Signs of virtue

“”Wow….!!”” Marieka and Annaliese gasped in sync, their mouths wide open as I spun around the cobbled stone street wearing the stuff that I previously bought.

“How do I look?” I tilted my head, revealing to them the white coat and purple scarfーmy hair tied up with a beautiful butterfly ornament. “I tried wearing this because my cloak was getting a bit old. And this hairstyle should keep me from getting recognized. I hardly think people would recognize me, I hope…”

Turning to Astrid, I cleared my throat. “ーDid you enjoy the cake buffet? That’s the place I found upon arriving here, and dare I say… Lovely flavor, right? Unless you have an entirely different palette.”

She nodded with her smile wide as dayーgiving off a sunny atmosphere. “Not at all! Thank you so much Mistress Varieka for that lovely treat!! I can’t ever repay you enough.”

“It’s fine really… I made a promise before, right? And thanks for listening to me ranting, it made me feel a little better.” I assured her, looking over my shoulder. “Now that we’re here, any shops you guys would like to…”

Without realizing, behind me Marieka and Annaliese had been staring at me the whole time. Did I steal their hearts or something?

“Is there something on my face…?” I asked.

They both shook their heads, Marieka responded. “You look stunning Varieka… Like, very beautiful.”

“Are you flattering me…?” I asked bluntly.

Marieka shook her head in response. Then she looked closely at my coat before asking something important. “Wait!!! Varieka…??! What about your robes!!??”

“...Oh, it’s underneath my coat… Don’t worry, I wouldn’t remove it, especially in these places. I know you're worried about my mana being visible, I am too.”

She exhaled, relieved.

“Thank goodness…” Marieka paused, before continuing. “Okay! Now that everyone is here. Let’s head forward! To wherever the moon leads us!!”

“Keep in mind, we still need to find an Inn here. It’s not our concern at the moment though.” I replied.

She nodded before moving forward as the three of us trailed behind her.

Strolling through the markets, passing by the crowdsーit looks like no one has recognized me yet. Which was a good sign at least, except that a few were complimenting on how I look.

I picked up noises from left to right, and all of them were pointed towards me… It was starting to get embarrassing, and I wouldn’t want to attract too much attention that would put me at risk.

Marieka slowed her steps to match my pace, whispering to me. “See…? I told you I wasn’t joking…”
“ーI think it could just be my pale white skin and white hair, Nothing out of the ordinary… It’s only because it's rare to see these types outside of Ryven.”

“Ehh…? Why act humble…!?? Flaunt your appearance more!!!” She nodded confidently.

Exhaling, I shook my head in disagreement and stood in place. “That reminds me… I’ll be heading somewhere, I’ll try to catch up later, so you guys have fun.”

Marieka turned to her shoulder, pouting. “Huuh…? Are you gonna buy useless books again…”

No, in fact… I remember there being a library here, so might as well pay a visit again… I wonder what could be new around there.

Then suddenly.

Hmm…? That’s weird…? I looked over the horizon.

Tilting my head, I shrugged it off for now. Turning around and ran in the exact opposite direction. Leaving the three of them as I disappeared off the distance.

⇔ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔

“Excuse me, where is the history section?” I politely asked the worker.

She replied back, bowing. “Yes! It’s located on the very left.” The worker instructed, pointing it to me.

I nodded and thanked her before stepping inside. Looking around the shelves, the interior was spacious, the shape of the lobby felt like a small colosseum. The library wasn't as big as the Imperial Vascht. Yet, it was the quality of the book over quantity.

I better look for something interesting here… I wasn’t able to do that when I first arrived. Heading to the left sideーI began inspecting the books from the shelves.

Hmm…. Wow, some of these books actually date back hundreds of years ago… Can’t believe I actually missed this?

I took one of the books from the shelves and opened it and my eyes widened. The hero…? Wait… Is this the record of events that happened a century ago?!! THIS IS A GEM!!!

Closing the book, I looked around the shelves trying to find the same book. And to my excitementーSlowly, one by one I began to collect them like I was digging for treasures.

This one! OH THIS ONE TOO! OH MY!! I'M PICKING YOU TOO!!!! OH YOU TOO!!!

The books in my hand started to pile up, to the point where I needed two hands to hug it in place, then when I had finally snapped out of it, upon realizing. “....Might’ve bought too much. I feel like Marieka now.”

Exhaling, I was left without a choice and decided that this would be enough for now.

To my defense… The royal palace’s library didn’t have this many books, but I still can’t believe how much Friedenswald had… Lotea definitely hid this from me… I sulked.

Taking the many books I had from my arms, trying to walk towards the receptionist and along the way evading bystanders as a few turned their attention to meーI placed down the books on the table, making a Thud sound as it stood in place.

Then I asked to pay for all of it, and the worker gave me quite the expression seeing how expensive these were.

Finishing with the payment. I took all of the books into my pocket, leaving the building and stepping on the pathwayーstretching my arms as I breathed in the cold air.

….Mmm, It’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed myself like this. I guess meeting Nixie left a bad taste in my mouth during my visit to the Imperial Vascht… I exhaled.

Speaking of Nixie… It reminded me.

“ーDid I come off too mean to Nixie…?” I muttered to myself, scratching my head. “....Knowing her, she would’ve tried convincing me otherwise… So, I had to cut the conversation short… But I didn’t mean to sound mad at her…”

Shaking my head, I felt a bit guilty… But for that, I’ll decide what to do later as we go.

I continued my way through the streets. “Now, where should we head next… I honestly don’t knowー”

Halting my steps, I jolted... Suddenly, the feeling I had from earlier made sense, turning my head towards the tall mountain outside of the capital wallsーmy eyes widened. Something had come off the mountains…

A gigantic avalanche, most likely came from the summit over one of the mountains.

Amidst the laughter, the people began hearing the sound and turned to check the noise… They couldn’t believe their eyes… They froze in fearーexpression devoid of color as they couldn’t process a phenomenon at this scale.

Rolling down the mountain slopes, it didn’t look like it was slowing down…

As I stared at a distance, my mind was racing… There I was forced with two choices; I either wait for Loteaーor potentially reveal my identity and risk exposing myself to the people.

However… I couldn’t pick up Lotea's mana anywhere.

She wasn’t here.

I clenched my fist, furrowing my brows. This is bad… Lotea where are you…?

Fearing for their lives, they couldn’t stay calm anymoreーTurning around, the crowds ran off to the opposite side towards the city gate. A few stayed in place, trusting that their pointed hat would appear at the exact time… Yet as the Avalanche grew closer and closer.

I still couldn’t pick up anything, everything felt blank, like I’ve lost the ability to hear nor see.

….Standing there, it felt like time had stoppedーPeople walking past me slowly as it grew close… My mind was racing, forced to make a decision.

I felt the pressure… The very same feeling I’ve hidden during my first task as a Pointed hat…

Everything happened so fast. At one moment, I was out buying books, and here I am forced into choosing two things.

I was shaking, my heart was beating faster than I could move.

….I’m scared. I don’t know what to do… It’s terrifying.

My thoughts continued to spiral… Wishing that I should’ve just declined this journey. Butー.

No… I have to wait for her. I can’t, I just can’t…

It’s impossible for me.

A tear fell from my eye as my vision blurred.

…

..

Even so, I wouldn’t let them die because of my own selfishness.

I clenched my teeth and finally hardened my resolve.

Breathing heavily and closing my eyes, I raised my finger, finally removing the seal from underneath my coat that had laid dormant for years and summoned my staffーA large magic circle appeared above me, hovering over the capital.

The air around me became heavyーa percentage of my mana seeped out changing the density of the atmosphere.

Stepping forward, I gently tapped the ground with the bottom of my staff and a large magic circle was cast underneath me, visible from the ground, engulfing the entirety of the city.

Opening my eyes and exhaling… I casted.

“Fleurdelys.”