Chapter 29

"When we get to Gururian City, you gotta eat Gururian cakes! But it won't be easy since they are one copper a piece,"

"What kind of cake is it?"

"Um… lemme see… it's made out of white grains with sweet black grains on the outside, I think,"

As we rode towards Gururian City the morning after our night in the village, I found myself not lacking in company. The commoner girls haven't left me alone. They sit on either side of me, excitedly talking about the City as Mia glares at them from the horse she is riding with Nana. I wish she would be more friendly with the girls. They seem like good girls. I am sure they could be friends if Mia would stop scaring them off. The two of them have gotten excited since Lulu reported the walls of the city are now in view.

"You've never eaten one," The elder sister says before turning to me. "A merchant came to our village and talked none stop about them. Now she thinks she has eaten one herself."

"I will eat one! As soon as I get a job that pays, it will be the first thing I buy!"

It will be years before you get paid, dummy,"

The two sisters were going to the sister to become apprentice merchants at one of the city stores. From what they told me, children are given food, clothing and shelter in place of payment until they come of age. It sounds like they will be treated as servants for the time being. Still, Tolma mentioned it was an excellent opportunity for village children to learn the business. Some even go on to run successful businesses in the future. Well, as long as they aren't taken advantage of, I'm sure the two girls will be okay.

When we finally got to the city entrance, we didn't need to wait in line as the temple knights led us around the crowd. Seeing the temple knights, no one complained, but we managed to draw the attention of a group of nobles waiting beside the gate. They were dressed in knights-style clothes and greedily looked at Liza's and Pearl's weapons. I hope this isn't going to be a repeat of what happened tigerfolk man back in Bolehart City.

"Merchants visiting Gururian City!" One of the nobles standing on the box addresses the crowd. "We are seeking a magical sword! If anyone can provide us with one, we'll guarantee you an exclusive deal with the government in the future!"

Obviously, no one answered him. Only a fool would take that deal. But those nobles look like they really will start trouble. The only reason they haven't tried anything yet is that the temple knights are with us.

"Hey! Did you hear that, sis?! They said we could become government merchants if we gave them a magic sword! Isn't that amazing?!"

"It certainly is. But we don't have anything, a magic sword, so it doesn't matter,"

"You girls…" Arisa mutters as she shakes her head. "You two won't last a moment in the city if you let every sleeve bag fool you. You know what he means, right? He is saying, "We don't have money, but we still want a magic sword, so give us one for free. Then if we manage to have a successful career in the future, we will give you special treatment. Don't complain if that never happens, though." Those guys are full of hot air."

"Wow, really? I had no idea,"

"Gosh, Arisa, you're so smart for someone so little,"

Liza's spear, Pearl's and Nana's swords and even Mia's bow. Those nobles hadn't taken their eyes off of them for a second. They will definitely cause trouble for us at some point, so I should see if Satou can cut our time in the city as short as possible. They are starting to follow us from a distance.

We parted ways with the two sisters as soon as we entered the gate. They are in good hands as the gatekeeper promised to speed up their paperwork and even offered to walk them to the shop they will be working at. He seemed like a good, friendly person who would look after the girls.

"Thank you, mister Satou, miss hero,"

"Really, thank you both. You recused us from those bad men and took good care of us,"

"You don't need to thank us, we were happy to help,"

"Yes we do! Listen, we are going to be working in a shop called the Green Shop. Please come visit us if you need something. We won't be able to give you a discount or anything, but we'll make sure you get the best stuff,"

I don't think they will be able to do that since they haven't even started working there, but Satou and I still thank them and promise to visit. After parting ways with them, we enter the steady stream of traffic. At first, I thought there might be some event, but when I noticed all the fighting, I realised what was happening. All around us, people are fighting for a chance to compete in the upcoming martial arts tournament.

Unfortunately, that fighters weren't all that was around us. Besides the merchants, citizens and occasional soldiers typical of the cities I have seen so far in the Shiga Kingdom, there are members of the demon lord-worshipping cult. When Satou checks his map, he reports that there are twenty of them. Most are alone, but I am worried as he tells me a large group is gathering ahead. As much as I want to avoid them because of the city's road layout, we have no choice but to go right past them.

"Master," Tama starts pointing at the closest fight as she rides the runosaur with Pochi. "Sword Fights."

There were plenty of fights going on around us. Axes, spears, hammers, swords and plenty of other weapons clash in a series of fights. If I didn't know what was going on, I would have been worried there was a rebellion since everyone appeared to fight in whatever space was free. There were even blocking the road, forcing us to pull over our carriage.

"It's probably a preliminary battle to decide who gets to enter. Want to go check it out?"

It looks like we have no choice but to watch. As soon as he entered the conversation, Tolma jumped out of the carriage and started to stretch. Well, it isn't like we will be able to move any time soon, so we might as well check out the matches.

"Lord Tolma, we must first head to the Tenion Temple…."

"Relax, we can't move until the road is clear anyway, so let's visit the food stalls first,"

One of the temple knights tried to stop him, but it was in vain as Tolma ran into the crowd. He is surprisingly nimble and somehow squeezes through the tiny gaps between people. They probably would have had difficulty catching him if he wasn't with his wife and daughter when the bandits attacked.

"I'm sorry, Tolma is always like this,"

Hayuna lowers her head as she apologises to the knights. Judging by her and the knight's reaction, it doesn't look like it is the first time Tolma has done something like this. The temple knight Ina, shakes her head before turning to us.

"Sir Pendragon, Hero Kura, I am terribly sorry, but could I borrow one of your companions to bring Lord Tolma back,"

"Sure, that's fine,"

"Okay,"

With her duty to protect the oracle priestess, the cute little baby Mayuna, Ina is stuck here watching Tolma get further away. Tolma is a real handful. I don't think he even has any money to pay for the food. In the end, we send Nana and Liza to bring him back with a few coins to pay for anything he tries to steal. Everyone else started watching the nearest fight as the temple knights formed a perimeter around us.

But I left the group spotting the nobles heading for Nana and Liza. Lucky for me, the crowd is slowing them down just enough to allow me to get in front of the group. They really are arrogant. They glare at me and try to walk around me, but I block their path.

"Move, commoner. We don't have time to deal with you,"

"But you are looking like you might do something to my friends, so you will have to deal with me whether you like it or not,"

"So you are with those demi-humans and girls,"

So they are another group of demi-human haters. They looked at me as if I was a piece of trash when they muttered about me being friends with demi-humans.

"Then you should have them hand over their weapons at once. That lizard girl's spear would better serve a spear master like me,"

"That rabbit bitch should give me her sword,"

"And that big-chested girl should give me hears and stick to entertaining men. She should come to my room tonight as well. I really like them big like that rather than the flatness of your chest,"

I am glad they weren't here to hear those comments. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have listened to me when I told them to stop killing these jerks. I was hoping to convince them to walk away, but after insulting my friends, I should get a little payback for their hurtful words. Yes, this is to avenge them. It has nothing to do with the jerks reminding me of how less developed I am than the women in this world in certain areas.

"That isn't going to happen," I smile sweetly, but the men take a step back for some reason. "But I will give you my sword if you beat me in a duel."

"A… a holy sword…."

"You… you can't be a…."

"I thought the hero was some big strong ladies man, not a little girl,"

"You're right. She must be lying,"

"You there, you shouldn't try to deceive us. Commoners like you should know their place now. Hand over that sword, and your friend's weapons, and we will forget about you lying to us,"

"But I am a noble," I keep smiling as I tell them who I really am. Why do they seem so scared of my smile? "I am a knight serving Earl Seiryuu, and I recently became a hero after defeating a greater hell demon. Now if you still want my sword, you know my terms for handing it over. You can fight me together if you want."

"Lying about being a noble now too. Have you no shame?"

"Fine then," I sigh, pulling out my sagger with Earl Seiryuu's family's crest. "Is this enough proof."

"So a lowly knight from the country is getting in our way,"

"You have two options in front of you," I take a breath. "Run away or fight me."

It looks like they will run away. All three jerks look at me with wide eyes and sweat rolling down their faces. Is my smile really that scary? All I have is done to them is smile, and they look like they have seen a ghost.

"Is there a problem here?"

"Miss Hero!"

This should be easy now. The gatekeeper just showed up with the sisters, and he had already confirmed my identity as a noble.

"Yeah, this country kid here is blocking our path and threatening us," Oh, so I am the bad guy here. "Arrest her at once."

"In that case, I would like to have these guys arrested for attempting to steal the property of myself, one of the fellow nobles I arrived with and one of my companions,"

"We didn't do any such thing!"

"She's lying. Arrest her at once!"

"Sir, would you bear witness to our duel?" I ignore the jerks as they whine and complain. "I believe that disputes between nobles can be decided by a duel if one party requests that to be the case."

It's an old law that is rarely used but is still the law. I have these jerks now. If they run, they will be found guilty. It's time to teach these jerks a lesson that chest size isn't… I mean that they shouldn't insult people's friends in front of them.

"I understand," The gatekeeper nods his head. "I, Throme Tames, will bare witness to your duel."

"You can't be serious!"

"Why do we have to fight?!"

"The law is the law," The gatekeeper tells them. "A duel has been requested to resolve the matter. Now you can fight yourself, spend ten minutes finding a champion or forfeit the duel."

"You can fight me together if you wish,"

"You will regret this,"

"We will teach you your place,"

Two of the jerks quickly agree as the third hesitates. The spear user points a short shiny looking spear at me while his fellow jerk draws an elegant-looking short sword. Finally, the third jerk joins in, drawing a short sword as elegant looking at the one in his friend's hands. It looks like they decided to fight me together, so I draw my own sword.

"You may start when ready,"

They are more eager than I gave them credit for. I thought I would have to attack them, but all three charged towards me. The spear user tries to stab me while the sword users attack from either side. But they are too slow. I step into the sword-wielder on my left, elbowing him in the stomach before stepping behind the other two. It looks like the one I hit is still in the fight as he picks himself up.

"You just got lucky,"

That spear user really wants to win. He charges me, leaving his friends behind and unleashing a blur of rapid-fire attacks. He really should switch up his attacks, though. His spear can perform slashing attacks, but he only stabs at me. It's not even that hard to dodge. I barely have to move and just need to wiggle my body from side to side.

"We got you now!"

"You will regret messing with us!"

Idiots. They ruined what would have been a perfect sneak attack on a regular person. It wouldn't have worked on me since my danger sense skill already alerted me to their attack, but a regular person would have been in trouble. If only they didn't make the idiotic mistake, I might have been impressed by their tactic.

"You shouldn't yell like that during a sneak attack,"

I calmly tell them as I step on the spear pinning the weapon to the ground. I block one of the swords coming at me with my own weapon, and the other I used to experiment a little. I was curious if this would be possible. I channel my magic into the mithril of my gloves as if it was my sword and punch the jerk's blade. Worst case scenario, the mithril would protect me.

"What the… my sword…"

It worked better than I was expecting. A bright red line followed my fist, creating a spell blade. I had only planned on stopping his swing, but I ended up shattering the jerk's sword. I shouldn't be in trouble, right? This sort of thing probably happens in duels all the time. Surely I am not the first person to break someone's weapon in a duel.

"Did she use a spell blade?"

"She couldn't have. There was no weapon in her hand,"

Oh, it seems our duel is causing a crowd to gather. I didn't even notice, but when I glanced around me, I could see soldiers, armed people and regular citizens. I don't think I will ever be able to visit a town without creating a scene anymore.

"Get off my spear!"

That spear-wielding jerk must be pretty weak since I barely noticed him struggling to free his spear from under my foot. While he isn't a threat, so I have no problem giving it back to him. It wasn't my fault that he happened to pull on his spear the moment I released it. It definitely wasn't my fault that he ended up falling over, causing the crowd to laugh at him.

"Stop toying with us!"

Not it's the other sword users' turn. He swings at me, but I step out of the way, causing him to slash, but I easily parry his strike. The spear wielder was brighter than the other jerks since he didn't yell when he snuck up behind me, but sneak attacks don't work on me. I quickly block the sword in front of me before spinning to deflect the spear behind me, causing both my opponents to stare at me in shock.

"How is she so fast?"

Was I really that fast? Pearl and Satou have no trouble keeping up with me. Then again, those two are really strong. Maybe I was moving too fast for ordinary people. But even after everything that has happened, the jerks are still willing to fight. They may be weaklings, but they are determined. I will give them that.

"I show you why I am Horan, the Spear Master!"

Now it is getting interesting. I can feel the power in his next strike. The spear jerk is still clumsy with his attacks, but they are faster than before. But for some reason, he seems to be aiming for my face.

"Why won't you stay still?!"

"Who would in a fight?"

"I got her, lord Horan!"

Another sneak attack was ruined by a yelling idiot. When will these guys learn that yelling never makes sneak attacks more effective? But surprisingly, it is the jerk whose sword I broke that attacks me. He tries to grab hold of me, but I send him flying with a kick to the gut.

"So strong!"

"Sis, did you see that?! She made that man fly!"

The sisters seem happy by that kick. The jerk might be in a lot of pain when he wakes up, but a soldier in the crowd is already taking him away, so he should live. Meanwhile, the crowd keeps cheering as I continue to dodge the spear.

The sword user tries to attack me, but I dodge. It looks like he learned since he didn't yell or scream, but he was too slow. I jump back from the next spear thrust and swing my blade upwards, hitting the sword's hilt. His sword is sent flying, but he surprises me when he tries to punch me. But it didn't hurt. He hit me square in the face, but I felt nothing.

"Ah! My… my hand… my hand…."

"How is she still standing?"

"Is she made of steel?"

I was injured. He broke my nose and took a single point of my HP, but I quickly healed before anyone noticed my injury. On the other hand, the sword-wielding jerk falls to his knees, clutching his hand. Wow, that looks like it hurt. Several of his fingers are bent at unnatural angles while blood coats his hand down to his wrist.

"You… you monster…."

I ignore that comment as I step towards the spear-wielding jerk Horan. He looks flustered and worried, but he turns me down when I give him a chance to surrender. I wonder how much longer he can keep this up. This jerk is already sweating and looking unsteady on his feet. Was this the first time he had to work so hard?

The jerk trusts his spear at my head, but I tilt my head to the side, letting the spear pass me by. I grab the man's arm as he tries to back away. He is a lot weaker than I thought. No matter how hard he tries, he can't break free.

"Let go of me, you freak!"

"Are you willing to surrender yet?!"

"I will never give up!"

"Okay," I sigh, letting the man go. "I will end this with the next attack."

"I will be the one winning this duel!"

He isn't very bright, but he does have spirit. Even in the face of defeat. Even with the clear difference in our strengths. He still fights with the determination to win. While I should respond in kind. I move swiftly and without hesitation. I cut his spear in two from the spear tip to the end. The jerk narrowly avoids having his hands cut off in the process.

"My… my spear…."

The jerk drops to his knees, picking up the broken halves of his spear. Wait, is he crying? I can't believe I am starting to feel bad for that jerk. But with this, I guess I won the duel.

"Lady Kura is the winner,"

After a brief moment of silence, the gatekeeper announces my victory, and the crowd starts cheering. It didn't feel as good as I thought it would to have defeated those jerks, but they shouldn't be a problem any more.

"Hero Kura, you are so strong,"

"You made that man fly, miss hero,"

The two sisters quickly ran up to me, but a certain little elf got to me first. I wish she wouldn't frown like that. It's ruining her cute face. At least she isn't directing her disapproval to the sisters as they cling to me beside her. Instead, she glares at me as the guards start cleaning up the jerks.

"Don't run off,"

"Sorry,"

I wasn't trying to abandon her, but I did sneak off without telling anyone but Satou where I was going. She must have been worried about me.

"I just needed to take care of a problem,"

"Dangerous,"

"They weren't a threat to me,"

"Mmmm…."

"Okay. I'm sorry for sneaking off,"

That seemed to get rid of that frown on Mia's face. But she doesn't look like she has forgiven me yet. I wonder if everyone else is just upset with me as Mia is. I should probably make it up to them by cooking when we are next on the road.

"Here,"

It looks like someone has brought everyone some food already. Mia pulls out a black cake wrapped in large leaves and hands one to me. It smells sweet and feels warm in my hand. I hope it tastes as good as it smells.

"Is that Gururian cakes?"

So these are the famous cakes the sisters were telling me about. They must really want some. The sister's mouths were watering as they stared at the cake in my hand. I would feel bad if I didn't offer them some, so I broke mine in half and let the sisters share part of mine.

"Can we really have this?"

"Yes you can,"

"Thank you, miss hero,"

"Thanks… this is… better than I… dreamed…."

It must be good. The younger of the two sisters is smiling as she thanks me in-between bites. It could use a little more sugar, but that would be impossible with the expensive price of sugar in this world. But overall, it is a delicious pastry.

We parted ways with the sisters after they thanked me again for the treat. It was tasty, but I didn't think the sisters would have thanked me so much for something like that cake. Mia led me by the hand through the crowd back to the others, but we didn't make it.

"Die Hero!"

A group of three people block our path, but instead of drawing weapons, they press black horn-like objects to their foreheads. I didn't even need to see the blackness taking over the men's veins, making them bulge, and their bodies consort as a black mist surrounded them to know we were in trouble. My danger sense skill was going crazy the moment their bodies started to transform into unholy creatures.

"Mia, get back and find a good place to cover me with your bow,"

"R… right…."

"Don't worry, it will be okay,"

Mia seems nervous, but she gives me a smile before running away. Now it's up to me to ensure the people around me don't get hurt. I don't care if they want to kill me, but I hate how they choose to do it in a crowded street. I use the fence spell to surround the… the people turned monsters.

"Clear the street!"

I yell, running forward, but people are already fleeing as one of the men lets out a deafening roar. They try to attack me, but my barrier stops them. It's already creaking, but hopefully, it will last long enough to allow the people to escape.

"Die!"

"Kill!"

"Die! Die! Die!"

All three of them have turned into lesser demons. One is an ape-like demon with six arms and a long scale-covered tail. Another looks like a black gargoyle, while the last has turned into a snake with three heads. It won't be long until they are free. The barrier is already collapsing. I take a deep breath and calm myself while activating my body, strengthing magic. People are still around, so I need to take care of things quickly.

"Death to the hero!"

At least I don't have to worry about them targeting anyone but me. All three demons rush me as soon as they shatter my barrier. Stay focused. I can do this.

"Die!"

The gargoyle one reaches me first, attempting to slash me with its long sharp claws, but I jump over him and cut deeply into the demon's back when I land. But before I can attack again, I am forced to dodge the snake as one of its heads spits a purple spray at me that melts the ground where it lands. The gargoyle attacks again, but I dodge his slash as the ape-like demon attacks me. It was a close call, but I dodged punches from three of his arms and a swipe of its tail.

This is going to be more challenging than I thought. They are fast and strong, and their teamwork may not be perfect, but they work together better than those noble jerks. But I got a feel for their strengths now. The ape is strong and fast, fighting with its fists and tail. The gargoyle isn't as strong as the ape, but its claws are sharp enough to easily cut through the buildings. The snake is the bigger problem. It keeps its distance while spitting at me.

"Time to die!"

They're using magic now! The gargoyle flew high up and created a massive fireball. If that hits, I can't imagine how many people would be…

"Die… AH!"

It exploded. I saw something glowing hit the fireball, and the spell blew up, burning the demon badly. Another glowing thing hits the demon knocking it back. Mia. She is up on the city's wall, already firing another arrow.

"Don't interfere!"

"Leave her alone!"

The demon tried to fly towards Mia, but I stopped it with a storm of remote arrows. Between my attack and another arrow fired by Mia, we caused the demon to stagger and fall. I doubt it is dead, but it should need some time to recover from an attack like that. Hopefully, it will be down for long enough to allow me to defeat the other two.

The ape demon is relentless. It unleashes a torrent of punches at me that I can barely dodge, and the demon's tail nearly hits me from time to them. Add in the corrosive spray from the snake, and you can see how I am struggling. But it isn't a one-sided fight. Every once in a while, I cut the ape demon or sho a spell at the snake. But their wounds were quick to heal.

"Die!"

"Slaughter!"

That was a close one. The snake got behind me and nearly hit me with that purple spray. I only narrowly managed to jump out of the way in time, but that left me open. The ape's tail slammed into me without missing a beat, knocking me down the street. It didn't hurt, but I had the wind knocked out of me when I bounced down the street.

I picked myself up but not fast enough as the ape punched me into a nearby building hard enough that the wall cracked behind me. It tried to hit me again, but I was faster this time. My sword cuts into the ape's wrist, cutting the limb clean off. The ape howls in pain, but that doesn't stop him from attacking again. I duck under his fist this time, hearing the wall collapse. I slice the ape in half at the waist. But it wasn't enough. The demon's legs and tail turn to dust, but its upper body crawls towards me.

"Die! Die! Die!"

I forgot about the snake! Before I could even react, its body curled around mine. I barely had enough time to cast the fence spell around me before the snake demon tried to crush me. I brought myself some time, but not enough. The barrier will only last a few seconds at most, and the snake is spraying that purple stuff all over me.

Whatever I am going to do, I need to do it now. But what? I don't have enough room to swing my sword, but maybe I could try stabbing the snake. But what about that corrosive stuff? I don't have any immunity to things like that. What can I do? Oh, I could… it is risky, but it might work. I just hope that there is no one nearby.

"Die! Die! Die!"

I let my barrier break, but at the same time, I cast my air hammer spell at my feet. The snake is sent flying instantly, and the purple spray is blown away. It covered the ape demon as I hopped, and thankfully it didn't harm anyone else. I waste no time finishing off the ape-like demon as it withers in pain and struggles to wipe the corrosive stuff off its fur. With one swing of my sword, the ape's head is cut off, and the demon dies. Now I just need to deal with the snake.

The snake tries to stop me, but I use my skyrunning skill to avoid the oncoming attack of corrosive purple spray. The demon could react in time before I cut off one of its heads and then the other. Its last head tries to bite me, but I stab it through the eyes, finally killing the demon.

It is finally over. By the sounds of things, there are other demons I can hear fighting nearby, and there are still other people screaming. I hope everyone is okay. It sounds like the fighting is near where I left Satou and the others. No, I didn't need to worry. Satou is with them, and Pearl is strong enough to fight a lesser demon. But the rest of the city is still in danger. I need to meet up with Mia on top of the….

"Mia!"

<0>

Mia's POV

Made it. I fired an arrow, and it hit in time to stop that spell. Hero Kura may be strong, but even she wouldn't have been able to survive something like that. But the demon was still alive and could cast it again, so I fired another arrow at it. All that does is get the demon to charge at me.

"Don't interfere!"

"Leave her alone!"

Hero Kura fired countless magical arrows at the demon, cutting it to pieces as my arrow struck between its eyes. I'm surprised it could still fly with the holes in its wings, but with more magical arrows and another shot from my bow, the demon finally falls to the ground. Now we just need to….

"Die!"

"Ah!"

It came out of nowhere! One minute there was nothing, and then that winged demon was right in front of me. It tried to cut me with its claws, but I fell down the stairs instead after I collapsed from the shock. It hurt, but the demon tore a hole in the wall to try and get me. I fire an arrow at it, but the demon only stops for a second.

"Die!"

I run. I can't fight something so strong. I ran down the stairs and through a door shutting it behind me, but I didn't get far. I don't even take more than a few steps before the door is smashed, and something strikes me in the back, knocking me down. Looking behind me, I can see the demon crawling through the door.

"Di AHH!"

I quickly get up and fire an arrow knocking the demon back, but it is quickly back on its feet. I start running again, firing arrows whenever the demon gets too close, but I am running out of arrows. I only have four… three left. I just had to knock it back again.

I run through the next door and jump onto a nearby carriage roof, but something grabs my shoulders and starts to lift me into the air. The… demon… I didn't notice it got so close! I quickly stab one of my arrows into its leg, but it doesn't let go. I stab it again and again until finally, it drops me back on top of the castle wall.

"Mia!"

I can hear her calling to me as I land hard on the wall. It hurts, and blood is coming out of my mouth. I don't know where my bow or arrow has landed. I can't even move to go looking for them. The demon lands at my feet and chuckles as it looks down at me. As the demon raises its arm, I can't take my eyes off its claws.

No. I don't want to die. I want to go home. I want to see the world with hero Kura. I don't want to die here.

"Die!"

"… Blind Mist!"

I cast the spell with the shortest chant I know. It wouldn't kill the demon, but it made it recoil in the back and cover its eyes. Satou created the spell. It blinds a target with hot water and causes a lot of pain, but it won't kill anything.

"My… my eyes… you will pay… I will kill y…."

"Kura…."

I can see her. She cuts the demon in two with a single swing of her sword as colourful spirits dance around her. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

"Mia… stay still, and I will fix you right up," She cast a spell, and it feels so warm. "You're going to be okay."

<0>

Kura's POV

That was too close. I barely made it in time before that demon… no Mia is fine… I shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that. I finish healing Mia's injuries. I never should have let her get so severely injured. I was meant to protect her, but Mia had several broken bones and internal bleeding. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't had a healing spell.

"I have taken care of your injuries. How are you feeling, Mia? Any pain?"

"No," I let out a sigh of relief. "I'm fine."

"That's good,"

I smile as I help Mia stand. It looks like everything will be okay. Mia can stand by herself and doesn't look like she is in pain. It also looks like the battle is over. I can see signs of battle near where I spot Satou's carriage, and another area of the city looks damaged by the harbour. But it looks like everything is fine now.

"Let's go back to the others,"

I pick Mia up and jump from the roof. I should have used the stairs. I forgot how scared Mia is of heights as she clings tightly to me even after we hit the ground. After everything she has been through, I can let her hug me like this until we return to the others. Noticing Mia's bow, I put it in my storage as I carry Mia down the road. People come out of hiding, and soldiers start searching the area.