By the time we docked at the largest port city in Merrow, I’d been able to cram five spells into Isabella’s head.

Purification, light ball, healing, shield, and water manipulation.

All of them were just at the beginner level, but Isabella could do them. They were nearly useless, but for having only just started magic training, she was really good for learning them. Now she just needed practice.

Unlike the last country, whose name I have forever blotted from my memory, Merrow was a little more careful about who and what arrived in their land. As soon as we docked, a group of guards boarded the ship and began an inspection. Every person had to prove their identity, and the cargo was checked to ensure no contraband was being smuggled in.

This presented a problem for me.

We’d been below decks, in my cabin with Isabella practicing when a knock sounded at the door. I’d asked one of the crewmen to notify us when it was time to disembark, not wanting to get in the way during maneuvers and when cleaning up from getting docked. I’d heard more than one of the other passengers head up top, only to return a moment later.

Thinking it’d be them letting us know we were good to go, but not wanting to interrupt my student, I looked at Jane then tilted my head to the door, indicating she should check it.

It wasn’t a crewman, but a pair of guards who gave us an order before moving on to the next cabin.

“Please head to the deck for inspection.”

None of the bodyguards seemed surprised, though Isabella was. She’d have had special privileges due to her family, and never experienced this before. I took control of the water before she dropped it and stuck it back in the bucket. She’d had it hovering over my bed, and I didn’t want have to dry it out. Stowing the bucket, I disabled the eternal flame spell, and the barrier protecting the candle, letting it burn as it ought.

“Cabin six is empty, feel free to head inside if you want to check it.

Jane called out, so the guards wouldn’t waste time pounding on the door of an empty room as we prepared to leave. The order was Jane and Morgan up front, then me and Isabella, with Lisa and Rachel bringing up the rear as they exited the other room.

I didn’t know how I should be feeling being escorted by a quartet of women. If it wasn’t for Isabella, it would have had all the appearance of a harem.

On deck, the other passengers had been checked and were heading down the gangplank, leaving just the crew, the guards, and us.

There were three guards on deck. One with a small folding tray set up before him, on which rested an orb, papers, and a pen. He spoke to us in a bored tone, though he wasn’t so relaxed as to drop his guard.

“Please show your identification and place your hand on the crystal.”

Jane, then Morgan, showed theirs, touching the orb, which failed to react, before moving off to the side to wait for us. The official wrote down some information on the papers, stating the name of the person and affiliation as he did so.

I felt like showing him my first ID card, the one from Valla, but since I’d have to show the other one anyway, I showed the new one instead.

“Telarynn, adventurer.”

That earned me looks from my companions, but I just gave them a ‘so what’ stare before moving out of the way.

Now it was Isabella’s turn. I wonder how this was going to go.

“Isabella, Merrow citizen.”

She moved aside.

Huh? I knew there had to be more of it, but I wonder if she had two IDs, one showing her full name and rank, while the other, that she’d just used was a basic ID card. I didn’t ask.

Lisa and Rachel were ID’d with no problems, and we were ready to disembark.

Really, I didn’t have to stick around, but I wanted to say goodbye to them, mostly Isabella, before I took my leave.

We walked down the gangplank, up the dock, and onto the first solid ground we’d stepped on in over a week. I could almost imagine a popup saying the country or city name as it sometimes does in some video games when you enter a new region.

“Ah, it feels good to be back on land, don’t you think?”

I looked down at Isabelle, who nodded back at me.

“So, now that we’re here, I guess we’ll be going our separate ways. Keep practicing and you’ll get stronger, just only do it around people you trust.”

I gave Isabella a pat on the head, then turned and started walking away.

Damn it, it’s hard to say goodbye.

With the clatter of footsteps, there came a tug on my tunic, stopping me. I knew I shouldn’t look back, but I couldn’t help myself, turning and seeing the teary-eyed face of my most recent student.

I sighed and bent down enough to look her in the eyes.

“I have to go. You should be able to get home from here without me.”

“Teacher...hic, please don’t leave.”

I pulled a handkerchief out to dab the tears from her eyes.

“Despite your groups attempt to keep it hidden, very poorly, I might add, I know you’re nobility of some sort. While I’m sure I could get some kind of reward for having helped you, and to continue teaching you, I have had more than enough dealing with the politics that would be involved. Head home and see your family, become strong, and live a good life. Also, don’t let anyone push you into something you don’t want. Arranged marriages are nothing but hell for the unwilling. Make your life your own, even if you have to run away to do it.”

I shuddered, as I remembered the many times I’d been pressured to marry, regardless of my desire to do so. There had been some I’d have considered had I known we’d be able to live in peace, but I knew I’d never be able to. As long as I’d been marked by the gods on Valla, it’d have been impossible to hide for long.

“Pleshe, stay, with, me.”

I patted her on the head, and motioned to Jane, who came to hug Isabella.

“I can’t, and you don’t need me. I’ve given you the tools you need. I wish you luck, and a good life.”

I walked away quickly, a bit teary-eyed myself. I heard her words, threatening me.

“I’ll find you!”

As soon as I found a deserted location, I went invisible. I needed to get changed. I couldn’t stay like this. With who she was, she really could find me if she could talk her family into it. At least they’d promised not to talk about the holy magic I had. Water and light was fine, water was common, though light was less so, it was not a problem if it was known.

Putting up temporary walls and wards to keep me safe, I stripped, shifted, and got dressed in another set of clothes, ones made for this body type. The master sword went into storage, while a rapier was attached to my belt.

Checking myself in a water mirror, I found everything in order, then undid my changes to the location, walking away from there at a quick pace. I needed to find an inn quickly. The later it was, the harder it was to find a good one.

It took me three tries to find a place to spend the night, though I went by five inns. Two of them I passed by without even asking for a room, if the bar was that filthy, I didn’t want to even risk staying there. Who knew how bad the room would be, or how dishonest the owner.

The one I found was more costly than I’d stay in normally, intended for middle-class merchants, but I didn’t feel like going back on the hunt. Sure, I’d have found something, but I didn’t want to waste time. I had more than enough money, and the place looked well kept.

Also, I was hungry, and this place was emitting the odor of delicious food.

After booking my room, I sat down to have some dinner. I was halfway through it when I almost choked. There was a group of very familiar people walking in the door. I hurriedly, but stealthily shoved the book I’d been reading back into storage. They’d seen me reading it before, and I didn’t want to give any hints I didn’t have to. Not after her threat of finding me, and not when I was in my favorite form.

The group made for the bar to talk to the innkeeper, though they looked around, surveying the room. There was a brief pause when their eyes fell on me before it moved on. I ignored it, focusing on my food.

The reason for the pause was probably the clothes. They looked similar to the ones ‘Lary’ had been wearing, but with some major differences. While the color scheme was mostly similar, I was not presenting as a male. I was Zelda, but with red hair. All girl, modest bust included. I was also a decent amount thinner and shorter than I’d been as a man. And as the weapon I was using was strapped to my hip, rather than my back, I had no need of the leather straps across the chest.

Changing shapes increased my appetite a bit, and this place’s food was amazing. I’d ordered a bunch of takeout as well, providing plates and bowls for them to fill.

Ordering extra to go was something I’d gotten in a habit of doing once I had the money to do so. Better to stock up when I could then rely solely on whatever was available. I could have stopped when I got good at making food, a necessary skill when exploring, but I hadn’t. I was not a chef, even if people said I could have been. Skill corrections for the win.

I was regretting my order since, because of it, I was stuck down here until it was filled. I’d told them to prioritize dinners over my order, since I’d be storing them for later. They were fine with that, so I must not have been the only one who’d do this.

“Excuse me.”

And here they were, Jane taking charge as the leader. I knew it. The place was packed, so sharing tables was a given, and seats had just opened up at mine.

“If you’re wanting the seats, then sit. Or someone else is gonna grab em. Foods too good to pass up.”

“Ah, thank you.”

They sat, putting Isabella on the side of the table with her back to the wall. Because of where I was sitting, only one person, Jane, was between the two of us.

“Any recommendations?”

“Everythin’ I’ve tried has been great. This is one of the best places I’ve found to fill my adventurer’s pantry.”

“Adventurer’s pantry?”

“You know how item boxes keep stuff fresh?” Nods. “A savvy adventurer who has the skill and room in theirs can fill it with delicious food to eat on the road. Doin’ it this way costs a bit more than makin’ food themselves, but it saves time and makes travelin’ more pleasant.”

“Ah, that makes sense. We’ve met another person who did the same thing.”

I could see the sad face of Isabella. Sorry, hon, but I’m not wanting to get noticed by nobles. More peaceful without dealing with it. Sucks that you were born to it, hope you escape if you can’t stand it.

Their food came and they were occupied with filling their stomachs. A few dishes for storage arrived for me, and I stowed them before they could be noticed. They’d seen a few of my dishes over the past week.

Isabella finished first. She wasn’t as active, so she didn’t need as much food to stay fit as her guards. She looked around the place, bored, and slightly nervous, but her gaze cam back to me time and again. I noticed out of the corner of my eye as I finished my dinner, then took some fabric out and started sewing.

I really wanted to read, but that’d be almost a dead giveaway. Or working on a piece of armor I’d been crafting from some of the wyvern bone and hide, but she’d seen that.

So I sewed. I was making a mew plushie. Why? Because I could. I already had a lion and tiger and bears, oh my. Two bears, one black, one white. I called them Kumayuru and Kumakyu. I didn’t want to make human dolls, so I stuck to animals, and since they were already cartoonish, I’d made a few of the cuter pokémon. Like eevee, and it’s eeveelutions.

Anyway, she watched me, having nothing better to do.

I’d already put some work in on the thing, so it was assembled pretty fast. Then I stuffed it with remains of from my enemies.

Well, it was the wool of some sheep monsters. It made the best stuffing, so I had collected a lot of it.

Once it was completed, I inspected it, noticing and fixing a few flaws. Then I looked up, finding multiple gazes upon me, not just Isabella’s.

“What?”

“Nothing, just admiring your handiwork. What is it?”

“It’s a mythical creature from a book series called a mew. Despite it’s cute appearance, it was a powerful creature, a divine beast.”

“It’s really cute.”

Isabella’s eyes were sparkling as she looked at the doll.

The last set of tonight’s addition to my pantry came out and was quickly stowed away. With that done I could escape…

Crap. I’m gonna have to make another one.

I tossed the doll to the girl.

“Since you like it, you can keep it.”

“Oh, I couldn’t. Not after all the work you did on it.”

“It’s fine. I make them as a hobby. Gives me a way to keep my fingers busy. Plus, I can make another with only a little work. Probably look better than that one.”

I turned away and headed for the stairs. Time to make a strategic retreat.

“Th, thank you, miss!”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy it.”