“So uh, are we going somewhere in particular?” I asked.

“...”

Maybe that question was a little too forward. We barely knew each other after all. I tried to think of a better topic, something that would lift her mood.

“Nice weather we’re having!”

We were in the middle of a sandstorm. Okay, I wasn’t the best at making conversation.

Hilde stared at me as if I were a dehydrated poctus. Without saying anything, she looked forward while adjusting her hold on Sabre’s reins. I was riding behind her, my hands gripping the cantle. I didn’t dare grab onto Hilde’s waist in fear of getting my hands chopped off.

Sabre kept a steady pace as she trotted up and down the sand dunes. Carrying two people for a long time was tough for a workhorse, but an ecus, bred to carry fully armored knights, could handle our combined weight easily.

Hilde hadn’t said a word to me since the lizard incident. We had travelled for about two days since then, surviving on poctus flesh and the mother lizard’s meat. A few days’ worth of food was packed in Hilde’s cloth sack. I had made a water jug from poctus bark by digging out the flesh and capping it with another piece of bark secured by poctus needles. I was honestly impressed by my own resourcefulness. Maybe Hilde would feel the same.

I untied the jug from the saddle string and offered it to Hilde. “Want a drink?”

“Sure.” She grabbed it and took a chug.

“You’re taking it just like that!? What happened to the silent treatment?”

“What silent treatment?”

“You haven’t said a word to me the entire time!”

“No need to.”

“Isn’t that a little unfair? You suddenly change your attitude the moment I offer water.”

She gulped down a few more mouthfuls. “The more I drink from your supply, the more I’ll have for myself later on.”

Okay, so she was just as ruthless as ever.

“Look, I’m sorry about the lizard. I didn’t know I was eating babies, and I had no idea the mother would come after us.” I looked to the side. “And it’s not like I wanted to kill the mother. I… was just desperate to save you.”

“...It was the father. Females aren’t that large.” She handed me back the half-empty jug.

“You know a lot.”

“I’ve been chased by both parents at the same time before.”

“I can’t believe you survived that. Guess we’re lucky only the father showed up this time.”

We drifted back into silence, but it wasn’t as awkward as it was before. Her irritation gradually waned.

After a few hours, the sandstorm died down. We dismounted and shook off the sand covering our bodies. I cleaned up Sabre’s saddle and checked on our supplies. Luckily, the sand didn’t ruin them. A bit of sand got into my jug, but it neatly settled at the bottom. The water should still be safe to drink.

I sensed something from the distance. It was very faint, but I felt a bustle of emotions. I focused my anima in that direction. The emotions were too complex, ruling out the possibility of animals.

“People.” I pointed with my right hand. “Over there.”

Hilde squinted. “A town.”

“A what? In the middle of the desert?”

“It’s underground, like most small towns are. There’s a stone marker at the entrance.”

My eyesight wasn’t as good as hers because of my nightly reading. I strained my eyes and managed to make out a cone-shaped rock in the distance.

Hilde pushed me towards Sabre. “Hurry up. We’re going.”

I nodded as I climbed up the saddle.

***

We came upon an elevated stone platform about three feet higher than the ground. It was about as wide as a small house. A thin layer of sand covered it, probably from the recent sandstorm. That meant it was maintained regularly to keep it from being buried.

A metal chain extended from a hole on the platform. It was hooked to a stone podium. I came closer and saw a metal plate embedded on top.

Hilde looked over my shoulder and stared at it, her brows slightly furrowed. “Well come… to Ha… Haren? Please… poll on ch… cha-”

“Welcome to Harena. Please pull on the chain to enter,” I said, reading the inscription on the plate.

Hilde turned away from me. I sensed a hint of embarrassment from her. Uh oh, that couldn’t be good.

I tried to muddle through. “Uh, I studied several languages aside from the common tongue. Magic textbooks are written in many languages depending on the origin, so I-”

Her mood got worse. In my panic, I had completely forgotten magic was Hilde’s sore spot.

I grabbed the chain with both hands. “A-Anyway, let’s try doing as it says.” I pulled on it, but it didn’t budge. I tried again with a loud grunt, but nothing happened. “It’s stuck! Maybe sand got into the mechanism-”

Hilde grabbed the chain with one hand and yanked it. A deep sound, probably from a large bell, came from beneath the platform. The sand covering the stone structure quivered slightly.

I slumped my powerless shoulders, my useless arms hanging by my side. This time, it was my mood that got worse.

The platform shook, slowly splitting from the middle. The entrance seemed to open by itself, which meant stone magic was used to move it. A wide stairwell greeted us, along with half a dozen armed men. They were equipped with leather armor and a simple light helm.

One of them stepped to the front. “What brings you to Harena?”

Hilde was about to step forward, but I beat her to it and got in between them. She was not dressed for the occasion, and I didn’t want anyone else staring at her bare skin.

“We were heading to Arthas,” I said, “but a sandstorm separated us from our caravan and took most of our equipment, including our compass and map. We were hoping we could resupply in this town.”

He looked at me from head to toe and nodded. “Must’ve been terrible. Please follow us inside. Harena is a small town, but it’s much better than being stranded on the surface.”

Greed?

The man faintly emitted that emotion. He probably thought they could make good money off travelers who desperately needed supplies. Unfortunately for him, I only had a few coins in my trousers, and Hilde didn’t even have pockets.

Two of the guards escorted us down the stairs, which seemed to continue endlessly. Sabre walked on a ramp for carts and animals beside the right wall. Lanterns hung alternately on the sides of the stairwell, brightly illuminating the space. The entire passage was carved from stone, a feat not possible by human hands at this scale. The town was probably built with the help of saxum and terra spells. Earth mages were fairly common, and most of them could use both stone and earth magic.

A long hallway lit by smaller, dimmer lanterns appeared at the end of the steps.

I approached one of the lanterns. “Is this encantus?”

The guard in front stopped walking. “Good eye.”

“I noticed there are fewer lanterns here than the stairwell. Are you saving lux magic in this area because it’s flat ground?”

“Yes. Truth is, we wanted to cut down on using these lanterns everywhere, but falling down that long stairwell won’t end with just sprain, if you know what I mean.” The guard resumed walking. “Are you perhaps a mage?”

“No, no. I just happen to know someone who loves to talk about magic.”

Hilde shot me an accusatory look. I raised a finger in front of my lips, urging her to keep quiet. As fugitives, we didn’t need any unnecessary attention.

“We can’t use oil lamps underground because of the poor ventilation. Good thing we have skilled mages who help us with their spells and encantus, like the stone gate and these lanterns.”

“Fascinating,” I said.

Despite having no one to hold her reins, Sabre walked alongside us, keeping pace with the group.

The other guard, clearly younger than his partner, looked at Sabre with curiosity. “That’s an ecus, right?”

I nodded with a smile. “Yes, she’s my partner Sabre.”

“I knew it. Workhorses usually have trouble going down the ramp the first time. She seems to be very smart.” Even though the guard was talking about Sabre, he snuck a peek at Hilde’s long legs, barely covered by my shirt.

He might’ve guessed she wasn’t wearing anything under it.

I swerved to the left to block his view. “That she is! She always helps me out.”

“Sabre’s more useful than you at least,” said Hilde.

The guards laughed. My efforts to protect her honor were wasted on this girl.

We reached the end of the corridor, which was sealed by a metal gate. The guards pushed it open and led us inside.

I gasped at the view. The ground sloped down from where we stood, so we could see the entirety of Harena. Numerous stone houses were lined up in several organized rows. The streets were lit by lamp posts powered by lux, just like the lanterns. Due to the lack of outside light, Harena looked a little gloomy, but the magical lamps scattered throughout the town made it look like a starry sky. The scenery evoked a tinge of melancholy inside me.

There were no structures with more than one floor because of the limited vertical space, but several spacious areas were situated between the rows of houses. There was even a large water fountain in the center of town. People bustled on the streets.

I immediately reduced the range of my anima to avoid unnecessary feedback.

“Again, welcome to Harena.” The older guard pointed to the fountain. “You can get supplies at the shops near the town square. There’s also an inn there.”

“Thank you for escorting us,” I said.

“No worries. Visitors are always welcome to our town.” The guard tapped his younger partner, who was still busy ogling Hilde, and urged him back to the dark corridor.

I tugged at my shirt and sniffed myself. “For now, let’s find a place where we can rest and clean up.”

I turned to Hilde, but she was gone. I searched for her figure and found her heading to the town square with Sabre beside her.

“Hey, don’t leave me behind!”

***

The coins I had were just enough for a two-night stay at the inn. Renting two single rooms plus the cost of a stable stall for Sabre was more expensive than I thought. I needed to find a way to make money and buy supplies. I wasn’t sure if we were being pursued by Arthas knights, but it was safer to get as far away from my hometown as possible.

The next morning, I decided to gather information from the innkeeper. The plump woman gave me a practiced business smile as soon as I approached.

“How far away is Harena from Arthas?” I asked.

“About two days away on a horse.”

I widened my eyes. “Two days? Are you sure?”

I remembered traveling much further than that before getting here.

“Of course. A lot of travelers stop by Harena on their way to Arthas.” She unrolled a sheet of paper on the counter. “Look at this map.” She pointed at two locations.

I couldn’t understand how we had taken twice as long as expected to get to Harena. In the end, I blamed the lizard and sandstorm delaying us.

“Can I have this map?”

She raised three fingers in reply. I fumbled around in my pocket. There wasn’t enough. With a sigh, I bid farewell to the innkeeper and went to Hilde’s room.

I knocked on her door, but no one answered. I got a little worried, but she was probably just asleep. I knocked again. There was still no answer. This time, I rapped the door while calling her name. “Hilde? Are you there?” Still nothing. Thinking she might’ve gone out, I opened the door to check.

The first thing I saw was Hilde standing in the middle of the room while rubbing her eyes. And she was completely naked.

Yes. Naked. Again.

The gentlemanly thing to do was to look away. Turned out I wasn’t much of a gentleman.

She yawned and wobbled towards me, or rather, the door. It looked like she hadn’t realized that it was already open.

“Hilde, wake up! And wear something!”

She didn’t stop and bumped into me, pressing her breasts onto my chest. A fragrance tickled my nose. Unlike our time in the desert, Hilde was free of dirt and dried sweat. Her appearance, scent, and softness almost made me lose control, but I wanted to keep my privates so I didn’t.

I pushed her off me. “Wake up! It’s me!”

Her eyelids fluttered for a few moments. Finally, she opened her eyes properly and focused on my face.

“Oh, it’s you.” She shoved me out the door and closed it.

“I’m paying for this room you know!!!”

***

Hilde, in her new shirt and pants bought using my remaining coins, walked a few steps behind me in the commercial district of Harena. She had accepted the clothes with no complaints. Despite her general lack of shame, it seemed she understood that wandering around town with no pants on wasn’t a good idea.

I was wearing my old wardrobe, washed and dried. Sabre was taking a well deserved rest in the stable while we looked for a way to make money. Hilde had quickly come out of her room after I explained our financial situation. She was very reasonable when it involved her own personal gain.

We tried applying for work in various places, but none of them had any openings. Hilde wasn’t a good liar, and we couldn’t reveal that we were fugitives, so I took care of introductions and explanations.

My choices were limited because I hid my magical ability. Our pursuers should be looking for a Valmaz warrior and a mage. Hiding my magic was worth it even if it limited my job opportunities. Hilde ran into a different kind of problem. She was a little too qualified and eager for certain tasks.

A blacksmith asked her to try flattening a piece of metal with a hammer. She broke both the metal and the hammer.

A baker asked her to knead some dough. The dough became tougher than rubber after she was done with it.

A butcher asked her to slice some meat. Apparently, he didn’t need meat paste.

Based on their emotions, I could tell they didn’t need the help and only let Hilde try because of her looks. I bet they didn’t expect to lose money from giving her a trial run. Served them right, those horny bastards. Hilde’s damn good looks were damn expensive in more ways than one. I knew that best, sadly.

We walked by a bookstore. Judging from the lack of customers, the place probably had no job openings, but it couldn’t hurt to check. Before I could go inside, I sensed a certain emotion behind me.

Shame.

I turned around and saw Hilde still in the middle of the street, her head dipped ever so slightly.

I remembered the incident at Harena’s entrance podium.

Without looking at me, she mumbled, “I… I’m not very good at read-”

“Let’s try a different place. My eyes are bad enough without being forced to read in such a dark place.” I turned away from the bookstore and continued down the street.

I didn’t need my anima to know Hilde felt a little relieved.

By the end of the day, we’d gone around town with nothing to show for it. I heard my stomach grumbling. We still had some poctus flesh and possibly spoiled lizard meat left at the inn. I was sick of eating those, but we didn’t have a choice.

“Let’s go back,” I said. “We can try our luck again tomorrow.”

She nodded and walked alongside me. We strolled for a few blocks without any conversation, but that was normal for us. Hilde only spoke when necessary. I wasn’t sure if she hated speaking in general or just speaking with me. Naturally, I wished for the former.

A boy ran into me and fell to the ground.

“Are you okay?” I asked, offering a hand to him.

Ignoring me, he frantically got up and looked behind him. A bunch of scary-looking men ran out from an alley.

One of them pointed at the boy. “There he is!”

The boy ran away but got cut off by a thin man in ragged clothes. The man kicked him in the chest, launching him in the air. I quickly dashed forward to catch him. The moment he landed in my arms, I felt the boy’s pain assault my chest, causing me to lose balance. I had reduced the range of my anima as much as I could while in the crowded town, but that meant nothing at zero distance. I fell to the ground with the boy, both of us gasping for air.

“...What are you doing?” asked Hilde as she watched my coughing fit.

“Thanks for grabbing him for us,” said the skinny man. He jogged to us and pulled the boy up by the arm.

“Wait,” said Hilde.

“Hm? What is it, lady?”

“What did that boy do?”

“He snatched a coin purse.”

“No I didn’t!” shouted the boy.

The skinny man snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah right.”

I focused my anima and read the boy’s emotions. He wasn’t feeling guilty.

I picked myself up. “The boy isn’t lying.”

Hilde glanced at me. “That so. You heard him.”

“The hell you talkin’ about? Mind your own business.” The skinny man dragged the crying boy away.

I reached out to grab his shoulder when white lightning struck the man’s back, throwing him to the dusty pavement. It was Hilde’s leg.

The boy escaped from the man’s grasp and hid behind Hilde. Hey, I knew she was much more intimidating than I was, but I saved you too…

The other men checked on their friend, who seemed to be okay. I breathed a sigh of relief. I might be able to salvage the situation and avoid a fight. Before I could speak, the men ran off. They didn’t even leave a parting line. Very anti-climactic. And I didn’t get a chance to show off.

Hilde crouched down to the boy’s eye level. “Are you hurt?”

The boy shook his head.

She nodded and straightened herself. “Good.”

I dusted off the boy’s back with my hand. “What’s up with those guys?”

“T-They were trying to steal my money. Mom asked me to buy ingredients for dinner while she was at work.”

“Stealing money from kids?” I shook my head. “Every town has its gutters. Does this happen a lot?”

The boy nodded. “I usually get away from them, but I bumped into you.”

“...Sorry about that.”

“No! That’s not what I mean! I just... Thank you for saving me!”

I smiled. “I didn’t do much.”

“You got that right,” said Hilde.

“Hey, I caught his fall you know?”

“You mean you fell with him.”

“I still softened the impact.”

“I guess a cushion is better than nothing.”

“Well sorry for being so weak!” I pouted.

It was an act, of course. Hilde didn’t know about my anima nor its feedback. From her perspective, I had flopped to the ground, unable to support a child’s weight. And I couldn’t deny she was stronger than I was. ...I pouted for real.

“Please stop fighting!” said the boy.

I patted his back with a laugh. “We’re not fighting. This is just how we talk.” I got a little depressed, but I shook it off. “I’m Kari, and the lady over here is Hilde. What’s your name?”

“Rahf.”

“You were really brave back there, Rahf.” I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You protected your mom’s hard-earned money. And good job helping out with the housework.” I gave him one last pat and stepped back. “We’re heading back to the inn now. You should go home before those goons come back.”

My stomach rumbled.

“D-Do you want to have dinner at my place?” Rahf timidly played with his fingers, his eyes on the ground. “I just need to buy a few ingredients.”

“Don’t trouble yourself with us.”

“I want to thank you for saving me! Mom always tells me to repay favors.”

It was a convenient offer. Too convenient. I read his emotions. There was no guilt. He wasn’t lying.

I turned to Hilde. “What do you think?”

“...Why not?”

The boy smiled broadly upon hearing her response.

***

We sat down at a round stone table. Rahf’s house was quite small, with only one bedroom and a kitchen with a small dining area. Most of the stone furniture looked worn down, the corners eroded from use, but everything was clean and tidy.

The boy busied himself in the kitchen, preparing dinner for three. His mother was still working and would come back much later. Open flames weren’t allowed in Harena without a permit, so Rahf used ignis to cook the food. According to him, he inherited cor from his father, who passed away years ago. He could use simple magic, which was convenient because it saved them the cost of encantus for daily life.

I could hear Rahf’s humming.

“He’s in a good mood,” I said. “Guess he enjoys the company. Eating alone all the time can get pretty depressing.”

Hilde didn’t say anything as usual. I was tempted to start insulting myself because those were the only times she replied with vigor. Before I could give into the temptation, Hilde parted her lips.

“Why did you save me?”

It was an unexpected question. She hadn’t asked for so long I didn’t think she cared. I thought long and hard before answering.

I made the coolest smile I could imagine. “Because I love you.”

“Creepy.”

“HEY!!!” I slammed the table unconsciously. “I’m seriously confessing here!”

“I meant your face. Your words I didn’t understand.”

“That’s not much better!!! Take this seriously!”

“I’m completely serious. You’re the one joking around. What do you mean ‘I love you.’” Hilde closed her eyes and shook her head, as if battling a migraine.

“It’s true.”

“I don’t know much about love, but we barely know each other. I saw you for the first time in that dungeon.”

“It’s love at first sight.”

“You really are insane.”

I considered telling her about my anima, but she hated anything related to magic. Explaining my ability might make things worst. No one would want others to peek into their hearts.

Thinking about it, my actions really were ridiculous from her perspective. It was impossible to convince her with words under the current circumstances. That said, most of the actions I’d taken so far had backfired. I decided to change gears before I fell into depression.

“What about you?” I asked. “Why didn’t you kill me? When I fainted in the forest, I remember you putting a blade against my throat.”

“Oh that.” She didn’t continue.

“Don’t just stop there! What happened?”

“Sabre bit my hair and pulled me away before I could slit your neck. I couldn’t kill her because I needed a steed. You know the rest.”

And all this time, I thought she spared me because I saved her.

That revelation almost made me lose my appetite. Almost.

The aroma of food spread throughout the small house, sending our stomachs rumbling. Soon after, Rahf brought out several dishes. I furrowed my brows upon seeing the food.

One dish had small slugs with cone shaped shells coated in a green sauce. Another had what looked like a baked animal’s tongue. A soup with various root crops seemed to be the most normal of the spread.

I felt a bit hesitant. In contrast, Hilde quickly sliced off a portion of the tongue, placed a slug on top of it, and doused it with the soup. Then she pierced all of it with a fork and held it out to me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

She gently pushed the food against my lips. “Open your mouth.”

Whoa! What a development! I was about to get fed by Hilde! It seemed all my efforts were finally bearing fruit.

I eagerly stuffed my mouth and swallowed. I could hardly taste the flavor because I was so happy. She prepared another bite, and then another. I gladly ate them all.

Hilde leaned over to me, tucking her long silver hair over her ear to prevent it from dipping into the food. With her lips an inch from my cheek, she whispered, “Are you feeling sick or anything?”

I was being used to test for poison.

Despair.

I should’ve known not to expect anything remotely romantic from this girl.

I shook my head, confirming that the food was safe to eat. Rahf had been happily eating from all the dishes, so I knew it wasn’t poisoned. Hilde began chowing down with no hint of manners.

The fact that I found even that charming made me want to slap myself.

I lifted my cup and washed down my lingering dissatisfaction with water. It was refreshingly cold. Hilde almost choked on a large piece of tongue and brought her cup to her lips.

That was when I realized.

Rahf hadn’t taken a sip from his cup.

I grabbed Hilde’s wrist to stop her from drinking, but it was too late.

“You wanna die?” she asked, not knowing my intention to save her.

I lost all energy and collapsed on my plate, making a mess. The last thing my fading consciousness saw was Hilde’s pained face, her cheek pressed on the stone table.

***

I woke up with a pounding headache. The next thing I felt was blistering heat and movement. My nose rubbed against something grainy. I could tell it was wood from how a splinter poked at my skin.

“A carriage..?”

“Good morning!”

I followed the voice. It belonged to a skinny man I recognized. He was the man who kicked Rahf in town.

He curled his lips into a smirk. “You sure took your sweet time waking up. Your lady friend’s been awake for hours now.”

I twisted my body to find Hilde, quite a feat with my hands and feet bound by a rope. I found her lying on her belly at the end of the carriage. Her wrists and ankles were bound together behind her back by a metal chain. She looked like a deer about to be roasted in an open flame.

The skinny guy stepped on my head. “I didn’t want to be rough with a girl, but I know how scary she is.”

“She kicked your ass after all.”

“We have a smart one here!” He chuckled as he ground his boot on my scalp. “My back’s still sore from her kick, yeah. But I knew she’s bad news way before that. She’s the one going around town breaking stuff like an ape right?”

“She was actually just trying out for jobs. You were watching us the whole time?”

It was a mistake limiting my anima in town. A headache from the feedback would’ve been much better than this situation.

“Ever since we got the tip from the gate guards. We were planning to rob you, but you didn’t have a coin! But hey, it’s not all bad. A girl like her will fetch a good price!” He ran his eyes over Hilde’s body.

Even the guards were in on it. I recalled the greed I sensed from one of our escorts. I ground my teeth, regretting my carelessness.

“Rahf! Give our valuable cargo some water. We can’t have them dying before we sell them off.”

Rahf entered my field of vision. He held a small piping bag filled with liquid. It was a tool designed to hydrate restrained people. We clearly weren’t the first victims of this human trafficking operation.

Rahf pointed the spout to my mouth and let a few drops of water hit my lips. “Kari, raise your head a little. You might choke like that.”

The boy appeared to be quite used to his work. He felt no guilt at all.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, glaring at him.

“What do you mean? This is what I do.” He had an innocent smile on his face. “Don’t worry, this doesn’t have any encantus in it.”

“The water you served us was enchanted?”

So that was why it had no taste whatsoever. Poisoning using water wasn’t very effective because the odd taste would immediately give it away, but encantus was another story.

“It was actually a combination of the food and water!” Rahf grinned. “Just one won’t do a thing.” He swelled with pride while bragging about his magical skill.

The strange thing was, there was no malice in him whatsoever. How could he do things like this without batting an eyelash? He was too young to be this ruthless.

Too young.

I finally figured it out. It was a cruel conclusion I was tempted to forget, but my curiosity forced me to confirm it.

“Does your mom know you’re doing this?” I asked.

“Huh? Of course.” He tilted his neck, not understanding the point of my question.

This boy was raised to think this was all natural. He didn’t feel any guilt from tricking, poisoning, and selling people because he didn’t think it was wrong, just like how other children didn’t question where the roast they ate for dinner came from.

I had depended too much on my anima. Feelings didn’t equate to truth. Humans weren’t that simple. I shut my eyes tight, cursing my naivety.

“What’s wrong, kid?” asked the skinny man. “You’ll die if you don’t drink. No one wants that.” Seeing my lack of cooperation, he clicked his tongue. “Rahf, force the water down his throat.”

“But it’ll spill over. Mom told me not to waste water.”

“Don’t worry about that. I can just make more with glacies.” He made a tiny spike of ice appear on his palm.

This guy was also a mage. Maybe all of them were.

But that didn’t matter.

“Hilde, sorry, but I’m gonna use it again.”

“Just do something about this.” She jangled her chains.

“No need to tell me.”

“The hell are you two babbling about?” The skinny man kicked my flank. “You got guts despite how cute you look.”

I endured the pain and spread my anima as far as I could. After scanning the surrounding area, I tapped into Hilde’s emotions. I didn’t use her seething anger because it would burn the carriage along with everyone in it.

Channel.

Determination unbroken by any circumstance.

Target. Hilde’s chains.

“Ferrum.”

The chains around Hilde’s wrists and ankles shattered to pieces. She instantly jumped to her feet, surprising our captor.

But I wasn’t done.

“I call upon thee, soul of swords. All shall kneel, be it kings or lords.”

“Y-You’re a mage!?” The skinny man frantically grabbed my neck and tried to choke off my chant, but he was too late.

Execute.

“Ensis.”

The fragments of the chain gathered together in the air and merged into a glowing rod. The radiance instantly dimmed, revealing a simple short sword. It was actually the first time I ever tried this spell. Even the chant was something I made up on the spot. But I felt strangely confident whenever I channeled Hilde’s emotions. She’d scoff at it, but I was sure it was the power of love.

The floating sword was obviously flawed. The blade was faintly warped, and parts of the edge looked dull. But in the hands of the right person, that was more than enough.

The skinny man released me and drew his sword. With a shriek, he rushed towards Hilde.

“Take it!” I shouted.

Hilde clicked her tongue but grabbed the weapon anyway. She lopped off the skinny man’s head.

Blood sprayed all over the carriage’s canvas tent. Rahf screamed and scrambled away from us. The carriage driver stopped the horse and turned his head to the commotion.

“Help! They killed Bahr!” shouted the driver. He reached for his dagger.

Hilde ran her blade through his chest. Rahf squeezed through a small gap on the side of the carriage and jumped out.

“There are seven of them including Rahf,” I said. “The others are in another carriage in front of this one.”

“How do you know that?” asked Hilde.

“I just do. Trust me.”

She narrowed her eyes but didn’t reply.

I raised my bound hands to her. “Please.”

“Go ahead and move.”

“You’re supposed to say ‘Don’t move,’ you know.”

“But it’d be a good excuse after I cut you.”

“How about not cutting me at all!?”

Hilde cut through the rope with one swing and leapt out of the carriage’s rear exit. I snatched Bahr’s sword from his corpse and freed my ankles.

No matter how flippant she acted, Hilde couldn’t hide her boiling rage from my anima. The fact that she was so used to wrath it no longer showed on her face made me a little sad. Hearing the clash of metal outside, I drove away those unnecessary thoughts and jumped off the carriage.

A flying arm smacked my face.

“What the hell!?”

It belonged to the man facing off against Hilde. At least it used to. She dashed by his armless side and sliced his neck open.

The sand beneath Hilde began to shift, messing with her balance. It was probably terra magic initiated by the two enemies beside the other carriage. I channeled into their fear, something they had plenty of after seeing Hilde in action. Without finishing the targeting process to save time, I cast glacies to distract them. Ice crystals sprouted in random places on their bodies.

The terra spell didn’t execute because I interrupted their chant. They immediately turned tail, but Hilde easily chased them down. She stabbed the slower one in the thigh, causing him to stumble, and then pierced the faster one’s spine.

While Hilde was busy finishing off the man with the bleeding leg, the last enemy untied the other carriage’s workhorse and galloped away on its back. Hilde watched him helplessly. Even with her speed, she couldn’t catch up to a horse.

“I’ll take care of it.” I channeled Hilde’s rage and targeted the man.

“Ignis.”

But aiming for a moving target accurately at this distance was very difficult. I hit the horse instead. The animal panicked, knocking off its rider and stomping him to death. Unfortunately, the flames had severely burned the horse. I cast ignis again to end its suffering.

I looked around for Hilde and saw her charging towards our carriage. I checked her destination and saw Rahf desperately removing the straps on the horse. Following my instinct, I sprinted after Hilde.

Rahf managed to untie the horse by the time Hilde reached him. She pulled him off the animal and slammed him to the ground. The horse ran away.

Sword in hand, Hilde stood over Rahf as he cowered in fear. She really didn’t have to scare him that much. The boy didn’t know better.

Hilde raised her sword, spite radiating from her.

I didn’t have time to think. “Ferrum!”

The blade shattered. Shards of metal fell to the sand. My mana formed that weapon, making it easy to break.

Hilde glared at me. “What are you doing!?”

“That’s my line! He’s just a kid!”

“He’s a mage!!! He betrayed us!!!”

Hilde was frantic, as if her gallant figure in battle earlier had been a lie. Her suppressed emotions bubbled up and overflowed.

I slapped her.

The feedback stung my cheek, but the pain in my chest cut me much deeper.

I stared into her eyes. “Do you really want to do this?” I offered her the sword I snatched from Bahr. “Say yes, and I won’t stop you.”

Rahf shivered on the ground, countless tears soiling his face. But I didn’t care about this boy, at least not nearly enough compared to Hilde’s heart. No matter how much she despised mages, a girl who flew into a rage after I killed a bunch of lizards couldn’t possibly be okay with murdering children.

“I… I…” Hilde slowly lowered her weapon, her entire body trembling.

I took Hilde’s sword hand and pried it open. “Let go.”

She released the grip, letting it drop to the sand. The moment I let go of her hand, she staggered backward and sat on the ground. I watched her without a word, waiting for her to calm down.

The torture in Arthas had wounded her more than I imagined. Despite her unflappable exterior, the fear of capture gushed out of her. Not only that, her hatred for mages ran unbelievably deep.

Rahf took this chance to run away. I didn’t chase after him. He seemed used to the surface, so he’d probably survive. Right now, staying by Hilde’s side was more important.

***

Or so I thought.

We were back to where the story started. Sand everywhere. Sun was up. Very hot.

I adjusted my grip on my bag and jogged to her side. “Can’t you at least tell me where we’re going?”

“I can’t.”

“Why’s that?”

Hilde turned to me, focusing her amethyst irises on my face. “Because I’m lost.”

She actually meant we’re lost, but being treated like air was nothing new.

“...Since when?”

She blinked once but didn’t change her blank expression. “Since three nights ago.”

Shit.

If I had chased down Rahf back then, we wouldn’t be lost in the desert right now. At least he seemed to know which direction to run to when he escaped.

I continued marching, head down and shoulders slumped. I felt energy draining out of me with every step I took.

Then that happened.

Hilde approached me from the side, gently pressing her soft body to my shoulder. With her head slightly turned away, she whispered, “Thank you, Kari.”

“Huh?”

I was so surprised that was all I could say.

I pondered what she was thanking me for. Stopping her from killing a child came to mind. Saving her many times rang a bell too. So did paying for her room and clothes.

But that wasn’t important. I was happy right now.

Why?

Hilde finally called me by my name.

This adventure had its downs and downs, but it wasn’t all bad.

She quickened her pace, widening our distance by several steps. Maybe she was embarrassed. I could check with my anima, but that felt a little rude.

Then I noticed something slung on her back. It was my bag.

“Hey! That’s my food and water!” I chased after her.

Sure, I had stolen it from the dead slave traders, but it was still mine.

Hilde turned around and made a faint smile. “I said thank you, didn’t I?”

I stopped in my tracks, mouth agape. “...You’re welcome.”