As I felt the wind blow through my hair, I wondered just how long Hazeel and Bella would argue for. I turned around to look at them in the back of the caravan, and both were using emphatic gestures. However, while Hazeel had a triumphant smile on her face, Bella was frowning in discontent.

It had been an hour since we had left the Mansion, and I currently lamented the ten day trip that it would take to get to the capital, Songrande.

Trying to tune out the squabbling women behind me, I thought back to the end of our impromptu meeting in the Clairborne mansion.

---

“Are you sure that’s the guild you want to join?” Jane’s dissatisfied voice told me that I fell short regarding her expectations of what organization I’d become a part of.

“Yes. Thinking about everything I’ve been through so far, it’s definitely the correct choice.” Of course, I did neglect to tell them what I went through on earth on purpose, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.

Hazeel disengaged from her chat with Conrad long enough to send a smile my way. “I think it suits you, my lord.”

“Please stop with the ‘my lord’ talk. Just call me Leon. Especially in the capital, a woman like you calling me that will attract the wrong kinds of attention for what we’re trying to accomplish.”

“Oh?” Hazeel walked over from Conrad and leaned on me once more. “What exactly are you all trying to accomplish?” The table went silent, and Hazeel straightened up.

“What? I’m not trying to sabotage you. Not like I even could with the contract in place between Leon and I.” She looked hopefully towards Jane, who laughed heartily.

“I haven’t seen you make that face of excitement in ages, Hazeel. It’s alright everyone. Like she said, she can’t go against the contract, and that means doing anything which violates her master’s trust.”

Hazeel’s face slightly reddened at Jane’s comment, and she coughed to clear her throat. “Regardless, since we’re bound I’m going to be accompanying Leon on his journey to the capital.”

“No thanks.”

“What? Why!?” Hazeel threw up her hands in exasperation.

“Well, let’s use our heads for a minute here. The person who tried to kill me when I went to her village suddenly claims to be under some blood contract that prevents her from doing anything that would compromise my trust in her… I don’t know, would you trust that?”

Conrad and Bella glanced at each other, and Jane gave me a worried look. “Leon, I think you’re underestimating the power of a contract like that. Those use the same magic that the guild’s bindings do, only, blood contracts don't use a physical medium like a mark that the Guild’s contracts use.”

I tilted my head in confusion. “So, what are the defining marks of a blood contract?” Jane stared at the ceiling in thought before bringing her gaze back to me.

“I guess the only way to truly tell is to have another magician probe for a magical reaction in their body. Luckily for you, I can do just that.”

She motioned towards the garden outside the kitchen and smiled. "You all gather out there, I need to get some things from my lab in order to conduct the experiment.”

After Jane left the room and headed towards the stairs that would take her to her lab upstairs, I was the first one to vacate my seat at the dining table and walk outside. Hazeel was quickly on my heels, and followed shortly after by Bella, with Conrad bringing up the rear.

“Do you truly not trust me, my lord?” Hazeel gave me a look of genuine sadness, but I simply shrugged it off. I’d seen too many pretend to be on my side and betray me to not be cautious of a stranger coming out of nowhere.

“No, I don’t. However, Jane can tell me if I can.” Hazeel stopped walking behind me and stood still as Bella took her place next to me and Conrad started talking to the wood elf.

“So Leon… can you explain what you were talking about just now?” I stopped at the round table that was sitting just outside the kitchen door and took a seat. Bella took one to my left and stared at me.

“Listen, I don’t remember much of what happened that night-”

“Oh, don’t give me that again. Uncle Conrad told me that your memories came back while you were fighting him, so don't try lying to me.” I clicked my tongue and Bella pinched my cheek.

Brushing her hand away I started just as Hazeel bashfully sat to my right. “Well, to make a long story short, I went training on a plateau with Brago, and we killed a Plateau Boar, which happened to be the hunting target of a tribe of… goblins.” Ugh, it still didn’t feel right calling them that.

“They took us and the boar back to their village, and after we got there, we learned that they were having a festival since the boar that had caused them many problems in the past had finally perished. However, their champion challenged me to mortal combat, lost his arm, and had to be shielded by Hazeel so I wouldn’t kill him.”

Conrad took a seat across from me and gave Hazeel a disapproving look. “Really? You interfered in a duel you said you presided over?” The wood elf stared at the ground and fidgeted in her seat.

“Look, I needed him to stay alive in order to take over the village’s leadership from me. Did you think I was going to just let the most interesting thing I’d seen in 15 years just walk out of my village like it was nothing?”

“Oh, so that’s it. You were just bored.” Hazeel’s eyes widened in realization.

She covered her head in her hands and stared off into space. “I was… bored? But I was committed to doing my best to lead them, and I put my all into it for so long… ”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t become fed up with what you’re doing on a yearly basis. I imagine that doing the same mundane things for 15 years after living in the constant action of a battlefield would take its toll on your mentality. Hell, I was the same way after-”

I cut myself off before I could go further. Before I could speak of Dantae and cause myself heartache once again. Both Hazeel and Bella reacted to my silence by staring at me, before their looks were interrupted by a snapping from Jane as she walked towards us.

“Girls, control yourselves, please. Gods above show some self-restraint.” Hazeel and Bella both stiffened and sent their gazes straight ahead. Jane shook her head and approached Hazeel.

“Hold this.” Hazeel caught a pale white crystal that shone red when it touched her fingers.

“Figures. You did complete the blood contract but… when did you get his blood?” Hazeel’s ears twitched as she cast her gaze away from our inquisiting eyes.

“Wait, didn’t she need me present to do the contract in the first place?”

Jane shook her head and looked at Hazeel, who was trying to shrink into her seat. “No, she only needed your blood and to draw the contract on her own body. You really wanted to be his slave that badly, huh?”

This time, there was nothing slight about it, Hazeel’s face lit up in a crimson shade. “Alright, enough poking fun at you, I guess. Listen Hazeel, the plan is-”

---

I was knocked out of my memories as an apple hit me from the back of the caravan. “Leon, tell Hazeel to stop stripping!”

“What I do with my clothes has nothing to do with you, right!? It’s hot in here!” Hazeel shot back, angrily. However, she turned to face me, a sultry smile on her face and sweat still glistening down her nape.

“However, if it’s your command, my lord, I should endure endless suffering.” I turned back to face the road and shook my head. This was going to be a long ten days.