#Unedited

ON the morning of the third day, I opened my eyes to the melancholy of the sky turning dawn. I'm usually not an early riser, but I often like to appreciate the skyline at this exact time when I do get up early. The sky turns grayish blue as if the moon is sad to say goodbye followed by the exhilarating feeling as the rays of the sun burst out into a myriad of orange, red, and even purple. I kept staring at the sky for a few more minutes before moving on to get ready to leave the inn.

“Els Aqua” Chanting a water magic to create a ball of water, I played around with it by stretching it into different shapes and animals. No matter how many times I use magic, I simply can’t get over this amazing phenomenon since there is no magic on Earth, only science.

Getting tired of playing with the ball of water, I heated it up a bit using life magic then used it to wash my face and took out my makeshift toothbrush ( more like a wooden brush stick) to brush my teeth with my self-made toothpaste while my mind wanders off to the magic lesson I had in the castle.

From what I learned both from the galgame and the lesson, magic is thought to be something that is passed on and gifted from the ancient gods. One has to have mana to be able to use it. While the mana capacity is different from person to person, that in itself is not the distinguishing factor which can help one master magic. It is the type of magic that one is born with. Magic can categorized into about 5 types: elemental, unique, holy, fusion, and aura.

While elemental magic such as earth, wood, water, fire, and wind are the most common magic most living beings are born with, there are also rarer cases of unique magics such as void, shadow, life, space, and so on.

Of course, the category of magic is definitely incomplete if Holy magic is not included in the equation considering this world has quite a number of gods. If memory serves me right, Enri should be the god of Judgement, Sevora’s hero while Shelton should be the goddess of light, Vianna’s hero. There is also the god of darkness Margus, the god of destruction Ashurd, the goddess of war Noelle, and the great god of creation whose name doesn’t come to mind at all at the moment.

While the aura type of magic is usually something like martial arts magic or bodily arts, fusion magic is much more complicated.

It literally means the fusion of more than one magic, but since this type is so diverse, it is very difficult to quantify the actual concept and bounds of this type of magic. The most simple example is the spell Astrid Burst or fire hurricane. It is a fusion spell of two elemental magic: fire and wind where one first creates a tornado then add fire into it steadily in order to create a fierce fire storm.

Although this might sound easy theoretically but in actual practice, it is incredibly hard to control since both fire and wind is part of the most rampant parts of nature. Hence, only senior mages are able to use fusion magic. However, this example is only in the case of fusing elemental magic.

What if it's the fusion of unique magic for example, that is why I said that it is very complex. Who is to say that someday a truly terrifying fusion spell wouldn't just come flying at your house and obliterate everything into dust? You probably wouldn't even know what (magic) killed you. *shudders* Sh*t, what am I doing frightening myself so early in the morning?

*Uhem* Now back to myself, as you might have known, my attributes are water and life magic. While life magic is incredibly useful in everyday life and I'm very thankful for it, water magic is thought to be more mediocre due to its suppleness and not so cool attacking power. No doubt that it's due to this mindset that makes people oblivious to its potential. I swear there are only a handful of powerful advanced water magic spells developed so far, making me extremely frustrated with this fact. So, that leaves me no choice but to be creative and make my own spells.

Well, I have actually managed to do just that. Using the principles used in alchemy(which is equivalent value exchange) and transmutation, I created a few new practical spells that might not seem as flashy as others but quite deadly in its own rights. I also can shorten my chant after fiddling with things here and there.

It was super fun experimenting magic with Shawn-san, and getting compliments for being creative. Shawn-san is very good at teaching me. His classes was fun, and rewarding at the same time. Oh, I really wish he was here with me, so that we can research more on water magic. I'm getting emotional again, geez.

Anyways, by the time I stopped letting my mind wander to ridiculous topics, I had already finished packing my luggage for the journey.

I went down the stairs to find Riley and the boss, Carlos-san busily running around preparing the place for the morning rush. A second glance around, I found a few people already here and there on some tables.

“Good morning, Rika-chan!”

“Morning” I returned Riley's greeting with a smile.

“Oh, look who's up? Mornin’ Lil Rika.” Carlos-san said as he stepped in from the kitchen while holding a spatula. I almost burst out laughing due to how contradicting he looked with an apron on.

Fortunately, I was able to suppress my laugh or otherwise the spatula he's holding would be the weapon of my murder.

“Morning, Boss” I greeted back as he gave a nod in return before going back into the kitchen.

If you're wondering why I am calling Carlos-san boss, it is because it's what the people around here call him. It shows the respect that people have towards him. From what I've heard, Carlos-san used to be some underworld big shot but he's retired a long time ago. Now, he is just the kind and caring big bear that looks after everyone in the neighborhood while running this inn.

Another thing I was wondering about was that considered how busy it is here, it was weird to have only two people running things, so I asked. The answer I got from Riley’s never ending grumbling was that there are actually 2 more staffs, but the both of them have been on a couple’s vacation for a while now. The husband whose job was to look after the barn at the backyard, was called Hein while the wife who was the main chef was called Ronette. Apparently, due to their being on vacation, Carlos-san had to step in as the chef. I have no doubt that there will probably be hell for them to pay when they come back after adventuring pass their allotted vacation from yours truly, Carlos-san. I heard in passing that Carlos-san has taken out his old 3 in 1 torturing package aeons ago to polish in anticipation of their return. R. I. P, a couple I haven't known yet but somehow think they deserve it.

“Oh right, you are leaving today?” Riley asked while wiping one of the tables. I took a random seat on the counter bar before looking up to answer her: “Yep, I'm going to travel around for a bit. This is only my first stop after all.”

“Aww, that's a shame. I would have liked it if you stayed here permanently. We can be neighbours, be best friends, be more than that, and probably be able to ogle at the summoned heroes together.” Riley whined.

I stiffened at the part when she said -more than best friends- *sweatdrop* I am not going to ask about this. Nope. It is the last part though that irked me.

“One set of breakfast please, Boss” finished placing my order, I quickly turned to ask Riley: “Summoned heroes?”

“That interests you doesn't it? So why don't you just stay?” Riley gave a mischievous smile and sat down on the chair next to me.

“As much as I'd like, but I still have some travelling to do in order to get the things I want.” To which, I gave an instant rejection. Well, I definitely won't stay here for long since I don't want the baka Duo to find out where I am. I hope the prime minister kept his side of the deal, but there is this nagging feeling that I have to leave here today. I would rather believe in this guy feeling since it has hardly been wrong so far.

“Instant reply, huh. But Rika-chan-” She was going to start grumbling again only to have Carlos-san interrupt: “Stop it, Riley. You should know not to act so nosy. Can't you see that Lil' Rika has already decided?”

“Boss! Come on.” Riley pouted to her boss scolding.

“Well, don't mind what Riley is saying. You young un's should go for your dreams while you still have it. Go, fight, and fail for it. That's life for ya.” Carlos-san said with a small smile as he leaned on the counter from the big opening in the kitchen.

“Uuu, Boss…To finally be able to say that properly with a smile, I'm so proud of you…” Riley exaggeratedly shed a few tears as she teased Carlos-san in the background. The man instead just gave a deadpanned glare in her direction shutting her up instantly before continuing to talk to me.

“Um, what do you mean by heroes?”I am very curious about how she knows about it. I think the royal castle haven't officially announced the summoning having succeeded just yet, so how did she find out? Did I miss something when I walked around gathering necessities?

“Oh, there is a rumour going around about that with the demon invasion and all.” Oh, so it was through rumours. Someone working in the castle must have let something slip.

“Anyways, I know you will be going to the D-clusters eventually so here.” Carlos-san, handed me a white envelope. Not understanding what he intended, I tilted my head as to let him explain.

“If you really get there sometimes in the future, do give this to one of the adventurers there. His name is Darret. He should be active there as an adventurer. I think he will give you helpful advices as one.” Carlos-san further rummaged around a cupboard before throwing me a coin sack to which I confusedly caught.

“D-clusters are the series of dungeons to the west of the country, you know where it is right? So what I'm saying is that I am giving you a quest, and that *he pointed to the coin sack* is my advance payment to you.” The man crossed his arms on his chest as he looked at me quietly after he finished.

It took me a while to process what he was saying.

“Bu- but Carlos-san, the payment inside is too much. I'm not even sure when I'll get there.”

“Take it. You're Lil' Rika, after all.” He then turned back to cooking again leaving my hand extended with the money pouch.

“Rika-chan, just take it. Boss is just looking out for you.” Riley who was looking on at the sidelines smiled and suggested.

“But still-” She again interrupted me: “Just take it, come on. Boss is especially looking after you partly since you're so young and besides you have potential. After all, you're able to accurately dodge Boss’ wall-slamming blow on instinct, so take it as him investing in a future errand girl.” Riley finished with a playful wink then stood up to continue back to work leaving me in a daze.

It has been a hell of a ride in this inn but the people here are so nice. It has been very fun talking to them. It was great seeing the liveliness of the people of this world. They seem to be so full of energy and living life to their really best unlike from earth where this sense of living is quite dulled. Unknowingly, a smile creeps up on my face as I ate my breakfast happily.

I take back what I said. I don't regret stepping into this inn after all.