I had finished showing the newcomers a bit around and explaining to them how things work around here, giving myself as the main guy and Patir as the second. I try to spy a little on him and the noble and his entourage, but I don’t get much out of it and I won’t risk messing with nobility again.

I am a bit concerned, since Patir didn’t get to silently hand over the gold as he had hoped, but rather declared it to be tax, like I thought was the original plan. Perhaps since he knows the character, he didn’t think a bribe would do anything? I shake the thought off me and head to a special place.

Patir had previously suggested a delegation from the lord might arrive in some form or another and that we should provide a place for Kassa to hide in that case. We did and I am heading there now to keep her company. It is nothing but a small shelter with a bit of preserved meat and water to keep her company.

I spot Kassa lying down, looking bored. She hasn’t been training as much recently and has adopted bit of a cocky attitude. Part of the reason might be her impressive growth. While she hasn’t grown shapely like the young Yasia, she has grown tall. By now, she reaches my eyes when standing next to me and I fear she will eclipse me within a year. A sigh a little remembering the shy little girl instead of this almost grown-up rebel.

“Hey, Kassa!” I say, walking over to her.

“Oh, hey Yian!” she greets me relaxed with a simple raise of hand. “Take a seat” she says as she claps the ground next to her and I do.

“Really sorry about this. But you know how shitty the world can be.” I start off the conversation with an apology for having to hide her.

“Haha, no worries, I know you mean me well… But, regarding that… I have been thinking.”

“There is a first for everything” I childishly interject which earns me a swift jab. Kassa is not booksmart, and a bit embarrassed by it.

“No, really… It’s a little serious.” The tone changes.

“I’m listening.”

“I am thinking of leaving.” My heart drops a little.

“What? Why?”

“It’s not really the fault of you guys… I mean, it is, but not in a way you can be faulted for.”

“I’m listening”. She sighs a bit.

“There’s just no good guys, you know? Everyone is so weak and meager.” I don’t think that’s true. The boys who Kassa often hangs out with are pretty rowdy and strong for their age. She just eclipses them.

“And is that a must?”

She pauses a little.

“Yeah. I’m feeling lonely as of late… I have desires… Ideas…” She grows red-faced as she speaks about it.

“It’s okay, it’s perfectly natural and nothing to be ashamed of.” I assure her. I want to help her.

“Right…” She clears her throat a little before continuing. “I want to start a family. But the guys here… They are just pathetic when it comes to strength. It’s a huge turn-off. I want someone who at very least is stronger than me, preferably someone I can’t hold a candle to, and there’s just no one here that fits that bill.”

“Well, there is one” I say and laugh. It earns me another punch. She is right though. The current Kassa is clearly the second strongest around here and she is still growing stronger. I notice a slight discrepancy I should have noticed earlier. Kassa had a “mommy” and a “daddy” while the Silvestri I knew way back when didn’t have family structures like that, but she still insists on the aspect of being strong like them. I wonder if that is the difference between culture and nature.

“So what do you think?” She asks me.

“Honestly, I don’t like it. I think you are still too young. Give it another 3-4 years before setting out.” This world already considers Kassa an adult, as they do with all children of 13 or older, but I can’t help but see them as children.

“That’s too long!” She protests and laughs a little. Silence sets over us for a while before she asks me something again.

“Are you ever going to tell me what you are?”

“I am human, easy!” She punches me for a third time.

“You know what I mean. You don’t eat, you don’t sleep and you are stronger than anything I, or anyone else in this village, have ever seen. Will you ever tell me?” I get an idea.

“In three years I will tell you. If you’re still around that is”.

“You meanie!” Fourth punch, tied for personal best in a single conversation!

The chatter continues for a couple of hours until she falls asleep. I go and fetch Dixy, then depart to my own hiding spot to study magic. I also make the mistake of sharing Kassa’s woes with Dixy. “Leave her, we are better off without her!” Is the answer the book gives. Dixy really has a strange obsession with monopolizing me, but it is not like she can do anything about it when I spend time with others, so I ignore it as a fun character quirk, rather than the grotesque attitude it would be, were she human.

But really, Kassa wanting to leave makes me a bit sad. If she leaves, I will probably too, though I can’t tell her that. I think of leaving the villagers I have come to know and love back to their former misery. And for me, no more free cleaning and great cooking. No more sweet drinks. No more relaxing days with Patir. Heck, when I imagine losing them, I even feel melancholic about the days of being forced to eat with Yasia and her father. I brush it off and focus on the patterns in Dixy. Unfortunately, it seems I am the only thing that lasts forever.

In the morning, a terrible shout is heard. I am still close enough to the village in case anything happened, so I heard it clearly.

“EVERYONE ASSEMBLE!” Is cried. But it is not I, nor Patir that does so. It must be one of the strangers. I decide to go in order to not rouse suspicion.