§ Shindzha’s map couldn’t have been more helpful. And Shindzha made her presence known in other ways, despite remaining out of sight. I never expected everyone to be friendly and accepting of a hellspawn, which is why I never proposed that she join up with us. That turned out to be a smart move, not because I think anyone would …

§ “My Lady, you must wait,” Mireia told me with a firm tone. I couldn’t ignore the worry in her eyes and I understood why she was worried. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it! It was bad enough that Kiki and Shindzha had been patrolling the demon-infested area around Mother’s resting place for days. The expedition had reached that …

§ Our surroundings became more mountain and less forest during our next two days of travel. We left the forest behind entirely once we ascended our last high mountain pass. In that place, snow still clung in many spots, even though the new moon had now come and gone. That was a little mind-boggling to me, when it was now …

§ I ‘stood’ at the center of a meeting that I had convened at Alwain’s headquarters. Owen’s court ladies raised me with a proper sense of decorum. I would never be so rude as to barge in and take over someone else’s space without permission. Before calling them here, I asked the Lady of the Red Tower to recommend a …

§ My treacherous little pink-haired Servant suddenly decided to go on a hospital visit for the first time in a couple days, informing me through my maids with a message they somehow failed to deliver until she had long since left the castle. I easily saw through Mireia’s little scheme. She felt that I had been working too hard to …

§ I confess, I may have played a little bit longer than I planned. Playing with the pixies was too much fun, you see. And harassing our opponents could only help, after all, so I saw no reason to stop. In truth, it was a valuable opportunity. Although I should have Tiana’s affinity for all elements, my real talent was …

§ Deprogramming the spirits would require a great deal of additional effort. For now, the Reladorian mages simply trapped them in magic stones. They would finish the job during a peaceful moment after they recovered. “Kill bad demon now?” Butterfly Wings wondered. “Bad spirit out now!” Dragonfly Wings declared. “No problem! Easy!” Bee Wings assured us. “We should wait for …

§ Pixies are terrifying.  I really had no idea. I wasn’t ungrateful for their help, though. I was just very, very thankful they were on our side! And completely mystified as to why we were receiving it. And as to how they could be so impossibly powerful. According to the pixies in question, all three of which used the name …

§ This time, Mireia handled the connection herself, although Rhea would still watch closely. During the previous day, after the crisis with Alwain passed and the battle forced Domerà’s retreat, I had simply monitored the situation from Narses through the regular reports, but it was still early morning and I didn’t want to wait. Dilorè had switched groups to supplement …

§ <Big Sis back!> The coming dawn was not the morning after the battle. It was the morning following that. The intervening period had been a running pursuit down the river by the main force while the ‘delousing’ crew held the captive fairies and Shindzha advanced toward this place.  I spent that day mostly fretting, since I could only rarely …