AN: Heads up, I changed a significant amount of the last chapter. If you haven't read the new version, some things in the chapter below won't make sense. If you really want to skip it, there's a very brief summary of the changes at the bottom of the previous chapter.

The mercenary stared at the two of them, tensed up in her seat, waiting for a response.

Subaru's mind was blank. Reinhard had said it wasn't common knowledge that the cult used unique daggers, but perhaps they had overestimated their obscurity.

"You would be right that this is not merely a dispute between rivals," Otto said, "but we cannot answer that question lightly. We have no proof that this manor houses any cultists."

"But?" Velia prodded.

"But we have reason to believe it does," Otto admitted. "While we apologise for attempting to deceive you, we need a competent infiltrator to scout the residence. If you desire, I can offer you compensation in exchange for a referral to another in your line of work. One who would be willing to work with us on this job."

"Hah!" She snorted, relaxing back into her chair, crossing her arms. "You came to me because I'm the best in the capital. You think anyone else will be able to match my skills?"

"Perhaps not. However, so long as they are enough to acquire the proof we need, we'll be satisfied."

"Proof, huh?" She gave Subaru an odd look. "I'm already aware that you're involved with whatever's going on in the Astrea manor. I would have thought it would be a simple matter to get the knights involved, if it's for the Witch Cult of all things."

"We could," Otto said. "And it's possible that if they did, they would be able to capture the cultists and their plans intact. However, history has shown that raids on cultist strongholds do not turn out well. It's unlikely that we'd gain anything substantive from it."

Velia met held his gaze for a moment, then sighed. "I can't really deny that. You don't get anything out of them by charging in blindly. That's where I come in then? You mentioned you wanted documents."

"If you agreed to help us, then yes. We want the locations of the other hideouts in the city."

"Other hideouts?" She narrowed her eyes. "The fact that there's just one in a city as important as the capital is one thing, but you think there are several."

There was a moment of silence, as she worked through the details in her mind. "You're attempting to purge the Witch Cult out of the city. Why?"

"Listen, if you don't want to be a part of this, you can leave," Subaru interrupted. If conversation continued down this path, they might have to bring up Emilia. Subaru didn't want to tarnish her reputation before she was even announced as a candidate.

The mercenary remained silent for a moment. "I suppose I am asking a little much. But I am interested in the job. It's somewhat personal for me. After all, the Witch Cult gave me this, when they attacked my village." She raised a hand and touched the scar on her face. "But I'm not stupid enough to jump onboard an idealistic crusade. No mercenary would be."

She's been attacked by the cult before? Subaru felt his blood chill. So, if she finds out about Emilia…

She crossed her arms. "But, I can't help but feel that you have another goal in mind. Neither of you have hatred in your eyes."

"Hatred?" Subaru asked. "Of course I hate the cult! They're evil! They—"

"Whatever they've done to you was light compared to what they're capable of." She closed her eyes, seeming to sink into her own mind. "You don't know the fear of hiding while your friends and family are slaughtered around you, not daring to draw breath in case you alert them. You don't know how it feels to stare through the cracks in the walls, seeing them burn the houses, hoping desperately that the one you're in won't be next."

Her fists clenched, and shadows started growing at the corners of the room.

"Then when they do, it's all you can do to run over the corpses of everyone you've ever cared about, to push yourself past any and all limits you posses, just to buy a few more seconds of life."

She opened her eyes, and her irises burned with green light, her red hair going pale, and for a moment, Subaru felt like he was looking at the manifestation of the Witch of Envy herself. "You don't know what it's like to truly hate someone."

She blinked, and the effect faded, the colour returning to the world. "My apologies. I overreacted. This is rather personal for me."

"No, we're sorry," Otto said. "We would have been more delicate had we known—"

"I don't advertise it," Velia said. "It was a long time ago, and the village wasn't marked on any of the kingdom's maps. Call it good fortune that this opportunity has been handed to me. Tell you what, as an apology, I'll offer you a discounted rate, provided you me why you want to fight the cult."

Otto and Subaru exchanged glances.

"I can't tell you everything," Otto began, "but we believe the Witch Cult will launch an invasion of the city in just over a month."

"An invasion?" She tilted her head. "That's a bit of a reach, no? What makes you think they'd attack when they've merely been observing up to now?"

"Me," Subaru answered. It was clear the mercenary wouldn't be satisfied until she had an answer, and Subaru wouldn't bring Emilia into the spotlight. Therefore, he would deflect, using the explanation Reinhard had found for him. "I know, because I—" can see the future.

But he never finished his sentence. The world stilled, and slowly, the colour drained away from the scene in front of his eyes.

Wait. Wait! I didn't say anything about Return by Death!

Shadows thickened, coalescing into a long, black limb, extending a hand towards his chest, passing right through his flesh and bones.

I didn't say anything! I didn't say anything! I didn't—

Then the hand grasped his heart, and he lost all rationality, as he felt himself be ground to dust, his ashes spreading out through the stilled world of darkness.

"Subaru! What happened? Wait, did you try to—?"

Subaru doubled over, gasping in fear. The pain was gone, no more than a memory, but that memory was more than enough to have him shivering.

Danger!? Luna rushed to his side, trying to figure out what had happened. Subaru tried to reassure her, but his mind was still addled.

"What happened? What did he try to do?"

I didn't mention Return by Death. Subaru was certain of that. All he tried to say was that he could see the future.

"Subaru has a contract preventing him from talking about something."

Is that it? She's warning me that she won't allow loopholes? It's okay if other people figure it out, but I'm not allowed to talk about it myself?

"A contract? That sounds rather suspicious."

Subaru raised his head, his vision blurry as his eyes refocused. Velia was standing now, one of her knives drawn in a defensive posture. As she met his gaze, she slowly relaxed, and slid it back into her sheath.

"I've received a letter from the Sword Saint himself," Otto said. "He said it was likely placed on Subaru to protect him. While I don't know what exactly Subaru isn't allowed to talk about, I believe it to be some kind of Divine Protection that allows him to predict future events."

"Otto? How did you—?" He cut himself off before he could say any more. He held his breath for a few seconds, but no world of darkness came to punish him.

"You mentioned that the Witch Cult would attack in our first meeting, and with the Sword Saint's letter, it was easy to figure it out." Otto said, after seeing that he wasn't going to collapse again. "Such a valuable ability would be exploited if the wrong type of person caught wind of it. I have to be careful with who I reveal my own Divine Protection to. I've even heard of contracts like yours placed on children for similar reasons. They are usually removed once the child grows up, but for whatever reason, that hasn't happened with you."

"A Divine Protection, huh?" Velia said. "Fine, I can accept that." She turned her eyes back to the building's plans.

"I'll take the job," she decided. "I'll check it out today, and try to sneak in tonight."

"So soon?" Otto asked, turning towards her. Subaru felt slightly more comfortable now that he wasn't the centre of attention. He felt a minor sense of guilt, at allowing Otto to be caught up in his lies, but he had no other options.

"No point in waiting," Velia said. "Unless you need time to get the knights ready for their raid?"

Otto shook his head. "No, they're ready. They've been in a state of alertness since the Sword Saint reported this information to the Captain of the Knights."

"Then, we'll meet back here tomorrow, at sunrise. What's the plan if this isn't the cultist base you're looking for?"

"I believe that is unlikely," Otto said, "but if you can't find evidence of the cult's presence, leave without disturbing anything. We'll hire you again to search other possible hideouts. I've identified five others that could potentially be the one we're looking for."

Velia smiled, her scar twisting the expression into a hideous sneer. "If that's how it turns out, I'd be happy to accept. Do you have the first payment with you?"

Otto reached into his cloak, and pulled out a small sack of coins.

Velia emptied it out onto the table, and counted them carefully.

"All holy gold coins?" She sounded amused. "I'll admit they take up less space, but I never thought someone would use them exclusively. Meet me back here tomorrow, and have the second half of my payment."

She winked. "Just because I have a grudge, doesn't mean I don't want to be paid for my work."

Subaru decided to stay over in one of their office's spare rooms for the night, rather than return to the Astrea manor. It wasn't the first time he had done so, so it was unlikely anyone would comment on his disappearance.

He hardly slept. The anxiety kept him awake, and he was unable to stop himself from worrying that something would go wrong. Velia could be seen, or worse, captured. If the cult found out about Subaru's knowledge, they could lose the main advantage bestowed by his death.

Eventually, Luna started trying to sing a lullaby, though she did so with feelings and the impressions of vague sounds rather than words. Subaru finally nodded off listening to her.

Otto dragged him down to the Broken Wheel just before sunrise, and they ate breakfast in one of the private rooms there.

"You needn't be so worried," Otto said, in between bites. "Miss Velia is amongst the best in the capital. While information on her previous jobs is difficult to ascertain, the rumours surrounding her are significant."

"You can't blame me," Subaru huffed, blinking the tiredness out of his eyes. They wouldn't stop drooping, and he was half-afraid he'd fall back asleep if he let them close. "This is the witch cult we're talking about. They might have tricks for catching people who start sniffing around."

"Miss Velia has tricks of her own. Did you not see the technique she used while telling us her story?"

"Her story? What technique? Wait, you mean when the room got all dark, and she started looking scary?"

Otto frowned at him. "Don't tell me, did you think that was just your imagination?"

"Um, kinda?" Subaru rubbed his forehead. "It was only for a moment, and for a moment I thought I saw her become someone else. What was that?"

"Her unique brand of magic," Otto replied. "She's infamous in the darker circles of the city for her stealth. It seems likely that she uses some kind of illusion technique."

"So she's an illusionist, then. Can she turn invisible?"

"According to rumours, yes, but I find that highly unlikely. She probably just uses her magic to misdirect lookouts and conceal herself. True invisibility is unheard of. Though, seeing it…"

He trailed off thoughtfully.

"I think maybe she's exactly the right person for the job. I suspect she harbours more of a grudge than she tries to let on."

"What do you mean?"

Otto gave him a look. "If you didn't see it, I won't say anything. But seriously, you need to be more aware of the people you deal with."

Flicker. Luna agreed.

"I still don't understand that! What did I miss?"

Subaru wasn't able to pry anything else from Otto, so they spent the rest of the meal in silence, as the sunlight started filling the room.

Finally, the door opened, and Velia walked in, and placed an object wrapped in cloth on the table. "I have it."

"That was irresponsible. You should not have done such a thing without consulting us."

"Yeah! You should have invited me! I want to be a part of the schemes."

Reinhard frowned at the golden haired candidate. "That's not the issue, Lady Felt. They shouldn't have taken such actions at all."

"Oh please, like the knights would have done any better," Felt scoffed. "No, they'd have done worse. They wouldn't have managed to bring us all of this! I'm only angry because you should have asked me to steal them for you!"

She gestured at the variety of goods on the table in front of them, all items Velia had stolen from the manor the previous night. A handful of documents, a map of the capital with various locations marked, and at the centre of it all, a single cross-dagger.

"We apologise, Sir Reinhard." Otto looked very uncomfortable to be addressing the Sword Saint directly, but he was getting better at it. "I did not know for sure that the building was indeed a cultist hideout until Miss Velia retrieved the dagger. There was at least a three in ten chance that I was mistaken. We could never convince the knights to investigate invasively with such uncertainty."

"We could have made an exception. This is the Witch Cult we're talking about. The knights would have more than enough reason to overturn tradition."

"But what of the other half-dozen manors I believed were also viable candidates?" Otto asked. "The knights wouldn't have the manpower to check all of them before the cult caught on to what was happening. It was my judgment that hiring someone to discreetly confirm the presence of the cult before involving the authorities was the best course of action. Please do not blame Subaru for this. He wanted to involve you as soon as I discovered this manor."

"Oh, lay off it," Felt demanded. "Whatever you think of it, it's done, and now we know where they're hiding. When are we attacking?"

"I've already informed the Captain of the Knights," Reinhard said. "There has been a task force on standby for such an eventuality. Since this manor is close by, I've offered our grounds to be used as a staging area. We will see them off from here."

"No, we're going!" Felt declared. "I need to teach those cultists a lesson! No one gets to destroy this country except me!"

"That's not really something you should be saying as a Royal Candidate," Reinhard said with a sigh. He was used to Felt's anarchist tendencies though, so he didn't dwell on it. "We will meet them, but the final decision will be Sir Marcos's. It would be best for the raiding team if they had a chance to talk with Miss Velia first."

He turned to the red-haired mercenary. She had been strangely subdued since she met Reinhard. Neither of them had spoken a word to each other since they met.

"Are you certain you weren't spotted?"

She nodded. "They had few lookouts during the night. And they're unlikely to have noticed anything is missing. All of what I've stolen came from safes with at least a week's worth of dust. I could sense enchantments on their desks, so I couldn't take anything from those drawers. The plans Mister Suwen has provided are accurate, except for the basement. There were about a dozen people staying overnight, though that might have changed with the coming of the day. None entered the residence over the time I was surveilling the building, yesterday evening."

"Very well." Reinhard said. "Let's go then. We don't want to miss the them."

Outside the manor, Reinhard drew up beside Subaru, separately from the rest of the camp. "While I'm not sure about the methods you've used, I can't find fault with you for doing so."

He glanced at Otto and Velia, talking together as they prepared a large table with the documents they'd need to show the knights. "Regardless, you seem to have a good sense for people."

"Otto is the one who found Velia." Subaru said. "I had nothing to do with recruiting her."

"But you found Otto didn't you? And your spirits? They seem to have a strong bond with you."

Subaru shrugged. He technically found Otto, but he had been introduced to him in the previous timeline, so it wasn't really Subaru's sense that guided him. And it was Luna who came to him, dragging the fire spirit along with her.

Perhaps sensing that Subaru wouldn't change his mind, Reinhard gently patted his shoulder, and moved on to talk with Felt at the table.

Luna flew up beside him.

Talk!

"I know, I know." Subaru waved her off. "I shouldn't sulk, but I don't want to get in anyone's way. This is a very important mission."

Luna tried to deny that he'd get in the way, but her feelings were unsteady, since she wasn't actually sure whether he would or not. She eventually gave up, and tried to distract him by pointing out something behind him.

"I'm not falling for that one again," Subaru said with a smile. "You're going to do better than that."

Then, he heard the rustling of grass, and the thuds of heavy boots coming down. He turned to see a team of ten knights, fully suited up in armour, striding though the gate in single file.

Luna smugly circled around into his view.

Fall!

"Alright, alright. You got me. Hey, where is the fire spirit? I haven't seen him all day."

Friend. Luna shared dismissively. It seemed she didn't have the best impression of whoever he was hanging out with.

"Sir Reinhard," The green-haired Captain of the Knights stepped forward to greet the Sword Saint. "We're prepared to take the building by storm, but there will be significant backlash if it doesn't belong to the cult. Are you sure about this?"

"Sir Marcos." Reinhard stepped forward, and laid the dagger on the table. "This was found inside. I've already checked, it's definitely one from the cult."

Marcos raised an eyebrow, and cast his gaze over the members of Felt's camp, landing on Velia, his eyes shining momentarily. "I see. I think I understand the situation. Could you tell us what you know of the residence?"

Velia shuddered a little, though it was so imperceptible that Subaru thought he might have imagined it. "Of course, Sir Knight." She stepped up to the table, and started explaining the building's interior, pointing out locations on the map.

"Note that there are enchantments on the drawers and chests. I did not have time to unlock many, and some are clearly above my skill level, but I suspect they all follow the same pattern. The ones I disarmed were rigged to explode if opened incorrectly, and destroy the container's contents."

"I see. We will try to leave such matters to experts. There are several in the kingdom's employ with such skills."

After a few minutes, Otto joined in the briefing, mostly to provide supplementary evidence to support the raid, and give an overview of how many cultists they should expect to find inside.

Once they were finished, Marcos turned to address the gathered knights, his voice booming loud enough to be heard by all. "We set out now. This is possibly the first time that we have an advantage over the cult. Be sure to make it count. Capture if possible, kill if not. We cannot let them destroy their plans or recorded knowledge. Move out!"

The knights saluted, and marched out the gate.

"Reinhard, I'm going to ask you to accompany us," Marcos said. "Take a seperate route from us, and remain unseen. If any attempt to escape, capture them."

Reinhard nodded, and strode away. Subaru lost track of him in between blinks of his eyelids.

"The rest of you." Marcos turned to the gathered Felt Camp. "Please remain here."

"What!? But I—"

"My apologies, Lady Felt." Marcos interrupted. "But we cannot afford to split our attention between protecting you and fighting the cult. Please be patient. A messenger will be dispatched to let you know the outcome of the raid."

Felt held his gaze for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. We'll stay. Oi, spy-lady! I want to talk."

Marcos left with the other knights, leaving them alone in the field. Otto came up beside Subaru, but sensed that he didn't want to talk, so he merely stood beside him.

Felt pestered Velia on her skills and techniques, apparently delighted to learn from a professional. She also lorded her superior skills as a pickpocket, until Velia stole her insignia without her noticing. Despite the situation, it was amusing to see the young candidate rifle through her pockets to try and find it, and the expression on her face when Velia handed it back was priceless.

After a few minutes of waiting, Subaru started practicing his magic with Luna's help, though that soon ended after Felt started insisting he shoot Paralak spells at her, so she could try to dodge them.

"That doesn't look good," Otto said, pulling Subaru's attention back to the direction of the cultist's manor.

Subaru looked over, unease growing in his stomach, as a familiar sight greeted him. A single plume of smoke rose into the air, framed by the cloudy grey sky.

"They started burning down the manor as soon as they realised what was happening." Reinhard sounded tense. He had rushed back to ensure Felt's safety once it became clear the cult wouldn't be able to escape. "Many of them used up their entire Od trying to fight us off. In the end, we were only able to capture one."

They were sitting in a meeting room in the Astrea manor, listening to Reinhard's description of events. It had only been a few hours since the raid, but Subaru felt like it had been a lifetime.

"You're the one who captured him, aren't you?" Felt asked. "You should feel better about it. Thanks to you we have a prisoner at all."

"He was already running to try and escape." Reinhard said. "His loyalty to the cult must have been quite low. It's doubtful whether we'll get anything out of him, but the Knights handed him over to the appropriate people in the intelligence organisation."

"You mean torturers, right?" Felt asked.

"I don't know what method's they'll choose to use." Reinhard said. "That is not my area of expertise. However, I do know that they are quite competent. If there is anything to be learned from our prisoner, they will find it."

"How bad is it, really?" Subaru interrupted. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. They were supposed to find the cult and defeat them, not struggle to even secure one hideout.

"Better than we hoped," Reinhard said. "Don't forget, before today, our only option was to wait until the cult attacked to counter them. Now we've destroyed what was likely their primary base in the city, and with the documents Miss Velia stole, we have several leads we can follow up on. Where is she at the moment?"

"I've hired her to join our camp." Felt said. "She's investigating some of those leads."

"There were a number of references to some buildings in the outer strata, near the walls," Otto supplied. "I believe they might be related to hidden entrances to the city. Given how serious they would be for the Knight's plan, which relies on finding the cultists as they enter, I thought it prudent to have any alternate routes into the city closed up as soon as possible."

"Not going to be easy." Rom said. The burly dark-skinned man was a common sight around the manor, though he and Subaru hadn't interacted much, since he was usually with Felt. "Every second person in the slums knows a hidden entrance to the city. Especially on the south-west side, there's no major roads there, so there's a number of popular tunnels that lead under the walls."

"I see." Reinhard nodded. "I'll inform Sir Marcos. We'll start organising the guard to help out. Rom, could you aid us in closing these holes in our defences? Someone of your reputation is far more likely to get results than a member of the knights."

The old man shrugged. "I'll do what I can, but people aren't going to like it. It would be easier if people knew it was to counter the Witch Cult."

"We're considering making an announcement." Reinhard said. "Now that we've begun to move against the cult, we don't need to try and hide our knowledge of their existence. But some think we should try and keep the information contained. We don't want to start a panic."

He turned to Subaru. "I apologise, but I don't think we're going to be able to keep your ability secret, at least from the upper ranks of nobility. You have my word that I will grant you my full protection. No one will be allowed to abuse your power."

"It's fine." Subaru said. "So long as the Witch Cult is defeated, I don't care who finds out about it."

That was what Subaru had decided. He would defeat the cult, no matter the cost.

Mana flowed through Subaru's body, guided by his movements, as he followed Ryuuhou's third form.

Over the past few days, the capital had been in turmoil, as the guards clamped down on illegal entry into the city. There were many rumours concerning the manor that had burned down in the middle strata, some suggesting that it was a fight between nobles, others thinking a slaver ring had been busted.

Subaru stepped, and brought his training sword down in an arc, as if to slash at an invisible enemy. It was imperfect, he could already tell, but Reinhard wasn't there to show him what he did wrong.

The Sword Saint had accompanied the knights on two more raids, but each time the hideout had been abandoned, and all possessions the knights would find useful had been removed or destroyed. They were still one step ahead of the kingdom's authorities.

Subaru whirled around, following the next few steps. He was coming up on the tricky bit, where he had to switch to the second form.

The Felt camp had been at the centre of the push to eliminate the cult. Otto worked tirelessly to identify further hideouts with the information they had gathered, Reinhard took part in several raids, and Rom invaluable for closing the hidden entrances to the city. Even though Velia was new, she was proving herself by infiltrating more potential hideouts, and she even managed to steal some documents about the cult's finances. The kingdom was going over them with a fine-toothed comb, trying to tease out the location of any businesses they owned.

Subaru stumbled on the last step, and he flailed his arms out to keep his balance. He didn't fall over, but his mana jolted, leaving the proper flow, and becoming erratic.

He sighed. The only one of us who isn't doing anything is me. All I can do is train, and listen to everyone else succeed.

"Having fun?"

Subaru whirled around, to see Velia standing by the entrance to the training field, curiously not wearing her knives. She was leaning against a post, arms crossed as she watched Subaru. He hadn't even realised she was there.

"That's one of the first standard Ryuuhou forms, correct? You're quite good at them. You've had the Sword Saint's training?"

"Yes, he's been training me." Subaru said, putting his training sword back in the rack. "But I'd hardly say I'm good at it. I messed up the ending."

"The fact that you're attempting to switch between forms at all is impressive," she said. "How many do you know?"

"Four." It had been all Reinhard had time for, in between his duties for Felt and the ongoing raids. Subaru had tried to learn the fifth form by himself, but he couldn't perform as well without Reinhard there to correct his movements. In an hour under Reinhard's instruction, Subaru made as much progress as he would in a week of intensive training.

"So you're only in the beginner sets." She tilted her head. "Interesting."

Subaru felt his skin crawl at that description of his progress, but he couldn't deny it. He had only been working on the technique for a few weeks. That said, he didn't have to take her words lying down. "Why are you here?"

She shrugged. "Couple of things. Reinhard asked me to tell you he's going to be late to your lesson. But first, I reckoned I owed you an apology."

"An apology? Why?" As far as Subaru could remember, she hadn't done anything to him.

"I was quite rude when we first met. I assumed you couldn't know what the cult was like, but now I think I was mistaken. Whatever the cult did to you, it's left a mark."

Subaru turned away. "No, you were right. The cult hasn't done anything to me. Not really."

"Doesn't seem like that's entirely true. I can see that you're frustrated that you can't do anything yourself. Despite being the pivotal figure in this investigation, it's not enough. You want to be the one hunting cultists with your own hand. The encounter you had with them must have been traumatic in its own way."

Subaru said nothing. He didn't want to admit to himself that the mercenary was right. It felt petty that he wanted to find the cultists himself, especially with many other more talented people around. He was best suited to running a small company in the background, occasionally training so he wouldn't be useless during the next battle he had to fight.

"Hmph. Well, whatever. I also wanted to push your patience a little more, and ask, why? Why is the Witch's Cult going to attack now, after all this time?"

Subaru stilled. This line of questioning would invariably lead her to discovering Emilia. He couldn't let her be blamed for the situation. "Do they need a reason?"

"I suppose not, but I suspect they have one anyway. Everything we've found so far indicates that they're merely observing the capital. There simply aren't enough of them in the capital to carry out a large scale assault, and from what I hear, the one the Sword Saint captured doesn't even know anything about a future attack."

She paused, and Subaru felt her gaze bore into him. "But, the Knights are certain that your information is good, which makes me suspect there's something else going on. That there's a reason they'll be coming. At first I thought it was something crazy, like a witch artifact being kept in the city, but now that I've spent some time with Lady Felt, I've got another idea."

Subaru felt a chill go up his spine.

"A slum rat as a Royal Candidate. Honestly, I thought the whole dragon tablet thing was a myth, but they seem to be taking this prophecy seriously. If they'll accept someone like Felt as a candidate, maybe they'll accept someone a little more… unorthodox."

Subaru finally met her eyes, cold sweat going down his back.

"One of the candidates is an elf, with a resemblance to the Witch." She smiled with her characteristic sneer. "Well? Am I right?"

Subaru took a breath. Finally, the truth had been uncovered. There was no helping it then. "She's a silver-haired half-elf, and she's the kindest person in the world. Don't you dare compare her to the witch."

Velia's eyes slowly widened.

"Silver… and half…" she mouthed.

Then, she threw back her head, and laughed.

"Eh?" Subaru had expected scorn, perhaps even anger, but not this. It sounded like she was laughing because she found something genuinely funny.

"So that's why! I thought it was strange, how this Sword Saint was so much more lenient than the last one! And the Captain of the Knights, too! My, how this country has changed since the war."

"Wait, how could you know what the previous Sword Saint was like? She died fifteen years ago, didn't she? And the only war I know of was the civil war sixty years ago."

Subaru narrowed his eyes, the gears turning in his head. "You're not human, are you?"

"Oh? I would have thought you'd have foreseen it with that ability of yours. Everyone else I've met over the past few days has been able to tell." She raised a hand to her head, and fingered through her hair. The vibrant red dulled, the strands' lustre melting away, leaving a light grey colour behind. When she brushed her hair around her ear, it sharpened to a knifelike point.

"I suppose I'll introduce myself properly. I'm Velia, illusionist and spy. And as you can see, I'm also a grey-haired elf, who has lived for over one hundred years."

Subaru stood silently, his mouth agape. "You… you're an elf? But why—?"

"Why keep it a secret?" She smiled at him. Her features had changed slightly with the lifting of her illusion, but the scar remained. "I'm a grey-haired elf. I resemble the witch very closely, though admittedly, probably less than this 'Emilia'. If I used my regular appearance, there'd be no end to trouble and discrimination, even amongst Demi-humans. When I was a child, the Witch Cult destroyed my village, just to try and capture me."

She noticed the look on his face. "You needn't worry about it. It was a long time ago, those responsible have long since died of old age and poison. More of the latter than the former, but I didn't get all of them."

"You're surprisingly easy-going about it."

"Don't get me wrong, I hate the cult for what they did, but…" She shrugged. "I don't have the ability to wage war on them. Despite being an elf, my gate is only as strong as a typical human's, and my own mana enhancement is rather terrible, though that is mitigated by my natural elven strength. The only things I have are my dual affinities, for Yin and Yang, which allow me the use the illusion techniques of my village."

"Are you sure you should be telling me that?" Subaru asked. "I thought mercenaries tried to keep their skills secret."

"Not much point in trying to do that. The Sword Saint can already tell, though I'm not sure how. And your friend, Suwen, he probably already knows everything I've told you today. He's remarkably perceptive, and I did accidentally let my control slip in our first meeting."

"But why? What made you think I should know?"

"I don't have much to do, so the Sword Saint asked me to help train you." She grinned, the scar making it look more like a sneer. "And I thought I might as well."

"Train me? How? I don't have Yang magic."

The fire spirit levelled a look at Luna, who flushed, and retreated further underneath the shade of the stands.

"And," he continued, "why would you teach me your secret techniques? I doubt Reinhard's paying you enough for them."

"Secret? I take on an apprentice roughly once a decade. Some of them are even decent. It's not my fault most of them don't spread them further. And besides, I like Lady Felt. Seems like she'd be a fun Queen. For me, at least."

She stepped closer, until she was only a meter away from him. "And even without Yang magic, you can still learn some of my tricks. Illusion comes in two parts."

"Shadow to hide what is…" She raised her right hand, and it flickered with darkness. Her ears seemed to fade, leaving only the shape of a human's.

"And light to reveal what is not." She raised her other hand, glowing golden, and light wove its way through her hair, turning it as blue as the sky overhead.

"Together, they can weave lies more convincing than reality." She cupped both hands together, and when she opened them, a miniature dragon stood in her palms. It spread its wings, and flapped over to Subaru, landing on his shoulder and gripping his tracksuit with its claws. It breathed a tiny spurt of flame, warming the side of Subaru's face.

"That can't be a simple illusion," Subaru said. "I can feel it. There's a little weight on my shoulder!"

"It is completely unlike an illusion based on wind magic." Velia agreed. "Yin and Yang are far more powerful than the basic four elements. Yang enhances, Yin diminishes. Yang strengthens, Yin weakens. That is the normal view, but there is more to it. Yang builds magic over the top of the normal rules of reality, while Yin completely subverts them. Oftentimes, you can achieve similar effects with both affinities. Both have spells that can manipulate the weight of objects, and they do not function any differently to the untrained eye."

Subaru turned his head back toward the tiny illusionary dragon on his shoulder. He picked it up in his fingers, and it felt solid, like a small animal.

"It's really just an illusion," it said with Velia's voice, and it burst apart in a shower of sparks.

"Though, yes, it can pass for the real thing on occasion," she continued with her actual body. "But place any significant force on them, and they come apart. Some people, such as the Sword Saint and the Captain of the Knights, can see right through them. It gave me a mighty chill when they both did. Thought I'd be executed on the spot."

She shook her head. "People weren't so unfairly competent in this kingdom sixty years ago. I should have come to visit sooner."

Subaru ignored her ramblings. This seems really useful, but if it's anything like mana enhancement, it might take too long to master. "So, if I did want to learn, where would we begin?"

"With the basics, of course! I'm no Sword Saint, but I'm a decent tutor. In fact, I'm the best practitioner of this style in the world!" She chuckled at her own morbid joke, then strode up beside Subaru, so they were both facing their shadows on the ground.

"First, I'll have you learn to manipulate your shadow. It's one of the simplest yin illusions, and it's surprisingly useful. I'm not sure how different it will be using the spirit arts, but I'm sure we can work it out as we go!"

Luna was also quite interested in Velia's lesson, so she came over to hover in Subaru's shadow. Together, the two of them expended great effort attempting to distort the silhouette on the ground, burning through mana at a prodigious rate.

It was a hot day, so the fire spirit was able to gather mana easily to provide to them. He seemed amused at their unsuccessful efforts.

"Just picture what you want the shadow to look like, and push mana through the gate while holding it in your mind. Hmm, maybe there's a better way. How did I learn this…?"

"Shouldn't you have started with that!?"

She shrugged. "It's been over a century. Even the best memories get foggy over such a long time. Let's see… we would play games where we… Oh, right! Shadow puppets!"

She clasped her hands together, and put them in the sun, casting a shadow that looked vaguely like a bird with its wings outstretched.

"Now, when you do this, and shift your hands, it looks like a bird flapping its wings. Keep that image in your mind, and try to make it appear without moving."

Subaru followed her directions, creating his sorry-looking shadow bird. He flapped the wings a few times, then took hold of the mana around Luna, and pushed.

The edges of the darkness trembled, then the wings distorted, changing to look like the shadows of actual bird wings.

"I did it!" Subaru exclaimed in shock. "Well, it's not what I was trying to do, but I did something!"

The shadows faded, leaving the shadow bird looking like two hands once again.

Try! Luna exclaimed, demanding Subaru send over exactly what he had done.

"I'm not sure," he said, trying to recall what it had felt like, and sharing the experience through their contract. "It was like I was forcing a daydream on reality. It was weird."

"I've never heard of a 'daydream', but forcing a dream on reality is a good description of what the technique is." Velia said. "Next, I suppose I can teach you silencing. I'd recommend you look for a Yang spirit if you want to learn much more from me though. There aren't many illusions that use only Yin magic."

Wait! Luna demanded. She was still mulling over the impressions Subaru had sent her. She hesitated, the flared with determination. She gathered mana towards herself, more than Subaru had ever seen her gather, and then she reached for more still. The fire spirit eagerly funnelled more over to her, orbiting them rapidly. Soon, she was holding as much mana as Subaru needed for two Shamak spells.

"Hey, Luna? Are you going to be okay? I don't want you to get hurt—"

More mana condensed around her, and something in the back of Subaru's mind clicked, as his contract with the yin spirit changed.

Pure darkness exploded from Luna, not the smoke of a Shamak spell, but an aura that drained the light from the world. In that darkness, Subaru's shadow lengthened, growing two wings like he was an angel standing under the sun.

It lasted only a moment, then it collapsed back into his regular shadow, and the darkness around them faded away.

Luna hung in midair, weary, but trembling in excited triumph. Win!

"Yes, you've done very well." Subaru grinned. "That was very impressive. You should be teaching me how to do it!"

The minor spirit— no, she wasn't a minor spirit anymore. The quasi spirit twirled at his praise, though she seemed slow and lethargic.

"Well, I think it would be better to finish for the day. We don't want push a newly ranked up spirit past her breaking point."

"You can sense it?" Subaru asked.

She waved her hand in a so-so gesture. "I have a very minor spirit affinity. I can make temporary contracts with very minor spirits, but beyond that is more strain than I'm comfortable with. I have been through training to identify spirits, though."

She turned her eyes up to the entrance to the manor. "And, it looks like your regular lesson will begin now."

Subaru followed her gaze, and saw Reinhard walking towards them. "Eh? But I'm exhausted from practice with you!"

Velia laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Poor you. But you want to gain strength to be helpful, don't you? Live strong."

"Why are you saying that? Isn't it the catchphrase they use in the slums?"

"Is it?" She laughed. "That's nice to hear. It seems some things never change."

AN: This chapter was a chore to write, and a joy to edit. Damned thing, doesn't make any sense.

I'll try not to let last chapter's fiasco happen again, but no guarantees :) If I feel bad about a chapter, I'm going to delay releasing it until I get someone to read it over first.