Chapter 22: Exhausting Doubt

“Twelve failures in a row before you finally got it? Hmm. I must say that’s impressive for all the wrong reasons. A new record, for sure.” Fuyiki frowned, looking towards Sairek.

“Uuurnnngh…” Was all Sairek could grunt in response as he lay on the couch; and some of his clothes, rather uncomfortably. His left arm dangled off the couch, fingers nearly touching the floor while his right hand was dedicated to attempting to nurse his forehead which pounded into his ears miserably. Every word Fuyiki spoke to him reverberated and it all sounded too loud. He was utterly, completely exhausted and all he could think about at the moment was how much everything just hurt. He had sweat so much, it even began seeping through his pants which currently clung to his legs a little. Even he could smell himself, and it wasn’t pleasant.
He was only vaguely aware when he felt a liquid be pressed to his lips and he instinctively began drinking it before he even realized he was doing it. Only after a few gulps, the bitter taste caused him to splutter and lurch up in protest. The coughing made his head lurch and he wiped his chin from the excess liquid with his left hand as he coughed while gripping his head with his right hand to try and ‘steady’ his headache as he coughed.

“Wh...What the heck did you just give me…?” Sairek rasped, his voice torn through his pain and fatigue.

“Medicine.” Fuyiki answered him. “It should help with the pain. Not the fatigue part though, that’s part of the training. You’ll feel better in a few minutes.”

“Thaaanks…” Sairek slurred with a hint of sarcasm before coughing again from the bitter taste and then in pain. He slumped back down on to the couch.

Fuyiki waited patiently for the medicine to kick in as Sairek just lay there, hoping the medicine did as the man advertised. Fortunately for him, it did and about five minutes later, most, though not all of the throbbing in his head had ceased for the most part. His scrunched up, pained expression began to relax, his breathing becoming a fair bit more mellow.

“Starting to feel better now?” Fuyiki asked.

“Y-Yes… a little…” Sairek sighed.

“Want to try it again?”

“NO!” Sairek shouted as he jumped up, sitting on the couch, his emerald eyes glaring at the man. “No way that’s how most people learn magic! Ridiculous! That was nothing but asinine torture!”

“Well, you’re not entirely wrong. However, most kids don’t fail twelve times in a row either, boy. Besides, if I’m going to whip you up into shape in a week, then I’m going to need to push you. Usually this curriculum of mine takes months and years. Granted, I don’t have to teach you everything, but still, I only got about a week.”

“Ughhh…”

“Still, you held out. The powers of your spells didn’t diminish much, just your concentration due to your pain and fatigue. It’s kind of interesting.” Fuyiki commented, turning his back towards Sairek as he paced around in thought.

“Oh really.” Sairek drawled.

“Yes, really. Your endurance physically is weak, but magically your endurance is actually fairly strong. Yet magically, your strength is weak, but physically your strength is fairly strong. Your staff is most likely boosting your strength as a crutch, which would tire you out much faster normally, but as I said, it’s holding the weight for you and because you have much magical endurance, you don’t notice it much. If we were to increase both your physical endurance so you can maintain more ethereal at once for more powerful magic, then you could be quite the prodigy your father claims you to be. It’s a simple thing to fix, but it will still require a large amount of time and discipline to do so, as well as a bit of teaching, of course.”

“...You really think so?”

“Yes.”

Sairek sighed in relief. “I hope so… I’ve always worried that I may be just some kind of freak, or failure.”

“Anyone can be fit if they just set their mind to it and anyone can cast magic in this realm if they also put their mind to it as well. Thankfully, the two go quite hand-in-hand. Many people are just lazy and then there’s the few who think learning magic is overrated. If you’re properly fit and healthy, you should excel at both. Using magic is really not that much different from any other physical activity you hone your skills at, but of course to refine the art takes time and effort, like I said.”

“Basically, this is not going to be just some easy quick fix...” Sairek muttered.

“Nothing in life rarely ever is.” Fuyiki said, turning back around to face Sairek. “Still, most of the work is already done. You are educated in the art, which is the hardest and most time consuming thing. Some of the physical and mental training is done. All I need to do is discipline and motivate you to stop giving up so you’ll whip yourself into proper shape even after you leave here. Assuming you keep up training and bettering yourself after you leave here, you will be fine. Simple, really. There's probably a couple of other things you're in need of instruction of, but that's going to be the main one.”

“Simple is not the same as easy…” Sairek grumbled. “I know I was pampered at the castle, even to the point that it intoxicated even me… but this…” Sairek wheezed.

“Better get used to it boy. Now, stand up and go get yourself cleaned up. You stink and are soaking the smell into my couch. A hot bath will help all the aching in your body too, it will help those torn muscles of yours recover faster.”

“S-Sorry…” Sairek apologized. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and had to steady himself. His entire body felt weak and raw…

“This way, I’ll have your clothes cleaned since they also stink of sweat and travel. They’ll be back and clean by the time you’re done.” The man said as he led Sairek through a hallway past the living room to another door and opened it for Sairek. The bathroom inside was pretty generous in size, filled with a sizeable tub that he saw could also double as a shower; a general rarity in a low-mid-class housing, he believed. “Just undress and leave whatever clothes you have on outside the door in the hallway. I’ll leave you in private for a few minutes, then swing by to pick them up.”

“Thanks…” Sairek mumbled as Fuyiki closed the door behind him. Not having much else to get rid of, Sairek took off his pants and underwear beneath, wincing gently here and there as certain ways he moved caused his muscles to throb a little more than others, especially in his stomach. Once he was fully out of his remainder of clothes, he gently opened the door, peeked his head left and right out of the hallway and pushed his clothes outside before shutting the door again, then he gently stepped his way into the tub.

Controlling the faucet for the tub was simple. It was just like the one in the monastery, just… it was a faucet instead of a shower. He tinkered with the settings as the water flowed out and tested the water to see it was natural plumbing, so it started off being fairly cold but before too long, began to warm up into a relaxing warmth. As the water filled up slowly, Sairek lay back and groaned in pain and relief, closing his eyes. He let the water fill as he relaxed for about twenty minutes, nearly falling into a light doze.
Then he jumped and lurched upright as there was a knock on the door and then it opened. “...Geez boy. I don’t know what it’s like inside the castle, but at least pull the curtain over the tub so I don’t have to see your coconuts and their tree floating freely in the water.” Fuyiki frowned.

“Ack! S-Sorry!” Sairek yelped, grabbing the curtain to his right and yanking it shut. He felt his ears burning heat, though really, from Fuyiki’s angle, there was no way the man had actually seen him… He was probably just warning him.

He heard Fuyiki let loose a sigh. “Well, I got your clothes cleaned. You can feel free to get dressed back in them when you’re done. Also, shut that water off already. Too much more and you’ll start flooding my bathroom.”

“Eh…? Ah!” Sairek yelped as he had just been laying with his eyes closed, not paying attention. Frantically, he turned the water off.

“Lands… kids…” He heard Fuyiki grumble as the door closed behind him. Sairek for his part sank as far deep into the water as possible, both his ears and his cheeks now burned with heat. It wasn’t because of the water.
A few minutes later, Sairek decided it was time enough that he got out, even though he would have loved to delay the inevitability of anymore pain, he would begin to prune up before much longer. He rinsed out his hair, drained the water and began drying himself off with a towel. When he looked at his clothes Fuyiki left him, he groaned to see it was still only his underwear, pants, socks and boots along with his belt. He slipped them on anyway, of course.

The bath helped him feel a little bit more refreshed, but he was far from renewed. Each step he took as he made his way through the hallway towards the living room area felt heavy to him, like he was wading through a swamp. His body was protesting, wanting to just plop down somewhere comfortable and lay there until sleep overcame him. When he made it back to the couch, he sat and lay back with a groan and a heavy heave, closing his eyes.

“You look tired.” Fuyiki commented as he looked at him.

“I am…” Sairek drawled dryly. Why was he stating so obvious?

“That’s unfortunate. You failed twelve times. I told you not to fail, or else.”

“Oh come on…!” Sairek groaned, opening his eyes and pushing himself off the back of the couch so he could at least look somewhat less helpless and a bit more intimidating with his annoyance. “What good is training me going to do if you exhaust me to the point I can’t even move or think?! My entire day was already spent just walking to get here with my friends since sunrise and the very first thing we did when we came to the town was visit here!”

“Well, the good news for you is that I won’t be starting your punishment today.” Fuyiki informed him, causing Sairek to release a sigh of relief. “The bad news for you is that every failure is a lap around the outer walls of the town. That’s twelve laps in case you were having trouble counting. No rest inbetween.”

“T...Twel…” Sairek’s voice failed him and he croaked. “You cannot be serious.”

“Oh, they aren’t just normal laps. You’ll be casting spells as you run, too.”

“What?!”

“This will help you build your focus, make it harder for you to get distracted and lose your concentration when you’re fatigued. An invaluable skill to learn for combat where such a situation is more or less inevitable, wouldn’t you agree?”

Sairek ground his teeth together, but said nothing.

“For now though, it’s time for you to rest for the challenges that await you for tomorrow. On top of that, it’s dinner time now and I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”

Sairek shook his head slowly, but pushed himself up with a bit of a wince off of the couch. As he followed the man to the kitchen, he covered his bare torso with his arms. “If we’re done, can I at least have the rest of my clothes back…?” Sairek grumbled.

“I told you, those enchantments may be affecting you. For sure, they will greatly negatively impact your stamina and mental strain and affect your rest. That jewel in particular. Do you want to be fully rested for tomorrow or not?”

“I want to be not half naked.” Sairek countered in a dry tone of voice.

“Right… I’ll see if I can find a uniform that my students wear for around your size tomorrow. You’re shorter than most kids around your age, so I’m sure I can find something.”

Sairek glared at him for the low-key insult of his height, whether it was intended or not, he wasn't sure. Rather than continue to argue though, he made his way towards the kitchen table where both a plate for him and Fuyiki awaited them on opposite ends. Sairek sat at the closest side and Fuyiki took a seat on the opposite end. Sairek looked down to study his plate. Mashed potatoes, corn, beans, a bit of meat which was steak… and a cup to wash it down, which was cold milk. Each portion was a bit small, but altogether added up to be a filling meal, or at least filling enough for Sairek. He knew he was a fairly light eater, though he wondered if that would remain true with how much energy he would be using within the next week to survive.

“Sorry in advance, these are leftovers from last night.” Fuyiki apologized. “They’re still good though! But… probably not as good as what you eat at a pub, or the castle.”

As Fuyiki talked, Sairek had already bitten into his fold and he could tell it wasn’t fresh. It was still edible, but in comparison to Nayleen’s cooking, this was just an absolute downgrade. It was obvious the food had been made before, preserved cold, then just reheated. Still, he went to scoop up more for another bite. “I’ve never been a picky eater,” Sairek began before taking a mouthful of food. He chewed, swallowed, then resumed speaking. “...and I’ve never really cared for the castle’s strict etiquette and waste of food, either. Grand meal after grand meal where all I may want is just a simple apple or a simple piece of bread gets exhausting after a while. Nothing there is ever considered in moderation.” Sairek answered as he looked down at his plate. “A feast loses its grandeur and purpose when it becomes the norm.” He finished, then took another bite.

“Why are you out of the castle anyway?” Fuyiki asked him.

Sairek knew this was probably going to come up sooner or later if he was going to be staying here for a while. “A lot of reasons, none of which my father likes, I’m sure. I kind of forced his hand in me leaving the castle. He made a contract, which I guess he thought so little of me, that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill the terms of the contract for at least a few more years. A bit insulting, really, but I fulfilled the contract the very same day. He was honorbound by the terms of the contract to let me leave.” Sairek explained as he glanced up from his plate.
“I… did mention earlier, that he only cared about his own narcissistic image. That wasn’t an exaggeration. To break a contract, especially one made with his own son, well, I would be sure to do a lot of damage to that image if word got out about it. We had just recently made a trade deal as well as an official alliance with Masirean, after all. That venture is doing too well economically to jeopardize and risking Masirean backing off with rumors that my old man is untrustworthy and doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain. If he wouldn’t even uphold the end of a bargain with his own son, then who wouldn’t he do the same to?”

“Right… politics… but that still doesn’t answer my question, boy.” Fuyiki pressed him.

Sairek reshifted his position. The man was perceptive and saw the game Sairek was playing at immediately. It’s not that Sairek had any inhibitions about telling him his reasons, he just wanted to see how much he really paid attention. In a way, that answered the question he had and he was sure of it; this was another test, even though the man hadn’t said so, the way he was being extremely appraisive of him expressed otherwise. Sairek knew better than to lie, all he had to do was be honest and he would more than likely pass the test.

“I felt too sheltered at the castle. I’ve never seen the world beyond what I can see of the castle windows, other than a couple of occasions and before all of this, that was nearly six years ago.” Sairek began to answer. Fuyiki continued to look at him appraisingly. Sairek stalled as he thought of how he worded what he wanted to say next by taking another bite and swallow of his food. When he swallowed, there was still another brief pause, but when Sairek spoke, his voice was filled with a burning passion.
“I don’t really know who I am. Everyone tells me my place in the world. I’m the Prince of Ceareste, like that’s all I am; a name and a title. I’m... more than that. Far more complex than that. I’m a person. An individual, yet… I don’t even know what kind of person or individual that I am. I want to figure that out. I’ve already learned more about myself in the past week than I think I have in the past six years.
“I want to live, I want to make friends, I want to experience the reality of the world, the things that everyone else gets to do and has to do, both the good and the bad. If I am supposed to just become King someday, then I cannot ever hope to rule if I am so ignorant of the world, of what people go through on a daily basis, of what it’s like to even live, ignorant of the everyday problems people may suffer through. I feel I have to do this if I am to hope of trying to form a better tomorrow for every single resident within this country someday.”

Sairek took a moment to collect the air in his lungs as he settled his fork back onto his plate, moving his hands fingers to intertwine with each other within the center of his lap before he resumed.
“To be honest, I hate my title; the responsibility of Prince already scares me, to be in a position of power, to hold the power to control so many lives already, which will only be solidified with my eventual crowning of King... it all absolutely terrifies me to the point I have night terrors about it sometimes. That level of responsibility… a responsibility I in no way asked for, but was just decided for me from birth for no reason other than blood; not at all regarding if I am actually qualified for such a position or not or if I even wanted it in the first place… it’s scary.
“I am sure there are plenty of people in the world who would do obscene and abhorrent crimes just to have the opportunity to be in a position of power, let alone the highest position of power… but even more than before, I am terrified that only now, after starting to learn what kind of individual that I am, that I will lose that freedom, that sense of self once I am crowned. After all, even as Prince, ‘who I am’ is taught to be stifled and stomped out to a suffocating degree, where I am actively punished by my father for acting ‘out of line’. The things I’ve been taught on how to behave all go against trying to express myself as who I am. To just be a figurehead, say what people want you to say, do what makes the most people satisfied, hide my emotions. Whether I think that decision may be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ doesn’t matter. Things like… ‘it’s wrong to sleep in the same bed with your friend’, just because he is a demon. ...Why is that decided  for me, and by whom? He’s my friend. That should be all that matters. Why is it ‘wrong’? No explanation. It just is. My arguments don't matter. if I was caught doing it, it would be terrible.
“Both Nayleen and Cyial since I’ve met them have given me so much more meaning. So much more… hope. Rather than criticize me for every individual choice I make, they encourage me to do what I feel is right. They don't care that I am 'Prince Sairek Ceareste, Son of the deceased Queen Melina'. They just care that I am 'Sairek' and nothing more. I hope I can make the other people of the country support me the same way. Maybe even my own stubborn father, as much of a long shot as that may be.”


Fuyiki the entire time had calmly and respectfully listened to Sairek just talk, or rant rather, having occasionally taken bites of his own food, to the point his plate was almost gone when Sairek had finished. It was clear to him that Sairek’s reasons for leaving the castle were extremely complicated, complex with some reasons perhaps too complicated for the Prince himself to fully comprehend or understand, that much was sure. Yet, despite that long tangent, one question still remained to him. He leaned in softly, speaking in a quieter tone, almost a whisper. “What does that all have to do about wanting to learn magic, or even wanting to go northwest towards Yggdrasil, though?”

Sairek was tempted to bite his bottom lip, but refrained from doing so. He was feeling a little nervous, now. “Aside from the obvious with wanting to protect myself and my friends since I’ve been shown to be pretty inept at it so far, I… I’ve always had a bit of a fear… even if it’s a bit of a ridiculous one by now. Do you know how my mother—Queen Melina died?”

“I do.”

“Well… when my mother got sick with that, it still took many years for her to succumb to the full effects of the illness, and I was born during that time, inside of her womb while she was… ‘infected’ with ‘The Rot’ as the people at the castle nicknamed it.”

“You look like a healthy young man to me, though.”

“I don’t think that was a natural sickness, though. I think someone may have did that to her with black magic, intentionally.” Sairek answered. “I’ve always feared that someday, the same thing may just suddenly happen to me, too…”

“But that’s—Hmm.” Fuyiki paused in thought. “I suppose that’s a possibility, but more because our knowledge on black magic is… very vague, to say the least. The only real information we have is from banished demons and well… one demon says one thing, the other demon says another, they’re not exactly very truthful creatures when they don’t have much more to lose and some would rather prefer to just be killed off than continue living.” The older man drawled. “Also it’s not like we can just… journey to the Underworld to experiment. Not only would that probably piss the Overlord off, but it’s a one way ticket for us, just like the banished demons here. Except when we go there, we die there within days and—and I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

Sairek nodded.

“Right… Anyways, I suppose it’s possible for that to have happened to your mother… but only in the most ‘technically’ it could have happened; and I very, very seriously doubt that was possible. Even if that did happen, you should still be fine, from what we understand about black magic, anyway. Fuyiki answered.

“Why?” Was all Sairek asked.

“As far as we know, black magic curses can only affect one individual. They’re pretty… uh, personal, I guess. It’s not that they couldn’t affect more people, it’s just that they take an extreme amount of black magic to work already for one person. Did you catch my phrasing there?"

Sairek blinked, then shook his head.

"You have to target a person. You on the other hand from what you’re telling me was not even conceived yet, or if you were, were just an embryo. As cruel as this may sound, an embryo is not a ‘person’. To that point, a banished demon to put a black magic curse on someone in our realm is nigh impossible. It would require several people, at the hardest place in the world to do specifically that very thing. If your mother would have had a curse placed on her, it would have had to have been several demons, surrounded by your own country as well as other country’s elite guards, undetected by not a single person there. Technically possible, ridiculously improbable. So improbable, that it’s more likely that someone just poisoned something she ate or something else.”

“A poison can act that slowly…?” Sairek asked, not sounding entirely convinced. “Wouldn’t drinking ethereal fix that anyway? They had to have tried that at some point.”

“Death is a part of life too, boy. That means poison, and sickness is as well.”

“Yes, but… I just don’t... “ Sairek ground his teeth in frustration. “Something had to have happened to her to take my mother away that makes sense…! People don’t just... die like that!”

“Oi, stop yelling.”

“S-Sorry…” Sairek sighed, sagging defeated in his seat. Half-heartedly, he poked the remainder of his foot with his fork.

“I can’t say for certain what happened. What I can say for certain is that you are not sick, or poisoned, or cursed. I’d bet all of my money on it. So quit thinking about it.”

“...Oh yeah? How much money do you have?” Sairek grumbled.

“None. Honestly, I’m pretty much in debt at the moment. It always happens when the school’s closed for the summer. I live based on paycheck to paycheck. Why do you think you’re eating crappy leftover food right now?”

Sairek grimaced. “...Great. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“You’re most welcome.”

* * *

“He hasn’t been killed yet, has he?” Nayleen asked in greeting as Fuyiki opened the door to his home after her and Cyial had knocked on the door.

“Not yet…” Sairek called back fairly weakly from the living room. “I probably will be tomorrow, though…”

Fuyiki allowed Sairek’s friends inside once again and left them unattended so they could talk some, leading to go and prepare for his bedding for himself and the Prince. Sairek retold the events of what happened with him and Fuyiki while they were absent.

“Hm, I wonder if he would allow me to join you on that run.” Nayleen pondered.

“...Why the heck would you want to join?” Sairek asked.

“Because it’s good exercise! Besides, everything's better with friends, right?” Nayleen replied.

“I… don’t think this counts. I must say this wasn’t how I expected my next week to go, this is… gonna be tough for me.” Sairek frowned. “This was only a couple of hours and I feel beaten and bruised… a week of this…? I don’t know, guys…”

“You can do it.” Nayleen said simply.

“Nayleen, it’s not as simple as—”

“But it is! He’s right, you need to believe in yourself more. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean you should quit, Sairek. Things in life get hard and they get difficult at times, but they can also get better. This is no different. Anyway I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go ask for permission!” Nayleen said, prancing off after wherever Fuyiki disappeared off to. Sairek sighed and hung his head.

“...Are you sure you’re going to be alright staying here?” Cyial asked.

“I’m not worried so much about that anymore as I am what happens tomorrow morning.” Sairek grumbled. “...What about you?”

“Me?” Cyial blinked.

“You’ve slept with me all the time since we’ve met, or at least in close proximity. Now you’re going to have to sleep alone again.” Sairek clarified.

“Oh. Well… I guess I can just stay up all night, then.” Cyial shrugged.

“Cyial…” Sairek murmured.

“I had enough sleep last night to last me for tonight. We’re not going anywhere fast. I’ll stay up until I can sleep with you again. That way I’ll get to continue having pleasant dreams, heh…”

Sairek frowned slightly at that and wanted to question further, but he heard approaching footsteps and decided to halt the conversation there. He glanced to the side as did Cyial, seeing Nayleen approaching them. “He said yes as long as I don’t get in the way~”

“Oh, how wonderful. So I get to be teased while physically and mentally tortured tomorrow. This is The Pits…” He grumbled sarcastically. “Ow…” He also added, as Nayleen flicked the side of his head hard and he held a hand against the ‘wound’. “I’m pretty sure that’s the kind of ‘don’t get in the way’ he was referring to.”

“That’s for then, not now.”

“Oh, then I guess I can hardly wait.” Sairek chidded back sarcastically.

“Oho~ Is that so? Well then, come on Cyial, let’s allow him get some sleep. I’m pretty sure he’s going to need it tomorrow!” Nayleen said, hauling the younger demon up by the hand, though Cyial pried his hand away from her and seated himself back down.

“Err, actually… if it’s okay, I wanted to ask Fuyiki about something, too.” Cyial replied, almost a mumble.

“Ooo~ Are you going to be joining me too?” Nayleen asked.

“Ah, no, I’m not cut out for something like that…” Cyial said, shaking his head.

“What then?” Nayleen pressed.

“My… anatomy?” Cyial said, soundinmg unsure.

Nayleen’s face drew a blank. “...Well that got awkward—”

“Not that anatomy.” Cyial corrected her in a stern voice.

“...Number tw—”

“Nayleen...!” Cyial blushed, then gently swatted her shoulder with a gloved hand. “I’m not allowing you to listen now. Get...!”

“Aww, but I wanna hear!”

“I’ll tell you later after you’ve been good for tomorrow. Which means no torturing Sairek.” Cyial sniffed.

Nayleen booed sadly. “Party pooper.” She whined. “Fine, I’ll go on ahead.”

Being ‘dismissed’, Nayleen sauntered her way out of the house, the door closing behind her.

“You saved me.” Sairek groaned.

“Mhmm,” Cyial hummed, almost as if he was proud. “I... haha... I was being serious, though. Fuyiki said my ‘aura’ was stronger than even yours but… I don’t even know how my magic works. I know how to use it, and I know why I can use it where other demons cannot… er, kinda, but I don’t know what it actually is.”

“Well I will be happy to tell you.” Fuyiki’s voice said as he stepped into the living room. “To put it simply, it’s a mutation.”

“A… mutation?” Sairek asked out loud. “Oh…! I think I read about that briefly!” He called out, watching as Cyial looked down at the palms of his own gloved hands.

“Yes. As you probably know as well, demons that are banished here rather than born have an immensely difficult time simply doing things and existence itself is very painful, yet demons born here don’t have that problem. That's the obvious bit. The real question is, do you know why it is like that?”

“I-Isn’t it because all souls born in the Overworld are blessed by Yggdrasil? That’s—That's what I was taught in the monastery…” Cyial stammered.

“Hah... Oh dear. Science says otherwise. Well, I guess you could technically say it’s because of that.” Fuyiki said, pulling up a chair to sit down, facing the couch the two boys were seated on. “But no, it’s not some magical blessing or whatever. It’s all got to do with your body and how it grows in the Overworld.
“See, banished demons are already adults when they get sent over here. They’re grown, they’re not growing anymore. Their body cannot grow when they've finished growing already to adapt to the environment here. It’s already adapted to their own environment. Demons born over here on the other hand from the very beginning, even as early as the embryo process begin adapting to the environment. That’s why you can cast our magic and are not harmed by it. You don’t need ethereal to live, but you can still use it. It’s not poisonous to you. It gives you the unique position to be able to cast both black and white magic, and to be able to handle both realms. Technically, we could banish you to the Underworld and you’d be just fine.”

“I was never taught magic though. I-I’m just able to cast it.” Cyial mumbled. “I mean, I’ve been teaching myself by now, but even still, ever since I was very young… Sairek in the meantime has to either have his staff or go through this rigorous training for the same output? Why is that?”

“That’s natural, too. Demons are partially magical creatures by their nature. Remember when I said how human children have a difficult even casting spells at all until later in their maturity, Sairek?” Fuyiki asked him.

“Yes... You said that kids that are too young lack both the physical and brain maturity to be able to properly hold much ethereal or the willpower to control it properly… or something like that.” Sairek answered.

“...Good enough answer, I guess.” Fuyiki said.

“Good enough…?” Sairek repeated in a growl. He narrowed his eyes at the man..

Fuyiki ignored him. “Demons only deal with the brain portion of that problem. Us humans rely on ethereal as our life energy, and so when we expend it, we get fatigued and exhausted. Cyial does not have that problem because his body doesn't run on white magic, it still runs on black magic; it can just accept ethereal to use as white magic, just like we humans do without relying on it to live.
"A demons' body takes magic in no problem from as early as they are born, especially Overworld ones. However, although it won't physically exhaust Cyial, there can be even worse side effects from having the two energy sources diverge wildly in quantity from one another. An Overworld demon is the only place where the two magics can co-exist in balance which makes him very unique, but disrupting that very fine balance too much can cause problems.
"For us humans, taking in ethereal comes in as naturally as a babe knows how to swallow food and it's no different for Cyial by just breathing, though black magic may be even easier for Cyial, depending on the type of demon he is. Erm, speaking of which, what type of demon are you anyways, Cyial?”

“...Incubus…” Cyial answered quietly after a pause.

Fuyiki visibly hesitated, glancing between Cyial, then Sairek, then back to Cyial, then Sairek again. “Has he been—”

“No.” Sairek answered stiffly.

“—eating.” Fuyiki finished through Sairek’s interruption.

“Answer is still no.” Sairek replied, narrowing his eyes some.

Sairek’s concerns however were left unfounded. “Hmm… that’s not good. You haven’t ate at all Cyial? Ever?” Fuyiki asked.

“I’ve… eaten human food…?” Cyial answered hopefully.

“You know that’s not the type of 'food' I meant.” Fuyiki stated. Cyial hung his head and sighed. “You’re about at that age from what I understand… if you don’t eat soon, you’re going to have… complications soon.”

“...Complications?” Sairek asked with a frown. “What does that mean?”

“I’m ah, err… not an ‘expert’ on this type of topic...” Fuyiki began, rubbing the back of his head. “Hrm… what’s the best way to explain his…” He mumbled to himself. “Well, okay, think of it this way; you have two personalities in your head. There’s the real ‘you’ and then there’s another one, deeper inside. The hungrier you get, the more dominant that other deep personality that is not the actual ‘you’ emerges. There’s a term for Incubi and Succubi who specifically get taken over by this other personality, called ‘Fallens’.”

“T-Transformed…? Fallens…?” Cyial gulped. “Th...This is the first time even I have heard of this... What do you mean...?”

“Well, I never heard of demons of your type going that far into the deep end. Most likely the parts have mutated for you to adapt in this realm should keep that other personality somewhat in check. Still, I suppose nothing is stopping you from becoming a Fallen either, if at least until satiated. Er, how old are you again?”

“T-Twelve? Th-Thirteen? I—I don’t know! I was adopted… B-But either way, I don’t want to ‘feed’ off of anyone though…! Especially not Nayleen or Sairek!” Cyial protested.

“Well, there is some good news. There is a solution. Somewhat. Maybe. Well, it’s more just a rumor, though I believe it’s true.”

“Really?” Sairek and Cyial both asked at the same time in unison.

“...Yes. The bad news is that it’s experimental and I guess the other bad news is that it’s just a mere rumor.” Fuyiki said.

“Oh, great…” Sairek said dryly.

“And the other, other bad—” Fuyiki started.

“Are you serious–?” Sairek exclaimed.

“—news, is that this ‘medicine’, I guess you would call it, is all the way in Kior’s capital and I don’t know where that would be in there. Considering that almost all the demons in the Overworld live there because the pollution is actually good for them, I guess the rumor probably has some merit.” Fuyiki finished before looking back at Sairek. “You on the other hand better stop interrupting me, boy. I don’t care if you’re the Prince or not.”

Sairek winced a look of apology. Prince or not indeed, he did not want to face anymore additional punishments the man had in store for him.

“What… is this ‘solution’ even supposed to be?” Cyial asked.

Fuyiki shrugged. “I don’t know. Could be a pill, could be a vial… my bet is on vial. That would make the most sense. A solution that’s like refined ethereal, but for demons. Assuming it exists. If something like that did exist though, it would be illegal here. No black magic is supposed to be allowed in Ceareste by King Aayron’s own rules, Prince. Masirean adopted that law as well by your father's advice.”

“Yeah… he was pretty quick to outlaw black magic in Ceareste in all of its entirety after my mother died.” Sairek replied softly.

Cyial looked towards Sairek. “This might be asking a lot, but… can we, maybe…?”

Sairek smiled as he turned to look at Cyial himself. “Do you even have to ask? Of course we will, Cyial. As best as we can, anyway. I’ll do everything in my power to find out if such a thing exists.”

Cyial sighed in relief. “Thank you, Sairek…”

“You did hear me when I said it’s all the way in Kior capital, right?” Fuyiki asked. “Do you not have the foggiest idea of how bloody far away that is? It would take you over a week of just walking in the desert and wasteland. Maybe longer with your guys’ little legs.”

“We were headed into Kior anyways, so it works out fine in my view.” Sairek answered.

“Tch, boy, you know how dangerous that is right? Kior isn’t exactly to be trusted right now, let alone most of the other demons, the vast majority who are banished that live there in the capital. They didn’t become banished for no good reason. They’re dangerous.”

“You’re speaking like the vast majority of the population in Kior is mostly demons or something.” Sairek tilted his head.

Fuyiki shook his own head in response. “I don’t mean it to sound like that exactly, but I do know that Kior is a detestable war-like realm, even through the peace over the last few centuries. Sure the advancement of technology by them has done a lot of good for the world and I don’t doubt we’re soon entering a new age of technology very soon, however, most of the raw building of that new technology as well as the advancements we've made comes from is basically slave labor of most of those banished demons. So when I say there’s a lot of demons in the city, I mean it. That’s how they got so big in the first place. It’s probably the only place you’ll find information on this ‘solution’, since it would probably only benefit the city in the long run and give demons a reason to slave harder like a good carrot on a stick, but still, it’s dangerous, especially for—”

“I don’t care if it’s dangerous. I’ll take precautions as needed, but if such a thing exists that could help Cyial, then…” Sairek cut in as he glanced over towards his young demon friend. "I'll do whatever it takes. I won't be stupid about it. I'll try and figure out the best way to get there, but it's going to get done."

Cyial nodded. “I… don’t care… As long as I could at least confirm it exists, that would be good enough for me, to give me hope…” He looked down, clasping his hands together tightly. “I… I’ve resisted ‘the beast’ inside of me for a couple of years now. I… I can do it for a few more weeks I think, if I could confirm there was light at the end of the tunnel… even—even if that tunnel was still a very long way before I could see that light…”

“Oi… I wish you kids would quit interrupting me.” Fuyiki grumbled in annoyance, but sighed. “Well, either way, I understand how you feel. It seems you boys have your mind set to it, but what about that girl?”

“Nayleen’s from Kior, so I doubt she’d have any objections.” Cyial explained. “I doubt she’d know anything about such a solution herself, though. She probably would have told me already if she did. She lives near the Ceareste border anyway. Completely far away from the capital.”

“Hm, yes. The borders near our country are far less… ‘diseased’ by the pollution. Regardless, unless you’re planning to sail along the coast by boat, the only other way to reach the capital is by walking through that vast desert and wasteland and unlike here, Kior doesn’t seem to give too much care about clearing up any monsters in there. They’re far more rampant and dangerous from being corrupted by both the magic and pollution.”

“Kior does nothing to police them?” Sairek asked. “If their military power is so vast from what you’ve described, it should be rather easy.”

“As you get closer to the city, it’s clear, sure. Well, I can’t speak in regards to the outlaws, but I imagine they wouldn’t stay in the monster infested zones unless they have a death wish. No, the greater concerns are actually in the more rural areas.”

“...Like the desert.” Sairek spoke flatly with a sigh.

“Like the desert.” Fuyiki nodded.

Sairek huffed. “More reason to learn to cast magic properly, I guess, just in case…”

“If you’re that intent on going, then yes.” Fuyiki agreed. “Which reminds me… what about you of the art, Cyial?” The man asked, turning to him.

“Oh, um… well, I don’t actually know how to cast the basic elemental spells like Sairek can…” Cyial admitted.

“But you can cast magic, yes? What spells can you cast?” Fuyiki asked.

Sairek turned to glance at his friend. “...Now that I think about it, Cyial, you can conjure up items too, can’t you? Well… sort of.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Well please show, rather than tell, if it’s no trouble.” Fuyiki requested.

“Um, okay then.” Cyial answered, seeming unsure of himself still. He stood up off the couch and stepped a few feet away from them before turning back to face them. Holding his book in his right hand, he clasped his hands together against his book, almost like he was in deep prayer before spreading them back out again, even height with his shoulders. “Shenkalin.”

Sairek watched as with a clink sound, two cold steel metal shields practically blinked into existence at Cyial’s sides next to his palms, floating in the air, Sairek realized he could see through them a tiny bit, they were almost solid but not all the way. Slowly, Cyial lowered his arms back down, with the shields floating up, down, left right… as if buoyant with the air itself. They moved slightly as Cyial’s hands did, but still stayed upright no matter where Cyial ended up moving them or how he tilted his hands.

“Ah, so you do know conjuration magic as well. Despite your nature, that is extremely impressive for someone at your age.” Fuyiki complimented him, standing up from his chair, he gently knocked on one of the shields with a fist like it was a door. “And controlling two of these at once as well, but I can tell the magic is not absolutely complete, or they would be fully solid. Still… you do this without a staff to channel through as well?”

“Oh… I just use this.” Cyial said as he raised his book and held it between both hands to show him. “I don’t hold it all the time, but… just knowing I have it makes it easier.”

“A book as a conduit for magic? Interesting…” Fuyiki hummed thoughtfully. “Although as an actual weapon in combat, it wouldn’t do much. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. It’s easier to cast magic through something you’re familiar with, or have a sentimental connection with. Even more so the more you know the material… like the text within a book. No doubt, you hold a strong attachment to that book.” Cyial nodded strongly at this, moving to hug the book against his chest as he usually did when he was carrying it, even on their longer treks. “Either way, it’s pretty impressive, I will admit. How did you learn to do this?” He asked. Cyial once again moved to hold the book up as the answer to Fuyiki’s question. “So it is a spell book?”

“It’s… erm… well, it’s a magical book?” Cyial answered, as if unsure himself. “It’s whatever kind of book I want it to be. If I want the contents to change, they change… I don’t know how to explain it. Father Abbot gave it to me pretty early on after adopting me, after he taught me how to read.” Cyial answered, then blushed gently with a small smile. "He uhm... encouraged me to read children stories so I could practice reading, and then I eventually got curious with more other topics as well as I got older, so..."

“Ah, a knowledge tome! Those are exceedingly rare.” Fuyiki replied. "You've received a wonderful gift indeed."

“A… what? What’s a knowledge tome?” Sairek asked.

Fuyiki turned to face Sairek. “It’s an enchanted tome that can give the reader knowledge of pretty much whatever any of the previous owners have put in before. Think of the paper written with ink on a normal book, but the paper in an enchanted tome can change texture, displaying more words. So you have a limited amount of paper in the tome, but a technically infinite amount of text you can put into a single book. It can be whatever people have written in them. From stories, to facts, to their own experiences. Many people will take many books and manually rewrite them word for word into these tomes to fill it with as much material as possible.”

“So it’s a book… that can basically be literally thousands of several other pieces of material in it?” Sairek’s mouth was slightly agape as he glanced towards Cyial. “No wonder I see you reading it all the time… I just thought it was a story book you just really, really liked because the abbot gave it to you, but it could take you decades to read over everything in that. You’ve probably already have been reading it for years!” Cyial nodded in the affirmative at Sairek. He looked down at the book again, moving it to once more hug it closely. Sairek turned back to Fuyiki. “But what if someone believes something that was fact, but it wasn’t actually true, or had a bias for something, then wrote that into the book?”

“Then the tome would be biased and untrue in that regard... or outdated. Mind you, usually these tomes are handed down to many, many people. If someone found something was untrue, it’s not like they couldn’t correct it later. Besides, most people who write in them genuinely want to share their knowledge, to pass it onto the next owner. Some of these tomes can date back to a millenia. Of course, the older these tomes are, the more knowledge it generally holds.” Fuyiki explained to Sairek. “It takes a while to write down all of that information, even if it’s just copying all the text from one book. It’s a long, exhausting job, thankless and for generally no pay. So you can imagine why they're so rare in the first place and why good ones are even more rare.”

“This one isn’t too old, I think.” Cyial answered, looking down at it. “There’s some stories, a list of spells, and some basic general knowledge, as well as some information about the land, but it doesn’t hold too much else. I guess maybe only a few people passed their knowledge down into it…
“But anyway, as far as me from learning the spell… well, I wanted the knowledge of a spell to protect myself and that was the one that appeared in the book. It’s… not exactly what I had in mind, but I went for it anyways and just practiced it until I could do it. Well, sort of. As you said, I don’t have it completely down, yet.”

“Do you know any other spells?” Fuyiki asked.

Cyial nodded, blinked his eyes once as the shields faded away into bright blue and glittering particles, and a few seconds later, Cyial repeated his chanting motion he had done before, chanting out “Rapola.”

Sairek blinked as a small tingle of cold and cool air appeared in front of him, a light thin sheet of ice covering his front like a dome. Then he flinched as Fuyiki abruptly stood up, grabbed the chair he'd been sitting on and threw it at him!
“What the—!?” Was all he could manage before he took a defensive posture, curling his legs towards himself and covering his head with his arms in hands in reflex. He heard the chair clang in front of him as it bounced off of Cyial’s barrier, landing back on the floor beside Fuyiki rather harmlessly.
Sairek peeked out from beneath his arms and soon glared at Fuyiki. “What in the Flaming Lands was that for!? A little warning would be appreciated next time!”

“What? I knew it wouldn’t hurt you.” Fuyiki dismissed casually as he grabbed the chair and righted it back up and then sat down on it once again like nothing had happened. “The barrier you made is nice and sturdy. Very good Cyial.”

“After learning a spell to ‘protect myself’, I wanted to learn a spell to ‘protect others’ as well.” Cyial answered. “That one was a bit more of what I had in mind. It didn’t take as long to learn for me, but maybe it’s because it was my second one. Those two are the only spells I know, though. I can't cast anything else.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to become my student as well for a week? You have a lot of potential.” Fuyiki asked.

Cyial shook his head slowly. “I’m… not really cut for that kind of thing. I just learn at my own pace.” He answered shyly. “I think I would learn more by just sitting back and listening to lectures, then just practicing it at my own time. Besides, at heart, my main hobby is learning medicine so I can help people get better.”

“So basically, what you were doing earlier while watching me get humiliated.” Sairek grumbled.

“Heh, I guess. I figured Nayleen and I would be visiting you everyday anyways. At least… I was going to do that. I shouldn’t speak for Nayleen like that.” Cyial blinked as he glanced at Sairek for a moment, then turned away. “Um… besides, being in Sairek’s current state of dress would make me very… uncomfortable. I don’t have much else under these robes… they would get too hot otherwise, even for me.”

Now it was Sairek’s turn to glance away, a little self conscious. Still, he was a bit confused, considering Cyial had teased him about his nakedness a little in Shamira and the monastery showers, and now he was being the bashful one. He supposed though that Fuyiki was a complete stranger and he did recall Cyial being self-conscious about his tail still.

“I understand. I will be more than happy to have you two watch the Prince go through his lessons either way. What about the young lady? How much magic does she know?”

“Uhh… she knows it exists, aaannnd that’s about it.” Sairek answered dryly. “I very highly doubt she’d have an interest in it. She would probably rather stab things with those knives of hers.”

“I’ll… keep that in mind.” Fuyiki replied, a little cautiously.

* * *

Sairek groaned as his weary body finally was given the chance to lay down, on a soft bed no less, and just… rest. It was probably one of the least comfortable beds he had the opportunity to sleep in, well, aside from the one in Doran. Yet, somehow, right now it felt even more comfortable than his own bed back at the castle.

That concerned him.

If he was this exhausted now, just how terribly would he possibly fair when the real actual ‘training’ began tomorrow, not just some tests? Not to mention the apparent punishment he’d have to face head on in the morning...

He was so troubled with that aspect that despite how exhausted he was, it still took him a while to fall asleep. It didn’t help that he was a bit unnerved, sleeping alone in a stranger’s house, even though he believed that Fuyiki wouldn’t harm him or anything like that. Well, not maliciously, he supposed.

He just hoped his friends would be able to support him through this. It was about the only advantage he seemed to have.

Damn, he hated just being left alone with his thoughts. He was painfully missing the ability to speak to Cyial out loud about what he was thinking. That companionship, someone to just listen to his concerns like the two had been doing almost every night when they slept in a room together. Sairek always thought that Cyial depended on him a lot, but now he was realizing quickly that it was a mutual thing. Even though Cyial was only a minute or two walk away, right now he felt painfully separated and alone, and it took him the better part of an hour to drift off into an uneasy sleep…

* * *

CLAP CLAP


Sairek jerked awake at the loud clapping next to his left ear, causing him to jump under the covers, panicked. His eyes snapped open, or attempted to, but a light beamed into his eyes causing him to choke a cry of discomfort and he had to seal his eyes shut again and shield them with his left hand. The light was pulled away, or turned off—it went away a few seconds later, and he hesitantly blinked, with tears lightly beginning to stain his eyes which made it only more difficult to see what was happening.

“Nngh…?” Was all he managed to croak out, puzzled.

“It’s time to get up boy.” He heard Fuyiki answer as he stepped by the window and pulled the curtains open. When Sairek managed to clear everything out of his eyes that was clogging his vision, he blinked testingly and looked out the unobstructed window, leaning out of the bed slightly to get a good view.

“...It’s still bloody night time. I’m going back to bed…” Sairek growled in impatience and rolled back to face away from the man, pulling the covers back over himself.

...Then he cried out in discomfort as Fuyiki grabbed his exposed left ear, pulling and twisting it pretty hard. Sairek attempted to slap his hand away futilely. Fuyiki forced him to sit back upright before he let go of his ear, the Prince reaching up with both hands to mend the throbbing it felt. “When I say ‘get up boy’, you will do as I say. I don’t care if it’s early, it’s time to train. We have a lot of work we need to do today, so get your butt up.”

“Urrghh…!” Sairek growled in impatience that was gradually bubbling and boiling to its limit, only fueled even more by being so crudely woken up against his will when his body felt like it could sleep another three or four hours at the minimum.

“Damn, you look like a sorry mess.” Fuyiki commented as Sairek slowly pushed himself up. “First things first, go get cleaned up. Take a bath, fix your hair, then we’ll have breakfast. We’re leaving in thirty minutes, whether you’re ready or not, so better hustle!” The man ordered with another two claps of his hands.

Sairek felt a protest crawling up his chest towards his throat and then his mouth. He swallowed it back down, along with some of his pride. He didn’t want to deal with even more flak than he already had on his plate. Wordlessly, he crawled out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom where he started to fill up the tub with water, then relieved himself at the toilet before undressing completely and taking his bath, scrubbing himself clean again with the hot water far more hastily than he would have liked to. At the very least, the water helped him wake up from his still half-asleep state. After cleaning himself and fixing his hair, he got redressed and stepped out into the kitchen where he found probably the most stereotypical breakfast meal imaginable awaiting him. Literally bacon, eggs and a cup of orange juice. He wordlessly sat at the table and took the bite, made a grimace but regardless, ate the food down with just as equal haste, pausing occasionally to wash the food down with the juice. He had only cleaned the plate of its food when Fuyiki came into the kitchen.

“Good, good. Just in time. Come on, it’s time to go do your punishment.” Fuyiki said.

Sairek hesitated, hugging himself with his arms. “I… I don’t want to go outside shirtless like this. It’s probably cold out there.”

“You won’t be feeling cold once the sun is out and you get moving. Trust me. Besides, it’s fine outside. Oh, but that does remind me, I should measure you before we go so I can tailor a suitable uniform... that is kind of important... Alright, stand up and stand straight, boy.”

Sairek sighed, but did as he was ordered. Getting up from his seat, he moved a few paces into the open of the room, standing as erect as he could given that he still felt like he could flop over and sleep. Fuyiki disappeared for only half a moment, appearing again with a rolled up measuring tape. “All right good, stay straight and tall now just as you are.” Fuyiki said, reaching down, he kept the tip of the tape in place before pulling it up to measure Sairek’s height.

As Fuyiki did this, Sairek continued to look straight ahead, expressionless as he spoke. “Your cooking sucks...”

Sairek got a little bit of internal satisfaction finally when the old man abruptly stumbled, cursed as he bent down to correct the measuring tape under his foot and as he stood back upright, he said “...Excuse me?”

“Your cooking sucks.” Sairek repeated with more emphasis, his tone flat, dry. He turned his head slightly to look directly at Fuyiki. “Less than a week ago, Nayleen made bacon and eggs. She did it way better than you did.”

“She can cook?” Fuyiki asked.

Sairek almost laughed at that. He thought he’d be scolded at for being so brash. “You know, that was my exact same reaction as well. I nearly got my face chewed off by her for asking, though.”

“Oh. I’ll… keep that in mind as well...” Fuyiki mumbled. He grabbed Sairek’s sides gently and pulled him a little forward. “Raise your arms up.” Sairek wordlessly did as ordered, raising his arms up and setting them on top of his head. Fuyiki began to measure around his chest. “Take it from an older man who’s been through two marriages that both ended in a divorce. Women are scary when they’re angry.”

“...She’s not my girlfriend.” Sairek stated dryly, looking down his torso, observing Fuyiki. “Besides, you don’t need to tell me. I know that already. I’ve been traveling with her for a little more than a week now.” He said, twitching and instinctively almost sucking his stomach inward as he felt Fuyiki slide the tape further down to around there. It tickled just a little bit. “...Is all this measuring necessary? To get a uniform tailored specifically for me when I’m only going to be here for a few days feels like a near complete waste.”

“It’s not as wasteful as you think.” Fuyiki answered as he unraveled the tape around Sairek’s stomach, measurement taken. “Lower your pants.”

“...Excuse me?”

Fuyiki rolled his eyes at him with a sigh. “I’m not playing this dance again with you boy. Just do it.”

Sairek huffed, his face burning with a fair bit of heat as he undid the belt around his pants, took a deep breath and slowly pulled them down, until Fuyiki told him to stop, leaving his pants only half on and mostly exposed in his underwear. Fuyiki bent down, wrapping the tape measure around Sairek’s lower hips. Sairek, in desperate need of a distraction, asked; “Why… won’t it be a waste…?”

“I’m not getting a new uniform just for you. I’ll be taking whatever one is closest to your size and just... 'adjust' it a bit. With magic, of course.” Fuyiki answered. “You’re right that I don’t need completely accurate measurements, but a general idea of your body shape would still be helpful. I’ll still aim slightly on the side of caution. Slightly too big is better than too small, but if they didn’t fit, it would be a pain in the ass to have to change them again and again and again, and you said it yourself that you don’t want to be wandering around shirtless, right?”

“Right…” Sairek mumbled. “You can do that though? Just… change the shape and size of clothes with magic?”

“Why not? You can do the same thing with knitting, it just takes longer. Arguably harder too depending on who you ask. Of course it still takes thread either way and it’s not like you can make a massive difference. These are small alterations I’ll be doing, not reshaping the entire thing. Maybe an inch or two here and there.” Fuyiki pulled back from Sairek and rolled up the tape. “You can put your pants back up now. I’m done.”

“Sweet Lands…” Sairek mumbled in relief, he pulled them back up and hastily did his belt back up as well.

“All right then, no more delays. Off we go.” Fuyiki said as he opened the door outside and gestured to Sairek to walk through first. Sairek covered his chest with his arms conscious of his state of dress, or lack of it on his upper half. Cautiously he slowly stepped out of the door, where Fuyiki followed him outside and closed and locked the home behind them. Sairek took a moment to look around. Nobody was on the streets. In fact, it was so early, the automatic street lights were still on. A small breeze blew which caused Sairek to shiver, feeling the pores of his skin tingling at his exposure. Fuyiki gestured to Sairek to follow him which he did, recognizing that they were walking back the way they entered the town from.

A few minutes of walking and they were back at the entrance. Sairek even recognized the bench the one woman had been sitting at where Nayleen asked for directions. He also saw two smaller figures standing side by side outside of the walls, conversing gently. As they walked closer, Sairek recognized them both as Cyial and Nayleen. Cyial’s glowing eyes in the darkness of dawn which would normally cause most people to at least tense in reaction, actually gave Sairek much relief. Both of them walked closer to meet up with them.

“Hey, so you did make it.” Fuyiki said in a tone showing he was pleased.

“Yup! I’m an early bird! And Cyial just never sleeps.” She said, then glanced at Sairek. “I can see you had trouble waking up again.”

“Of course I did! This is even earlier than when we go traveling! The sun isn’t even up yet!” Sairek scowled. “You and the old man are both just crazy health nuts! No way is waking up this early healthy! For anybody!”

“Well, that answers my question.” Nayleen shrugged. Sairek glared at her.

“You’ll live. It’s ahm… let’s see… Ah!” Fuyiki began as he looked along the horizon of the town walls. “5:27 A.M. Good old town clock tower.”

“I don’t see why we’re up this early…” Sairek complained.

“Because you failed the test twelve times.” Fuyiki answered dryly.

“...Oof.” Nayleen commented off to the side. Sairek managed to resist bopping her in the head. Barely.

“Well, normally it’d take around ten minutes or so to run around town, but since you’re going to be going around twelve times… I’ll give you a little more extra for each. Let’s just say you have... until 8:30 in the morning. I sure hope you know how to pace yourself.”

“Th...Three hours of straight running—?! You’re insane!” Sairek protested.

“It will be less than three hours if you go faster!” Nayleen added…unhelpfully.

“During that time, I’m going to make those clothes I mentioned. Don’t even think about cheating, boy.” Fuyiki warned him, his tone shifting.

“If I cheated and you’re not here, how would you even know?” Sairek asked, annoyed.

Fuyiki blinked at him. “Do you think I was born yesterday? I’ll not fall for such an old trick. If I told you how then you’d just do that thing to avoid detection.” He pressed his lips together. “I’ll know. That’s all you need to know. Hey girl, catch.” He called out to Nayleen suddenly. She reacted immediately, hands spread out as Fuyiki tossed her a waterskin. “That’s for him. He’s going to need it. And remember boy, no breaks in between.”

“Ah, don’t worry. I’ll hold it for him and just follow him~” Nayleen said. “But isn’t it kind of dangerous for us to be running around the out walls this early? There’s no monsters or anything, is there?”

“No worries. You’re all perfectly safe. If there was even a hint of danger, I wouldn’t do it.” Fuyiki reassured her. “Better get ready boy, it’s about to hit 5:30.”

Sairek clenched his teeth angrily at the man, gave him a glare and set off running, sprinting ahead at full speed without a word of warning. Nayleen yelped in genuine surprise and called after him using his name. Without his clothes or the royal jewel holding and weighing him down, Sairek was actually much faster than Nayleen had given him credit for.

“Sairek!” Nayleen called out as they already turned around the first corner, now practically out of ear shot. “This is a bit sudden and fast, don’t you think? This is not pacing yourself!”

“I don’t give a shit…!” Sairek cursed angrily through deep breathing.

Nayleen was caught off guard again. “Uhh—”

“Constantly being ordered and pushed around…! I came here to learn magic, not run a dozen laps around a town half naked because I lack the very knowledge of magic I was asking to learn about! What the heck!? Meanwhile, he fawns over Cyial like he’s some kind of prodigy, even though he lacks the same knowledge as me, but because he’s ‘special’ it’s okay!?”

Nayleen winced at Sairek’s temper, but she also knew that it would pass quickly. Very quickly. Sairek wouldn’t have the energy to keep up his outbursting for too long. “You’re not jealous of Cyial, are you?”

“Not at him, no.” Sairek stated. “I can accept Cyial being better at magic than me. A lot of people are. I can accept that... but why am I being ‘punished’ for it in a test I was basically designed to fail in!? I’m exhausted! Why doesn’t he care!?”

Nayleen didn’t say anything. She already knew the answer, but she also knew that at the moment, Sairek wouldn’t appreciate that answer right now.

“Getting pushed and shoved around like this, eating terribly cooked food… A week of this? I can do this on my own time, on my own damn terms at my own pace...! If that’s all that this is going to be, we can all just leave tonight! Screw it!”

“...Sairek, it hasn’t even been a full day yet.” Nayleen tried to reason.

“And I’ve already had enough! You still have the money, right? Buy whatever we you think we need, we're leaving tomorrow!”

Nayleen sighed. “Alright… if that’s what you want I guess...? It's going to be incredibly awkward. It looks really bad on you.”

“Whatever. I guess I’ll just accept I’m a failure at magic, then.” Sairek grumbled.

“You will be with a defeatist attitude like that.” Nayleen shot back. Sairek’s attitude was beginning to annoy even her, now. “Sairek, do you think I became a good hunter in just a couple of days? I’ve been doing this stuff for as long as I can remember and I still don't consider myself great at what I do. I'm still learning. You only started, what, a couple years ago, and you were already put at a disadvantage as well. It sucks, and you do have the right to quit, I won’t stop you... but then that just makes what Fuyiki said about you true.”

“Then I guess it’s true.” Sairek growled back.

They said nothing more between them.