Chapter of Soul Expansion: Dawning Disease

"...mi, Yumi. Wake up!"

"Mmmnnnh."

"Yumi!"

Someone was shaking me gently while calling out to me.

"Yumi, wake up, you'll miss breakfast."

"Mnn."

The voice fell silent for a moment. Some rustling could be heard, followed by another short moment of silence.

Then, something soft met my lips. Realising what was going, all the sleepiness disappeared and I open my eyes, seeing Karen's face close up. She separated from me and then flashed me an affectionate smile.

"Good morning."

"... Morning."

"If you don't want to miss breakfast, you should get up."

"... Nn."

I sat up and scanned my surroundings. Only Karen and I were here right now.

"Nn, everyone else is already up?"

"Yes, you're the last one again."

"..."

That made me feel a bit bad. Everyone woke up early on time while I was sleeping until Karen woke me up. But on the other side, waking up like this... was definitely not bad.

I suppressed a yawn and stretched my arms.

"Come, I'll help you with your hair, Yumi."

"Nn, thank you, Sis."

Karen took a brush and the ribbons that were lying on the side and motioned me to sit in her lap. Sitting down, Karen began fiddling with my hair. She was concentrating on it, so I kept silent for a while. I didn't want to disturb her.

"Mhh... And done."

"Nn, thank you, Sis."

Karen put aside the brush after she finished setting up my hair. Then she caressed it gently.

"I'm a bit jealous, Yumi."

"Nn? Why that?"

"Because your hair is so smooth and nice to the touch. Even though you do nothing."

"Well..."

I honestly wanted to comment that I was astonished how healthy her own hair was, even though it was exposed to a mud treatment. For years. Knowing better, I didn't say anything though and just smiled vaguely.

"Ahh... Well, let's get up and eat breakfast, okay?"

"Nn..."

I reluctantly left Karen's lap. We walked outside, where I was promptly hit with... heat.

"... Why is it so hot..."

"Well... Look up and you'll know..."

I followed Karen's suggestion and directed my attention to the sky. With the suns. Two suns, burning brightly.

"Yumi, you shouldn't stare directly at them for long."

"Nn..."

I returned my gaze to the ground. There were two suns. There really were.

"Still, it's quite hot even for today... Last week was more comfortable."

"Nn..."

I let out a little sigh. I couldn't escape the reality.

For all I know, maybe having two suns would be possible even in my old world? I'm no physicist nor an astrologist, so I don't know. Or maybe I did know. I don't know.

Even if I used to know, I certainly didn't right now. And it was better to concentrate on the present.

"Sis, breakfast is where?"

"Ah, there's a small hall where we can eat breakfast. We're actually the last ones to eat there."

"Nn, everyone else already did?"

"There were shifts for breakfast. We're in the last shift, so everyone else already had breakfast."

The last shift, huh. Was it because we were newbies? I did get the feeling that we got quite a bit of special treatment, simply because we could use magic, but maybe it ended here. Though breakfast was a bit of an odd place for that.

"Ah, before you ask. That's the magician's shift apparently."

"... Eh?"

"Well, originally it was only those three, right? And apparently they would always wake up late, so their shift was put at the end."

"Haa..."

I certainly could imagine those three sleeping in. In any case, that certainly was good for me. More time to sleep.

"Nn... I feel like we have quite a lot of freedom... I always imagined mercenaries to be way more... serious. Like soldiers."

"The Black Guards are more serious apparently... Lily complained earlier about how sloppy the breakfast is organised."

And yet, the person herself was everything but serious in demeanour.

"But you are right, Yumi... It certainly feels a lot less serious than I would have imagined. Ah, this way."

We went around a corner and arrived at a decently-sized hall. The fort was so large that I still had no idea where the particular rooms were, like this hall. I was rather glad that the wagons and everything were standing in the courtyard. That was about the only thing I could readily find.

"I don't know, it feels more like... A really big family?"

A family with around eight hundred members certainly deserved to be called big. But a big family... While I certainly couldn't deny that it felt a bit like that, I couldn't really agree either.

Entering the hall, I was greeted with around four large-sized tables. Only two were occupied right now. On one were a number of various soldiers that I didn't know, while on the other one were quite many familiar faces seated.

"Yumi! Good morning!" shouted Rina once she spotted me.

The others around the table also greeted me right after.

"Nn, good morning."

I took a free spot next to Lily, who was busy stuffing herself with bread. Karen sat down on my other side and promptly grabbed some of the bread that was on the table. I copied her and took a piece of bread as well.

"Nn, it's warm."

"It's freshly made, Yumi. Fresh bread!" explained Lily to me with vigour in her eyes.

"Haa..."

She returned back to her bread with a happy expression. I certainly didn't expect her to get so riled up over fresh bread. With a wry smile, I turned towards the bread in my hand and took a bite.

"Nn? It's delicious."

The taste surprised me a bit. It was warm and quite fluffy, despite still being firm.

"You're right. It's delicious," commented Karen.

"I told you didn't I?!"

Lily looked awfully smug for some reason.

"Lily, did you help out?"

"Mh? No, I didn't?"

"Eh... Then why are you so... happy about fresh bread?"

Her expression darkened. Did I maybe hit a landmine?

"Yumi."

"N, Nn?"

"The Black Guards... You know... They are mostly men..."

"..."

"There's nobody there who can cook... Mama was rarely around... So I had to cook my own meals..."

"My sympathies..."

I wasn't exactly a great cook either, but I could at least grill something. Actually, that was about all I could do.

Lily let out a sigh and bit into her bread again.

"Why are men just so... I don't know..."

And another sigh from her. With a strained smile, I returned to my own bread as well.

I don't know, Lily. I'm sorry.

As a former man, I certainly understood the feeling of 'can't be bothered'. On the other hand, I certainly understood that it didn't leave the best impression, either. A rather complicated feeling.

Well, at least I wasn't the only one on this table that felt a bit uncomfortable hearing that. Because it was the magician's shift for breakfast, that of course meant the other magicians were here too. And two of those three were male and they both awkwardly averted their gazes.

If I recall correctly, the Captain told us that they were bad around women... And yet they sit at a table full of girls. It must be hard for them.

I actually had no idea why they didn't simply sit down at a different table, though.

In any case, offering a silent prayer for these two poor souls, I silently continued to eat my breakfast.

"Apparently there's been some uproar earlier," told me Lily.

"Nn? What kind of uproar?"

"Don't know. Apparently some of those soldiers that were out investigating returned."

"So, did they find something?"

"... They did..."

We turned towards the one who suddenly cut into the conversation, namely Ria. She had stopped eating and turned towards us.

"The investigation squad... Only a few returned..."

"... Only a few?"

There was only one thing that could mean...

"The others are missing... But most likely... They are dead..."

"..."

Dead. One might think that it came with the job, but... They too probably had family and friends, people who would mourn their death.

Suddenly, a hand was rubbing the top of my head.

"Don't think too much about it, Yumi."

"Sis..."

Turning around to take a look, I could see Karen flashing me a little smile.

"Well, Ria, did they find something at least?" asked Lily in the meantime.

"Apparently... I don't know the details... We will maybe find out..."

Karen let go of my head and urged me to continue with breakfast. We finished our breakfast silently and cleaned up.

"Lil Sis, Lil Sis."

"Nn? What is it, Rina?"

Right after we put away our dishes, Rina came up to me from behind and hugged me suddenly.

"Something happened between you and Big Sis, right?"

"Eh... Well, I guess you could say that."

"Mhh."

Something heavy pressed down on me.

"Rina... Don't lean on me."

"Mhh..."

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to hear my complaint.

"Hey, Lil Sis."

"What is it?"

"What does it feel like?"

"Huh? What feels like what?"

"Having someone you love."

I froze. It took a moment for me to register her question properly.

"You see, Lily told me yesterday about you two. But I don't really understand it."

"Well, uhm... What do you not understand?"

"Lily said you can't stop thinking about someone, and that there's a fluffy, happy feeling, and desire. But what do those mean?"

Now, just what was Lily telling her... I didn't really mind as long as she didn't mess around, but still... I honestly didn't know what to tell her.

"Ehh... Honestly, I don't know how to describe it either, Rina."

"Huh? Even though you love Big Sis?"

"Well, that's... You're also quite blunt, aren't you..."

"Mh?"

What should I tell her, though? I didn't really know how to describe it either.

"It's just hard to describe it, I think. You simply want to be with that person. I'm happy simply being together with Sis."

"Hmm... I don't get it."

"Ahaha... Sorry I couldn't help."

"It's fine! Thank you!"

The weight pressing down on my back disappeared.

By the time I turned around, Rina had already run off to Karen. I watched from the distance how Karen's face lit up in a vibrant red up to the ears. Apparently, Rina had found the next person to ask.

"Yumi..."

While I was watching, someone approached me from the side and called out to me.

"Ria?"

"Could you... come with me... There are some things... we have to do..."

"Nn... What about the others?"

"I only need you... for now..."

I tilted my head, wondering what she meant.

"Well, okay."

I nodded and said a quick bye to Karen and the others, then I followed Ria outside.

Shortly after I found myself in the large hall where the ill were kept. There were still dozens over dozens of ill lying here, groaning and suffering.

I followed Ria silently to a corner of the hall, where mostly children were treated.

"Nn, I know these children... Aren't they the refugees?"

"That's right... These are the children we brought along..."

Much to my surprise, most of these children were in a far better state than everyone else here. Some were even sitting upright, eating or talking with others. They were still pale and weak, but the difference was really noticeable.

"Ria is it just me or are these children... recovering a lot better than everyone else."

"You aren't imagining it... They really are... Some are so well we could release them again..."

"Eh? But... Why are they recovering even though..."

I took another look through the hall. These children were really the only ones who were on the way to betterment.

"I have a suspicion... But I want to make sure... Yumi... You can see the disease spirits..."

"Those odd lumps of mana? I could, yes..."

When I was treating the children, I could see the so-called disease spirit in each of them.

Ria walked towards a young girl and sat down next to her on the ground.

"Miss... Ria?"

A small, weak voice. The girl looked barely ten years old.

"Yes... How are you feeling?"

"The coughs... have stopped..."

"That's good to hear... Could you hold still for a bit?"

"Okay..."

The girl affirmed weakly. Ria turned to me and beckoned me over.

"Yumi... take a look at her..."

"Nn..."

I squatted down next to the girl. She stared at me with a worried expression. I flashed a small smile, hoping it would reassure her. She smiled back.

How cute. I'm sure she'll grow up into a cute girl.

I held my hand over her and concentrated on the mana in her body. It didn't take long for me to find the lump of foreign mana in her. It was small, close to disappearing, in fact. Her own mana was pretty strong, so she was probably well on her way to betterment.

I decided to strengthen her mana a small bit. I wasn't carrying any mana crystals with me right now, so the amount I could give her was severely limited. But it was surely better than nothing.

"Yumi... Did you see it?"

"The lump of mana? Yes... It was weak."

The girl, still slightly nervous, smiled upon hearing that.

"Mh... Yes... At this rate... she'll recover in a few days..."

"I'll... be alright?" asked the girl in a small voice.

"Yes... You will..."

Ria patted her head. I could spot a smile on her face.

"But now we got to go... I'm sorry, Kana."

"Okay... See you, Ms Ria."

Then the girl looked towards me.

"Bye Bye..."

"Nn, bye. I hope you'll get well."

I pat her head once as well before Ria stood up and walked away. I followed her quickly. Looking back, I could see the girl raising her hand weakly and waving. After waving back, I turned back to Ria.

"So... What was that about?"

"You will see soon..."

"Huh..."

I followed her, still curious. Just what had been the meaning of this?

After a short walk, we arrived at a different corner of the hall. There were mainly soldiers lying here. None of them was looking as if they would recover anytime soon.

Once more, Ria squatted down next to a feverish-looking man. He wasn't in a state to speak at all, breathing heavily, sweating profusely.

"Yumi, take a look at this man."

"Nn..."

I nodded and sat down next to them. Holding my hand over the man and closing my eyes, I concentrated on the mana once more.

His mana was weak and muddled with something. There was once more a lump of mana that didn't belong there but... It was different. Very different.

I stopped inspecting the mana and turned to Ria.

"Ria... What is that?"

"So you see it too..."

Ria didn't answer my question and instead stared at the man lying in front of us.

"Come, I'll explain it elsewhere."

"Haa..."

Ria stood up and simply walked away. I hurried after her, still a bit confused as to what I had just witnessed. Ria wasn't the most talkative person I knew, but this complete lack of conversation was uncommon even for her. Her expression was really serious.

I followed her for a good while until we arrived at a small door. Ria knocked and then opened the door without waiting for an answer.

"Mh? Oh, if it isn't Ria and Yumi."

Peeking inside, I saw Korwen sitting on a chair, holding a book in his hands. Apparently, this room was some kind of study as there were numerous shelves with books.

"Come in, do you have business with me?"

"Captain... I came to report on the disease..."

Ria took a few steps inside and stood in front of Korwen. I cautiously closed the door behind us and then waited right behind Ria. I still had no idea what was happening.

"The disease, huh. It's become a lot more troublesome already, so I hope it's good news.

"Good... but also bad..."

"Now, don't keep me waiting and explain already."

Korwen closed the book and put it on the desk next to him.

"There are two diseases going around..."

"..."

"..."

"Okay, Ria. That was quite a jump, please elaborate."

"Mh..."

Ria nodded and then turned to me.

"Yumi... what did you see?"

"Eh? Uhm... Well... The child I was first looking at seemed to be on her way of recovery. Her mana was still rather weak but certainly not in a worrisome state anymore... and the bad mana, that... disease spirit... was quite weak..."

Korwen's expression sharpened hearing those probably unexpected words from me.

"The soldier in contrast... His mana was... muddled and really weak... And the weird lump of mana was strong..."

Korwen turned back to Ria.

"And you saw that too?"

"I did... Same for Boarson... Wenners and Krutz couldn't see it..."

"And you are absolutely certain?"

"Yes."

Korwen covered his face with his hands and leaned back, sighing.

"I feared that might be the case but... this is bad. Ria, tell everyone not to touch the fort's supplies at all costs. I'm glad I stayed cautious and suggested to wait, but with this it's clear. Also, make sure our own supplies are well-guarded. I'll send word to Fenna and Rhoms as well."

"Understood..."

What was happening? Could someone please explain this to me? Was Korwen possibly suggesting that this so-called disease... was manmade after all?

"Afterwards get all our magicians together and inspect our supplies. I want every single grain checked. Once done, report to me."

"Mh, understood..."

"Also, not a single word of that leaves this room, clear? You too, Yumi."

"Understood... sir..."

"Nn... Understood."

I nodded, affirming that I heard it.

"Now, get going. We'll be busy for a good while. Ah, actually, Yumi. Stay here for a moment."

"Nn?"

I was already halfway turning around when Korwen stopped me. Ria quickly excused herself and I was suddenly left all alone with Korwen.

"Come here for a bit."

"Nn."

I walked over to Korwen. He turned to the desk and picked up a few papers. Taking a quick glance, I was a bit shocked.

"Your dolls have proven to be quite resourceful, I must say. They stay out of sight by themselves and they know well what we're looking for."

In his hands were drawings of various men. They had varying quality, but each of them was drawn well enough to recognise the person in question. If you knew them, of course.

"Though there's still a bit of an issue with who they are listening to."

"Ehh... That's... great?"

I didn't really expect them to listen to anybody... And even less did I expect them to simply do their work just like that... It scared me. They were listening and able to judge by themselves. They even had their own personalities from the looks of it. Weren't they already proper living beings at this point?

"Mh... Did you not instruct them to do so?"

"... I only told them to watch for suspicious men and draw them..."

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing else."

Korwen stroked his chin. He most likely realised as well that this was rather... weird.

"Ah, whatever. As long as they don't cause trouble. Right now, they are quite invaluable."

"Haa..."

"I wonder if we can train those dolls..."

"..."

I shuddered thinking about all the things those dolls might do when trained. A certain memory resurfaced while thinking about that. Just a few days ago, those dolls killed people on my order. In gruesome ways.

The dolls might be intelligent, but I was convinced of one thing. They certainly weren't people. They clearly held no sympathy for others.

"Well, let's talk about that some other time."

"Nn..."

"More importantly, we already got some results from your dolls. It would be great if you could tell them to listen to a few more of my men though. So far they only listen to me and Greyward. Oh... And those three girls... The dolls listen to them too..."

To those three? That was interesting. I wondered how they decided who they were listening to and who not. Korwen and Mr Greyward, Lily's adoptive father, were both people with a certain amount of authority. On the other hand, those three girls were simply my friends. Well, or rather... part of my family?

"It'd be great if you could make them listen to at least Fenna and Ria as well. And preferably don't have them listen to anyone else. If Karen and Lily can also tell them what to do, that's fine with me, but I'd prefer if I know who can order those dolls in the future."

"Nn, got it. So... Should I tell the dolls not to listen to Emily and them?"

"That's... Mm... No, for now, it's fine. I'll have to think about that for a while."

"Huh..."

So I simply needed to tell the dolls that? I could only hope that they would listen though.

"Close to the warehouse are a few empty rooms, the dolls and those girls should be there."

"Huh? The dolls aren't scattered everywhere anymore?"

"... The dolls ended up being rather conspicuous... I was able to talk myself out of it with saying it's a prank from the children, but I was told by Ruben to clean that up. We got some results already, though, so it doesn't bother me too much. It was just an experiment anyway."

Ahh, well, thinking about it, those dolls really were quite conspicuous. Even if you hid them, they were bound to be found with time. And if they moved... I could only hope that I didn't accidentally spawn a new ghost story. I could only be glad that Ruben, the one responsible for the fort, didn't know their purpose.

"Well then, get going. I still got things to do. Unless you want to help me dealing with this."

Korwen flaunted a rather large stack of documents. Just the sight turned me off already. Why did he always have so many documents anyway? Did he... record everything? Whatever the reason was, I sure wasn't eager to find out.

"I'll take a look at the dolls."

"Gah, I tried I guess. Well, good luck."

"Thanks."

Ending the conversation, I left the room. Thinking about it, he never ordered someone to do these things. He was always asking if someone wanted to do it.

That's all nice and well but I got a little problem.

I took a look at the hallway I was currently standing in.

Where am I?

"Where am I?"

I was lost. Completely and utterly lost. Whoever build this fort clearly forgot to hang up maps everywhere. It would make it a lot easier to navigate. Anyway, wherever I was, it wasn't where I was supposed to be. It was one hallway after another, random halls and whatever else.  I wanted to ask someone for directions but the moment I decided to look for someone, the place became deserted.

Most soldiers are down ill, so it's no surprise they are understaffed... But I haven't seen anyone for a good fifteen minutes now. This fort is just way too large... How many soldiers are even stationed here?

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do except continue on. After around another ten minutes I finally heard voices.

Finally someone... Nn? But those voices... Is there someone arguing?

I followed the voices. It didn't take really long until I found myself in a small hall filled with bookshelves and a few long tables. It was a bit reminiscent of a library if the shelves were actually filled with books. Most of them were empty though.

Sitting at the tables were three people. A young beastkin girl with red-brownish hair,  fluffy ears and a bushy tail. In addition, there were two young human boys. They were probably around thirteen or fourteen years old, judging from their appearance. They all wore something that reminded me a bit of a uniform.

"I told you already, the professor shut himself in his room, we can't do anything either," said one of the boys.

"So you are telling me we have to wait for him to come out? How long will that take? Hours? Days? Weeks? We don't have time to wait for that nutcase!" answered the young girl with a raised voice.

I didn't know what they were arguing about, but it sure didn't seem like something I should butt into. Unfortunately, I really needed some directions.

"The professor isn't a nutcase, Lefa. He has some issues but he is still our professor!"

"What good is he as a professor if he shuts himself in?!"

The boy sighed and shrugged his shoulders, seemingly giving up.

The other boy, the one who hadn't spoken until now, was absorbed in a book and was completely ignoring the other two.

"Aah, you two are useless. Then I'll just do it myself."

"Lefa... You can barely cast a fire, there's no way for you to make this work..."

"... Tell me what else I should do then."

"I don't know... How about asking another magician? I heard the mercenaries that arrived have some."

The girl furrowed her eyes in obvious displeasure.

"Aren't they the cause the professor shut himself in? Why should I ask such people?"

"Let's be honest, it was only a matter of time until he would shut himself in, regardless of those mercenaries. Either you ask them or you give up. It's your homework, not mine."

The girl audibly ground her teeth. She apparently had no argument against that.

Homework? Are they students? But why would students be here? Nn?

The boy who had kept silent until now had spotted me.

"Lefa, Alf."

""What?""

"There."

He called the two who reacted perfectly in sync and pointed in my direction. A second later I was scrutinised by three pairs of eyes.

"My, such a cute child. Are you lost?"

The girl walked over to me with a smile. She probably thought I was just some child. And to be honest, I would think so too if I didn't know better.

Oh well, let's just ignore it. I am lost after all...

"Nn. I'm trying to get back but I have no idea where I am."

"Is that so. Should this big sister help you back?"

She leaned on her knees, lowering her eye level to mine and smiled.

"Nn, some directions are enough..."

"My, you don't have to be so modest, come I'll bring you back."

A moment later my hand was taken and she led me away. The two boys were left behind. From the corner of my eyes, I could see the boy she was arguing with shaking his head, while the quiet one was back to reading his book. Neither of them seemed to particularly care.

"Hey, what is your name?" asked the girl me.

"... Yumi."

"Yumi? Such a cute name, your mother did a good job picking it out. I'm Lefa, but you can call me Big Sis if you want to!"

"Nn, Lefa it is."

She didn't seem to mind that I completely ignored the last part. I already had a big sister. Though I was also in a relationship with said big sister. But I didn't have to tell her that. I could vividly imagine the reaction if some little girl said she was in a romantic relationship with someone. Even more so with her own family member. It would most likely turn into quite a scene.

"What were you doing here, Yumi? Did you get separated from your parents?"

"No. I was trying to find my way back and didn't know the way."

"Oh, is that so. That reminds me... Why are you here at the fort?"

The girl furrowed her brows, finally realising that something was odd.

"I wouldn't want to imagine it but... are you with those mercenaries?"

"... Nn."

The girl grimaced, abruptly stopped and squatted down next to me, holding my shoulders.

"Yumi, if you have troubles, I will help you! You don't have to live with those people, you can still choose a better future!"

"Ha, haa..."

She didn't seem to have a high opinion of mercenaries.

Although I appreciated that she was worried, I had people dear to me here. And I wanted to stay with them.

"Just tell me when you need help okay! Ahh, but we'll be here only for a few more days until we return to the academy... What do..."

She seemed to be at a loss. But at least one question I had already answered itself. Apparently, she was a student of the academy in the capital.

Ahh, then the professor they were talking about... that was probably that guy, huh...

The one who panicked when he realised we were mercenaries. That was a poor guy, and apparently, he shut himself in now. Nothing I could do about, though.

"Ahh, Yumi! Don't you want to stay with us? We'll take care of you!"

"... No, not really."

"Eh?"

Hearing my blunt refusal, she froze up.

"But, but...."

"I have people important to me there. I can't just leave."

"... They, they can come too!"

She tried persuading me desperately now, even though it was clear that it wasn't possible for a thirteen-year-old girl to take care of multiple people.

"Lefa, why do you dislike mercenaries?"

"Huh? Because they kill people for money. They are also bad people, not better than bandits. Plundering villages and raping women!"

"... They aren't necessarily bad people. Not all of them do that."

"But they still kill people. For money."

I smiled wryly.

"They don't necessarily have any other choice, you know. Not everyone can live their life like they want to."

"Couldn't they simply choose another job? Of course, they have a choice."

Ah, this girl... She probably has no idea about the less fortunate people...

It was easy forming an opinion from your own perspective. But for the people in those situations, it wasn't really all that simple. If I hadn't joined the mercenaries with the others, I would probably still live in those slums. And who knows if I would even be alive at this point.

"Not everyone has that choice. There are plenty people who aren't so fortunate and they don't necessarily have a choice. They have to survive, and some of them have to feed their family too."

"But there are so many jobs you could do that don't involve killing people!" she insisted.

"And what if they cannot do those jobs?"

"Why shouldn't they be able to do them?"

We walked around a corner and entered another hallway. I already completely lost track again. I could only hope this girl knew where we were going.

"Because they don't know anything about the job for example. Or nobody wants them because they have a questionable background."

"They could just learn about the job, then. And if they are deemed questionable, isn't that their own fault?"

"But if they have to feed a family, they can't leisurely practise for a job. And many people are quick to judge others. Simply coming from the slums would be enough for others to reject them."

"Aren't people from the slums all murderers and thieves anyway?"

I furrowed my brows. This girl was rather radical, wasn't she?

"Well, I'm no thief at least and I lived in the slums until just shortly."

Although I did kill someone...

"Eh?"

The girl stopped and stared at me. She was apparently at a loss of words. It was clear that she hadn't expected that. Her mouth was opening and closing a few times, then her eyes widened suddenly and she took a deep breath.

"Ehm, ehm, I, I'm sorry!"

She suddenly apologised, though it was more shouting her apology. Though I was a bit taken aback at the suddenness. I didn't even know why she was apologising now.

"I, I said something bad to you. I'm sorry."

"Eh... It's fine, really."

I wasn't really offended by it anyway. And... surviving in the slums did require a certain level of lawlessness... But it was out of necessity and certainly not out of choice.

"But, still... I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Just... Don't be so quick to judge others, okay?"

She nodded. I was a bit surprised but... She didn't seem to be completely ignorant. Probably just a bit too sheltered.

"Let's talk about something else. You said you were from the academy?"

I tried changing the topic. She looked a bit confused at first but then she nodded again.

"Yes! The large academy in the capital! I'm a student there, together with the two boys you saw earlier! We're here with the professor!"

"Huh. The professor, is it that young man who was in the large hall? The one who was panicking at every opportunity?"

"... Yes. Yes, that's him."

The girl let out a sigh, looking down to the ground with a troubled expression.

"The professor, you know... He's a great man. But he's really bad with people. And he always finds a reason to shut himself in..."

"Haa..."

"I just wish he was a bit more reliable... Ah, we're outside now."

We walked through a small arch and finally found the outside again. I took a look back and sure enough, we came out of one of the walls. I was seriously impressed by how the walls still felt so large from the inside. Which made me wonder whether it was truly fine to have hallways in a wall... Then again, it was on the side of the fort. It was quite unlikely they'd be attacked from the plateau's side and not from the bridges.

"The mercenary camp was... Ah, right, there. Come, Yumi."

"Nn."

She pulled my hand and walked towards the wagons. Sure enough, I could technically find my way from here on out, but the girl seemed pretty fervent to finish leading me back.

She was a bit of an odd girl, to be honest. A bit quick on judging others but also quick to apologise. Surely not an easy combination.

"Well, where are your parents, Yumi? I'll bring you to them."

"They aren't here."

"Eh?"

Once more, she froze. Tears were quickly gathering in the tears of her eyes and her fluffy ears were quivering. Then she squatted down and pulled me into a hug.

"You... you had such a hard life! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked! I'm sorry!"

"Eh... Uhm... It's fine?"

Well, it wasn't like my parents were dead or anything, though she seemed to think that was the case.

Well, in any case, I think I understand now... This girl... she's just wearing her heart on her sleeve...

I silently pat the girl's back who started bawling for me.

Rinne

If you like the story, I'd be happy if you could consider supporting me on Patreon! Or favourite, or leave comments, or ratings, or maybe even a review. I'll appreciate it all.

I wanted to edit all the chapters over the week but unfortunately, I didn't make much progress in that regard...

At least the new chapters (such as this one) got a little proofreading and stuff.

Now, some may have noticed that today's chapter has come early. Like, really early. There's a bit of a reason for that.

So far I always tried to upload around the same time, which was fine by itself of course. But the chapter before last I noticed that occasionally there isn't a whole lot of new traffic. And barely new readers, though it was really different this week.

Thank you to all who decided to read this novel!

Anyway, I figured, why not try uploading at different times of the day?

And here we are. I will probably try a few different times over the next weeks. My regular time, at 18:00 GMT, will still be the latest time I'm going to upload the chapter, though.

Well, but my long author note is still not at an end, unfortunately. There's another little issue.

As it is probably plainly obvious, there's still no cover art for this novel. It's not that I don't want one, actually the opposite. But apparently, my luck with commissioning artists is rather bad.

The first one, someone I know personally, took 1 1/2 months to tell me that it will take nearly another month before I even get an answer whether she'd even consider doing it or not.

The next one simply disappeared after a few short and rather questionable talks.

And finally, the third one, with whom I even discussed pretty much everything necessary and I was only waiting for her to begin, disappeared as well. And well over a week of no communication is not exactly what I was looking for. Especially since that happened twice with her.

Now, ending my rant, I basically want to ask if anyone knows artists who are accepting commissions. While I will still look around on my own as well, maybe someone here has any suggestions. Or maybe someone reading this is an artist themselves. Who knows?

I'm looking for someone with a cute-ish or standard anime-style to draw a character and a background. If you have any suggestions, shoot me a DM or so.

Thank you in advance and thank you as always for reading!