“You ever wonder who thought it was a good idea to build a village and hide it away out in the sticks like this?” Rosa asked, walking beside Scarlett as they trekked through the slightly overgrown forest path ahead.

“No, I do not,” Scarlett replied, reaching out to push away a branch blocking her way.

“Well, okay, silly question. I forgot you make it a habit to smother any signs of creative and inspired imagination the second it’s about to rear its head so that you don’t have to be afraid of having fun now and then.” Rosa shook her head. “Let me rephrase: don’t you think it would’ve been much easier if they hadn’t built the village in the most isolated spot in the entire empire?”

“This is far from the most isolated spot in the empire.”

“You sure? Because it sure feels like it every time we have to come here. Tell me one other place where you have to go out into the woods, go through a mystical tear in space that only opens up when you show it a fancy hairpin—a barrette doesn’t count—and then trudge through half a mile of bushes before reaching it.” Despite her complaints, Rosa wore a smile as she continued along the bumpy forest trail.

“Freymeadow was not originally located within this space, Miss Hale.”

“Excuses! I was not originally this fair and charming—I know it might be hard to believe; however, when I was first born I couldn’t even sing a simple ditty—but you don’t find me holding that against myself.”

Scarlett gave her a flat look. “No, instead you do not appear able to do anything but exaggeratedly boast about yourself.”

The woman waved her hand dismissively. “Poppycock. Only about one-tenth of what I say is bombastic in any way. I’ve counted.”

Scarlett simply chose not to dignify that with a response as she turned her attention forward. The bard was as talkative as ever today.

Her mind wandered back to what Fynn had told her the day before. Since then, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Rosa’s situation.

At times like this, it was difficult to discern anything from the woman herself. It wasn’t like Scarlett could just ask, so she was left trying to figure things out herself.

It didn’t help that there was also the threat of the other Viles looming over them at the moment, now that they were aware of the existence of a potential incarnate. Even with Mistress promising to help out on that front, Scarlett couldn’t help but worry about what might happen if Mistress was lying or failed to keep any errant demons away.

Scarlett had started taking some precautions in case such a scenario happened, but there was no simple solution that she could implement immediately. For the time being, she had to rely on Fynn and the Loci to detect any potential demons that might be around, but that would only get them so far.

If they did run into a demon and it recognized what Rosa was, it would be difficult to stop the woman’s identity from spreading. Without knowing its name, permanently killing even an ordinary demon was difficult. Most of the time, they were just banished back to one of the Blazes.

“By the way, how long is that ancient wizard fellow going to stay at the mansion?” Rosa asked after a while.

Scarlett glanced at her. “By ‘ancient wizard’, are you perhaps referring to Dean Warley Godwin?”

“No, I meant the other ancient wizard who’s been running around the mansion the last few days. The one with the old scraggly beard and who keeps pulling rabbits out of his pointy hat.” Rosa pointed over Scarlett’s shoulder. “Look, he’s behind you right now.”

Scarlett didn’t bother turning around, simply giving Rosa a skeptical look. “The Dean will most likely leave tomorrow. He is still examining the Loci, as well as preparing some of the materials harvested from the dragon. Once the preparations for those matters are complete, he will have no more reason to stay.”

After getting some time to inspect the Loci yesterday, Godwin had requested to extend his stay for further work on the artifact. Since Scarlett was receiving his help in improving the Loci and had nothing to hide within the mansion at the moment, she saw no reason to decline. As such, he had remained at the mansion this morning, and Scarlett had even invited him to dine with the rest of them for their morning meal.

The wizard had been rather surprised to see Fynn there, since he apparently believed all members of the Grehaldrael tribe had died. It had been somewhat amusing to see the man attempt to question Fynn, only to receive his typical blunt responses. Interestingly, the wizard himself didn’t appear too bewildered by that, and seemed to have anticipated that to some extent.

“You think I could ask him to magic up my klert so that it changes between different hues of brown whenever I play a note before he leaves?” Rosa asked. “I’ve been thinking that it might be fun to test that with an audience and see if they question their sanity.”

“I believe you certainly could,” Scarlett said. “Whether he will do it is a separate matter. First of all, I do not know if he is capable of enchanting items to that effect. Secondly, even if he can, he is an exceedingly busy individual. Do not forget that he is one of the most experienced and skilled mages in the empire, Miss Hale. I imagine aiding you in mentally tormenting your audiences is not high on his list of priorities.”

Although she said that, Rosa had a knack for endearing herself to others when she wished. In a certain sense, Godwin had a pretty relaxed disposition, and Rosa had seemed to hit it off well during their initial interactions this morning. If Rosa made her request, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that the man might genuinely consider fulfilling it.

“No worries.” Rosa tapped a finger to her forehead. “I haven’t forgotten anything. This ol’ noggin has the memory of an owl.”

“That does not reassure me much.”

The woman grinned. “It wasn’t meant to.”

Scarlett paused for a moment, studying that grin. It looked so genuine, but how much of it was forced? “…How have you been lately? Are you straining yourself?”

Rosa blinked, halting in her steps as her grin faded. Scarlett stopped alongside her, observing her expression. After a few seconds, Rosa let out a soft chuckle, her eyes shifting away from Scarlett and downwards. “…I don’t know how I’m supposed to answer that now.”

Scarlett maintained her gaze on the woman for a bit longer before resuming her stride. “Then there is no need to.”

Her words were followed by silence behind her, eventually punctuated by the rustling of boots against leaves as the bard caught up.

They continued their journey through the forest without speaking until the density of trees gradually lessened, and they emerged into a spacious glade encircled by a narrow river. At the far end of the glade stood Freymeadow, a cluster of houses with simple wooden roofs, nestled by a low stone wall. A small herd of sheep grazed within an enclosure next to the village.

It was a familiar scene to both of them by now.

“You mentioned a ‘surprise’ that you were preparing for me when we next visited Freymeadow,” Scarlett said, just as Rosa moved up and stopped beside her. “Has there been any progress, or should I pretend as if it never happened?”

The woman raised a hand to her chin, taking in the view. “Hmm~ Who knows? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

Scarlett looked at her. “Is there still a need for evasiveness?”

“It’ll do you good to be on the receiving end of it for a little longer, I’d say. Have faith in me. This is definitely for your own good.” Rosa dropped her hand as a somewhat awkward expression crossed her face. “I also genuinely don’t actually know if it will work. We will have to see.”

“Then I am looking forward to finding out,” Scarlett said. “It would be rather disappointing if all this amounted to nothing.”

The bard turned to her with widened eyes.

The corner of Scarlett’s mouth curved up slightly. “No pressure.”

With that, she left Rosa behind and started moving towards the village. There was a dirt road that began near the stream and continued in Freymeadow’s direction, so she followed it towards the settlement. As it reached the village, the road ran alongside the stone wall for a short distance before ending in an opening that could loosely be called a gate.

Two middle-aged women sitting in front of a nearby house looked up from their work as Scarlett and Rosa entered Freymeadow. Scarlett spared them a glance. Both had baskets filled with wool beside them and tools resembling large brushes on their laps. These women were always here at the start of these loops.

Rosa smiled and waved at them as usual, receiving surprised looks in return.

Continuing deeper into the village, Scarlett and Rosa attracted even more attention from the villagers who were seeing them for the first time. Things were always the same on the first day of these loops, with the villagers displaying a mixture of wariness and curiosity towards the newcomers.

Just like these villagers, Arlene wouldn’t have any memories of Scarlett or their previous conversations. Somehow, that was both a relief and a disappointment.

Soon, they reached the wide village square, featuring a raised wooden platform at its center. Some of the village children were gathered near the platform, playing with sticks and stones as their eyes turned in their direction. Rosa greeted them with another cheerful wave.

Scarlett focused on the house at the opposite end of the square, walking over towards it. There, Arlene was sitting on her porch, observing the children with a distant gaze. With long raven hair that had a streak of white in it, the woman wore a familiar somber expression, highlighted by the traces of wrinkles and darker skin under her eyes.

Arlene turned to look at Scarlett and Rosa when they stopped in front of the porch.

“Oh? Visitors?” The woman voiced the same words she always did at their first meeting.

Scarlett had grown accustomed to it, but for some reason, it didn’t feel quite right this time. She could still envision the other woman before her — the one who had listened to her confession with a calm demeanor and showed understanding of her situation.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Scarlett eventually brought herself to say, echoing the same greeting she always did. “I am Scarlett Hartford.”

Arlene raised an eyebrow. “Scarlett Hartford?” She studied her for a moment. “That’s a new name.”

“This is my retainer, Rosalina Hale.” Scarlett gestured towards Rosa, who had moved closer to the porch’s railing and leaned against it. “We have come from Freybrook to meet with you.”

“Hmm, is that so?” Arlene’s gaze lingered on Scarlett for a second longer before shifting to Rosa. After seemingly finding what she’d looked for, the woman redirected her attention to the village square. “I’ll have to disappoint, unfortunately. I’m not much to meet.”

“I disagree,” Scarlett said, fixing her eyes on Arlene. “I wish to be taken under your tutelage.”

The woman paused, turning back to Scarlett. “What?”

“I wish to be taught by you.”

Arlene narrowed her eyes and then pointed at the empty space beside Scarlett. “Show me what you can do.”

Scarlett followed her gesture. “Is there a particular demonstration you have in mind?”

“Magic would be preferable, but if you’re here to learn my baking secrets, a sponge cake works as well.”

Scarlett took a deep breath, then raised one hand in the air and conjured a wheel of fire. Dozens of flames swirled and revolved like a miniature whirlpool at its center.

Arlene watched the display quietly for an extended moment, her brows knit in thought.

It took a decent bit of focus on Scarlett’s end to maintain the magic and have it be as perfect as she could. In most cases, this amount of precision and intensity would have been overkill, but a tinge of worry still managed to creep into her mind. What if this wouldn’t be enough? What if the previous Arlene had lied to her?

Finally, the woman broke the silence. “That’s enough.”

Scarlett dismissed her flames.

“I’ll teach you,” Arlene said.

Scarlett tried not to show the surprise and relief on her face. “…May I ask why this was enough?”

Compared to some of the things she’d shown in previous loops, this current demonstration felt a lot less impressive in terms of scale and power. While it might have been a touch more complex, she honestly thought that her Aqua Mines had greater nuance and utility. If she’d channeled the same focus and mana into a single Mine, it would probably possess enough force to utterly destroy an ordinary person.

“Would you prefer I don’t teach you?” Arlene asked.

“No,” Scarlett hurried to say. “I merely asked out of curiosity.”

The woman seemed to consider her for another few seconds. “…It looked promising,” she eventually replied. “That’s all.”

Arlene then turned to look at Rosa. “Are you also seeking instruction?”

The bard smiled and shook her head. “No, don’t mind me. Just a tag-along so that Red here doesn’t get lonely.” She pointed a thumb in Scarlett’s direction.

Scarlett shot her a sharp look at the nickname but quickly averted her eyes upon catching the small smirk on Rosa’s lips. It was wiser to ignore the woman and not give her any more amusement in moments like these.

“I’m also here so that she has someone to leech life-force out of whenever she runs low,” Rosa added.

Arlene turned back to Scarlett with suspicion in her eyes.

Scarlett couldn’t suppress her sigh. “She is referring to mana, and I do not ‘leech’ it from her. I possess an artifact that stores mana, and Miss Hale assists me in refilling it when necessary.”

If Arlene was actually going to teach her, Scarlett might not even need Rosa’s help to replenish her mana any longer. An experienced master mage would almost certainly wield more mana than Rosa. Additionally, Scarlett had access to [Ittar’s Genesis]. While she didn’t think using the item within the village was an option, it might be worthwhile to venture outside of the village at times to practice with it.

“If you aren’t going to participate, I suggest you step back,” Arlene told Rosa. Taking the hint, the bard promptly retreated.

Then Arlene rose from her chair. Four flames materialized in the air before her, transforming into arrow shapes that pointed in Scarlett’s direction.

Scarlett took a step back, eyeing the flames. “What are you doing?”

“Exactly what you asked me to,” Arlene replied. With a flick of her wrist, two of the fiery arrows shot off towards Scarlett. “Teaching you.”