Morning had came when Freya opened her eyes.

Her head was feeling hazy; the sun shining through the window made it worse, but the melodical chirping of the birds alleviated her head. Above her was an unfamiliar wood ceiling she had never seen before. All of that felt familiar to her. The feeling was the same as when she first woke up as Freya.

She rose up from the bed, feeling the aching of her body in the process. Every part of her body ached from fatigue. Still feeling light headed, she placed a palm on her forehead. Even tiny movement like that caused some pain. She then perked her head up to assess her surrounding; when she did, she breathed relieve.

It’s not the same.

To her right, sleeping on a chair beside her bed, was Elaine. Her long azure blue hair was a mess and her smug look caused by a curve on her lips remained even when asleep. An imperfection that made her Elaine. Still, that didn’t throw her soft face away. She was sleeping so soundly and Freya doubt she could wake her up if she tried.

In front of her bed was Ray, also sleeping on a chair. There was a small table beside him where he rested his arm. His right arm was bandaged and it seemed like it had gone through a lot. Out of everyone, he was the most wounded. From the way he slept, it seemed that it was more proper to say that he had collapsed from exhaustion rather than asleep.

And to the left of the bed was the knight, Dunnford. Casually reading his morning newspaper on his chair, not realizing that Freya was awake. The headline of the news read: ‘Library Raid by Bandits and Mercenaries’.

‘... Did the library make it?’ Freya asked.

Dunnford lowered the wall of newspaper and peeked from the top. ‘Oh, you’re awake Freya.’ He set the newspaper aside. ‘I have tea if you’d like.’ He presented the tea set on the floor beside his chair. The table was after all being used by Ray.

‘Jasmine?’

‘Yes, how do you know?’

‘... Just feeling nostalgic.’ The tea Laguna had given her when she first woke up as Freya was jasmine. ‘I’ll have a cu—‘ Freya looked at the tea set and corrected herself: ‘I’ll have a glass please.’

‘Okay.’ Dunnford took an empty glass and poured the jasmine tea from a pot. Steam still rose from the tea, making her believe that the tea was still extremely hot. However, from the way Dunnford was handing the glass to her, she was inclined to believe that her eyes were playing a trick on her. Well, it wasn’t her eyes.

‘Hot.’ She quickly retracted her hand when her finger touched the scalding hot glass. Her pointing finger went to her earlobe to cool the heat.

‘Oh, Sorry,’ Dunnford apologized. ‘I forgot it’s still hot.’

Freya wondered how Dunnford could have forgotten that the tea was still hot, especially since his hand was hugging the glass. Some of the hot tea spilled to his finger due to Freya’s surprise, but he gave no reaction whatsoever. His Special Magic is something…

The feeling of heat on her finger reminded Freya of fire. And fire reminded her of the library. ‘Did the library make it?’ Freya asked.

‘Yes,’ Dunnford answered. ‘Some parts got burnt, but the bandits and mercenaries failed to deal real damage to the library. The guards were capable to defend the library and make it out alive.’

That’s good to hear, Freya thought. ‘How long have I been asleep?’ Freya went on from one question to the next.

‘The battle occurred yesterday night.’

‘What time is it now?’

‘Near eleven morning.’ Freya made a mental note of the time that had been lost. ‘Why do you as—' Dunnford cut himself short—'is there something wrong with your shoulder?’

Upon questioned, Freya realized that her right hand had found its way to her left shoulder. It wasn’t weird that he thought something was wrong with her shoulder when looking at the gesture. ‘Just a habit,’ she explained. ‘Speaking of which, the library is still open right?’

‘The newspaper says that it’s still open to the public.’

‘Great. I’m going there.’ Freya threw her blanket aside and her feet touched the floor. When she did, she felt pain all over her legs coursing through the entirety of her body and winced.

‘Don’t force yourself,' Dunnford told her. 'You were out completely when I found you on the ground beside the fallen leader of Skulls. If you’d like a book, I’ll take it for you.’

‘No.’ Freya shook her head. ‘I need to be there to... claim my end of the deal.’ Freya stood up from the bed. Painful, but she was still able to walk. Everything should be fine so long as she didn’t overexert her legs.

‘Surely the deal could wait.’

‘The deal could. I couldn’t.’ Freya said with a smile.

***

Loud knockings on the door had woken Elaine up.

Elaine still felt tired from what happened the night before, her head felt heavy and her eyes refused to open. Curious about the knockings however, Elaine refused the temptation to go back to sleep.

As she opened her eyes, she could see Dunnford coming back from the door after checking who it was. Elaine yawned and looked to her right with blurry eyes, Ray too was awake because of the loud knockings.

‘Who was that?’ Ray asked Dunnford, his voice was dozy.

‘Someone searching for Freya,’ Dunnford answered. ‘I told her she’s not here and he said he would return later. Would you like jasmine tea Master Ray?’

‘Sure.’ He hid his yawn with his hand.

She’s not... here? Elaine thought as she picked Dunnford’s words.

Elaine turned her head to the left; and to her surprise, Freya wasn’t there on the bed.

‘Where’s Freya?’ Elaine immediately asked Dunnford, worrying about her disappearance.

‘She went to the library 10 minutes ago. Would you like jasmine tea Miss Elaine?’

‘Isn’t she supposed to be on bed?’

‘She’s supposed to.’ Dunnford was pouring the content of the teapot to a glass as he spoke.

‘Why didn’t you stop her?’ There was no fatal wounds on Freya, but the doctor had said last night that she had pushed her stamina to the limit. No, past the limit.

‘I tried. But I’m not good enough with words to persuade her. She said she needed to claim her end of a deal she made, so I assume it’s important.’ He placed the glass of tea on Ray's table, telling him to be careful as the tea might still be hot.

‘Can’t the deal wait?’ Elaine asked. What deal did she make anyway? And with who?

‘I said the same thing.’

‘Why the hurry though?’ Ray joined in.

‘I have no idea.’

... Should I also catch up to the library? Elaine asked herself. She then saw the inscriptions on Dunnford’s body. The inscriptions on him that sealed his use of Elemental Magic still remained. He had gotten himself swallowed by the Cerberus in her stead, so the least she could do to return the favor would be by breaking his seal. But I can’t take trial and error approach.

‘I’m going out to find a way to break your seal,’ Elaine said. She knew what she had to do.

‘Thank you, but you should prioritize on giving yourself a rest first. Would you like tea?’

‘I need something to do while I rest anyway. Thank you for the offer, but I must refuse. I’ll have the tea later when I return please.’ Elaine stood up from her chair. She felt the tiredness from yesterday as her body felt heavy to move. It might also be because she slept on the chair though. ‘What are you both going to do?’

‘I thought of taking care on everyone since I’m unwounded. But it’s unneeded it turns out,’ Dunnford said.

So he’s going to accompany Ray then.

‘Rest. And perhaps train,’ Ray answered briefly.

‘I don’t advise training,’ Dunnford said.

‘I agree, but I learned yesterday that in battles, despite the amount of wounds you have, you have to fight. It would be nice if I can figure out how to fight while wounded for future battles. If there’s any.’

‘That’s sound. Then I suppose we could train a little.’

‘So you’re both going to be here to train?’

‘‘Yes.’’ Both of them answered

‘Okay.’ I need to check on Dunnford’s seal once I get my lead after all. ‘I’ll be leaving then.’

***

Freya munched an apple. The apple was rather dry and couldn’t compare to the one she had had before at her hometown, but it was good enough for breakfast.

Walking to the library, Freya had taken the road which had gotten decimated by the Cerberus. The center of the path she took was shattered to pieces; full of obstacles and holes. Thankfully, the side of the path was still good enough to walk on. As she looked at the Cerberus’ footprints on the ground, she wondered if there would have been less damage had she fought the beast at the library. But then the guards would suffer many casualties and I would have never gone to Skulls’ base. Who knows what would have happened to the others if I didn’t go there.

Some people lost their place because of the Cerberus. As Freya was walking, she saw one man sitting on the ground with a desperate expression on his face. His home was gone; and he had to somehow deal with that. However, Freya believed that as long as the man was still alive and well, he could renew what was lost.

Once again, Freya looked at the Cerberus’ large footprints. Looking at the damage, Arkef would have to re-budget their funding to fix them. Or perhaps ignore the destruction and frame the spot as tourist attraction. Arkef might even profit from that, Freya thought. She tried looking at the bright side of things.

‘Freya!’ Someone called her. An old man who had drove the carriage that got her to Arkef. ‘Remember me?’

‘Kuiper!’ Freya called back. She remembered what occurred yesterday when she was running away from the Cerberus. ‘Glad you took my warning and went to the side last night.’

‘Ha, I didn’t doubt you at all,’ he said with a smile. ‘Anyway, I desperately need you to tell me what happened yesterday. It sounds like an interesting story I could tell other customers during the ride.’

‘Sure, just come visit me later at The Hearth, I’m staying there. I would talk with you now, but the library is calling me.’

‘Ah, okay. Expect my visit then.’ Kuiper waved his hand.

‘I look forward to it.’ Freya waved back with a polite smile.

Mayhap if Freya was just a run of the mill adventurer, she could have taken it lax and spoke with Kuiper. If that was the case, then what Dunnford said was right: the deal could wait. But that wasn’t the case. Sure, she had had a tiring night and that she deserved rest, but she couldn’t waste her time. She didn’t have the leisure to rest.

Freya took a turn and the library was within sight. Dunnford was right, some part is burnt. But if repaired creatively, it could add a unique style to the library.

‘Freya!’ The second time someone called her name today, but not Kuiper again. It was Lance, the library’s guard. He made it alive. ‘Glad to see you well.’

‘Glad to see you well too, Lance,’ she said with a smile. Again, just like with Kuiper, she wouldn’t mind chatting with Lance, but her deal awaited. She would have walked past through him if he wasn’t blocking the way.

‘The other guards and I are celebrating our miraculous victory yesterday, somehow it was as if the enemies couldn’t see us. Would you like to join us later? You did contribute a lot.’

‘Sure,’ Freya said without giving a second thought. ‘But I have things to attend to in the library. Talk to you later after I’m done?’

‘Surely.’ Lance sidestepped and made way for her to enter the library. ‘Please.’

‘Thank you.’ Freya went inside the library. Lance's wounds were still bandaged and yet he still worked. Freya assumed that Arkef was lacking men.

Freya had decided to leave Celeste at The Hearth. Her body still felt tired and her limited strength would be used by carrying Celeste on her waist. Due to leaving Celeste behind, she didn’t have to deal with the library’s receptionist and go through procedures to let them hold on to her sword. She could just walk into the library and up the stairs without any complications.

As Freya went into the library, a light blue circle floating in the air greeted her. A color which only Freya could see. The circle then floated away slowly, leading Freya to an isolated part of the library. Without questioning, Freya followed the light blue circle and when they have arrived, Jerry, the fairy, undid his water magic and showed himself. He had the smile of a victor.

‘Everyone forgot about you fairies during the battle last night,' Freya remarked. Including me.

‘Fairies are good at concealing themselves, it’s what we do!’ Jerry said. ‘And apparently we’re good enough to conceal others too.’

Lance did mention that his enemies couldn’t see them, Freya thought. So the fairies aided the guards in the battle with the magic they use to conceal themselves. Now Lance’s statement made sense. The enemies really couldn't see them.

More fairies then showed up, appearing from the shelves, the first batch of fairies who appeared were Jerry's crew: Rayna, Jeremy, and the triplets. They looked fine without any wounds, and if Freya were to point out a change in them, it would be the prideful look they all had now because of saving their brethren. More fairies then showed up, fairies that Freya had never seen before. They must be the fairies that was locked by Vath and now freed. One of the fairy, an elderly who had a white mustache and seemingly having an air of importance, greeted her.

‘As the elder, I thank you for helping us free our kin,’ he said with a bow. The other fairies followed the gesture.

Freya wanted to skip the formalities, but she found it inappropriate to skip the gesture. So what she did was to hasten the formalities and cut directly to the deal. ‘You’re welcome. Forgive my directness, but will you lead me to the stolen books?’

‘Pardon?’ The elder asked.

‘Ah, elder, I made a deal with her before,' Jerry explained. 'I promised to lead her to the stolen books if she helps us. Which she did. Because she fought with Vath, Jeremy and I could easily free everyone.’

‘Well?' The elder asked.

'Pardon?'

'She helped us, Jerry! Don’t get her to the books, get the books to her!’ He scolded him.

‘Right away!’ Jerry flew away in a jiffy.

'The others too! Help Jerry out! This lady here had helped us reclaim our freedom!' The other fairies then scrambled and followed Jerry to retrieve the books. The elder then turned to Freya. ‘Sorry about that. Had I known about this deal, I would have asked everyone to get the books here before you arrive.'

'It's fine. And I don't mind being lead to the books. What matters is whether or not I can read them.'

The elder then caressed his moustache and raised an eyebrow. 'Do you love books?'

'I wouldn't say I love books,' Freya said.

'Then why would you want to read them? I can see that you're still tired; it was a long night yesterday. The books don't have legs and they won't run from you. There's no hurry to read them.'

Subconsciously, Freya placed a hand on her shoulder. She considered on whether or not he should tell the elder. Telling him a little wouldn't hurt. 'I'm seeking for certain information.'

'Of what kind?'

'That's...' Freya's words trailed and an awkward silence followed.

'Sorry, perhaps it's a secret you'd like to keep? It's not good of me to pry if you don't want to disclose it.'

'It's not exactly a secret, I'm just hiding it from my allies.'

'That's the exact definition of a secret.'

Freya laughed. 'You're right.'

'I won't pry if you wouldn't like to disclose the secret, but I might be able to help you with the information you're trying to seek,' the elder offered.

He was right. Hiding it from the elder might ruin Freya's chance of actually finding what she wanted to find. But... 'Please don't spread the secret.'

'I won't. You have my words.'