I never thought I would travel like this. My father, taking everything into consideration, has decided that we will press on to Hitherbliss despite the setback. Early in the morning, as I woke up from my food coma, one induced by the wonderfully tasty Freezing Newts, I bore witness to my father taking apart the remains of the carriage we were riding on.

It was a unique proposal, my father's idea. He fashioned a wheelbarrow from the remains of the carriage and had Billiam, our Coachman, sit in it with the supplies we were able to salvage from the wreck. This included his armor and his shirt. Following his instructions, I tied the wheelbarrow to his waist with multi-layered mana threads so it could act as a rope.

Next, he placed me on his right shoulder, and Winona on his left, keeping his arms up and locked with mana in a right angle position, so he could keep us steady. My father is carrying us two girls, while simultaneously using his waist to pull Billiam in the makeshift wheelbarrow, which thankfully has two wheels, not one.

With mana coursing through his legs, my father is now acting as our new carriage, transporting us three and himself by running through the long trail on the way to Hitherbliss. What is this man thinking? It's one thing to take me from that mountain range to his estate when I was injured, but this just seems ridiculous. A double shoulder ride is already impressive, and Billiam in the back only strengthens that impression. I suppose that's just the greatness of my father.

He doesn't talk much, focusing on breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth in steady long breaths as he runs. Winona is helping my father by using her wind magic to protect Billiam from all the dirt and dust he's kicking up, while also steadying the wheelbarrow from tipping over. Since I can't see any scenery, I just take in the wind from my father's running, coursing through my face and my hair, which I've put up in a loose ponytail for the sake of my father. I don't think he needs my hair whipping all around in his face right now.

Billiam himself has proved to be quite the interesting Coachman. He never used any restraints for the horses, simply speaking with them through his magic. Apparently he's got magic that can understand the intentions and emotions of animals, and so he tames them by getting to know the creature. Last night, he called on a bird with a specialized call so that my father could deliver a message to the Church about our delayed arrival.

Knowing that Billiam can sense things like that, I'm almost wondering if that extends to humans. Would Billiam be able to understand me with his magic? If we have spare time at Hitherbliss perhaps I'll try it out.

It takes us about an hour to get to Hitherbliss. My father's speed even with all these liabilities is certainly commendable. Though, even with that, the Duke is currently arguing with the gatekeepers to the city, who are apparently concerned about our bloody and questionable appearances. Surely, this city is prone to warriors entering it after battle right? Does the Duke not frequent here often? I wouldn't blame him. Despite the city's outside impressions, the political landscape here is all sorts of muddy, with a power struggle between the Church and reigning lord. My father specifically gave up this territory to the locals because he doesn't want to deal with all that.

“I'm surprised that His Grace is having so much trouble with the guards. Perhaps something has happened.”

Frankly, Billiam, I think it would be easier if my father decided to put his shirt back on, but I digress. We're eventually let in, and my father starts to talk about the city a bit as we head towards an inn.

“Hitherbliss is a beautiful place, and perhaps the warmest city in the Northern Territories. It's home to some wonderful hot springs, and the market is a nice hotspot for rare materials, though I suppose that's a benefit of being near the border of these lands.”

“Your Grace, are there any nice places we will visit while we're here? I wonder how Lady Aella will like them!”

“I have a couple of things in mind, but we should focus on what we need to do first. We've got three hours before we need to appear at the Church, so let's make haste.”

The first thing I notice about the inn is its strong, very strong smell of liquor. It's near suffocating. It's not even noon, who the hell is getting drunk this early in the morning? Or is it simply the lingering results of last night?

“Pardon the smell, Lady Aella, your father is good friends with the man who runs this place, so he makes a point to stay here every time he visits Hitherbliss.”

Hm? Did I scrunch my nose up or something? Or did Billiam simply sense my discontent? I should seriously see what his magic is like soon. It's not long before my father engages in a very loud conversation with his friend.

“Alarick, you drunken idiot, I'm here!”

“Ehhh, wasntya s’poses to beee here laaaast weekorsum’n?”

Hm? Alarick is the owner of this inn? Alarick Dustfield, the man of war who fought with my father years ago? Alarick Dustfield, the battlefield genius who is known for utilizing the environment in his tactics?

I've never met Alarick Dustfield, not once in any of my many lives, but he's always been heard through whispers and murmurs in high society. All of it was rumors, saying he had wiped out a circle of banditry, or had eloped across the sea. All this time, he was just washed up in a crusty old inn? What a letdown.

“By the spirits, how drunk are you, Rick? I've got my daughter here with me and this is the impression you're going to make?”

“Sincewen yahotta lilgril likdat huuuh?”

What an annoyance. I'm ranking you dead last in the people I respect right now, Alarick.

“Billiam, can you call on a Sporetoad, please? I'd like for this nonsense to end.”

“At once, Your Grace.”

While Billiam heads outside to speak with some birds and fetch a Sporetoad, Winona and my father drag Alarick out from behind the counter and into a seat at a table. Tuning my ears, there's no one else here, and the inn doesn't seem all too big either. I'm wondering why my father chose a place like this. Is it just to support his friend?

I touch and feel my way around the first floor of the inn and sit at the table at the far corner. I hate the smell of liquor and Alarick is exuding it at quantities that I thought weren't possible. Alcohol makes me dizzy and reminds me of the life where I was captured and whipped by a certain alcoholic baron. The memories themselves have gone dull in my mind, but my body still maintains its reactional senses, so it throws off my functions.

Hm. Once again, I find it odd how my body works. It's like it's cherry picking what it wants to carry over between lives in the most random ways. The only real consistency is my growing magic power, so is the tradeoff for that benefit these unnecessary traits or habits that slowly stack in number?

I hear some croaking from across the floor. It seems Billiam found a Sporetoad. Sporetoads are creatures that are heavily linked to the spirits, so I'm sure that's why my father had wanted one. Spirits are typically invisible, but are the source of mana, and while they don't generate mana themselves, spirits can regulate it. When my father says “By the spirits” as a form of exasperation, he's indirectly asking them to regulate the situation. It's a common phrase in some areas of our country.

Spirits themselves listen to no one and nothing. They are purely natural beings that regulate mana on their own whims. If there are no spirits in a place, then there is no mana. Alternatively, if there is a surplus of spirits in an area, the mana control gets conflicted and cluttered, leading to magical disasters. It can be considered similar to the haywire magic I've used before, though on a much grander scale. On that note, it's because of those similar properties that people with mana are considered “blessed by the spirits”.

In my honest opinion, the relations between spirits and mana tends to sound like a bunch of jargon sometimes, but there is unfortunately some merit to it. And when I think about how I was able to see spirits that one time I focused on my haywire mana in my eyes, the jargon becomes more factual.

Sporetoads are one of the few lesser creatures who can perceive and interact with spirits, and they actually prey on them. Using a specialized mana coating on their tongue, they shoot it out and consume them, eventually using the leftover spiritual energy to form mushrooms on their backs. The spores from said mushrooms solidify into pellets that can be consumed for mana regulation. Since the pellets originate from spirits, this way to regulate mana is the most natural and safe way to do so.

In Alarick’s case, this regulation will clear the alcohol muddying his mana channels and make him sober in just a few minutes.

I ignore whatever conversation is going on over there and instead decide to pass the time feeling my mana flow. I close my eyes and really focus on it. It's slow, for now. Perhaps it's mirroring my boredom, but the slower speed contrasts the beats of my heart in a strong way. I speed it up and slow it down, and even send waves through it by internalizing my mana pulse technique. Doing so lets me feel a small internal tickle throughout my body, coursing through it like a breeze. This could probably help me be aware of my own limits in more dire situations. I'll have to keep that in mind. This experimentation continues for a fair while, as I continue to miss whatever dialogue my father and Alarick are having. I figured Winona or Billiam would come my way but perhaps they are occupied with unpacking.

“You’re not gonna reverse it again, are ya?

I open my eyes, not that it makes a difference. That must've been Alarick. When did he get so close to me? What did he mean by that?

“Don't act like ya don't know what I'm talking about, missy.”

“Rick, what are you even trying to do? Leave my daughter alone please.”

“Nah, nah, Lee, you don't understand, this girl… she's gotta have good noggin, I can tell. But she's afraid of diving deeper.”

I slip out of my seat and start walking to the other corner of the floor. I don't need whatever nonsense this guy is talking about.

And yet… I bump into him instead? I didn't even hear him move. I didn't even sense his mana channels either. Is he suppressing them?

“Ahh, ya see, Lee? She's already tryin’ ta figure me out with her mana and she hasn't even said a thing. Where'd you pick her up, this little bugger?”

“She's my daughter, Rick. You've known about this since the week I found her, and I sent you an entire correspondence detailing the situation. Why do you think I even came here in the first place?”

“Ahh, right right right, what's her name…. Ayla? No… Ella was it? Nah it had something a lil’ more… Ay-Uh-Luh? Ay-yay-yah? Somethin’ like that right?

“Rick, it's pronounced Aella. Ai-Ell-Uh. Aella.”

Father, people pronounce my name wrong all the time. Even some of the servants at our estate do the same. I really don't have the energy to care about the pronunciation. Do you know how many times the priests or royal guards have said my name differently in my past lives? It's a grab bag of fumbled speech at every opportunity.

“Ah, so she's named Aella then! Nice name, nice name. Lee, she's a good one. Gimme some whiskey, I wanna drink with her.”

I beg your pardon?

“Wha- Rick, she's a child! We need to prepare for her naming ceremony anyways, I'm going to take her upstairs to get ready.”

“Never understood that damn naming ceremony, but fine, I'll talk with her when ya come back.”

Yeah, I'm not sure that's going to happen. I'm not too keen on continuing any sort of interaction with you, and I sure as hell doubt that you'll be sober by the time we return.

I just feel my way towards the stairs and ignore Alarick so I can find my way to Winona. She's probably going to be the one to dress me for the ceremony.

The creaking of these wooden stairs and floors is profound and obvious. And as I feel the wall with my hand, dust embraces my fingers. Ah yes, this truly a five-star inn meant for a Duke and his daughter.

Really though, what an unkempt place. I ask myself again: why are we staying here? It's not like I mind rickety places or anything, I've lived in plenty of them, but this doesn't quite seem up to my father's standards.

“Please bear with this place for just a bit, Aella. Alarick was my brother in arms, and despite how he seems, he's a good man. If anything ever happens to me and you're lost with nowhere to go, Alarick will help you. I've made sure of that.”

I think I can handle myself perfectly fine without him.

It doesn't take long before I'm seated in one of the inn’s three rooms, with Winona readying me for a quick bath.

“We'll have to wash off that blood from those Newts, Lady Aella! I hope you don't mind me joining you. Though I think this time the bath house doesn't have a full tub, so we'll just have to use buckets. Let's head downstairs and do our best!”

Sometimes a simple bath is good too. Coming from someone who has used plenty of rivers and lakes to cleanse herself, simple buckets like these are no big deal.

During our bathing time, Winona brings up something that I nearly forgot about.

“Soooo, Lady Aella. Back when we fought those Freezing Newts, you went ahead and wrote a message on my hand…”

Ah. Right.

“I had no idea you were literate! Why didn't you tell anybody? We could have been talking about so much! But, I also didn't want to bring it up in front of His Grace because it seemed like you wanted to keep it hidden. But then I thought about why you did that and I couldn't think of anything! Wouldn't it be easier if you wrote for everyone?”

I guess I'd better address this. I grab Winona’s hand and write out my response.

[SHH]

“Is… this a code for something? Or did you just want me to-”

I interrupt her by putting my finger to her lips. I'm saying to shush, does this help? Again, I write it out.

[SHH]

“Ahh, I see, you're telling me to be quiet… Sorry, then…”

I wasn't trying to scold you, you took it the wrong way. I shake my head at her. Hmm, how about this then…

[SECRET]

“Oh! I see! Okay then, this'll be between us for now! But only since that makes you happy Lady Aella.”

There we go. I've managed to clear that up just as we've reached the end of our baths.

“Alright then! Now let's dry and brush your hair! Then we can get you into that pretty dress that- Ah!”

You caught yourself way too late with that one, Winona. I'm not wearing a dress. I'm not. I stand up straight, hair still dripping, towel wrapped around me, and give a dramatic X with my arms.

“W-Wait, Lady Aella! I think you misheard me! I, uh, didn't say what you think I said! I said ‘Then we can get you all prettily dressed’! Because when you're in your ceremonial garb, you'll look super nice and pretty and beautiful! I'm sure!”

I give her a blank stare.

“Hehe… if… if I say pretty please, will you get into the dress anyways?”

Thumbs down.

“Lady Aella, my grandmother had it prepared just for you! And His Grace was really excited about seeing you in it!”

Two thumbs down.

“Ahh, why did I have to open my big mouth…? Um… it's not a complicated one though! There's no big sleeves or frills! No jewels or raiments or overly long hems either! Those are things you dislike right? It's just a simple flat dress with nice little embroidery near the hem, and you'll look really nice in it!”

[PANTS]

“Lady Aella, please forgive me, but I don't have any available pants for you! The only ones we still have after the attack are the ripped ones that are covered with Newt guts!”

“...”

“Please, Lady Aella? Just this once.”

Instead, I propose a bargain.

[TAG]

“Huh? Lady Aella surely you don't mean…”

[CATCHME]

“So, if I tag you, even once, you'll put on this dress? You can't take that back, alright, Lady Aella?”

I nod. I'm a person of their word, worry not. Plus, I'm confident I can win.

[FIVEMINUTES]

“I understand! Then, I'll count down from 10 so we can get our magic ready.”

I send out a mana pulse and start directing mana to my legs once again. Luckily this inn isn't cleansed, so all the lingering mana channels can be detected with my magic. I can move significantly easier here than at the estate.

“1!”

I dash through the bathroom window and outside without a moment's hesitation. Winona follows suit, propelling herself with a wind burst. I'll keep us within the vicinity of the inn, for the sake of fairness. We're also only wearing bath towels so it would be a bit rash to extend our game of tag anywhere beyond that scope.

I've climbed up to the rickety roof, and in a strange mirroring of our first meeting Winona is blocking me with jaggedly shaped angles of propulsion, positioning herself in ways that are hard to predict. Though, this time, she's actually charging at me with grabs and swipes. She's got the advantage outside, so I'll swing back down to the second floor of the inn instead. I've hopped into my father's room, it seems, going by his startled reaction.

“Aella, what are you- Hey!”

No time for you right now, sorry father.

“Winona too?!”

“Your Grace this is a very important game of tag, please excuse me!!”

Bursting out of his door, I sprint down the second floor hallway and prepare a mana barrier around my bare feet so I can slide down the railing of the staircase. I would rather avoid splinters in my feet. I bump into a panicked Billiam on the way. I'll apologize formally to him later.

“Girls!! What are you doing?!"

My father's voice is booming from the second floor as I slide down to the first. I think he's started to chase us too. I wouldn't put it past him.

“Heyyy it's the little rascal! And the other one! What game are ya two playin’?”

“Sir Alarick, I need to tag Lady Aella so she can wear her pretty dress!”

“Kinda intense for a game of tag, yeah? I heard you two stompin’ all over my roof.”

“So that's what this is, Aella? You won't let Winona put a dress on you? This is for your naming ceremony! Why'd you have to be difficult again today, of all days?”

“I still have three minutes to tag her, Your Grace! If you want Lady Aella to wear it, I need you to help me trap her so I can win!”

Hey hey hey, that's cheating! I mean, it's not because we didn't set any rules, but that still feels cheap!”

“Then I'm gonna tag along with little Lady El right here! She's gonna need a partner too yeah? I'll protect you from your mean maid and father.”

“Rick, please, that is the opposite of what I need right now.”

“C'mon Lee, don't you think we should have some fun? We've got three minutes right? Let's brawl!”

Perhaps I judged you too harshly, Alarick. Perhaps you were my strongest ally this entire time. I shall gladly accept your help… and excuse the sudden nickname as well.

The small inn is soon thrown into chaos, as Alarick ends up being the strongest shield I've ever had. He's dual-wielding tables, locked them to his sides with his arms, and is positioning himself in a way to where the Duke is always stopped in his tracks. All throughout, he's giving off a hearty, spirited laughter that's energizing me.

Winona and I are quite literally bouncing off the walls. When she slips through Alarick's defenses, I use my mana charged limbs to climb and shoot myself away, which means I'm jumping up the walls and off the ceiling, even using my father as a footstool once or twice.

“Winona, use your wind magic for more than yourself, girl! Thow Aella off with some gusts, and get these tables out of Rick’s hands! Use your environment!”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

Immediately I'm tumbling in the air mid jump. Damn you father, for you have forsaken me. I manage to twist my body in a way that causes Winona's next charge to miss me, and I roll on the ground to regain my footing. I release a mana pulse that covers the floor. It seems I'll need to remain grounded for now.

Or at least I would have, if these pub tables weren't spinning like toy tops and clanging against each other. These spins are powered by wind magic… Winona, what sort of deadly amusement park ride are you trying to recreate here? I hop onto the closest table, and with the round surface spinning I redirect mana to my head so that I don't get dizzy. Little do you know Winona, my lack of sight is a benefit here. The visuals won't trip me up.

“Your Grace, please grab her while she's orienting herself on the tables! We have one minute left!”

“C’mere Lee! Who said I was done with ya?!”

The three of us are now performing a spinning tango on these tables. Jumping one table to the right and regaining my balance as I run from my father, Alarick tries to block him from getting closer. I would go back outside, but Winona could easily chase me from her position floating near the ceiling, and Billiam is standing at the top of the staircase watching the whole thing in awe, so the second floor isn't an option either.

I back away from the two brothers in arms and jump to the next spinning table only to be figuratively and literally thrown off, because Winona decided to reverse the spinning on that table as I landed with my foot. Damn! That was clever of her.

I can sense both the Duke and Alarick reaching out to grab me as I spin in the air, and Alarick manages to snatch me first and bring me into a piggyback position. I choose to ignore his insufferable alcoholic smell.

“Reach around my neck, Little El! I'm gonna need my hands to hold off ya pops!”

I do as he says, and I'm now feeling my body limply sway with the motions of Alarick's body, so I lock my knees into his back to get a little more stability. The minute should be nearly over now, we've got this one.

Except the Duke has forced Alarick near the wall, meaning I'm going to get sandwiched if there's any more pushback. I'd rather not become a pancake today, so I unlock myself from Alarick's back, and slip underneath both of the men by sliding between their legs. I've got a free, straight shot for these last few seconds, so all I need to do is run. The tables aren't even spinning anymore.

Wait, the tables aren't spinning anymore? Where's Winona?

I soon find out as my run is stopped and I'm lifted up into the air, my body now positioned vertically, as if I'm laying down in bed. I feel Winona swoop down with her magic and become parallel to my position in the air. Facing each other in that vertical aerial position, Winona gives me a playful boop on the nose.

“Gotcha, Lady Aella! And just in time too!”

Ah… She got me…

I'm gonna have to wear that dress now…

Damn.