Essairyn accelerated, brandishing her sword as she drew near. The collision of metal against metal resounded piercingly in the spacious forest. Quickly, a crowd formed upon hearing the exchange of blows. The spectators watched as Essairyn quickly got the upper hand, pressuring Darren mostly into defense.

Even this isn’t enough? He grimaced while defending against a flurry of feather-light strikes. Essairyn flourished her sword like a rapier, maneuvering the unsuitably designed weapon in a variety of techniques that kept Darren on his toes. Well, two can play that game. After dodging a diagonal swing, he readjusted his position and initiated an unusual attack.

“Huh?” Essairyn couldn’t help uttering in surprise. Darren defended her next blow with the sheath of his sword while launching a coordinated strike to her vulnerable left arm with the actual weapon. The pain of the simulated slice forced her to leap back. She clutched her upper arm and let out a laugh. This was proving to more fun than anticipated. As much as she wanted Darren to not give up on the mission, Essairyn fancied the idea of sparring against him. She hadn’t gotten a previous chance to witness the other traveler’s skills firsthand.

In this new manner, Darren was able to reverse his defensive position to a more favorable offensive one. Essairyn struggled to block the attacks of varying patterns but was quickly getting adjusted with steadily increasing speed. Realizing that her insane adapting abilities would render him in the same position as before despite learning more swordsmanship in his knight-specific lessons versus her mage-focused ones, Darren drew out his wild card.

A shock of energy nicked Essairyn’s cheek, fleetingly distracting her at the unanticipated appearance of magic. Seizing that chance, Darren swerved the direction of his blade and hooked Essairyn’s sword, propelling it out of her slackened grasp with an adroit flip. Doubly startled by the progression of events, Essairyn blankly blinked. She was suddenly reminded of two particular knights who were fond of disarming cadets.

“Puh!” A puff of air burst out of her mouth, almost like a snort rather than a chuckle. With the loss of her sword, she could no longer fight him physically. “You win.”

Darren exhaled in relieved victory and lowered the point of his sword with a smile. He had gotten deep into the battle, but if it lasted any longer, he would have been worried about creating a rift between them.

As Essairyn retrieved her sword, she curiously asked him, “Did you expel your magic in a targeted direction despite still wearing the bracelet? It wasn’t a spell, but I can’t even send out magic in any shape with this on.” Flexing her wrist, she attempted to form a magic sliver or pellet but to no avail.

Smirking, Darren explained, “I got the inspiration from you, actually, because you don’t need to chant spells to use combat magic. But it’s also from something we learned in the knight group when we split from mages in advanced classes. As you know, knights can circulate their magic internally and reinforce our bodies’ durabilities and overall strength. Mages have to use magic amplification in order to recreate something similar. This distinction is why most mages can only self-heal involuntarily at an fixed pace individually unlike knights who can speed up the process by consuming their own magic.”

Essairyn nodded slowly while commenting, “Yes, that’s why knights also wear mana storage amulets because they can only use their own magic to self-heal. But what does this have to do with what you just pulled off?”

“Right, knights can’t externalize magic to fight with it like you mages do, but since I have slight mage affinity, I can expel some of it in an aura. It does nothing to block physical attacks, but it does dampen any incoming magic.”

Essairyn’s eyes widened as she came to the conclusion before Darren finished. “I see, you focused your aura to a point on your body and expelled it near my face to catch me off guard. Wow, that’s really creative!”

“Exactly!” Darren snapped his finger and pointed at her. “We learned how to circulate magic to heal quicker, so I adapted this process to accumulate energy in a small area to send out in an aura! Most knights that have some magical affinity like me only use aura as a shield against mages. But I recalled the magic you used against the dire wolves to think of this method!”

Essairyn laughed ebulliently. “Hearing about your special attack makes you all the more deserving of this win. Since expelling aura isn’t limited by the bracelet, you found a loophole!”

“Haha, I suppose it is in some ways. Since mages aren’t allowed to use magic attacks, the knights probably figured aura wouldn’t be used in the mock battle because you don't have an Izlende Ryrarin everyday. It’s not something you can limit anyway, I think, if mages are allowed to amplify magic since that’s similar to––”

“––expelling aura.” A deep voice from behind Darren finished his words. The two travelers turned around in surprise and peered into the dark, brown eyes of a formidable figure. The man chuckled softly and introduced himself as his two Neu’arth peers joined him. “Rakun Umista. We overheard your conversation after getting a report that a fight broke out.”

Izlende gave a nod, remarking, “Of course, it was over by the time we arrived. So it’s a shame that we didn’t get to see the technique that––”

“Darren, Darren Jenison,” he responded when Izlende gestured toward him.

“––Darren used,” she finished and looked toward Rakun who nodded at her in understanding.

Suddenly, a forcefield compelled Essairyn to flinch, and Darren and Theryn to cringe. Startled by the pressurizing aura rippling from Rakun, the two travelers gawked in amazement at the transparent tendrils that whisked about a foot from his body.

“Jeez Rakun! Couldn’t you at least give a warning before you do that?!” Theryn shook his head and backed away in objection, making Izlende scoff in amusement. He hadn’t caught onto the conversation that led Rakun to demonstrate advanced aura techniques.

“This is aura amplification,” Izlende clarified. “Knights with minor magical abilities can control their aura more freely than the typical nonmagical knight.”

Rakun smiled gently. “I’m impressed you were able to figure this out before being taught the proper technique, Darren.”

The sandy-haired boy ruffled his head in proud embarrassment. “Thanks. I didn’t realize what I did was an actual thing, haha. I thought I made it up, but it makes more sense now that I know it’s called aura amplification.”

Essairyn nodded vigorously and piped, “Because it’s a combination of aura and magic amplification, right? From that name?”

“Yes,” confirmed Izlende, giggling at the other girl’s enthusiasm. “Mages have to focus on amplifying parts of their body. So, a knight with minor magical abilities developed this technique centuries ago after being inspired by customarily mage-only skills. It opened a whole new world that is still evolving today.”

“I imagine,” added Rakun, “that if knights with some mage abilities were more common, the field of aura would have grown more. But unfortunately, just like with mages and magic diminishing over the generations, such knights are now rarer to come by.”

“Ah!!” Izlende suddenly exclaimed and peered at Darren with round eyes. “You’re the other Farinheld mission member we heard about!” Upon him confirming with a nod, she continued, “Why didn't you say anything when we were fighting earlier?”

He scratched his head sheepishly, prompting Essairyn to answer on his behalf. “Theryn stepped in, so it was just you and me, Izra.”

“Gotcha.” Izlende grinned at the two travelers brightly. “I’m glad we accepted Bodraig’s request to come early and participate in your evaluation today. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much and only came because I was curious about who he had allowed onto the mission.” She chuckled as she added, “I was actually going to give him a piece of my mind that we could deal with the situation by ourselves and didn’t need newly arrived travelers dragging us down. But now…” She smirked giddily. “I’m intrigued by you two.”

A blossoming warmth fluttered in Essairyn as she smiled back at the beautifully striking and captivating young woman. She suddenly felt as if she had found the human, female friend she had been looking for since discovering Darren’s roommate, Aispin.

Seeing the black-haired girl’s cute smile, Izlende abruptly drew Essairyn into an open arm-hug. “I look forward to getting to know you, Sairyn.” Flushed in the cheeks by the sudden contact, Essairyn stiffened, making Izlende giggle. “You’ve got to show me your mage abilities when you arrive in Farinheld. I’m so curious about what made Lachlan recommend you.”

As the two girls began chattering in their own world, Theryn drew Darren to his side and slapped him consolingly on the back. “Sorry, mate. Once Izra gets going on magic and hooks into someone she’s interested in, she forgets about us goonies. Anyway, you did really well in our fight! But why didn’t you use aura amplification on me?”

Darren gave a short laugh. “I didn’t think it would help much since it only serves as a brief surprise, and I was unconfident using it for the first time against a Neu’arth student. Although I didn’t know it was an actual technique, I still suspected it might not fool you based on your combat experience.”

Theryn thought for a moment before replying, “Hmm, good call. I would’ve been really upset if you had done that because this guy––” He jerked a thumb toward Rakun. “––is a pain in the ass. Don’t be fooled by that calm, worldly face. He pokes fun at me all the time with that aura manipulation. Huh? How about that, Mr. Mature and Handsome? Pretty immature after all, aren’t you? I’m not the only one so-called immature!”

Rakun simpered, looking very entertained. “Why thank you for the unsought compliments, my good friend.”

Theryn was aghast at the man whom the ladies fawned over for his sophisticated and enigmatic mien. “Good friend? I’m your best friend, first of all! And you––” He pointed his finger defeatedly. “Just stop. I can’t take it!” He threw his hands up and dragged Darren away, jabbering, “He’s a wicked man. Don’t trust him. He may look reliable but––”

“Thank you.” Rakun winked.

“––he’s, oh knock it off! Is this another Theryn humiliation day?!” He spun around to throw a scowl at the tall man. “Now I wish Brynhilde was here, at least you’re quieter around her.”

Rakun’s smile faded at the mention of their last Farinheld mission member.

“Haha! See?!” He looked at Darren and gestured toward Rakun. “I hate that girl’s stupid––” He lifted his hands and smacked his fingers in a chatting motion while making an ugly face. “––voice. She just talks and complains about everything. The imperfection in the wall’s trim, the hole in the––”

“Okay, you can stop,” interrupted Rakun. “Let’s catch up with Izra.” He brushed past the two men and silently followed after the girls who gained distance on them in their excited babbling.

Theryn raised his brows while narrowing his eyes. Leaning toward Darren, he whispered, “Between you and me, I think he––”

“Theryn.” Rakun’s low voice rumbled.

“Ahem.” Theryn nonchalantly dusted himself off and mumbled, “Him and his stupid good hearing.”

Darren smiled, chuckling inwardly. He had a feeling the Farinheld mission would be an entertaining time. Perhaps, he didn’t need to be so worried after all. Now that he witnessed a limited portion of the Neu’arth trio’s abilities in the mock battle, he felt more reassured about his decision to join Essairyn. A week of education also helped by giving him a gamut of the world and human capabilities. He knew that B-ranks were celebrated among humans, whether mage or knight.

As for Theryn who was the same D rank as him, though a little higher by being an upper-rank versus a middle rank, he supposed that his abilities weren’t too far off from being sufficient enough for the mission. At the very least, a regular m’u of rank D was the bar, so this meant that whatever enemies they might face weren’t dangerous enough to severely injure them.

However, Darren did find the gap between D and B rather unsettling. The amount of regular m’u needed to qualify as the lowest B rank was more than ten times that of the highest D rank. So he didn’t understand why the mission difficult varied this greatly. Upon bringing this up to Theryn, a grim shadow crossed the darker haired boy’s face as he explained.

“E ranks, which are the average knights of the Order, were sent in as usual for scouting. They didn’t expect anything serious from standard patrols inside a modest village, but they ended up being murdered anyway, no corpses found. So, a D-rank might not even be enough because we don’t know the full extent of the enemy’s power. That’s why Izra and Rakun are here. They’re basically fail-saves. Oh, and Brynhilde, by the way, is a C-rank mage.”

Darren nodded, now comprehending the full scope of the situation.

“And why it was only the five of us is because the Knights are tight on numbers, but the Academy doesn’t want to send too many students. As it was, Izra and Aispin practically volunteered right away after hearing about it, though for different reasons.”

“I heard,” said Darren, recalling his sparse conversations with Aispin in the dorms. “He had family he was looking for; although, he didn’t elaborate much. But he was determined to enact revenge, apparently.”

Theryn scrunched his eyebrows in doleful understanding. “That guy doesn’t like to share much about his past and troubles. Both he and Rakun are more quiet people, but Aispin is hard to get close to unlike Rakun who’s patient and willing to listen. Tch.” He turned his head away upon clicking his tongue at a familiar memory. “Though I call that being a heartbreaker when it comes to girls. No wonder they swarm him, and he just stands there all stoical and––” He shook his head in abhorrence.

“Anyway, Aispin joined for personal reasons. They almost didn’t allow him because of that, said his emotions could jeopardize the mission. Izra, on the other hand…” Theryn chuckled amusedly. “She just wanted an excuse to go somewhere far from Neu’arth, thinking she’ll find adventure near the Barren Lands and elemental kingdoms.”

Darren laughed, reminded of a certain adventurous person. “Sounds like Essairyn. No wonder those two got along so well right off the bat.”

“Haha, maybe! Though Izra tends to get along with everyone. But oh–– I don’t mean she puts up with everyone. When she hates someone’s guts, she tells it straight to them, hahaha!”

Darren smiled, remarking, “She does seem like that kind of person.”

“Yeah, she’s a real girl crush.” Theryn sighed, shaking his head dejectedly. “I’m stuck with two of the most popular students as friends. No wonder I don’t have a girlfriend yet.”

“Pf––” Darren bit his lip to prevent laughing at Theryn’s misfortune, but his repressed expression made the other man slap him away in mock anger.

“Ack, sorry man!” He chortled, waving his hands in surrender. “Want to hear about Essairyn?” Mischief glinted in his hazel eyes.

“Oh?” Theryn grinned curiously. “Do tell, mate.”

“Hah, you wouldn’t believe what I went through when I first I met her…”

Huddled together like conspiring scoundrels, the two boys gossiped about their experiences with headstrong girls, eavesdropped by Rakun walking ahead of them, until they reached the Academy campus. Inside the school building as the Neu’arth group and two travelers ate dinner together, quick bonds were formed in the gathered mission team.

However, the trio departed early the next day for Farinheld to begin the first part of their assignment. Only Aispin stayed behind as the remaining Neu’arth student until Darren and Essairyn finished their last week of training. Swiftly, the days passed by until the fated time had arrived.

In a fast-moving carriage drawn by lustrous silvern horses, four young adults endured a jarring ride to the neighboring town of Farinheld to Byar’non’s northwest. Swaths of grass tumbled across the sweep beyond the open air windows and fluttering velvet curtains.

Lavender eyes gazed out at the landscape, a freckled mosaic of cattle and farmland. The agrarian view made for a diverting journey. It took Essairyn back to childhood days of apple and pumpkin picking, horse and hayrides, and growing and eating fresh produce. Although her experience with farms was infrequent, no more than the typical person who visited them for holidays like Halloween or simply during the autumn, a sense of nostalgia billowed through her. Coupled with the soft breeze and balmy weather, Essairyn felt exceedingly content. Her eyelids drooped shut as she leaned out and let the wind glide across her face.

“Only about five minutes ’til we reach Farinheld,” announced the driver with what must have been the accent of this world’s countryside.

“Okay!” Darren called back before turning to his seating partner again to continue their conversation.

“So mine is about as big as that farm with the blue shutters we passed by previously. Our family has been living there for generations. That’s how Farinheld came about; it was a farming village. And that’s why there’re so many farms down this road, too.” Leœss gestured toward the outside.

Nodding, Darren remarked, “No wonder why Byar’non is considering whether to include Farinheld as part of their territory for when they eventually expand. There’s basically a stretch of civilization from here to Farinheld. But doesn’t that contrast with the current configuration? To include rural land as part of a city?”

“True, but these farms provide most of the city with food, so it’s easier to integrate them for economic and trade purposes.” Leœss slouched on the cushioned bench with his hands behind his well-tamed mop of wavy auburn hair.

At the mention of town economies, Essairyn retracted her head from the window to interject. “Do you think Byar’non will eventually establish a state with the surrounding towns including Reisparte?”

“I’m almost positive it will. Neu’arth has long been pushing for expansion of civilizations across As’pyze using an expanding node system of sorts through the five provinces with itself as the center.” Resentment shaded Leo’s face. “Unlike the elemental kingdoms who had centuries of advancement, the human kingdom is weak and vastly underdeveloped in comparison.”

“Another problem is the environmental erosion along of As’pyze’s west border,” interposed Aispin, opening his dark blue eyes from a light slumber.

“Oh sorry, did we wake you?”

Aispin shook his head at Essairyn’s question. “I was just resting and heard the driver earlier. So I needed to wake up now anyway.” He flexed his stiff back as Leœss commented on his remark.

“You mean the Borderlands, right? Yeah, that place will eventually become a problem for the cities of the Western Province. Even the ocean degrades the land at a slower rate.”

“Heaven’s Fall.” Essairyn almost whispered the name. While ethereal sounding, the sinister undercurrent divulged the true nature of the northwestern corner of As’pyze. Beyond the guileless glimmer of the seashore laid misty crags with waterfalls that evaporated into the void. It was the abyss where the fabric of the world had been wrenched free by Water and Light. The very foundation of the land had been torn and stowed away into another dimension, leaving behind a forsaken beauty of nature.

Both Heaven’s Fall and the Borderlands deteriorated the adjacent land. But the latter was ruthless in claiming fertile land and reaping it of all bounties. Lifeforms withered into dust and rose as occasional miasma in the heart of this barren stretch between the frozen kingdom of As’iyse and human nation.

“Those lucky ice elementals don’t have to worry about the erosion. Their magic type preserves their land for the most part. Instead, it’s like we get double the amount.”

Essairyn chuckled inwardly at Leœss’s discontent. Since the icebreaker of the War Game a little over a week ago, they had been able to properly make acquaintance with Leo. And in getting to know him better, he had become increasingly expressive. His honesty and openness was quite the contrast to his initial rough impression. And through all of their challenges at school, they had established themselves as quite the infamous trio of the advanced classes. Although their peers now respected them enough to be cordial due to the evaluation results of The War Game, they mainly stuck together with the occasional addition of Aispin.

Along with posting the individual results of their first week’s evaluation, the knights divulged the secret of the forest location and forbid students to reveal the hidden feature of the treetop passages to new recruits. It was a tradition for every cadet to undergo, to whisper with the seniors about their first War Game experience, to snicker at the ignorant newbies before they set off for the brutal field day. But nothing was spoken about the treetop passages being an abandoned home for fairies.

Hence, Essairyn dropped the idea, figuring it didn’t make a difference either way in her future journey. And asking the knights would only result in answering uncomfortable questions about her experience in the Spirit and Demon Forest.

However, she did get an answer from Akari and sate her curiosity. Historically, these leafy recesses were the homes of fae folk when Light was still in this world. So, the spirit fox supposed that the school had preserved these natural artifacts for both historical as well as utilitarian purposes. And while the habitations of the fae were long gone, the ancient magic imbued into the forest still supported this irregular formation of foliage. Thus, this particular forest outside of Byar’non had little deeper connection to the Spirit-Demon forest as Essairyn had first speculated.

She also vaguely remembered Errol, the leader of the solh’vunds, mentioning that her presence in the Spirit-Demon forest was tolerated because of the faes. And the fairylike appearance of the wraiths that had seemingly greeted her at dusk did not look like the faeries of her textbooks. But, perhaps they were distant cousins just like the last of the dragon race who lived in the same forest. Essairyn then realized that the guardians of the forest were simultaneously protecting its inhabitants as living fragments of history.

Jolting Essairyn out of her thoughts, the driver announced their arrival in Farinheld, a quaint but lively village. The driver and his team would rest up before finding passengers for the ride home.

“We have to meet up with everyone else at the inn, but we also need to buy supplies on the way,” instructed Aispin as he whipped out a checklist and set of orders given by Bodraig. “This town is small, so I doubt it would take long, but any volunteers for shopping, finding the inn, or helping Leœss back to his place?”

“Oh! That’s fine. I can go back on my own.” Leœss cut in with a wave of his hand.

“Are you sure? You might not be able to join the mission, but we were still tasked with looking out for you along with everyone else in this town.”

“Pft, I’ll be fine, seriously. Those knights worry too much for a new cadet going back home to personally tell the news of me passing examinations.”

“Yeah, man. Even if something happens, I’ve got your back.” Darren smirked lopsidedly with a friendly shove to the other boy’s shoulder.

Leœss jabbed him right back with a crooked grin. “Just don’t get in my way.”

“Ouch, that’s harsh!” Darren laughed along with Leœss. Due to their similar circumstances at school, these two had found a confidant in one another. Despite Leœss constantly having a standoffish, sharp expression that seemed to be cursing the world, he actually had a good sense of humor. For Darren, he was much easier to talk to than Aispin. And while he would miss Leo’s company after getting close the last week, Darren looked forward to seeing Theryn again after hitting it off at the War Game.

“I volunteer for the shopping!” Essairyn raised her hand cheerily. She was excited to see what kind of adorable knickknacks might be found in the store of a small town.

Aispin smiled and inclined his head. “Sure, we’ll be needing ten dozen mid-potions. A set for each member plus an extra. The inn will provide the rest of our essentials, so it’s just these we need. Are you able to store them all in your inventory?”

“Yup! It shouldn’t be a problem!” She gave a thumbs up, almost bouncing at the action due to her eagerness to set out for the local magic convenience store. Essairyn was glad that she had expanded her cache in time for this mission.

“Then I guess it’s you and me for the inn,” chuckled Aispin, turning his head from Essairyn to the two boys who were still chatting with one another before they departed in separate ways. Seeing them deeply engaged in their conversation, Aispin smiled and looked back at the ebony haired girl. “Maybe I should’ve tried convincing Bodraig to let Leœss join.”

Essairyn giggled cheekily. “Yeah, those two are inseparable in class. I wouldn’t be surprised if Darren decided to quit traveling with me if he could with Leœss,” she quipped.

“Hey! I heard that!” Darren shouted over his shoulder. Essairyn made a face at him in response, garnering an amused, unamused look from the sandy-haired boy.

“That girl.” Darren exhaled with a shake of his head. “Anyway, we’ll catch up later after the mission is over, okay? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind us visiting your farm before we set out again.”

“Sure thing! It’s just my siblings and I at the farm. So it’ll be a fun time, I promise, before you guys set out to adventure again.” Leœss winked, concealing the hidden pain of no longer having parents to scold or embarrass him when he had friends over. “I’d like to join you guys, but eldest son duties, you know?”

Darren understood completely. Although Leœss was just twenty one, he now had the responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings. Only one sister was older than him, but she was married and no longer lived at the family farm.

“I got it. Maybe one day, Leo.” Darren smiled and added playfully, “Although, Akari’s a fox spirit, so at least Essairyn has a girl with her. Kinda makes me feel left out, you know?”

Leo laughed with a hand on his stomach. “I know exactly what you mean. I feel that way all the time with my sisters; even though, I have one brother, but he’s still just a baby really. So he can’t understand my pain, haha! Although…” He paused in thought. “You and Aispin aren’t all that close despite being roommates?”

Darren pursed his lips in a strained smile. “Haha, is it that obvious?” He scratched his head.

“Uh yeah. You two barely talked to one another in the carriage. It was mostly just Essairyn conversing with him. Although admittedly, the guy was snoozing most of the trip.”

“I guess it’s just… a little hard to talk with him.”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “Why? He seems like a pretty easy-going guy.”

“That’s….” Darren hesitated with his mouth open to speak. Before he could say anything, Leo answered his own question.

“You feel like it’s awkward, right? Because he’s a higher knight class?”

Leœss’s discernment rendered Darren unable to reply, only to sheepishly chuckle his confirmation that his friend was right. He and Essairyn had come to a deeper understanding of each other after their duel. But, Darren still struggled to open up to Aispin who reminded him of Essairyn’s nonchalantly confident nature. That quality of theirs was something he wished he had. And seeing the two together, he couldn’t help but think that Aispin would have made a more capable traveling partner for her.

“I get it. But then what about me?” Leo laughed with a slap to Darren’s back. “How do you think I feel around you guys? I don’t want to even meet the rest of your mission team again at the inn. They did seem like good guys when I first saw them during the War Game, but yikes, the pressure that Neu’arthans give off is intense!”

“Haha, no worries. I’ll be representing for us plebs, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. See you later, man.” Leœss abruptly waved goodbye after realizing that Aispin had been patiently waiting for him. Essairyn had already left for the store.

Picking up on the cue, Darren returned the wave before jogging over to Aispin.

While Darren and Aispin began meandering their way through the village, Essairyn was already nearing the shop. Its red roof was visible between the gaps of surrounding buildings. That bright cherry color was the defining factor of the store according to Aispin. So she knew that she had found the right place.

As Essairyn picked up her pace, her eyes connected with another shock of red. A tall, lithe man was leisurely departing the store. For a split second, Essairyn thought they made eye contact. But the man casually turned his head with the rest of his body and continued on his way as one would do to a seemingly invisible stranger. Although brief and uncertain, the exchange made Essairyn halt in her steps. That man was the same one Darren had bumped into when they were walking together in Byar’non.

The girl’s pause prompted Akari by her heels to look up at her in puzzlement. Following Essairyn’s line of sight, the little fox jumped up a nearby barrel to discern the cause of her sudden stop. Spotting scarlet locks flowing gracefully behind a well-dressed man, Akari snickered softly.

“What? You saw a good looking guy?”

Partially closing her eyes in disgruntled disbelief, Essairyn turned toward the little rascal. A small, defiant huff escaped her frowning lips. “And what’s with you and pointing out good looking guys all the time? Is that why you sat so cozily on Aispin’s lap for the whole ride?”

A sly grin curled the corners of the fox’s mouth. “What? Did you want to sit on his lap instead?”

“Wuh- You—!” Lavender eyes popped open at the ribald remark. Ignoring her urge to squish that smile off those mischievous cheeks, Essairyn whipped her gaze away and tromped toward the store.

Although curious about the redhead’s unexpected appearance in Farinheld, Essairyn pushed aside the fluttering misgivings of such a coincidence to the back of her mind. It was a small town, so she would eventually figure out his identity.

Once inside, all thoughts vanished at the sight of the shop interior. The somewhat dimly-lit, large space was orderly crammed to the brim in an assortment of bright wares. From daily necessities of townspeople to essentials for passing adventurers, the store covered all the bases of potential visitors. It was a true one-stop convenience shop with all the quaint, rustic allure of the old countryside. Most would hardly be impressed by such a store, but to Essairyn, it was affirmation of living in a bygone fantasy.

While Akari perched herself by the window, Essairyn swayed eagerly toward the ceiling-high, open-back shelves on the right which seemed to be the side for adventurers. One shelf in the middle was dedicated for potions of various colors and differing purposes. She carefully picked up a bottle to inspect the rich, blue-green liquid swirling inside the delicate glass. The celadon glimmered enticingly, casting soft flecks of light onto nearby surfaces. With the bottle still in hand, she bent down to a lower shelf to look at the other colors more closely. The clink and chime of glasses as she repositioned bottles sent small thrills flushing over her countenance.

But composing herself, she fixed her eyes resolutely on the shelf for mid-potions and lightly skimmed over the bottles with her fingertips. Upon glossing over an emerald potion, her lavender eyes refocused beyond the foreground of glass and glimpsed scintillating green orbs.

“You—” Her lips uttered a word before her momentarily blank mind could stop her from suddenly speaking. At the inquiring sound, the man on the other side turned his head and peered through the wall of magic potions. She could no longer see those virescent irises. Was I just imagining it?

Quickly rebounding from her blunder, Essairyn waved her hands at the hooded man. “Ah, sorry!” She withdrew her flustered gaze and diverted her attention back to the potions, waiting for the stranger to walk away.

But he merely smiled a soft expression. “You,” he began with subtle bow, “we meet again, my lady.”