Chapter 26: Traveling again.
Ariel’s view
I stayed longer in Fen’s city than I had originally planned to. When I first decided to help out Sam and his friends with getting a new life settled, I planned on spending six months. Instead, I stayed a year. The city stayed temperate all year long. As far as I can tell, this continent doesn’t have proper seasons like my old world did.
Of the seven beastkin, Adam impressed me the most. He really took to heart the idea that knowledge is power. Not only did he figure out how to recreate the flavors I showed him with ingredients from this world, he even found ways to create information cards that any monster could use to learn how to create things so long as they have the appropriate abilities to make them. With this, he was able to teach Terra how to create all the spices needed for the recipes he developed, and now receives shipments of spices in exchange. Terra seemed quite pleased with the exchange.
While I was there, I got into the habit of marking everything I made with my pink rose emblem. I refined it a bit and added a pair of green leaves to make it more clearly a flower. It was kinda fun, and the others all seemed to like it, so now even my dress, boots, and backpack all have the mark.
Adam also insisted on helping me make a better dress. Said something about my original dress being too plain for someone of my status. Can’t say I really understand what he means, but I can appreciate beauty. The new design is rather frilly, and cute. We worked together on it to ensure it was something we could both approve of. Sam looked like he’d fallen in love with me all over again when he saw me in it.
Sam insisted on gear that wouldn’t stand out, so unlike the others, his armor and weapons aren’t pretty white or clear, but a much more boring brown and grey. I still snuck in some pink rose emblems, just hidden on the inside where it won’t be easily seen.
Thanks to exploiting all the rules Adam found regarding xp gain, they were all able to reach rank 2 by the time Sam and I left. Along with the gear I made them and the vitality patches, they should be strong enough to handle almost any human threat. They also seem to be doing well at staying on the Lord’s good side.
I’m confident I can leave things to them now, and head out without worries.
Sam’s view
Living with Ariel for a year in town, helped me understand what Adam meant when he said Ariel lacked common sense. By the time the year was up, people in the east side of town practically worshipped her, calling her Angel Ariel, yet her casual behavior never changed. Any that asked for food or healing would receive it, and she’d pay full price for goods without haggling. At least whenever people asked about acquiring milk or water to transport for trade, she’d tell them to consult Adam about it, so it seemed she had some sense at least.
Adam was right about my needing charm. To prevent Ariel from getting too distracted by minor problems, I had to go around convincing people to leave her alone. I ended up focusing my growth on reading people, and persuading them, with a secondary focus on evading detection and redirecting attention when I want to. When sparing with my friends, they complained that it was frustratingly difficult to keep track of me, and what I was doing.
Try as I might to help Ariel avoid too much attention, her recklessness and carelessness has gotten worse compared to when we first met. It’s as if she’s given up on keeping a low profile after helping my friends take over the slums.
On the road we’ve met quite a few travellers, and as we get closer and closer to the capital, the roads get ever more crowded. Yet, Ariel chose to bring a tent that is obviously special. It’s not just the brilliant white fabric, or the pink rose emblem adorning it, it’s the fact that it assembles itself once placed upon the ground, and folds up easily when it’s time to go. At least it’s enjoyably luxurious.
When Ariel first showed me her tent, she boasted that Adam had helped her solve the issue of properly warping space, and this tent was the result. From the outside, it was a beautiful cloth tent of reasonable size for two people to sleep in. On the inside, it was a giant room the size of a small house. It even had a large bed, a tiny restroom closet with toilet and shower, a washing machine for cleaning clothes (another invention Ariel and Adam developed together), a dresser for clothes, a tiny kitchen nook with an oven and stove top, along with a refrigerator (a device to keep food cold), and a dining table with chairs. We could host a small party in here if we wanted to.
I’m not sure why she made so much stuff for the tent. We really only make use of the bed. I keep my clothes in my backpack (which she made, and can carry far more than it looks like it should), and just drink milk from the flask she made me that never runs out. Thanks to her vitality patch, and the restorative properties of her milk, I don’t need rest breaks other than sleep, so making a meal feels like it would be a waste of time.
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Author note: This is the start of the second arc. Yes, this means I finished on time! ...barely. Sadly, I ended up struggling to write anything at all towards the end of the arc, and ended up having to skip a lot of things I'd wanted to add/include in the story. As a result, this arc isn't as long as I'd intended. I'm not a good writer >_<
