I'm so sorry that it took so long! I got really stuck on a part, and then I got distracted by other stuff. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out sooner! I already have some writing for it, along with some ideas, so it shouldn't take incredibly long to finish it.

Fireking492: Aww, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! This will probably be updated slowly since I am a very slow writer and I am attempting to reduce the time I spend on the internet. I will try to get this out fairly quickly, though!

DomesticatedPiggy: Thank you! That's very kind of you!

"So," Raiden said, sitting cross-legged on his bed. His hair was still in its ponytail, but it had gotten messier overnight. The elastic in his hair had slipped several inches, and little strands of hair were sticking out everywhere. He pulled the hair elastic out, letting his hair flow down his back for a moment, before gathering it back up and remaking the ponytail. "I think now's a good time to talk about this."

"About what?" Isha asked, sitting up and swinging her legs off of her bed.

Raiden stood up, striding over to the table that held Isha's wand. He picked it up, waving it around. "This! It's literally just a stick! Sure, it makes magic or whatever-"

"That's not how it works…" Isha said, interrupting him and rolling her eyes.

"But still, it's a terrible weapon," Raiden continued, ignoring her interjection. "If you keep hitting stuff with it, it'll just break in the middle of a battle. And that robe of yours? There's no way it'll last much longer."

"So what is your brilliant solution to this problem?"

"Well, since your equipment is so horrible, I propose that we get you an upgrade first. We have enough money to buy you either a new weapon or a robe. That store near the inn should have something."

Although Isha was annoyed by his tone, she had to admit that he was right. Although she had only fought a few monsters, and only been hit a few times, her robe was torn and dangerously close to falling apart entirely. He handed her the bag of coins, and she mumbled her thanks, walking out of the hotel and to the nearby store. She looked at all of the mage equipment, eventually choosing a linen robe. It was a plain, yellow color, other than a few stripes of purple. She could already tell that it would be much more protective than the robe she had been wearing.

Upon returning to the inn, she changed into her new robe. As she walked into the room, Raiden glanced up at her, then back down at the map he was poring over. Beside him, on the bedside table, was a messy pile of brochures and maps. He tossed the map he was holding onto the pile, frowning. "Useless," he said, mumbling under his breath. He then stood up, setting one map aside and pouring the discarded pile into a recycling bin.

"What are those for?" Isha asked.

"While you were shopping, I decided to look at some maps that I found on the ground floor. I was hoping I could map out a path, maybe choose some places that the faces might be hiding, but this was the only one that was useful. Now that you're back, I guess it's time to go." As Raiden spoke, he began to gather up his things. After another quick glance at the map he had chosen, he stuck it into a bag. He checked around the room one last time, before walking out of the room with an air of importance.

Isha, however, rolled her eyes, before grabbing her stick and following after him. They left the inn as quickly as they had entered the night before, the only remnant of their stay being the recycled maps. They returned to walking along the path. They saw no other people, and it was quite a while before they encountered any monsters. It was silent between them, with Isha still generally irritated with Raiden, and Raiden apparently not having anything to say. The silence lasted until a small group of monsters showed up to attack.

They got into their positions without having to think. Although she had only been in a few battles, Isha had already begun to get used to them. She was the first to attack, sending a damaging fire attack at a goblin. It died instantly, leaving a bit of ham behind. Raiden ended up killing the two moths that accompanied the late goblin, although Isha helped with one of them. When the battle was over, Isha gathered the items that the monsters dropped. The two of them just stood there for a few seconds. It seemed to Isha that Raiden wanted to say something, but after a few seconds of silence, she decided that she was mistaken. As she was turning to continue on the path, Raiden finally spoke.

"Hey. You did pretty well back there. I guess you aren't as helpless as I thought at first."

Isha paused for a moment, not quite sure how to respond. She finally settled on a "Thanks," before continuing to walk. Raiden, of course, hurried to catch up and made sure that he was in the front position. She rolled her eyes again, but she could feel that maybe, just maybe, she was slightly less annoyed than she would have been just a few minutes before. She still didn't like his overprotectiveness and arrogance, but she finally had a tiny bit of hope that it might get better as they continued on their journey. If it didn't, she thought she might go insane.