Elise was no expert when it came to making friends. That much was evident to her. Yet during their lessons she managed to find out that Jacobina really liked animals. One could claim that she liked animals more than anything else.

Therefore Elise had formulated a plan. During the next visit into the forest she would find an animal suitable for Jacobina and hand it over as a gift. It was a good idea, at least based on what little Elise knew about friendship. She already had promised the young kids in the Association to help them complete a few requests in the forest, nothing too hard, just a few simple gathering missions. It meant that quite a few normal animals would be nearby. Thus she would beat two birds with a stone, hopefully not literally. She doubted that Jacobina would find that good.

She grinned before looking at the luxurious clock hanging on the wall. Just a few more minutes before the lesson ended. Afterwards she would be having lunch, she looked forward to it. The cook had claimed that she had gotten a few new ingredients and would make quite a few exquisite dishes.

Gustav ended the lesson as always with a recap. He had claimed that doing so would make them remember things better. Elise did not doubt that. Yet she had not learned that much new stuff during the lessons with Gustav. As it stood, he wanted her and Jacobina to get to the same level before he would teach more important things.

Elise said her goodbyes to Jacobina and Gustav before quickly running out of the room. She headed towards the servants' dining area and sat down. It was by no means a luxurious place, yet, it was adequate and she could not find any fault in not having a golden table… or whatever a noble used as a table.

Today the mansions guards were supposed to be the ones who would serve the food. She really looked forward to seeing the grumpy guards serving the other servants their food. It was simply a rather funny image, no one expected guards to serve food.

One older man walked towards her, he was not wearing any armour or weapons. However, the way he carried himself indicated that he was one of the guards. It was simply something she had taken notice of. Footwork was important in a fight and it was reflected in the way someone walked. Most people walked without any care, sometimes stumbling over their own feet. Experienced fighters walked with… for a lack of better words… grace.

He looked at her and asked, “Wha’ya want?”

She grinned and said, “Everything.”

The old man raised his eyebrows but said nothing, simply leaving and calling a few other guards to help him. Elise was still growing, therefore she needed to eat. Not necessarily as much as a dragon but she could proudly claim that she was eating more than a normal child her age should.

The food arrived, carried by four guards, who all were trying their best to not spill any soup or drop a plate. She thanked the guards and began to eat. Elise had promised to wait for her mother, but the delicious food spoke to her on such a level that she simply could not wait.

Her mother arrived ten minutes later. Elise was just about to eat a third portion of dessert. She stopped the spoon hallway and said, “Mum, the food is great. I recommend that you try to eat everything. But I know that old women dislike gaining weight. So, I recommend the soup, the bread is also great.”

"Old woman?" her mother asked, slightly irritated. She crossed her arms and stated, "I must inform you that I am not that old.... and weight? I work out too."

"Wonderful, so how is it?" Elise asked, urging one of the guards to come closer. She told him that her mother wanted to eat something hearty and healthy. He simply nodded and walked away.

"Great," her mother said, "I still haven't managed to form a single spell, but I have managed to slay my first demonic beast, a deer of some sort. Miss Selena was visibly pleased with my progress and told me that I am half as good as a knight, which, as a servant for the… man I am supposed to be working for, never met him, is enough. But... Just working is boring and so I'm trying my best to improve with more training."

"Take breaks," Elise said, "I'm a training expert, training needs breaks. Boring, but you can ... I don't know, read a book, write a book, eat a bo... eat some delicious wood... I mean food or... just spend the time sitting in the garden staring at the beautiful flowers."

She shrugged, “Or do whatever adults do to spend their free time. Maybe find a good friend…ooor...”

Her mother nodded and stared at the food the guard had brought, before stabbing the soup with her spoon and tasting it.

“It tastes great,” she said and added, “She is quite the good cook.”

Elise nodded before fidgeting. She took a deep breath and said, "So, Mum, I know you don't like me running around killing demonic beasts.... but I promised some kids in the Association I'd help them with a few of their requests. Nothing too hard, just a few gathering missions. It's on the edge of the forest and there will be almost no danger.... so... can I go?"

"Why do you ask?" her mother asked, visibly perplexed, "I mean, yeah, kids your age probably shouldn't go anywhere near a dangerous, dark, creepy, monster-infested place.... But... you've already done that with much success. And the edge of the forest is so peaceful, I could have gone there without training and survived any dangerous monster with wit and... well…”

She paused and frowned, before adding, “Fast legs, I suppose. So, yes, go there, have fun with your friends. But be back before dark!"

“Love you, mum,” Elise said, before kissing her mother’s left cheek, “Gotta go, the sun is not waiting.”

Her mother nodded in acknowledgement and Elise quickly left the room, much to the joy of the guards who had, unfortunately, learned why Elise had become the cooks’ friend.

Elise was waiting in front of the mercenary association. She was wearing her ... well... forest clothes. They were the worst clothes she had in her possession, that simply meant old enough that it wouldn't hurt to lose them.

She had also used her meager savings to commission some leather armour. After her first ventures into the forest she had been reprimanded by some people for not wearing proper armour. Elise had strongly doubted that normal leather armour made of cowhide offered more protection than her skin. That was why she had not worn armour.

But she had been taught better. The leather maker had told her that most self-respecting leather makers usually used materials from monsters or demonic beasts. It was just as cheap, if not cheaper. Cows had more purpose than being made into leather. They were good for a handful of other things.

So it seemed that her knowledge was quite outdated. She blamed the books and the fact that Heinz had never bothered to explain the concept of armour. His humble opinion was that a good offensive was much better than a good defensive. Considering that his node offered him a neat bundle of attack and defence related powers, his opinion, as it turned out, was not necessarily so valid.

The leather maker had fashioned Elise's armour from the hide of some water-dwelling creature. The name was unpronounceable, but the creature was quite common in most rivers. Therefore, the material for her armour had been quite cheap. But the price itself had been quite high, simply due to the fact that a leather maker rarely made child-sized armour. This was mainly because not many children fought monsters. Most children, who, for whatever reason, were desperate enough to join the Association, did the very simple jobs most mercenaries considered beneath them.

Elise was, once again, an outlier. She had simply wandered into the forest, killed things and later learned that there was some kind of bounty on spiders. Well, it hadn't been that easy, but that was the gist of her first ventures. The next ones would be better planned, at least Gustav had promised that.

The young girl glanced at her beloved dark steel sword. Heinz's gift had proved quite useful. She had managed to persuade the armsmaster of the lord’s armory to repair it for her. It had cost a decent favour, which he had yet to redeem. But owing a favour was cheaper than finding a blacksmith willing to work with what most thought was cursed steel.

In short, she was too well-prepared for what she was about to do. She had no intention of fighting anything today. She only intended to bully an animal into submission, unless the animal decided to come with her voluntarily and become a pet.

A few moments passed and a group of four children accompanied by a young man arrived in front of the Association's building. Elise waved to them and they gathered around her.

A short round of small talk followed before the young man told Elise that he had decided to come too. He was the neighbour of one of the children and also a mercenary. Unfortunately, he had recently injured himself in a fight, a goblin hat had shot him in the knee. It was therefore almost impossible for him to accept any missions that had an emphasis on fighting. Perhaps becoming a guard was more to his taste?

But since the young man didn't want to spend his time at home twiddling his thumbs and couldn't watch a group of five children go into the forest alone, he had decided to help his fellow mercenaries. She had corrected him, arguing that she was not a simple child. But he had ignored her objection and claimed she didn't have enough experience fighting monsters.

Elise reluctantly agreed with his assessment. She indeed did not have that much experience in fighting monsters. As long as the monsters were as stupid as the spiders, goblins fell exactly into that category, or did not use any strategy worth mentioning, most goblins also fell exactly into that category, most if not all of her fights would end in victory.

"Onward to victory," one of the boys declared proudly, "these herbs will not go into our pockets by themselves."

The only other girl in her group giggled. Elise didn't know why. She didn't really understand why his joke, if it had been a joke at all, was supposed to be funny. Besides, she didn't really understand the dynamics of relationships between children. Adults were easy to figure out, they fit into a handful of categories. These were enemies, reluctant acquaintances, willing acquaintances, friends, good friends, family and lovers or spouses. There were probably more categories, she was no philosopher or scholar, but that was it in general.

Children, on the other hand, were very complicated to understand. The children she accompanied probably only went to the forest with her because she was reasonably reliable. Perhaps they even saw her as a friend, although that seemed extremely doubtful. The few months in general school had taught her enough about human nature that she could confidently say that most human children were probably too scared to even claim to know her. Elise could be wrong, but until proven otherwise, she would stand by her assumption.