As the lead four riders came towards me, one of them broke off, having spurred her horse on more than the others. I rode right towards the orcish woman, hopping off my horse when the two of us neared one another, the other rider following my lead as well. 

Right in front of me was a muscular orcish woman slightly taller than Sekh. Her skin was a deep forest green while her raven hair fell over her shoulders in a pile of well cared for braids. Her face was very much feminine with a pair of short tusks, though their appearance was more similar to oversized canines than proper tusks. 

“It’s good to see you Az,” she said while pulling me into a hug, a firm pressure exerted onto my back. 

I smiled and returned the hug with equal strength, prompting a hearty laugh from her. 

“Nice to see you too, Aeth. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

“Yeah, let’s grab some drinks when you’re free,” she replied while craning her head to look behind me. “By the way, what’s your relationship to those cuties over there?”

“Just wait a bit, I’ll introduce you all,” I answered. 

Around that point, the other three heroes caught up. Mikhail was the first off his horse of the three, his loose blonde hair tumbling as he leapt from the saddle. He looked mostly similar to how I had remembered. Tall, with soft blue eyes, a gentle face and broad smile. But his once robust build looked a bit more soft than before, perhaps he hadn’t been training quite as much. Not that it mattered when he slapped me on the back, the force of his arm just as powerful as before. Of course I followed up by whacking him on his back, prompting him to chuckle softly. 

“Let’s not make this a contest Az. Don’t want to embarrass you in front of the girls behind you.” 

“You’re just scared that you’ll have to call Aeth in as backup once I start winning,” I retorted playfully. “Still think I’d win though.”

From behind Mikhail, Florence strode over with a warm smile on her face. Her emerald eyes shone under the sunlight while her flaxen hair gently danced with the wind. Once Mikhail and I were finished slapping each other’s backs, Florence extended her left arm towards me for a handshake. 

“Same as ever Az. Personally I think you could win. Unless the person behind me decides to join in as well.”

Naturally the person behind her was Shiren, still awkwardly sitting on her horse with her shield slung to the side. Not only did she have the same slightly curly black hair and golden eyes as me, but she even had a very similar body build. Just a bit shorter than me and sporting an equally lean musculature.

“Hi Shiren, how you doing?” I said teasingly to the hero of the shield, who was now looking at me with slight exasperation. 

“I’m good, Azel,” she brushed off. “I…uh. How do I put this?”

For a little while Shiren verbally stumbled, trying to find the right words and failing. 

“Azel, let’s not fight while you’re in the capital. We shouldn’t ruin the good mood of this reunion by bickering with each other. I’m not saying that we have to be all friendly with each other. Just not hostile.”

This should’ve been a prime opportunity to poke fun at her, but that would just void the peace treaty before we could even agree on it. Plus a peace treaty is the best interest of my sanity. 

“I don’t see an issue with that,” I answered. “Let’s both do our best in that case.”

“We’re off to a good start then,” Florence declared while clapping her hands together. 

Shortly after, the rest of our respective parties arrived. And thus we began to move to Megara as a cohesive group. While our accompanying servants and guards mingled with one another, I took the opportunity to introduce my current companions to my former party of heroes.

Sekh was brimming with curiosity when I brought them over, her tail and ears stuck up excitedly while her eyes glimmered with anticipation. Minerva stood proudly, now reverting to her typical prim and proper behavior. All the while, Zeph stood to the sidelines, fidgeting ever so slightly. 

“Greetings ladies,” Aethel began in a mock formal voice. “I’m Aethel Rusven, hero of the bow. If you’re curious about my relationship with Az, we’re the best of friends and the most stalwart of drinking buddies.”

“I’m also one of Az’s drinking buddies,” Mikhail added. “I’m the hero of the sword, Mikhail, and it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Minerva spoke with a bow. “It’s an honor to meet the four of you, especially since Azel has spoken very well of you all. As for myself, I am Minerva Considia, Azel’s assistant and…lover.”

The last part clearly came out with redden cheeks, prompting smiles from me, Sekh, Aethel, and Florence. 

““I’m,”” both Sekh and Florence spoke at the same time, suddenly turning to one another after noticing. Well if it was any two that would collide like this, it was bound to be these two. 

“Ah, you go first,” Florence offered.

“No I think you should,” Sekh suggested. 

Both Aethel and I glanced at one another, slightly amused at how things were going, though we should probably do something in case those two get stuck in a loop of politeness.  

““Florence you go first,”” the two of us added, causing the friendly elf to pout slightly. 

But swift as the wind, she switched right over to a bright smile. 

“Well as you already know I’m Florence, Florence Vitail. Former hero of healing, now current hero of magical warm sensations.” 

Seeing the curiosity emanating from my companions, Florence held her hands out and radiated a slight amount of mana towards Sekh and Minerva. Both blinked at the sensation, rubbing the affected part of their body in surprise. 

“It really is warm,” Sekh remarked. “Pleasant too.”

“That’s about it though,” Florence explained. “Ever since my divine task ended, I’ve lost my power. Something about me being loaned divine power to fix problems caused by one of their brethren. So now I only have a useless vestige of that power left.”

The rest of us that had traveled with her nodded our heads in confirmation, prompting somewhat disheartened looks from my new comrades. 

“C’mon, you two haven’t introduced yourselves yet,” Florence continued while looking at Sekh and Zeph. 

“Ah that’s right,” Sekh said with a cute grin, her ears perking up. “I’m Sekh, daughter of Amo. I also participated in the Stygian war, but only as a regular soldier. Then I ended up staying in Stygia, stuff happened, met Azel, fell in love, and now I’m here.”

“I take it you’re from Fars?” Shiren asked Sekh, prompting a nod in response. 

Considering my own history with Fars, Shiren gave me a rather curious look. Probably thinking about how Sekh and I could have very easily met on the battlefield. Something that I had considered when I first met Sekh. 

At that moment, Sekh grabbed Zeph and pulled her over, clearly trying to get the other girl to finish the round of introductions. 

“Oh...I'm Zeph,” she stuttered. “A wind mage from Cyrenica and a friend of those three.”

“Sekh…Zeph,” Aethel said aloud. “Is there something more to this?”

“Pure coincidence,” I told her, Aethel giving an incredulous look. 

With our introductions out of the way, everyone broke into small groups to make small talk. Sekh and Zeph joined Florence while Minerva and Shiren formed the second group. As for the third group, it was Aethel, Mikhail, and I. 

The three of us rode together at the front of the column, surveying the scenery and acting as a sort of unnecessary vanguard.

“Hey Az, can I ask you something?” Aethel spoke, her voice sounding solemn all of a sudden.

“Sure, what is it?” I replied, lightening my voice to try and brighten the mood. 

“Are you alright after that run in with an evil god?” she asked seriously, Mikhail giving a similar look from the side. “I don’t doubt that you’re in control of your mind and body, but I’m asking about the toll it took on you.”

“I’m fine,” I brushed her off. “No lasting damage and I now have the ability to use magic. Seems to have gone pretty well for me.”

While Aethel couldn’t help but frown, Mikhail sprouted an awkward grin. 

“We’re really glad then. Though, we already heard about your newfound magic from the report you sent to the emperor.”

“Perks of banging his daughter?” I quipped at him, prompting a serious frown. 

“Az, I swear if you do this with other people at the capital,” Mikhail sighed. “Even we won’t be able to get you out of a mess like that.”

“Don’t worry Mikhail,” I assured him, wishing I could pat him on the back as well. “I’m only fucking around because we’re friends.”

“So you mind showing this fancy new explosion magic you have?” Aethel requested. 

Nodding my head, I obliged by setting off a small crack in the air in front of us. Although Aethel was quite surprised, Mikhail had clearly known the location of the blast due to the mana I prepared. 

“You’re pretty good at moving mana,” he told me. “Still needs practice but you’ve got a very good grasp of it. Plus I have to say that your explosions are far more exciting than the lightning bolts I have.”

“Yeah, must be nice,” Aethel groaned. 

The three of us continued to make stupid jokes and laugh like idiots with each other for quite a while. But during one of the lulls in our conversation, I decided to speak up about something that had been bothering me for quite a while. 

“This is a bit abrupt but…during my possession with Aentaerope, I… finally saw what happened in Beroea. More like I lived that day repeatedly, but I finally know what happened.”

“So now you know why we don’t blame you,” Mikhail replied, not asking but outright asserting. 

“About that…I have no fucking clue,” I answered, my two friends frowning deeply. 

“Az, did you not notice that you were holding back when we fought?” Aethel asked, sighing when I shook my head. “It makes no sense that someone of your capacity would just miss Florence’s head at that range. Or the fact that your spear ignored not only Mikhail’s heart but also the major arteries and veins.”

“I might have been lucky,” I considered, earning an exasperated look from Aethel. 

“You’re too hard on yourself sometimes,” Aethel complained. “Really, can’t you just be consistent? Half the time you’re the embodiment of ego and the other half you’re giving me second hand depression.”

As scathing as her words were, her voice was filled with warmth. Both of them had been with me through so much. Almost every single day for those two years.

“Oh, we also introduce you to some new faces when we get to Megara,” Aethel sighed after another moment of silence. 

“What do you mean by that?” I asked her.

“Our theory is coming true,” Aethel answered in a mock foreboding tone. 

Right, the theory we came up with after way too many drinks and the sight of a barmaid approaching Mikhail. The person in question was also giving me an awkward smile, outright confirming my suspicions. Still, that was something to be resolved later, not now. 

Sometime before evening, our entire group decided to halt the journey and set up camp for the night. Although we would have preferred to stay in a settlement, we had already passed the closet settlement quite a while back. Still, we had fresh provisions so the only issue was the slight discomfort of sleeping in a tent instead of a room. 

While I was examining the integrity of the tents pitched, I noticed Minerva approaching with a soft grin on her face.

“Something good happen?” I asked casually. 

Minerva gently placed a hand on my shoulder, continuing to smile at me. 

“I think negotiations worked out fairly well on my part.”

“Negotiations?” I wondered. “Were you trying to form good relations with Shiren to ease things between her and I?”

“Mmm,” she hummed back lovingly.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” I told her before kissing her on the cheek. “Though Shiren and I did make an agreement to not bicker with each other, something I probably should have told you before.”

“It’s fine,” she replied. “Even if you two came to an agreement, it’s always good to improve your relations with important people. Plus I would say that she’s quite the interesting person to talk to.”

“Good interesting or bad interesting?” I probed, the sides of my mouth pulling up. 

“That’s subjective. She’s not dim-witted by any means, just very blunt. Which might be appealing to me, but not to the people in her typical environment.”

“Did she warm up to you though?” I continued.

Minerva proudly tapped the sword she kept by her side, striking a confident pose while she was at it. 

“Quite a bit. She seems rather fond of fellow female warriors it seems.”

“I’m glad then,” I said, laughing just slightly. “But please don’t overwork yourself when we’re in Megara. I want you to actually enjoy your time there and take it easy. You’ve more than earned it. In fact, we can visit the imperial library together.”

Unsurprisingly, she suddenly hugged me, her eyes shining brightly. For a while, the two of us enjoyed each other’s presence under the setting sun.

Dinner was quite the enjoyable affair. The fresh provisions from the countryside were delicious and there were plenty of stories to share. And although my friends were clearly exaggerating at times, it was a great opportunity to catch up on the current situation of the Iasor heartlands. 

Compared to Stygia’s recovery phase, most of Aeolia was doing well from a standpoint of productivity. Furthermore, most of the neighboring states were apprehensive of fighting over the partitioned Stygian land, partly due to personal relations between the leaders as well as the lingering war wariness among the general populace. The only issue was that the leaders of the major states in the east were fairly old, meaning that a sudden change in national policies could occur. Though the possibility of something like that happening is quite slim. 

“Hey Azel, how come only you and Aethel have nicknames?” Sekh asked me while we were getting ready to go to bed.

“Because our nicknames sound good,” I snorted. “In fact, the people who actually need nicknames are Mikhail and Florence but we couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t sound horrendous.”

“How did you get your nickname anyway?” Sekh continued, curiosity radiating from her face. 

“Well, Aeth couldn’t say my full name when she was drunk once. Then Florence took a liking to it and it ended up sticking. As Aeth, that happened because I didn’t want to be the only person to have an ‘el’ removed from their name.”

“Odder than I expected,” Sekh remarked. “But I do think Az is a really cute name.”

“I assume you want to use it?” I asked, Sekh nodding happily in response. “Well I don’t mind. Though I wish I had a nickname for you.”

“You could try love, dear, honey,” Sekh suggested.

“They’re not based on your name though,” I said while frowning.

“Truly unfortunate, Az,” Sekh replied with a smirk. “Truly unfortunate."