Chapter 31 – Noble Deeds
"So…does this taste good?"
"That depends. Do you like the taste of krindar meat?"
Grim's question was more than enough to answer Reina's. It was enough to make Reina want to cry.
They returned to the enlarged boar they defeated—which was actually a 'giant boar', according to her appraisal—and cut it up for Reina to unlock three weapon forms. The forms only gave stat boosts, no skills or effects. That wasn't to say Reina was complaining. More stats were always good.
After that, they continued moving west in the forest to keep a healthy distance between them and the capital. There really wasn't any telling when the churches would learn of what happened at the Wave and send more forces after them, assuming the churches even knew where they were. That shimmer hopefully didn't relay any information.
Half of monsters in this forest were of a similar theme to the boar. That being, they were larger versions of animal that existed on earth. The most common ones were giant toads, which thankfully weren't all that giant. They were bigger than Kuromo, but not enough to swallow him. One tried, only to have its insides melt from his acid breath.
The second most common were giant owls. They were a little bigger than the toads, and seemed to prey on those monsters, since Reina saw a giant owl swoop down and carry off a giant toad. It was a bit surreal to watch.
All the while, Grim watched Vyrdrun fight. He wanted to get a feel for how Vyrdrun used his weapon in combat and where he was lacking. Reina assumed Grim wouldn't be that impressed, given the lack of proper training on Vyrdrun's part.
After a few hours, Vyrdrun sensed the location of a spirit, giving them an excuse to take break. Grim's assessment:
"You seem to just power through things with only the barest of skill."
It was about what Reina expected. A spear wasn't that difficult to use and she imagined she'd be fighting similar to how Vyrdrun was if she could use one. On the plus side, one of the owls gave a long spear as a drop, so Vyrdrun had a somewhat proper weapon again. Likewise, a simple wand for Maria was dropped by the first giant boar. It paled in comparison to her old staff, but it was something. Hopefully, they'd find something better for both Vyrdrun and Maria before the Wave.
The three magic users meditated with the spirit, two for the purpose of gaining a new spell. They sat around a small crack in the ground, which led to a shallow cave beneath them. Since there were no guards of any sort around, it was assumed this spirit was unknown to Keston. A little sloppy, perhaps, but finding an unassuming crack in the ground with a spirit in a monster-filled forest probably wasn't easy.
Contract: Wall of Stone
Restriction: strength down
Reina had noticed before, but it seemed like the restrictions were relevant to the spell they offered in some way. Levitation made it so she couldn't walk, Barkskin reduced her ability to evade attacks, and Enchanted Fist reduced her attack. In this case, strength was used in part to damage objects, which would include walls.
Since Reina occasionally used her spirit to restrain people or monsters, she might not keep the contract. Still, there was no reason not to take it, even if she immediately got rid of it. Her spells and skills would be improved thanks to her power up method.
Reina selected the 'accept' option.
Confliction! Cannot contract both Wall of Stone and Cutting Edge.
"Huh. Interesting." Reina mused.
She remembered hearing that some spirits didn't work well with one another, but this was the first time seeing it. Without much consideration, she dropped Cutting Edge. It was a spell usable with only one weapon form, and it prohibited her from enchanting weapons not made of caskalt. Fists were an exception. Besides, even if Vyrdrun or Grim had a caskalt weapon, she still had to touch it for the spell to work.
It was no great loss.
One spell out, one spell in.
"Wall of Stone!" Reina immediately got to work trying it out. The spell required her to select a target location. She chose one, then another, and another. Nothing ended up happening.
Feeling around the spell, Reina realized it needed stone to branch off of first. Spotting a rock close by, Reina cast her spell again. Stone expanded from the rock, forming into a vertical wall. She didn't give much thought to the design, so it extended sidewise. It was a little taller than her and stretched out a few dozen feet.
"That could be pretty useful…" Reina began to say, only to see the wall tip back and fall to the ground. It broke apart in numerous places, showing it was only a couple inches thick.
"Still useful…" She wanted to remain hopeful, but she saw how much MP the single successful casting consumed. It was several casting's worth of Enchanted fist. Not only that, but once she stopped maintaining it, the broken wall began to crumble.
"Hm…" Reina was beginning to wonder if she should have let go of Cutting Edge so easily.
"You just need to practice with it, Boss." Maria said, floating up from her seat on the ground.
"Can it really be that good?" Reina asked.
In response, Maria smiled widely. "You have no idea~. This is exactly what I needed for a spell I've been working on. I should be able to complete it by tonight."
"What? Really? How?" Reina quickly asked.
"Outlines." Maria simply said. She let her legs reach the ground. "You know how analyzing a spell will let a wizard use it without the contract, right?"
Reina nodded, remembering the conversation.
"Well…" Maria gave a tilt of her head. "I just got rid of my Levitation contract."
Reina held her gaze for a moment before turning her eyes down. Maria's feet were indeed firmly planted on the ground, her legs clearly holding her weight up.
"Want to give my legs a feel to make sure I'm using my muscles~?" Maria gave a wink as she brought her leg forward, exposing more of it from the long slit in her dress.
"Maria!" Reina hissed. She glanced to the side quickly before looking back. "Not with Grim around…"
"Oh my~!" Maria laughed. "Then tonight's spell will really be useful!"
Reina wondered what Maria had in mind. Was it something like the hut Vyrdrun would make, but with more rooms? It wasn't like Vyrdrun couldn't do that, but the walls weren't exactly flush with the ground. Earth and stone would curve up and making internal walls would reduce space inside even more. He wasn't exactly an architect.
"Since we should be far enough away from the city, now would be a good time to work on expanding your spells." Maria gestured to a patch of soft grass nearby. "The boys can do some sparring in the meantime. Right, Grim?"
The man in question was leaning against a tree a little bit away from the spirit's cave-pit. "Yeah. I need to drill a few stances into Vyrdrun."
"Perfect!" Maria gave him a smile before she turned back to Reina. "It'd be better to do this without your armor, Boss."
Reina nodded. The two of them began taking Reina's armor off. Vyrdrun finished with his meditation and walked over to Grim, who began with their own training.
"For the first time, being near a spirit's location really helps." Maria explained as she pulled the banded mail over Reina's head. "Ideally, having your own dedicated space for this is preferred, but I don't think you'd be able to make one for a while."
A bit of an understatement, given their situation. If the cooldown on Reina's teleport skill was a lot shorter, then she could at least come back to a spirit location and continue with whatever Maria was about to show her. At the very least, it didn't sound like she couldn't just do it anywhere.
"Now then, I know I haven't taught you much practical spell combining, the first step in using outlines." Maria began. "In my defense, you haven't had much to work with before. Then we had the Wave to prepare for, and everything that happened after."
The two of them sat on the patch of grass Maria had indicated.
"To begin, switch to a weapon with a high magic stat." Maria said. Reina did just that, shifting to her Spine Arachnid Crosier. It had the second highest magic stat, and an equip effect to boost spells, so it seemed appropriate.
Likewise, Maria slid her hand down between her breasts and pulled out her wand. Reina groaned when Maria decided to hide it there. The drop item was pretty basic for someone about a dozen levels ago, so it was admittedly a decent place to hide a weapon…
"We'll be meditating, the same as what you do for contracting with a spirit." Maria said. "The only difference is you'll be interacting with your own soul, rather than an outside spirit."
"Kind of like when I first got Prestidigitation?" Reina asked, receiving nod.
"Yes, but it should also feel similar to contracting with the Fire Spirit. Now, once you connect with yourself, I won't be able to give any advice until you come out of it. You'll understand what I mean." Maria placed her wand in her lap. "While meditating, think on what you want to accomplish. I suggest trying to combine the Fire Attribute with Cutting Edge."
"I had to get rid of that spell for Wall of Stone." Reina pointed out.
"Enchanted Fist it is, then." Maria said. "Unfortunately, I can't really give much more advice just yet. It's different for every wizard, and I imagine it'll be even more different for the Spirit Forger. Just know that everything will be fine and I'll let you know if something isn't."
"Okay…?" That seemed pretty cryptic, but Maria had taught her a lot about magic, so it was fine.
Reina started doing as she was instructed, trying to commune with her own soul. She tried to remember what it was like when she first did so in Savia. She also thought of when Vyrdrun helped her actually unlock her first spell. It felt so long ago now, but it wasn't hard to remember.
Learning to cast a spell was an entirely new sensation. It was another one of those things Reina didn't think she'd ever forget.
Her breathing began to slow, just like when meditating for a spirit. Her mind was blank, her body relaxed.
As she got more into her meditation, her surroundings seemed to disappear. The clashing of metal with Vyrdrun and Grim that had just started got quieter. The light breeze on her face came to a halt.
It felt like her body moved, despite her not moving a muscle. Reina slowly opened her eyes to see darkness. It wasn't that there was no light, since she could make out her arms and legs. What's more, she found herself to be standing, like how it was when she contracted with the Fire Spirit.
Speaking of, there was something else in this void with her. A large fire floated in the air. Or, rather, it simply stayed in space. Reina walked closer to it, but felt no ground beneath her. It was hard to describe.
As she approached, Reina noticed other oddities around her, and on her. Her hands had a glow around them, making her feel like she could punch through anything. On her chest was a flickering light made of a rainbow of colors. She could feel a wide range of possibilities from it. Near the fire was part of a brick wall, similar to one she'd see on a castle.
It didn't take long to figure out these were the three spells Reina still had contracts with: Enchanted Fist, Prestidigitation, and Wall of Stone. The fire was the Fire Attribute. She wondered if the abandoned ones were present as well. As if answering her thoughts, a faint image appeared further away, like stars in the night sky. It was some sort of animal, its shape nondescript. Her body had a strange stiffness to it, though it didn't impede her movement much. At her hips was a thin, transparent object. Particles seemed to flake off of her as she walked.
"Hmmm. Charm Animal, Barkskin, Cutting Edge, and Levitation." Reina was able to identify them, but it didn't feel like she could interact with them at all. But that didn't matter. Maria had given her instructions on what to do.
When she eventually reached the fire, it had grown to the size of a small house. There was no heat, no crackling of kindling, even the light it gave off didn't seem intense.
Reina looked down at her hand, which had Enchanted Fist on it. Slowly reaching out, she tried to grab some of the fire. Like weightless water, it passed through her fingers. Stepping closer, she tried again with the same result. With both hands cupped together, she tried to scoop out some of the fire. It came to her for a moment before bending away and returning to the main source.
"Well, that idea didn't work." Reina muttered to herself.
She took a moment to really think about where she was. The spells she knew were around her in…perhaps not a physical form, but an observable one. Maybe if she tried casting one…
"Enchanted Fist!" The sensation was different. Her hands indeed gave off the glow of a successful casting, but they didn't have the same feel to them. Additionally, she couldn't see her stats at all, not even the icon to bring up her status magic.
Reina looked to the enormous flame again. She stuck her enchanted hand in it again, and saw the flames react differently than before. Most of them shied away from her, but a few drops of fire—if she could call them that—stayed on her hand.
"Maybe…Enchanted Fist!" Reina cast her spell again, hand still in the flames. The bits of fire that were on her hand flew to return to the rest and a smaller number fell off the main body and attached to her hand.
Reina tried again, a similar result happening. She tried again, and again, and again…
~Forging Legends~
"Boss!"
Reina jerked at the sudden noise. Before her was Maria's face, smiling only inches away from her own.
"Welcome back, Boss~." Maria said, leaning back.
Blinking, Reina looked around. Or, she tried to. Her neck felt incredibly stiff.
"Something wrong?" Reina asked, massaging the back of her neck.
"Nope! I just thought that was enough for today." Maria answered.
"But I wasn't in there for…" Reina tried to recall what she had been doing. "Why was I…?"
"Yes~?" Maria leaned forward again.
"Um." Reina looked to the side. "I feel like I did the same thing over and over again without really thinking about it."
Maria's smile morphed into a grin. "That's a pretty common thing to happen. Can you tell me what you did?"
"I…" Reina began to speak, only to realize she couldn't exactly recall what went on.
Maria nodded in understanding. "That's also pretty common. Lastly, try using the spell you were hopefully trying to make."
That was the entire point of the meditation, after all. Reina thought for a moment, trying to recall anything about her time spent in her own soul, for lack of a better explanation. Something was there, something she could do.
Gripping her crosier in one hand and lifting her other, she spoke the words that came to her. "Fist of Fire!"
…Nothing happened. Her MP didn't go down and her attack wasn't increased. But there was something. She could feel it.
"So~?" Maria waited for Reina to finish examining her hand.
"It's like…I'm pushing something that should move but won't." Reina tried to explain. It was the best way to describe what she was feeling.
Maria smiled. "That's very good. It sounds like you have the idea of the spell, possibly even the outline extending off of an existing spell. Now you just need to fill it in."
With that, Maria stood from her spot on the ground and offered a hand to Reina, who took it.
"I should be able to help with that part, depending on how strong the idea or outline is. This part is much more uniform among wizards. It's just a matter of, in essence, tracing the outline again and again until it forms a complete spell." Maria explained.
"Like what you did with Levitation?" Reina asked.
"In a sense." Maria answered. "I had it active all the time, so I greatly sped up the process. Or, well, I did it more efficiently, since I didn't have to cast it again and again and deplete my MP, allowing me to do other things. I can cast it with a few minutes of channeling, but maintaining it with my ring is the same as before."
"I see." Reina likened it to a form of weight training. Lifting heavier weights was better for growing muscle, but having weight on you all the time would eventually work as well.
Just then, intense pain rolled around in Reina's stomach. She held herself as a loud noise emanated from that part of her.
A short laugh escaped Maria's lips. "Something wrong~?"
Reina looked up at her. "Need…food!"
Maria pointed to the side, where a krindar was roasting over an open fire. It was at this point that Reina became more aware of her surroundings. The most obvious thing that had escaped her notice was the lack of lighting. There was still more than enough to see, but it was considerably darker than when she started. The sun was no longer overhead, instead hidden by the thick trees as it dyed the sky red in evening light.
"How long—" Another rumble from her stomach cut Reina off. "Food first."
"Haha!" Maria couldn't contain her laughter as she walked behind Reina. "You wouldn't believe some of the stories I heard about aspiring wizards. I remember hearing about one who disregarded what his master said and entered a trance on his own. Two days later, he crawled out of his room in search of water."
Reina listened as she changed her weapon into an athame, cutting a piece of flesh from the krindar and stuffing it into her mouth. Despite its normally bad taste, Reina found it to be absolutely delicious.
"Wizards are crazy." Grim remarked, taking a bite of meat off his dagger as he sat on a nearby rock.
Seeing him, Reina looked to Vyrdrun, who sat on the ground near the fire with Kuromo on his lap. The parts of Vyrdrun's body that were exposed had numerous bruises on them. Their sparring session seemed like it was pretty intense. Either Reina or Maria would need to heal him a bit.
"Archmages go crazy because they spend a lot of time in their heads." Maria clarified. "It's disconcerting to lose an entire day in what might feel like an hour."
"I'm glad most of the nobles I have to deal with are only mages." Grim added.
Maria gave a soft laugh before she turned to Reina. "Say Boss, can I see that talisman you have?"
Reina didn't even look at her, too busy cutting off more meat to eat. When she had it, she tilted her athame to the side and let the talisman drop from the gem. It was the same one that was used by Demon Lord Karth in Lespax. After getting used by Vyrdrun and the druids in Gathana, it had lost whatever effects it was made with, but it was still usable as a focus for maintaining spells. The quality of it made it basically overkill for anything but the most complex of spells, according to Maria.
"Thanks, Boss! Be back in a bit~." With that, Maria walked off.
Reina continued stuffing her face, taking a break to chug water from a waterskin. She knew she wasn't starving, given how long she hadn't eaten or drank. However, suddenly becoming aware of her needs after them being likely suppressed changed things. She'd need to question Maria more about it when they worked on her spells again.
"Nobles." Reina looked to Grim as she chewed her food. "They're mages in Hascain?"
"Most of the nobility is, yes." Grim nodded. "The prevailing thought is that nobles are the only ones who should have strong magic. The most powerful spirit locations are guarded by the nobles who own the land, or royal knights, or the Arcane Guild. Weaker ones are left alone, allowing commoners to have some magic."
"Doesn't sound much better than Keston." Reina grumbled.
"Perhaps." Grim gave a shrug. "Nobles there can be stubborn and set in their ways. That same stubbornness and pride is what allowed us to resist the Keston Empire for so long. Officially, we were only a part of the empire for three years before the first Demon Lord appeared. Even then, it wasn't as if the nobles gave up the contracts they had with spirits, despite the warnings from the churches."
Maria hadn't said much about Hascain on their travels before, other than it was a land of mages. Reina assumed it was just more common there, but it was tied in with the nobility.
"Are any commoners allowed to form contracts with powerful spirits?" Reina decided to start filling the gap in her knowledge about the country.
"Some are, but it's somewhat unusual. Serfs aren't given any consideration, no matter what talent they might have, and neither are slaves." Grim said.
"Serfs." Reina mumbled as she took more meat. She racked her brain for that piece of information from her history classes. "Those are…people who are tied to the land, right?"
"Correct." Grim nodded.
Reina was liking Hascain less and less. "I suppose once I register with the hourglass, we'll be spending most of our time in Lespax."
"Really?" Grim sounded incredulous at that. "Maria doesn't mind it there?"
"No. Why would she?"
Before Grim could respond, the woman in question came back. "Alright, everyone~! I've got our camp set up for the night!"
"You…what?" Reina turned her confusion to the most immediate source. Grim's homeland could wait for now.
"Come on, come on!" Maria skipped over—possibly doing so because she finally could without that contract restriction. "Absorb the rest of the krindar if you want more, but I want to show you all what I did!"
Maria was practically bouncing with excitement. More than curious at what she did, they quickly cleared away what they already had, gathered up Reina's armor, and followed her. Reina took the time to heal Vyrdrun's wounds with her spirit, allowing her girlfriend to float forward in happiness.
Not even a minute of walking and they came to a stop. "This is it!" Maria said, pointing to a tree.
"Okay…" Reina didn't want to disappoint her, but she really wasn't seeing it.
"Well~?" Maria had her hands behind her back as she leaned forward. "Aren't you going inside?"
"Inside of the tree?" Grim asked skeptically.
That might have been possible. Reina recalled how she first met Maria. The woman was hiding in a tree—within the body of the tree, not its branches.
With a smile, Maria brought her hand up. It wasn't the tree she was referring to, but the space a foot in front of it. A line of light sprang up from the ground, bending a couple times before going back down. The outline of a tall rectangle of light stood before them, taller and wider than Vyrdrun, before the inside also filled with light.
"Let's go!" Maria walked forward, passing through the light.
Reina looked at the others before stepping to the side. Behind the rectangle was only the tree. With one hand, Reina reached into the light, feeling nothing on the other side. She moved in completely, blinding herself for a moment.
When her vision cleared, Reina found herself in a beautifully decorated room. The floor was mostly covered by a red carpet, which had a long table with a dozen chairs placed around it. Two doors were on both sides of the room, interspaced with standing candelabras. At the opposite side of the room was a roaring fireplace, the wall above holding decorative shields. A pair of chandeliers hung over the table, lighting the room with the aid of additional torch-filled scones on the walls.
And standing in front of it all was Maria, her arms out wide.
"Welcome!" She called out.
Reina continued to marvel at all the splendor in the room. It was like something out of her games. Grim gave a whistle as he stepped past her.
"Impressive." He nodded. "Very impressive. Are you sure you're not an archmage?"
There was a smug look on Maria's face Reina hadn't seen in a while. "I'd like to think I'm close."
"How did you do all this?" Reina asked the big question.
"It was your idea, Boss." Maria said. "You told me about the magic in that game of yours and it got me thinking: why can't I do something like that?"
She swept her hand across the table. Reina could see an intricate design on the beautiful wood. They were similar to the ones on the wooden walls.
"It doesn't have everything you mentioned. No host of servants to cater to our needs, no bountiful amount of delicious food to eat. But it is completely inaccessible to anyone I don't designate. I suppose a shaman or druid could dispel it, but it shouldn't give out any indication that it should be removed. Given what I know about magic, this is something only the best wizards could create!"
Maria held her arms out to her sides, absolutely beaming with pride. "I call it: Maria's Magnificent Mansion!"
In any other circumstance, Reina might have had to repress a groan. Instead, she could only applaud—literally—what Maria had accomplished.
"But really, how did you do all this?" Reina asked again. "I mean…how?
"Well, it took about 10 minutes to cast the spell." Maria said.
"Ten minutes? Was I eating that long? Well, my stomach does hurt a bit and not from hunger." Reina decided not to think any more on how much she ate.
"But if you meant making the spell in the first place, I had a lot of time to put it together." Maria gave her a wink. "I'm able to work on spells while I sleep, at least a little bit. My mind needs to rest, after all."
She was seriously understating what she was able to do.
"You said you used Wall of Stone for this?" Reina looked around. The only stone she saw was beneath the carpet.
"Well, it's more like part of the outline of it. I had everything else I needed except for the foundation to hold everything in place." Maria swayed her hips as she walked toward Reina. "But isn't there something else you should be doing right now, Boss? Something to reward me~?"
Reina clearly got the hint. Her eyes shifted to Grim, who simply shook his head in resignation and continued to walk around the room.
Looking up at Maria's shining, expectant red eyes, Reina gently pulled her face close with her hands and kissed her lips.
"Gau!" Kuromo let out an annoyed cry, though Vyrdrun kept the dragon on his shoulder.
Smiling with a mouth full of teeth, Maria took hold of Reina's hand. "Come on, let me show you to our room! Vyrdrun, Grim, you two can take any of the remaining rooms." She said, indicating three of the doors. All were large enough that Vyrdrun could get in without much issue.
Reina couldn't express how impressed she was with all of this. Creating a space within a space seemed crazy when she learned more about the magic in this world. That wasn't even mentioning the MP consumption maintaining such a spell would incur. That talisman was being put to good use.
She looked over her shoulder at where she came in. The wall was the same as the others, except for an ornate door in the center. While the four side doors had a well-made look to them, the door to the outside world was ornate and beautifully crafted, much like the table.
"And now, our room—" Maria pushed open the door to their room slightly, only to slam it shut.
Reina looked at her for a moment.
"Um…" Maria seemed oddly hesitant. "Okay, so, I didn't really design this place. Most of it's just, you know, influenced by what I've seen in my travels and thoughts in the back of my head."
"Okay." Reina nodded. The décor was similar to what she saw in the palace in Keston and the castles of Savia and Lespax, and the Cathedral of Unity. She didn't think Maria was a master craftsman or anything like that. Maria even mentioned that spell Reina had told her about, and that mansion didn't have a definite design.
"So, uh…" Maria gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm not trying to say anything with how our room is. I haven't seen it before now."
Reina nodded again. Maria took in a breath and pushed open the door.
"Wow…" Reina understood what she was getting at.
"I promise, I'm not planning anything!" Maria quickly added, covering her face as the pair walked inside. She was clearly trying to cover up a blush.
There were a few times, while playing a video game, where Reina would enter certain establishments. These places of business were used to…Reina couldn't even continue that line of description.
It looked like a beautifully decorated brothel room for the wealthy. The bed was large and circular, able to hold half a dozen people easily. Velvet drapes were hung on the walls. Off to the side were a few cushions. On a nearby table was a pitcher that might very well hold body oils.
"Okay, wow…" Reina was embarrassed to be here, but she had to power through. "Well, I am pretty tired."
Maria peaked out from behind her hands. "You aren't upset?"
"No, no." Reina gave a nervous laugh. "Just surprised."
She took Maria's hand and, after closing the door, led her to the bed. As they sat on it, Reina brought her hand to Maria's face. She was sure she had a blush that matched Maria's.
"And, well, you did give us a chance at some alone time, so…" Reina leaned closer. "Maybe I could give you a bit more praise, especially after you worked so hard."
She really enjoyed this fun little dance they did. When one made a move, the other would get all flustered over it. This time was no exception.
"But let's not go as far as we did in that hot spring town. Keep our clothes on and, you know, stop me if I get too handsy." Reina added. While part of her wanted to go exactly that far, she didn't want to take that step just yet.
"Okay, Boss." Maria breathed out.
As the two moved further onto the bed, Reina placed herself over Maria. Already, she knew she'd have to show restraint. Thankfully, she actually was tired, so it shouldn't go too far.
"Gauuuu!" Scratching at the door stopped Reina from continuing. She let out a sigh while Maria laughed.
"I guess we can't have our fun, huh~?" Maria cooed playfully.
"He might break the door, so…" Reina nodded in defeat.
It was just as well. She was pretty sure she'd fail to restrain herself before calling it a night anyway.
~Forging Legends~
"Mm…" Maria woke from her sleep, still feeling warm. Smiling, she looked over the girl she had in her arms. She hadn't said as much to Boss, but she too slept better next to her. Their setup also had a nice little benefit.
Maria moved her arms out from around Boss and pushed herself up on the bed. She pulled her hair out of her face and leaned over Boss, planting a soft kiss on the girl's cheek.
"Ah~. Now I'm all charged for the day…maybe just one more~." Maria quickly stole another kiss. Since Maria had a contract with the Fire Spirit for much longer than Boss, she was used to its effects and didn't sleep quite as long. That didn't mean she'd get up, of course. Pretending to sleep only to be woken up was another guilty pleasure.
"Grrr." A low growl caused Maria to look up from her girlfriend. Kuromo lay wrapped up in Boss's arms, glaring at Maria.
"Oh my~." Maria let out in a hushed voice. "Such a mama's boy~."
She let her hand glide down Boss's arm, watching Kuromo's eyes follow the movement. When Maria's hand reached Boss's, she let it hover over Kuromo's head, earning another growl.
"I'm sure you'll warm up to me sooner or later~." Maria whispered before easing herself out of bed. She'd return in a little bit, after she went to the privy. It was infinitely better than taking care of business in the wilderness, her having Prestidigitation or not.
Once she quietly made her way out of the room and closed the door, she spotted Grim in the main area. He helped himself to some of the fruits he gathered yesterday as he sat on one of the chairs at the table.
"Morning." He greeted her with a nod.
"Good morning, Grim." She returned.
"This really is an amazing spell you've crafted." He said. "I'm utterly hopeless when it comes to magic, so I don't think I can really appreciate the work put into it."
"Aw, thanks!" Maria waved her hand at him.
"Everything here looks finely crafted, like it was made to show wealth." Grim said, looking around the room.
Maria gave a light laugh. "Well, yes. Like I mentioned to Boss, the spell pulls ideas from my mind about how things get decorated." If she had to design everything herself, the spell would take hours to cast instead of minutes.
"That is my point." Grim said with a certain air to him.
"I see…" Maria nodded noncommittally. She turned from him, heading towards to privy. "Well, I'd love to talk more, but I have something to take care of—"
"You're a noble, aren't you?"
The words from his mouth made everything stop; for a moment, at least.
Maria spun around, wand already pulled from her sleeping shirt and pointed at Grim. For his part, Grim had his cleaver out and ready. His feet were planted on the ground, his stance made him ready to spring forward. He was certainly quick to react.
"You remind me of nobles from Hascain." Grim said, a grin on his face. "They're short-tempered when something obstructs their way of doing things. And, more importantly, most of them are mages. I'm not, but I still don't fear them. I'm sure you can understand why."
Maria did. Grim was strong and fast enough to deal with their spells. As easy as magic was to obtain and use, it had many drawbacks. Most armor weakened spells cast and made them more costly. What's more, without a proper implement, the power is even more reduced, to say nothing of the spike in MP usage. Maria could still cast her Fireball spell like normal, but upping it to Twin would increase the cast time.
"How did you know?" She decided to try settling things diplomatically. The first order was to find out what he knew.
"You hide it well, but your mannerisms have a strange tint to them, I suppose. What confirmed it was the emblem on those decorative shields." Grim pointed to the armor pieces above the fireplace. "Studying house sigils was one of the first things Duke Balta had me do. Those symbols might have not been used in a long time, but a well-learned noble should be able to identify them."
It was just another way this spell tripped Maria up. Only this time, it was a pretty big slip.
"I can see why you don't want to tell Reina about it, seeing how she seems to view nobles. And given that emblem's origin, well…" Grim shrugged.
"What do you want?" Maria asked hesitantly.
"Nothing." Grim eased his stance slightly. "It's not my concern what you keep from Reina, so long as she's able to perform her duty in fighting the Waves. Keep your secret for as long as you like."
Maria continued to glare at him, trying to figure out if he was lying. They stared each other down, the seconds seeming to crawl by. Eventually, Maria lowered her wand, prompting Grim to relax his stance even more.
"That said," Grim returned his cleaver to his back, "you should probably tell her yourself soon. I imagine her finding out by herself wouldn't be good for your relationship with her, if that even matters to you."
"Hmph. I'll consider your advice." Maria stored her wand in her shirt once more and stalked off. She opened the door to the privy and closed it behind her, letting her back rest against it. Once alone, she let out a sigh.
She wasn't manipulating Boss. She really wasn't. She knew the truth would come out sooner or later, but…
Maria let herself slide to the ground. Her arms wrapped around her bare legs as she pulled them close to her chest.
"If I tell her, how could she think I was doing anything except using her? There's no way." Maria hid her face as she huddled in on herself more. "Boss…Reina. I don't want you to hate me, not when I'm happier now than I've ever been. I can't lose that. I can't lose you. Not now that I've fallen in love with you."
Maria sighed as she looked up. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Gods, look at me. Crying in the privy, just like before. I'm such a child."
Author's Notes:
It's not easy for two people to have a bit of fun when a dragon wants attention~.
Maria the traveling wizard is actually a noble. I wonder how that could impact things.