Trey had already heard the news regarding the expedition against the final remnants opposing the council. Edric had explained the details to him personally, and as expected, Trey had agreed.
So... I really will be able to see her again.
The Curteis estate possessed a sizable training ground behind the manor. Since arriving, Trey had not stepped foot there even once.
No better time to start training than now...
His departure was scheduled for one month. As a result, he had sufficient time to allow himself to be reaccustomed to fighting.
The sword in its sheath sat right by Trey's waist as he walked towards the training grounds, his hand resting on its hilt.
It had never left its place by his side since that day.
And now he stood in front of a training dummy as he unsheathed his blade. His sword was a gift from his master, but Trey never cared about sentimental value. The quality of the blade seemed to have deteriorated, likely due to a lack of proper care and repairs.
Trey then reached into his pocket, grabbed his mechanical glove, and fitted it onto his left hand.
If only I hadn't wasted so much of its power...
On the day he enacted his plan and poisoned the village, he had used the glove to ignite the manor and break through Reymund's barrier. Any further usage required his glove to have enough energy stored.
The glove gradually recharged by absorbing mana that Trey supplied over time. Due to his limited mana reserves, replenishing it quickly was impossible. Fortunately, simply wearing it allowed the process to continue passively.
Drawing a breath, Trey swung his sword several times; this instantly left deep marks in the dummy. The dummy had magical properties allowing it to regenerate over time, resulting in these marks promptly fading away.
Trey finally lowered his sword and exhaled.
I've really lost this much stamina in only a few months?
Hmm...
I should at least try to practice that while I'm at it.
Trey closed his eyes and, for the first time since arriving at the training grounds, gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands. Although externally there seemed to be no change, through Trey's eyes, blue mana flowed from the glove and traveled into the blade.
The device functioned almost like a conduit, allowing mana to physically manifest within the sword itself. With his calm gaze focused on the dummy, he brought his sword overhead and swung down.
Visually, the swing appeared ordinary. A few seconds later, however, a thin line appeared across the dummy. The upper half slowly slid away from the lower. Trey sheathed the sword and removed the glove.
There were blisters all over his hands.
Looking down at his hands, his right palm folded into a fist.
Let's hope... that this is enough.
***
Marina sat beside a small pond, tossing stones across the water. A few skipped across the surface. Most simply sank, leaving behind spreading ripples.
The soldiers were all marching for hours on end without rest, and finally, they stopped to take a break.
While most of the different men amongst the crowd were resting and conversing to their hearts' content, Marina sat isolated to the side.
But that did not bother her.
Nearby, in earshot, two men were speaking about the current situation.
"I can't wait to impale those racist bastards!"
"Fuck 'em all! Making us march this damn far. I wish I could just stab that little twat Valter and get it over with!"
The sun had already begun sinking below the horizon, staining the sky orange and gold. At this point in the evening, their state was hardly unusual.
"I don't even understand what all those stuck-up nobles have against elves. Hic The women all have perfect skin."
"Y-Yeah... hic..."
The second man barely managed a response before toppling sideways into the grass.
What does it even matter? Why am I getting dragged with these people in a fight for elves?
Marina began to assemble her own thoughts in response to the drunken comments she had overheard.
I'm not an elf! I'm just being forced into a perilous situation for no reason!
Back in the village, during her confrontation with Trey, she had accused him of the suffering he caused. Yet deep down, Marina had never truly cared about the villagers. She had felt nothing when Efrain died.
Those people had willingly participated in a society that kept her trapped and miserable. She found that alone reprehensible.
Even so, she had still chosen to stand against Trey. Not because of the villagers. Not because she cared about justice.
At the time, she simply believed Trey had not truly acted according to his own will.
But this was no more than a whim; even now, she questioned why she was so unafraid of death during those moments.
It did not matter in the end, though, as she had been freed from the chains that had bound her despite her decision to rebel. To her, this was how the world should've been, and she contemplated how her freedom in a weird way became an absolute fact, no matter what decision she had made at that time.
A sudden thump interrupted her thoughts. Marina glanced over.
Thalen had sat down beside her.
"How did you do that?" He asked softly.
"Do what?"
"The thing where the rock jumps on the water and makes all those little plops."
Marina blinked. Skipping stones?
Apparently, while she had been lost in thought, Thalen had been watching. One of her throws had skipped nearly ten times. That had been enough to capture his attention.
Marina picked up another stone and handed it to him.
"It's easy enough. Just find flatter rocks and throw them like this."
She demonstrated. The stone bounced five times before finally sinking.
Thalen stared with fascination. Then he attempted to copy her.
The result was terrible. The rock curved downward and landed right in front of his feet.
Marina nearly laughed.
Somehow she managed to keep it in.
Undeterred, Thalen picked up the stone again. This time it reached the pond.
It immediately sank.
"I can't do it..." Thalen stared down in a dejected manner. "Is it some sort of magic?"
Magic... wow, if that's magic, every kid by the border was a master magician. Has this boy ever left the house?
Wait, why is he even talking to me? From what I've seen for the past week of traveling, he seems to be extremely shy and does not get along with others.
"I have a question. Why are you talking to me?"
Thalen looked slightly confused.
"Do you not want me to bother you? I can leave... if I'm annoying."
No... talking to you is refreshing if anything... but I'd better clarify.
"No, I was just surprised since you don't seem to get along with others. Why were you not averted from interacting with me?"
"Your eyes."
"Pardon?" Marina questioned.
"Your eyes don't have malice in them."
What is that supposed to mean?
"Huh? I don't really understand. How can someone's eyes tell you about the person?"
"It's how you look at me..."
Thalen's voice remained quiet.
"When the soldiers stare, they hold disappointment. When Lira or the commander stares, they feel hope. And when mother and father stared... they stared with pride. But..."
"...But when you look at me, I am unable to feel anything from your gaze."
Marina raised an eyebrow.
"Malice has nothing to do with any of that, though..."
Edric's voice then shifted to a soft whisper.
"Everything is malice if it doesn't come from empathy."
The words lingered in Marina's mind. Are all those people malicious because they never tried to understand my suffering?
Is that truly enough to condemn someone?
Before she could think further, a voice suddenly echoed throughout the camp.
"Everyone! There's a search unit closing in nearby! Assemble into your positions and quiet down!"
Lira's voice spread through the encampment. It wasn't loud. In fact, it felt as though she was speaking directly into everyone's minds.
Marina doubted that was one of Lira's abilities. More likely, it belonged to another mage assisting the group.
Thalen immediately jumped to his feet and hurried toward Lira.
The camp erupted into motion. The soldiers already knew their assignments. Everything had been planned beforehand.
As for Marina... Lira's instructions had been remarkably simple.
A few days earlier, she had merely said: "If anything goes wrong, do whatever you want, so long as you don't ruin our plans."
When Marina asked for clarification, Lira had simply told her to rely on her own judgment.
In this case, it's probably best for me to stay quiet and out of view.
Wait... in the chaos, I do have a chance to escape, maybe I can hide out in the foliage...
Hopefully, Lira doesn't keep too close an eye on me.
Using her magic, Marina climbed a nearby tree with ease. Soon she reached the upper branches. A commotion erupted from the opposite side of the camp.
There! This is my chance!
Marina hopped between tree tops quickly, traversing away from her group.
Until a head appeared right out of the foliage.
It was a man with a bushy brown beard and knight's armor.
The two froze. Marina immediately turned around.
I'm out!
"Boss, uh... I found them." The man scratched his beard. "Or at least I found a weird little girl."
He instantly reached out to grab Marina, but was met with a struggle in return. However, the resistance began to shake the tree as they both started to lose footing.
A moment later, they crashed through the canopy and hit the ground below.
Marina got up right away and patted the dirt off herself.
Dust rose into the air. As it settled, she assessed the situation.
Eleven men surrounded her. All carried swords. All bore the insignia of the council knights: a blue scarf wrapped around a dagger emblazoned across their breastplates.
They already knew where we were. This wasn't a random patrol. They sent a flanking force.
Marina's expression darkened.
And if it were me and I had sent only eleven men... I'd only do it if I were confident those eleven could break through. Which means they're probably strong.
If I'm right, how am I supposed to deal with this?
Dammit!
Calmly, Marina raised her hands and allowed the life force around her to shift.
The ground shifted as a giant sunflower erupted from below, lifting her up.
"She's a mage!"
One of the knights shouted while stumbling backward. He then looked up to see Marina standing atop the yellow flower.
Such fond memories are coming back, but this time it seems I'm the one who is standing on the sunflower.
How funny.