Chapter VII: The Homesick Soldier

Fae feeling her legs start to give up on her took a deep breath before sitting down on the pavement in the middle of the city, as she looked around she could see people going back to their homes with relief written all over their faces

That thought alone made her break her frown as a small smile appeared on her face, she put her hand in her pocket to pull out a pack of cigarettes still newly covered in its wrapping that she shorty took off to open that pack and have one to herself, She put the cigarette between her lips to then reach for her lighter

But she stopped, pulling out her hand and staring at it's palm, Fae narrowed her eyes and focused, thinking of a wild tempest made out of pure fire

And before she knew it her hand started fizzling as sparks flew away, she put the tip of her cigarette on that scorching hot hand and lit it, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes

To then put the cigarette away with her middle and index finger for her lips to suck in a deep breath of air, pushing the smoke into her lungs

As she felt the weight of her head slowly lighten, she blew the smoke away in a continuous flow from her lips, opening her eyes to see a person standing over her

Raising an eyebrow she looked up at her face to then raise the corners of her mouth into a smile

"Missed me already?" Fae asked as her smile turned into a smirk, her friend merely chuckled and gave her a helping hand to get her up

"Sure, I'll humor the hero of today" Yulia replied to her, her hand lifting Fae to get her back on her feet

Chuckling, Fae asked with curiosity

"I thought you had bodies to carry, what gives?" She asked her, as the recipient of the question gave off a nervous chuckle while her finger scratched her cheek

"I fell down from dizziness so people forced me to stop" She answered, Fae laughed under her breath

"How ironic that you were the one forcing yourself all along OW!" as soon as Fae finished her words dipped in a smug-ish tone Yulia dropped a closed fist on her head

"I didn't come here to get lectured, was inviting you for a couple of drinks but it seems that your highness is feeling too haughty" Yulia retaliated, bringing Fae to laugh as she rubbed her head

"Alright alright I was just kidding, but is it the best time for alcohol?" She asked Yulia as both looked over to the horizon to see it merged with the shades of orange, it was soon to be morning

"Ah who cares, I wanna remember the epilogue of defending my hometown with some drinks and a cozy atmosphere, so are you in my lady?" Yulia told Fae, a smirk surfacing on her face as she put her hand on her waist forming a semi circle with her arm as an invitation

Fae sighed with a smile and put her arm around Yulia's own

....

"Looks like he's not back yet" Yulia exclaimed after trying to open the door of Ulfgan's inn, letting out a sigh at the end of her words while Fae behind her was reluctant to ask

"Hey Yulia, do you mind me asking you something personal?" But she did anyway

"Huh?" Turning around to meet Fae eye to eye with a raised eyebrow, Yulia cocked her head to the side as she crossed her arms

"Sure, go ahead" She continued, while Fae thought of the softest way to express her question

"So, you said this is your hometown, right?" Yulia slowly nodded

"Is your family here?" Fae followed her question with another, making Yulia raise an eyebrow again before she smiled

"What a roundabout way of asking if I have a family" She answered Fae while her smile slowly turned into a smirk when Fae nervously chuckled

"Sorry, I was just curious after what Ulfgan said" Fae answered

"He probably didn't mean what he said by the way, his daughter is just really precious for him" She continued, seeing her friend sigh as she sat down on the step that lead to the front door of the inn, gently putting her hand next to her as an inviting gesture that Fae gladly took

"Yeah I know" Yulia replied to then lock eyes with Fae who sat down next to her

"And to your question, no I don't" She softly said with a smile as she slowly looked away

"Was raised in an orphanage so I never saw my father nor my mother, Hell I don't even know how I ended up there to begin with" She added, switching her gaze to Fae's empathetic eyes before chuckling and ruffling her friend's hair

"No need to give me that look, I'm fine & dandy" Yulia told her while Fae gave her a smile of relief before yet another questioned dawned on her

"What about your skill, how did you come to acquire that?" That question begged Yulia's curiosity to rise up as so did her eyebrow

"Skill? you mean this?" Lifting her right open hand slightly in the air, A small blue dagger formed to lay down on top of her palm, and as Fae nodded twice Yulia smiled and closed her hand while the translucent dagger melted and vanished

"This was something that awakened in me after I lost my leg" She answered her, crossing her arms and resting them on her folded legs

"After what happened in that quest I swore to myself that I won't let the sacrifice of what I called family be in vain" She then chuckled nervously

"Though it was hard to imagine myself still adventuring without a leg" Yulia added on

"It came to the point where I gave up on physical work and tried to see if I had any magical aptitude" Seeing Fae's confused face made Yulia raise an eyebrow and stop her speech

"What do you mean by magical aptitude?" She asked her friend, who was more than happy to answer

"Basically how compatible you are with magic, how easy it would be for you to learn spells" Yulia then smiled and looked away with furrowed eyebrows

"Hell you can even be unable to learn any spells no matter how hard you try" She then raised an eyebrow in a haughty manner as she gave Fae a sidelook

"And can you guess how much aptitude yours truly had with magic?" Yulia asked

"I'd say quite a lot if you can manipulate magical energy this well" Fae replied, bringing Yulia to a full-on laughing grin with closed eyes

"None, nada, nothing" Yulia replied, a soft smile on her face that turned into chuckling when she noticed Fae's confused expression

"How?! you can literally make weapons purely out of your magical energy!" Fae insisted

"Well Fae, funnily enough that's not magic" Yulia said before continuing her speech

"After I learned that I have no magical aptitude that kinda put me into a downwards spiral of despair" She added on as she looked away

"Being disabled and then having no future in the magic field, it felt like a door closed but rather than a window opening, it also just closed itself right in my face" She then sighed and looked back at Fae

"But no matter what I felt like it didn't sit right with me to just give up, one of my friends died right in front of me while the other sacrificed herself just so I could survive" Slightly furrowing her eyebrows, Fae could see how appalled Yulia was by the thought of disvaluing the sacrifice of her friends

"I didn't believe that I just couldn't use my mana just because of something I couldn't control" Yulia told her, gesturing with her hand to sharpen her words

"So I studied the foundations of magic and mana itself, or like you call it, magical energy" Yulia smiled while Fae made a mental note to herself to never call mana magical energy again to not seem clueless to others

"I even assisted some lectures when any scholars of that field would pass by our small town, never thought I'd even have the patience to attend one but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures" Yulia chuckled out loud while Fae laughed to herself as she could tell Yulia wasn't a scholar herself if she called studying a "desperate measure"

"And so after months and months of labor, something snapped inside my head" She looked at Fae with slightly widened eyes and a huge smile

"A theory, to be exact" She added

"Since there are multiple spells like for example, 'fireball' that requires extreme heat and results in an explosion, while that are ones that are more related to coldness and extremely low temperatures" She then smirked as she noticed she had Fae's full attention

"What if, this magical aptitude that I had none of, was actually something that converts mana into your desired outcome" Yulia muttered

"That would make sense, right?" Yulia asked as she immediately got Fae to nod

"Then what if I remove that middleman, and just forcefully pull out my mana out of my body, then what spell will it be? what will even happen?" She said with a raised eyebrow

"That was the theory that I worked with for sleepless nights" She then chuckled

"And the real result I got was when I threw a plate at the wall out of anger" Resting her cheek on her hand while her elbow was on her leg, Yulia looked away

"It felt like the more I tried the more astray from my goal I became" Continuing her speech with her eyes turning to lock back with Fae's own

"But at that moment, when I just gave up for the day and laid down on the hard wood floor, I closed my eyes and really, and I mean really imagined what I wanted" She said with her small smile and narrowed eyes

"And I imagined myself not disabled, I imagined myself walking without the need for a crutch or bothering anybody for help" Yulia told the attentive Fae

"And that's when I felt something deep into my core" Fae could see Yulia close her eyes as she put her hand on her chest

"Like something was consumed out of my very own soul, a reserve of pure energy that was never touched ever since my birth" She then opened her eyes and gave Fae a face with a huge smile in it

"That's when I saw this" She pulled the bottom of her pants where her leg was missing, revealing a translucent magical limb taking it's place

"And that's when I realized that I finally could move on with my life" Yulia said as she let go of the dirty cloth to resume looking at Fae

"It took a huge amount of time for me to walk properly again let alone run or sword fight, but at that moment I didn't give one hell of a care" Her smile turned even bigger

"Because at that very moment, I knew that I finally had a second chance at life" She then chuckled and looked away, gesturing around her with her hands

"And here I am now, telling my life story to somebody that I haven't known for even a week" Fae could only laugh at that last line

"Well, that just means you value me highly" Yulia replied to that with a brief chuckle before letting out a sigh that ended in a smile

"Aren't you confident?" She answered the laughing Fae while herself having no more words to speech

"Fae!" Raising an eyebrow at the voice that attracted the duo with the one being called smiling as she noticed who the caller was

"Ysabel, I'm glad you're okay" Fae told the little child that stopped her sprint when she arrived in front of Fae

"I should be the one saying that!" Fae laughed out loud at how stern the usually cheerful child was, Yulia on the other side gave a smile and a salute with her index and middle finger together to Ulfgan

"Happy to see you two alive" He said with a tone that had guilt and sorrow melted in it

"Well, we wouldn't be if it wasn't for her" She replied to Ulfgan with her head gesturing to her friend sitting down next to her, Ulfgan widened his eyes for a second before he smiled

"Alright then we can talk about it inside" He gave a helping hand to Yulia who gladly accepted it as she got herself up with Fae doing the same, letting Ulfgan climb the couple of stairs to unlock his inn

"Drinks are free for the hero and her friend" He said as he looked over his shoulder to give a wink to the two of them who could only laugh

....

"I'm impressed Fae" Ulfgan muttered, one arm rested on his counter while the two women were on the other side sitting down on the two wooden stools with each of them having a drink

"But for a creature to know that spell, seems Iffy" Yulia muttered inside her tankard as she took a deep gulp of the ale inside it

"How so?" Fae curiously replied with a raised eyebrow

"Well lass, the last sighting of that spell being used ever was hundred of years ago if I'm not wrong" Ulfgan replied to her, only watering her curiosity

"I can't remember anybody talking about that spell let alone seeing it used" Yulia added on to help Ulfgan's words

"But wait that reminds me, you said you bypassed that spell by using a fireball, I don't remember you knowing any spells" Yulia said, eyebrows furrowed as she gave Fae an unnerving sidelook

"Uhm, well, you see..." With a nervous chuckle Fae dropped her tankard on the counter as gently as she could, clearing her throat first before replying

"I purposefully got hit by a fireball of his own" She could see the confused eyes of both Yulia next to her and Ulfgan on the other side of the counter, the former furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side while the latter rest her arm on the counter and leaned in closer to Fae

"You what?" Yulia asked closely to the Fae that could barely have some personal space as she could but only let out a stressed laughter

"Remember two days ago, where I healed you after I got healed myself?" Fae asked, Yulia leaned back at her place and slowly nodded

"Well, I had some doubts but after today I can safely say that my body can absorb magical energy that affects it" With a small smile, she lifted the palm of her hand

"And then I can release it" With those words let out of her lips, her eyebrows furrowed in focus as that open palm slowly started to heat up, fizzling with sparks bouncing off the surface of her hand as the sheer heat was enough to enlighten the duo's curious faces when they inspected closely

"Huh, how can you absorb mana?" Ulfgan rubbed his light beard in interest, getting a nod of ignorance from Fae

"I have no idea how my body does it" Fae shrugged as Ulfgan hoped to be enlightened only to have the opposite

"Reminds me of an old fairy tale book I read once to Ysabel" His eyes looked away while both of the women looked attentively at those same eyes

"I think it talked about some kind of entity being able to do that, absorb mana and use it again" He added on, Yulia seemed doubtful that it had some correlation to Fae, but the latter being already in such darkness couldn't refuse any path that may lead her to some answers

"Do you remember anything else?" She asked with a soft tone and eyes deserving of pity, Ulfgan slowly shook his head with sorrow written all over his face

"Really sorry lass, It was a long time ago, I don't even have that book anymore" He answered, Fae pursed her lips to only let out a sigh

"No worries, do you remember what happened to the book though?" She asked again

"I sold it to some group of people that gave me a really big price for it, I mean I know paper is not really cheap but the amount of gold coins they gave me for it was ridiculous" He told her, not really bringing any light to the problem but she knew he was trying to be as helpful as he could

"I have another question, Fae" Yulia's eyes then switched to the torn sleeves on Fae's left arm, she didn't think it was due to a fireball

"What happened to your injury?" Yulia continued, bringing Fae to make a caught & surprised expression

"Oh right, Claude poured some potion on me and it immediately healed back, I have no idea what was inside it but it worked like a miracle" She told them hoping that it'd explain things, but with the rising confusion on their faces as they looked at each other for a brief moment, Fae knew she only gave them another question

"I don't think there's any mass produced potion that could completely heal a fireball injury, even less so with no scars" Ulfgan told Fae, a curiously raised eyebrow while his hand was rubbing his chin

"Wait, did it look really fancy, with ornaments that would fit the nobility?" Yulia asked, Fae nodded twice

And as she did, Yulia widened her eyes as she rested her cheek on her hand

"Is he your relative?" She asked with eyes filled with confusion

"I met him like 3 days ago" Fae's answer made Yulia even more confused

"Why?" She asked her back as both Fae and Ulfgan were interested in what their mutual friend had in mind

"Well, each knight after their initiation by the church gets a special potion" She started

"This potion is called "Remedium", and it's content is top secret, only known to the church and no herbalist to this day can even tell what ingredients goes into making it" She added on, shrugging to prove her point

"But to the few rumors that talk about it, they say that the liquid is given straight from the gods and down to the church, and that it's supposed to 'aid humanity in fighting evil' " Yulia put quotations marks in the air with her fingers while her tone took to a much sarcastic spectrum, bringing Fae to a chuckle

"It may sound like some fairy tale gibberish but that potion can even grow limbs back, people have witnessed it with their own eyes" She finished to take on a gulp of ale while Fae was taken aback

"And that potion is only given to each knight after their initiation, one potion for each knight" She looked inside her tankard and smiled

"One potion for their whole life" She then gave Fae a sidelook

"So your friend used his trump card on you, kinda weird for him to do that to a new friend eh?" And after those words that smile turned into a smirk

"Heh, Fae might not have been a noble but she might become one through marriage" Ulfgan exclaimed as both him and Yulia laughed out loud, overshadowing Fae's own chuckle

"Fuck... now I just feel bad..." She said under her breath resting her forehead on her hand while getting elbowed playfully by Yulia

"Don't worry about it, being righteous is probably what makes a knight truly happy" Yulia muttered, finishing the rest of her ale with a big gulp

"That reminds me, he had a weird red X painted on his face plate, right?" Yulia asked Fae for confirmation with the latter responding in a slow nod

"Yeah, I have no idea why" Fae shrugged to add on, seeing Ulfgan look away as he tightened his crossed arms

"Any ideas ol' man?" Yulia asked with a smirk plastered on her smugish face, Ulfgan scoffed and looked back at her with a smile and narrowed eyes

"You're literally around my age" What he said made Yulia laugh in a pained tone as she sought refuge in her empty tankard to just be disappointed

"But well I think I know something related to that" He added on, attracting both of the women's attention

"It's a very old knight vow of silence where a knight that has brought shame to themselves or to their family name swears to unbreak their silence for any reason" He said hoping to shed a bit of light but with the expressions they made it looked like he only confused them further on

"That sounds... stupid" Yulia tried her best to phrase her opinion in a polite manner while Fae hummed curiously to herself, wanting to know the reason for undertaking what seemed like a pointless thing to her

"Never heard of this vow of silence myself" Yulia added, Ulfgan shrugged as a reply

"Like I said, this dates back to thousands of years ago, but knights are known to be traditionalists so this doesn't surprise me honestly, they probably get taught about history and traditions as much as swordsmanship" Both him and Yulia sighed in relief as Fae could clearly tell both were grateful not to be a knight, she could but laugh at how similar both of them were

"Anyway with that aside, what are you going to do now?" Ulfgan directed his question to Fae, who slowly lowered her tankard that she drank from to put it on the edge of the counter

"I have some errands to do in Aralia, so I'll be gone for a couple of days" Her reply made Ulfgan raise an eyebrow

"Personal stuff?" He asked her as the only reply he got was a slow nod from her

"When will you be going?" Yulia joined in with a question of her own, Fae not sure of that looked to the door that led outside, seeing that it was already morning

"I think..." She looked back at Yulia with a small smile

"Yeah I think I'll go today" Both Ulfgan and Yulia raised an eyebrow of doubt

"You sure that's a good idea Fae? We spent the whole night fighting and you still don't look fine at all" Yulia tried to dissuade her friend but seeing her expression and nervous chuckle she already knew the answer she was going to be given

"I know, but I already need to get to the capital as soon as I can, I can't spare any time" She answered her friend, Ulfgan on the other hand slowly nodded

"Ah well, if it's personal then I can understand that" He told her, getting an appreciative nod from Fae while Yulia let out a sigh

"Right, if you want you can borrow that map I used to show you around, I'm sure it'll help you in case you get lost" Ulfgan added on, receiving yet another thankful nod from Fae

"Much appreciated" She replied to him

"How far is the border anyways?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow before immediately getting an answer

"Five hours if you're dragging your feet, we're right next to Aralia so the border is right next door, keep going to the east and you can't miss it" Fae slowly nodded at his words

"Alright, thank you" Taking a deep breath she got herself up

"I'll take my backpack out of my room and then get going" Fae said to Ulfgan who answered with a slow nod

"No problems, have a safe trip lass" Fae smiled back to his caring tone while Yulia also got up from her seat

"I'll keep you company before you go" Yulia said with a smile as bright as the one Fae gave back

"Oh and also, you should probably buy some clothes" She added on, pointing at her completely torn sleeve that Fae switched her attention to, cursing under her breath as she only now remembered that the chainmail she was wearing was borrowed, and she got the sleeve of it completely blown away

"Uhm, how much is it for a chainmail like this?" She asked Yulia who could only tilt her head in confusion as to why Fae's expression grew so scared, she then chuckled out loud

....

"For the last time woman, I told you it's fine!" the dwarf exclaimed at Fae who recoiled dishearteningly while Yulia chuckled under her breath, in the hands of the blacksmith was the damaged chainmail that Fae handed back

"Please just let me pay for it!" Fae deeply insisted, bringing the dwarf to look at her for a couple of silent seconds

"Do you even know what giving up means?" He asked her with genuine curiosity written over his stern expression

"Just let her pay for it or you'll have quite the pain in the ass" Yulia replied in Fae's place with crossed arms and a smirk on her face, attracting the dwarf's eyes for a short period before they went back at Fae

"You do know at least, that the purpose of the armor I gave you was to protect you" He told her with furrowed eyebrows and a stern look

"Returning it to me in this state means that it did the job I wanted it, it's owner would be nothing but happy" He finished his words with narrowing his already sharp eyes

"Of course I do, but it still doesn't sit right with me to damage something not mine without paying for it" She replied with her serious gaze before softening it with a smile

"Let's just call it a customer building a connection with a provider" She added on, he looked at her with seemingly no words to say until he opened his mouth

"Fine" He answered before turning around to walk towards the counter while Fae couldn't help but smile widely, Yulia on the other hand had a similar smile on her face as she sighed

"Do not forget to buy a new blade" Fae could hear Yuna's words inside her head like her own voice, but she was right as her previous shortsword broke in half and there was no emotional attachment towards it to bother repairing it

"Hey Yulia, could you choose a reliable sword for me?" Fae said to her friend, who gave her a smiling slow nod as the former went on to pay for the damaged chainmail

Yulia walked towards a barrel that had a few swords inside their sheathes, chuckling as she picked up one

"Not a show off is he" She muttered under her breath, unsheathing the sword she picked up as she looked at her own reflection on the flat side of the blade that was very thin but so very sharp, the hilt was covered in brown leather while the pommel wasn't big but felt very robust at the touch

Taking a look at Fae discussing with the blacksmith, Yulia then looked back at her reflection as she made her decision

"Too long for her" Putting it back and picking another one that was similar in design yet slightly shorter, Yulia gently unsheathed it as she put that same sheath inside the barrel

"Hm" Taking interest in the sword at hand, she spun it once before putting the end of the edged blade on the open palm of her free hand, lifting the sword as she looked at the sharp edge of the steel

She then smiled to herself before grabbing the base of the blade with one hand while her other grabbed tightly on the hilt, shaking it roughly to see if it was any loose as she then did the same with the crossguard

"Looks sharp and reliable" Was her verdict that was accompanied by a small smile as she flexed the blade gently

"Do you like it?" Yulia slowly lifted her head from the sword to look at Fae's eyes as she then gave her a smile

"Yes I do, it's the same in length to your previous sword so you won't have that much trouble adjusting to it" Yulia replied, grabbing the empty sheath from the barrel before sliding the sword into it and then handing it to the appreciative Fae

"Thank you, I'll pay for it and we'll be on our way" Fae told Yulia who gestured to her to take her time as the latter waited outside with crossed arms and her back against the wall

She lifted her right hand in the air as a small knife appeared in her hand with a sturdy ring at the base of the hilt that she put her middle finger through it to spin the knife around

And before she could notice the time flow, Fae came out with her hand adjusting the straps that were used to attach the sword to her waist

"Looks good on you" Yulia complimented her friend who could only chuckle

"Why thank you" She replied with a big smile on her face that only infected Yulia's own

"Alright with that done let's take care of your clothes" As she pushed herself from the wall she was leaning against Yulia pointed at Fae's tattered and cut clothes as the latter looked down to only confirm what was said to her

"Yeah, but..." Fae looked up again at Yulia's eyes

"I doubt any store would be open this early in the morning, especially after what happened tonight" She added on, Yulia laughed as she started walking while Fae hurriedly caught up to her

"Don't worry I thought of that already, I'll just give you some of my clothes, take it as a gift for putting your life on the line last night" She gave her a small smile that Fae returned it just as warmly

"I really appreciate it, thank you" Fae replied with a smile just as warmly as Yulia's to have the latter give her a slow nod

"You're much welcome" She replied to her soon to be parting friend

"That aside, what do you plan on doing long term?" She continued on with a question aimed at Fae as the chatter now occupied the two's mind away from the walk

Fae could only sigh, raising her shoulders in a shrug while her eyes broke contact to look down

"I really don't know, I'll take Yuna to the place she wants to go and then I'll have to deliver something to the capital" Her eyes then narrowed with sorrow

"Apart from that, I'm not sure..." Sucking in a deep breath through her lips she turned her eyes back to meet Yulia's

"I'll do my best to find some answers after that as to why I'm in this world, I doubt I will get good results but that doesn't mean I can't try" A small smile grew to her face as both it and the content of her speech made Yulia hide her chuckle behind the back of her hand

"Quite the optimist aren't ya?" She asked her with a smile

"Heh, I'll take the compliment" Fae nodded with just as big of a smile

"I'm sure your family is worried sick for you so you better do your best to come back" Yulia comforted her with as much of a soft as she could, coating her words with empathy as Fae's only reply was a laugh that made Yulia narrow her eyes and tilt her head to the side

"Not my father that's for sure" Fae replied to Yulia

"Well, what about your mother?" Inquiring Fae again yet only getting a sigh back

"She died giving birth to me" Fae muttered as she locked eyes with Yulia's

"Ah" With raised eyebrow and a regretful tone she spoke again

"Sorry Fae, it wasn't right to assume" Yulia meekly said hoping that she didn't offend her in any way while the other could only laugh

"Come on now, why the long face?" She asked her with a big smile

"You didn't know, it's alright~" Fae playfully lengthen the syllables of her words as she elbowed her friend with a wink

Yulia could but smile as she rubbed her arm

"No siblings?" She asked Fae who slowly shook her head

"I lived alone back in my world, was a university student and a part timer at a mall" Fae could see the face of one impressed as she looked at Yulia

"It's a very nice feat to be a scholar, what were you studying?" The latter asked her friend

"Was in the path to become a doctor actually" Fae chuckled as she spoke, raising one eyebrow to look at Yulia

"Might seem pretty childish but I always wanted to save lives, that's why I chose it"

Yulia's straight lips turned into a soft smile

"I don't know about your world but that is a very noble ambition in this world" She added on these words alongside her friendly smile that comforted Fae as that same smile jumped from one face to the other

"I'm sure your mother would be proud of the woman you've become" She added on, to see Fae let out a soft chuckle

"I hope so"

And with those words said the two finally arrived behind the building of the guild, unlocking the backdoor with Yulia's keys as the both entered the facility and then got to the guild master's room

"Alright, make yourself at home" Yulia said as she closed the door behind herself while Fae sat down in the same place where they had drinks last time

"I'll go bring your clothes" She muttered while her friend gave her an appreciative nod

Yulia went on to her bedroom as she opened her closet, she looked down at her body as she made the conclusion that her clothes should be around Fae's size

As for which ones to give her she pondered that thought for a couple of minutes as she grabbed each piece

She then remembered some newly bought clothes that were buried under the pile that was on her bed, as she lifted them she could see that they were of a black color similar to what Fae was wearing, the shirt was made out of black linen with long sleeves and a strap to tighten the shirt's chest area while the pants were made out of black leather

"Hey Fae, I got you your clothes-" She then stopped with a raised eyebrow as she looked at her friend's back, she then walked around to find her crossing her arms with her head down and eyes closed, and judging by her soft snoring she was indeed asleep as the sight enough brought Yulia to a muffled laughter

"You remind me of somebody that likes to play it tough too" She said with a smile on her face as she put Fae's new clothes aside to then gently lift her friend

Entering her bedroom again, Yulia delicately put her sleeping friend on her bed before slowly covering Fae's body with her blanket

She then slowly backed away and looked at her sleeping face for a couple of silent seconds before letting out an exhale and robing her own face with a gentle smile

With a job to do and damages to assess, she had to leave her sleeping friend to her own devices for now, she deserved the little nap anyways

....

A soft and cheerful whistle came out of Yulia's lips as she was sitting down on her chair with papers on her desk that she was writing on, she had to report to the main branch of the guild in the capital of what has happened last night

Although usually this process would suck the life and enthusiasm out of Yulia, it seemed that today was an exception as her whistling and smile on her face was a clear indication of that

"You seem awfully happy today" Maria told Yulia, who raised an eyebrow to then chuckle and scratch the back of her head as the other was sitting down across her desk and helping her deal with the reports

"Do I?" She answered Maria who could only let out a sigh that ended with a smile

"Ah right, Faylar was looking for you" Maria then said, bringing Yulia to raise an eyebrow

"I told him that you were taking a break after the battle but we still couldn't find you afterwards" Yulia chuckled softly

"Yeah sorry, was helping Fae with some stuff" Then all of a sudden the door of her office opened as it attracted the duo's attention to the black haired man that entered

"Hey y'all" He said with an enthusiastic tone, bringing Yulia to slightly furrow her eyebrows

"Knock next time, Faylar" Her immediate stern tone made him laugh

"Oh come on Yulia, we're all friends ri-?" As he wanted to continue speaking he could see a blue translucent dagger appear in her right hand while a forced smile appeared on her face to complement her intimidating aura

"I will next time" He answered her with a polite bow as Maria sighed while Yulia dropped her smile and made her conjured knife vanish

"Anyway, I'm back from scouting the surrounding areas and I can give you a confirmed zero enemy presence around our town" Dragging the second guest chair as he sat down on it, Faylar continued

"No green skins that are organized enough to be a threat anyway" He finished with a confident nod

"Weird" Yulia rubbed her chin

"They ran as fast as they came" She continued, Faylar put his arm around his chair's back as he relaxed himself

"Well maybe they were gathered from everywhere and now that nobody's forcing them to tag along" A smirk surfaced on his face while he imitated a silhouette running with his index and middle finger

"They all ran back to their territories" He finished, Yulia however, crossed her arms as she tilted her head to the side

"What kind of power did their leader have to force them to come this far" She asked him yet he held no answer as he made it clear with his shrug

"Got no idea, boss" He then wore a cunning smile

"If only somebody fought with their leader to give us an idea" Finishing his playful hint with a wink while Yulia could only sigh

"Athena told you, didn't she?" She asked him but he paid her no mind as he continued on

"I heard that person is the same that delivered my unconscious body back to the guild too" Smirking as his eyes locked with Yulia's, Faylar finished his speech

"And I also heard that you were very chummy-chummy with her, aren't you pushing new grounds"

Yulia narrowed her eyes as her previous dagger appeared yet again in her hand

"You really are looking for a fight" She threated him and his mischievous laughter

"Now I wonder how that woman would look like" He said out loud, looking up with his hand rubbing his chin

"Would probably look like Athena but with even more muscles" He laughed at his own words and while he was bathing in his charade at the expense of Yulia's short patience and Maria's temper, the door was opened again

"Oh uh" All three of them looked at the person poking her head in

"Am I coming at a bad time?" Fae asked while Yulia smiled and immediately got up

"Alright Faylar thank you very much for being such an outstanding adventurer" A forced pat on his shoulder was all Yulia did before she jogged towards Fae

"Hey how come she doesn't have to knock!" He exclaimed his displeasure with the situation as he too got up, making eye contact with Fae

"Maria you're free to go too! thanks for the help!" Yulia said loudly as she gently pushed Fae out and closed the door while Faylar's curiosity reached its peak making him try and follow the two

"Mister Cassindar, correct me If I'm wrong but you did complete a quest today morning haven't you?" Maria's words made him stop in his tracks

"Oh that, I'll give you a report later I have to catch up with those two-" But as he wanted to keep moving his legs froze again

"I'll have to remind you, failure to meet the deadline will result in a failed quest and your demotion after many, and you have already failed many" He gulped and slowly looked at Maria and her professional smile that he cursed under his breath

"I thought you were the nice girl of the group" He said to her with meek eyebrows, she kept her smile unwavering as she cocked her head to the side in an attempt at playing ignorant

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

....

"Thanks for letting me crash at your place for the morning" Fae thanked her friend who gave her a smile first as both of them walked out of the guild's building

"No problem at all, you obviously looked like you needed to rest anyways so all worked out" And then words second

"What time is it now?" She asked Yulia while her face donned a curiously arched eyebrow, the latter looked up with a hum

"Just a little past noon I'd presume" She then looked back at Fae with a similarly raised eyebrow

"And I also presume you're set to leave?" Yulia asked Fae as she looked at her wearing the clothes she previously gifted her alongside her backpack

Fae slowly nodded

"Yeah, I'll go take Yuna there and come back, shouldn't take more than a day" As she finished her words Yulia gave her a quickly growing smile

"You're a great friend Fae, I'm sure Yuna appreciates your help" Yulia said as she could see her friend chuckle behind the back of her hand

"I'll take the flattery" She answered her

"Ah that reminds me" Fae continued, gaining Yulia's attention that was represented by a raised eyebrow

"I wouldn't mind another cloak like the one I had, any ideas where I can buy one?" Yulia, with a small smile gave the question a slow nod and with that both women headed to the market

It was refreshing for Fae to not be stared at weirdly by passerby's and the actual merchants that they interacted with as only now did she wear clothing that was familiar to them, both her and Yulia had small yet enjoyable talk between themselves and in the end the former bought herself sparse provisions for the road stored in her backpack while she wore the dark black cloak

"Alright then Fae, this is where I'll be leaving you" Yulia told her, a small smile plastered on her face as herself and Fae were at the front gates of the little town of Freesia

"Thanks, I really appreciate the company" Fae replied to the now chuckling Yulia that approached the former

"Believe me It's the least I can do" Yulia added, grabbing the cloak Fae was wearing and tucking it around

"Right, this isn't the nicest thing to say but..." She then looked at Fae's curious eyes

"Hide your silhouette as much as you can with this cloak and keep the hood on you" Her tone turned to a much serious one as her previous smile could barely be noticed

"Bandits already love to jump on somebody walking by themselves, let alone if that somebody is a woman" Fae slowly nodded to those words

"Now I know you're not weak, and you have a literal spirit guarding you" She said, chuckling at the last words and bringing out a soft smile out of Fae

"But my mind would be at ease if you avoided any unnecessary fights" Putting one hand on Fae's shoulder, Yulia tilted her head in a pleading way with raised slightly furrowed eyebrows

"Could you at least do me that favor?"

"Of course, I promise" Fae immediately replied, seeing Yulia close her eyes and let out a sigh of relief that ended with a bright smile

"Thank you" Putting her hand away from Fae, Yulia backed one step away

"I'd hate to see a woman like you be wronged" putting a hand on her waist, Yulia softened her smile and gave Fae a quick nod

"Well then, I wish you a safe road Fae" She told her friend who gave her the same warm smile

"Thanks, I'll make sure to come back as soon as I can, take care for now" With a wave of her hand Fae took one step behind

"You two take care of each other as well, see you around" Addressing her words to both Fae and her spirit friend Yulia bid them farewell as she waved back

Seeing her friend slowly walk off in the distance, Yulia looked at the sky and took in a deep breath to then slowly let it out through her lips, her hand moved to rest on her chest while her head looked down at her feet for a couple of silent seconds, a growing smile appeared on her face until it turned into a smirk that brought out a scoff

"Guess I'll have to give a hundred and ten percent too" She then turned around and walked back into town, filled with determination

....

Fae followed the road that was supposedly leading to the border between Aralia and Flora, even though her map supported that claim Fae still felt some sort of discomfort walking a path that seemingly no on was taking

Putting a hand in the pocket of her pants and bringing out her phone, she noticed that she had already walked for around four hours

With a groan of discontent she put back her device where it was to then let out a sigh

"Do you have anything that can help with remembering that place?" Fae muttered loudly, it seemed that it wasn't loud enough until Yuna replied

"I will recognize it" With that tone of voice Fae decided to just not bother her further on, even though she took a slight offense from it since she's only trying to help, Fae could understand the frustration that Yuna had deep in her heart

Losing all what links you to the physical realm would make anybody lose their mind, let alone frustrated

Fae's sorrowful eyes that looked down suddenly jumped up as she noticed faint piles of energy forming a silhouette

Yuna by her own will left the path laid down to phase through some bushes, Fae not really given a choice immediately decided to follow her using her shortsword to cut the leaves as best she could

Groaning lightly as she slashed the leaves that blocked her path, the woman kept following her spirit friend inside the forest until she could see that same spirit stand in a empty patch of green land, staring up at a huge ancient tree who's roots were anchored in one of the greenest hills Fae has ever witnessed

Fae slowly walked up to catch with Yuna at where she stood right next to her, both of the women's eyes were locked with the tall and ancestral looking tree

Fae's eyes however, were more interested in something else as they deviated to see Yuna's expression

Yet they found an expression that carried no emotion, as white as a new page

The spirit began walking towards the tree and when it reached the base of that same tree, she rested down on her knees

A deafening ringing starting surging up as it made Fae squint her eyes and grimace while her hand put pressure on her right ear, muffled voices began haunting Fae's senses as she slowly turned around to Face them with squinting eyes, squinting eyes that opened wide as they could see an army charging under a stormy night, an army made of swordsmen and archers with eastern armor and curved swords, an army that was right in front of Fae

Standing shocked as she couldn't move a fiber of her being, Fae could see the warriors seemingly pass right through her, but as she caught the Face of one of them her mouth dropped

A Yuna that looked no older nor younger was at the tip of the spear, leading the charge with a heavy heart and watery eyes as that same Yuna of the past phased through Fae, leaving the latter to slowly turned around with a distraught expression

But her heart could finally have some semblance of solace as she could see Yuna still kneeling down in front of the massive tree

Gulping, Fae took one step forward, and then walked

As the sound of footsteps quieted down, Yuna gave Fae that now was standing next to her a sidelook, one that made Fae's heart skip a beat before those empty eyes turned back to look at the dirt

"Is this the place?" Fae asked, but it seemed as if Yuna had no answers to give, or at least none that she had the emotional strength to give with

"Fae-san?" She finally heard a word from her friend yet with a tone of voice that she wished to not hear

"Yes?" Fae replied

"Is life just a sick joke from the gods?" Yuna asked, prompting Fae to purse her lips as the question she was given wasn't one that she could swiftly answer

"Do they enjoy seeing us suffer?" Her tone of voice started becoming louder yet her head still looked down

"Is our tears merely water for them? is our gushing blood a pleasing sight?" Fae could hear a sigh that was one of surrender come out of her friend

"So many lives ruined" She tried to grasp the grass tightly with her hands, but her fingers phased through them

"Hopes and dreams, all poured in the mud" She added

"My countrymen slaughtered, our children robbed out of their innocence, and my nation buried for scholars to find" A wheezing breath was taken from Yuna

"And the best out of all of this" Her head turned to look at Fae with a dark smile

"The gods denied me from death itself" Chuckling, she turned away

"It's comical"

Then all out of a sudden, before Fae could even react, Yuna unsheathed her sword and put her free hand on the tip of the blade before driving the edge through her throat

Leaving Fae with a shocked expression as she looked at her friend that could only let out a scoff while her throat merely vanished to only form yet again

Slowly moving her head to look at Fae, Yuna opened her mouth

"You wouldn't want to bless me with death" Slightly furrowing her eyebrows and taking a pleading expression, Yuna continued With a broken and crackling voice, begging Fae

"Would you?"

But she couldn't bring herself to, even if she knew that stabbing Yuna wouldn't hurt her in any way Fae still couldn't imagine herself doing so

"I'm sorry, I just can't" With a shake of her head Fae sternly gave her opinion

Yuna looked back at the dirt for a silent second and then vanished

Fae's eyes still didn't move from where Yuna was, taking in a deep breath into her lungs as she looked up, she hoped that this little trip was fruitful at least

All her body suddenly tensed up at the sound of a screaming woman back towards where the duo came from

"Should we check?" Fae asked, yet only the howling wind seemed in a good enough mood to reply

With a sigh, she headed straight for the noise

Slashing through leaves and jumping over malignant roots, Fae tried to move as quickly towards the source of the screaming, and when she thought she lost it, she heard it yet again

But that just meant that the danger was still present an that thought alone pushed her body to move faster

Pushing some leaves gently to be granted vision, Fae could see exactly what was transpiring

A lone black haired woman cornered against a broken carriage by viciously armed men, next to her were two male bodies on the road, blood was slowly forming a pool around each of them

Fae pursed her lips as she could count three men around the victim, can she help her?

And as that question dawned on her head, so did a kick with enough strength to shove her into the open

"Well lookie here" And so Fae counted four highwaymen, gritting her teeth against each other as her hand was gently pressed on the side of her head, feeling a slight burning sensation on her skin

"Thought ya could sneak past us eh?" As she lifted her eyes that locked with the black haired and scarred man, Fae saw the machete that he had in his hand as he walked closer to her

"Don't ya worry, I'm into getting paid more than having fun" His lengthy grin didn't support the words he was saying as he towered over Fae, her hand slowly moving towards her sheathed sword

But it didn't matter as she saw the hand of her assailant fly in the air, leaving a trail of blood that was gushing out of his arm as he screamed in agony, his weapon on the ground to hold his cut off arm with his other hand

"I apologize Fae-san" Blue mana slowly formed her spiritual friend that looked down at Fae with a regretful expression

"I was slightly out of focus" And as Fae gave her a small yet comforting smile, Yuna turned around to face the man that was in agonizing pain, barely able to stand on his feet and face the wraith that appeared out of nowhere, but behind him were the three of his friends that immediately rushed to his help

Fae took the moment to slip past and towards the poor woman that was sitting on the ground

"Are you okay ma'am"? She asked her

"Y-yes! I t-think so at least!" As she now was closer Fae could see how dark the hair of the woman was while her skin was the polar opposite with a snowy white tone, if anything she had all the facial features that the Yuna that appeared in her hallucination had

"Alright I'll help you walk out of here" Offering a helping hand to the lady, Fae got her up and then looked behind to see a complete slaughter

The man that had his arm cut off was already beheaded and on the ground, while another was stabbed through the chest and sliding off Yulia's blade as she herself got stabbed from behind, she however could feel northing as she turned around to lift her blade to the horrified expression that her next victim made

Fae could feel that Yuna wasn't fighting normally, she wanted to see as much blood as their bodies could give, she wanted to put all her anger and frustration from her existential crisis into her sword

"Let's just hide for now" Fae told the woman who was so terrified that she didn't even dare to disagree with her savior

....

"Thank you! thank you so much!" The woman expressed her gratitude in great volume as she held the nervously laughing Fae's hands

"I shouldn't be the one getting praised, without my friend here I wouldn't have been able to do anything" Fae let go of the woman's hands to gesture at Yuna that was standing beside her

"Y-yeah you're right I'm sorry, thank you miss!" The woman took on a much more scared tone as she addressed Yuna, even going to the point of lowering her whole upper body in an over the top bow of respect, or was it one of fear?

"I too apologize, I was more violent that I needed to be" Yuna replied to both Fae and the woman as she slightly bowed her head

Fae smiled at Yuna when they locked eyes

"Don't worry, you did what was right and I'm thankful to have you with me" She tried to wear the most comforting smile she could, but Yuna merely nodded to her praise and looked back at the woman who seemingly had more to say

"She's right, without you I don't think I would've been able to see the next dawn of day, thank you" She said with such a charismatic smile that Fae felt the need to figuratively shelter her eyes from the light of that smile, Yuna replied with a nod that had the fleeting traces of appreciation

"Actually now that you mentioned it, one of them said that they'd rather get paid than "damage goods", does that mean they wanted to kidnap you?" Fae asked the woman

"Then they must have been slave traders, or human traffickers" She replied with a rub of her chin as she pondered that thought

"Are those type of crimes infamous in these part of lands?" Yuna asked her, but the woman answered with a shrug

"I'm not from this nation but as far as I know Flora was supposed to be more stable than Aralia" With a nervous chuckle, she scratched the back of her head

Yuna hummed to herself as she had her own thoughts to think of, she then raised an eyebrow when she looked at her friend

"Fae-san?" She asked

"Yes?" With a smile Fae turned to look at Yuna

"You looked deep in thought" She answered Fae who only chuckled

"Oh it's nothing don't worry" Fae then looked at the woman

"Nice to meet you Fae, my name is Ichikawa Ichiya" She introduced herself with a small bow

"Nice to meet you too Ichikawa" Fae said with a small smile

"Oh no, my name is Ichiya not Ichikawa, my people start with the family name" Ichiya corrected the misunderstanding while Fae gave her a small smile

"I..." Yuna tried to speak her mind but she started with such a low reluctant voice that none of the other two heard her

"What about you miss?" Ichiya asked the wraith, who could only look at her with slightly furrowed eyebrows

"Yuna" She answered briefly, making Ichiya raise both an eyebrow and a finger to her face

"Yuna...? like The Naginata Yuna?" She inquired as both Ichiya's curious eyes and Fae's sorrowful ones looked at Yuna and the answer she was going to give

Yuna in her mind, knew what was happening as this little conversation gave her the insight she needed all this time

Her nation died, the Kingdom of Blades was no more, but her culture survived, they fled to another country and became wandering vagrants

Even though she should have been happy she still felt like her heart was imploding on it self, she wanted to see her countrymen proudly standing next to their nation, she wanted to see the Kingdom of blades above the dirt, not for people to talk about it like an ancient civilization, she wanted her death to be the epilogue of her own tale and the prologue of her nation, but it was a bitter ending to both

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't ask these questions" Ichiya reserved herself and apologized with a small bow

"It's just that it would've been an honor meeting her" Ichiya chuckled to herself and scratched the back of her head

"My grandparents and parents always seem to be fired up when talking about the Naginata siblings" As Ichiya was speaking Fae slowly looked at Yuna and her saddened eyes that were gazing at Ichiya

"If I had a coin for every time they remind that the only reason I lived a peaceful life is because of the Naginatas... well I wouldn't be here getting assaulted would I?" Ichiya laughed out loud as Fae let out a soft chuckle

Yuna on the other hand cocked her head to the side

"What do you mean peaceful life?" Yuna asked her with slightly raised eyebrows

"Uhm, well for starters I don't think our nation has been at war ever since The Naginata bloodline ended" She rubbed her chin as she looked aside

"Which was like, a century ago?" As Ichiya looked back at Yuna she raised an eyebrow, the expression that she made was one of pure shock with widened eyes and an open mouth

"What's... what's the name of your country?" Yuna asked with a soft yet frightened voice as she wasn't sure that she wanted to hear the answer of the question she just gave

"The Empire of Blades" Ichiya said nonchalantly as she had no idea what was going on, but for Yuna

For Yuna, it was a life changing answer

Staring at the confused Ichiya for a couple of silent seconds

"F-Fae?" Yuna slowly looked at Fae with an expression begging for guidance

"Well..." Fae gave her a beaming comforting smile

"I guess we won't be going back to Freesia anytime soon