It was nighttime now in Ryum. And azure was having doubts. Everything had happened so quickly and he went along with it. Why was he still trying to help these teens? Was it because deep down he was a nice person? Or was he somehow programmed to do it? Was it some instinct he had from before? And now it was coming back in full force?

Part of him hated it. He remembered his times back as an Advisor. It was constant danger. If the heroes weren't trying to kill him, his advisee was. It didn't help that the contract he made forced people into megalomania.

Back when he was Arnold, he didn't think anything of it. That was who he was. But now? Now he was another person. One that hated feeling forced into something.

He realized then he still hasn't forgiven Anith, despite traveling with her for so long. She had apologized, but azure still saw how she looked at him. It was as if he would show his true colors at any moment.

Was he even doing the right thing? What if these elves were rebelling against a tyrannical kingdom? Sure, mind control seemed morally problematic but what group didn't use questionable methods when faced with impossible odds. Plus, mind control was an easy way to have a bloodless coup.

But that was only if he ignores the other terrible acts. Burning a rival nation's village and executing their citizens was cruel. There was also the way that elf called Manal acted. It seemed a sure bet that this coup was corrupt.

Azure realized he was avoiding the main question. Should he help save these other summoned teenagers? He hadn't exactly bonded with Lin or Liza. Both treated him like a teacher and he already knew how he felt about Anith.

But could he leave them to face an enemy that used their friends as soldiers? He wanted to say yes. But his mind kept going back to when he first arrived on this planet. Without thinking, he had acted to save everyone he could when that banishment spell misfired.

Azure stared at the patterned ceiling. He sighed, or he tried to. It was like he kept forgetting he didn't need to breathe. He would open his mouth, but air wouldn't go in or out.

The thought of his body took his mind away from his problems. He wasn't comfortable in it. Parts of him were too thin, or his body moved wrong. The more he thought about it the worse he felt.

Azure had long made peace with his soul merging, but his body was a different story. His body was something perverse. A mashup of his past selves. Whoever did such a good job merging him really dropped the ball on his body.

His mind spiraled. He closed his eyes so he didn't see his blue skin. He felt his tail press into him, so he turned on the bed. He threw off his covers so he didn't feel his tail on them. He felt terrible.

At some point, Azure must have slept, because he found himself blinking at bright light in his eyes. He looked up, unconsciously making sure to avoid seeing his body. The curtains had been drawn open, letting the light of the sun shine through.

“Good morning sir.” Someone said.

Azure turned and saw the servant from yesterday. “Morning.” He replied.

“I’ve come to inform you that the equipment you requested is ready. Do you require help in donning it?” The servant directed Azure over to a corner of the room where a set of armor and other materials sat.

Azure got up and walked over. He had requested paper, or something equivalent, and writing implements. He had been led to a paper craftsman, where he had purchased a blank book. That craftsman directed him over to some who sold him a quill and ink. The purchases were currently wrapped in cloth and resting next to a stand of armor.

The reminded Azure of Roman legionnaires. Except each piece of metal held the same checkered pattern present in all of Ryum. He couldn’t tell what the lamellar armor was made out of but it looked very sturdy. Under it was a padded longsleeved shirt. He rubbed the material in his hands. It felt almost like leather.

The hands and forearms were covered by gauntlets. Azure saw that the gauntlets didn’t cover his fingers, which bothered him until he saw the padded gloves next to them. He wouldn’t have the best protection for his hands, but there was something to prevent shallow cuts. He didn’t expect his hands to be targeted but they were vitally important in preparing spells. Any protection was welcome.

His eyes trailed down the armor. Below the chestpiece was a long skirt. It was also two pieces. The leather portion trailed down to the skins and was thicker than the other pieces. The metal skirt was long, thick bars all joined together around a leather belt. He saw that there were hooks on both skirts so that they were secured together.

The greaves were a combination of thick leather boots and metal shinguards. The boot itself only had metal on the toe. Azure tried it on and noticed it was very flexible. The shinguards hooked onto the heel and were belted on top.

Overall, the armor seemed very protective and gave some mobility.

He pulled the armor off the stand. The lamellar clanked on the ground as Azure undid the straps. Embarrassed, he picked the metal piece back up and sat it back on the stand.

“I might need some help getting it on,” Azure said sheepishly.

The servant nodded and walked over. He directed Azure over to a mirror as he prepared everything. It wasn’t a clean mirror, more polished metal than anything truly reflective. But it still showed enough of Azure for everything to come crashing back. Sleep had pushed away all his doubts and insecurities but the plug had been pulled free once again.

His face was too thin. Narrow and long. On his head rested short nubs of ochre-colored horns. His skin was blue, which was oddly the thing he was fine with. It was the other things. His tail was too long and thick. His feet were too wide and flat. The Ochre nails and horns were absolutely disgusting.

“I look terrible.” he breathed out.

The more he stared, the more he found at fault. There were small hairs on his chest and no hair on his arms. Azure grew restless. He needed to move away from the mirror, or erase everything wrong with his body. Unconsciously, he scratched his nails together.

As Azure waited in increasing stress, the servant was preparing the first piece of armor. He lifted Azure’s arms as he helped the man into it. The thick leather covered him in darkness before settling completely onto his torso. Azure was then given the skirt to put on.

As he did he noticed something. The thick clothes easily covered the problems on his body. He knew they were still there, but not having to see them helped immensely. With more enthusiasm, he slipped into the boots. His ugly feet were replaced by passable shoes and Azure breathed a bit easier. Now the only piece to put on was the gloves.

He fit the gloves over his hands, sliding them all the way up his forearm. But there was a problem. Azure’s nails were so sharp they pierced the leather, ochre nails poking through.

“I need a file. Or clippers,” Azure said.

“Sir?” The servant didn’t quite hear Azure.

“A file! Or clippers! Something to cut the damn nails!” He snapped.

Pale, the servant bowed and left the room. He rushed back in with a man holding a small pair of scissors. The man was a barber, and they were responsible for trimming nails along with hair.

“I need these nails cut.” Azure directed.

The barber nodded and set to work. His first snip tried cutting the nail at the base, but he couldn’t get any leverage to cut the nails. Next, the barber tried cutting the tip. But he still couldn’t slice into them. Determined, the barber sent for a file. He was going to sand away the nails.

The servant came back with a file and the barber went to work. He tried filing down the tip first, but Azure’s nail only dug into the metal. In frustration, the barber called for another file.

The second file came back and this time the barber worked along the nail and not against it. This stopped the nails from damaging the file but barely anything was shaved off with each stroke. By the time the first finger was done, everyone had gathered in Azure’s room to wait.

“Why not wrap your nails in something instead?” Lin asked.

Azure grumbled. “Fine, I guess it doesn’t make that much of a difference.”

Pieces of cloth were brought over for Azure. He wrapped each finger and then pulled the gloves over his hands. This time his nails didn’t poke out. Relieved, Azure turned to the others.

“We were discussing plans of action while you were, busy,” Anith said. Her tone was belittling. “We believe our best option is to follow the Ryum army and engage the heroes ourselves.

“There are five of them, six if you count that elf. We’d be outnumbered.” Azure wasn’t confident in those odds.

“We can recruit the help of others with gold,” Anith answered. “I have more than enough as the princess of Kitch.”

“But that was before the coup. Do you still have access to those funds?” Azure countered.

“How could I not? None would dare bar me for fear of retaliation.” Anith shot back.

“What if the king gave the order?” Azure questioned.

“Father would never do that.” She said in concrete terms.

“He isn’t going to be himself. Remember what those elves were doing to the heroes. To you?” Azure was getting tired of the woman’s bull-headedness.

Anith frowned as if this was the first time the thought came to her. “Fine, what other options are there?”

“Train some more. Learn to face opponents who outnumber you. If you do that, shouldn’t your divine self learn an ability for it?” Azure answered.

“That would take too long!” Liza complained.

“You have no support for saving your friends, no money to hire helpers, and no training to confront them. How are you going to save them like that?” Azure looked at the two teens.

“Can’t we use your crazy magic?” Liza argued.

Azure grimaced. That was probably true. Given some time he could think of something to help. It probably wouldn’t even take that long.

But that would make these teens reliant on him. He didn’t want that. He might be helping them out right now but he knew one thing. Azure didn’t really want to end up mentoring another person for a while. He needed to figure himself out first.

“No, you can’t,” Azure answered.

“What! Why not!” Liza exclaimed.

“What if they target me first? What if I go down? What will you do then? Plus, if I can do it on my own why are you even going? Why not request me to do it?” Azure was shooting out every argument he had.

“Sarah is my friend and I’m going to save her,” Liza replied.

“So why not let me do it on my own?” Azure pushed back.

“Because!” Liza yelled. “I can help do it!”

Lin spoke up. “I don’t know Liza. Azure probably could do it on his own. Why not let him?”

Anith also turned to Liza. All three were now looking at her with questioning eyes. Frustrated, she turned away, stomping off towards the door.

“Fine! I don’t care. I’m going off to practice or something.” She kicked at the floor as she left.

“Azure, would you really be willing to save them on your own?” Lin asked.

Azure nodded. “I can do it. But afterward, everything would be up to you guys. I need to find some answers about myself and I can’t do that with everyone around.”

“I can convince Liza,” Lin said.

“And I would be happy to compensate you on your success,” Anith said.

Azure turned to the princess. “Saving the heroes wouldn’t help with the elf problem.”

“No, but you would be solving the problem I caused. We can discuss compensation for helping fight the elves later.” She replied.

“Well, if I’m going to do this I need some time to prepare spells. But I’ll make sure to tell you when I leave.” Azure said.

Anith nodded. “Thank you for your help.”