Thank you for waiting! I had fun with this chapter too!

The monks decided we would be given three days of rest to recover from the injuries we'd sustained from the battles we went through. And it was a reasonable move. Having to fight consecutively with no rest would no doubt only bring much harm to the competitors, and it would defeat the purpose of the recruitment process.

The second round of fights would begin with the Loser's Tournament—a battleground of all the folks who had been defeated in the first few fights. After that, only then would Maun finally have his first battle with Stone Guardian.

"Eren, Mistress Veronika said you shouldn't overextend yourself in the fight you'll be having against Black Flame," I told her. "You can afford one loss. So if things get tough for you, don't stubbornly hold on and fight. It might end up becoming worse for you for no reason at all."

Eren pouted at my words. "I don't want to give up. I don't want to lose either."

"You aren't," I said. "There's a difference between that and picking your battles. This one is something you can't handle just yet. So don't worry about it too much."

"I guess," she answered, though the indignance and hesitation persisted in her voice.

I sighed, seeing her long face. In contrast, Maun was happily chipping away on a wooden stick with a small carving knife. I admired the boy's cluelessness and ease. It was somewhat frustrating for me, too, seeing how he could afford to be so ignorant and be at peace. Especially when both Eren and I might as well have our asses set on fire for our unrest.

"You don't have to be the best every step of the way, you know," I told her. The girl had issues—particularly family issues and a ton of daddy issues to go with it too. I couldn't help but see how oddly paradoxical this girl could be, but I would suppose that was just how everybody was.

"I know," she said.

I sighed, not knowing how to make pep talk. If I tried, I would probably just sound rude and condescending—and that wasn't my intention at all. Thankfully, Eren wasn't the type to dwell on matters too much. After a while, she would be bouncing around being her old self.

"Okay," I said. "Do it for the strawberries, then."

She looked up this time and gave me a smile. "Right! Strawberries!"

I gave a smile in return. "We'll get there at some point, and this will all be memories," I continued.

"That's kind of sad. Actually...I kind of want to stay like this forever," she said. Realizing what she said might be somehow offensive, she raised both hands and waved them in the air hurriedly in panic. "I mean, I mean! I know not everything about right now is good...but compared to before, for me..."

The sincerity on her face was evident and was more than enough to help her convey the thought that she was unable to express through words.

"Okay, everyone! Let us celebrate our two little fighters...subtly, of course, because we don't want anyone else knowing!"

Mistress Kora went over with some food. Maun set aside his carving tools and salivated, staring intently at the salty aroma of the herbed pheasant. It's been skewered into a piece of stick to be roasted over the fire. "Sorry if we keep having roast meat, children. Once we get the chance to go out and get some decent pots and plates, we can have some stew. I can't keep borrowing the wares of our neighbors. It's wholly embarrassing."

"You're very close to them, though. It seems like you're actually already one of them," Eren said.

"No matter what relationship it is, you must never take advantage of it. No matter how strong the bond, everything wears," Mistress Kora advised. "Besides...we have our own hands and feet. Depend on others when you must. Accept their help if you need but do everything yourself. Alright, kids?"

We all nodded. The life lesson and advice was uncalled for, but he wouldn't be saying all of that if it didn't make sense. It would indeed be too much to rely on others, especially when they were barely managing themselves. "This should be done after a bit," Mistress Kora continued.

"Hopefully, your Mistress Veronika arrives before then."

"Where did she go?" Eren asked.

"I don't know. I'm not really sure," he said. "But she said it was imperative. I think it concerns your thing with the test and everything."

"The competition?" I quipped.

"Yes," he replied, carefully placing the pheasant over the crackling fire and rotating it absentmindedly.

"Speaking of that..." I pulled out my notebook. "I have some info on all the other contestants. I'm only missing on data from Maun and Black Flame." I swept through my notes and scanned the bulleted list of abilities that I've observed through the battles of the first round. "Although they told us to rest for three days, we should use this time to practice and improve in the smallest ways we can. Anything we can learn can help us."

"How can you be so patient with these things?" Eren asked. "I can't take notes for the life of me."

Mistress Kora smiled. "Evy's always been studious. She learns everything herself. We didn't even need to teach her much."

Eren blew air past her lips, making them flap. "Am I the only one here who's such a failure?"

I racked my mind for a reply. After a bit of silence, I finally spoke. "I think you're good at something."

"Like really good at something?" she asked.

Maun raised his brows doubtingly too.

"Why do you look like that, huh?" Eren smacked his arm indignantly.

Maun only made a sad and apologetic space, rubbing the spot where he was attacked.

I nodded. "You know how to sneak out. Like really well," I said. I then lowered my voice, just in case someone was listening in. "I mean...How'd you even get out of that palace? With all those guards and that security?"

"Yes, I'm very curious about that, too," Mistress Kora said.

Maun looked over with interest as well.

"I make friends with the guards. And the maids," Eren replied. "They show me lots of secret ways. And they also help smuggle me out. Hehe." Mischievous laughter escaped her lips.

"Ah..." I nodded. It would make sense that Eren was a people's person. She had a sort of charisma that made her very easily liked by others. She had a way of worming into someone's good graces—with all that infectious positivity and cheerful smiles.

It made me a little jealous. Though I wasn't sure about now, in my past life, I had a bad case of a resting bitch face. I wasn't typically approachable, and people seemed to somehow misunderstand everything I say. I was the sort, I suppose, to be negatively perceived and misunderstood right off the bat.

I had to work on the people's department, but I probably would only be awkwardly wadding in that area. For a while, at least.

"Indeed, it seems to me you have the makings of a mistress of Oblivion," Mistress Kora said. "You know how to use the best resource there is." He winked as he turned the pheasant continuously over the fire.

"Resource?"

"People," he said with a mischievous grin. Maun looked confused. I, on the other hand, was shaking my head.

Eren was in a much better mood then. She even began whistling. "So, Mistress Kora," Eren started. "How did you end up becoming a mistress of Oblivion, anyway? And you like dressing up as a girl. I mean, you're very pretty—you're prettier than all the other girls I've seen. But I'm confused."

"About what, dear?"

"Why'd you like it so much? Isn't it weird?"

"Ah...hmm..." Mistress Kora was silent for a few moments. "I guess I never thought about it." He laughed. "Evy never asked me this question, so I don't have anything prepared for it."

"I didn't think it was strange," I smoothly lied. The truth was I was just afraid of touching on the topic and offending anyone. Though, as a child, one advantage was asking offending questions and being able to get away with it. Not to mention, I suppose I was more comfortable making my own conclusions. And I saw nothing wrong with it—it wasn't like it was strange for me, considering my memories of my past life.

"Well..." he was silent for a while. "I guess it frees me in a way? I never really acted much like a man, either. And I didn't tick the boxes on what a man's supposed to be, so...I became the opposite. It's very liberating, hehe."