The next morning, a change called his conscience back.

Yet instead of quickly getting up, he remained seated on the same grass that had witnessed his training from last night, and with lowered lashes, led his seventh sense to make a last check on his soul injuries.

Although he had no means to speed up the process, to know his Essence circulation was already passively healing them, was a relief. The severity of each new wound hadn’t really changed much, but a part of him thought he was making steady progress nonetheless.

Then, he opened his eyes, only for them to be struck by surprise, then realization. The change he felt had been subtle, yet definite, and he could now see the result of something grandma Mira mentioned, once the efficacy of his traps had been laid bare, a few weeks ago:

“I don’t know how long you’ll need to protect the village… but once the barrier is up again, you should probably erase them. We don’t want the adventurers who went in to get caught in one of them by accident, do we?”

Avaln nodded, recognizing the thin and yellow curtain as the barrier she told him about. He didn’t know its characteristics, nor its capabilities, but given the zone it was made to imprison, he guessed that carrying a spear full of demonic Essence near it, wasn’t a good idea, so he stood up and took a few steps back.

It seemed his time in Gale was coming to an end.

He took a deep breath, not out of sadness, or premature nostalgia, but as a way to ready himself for the next steps he planned to take.

First and foremost, he needed to go back to Greenleaf. Arthur and Ran must be worried sick, giving his disappearance, and now that he knew his unusual Essence circulation shouldn’t be detected by just anyone, as what most adventurers would sense was his body circulation, he shouldn’t invite any problem because of it.

Second, he planned to visit a library back at the city and use his Tower of Babylon to store all the general information he’d ignored during the last ten years he spent trying to read the blue book, as common knowledge would be the best armor against the treachery of life.

And third, he had to find a way to mask his Essence attribute, for an adventurer with an elementless Essence would soon become a target for the others. Given what grandma Mira told him about the different disciplines inside the Domain of Magic, he had an inkling about where to start looking.

And so, his steps soon took him through the forest, and to the outskirts of Gale…

“Old man, have you heard?! The barrier is up!”

“The barrier has returned to normal!”

“Am I hearing right?”

“About damn time! I began to worry we’d need to send another request to those lazy bastards!”

“Oh, it’s that boy.” An apple came flying towards Avaln, which he caught on the fly. When he looked in the direction it came from, the same old man who had blocked his path his first day in Gale returned his gaze. Avaln recalled he had been called old man Ji by Rei. “Boy! Working hard is good and all… but get some food in that bony body of yours.”

Once said this, he turned around on his bent knees and joined a group of villagers, coarse. The people around him bowed to Avaln, as if apologizing for his behavior, then followed his steps. Avaln blinked a few times, and after taking a long gander at the apple, he guessed that age made some people lose touch with their emotions. The relief the old man must have felt had probably fought the still fresh loss they suffered, resulting in his actions not matching his words.

After a sigh, he took the rug covering his ivory spear and rested it on his other shoulder, as his own steps took him to grandma Mira’s house.

“Master Avaln! Did you hear?” Rei came from inside, startling him. He didn’t expect her to be up so early, much less there. However, he didn’t voice such concerns. It wasn’t the time, nor did he consider them important. “The barrier has been restored!”

Rei's smile came as kind and cheerful, and he quickly found himself mirroring it. “Yes, I’ve heard.”

“We were about to serve breakfast.” She added, stepping aside as her pale, blue hair swayed. It had grown longer, now gently hiding her shoulders, and Avaln had to admit it gave her a certain charm. “Should be ready soon!”

Despite his long and arduous training from last night, Avaln didn’t feel the least bit hungry, yet before her invitation he found himself nodding.

“Come, sit in front of me.” Called grandma Mira, moving her own seat. “Leave that there, by the chair.”

Avaln leaned the spear against one of the walls she pointed at. “What about old man Jeff?” He inquired then. Eating breakfast together had become a kind of habit for them, even more after Avaln asked the artefact crafter to teach him the basics of his profession. At first, he believed it a long-shot, imagining the old man would ask him for his secrets in exchange, yet to his surprise, he agreed readily.

“Just promise me you’ll take it seriously.” Were his words.

When he commented it to grandma Mira, during one of their casual talks, she only shrugged and said, “Some hoard and die on their pile, others plant a tree so that someone else may enjoy the shade. There are times when leaving a legacy is a sweeter temptation than riches or knowledge.”

She didn’t add anything more, and Avaln had learnt already not to inquire further when she used that tone. It took him some time to fully understand her words though, yet Jeff’s attitude when teaching him, the sudden enthusiasm at his progress, made him realize the expectations the old smith had…

“Here.” Rei indicated, and Avaln, back in the present, was handed a plate with cheese, bread, nuts and some left-over meat he recognized from last night. He also left the apple from before on it. “Here.” She handed another plate to grandma Mira, same food yet a portion slightly smaller. “Tea?” Rei asked him then, placing a rebel lock of hair behind her ear with a gesture, as she bent close to him to grab the teapot. Her smell reminded Avaln of the first ray of a full moon. “Master Avaln?”

It took him half-a breath to react, and after blinking a few times, he smiled and nodded. Once his cup was full, Rei proceeded to fill grandma Mira’s, time in which he surprised himself tracing her features, her pale eye-lashes, her nose, her lips…

Avaln shook his head, smiling internally, his gaze back to his plate. A month had passed, and he couldn’t deny that in that time a certain part of him had grown fond of her, and longed to remain. It was a small, rebellious fragment of himself, unable to fight his nature and his goal, yet it was there. Such a wish had nothing to do with the way she insisted on treating him, and despite how he behaved, he still felt awkward at being called Master.

No, if it had to do with anything, it was Rei herself. She was honest, kind, cheerful, yet had a scary side to her demeanor. Her word was true, her steps were heavy with intent despite her petite figure, and her voice carried a strange sort of wisdom, the one a wind nymph would have, if children’s tales were to be believed.

I’m going to miss her. The sentence sounded in his mind, and rang true.

“Is the kid here?” A male voice asked then, calling his conscience back. As if to hide his past reverie Avaln took a bite off the cheese, and only when his mouth was full did he realize he couldn’t answer.

“Yes, we are all here uncle Jeff!” Called Rei then, after becoming aware of his predicament. “Breakfast?”

Had she always watched him so closely?

The old smith nodded, once he entered everyone’s view, then pulled a chair and nodded towards Avaln, yet spared no glance at grandma Mira, not at first. “Oh, you are here too, old thing.” He said then, with a surprised expression which could have passed as genuine.

Avaln stood up then, and walked towards the kitchen, where he grabbed a clay plate and cut some bread. Rei stole a glance at him, yet didn’t say anything and instead got close and handed him the cheese, trying to ignore the warmth coming from his proximity.

“Little Ri, close the door. We don’t want any more flies to enter.” Grandma Mira casually remarked, not paying Jeff any mind.

“Are you insinuating I’m a fly, you babbling witch?”

Rei furrowed her brow, yet continued with her work, brushing her shoulder against Avaln’s arm without meaning to. The contact remained there, playing on her skin, and made her almost cut herself when handling the meat, her features a shade redder.

“Hmm? Sorry, I don’t speak insect.” Not even looking at him, Mira grabbed a nut and put it in her mouth.

The old smith’s cheeks visibly blushed, yet instead of becoming violent, he retorted, “It’s that true? You certainly look like one!”

Avaln sought an ingredient on Rei’s side, while Rei reached for the clay plate on his. Their hands touched midway, and that called their gazes to meet. Pale blue and purple became entranced in each other for a breath; he realized she was blushing, and she noticed it, unconsciously parting her lips in a half-spoken word...

When did she lift her chin?

Had he always been so close?

Grandma Mira squinted her eyes at Jeff’s remark, and finally looked at him. “If you can mistake a woman for an insect, then that explains why there is so much buzzing around your place.”

Upon hearing this, the old smith’s eyes almost popped out of his face, and unconsciously hit the table, her words having crossed a line for him. “How dare you! Repeat that to my face, you old crone!”

“I’ll tell it as many times as needed, you fucked up goat!”

“If I’m a fucked up goat then you are fucked up old bat!”

“Go fuck your flies and leave me alone, for Apollo’s sake!”

Jeff looked like he wanted to retort again, but the sound of something being smashed against the table halted his attempt. Slowly, his head turned around to see how his clay plate had broken into pieces, and the food laid now scattered. Then, his gaze traveled upwards until he found a pair of pale-blue eyes staring at him, half-closed in a forced smile. “Here is your food, Uncle Jeff.”

“B-But I have nothing to eat it with… “ The old smith said then, after looking for a fork in a daze.

“Grandma Mira, could you help him please? Master Avaln’s food is getting cold. And so it’s mine.” Her eyes now stared at the elderly woman, her smile never leaving her features.

“W-why should I?”

“Please?” Her tone of voice, a tad colder.

“B-but he called me…”

“Thank you! Now, go close the door too. We don’t want more interrupting crazy old people getting in, do we?” Rei interjected, her hands joined as if delighted, her voice sending chills even through Avaln’s spine.

“Aye…” Both of them answered, their gazes down.

“We can eat now!” Rei met Avaln’s eyes, her cheerfulness back as if nothing had happened.

Avaln smiled.

Scary indeed.

“That’s out of the question.” Alary declared, waving the possibility away as her long ponytail swayed with a shake of her head.

“Squad Leader, don’t be unreasonable.” Harold retorted, his palms up, trying to convince her. “Of us only one person is strong and fast enough to get past them, and bring word to Greenleaf.”

Alice’s pretty features grimaced, her mind still mostly focused on keeping her fire serpent summoned, yet still aware of the discussion being held behind her. She didn’t want to admit it, but what the veteran adventurer was proposing could be their only shot. All the while, Garry stood to the side, taking a gander at his hammer as if the conversation had nothing to do with him, and Gallathorn, the one person she expected to raise his voice in complaint, was sitting with his gaze down, hiding his expression; his spear, after a month of continuous use, had broken at the shaft when they switched places, and Alice could imagine the despair running through his mind at the moment.

“You say that, Harold.” Alary shook her head once again, then brought a hand to her temple. “But there is no way for you to hold on until I come back with reinforcements. Your weapons are about to, if not already broken, and Alice can’t cast spells without me in here. Not unless you all prefer to suffocate. I’m not about to abandon you to your fates just to save my skin!” She finished, staring at him, intent and will flaring inside her scarlet eyes.

In the meantime, a demon boar came too close to the barrier, and became a victim of the fire serpent’s jaw, causing a drop of sweat to run through Alice’s cheek. “We could block the cave.”

Their conversation halted, and both of them turned to look at the spellcaster. “What?” Voiced Alary, out of disbelief.

“You know I’m not the sacrificing type.” Continued Alice, her gaze fixed forward. “But if we are talking about chances, bringing down the entrance should give us a chance to survive until you come back. As you said, we have plenty of meat.”

Alary was already shaking her head. “We have no guarantee it will work. If you blast the cave, it could bring down just the entrance, the whole passageway, or the whole place.”

“It’s still a better chance than doing nothing and waiting for our deaths.” Everyone was surprised by the voice they heard then. “Besides, I still have some salt left.” Gallathorn grimaced, yet brought out a bottle with what could only be considered a pinch of white little grains.

A breath of silence, then a chuckle, full of disbelief.

“Salt?” Alice held back her impulse, focusing on her spell, making sure she wouldn’t lose control before… “That’s your worry?”

Even Alary became flabbergasted, and Garry, who until then had not uttered a word, began to chuckle, then openly laugh as his free hand hit his knee.

“Despite the handsy leecher’s best efforts!” He managed to say as his voice thundered across the cave.

“Oh, c’mon! I just wanted to help!” Protested Harold, then added, “T-that name won’t stick… will it?”

Even Alice couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore, and Alary had to refuge her eyes in her palm, repressing a smile, her shoulders shaking.

The situation lasted for a while, their laughs being reignited a few times before everyone finally calmed down. Once they settled, Alice cleaned what could have been a tear from her eye, and said, “Gallathorn, I take it back. I would kiss you.” Gallathorn cast his gaze on her, lifting an eyebrow. “A friendly kiss. A sibling kind of kiss. On the cheek.” She specified, yet her smile was playful and her eyes emanated joy.

He shrugged. “I’ll take it.”

Alary looked at her friend, the one whose plan to come here had nothing to do with staying behind. “I can’t do that to you.”

It was Alice’s time to shrug, sensing her meaning. “I’ve already played with a thousand years old spell, I’m served. Besides, I trust you.”

Alary’s gaze then met her team’s, everyone wearing the remains of a smile from their previous outburst, yet in their eyes she saw determination…

A determination which she couldn’t but want to match.