§ “Ti, this is way too much exertion for you right now!” I rolled my eyes and looked over my shoulder at the prince climbing the stairs behind me. “It really isn’t, Your Royal Highness. It’s just a few stairs.” “This is a lot more than a few stairs, Lady!” As is probably obvious, that wasn’t Rod’s retort. It was …

§ On the way, Rod escorted me, while Bruna kept Ceria from grabbing on to my opposite arm. She stayed close to me though. Melione also managed to get close to me, slipping in beside Mireia, who had fallen in behind us. The three ended up forming a row. The others tagged along behind, but I noticed in my fairy …

§ As it was already nearing Evening, my desired meeting with Rod was going to be my meal with him, again taken in my office, since the solar’s ‘family’ dining room was currently functioning as the War Room. I say ‘was going to be’, because a military runner knocked frantically on the door just as the maids were putting the …

§ As the travelin’ party set off through the deep woods, headin’ not back toward Narses but westward, aimin’ for Lower Pendor, I waited for the old hag to answer my question. Maybe it ain’t so clear for someone who ain’t part of a weird existence like us, what it was I was askin’ her. By all rights, we previous …

§ For the recovery party, the focus turned to breakin’ camp and puttin’ themselves into a mobile posture. Gear stowed in order to move at a second’s notice, no tents to break down or kit to pack, no fires to douse and constant vigilance. Adventurers on Huade know the drill well; when you run afoul o’ the tribal monster types …

§ Lady Serera and Lady Dilorè immediately jumped into the air in response to the ear-splittin’ shriek while Ryuu Kowa moved to put himself in front of the tents, hoistin’ his greatsword to guard the folks inside with his eyes skyward. Right after, Matthias and Lady Chiara quickly joined him, holdin’ their magic focuses. Matthias brought out a grapefruit-sized orb …

I was going to take this full week off, but due to my sick day last Monday, I will just take off Friday. Next chapter is next Monday. It’s also Halloween, which is irrelevant, but still a fact. § Even with my contemplative powers as a mind expanded to the extent of my spiritual vessel, I couldn’t avoid holding the …

§ I’m confident that Áne sensed nothing before I appeared. One moment, she lay curled up on a patch of clover, safe and alone within her tower. The next moment she was panicking and attempting to flee the intruder whom she surely never imagined would suddenly gather from the mana in front of her. Her reflexes were good. Rather than …

§ I’ve described Fan Li’s original blood magic, [Blood Effigy], as a replacement for the spiritual proxies of the Elders, but her own paper effigy technique from Huajie, that she based the magic upon, differs from spiritual arts in one very profound way. Proxies like Kanon are distinctly separate entities, intended to survive independently until they expire or return to …

§ The two fairies led me to a small camp in a clearin’, containin’ a jumble of equipment, a couple tents and three more people. The group had already settled in, to the point of draggin’ in logs for seats around a fire pit safely lined with rocks. As I arrived, I became aware of a nagging sensation. I recognized …