[Update 1/1]

Day 4. Day 3/7 of the challenge.

“Stay still,” you whisper harshly to one of the Elviras as you remove your grimoire. You let it gently float into the air as you incantate the words of your Homely Blanket spell to begin slowly creating the long and glistering, enchanted cloth. Just like usual, you mummify the drunken adult woman; the other one pushes herself away and moans as she then jolts Lilth’s head closer to her chest. The boy’s face turns even brighter red colour after this.

Elvira has no scars, and there are no spots or smudges left on the cloth after the magic is done and it begins to crumble into tissues and then, empty air. The one Elvira you used your magic on winces and then, awkwardly, slides down the pile of textiles. A bit too late for you to react, she rolls and harshly slams her face onto the hard floor.

“Umf-Umf-Umf,” the woman whispers in pain. You really wish people would stop getting hurt seconds after you had healed him. You approach the drunkless Elvira to help her stand up; she leans on her knees and holds her fingers on her forehead. Her brown eyes are no longer red and spinning – they have their average, normal colour.

“How are you feeling?” you ask the woman - your voice is tired, yet you still try to sound kind.

“I… I’m sorry, I can’t remember,” she says with a struggle, “I think the Goat Knight gave me some wine and I got… a bit drunk, but,” she pauses as her mouth begins to gasp like one of a gold fish, “No, I think I’m still… d-drunk.”

“Why do you say that?” you ask.
“B-because I see a copy of myself… n-no, two!”

“Did you not create them using your magic?”

“No-no, o-only in my wildest dreams s-something like that would be possible,” Elvira assures you as she begins to frantically wave her arms, “I’m from the Forsaken Realm, I would never have enough magic to do something like this, that’s impossible.” Elvira grabs her cheeks with her fingers and painfully pinches them, “I need to wake up…”

“Elvira,” you cough, “I can assure you that this is reality, and I believe you really did create those clones yourself.”

“T-there is no way,” she sighs dejectedly as she then finally notices her second clone holding Lilth hostage in a tight hug. She is in drunken happiness, that one. “W-what are you… I… doing?!” Elvira screams as she grabs into the arm of her triplet. “S-stop it, what are you doing?” she repeats as she tries to free unconscious Lilth, “This is embarrassing!!!” Warm tears begin to fall down her cheeks. You shake her head and agree to assist her.

“Can you use your magic to turn things back to normal?” you ask as you finally begin to carry Lilth by his shoulder.

“I-I don’t know how,” she says, her face hidden in her palms, “I only know how to fix tiny, small mistakes…”

“Alright,” you chuckle softly, “It’s alright, Elvira. Calm down. I am not sure how strong your clones are, but there is no way they will be able to survive several hours. So, maybe the three of you can spend tonight here, and then in the morning there will be only one of you left – the real one?” You hope your suggestion won’t cause a commotion.

“But how will I sleep without the boy? He’s so cuddly and soft,” the second Elvira complains at you.

“Like you usually d-do!” the undrunk Elvira shouts at her triplet in another fit of embarrassment.

“Hic… c-can somebody help me… p-please,” the third Elvira, by the table, whispers through her tears.

“Please leave that poor shirt be, for today,” you reassure the third one, “I’ll do it in the morning.”

Eventually, you manage to convince every Elvira to rest and try to avoid any more problems. You have a passing thought that, perhaps, if alcohol can influence your magical prowess this heavily, it was a mistake to return the bottle Tugela gave you – but you soon come to an agreement with yourself that you’d rather not. Tired, you still follow with your duty as a caretaker as you lead Lilth to the boy’s dormitory. Another boy, you think his name is Cruz, opens the door after a long wait and lots of knocking. He is wearing his sleeping clothes, of course. You apologize as you give him a rather heavy body of Lilth and ask him to lead him to his bed. It takes the snoozing Cruz (?) a few moments to realize what you are asking him, but he soon gives you a nod and leads Lilth away.

Tired and rather hungry, you return to your room and place your-but-not-really broom against the wall. After a bit of a struggle, you manage to dress into your sleeping garbs and shroud yourself into the blanket. It takes you less than a minute to fall asleep, but when you do, the dream you see that night is hazy – were you content with how today went? It is only when you are stressed that your dreams are near-tangible and clear in your mind… right?

Your mana has been restored.

Next morning you wake up refreshed and clear-minded; it gets boring to see the same dream time after time so you are happy you have managed to avoid it. Very luckily, you discover that your room has everything you need provided for you to write your letter – even a collection of magic stamps. So, the first thing you do in the morning after getting dressed is going about writing a letter to your father about Nicolai. It is a rather short letter; you avoid most of the unpleasant and frankly unneeded details of how you got to meet him. Just that your father can expect him.

You skip the morning breakfast in order to visit your workshop and check on Elvira, you hope that everything is sorted and there are no future troubles to be had regarding her magic. When you open and enter the workshop, however, you find Pero fully bowing to you right in front of the door. He tries not to look you in the eyes, but his lips are quivers and his face is pale and trembling. He whimpers a few sighs but is struggling to say… anything.

“Come on, Pero,” Lilth, who looks thousand times better than yesterday, speaks from the work-table.

“I’m… very… s-s-s-so…” the seven-year-old boy mutters, “S-sorry for what I did…”

“And?” Lilth voice sharpens Pero’s visible struggle to admit his guilt.

“A-and… thank you… for… for letting me keep my position.”

“Welcome back,” you smile to Pero as you pick up the shirt Elvira had been struggling with yesterday and toss it into Pero’s hands, “Let’s try to avoid you getting into any more troubles, alright? You can start with that…”

Pero’s eyes light up as he grabs the shirt and enthusiastically looks it over, “Of course, Thia!” You quietly grunt but before you can grumble, Pero places a hand to his mouth and hushes. He acts so enthusiastic, you worry he did not actually learn a thing… then again, he is still just a child. “By the way,” he snickers, “Lilth has a crush now.”

You raise your eyebrow as you look at the dark-scarlet haired boy. You pray it’s not what you think.

“Yes!” Pero grins devilishly, “He just couldn’t stop crying ‘Elvira, Elvira’ when he was sleeping.” You sigh with relief. Pero raises his hand and connects two of his fingers, “Let me show you if you don’t believe me. Elvira!”

Hastily, you grab his fingers with your own and ever-gently bend his wrist. “Let’s not use your magic so casually.”

Lilth heard the name Pero said, however. In panic, he tries to straighten his body and fix his messy hair. Poor guy.

You will need to decide what you are going to do today. If you just carry along, you might not beat Olyver. That is, of course, after you and the boys sort out through all the requests and ruined uniforms you have at hand now.

> [Write In]

>>3860485
I dunno... go find Tugela during our break to teach us stuff, like she promised?

>>3860485
>>3860664
This, and take Elvira if she could control her magic she would be pretty useful.

>>3860740
If she wants to join in.
If all fails, we can just steal some ideas from Olyver.

>>3860664
>>3860740
+1

>>3861693
Things to do
>Charge up that paralyze knife
>Find out if they have someone that could fix our broom
>Test our spell to see if it can help with being tired

[Update 1/1]

Rather quickly, several hours pass by. When work is hard and challenging, it’s very hard to keep track of time.

“I think we might be getting better at working together,” you say towards your two assistants as you throw a couple of renovated clothes onto the raking – they land and spread out neatly to dry and then be folded. A tall – about your height – tower of unfinished uniforms slides and falls before you when Pero tries to raise both of his thumbs up. “On second thought, maybe not,” you wince but then smile as the boy begins to fix his mistake.

“Let’s take a few hours of break,” you wave your hand for the boys to stop working, “I think we deserve it.” You clean your hands and face with a towel. “If I’m not wrong, it should be almost lunch time – at least, I’m hungry.”

“Oh, I am so hungry too!” Pero whines as he rushes towards the door, “I hope the kitchen made potato jacks!”

“Yeah,” Lilth admits as he puts a hand over his quietly grumbling stomach, “I would not mind some food as well.”

Pero grins at his friend once Lilth approaches the door, “Are you sure it’s not just because you want to see-”

Lilth quickly puts his hands over Pero’s mouth to silence him. The young boy struggles a bit before he strikes Lilth on his jaw with the back of his head. He turns and points his fingers at Lilth, “Mistreat me and I’ll tell everyone!!!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about!” Lilth adjusts his glasses and crosses his hands over his chest. He stands still and confident for a few moments before he whispers – ‘Damn, people are going to misunderstand!’ and rushes after Pero, leaving you in the hallway all by yourself. They might be your subordinates, but they are not really your friends, so you do not mind that much.

Eventually, you reach a very busy and chaotic dining hall: at least two thirds of the Magic Knights are here, including Captain Charlotte’s at her personal table. The sound of clashing plates and mugs rings loud and clear – you have entered the dining hall during it’s very zenith. All sorts of smells and spices enter your nostrils as you pass between the tables and try to disregard both the rowdy workers and the Magic Knights. You notice the boys’ table where you find Pero and Lilth busy consuming their food and chit-chatting stuff with Olyver and the rest.

No way you will be joining them. You approach the counter and once the line is finished, you take yourself some warm, fruit tea, a potato salad with chicken bits and a massive, single piece of cottage pastry. After a short hesitation, and the stout woman verbally pushing you to move along, you also take a small bowl of nuts. You try to spot Tugela in the rowdy crowd of hungry and loud Knights but to no avail… you don’t recall ever seeing Wardress here either… you ponder: how did Tugela manage to deal with such an antisocial woman? While you ponder on this, you finally notice a familiar face – Elvira. She is sitting by herself behind a small table for two.

You approach the lonely black-ebony haired worker as you then put your plate on the table, “Do you mind if I join you?” You ask her as you, with rather unintentional volume, begin to move the chair to let yourself take a sit.

She flinches and nearly jumps in surprise when she notices you, “O-oh, Cynthia… Of course not, please.”

You nod as you take a few hungry bites to calm your stomach. Elvira does not say a thing to interrupt your feast, and you find yourself very thankful for that. Still, eventually you end up filled enough to start conversing with her.

“I did not see you leave,” you say as you raise the mug with lukewarm tea to your lips.

“Y-yeah,” she chuckles awkwardly, “I woke up in the middle of the night with a strong headache. It was hard for me to remember what happened last night,” she pauses and panics, as if in haste to stop you from being insulted by this, “But I remember now, I’m sorry! I… did not expect to get drunk this easily. Alcohol is expensive…”

“My magic helped one of your clones to fix her drunk state,” you say, “But I guess the fact that other two were still drunk is why, once they all disappeared, you were still not feeling well. Is everything alright now?” you ask.

“Y-yes, I’m not sure what the Goat Knight had told her, but the c-chef did not ask me any questions and simply told me to go back to work when I arrived… a bit late. We usually start very early in the morning.” She pauses as her hands tremble, “I… I tried using my magic against but the best I could do was create a second potato piece.”

You raise your eyebrow, “Yours is Arithmetic Magic, isn’t it?”

She nods, “But I can’t remember how… There is no way I could do that with my mana.”

“I am on a break right now,” you tell her with a reassuring smile, “Tugela told me she was willing to show me how to improve and get better at using my magic. I’m more than certain she can help you as well, what do you say?”

“I… I don’t know, I’m on a b-break but it’s…”

“Your break is over, kitchen girl,” a familiar, and annoying voice of Tresses tall figure speaks from above. The long strands of her sparkling blonde hair begin to slowly crawl across your neck before you can even realize and, when you try to flick some of it off, their body-hugging grip only tightens. She lowers her back to come face to face with both of you, “I’m curious: why would you two peasants be talking about improving your magic?” She sneers.

“M-Miss Tresses,” Elvira nervously grabs into her plate, “I-I’m…”

The Magic Knight scowls, “Why do I know more about the kitchen’s situation than you, peasant? It’s missing all the pork and beef, and, if they do not get it by dinner time, I will not have my steak. I need it to stay strong and healthy every day, y’know?”

> “We just want to be better at our jobs. You don’t have to worry about us replacing you as Magic Knights.”
> “It is not unfair for you to send her away by herself? Can’t you survive a day without steak?”
> “Can you leave Elvira alone, please? You are supposed to be a Magic Knight, not a bully.”
> “I will accompany you with this chore Elvira, don’t worry. Together we’ll do it quicker.”
> “…” - It is between Elvira and Tresses, nothing to do with you.
> [Write In]

>>3861696
>Noted

>Questions:
>How are you enjoying the quest so far? Is it too slow for your liking?
>What do you think about the prose? Is it too purple, would you prefer updates to be shorter?
>What do you think about the characters and side-characters so far?
>What aspects of the Quest can use an improvement?

>Thank you for answering.

>>3862059
>> “Can you leave Elvira alone, please? You are supposed to be a Magic Knight, not a bully.”
>>3862062
I like it, I wouldn't mind more updates but then I'm not sure how often I would be able to vote.

>>3862059
>> “Can you leave Elvira alone, please? You are supposed to be a Magic Knight, not a bully.”

>>3862062
i like the update speed and how big every update is, it makes it easier for me to vote

[Update 1/1]

You place your hand under Tresses’s hair on your shoulder:
“Can you leave Elvira alone, please? You are supposed to be a Magic Knight, not a bully.”

Her smug grin scarcely turns around. Her left eye ticks as he fingers scratch and run across your wooden table. “I believe I misheard you, peasant. No-no, no need to shout; let me get closer,” she hums melodically at you. In a single thrust, her chest leans even tighter against the table and her hair brings the two of you closer to her face.

Then, you feel a sudden, sharp sting athwart your wrist: every strand of her braid now has a form of a small, sharp needle – most of them are just a few millimetres away from going into your skin. Your eyes narrow at her – you take a deep breath: you will not allow yourself to be frightened. “I said,” you loudly slam your fork against your plate as you then raise your voice to catch the attention Tresses likely wishes to avoid, “Leave Elvira alone.”

“You…” you can spot Tresses grimoire lightly explode in bright flare as her hair begins to grow even more.

“I-It’s alright!” Elvira shouts as she stands up, “I’ll do it, it is not a problem!” With such, she quickly and anxiously picks up her plate and turns to face Tresses, “D-don’t worry Miss Tresses, you will have your steak this evening, promise!” She gives you a weak but somewhat thankful smile and, after a bow, she rushes towards the kitchen.

“Wait!” you try to stop her as soon as she stands up but she is either unable or refuses to listen to you.

Tresses’s magic weakens as he hair finally stops embracing your body. She smirks as her blue eyes reflect your image, “That peasant is mighty useless, but unlike someone here she knows her place. You can learn a thing.” Her eyebrows raise, “What is this glare you are giving me, commoner girl? Do you have something more to say?” She lowers herself just enough to have your nose practically meet hers, “If you do, we can always meet at dueling hours.”

You harrumph at her as you pick up your plate and leave without responding back. You sigh once you place the dirty tableware into a bucket of cold water. You catch a glimpse of Elvira bowing before a woman with a massive, white chef hat inside the kitchen – there is not much you can do if she does not stand up for herself. Thankfully or not, it does not seem that your argument with Tresses caught that much attention. You approach and then ask a couple of knights the direction to Tugela’s room, as you still have a few hours to waste. One of the less annoyed and less busy ones point you to the direction you follow, before they all continuing discussing something funny.

You follow the guidance and, after a bit of wobbling around through hallways and stairs you have not went through until today, you find yourself before a locked, wooden door. Every Magic Knight gets a personal room – Tugela should be no different. All the rooms in the Headquarters are marked by specific number, but you find this one is different from the rest of them, although you find it hard to put a reason as to why you feel that way. You shake your head as you knock on the door several times, only to have nobody answer it. She is not here today…

“What you doing?” a cold, emotionless voice catches you off-guard. You turn to find a girl slightly older than you with thick, black eyeliner and black lipstick. Her hair has a white-silver colour and looks as if she had a bowl-cut, but only a few months ago. Her eyes have the colour of wild strawberries. Her irises appear to missing usual glare.

“I was looking for Tugela,” you admit, honestly, as you step away from the door.

“I see, I though you were here to visit me,” she responds just as coldly as she approaches the door and opens it.

What is revealed to you is a less of a room and more of a cesspit. The walls of this girl’s room are covered in ash, dirt, oil, strange blue ooze and even feathers. There are several dead bodies of mice and dry skin of snakes covering the floor. A massive crack spreads across the entire massive mirror on one of the walls. About a dozen dying snail are struggling to climb across and leave this girl’s room right by its door. A ring of maggots and insects surrounds her bed and racking. A putrid smell from the mixture of all you can see and not makes your eyes water.

“I do not mind if you do,” she insists without any emotion as she motions inside her room.

> “Well if you insist… thank you for your hospitality. My name is Cynthia, and you?”
> “What happened here?”
> “I’m Cynthia, the new tailor. I can see you have a lot of clothes I can get fixed, if you want!”
> “Sorry, maybe some other time – I really need to find Tugela before my break is over. Where is she?
> [Write In]

>>3863343
> “Well if you insist… thank you for your hospitality. My name is Cynthia, and you?”

>>3863343
>>> “Well if you insist… thank you for your hospitality. My name is Cynthia, and you?”

>>3863343
> “I’m Cynthia, the new tailor. I can see you have a lot of clothes I can get fixed, if you want!”

>>3863343
>> “Well if you insist… thank you for your hospitality. My name is Cynthia, and you?”

>>3862062
>>How are you enjoying the quest so far? Is it too slow for your liking?
I like this quest a lot. I'd say the pace is just right. You tend to pack quite a bit of content in to each update so it's nice to have ample time to respond and not worry about getting buried in unread updates.

>>What do you think about the prose? Is it too purple, would you prefer updates to be shorter?
The prose is fine and the updates are a good length. There's odd grammar, spelling, or word choice problems here and there, I guess.

>>What do you think about the characters and side-characters so far?

I think the characters have all been oretty fun and interesting so far. Tugela is my favorite atm, but we did spend quite a bit of time with her. I thought that Nicolai's story was pretty cool, the part where he was stealing to give his poor mother riches in the after life was really well done. Idk which ones are from the source material vs. your original characters since I've never read or watched Black Clover, though this quest is convincing me to check it out eventually.

>>What aspects of the Quest can use an improvement?

Mostly just addressing some of the writing mistakes I mentioned above.

[Update 1/1]

You glance inside the room and, after a brief hesitation, you step over all the snails to avoid crushing them:
“Well if you insist… thank you for your hospitality. My name is Cynthia, and you?”

She has less armour on her body – her sleeves are twice longer than average and hanging, and her, rather dirty, clothes remind you of parish ceremonial clothes – than all the Blue Rose Magic Knights you have met seen so far. With such a get up attire, her rusty (like the rest of her meagre armour) iron sabatons are rather prominent. She enters the room by squashing most of the snails under her boots – it is certain that vermin here are not her pets.

“If I knew I would have a guest, this room would be spotless, sorry,” she speaks dispassionately as she passes her room and then sways her hands over her bed to clean it, “I do it once a week, as there is no reason to do it every other day… the other knights usually prefer to meet at their rooms, if we have to – not that I meet many of them.”

This is how bad her room got in just a single week?

“My name is Cleole, it is good to finally learn your name, Cynthia,” the woman says as she removes two bags from both sides of her torso and places them both of them on the eggshell filled table, “Or would you prefer a chair?”

“I’m fine with the bed,” you say with impossible-to-hide hesitation, “How do you know me?”

“I was told it was you who brought me back to health,” she explains; you recognize her as one of the three women you assisted after Tresses slaughter. She removes her grimoire from one of the bags to place it amid the eggshells. The grimoire is thick flour-white book with yellow, gold-like three leaf clover emblem and object-shaped statue-like patters over it. Afterwards, she takes out a strange ornate cylinder with two brass sections. She activates the strange magic tool by a press of her palm. The two sections begin to rotate in different directions and soon, a powerful aquamarine light illuminates the entire room. Cleole leaves the tool on the table as she joins you.

“You can tell me if I am being too invading. I am?” she asks after she places herself on the bed.

“No-no,” you raise your hands to reassure her, “I don’t mind. Sorry I did not recognize you.”

“It is usually not a problem I have to worry about,” she continues reservedly; she then interlocks her fingers.

“What is that?” you ask as you point towards the Magic Tool. It is something you have never seen before.

“Vysca’s…” she pauses and scowls, “It was given to me, it’s my failure to remember the correct name. Mana Restoration Magic Item.” She lowers her shoulders and breathes out a sigh of relief, “A very expensive item, Captain Charlotte gave it to me to restore at least some of my magic because at night all my mana is wasted.”

You blink.

“You have not heard about me?” she asks you with just barely noticeable surprise, “It is no wonder then… you found my room by mistake. Maybe it’s for the best, you wouldn’t want to be in this room if you knew.”

> “It’s unfair for other Magic Knights to treat you like that. Tell me, I’ll tell you something embarrassing too.”
> “If it hurts you talking about it, I won’t ask. No need to thank me, I healed you because I wanted to!”
> “You might not want to hear it, but your room really is a mess. Do you want me to help you clean it?”
> “That is an amazing Magic Item, how do you recharge it every day? I have a Magic Tool that I need to recharge.”
> “Tugela, you and that third Magic Knight were fighting Tresses all by herself… is she really that strong?”
> [Write In]

>Thank you all for your question answers. I’m glad that people read this Quest despite not knowing about the manga. If they are questions regarding the lore or the setting I am more than happy to answer them all.

>>3864431
>> “It’s unfair for other Magic Knights to treat you like that. Tell me, I’ll tell you something embarrassing too.”

>>3864431
> “If it hurts you talking about it, I won’t ask. No need to thank me, I healed you because I wanted to!”
> “Tugela, you and that third Magic Knight were fighting Tresses all by herself… is she really that strong?”

>>3864431
>“Tugela, you and that third Magic Knight were fighting Tresses all by herself… is she really that strong?”

Hair magic doesn't sound that impressive.

>>3864431
> “If it hurts you talking about it, I won’t ask. No need to thank me, I healed you because I wanted to!”
> “Tugela, you and that third Magic Knight were fighting Tresses all by herself… is she really that strong?”

>Update will be later today

[Update 1/1]

“If it hurts you talking about it, I won’t ask,” you reassure her. “No need to thank me, I healed you because I wanted to!” you exclaim enthusiastically as you place on and then gently hit your chest with your fist.

The girl slowly turns her head to look at you with a blank expression; it feels incredibly awkward, but you force yourself to keep a smile. After a couple of long seconds, Cleole suddenly stands up from her bed and just as rapidly approaches the table. Her hands open the drawer only to remove a very bizarre, velvet container.

“I am not sure if you would like them,” her tone of voice remains the same as she returns to sit by your side. The girl untangles the rope and unwraps the cloth to reveal half a dozen black bonbons, “Would you like some?”

“What is this?” you smile a tad jokingly as you pick one of the sweets between your fingers.

“They do not have a name yet,” she mutters as she follows your motion and takes one as well, “I made them.”

“You made this?” you open your eyes in surprise, “You make sweets? That is… amazing,” you exclaim rather sincerely as you place the sweet on your tongue and then in your mouth, “Of course, don’t mind if I do!”

As soon as your saliva mixes with the outer black layer of the sweet, an unbearable, hot taste detonates in your mouth. Your eyes water and turn red. Your breathing turns painful and heavy as you continue to force yourself to gnaw on the bonbon as to not insult the girl but, quite soon, you give up and spit out the candy into your hands. What kind of candy is this?! Cleole’s expression remains stoic and unwavering, but her pale pink face turns blazing red and sweat practically begins flowing down her skin, even spookier – her mascara and lipstick are melting down.

“A-are you okay?” you ask.

Cleole’s teeth clutch into the bonbon as she opens her mouth to respond, “I am sorry, I created them how I like them.”

“You are not planning to sell them, so it’s alright. They are a bit too hot for my taste,” you joke.

“I understand,” she responds as she takes out her bonbon and places it on the velvet cloth, “I will not feel right if you have to watch me eat and enjoy them all by myself.” She closes the bag and tosses it back into the drawer.

“I want to ask you something, Cleole,” you decide to cut another awkward silence. She turns but does not nod. “Tugela, you and that third Magic Knight were fighting Tresses all by herself… is she really that strong?”

She looks away and pauses to think – you do not interrupt her, although her room, in addition to how ghastly she now looks after sucking on the hell’s candy, makes sitting near Cleole very eerie. “They asked the three of us to fight her at the same time, as there is almost nobody in the Blue Rose who can give her a challenge in a solo fight. It is not often we do it, but this time she… I am not sure if it is my place to speak – but she was even more arrogant than usual. Tresses Amure is a prodigy, she is only sixteen yet both Sol and Tugela lost to her.”

“Are the three of you friends?”

“No,” she shakes her head as her voice holds the monotone, “It is impossible for me to make friends after…” She gulps in silence, as the two of you agreed not to speak about it. “The Goat Knight is the oldest, but the most eccentric of the people I know, she is friendly, I don’t think she’s pretending, but she is hard to keep in tune with – or so say the others. Despite her nature, she prefers the company of people like the Captain and the Wardress.”

The girl’s red face slowly begins to return to “normal”. Cleole gently pushes her hand to remove part of her mascara, as she continues, “And Alice is… I shouldn’t be spreading rumours…” She realizes and stops herself.

“I promise not to tell anybody,” you reassure her, “I just want to figure a way to put Tresses in her place.”

After a brief pause, Cleole picks up her pillow and begins to soak and scrub off her entire make-up into it. She stops; the pillow is still on her face and as she continues to speak, it deafens her voice so much you are practically unable to hear her, but she does not seem to be bothered by it that much. “If you get on her bad side, the only way would be to hide and run away from interacting with her – she is rather forgettable and short-minded. I did it again…” She removes the pillow only to look at you with a pale, almost ghostly face, colourless lips and red irises.

She picks up a small, oval mirror from one of the many drawers and quietly looks at herself in it. Before you can say anything, she removes a medium-sized cosmetics box – the likes of which you have only seen in expensive High Street shops and barbershops – and places it on the bed. She stops, “It will be rude for me to do my make-up now, I apologize.” She bobs her head a few times, “I just… do not feel comfortable. I do not need an empty, scare face like this in addition to everything else… You face is beautiful, and your hair… Do you want to join me?”

> “I have never used cosmetics, my father said it was a waste of natural beauty as well as a waste of money.”
> “It’s been months since I last got a haircut. I like the length it is right now; can you trim it just a little bit?”
> “As long as we are inside your room, I do not mind but… if I don’t like it, I keep the right to remove it, fair?”
> “That Alice girl, she is the one with the strange, blue hair, isn’t she? Does she have a history with Tresses?”
> “Maybe some other time. It was nice to talk to you, Cleole, but I really need to find Tugela.”
> [Write In]

>>3865982
>> “I have never used cosmetics, my father said it was a waste of natural beauty as well as a waste of money.”

>>3865975
> “I have never used cosmetics, my father said it was a waste of natural beauty as well as a waste of money.”
> “Maybe some other time. It was nice to talk to you, Cleole, but I really need to find Tugela.”

>>3865982
>> “Maybe some other time. It was nice to talk to you, Cleole, but I really need to find Tugela.”

>>3865982
>> “Maybe some other time. It was nice to talk to you, Cleole, but I really need to find Tugela.”

[Update 1/1]

“I have never used cosmetics, my father said it was a waste of natural beauty as well as a waste of money.”

“He’s wrong,” she answers bluntly before she puts back the brush from the make-up kit she just picked up. “Was that too harsh?” She sighs and, rather sternly, she pushes the hand mirror into your hands. Warily, you accept. You spin it around in your hands for a few seconds before Cleole’s firm gaze becomes unbearable. You look at your own reflection. You narrow your eyes fearing that this might be another Magic Item but, you soon realize that this is just a regular hand mirror only… clearer, polish worthy to be used by royals; it’s very expensive.

“What do you mean by ‘he is wrong’?” you ask her. You are now able to notice every scowl mark and dimple.

“You have a pretty face,” she mumbles in monotone, “But some blush there, a little lipstick there – they can change so much about a person and how they are perceived by other. When money is no concern, how people view you are.”

“I don’t think I care what people like that care about me.”

“This is not how it works in the Noble Region,” Cleole explains, “You would say people will treat you differently depending on how expensive the material of your clothes is, will they not? It is the same regarding your mana, some people will not give you the time of day if they can sense how weak your magic is. Where I come from, and where my family is – in the Noble Region – everyone is born with a lot of magic, so they judge you differently.”

“By your face?” you sound rather sceptical.

“A touch of lipstick improves how feminine you are,” she says, “Or, a colour like grass green or bright red can make you appear either exotic or sumptuous – an important detail.” You find it amusing how this is the first time Cleole really engages in a heated dialogue, as if it is her field, yet she still does it in cold, almost bored manner. “A blush can make you appear more innocent; an eyeliner will make your eyes sharper and more expressive… You know that the Captain of the Crimson Lion uses a red eyeliner? It is not only the female nobles – he too understands the importance of the first impression. Even if they do not want to, when they have no choice or other means, people will treat you differently just by having to look at your face when they talk to you, they can be more open, compassionate or uncomfortable.” Rather awkwardly, you nod and pass the mirror back to her.

You allow the silent, awkward pause to linger. You stand up and bow, “Once again, thank you for your hospitality. Maybe some other time for make-up? It was nice to talk to you, Cleole, but I really need to find Tugela now.”

“Of course, I understand, Tugela is much more fun to hang around,” the girl wobbles with her hands as she opens the door, only to have several insects and even fly-sized bats to start creepily crawling towards the entrance. Something, however, appears to be stopping them from completely escaping the room. “You can call me Cleo.”

“Cleo,” you smile as you take her hand into yours and shake it, “I’ll visit you some other time, or you can visit me.”

“I can?” she asks and for the first time, her eyes open wide in surprising disbelief.

“Of course,” you raise your thumb as you step over the entrance, “My room is sixty-six, or I’ll be in my workshop.”

“Thank you, Cynthia,” Cleole’s lips quiver as she hushes, “The Goat Knight’s room is floor below.”

“Thank you.” You allow the girl to repeat a few more prolonged farewells and finally close the door.

You hear a deafened ‘Eeek’ as you turn around. Raising your eyes in a suspicion, you take quiet steps to look behind the pillar only to find a woman you meet about an hour ago in the dining hall – there is no doubt it is she.

“Did you give me the wrong directions?” you harrumph at the short woman; she is way older but about the same height as you. Her sand-hued hair has a short length but is frizzy and bush-like. She has several shabby braids that she needs to shake off to look at you. She clears her throat and, raising her chin, she hastily stands up to face you.

“What if I did? I’m not here because I was worried about you,” she glances away, “She did not hurt you, right?”

> “It seems everyone is afraid of her, why is that?”
> “She did, and I am on way to Captain Charlotte to tell her about your ‘prank’.”
> “Nothing happened, I am safe. But this time, for real, please tell me where I can find Tugela.”
> “I told Cleole that this was a misunderstanding, and she was really livid with you. Be careful from now on.”
> [Write In]

>>3866721
> “Nothing happened, I am safe. But this time, for real, please tell me where I can find Tugela.”

>>3866721
> “Nothing happened, I am safe. But this time, for real, please tell me where I can find Tugela.”

>>3866721
> “Nothing happened, I am safe. But this time, for real, please tell me where I can find Tugela.”

>>3866721
>"I doubt that Cleo would hurt anyone, not intentionally at least. She was kind."

[Update 1/1]

"I doubt that Cleo would hurt anyone, not intentionally at least. She was kind,” you say.

“She is creepy,” the girl mumbles before she sheepishly looks around, “But it’s not even about her personality…”

“Nothing happened, I am safe. But this time, for real, please tell me where I can find Tugela,” you smile.

“Tugela…” the girl repeats to herself in a whisper. She whistles a short tune before realizing something, “Sure.”

“No more tricks,” you narrow your eyes.

“You are to blame. We were busy with our meal an then you show up,” she harrumphs, “I won’t lead you there.”

“I don’t need you to lead me to her room by hand,” you groan, “Just tell me her room number if you know.”

“I wasn’t offering,” she pouts and then points her finger to the staircase, “Goat Knight’s room is floor below, it’s on the right at the end of the left hall, I think the number is forty-one.” She doesn’t look like she is lying...

“Thank you,” you sigh in relief as you then move towards the stairs. Before you leave, you knock your head towards Cleole’s room. You then tell the woman, “You should give her a visit too, don’t believe in rumours.”

It doesn’t take you long to find Tugela’s room. Unlike Cleo’s, her door looks like any other – only the number is different. Once you knock, a familiar voice from the inside shouts you to enter – she’s not one to worry about uninvited guests. Gingerly, you push the door and enter inside. Tugela’s room reveals itself to be comfy and clean, the orange glow of symmetrically placed candles in the brass holders makes it so you can see most of the room.

If you were to note the oddities, it would be about four tall fruit and vegetable plants standing right by the window, as well as a diary lying on the ground for, what you assume, is keeping track of their growth. All four of the plants have visibly vivid and matured fruits. There are a couple of animal skulls, to your amusement not just goat ones (there is a squirrel, a hare and a deer one as well), hanging on and decorating her walls. She has a lot of pillows: a few of them are half the size of your body and laying on the floor to be used as chairs. Biggest quirk in her room, however, is a massive display cabinet filled with bottles of all sorts and labels; they are all wine bottles.

“Well, close the door behind you!” Tugela calls you. You turn to find her laying on the bed in her underwear.

“Hello, Tugela,” you say with a short smile as you approach her, “I hope I am not bothering you.”

“No-no, little Cynthia,” Tugela lazily waves her hand. You notice a couple of empty bottles standing by her bed. “Be a friend, take Deago Garrafeira – it should be ten years matured – from the cabinet for mae.” She yawns.

“What if you have a mission?” you give her a reluctant nod as you open the cabinet. You closely inspect the wine bottles and their labeling; all of them look incredibly similar, and all the unknown and outlandish words make your head hurt. “I’m sorry, I can’t see it,” you soon hang your head dejectedly as you turn to disappoint Tugela.

She rolls her eyes, “Eh, that’s fine. Give mae one of the bottoma Dolces,” she motions. You take the one with the prettiest label. “And throw it, it’s mauch cooler that way,” she says and you obey her wishes. You toss the bottle that is probably worth a month of your living expenses into the air, and, thank God, Tugela is able to catch it. She unscrews the muselet and then, with the help of her magic, she pops the cork right off. She makes a long gulp.

“Sweet and soft, a little bit too soft,” she says as she shows her tongue, “Beh, and a little bit too sweet as well.” She raises her bottle towards you but stops, “Oh right,” she says begrudgingly, “I was told by the Wardress not to give you it. How old were you again? Fifteen, right – you just got your grimaoire. We need to wait three years until you can drink with us.” She puts the bottle on the floor and stands up; warm blanket hangs to her shoulders, “As for a maission, that shouldn’t really be a concern. Captain Charlotte usually does not allow you to take another maission the next day so I’m kind of forced to relax today. You are here to ask mae about your magic, right?

“Yes, you told me you can help me improving it – I am not that knowledgeable in using my grimoire…”

“You will have to tell mae exactly what you want to do,” she raises her hands and yawns.

> “How do you learn new spells? Like it or not, I am going to need one someday.”
> “Is there a way to improve the spell I have right now – Homely Blanket? A weak healer is more than useless.”
> “You said I can improve my basic magic attunement, how would I go about that?”
> “I need a new spell that will help me with my challenge, but I not sure what kind of. Do you have any suggestions?”
> “I hope you remember the Magic Tool I took from the bandits; can you show me how to charge it?”
> [Write In]

File: 1570584456437.jpg (311 KB, 824x890)

311 KB JPG

>sorry for the delay, I apologize but, you know - Saturdays.

>When it's not a bother, if you guys could leave a comment with a pick of the choice, that would be greatly appreciated.

>>3869318
> “How do you learn new spells? Like it or not, I am going to need one someday.”
> “I hope you remember the Magic Tool I took from the bandits; can you show me how to charge it?”

>>3869318
> “How do you learn new spells? Like it or not, I am going to need one someday.”

>>3869318
>> “You said I can improve my basic magic attunement, how would I go about that?”

>>3869318
>“You said I can improve my basic magic attunement, how would I go about that?”
>“I hope you remember the Magic Tool I took from the bandits; can you show me how to charge it?”

I think this two are ones we don't know. Upgrading spells and new one comes from usage if I remember correctly

>write in
>Ask her to teach us how to hide items in grimoire

>>3869318
> “I hope you remember the Magic Tool I took from the bandits; can you show me how to charge it?”
> “How do you learn new spells? Like it or not, I am going to need one someday.”

[Update 1/1]

“I hope you remember the Magic Tool I took from the bandits; can you show me how to charge it?”

“Yeah, I remaemaber,” she yawns as she exposes her hand towards you, “Do you have it?”

You nod; you take Paralyze Knife from your bag and hang it towards Tugela, “Here.”

The Goat Knight takes it by the handle and spins it in her hands in order to have the crystal face her, “This is one of the regular ones, I’ma not sure how it works either, little healer, but there is a paralyze spell inscribed into the knife and it is cast when the blade pierces the skin. The spell inside remains, but you need to recharge it, yeah.”

“How do you do it?” you ask.

“Well it is pretty simaple,” she says as she puts her hand on the blade, “You push your mana into the blade until the spell is recharged, although I am not sure how mauch mana this thing here is going to take so, it’s best to test it things simailar to it in a safe environmaent.” She winks at you, “And you should be careful as with every recharge the spell inscription is going to grow weaker until it comapletely vanished and this here will be just a regular knife.” She spins the knife in her palm before she closes her eyes and ivory-pink aura begins to glow around her hand and then, the knife. The knife begins to silently tremble and, very soon, consumes Tugela’s aura.

“Phew,” Tugela takes a relaxed sigh as she offers you the Paralyze Knife. You take it, “That thing takes a lot.”

>Item Acquired: [Magic Tool: Paralyze Knife][Full Charge]

“Thank you; this does not look too complicated,” you try not to make that sound too arrogant.

“It’s really not,” she says, “But you have to recharge it every new day, even if you don’t end up using it.”

“I see,” you carefully look over the Magic Tool in your hand. Certainly, even you can feel the self-contained magic inside of it. You place it back into your bag, “It’s very likely I will not end up using it today, however,” you say. “Then, another question, Tugela. I have seen you hide your broom in your grimoire – how do you do that?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” she prolongs as she pushes her grimoire to hover in front of her. She looks around her bed before she picks up an empty bottle of wine and motions for you to observe. “Your grimaoire allows you to create and weave comaplex spells and magics, and even shape new objects, like your enchanted blanket, into the world from your mana. Your grimaoire responds to your unique magic; the trick behind putting the things you want into your grimaoire is to have your grimaoire assent those objects as a part of your magic. For maost of the objects, it is as simaple as covering and somaetimes holding them in your mana.”

She displays it: she allows her magic to slowly wrap the bottle with a pink glow, “But the problema comes when it is either a Magic Tool or an object that has become accustomaed to another person’s mana – I usually don’t bother, but they take a lot maore effort to shape to your mana wavelength, if that makes sense.” Her grimoire’s open pages become liquid-like once her bottle touches their surface and is slowly drowned into them, after which they become solid and parchment-like again. “Now, putting itemas into your grimaoire is the easy part, taking thema out is the hard one,” Tugela twists her fingers to allow the grimoire to spin around and show you empty pages, “As you can see, the objects you put inside are not really considered part of the connection you have with your grimaoire, or a new spell. You have to practice somae, as it’s not as easy as you yelling out the namae of your spell. Have you tried doing it like this? Oh, probably not, you still have a lot to learn little healer. Usually, if you close your eyes and concentrate, you can enter a trance and shape a rooma inside your grimoire – it is in this rooma I find all my objects.”

She pauses and closes her eyes before she spreads out her hand and the empty bottle of wine leaves the pages.

Your head begins to spin from all the information. You pause as you take your grimoire into your own hands and close your eyes. You concentrate very, very hand as your mana slowly begins to glow around you… yet, you are unable to feel any intimate connection with your book of spells, neither are you able to see any kind of room.

You open your eyes only to see Tugela gently pushing your forehead with the bottle’s bottom, “It won’t be easy.”

You haw and hem, “How do you learn new spells? Like it or not, I am going to need one someday.”

“The boring answer is that it takes time, effort and practice,” Tugela chuckles, “But the reason Magic Knights are so mauch stronger than everyone else is because ones grimoire grows from adversary, it grows in battle and life-threatening situations – but that is not always guaranteed. You can’t just jumap off a cliff and expect to learn a flying spell, you will just end up a splatter. It is unique to every individual, but usually your maind should be open and focused, your body should be at its limait and your mana should be drained to allow you to experience changes and your grimaoire to shape you a “second breathe”. Now, of course, that is an extremaely rare way to go about learning new spells, and maost of the people usually do it other two ways – they either imaprove and add changes to the spell they already have or they train and experimaent with logical ways their magic can be used to create spells: it takes many tries and fails until the grimaoire and its user are in unison that one is ready.”

You watch Tugela take another massive swing of the wine bottle to half-empty it. “You sure know a lot.”

“Don’t meant to brag,” she grins, “I was told all those things mayself, but I maostly learned about them froma instinct, experience and intuition, and if you ever decide to becomae a Magic Knight, so will you, as well.”

“What about my attunement?” you ask her, unsure if she really answered your question in that rant.

“That’s really up to you, eventually, if you continue using your magic you are going to awaken… somaething, but that maight be in five or ten or even twenty years, however. Try to experimaent with unique ways, push it, kid.”

> Is there anything you do understand or wish to be explained further? Perhaps, some other questions?

>>3870237
>I don't know how often a tailor will end up in life threatening situations. Yesterday was probably an exception...
>By the way, I found out last night that I can actually use my magic to cure hangovers. Not that you seem to have problems with holding your liquor, but if you ever did...

>>3870806
+1

>>3870806
+1
>MC: I can cure hangovers...
>Tugela: Well you are not leaving my side

[Update 1/1]

“I don't know how often a tailor will end up in life threatening situations. Yesterday was probably an exception...”

Tugela hems back in a friendly manner, “We have two enemay kingdomas on our borders, little Cynthia.” She takes another swing from the wine bottle, “And the bandits are not a rare sight in our kingdoma, it never hurts to be ready. Speaking seriously, did you even expect to end up in a life-threatening situation yesterday? Prob’ not.”

You shake your head, “No, I didn’t… But I don’t think I’d like to go on another ‘mission’ if I can avoid it.”

“Shamae,” Tugela yawns as she rubs under her ankle, “If it was just mae alone, I probably would have failed to talk and convince hima the way you did – I’d just beat hima up to a pulp even if I had to return the day after.”

“But that just proves my point: I don’t need ways to attack others – I need magic to help me with my tailor work.”

“I understand,” Tugela whistles, “But I can’t even insist on sparring with you if you don’t have offensive spells.”

“I would rather not fight you, Tugela,” you smile at her. She pours the last of the wine into her mouth, only to loudly gulp it down and pout. “There is one more thing… I think I can heal drunkenness with my Healing Blanket.”

She raises her eyebrow and asks, “Is that a new thing?”

“I am… not sure,” you admit, “I did not try healing drunkenness and hangovers until yesterday night, so I can’t say for sure… I see you have no problems with holding your liquor, but if you ever did… You can come to me for help.”

She smirks, quickly pushes herself off the bed and grabs you into a tight, embarrassing hug by your neck, “Are you worried about mae, little healer? Cute, I’ll make sure to keep that in maind, maybe not for myself but some of may friends who have worse lungs than mae. To be honest, I love how the wine tastes, but the after-affect after too many of bottles can be a tad annoying – I tried not to show it, but I had to do a few maissions suffering through.”

“You did?” you say in surprise, “I hope nothing bad happened to you during those missions? And the Captain?”

“She doesn’t know,” Tugela tightens her hug so you can feel a mild discomfort, “But no, the worse part was having to fight with a headache.” She finally releases you and falls down on her bed, flexing her legs, “Actually, if it’s healing magic you wish to pursue, you should go talk with semai-blind Cecilia – she’s one of the few healers we had in the Blue Rose before you arrived, but she’s probably the maost experienced and eldest here. She’s a bit -boring- for may liking, so I’m not going to join you if you go, sorry not! I’ma too lazy to dress up for that either!”

You chuckle lightly; you give Tugela a satisfied and grateful nod. By her request, you take out another expensive looking wine bottle from the cabinet, the name of which you can’t be bothered to remember, as you then, once again, extremely cautiously toss it to her. You wish her farewell. You close the door behind yourself and enter the hallway. Just after you take a few steps, you eavesdrop on suspicious neighbouring steps echoing near you.

“Why are you following me?” you hastily come to a stop as you turn your face towards one of the walls. A silence lingers but, as you continue glaring at the corner, the short woman with bush hair emerges her face, only to duck it back. You roll your eyes as you hastily turn around and approach the end of the wall. You place your hand on it.

“Why are you following me?” you repeat to the woman who failed the hide-and-not-be-seen game.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks.

“What?”

“You just arrived a few days ago, did you not. How come you are already friend with all the wrong people?!”

“I could say you are a strange one as well,” your smirk is mellow, “Do you want to be my friend?”

“I’m not strange,” she gasps in insult as she removes a small black book – not a grimoire but akin to a diary – from her pocket, “I know, it’s because you don’t know a thing about them.” The short woman bites her cheek and opens the book, “Don’t think I’m doing this because I care about you, but as your elder I am going to tell you why you should be careful, if not outright stay away from the ‘Goat Knight’ and the ‘Misfortune Grimoire’. Ahem…”

> Remain silent; allow the petite woman to explain her reasoning.
> Put your hand over the diary to close it. Kindly explain that you do not care about Tugela’s and Cleole’s pasts.
> Interrupt the woman and tell her that people like her are hurting folks like Cleole because of their gossips.

In addition, after you dealt with the woman, you probably should:
> Find healer Cecilia and try to ask her to explain and instruct you on improving your healing magic.
> Go to your room to practice placing and hiding things inside your grimoire.
> Go into the gardens and practice your linen magic to try to improve the restrictions on distance and your limits.
> Return back to the workshop a few hours earlier in order to get ahead with all the clothes you need to fix.

>[Write In] open as well, of course.

>>3871872
> Put your hand over the diary to close it. Kindly explain that you do not care about Tugela’s and Cleole’s pasts.
> Go to your room to practice placing and hiding things inside your grimoire.

>>3871872
>> Interrupt the woman and tell her that people like her are hurting folks like Cleole because of their gossips.
> Find healer Cecilia and try to ask her to explain and instruct you on improving your healing magic.

>>3871872
> Put your hand over the diary to close it. “Selfishly holding onto the past, denies all parties involved a future. You are a Magic Knight, be a bigger person, and learn to forgive or forget, and move on!”


> Find healer Cecilia and try to ask her to explain and instruct you on improving your healing magic.

>Go to your room to practice placing and hiding things inside your grimoire.
I don't know, do we really need more healing powers? We seems to be doing just fine.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

> Go to your room to practice placing and hiding things inside your grimoire.
> Find healer Cecilia and try to ask her to explain and instruct you on improving your healing magic.

Rolling to decide between the two.

[Update 1/1]

You place your hand over the book and the short woman is caught in a silent surprise. You gently push your fingers to close the book shut before you lean your head closer – despite her height, you are still talking to an adult and your superior, “You are a Magic Knight, be a bigger person here, and learn to forgive or forget, and move on!”

She gasps, “B-but I am only trying to protect you here, as my duty of your senior – of course!”

You swiftly turn around and continue walking; even if she says something towards you – you ignore it. Still, the ‘Goat Knight’ and ‘Misfortune Grimoire’ are rather loud titles – you can’t really say you are not curious to learn of their origin. As interested as you are, however, you do not wish to learn about Cleole’s and Tugela’s pasts through a third-rate gossip. You fairly assume that, once the time is right, they will tell you their secrets themselves.

You find and check the time on a tall, grounded, wooden clock. You still have about an hour to waste and, while you realize that there is yet a lot of work to be taken care of in your workshop, you also feel a strange tingle seeping from the mana inside your body, as well as the pages of your grimoire. You sensibly assume that this unique urge to experiment with your magic is because an ability to transport things inside your grimoire is going to extremely useful for your profession and thus, it is only right to try to learn it. As soon as you return to your, rather empty and bland room - comparing to everyone else’s – you remove and place your grimoire wide open.

The next hour you spend following the instructions Tugela showed you. The first thing you try to coat in your mana and place inside your grimoire is Adeliza’s Broom, however, the pages refuse to accept the Magic Item that belonged to your neighbour for, presumably, several decades. Tugela made it clear that is very troublesome to place the items that are imbued with some else’s magic the same way you can do it with regular items, so you do not show much disappointment – perhaps, if you continue flying this Magic Broom, your mana will overwrite Adeliza’s. Next, you continue the practice with your necklace, and despite all the mana you push into your item, it refuses to be recognised as part of your mana by the grimoire. Perhaps your mother’s mana is to be blamed here.

You do not even bother trying to put Paralyze Knife inside your grimoire: it contains the inscription from the magic user who put the Paralyze Magic on it, as well as Tugela’s own magic. Likely, it was also made by a blacksmith with the assistance of his own magic, which would make this tiny knife one of the hardest things to do this on. You sigh as you search your room for things that are small, common and hold no magical power in them – you find a writing quill, a stack of empty papers, an ink bottle and a set of magic stamps. Imbued with a spell to immediately reappear in the location of the Postal Office the stamp is connected to those stamps are immensely useful to shorten the delivery time of small letters for regular citizens… but that magic is of no help to you right now.

You settle on the empty paper sheets, envelopes and one of the quills, and after several minutes of struggle, you finally manage to have the pages of your grimoire accept the objects drenched in your mana. You feel incredibly proud. However, when you try to take them out by first creating a so-called connection with your grimoire, as per Tugela’s instructions, you miserably fail. No matter how hard you try, you are unable to find the outlines of the envelopes or the quill, or even properly visualise the supposed room inside your Grimoire they are now located in.

You are now able to put small sized items of common or personal variety inside your grimoire.

One hour passes by extremely quickly. You return to your workshop but promise yourself to continue your training as there is really no point of hiding away items if you can’t bring them back. Lilth meets you by the door and the two of you resume with the immense amount of tailor work you’ve been putting on hold. Pero returns just the moment his break is to be finished – not a minute later (or sooner). With a surprising enthusiasm, maybe still feeling some guilt, he asks for the things he can assist you with, and so you guide him. Pero is only seven years old, so you and Lilth take on the bulk of the work; you ask him to do some cleaning and some chalk marking.

“Thia, you know Olyver puts all sorts of small decorations to the clothes he repairs, why don’t you?” Pero asks.

“I do not know how; my magic is to repair the cloth not to add unneeded ornaments to it.”

Lilth adjusts his glasses, “What if you used a different colour of cloth to make a flower shape and then attach it?”

“That will just ruin the uniform and turn it into a bridal dress, won’t it?” you shrug, “Besides, I am not sure if I am artistic enough to shape cute animals and flowers, and what-else, with my magic… Unless the girls want a snail.”

“Can you add a textile snail to my clothes?” Pero’s eyes light up.

“Sure, when there’s enough time I’ll see what I can do,” you roll your eyes.

…

“You know what would be C-O-O-L?” Pero says after a brief moment of silence, “If the tears on clothes would just repair themselves! And clean themselves too! And if you did not have to put them back on in the morning either!”

“It would be,” you allow yourself to smile as you push your mana to transform a couple of shorts into pants with the help of additional piece of cloth. “But I don’t think that is possible, Pero, at least not for me. Something like that is going to be extremely time and mana consuming, and end result will cost more than it worth – I imagine.”

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Lilth comments gingerly – you raise your eyebrows in curiosity as you turn to face him, “You can repair the cloth to how it is originally suppose to be with your magic, correct?”

“That’s the gist of it, but the problem is that if I step away from the cloth for even a while, the magic inside is going to quickly wither. I can’t control linen textiles from long distance if I do not put my mana into them beforehand, so repairing the clothes from a distance is impossible for me. We are stuck with this,” you chuckle.

Lilth pauses, “No,” he rubs the bridge of his nose, “There is an obvious, simple way if you want to do it.”

“Is there?”

“I… I maybe am mistaken,” he backtracks, “But if you could put the magic that repairs the cloth as a sort of magical trap, that would, technically, allow it to react as soon as the clothes are damaged. I think…”

“The problem with that is that I do not know any trap magic, I only have healing spells… one,” you sigh.

“Oh, that’s just L-A-M-E,” Pero pushes his head in annoyance, “Just ask a Magic Knight who knows trap magic to teach you, imagine how much work you can avoid if people don’t have to bring clothes to repair so often!”

“Hmph, there is nothing wrong with hard work,” you hold a tight grip on a piece of cloth. But maybe…?

Your thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. You open it only to find Elvira on the other side; she looks horrible. Elvira’s conservative clothes are all drenched in dirt and grass, her hands are bloodied and her face is wet and muddy. When she raises her head, you realize she’s ready to cry, even now her cheeks are red and drenched.

“C-come inside,” you tell her, “What happened?”

“I was… robbed, Cynthia,” Elvira holds down her tears, “I-I don’t know how, I was… on my way to the market to buy some meat and t-then somebody knocked me out! They took all the money I had with me, I-I… will be fired…”

> Ask the boys to call a Magic Knight; even if Elvira does not want others to learn about this, they will need to.
> Ask one of the boys to find Tugela or Sol: one of them should be able to deal with this without commotion.
> Reassure Elvira that you will speak with her and explain how this is not her fault.
> Calm down Elvira and then find Tresses in order for her to deal with the problem she had caused.
> [Write In]

>>3873570
> Ask the boys to call a Magic Knight; even if Elvira does not want others to learn about this, they will need to.

>>3873570
> Ask the boys to call a Magic Knight; even if Elvira does not want others to learn about this, they will need to.

>>3873757
Magic clothes are bad idea. Like it's genius but most help would be fired.

Doubt they would fire her because she was accosted.

> Ask the boys to call a Magic Knight; even if Elvira does not want others to learn about this, they will need to.

>>3873762
Isn't the point to satisfy most people? If we do that they should be, and we'll get one over Oliver.

>>3873579
> Ask the boys to call a Magic Knight; even if Elvira does not want others to learn about this, they will need to.

>>3873905
I think that level of magic is way beyond us at this point anyway, certainly not something we could learn and put into practice in the short amount of time that we have.

>>3873579
>> Ask the boys to call a Magic Knight; even if Elvira does not want others to learn about this, they will need to.

>>3873933
Better we focus on other things in our free time, you wager? Storing items in grimoire and improving our healing magic is useful but not for the challenge.

[Update 1/1]

You lead miserable Elvira to the only chair you have in the workshop; she tries her hardest to hold down her tears.

You nod your head towards the boys, “Lilth and Pero, find and bring a Magic Knight here immediately.”

Elvira grabs tightly onto your shirt, “P-please don’t, t-they can’t know I lost all the money they gave me.”

“It’s not your fault,” you furrow your brows and place your hand on her shoulder to reassure her, “I doubt they are going to fire” – you pause when you see Elvira’s expression – “I am sure they are not going to fire you for this.”

“I-I can’t lose this job, Cynthia,” she places her palms to hide her tearful expression, “M-my parents need me…”

“I know,” you give her a supportive smile. You nod a second time to the boys to confirm your instructions. Pero is the first to give you the traditional Clover Kingdom salute before rushing out of the door, Lilth leaves a bit more bashful: even when he takes a step outside, he continues to worryingly glance at Elvira. ‘Just go, I’ll keep an eye on her while you are way’ – you gesticulate with your fingers as you tell him to hurry up. He nods and disappears.

You have to borrow a piece of cloth to help Elvira with her tears; thankfully, removing tears is easy compared to dirt or even blood, and you are going to have Lilth and his water magic do it anyway. After about twenty minutes, once Elvira calms down, two women knock and then allow themselves to enter the workshop. One of them is Sol, the brown-skinned tomboy with. The second one is a woman you have not met until now: she is a plump woman with her blonde hair pulled back into several tight buns. Over the shirt, she wears a dark-coloured bodice that has a different-coloured section in the middle framed by light-coloured scallope – unlike the rest of the Magic Knights.

“Hey there little Cynthia,” Sol teases you but quickly stops once she sees how devasted Elvira is.

“I-I’m sorry,” Elvira trembles when the two of them approach her; she does not even dare to raise her head. “I had t-three hundred yul on me to buy the m-meat and other products f-from the local village market, b-but on my way there I suddenly f-felt w-weak and tired and I collapsed – but I wasn’t. I wasn’t, I swear! It was some kind of magic!”

“Calm down,” the plump woman tells with a worrying glance, “Can you tell us anything else?”

“I-it happened just a few m-meters before the first house of the village, just as you leave the meadow.”

“Sounds like some kind of sleep or poison magic,” Sol hums as she places her hands behind her head, “And not that far from our Headquarters – this thief got some nerves. Should we send somebody to check, Puli?” She asks.

“We certainly should tell the Captain,” the woman named Puli agrees, “We can’t allow a thief operate this close.”

“You two,” Sol points towards you and Elvira, but completely ignores the boys, “Be careful when you leave the premises of the Blue Rose base from now on until we catch this thief. And don’t carry a lot of money with you.”

“O-of course,” you nod. Puli leads devasted Elvira to accompany her back to her room and explain everything to the head chef and Captain Charlotte, and Lilth asks for your blessing to accompany them – you allow him to. When the three of them leave, only you, Sol and Pero remain. Thankfully, the majority of today’s work is done.

You gasp when Sol puts her hand over your shoulder. Her eyes are arrogantly and with visible hostility set on Pero, “So that’s the little imp who got you into trouble, eh?” She chuckles, “How did you like your first mission?”

“It wasn’t my first mission,” you harrumph, “It was my last. I have my own problems to focus on here.”

“But it was fun, wasn’t it? If your first mission went this smoothly, they you really should keep me company during the ‘Blue Rose’,” she pushes her finger into your cheek, “You went with Tugela, my condolences.”

“It was first time I have seen Magic Knight in action, Tugela was amazing, she defeated three bandits by herself.”

“Oh, if it’s fighting, we are talking about, she sure is special – and chaotic. It’s hard to find a partner for her,” she pouts and spins, “Are you still worry about your kitchen friend? Don’t, we are going to catch the thief in no time! Talking about thieves and missions, that ugly bowl-cut Marx Francois visited us today. Know what that means?”

You shake your heard in response. Who is Marx?

Sol’s lips drop in disappointment, “I know he’s annoying, but do you really don’t know Magic Emperor’s advisor?”

“I guess I never had the need to learn about… those things. But still, why was he here?”

“Heh, he comes here once in a while to give Captain Charlotte the stars for all the accomplishments of the members of our group. All the missions vary from catching a spy to ending one of the Diamond Kingdom’s attacks.”

You shrug, “I’m not a Magic Knight, but if Tugela receives a star for that mission, she wholeheartedly deserves it.”

“But don’t you think it’s unfair?” Sol’s voice lingers.

“No, the part of the deal was that the Wardress would… forgive Pero, and she did. I am satisfied.”

> “Sol, it was your earth golem near the entrance gate, was it not? If you are free, can you teach me Trap Magic?”
> “What is the purpose behind the stars, anyway? Do they only act as a merit of the Magic Knight organization?”
> “Elvira has been recently… softly-bullied by Tresses, can you, perhaps, talk to her to have her stop doing this?”
> “Can you give me some advice on beating Olyver? What can I do to improve my tailorship; for you, personally?”
> “If you really want me to, I will join you in the Blue Rose challenge… but, maybe, not tonight.”
> [Write In]

>>3875146
> “Can you give me some advice on beating Olyver? What can I do to improve my tailorship; for you, personally?”
> “Elvira has been recently… softly-bullied by Tresses, can you, perhaps, talk to her to have her stop doing this?”
> “What is the purpose behind the stars, anyway? Do they only act as a merit of the Magic Knight organization?”

>>3875148
>> “Elvira has been recently… softly-bullied by Tresses, can you, perhaps, talk to her to have her stop doing this?”

>>3875148
> “Elvira has been recently… softly-bullied by Tresses, can you, perhaps, talk to her to have her stop doing this?”
> “Sol, it was your earth golem near the entrance gate, was it not? If you are free, can you teach me Trap Magic?”
> “If you really want me to, I will join you in the Blue Rose challenge… but, maybe, not tonight.”

Sol have one set of clothing if I remember correctly. I doubt her personal opinion on this matter would do us any good.

The last two are good as they provide environment to expand our spell arsenal.
Also we learn about environment knights get their clothes damaged so maybe we will get some ideas.
Plus more time with Sol.

>>3875148
> “Sol, it was your earth golem near the entrance gate, was it not? If you are free, can you teach me Trap Magic?”

>>3875148
>> “Elvira has been recently… softly-bullied by Tresses, can you, perhaps, talk to her to have her stop doing this?”
>> “Sol, it was your earth golem near the entrance gate, was it not? If you are free, can you teach me Trap Magic?”
>> “If you really want me to, I will join you in the Blue Rose challenge… but, maybe, not tonight.”

>Update will be later today

>>3876353
How’s it going melk? You doing ok?

>>3877328
>Update should be up in an hour or less.

>>3877361
Cool, looking forward to it

[Update 1/1]

“Are you really though?” Sol hums as she leans closer. Then, almost abruptly, she takes a step back.

“Yes,” you run your hands across your collar to fix it, “You mentioned Marx coming here to reward us with the stars, but what is the purpose behind the stars, anyway? Do they only act as a merit of the Magic Knight organization?” You are mildly curious, truthfully. Before Sol can respond, Pero jumps in front of you.

“W-what?!” he keeps gasping, “Thia, have you never been to the Star Awards Festival?!”

“O-of course I have been,” you wince – Sol seems to be giving you the same expression, “I live in Kikka, that’s just a few days away from the Royal Capital. Of course, I do not visit it every year but I know the jest… but is that it?”

“Is that it?!” Pero exclaims. He accusingly points his finger at you, “Thia, the Festival is when the losers and the winners in the rankings are decided, by the Magic Emperor H-I-M-S-E-L-F! It’s award for all their valiant efforts!”

“Who do you take me for? I know all of that.”

Sol pushes Pero aside to step in front of him, “Ranking is very important for a group – the funding, the trust Magic Emperor has on entrusting them with personal missions and the respect they receive from the citizens and nobles – and the king – depend on it. Last year the Blue Rose were in the fifth place, but we will be higher this year!”

“How can you be so sure?” you tease her.

“Even if nobody exceptional is going to join us during the next Magic Knight Entrance Exam, we have already accumulated enough stars to currently rival the Crimson Lion! It is only a matter of time before we’re the best!” She pauses and coughs, realizing on how hot-headed she has been. “Still, the stars are not only rewarded to the Magic Group as a whole, they also mark the exceptional accomplishments of every single Magic Knight – that is how you advance in ranks, from a Junior Magic Knight to a Grand Magic Knight and even the Magic Emperor.”

“You can become a Magic Emperor just by collecting stars?” You ask her in short burst of disbelief.

“Technically,” she smirks as she places her finger under her chin, “Got you interested, did I?” She bumps your shoulder with hers, “From what I know, you are suppose to reach the rank of Grand Magic Knight after which you will be offered the position to create your own Magic Knight Group, and then, when the time comes for a replacement, the Magic Emperor will be picked from the Captain of the top rated Magic Knight Groups…”

“I did not know that,” you confess and then shrug your shoulders in half-assed manner, “Interesting.”

“I hope when, I get my grimoire, I will be able to join someone cool, like Golden Dawn or Silver Eagle!”

“Keep dreaming, imp,” Sol tells Pero rather harshly, “Not even the Black Bulls are going to pick you.”

“Sol,” you rub your hands together as you interfere in their childish argument, “I want to ask you a favour.”

“Oh?” she raises her eyebrow and then cracks her knuckles and snaps her neck, “Who do I need to beat up?”

“Elvira has been recently… softly-bullied by Tresses, can you, perhaps, talk to her to have her stop doing this?”

“Oh,” Sol stops massaging her fingers and pauses. Her eyes glance away, “Of course I can -talk- to her, Cynthia, but I don’t think that will do much good. You see, Tresses is… a tough and, dare I say it, arrogant cookie. She’s a very strong Magic Knight and she only listens to people who are stronger than her, which is why she is so annoying to deal with. I’ve beat her a few times, I’m not -that- weak that some so-called prodigy magician can beat me…”

“Oh-ho-ho,” Pero chuckles smugly, “Did she not D-E-S-T-R-O-Y a few days ago?!’”

Sol gives him a dangerous, almost hostile, glare, “That was my last battle after several.”

“So, she won’t listen to me unless I can beat her up, senseless? She is treating Elvira like a servant, Sol, I am wor-”

Sol slaps your shoulders, “Hey, don’t worry – I said I’m going to talk to her, didn’t it? Let’s see how that goes first.”

You give her an uncertain nod – is it alright to ask Sol to risk her health just so Tresses leaves Elvira alone? If she is going to do it, you should at least thank you in some way – you ponder. “Sol,” you continue, “If you really want me to, I will join you in the Blue Rose challenge… but, maybe, not tonight.”

Sol’s light blue eyes light up, as if candles, “Will you really? A healer in that place is going to be so much help, little Cynthia! I am not going to push my luck now, but I’m ready as soon as tomorrow!” She squeezes her fists in excitement, “Maybe tomorrow, finally, I am going to get the Blue Rose and sister Charlotte will give me the missions she'll respect!” She stops, as if realizing something, “If you don’t mind me asking, what changed your mind?”

You answer honestly, “If I can learn about the environment your clothes get damaged in and at, maybe it will give me some ideas on how to improve my tailoring methods. I feel like I being left behind by Olyver at this point.”

“Hm, yes, I can see how that can help with your magic,” she nods a couple of times, “Then, that’s settled!”

“One more thing, I hope I am not asking much,” you say, “Sol, it was your earth golem near the entrance gate, was it not? If you are free, can you teach me trap magic?” You ask her sheepishly. Pero snickers behind your shoulder.

“Trap magic?” she blinks, “Why would a tailor and a healer need trap magic?”

“It’s… an idea I,” – Pero coughs – “We had to make my clothes better and less prone to getting damaged. My magic allows me to fix the cloth that I touch, but we thought that if that magic is used a trap on my clothes…”

File: Sol's Grimoire.png (326 KB, 544x543)

326 KB PNG

“O-o-oh, that’s smart, I did take you for a smart one; no wonder you came up with such a good idea,” Pero continues to cough but Sol completely ignores him, “However, trap magic is not really… magic, it’s just one of the forms of it.” To explain further, Sol picks up her grimoire (cream-coloured with dark-red strips across its cover) and gently scrolls past at least four spells before she shows you the specific page of one of them, “You can set up any kind of magic attribute as a trap, but you need to have a spell like the one I have here.” Her finger points to the corner of the page where you spot a peculiar ritual circle. “From what I know, those circles and shapes are unique to every grimoire and their mage, so unless you have a [Trap Form] spell with direct instructions – I don’t think it is possible to put your magic as a trap.” She ponders, “Most of my magic are creation form and offensive form spells, so this trap form spell is the only one I have. Mages who focus solely on trap form spells are awfully rare, and I do not know a single Magic Knight like that – the only one I know build her business around that.”

“Do you remember how you learned that spell?”

“I rewrote my other spell - Rampaging Mother Earth – in order to safeguard our Headquarters,” she tells you, “Of course, a new spell did not just appear in my grimoire after a simple thought. At first, I have created an earth golem near our gates and kept it sustained and active for about a week but that proved to be very mana consuming and sister Charlotte told me to stop, as I was unable to participate in any missions because of that.”

“And then?” you ask, and even Pero’s eyebrow raise in curiosity.

“The next day, when I returned to the gates, the earth was still abundant with my mana. It was then when I realized I knew and memorized all the inner workings of my golem spell during that week, and that I did not need to have a giant golem near our gates active at all time, only that I needed my magic to trigger in specific ways when needed.” She chuckles, “I am not bragging here, but that’s how that spell appeared in my book. Hope that helps.”

“Maybe a little,” you smile.

“Well, I’ll leave you to think on it,” she says as she yawns, “Sorry I couldn’t be more help.”

You and Sol exchange warm farewells – only you two – as she leaves, but not before warning you not to miss the today’s dinner. You almost forgot. You admit to Pero that, while interesting, Sol’s example gave you no idea how to proceed with your own spell. The grimoire grows with its user. Soon, Lilth returns back to the workshop and reassures you that Elvira has been calmed down and is now resting in her room; he also tells you that Puli informed Captain Charlotte of the thievery and that they will begin searching for the criminal this very night.

The three of you make swift work of the remaining clothes, and this is, undoubtedly, the first day when you have managed to leave not a single skirt, shirt or pants unfixed. You consider praising the boys, and telling them to be proud of themselves, but once you see Pero’s more than smug face you decide against it. During your work you do tell Lilth about your talk with Sol but his advice is not much of a use to you either. You allow the boys to leave for the dinner a bit early, as you yourself first go to your room to check on letters (none) and get your hair fixed.

Still, you manage to enter the dinning hall before most of the people, in it’s early hours. A lot of the tables are still empty, and the Magic Knights present have only just begun eating their food. You approach the counter where a plump woman meets you once again. You give her a friendly smile and she answers in kind: her grin is missing several teeth. This time, you pick up a pair of whole roasted partridges, a portion of pickled slaw, an egg rice portion and a couple of small vegetable skewers with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and oranges on them. Your mouth waters: you never imagined yourself eating this good and this often – Magic Knights eat as good as any royalty.

You glance around.

> Approach and ask if you can sit with Olyver’s group – he seems to be explaining something passionately to Lilth.
> Approach and ask if you can sit with Cleo – she is sitting all by herself in the furthest, darkest corner of the hall.
> Approach and ask if you can sit with Tugela – she is sitting with both the Wardress and Captain Charlotte! How?!
> Approach Tresses and sit with her and three other people without asking. Do ask her to stop buggering Elvira.
> Find an empty table and sit by yourself, food is best enjoyed in silence.
> [Write In]

>>3877467
>> Approach and ask if you can sit with Olyver’s group – he seems to be explaining something passionately to Lilth.

>>3877467
>> Approach and ask if you can sit with Olyver’s group – he seems to be explaining something passionately to Lilth.

>>3877467
>> Approach and ask if you can sit with Cleo – she is sitting all by herself in the furthest, darkest corner of the hall.

>>3877467
> Approach and ask if you can sit with Cleo – she is sitting all by herself in the furthest, darkest corner of the hall.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>3878020
>Approach and ask if you can sit with Olyver’s group – he seems to be explaining something passionately to Lilth.
> Approach and ask if you can sit with Cleo – she is sitting all by herself in the furthest, darkest corner of the hall.

>Rolling between the two.

[Update 1/1]

You casually approach the two connected tables Olyver and his company are using for themselves. When you come close enough, the boys notice you and go silent – you are not interrupting in some boy talk, are you? Viktor and Cruz give you a mistrustful look while Pero and Lilth awkwardly nod to greet you; you feel as if both of them did not except to see you again so soon. You place your hand on the corner of the table only to remove it – that’s rude.

“Can I join you?” you ask Olyver straight and then you look around the table to involve the boys as well.

“Y-you want to sit with us?” Lilth asks you with an uncomfortable glance, he looks at the others – unsure.

“I’m afraid we have our own group here, no girls allowed,” Cruz, one of Olyver’s assistants, shakes his head.

“She’s not just a girl,” Olyver smirks as he motions for an empty chair near him – you would prefer to sit near Lilth and Pero but… you decide against arguing. You sit down and place yourself right between Olyver and Cruz. “Cynthia is a tailor, just like us, it’s only fair she joins us during our meals?” He smiles and immediately, all the complains vanish. You thank him with a quiet whisper and a bop of your head. You begin chewing on the food.

After an audible harrumph, Cruz whispers to Olyver, but not low enough for you not to hear it, “She’s just heard to sniff out your trade secrets. She probably heard about your new trick and now wants to learn how to copy it.”

“I don’t mind,” Olyver’s pure smile spreads. He realized you were listening and continues, out loud, “I have no trade secrets, Cruz, I’m more than happy for Cynthia here to visit our workshop to see how we do things.”

“You are absent-minded, Olyver,” Cruz looks away, “Isn’t this your only chance on taking the Magic Knight exam?”

“I am going to take it anyway, but if I can beat Cynthia over here, then I’ll have enough time to earn additional money and will also have a spot in the Blue Rose reserved for me if every other group fails to see my potential!”

The few Magic Knights sitting nearby hiss and gasp and begin exchanging uncomfortable talks behind his back.

“I don’t think she has a chance!” Pero blurts out and coughs once he catches your glance, “Forgot you were here!”

Olyver’s expression turns a bit sad, “She saved your from being fired, Pero – show her a bit more gratitude.”

“I already did!” he pouts at both you and Olyver, “I did! I am helping here too, you know. I’m useful as well!”

> “I need Pero to beat you, Olyver, but also do not think firing him was fair for the little mistake that happened.”
> “Yes, Olyver, Pero been a great help so far – it would be a great loss if he was to be fired.”
> “Why do you want to become a Magic Knight so much, Olyver? Is being a Head Tailor not enough?”
> “You have another new trick? The girls of the Blue Rose were already satisfied with the little details you add.”
> “I remember Captain Charlotte mentioning personal orders, have you got any so far?”
> [Write In]

>>3878093
>> “I remember Captain Charlotte mentioning personal orders, have you got any so far?”

>>3878093
> “I remember Captain Charlotte mentioning personal orders, have you got any so far?”
>"The only personal order I got was to catch a ghost"

>>3878215
+1

>>3878093
>> “I remember Captain Charlotte mentioning personal orders, have you got any so far?”
>>"The only personal order I got was to catch a ghost"

Didn't someone also ask us to make her something enchanted? I think it was the third woman in the group with Tugela and Cleo that we healed after Tresses kicked their asses

>>3878534
Yeah but that shit was time consuming and expensive

“Olyver,” you address the boy after you gulp down the last of the slaw, “I remember Captain Charlotte mentioning personal orders, have you got any so far?”

“Oh yeah,” he positively nods his head, “A couple of them: one from Borja and one from Tresses.”

“From Tresses?” you wince, “What kind of personal order was it?”

Olyver smirks, “I’d love to tell you, but I’m afraid I can’t. You know how it is, I can’t share personal orders.”

You nod apologetically at him, “Of course.”

He slaps his barely-present bicep, “But I can tell you it her order was nothing interesting or hard to make.” He pauses and soon notices the uncomfortable glares Pero and Lilth share with you, “How many orders did you get?”

“None… At least none of the tailoring variety,” you tell him, “The only personal order I got was to catch a ghost"

“To catch a ghost?!” all the boys, even Lilth, suddenly lean and turn in your direction, “Pero mentioned you had to go on a personal task by Wardress Virginia but I did not know it was to catch a ghost! Tell us more, come on!”

You sigh and shrug your shoulders – you might as well. You recap through your entire mission in Kraal, and with every word, you feel the boys becoming more and more invested and curious. They gasp, they whistle and they (Pero and Viktor – the two youngest boys) even clap during the more exciting parts. It was not your intent, but you soon realize how close the premise and the beginning of the mission feels like that of a horror story, so you quickly make sure to tone it down as not to scare the boys too much. You skip the parts you feel awkward talking about, as well as the more personal details, but you make sure to note how amazing Tugela and her magic was, as well as how dexterous, tricky and calculative Nicolai was with his magic. Once you reach the end of your recap, you realize that the women sitting not too far from the boys’ table have been eavesdropping. They glance away.

“I can’t believe it!” Olyver says, “That sounds like a real Magic Knight mission! I am so jealous of you right now!”

“D-don’t be,” you feel your cheeks redden, “Tugela did the majority of the work, I was only in there as support.”

“I can’t believe you and the Goat Knight became ghosts for a while!” Lilth speaks dubiously, “How did it feel?”

“It was… cold and eerie, it’s as if you lose your sense of feel and touch: I wasn’t even able to feel myself breathing. To have to go through that form every time he uses his magic, I can only commend Nicolai for that. Unless you are the user of this magic, I believe your grimoire does not work there, so, you are also very defenceless in that form.”

“So interesting… that boy has such a unique magic,” Lilth nods, “And you said he will now be working in your shop in Kikka?”

“That’s not certain,” you say, “We have a position open, and so I offered him a job. He doesn’t have to take it.”

“He should be a Magic Knight with his magic!” Viktor exclaims, and Olyver gives him an agreeing nod.

“But Thia said he called his own magic was D-A-R-K, I can see none of the Magic Captains wanting him!”

“Doesn’t Yami pick up the rejects with all the strange magic? I’m sure he would fit in with the Black Bulls.”

“Listen, I heard Magic Emperor’s adviser was visiting today and gave the Captain a new set of stars for this week!”
“Do you think Cynthia is going to be get rewarded as well?” Pero asks the more knowledge Olyver.

“No way,” Cruz shakes his head, “Civilians have no use for stars, will it even be legitimate?”

“They are rewarded by the Magic Emperor, dumb-dumb, of course it will count as legitimate!” Pero resists.

“I… I don’t really need the star,” you put your palm over the back of neck, and the boys gasp in unison. You roll your eyes, “Come on, is it really that hard to believe I do not want to be a Magic Knight? I have my own dreams.”

“What sort of dream?”

“It’s nothing special, there is a collection of the most influential trade families in the High Street of Kikka, and I want my family to join them – they call themselves ‘The White Yul’. In order to do that, I need a lot of money to increase our influence, open more shops and hire more help, so that is the only reason I agreed on coming here…”

All of them look sceptical.

“What?”

“Personally, I believe you,” Olyver says, “But everyone else finds it hard to believe someone would rather aim to become a boring yul-counting merchant instead of choosing the exciting and amazing life of a Magic Knight.”

“Well that’s the truth,” you harrumph and cross your arms over your chest.

Afterwards, you excuse yourself from the table, but the six of you separate on much more friendly terms. Even Cruz, a boy with dislike of women, wishes you a farewell. With no work left to be done today, you have free time.

> Return back to your room and go to sleep earlier in the day. Four more days of this challenge left.
> Return back to your room but continue with your ‘hiding things in the grimoire’ practice for a few hours.
> Look for and find Cecilia the healer. Try to ask her to teach you more about healing magic.
> Go into the gardens and practice your linen magic to try to improve the restrictions on distance and your limits.
> Go to Cleole’s room to keep her company and get to know her better.
> Go to Elvira’s room and check on how she is feeling.
> Go find Tugela and ask her more about the Blue Rose challenge and what she knows about it.
> Go find the person who was requesting a personal order from you – perhaps you should consider taking it.
> [Write In]

>>3879957
>> Go to Elvira’s room and check on how she is feeling.

>>3879957
>> Go to Elvira’s room and check on how she is feeling

>>3879957
> Go to Elvira’s room and check on how she is feeling.

>>3879957
> Go find the person who was requesting a personal order from you – perhaps you should consider taking it.

> Look for and find Cecilia the healer. Try to ask her to teach you more about healing magic
It's cute how jealous Olyver is.

>>3879957
>> Go to Elvira’s room and check on how she is feeling.

>I have deleted the update channel in discord as there is no point since I update every day but you can still go there if you want to ask quest-specific questions or give feedback.

[Update 1/1]

You have a collection of things you wish to address, yet the most important one for you now is to check on Elvira’s wellbeing. You ask around the counter and then inside the kitchen for where to find her: one of the girls your age with similar attire to Elvira gives you a precise direction to her room. You find the door you need on the lowest floors of the mansion, the room it is incredibly close to the dining hall – it takes you only a few minutes to find it.

You knock on the door and, after a few attempts (was she sleeping?), you get Elvira to approach and open it.

“C-Cynthia,” the girl rubs her tired, red eyes once she sees you. She is wearing a simple, almost plain, bluish dress. The skirt part of it is so long it drags against the flooring when her every, clumsy step. It appears that either you or Olyver are going to receive her old, now tattered clothes. “I-I’m sorry for troubling you today…”

“It’s alright,” you tell her with a smile, “May I enter?” She gives you a timid nod and guides you inside.

Her room is even smaller than yours, but just barely. Her room is as empty as yours, despite working here for a significant time, it seems Tugela does not have much personal possessions. On the wall are a few hooks with a pair of shirts and a slightly warmer type of a jacket. The rest of her clothes, you presume, are in the drawer. On the table there is a medium-sized, hanging mirror – just like in your room. You spot a couple of door-stopping novels with dozens of notes inside of each, alongside a few small, but very well-done drawings in cheap frames.

“Did you draw those?” you ask Elvira. You take a closer look at one of the drawings: a river landscape.

Elvira shakes her head, “No, those are my mother’s. Do you like them?” she smiles.

“Yes,” you nod, “I’m sure those won’t look out of place even in the houses of nobles.”

“How are you?” you ask once you turn to face her.

“T-they said that there should be no problem, and I can return back to work with no worry but…” she pauses.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-no, it’s nothing,” she shakes her head, “I’m worrying for nothing. Everything should be fine. What about you?”

> Offer to walk with Elvira to the gardens to freshen up her mind.
> Insist on having Elvira tell you what is worrying her; if she needs help – you are here.
> Ask Elvira if she wants to join you with another activity [specify?].
> [Write In]

>>3882133
>> Offer to walk with Elvira to the gardens to freshen up her mind.
>you’re curious how she was able to multiply herself when drunk. Ask if she ever used her magic on nonphysical stuff like emotions or magic power?

>>3882178
+1

>>3882178
+1

>>3882178
+1

>>3882178
While drunk she cloned herself. While sober she made it that a piece of steak returned to normal after being cut - right? +1 regardless

>>3882646
Yeah. She’s a mathematician! Able to multiply objects, or add two pieces together to make them whole again. Atleast that’s all we’ve seen so far. She can probably divide and subtract somehow we just haven’t seen it.

>>3882664
Sounds fucking deadly. Teach her some math.

>>3882133
you should archive

[Update 1/1]

“Me and the boys are getting better and better at finishing all the orders in time,” you tell her with a smile. You take Elvira’s jacket off the hook to offer it to the adult woman, as in just her dress alone she is going to be very cold outside this late in the evening. “Actually, today we managed to do just that. Here, let’s go take a walk outside.”

“W-why?” Elvira questions you with a raised eyebrow.

“It will freshen up your mind – I can see it on your face you still bothered by what happened today.”

“N-No, I’m fine,” she shakes her head but pauses and sighs under your firm look. She nods and takes the jacket.

“Have you been to the gardens before?” you open the door and place your hands behind your neck.

“Y-yes, I visit it from time the time, the petunia column and the honeybee branches are my favourite…”

You whistle as you lead the adult woman through the corridors, “It’s a big one, isn’t it? What else is there?”

“Too much to say,” her smile grows. She runs her fingers through her hair, “I think I’ll let you see for yourself.”

“What about the ‘Blue Rose’ labyrinth?”

“She begins to shake her head rigorously, “It is too dangerous for anybody but the best Magic Knights to go there,” she informs you of the same point Sol made previously, “I don’t suggest you go anywhere near it either.”

You push the main door open. You wince as the cold air of the outside hits your face and sends your long hair quivering. You and Elvira follow the small boulevard further into the Blue Rose gardens. Cold-blue light from the tall, gilded lamps and the dim but glowing enchantment of the fruits guide your way; it is a bit too dusky to explore Blue Rose’s garden proper. Elvira, however, steps forward in order to reassure and lead you forward.

Per Elvira’s explanation, the cultivated garden eventually and seamlessly reaches into the woodlands. The two of you pass: several tree orchards, flower beds, water parterres, fountains, arboretum fields, pergolas with hanging vines and many other places, until you reach a big collection of lakes with different kind of fishes and water flowers. Elvira spots a stone bench alongside one of the lakes when you take a sit. She looks more relaxed now.

“You were right, Cynthia,” she locks her fingers together and smiles at you, “I… feel much better now.”

“You should not be so timorous with your magic, Elvira,” she says, “You made two whole clones of yourself!”

“B-but I don’t remember how,” her sigh is harsh and tired, “I was very drunk yesterday, I can’t recall a thing…”

“How does your magic work? Multiplication Magic, technically that will allow you to multiply everything?”

“I-I don’t know,” she peeps and flinches, “M-Miss Tresses is right, this grimoire is c-completely wasted on me.”

“Why do you say that?” you place your hand on her shoulder. It seems to be a very uncomfortable topic for her.

“I am a peasant, Cynthia,” tears she tries to hide form over her eyes, “The mana I have is p-pathetic! Duplicate a potato? Normalize a cut steak? There is no way I’ll be able to multiply something like people or magic power!”

“But you did,” you gently shake her shoulder, “Your mana was enough to make two clones of you, Elvira.”

“B-but I don’t know how… I don’t know what I did,” she sniffs, “There is no way I did it all by myself.”

You give Elvira a ginger hug as she breaks and begins crying. You allow her to dampen your shoulder. After a few minutes, you lift your head to suddenly meet the mint eyes of another woman. Her bizarre and exotic, blue hair bundles into dozen, cube-like ‘buns’ – there is no way you can mistake her for anybody else. Her eyes fall on Elvira before she arrogantly sniffs through her nose and slides her finger across her neck, “You did not see me here.”

With that single sentence, she leaves without even bothering to hear your answer. You do not care enough to bother questioning or following her. Elvira raises her head, as if confused by a third voice she presumably heard, and very shameful of being caught crying about her situation. You reassure her that it is nothing to worry about. The two of you spend the next dozen minutes sitting by the lake. You switch the topic away from Elvira’s ability to truthfully tell and answer her questions about the city of Kikka, as well as the Noble Region, as she has never been there.

“Is anyone there?” a woman with light brown hair – collected in two buns – and blue eyes approaches you from the darkness. She is wearing a blue dress and her knight robe over it; a black belt holds her grimoire in her personalized poach. “Oh, it’s… you are the kitchen and tailor girl, yes?” she asks. Both of you nod in agreement. “You shouldn’t be out this late, but I am not going to chastise you for that,” she pauses, “Have you seen Alice?”

> “A girl with blue hair passed by about twenty minutes ago. Is she the girl you are looking for?”
> “Sorry, this is the first time I hear this name. How does she look? Is she in this garden right now?”
> “No, it was just the two of us every since we arrived. Sorry.”
> [Write In]

>>3883798
>I shall after this post!

>>3883936
> “Sorry, this is the first time I hear this name. How does she look? Is she in this garden right now?”

>>3883936
> “Sorry, this is the first time I hear this name. How does she look? Is she in this garden right now?”

>Kai Gowan:
>[Mana 50/50]
This is from the first thread, peasants have 50 mana it seems.

>>3883936
>> “Sorry, this is the first time I hear this name. How does she look? Is she in this garden right now?”

>>3883936
>> “No, it was just the two of us ever since we arrived. Sorry.”
>Ask Elvira if she's looked through her Grimoire since the time she cloned herself.

>>3885374
New Thread.