like family to me, I hope they won’t miss us much. How do you think, will they be ok?” Gisele didn’t hear a word from the guild since we left it.

- “I don’t know, do you want to check one last time on them?” I asked innocently.

- “Nooo. They will be fine. They are big boys.”

- Shame. It could be funny.

- “To the city gates, then.”

- One more time I took a look around engraving in my mind how the city looked like. I wanted to compare it to the city under mountain. Here – pretty wide streets, houses raised next to one another. It surely looked lively, yet in case of fire it would be a catastrophe…

- “O-ho! Look who finally decided to show up!” Fional mocked us while sitting near the carriage.

- “Sorry! … IT WAS ALL ZARI’S FAULT!” she yelled while pointing at me with her finger.

- “Pardon me? So you are trying to convince me that I was the one that was picking his clothes from every corner of the room instead of having them already prepared? That it wasn’t me who bought food beforehand and…”

- “I don’t want to hear your yapping!” The dwarf muttered more to himself than to us. “Just get on the cart already!”

- “Sure thing! Also, can I drive?”

- “NOOO! PLEASE! NO!” I yelled remembering the time when she was leading the carriage with blind me to the tower.

- “Sure lass, hold the reins…”

- “You have no idea what you have just done!” I cried aloud.

- At the same time, at the Guild

- “Come on, girl, just a little more! I want to see you touching your toes!”

- Jericho encouraged Elana as she was stretching on the floor.

- “But it’s… hard!”

- “Of course it is! Especially for someone that didn’t move at all for most of her life!... Ok, I will help you a little.”

- He moved behind the girl and pushed her back slightly helping her hands to reach her feet.

- “Now, hold it, and don’t let go! I am about to let you go… I want you to hold a whole minute!”

- “Ghiiii! Ghuu! Kii!”

- “Oh my, girl! You are just touching your feet, and not taking a du… I mean, it is not as hard as you imagine. Just focus on something else. It is easier when you count how much time you have left… come on with me, 48, 47. 46….”

- “F..Forty-five… Forty-fo… Thirty?”

- “No, sweetie, I am pretty sure that thirty does not follow forty-five. Come on young one, as your body is still developing it is in best condition when it comes to agility. That’s best time to train it! Aw, really? Already?”

Elana couldn’t hold much longer and loosened her grip.

- “Ok. That’ enough for now. We will see each other again at evening. Understood?”

Girl whimpered like scolded puppy.

- “I asked if you understood what I just said to you?”

- “Y..Yes.”

- “Great. Dismissed!...” She looked at the adventurer confused. “… I mean that you are free to go.”

These words rang like holy bells in her ears, almost like the most wonderful music was playing. As if Mister Zariel would whisper [I love you] right in her ear. No, wait! Focus, El! Focus! Stop blushing, damn it! You silly girl! You have to run away before Monster Jericho… I mean, Master Jericho would change his mind!

She wanted to raise herself from the floor, but her legs simply didn’t listen to her, not after Jericho put her through the torture that called. [basic training that normally prepares you for the real training].

- “Hm? You don’t want to leave? You want to train some more? That’s the spirit!”

She turned completely pale.

- “Oh, snap! Easy there girl, I am just joking! MAAARIIIKAAA!”

After a minute the door was slam open and fairy jump inside.

- “WHAT’S WRONG?!” She looked at pale girl on the floor. “OH MY GOD! JERICHO! YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED HER!”

- “Come on! She is not THAT exhausted! She just have some problems walking…”

- “Poor little flower, come ‘ere.. and YOU! She is not a dragoness damn it! She is just a lil’ fragile girl! Treat her lightly!”

- “I just showed them some basic stretching exercises, damn it!”

- “You were brave, such a brave girl, come, auntie Marika will buy you a beer…”

- “Zari said she shouldn’t drink…” The guild master reminded.

- “Then I will have a beer, and she will have a lemonade. Easy there, flower, we will have one nice girl-talk.”

She helped her walk down to the inn-section, which looked a bit hilarious as they were around the same size. Marika was actually a bit smaller.

- “Morgana! Bring a few more chairs!” She yelled from the stairs.

Witch looked irritated in her direction, yet did as she was asked.

- “Hey! Two beers for me and Mori and something sweet for this young lady!” The fairy called in direction of the kitchen.

- “Don’t. Call me. Mori!” The witch hissed.

- “Later, Mor-mor, we well talk about it later, right now help me bringing this loli flower back among the living.”

The noble girl was not responding, still being terrified and taken aback by sudden mockery of Jericho. [Do you want to train some more?] was being repeated over and over again in her mind.

- “That will be easier than you think…” The half demoness said to the fairy. “… look at this.”

Morgana cleared her throat before starting.

- “Marika, tell us something more about Zari, we have been traveling with him just for a week and a few days and then only been able to have just a few conversation with him in the inn, we are curious what other people think about him…”

After the word [Zari] a certain blonde girl snapped back to reality.

- “Yeah, please tell us!”

Marika look confused towards the witch, who just rolled her eyes.

- “Let’s see… He was always kind, even more than just kind. When we take a freshman into the guild, we always send one of the veterans to show him/her around. I was picked to guide him. So, I took him around the herbs field that surround the town. And as we were talking I could have mention that… um.. my village and whole family was wiped out by a monster… I started spreading my aura of depression, mentioning that my mother used to grow violet roses in the garden. When I turned around he was holding a violet rose in his hands. Sweet of him, right? But maybe you would always ask Rus? She was a freshman that Zari guided. RUS! Sweetie! Come ‘ere! Have beer with us!”

- “I.. I think I am bit too young to drink!” The novice witch stopped by and looked into cup in front of Elana. “Oh, I will have same thing she has! Name is Rus, just Rus! Nice to meet ya!”

- “New girls are interested what kind of person Zari is, would you mind…”

- “HE IS THE DEVIL!” She grabbed her head with both hands “On my first mission it was supposed to be herb gathering and a wolf appeared. He wanted me to fight it, but all my spells missed! So he crippled it and forced me to finish it! I have never felt so terrible before and I have never felt better after. He showed me that the world is cruel world, that you need to have your teeth sharp to be ready to bite… to protect what you love.”

- “A..and what does…” El started shyly. “… what does Mister Zariel love? I..I..I..I mean, does he have some hobbies, or habits, or favorite food or…”

- “I can tell you right away what he loves!” Rus chirped happily. “… one – he loves monsters! Yeah, I know, it’s weird. I heard him saying that monsters are NEVER evil – they just follow their instincts, why human chose to do bad things because they want to achieve something good just for themselves. He loves sweets, especially cakes – this is why he chose to stick on the humans side. Hehe, and there is one more thing he loves! Sister Gisele, of course! I remember when Zari was trying to seduce her over and over again, by joking around and teasing her… it was so sweet to… Hm? Miss Elana? Everything all right?”

- “Y..Yeah. A..actually, I think that miss Gisele must be amazing, right?”

Oh, sneaky little Elana. I see what you did there! By asking what kind of woman Gisele is, you ask what kind of women Zari likes! Ho-ho-ho, nothing will hide from my gaze… I mean… W..Who am I? No one. Keep reading, you bastards, and forget about this part!

- “She is more than just amazing!” Marika raised her hands. “She is strong, she is a great commander I mean tactician – she greatly commands in the heat of battle, don’t ask her to plan anything bigger beforehand, tho…”

- “She is sooo pure! She never lies to you!” Rus followed. “If she likes you, she will be nice to you, if she doesn’t - she won’t pretend it to be otherwise, she will clearly tell you why.”

- “Excuse me for possible rude words…” Morgana said from her side of the table. “… but aren’t they together only because Gisele is… kinda dumb? Sorry, but I think that kid just likes to be intellectually superior and thus boost his ego…”

- “Oh, Zari for sure is smarter… Sorry, Gis, for what am I about o say – but it is not hard to be smarter than Gis. Also, Zari is frightfully smart. Sometimes I am afraid that he is scheming something huge all the time and we won’t notice before it would be over. In that case, Zari could pick almost every girl in the kingdom and still be intellectually superior.

Miss Morgana, aren’t you perhaps interested in him?”

- “No. Just no. He irritates me. He is behaving like my ex all the time while doing everything he pleases, forcing people to do things against their will just because they can’t refuse. No, I didn’t like my ex.”

- “I… I see. Sorry for bringing it up. Anyway… Um, El, where are you going?”

Girl raised from her chair and started walking toward the stairs.

- Um, t.. to master Jericho? I… I just remembered I forgot to ask him something…”

Oh, that wasn’t the case. She went to Jericho to train some more. Zari likes strong woman, hm? So she was about to become as strong as a certain dragoness and more!