After finishing the task that Alexia had assigned them, Isuke and Camila re-entered the tent.

'Finally, we're done!' Camila thought as she lay down.

'Uh... I miss my bed...'

She rolled from side to side, trying to get used to the feeling of the tent floor.

There were no beds!

'Well... it makes sense that the professor didn't give everyone beds because it's impossible for all of them to fit in that backpack, but, how does he manage to have so many things in there? Couldn't he at least put in a few beds so we wouldn't suffer because of his terrible idea?'

As Camila let herself be carried away by her thoughts, Isuke asked her:

"Are you tired?"

"Yes...", Camila automatically replied.

'Wait, no!' Camila thought as she lifted her upper body, sitting up.

"I was just taking a short break, is there anything else to do?" asked Camila, trying to look as determined as possible, but in reality, she looked like a little frightened mouse.

Laughing, Isuke replied:

"No, don't worry. You can keep lying down. I don't think it will be long before those two come back."

'Why did you call me then? Well... never mind.'

With a small smile of relief, Camila lay down again.

For some reason, she no longer felt so uncomfortable in Isuke's presence.

Now he was simply... someone else.

'I wonder how Valentina is doing? I hope the role of president isn't consuming her too much. And that sword...'

Swords.

Ever since Leo and Isuke talked about rescuing a sword-ego, Camila couldn't help but remember her past.

'Is there really a sword-ego here?' She wondered as she recalled all the times she had practiced as a child to be a swordswoman.

But no.

She had to give up that dream because when she went to a temple by chance to pray, there they discovered her talent as a healer.

Initially, Camila had refused to join the temple, as she did not want to live her life as a priestess locked up in the temple all day, but over time she realized her selfishness.

Her parents, despite being poor, did everything possible to enroll her in an academy where they taught her the basics of sword handling and she even attended competitions where she fought, but she never managed to get a good position.

Whenever she failed, her parents encouraged her, but she noticed how over time her father increasingly looked at her with pity while her mother always kept morale up, supporting her.

Time passed, and difficulties at home worsened, so when she heard from someone in the village that if she prayed in a temple her wish would be heard...

She never thought that going there she would find out she had a talent for healing magic.

At first, she angrily rejected the offer, feeling offended, but as the weeks went by, seeing that her progress with the sword was slow and that there were more and more arguments at home...

She accepted.

She agreed to be part of the temple to enter this academy with the phoenix badge, and with that, she temporarily fixed her situation, but...

"Hey, Isuke..."

Camila was nervous, but...

'It's okay to learn more about that sword-ego, right?' She asked herself, trying not to feel guilty about what she was going to say.

"What's up?", asked Isuke, puzzled.

Hello!

I know the last chapters I've released have been short, but it's the only viable way I see to maintain my current pace of releasing a chapter every 2-3 days until reaching Chapter 40. After that, publication will return to being weekly, but I'll stick to the 500-1200 word range per chapter that I usually do.

Now, if you enjoy the story and want me to consistently create much longer chapters, there's my Patreon where you can take a look.

I'm all ears, so I'll be happy to answer any doubts/questions you may have.

As for the rest...

See you in 2-3 days!