"Yumi, you have to properly dry your hair!"
"Uhh... I'm trying."
"Aah, come here. I'll do it."

The cloth slash towel was taken away from me.

"Sis, I can do that myself."
"Yes, I can totally see that, Yumi."
"Uhh..."

And just like that, my remaining bit of independence was taken away by Karen.
She rubbed my hair with the towel until it was dry, which of course took quite some time. Once she finished, we got dressed in simple shirts and pants that we had been using to sleep in.

"Nn, where did Yumias disappear to?"
"Mama? She probably finished whatever she wanted to do."
"... That person is quite a free spirit, isn't she?"
"Well... She's always been like that. Disappearing and appearing at random, whenever she felt like it. She'll probably be back before long"

That sounded like a major pain to deal with. It was also a bit of an issue since I still had way too many questions. Way too many. Guess those had to wait for now.

"Lily."
"Yes, Karen?"

Karen paused in the middle of dressing herself and turned towards Lily.

"Is that girl really... the witch from the legends?"
"Well... That's a bit of a tough question. To be honest, I don't really know either."
"You don't know? Did nobody ever ask her?"
"We did. But she always evaded the question. Although Papa and the others assume that she really is the witch from the legends. Because she is really strong and can do many things we don't even understand. Well, even though Mama herself said that there are many others who can do those but..."

Lily herself probably never met any others who could, huh... I had honestly no idea what Yumias was really capable of... But I did know, that she was someone we definitely shouldn't mess with. And that she was someone who at the very least knew about my old world.

Quite a mysterious little girl, isn't she? Which reminds me... 'Do not rest' was it... Just what did she mean by that?

It was an ominous warning, to say the least. Why couldn't she be clear about it?

"Hey, Lily..."
"Mh?"
"Do you know what she meant? When she was telling me that I shouldn't rest?"

I had no idea myself. That's why, I simply had to ask the one who knew her the best, right?

"Don't rest, huh... Mm, I can only take a guess, if you are fine with that."
"That's okay."
"Well, you see, Mama has always been someone who is looking for entertainment."
"Entertainment?"

What did her entertainment have to do with me resting? That seemed like a huge jump to me.

"Yes. She's messing around with others because she wants to be entertained, she wants to have fun. Pretty much everything I've seen her doing was mostly for that purpose."
"Everything, huh..."
"Wait, Lily, wouldn't that mean..."

Karen stared at Lily, clenching her fist around the clothes.

"Well, yes. She probably picked me up because of that as well. I'm still grateful to her, though. And I don't really have any reason to complain. She cared for me and I love her. She's the one who raised me, together with Papa."

Yumias only raised Lily because she thought it might be fun? Wasn't that, like, really irresponsible? Although Lily herself didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Anyway, rather than me, I think she was playing around with Yumi for that same reason."
"... Does she see everything as a game?"
"In a way, yes."

Lily smiled wryly.
So I was just a game to her? That was... irresponsible? I honestly didn't know how I should feel about it...

"But she does properly see things through, okay? Even if she is the root problem... Or when she just makes everything worse... In any case! I think that maybe she is beginning to, I don't know, feel bored? Or worried that her entertainment would end soon? I don't really know the reason, but I think you should take it seriously."
"So, you're saying something is bound to happen? And that I'm not prepared for that, or so?"
"I think that's the case, yes."

That was even more ominous. That really made me feel worried.

"Ah, but it's just a guess, I don't know whether it really is like that. It could also be just some random nonsense to throw you off."
"No, thank you, Lily. It helps. Even if she just said it to throw me off, being... careful doesn't hurt."

It was at the very least the best idea we had so far. And even if it wasn't something she was serious about... I did decide to protect them. And that's what I would have to do.

"Yumi, Lily, let's think about that tomorrow. Let's get the others and head to bed for now," suggested Karen with a serious expression.
"Nn, let's do that."

Yes, we could think about that tomorrow.
We checked once more that we hadn't left anything behind after we cleaned up and then left the building, towards the camp.

---

Outside the building, we were greeted by the night sky.

"Ohh, it's this late already, huh..."
"Well, we did take a lot of time in the bath, Lily," commented Karen.
"Having such a large bath for yourself is rare after all. Ahh, I want to go again."
"Maybe we'll get another chance, sometime."

That would be great. While the mercenaries had a large tent for bathing purposes, it wasn't that large. Just big enough for a few dozen people at once. And even then, not everyone could enter the water at the same time. Add to that, that everyone wanted to take a bath and you couldn't take your time. It was a really different, refreshing feeling if you could bath and just take it easy.

"Speaking of which, isn't it hard to maintain such a large bath?"
"Huh? No, not really? Well, getting that amount of elemental stones ready is a rather costly expenditure. But once you got those, it's just a simple matter of emptying the bath, refilling it and then heating it," explained Lily to me.
"... That's quite impressive."

It might have been one thing if there was a hot water source beneath the fort, but apparently, this wasn't even needed here. Magic was convenient. Really. I didn't want to imagine how it would have been without magic... On a plateau... There likely wasn't any water beneath us for a well, although that was just a random guess of mine. So, without those stones...

"But Lily, don't they also have to clean it?" asked Karen.
"Well... I think so?"
"That alone would be already a lot of work, considering that size."
"... I guess you're right."

Cleaning the bath, huh... I wondered how many hours that would take. Looking at it positively though, they were still being paid for it. Well, I didn't want to do it. Even if it was paid work.
But thinking about cleaning... it was likely that other issues would pop up over time as well. Like broken stones or so.

"Well, it doesn't really have anything to do with us, though. So whatever."

Lily shrugged her shoulders, ending the topic.

"Rather, let's look for the others. Where did they even run off to? Weren't they supposed to wait here?"
"Good question. Maybe they went ahead?"
"I guess so. Haa... I want to sleep."

Lily raised her hand in front of her mouth and let out a big yawn.

"Only a bit longer, Lily."
"Mh..."

Lily held up her hand again and started another yawn. Although, this time it was interrupted by a loud crash.

"Wha-, What was that?"
"Ahhh!"

Lily squatted down and held her hands in front of her mouth. There were tears in her eyes.

"Lily? Lily, is everything fine?"
"Mmm! Mm!"

She was flailing her free arm while still holding her mouth with her other hand. Maybe she wanted to tell us something, but I had really no idea what it was. And now I was watching a worried Karen trying to figure out whatever Lily was trying to tell us.
A few moments later, we would finally hear it though. She stopped flailing and then turned towards us.

"... Bid my thongue," she said. Or tried to.
"You... bit your tongue?"

Lily nodded in response to Karen's question.

"Id hurdz."
"... Haaa, and I thought it was something serious. Don't scare me like that.

"
"Id'th theriouz!"
"I got no idea what you are trying to say, Lily."

While it was cute how Lily was protesting with tears in her eyes, I was a bit worried about that noise we had heard. There wasn't much that could cause such a loud sound, reminiscent of an explosion. Also, I could hear other people's voices from far away, shouting.

"Sis, as long as Lily is fine, shouldn't we go and look at what happened? I'm a bit worried about the others."
"We should, yes. Lily, are you fine now?"

Lily nodded, probably so she didn't have to speak.

"Then, let's take a look."

Karen took the lead and we walked over to the source of the commotion. It wasn't really that far away from where we were and we quickly saw a whole lot of people running to the place as well, many looking worried or panicked. And we quickly understood why.

"Just what's going on here? What happened?"
"... That doesn't look good."

A part of the wall including the gate towards the bridge had collapsed. Many soldiers rushed to the wreckage, trying to dig out people that got buried. Close by I saw a group of soldiers surrounding a person on the ground. A person lying in their own pool of blood.

"Oh, the kids are here."

Someone called out to us from close by. Karen gasped in surprise, seeing the person in question.

"Wanda?! Shouldn't you be lying down?"
"What are you surprised about, girly, some little illness can't keep me tied down. I'm not like that little Merim."
"Could you please stop badmouthing me so casually?"

Right behind Wanda appeared Merim. Both of them didn't look healthy. In the shine of the lamps, we could see how pale both of their faces still were. They clearly looked like people who should be confined to their beds.

"Is it fine that you two are walking about? Shouldn't you stay down? You're really pale."
"While things like this go on? Not too fond of the prospect of being buried alive, kid. We'll manage."
"She's right, Yumi. And we're not that bad off compared to the garrison. We just caught a mild cold or something like that."
"That wasn't really mild, Merim."
"Ouch!"

Wanda hit the back of Merim's head in clear protest. If she already refused to call it mild, shouldn't she also see that walking around like this wasn't going to make it any better?

"Haa... As long as you are sure you are fine... Then, tell us, just what happened here? Did something explode?" asked Lily.
"This? Not quite sure either. Something like a failed apprehension?"
"A failed apprehension?"
"Better ask Korwen about that or anyone else who knows. I only saw the soldiers chasing some man and then everything went bright. Next thing I knew was the wall collapsing. Guess the man used some magic."
"I only just arrived as well, so I don't know either."

So neither Wanda nor Merim knew what was going on.

"I see. But... I can't see Mr Captain and the soldiers seem busy, don't they?" wondered Karen.
"That seems to be the case, girly. Better not disturb the ones out there. Oh, I see Fenna there, so let's ask her instead."

Wanda briskly walked away towards the person she spotted. Fenna stood a bit to the side, talking with a middle-aged man.

"Fenna."
"Hm? Eh?! Wanda?! What the heck are you doing here?! You should be in bed!"
"Calm down, dear. With this noise, it's impossible to sleep. Just what happened?"
"Ahh, wait a moment. Rhoms, go and find the captain after you are done, yes?"
"Understood, Ms Fenna!"

The middle-aged man saluted and jogged away.

"Ahh, you girls are here too. Wait, vice-captain?! Why are you here?!"
"Calm down, Fenna. Calm down. We're not on death's door, after all."
"Even if you aren't, it could still become problematic! Did you get Ria's permission before leaving?"
"That's..."

Merim awkwardly turned his head around. Clearly, they didn't.

"We didn't, Fenna. But it's fine, really. Aren't you in charge right now? What will the others think if you get so heated up?"
"Uhhh..."
"Just tell us what happened, yes?"
"Haa... I get it, I get it.  You won't return to your beds anyway, right? Haa..."

Fenna held her forehead and rubbed her temples.

"Well, it's pretty simple. Did you hear about the witch coming over? I don't know what she did, but the captain and the fort's commander, Mr Ruben, were rather upset about something. They tried to apprehend that guy over there."

She pointed towards the man that had been lying on the ground. It was clear he died somehow and now his corpse was being carried away by some soldiers.

"That's apparently the high magician stationed in this fort, you know. They say he was responsible for the disease outbreak. That's scary as heck, a high magician sabotaging an entire fort."
"That's indeed bad... I guess he resisted and blew up the wall?" asked Merim.
"Yeah, the soldiers cut him down in a panic before he could do anything else. A shame we can't question him anymore..."

A high magician... Judging from that title it was obviously someone very skilled.

"Ah! I've been wondering what Mama meant with a curse, so that guy cast it!"
"Curse? And... mama?"

Fenna tilted her head at Lily's comment. Luckily for her, Karen stepped in to explain.

"She means Yumias. We talked with her earlier and she was talking about a curse being the source of this trouble."
"A curse... No wonder then, the only one capable of such a thing would indeed be the high magician..."
"Nn? Are curses that hard?"
"You don't know? Well, curses, or rather all kinds of magic that influence a person's body, belong to the especially difficult types of spells."

Especially difficult, she said?

"Why especially difficult?"
"Kid, most magic needs the caster to have a certain degree of knowledge on the phenomenon they try to invoke. That's why healing magic and curse magic are so incredibly rare. The only exception would be spirit magic, as they skip that part, but a magician who can use that kind of magic is even rarer..." explained Wanda.

A certain degree of knowledge... That was a bit odd to hear when the magic I used was mostly done by guts and instinct. I couldn't even remotely explain what I was doing with my magic...

"Anyway, this is really a bad outcome. I wouldn't be surprised if the captain tells us to bail," murmured Merim.
"Huh?"

I was surprised by Merim's words. He said we might bail? Did that mean... something was going to happen?

"Well, why do you think he destroyed the gate?"
"Uhh..."
"Without a gate, it's nearly impossible to defend the bridge right now."
"..."

Defend the bridge? I didn't mishear, right? He did say 'defend the bridge'.

"Let's return to the wagons and wait for orders from the captain," suggested Merim.

Everyone nodded and so we slowly made our way back to the wagons.

---

Defending the bridge... So the bridge might get attacked? Is this... what Yumias referred to?

'Do not rest'. That's what she told me. For some reason, those words kept echoing in my mind. As if they refused to let me be.

"Kid, stop spacing out."
"Nn? Ah, sorry."

Wanda's words brought me back to reality. We were currently back at the mercenaries' camp. Most people had heard about the commotion.
We quickly found Rina and the other three lurking in the vicinity. According to Maya, they had watched the chase and then ran back to the camp once it went out of control. All four of them felt quite bad about not waiting for us. We had a few more important things going on right now, though, so they got away with a light scolding from Karen.

"Ah, there's the captain."
"He seems pretty upset..."
"I got a bad feeling."
"Mr Greyward is with him too."

Korwen had walked into the camp. Probably. I couldn't see anything thanks to the crowd in front of me. Thankfully, he climbed onto one of the wagons and turned towards the mercenaries. He was clearly upset about something, his expression distorted into a grimace.
Although, I could still only barely make out his head.

"Eh, isn't that Mama there? I can't quite see."
"Wait, Lily... Yes, it seems that Yumias is behind Mr Captain."

Karen stood on her tiptoes and tried to look over the crowd.

Nn? Was Lily always shorter than Sis? I never noticed... Well, they are both tall from my perspective...

Discarding the random thought, it seemed that Korwen wasn't quite alone. Maybe Yumias was the cause of his anger. Or, maybe she wasn't.

"Men! Get in order! Stop the mumbling, are you little girls on a field trip?!"

Korwen shouted, causing everyone to shut up without a moment's delay. Well, everyone except a group at the side, it seemed. Korwen glanced over at them angrily, but he didn't say anything anymore. He faced forwards and took a deep breath.

"You just heard that explosion, right?! The Lafrian high magician caused an explosion and destroyed the gate to the bridge! The gate towards the Akkian Empire is open!"
Towards the Akkian Empire... Wait, he couldn't mean?
"It's likely this was those bastards' plan! Weakening this fort and opening the gate! That means, they will come here. They will come to this place! This fort! To fight the Lafrian Kingdom once more! Men! Do you know what that means?!"

Silence. Then, some small, suppressed laughter could be heard. And then, someone raised his fist into the air and...

"WAR!"

Someone else raised theirs as well and joined, followed by more and more. Within but a moment, all the men raised their fists and chanted.

"WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR"

A ferocious grin appeared on Korwen's face. It was the first time I had seen this expression on his face. It was scary, different. Different from the man I was used to seeing. Different from the slightly awkward, friendly man. This was the expression of someone who was ready to jump at your throat.

"That's right, you bastards! It's war! And what do we do when there's a war?!"
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

They chanted and then, they all broke out into cheers and laughter.

"Well, guess that means no bailing," commented Merim, shaking his head.
"But if he is riling up the men in this situation... There's probably some other problem, isn't there..." added Wanda.
"Yeah, most likely, there is. I agree with you."

I stared at those two next to me. I hadn't yet finished processing the words I had heard.
War? There would be war? Was this... really happening?
I took another glance towards Korwen. He was still shouting, to get the men hyped up.

"Yumi, are you okay? You don't look good," asked Karen, shouting so her voice wasn't drowned out by the cheering.
"Ye, Yes... I'm fine. It's just..."

A war meant battle. And battles meant...
I took a deep breath, calming myself.

Don't get agitated, Yumi. Calm down. You've just been too concerned with Yumias' words. It's just bothering you too much. Calm down!

I took another deep breath.

"It's fine, Sis... I'm just a bit... overwhelmed."
"... Ahh, I can understand that."

The deafening cheering continued. It was a stark contrast to what I usually saw of these people.

It reminds me a bit of that ferocious smile I saw Lily making... Back when they met for the first time...

Yes, that very same smile adorned now the faces of many men here. It really made me realise... These were mercenaries. These were people who killed for a living. Just like Lefa had said. It was exactly this.

Was she... maybe right? Was I the one... who was wrong?

Something was suddenly tugging on the sleeve of my shirt.

"Yumi..."
"Maya?"

Maya stood next to me, her fluffy ears tightly pressed against the sides of her head. She seemed scared. Behind her were Emily and Sele. Emily looked also really scared and panicky.

"It's going to be alright, Maya."
"..."

I ruffled her hair, hoping that it might comfort her a bit.

They are scared, aren't they... Maybe even more so, than I am... Ahh, what am I doing? Didn't I tell myself I would protect them?! Get a grip, Yumi! You're the oldest one here! Stop moping around!

Slap!

"Yu, Yumi?!"
"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!"
"Of course, it hurts... Why did you slap your cheek?"

That was a good question. I was crouching down and holding both of my cheeks, burning with pain.

"Uhh... I always thought that characters do that to get themselves in order... But this seriously hurts..."
"I don't know where you got that nonsense from... Of course, it would hurt."

Yes, it really was nonsense. I would never slap my cheeks again. Definitely. Without a doubt. Whoever slapped their own cheeks full force was without a doubt dumb. Including myself.

"Uhh... It burns..."
"Come here, let's get somewhere quieter. I can't hear what you're saying."

Karen pulled my arm and dragged me away from the still-cheering crowd.

"Let's see, around here should be good. Let me see your cheeks, Yumi."
"Nn..."
"Mh... Doesn't seem all too bad. Did you cut your cheeks somewhere in your mouth?"
"I don't think so."

I couldn't taste any blood and the pain was mostly just the place where I hit myself. So I was most likely fine.

"We don't have anything to cool it, so you have to deal with it like this for now. Really, don't do such stupid things..."
"Sorry..."
"Well, Karen, don't be so harsh on her. It's been a while since she did something stupid like this. It's refreshing to see it again."
Lily, I'm not doing this for your amusement. And I'll only allow you to call me stupid this one time. Only this one time! Because I actually agree for once.

Karen in the meantime shook her head and sighed. The other girls had followed us, leaving the cheering crowd behind. Although Wanda and Merim had apparently stayed behind. Maybe they wanted to hear what Korwen had to say.

"And here I was so glad she didn't do anything ridiculous the last days..."
"Now, Karen. It would be boring if Yumi stopped doing anything ridiculous," said Lily.
"... Just how are you people seeing me?"
"You probably don't want to know that."

That answer made me only more worried. Just what did Lily think of me?

"Well, in any case. Seems this suddenly blew out quite out of proportion. I thought this was just a simple case of a disease and suddenly we got a war..."
"Lily... Is this... really happening?"
"It is, Yumi. They went so far as using a curse, after all. There's little doubt someone planned this. Whether it is the Akkian Empire, though, I don't know."
"But, Lily, what does the curse have anything to do with this? Doesn't magic stop when the caster dies?"

Karen tilted her head in wonder.

"It does but... Think about it, Yumi had quite a bad dream because of it, right? Imagine in what state all those soldiers have to be when they wake up now. They've been trapped in there not just for minutes or hours, but for days. Even if they wake up now, they won't be of any use in battle for quite some time, even once they recover from the actual illness. It's arguable if they will be fit for battle ever again in the first place."

Being trapped in there for such a long time. I didn't want to imagine it. Surely, I would never be sane again after seeing my own greatest fears without end. It was cruel beyond a doubt.
Meanwhile, in the background, another loud cheer echoed through the camp.

"It's only a matter of time until the Akkian Empire or whoever else appears with their army.  This is already as good as a declaration of war."
"Lily... How strong is the Akkian Empire?"
"That's a tough question, Karen... The normal army is about average, I guess. The mercenaries won't be losing out to them. The problem is the holy knights' squad."
"Holy Knights?"

I tilted my head in wonder. Not quite something I'd expect to hear from an army. Those sounded more like someone related to that church.

"Yes. Yumi, do you remember those white full plate-armour knights when we visited the mercenary camp the first time?"
"I do."
"Those are the holy knights."
"Eh? Full plate armour?"

Karen looked shocked at Lily for some reason. Was it that odd to wear such a thing?

"Yes, full plate armour. And they casually walk around in it."
"No way..."
"Uhm... What's the problem?"

Lily and Karen stared at me in confusion. And much to my surprise, even Emily, Maya and Sele stared at me.

"Yumi... Do you know how much plate armour weighs?"
"Eh?"
"Even a plate mail set made out of magic iron weighs around as much as a grown adult man. If not more."
"... Seriously?"
"Seriously."

A grown man's weight? That was like, around 80kg?

"Nn? Magic Iron?"

An unfamiliar term had also popped up.

"It's a metal made from iron. It's cheap to make but it still weighs around two to three times as much as a regular iron."
"... Then why not use regular iron or steel?"
"Regular iron is too weak. And no idea what steel is. But back to the topic, the holy knights wear something even worse than magic iron. It's called sun metal and it's said to be an impenetrable metal. Although it weighs easily around ten times or more than regular iron. It's also incredibly expensive..."

That means... If magic iron weighed around 2.5 times that of iron... Then the plate mail those knights were wearing was as heavy as four grown men at the very least.

"Lily... How does one even walk with that."
"By being ridiculously strong. Do you understand now why those knights are scary?"
"Nn... I do."

Someone who could walk around in 240kg of plate mail without breaking a sweat... That was purely inhuman. Even more so if the armour was said to be impenetrable. How did one even fight such a thing?

Meanwhile, I'm considered a monster but those people are considered humans. Oh, the irony...

I knew it wasn't that simple, but it still shocked me. I wouldn't have complained if I was a little bit stronger.

"If the holy knights appear here... That wouldn't even be a battle, it'd be a slaughter. No chance."

Lily's expression made clear how bad that situation would be. It just was a bit of a bad time to tell us these things.
Behind Lily, the three girls all looked down to the ground, depressed.

"Ahh! Lily! You can't say such things now! Girls, it's going to be alright, okay? You don't have to worry."
"Ah, oops."

Karen squatted down next to the three and tried comforting them. But Lily's words were already showing their effect. Tears were gathering in Maya's and Emily's eyes.

"Good job, Lily..."
"Ehh... I'm sorry, okay? That wasn't what I wanted..."
"Haa..."

To be honest, we asked and she just explained it to us, so it wasn't her fault.
Well, Karen would probably be able to comfort those three appropriately.

"Hey, Lil Sis..."
"Nn? Rina?"

In the meantime, Rina had walked up to me, her face full of worry.

"Are we going... to be alright?"
"... Of course, we are. Right, Lily?"
"Eh? Yes, yes, of course!"

Lily quickly joined in.

I can only hope we really will be alright. Nn? Is that Fenna? And Ria?

Fenna and Ria were walking towards us with quick steps.

"Fenna, Ria. Is Korwen's speech already over?"
"No, not yet. But he already gave out a few orders."
"Orders?"

He was giving out orders during his speech?

"Yes, well, it's just a simple evacuation order for the non-combatants."
"Ahh..."

I took a quick glance towards the girls Karen was still comforting. I assumed those three would be evacuated as well then. They had been training according to Korwen, but still. They were just little girls. And this was different from a sudden monster assault.

"And everyone else?"
"Some basic preparation orders and who escorts the non-combatants. In any case, you girls should pack your things and get ready to leave."
"... Eh?"

I stared at Fenna. I wasn't the only one, mind you. Lily and even Karen did so as well.

"Fenna, didn't you just say the non-combatants leave?" asked Lily.
"I did."
"Ehh..."
"... I know what you want to say. But you all will join the evacuation. The only one with proper combat training among you is Lily, and Yumi's dolls are probably not going to be of much use here. It'd be better if you join the escort. Also..."

Fenna took a glance towards the three girls behind her. Then she pulled my own and Lily's arm and brought us a few steps away. Karen furrowed her brows, but she was still comforting the girls. Rina walked over to her and tried to help her. Ria followed us, though.

"What I'm going to say now is just my personal opinion, but, well,  some others agree with me. When you all reach the capital... Leave the mercenaries."
"Eh?"
"Wait, Fenna! What are you saying?!"
"Psht! Don't shout now, Lily."

Fenna quickly put a hand over Lily's mouth to shut her up.

"Listen, I'm not suggesting this out of a whim. It's mostly about Emily, Maya and Sele."

She glanced once more to the back.

"You already know about the bullying, right? Those three girls won't become happy here. So far we didn't have a choice but now... They found a family, didn't they?"
"That's... But..."
"Also... I don't think you girls are suited to be mercenaries either."

A little smile floated on Fenna's face. For some reason, it seemed to be a sad smile.

"You all are way too kind. I don't want to see such nice girls breaking from battle... I've seen too many sharing that fate already. You girls, you should find something else. Something peaceful. Forget about battle. Why not open a bakery or a little store? There are many things you can do. Don't stay here."
"... Fenna, you can't be serious, we're already..."
"Stop it, Lily. I'm not going to force you. But you should think about what is best for you all, for your family. Being with the mercenaries... I can't see all of you girls surviving that. And even if you do... Do you think Karen or Yumi can bear it? Always killing people, always being scared of who might attack you, who might try to take your life... I've seen so many break, going crazy. I don't want you to join them. I really don't."
"That is..."

Lily stared at the ground, clenching her teeth.

"Lily, you should know best why the Black Guards don't take new recruits. They don't want to see even more young people's lives ruined. They've already seen so many die. So many losing their mind. Just as I did, as the captain did, as most of us did."
"..."
"The battlefield is not a place for young girls such as you all."

Fenna poked Lily's nose tip and let out a small giggle.

"Also, we already talked with the captain about it, before this incident."
"... And he agreed to this?"
"... He did, in a way."
"I see."

Lily let out a sigh.

"What about the Black Guards?"
"... They'll join the escort."
"Eh?"

Lily's eyes went wide.

"Their captain requested it. He was trying really hard to shout against that crowd. It probably wasn't easy on him."
"..."
"I guess he simply didn't want to see a certain someone crying once more."
"... That idiot. Idiot papa..."

A small smile appeared on Lily's face.

"Fenna, but... Why isn't everyone leaving together?" I asked.
"... I don't know the details, sorry. But there seems to be a reason for it, at least. The captain usually wouldn't take such a risk here. But he must have judged it would be even worse if we don't defend this place."
"I see..."

Fenna put her hand on my head and ruffled my hair strongly.

"Now, enough of that. Think well about what you all are going to do. And consider what is best for your future. I'm sure you girls can find something."
"... Are you sure?"

Fenna laughed and broke out into a wide smile.

"Of course. As long as you are alive, there's always a way. Even if you fail, don't stop moving. Don't stop trying. Life is not a clear, straight road. It's a vast maze. And there are so many ways and just as many dead ends. Some ways are treacherous, some are dangerous, some might look nice, but are a dead end. But if you don't move, you will never find any of them."
"A maze..."
"Yes, a maze. That's why, isn't it your job to explore that maze? To find your path? Together with those dear to you?"

She ruffled my hair once more.

"Whatever you do. Don't regret it. Even this is part of your path. But you have to think about it, whether you want to continue on this path, or try a different one. The world is vast, and life has many sides to it. Don't close your eyes to it."
"But... is that alright?"
"Why shouldn't it? It's your life and you should decide on how you live it, right? "
"Nn..."

Her hand disappeared from my head.

"Now, the little life lecture is over, so take this."

Fenna took a small leather bag that was hanging on her belt and handed it over to me.

"This is?"
"Your salary and a little bonus from us."
"Eh?"
"It'll let you live decently for a small while. Until you find something you can do."

The leather bag was heavy and made quite a lot of noise.

"That only leaves one issue. Ria, would you?"
"Mhh... I understand... Yumi, come here..."
"Eh? What now?"

While I was still overwhelmed, Ria suddenly took my hand.

"Mhh... I should be able to do it... We only need Ruben's signature after this..."
"That's good. Go to Rina afterwards and get hers too."
"Will do..."

Ria pulled out a little metal sheet.

"This will hurt a bit..."
"Haa... Eh? Wait for a second, you can't mean to..."

In addition to the metal sheet, Ria also pulled out a little knife.

"If you struggle... It'll hurt more."
"... Whatever you are going to do... Can't we do it without that knife?"
"... No... Not really..."
Have mercy on me!

I averted my eyes and tried to hold still. A little moment later a sharp pain assaulted my thumb.

"This will do."
"Perfect, oh? Wait, it's already gone?"
"Mh..."

I opened my eyes again and turned back to them. Both of them were staring at my pristine, white thumb.

"That's some impressive healing..."
"Mh... Tentacle monsters and their kin... Are known for their impressive regeneration..."
"Still, it's scary seeing it yourself."
"Eh, Fenna, Ria... Would you explain what you did?"

While I was glad the pain was gone quickly, I still wanted to know what the purpose of this was.

"This..."

Ria held up the metal plate. On it was various symbols and a pinkish spot in the corner.

"It's a mana pass. You will need it to enter the city."
"Ohh... But weren't Rina and I supposed to talk with Ruben about that?"
"Mh... Emergency measures..."
"... I see."

In other words, we were going to skip that part. Although they said that it still needed his signature. Was this really alright?

"I'll go collect... Rina's..."

Ria turned around without another word and walked off, leaving me and Lily alone with Fenna. Lily seemed to be lost in thought, though.

"Now then, Yumi."
"Nn?"
"I already said enough, I guess. Still, I want to say it again. Think well about your future. You're not alone anymore, right?"
"... I guess so."

Yes, I wasn't alone anymore. But... No, just like she said, I had to think about it. Together with the others.

"Also, one more small warning. Try to stay away from the mercenaries' families as much as possible."
"Nn? Because of the discrimination?"
"That too, but... Honestly, I don't trust them. They don't understand the danger, they are too used to being protected. And I fear they might do something to jeopardise everything. Some of them can get... quite extreme."
"Got it. We'll stay as far from them as we can."
"Great. Now then, I think I said all I wanted, so..."

Fenna opened her arms wide and then hugged me and Lily who was dragged out of her thoughts.

"I wish you all the best. Until we meet again."
"Nn... See you, Fenna. And thank you."
"Yes, see you. Don't you dare not come back."
"Ha! You two should worry about yourselves first. This is our job, we know what we're doing, don't you worry."
"I see. Good luck."

She let us go and grinned. Then she turned around and left, waving a final time before saying her farewell to Karen and the others.

"... I guess we got some thinking to do, don't we."
"Nn."
"Thinking about what's best for your family, huh..."
"Nn..."
"I... never really thought about it like that... I always... thought about myself..."

I glanced at Lily. She was staring at the night sky.

"Let's go, Yumi. We still got a job to do."
"Nn, that we do."