The journey to the place where they would set up camp had taken much longer than they expected, arriving just a little before dusk. It was a space in a clearing within a forest section at the mountain's foothills. They descended a bit, as the path became much more complicated if they kept climbing, plus they risked encountering more dangerous enemies if they continued and they were in no condition for that, at least not yet. There was a small creek nearby, and the trees surrounding them turned the place into an enclosed and dark space, perfect for lighting a campfire and not be easily detected.

On the way to that spot, they encountered a more significant number of monsters along the way. A group of 5 orcs, 3 separate groups of mountain goblins, each consisting of 7 to 8 individuals... and more harpies, though fortunately in smaller groups than the last time. The amount of experience gained allowed Elisa to finally level up, ending her previous complaints. For her side, Miriam, while not gaining another level, had advanced quite a bit. For Neminah, the gain was even greater, rising quickly and gaining another level.

With the girl being at a level much closer to theirs, they could now face stronger monsters with much more confidence than before, so they decided to search for monsters more actively, unlike before, who only went into the mountains to advance to a "hunting ground" as Miriam described it.

Fortunately, they had found some clues as to the whereabouts of the trolls they had come to look for. One of them had been just the monsters they had encountered on their way. The orcs, especially, seemed to have run away from something, being injured from a previous fight. In addition to bloodstained tracks that led into a section of forest, leading up the southeastern slope, a few miles from the mountain where they were camped.

Now they felt much more motivated, seeing that things were going quite well. They had prepared the tents, and after a while the dinner, a soup made with some orc meat, some vegetables, and salt. Nothing too extravagant or complicated, but delicious enough to make them feel satisfied. Neminah was the one who was in charge of the cooking, and she was highly praised by her sisters, leaving her very happy.

Elisa took advantage of the moment of rest to reflect. Miriam had been right earlier about having to be more vigilant about saving her MP. Something that proved necessary, after having to face the groups of orcs and goblins on her way there, with such a low amount of MP. Although it was understandable, she could not accept it. There had to be something wrong that she was doing, something she was failing at. She couldn't let Miriam, being younger than her, be stronger, and worse, be better prepared than herself. Elisa, who had been an adventurer longer, who had a higher rank, she who was much older... she couldn't lose her pride like that. Not again.

Elisa remembered what her master told them before leaving "What it means to be a team and what it takes to be a leader" something she had not thought about until now. "What did she mean by that? Was it some kind of hidden message? A metaphor?" she thought and thought, but couldn't figure it out. Saying it seemed incredibly simple, with no meaning beyond the obvious, but there had to be more to it, something she wasn't seeing. She brought her hand to her mouth and began biting her thumbnail, a habit she gained from the stress of studying magic on her own as a child.

"Are you done eating?"

"Um. Do you want me to put everything away, sis?"

"Nah, I'll do it. You should go to sleep. Elisa and I will take turns standing guard. You rest first."

"Y-you sure?"

"Yeah, you go now."

"O-okay... then, good night."

"Good night, child."

"Good night Nemi."

The foxkin went into the large tent they had set up, big enough for the 3 of them to sleep next to each other with room to spare. It was an item they had owned for many years and had used multiple times while traveling with Reilanis. It was sturdy enough to stand the test of time, heavy rain, and even snowfall.

Once the girl disappeared inside the tent, Miriam took the things she had left behind and threw them into her inventory. Elisa, who observed this, exhaled in exasperation. "You're supposed to clean it up and then put it away. The things we brought are limited, precisely because we weren't supposed to bring anything that wasn't necessary" At that instant, a thought crossed Elisa's mind. She remembered the things Reilanis had said.

"She said I know the least about teamwork or leading others... but she also said Miriam knew the least about fighting smaller, humanoid-shaped monsters... Aren't those the majority of monsters we've been encountering?"

Holding that train of thought, she felt she had come to some sort of understanding. She looked at Miriam again and noted how messy she was being with the camp. She also remembered the decisions she'd made so far. Giving almost all of the experience to Neminah, something that still seemed like a complete waste to it. Then, the route they had taken. They entered the mountain directly from the forest and climbed up the path to immediately go back down, arriving at the place where they were now. The ride felt like it had been complete nonsense. "What if everything Master said was to make me realize how badly Miriam would do so that I would have the initiative to take the lead when she failed?" In her mind, that answer sounded to be the most logical. To Elisa, it was impossible to think that she was not the best among the 3 young ones. She was the smartest, the one with the most experience being an adventurer, and, of course, the strongest. Or at least that was what she wanted to believe.

In her own pride, Elisa had come to a wrong conclusion. Something Reilanis predicted she would do. If she found out, she would be really disappointed that she had gotten it right.

Oblivious to that, the blonde seemed happy. She felt like everything was making sense now. She looked at Miriam with pity, knowing that in the end, she had only been put in as a leader to expose how bad she was for the job and show Elisa that she was the best.

Miriam noticed the scornful look she was giving her, frowned, and sat down, as she added wood to the campfire.

"What the hell do you want? - She asked with clear annoyance in her tone. - Something you want to tell me?"

"Oh, nothing, just thinking. I was hoping tomorrow you wouldn't make any more... mistakes."

"Huh?! You got a freaking problem with how I do things?"

"No, no, none. Well, not me at least, but master? Who knows?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just, you know, I don't want her to be disappointed with you again."

"Disap..."

That word seemed to hit much harder than she thought it would. She even felt that she had gone a little too far, but there was no turning back now. For the second time this day, she couldn't take back her words now.

Miriam rose from her spot, fists clenched and a slight rise in temperature around her. Elisa noticed that the dragon was much angrier than usual. Maybe, just once, she probably should have kept quiet.

With the cub standing right in front of her, she felt a small shiver run down her back.

"That's for her to decide. Not me, not Vi, and certainly not YOU. Someone who has done absolutely nothing for her or anyone else. - The cold voice with which she spoke to the blonde contrasted with the heat emanating from her Dragonoid body. Her tail lashed the ground with power as if to give more intensity to the words she was throwing at her like blows. - Ever since Mom picked you up that time, you've done nothing but ask for things and complain. Do you think that the magic you're so proud of does any good? No, it doesn't. It has only served to boost that inflated ego of yours. Tell me, have you contributed anything to the group?"

"..."

Elisa didn't answer. Not because she couldn't think of something, but because she felt... pressured, and intimidated. Miriam moved her hand closer to her and placed it gently on her shoulder. The blonde felt her body twitch. For a second, she felt absolutely terrified.

"Wanna know what I think?"

"..."

"I think it's about time you stopped acting like a jerk. Stop pretending you're the best of us and for once in your life come down from that pedestal you've put yourself on. I'm tired of dealing with your bullshit every day. And at this point, I have no intention of fighting with you anymore. So, look what we're going to do."

The young dragon applied a little more force to her grip, causing Elisa's face to grimace in pain. She smiled in satisfaction and then snorted disdainfully.

"Since you have so much energy to pick a fight with me, today you take the first shift to watch. And tomorrow, you'll be the only one doing the fighting. Any monster that shows up will be completely yours. I won't move, I won't try to help you unless absolutely necessary, and I won't let Neminah cast any support magic on you. We'll see how far that great pride of yours will take you."

With those last words, Miriam released her grip, and snorted one last time, mocking Elisa who had stood frozen in place and entered the tent, preparing to sleep.

Elisa couldn't do more than stare at the ground without response, trying to digest the truths that had been thrown in her face. In her mind, she had nothing she could say to deny them, and a part, deep inside her, was aware of it.

"I really should have stayed quiet."

 

 

 

 

Inside the tent, Miriam had laid down on a thick blanket; a makeshift bed, as she thought about what had just happened. Next to her, Neminah slept peacefully, oblivious to everything, leaving her soft breathing as a background sound.

Just like what happened earlier; despite "winning" that argument, it didn't feel good in the least. There was no feeling of victory or superiority, she didn't even feel happy. All she felt was... sadness and disappointment. Miriam couldn't say exactly why she was feeling this way. What she did know was that no matter how many arguments she won against Elisa, or how many she lost, at the end of the day, their relationship only seemed to get worse. With every word they exchanged, the further they drifted away from each other, and that was making Miriam feel upset.

“There's no way to change things?' Even though we got along so well when we were little... how on earth did we end up like this?"

Miriam remembered the old days when they were just little girls and played together happily. Times when Elisa acted different, telling her stories, teaching her new things, taking care of her like... "like a real big sister..." How much pain it caused her to remember it.

"Disappoint her, huh? I wonder if I've ever done the opposite..."

Grimly, Miriam closed her eyes and thought if maybe there was a way to fix things. It wasn't as if she wanted to constantly fight with Elisa. She really wanted to make peace and stop all this hatred and arguing they had every day. But what could she do? Even if she tried, the current Elisa would only see that as her groveling and giving in to her. In the end, it would only end up boosting her ego even more. "Really, what was Mom thinking putting me in charge? There's no way we can work as a... team... a team?"

Suddenly a flash of realization hit Miriam, who was shocked. She began to analyze things, bit by bit, making sure she wasn't drawing the wrong conclusion.

"Mom said she wanted us to use this experience so we could understand what it means to be a team. Nemi and I already work pretty well together...the problem is Elisa doesn't want to cooperate. But...mom should know that well enough, so why suggest that?"

Miriam felt she was hitting on something important. She continued with that line of thought "If she, even knowing that, suggests we work as a team... does that mean she expects us to do it? Is she expecting us to learn how to do it? But without trust, you can't..."

She instantly realized the most crucial thing. Her eyes opened wide as they uttered the keyword. "Trust." The only way they could work as a team was if they both trusted each other, but that would only be possible... "Only if we work things out between us... Was this her real goal? Mom... she wanted us to make peace on this mission?"

Incredible as it seemed, both girls had taken Reilanis' words very differently from what she intended. Although, in Miriam's case, she managed to understand it much better than Reilanis had intended by saying those words to them.

With the sudden realization, Miriam had now calmed down and shifted her focus. Of course, she still thinks about making Elisa fight alone the next day until it seemed she had learned her lesson. After all, "this and that are different things." She thought as she yawned. Whatever happened from that night onward the relationship between the two girls would change again. In what way? That's something we'll soon find out.