At the center of a garden, nestled in the back of the Freybrook mansion, Scarlett sat beneath the lone garden alcove, her gaze fixed on the space before her. In the span of the few weeks since she had introduced the Loci to this place, it had undergone more changes than anticipated.

The hedges that formed a small maze around the garden had begun shedding their leaves in the late autumn weather, casting muted shades over the surroundings. The once-vibrant patches of flowers scattered throughout the area had also faded, their delicate stems swaying gently in the breeze. It was a sight one would expect to see as the land prepared for the impending winter.

But a curious phenomenon unfolded at the heart of the garden. Against all odds, the flowers and hedges near the center remained in full bloom, their resplendent hues creating a striking contrast to their wilting brethren. It was as if there was a pocket of eternal spring in a sea of fading vitality, leaking its essence into its surroundings.

Standing proudly at the core of this was a simple stone pedestal, adorned with a delicate ring of strange turquoise-green flowers that had taken root around its base. Resting atop the pedestal was a multi-faceted emerald, emitting a pale green light that seemed to infuse the surrounding vegetation with a subtle, nourishing energy.

The air near it was mellow, deviating from the chilly wind outside the area of effect, and Scarlett sat wearing nothing more than a sleeveless dress as she took in the sight.

She hadn’t known of this particular feature when she initially placed the Loci in this garden. It was only after Garside told her that the gardener had been confused over how resilient some of the flowers seemed to be a couple of weeks back that she began to suspect it.

At first, the effect had been less pronounced, only appearing to affect the flora closest to the Loci. However, soon those strange flowers at its base had appeared, and then the climate itself around the artifact had started transforming.

To be honest, she was impressed by how quickly it had progressed since then. Before she had departed for Windgrove, the range of the effect had been more than a few meters smaller. Now it probably reached twenty or so meters away from the Loci.

While the exact reason for this transformation was a mystery to her, she didn’t mind it. That was most magic to her, anyway. She took it as a sign that the Loci had become more familiar with the estate, integrating itself into the space to a point where it could do more than simply observe. Her connection to the artifact hadn’t changed too much, but being in this close proximity to it made it feel subtly more present, for lack of a better word.

To her, that was promising. As was what she was currently doing.

Extending her awareness toward the link at the back of her mind, she felt the dutiful presence of the [Obedience’s Solitude Loci] brushing against her senses as the gemstone on the pedestal emitted a faint glow.

In her palm, she held a fallen pink rose petal. With her focus placed entirely on it, she raised her other hand. Guided by instinct that she didn’t quite understand, she followed the intuitive pull of the Loci, narrowing her eyes. Then, with a gentle motion, she transferred the petal from one palm to the other. The movement felt odd, like she had skipped a step in the process. As if her hand hadn’t quite traversed enough distance to reach its destination.

Yet it worked without issue, and the petal now lay softly on the skin of her other hand. This marked the fifth time she had tried this, but it still brought a small smile to her face to see it work.

The Loci possessed the ability to manipulate space within its sphere of influence.

Scarlett had long suspected it was possible, considering what she had witnessed in Abelard’s mansion and the fact that the Loci originated from the Wandering Realm, known for how peculiar space could be there. However, it wasn’t until now that she had been able to confirm it.

For the moment, the actual feat itself wasn’t anything impressive; it was barely noticeable. But the Loci was still growing, still integrating itself further into its surroundings. Scarlett couldn’t help but feel excited and curious about what it would be capable of in the future.

She was considering ways to accelerate its growth or enhance it further. She suspected that, in its current state, it couldn’t accomplish the same feats she had seen in Abelard’s mansion, where the entire structure appeared to shift around inside like an ever-shifting maze. While she couldn’t be sure, it was likely that the Loci required an additional power source of some kind. When she had found it, the artifact had been placed above a glass dome filled with some sort of green liquid, and she doubted that had been only for show.

Unfortunately, she didn’t possess anything comparable at the moment, at least to her knowledge. But she was also far from an expert on this topic. She had been planning on finding someone to examine the Loci on her behalf, but with recent events, she hadn’t had the opportunity. Although that was definitely something that had been moved up on her list of priorities now.

She continued her experiments for a while longer until a familiar voice called out to her.

“There you are.”

Looking up, Scarlett spotted Rosa and Fynn walking towards her from the other end of the hedge garden, their curious gazes exploring the strange surroundings. She had been so engrossed in her task that she hadn’t noticed their approach, even through the Loci.

The two followed a stone pathway that led up to the alcove she was sitting under and stopped in front of her.

“What are you up to?” Rosa asked, the woman’s head turning to look at the Loci. “Entertaining your pet stone?”

“I have been investigating some promising prospects,” Scarlett answered, studying the pair for a moment. “I assume you are here to speak with me. Is there a reason you sought me out?”

Fynn’s nostrils flared as he sniffed the air, his brows furrowing slightly. “Not really,” he said casually, though there seemed to be a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I was meditating.”

Meditating? Scarlett didn’t know he did things like that. Although she supposed it made sense, considering part of his powers relied on convening with his ancestors.

Rosa playfully patted the young man’s shoulder with a grin. “You weren’t in your office, Scarlett, and I wanted to find you, so I enlisted our little bloodhound here to save some time. I promised to make it up to him later.”

“But you never said how,” Fynn noted.

“I haven’t figured that part out yet!”

He stared at her with what might have been a betrayed expression, but the bard simply ignored it as she stepped closer to where Scarlett sat.

Scarlett felt a slight pang of pity for Fynn as she eyed him. Maybe this would teach him to be a bit less trusting in the future. She shifted her focus to Rosa. “So, what is it that you wanted from me?”

The woman retrieved a silver coin from her pocket. “You asked me to go into the city and find this before you left for Windgrove, remember? It took me a while to find someone who wouldn’t gawk at me like I was crazy when I told them what you told me to. It took even longer to convince them to give me one when you didn’t even bother to tell me what it was for. But I finally managed it this morning.” She bent over in a deep—and surprisingly graceful—bow. “I am ready to be showered by your unending praise.”

Scarlett blinked, staring at the coin. Its surface bore an engraving of a talon clasping a bleeding heart, and there was a small indentation at the bottom that seemed to depict an image, though it was too tiny to discern any details.

That’s right. It had nearly slipped her mind with everything else that had happened, but she had given Rosa instructions on how to obtain that.

In the game, this coin served as proof of one’s right to become a client to the members of a certain group who liked to keep themselves hidden. The only way to acquire it was by approaching specific vendors in different cities and saying the right lines, which would allow one to buy the coin for five thousand solars. Scarlett hadn’t been entirely certain who the right people to speak to were here in Freybrook, but she had sent Rosa out on the task anyway. She expected it to take some time, but not even a week had passed.

She looked up at the woman, who was still bowing and waiting for a reaction.

There were a couple of reasons why she had sent Rosa for this, and why she had deliberately kept the reason behind it vague. Firstly, the coin was intended solely for the person who purchased it, and Scarlett didn’t intend on using it herself. Secondly, the coin was connected to her plans for dealing with the passenger inside Rosa, but that wasn’t something she could outright say.

She raised her hand to Rosa’s, bringing the woman out of her bow and closing Rosa’s fingers around the coin. “You have done well. For now, keep it safe with you. I will inform you when I have need of it.”

The bard looked surprised for a second, but then smiled, flipping the coin in the air and catching it before returning it to her pocket. “You got it, boss lady. I will protect it to my dying breath! If anyone so much as looks at it, I’ll make sure they regret it for the rest of their life!”

“Going that far will not be quite necessary.”

“I beg to differ,” Rosa said. “This one coin was worth five thousand others. You have no idea how agonising it was carrying around that amount of gold for days. It felt like the pouch was burning a hole in my pocket. There were more times than I can count where I was this close to running away with it as my booty to become a pirate queen, living the high life on the boundless seas.”

Scarlett felt like rolling her eyes. “I believe you might be exaggerating the situation somewhat.”

“Definitely.” Rosa winked at her. “Anyway, are you not going to tell me what the point of all that was?”

“Would you like me to?”

The bard adopted a thoughtful expression, clasping her chin with her fingers. “Hmm. On one hand, it would be nice to know what I wasted four-plus days on and sacrificed the chance for an easy five thousand solars to get. But on the other hand, that air of mystery makes things all the more exhilarating, doesn’t it?” She looked at Fynn. “What do you say, bright-eyes?”

He simply shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t care.”

“That’s the spirit!” Rosa turned back to Scarlett with a serious face. “Mysteriousness it is. You keep your little secrets.”

Scarlett had to restrain herself from sighing at the exaggerated performance. She knew Rosa trusted her with these things.

“By the way, what happened here?” the woman asked, gesturing at the flowers that were blooming around them. “Is your pet stone responsible for this?”

“How long are you going to refer to it as my ‘pet stone’?” Scarlett asked.

“According to my calculations, it’ll stay funny for three or so more times. So, however long that is.”

This time, Scarlett actually sighed. Then she pointed at the uniquely colored flowers growing at the base of the Loci’s pedestal. “The Loci is indeed responsible for this. I had not expected this at first, but I believe it is transforming the area into something more consistent with its place of origin. And as far as I know, the Wandering Realm does not have seasons.”

“Why not?” Fynn asked. The white-haired young man had walked up to the flowers now, kneeling down to inspect them.

Scarlett eyed him for a moment. “I do not know.”

She didn’t think it revolved around a sun, for one thing. Then there were a dozen different possible explanations, but she didn’t feel confident enough to claim any of them were true.

“Maybe the fairies just prefer things warm,” Rosa suggested.

“So do humans and most dragons,” Fynn said. “The empire still has seasons.”

“Well, that’s because…” The bard knitted her brows. “Okay, I admit I didn’t completely think that one through.”

“It is a fruitless endeavour to attempt to understand exactly why the Wandering Realm works as it does,” Scarlett said. “Unless you happen to be on good terms with one of its idols, any answers to your question are unlikely to be found.”

“Didn’t you say that huge eye we encountered back in that haunted mansion was one of those idol fellows?” Rosa asked.

“It was, yes.”

“Maybe ask it next time you meet it.”

“…I do not think I will.”

Considering it seemed to think that Scarlett owed it a favor—and vice versa—she would prefer to avoid that particular idol as much as possible.

“Well, if you say so,” Rosa said with a shrug. The bard then studied her for a couple of seconds. “By the way, I was wondering if there were any plans for us to return to Freymeadow again soon. I have some things I wanted to try, and that felt like the best place for it.”

Scarlett raised an eyebrow at her. “And what is it that you wish to try?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just an idea that popped into my mind a while back. I chose to ignore it because… Well, it doesn’t really matter. Now I’ve changed my mind, though, and I think it’ll be an interesting experiment.”

“Are you intentionally avoiding telling me what it is?”

Rosa smirked. “You’re not the only one who can keep secrets. It’ll be a fun little surprise.” The woman paused, blinking. “If it works, that is. Otherwise, this’ll be very embarrassing, and we can pretend like this conversation never happened.”

Scarlett eyed her for a few seconds. “…I will do my best to act appropriately if such a time comes.”

“Make sure that you do. Anyway, what’s your answer about Freymeadow?”

“We will not be leaving immediately, if that is what you were hoping for.” Scarlett was actually expecting an important guest the coming day, so that had to be dealt with before anything else. “Perhaps the day after tomorrow, if nothing else comes up.”

“Alright. Sounds good. That’ll give me some time to avoid making a fool of myself.” With that, Rosa walked over to Fynn and grabbed his arm, pulling the man up from where he had started smelling the flowers around the Loci. “We’ll leave you and your stone to your private talks. Toodeloo.”

Scarlett frowned as she watched the pair leave, Fynn looking somewhat like a dog being pulled away by his eager owner, uncertain about his purpose for being here in the first place.

What was Rosa up to? The bard had spent most of her time in Freymeadow playing with the kids or socializing with the villagers. Scarlett wasn’t sure what kind of experiments the woman might want to try or what resources she had there that she couldn’t access elsewhere.

Well, whatever it was, Scarlett would have to wait and see.

As for herself…

Her last visit to Freymeadow had been unique in many ways, but it had ended with little fanfare, as Arlene had essentially forced her to rest during the last two days of that loop. With this next loop, everything would have reset. She wasn’t sure what her feelings were about that.

Hopefully, it would at least mean she would be allowed to receive some real teachings from Arlene, possibly involving some of the quests from the game as well. That would help her develop her techniques and earn more skill points.

She turned her head to the side.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford][Skills:[Greater Mana Control][Greater Pyromancy][Major Pyrokinesis][Greater Hydromancy][Superior Hydrokinesis]][Traits:[Dignified August][Supercilious][Cavalier][Callous][Overbearing][Conceited][Third-rate Mana Veins]][Mana: 4039/5123][Points: 2]

[Skills Menu:Upgrades[Superior Pyromancy] (25 points)[Argent Pyrokinesis] (100 points) (LOCKED)[Superior Hydromancy] (25 points)[Major Hydrokinesis] (50 points)[Superior Mana Control] (25 points)New skills [LOCKED]]

Ever since the incident with Gaven, Scarlett hadn’t paid much attention to her skills or status window. She had briefly noted that the upgrade to pyrokinesis cost 100 points and was locked, similar to the New Skills option, but that was all.

Now, though, she needed to start considering those things again. Before, she might have been annoyed that [Argent Pyrokinesis] was suddenly locked like this, but now, she honestly didn’t mind it too much. [Major Pyrokinesis] was already powerful enough, and if Arlene was to be believed, she was far from tapping into the skill’s full potential yet. In truth, she would prefer to focus on her other skills while she became more familiar with what she already had.

She also believed she wasn’t far from unlocking the skill upgrade anyway. If it worked by the same mechanism as the ‘New Skills’ option, which was supposed to unlock with the completion of the main quest, she only had to reach Beld Thylelion to do so. If things went according to plan, learning from Arlene would help her get there.

The question was whether the upcoming Cabal attack would interfere with her plans. She didn’t think it would. She still had some time to prepare. However, if it did, it would be annoying if she had to travel around the empire while that mess was going on. Even her arrangement with the Cabal might not guarantee her safety in such circumstances.

That said, maybe she wouldn’t need protection at that point. Freymeadow was available to her every few days, giving her an additional two or three days with an experienced teacher and an abundant supply of mana. Even if she only had one month before things escalated with the Cabal, she would have at least half a month of extra training on top of that. It might not sound like much, but considering how fast she had progressed previously, both with and without Arlene’s guidance, she had high hopes.

But, well, that was for later. For now, she turned her attention back to her earlier experiments with the Loci, wanting to see how far this could get her.