The morning air was crisp as Paige stood at the entrance to the settlement they had called home. Everything would be changing now since they were leaving their little haven deep in the woods. She wasn’t a sentimental person usually, but the thought of leaving almost brought tears to her eyes.

‘It had been a long time since I’ve been so hesitant to leave a place. Guess I’m getting old. Older.’

And what irked her the most was that they had renovated the entire area themselves, and now they were going to let it go to waste. Somewhat.

Sara stood by the house as she looked around the familiar, yet unfamiliar scene. It had taken a majority of the week to renovate the area. Since Sara would be the only was using it for the foreseeable future, Paige and Zenith agreed that the settlement should be remodeled to suit her needs. Gone was the animal barn, the tiny blacksmith workshop, and the stone fence that used to encircle the area.

In its place stood a deceptively simple hunter’s lodge, just large enough for Sara and a few others, should she invite her fellow hunters out. On the back was a small hut where Sara could work on her bows, as well as a tiny lean-to, just large enough to hold Sara’s horse and a few supplies. The stone fence was moved in to circle the house, a small vegetable garden, and a tiny clover with just enough space for a large boar to lay on. It was large enough to mark the area and reduced the consumption for the magic circles hidden within the area.

Paige turned to her larger food plots and her heart nearly broke. Gone was the orderly food plots of varying plants and vegetables. Now, a vast field of clover took its place.

‘Theoretically, that should last quite a long time for Boary, assuming he doesn’t waste it all in one go. Crap, maybe I should leave more seeds for Sara.’

She turned to look at the small vegetable garden, the last remnants showcasing her efforts at farming. The best of her plants, though she had to admit she had given her an eclectic mix of vegetables.

Still, it was time to put this stage of her life behind her. Or at least on hold. After all, the good thing about farming was that it could be done anywhere.

Paige turned to Sara and hugged her.

“Just remember what Zenith, had taught you. The emergency stash of monster cores is hidden underneath your bed. If Boary is not around, I would suggest you activate the magic circles just to be safe.”

“I will. And thank you, for everything these past few years.” Sara said.

Killing the fire bear had helped ease Sara’s guilt over her former party’s death. Paige was glad to see that some good had come from killing that monster.

“Paige, we have to get going! We’re already pushing for time! We’re going to be late at this rate!” Zenith said from her seat on the covered wagon.

“I hear you, Zenith! Just give me a second to finish saying goodbye!”

Paige turned to the large boar, who was resting peacefully on his patch of heaven. She patted his body and rested her head on the boar’s side.

“You be good too, you hear? Sara will be watching over this place for us, though I suspect we will be returning here at some point. She’s also delivering your hay, so be nice to her. And don’t get yourself eaten or anything.”

The boar let out a bored grunt and turned over. Paige knew that he was far stronger than he appeared, and that was fine with her.

“Take care, Boary.”

Paige turned as the morning sun peeked over the horizon.

A new day was starting.

---

Their little convoy of wagons had successfully traveled with haste to make it to Nespe. Paige had half hoped that there would be some bandits or something to liven the trip, but her hopes had soon been dashed.

Paige eyed the patrolling guards as they passed by, her mood worsening as their horses kicked up the dust from the road.

‘Ugh, Cidala is the breadbasket of Alcudia. Our battle must have lit a fire under the army. For Trent to be able to infiltrate that deep into the country is no laughing matter,’ she thought to herself.

She mentally cursed the wagon that Zenith had rented once again as they hit another divet on the road. She had forgotten just how monotonous and painful traveling to new places really was. Especially when they were using cheap wagons. As much as she appreciated Kate, her means and methods had left much to be desired.

‘Cheap wagons. At least its covered wagons. But still, Kate, would it have killed you to get one that had seat pads? Surely it wouldn’t cost that much more.’

Still, at least she had Markus and his youthful enthusiasm as her companion for the trip.

“Aunt Paige! Look at the size of that city!” Markus yelled from his seat.

“Yes, yes. I see it, Markus,” Paige called back wearily.

The city of Nespe would be a grand sight for anyone used to seeing a small village like Cidala, but to Paige, it was still just a glorified castle town.

Or had been. Paige sat up straighter as the outer city walls came into view. The city walls had been heavily enchanted. She could vaguely feel the mana around the city being drawn inward as the walls somehow absorbed the ambient mana. She squinted her eyes as something else caught her attention. Royal Guards. Although they were in disguise, it wasn’t hard to spot the difference between them and the normal guards. And not only that, Paige noticed idly, there were Demons there as well, watching safely on top of the city walls.

‘Huh. I guess if you can’t pass it, make them your personal guards. Nice job, Rebecca. But a magic circle this big? I know they have an Academy here, but isn’t this slightly overkill?’

She slowly pulled on the reins waited for Zenith’s cart to catch up.

‘Surely Zenith hadn’t missed how much mana the city was absorbing. Even I would be hesitant to attack this place.’

Zenith’s cart came into view, and Paige noticed the frown plastered on her face.

“Wasn’t like this either, I’m guessing?”

Zenith shook her head.

“No. The city’s absorbing the mana like a sponge.”

“Can you tell what the mana is powering? I mean, if it’s pulling in mana from this far away, the formation should be huge. And highly noticeable. The walls?”

“No, not the walls, though I can tell you that they are benefitting from the ambient mana being so highly charged. But that’s not what worries me,” Zenith said quietly. “Besides the libraries, nothing else we’ve seen have had been fortified with magic. Even the defensive castles hadn’t been enchanted. So, what makes this place so special?”

“I guess we’ll be finding out soon. Check out the northern walls. Royal Guards. They blend in well, and by the looks of it, they have been integrated into the daily watch. They’ve been here a while.”

“You can tell that much from here?”

Paige sniffed.

“Well, it also helps that I recognize a few of them.”

“Aunt Zenith? Do you feel that?” Markus said.

Paige turned and saw Markus waving his hand in the air. She was inwardly astounded. Markus could feel that something was different as well.

“It’s a charged mana zone, Markus,” Zenith said quietly. “There’s a lot of mana moving around us.

“I like it here. It feels just like the forest.” Markus said happily.

“Like the forest? The forest was a dead zone, Markus.”

“Hm? But it felt just like this.”

Markus tilted his head and looked around. Eventually, he stood up and waved his hands in the air, clearly feeling the ambient mana moving though his hands. Paige and Zenith glanced at each other, concern in each of their eyes.

‘...The mana dispersion fog inhibited us, but it didn’t stop our mana absorption....did it affect him differently?”

Paige took a look at the walls and hesitated, shaking her head at Zenith. They were getting awfully close to the range that any experienced Scout could potentially hear their conversation, assuming they had the Skills or spells to do it.

“Markus, get down from there. You’re liable to get shot by the archers on the wall if you act funny. Look, they’re already aiming at you.”

“Ack!”

Markus dove into the wagon. Paige stifled a laugh as she saw his actions, though she idly noted that Markus had chosen to dive directly behind her.

“That’s the most excitement we’ve had all day, huh Markus?” Paige said with a laugh.

Markus peeked out from behind her and groaned. “That’s not funny, aunt,” he said as he sat back down in his seat.

“No, and neither is getting shot,” Paige murmured. “Nick and Tyler should have reserved an entire inn for us, so we’ll head there as soon as we get inside the town.”

“How would they have enough money to do that?” Markus wondered aloud.

“We’re not poor, Markus. Hmm, maybe I should have tutored you more on adventuring economics. Well, no matter. Once you start your classes, you’ll realize just how filthy rich we are. Not that you should tell anyone, of course.”

“Which class would teach that?”

“Monster Hunting, of course.”

Paige smiled as she heard Markus’s grumbling, though her smile quickly faded as she saw the line of merchants waiting outside the gates.

“Zenith, hurry to the front and flash your necklace. They'll let us in immediately.”

“I will most certainly not do that, Paige! We can wait, just like everyone else.”

“It’s standard practice for egotistical Scions who can’t wait for anything. They’ll half expect it out of us! It'll be fine.”

Markus frowned and whispered quietly. “Aunt, I thought you said that it was a f-”

“Figure of speech. Scions are heroes, so of course, that would be rude for someone to say that. Luckily we are an exception to said rule.”

Markus noted her look and nodded his head knowingly. Paige inwardly grimaced. They had already told Markus that Zenith was not a real Imperial Servant, but perhaps they should have worded it a bit differently. There was a big difference between not knowing someone was a fraud and suspecting it. In their case, they were banking heavily on the fact that they were an unknown party.

Which brought something to the forefront of Paige’s mind. Scion Maxwell. How come he hadn’t done anything these past few years?

Glancing at Markus, Paige took out her own necklace and discreetly placed it cupped it in her hands, holding it close to her forehead.

‘I’ll teach this trick to Zenith later. Hopefully, she’ll never have to use it though.’

She stopped. That was on the assumption that the stone she had given Zenith was powerful enough to do said features.

'No matter. I'll put that on my to-do list. Note for future self, check out everyone's stones and make sure they are not lesser wardstones.'

Content with herself, Paige closed her eyes and focused.

Search

She could see the stone glimmering from behind her eyelids for a brief second, and quickly shoved the stone back under her overalls. Paige frowned as she thought about what she had just seen.

‘...besides the one I gave to Zenith, there are actually no lesser wardstones within three hundred miles of me. Hmm, I guess that really does mean that Maxwell and his servants are actually doing their civic duty at the front lines.’ Paige thought for a second. ‘Hopefully. I guess they could be undercover and not have a wardstone. But what are the chances of that?’

“Paige, just be patient. I’m sure someone will notice us and send us in quickly.”

“Fine, fine, Zenith. We’ll do it your way.”

Paige tied the reins to the post beside her and leaned back.

They had at least half the day to kill anyways.

---

“Well, that was half a day wasted. So much for that.”

“Don’t test me, Paige.”

Paige chuckled wryly as she watched Zenith finish paying their entrance fee into the city.

“What? Expect royal treatment without telling anyone your status? Honestly, Zenith, I could have told you what was going to happen.”

“Hush. We need to hurry to the inn. We still have to get ready for the banquet tonight!”

Paige frowned.

“It’s not going to take that long to get ready, Zenith. It’s not like we’re going to be dressing up for it.”

Paige chuckled. Zenith did not.

“...We are most certainly dressing up, Paige.”

Paige raised an eyebrow mockingly.

“And how exactly does a Farmer afford nice dresses?”

“The exact same way they rent out the entire inn. Easily.” Zenith said deadpan.

Paige stopped and shrugged.

“Fair enough. Though I am still a Farmer, Zenith.”

“Yes, and I am still a Teacher. Now hurry up! We still have to coordinate with Tyler and Nick about the banquet!”

“What about me?” Markus said.

Paige and Zenith stopped and stared at Markus.

“You’re going to be meeting your new party member, so make sure you leave a good impression,” Paige said nonchalantly. “I sent Lily and Tyler a matching set of clothes soon after they left, so chances are they’ll wear it at the banquet. I made you a set so that you’d match Tyler, as well as another set for your new party member.”

“Oh? And who said they weren’t getting ready for a banquet?”

“This banquet will be great!” Markus laughed.

Paige sighed in her heart. ‘That’s debatable, Markus. Very debatable.’