Yuriko’s Anima expansion had reached five paces. Over the past week teaching, her Anima had inexplicably grown by at least an inch or so every day. It was progress that eclipsed her growth even back in the Kogasi plane, where the ambient Chaos levels were upwards of three iarvesh. Perhaps it was because she touched upon the Radiant Ennoia, and also because of her Radiant Body Refinement. But she was also certain that the expansion was because of her experiencing something new.

The maturation of her Mien was one thing, but for her to recognise its effects on Heron and the fact that she chose to break those bonds was certainly a novel experience. The other was Finan’s confession and the emotional turmoil it engendered. All the while, Yuriko had rejected the engagement on the basis that she didn’t even know the 29th Pia’Vasi, and with Finan’s reveal, that reason had collapsed.

Not that she was more accepting of the engagement either. She certainly wasn’t willing to marry Finan. Not right now, anyway. She was also sure she wasn’t in love with him. Attracted to, yes, but she was certain it was only a physical thing. If she thought about it, Heron was also quite handsome and dashing, especially compared to the prince. Finan was a bit more on the cute side, but those eyes, once they stopped being so sly, were also quite mesmerising.

“Haah...” Yuriko sighed.

The changes her body and Mien went through seemed to have opened her up to more problems. However, with regard to her goal to gain power, well, she was more than satisfied with her progress.

The Radiant Body Refinement was about 10% complete. According to Damien, the further along she went, the slower it would take to finish the refinement. A completion rate of 80% to 90% was acceptable enough to transition to the Transformation Stage, but she knew that she wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than perfection. The goal of the Refinement was to replace the physical makeup of her body with Radiant energy. Ah, that wasn’t to say that the entirety of herself would be made of Radiant. If that were the case, she wouldn’t be alive at all.

A certain part of the tiniest piece of the body is responsible for power. The Refinement will replace that part. A hundred percent completion means that you’ve replaced that part completely, and all you need to function and live is Radiant energy. Because you are also capable of producing Radiant energy through the Essence and Ennoia, completing this stage perfectly means that your body becomes self-sufficient.

What that really meant, Yuriko didn’t know. Just that the results of perfection would mean that as Walker along the Ancient’s Way, she would be head and shoulders above the rest.

The Path of Exaltation. The paragons of the Ancients. Only perfection will do.

Also, beyond the Body Refinement was the Anima Refinement. That part could also be considered complete at 80-90%, but perfection was much harder, too. But, if she perfected the Body Refinement, then perfecting the Anima Refinement would be that much easier. She hadn’t begun that yet; according to Damien, it would be faster and easier to complete the body first.

Already, at 10%, there were great changes. She didn’t need to eat as much to keep up her strength, and there was a qualitative increase in her physique. Given the lack of challenge though, she wasn’t really able to pinpoint exactly how much she improved. Her sole gauge at the moment was how heavy her Resistance aura could get while she maintained normal body movement.

Yuriko carefully adjusted her Resistance aura. She shouldn't be too clumsy. She saved the heaviest she could bear during training. For the rest of the day, she retained only about half to three-quarters of her current maximum. By her count, her maximum limit at the moment was five hundred Jin of force. So now, she kept it at two hundred and fifty. That was still fifty Jin over her initial Resistance aura. She was well satisfied with her progress. She knew that if she fought the Athrodius or that Firehead Chaos Lord, she would dominate them in physical strength and resilience.

As for her technical skill…well, aside from constant training, she barely progressed. Although teaching children had reinforced her basics, so she couldn’t really complain. A lack of powerful opponents to spar with was irritating, and she somewhat looked forward to matching blades with Swordmaster Kinohara now. If only the woman actually showed up!

Well, she should ask Finan about it then.

She fluffed her skirt to get the dust off, though that was more a matter of habit than anything else. Her Perceptive Field showed her that her new sundress wasn’t any dustier than any other piece of clothing anyway. Hmmm, at least her hats still fit her head. She chose one of her berets, a floppy navy blue one, and put it on. She’d purchased a simple leather sandal with straps from a merchant in the market. It was a bit pricey at five hundred Sovies, but it was cute. As for comfort…well, with how tough her skin was now, even if she stepped on a needle it was more likely to break or bend than to pierce her skin. And she wouldn’t even notice it.

This afternoon’s venue was a cafe called the Moonlit Night. It was in a three-storey building just off the town centre and was a common gathering point for government and church workers. She’d never really gone there before, but since Finan was the one treating, he had chosen the place. His invitation was to actually play a few rounds of Shatran, and she had to admit that she missed the game.

“Where are you headed to, young mistress?” Ryoko asked as she brushed Yuriko’s hair and carefully arranged it in its usual high ponytail.

“Oh, I’ve a Shatran match to attend to.”

Ryoko arched an eyebrow. “Who in this backwards place knows to play that old game?”

“Hey!”

Ryoko giggled and rolled her eyes. “It’s true!”

“Well, it's Finan.”

“Oh? Are you considering his suit?”

It was Yuriko’s turn to roll her eyes. “No.”

“Hu-hmmm. I don’t think you’ll lose out if you do decide to…”

“It’s too early for that,” Yuriko said firmly.

“Oh, yes, he’s still underage.”

“So am I!”

“But you’re already a Knight, young mistress.”

“Whatever.”

“There, done. I really don’t know what scents to put on you. None of them fit your natural beauty,” Ryoko muttered.

“Don’t put any,” Yuriko said quickly. Perfumes and colognes made her sneeze, and with her Perceptive Field, the scent was strikingly obvious.

“Of course, young mistress. The natural look you have is still the most beautiful.”

Shaking her head, Yuriko got up from in front of her vanity. Most of her clothes had already been adjusted, with the bulk of the work actually done by Ryoko. She had tried to help a few times, but other than undoing the seams, there was little her fashion sense could do. Honestly, she would have preferred to stay in her traveller’s outfit, considering that the forceweave would hold together despite the abuse she put it through. Gwendith and her attendants had put their foot down though. And besides, with the Animus Armour, the forceweave felt somewhat redundant now.

“Should I accompany you, young mistress?” Saki asked as she materialised from the shadows.

“No need.”

“Of course. I shall resume my usual activities then.” Saki bowed.

“Be careful,” Yuriko said.

“Always.”

Saki had volunteered to keep an eye on the Haveenians down at Cierra. With the enemy being so close, Yuriko was nervous. A single forced march could see the Federation army up against Faron’s Crossing’s walls in half a day. An hour or two if they used their field raptor cavalry.

Other scouting reports and updates from the Watchtower, delivered by her older brothers, indicate a buildup of forces. The Haveenians wouldn’t just leave their troops there without doing anything. That wasted supplies and lowered morale. At least that’s what her brothers told her.

She actually itched to go down there by herself and look for the twins. Last she heard was that they went back home, and well, their home was now in enemy hands. She didn’t know if they were actually there, but she had a gut feeling they were. Still, she wasn’t so brash as to go up against the entire Federation army by herself.

A dozen Knight equivalents could stall her long enough for them to surround her. And then, she would either be dead or captured. She’d rather not test how strong her Anima protection was. She also wondered if she would be bothered if she killed Federal warriors. They weren’t barbarians. However, in the field of war, if she restrained herself just because of such ambiguous feelings then she would consign her own side to more suffering.

Hmmm, the thing was, the idea of giving lethal blows to weaker opponents left her with a sour taste in her mouth. If her opponent was also a Knight, then she didn’t need to hold back. And she wasn’t sure if she could defeat a Knight-Captain if she didn’t go all out.

There were no sightings of Federal Masters, the Knight-Captain equivalent of their Anima training system. However, she didn’t put too much confidence in that report. As with Knights and Knight-Captains, there was little outward indicator to determine Anima strength.

The way the scouts did it was to observe insignias and crest ranks. In the legion and the militia, Anima strength was proudly displayed. It was similar down south. However, it was also possible for them to hide their insignias or wear false ones.

Shaking the odd thoughts out of her head, Yuriko headed out. The Moonlit Night Cafe was close enough that she didn’t need to take the Circuit Tram to get there, just a five to ten-minute walk. At this hour, Rami was still in school, Kato was in the Watchtower, she didn’t know what Marron and Niamh were doing, and Gwendith was training. Her friend still needed to go through two more rounds of Strengthen Physique before she could begin the Actualisation process too. Of her other friends, none had taken her up on her offer, but she wasn’t that surprised. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised. Heron, Krystal, and Mikel’s Heritages were complete. As for Zeyn and Millie, neither one wanted to abandon their Heritages for her path.

She arrived at the building quickly and she was led to the third floor by the receptionist. The first two floors were actually offices for lease, though about half of the rooms looked empty. She saw a spice merchant furiously scribbling down several forms.

On the third floor, half of the cafe was outside on the rooftop. A canvas awning was spread out to shelter the customers from the sun: at least half of the tables were exposed. Not that she minded. This late in the Season of Air was prone to sudden showers, but even so, most of the clientele was outside. This building was one of the taller ones in town, and the view of Faron’s Crossing was quite breathtaking. She saw Finan waving at her from one of the tables.

He was alone, but she caught sight of a few people at the corners who kept their eyes on the prince. And on her as soon as she came close.

“Hello, beautiful,” Finan said with a smile as he stood and gave her a bow. Yuriko was quite sure that he shouldn’t be bowing to her according to his station, so she was somewhat flustered as she returned a curtsy.

The Shatran board was already set up, though, of course, the pieces weren’t placed yet. He gestured for the menu from a server and he ordered a tea set for both of them. Afterwards, he shuffled a couple of legionnaire pieces behind his back and presented the choice to her. Of course, she knew exactly which hand held which colour, thanks to her perception.

“Give me both.”

“Eh?”

“You can’t hide them from me and that’s not fair. I’ll shuffle and you pick.”

“Oh, alright.”

He handed both pieces to her, though his fingers lingered on her palms just a touch too long. Rolling her eyes, she juggled the pieces between her hands. She started slowly, but sped up until there wasn’t even a blur. Then, she tossed the pieces up, and caught them on the way down, thrusting in her speed to conceal which piece went to which hand.

“Pick.”

Again, when he touched her fist, his fingers lingered a moment too long, though she didn’t actually mind. She opened the hand to reveal the red legionnaire. Which meant she got black and the first move.

Their first game went quickly as she shook the cobwebs from her mind. She lost the first one, of course, but won the second and the third. But their fourth game ended in a draw. She thoroughly enjoyed playing, and this was one thing where she didn’t completely dominate her opponent. Quite the opposite, usually. She started to get quite the feel for it, too, and sometimes, she felt as if she could easily guess what Finan wanted to do. Her wins were when she correctly felt his gambits and guessed which move could allow her to overturn his stratagem.

“Last game?” she asked. The sun had already set and the canvas had been drawn back to expose the skies. The Chaos Streams were wonderfully bright on the night of the Dark Moon.

“Of course,” Finan smiled. Then he smirked. “Care to make a wager?”

Yuriko stared at him suspiciously. When he acted slyly, his cuteness disappeared. “What?”

“A wager. If you win, I’ll give you this.” He placed a box right next to the board and she stared at it suspiciously. Her perception aura, as thin as it was right now, couldn’t push past the material. If she intensified it, she could penetrate, but it would be extremely obvious. Well, she didn’t actually have to do anything since he opened it up and revealed…three chocolate truffles. Her breath caught in her throat and her mouth watered.

Ancestors! She wasn’t about to sell herself for chocolate!

Shaking her head, she nevertheless asked. “And if you win?”

Finan gave her a lidded gaze and said, “How about a kiss?”

Yuriko blinked at him in surprise. Just that? Hmmm. Chocolate. And she did win two out of the four games. She could probably win…but, hmmm, she shouldn’t be gambling.

But…chocolate.

“Alright,” she answered instead.

Finan’s grin grew wider.

And afterwards…she lost.

She stared at the final setting of the pieces. She had caught one of his stratagems and taken the moves to counter them. But…that was also a front. Once her pieces were in place, he sprung his trap and captured both of her Avos pieces by threatening her Empress. In the end, he won by a small margin and she couldn’t help but think that if she tried just a little bit harder, she would have won.

Gritting her teeth, she glared at Finan, then sighed. “You won.”

“I did.”

“Well, go on.”

She sighed as she leaned back and retracted her aura. She expected him to move over to her side and take his prize. She eyed the box of chocolates regretfully. Why did she succumb to the temptation? Oh, chocolates…

Finan’s hand on hers surprised her enough that she didn’t resist when he brought it up. Then his lips pressed against her knuckles for a long moment, and when he lowered her hand, she could practically feel his lingering warmth. Her heart raced as he smiled at her.

“Thank you for the games. Good night, my dear.”