With the morning sun gently shining through the stone arc, Keyaruga finally stepped away from the cave. The air felt wet and cold, relishing the smiling hero. Even though the ground hadn’t dried up, with the rain out of the way, the healer could easily resume his travel toward Buranikka, the unique city, where demons with their pet monsters and humans lived in peace. The red-eyed lad rashly combed his hair with his fingers and made his way toward Kelly, when…
"Ale-fa-nis, master." It was Setsuna. She was the second to leave the tent, and the wolf girl stood before the man with all of her equipment. Aside from shackles, for some reason. Either way, the huntress had already tied up her hair and gotten ready for the day to come.
"Good morning, Setsuna. Nice weather, isn’t it?" Keyaruga asked, pointing toward the field.
"Uh-huh, no more rain today. Only sunny." The ice warrior ensured, after sniffing the outer freshness.
"Well, that’s great news. We’ll have some training, and then we should hunt something. After which we could wash somewhere, before I feel even more itchy." The man spoke, stepping out of the cave.
"Yes. But can Setsuna have morning… meal?" The she-wolf slightly lowered her head in embarrassment.
"Obviously. Now, see that tree? Go on and lean against it."
"Ugh…" The girl groaned, but docilely did what was asked of her. "Setsuna is embarrassed."
"Come on." Keyaruga approached his lips toward the girl’s furry ear. "I know you like it that way."
There was not a single word of protest to follow. Moreover, Setsuna’s tail began wriggling playfully. Unlike Freia, this one was so easy to understand, so simple to get along with at any time, that even despite all the fun the three of them had during the night, the man found the strength to go start a new round of intimacy.
Barely had the lad touched the cotton panties, one crucial thing made itself clear — they wouldn’t need any foreplay. The Hero of Healing had it tight in his trousers, and the huntress had been overflowing with love juices. And so, with a wide, sinister smile, the youngster gave in to his lust.
"A-AH!.." The she-wolf moaned, having the man thrusting into her insides. "Master, you… haven’t warned!.."
"Just like you love it." Keyaruga sneered, holding onto the round athletic glutes with his right hand, and the twitching ear with the left. He had been gently massaging her skin while mercilessly ravaging the weak spots with his burly penis. The girl shivered, unable to withstand the ecstasy the hero was showering her with. Setsuna loved having sex doggy-style, and Keyaruga adored wallowing in the feeling of dominance over his mate.
And so, having lost the feeling of time, the two of them spent almost ten minutes doing nothing but expanding the horizons of just a single pose. But if time had no authority over them, fatigue did.
"Mas… ter!.. Master… Setsuna… can’t…" The wolf girl, while still far from being out of breath, had her legs failing her more and more with each consecutive thrust. And finally, she fell to the ground…
"No, you don’t!" At least she would, if not for Keyaruga’s reflexes. Only a moment passed before he grabbed his girl under the knees with only a single arm. In this way, the healer could go on, while unceremoniously licking Setsuna’s ears, caressing her tail, cherishing each second they spent together. Orgasm after orgasm the she-wolf experienced, while the man smugly held on. But even so, his endurance was not limitless, nor was it needed that way.
Keyaruga raised his tempo, and the ice warrior cried out in pleasure as he rapidly approached his own peak. Then, after just a few seconds, he came. Hot and creamy semen filled Setsuna’s vagina, as the red-haired lad was practically moving on inertia. Then he slowly stopped to sit under the tree.
"Haa… That was intense." The hero murmured, looking at the clear, bluish sky. And what about the wolf girl? Obviously, she crawled toward the healer to suck their body fluids from his manhood.
Damn, she’s too good at that.
"You little pest, I have a boner again."
"Good. Setsuna wants more."
…
And so, after what seemed like an hour or so, the morning routine was over. The she-wolf finally left off to give Freia another lesson in martial arts. The tutorage was conducted in the cave. At first, the girls had been practicing grappling and hand-to-hand combat. And damn, the ice warrior dominated the sorceress in every part of it. Not so much as at the beginning, but still. Right now, though, the princess held a moderately long spear-shaped icicle (for the sake of safety, the magician kept the ends rounded), with which she deflected an unstoppable onslaught with Setsuna’s… wooden stick.
"Looking good, girls." The man murmured, crouching before the small kettle. Compared to them, Keyaruga seemed like an invincible powerhouse, but alas, aside from that, he barely had anything to teach his companions that they wouldn’t know already. So, he did what he could best — cooking. Specifically, he made a soup with the wild nettle, a bunch of owl eggs, spices, and most of all — the strange badger with needles under the skin. Quite an aggressive specimen, and a toxic one as well. Putting it down was much easier than actually butchering the carcass, but Keyaruga did love hardships, so he didn’t mind.
"Ugh… Haa… Enough… I can’t do it anymore, Setty!.." While the healer was gently stirring his soup, the sorceress reached her limit.
"No." Setsuna had another opinion. She slightly smacked the princess’ shin, so that she raised her weapon. The next strike would have hit her head, but Freia successfully deflected it. "You’re not tired. Just… pig." The huntress didn’t mean to offend her pupil like that, but this word just turned out to be the closest to the meaning of `lazy`, the word the ice warrior was yet to learn.
"Help me, Keyaruga! She’s bullying m- Auch!" And so, the princess got a smack to the butt for getting distracted. "Oh, that’s it, you little mutt!" Next second, Freia creaked her teeth and lunged toward the offender. But Setsuna didn’t bother; this was still part of the lesson. Specifically, the attack and emotional control. And while the caster somehow succeeded in the former, the latter left much to be desired. And every mindless lunge, as fast as it was, was punished. Setsuna made Freia feel rage and… fear. The genuine feeling of death forged her defenses better than any amount of routine practice with stances. Such a dynamic duel would surely leave the pink-haired girl with a bunch of bruises, but even so, there could be no better training than this.
Thrust, sweep, backstep, and retaliation — Freia started to get used to the length of her weapon. She kept her distance while utilizing the long pole to her advantage. Some may believe that the longer the weapon, the more vulnerable the user is in close quarters. Well, in this case, they’re wrong.
Setsuna ducked under another thrust, she cut the distance with a dash, but instead of failing in bewilderment, Freia met the she-wolf with the middle part of the staff. An effective move, but still too easy to block and punish.
"Auch, damn it!!!" The ice warrior passed the princess’ defense and gave her another smack to the neck. If it was a real fight, Freia would be dead. But, to be fair, in that case, the Hero of Magic wouldn’t have been limited by a simple, harmless icicle.
"Lesson over. After you rest, we’ll learn more stances. Then running. Freia needs endurance. And patience." Setsuna stated this mercilessly and threw her stick away. After all, she could beat the princess with her bare hands if needed.
"Shit!.." The sorceress swore, holding onto her knees. Sweat ran down her face. "She’s gonna kill me like that!"
Upon hearing that, Keyaruga stood up. First, he didn’t even look at Freia. Then, he made a couple of steps away from his precious cattle. Next second, he… had covered six meters in less than a second, just to point a knife at Freia’s neck.
"Remember what we fight against." The hero menacingly said, making the sorceress recall the moment when she nearly died at the hands of the Bloodbringer. Then, he once again hid his poisoned blade inside his bracer. "Setsuna’s right; you lack physical prowess, lack reflexes, and worst of all — you can’t really read your surroundings. Tell you what, do you know who always dies first, no matter what? Those who can’t keep running! If you got lucky, the enemy maybe would have only broken your legs and raped you."
"That’s…" Freia felt a heavy lump in her throat. "Oddly specific."
"Hmm. After all of your feats in Ranalitta, training may seem irrelevant, but you’re still far from being immortal. So, the tougher you are, the easier it’d be for you to survive." Even if it means going against me. Especially so. "Look, it may be hard, but there’s no better teacher than Setsuna."
"Ugh, can’t she be at least a bit gentler?" The girl asked, making the lad recall their terrible first night. It made him grin.
"If you wish so, I can tutor you instead. A week or two of ten-hour long training sessions, and you’d be good even against me. If you’re worried, I’d be doing all the exercises along with you, so no slacking, okay? You can’t push your limits without testing them first." The Hero of Healing admonished, remembering his own night preparations for the ultimate end of the first world. Unfortunately, the man’s grin of confidence didn’t do much to encourage an already sulking Freia. Too many sticks, I see. We’ll need more carrots, then. "Look, if you train hard and Setsuna admits your abilities, then I’ll give you an unexpected reward. So, could you try a little bit harder?" Keyaruga asked his companion, gently touching her shoulder. And as if answering this gesture, her ice spear began melting. The princess finally illuminated that wretched earth with a genuine smile.
"Not fair." The she-wolf, though, was not so happy. "Setsuna too struggles here."
"Don’t fret; if Freia succeeds, you too will get your prize."
"Yay!" With the reward guaranteed, the gray-haired girl enthusiastically clenched her small fists. "Will train Freia really good!"
"Yeah, we’ll work hard. Both me and Setty!"
"Uh-huh, we need three month."
"Wait, what? That seems too long. Can’t we just… What would it take to handle it in a week?" The sorceress cautiously pondered. She knew all too well just how ridiculous that would be, but she felt that this exact term was what divided the present and their encounter with the second princess.
"Hmm. Master, you said ten hours? We could try. Freia would most likely die, but Setsuna can try. Hey, you want it?" The ice warrior carelessly shrugged, gazing toward the princess. The latter was no stranger to hard work at this point. And to be honest, she did consider that offer for a second. After all, with all those overpowered monsters in her way, any slight chance of survival seemed reasonable.
"Two months. I’ll need two months." The sorceress promised confidently. She dropped her careless attitude in favor of thinking realistically. Even if it wouldn’t favor her in the short run.
"That’s the spirit." Keyaruga smiled before turning back toward his kettle. "Go on, girls. Someone has to stir the soup here. After you’re done, expect a nice breakfast."
…
Setsuna ran through the thick woods, nimbly avoiding living branches and bushes, trying to get on her way. Even after half an hour of intense running with Freia, the wolf girl showed no sign of being out of breath. Aside from rapidly losing moisture through sweat, nothing could stop her. Neither ground nor air were much of an obstacle to her, as the warrior leaped the trees as if she were a monkey. Keyaruga followed her lead, enchanted by the miraculous agility of his companion. Both of them pursued the running prey, a large bluish bear, leaving a trail of thick blood behind its back due to a large shard of an ice spear. In the next moment, Setsuna jumped once again and descended onto the poor beast.
"A-A-AR-R!!!" With a loud battle cry, the she-wolf flew downward in a triple flip before finally the animal found its end by the pair of ice gauntlets, poking through its neck, the huntress’ armored fingers reaching right to the spine. However good the monster was at controlling vegetation, however good was its armor of subcutaneous fat, it still fell with a gruesome perimortem roar.
The Hero of Healing could replicate almost any skill, but there was so much more to which the Laws of Deimos paid criminally little attention. Practical experience, innate talents, instincts, the sense of balance, blessings. The latter could be called Setsuna’s trump card. The core element of all of her movements. Along with the mercy of the ice spirits, such skill couldn’t be replicated by the heroic healing power.
"Heh, he-he-heh! Did it!" The wolf girl proudly exclaimed, waving a lump of greasy crimson meat in her arm. She giggled; moments like this were a rarity, but that made them even more precious.
"You did well." The healer smirked, raising his hand toward the massive corpse. His right eye glowed in jade-colored light. But barely did he open his mouth…
"Haa… Haa… F-finally!.. I caught up… with you!.." It was Freia, with Kelly behind her back. While she was not even nearly as fast as the other two, she could boost her speed with the power of wind. Although even the acceleration spells proved insufficient to compete with Setsuna and Keyaruga. "Ugh… Next time… I’ll get a bigger spear." Still, it was her icicle that wounded the bear, just like her heat-detecting sight managed to track it down.
"I don’t think so. That turned out to be an excellent warmup for all of us." The healer responded, turning his grinning face toward the sorceress.
"Hey, master. Raznani fi (do we butcher it)?" The huntress wondered, since not every monster could raise their attributes after eating its meat.
"Yeah, that one seems usable. Skin it, then cut off something around the neck, and we’ll be fine."
"Can’t wait to see what you’ll cook with this." The pink-haired girl shared her excitement, glancing toward Setsuna who was now handily freezing the thick pelt. In this way, the frost crystals separated the fur from the muscles much faster and cleaner than if a knife had been used.
"Then, you’ll have to wait until the evening. After we get to the city, I’m going to buy some spices and vegetables there, and then we’ll have our dinner."
"Good. Here." In the end, the huntress handed the man two kilos of fresh, bleeding meat, which he would have to dry, cleanse, and cover with a piece of cloth. But as he did so, the hero couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
…
After another hour of riding on the raptor’s saddled back, the trio reached yet another forest. Not as thick and numerous as in the north, but much more prominent with regards to powerful natural abominations. That’s why neither one of them dropped their guard. Keyaruga glanced forward with his jade eye, Setsuna watched the flanks, and Freia kept her eyes closed, preferring to perceive her surroundings. While looking like she was asleep, the magician took the biggest strain among them.
"Keyaruga…" That’s why when she tapped the man’s shoulder, he immediately stopped their steed.
"I’m listening."
"The west, twenty meters. Something… like a bug, but with horns. Sorry, I can’t describe it." Freia’s voice was tense; every minute drove the caster closer to exhaustion. And while the Hero of Healing could indeed restore her vitality, transferring one’s mana was a task worthy of a godlike magician, which Keyaruga didn’t deem himself to be. Not yet. He knew, how to steal, not how to share.
"Right." The lad jumped off the saddle, calling the wolf girl to follow him with his fingers. "Stay here and look for the raptor, Freia. If anything happens to us, I’ll send a colored sphere into the sky. If not, me and Setsuna will handle it ourselves." The healer stated, driven both by a slight concern for his heroic companion and the wish to stretch his muscles yet again. Of course, even in her weakened state, the princess could snipe the weird hybrid, but simply grinding levels with no actual practice could lead to a state where one could get more power than their body could actually handle. Heroes were immune to such an effect, but Setsuna wasn’t one of them.
"Wait! Take me with you!" Freia jumped down from the saddle, but as she stumped on the earth, her legs barely held her standing. "I… I can fight!.."
"And you will. But now, since you gave the name to this… to her, I entrust you with keeping Kelly safe." The man admonished his position, leaving no place for arguing. "Please, just rest. Fighting on the edge is also an important experience. You aren’t ready for this."
"Freia can’t even run like us." Setsuna added, making the girl even more upset. But at the same time, the sorceress had nothing more to say. And even if she had, the healer and the huntress swiftly left.
"Haa… What am I even doing?" The pink-haired caster asked herself as her trembling hands reached into the saddlebag. She took a book from there; it described its owner and the story of her family, the history of the accursed bloodline of Jiorals from the very foundation of the kingdom to the present day. Yet it gave her no answers whatsoever. Not the ones she wanted. How could a bunch of pretentious, polished lies say anything about the cruel breakdown between the sisters, born of a simple whore? There was not even a single mention of Reeharoze, not even a hint.
From time to time, the princess dreamed about her previous life. Glimpses of the past: pompous balls, audiences, intrigues, the sheer terror the heroine turned her relationships with her younger sister into out of simple hubris… Keyaru, thrown into the deepest hole of the royal palace, wriggling under her heel. And worst of all - none of these things felt like a nightmare. On the contrary, such moments heralded moments of her greatest pride.
In reality, though, Freia, Flare, whatever she was now, was drowning in guilt, fear, and uncertainty. She loved Keyaruga, and that feeling would become something even greater should the man spare Norn. But what if he wouldn’t? She was to blame for the deaths of his parents and his fellow villagers. And he knew everything about the magician’s anxiety. No doubt, the Hero of Healing kept her around just to laugh at the conflicted girl. She even extended her feelings toward them… to see the man valiantly protecting Setsuna against the monster’s maw with his saber.
"Shit, shit, shit… How could I even think about that? Why?" The fallen princess leaned onto Kelly, and the reptile softly wailed, as if in a sign of compassion. "He had every right to kill me, to let me die in that fire… Fire?.."
Freia shook her head before giving the book one more glance. She couldn’t hide her disgust, so much so that she even spat on the cover. Then she had enough. The magician’s hands sparked into bright flames.
"Flare must die."
Just like the sadistic princess burned that night, the xylographic text charred in fire. The flames burned not only the paper, but the skin as well, but the sorceress spared no attention to her own sufferings. Instead, she raised her arms, letting the wind catch up the blackened dust. And as the last piece flew away, the girl finally felt free from the burden of her past. Even fresh scorch marks were nothing but a pretext for Freia to use her healing magic.
"Curatio." The girl whispered, letting the milky threads of energy restore her scalded flesh. Finally, she had her answer. Whatever happens, the magician will do everything to have her little sister spared. Even if she has to beg, to kneel, to… Whatever it took, the heroine just couldn’t afford to lose anyone she cared about again. Even… Even if it takes her very life.
With the morning sun gently shining through the stone arc, Keyaruga finally stepped away from the cave. The air felt wet and cold, relishing the smiling hero. Even though the ground hadn’t dried up, with the rain out of the way, the healer could easily resume his travel toward Buranikka, the unique city, where demons with their pet monsters and humans lived in peace. The red-eyed lad rashly combed his hair with his fingers and made his way toward Kelly, when…
"Ale-fa-nis, master." It was Setsuna. She was the second to leave the tent, and the wolf girl stood before the man with all of her equipment. Aside from shackles, for some reason. Either way, the huntress had already tied up her hair and gotten ready for the day to come.
"Good morning, Setsuna. Nice weather, isn’t it?" Keyaruga asked, pointing toward the field.
"Uh-huh, no more rain today. Only sunny." The ice warrior ensured, after sniffing the outer freshness.
"Well, that’s great news. We’ll have some training, and then we should hunt something. After which we could wash somewhere, before I feel even more itchy." The man spoke, stepping out of the cave.
"Yes. But can Setsuna have morning… meal?" The she-wolf slightly lowered her head in embarrassment.
"Obviously. Now, see that tree? Go on and lean against it."
"Ugh…" The girl groaned, but docilely did what was asked of her. "Setsuna is embarrassed."
"Come on." Keyaruga approached his lips toward the girl’s furry ear. "I know you like it that way."
There was not a single word of protest to follow. Moreover, Setsuna’s tail began wriggling playfully. Unlike Freia, this one was so easy to understand, so simple to get along with at any time, that even despite all the fun the three of them had during the night, the man found the strength to go start a new round of intimacy.
Barely had the lad touched the cotton panties, one crucial thing made itself clear — they wouldn’t need any foreplay. The Hero of Healing had it tight in his trousers, and the huntress had been overflowing with love juices. And so, with a wide, sinister smile, the youngster gave in to his lust.
"A-AH!.." The she-wolf moaned, having the man thrusting into her insides. "Master, you… haven’t warned!.."
"Just like you love it." Keyaruga sneered, holding onto the round athletic glutes with his right hand, and the twitching ear with the left. He had been gently massaging her skin while mercilessly ravaging the weak spots with his burly penis. The girl shivered, unable to withstand the ecstasy the hero was showering her with. Setsuna loved having sex doggy-style, and Keyaruga adored wallowing in the feeling of dominance over his mate.
And so, having lost the feeling of time, the two of them spent almost ten minutes doing nothing but expanding the horizons of just a single pose. But if time had no authority over them, fatigue did.
"Mas… ter!.. Master… Setsuna… can’t…" The wolf girl, while still far from being out of breath, had her legs failing her more and more with each consecutive thrust. And finally, she fell to the ground…
"No, you don’t!" At least she would, if not for Keyaruga’s reflexes. Only a moment passed before he grabbed his girl under the knees with only a single arm. In this way, the healer could go on, while unceremoniously licking Setsuna’s ears, caressing her tail, cherishing each second they spent together. Orgasm after orgasm the she-wolf experienced, while the man smugly held on. But even so, his endurance was not limitless, nor was it needed that way.
Keyaruga raised his tempo, and the ice warrior cried out in pleasure as he rapidly approached his own peak. Then, after just a few seconds, he came. Hot and creamy semen filled Setsuna’s vagina, as the red-haired lad was practically moving on inertia. Then he slowly stopped to sit under the tree.
"Haa… That was intense." The hero murmured, looking at the clear, bluish sky. And what about the wolf girl? Obviously, she crawled toward the healer to suck their body fluids from his manhood.
Damn, she’s too good at that.
"You little pest, I have a boner again."
"Good. Setsuna wants more."
…
And so, after what seemed like an hour or so, the morning routine was over. The she-wolf finally left off to give Freia another lesson in martial arts. The tutorage was conducted in the cave. At first, the girls had been practicing grappling and hand-to-hand combat. And damn, the ice warrior dominated the sorceress in every part of it. Not so much as at the beginning, but still. Right now, though, the princess held a moderately long spear-shaped icicle (for the sake of safety, the magician kept the ends rounded), with which she deflected an unstoppable onslaught with Setsuna’s… wooden stick.
"Looking good, girls." The man murmured, crouching before the small kettle. Compared to them, Keyaruga seemed like an invincible powerhouse, but alas, aside from that, he barely had anything to teach his companions that they wouldn’t know already. So, he did what he could best — cooking. Specifically, he made a soup with the wild nettle, a bunch of owl eggs, spices, and most of all — the strange badger with needles under the skin. Quite an aggressive specimen, and a toxic one as well. Putting it down was much easier than actually butchering the carcass, but Keyaruga did love hardships, so he didn’t mind.
"Ugh… Haa… Enough… I can’t do it anymore, Setty!.." While the healer was gently stirring his soup, the sorceress reached her limit.
"No." Setsuna had another opinion. She slightly smacked the princess’ shin, so that she raised her weapon. The next strike would have hit her head, but Freia successfully deflected it. "You’re not tired. Just… pig." The huntress didn’t mean to offend her pupil like that, but this word just turned out to be the closest to the meaning of `lazy`, the word the ice warrior was yet to learn.
"Help me, Keyaruga! She’s bullying m- Auch!" And so, the princess got a smack to the butt for getting distracted. "Oh, that’s it, you little mutt!" Next second, Freia creaked her teeth and lunged toward the offender. But Setsuna didn’t bother; this was still part of the lesson. Specifically, the attack and emotional control. And while the caster somehow succeeded in the former, the latter left much to be desired. And every mindless lunge, as fast as it was, was punished. Setsuna made Freia feel rage and… fear. The genuine feeling of death forged her defenses better than any amount of routine practice with stances. Such a dynamic duel would surely leave the pink-haired girl with a bunch of bruises, but even so, there could be no better training than this.
Thrust, sweep, backstep, and retaliation — Freia started to get used to the length of her weapon. She kept her distance while utilizing the long pole to her advantage. Some may believe that the longer the weapon, the more vulnerable the user is in close quarters. Well, in this case, they’re wrong.
Setsuna ducked under another thrust, she cut the distance with a dash, but instead of failing in bewilderment, Freia met the she-wolf with the middle part of the staff. An effective move, but still too easy to block and punish.
"Auch, damn it!!!" The ice warrior passed the princess’ defense and gave her another smack to the neck. If it was a real fight, Freia would be dead. But, to be fair, in that case, the Hero of Magic wouldn’t have been limited by a simple, harmless icicle.
"Lesson over. After you rest, we’ll learn more stances. Then running. Freia needs endurance. And patience." Setsuna stated this mercilessly and threw her stick away. After all, she could beat the princess with her bare hands if needed.
"Shit!.." The sorceress swore, holding onto her knees. Sweat ran down her face. "She’s gonna kill me like that!"
Upon hearing that, Keyaruga stood up. First, he didn’t even look at Freia. Then, he made a couple of steps away from his precious cattle. Next second, he… had covered six meters in less than a second, just to point a knife at Freia’s neck.
"Remember what we fight against." The hero menacingly said, making the sorceress recall the moment when she nearly died at the hands of the Bloodbringer. Then, he once again hid his poisoned blade inside his bracer. "Setsuna’s right; you lack physical prowess, lack reflexes, and worst of all — you can’t really read your surroundings. Tell you what, do you know who always dies first, no matter what? Those who can’t keep running! If you got lucky, the enemy maybe would have only broken your legs and raped you."
"That’s…" Freia felt a heavy lump in her throat. "Oddly specific."
"Hmm. After all of your feats in Ranalitta, training may seem irrelevant, but you’re still far from being immortal. So, the tougher you are, the easier it’d be for you to survive." Even if it means going against me. Especially so. "Look, it may be hard, but there’s no better teacher than Setsuna."
"Ugh, can’t she be at least a bit gentler?" The girl asked, making the lad recall their terrible first night. It made him grin.
"If you wish so, I can tutor you instead. A week or two of ten-hour long training sessions, and you’d be good even against me. If you’re worried, I’d be doing all the exercises along with you, so no slacking, okay? You can’t push your limits without testing them first." The Hero of Healing admonished, remembering his own night preparations for the ultimate end of the first world. Unfortunately, the man’s grin of confidence didn’t do much to encourage an already sulking Freia. Too many sticks, I see. We’ll need more carrots, then. "Look, if you train hard and Setsuna admits your abilities, then I’ll give you an unexpected reward. So, could you try a little bit harder?" Keyaruga asked his companion, gently touching her shoulder. And as if answering this gesture, her ice spear began melting. The princess finally illuminated that wretched earth with a genuine smile.
"Not fair." The she-wolf, though, was not so happy. "Setsuna too struggles here."
"Don’t fret; if Freia succeeds, you too will get your prize."
"Yay!" With the reward guaranteed, the gray-haired girl enthusiastically clenched her small fists. "Will train Freia really good!"
"Yeah, we’ll work hard. Both me and Setty!"
"Uh-huh, we need three month."
"Wait, what? That seems too long. Can’t we just… What would it take to handle it in a week?" The sorceress cautiously pondered. She knew all too well just how ridiculous that would be, but she felt that this exact term was what divided the present and their encounter with the second princess.
"Hmm. Master, you said ten hours? We could try. Freia would most likely die, but Setsuna can try. Hey, you want it?" The ice warrior carelessly shrugged, gazing toward the princess. The latter was no stranger to hard work at this point. And to be honest, she did consider that offer for a second. After all, with all those overpowered monsters in her way, any slight chance of survival seemed reasonable.
"Two months. I’ll need two months." The sorceress promised confidently. She dropped her careless attitude in favor of thinking realistically. Even if it wouldn’t favor her in the short run.
"That’s the spirit." Keyaruga smiled before turning back toward his kettle. "Go on, girls. Someone has to stir the soup here. After you’re done, expect a nice breakfast."
…
Setsuna ran through the thick woods, nimbly avoiding living branches and bushes, trying to get on her way. Even after half an hour of intense running with Freia, the wolf girl showed no sign of being out of breath. Aside from rapidly losing moisture through sweat, nothing could stop her. Neither ground nor air were much of an obstacle to her, as the warrior leaped the trees as if she were a monkey. Keyaruga followed her lead, enchanted by the miraculous agility of his companion. Both of them pursued the running prey, a large bluish bear, leaving a trail of thick blood behind its back due to a large shard of an ice spear. In the next moment, Setsuna jumped once again and descended onto the poor beast.
"A-A-AR-R!!!" With a loud battle cry, the she-wolf flew downward in a triple flip before finally the animal found its end by the pair of ice gauntlets, poking through its neck, the huntress’ armored fingers reaching right to the spine. However good the monster was at controlling vegetation, however good was its armor of subcutaneous fat, it still fell with a gruesome perimortem roar.
The Hero of Healing could replicate almost any skill, but there was so much more to which the Laws of Deimos paid criminally little attention. Practical experience, innate talents, instincts, the sense of balance, blessings. The latter could be called Setsuna’s trump card. The core element of all of her movements. Along with the mercy of the ice spirits, such skill couldn’t be replicated by the heroic healing power.
"Heh, he-he-heh! Did it!" The wolf girl proudly exclaimed, waving a lump of greasy crimson meat in her arm. She giggled; moments like this were a rarity, but that made them even more precious.
"You did well." The healer smirked, raising his hand toward the massive corpse. His right eye glowed in jade-colored light. But barely did he open his mouth…
"Haa… Haa… F-finally!.. I caught up… with you!.." It was Freia, with Kelly behind her back. While she was not even nearly as fast as the other two, she could boost her speed with the power of wind. Although even the acceleration spells proved insufficient to compete with Setsuna and Keyaruga. "Ugh… Next time… I’ll get a bigger spear." Still, it was her icicle that wounded the bear, just like her heat-detecting sight managed to track it down.
"I don’t think so. That turned out to be an excellent warmup for all of us." The healer responded, turning his grinning face toward the sorceress.
"Hey, master. Raznani fi (do we butcher it)?" The huntress wondered, since not every monster could raise their attributes after eating its meat.
"Yeah, that one seems usable. Skin it, then cut off something around the neck, and we’ll be fine."
"Can’t wait to see what you’ll cook with this." The pink-haired girl shared her excitement, glancing toward Setsuna who was now handily freezing the thick pelt. In this way, the frost crystals separated the fur from the muscles much faster and cleaner than if a knife had been used.
"Then, you’ll have to wait until the evening. After we get to the city, I’m going to buy some spices and vegetables there, and then we’ll have our dinner."
"Good. Here." In the end, the huntress handed the man two kilos of fresh, bleeding meat, which he would have to dry, cleanse, and cover with a piece of cloth. But as he did so, the hero couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
…
After another hour of riding on the raptor’s saddled back, the trio reached yet another forest. Not as thick and numerous as in the north, but much more prominent with regards to powerful natural abominations. That’s why neither one of them dropped their guard. Keyaruga glanced forward with his jade eye, Setsuna watched the flanks, and Freia kept her eyes closed, preferring to perceive her surroundings. While looking like she was asleep, the magician took the biggest strain among them.
"Keyaruga…" That’s why when she tapped the man’s shoulder, he immediately stopped their steed.
"I’m listening."
"The west, twenty meters. Something… like a bug, but with horns. Sorry, I can’t describe it." Freia’s voice was tense; every minute drove the caster closer to exhaustion. And while the Hero of Healing could indeed restore her vitality, transferring one’s mana was a task worthy of a godlike magician, which Keyaruga didn’t deem himself to be. Not yet. He knew, how to steal, not how to share.
"Right." The lad jumped off the saddle, calling the wolf girl to follow him with his fingers. "Stay here and look for the raptor, Freia. If anything happens to us, I’ll send a colored sphere into the sky. If not, me and Setsuna will handle it ourselves." The healer stated, driven both by a slight concern for his heroic companion and the wish to stretch his muscles yet again. Of course, even in her weakened state, the princess could snipe the weird hybrid, but simply grinding levels with no actual practice could lead to a state where one could get more power than their body could actually handle. Heroes were immune to such an effect, but Setsuna wasn’t one of them.
"Wait! Take me with you!" Freia jumped down from the saddle, but as she stumped on the earth, her legs barely held her standing. "I… I can fight!.."
"And you will. But now, since you gave the name to this… to her, I entrust you with keeping Kelly safe." The man admonished his position, leaving no place for arguing. "Please, just rest. Fighting on the edge is also an important experience. You aren’t ready for this."
"Freia can’t even run like us." Setsuna added, making the girl even more upset. But at the same time, the sorceress had nothing more to say. And even if she had, the healer and the huntress swiftly left.
"Haa… What am I even doing?" The pink-haired caster asked herself as her trembling hands reached into the saddlebag. She took a book from there; it described its owner and the story of her family, the history of the accursed bloodline of Jiorals from the very foundation of the kingdom to the present day. Yet it gave her no answers whatsoever. Not the ones she wanted. How could a bunch of pretentious, polished lies say anything about the cruel breakdown between the sisters, born of a simple whore? There was not even a single mention of Reeharoze, not even a hint.
From time to time, the princess dreamed about her previous life. Glimpses of the past: pompous balls, audiences, intrigues, the sheer terror the heroine turned her relationships with her younger sister into out of simple hubris… Keyaru, thrown into the deepest hole of the royal palace, wriggling under her heel. And worst of all - none of these things felt like a nightmare. On the contrary, such moments heralded moments of her greatest pride.
In reality, though, Freia, Flare, whatever she was now, was drowning in guilt, fear, and uncertainty. She loved Keyaruga, and that feeling would become something even greater should the man spare Norn. But what if he wouldn’t? She was to blame for the deaths of his parents and his fellow villagers. And he knew everything about the magician’s anxiety. No doubt, the Hero of Healing kept her around just to laugh at the conflicted girl. She even extended her feelings toward them… to see the man valiantly protecting Setsuna against the monster’s maw with his saber.
"Shit, shit, shit… How could I even think about that? Why?" The fallen princess leaned onto Kelly, and the reptile softly wailed, as if in a sign of compassion. "He had every right to kill me, to let me die in that fire… Fire?.."
Freia shook her head before giving the book one more glance. She couldn’t hide her disgust, so much so that she even spat on the cover. Then she had enough. The magician’s hands sparked into bright flames.
"Flare must die."
Just like the sadistic princess burned that night, the xylographic text charred in fire. The flames burned not only the paper, but the skin as well, but the sorceress spared no attention to her own sufferings. Instead, she raised her arms, letting the wind catch up the blackened dust. And as the last piece flew away, the girl finally felt free from the burden of her past. Even fresh scorch marks were nothing but a pretext for Freia to use her healing magic.
"Curatio." The girl whispered, letting the milky threads of energy restore her scalded flesh. Finally, she had her answer. Whatever happens, the magician will do everything to have her little sister spared. Even if she has to beg, to kneel, to… Whatever it took, the heroine just couldn’t afford to lose anyone she cared about again. Even… Even if it takes her very life.
