Chapter 15: Girl, Becomes a Hero
Chapter 15: Girl, Becomes a Hero
THE sun poked out from the east. Squinting against the dazzling morning light, Nichika sat up in the shrubs she had made into her bed. Groaning, she stretched and popped each aching limb.
“Oww, everything hurts… Gosh darn it, my clothes are drenched.”
Morning dew weighed down her clothes with a sticky, icky wetness. Today was refreshingly sunny, the complete opposite from yesterday. A few white clouds drifted along the enchanting light purple dawn sky.
“Oswald? Wake up. It’s morning.”
A few feet away, a man sleeping on the same waterproof cloth slowly sat up. He always had a terrible case of bedhead whenever he woke up. After staring sleepily at his glasses, he put them on upside down.
Too tired to poke fun at him, Nichika gave him sound advice. “Why don’t you take them off? You’ll look different from yesterday.”
Nichika finished tying her hair in a high ponytail to match the loose tunic and plain shorts she wore instead of a skirt and blouse. At a glance, she looked like a boy.
Oswald stripped off his black coat—she quickly averted her eyes because he did it right in front of her—and changed into what all the village men were wearing.
They left their clothes out to dry in an inconspicuous spot and set out. Last night they were driven away from the village into the nearby forest. Oswald, fully awake now, shook his head and stretched. Yawning, he started the strategy meeting.
“Come up with any ideas overnight?”
“None. We just have to destroy Angelica’s crystal, but the village is on the lookout for us, so I doubt we can get close enough even with the Elusive Ball.”
It’d be perfect if she had a way to snipe the crystal, but Nichika was only skilled at wide and close range magic. Sniping would be extra difficult without the staff to offset her mistakes. It would be tragic if she roasted the girl to death, so that option needed to be taken off the board.
Sighing, Nichika put the same question to Oswald. “And did you come up with any plans? Trickery is your forte.”
“If sniping is out of the picture, how about persuasion? Or having that butler steal for us?”
Angelica’s haughty laughter and a fainthearted, cowering Will crossed both their minds. Why couldn’t either of them envision him succeeding? Unable to shake his unease with that plan, Oswald decided to approach it from a different perspective.
“The main point is that we just need to expose that priss as a fake and prove you’re the real deal, right? Dragging her credibility through the mud is a good option… I’ve done it plenty of times before.”
Nichika didn’t think he should be bragging about how he’s good at ruining people, but she had experienced how badly he turned such comments back on her too many times for comfort, and discerned that silence was the best policy.
Oswald rubbed his chin between his fingers. “We don’t have enough cards to stack the deck—what’s that?”
Slight vibrations shook the ground. They saw a herd of brown monsters passing the foot of the hill.
“Are those wild boars?” Nichika asked, surprised to see a familiar animal. “That’s a huge group…”
“Dodongagas,” Oswald corrected. “They’re an unintelligent monster that thoughtlessly charges after the one in front…and they have a certain habit.” He paused with a conniving smirk. Whenever he looked like a boy who came up with an ingenious prank it never bode well for her. Meeting her expectations, he announced his less-than-friendly strategy. “I’ve got it. Let’s redirect that herd into the village.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding!”
“Dodongagas have a habit of charging after red. We’ll use that to our advantage.”
Nichika had very mixed feelings about how she was gradually learning how to predict what her master was plotting. Setting aside her horror, she confirmed the finer details with him.
“Is that safe? How many people will get hurt?”
“A field or two might be ruined, but they’ll just have to forgive us for it. Better than them continuing to be scammed by that fake Holy Maiden.”
Oswald’s plan was to lure the dodongagas into the village’s fields with a red cloth. No match for a stampede, the villagers would rely on the “Spirit Priestess” to run off the unruly monsters. But the girl they adored was nothing more than a sheltered little princess. Once the villagers lost trust in Angelica who wouldn’t be able to do a thing, Nichika would appear and valiantly drive away the monsters. Then Angelica would be tossed in jail within the hour.
But Nichika couldn’t hide her apprehension with his plan. And she had this nagging feeling they were forgetting something important.
“You think it will go that well?” she asked, frustrated she couldn’t remember what they were forgetting. “To start, how are you even going to get your hands on a red cloth?”
“We’ve already got the perfect ingredients.”
“Ah,” she uttered after he said it.
Brimming with confidence, her master enacted the plan. “We’re off to the village. It’s time to manipulate the rumor mill.”
***
MORNING began at the crack of dawn for Brownie Village. Life in the village revolved around working in the fields, as could be said of most farming villages in the countryside. The main street bustled accordingly with the time of day.
The baker’s wife stepped outside to put out the open sign and began gossiping with the shoemaker’s wife who came out to do the same thing. These ladies gossiped whenever they saw each other in the morning and at night.
“Did you hear? They say some no-good travelers interrupted the Holy Maiden’s concert yesterday.”
“The ones rumored to have been tossed in jail?”
“Yes, the very same. Well, wait until you hear this. I heard they broke out of jail and ran away yesterday! And then get this…” the baker’s wife giggled and lowered her voice to a secretive whisper. “What do you think they found when they finally checked inside the cell? Yvonne’s husband sound asleep without his pants on!”
“No way! How did that happen?”
“That’s what we all want to know! What a joke.”
A boy wearing a hat had appeared in front of the women while they were enjoying their gossip. They didn’t recognize him from the village, but the face shadowed under the large cap was so adorable it immediately washed away their wariness.
“Good morning. Are you out on an errand, lad?” the shoemaker’s wife asked.
“Good morning, ma’am! I sure am. Boss sent me to handle the shopping. Can I buy two pairs of sturdy rain boots from you?”
“Rain boots, is it? I certainly have some in stock. What size? Are they for you, lad?”
The shoemaker’s wife fetched two pairs of rain boots, one for a man and one for a boy. She grew suspicious as she wrapped them and put them in a bag. “Why are you buying rain boots when the weather is so nice? I have plenty of other shoes available if you like.”
The boy paid for the shoes and confidently shook his head. “The boots are good, thank you. My boss is amazing at predicting the weather. As I understand it, there will be a great downpour just past noon no matter how good that day’s weather is if the morning songbird chirps slowly three times in a row, followed by two fast chirps. You ladies best prepare yourselves for a downpour. Bye!”
The boy bowed and ran off. The wives exchanged looks and changed what goods they were going to lay out for the day. They both returned inside their shops and spoke to their husbands.
“Darling, I heard it’s going to rain this afternoon. Hot stuffed rolls might sell well.”
“Honey, we have to break out our stock of rain boots from the back.”
***
KLEHNA leaves could be severely damaged by heavy rainfall right before harvest, drastically reducing their commercial value. Therefore, it was common sense in Brownie Village to secure the leaves under row covers whenever it was about to rain.
In one terraced field, two people pinned down a thick white cloth while looking up at the fairly clear sky.
“Is it really gonna rain?”
“Ma said so. The baker’s wife had a famous traveling fortune teller predict the weather for her and he said it’s absolutely gonna pour just past noon today.”
Rumors tend to become exaggerated as they’re passed around, but that was especially true in this village with nothing to talk about. Everyone ended up thinking that the baker’s wife paid a large sum to a fortune teller that morning and had the weather predicted.
The boy from earlier was naturally Nichika disguised as a boy following the scenario Oswald gave her. Such a simple little fib moved an entire village into taking action. Rumors are not to be underestimated.
The villagers wiped their foreheads when they had almost finished laying the row covers over the fields.
“Man, it’s hot and humid.”
“What did ya expect? We’ve been gettin’ some strange weather since last night.”
The two villagers stretched out the rest of the thick cloth while avoiding the mud at their feet.
“Uh? What is that?” one of the villagers asked.
A horde of brown was scurrying over the top of the hill. These monsters were commonly seen around here, but the problem was that they were charging right into the terraced fields!
“Oh spirits! It’s the dodongagas!”
***
ANGELICA was enjoying a sweet dream under soft and comfy blankets. It was her favorite dream where she elegantly drank tea while handsome men waited on her hand and foot.
“Lady Angelica, these are the rare sugar cookies I ordered for you from a faraway land.”
“Oh my. Thank you.”
The man with raven-black hair held out the silver platter from behind her chair and smiled. He kind of resembled the man who had escaped from prison yesterday. That man was so handsome he was being wasted on that homely self-proclaimed priestess.
I’ll entice him into serving me if I get my hands on him again. I’m not satisfied unless I get everything I want. I have the beauty and talent necessary to make that happen.
Reveling in her greed, Angelica pinched a cookie between her fingers and returned the offer to the handsome man. “Would you like one, too?”
“Thank you very much, my lady. However, I much prefer this sugar…” He gently grabbed her chin and tipped it up. His perfectly chiseled face leaned closer.
“Oh, we mustn’t…”
A whirlwind romance about to begin—was promptly shattered by a thick accented voice shouting in her ears, ripping her from dreamland.
“HOLY MAIDEEEEEEEEENNN!”
Angelica shot up in bed and glowered at the door. The blood rushed to her head when she realized it was the mayor pounding away.
“Stop that racket! What do you want at this spirit forsaken hour?! Eesh!”
Forgetting to mask her true personality, she unlocked the door. The messily sobbing mayor tumbled into the room, fell to his knees, wrapped around her legs, and started begging.
“Oh, Holy Maiden, please save us! Monsters! Dodongagas!”
“Huh?”
Will stepped into the room behind the mayor and uncomfortably reported, “It seems that a large number of dodongagas are tearing up the klehna fields near the village gates.”
***
ANGELICA hastily changed and came to the foot of the terraced garden just behind the mansion. Looking up, she saw dodongagas running through the yet-to-be-harvested klehna fields, just as Will told her. They numbered in the dozens. The mayor had been lying in wait for her outside while rubbing his hands raw.
“Please get rid of them this instant!” he bellowed, his facial muscles spasming. “If the damage spreads any further the village won’t make a profit this year! My salary will go up in dust!”
“All right already. I just have to get rid of them, yeah? Then get rid of them I shall.”
Irked at having been dragged out of bed, Angelica held up the staff she stole from the homely girl. And, without much thought, shot off her best spell.
“FLAME BURST!”
The magic orb shined brightly on top of the staff. There was a sudden recoil effect, followed by every ounce of magic being ripped from within her.
“Wha…?”
An explosive fire burst shot from the staff while she recoiled in shock. Uncontrollable magic scorched everything in sight. Angelica fell into a complete panic over the unexpected power behind her weak spell.
“Kyaaaaaah! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
“Wh-What in the spirits’ name are you doing, Holy Maiden?!”
The surrounding temperature rose rapidly, and the moisture in the air began to evaporate. The klehna leaves were naturally steamed, and the pigment started to transfer to the cloth laid on top.
The mayor squeezed the sides of his face in his hands and wailed like it was the end of the world. “AAAAAAAAAAAAH! Our merchandise!”
“Lady Angelica! Please stop!”
“I can’t!”
Butler Will was begging behind her, but the red glowing magic orb was hungrily siphoning magic from Angelica and transforming it into spell fodder.
BOOM!
The situation just got a whole lot worse. The dodongagas were further agitated by the white cloths being dyed bright-red. Their numbers tripled beyond what anyone present could handle. The mayor’s cracking voice peeled across the klehna fields.
“HOLY MAIDEEEEEEN!”
***
MEANWHILE, master and apprentice arrived in the village to enact their plan and were rendered speechless by the disastrous situation afoot. The plan was to secretly steam the field, dyeing the white cloth red, but they hadn’t accounted for Angelica casting fire magic before they got there. At last, Nichika remembered the important piece of information that slipped their minds.
“Oh yeah, Angelica can use magic too…”
“While I can’t comment on her magic potential, the real Angelica Rubens is notorious for hating anything to do with learning.”
Headmaster Grindieda’s comment repeated in Nichika’s head.
Oswald covered his eyes with his hand. “Say that sooner…”
“Doesn’t matter now! What are we going to do about this?!”
By all appearances, the damage was severer than anticipated. “This wasn’t supposed to happen” was written all over her master’s hard face.
***
THE growing herd of dodongagas charged in different directions as a group, their rampaging exceeding what the villagers could fend off. Seeing how dire the situation had become, Angelica grabbed her butler’s arm and raised the white flag.
“We’re getting outta here, Will!”
“Whaaaaaaaaat?!”
Will wasn’t the only one whose eyes peeled open. The mayor, who had been pointlessly flailing his arms like a windmill, turned on her.
“H-Ho-Holy Maiden? Are you going to forsake us? Don’t even joke about it!”
“Please don’t ask the impossible of me! Not even someone as great as I can stand up against that ferocious horde!”
“You can’t abandon us! Isn’t it your duty as the Holy Maiden to save the lost and suffering people?!”
“Eeei! Let go of me already, you old fart!”
“Holy Maideeeen!”
Snapping, Angelica accidentally let the cat out of the bag. “Oh my spirits! Your whole ‘Holy Maiden’ ‘Holy Maiden’ tirade is grating! Stop ragging on me! I am not your Spirit Priestess—ah!”
She threw a hand up to cover her mouth, but it was too late. The mayor and all the villagers who came to help heard her confession loud and clear. Only the DODODO rumbling of the dodongagas running around echoed through the unnatural quiet.
“Oho…Ohohoho! Just kidding…”
Sweating like a ton of bricks, Angelica tried to scamper away like a crab. Will sighed and lifted his head to explain everything—his eyes flew wide open and he let out a warning cry.
“Lady Angelica!”
“Wha?”
Angelica felt a sudden rush of air and turned toward it. The herd of monsters was descending the hill at a furious pace. Their deranged, soulless eyes were dead set on her.
“Uwaaaaaaaah! Run awaaaaaaay!”
The mayor and all the villagers scattered like baby wolf spiders off their mother’s back. Angelica didn’t move though. She couldn’t move. For the first time in her life she was facing death. This was different from the straw dolls she fought during magic lessons back home. Palpable bloodlust prickled her skin, knocking her weakly onto her bottom. She clamored to her feet, but was hit by a wave of exhaustion from her magic being drained. Dizziness crashed over her, causing her legs to buckle.
Oh no. My legs…won’t budge…
Pushed to the brink of despair, Angelica let out a shrill scream that sounded like a curtain ripping in half. “Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
She threw up her arms and braced to be trampled underfoot, but she was instead wrapped in a gust of wind that was better suited to a spring storm. She slammed her eyes shut against the torrential winds whipping up her hair, and heard a noble voice ring throughout the land.
“O great current that rushes over the land, come to me! Sylphide!”
Surprised, Angelica forced open her eyes just as a girl landed protectively in front of her with spread open arms. Shock coursed through her to see it was the girl she had tossed in jail yesterday.
“Y-You are—”
“Stand!” she commanded. “Hold out my staff. Now!”
The dodongagas forced away by the gale had fallen back in line and were barreling toward them again. At Nichika’s command, Angelica stood and held up the staff. But her hands visibly shook. She screamed and tried to bolt when the girl gently covered her trembling hands.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do it with you.”
She glanced to her side; the girl’s clear eyes were dyed a deep shade of green as she gave a reassuring nod. Just looking into those eyes told Angelica what she must do.
Both girls planted their feet and braced for the magic recoil. Corresponding magical power was drawn from them both and mixed into the magic orb.
“BLOW THEM AWAY!”
“ROAST THEM!”
The moment they chanted the spell, the world opened up before Angelica. She unleashed the magic within, experiencing an exhilaration she had never known before.
“FLAME TORNADO!” the girls roared as one.
***
THE combined magic unleashed by the Spirit Priestess and the fake Holy Maiden manifested tremendous power that succeeded in repelling the dodongagas. Nichika felt bad for using the monsters in their plan, but not too bad since she hoped it might make them think twice about ruining the fields again since she heard that the pesky creatures made a habit of tearing up their harvests. Once things settled down outside, the captured Wolfie burst out of the mansion.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah! MASTER! I knew you would come for me!”
KLONK!
“Owwie!” he yelped.
The elated wolf leapt onto his master and was met by a fist bonking him on the head.
“A squirrel has more intelligence than you! Who in their right mind blindly follows a stranger offering them treats?!” Oswald scolded, removing the cover on the back of the detonator. He tore off the small magic crystal powering it, and the yellow loop around Wolfie’s neck fell off with a hiss.
Butler Will admired his handiwork from the side. “Ooh! Spectacular. Leave it to a witch to figure out how the detonator works at a glance. Did that disarm the explosives?”
“Y-Yeah. Almost all of these things have the same mechanism.” Unwilling to fess up that this was his invention, Oswald dubiously averted his eyes. He bent the circuitry until it was rendered useless and threw it away. Then he turned to watch the unusual scene unfolding in the noisy klehna field.
“What in Arcanshiel is the meaning of all this, Holy Maiden—no, you’re no maiden. Who are you?”
The mayor mourned in front of the burnt klehna field, but his anger was being completely ignored. For Angelica, the one at fault, was sticking to Nichika like glue and didn’t register anything anyone else said to her. She spoke to the hero who rescued her in a charmed, sickeningly sweet voice.
“Aaah, Lady Nichika… the moment you landed dashingly in front of me has been forever burnt into my memory.”
“Er…” Nichika forced a smile. She was at a loss with how to handle this situation. The fancy priss was gazing ardently at her face from a distance that entirely disregarded personal space.
“The electrical current that surged through me when our hands touched snatched my heart!” Angelica continued, ignoring that she was making her hero uncomfortable. “This is a first that I, Angelica Rubens, have felt this way…”
“How are you going to repay us?!” The mayor finally exploded when he saw her cheeks turning pink. “You were never the Holy Maiden, were you?!”
“Eesh! Silence, outsider! It’s extremely rude of you to interrupt my love talk with Lady Nichika! Go away!”
Her boundless arrogance managed to finally push the mayor over the edge. Turning dark red, he started swinging his arms around. “How can you act like that after devastating the village’s fields?! I’ve had enough! I’ll do whatever it takes to find your parents and have them take responsibility!”
“Go right ahead.” With a snap of her fingers, butler Will rushed over.
“You summoned, my lady?”
“Will, contact Daddy and tell him to pay this mayor whatever price he asks. I’ll buy it all, as is.”
“Excuse me?” The mayor’s mouth fell open.
“I think it would benefit us both if we built one of our family inns on this burnt field,” she continued with a fearless smile.
“Excuse me?”
Ignoring the mayor who could only parrot his own words, Angelica laid out her “Brownie Village Inn Town Plan” at length.
“I’ve had my eye on this village as the perfect stopover point for travelers heading to the bustling Windy Village. I’m happy to hire the villagers as staff, and travelers staying at the inn will spend money in the village during their stay… Why, we could rake in an even greater profit if we come up with a local specialty. I know! Mayor, you have excellent quality klehna leaves here. Why not expand from selling just the leaves to producing your own dyed products locally?”
“M-Manufacturing would require significant capital—”
Angelica’s face lit up and she heavily promoted herself as a merchant’s daughter. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll go to my father and have the Rubens family provide total backing for this project. Let’s start with a small dye factory. We can expand once we see how well it’s received.”
“R-Rubens?! Y-You mean the multibillionaires?!”
At last, the mayor realized that this arrogant princess wasn’t a Holy Maiden, but, in some senses, a more valuable person than a saint. The news nearly knocked his feet out from under him. But then he narrowed his eyes on her and pointed at her face.
“Are you trying to con me again?”
“How rude!”
Oswald stepped up to Nichika, who was zoning out during their negotiations. The newly freed Wolfie was with him. Relieved to be reunited at last, Nichika crouched and hugged his fluffy chest.
“Wolfie! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you feeling? Did they hurt you?”
“Nichika! I’ve been dying to see you.”
He seemed well enough because they made sure to feed him three meals a day. Actually, he seemed a little fatter since the last time she hugged him.
Turning a suspicious eye on him, she asked, “…Did you gain weight?”
“Dehehe! I could eat my fill of rib and yam-filled omelets and steak as long as I didn’t disobey them!”
Did Wolfie willingly follow them for the food? Nichika suspected.
Meanwhile, Angelica and the mayor seemed to have come to an agreement. Apparently, the construction of the inn would begin in a month’s time.
“She’s got some mad business skills…” Oswald commented, both impressed and staggered by the news.
“Not interested in this kind of money making?” Nichika asked the man who, though he didn’t show it much lately, was quite money hungry.
“Don’t even joke about it,” he replied, his face souring. “You can only make this kind of deal once you have plenty of capital and connections. Oh! Hold on. I can get just that if someone marries into that fancy lady’s family…”
“Whaaat?!”
“Okay, go get her!”
“Me?!”
Oswald threw Nichika in front of Angelica.
“Oh my!” she exclaimed, her face glowing as she cupped her hands around Nichika’s. “Lady Nichika, please wait just a little longer. I can get ready to go soon as I finish handing this project over to someone from my family.”
“Ready to go…where?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the reckless princess responded with a smile. “I shall accompany you on your journey. I will look after your every little need and care for your body and soul. And then someday…dehe…hehehe…guhehehehe.”
A chill scraped down Nichika’s spine before the drooling, enraptured princess. She frantically came up with a reason to stop her. “W-Wait! Wait! Who will run the inn?”
“I am merely suggesting the idea to Daddy. I plan to leave the rest to the professionals.”
“It’s too dangerous for you to come!”
“Please leave the danger to me. I shall burn everything in your way with my passionate flames! Also,” Angelica switched tactics and began listing off the benefits of taking her along, “if you so desire it, my family will pull all our resources to support you in every way. We will prepare the finest carriages for comfortable travel, arrange all the accommodations in each area, and set up bodyguard units when necessary.”
“Ugh…” Nichika’s resolve wavered a little at how nice Angelica’s offer sounded. But she dissuaded herself and put her hand on the shoulder of the girl who wouldn’t stop selling herself. “Thank you, Angelica. Your support means a lot to me. But I believe this journey is one that I have to walk with my own two feet, see with my eyes, and hear with my ears. I mustn’t overlook even the tiniest of oddities. That’s why I can’t accept your offer.”
Angelica looked like she was about to cry after her gentle yet firm rejection. After a few moments, she answered with a torn smile.
“You are awe inspiring… And that is exactly what it means to be the Spirit Priestess, isn’t it?”
“Aha…ahahaha. I don’t think I inspire all that much.”
“With that said, you will allow me to accompany you, won’t you?!”
“ARGH!”
Nichika felt like banging her head against the wall. Conversations with this girl always went in circles. Pulling herself together, she went with a different proposal.
“I have an idea! How about we do this?”
***
“HOW it pains me to bid you adieu, but I know I will see you again soon, Lady Nichika!”
They were standing at the crossroads outside Brownie Village. Nichika returned Angelica’s childlike big wave with a small flick of her wrist.
“I promise I will absolutely, positively come running to you the day I finish up my studies at Elminage!” she declared with a sunny smile.
Nichika’s one condition was that she properly attended the magic school she had run from.
The young lady was quite dissatisfied at first, but she changed her mind when Will told her she wouldn’t make a good traveling companion if she ran away from things she didn’t like. The butler’s passionate appeal was a sight to behold—he was desperate not to let this chance to straighten her out slip by.
After walking for a while, Oswald looked back and reported what he saw. “She’s still waving.”
“Don’t look back. Don’t look back. I’ll only look forward.”
Nichika kept walking, chanting like she was saying the slogan of youth, and finally breathed once they reached a spot where they were out of sight.
“Not even I would want to bring a girl like that along…”
Angelica wasn’t a bad person by any means, but Nichika’s instincts yelled that she would become a worse troublemaker than Oswald. Her tremendous wealth and influence made her even more unmanageable than an eccentric witch. Still, she felt guilty.
“Think Elminage will survive…?” Oswald muttered.
Aaaah! Headmaster Grindieda, Melissa, I am so sorry! Nichika mentally fell on her knees apologizing to them. She felt bad for pushing Angelica on them, but she needed them to look after her. Headmaster Grindieda did accept her into Elminage, after all. Washing her hands of the situation with that thought, Nichika sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“But I’m glad it all worked out in the end.”
As she walked, Nichika held up the magic crystal that continued to emanate a bewitching gleam. Angelica gave it to her as goodbye gift. “Greed” was written on it, just as she suspected. She threw it in the air and hit it with a fireball. The shattered pieces crumbled as they fell and the wind swept the dust away. One, two, three, four; Nichika counted on her fingers and tilted her head.
“Does that mean we have three left to go?”
“Let’s go! Let’s go! High and low!” Wolfie hummed, prancing past them.
A sudden gust of wind fluttered Nichika’s deep crimson cape. It was a prototype in a new clothing line dyed with klehna given to her by the mayor as an apology for tossing them in jail. Her happy acceptance of it was met with Oswald’s disdain.
“You’re just being used in that priss’s marketing scheme,” he said, seeing through their ploy. “Do you want to be walking advertisement for them?”
“Don’t care. I love the color.”
Every time she passed through a town or village, her equipment and memories increased.
Will I remember everything once I get back home? I don’t want to forget a single thing, she wholeheartedly prayed.
However, her prayer was easily overturned in the next village. She was about to learn certain events were better off forgotten, and as soon as possible.