As was becoming more and more common when back in Freybrook, Scarlett was spending her afternoon in the office, looking over some documents Evelyne had sent over. Most of them were regarding the business they’d talked about acquiring back in Elystead. Evelyne had been in talks with the owner for a while now and, apparently, come to an agreement. Most of the equipment and preparations of the locale were already in place, so things were moving along quickly. According to the younger woman’s reports, they were currently scrounging for some employees, as most of the people who’d been working there had taken off for other ventures, leaving only the owner.

All of this had required Scarlett’s sign-off, as the head of the Hartford house, and while she couldn’t say that she enjoyed going through all these things, she did want to stay somewhat informed of the general happenings. There had been some surprising news she’d learned while apprising herself of the situation like this. For example, Evelyne had somehow managed to rope in another investor for this first business venture, lowering costs for their family. Scarlett had given her full authority on this matter, so she wasn’t going to complain about how Evelyne went about things. She just wasn’t expecting others to get involved in this.

Including the documents relating to the business side of things, it was also starting to look like they were getting some returns on all the loot Scarlett had sent over to Evelyne over the past month. Right now, it was only a small margin that had been sold off—Scarlett had probably sent upwards of thirty low-level items altogether—but it was just a matter of time. The day before, she’d also sent over the [Bow of Ends] and [Spear of Ends], and she was hoping the two epic-tier weapons would give them a good influx of wealth.

She hadn’t figured out the exact effects of the two items before she sent them off. She had considered getting them to an appraiser here in Freybrook, but she really had no need for either a bow or a spear, so there had been little point in keeping them any longer. Evelyne would ensure they were better evaluated in the capital before being sold off, and that was all that was needed.

It was almost easier like this, with Scarlett not having to learn exactly what the two items did. She felt like she had to sell at least some of the loot from the Howling Gale’s Haunt, considering how much it would be worth, but all the other items were too valuable to sell.

Fynn had ended up getting the [Clasps of the Storm], for example, which boosted aeromancy magic. And Scarlett had taken the [Mark of the Staunch] for herself. The added stamina boost the item gave was amazing. She’d felt like a kid with how she was brimming with energy the last couple of days. With it and [Lifeblood’s Eternal Circuit] on, she was probably wearing the equivalent of several houses just on her right hand. Both an amusing and a scary thought.

The [Ring of Umbral Defiance] that she had been using up till recently had been transferred to Rosa permanently, after what had happened in the dungeon. Scarlett wasn’t sure how helpful it would actually prove for the bard, but she’d grown to realize there wasn’t much point to herself keeping it. It gave resistance to all dark-type damage—most of which was mental—and by now, it had been made abundantly clear that Scarlett’s resistance against mental attacks was far above average. A fact she was very thankful for, even though she didn’t quite know the reason behind it.

The remaining two items taken from the dungeon were [Garment of Form] and [Fang of Remembrance]. The latter would not be of any use until she got its other half, so for now, Scarlett would just be hiding it away somewhere. [Garment of Form], however, she was still contemplating what to do with.

She knew that, in the game, it was a decent item for Fynn. Most of the items in the Howling Gale’s Haunt were. But she was also pretty sure that, with a few simple adjustments that likely wouldn’t affect the enchantment on it, she could use it herself. Considering how much stronger than her Fynn was, she would prefer to get some good equipment for herself first. The things found around Freybrook wouldn’t cut it in any mid-level area or higher.

She would have to decide after having the piece appraised. She knew it increased agility, and if that was all, it might not be the best for her after all.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Greater Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Greater Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 487/4516]

[Points: 20]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Pyrokinesis] (25 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Superior Hydrokinesis] (25 points)

[Greater Mana Control] (10 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

She would also have to decide how to spend her skill points soon. She’d been saving them up for some time now while clearing dungeons here in Freybrook. With the addition of points from clearing the Howling Gale’s Haunt, she almost had enough to upgrade either her pyrokinesis or hydrokinesis to the ‘Superior’ tier. Of them, she would probably upgrade pyrokinesis first, as that fit best with her upcoming plans and with what she was being taught by Garside.

But she didn’t need those upgraded immediately. Instead, she was thinking about finally upgrading her [Minor Hydromancy] and [Pyromancy]. Up till now, she’d been heavily focused on increasing her damage capabilities as quickly as possible. But now she’d been in this world for two months, and things were currently in somewhat of a lull. If any time was best for upgrading her supporting skills, it was now. If they truly were supporting skills.

She had already established that the pyromancy and hydromancy skills themselves didn’t let her literally use spells, and she doubted upgrading them would change that. She was also pretty sure they wouldn’t affect the strength of her pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis skills. Or at least not to the same level that upgrading the skills themselves did. But they would probably lower her mana costs for the corresponding element—as they did in the game—which had always been a second priority of hers.

Upgrading [Mana Control] did much the same thing. Although that skill also made controlling her magic easier in general, as she had learned the last time she upgraded it.

Honestly, even though she’d been disappointed about not being able to cast spells when she first came to this world, she’d grown to realize that hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis were far more flexible than they appeared at first glance. And she felt like she was only grasping the bare minimum of what they were capable of. Like a caveman finding a hammer and not realizing there was a back of the head as well. And unlike actual spells, which would take ages to learn at even a novice degree, they were still relatively easy to use and could be upgraded through a point system that was essentially designed to make her stronger. One could even argue that, in a lot of ways, the two skills gave her more freedom than being able to cast spells would have done.

Garside’s new instructing had also been helpful in that regard, and getting more used to how she should use her pyrokinesis in an actual fight. She had confirmed that, unlike her, and despite his apparent skill in pyrokinesis, he had indeed been using spells during the fight with the boss in the Howling Gale’s Haunt. Even at his level, spells seemed preferable to just using pyrokinesis for things. Perhaps that didn’t speak too strongly for her own aspirations and prospects, but she wasn’t planning on letting that stop her. And Garside had still been able to teach her a lot.

Though his teaching methods were somewhat… Unique.

What he taught her wasn’t related to magic itself—apparently the man didn’t consider himself a skilled enough mage to actually teach her anything about pyrokinesis that she didn’t already ‘know’—but rather, had been more focused on the strategic side of things. Their first session had been over in the training grounds—which were in a state of half-repair, missing a good number of dummies—a couple of days earlier, and they’d had another this morning. The old man had appeared surprisingly excited over the prospect of teaching Scarlett his ways, but the problem was in the manner he described topics.

One of the first things he’d told Scarlett was that, when acting as a battlemage, she needed to “open her mind’s eye to the field before her”.

To her, that was nothing more than clichéd, esoteric nonsense. For a moment, she had wondered whether he was talking about a literal “mind’s eye”, trying to recall if there were any similar skills in the game. He’d eventually informed her that wasn’t it, though, and what he meant was that one had to get a feel for the flow of the battlefield, though those weren’t the exact words he’d used.

Scarlett didn’t consider herself stupid. She understood what he was getting at. But there was a difference between using flowery language to describe abstract concepts and experiencing them yourself. She’d always preferred learning things through experience. And after listening to him go on about these things for maybe a little too long, she had simply told him as much.

It was the first time she had seen him showcase any hint of embarrassment. After that, he had instead tried to simulate battles for her, so that she could learn what he was saying through practice. Though that hadn’t stopped him from occasionally presenting an odd piece of advice here and there.

Scarlett was brought out of her thoughts as a knock sounded out from the door, and she looked up as the man in question entered the room.

“My Lady,” Garside said. “Madame Livvi has arrived. She is waiting in the parlor.”

“Livvi?” Scarlett glanced at the clock on her desk. More time had passed by than she thought. “I will be there soon.”

“She appeared with another guest. A Master Abraham.”

“Abraham?”

As in Raimond Abram? What was he doing here?

Livvi had sent word the previous day asking if she could pay a visit, but Scarlett had heard nothing of the sort regarding Raimond. And he was still going under his alias. She was curious, though. Was he here on Follower business, or was this something else?

“I will be there shortly. Arrange some refreshments for them while they wait.”

Garside bowed. “As you wish, my Lady,” he said before leaving the room.

Scarlett looked down at the documents she had left on the desk. This world had a surprising amount of paperwork in it. Having Evelyne around to handle most of it was a godsend. She still wanted to read through the rest, though, even if some of the specifics in them escaped her. But she would have to do that later.

She signed her name on the last few of the papers she’d read through—the original Scarlett’s signature was easy to recreate with the body’s instincts—and placed them in one of the drawers. Then she stood up and crossed the room to leave. When she opened the door, however, she found Rosa standing there in the hallway, an uncertain expression on the woman’s face.

“Oh, hi there.” Rosa’s expression quickly changed into that of a smile as she raised her hand and fluttered her fingers in a greeting.

“Miss Hale? Was there something you wanted?”

“Nothing in particular, no.” Rosa shook her head. “Just thought I’d come by and say hello. Maybe read some more of that book I left off.”

Scarlett knitted her forehead. Rosa had spent a lot more time than usual hanging around her lately. At first, she thought nothing of it, writing it off as the woman’s usual antics. But there was definitely something off. She didn’t know what, though.

From what she recalled from the game, Rosa shouldn’t be at risk of possession anytime in the immediate future, nor should she know about Scarlett’s deal with the being hidden inside her. But Rosa had always been the character whose real thoughts were the hardest to discern, and there were still details about her that Scarlett had never learned during the first playthrough.

And these details stood out a lot more now that she knew the woman in real life, rather than just in the game. For example, Scarlett was relatively certain that possession wasn’t the only thing that plagued Rosa, as she’d originally thought in the game. Sometimes Rosa acted off in a way that couldn’t be explained only by the occasional possession. Although potential trauma was also a factor that had to be taken into consideration.

Scarlett didn’t terribly mind the woman’s increased presence, though. It was distracting, at times, and some of Rosa’s antics irked the Scarlett part of her, but having a laid-back person like that close by was also relaxing in its own way. Perhaps that was part of why she enjoyed spending time with Kat as well.

Though the Shielder definitely came with less baggage.

Scarlett looked over Rosa. “I am afraid your reading will have to wait for another time. There are guests I must attend to.”

She paused, eyes passing over the woman’s attire. It was a green dress, and it looked presentable enough. Not to say that Rosa usually didn’t wear fashionable clothes.

“…If you wish, you may join me,” she continued after a moment. “One of the guests is an individual we might work with in the future, so it would not be bad for you to be introduced to them.”

The bard’s eyebrows rose. “You sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude on your little meet and greet.”

“They brought another guest without my knowledge. I see no reason I cannot do the same.”

Rosa smirked. “Catty. I like it.”

Scarlett gave her a look. “I ask that you refrain from describing me in such terms.”

“As you wish, my Ladyship!”

She shook her head as she started walking down the hallway.

No, perhaps she had been too hasty. There was nothing relaxing about this.