“Here we are.” Nero raised a hand, and everyone came to a stop. “The ancient battlefield where Hope fell. It’s too dark for us to carry on, so we’ll just camp out here for the night, and then move in at first light tomorrow.”

He raised a hand, and a jet of blue light poured out of it, shooting towards the air. After rising for around five metres, it seemed to hit a wall of sorts, and before long, a boxy structure had appeared. The first Dia saw such a use of mana to create a temporary lodging, she had found it an impressive sight, but they had been mana-walking for seven days, and by then, it was just a welcome view.

As her blade glowed with mana, Dia found herself thinking through the journey to the God of Hope’s final resting place. All the preparations for the trip had been completed within a single day after they settled on going, to everyone’s surprise, so Nero simply suggested that they went earlier anyway.

Dirt flew, and with one last flourish, a nice pit with chopped wood had been prepared. Pulling out a small ball, Dia pressed the button on its top and tossed it into the pile of wood, creating a blazing fire.

All that remained was the roasting spit.

“Done,” Dia called out. “Risti, you fine with the butchering?”

“I’m already done, but thanks for the offer.” A few seconds later, Risti returned with a deer that had been drained of blood and butchered thoroughly. Its carcass had been chopped into multiple pieces, which was then skewered on a metal stick. Its innards had been removed too, bound up in a sheet of mana and floating behind her.

“Hmm.” The sight of a bloody Risti made Dia a bit uncomfortable, but what made her more uncomfortable was the explicit knowledge that she would be — and had been — eating wild game, but food was food. As someone who used to live in the lap of luxury, things like butchered animals had been very distant from her areas of concern. Even when she went to handle stuff with the other Seekers of Life, she had relied on provisions.

This trip was the first one that entailed killing and eating wild game.

“Still squeamish?” Risti asked.

“Just pondering on our dinner, that’s all.” Dia shrugged. “We’ll be stuck here for the next week or two, after all.”

She glanced at the two carts that everyone had been pulling at, and then turned away. They would return once both carts were full of prana jade, which would be enough to at least replenish everyone’s lifespan and maybe push a few of them to completing their fourth mana circuit.

“That’s a lot, but I guess we’ll fill it up eventually.” Risti grimaced. “Still, that’s a lot of lifeforce. Four hundred years is a long time.”

“And all that would be wasted if you died.”

“I think they just escape into the world and then reform as lifestones eventually,” Risti replied.

“Let’s not start the debate all over again, okay?” Dia rolled her eyes. “Schwarz, you’re the professional and grilling slabs of meat on a spit. Take over us, thanks.”

“Help me set up the artefacts, then! We’re going with base-building now!”

“Yeah, sure.” Dia paused. “Give me a hand?”

The next thirty minutes flew by in a flurry of activity, but the results were, as always, incredible, and Dia spent the next five minutes looking at the fortress of barrier artefacts and mana. This was truly a step-up from tents and lying on trees…which was also something Claud had warned against in that booklet of his. While trees were a good choice, they also had dangers that were hard to guard against, and the booklet — the latest edition — recommended using a dizzying array of barrier artefacts to form a room instead.

After admiring her handiwork for a few more minutes, she returned to the firepit, which was now surrounded by the others.

“It’s not done yet?” Dia asked.

“Almost. I used some of my personal spices for today’s catch, after all.” Schwarz grinned. “You guys will love it.”

“The drool’s dribbling down my face already,” Risti replied.

Schwarz laughed. “That’s good praise if I ever heard one. It’s a shame the count didn’t want to come along, though. I was planning on brewing some special stuff—”

“Dibs,” Nero cut in.

“For everyone. It’s not the strong kind…okay, okay. Stop looking at me like you’re about to cry, okay? I’ll brew an extra-strong version just for you.”

Dia looked at the two insane men and shrugged. She turned to Risti, who was chatting with Farah, and then listened to them talk about the Lustre princess for a few seconds.

Their words ringing in her ears, she looked in the direction of the ancient battlefield. Further west from it would be the Lustre Dukedom’s territory. She would need to cross two counties and veer off the main trading route to arrive at Lustre itself; nearly three weeks of mana-walking or even more.

Yet, for all that distance, this was the closest she was to home for a very long time.

As that thought flickered through her mind, Dia fought the urge to hug her knees. Tearing her eyes away from the west, she looked up into the darkening skies and shifted closer to the cheery fire.

Nero and Schwarz looked at her once, before the bartender cleared his throat. “You look like you’re someone who’s missing a person or a place dear to you. Need someone to talk to?”

Dia looked at the seasoned bartender, who was moonlighting as a counsellor currently, and then shrugged. “I’m just thinking about my home, that’s all.”

Schwarz looked at her. “What’s it like? Being the double of the princess?”

“…My lifestyle’s the exact same as hers,” Dia replied. “Nothing much to it, really. Where she is, there I am. Of course, I naturally got attached to the same people too, and in turbulent times, I cannot help but wonder if I am needed back there.”

“Are you needed back there?” Schwarz asked.

Dia fell silent. As the little princess of the Lustre Dukedom, she was never meant to play any huge role. That privilege — or curse — was for her older brother, who was the true heir to the dukedom. He was the epitome of being favoured by destiny, and boasted talent overwhelming.

For these reasons, she was the one who took her brother’s place when Ruler Umbra died. It could be said that she had fulfilled her role splendidly…albeit in a manner she had never anticipated.

“No. I don’t think I’m needed there,” Dia replied. As those words left her mouth, a stone seemed to roll away from her heart, and her body felt a tiny bit lighter.

Schwarz chuckled. “In that case, you should do whatever you like. You don’t owe them anything now, right? With your life as a bait for the real deal, you’ve cleared off any debts and obligations. No one can ask you to pay more than your life, and you’ve done that over and over again. Since you’re free, do whatever you like. We’ll smile and support you.”

He paused. “As long as it’s not stupid or something. You know, Claud’s booklet as a guide…”

“Thanks.” Dia smiled. “Is the meat done yet? I’m starving.”

“We are all starving together, so I don’t really see the problem…” Schwarz leaned back. “Seriously, though, if you want to go back, do tell us. I think everyone might just tag along for the fun of it.”

“Why would you do that?” Dia asked, curious.

“For fun?” Schwarz laughed, before pulling out a small container. Turning it upside down, he shook its contents over the nearly-complete skewers of meat, and an incredible aroma burst out without warning. “Done! Come on, everyone! Take some before it gets cold!”

“What did you add?” Dia asked, as she pried off a slab of meat for herself.

“My secret recipe of thirteen spices!” Schwarz laughed. “Be thankful, everyone! I rarely cook something with my super blend! They sell only once, on the first day of Full Moon, and the auction for my three dishes goes up to over a hundred gold coins!”

“Wait, really?” Farah looked at her own plate. “A hundred gold?”

“Try it first, and then doubt me later,” Schwarz replied. “It’ll be easier to explain once you’re done with the food here…”

Dia took an experimental bite from it, and a tingle ran down her spine. “What is the heck is this? It’s really tasty!”

“Isn’t it?” Schwarz beamed. “There are some hidden restaurants in Licencia. I learned this from the best of the best there. It’s a shame that the spices I use are hard to find…anyway, when we return, I’ll bring you guys there.”

“A hidden restaurant, huh?” Nero blinked twice. “Interesting.”

“Want to know what’s more interesting?” Schwarz asked. “I heard that the Holy Daughter of the White God actually splurged there once, heh. The bill was incredible too.”

“Who did you hear that from?” Dia asked.

“Our old friend, Mister Colidra!” The bartender chuckled. “The look on her face was astounding apparently. And of course, Claud and Lily were there too, freeloading…bah. Anyway, eat up! We begin the hard stuff tomorrow…”