Chapter 73 ❆ Ways

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Dinner was quick and cordial. Maun and I were very polite with the food—more me than Maun, really. I had to admit it was quite adorable of him to be stuffing his mouth like this. Although I could not say that our hosts thought the same, they did not look all too bothered by it anyway.

Kaiser was the most enthusiastic of everyone, and I feel his sincerity and goodwill for me had gone through the roof. Which was a good thing, I guess, but it felt a little burdensome.

Thankfully, his attention was divided and he did not focus on me alone. The entire time, he was piling food on his mother's plate. His chatter was constant, mentioning how this or that particular dish hadn't been tasted by the woman for a long time, and that he remembered her saying she craved for it.

It was a joyful family atmosphere. I thought I would feel awkward, but Kaiser's mother was such a charismatic person that I never once felt left out in any of the conversations. Maun could not speak, so I often had to act as a translator for his sign language whenever he had to be asked a question.

"So when did you start learning to play, Evyionne?" Kaiser's mother inquired.

"I don't quite remember, ma'am," I said. "Very young."

"You can call me Gertrude. Or Tru," she told me. "You make me feel so old."

"Alright, Mrs. Tru..." I awkwardly said.

She chuckled. "You better come around more often. My son can use some good influence. You're much younger than him, but you're way more matured."

"I'll try, but I'm afraid I have a lot on my plate, and I don't want to be a bother."

"Nonsense. This place is cold and boring most of the time. My brother and husband are often out on missions, sometimes more than a few days. Sometimes even up to months! Kaiser here will be going to the Academy very soon, and he boards their rooms for convenience. He only comes back on weekends so I'm often left alone," she said.

"I understand, I'll strive to visit every now and then," I told her.

Thinking back on the business with perfume that I'd wanted to do, Mrs. Tru might be a lot of help. Of course, I could always ask my mistresses for their opinions, but they tended to be very biased towards me. Everything I did was excellent for them, so I lacked proper feedback and opinion on the products I make. Mrs. Tru seemed to be a very refined woman and she seemed like the type who would know about luxury and cosmetics.

I could bring her samples of my perfume. This way, I would not come empty-handed, and it'd be the best excuse to accept her invitation. After all, I would feel bad if I turned up for absolutely no reason at all.

Eventually, dinner came to end this way. Mrs. Tru wanted us to stay overnight and simply go to class in the morning, but I told her we lacked permission to sleep out. We needed to report our presence to the Temple, otherwise, we might get punished for violating the rules.

Maun and I were driven back on a carriage just few minutes before curfew. So many things happened today, but at least my weekend was not all for naught. I got to accomplish much of the agenda that I had on queue.

I climbed the steps up the beautiful landscape with Maun as the Temple's gates closed and the disciple monk guarding them checked off our names from a list.

"Thank you for today, Maun. I'll see you tomorrow," I said, ruffling his hair.

I patted Maun's back when we came upon the fork on the road. He handed over the harp that he insisted on carrying for me and we went our separate ways towards our own respective tiny courtyards.

Tomorrow, classes would be resuming. I made a few discoveries concerning my ability, so I would have something to bring up to the Abbot. Maybe he could tell me what to do next. If ever, we could make some adjustments with my current training to accommodate these new findings as well.

Aside from the usual class schedule, I did not seem to have much on my to-do list. But I would be sorting these out further by tomorrow and there was bound to be more to do. I felt way too tired at the moment to even think about anything, though, so come what may.

But I felt a little dirty.

I went to the bathroom for a bath. To my surprise, I realized I forgot to fill up the water drum and that I would have to go down to the well to fetch some water.

"Damn," I whispered. A bath didn't seem all that necessary now that laziness struck.

However, I would be itching all over if I didn't clean up, so I picked up two buckets, one for each hand, and took a trip to refill my water supply. Based on experience, I would need at least six trips back and forth until I had enough, but considering I would have to clean up tomorrow as well and that I would not have time to get some more water when I wake up, I'd better add some more than usual.

Ten trips.

My lips blubbered from a sigh as I trekked my way to the well. "Can't be lazy..."

I muscled through three trips. When I came back for the fourth one, someone else was wheeling up a bucket from the well.

He looked up, and I recognized right away who it was. "Good evening, Evy."

"Elion, coincidence?" I smiled at him.

"No, ah...Actually, I saw you just now. I planned to wait for you to come back, but I realized we also needed some water."

At least he was honest.

He awkwardly pulled his bucket off the hook and to the ground. It sloshed over as it landed. The thump and splashing filled in for the awkward silence in between and I stepped forward to hook my pail to the rope.

"What do you want to ask?" I decided it would be better to be straightforward than bother with small talk. I wanted to get this done soon. After all, I still had to take a bath.

"Actually, now that I'd stopped for a while to think, I don't really have anything to ask," he said. "I had some vague expectations in my heart, because this matter really meant a lot to me, Evyionne. However, I remembered the matriarch's advice. That blessings come in their own time, and they cannot be told when to arrive—lest you scare them away. What we can do is strive to survive, and never rely on that someday when it'll appear."

I watched his very sincere gaze, and found his troubled feelings boiling deep inside. This boy was not bad, really. So young, yet so mature. Had it been Maun or Eren in his position, they would be clamoring and would no doubt pester me everyday.

Well, he was much older than them. And me, physically.

"Evy, do you really have a way?" he asked.

I threw a question back. "With what?" My pail, at this moment, hit the surface of the water at the bottom. I pulled it around, allowing it to sink on its side and scoop up one full load.

"To defeat the Unseen," he replied, watching me work.

"There's always a way," I told him, feeling a little awkward. I'd never thought I'd have to explain myself in this manner. It wasn't really in any of the plan, not to mention. This unexpected reveal had thrown a rock on my tracks.

I began to hoist up the bucket. The pulley made a screeching noise of protest as I worked it back. My hands were already feeling a little warm and raw from the ropes. Might give me more callouses other than the ones I got from playing strings.

"Even if it's not mine. There's no enemy you can't defeat. Maybe this universe already has its plan. I'm just going along," I said. "I know that's disappointing to hear...but nothing is for certain. Who knows? I might be a disappointment."

"Will you be helping Vertvalden?" he asked.

I smiled and jokingly replied, "Well, I do come from there. Maybe I will along the way while looking for my family."

He smiled in excitement. "Then...when you finish training in the Temple?"

"I'm not sure," I said, pulling the rope over slowly so that the pail rested over the edge of the well. Elion came forward to help, grasping the handle and lowering it to the ground. "But you saw what happened today. The sickness is spreading here in Erindal. I probably won't be able to leave until something's done about it. But you probably will need to give a warning to the camp."

He nodded solemnly. "This disease strikes indiscriminately. But children and the old are particularly the most vulnerable. I've seen warriors defeating those things though...I might need to ask my older brothers to prepare."

Now that that part had come around, I began to wonder. Last time Amber took me on an out-of-the-body trip, I saw some guys carrying weapons that exhibited powerful death energy. Perhaps Elion would know something about that?

"I'm really interested in hearing about this part, but I'm a little tired tonight. Tomorrow, you'll be going to the shop, right? I'll be going there after class as well to check up on things. Why don't we continue talking right after?" I offered.

"Okay. Then I'll meet afterwards! I'll wait for you in the shop."

"Alright. Good night."

"The um...do you need help?"

"No. I'm all good," I said as I lowered my next bucket. "Need some training. I can't spoil myself."

"Then I'll help you with this before I go." He insisted on lowering and hauling back my other bucket before letting me go.

After thanking him, I completed the rest of my trips and finally took the well-deserved bath. The water was a little cold, but I was in no mood nor did I currently have the means to boil some water to warm my bath. Anyway, this cool water was bearable—even a little refreshing, so it wasn't that bad.

I dried my hair with a towel, but it was still quite damp as I nestled under the covers.

I decided to sleep on my stomach tonight. "Amber, are you here?" I asked in a whisper.

"What do you need?"

"How long until things become as bad as in Vertvalden?"

"That, I can't be sure of exactly."

"But do we have enough time?" I continued to ask.

"I can't answer that either. I just urge you to be quicker and learn faster. Erindal can avoid the same disaster that befell Vertvalden, but that'll mean taking the same precautions and learning from what's already known. You're going to go nowhere if they'll just rely on you, and you should not muscle through this alone either," he said. "That boy was right about informing his brothers, but you'll also need to start reaching out to the higher officials of this country and convince them while the matter isn't so big and can be still taken under control."

"Maybe we can start with Sir Pier."

"That's a good idea."

"He should have some position and connections that can help us launch off..." I smothered myself with the pillow and mumbled through it. "So many things to do, I'm kind of a little stressed out."

I pulled over my memo book to jot some things down to remind myself.

"Convince higher officials and the whole continent. Okay. That's on the agenda." I snapped the notebook close, the pen still clipped in between the pages. I then tossed it to the side and began to drift off to sleep. "I made it sound so easy, but hell."


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