At six in the morning, the bells rang to inform the citizens both of the time and that there would be another announcement today at noon, two hours from now. I had thought that we wouldn’t need those anymore for a while, but a former beast staying in town wasn’t something I was comfortable just putting on the bulletin board. Before that could happen, however, Lilana had to calm down.

‘You promised me lying or sitting...’

“I know, I’m sorry. I really didn’t expect you to wake up so early.”

‘You should’ve factored that in!’

“I said I’m sorry!”

‘And to put scripts on my entire body...’

“At least it was only the front,” I said ironically.

‘Not funny...’

“It won’t happen again, I promise.”

‘Hmph.’

Lilana didn’t have it easy with me at times, but it wouldn’t be long before I left her now. The three weeks I had decided on as the upper limit to stay with her were almost over, and everything was lining up relatively well with the time when the leader position was supposed to transition from the divine messenger to someone else.

“So you’re really two people in one?” Hati asked. “It wasn’t just a way to explain your mana changes?”

I hadn’t told him about our exact situation yet, but after Lilana woke up and we started arguing despite us, it had quickly become obvious to him that we were two actual humans in one body, talking to each other. Afterwards, there was no reason to try to obscure that fact anymore.

“Yea, pretty much. But only we can hear each other.”

Hati seemed to think my words over for a moment. “Is it like... a voice in your head?”

“... Yes, it is,” I said in surprise. “Do you know about that?”

“Kind of. Some moderators briefly hear voices right after changing. I heard it’s supposed to be your old, wild side or something. But I didn’t hear anything myself.”

That does sound similar... and if the voice then disappears, the merge is presumably completed...

“Interesting... Do you know of a beast that didn’t have the voice disappear?” I asked him.

“No, I think they always disappear very quickly.”

Hati hadn’t known the term “Split One,” but if this “two souls in one body” situation wasn’t exclusive to me and my hosts, it stood to reason that someone might’ve heard about it at some point and came up with a name. Although it still seemed weird, seeing how supposedly nobody had known about talking beasts before now.

“Hm, alright,” I said. “Thanks for the information.”

“You’re welcome!” Hati said happily.

I had to assume that, sooner or later, moderators would come here again. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to that day, but at least we might get a chance to gather even more information then. Hati was happy to help us, but someone like his former leader would presumably know a lot more.

Our arguments and discussions had reached a natural end when there was a knock on the door.

“Yes?” I said, and the door opened to reveal Tomar, Zara, and Riala, who had seemingly come here together.

“Good morning!” Riala said as she came running into the room and immediately jumped on Hati’s back, made possible by him still lying on the floor.

“Hello!” Hati said.

“Good morning,” I said to the three as I smiled at Riala cuddling with the huge wolf.

Zara looked somewhat uncomfortable as this scene unfolded, but she didn’t say anything while Tomar stepped inside and motioned for her to come in as well, closing the door behind them.

“Good morning, Lilly...” Zara said. “Is it a good time?”

“Sure. Come,” I said, gesturing at one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk, inviting her to sit down.

After agreeing to meet today to talk about Riala, I had expected her to come here at some point, though not necessarily first thing in the morning. But it wasn’t an issue either. Meanwhile, Tomar gave me a quick wave and then sat down next to Berla on the couch.

After taking her place across from me, Zara briefly glanced behind her, towards Hati and Riala, before she started addressing me. “I’ll be honest... I have a hard time wrapping my head around everything that’s happening here...” she said.

“I see. Can I do anything to help you with that?” I asked.

“Hm... I don’t know if you know, but our mother was killed by a beast. It wasn’t the same kind as... him... but that Riala is essentially playing with a beast... I know you’re thinking of him as an animal, but I... And I’m acquainted with a guard who watched the fight and saw him before he changed...”

Another mystery solved, I thought. Even before we had ever seen a bear, Riala mentioned that her sister had told her about a kind of beast that was larger and burlier than a wolf, but she didn’t know how Zara knew about it. If the one that killed their mother hadn’t been a wolf, it was probably a bear, and Tomar’s father, who died that same night, had presumably fallen prey to the same beast.

That Zara knew what it had looked like suggested that she saw it with her own eyes though, since the guards probably wouldn’t have told a little girl what the beast that killed her mother looked like in detail. If she had actually seen such a monster before, I was a little surprised that she was fine with being in one room with a beast, but maybe she trusted us enough to believe that she and her sister were fine as long as we were close by.

“I heard about the incident, but I didn’t know the details,” I said. “It’s terrible how many citizens have lost loved ones over all these centuries, and it’s quite natural for you to be apprehensive. But did you know that they’re scared of us as well?”

“The... beasts? Why would they be?” Zara asked in surprise.

“Hati, would you tell her a little about your life as a wild one?”

He nodded, and as Zara turned around to him, he started telling her some of the things we had already heard from him.

Ever since he was little, he had mostly tried to avoid humans. This was only natural, because the humans most beasts saw out in the woods were Fighters, and they didn’t take beasts lightly, even if they were still young. Or rather, their age and inexperience would even be a chance for the Fighters to get rid of them before they became a true threat. For a young, wolf-type beast, it was feasible to hide from humans and live off of forest animals alone, but as they grew up, they needed too much meat to comfortably live off of rabbits, deer, boars, and other critters alone. Especially with the competition out there, which could be quite fierce. At that point, many of them would begrudgingly start to attack the Fighters and Workers in the Wildlands as well, or even invade towns if they were particularly desperate. It was a difficult life, and hearing his story made me have sympathy for them.

“This is a side of the beasts we never knew about before,” I said after Hati finished, “and I’m hoping that we can find better ways for humans and beasts to coexist. The gods’ blessings are a start, as they ensure that the wild beasts don’t approach the town, but maybe we can do even more, and Hati here is our connection to that other world. He might have lived out there, but I have no doubt that he is good. What about you, do you see him as evil?”

Zara glanced back at Hati and Riala once more with a scrutinizing look. We had talked a little bit about this to him and explained that some people might be wary of him. Since he had been wary of humans as well for the longest time, this was easy for him to understand and accept. At the same time, he was much more open to trusting humans now, after he met us. Given his friendliness, how forthcoming he was, and the scene before us, with a little girl sitting on his back, one would be really hard pressed to call him a monster.

“If he’s intelligent... what if he’s lying to you...?” Zara said, turning around, avoiding looking at Hati.

Lilana would’ve probably said something about the gods in response, how they had led us to this point, how a former beast would help us right wrongs, and how the gods wouldn’t send us a liar. However, I was getting kind of tired of referencing the gods every step of the way.

“Hey, Hati. Would you lie to me?”

“Of course not!” he said immediately.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re the alpha!”

“The... alpha?” Zara asked.

“The interesting thing about animals and beasts is that they don’t quite think like humans,” I said. “They are more honest, and they respect when someone is stronger than them. They wouldn’t scheme to take someone out behind their back, or come up with an intricate plan to betray you. I’m the leader, and as long as he’s here, he’s going to respect that above everything else. Because he knows that we’re stronger. Including your sister.”

It felt a little weird and pretentious to talk about him like this while he was in the room, but I knew he wouldn’t mind, and I was hoping that it would sound imposing to Zara, because I honestly didn’t have a better argument. She wasn’t wrong. Technically, Hati could be trying to trick us, but I didn’t see it. I trusted in our instincts that he wasn’t a threat, and in us being able to stop him, even if he did try something. Not to mention that it would’ve been much easier for him to simply leave, which had been the alternative plan. Unless he was here to spy on us, there just weren’t a lot of potential risks in my mind, and him spying seemed like a stretch.

“I see...” Zara said. “I did hear that she killed several beasts out there...”

“Naturally, I’m not happy that we had to take her with us. This certainly isn’t a normal activity for a child. That said... We really needed her. The town needed her. And I’d like to once again thank you for giving your permission. Under different circumstances, we would’ve never put her in danger like that.”

Nope, we definitely wouldn’t have. Though she might very well do that all on her own, regardless of any attempts to stop her...

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Zara said. “I still have some doubts... but... I have thought about your proposal, and Riala and I have talked about it extensively. I want to hear more about what you have in mind.”

“Certainly,” I said. “I’d like for Riala to work seven days a week, during which she would stay with us, to receive lessons whenever possible. On the eighth, and the two nights before and after, she will stay at home, though as I mentioned before, you two can naturally also visit each other any time.

“Aside from the scripture sigils, she will learn reading, writing, history, math, and a few more topics. Out of necessity, she will also receive combat lessons. We will prepare her to work as a full-fledged Sourcerer once she turns fifteen, though she will also be free to choose another job or get a Calling once the time comes. And with the things we’re going to teach her, she might even be able to rival some Researchers or Fighters, setting her up for a series of potential jobs, no matter which path she chooses.

“Finally, she will receive six hundred kira a month as compensation during the first four years and one thousand two hundred during the second half of her apprenticeship.”

“She’s not going to be paid per hour?” Zara asked.

“No, that would be inconvenient for this model.”

“Six hundred...” she said, presumably calculating her own monthly wage and comparing it.

An average adult, living alone, would need about eight hundred kira a month to sustain himself in Alarna, just for food, blue stones, and rent. Many jobs, particularly in the Handiworker space, would apparently pay per hour, allowing employees to work a little more, to earn extra money. This was something Zara and Tomar’s mother, Phiona, had made use of as the only earners in their respective families.

With the wage I proposed for Riala, she would earn less than what I suspected Zara to make at the moment, even during the second half of the apprenticeship, but it would be quite respectable for her age. Especially when she didn’t have to pay any rent. Given that her job included potential fights with beasts, however, I found that reasonable.

“That’s more than I expected...” Zara said.

“The wage naturally needs to reflect the workload, and your sister will have a lot to learn and help us with. Additionally, there is the potential risk of having to protect the town.”

“Right...” Zara said, nodding in understanding.

She then looked down for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. Her facial expression was difficult to interpret at that moment, but I figured that she wouldn’t even have asked for more information if she wasn’t already considering this idea. Riala had also surely pestered her about it every day, softening her up, and it was a rather attractive proposition in my mind.

“I must ask you for one thing...” she said, as she slowly looked up again and her eyes met mine. “Please take good care of her... And don’t let her take any unnecessary risks.”

“Of course,” I said with a serious expression and nodded.

“Alright. She may become your apprentice.”

“Yay!” Riala exclaimed. After sliding down Hati’s side, she ran up to her sister, still sitting at the desk, and hugged her from the side. “Thank you, sis!”

“And you...” Zara said, “I expect you to do a good job.”

“Of course!” Riala said, beaming at her.

“Well! Congratulations, Riala! And welcome aboard!” I said.

“Welcome back!” Tomar said, while Berla smiled at her and gave her an encouraging nod.

In a way, it might seem like I was tricking Zara into letting her sister stay with us, but I had every intention to make good on my promises. I had high hopes for her, and I sincerely believed that, if nothing else, she would become an incredible “Sourcerer” in the future.