For a little while longer I mused about some old friends who acted similarly. That planning that ignores intention, a bit of stubbornness that yielded to an easy way out. Once looking at the similarities, all I needed to remember was what was best suited to them. We spent a lot of time together, so it wasn't hard to see where Tagalong Girl differed from them, and what needed to be changed accordingly.

I didn't spend too much time reminiscing about old acquaintances though. I figured that despite the difficulties I faced, they would still be jealous of my situation; not that they would have taken the same path I did in the first place. Time to keep focus on the road ahead.

Going right back into practicing , night gradually left, leaving the new day in its wake. Enough time passed that I could try and talk to Ria again, though the forecast of how productive it would be was not sunny. Leaving things as they were was an even worse choice, so I resigned myself to it.

“Come on, just eat.” Ria proceeded to be difficult through the meal. “Eat, and we’ll talk when you're done.”

The girl acted like being fed was the most torturous thing in the world. Her eyes opened only halfway, but looked red and teary. Well, the red have just been from her skin. No need to act like it’s your execution, eat!

“We're going to try having another conversation now. This time, please don't go anywhere. Talk with me.”

“Eep! Why don't you leave me be, why do you keep coming back? I don't want you near me, just go away!”

“I'm taking care of you, I can't leave you. Please realize we are going to have to depart, regardless of your opinion on the matter. Some concessions can be made about the final destination, but you are coming with me.” Ugh, now it sounded like I was abducting her. Why couldn’t she just agree to go along with the plan? “Look at yourself and try thinking about how the members of the church would react if they saw you. Ria, please think this through a little more for me.”

“Well why do you have to drag me away? Someone else can take me, not you!” Ria, unable to escape, curled herself tightly into a ball, shielding herself with the old cover. At least her hysterics weren’t going to get her hurt.

“Hey, why not me?” Actually that raised an incredibly unexpected point. Was she just saying that, or was there a reason why I was unsuitable? I’d thought her vehement disagreement had been over being taken from her home, if the problem was me…I had no idea what that would entail. Ria needed to explain herself a little.

“I don’t like you! You’re making me too...close and I...don wanna bnear you…” There she went. At least she was in a stable position this time, and wasn’t about to crack her head open.

Ria seemed to endlessly be going on about not liking me, but I couldn’t figure out why. I thought things were fine between us until she knew we were planning on leaving, when a bunch of hate suddenly precipitated. She seemed much less affected when not fed mana, but there was no way to tell which way was her base state. Mana could be heightening emotions, or the lack could be dampening them.

Deciding to knock my head on a wall, I cleared my mind of dithering—introducing a few splinters as well. Worth it, because a tide of philosophical and ethical questions were about to invite themselves in. I wasn’t playing around in a game with hypotheticals; Ria would be in danger if she stayed, and there were no two ways about that. I should probably go see Pan about the matter though, maybe he would have an easier time talking to her.

That would have to come at a later time when she could be reawakened, maybe over dinner. For the moment, I would just go about the day.

So Walphaday passed as I worked out in the fields, and helped construct a pen for the chickens. The village only had a few, so they tended cycle through the houses to sleep. The first time I heard Troy tell me the story of how he’d been pecked awake by a chicken in his bed, I’d thought I was being taken for a lark, but no, he was serious. With Ross and Troy, we put up some additional fencing, and with Pan’s approval, picked out a spot for a house.

To be built for Ross and Hannah, the timber hadn’t finished being prepared yet, but when the ground hardened over winter, it would thaw at the same time planting needed to be done. The village only had a few acres among the lot of them, however with the poor tools left, it took more time to work. In addition, it seemed that due to the large amount of lumber that would be available next spring, Pan also gave them the go-ahead to build a larger house. Relatively speaking at least, it would finally be a match for the peasantry’s houses that existed on Earth; though its craftsmanship did seem like it would be more promising.

After staking the boundaries for later, I headed to talk with Pan. Concerned, he followed me to my stone seats to chat. I wanted to lower my head and look at my feet, but being taller than him meant I ended up looking right at him.

“Right, so…”

“What is it?”

“It came up yesterday that the paladins passed through…”

“Yes, they passed by while I was busy, but didn’t raise a fuss. Rion told me as well. It is earlier than usual, are you thinking of setting out sooner?”

“That’s not the exact problem.” Hoo boy, this was a really weird thing to say. “I told Ria yesterday that we would be departing in a week, but she hasn’t reacted very positively. In fact, I would say she is against the idea.”

“That’s somewhat understandable.” Pan shook his head. “I hope you can overlook it, I’m sure she’ll come to understand in time. She can just be stubborn about things at times.”

“I think you may be underestimating the severity of her refusal. It’s odd, since she seemed fine until I brought the subject up, but now...well, I’d like you to talk to her beforehand. I do plan to take her to find a cure, but I’d rather her be more comfortable.”

After an awkward conversation I convinced Pan to talk with her. Figuring it would be best if I wasn't around for the discussion, unlike before, I actually planned to get a bit of distance. They should have their father-daughter talk in private, for realsies. Ria was woken up, and I was out of there before she could say Eep!

The discussion would, or rather could only last 30 seconds. After that, Pan would still need to take some time to think; who knew what would be said between them. It made me feel slightly uneasy about what to do; Ria did not want to come along, even though it was in her best interests...On top of that was her independent personality, making choices for her was not something that would sit well with her. Staying probably meant dying, and going meant possible emotional trauma—what wonderful choices.

I putzed about practicing my magic absentmindedly. Distracted, and without full focus, a manifested, concurrent with the first.

What sort of timing is this magic? Can’t you see I am thinking serious thoughts? Nevertheless, I shall gratefully accept your enhancement.

The world had no sense of timing. Well, since such a gift wasn't to be denied, I would make the most of it. Not confident in my abilities of replicating the event, first I attempted to manipulate both at the same time. Less difficult than expected, it was like trying to write with both hands for the first time, presenting minor problems with both, but one would clearly be at a useable level. The other had troubles, unless it followed the exact same movements as the first; there would still be distortions in the commands, but for a task such as carrying loads, it would likely be sufficient.

Getting a little more familiar with operating two s at the same time, a mistake was made somewhere, and one of the spell shapes collapsed. It happened when the ‘main’ hand was switched to the other. I had been able to succeed at it twice before during the experiments, but the third time my concentration must have slipped somewhere. About to try again, Pan interrupted the experiment.

His emotional range varied more than a brick, but for the most part Pan kept himself looking composed. It fit his very average physique, and common features and hair color, not neutral, just easy to overlook. Demonstrating a soft spot for his children, this time he appeared more flustered—even angry—than I would normally expect.

“I suppose things didn’t go well, but I’ll continue to do my best.”

“It’s…” Pan started, then stopped for a long while. He looked at me sitting down, and then away again. To the heavens and back to me. I was not on a horse, but the village chief remained speechless. Opening his mouth several times, he at last found some words. “Ria is quite stubborn when setting her mind to something. At first you were fine, since she couldn’t process the world around her, but it seems during your discussions…” Pan stopped, his lack of quirks while speaking a quirk in itself. “She’s gotten it into her thick head that you mean her ill. What you’ve done for the village assures me you aren’t that sort of person. I think I may have calmed her mind a bit, but it will be some time before she decides to change her feelings.”

It seemed as though even Pan was unable to unearth Ria’s deeper motivations. That was unfortunate, but one could hope that her arbitrary reasonings were based on unsteady foundations and would change with time.

“So the only thing to do is let her become acclimated?”

“Unfortunately. Please continue to be patient with her.”

“You don’t need to worry. I’ll find a way to cure her in time, and she’ll be able to return.”

“It may not be the case now, but if she changes her mind and does not wish to come back, so long as she is safe that will be enough.”

“Haha, I doubt that will happen anytime soon, if ever. I’ll make sure she is as unrestricted as possible in the future, as long as that doesn’t hurt her chances of recovery.”

“Thank you. Are there any preparations that need to be made before you leave? Though I can’t act on behalf of the whole village, there are some things that can be supplied to you.”

“No, I...ah, I suppose there is something. How cold are the winters here? We may require warm clothing or blankets. My magic is able to do little on that front other than starting fires.” Pan had smoothly guided us into a more comfortable topic. Inventory did contain many of the goods that would be needed for traveling, but winter jackets were lacking. The rags could be used to make something, but I only had so much good thread, and the yarns here were lacking. That was one reason why Pan’s position was so high as a tailor, good quality thread needed to be conserved. I didn’t particularly want to impose, but walking around in the winter in such thin clothes was not the greatest of ideas.

Especially without any sheep, cloth was a valuable commodity in the village. However with Pan keeping the garments together, they didn’t have a very high turnover rate, so sending some along with Ria and I was not too difficult a task. Thankfully, in addition I was able to get some blankets sent for Tagalong Girl.

Speaking of, that night was her first training session.