With a half smile on my face, I hung over the balcony while waiting for the food to arrive. In particular, I was paying attention to Athas. He was still hanging out with Ean and Hodgan, along with a few other soldiers I didn't know the name of. Each swig of the mug only got him even more drunk. There were few other groups that occasionally provided me with a modicum of entertainment.

At the front counter, a waiter stepped out holding a giant pot. Being careful to not fall over, I leaned forward a bit and managed to see small pieces of paper inside it. They then made it clear what their purpose was when a waiter rang a bell and explained how each note had a number written on it, correlating to the order they would receive their food in.

It went without saying, but chaos ensued. Every individual on the first floor rushed over. Though being first in line didn't guarantee you to get your dinner earlier, it provided a higher chance of getting an earlier number.

"Hopefully, we didn't keep you waiting too long," Estra said, stopping the background chatter of Athas and Arie. During this time, I had continued to search through my memory, hoping to recognize her name, but no such luck.

Turning around, alongside her, were the expected Alphonse and Cassandra, as well as a lean man wearing an almost comically large chef's hat. Next to him was a woman. She was the same bard who had played earlier, but now, she held a rather strange lute. It was quite striking as it had double the number of strings, totalling eight, compared to the normal four. Unexpectedly, Branne also made an appearance, but Captain Tharkun didn't. He was wearing fancier clothes, but his usual disheveled demeanor till shined through. Behind them were several servers holding multiple covered plates.

I straightened my robes and sat down in the corner seat. Branne instantly sat next to me as everyone else took their seats. As they lay the dishes down in front of us, the chef explained each of them to us in frankly more detail than I cared for. The only words that I chose to register were the names of what was in front of me. The main dish was lamb and pumpkin soup with stuffed bread. It took all of my willpower to not act like a pig as I waited an excruciating long five minutes as the food's aroma invaded my sense of smell. I couldn't even remember the last time I had the opportunity to eat such lavishly.

Once everyone had started to indulge in their food, the chef left the table as the bard played. Turning to Branne, I asked, "Oh master, where have you been?"

"While you were reading the stars, I was busy slaving away at preparing some medicinal remedies," he grumbled before tearing off a sizeable chunk of bread with his teeth.

"For what?"

"The blithering drunk buffoons below us."

"Ah." I didn't bother with any more questions and stuffed my face as well.

I finished the last bite of my bread pudding dessert and washed it down with a mug of warm golden goat, wiping the tanned residue off my lip with a clean napkin. Estra, Alphonse, and Cassandra all left first. Satisfied from the meal and from not having to answer anymore of their mundane questions, I tossed a coin to the bard and left as well. Knowing that such a large group of people would travel through in advance, the nearby inn had enough room for everyone. However, much to my annoyance, I was forced to room with Branne again.

I lay on the left with a small candle and the Nomicon in hand, as he fell asleep almost instantaneously. This left me wide awake and having to deal with his obnoxious snoring. Knowing there was a zero percent chance I could concentrate or fall asleep in such conditions, I slid off the bed and quietly left the room.

"Finally getting the chance to practice some of your spells, hm?" Syn said through a yawn. "I hope you haven't gotten even rustier in the past week."

"I have, but, I must ask, what do you even do all day?"

"Observe."

"Is that it?"

"What else do you expect me to do?"

"Not sure."

I only travelled a few feet out before a man dressed in some light brown clothing rushed past me. Part of me wanted to just pretend I hadn't seen anything, but the other part of me wanted to know what was up. That part won and caused me to follow the figure up to the top floor. I didn't bother to hide my actions either, so they knew of my presence the entire time. The person stopped in front of a door with several guards posted out front.

"Who else would have guards but them three?" I pondered.

"Must be extremely urgent news, or else why wouldn't they wait until the morning?" Syn suggested.

"Whatever, it doesn't concern me right now." I let out a yawn. "And, I'm sure I'll learn of it sooner rather than later."

"HALT."

I already taken several steps on the stairs, but the booming voice from behind me caused me to jump in fright and almost fall down.

"Turn around slowly," the voice commanded.

"Yes sir," I said, following his wish.

The guard stared at me as I recognized him as one of the two from earlier. "What business do you have up here this late at night?"

"None."

"Then why are you here?"

"I was having trouble falling asleep, especially with my master. You know he snores a lot and only made such an action even more difficult—"

"Get on with it."

I cleared my throat. "Anyway, I ended up taking a step outside my room, hoping to get some fresh air, but before I could, a hooded individual ran past me. Naturally, I feared he may hold some ill will for some individuals here, so like any good citizen, I followed them to make sure they weren't up to no good. After witnessing that they were trusted, I was no longer needed and so, I went to head back down until you stopped me, good sir."

The guard stared at me as his eyes squinted even harder. "What would you have done if they posed a threat?"

"Oh, well, you see, that is actually quite simple," I said, drawing each word out in order to buy myself some more time. In truth, if they actually were dangerous, I would have just pretended nothing had happened. But that would sound beyond bad as an answer. "I would have returned to my master, woken him up, and informed him of the situation." This was a horrible plan of action, because who knows what could have transpired in the meantime, but realistically, it was probably my only other proper choice.

The guard raised his eyebrow as he gave me a questioning look. However, he shook his hand and said, "Be gone then." Likely not wanting to create extra work for himself.

"Rest well," I said, with a slight bow, before continuing my way down.

"What were you planning on doing if they were malicious?" Syn asked.

"Obviously, I would have not chased after them. But, I didn't think they were a bad actor in the first place."

"What kind of assassin would make a bunch of noise by running through the hallways and up several flights of stairs? You would be better off by pretending everything was fine. Or hide yourself in plain sight, like the guard," I suggested before exiting through the front door. Seeing as I didn't have a key to enter back in, I used a spare book in a bag as a stopgap.

Overcast clouds covered the night sky. The yard was quite open and large, with several benches for resting by. Unexpectedly, I wasn't alone. In the center, a large fountain stood tall, water still spurting about. There, a lone figure rested on its edge, strumming away. I raised my hood and ignored their existence, walking away from them.

Several minutes went by before I cast [Legerdemain] to heat clothes, protecting me from the annoying cold. From there, I found a secluded spot covered by enough trees and shrubbery that I deemed it safe enough. In a small wooden bowl, I poured some water out from my waterskin and started practicing [Bend Water]. This time, focusing my efforts on a minor source to start off with.

The actual process wasn't difficult, but required an excess amount of hand movement to guide the water. I started with what I believed was the easiest effect, changing the water's color. Syn provided me with actual input. Although I hadn't practiced her improved breathing technique for long, it already allowed me to control my anima release at a much steadier pace. I changed the water from transparent to a bright red to a dark black back to normal. After that, I created several small shapes with it. These shapes were fairly simple in form and took appearances like a square, or a triangle. Exciting stuff. Freezing the water, though, proved to still be too difficult for now.

The clouds had long cleared up and revealed a bright full moon. Staring at it, my eyelids involuntarily slid down as my consciousness faded away.

Splash!

Previously shaped water splashed down and drenched my legs. My eyes widened as I shot my head, accidentally hitting it against the tree I leaned against. After muttering some obscenities under my breath, I cast [Legerdemain], cleaning up and heating my clothes. By this point, I was casting it so much that it's already short casting time was now as quick as a snap. Syn was nowhere in sight, most likely having entered her trance seeing I nodded off. My [Bend Water] spell lasted for an hour, so I had only dozed off for about thirty minutes or so at most. I didn't want to return to Branne's snoring, but it was either that and sleep on a nice warm bed, or against a tree. Weighing my options, I stood up and walked back.

Familiar strumming echoed out ever-present as I inched closer to the inn. With little thought, I ended up wandering towards the fountain. With nothing else being a distraction, I could pay full attention to her playing. It wasn't perfect. There were some slight mistakes made on occasion, but it wasn't amateurish by any means. Currently, she played on the last four strings, which were audibly lower notes than normal. There were also several moments where she would pinch and bend the string, creating a discordant sound that was somehow solemn but not sad. Her hands stopped as she tilted her head and opened her eyes, adjusting the red scarf around her neck.

"Having trouble falling asleep?" she asked.

"Anyone would if you had to sleep in the same room with Branne," I said with a half smile.

"That's the old man who sat next to you, right?"

"Correct."

"You left before I could properly thank you."

"For?"

"The coin."

"Oh yeah. Don't worry about it."

"I was surprised."

"About me giving you a gold coin?"

"Yes."

"Really? I thought that paying for bardic services was quite common."

"It is."

"Now I'm doubly confused."

"You looked poor. That's all."

"Correction." I tapped my forehead. "I don't just look poor—I am poor."

She bowed. "Thank you."

"No problem," I said, before changing the topic. "I am curious about your lute, however."

"Gift from my father." Her face displayed a forlorn expression as she looked towards the moon.

Based on her previous responses, I didn't expect to get anymore details. "Well, then, I'll be off. Good luck with your future performances and good night."

"Sleep well."

I walked towards the inn, but as I did, the frosted glass began to light up on all the floors. "You wouldn't happen to know what's happening right now, would you?"

The bard slid off the fountain and shook her head as she stood next to me.

Not keen on waiting, I retrieved my book from the door and entered the inn. Several people rushed past me before I stopped a guard to ask what was going on.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Gnoll raid!"