Chapter 14

And so, we started adventuring again. This time I made it a point for me to make Lilith as capable as an average adventurer can be and made exercises to train her as a mage. Of course, I wouldn't know how to do that, so we visited a local magic shop in the city asking for some advice.

Afterwards I went to devising training methods for Lilith…

"Um, Zach why did you build a campfire?"

"Its for your training of course, taking our advice from the magic shop owner as to what to focus on, power and supply are not included among them. Your problem is that you couldn't control your magic levels, making endurance and control your main adversaries on the field."

"I understand, but how is a campfire going to help me in those areas?"

"Use your magic to ignite it."

"Ok!"

She held out her pointer finger and a small flame appeared at her tip. Like a lighter she used it and ignited the campfire. However everytime she did ignite the campfire the small flame disappeared in a matter of seconds.

"Zach! What is wrong with this campfire?! Is this a campfire cursed not to burn?"

"No, look closely."

She turned her head closer and noticed the leaves were glistening and the wood darker than their usual color, touching it she finally noticed what was wrong, it was moist.

"H-How am I supposed to light a wet campfire?"

"There's a small spot in the middle of it all with dry and fresh firewood and leaves, light that part."

She did as was told and lit the center of the flame.

"Good, knowing the state of the campfire, that small flame is not going to last long by regular circumstances and will soon disappear again like before. That is unless you hold it there. This acts like the magic core the magic shopkeep owner used to measure your magic, in structure, the core is the campfire, the fuel is what the magic core is made of to synergize with magic, and the fire is the light that appears when it reacts to magic. I would have loved to obtain a similar magic core for you to practice on, but considering the price, there was no way we were ever getting it. Now what I want you do is to hold the flame there until all its fuel is gone."

"Hmph! That's easy!"

She held both her hands out. Her magic levels were clear as was her face brimming with confidence. Soon the flame grew bigger and the heat became stronger, soon enough the wet leaves and wood were nothing but a small inconvenience as the fire evaporated their moisture and began using them as fuel. After a few minutes the roaring flame had consumed all its fuel and died out.

With confidence she looked to me triumphant…

"I told you that was-"

Her sentence was cut short from a sudden loss of strength in her legs and was fatigued. The mana I sensed around her had been almost depleted.

"You waste too much energy on holding together a simple fire, though you did it quickly, your magic supply is left at almost zero. Putting it into a real life situation, you could finish of an enemy quickly or heavily damage them, but don't have enough to protect yourself in a large group or from external forces. That is a fatal error."

"T-Then what should I do?"

"Keep the fire low, do not overstep your bounds, it will give you time to regenerate your supply. Do not leave this spot or lose control until the fuel is gone. When you are finished resting please try again."

"Y-Yes! But, what will you be doing?"

I pointed to what looked like a naked scarecrow made of hay.

"I'll be training with this dummy there, while I monitor your magic levels."

"Eh?! You can monitor my magic levels?!"

"Oh right, I didn't tell you. I have an inborn ability to sense magic."

"Ah! So that's why you wanted me to teach you magic! I didn't know you had the gift!"

"Alright, we can talk about this later. Could you please start training?"

"R-Right! Sorry!"

Lilith continued to go on trying again and again, each time was different in terms of duration and outcome. It would sometimes last a few minutes before the flame grew too large or until her flame dwindled, either result required her to start again. As she trained herself I wasted no time either swinging my sword at my dummy.

I took a short break and looked back at Lilith still trying with her hands out. Out of curiosity I picked up a rock and threw it at the tree just near her.

*TOCK*

"AH!"

She shrieked turning heads until she found me.

"W-What was that?!"

"Ah, your magic levels fluctuate."

"What was that for!"

"No, don't mind it. Please continue."

"Hrrmmm..."

That was an expected reaction… maybe I can use this...

After a couple of hours. I decided it was time for us to do our jobs. As usual we would take some simple quests and venture into the forest.

We found medium sized targets, a group of boars feeding amongst the foliage. Hiding in the bushes I told her our plan.

"You'll be the one taking them on. Watch you're reserve and keep focused, kill most of them ,all of them if u can. If anything goes wrong I'll handle the rest. Can you do that?"

"Y-Yes! I'll do my best!

I hope you do.

I give her a gentle smile to ease the tension and soon left to watch at my position.

She began chanting her commonly used spell: Flame Magic Arrow.

The arrows began exploding in a fiery display, after a few minutes…

"Zach! Help meee!"

She lost all her mana…

Sigh, here we go again. In the next moment I looked back at her she was running to my position with the boars right behind her.

"ZAACCH!"

"Wait! Don't run in my direction!"

"Sorry!"

We continued this sort of schedule for 20 days. It was a long 20 days… In terms of results, I'd say we earned a fair bit. I didn't really earn any points for my stats, but my techniques were showing more promise. But on the other hand, I'd say Lilith was the one with the most improvement...

It was another day, going through the motions of our schedule, and it was that time of the day again…

"Alright, today we have a couple of wolves as our targets. Be more cautious, this time around. Same plan as always."

"Mmm! Got it!"

"Okay. Go for it!"

She concentrated herself and lighted a flaming arrow resting in midair atop her shoulder. Consecutive explosions rang across the area injuring 2 wolves sending them into a panic. Others weren't as unlucky to be caught in the flames and found Lilith in their sights. They pounced one after another towards her position. In this sort of situation Lilith would usually become frightened and her magic levels would desynchronize and leave her open.

However, her eyes didn't show that today, her eyes were confident and filled with strength, she was reading there movements, a skill I intended for her to develop using this daily exercise. What's more is that her magic levels are still stabilized up until this point which is great improvement on her part. I continued to watch her progress from my position.

She fired another shot at one of the wolves stopping it in its tracks and began to burn. One of the wolves was destined to clamp its jaws on Lilith's body, but reacting quick enough she turned her body to the side just missing the fangs of the beast, but unintentionally falling down.

It was beginning to look bad, but her magic levels didn't let up. As the wolf tried to get on top of her, another arrow was pointed towards it, more precise, limiting its destruction in close range making a short distraction, giving her just enough time to get on her feet and make some distance to launch another flaming arrow making it stay on the ground.

As soon as the battle was over, she panted heavily to regain her lost strength.

"Ha..Ha.. Ha.."

She turned to me with a smile seeking my approval. Instead I was ready with my sling vertically swinging it at my side.

Confused she was about to ask why, but was interrupted by a sudden chill and immediately turned around.

"Growl!"

The burned up wolf spread its jaws to make a last ditch attack on Lilith. The sudden scene left her motionless for that moment and realized that she was about to die, or at least get a few scars.

Well that might have happened, if I wasn't there.

I threw my sling with a stone already cocked, and made a direct hit on the wolf's head sending it back to the ground.

In that moment, Lilith looked back at the wolf and launched another flaming arrow at the still breathing wolf.

The wolf yelped and took its final breath before laying its body to rest.

I began walking to her, she had her eyes pressed together expecting my usual sermon. But I instead placed my hand on her head and gently rubbed it.

"Good work. You made great improvement."

Her eyes glistened with comfort and relief as she looked at me and gave her whole hearted thanks.

"Thank you!"

I then began giving a full diagnosis on her performance.

"It seems you're not as frightened by these sorts of small reactions, your mana concentration held out longer than it usually does especially in an uptight battle along with the fact that you are not too hesitant any more. I have to admit, that is some improvement."

"I became used to these sorts of reactions because of our constant hunting, that and because you keep trying to interrupt me whenever I'm… Training… Wait a second!"

"So you finally realize. I was doubtful such a simple method was going to work, but you slowly began ignoring the simple reactions coming from our our targets. By the way I'm sorry for all those times, please understand, that was for your training."

"Hmph! You have to treat me to some dessert for the crimes you've committed on me!"

"Hehe, Alright my lady, it's a deal."

Well, of course throwing rocks is something you can get used to easily, so there would be times when I would actually throw something a lot more dangerous her way like a knife or something sharp. Besides that she would always be easily scared, so I would always commit to jumpscares around corners, or give her something like a bug that scares her during training.

Fufu… though it was training, her reactions were hilarious...

"Stop throwing things at me! I might get hurt!"

"Eek! Don't let it come any closer! Get it away!"

"AAAHH! Don't scare me like that! I almost had a heart attack!"

Fufu, I can't stop laughing when I remember them...

These are all simple I know, most adventurers wouldn't be afraid of these sorts of petty tricks, but Lilith wasn't an adventurer not yet. So starting from the smallest was quite necessary, and slowly escalating it on the battlefield, to my satisfaction it worked like a charm.

"Also, it seems your cluelessness is beginning to let go as well. I can't say if that's a good a or bad thing considering just how easy it was to use."

"W-What is that supposed to mean?! Are you saying I am that easy to read?!"

"Yes, yes you are."

"You!"

Her face lit up in frustration and began chasing me for a bit to alleviate it.

I made a small giggle upon her reaction. I was going to continue teasing her, but the sound of multiple footsteps caught my ears. The sounds of howls could be heard from the same direction as well.

"Don't thank me yet, seems like the rest of the hunting pack caught up with what was going on. We got company."

"Let me handle this!"

She stepped right in front of me and aimed her staff in front of her. She waited until the wolves were in close distance. Trusting her I didn't say a word to stop her. She took a deep breath and casted a familiar spell.

"Flame wall!"

A 6 foot tall and 8 foot wall of flame sprung up in front of us. I used my arm to shield myself from the sudden burst of heat. She then began casting arrows one after another placing them stationary over her shoulder. I get it! Since this is fire its not purely solid so wants to shoot behind while they are confused. A little bit too smart though… Is this really Lilith from just 20 days ago?

I'll deal with that later, for now I've got this to take care of. Lilith began firing arrows to draw attention to the wall in front of them and to deal some crowd control. While I maneuvered around the wall to issue attacks. Using one skill after another to dispatch the wolves. The wolves yelped as my blade ran through their flesh. Once I was finished, Lilith removed her "Firewall" and continued to channel her remaining energy. I wiped the sweat running down my face from the fire wall's residue heat.

That felt easy, my stamina wasnt even below 60%, perhaps this is the first time, but are these the effects of the stat points I placed into strength since our fight with the bear? I knew it was an instant boost, but this improvement by normal standards is phenomenal or maybe unnatural. Even though I did place points into strength, my stamina couldn't have adapted as quickly as no points were added into that, maybe I'm underestimating the improvements of my training. That just means I have to work harder. I drew a hidden smile of satisfaction in my mind as I bask in my imaginary spotlight.

I noticed one more wolf on the ground still alive, but I chose to leave it. I walked away, but then a similar scene like Lilith's came for me, but I still chose not to react and delayed my actions. However, like the other wolf that chose to strike Lilith on its deathbed, it was put down in the next second, this time by Lilith.

Mmm… Very good.

"Zach, what were you standing there for! You could have been killed!"

"I know, I was waiting if you would respond in heat of the situation."

"Grr! Stop testing me like that! I don't want you to get hurt!"

"That's my line, you almost died a few moments ago."

"Don't put that on me! Speaking of which, now we are even!"

"Even? Don't go using those words on your high horse just yet. You still have to save me tens of times before we can call it even."

"Grr! Can you be anymore sm-"

"I'm sorry, I've teased you too much lately. Thanks for saving me anyway."

"Muu…"

She averts her gaze as she flushes from my comment.

"I don't think I need to give a diagnosis on what you just did, you are learning at exceptional speed, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be a great adventurer in no time-"

"No! Please tell me! I want to hear it from you!"

I was surprised by her assertiveness. I was left speechless for a second.

"Hey, thats too many surprises for one day, are you really Lilith?"

"There you go again!"

"Hehe, I'll tell you on the way back then…"

"Okay!"

We then trailed our way back to the city.

Our training continued on for another four days making it a total of 14 days of training. Since our new partnership I find it quite pleasant whenever she's around, her clumsiness and smile can easily light up a day of hard work more so now that she has improved a great length since I met her. However, my plans of going back to solo have been unwavered, though I guess as of now if I were to party up with anyone in the future for simple tasks, she'd be the first I'd go to.

Things were going smoothly, we trained, worked, with no difficulties, and today was just another day of the same routine.

It was our 15th day now. We were just finishing another harvest from our quest. I looked towards Lilith while picking some plants. She was chasing after a colorful butterfly, the kind of action you'd see kid pull after first seeing one. As I watched her reach for it with a childlike expression, a comfortable feeling partnered with a smile appeared on my face.

When she stopped chasing she took a glance at me. When we had eye contact I felt a sudden spreading of heat upon my cheeks and snapped back and went back to work.

I guess I'm still shy, huh?

She looked at me with a confused expression, but observed my expression closely and came closer with a playful smile and spread her arms around my neck and laying her breasts on my back.

My cheeks flushed even more as I came into contact with the soft and warm sensation.

"Lilith! W-What are you doing?! Not this again!"

"You are just so cute when you are embarrassed! I can't help but hug you! Give me a few seconds would you?"

"Mmm…."

Every once in awhile whenever she would start hugging me, especially when I'm vulnerable or when I least expect it. I wouldn't say I don't enjoy my fair share, most speaking the warmth, it feels nice… I'm sure Sam would be jealous if he had known I was subjected to this often, but its still embarrassing nonetheless!

We stayed silent as I let her embrace me. C'mon, when will it be over? You're killing me from embarrassment you know?

"Hey, can't we stay partners?"

"Lilith, we've talked about this. I thought I made it clear I was going back to being solo once this was over."

"I mean, we're doing fine together aren't we? Why can't we work together longer? I know I can be an annoyance, but I'm better now."

"You are, I can clearly see that. I don't know really, I guess I'm just too used to working on my own. It's not like I don't trust you to protect me like before, but…."

" I don't understand your reasoning, but why do you have to be so stubborn? Can't you see were invincible together? Pretty please?"

"Only for now, I don't think we'll last longer if we went against anything tougher, especially with you who's only recently bloomed."

"Then I'll get stronger with you!"

"I think that route is better suited on our own separate ways."

"Mmm...Stay!"

"Let go of me already!"

"I don't want to!"

As we pursued our childish struggle, a drop of water hit my nose. I looked up and saw dark clouds beginning to form.

"It looks like its about to rain, we should start heading back."

"Yeah, would you mind carrying me back? My legs hurt…"

"Grr! Get of me already!"

We made it back to the city just in time for the rain to begin pouring down.

"We made it. Looks likes I'm still going to get soaked. Alright I'll be seeing you tomorrow Lilith, take care-"

"Come with me, we can stay in an inn just near here."

"Okay, lead the way."

I followed Lilith to the inn already a bit wet. As soon as we made it, we rushed inside to escape the rain. When I finally got sight of where we were, I took a look at our surroundings.

The innkeeper approached us.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, may we stay until the rain clears up?"

"Of course. However you must pay for the cost of at least one night."

"I see. 1 room with two beds should be fine."

"Eh!"

"Is there a problem Lilith?"

"No, I wish it were a queen siz…"

"I didn't quite catch that last part, could you speak louder?"

"Don't worry it was nothing."

"Okay then, what shall it be?"

"1 room for 2 for 1 night, without special privileges will cost you 5 silver."

! 5 silver for a night?! What!? I looked around me again. I noticed that the condition of this inn is far better than the one I was staying at, with fine furniture, a warm fireplace, a couple of well drawn paintings and an overall better condition in general.

It must be one of those middle ranking inns, so it would understandably have a higher price. Still, even if it is, 5 silver for only that much has to be a scam! Not only that, but that will put a dent in our shared wallet even if we have made quite a lot by normal standards.

"Couldn't the price be a bit lower?"

"I'm sorry, but that is the price agreed upon on this establishment. If you cannot comply I'm afraid you will have to be forced out."

When he said that his expression changed. Though not expressing it fully, I can see it behind the mask he puts up. One that doesn't care for those with no wealth and one that can be seen to extort people for his own selfish needs.

Tsk, it makes me sick to see such trash like him… I guess I'll have to bear with him, medicine still costs more than what this scam artist is selling us anyway.

I sighed in defeat and was about to take out the money, but Lilith held my hand stopping it. I looked to her confused, but soon gave me a reassuring expression. I stopped and backed away giving her the stage. She then turned back to the innkeeper.

"Perhaps, we can work something out?"

"Huh? What do you mean? I'm sorry, but it's either you pay or you leave-"

Lilith then stared into his eyes. His sentence was cut off and stared at Lilith with a blank expression for the next few seconds. Soon his cheeks flushed red and snapped out of his trance.

"I'm sorry I lost my train of thought there."

"Yes, we were negotiating about lowering the price?"

"Ah, y-yes of course. I'm truly sorry for my behavior, please take any room you wish."

"Thank you."

What? That can't be right? I read through him, there's no way someone like him would become so generous. Just what did you do Lilith?

"C'mon lets get a move on."

"Oh okaaaaay!"

She pulled my arm to a room. When we opened it, it was a large stylish room with artistic furnishings, a similar fireplace at one end of the room along with a personal bathroom and otherwise in exceptional condition. The most noticeable being a queen sized bed right at the center. It could only be described as an equivalent to a suite!

I turned to Lilith who was in glee and was expecting something from me. Probably like a compliment. Instead…

"I'm not staying here."

"EH!?"

"No, just no."

"Why?!"

"Too expensive, too classy, other than that there's only one bed."

"What's the problem with that?! The innkeeper said we can take any room we wanted!"

"This is what you wanted. Why do you even want to sleep in such a luxurious room anyway?"

"Can't it be a change of pace? I'm sure you are sleeping in some dirt cheap inn as well."

"We can't even afford for such a room anyway."

The innkeeper came back upon hearing my remark.

"By the way, it's on the house stay as long as you want."

She turned back to me giving me a "see?" expression.

WWHHAAAT! Okay something is really not right here! Seriously just what did you do Lilith?! No I am absolutely not staying in the same room as her! I'm still not prepared to share a room with someone especially a girl!

"No, I'm going to go to another room."

"Muu! Zach you stubborn blockhead!"

She shouts and begins throwing a tantrum. Some of the residents in the other rooms were coming out to see what was the ruckus and slowly attracting more attention.

"Okay, Okay! I'll sleep in the same room as you just stop alright? You're attracting too much attention!"

"Yay!"

Her expression changed immediately, she jumped up happily. You trickster... I dragged her in the room to stop any further attention.

We began to settle down in the large room. It didn't seem like the storm was going to let up so we both decided to make ourselves comfortable during our one night stay.

"Your turn!"

Lilith exclaimed as she came out of the bathroom changed into the inns provided clothing.

"There's something I need to ask the innkeeper for a sec, be back in a bit!"

"Alright."

I stepped into the bathroom and began taking a shower reflect on my current situation. My face was completely red…

I-I never thought that I'd be spending a night with a girl, more so sleeping side by side in the same bed! N-No, Zach… keep it together, it's just sleeping in the same bed, there's nothing wrong with that, what are you getting all nervous for? My shyness sure is a hindrance that affects me a lot, wait isn't this a normal reaction? Or is it just me?… even if Lilith is a girl I've gotten used to being around with, this for me is still an unusual circumstance! W-What am I gonna do?!

I splashed some water on my face to refresh my memory.

Calm down and think… there are more important matters to think about right now!

Like what happened just a while ago. I still have my assumptions as to what happened between Lilith and that innkeeper. I thought for sure I cracked his thoughts behind his mask… all she did was look him in the eye and he changed.

Maybe it was some sort of hypnosis magic, perhaps this girl does have some secrets worth taking note about, I must be weary of them...I shouldn't press this onto her, she might get suspicious.

I finished up and changed into the inn's clothes and left the bathroom rubbing a towel against my hair soaking up what's left of the water.

As soon as I came out, Lilith came in with an arms full of firewood and threw them into a pile just beside the fireplace

"Um, what's with all the firewood?"

"I asked the innkeeper, he said "take as much as you need""

Wow I'm suddenly feeling sorry for that guy since we aren't paying him, we are casually staying here as we would stay in our homes, whatever she did seemed to be a little too effective...

I thought that I could do some training to pass the time while we're here. I mean it's not like there's anything else to do is there?"

"Your right… I should find something to do as well…"

"Maybe I can try reading your spell book for the time being. May I?"

"Yes, here."

As soon as I open the book, I began scanning through the pages, but…. I can't read it. Its in Latin, it's a big mess swimming in my mind…

I sighed in my defeat and gave the book back to Lilith.

"Hehe, I looks like it's my time to teach some lessons.

"Like what?"

"Start by meditating. That's how we all start, try to concentrate the flow of magic and center it in your core."

The core she mentioned must be my brain then, well it's what I've deduced from my stay. Concentrate my magic like the way she does, huh?

"Alright. So what do I do?"

"Sit in a crossed position and close your eyes and see if you can find the flow of you're magic."

"Okay…"

I sat and crossed my legs on the bed and closed my eyes. I didn't really know how this was going to work, so I just continued.

"Please tell me once you pick something up. I'll be here doing my own training."

"Yes. What do you mean by "something"?"

"You'll know when you find it, the feeling is different for everyone."

She actually sounds a bit different, no doubt more confident than when we began, her stuttering has even lessened, but her polite and shy nature can still be seen.

"I see. I guess I'll start then…"

I close my eyes and after some time picked up on something. It felt like a stream of water circulating in the nerves of my head. Although it felt like it was… everywhere…Like a pool of water overflowing to its surroundings flowing through the rocks and crevices.

"I think I got it."

"Wow, as expected from one with such talent such as yourself, that was fast! It usually takes a 6-10 hours before they can find it, but you found it in just one! "

"So what's next? The magic, it feels like it's all around my bra- I mean my core."

"It's to be expected. What you just sensed now was your own magic circulating in your core, what you want to do is concentrate the magic into your core. It's an essential hurdle before you can truly start training magic."

"Okay. I have a question though. Is it a necessary process every time I have to cast magic?"

"Yes and no. No, because once you finished concentrating it will forever be like that unless you gain more ability which requires the process to be redone to channel the extra controllable magic that has been gained. And yes, because even though the magic has been contained, it still must be managed to be able to use it effectively. If not concentrated the amount of effectiveness a spell can have will be significantly lower than when it is concentrated."

"Wait hold on for a second… you are telling me that you could have fired of a spell at any time even if your magic levels are in a state of disarray?"

"Yes…"

"Then why didn't you try casting spells during those times! And I thought this whole time you were more useless in those moments than I thought! Now I feel like real jerk…"

"I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you!"

"Anyway...Is there a way for me to always be in a concentrated state?"

"Yes, practice and train long enough and it comes as second nature to where it will constantly be in a concentrated state without the need of management should there not be any improvement in your level. If there were to be improvement then it would need some time to adjust which can be easily done. If not then the new level of magic that has been achieved may not allow its full potential."

"So from my understanding, I assume you have not reached that level yet?"

"No I'm afraid not. Most of the people who can do it are 4 star mages, in fact it's a necessary skill for the test itself."

"How long would it take for one to reach that level?"

"A couple years of training from what I know."

"Years?! No actually… I shouldn't be surprised, of course not everything's going to be easy even if people regard me as gifted."

"A-Ah, not to worry! I'm sure you can achieve it in just half the time! Shorter even!"

"Still supporting me even now. Thanks for the encouragement Lilith."

"D-Don't mention it! Please continue meditating, don't talk too much or else you might lose your concentration!"

I stopped talking and quickly found my way back to my core. I used to imagine how I sensed magic levels like a heart monitor where if a heart was beating would have spikes, in the context of magic out of control and unusable or detrimental. And flatline is balanced meaning it's concentrated. Though now that I'm feeling the flow myself, it's like a popped water balloon with its contents spreading out in the black in stasis tinted in blue...

So, how am I going to do this…. I then began to imagine it concentrated at a center. Slowly the channels opened and began returning to a certain point.

Okay that's one, let's keep going!

After a few hours of meditation trying to pull the branches into my "core", I broke out of it losing my concentration.

I panted as I recooperated myself…

"Zach are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, just tired."

I looked at the bars in my upper left and noticed my MP was at was at 10. I see so what I felt as I concentrated the branches in my core.

Allow me to explain what just happened. Concentrating magic is quite the hurdle. In the space of darkness to where the branches reach out, there was a numerous number of them at that. As I begin concentrating a each of them the rest of the branches become harder to concentrate and continue so on so forth.

As I channeled my magic into my "core" mental energy is used in the process. From what I felt, there were no more than a few hundred, and each rise in difficulty as I go on concentrating each one using more mental energy. I tried to do multiple at a time, however that too seemed to use much of my mental energy.

When I left the space I only finished about 10 of the few hundred branches, I guess not even for one who is called talented like me, it's still something that proves difficult. At least the ones I've already contained will be staying there

I explained the same situation to Lilith….

"W-Well, it's not unusual. This really is the part everyone struggles with when they first start training, it's always the initial concentration phase, but after that everything comes naturally. Even talented people struggle don't worry."

"I see… By the way, how goes you're training?"

"Well… I'm having my own hurdles I must climb over, but still manageable."

I checked on her progress I saw that a good portion of the pile has been turned to ash using the proper training I instructed her.

"Hm, that should be more than enough for today Lilith. I think it's time for both of us to rest."

"N-No, I-I'll be fine. I'll be here keeping the fire warm."

"You don't need to-"

"D-Don't worry I'll be fine! I'll be off to bed before you know it!"

"Okay then…"

I walked back towards the bed and before leaping into the covers I turned back to Lilith to give my final words of the day.

"Lilith."

"Y-Yes!"

"Don't… push yourself too hard. You've improved greatly over the past weeks, I wouldn't want to see you too tired tomorrow."

"I-I know! Y-You don't need to worry about m-me! Please rest! Gosh! You worry about me too much! I don't… dislike it… though…"

Her expression turned beat red with her last words drowned out. I giggled. Sorry I just can't help it. I laid on the bed. I took one more glimpse of her. I watched her for a few seconds, determined. She really has grown through the course of this month, I'm proud of her. I smiled slightly and slept.

Next Morning….

Why do I feel so warm all of a sudden and the feeling as though something is holding on to me.

"Muu…"

A voice? Who could that be?

I forced my eyes to open finding a Lilith sleeping right next to me embracing me like a hugging pillow. My face instantly turned red.

"L-Lilith-"

Before I said anything I felt something peculiar. Her mana is almost gone. What? Why is her mana so low?

"Muu..mmm… Mu? Is it morning already?

"Um… Lilith…"

"Z-Zach!"

"Lilith… um… what are you doing hugging me?"

"I-I'm sorry! I must've been very tired after training last night, I mistook you for a large pillow. Hahaha..."

She said forcing a laugh through her embarrassment.

Don't tell me, she was up all night practicing?

"Sigh… I told you not to overexert yourself. Anyway, are you feeling alright?"

"N-No I'm fine! Let's get to work! Wouldn't want to be wasting the day in bed!

She exclaimed with vigor in her words just before losing her balance falling back onto the bed.

"Obviously not…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Sigh, there's nothing we can do about it if you don't have the energy to work."

She began to look down in her own self disappointment. Gk! Don't do that please! Hrmmm…. well… I guess she needs the rest after all this time...

"Although…"

Her ears perked up and looked towards me.

"We don't have to go to work early today…"

"W-What are you saying?"

"We can start work later, the Guild wouldn't mind anyway right? Though we can't take anything that will take too long."

"W-Why are you offering me this?"

"I thought we would need a rest day one of these days. What better time than now?"

"And, I, er...feel guilty for making you do stuff like this… I'm sorry."

"E-Eh! P-Pay it no mind! I-Its very beneficial and because of it I'm able to support you more now!"

"Thank you, Lilith."

"Muu! You're so sly Zach! Don't you know maidens are weak to guys like you with such words!"

Did I say something wrong perhaps? Should I have said something else?

"Well you did offer me this… I intend to cash it in, in full!"

She said as she dragged me back down to the bed and returned to our previous position. My face and hers also returned to its crimson glow.

"Would it be okay, if I hold you like this while I sleep...?"

My mind went into a mess trying to answer her request. J-Just bear with it...! You offered this to her, I have to uphold it no matter how flustered I am!

"N-No problem...! If you really want to anyway..."

She smiled brightly as she held me tightly pushing her body against mine digging her face into my chest. I took a peek at her and she was already back to sleep.

I knew this already, but she's really cute... seeing her like this is just... a bit too much. W-What am I still saying?! I mean it's natural isn't it? Being attracted to a girl? Maybe this happened a bit too fast right after I met her... hrrmm.

Should I rest too? Well, I don't think I'll get much out of it due to my self-consciousness... it's hard to relax with such a sensation being felt at the moment. I guess it couldn't be helped, I should just relax anyway even if I can't sleep. I took one more peek at her and smiled rubbing her head gently before returning to my position.

We got back up around late morning just before lunch would usually be served; got into our clothes and made our way out of the inn.

"Bye, I hope you had a great stay!"

The still hypnotized innkeeper called out as we exited the inn.

As soon as Zach and Lilith closed the door behind them. The innkeeper snapped out of his trance.

"God… what happened last night? Why is my high class room a mess?! And why am I missing a large portion of my firewood?! When I find the person who did this…!

We heard the innkeeper shouting as we left the inn. Seems he's back to normal, still questioning what happened, but that's for another time. I turned to Lilith with a smile and she did as well.

"Ready?"

"Mmm! Let's go!"

I smiled as we turned ahead heading towards the guild.

END OF CHAPTER