Chapter 47: Bath with the Sapphires

I try to relax in the public bath of Farnom with a towel on my head, trying to ignore the feeling of hands washing my other's body. 

Unlike the many other times I was caught reacting, Sapheir and Floris were taking their time to enjoy the feeling of warm water on their pained muscles. 

I've made the decision to push back the date Verei leaving Farnom for Oriel City, for the sake of their training as I'm deeply tied to their growth at this point. I feel obligated to ensure they grow successfully.

'And in turn, they will help protect me on the way.'

'But how long should we stay here for training?' 

That's when I realized my biggest misconception. "If I were to leave this town today, would you guys stay or leave with me?" 

They both were caught by surprise with that question but after only a second of looking between themselves, they answer. 

"We've been working together for a few days now." began Sapheir, "Since the moment we first found you, you've done so much to help us, it would leave a sour taste in my mouth to not help reunite you with your sister." 

"Exactly." Agreed Floris. "Despite being the ones meant to escort you, you've saved us more than we've protected you. What kind of bodyguards would we be to leave you now?" 

From the other side of the wall was Jikani's voice, "We'd be liars. After all, we already agreed to help reunite you with your sister." 

I laugh, "Glad to hear! It would be a pretty lonely journey all by myself!" 

I'm really happy to hear that. I was being so lax I didn't think to ask if they would come with me to begin with. I shouldn't assume they would stay by my side forever, even if I've become one of their idols. 

With that worry passed, I moved on to a new topic. "Then Floris, have you chosen a weapon yet? You've only been running to improve your stamina but if you run low on mana, you won't be able to defend yourself as you are." 

Floris's smile twitches before looking up to the sky. "You sound like my teacher. He told me to specialize in something beyond simple magic but because of my high capacity, I thought I'd be fine." 

I'm curious. "First I've heard about your teacher." 

"Just about every caster has one. You can't just cast a spell without knowing the incantation for one. Mine was an outsider who was passing through the village but he decided to stay a few more days when he saw my potential... I can never thank Quinn enough for helping me discover my talent, else Mr. Murjir wouldn't have taken notice of me." 

I listened to the first time Floris talked about himself only to hear a name I didn't know. 

"Quinn? And wait... isn't Murjir your last name?" 

He nods, "Teacher gave me his last name because he wanted me to use it to gain entry into the University without requiring me to pay...huff..." 

"Or at least that's what should've happened, but the university didn't care for his name. The moment they pulled up records that he didn't have a child, I was being made to pay for enrollment." 

With the mood dropping, he tries to answer the other question instead. "As for Quinn, he was the youngest of us, a smart kid. I was eight, he being two years younger than me when he discovered a book of beginner incantations on his family shelf to show everyone. Out of the ten of us, only us two were the ones who could use anything in there." 

'He first learned a basic incantation from a kid younger than him? That's quite interesting when you consider how strict the rules of magic are.' 

'Only a book to teach you would take a lot of trial and error to get the feeling of exuding mana right to use your first spell. Even worse when you don't know how much mana you have. Too little, it won't go off, too much and you risk drawbacks.' 

Floris continues. "Two weeks after I learned I had magic, teacher arrived. He told me he saw the potential of an A-rank mage in me and began teaching me the spells I know today. But when Quinn asked to be trained too, he was turned down. His exact words were 'with so little a capacity, you have no talent in magic'." 

Sapheir sighs. "He was so upset when he heard that, he stayed in his room for days on end. We tried to reach out to him but he wouldn't budge, not until another traveler arrived in town and offered to help. While everyone was skeptical at first, Quinn was out of his room within the hour." 

Jikani spoke from beyond the wall once more. "If I remember right, she was a caster too and said that she would help unlock Quinn's potential." 

Both the guys nod. "She was. She helped cultivate the fields using her earth magic to ground the dirt for us as compensation for letting her stay for a few days to help in training." 

The three continue to reminisce about their time as children. A wonderful atmosphere, yet one that doesn't feel that familiar to me. 

Floris sighs, "I wonder where Quinn is now? He left the village with her to continue his training but they didn't say where they were heading." 

Sapheir thinks out loud, "It was to the north wasn't it?" 

Everyone grew silent trying to think about this till I asked, "And what about your teacher Floris?" 

Floris realized he got sidetracked, "After spending that time teaching me magic, he told me to continue my studies, giving me his last name before telling me to go get enrolled at the University of Oriel if I wanted to become a powerful mage. After graduating, he wants me to seek him out but... I don't know where he is currently." 

Floris gave the most disheartened sigh I've ever heard before continuing. "And it's been seven years since I was rejected, five since becoming an adventurer with Jikani and Sapheir with the remaining two years being only me reaching C-rank. And, I still don't have enough coin to enroll." 

I feel bad for him after hearing of his struggles. I try to think of a way I could help, but I'm in just as difficult a situation. Veda managed to get a recommendation because of Serci and the Princess's help, but Verei is on thin ice as is, so I can't promise to help Floris get enrolled. 

And if I act too rashly, I might end up raising questions later on. For now, I can only console Floris. "No worries. Your teacher saw potential in you and I do too. After a few days of training, we should head to the university to find my sister, then we can see if there's anything along the way that could help." 

Floris was able to cast that time spell despite not knowing what it did, and that's a great achievement in my eyes. 

He nods. "...Yeah... We should at least try. The University also extends offers through donations in the form of artifacts. If we're lucky, we could stumble upon a monster den with a weapon artifact of a previously fallen adventurer inside." 

'If he keeps at it, he can get over that first failure to get enrolled.' 

'But for now...' 

With a smile on my face, my head tilts to the side, "Then with that settled, what weapon?" 

Floris is avoiding looking my way, trying to think of his answer. "A-an artifact in the form of a staff often has magic properties or an aspect that makes it useful for most casters... though that isn't strictly staves...! So... If there is still a chance that we stumble across a weapon with the ability to increase mana recovery, that would benefit me more than anyone else! So it would be too much to commit to a single weapon!" 

So there are multiple variations of artifacts that enhance the owner's magical abilities? Good information for me to know but Floris is rambling so time for a light threat. 

I give a wide smile, "So, what you're saying is, you want Me to teach You how to use every weapon just in case?" 

Sapheir went stiff from hearing that, the sound of a splash coming from the other side of the wall too. 

"Nonononononono!" Floris hastily backtracks everything he said before. "A staff first! I will be fine with using a staff first! If we come across something else that only I can make use of..." He hesitates, "I will... ask you to teach me how to use that too..." 

I nod in approval as he finally gives me the straight answer I've been working so hard to pry out of his mouth. Even if he does look defeated from being taken out of his comfort zone. A straight answer is worth a bit of discomfort. 

Slapping him on the back I cheer him on, "Alright, that works perfectly! You will be training alongside Jikani with Gin as your teacher, just as planned!" 

The color on Floris's face, originally enhanced red from the hot bath, drained a few shades of white after realizing what he got himself into.

While I was checking out maps and only got to see the aftermath of Jikani's training by the stick markings on her arms, legs, and one mark on her face, Floris got to see everything that happened to her firsthand. 

Though it was the best answer he could give, it was also going to be an arduous journey for this poor Mage.