---

ILIAS PAYNE

The State Jynxist Exam was set to start twenty-two days from now in the Capital. The trip from Gilead to there would take about twenty which meant we had no time to spare.

Around this time of the year, Corporal Rudolf and a few soldiers would always journey to the Capital to deliver last year's reports in the colonel's stead. This year, however, Camaro himself alongside his unit would be delivering the report while accompanied by Heloise and I.

Since there would be no one overseeing the village in the colonel's absence, he requested a temporary colonel from General Clegane to take care of Gilead.

I've only met the Warden once and he was a lively old man. He was always loud and roaring. The mood he gave off was so infectious that all of the military personnel in the Western Region were more loyal to him than the government. Because of this, the soldiers in the west were collectively dubbed the Bad Company.

From Mother's stories, the Warden saw both her and Camaro as his surrogate grandchildren. So a favour like this—especially with the context of the situation—meant that General Clegane would have no problem sending over a trusted colonel.

The only person from Camaro's unit who would be staying behind was Lieutenant Doria. Someone who Camaro trusted must help out the temporary colonel after all and who better than his adjutant and right-hand man?

Since Camaro didn't want to babysit Jaime during the trip and he didn't trust her to stay home alone for over a month, Mother offered to take care of her. Both of them would be lonely during this time so it made sense for them to accompany each other.

This was a perfect opportunity for the colonel to have a break. Trisha always complained that I was too easy to take care of so taking care of Jaime might make her feel grateful for that.

Since the State Jynxist Exam was approaching soon, we had no choice but to leave at first light the next day. A few adventurers who were also headed to the Capital decided to join us.

Before dawn even broke, our party was already ready to leave. But we made time for Jaime and I to visit the village seer to have our Tarot card readings.

The seer was a hag named Enyaba. She was a hunched dwarf that decided to settle down in Gilead as it was being built which meant she was the village's oldest resident.

A still sleepy Jaime and I were seated in front of her while everyone waited outside. Her small hut was filled with items linked to fate and destiny. Melted candles, orbuculums, crystals, astral symbols, and mirrors littered her small purple room.

"Do you know about Tarot card readings, my young ones?" Enyaba asked as she shuffled a deck of cards.

"It's tradition in Armestis to get a Tarot card assigned to you," I answered. "Whatever card you get will represent you, your fate, and your future."

"Correct. I've done Tarot card readings for everyone in this village. Alive and dead. I read the doc and colonel's fortunes not so long ago and now it's time for me to read their children's. Heh. Which one of you wants to go first?"

Jaime raised her hand. "Me. Let me go first."

Enyaba placed the deck she had been shuffling on the table between us. "Pick the card that calls out to you, dear."

Jaime spread the deck and picked the card that was at the very bottom.

It was a lady of some sort wearing a crown, raising a sword in one hand and holding a balancing scale in the other.

"I got Justice," Jaime yawned. "What does it mean?"

"Ah. Justice indicates that the fairest decision will be made. You are the sword that cuts through situations and you won't be swayed by outer beauty when deciding what is fair and just."

"Sword—that's something." Jaime gave back the card. "I see..."

She definitely doesn't understand the meaning behind her card.

The hag shuffled the deck and gestured towards me. "Your turn."

I cut the deck in half and took the top card—it depicted a nude woman hovering in the sky holding a staff in each hand.

"I got The World."

Enyaba inspected the card and studied me. "The World represents an ending in a life cycle. A pause in life before the next. It is an indicator of major and inexorable damage of tectonic breadth."

"Next cycle?"

"Yes, yes. It's also said that a major turning point in your life will be connected with The Fool. It just means that someone with The Fool card will be involved in something important in your life. It could be for better or worse and you might not even meet them."

The World perfectly encapsulates my situation.

When our readings were done, we said our temporary goodbyes.

Mother hugged me tightly. "This is going to be the first time you'll spend a long time without me. You'll be fine, okay?"

"Don't worry, Mother. I hope you'll be fine without me, though."

Camaro petted Jaime's head. "Don't give Auntie trouble, okay?"

"Yeah. Please stop ruffling my hair."

Everyone knew that Heloise wouldn't be accompanying us on the journey back. The saddest goodbye was the one between her and Mother. Unbeknownst to me, they had grown rather close during these six years. They almost seemed like they were sisters.

"Please stay with us?" Trisha asked.

"I'll come by every now and then."

Our party consisted of eleven members. Colonel Camaro, Officer Kaiser, Sergeant Hendrik, Corporal Rudolf, Private Gama, Heloise, four adventurers who were tagging along, and me.

Each of us rode a horse except me and Camaro. Since I was still relatively small and technically hadn't been trained to horse-ride, Heloise and I shared a steed with me sitting in front. Camaro led the party riding on Tank. We also had an extra two horses to carry our supplies and luggage.

The first day of travelling was uneventful. There were no nearby towns so we had to set up camp near a creek.

"Your card is The Hierophant and the colonel's is The Chariot, right?" I asked Heloise as we sat around the fire, letting our meals settle in before calling it a day. "What do they mean?"

"The Hierophant represents knowledge and wisdom."

The colonel took a sip from his flask. "And The Chariot represents a commitment to overcoming conflicts and moving forward in a victorious and positive direction."

"How about you four?" I asked Camaro's unit.

None of them got any of the Major Arcana cards. Officer Kaiser had the four of cups. Sergeant Hendrik got the seven of cups. Corporal Rudolf got the nine of swords. Private Gama got the ace of wands.

"Colonel, do you know which card Mother got?" I asked.

"She has The Empress. And while we're at it, Lieutenant Doria is Temperance. Don't overthink the Tarot, kid. Drawing these cards is simply tradition so take their meaning with a grain of salt."

There were seventy-eight cards in a Tarot deck. Only twenty-two of those were part of the Major Arcana. It was a bit bizarre seeing so many members of our Gilead family draw Major Arcana cards.

Trisha was The Empress.

Heloise was The Hierophant.

Camaro was The Chariot.

Jaime was Justice.

Doria was Temperance.

And I was The World.

I knew that these Tarot cards meant nothing, but seeing patterns like these made it seem like they did.

"Is Lord Vargo still alive?" I asked.

"Lord Vargo?" Heloise asked back. "This is a bit sudden, but yes. He's a half-elf just like Jaime so he stopped aging when he was in his mid-twenties. Six hundred years later, he looks the same. Since his wife is a full elf, that would make his daughter Valentine three-fourths elf. So she ages normally like one. They look more like siblings than father and daughter. In a few hundred years, Valentine will look older while Lord Vargo will still look the same."

"How's Valentine now, if you know? The history books about Decan's Rebellion stop talking about her once Patch dropped her off at Lesorias."

"You really love learning about Decan's Rebellion, don't you?" Camaro chimed in.

Heloise continued to explain. "Her life was pretty normal. Just like Jaime, she practiced with the sword and she's regarded as one of the best swordsmen alive today."

"Better than Decan?"

"Valentine was his ward, so it makes sense that some of his talents got passed to her. But if people still call him the world's best swordsman a hundred years after his death, do you think she's better than Decan?"

I shook my head. "Where is she now?"

"Several decades after she was returned to Lesorias," the colonel said, "she fell in love and settled down. Sadly, her husband was always sickly and one day it was too much. She grew depressed after that, but thirty or so years ago, she was appointed to be a Royal Guard to King Arthureus."

"She must be strong if she became part of the Royal Guard."

"Strong is an understatement. There are always seven members of the Royal Guard. The Sin Knight of Pride, the Sin Knight of Greed, the Sin Knight of Lust, the Sin Knight of Envy, the Sin Knight of Gluttony, the Sin Knight of Wrath, and the Sin Knight of Sloth. When one becomes a member of the Royal Guard, they are knighted and renounce their previous identity."

"How do you renounce your identity?"

"You cut ties with family and friends. You stay at the Capital protecting the king. You always follow the king's orders. And you abandon your name."

"Your name? Isn't that a bit much?"

"The Royal Guard's duty should be to the king and king alone. Abandoning one's sense of individualism makes one easier to control."

"And who is Valentine, if you know?"

"She is currently the Sin Knight of Lust. She's the first and only woman to join the Royal Guard. Lust is someone young girls look up to."

"If they are appointed to protect the king, can I guess that they're strong?"

"Yes, but only through skill and equipment. Never jynx. The Royal Guard is prohibited from using jynx which is the reason why no jynxist has ever been part of the Royal Guard."

"Why is that? Won't even a little bit of jynx help?"

"There are many jynxists in the king's court. The Royal Guard isn't allowed because of how much time is spent on jynx. You must remember incantations, switch gloves, or remember the feeling. You must also always be reading to keep your mind sharp. That's time better spent serving the king. Compare that to a swordsman. Many swordsmen go years without drawing their swords, but when they do, it's like they never sheathed their blades."

"Won't they be weaker?"

"Weaker? Each Royal Guard member is in possession of a cursed artifact. That's their alternative to jynx."

"Do we know what their artifacts can do?"

"There's a vault with each kind of cursed artifact somewhere in the Iron Keep. Once someone becomes a member of the Royal Guard, they are allowed to pick any one item. The knights never use their artifacts unless it's needed, so we don't really know."

"Not one?"

"I've seen Wrath use his artifact to control fire." The colonel shot a look at Heloise. "What kind of teacher are you?"

Heloise, who had been staring dumbfoundedly at the sky, shot us a dazzled look. "I apologize. I wasn't listening to what you two were talking about."

"Why didn't you teach him about the Royal Guard?"

"I thought you already taught it to him."

Camaro shook his head. "All I taught was military and labyrinths. Everything else was on you."

"Royal Guard falls under military, doesn't it?"

"No, they're not part of the military so they fall under history."

"How come one time while I was walking around the Capital, I saw Envy order around a bunch of soldiers?"

"Envy was acting on the king's orders. A king and his Royal Guard are above the military. So this should fall under history."

Seeing Camaro and Heloise argue like children is cute.

Mother must've been worrying about me so, to ease her mind, I should send her a letter once we arrive at the Capital.

The journey should relatively be safe.

There was still a chance we could get ambushed by highwaymen or monsters. But it was rather low. Every hour during the day, we would always pass by other groups of travellers headed in the opposite direction. Houses littered the roads every now and then as well.

Besides, anyone stupid enough to attack our party was the one in danger. Not a single one of us was helpless. The adventurers we were with clearly had experience under their belts, Tank was a herd animal and would instinctively protect the horses, Camaro's unit were trained soldiers, the colonel and Heloise were both State Jynxists, and even I'd be able to hold my own.

Most of the time, we had to set up camp just offroad and put up tents to sleep in for the night. Each tent occupied two people, though Camaro was the outlier and claimed an entire tent to himself. Heloise and I ended up sharing one. She was truly a doll. The moment she pulled a blanket over her, she was dozing off. She didn't snore, but she slept with her mouth open and sometimes she would whistle every time she exhaled.

When we would arrive at a settlement by dusk in the late afternoon, we would call it a day and book rooms at an inn before restocking our supplies. During this, Camaro always met up with whoever was in jurisdiction of the settlement to talk business—though I had a nagging suspicion that he just didn't want to do errands.

The oddest of these settlements was Rockbell.

Rockbell was a mining town which meant we were constantly breathing in coal. Even though the inn we stayed at was on the outskirts of the town, each of us had to cough every now and then as the dust still managed to reach the settlement's most outer parts.

The oddest of the Rockbell residents was the colonel in charge—John Armstrong. The best way I could describe him was that he was a weasel. He was skinny and had a receding hairline that surprisingly fit his look. He had whiskers for a moustache. But the most memorable part about him was that he was a drunkard.

Every time we stayed in a town, Camaro would always make it a point to visit and talk with whoever was in charge. As we were settling into our rooms, Colonel Armstrong walked in reeking of alcohol, stumbling and bumbling.

"Colonel Camaro, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, his face flushed red as he extended a hand.

Camaro shook it. "Yes, it is. What happened to Colonel Yoki?"

"He was promoted to brigadier three years ago and is currently working under General Clegane."

"That's good for him."

"So what brings you into town? Have you come to arrest me?"

"Arrest you?"

Colonel Armstrong punched Camaro in the arm. "I got you. Hahaha! I'm hilarious, right? But seriously, why are you here?"

The two colonels left for a walk to continue their conversation.

On our tenth day of travelling, we arrived at Bel Tine. According to that adventurer Odetta talked to, this was the town with a supposedly legendary doctor.

I wonder if she found them.

Bel Tine was much smaller than Gilead.

While our hometown's population was approximately two thousand, Bel Tine's was only seven hundred. But everything else from the way the town looked to how it functioned was pretty much the same. If they were hiding a first-class doctor, then they were doing a great job at it.

The tavern we had our supper at had a party because a young jynxist who lived in Bel Tine left to take the State Jynxist Exam.

Camaro went to bed early and missed the entire celebration.

After Private Gama mentioned that I was headed to the Capital for the same reason, confusion arose because of my age (apparently it was the same age as their jynxist)—but only for a minute before the tavern roared louder.

This body was not used to alcohol, but everyone kept insisting I drink some booze. At one point, the entire tavern was chanting my name so I chugged a pint to calm them down.

One pint of ale shouldn't hurt.

But the party was so lively that I ended up drinking twelve.

Heloise, who was supposed to be watching over me, ended up getting drunk first. She got into a drinking competition with a barrel-chested dwarf who, by the looks of him, had alcohol flowing in his veins. Not surprisingly, she lost and passed out on her eighteenth pint.

Heloise was the same person when she was drunk but she became an idiot who blubbered words every now and then.

I passed out just after midnight. We were supposed to leave at first light, but everyone was drunk and slept in.

"I thought I was able to trust you when I left to sleep early! I honestly can't believe all of you!" he scolded. "You all pressured Ilias into getting drunk so I understand him, but why are all of you hungover?"

"We rarely have parties like these, Colonel," Sergeant Hendrik said.

"Hendrik, you're the last person I would suspect of wanting to get drunk. I'll seriously have to get stricter with you four."

"Yeah, yeah," Private Gama mocked. "You say that all the time."

"Besides, why'd you make Ilias drink? The first hangover is always the worst and we have a whole day's ride ahead of us."

"You're acting like you didn't drink at his age."

"Yes, in fact, I got my first hangover when I was ten. The difference is that I drank when I didn't have to travel." Camaro sat by the foot of my bed. "How are you doing, kid?"

"My head..." I said. "I can't do it. I don't think it's safe for me to ride today. Sorry, Colonel."

He sighed. "I guess we can stay in Bel Tine for one more day. We'll leave before dawn tomorrow."

Since they missed breakfast, Camaro's unit left to go search for a tavern to eat at. The colonel took care of me by giving me water and keeping me stable as I puked into a bucket.

My head was spinning and it felt as if everything was wobbly. I hadn't gotten drunk in so long and this body wasn't used to even a single drop of booze. I just wanted to open my head and massage my brain.

"Are you hungry?" the colonel asked.

"Yeah, but later. I'm not in the mood to eat."

Heloise woke up, rubbing her eyes as she glanced out the window.

"I never took you for someone to get drunk," Camaro teased.

"I got carried away, I suppose."

By the time Heloise and I felt better, it was almost noon. Breakfast was long over so we would have to skip to lunch. My sense of balance was so bad that I couldn't walk straight for more than a couple of steps. Camaro had to carry me on his back while he held Heloise's hand as she trailed behind him like his little sister.

We found a tavern down the road that gave us a meal that consisted of a chicken leg and thigh, a loaf of bread, corn soup, and pickled carrots. Our heads were hurting so bad that Heloise and I ended up ordering more corn soup on the side.

"Just keep drinking something to flush the alcohol out of your system," Camaro suggested.

"Why did I decide to get drunk?" Heloise questioned herself "The last time I got a hangover was only ten years ago."

"Only?"

I said I was only going to have that one pint, how did I end up going overboard with twelve? I regret this so much.

By this point, we had finished eating and were simply resting. Camaro, who was reading a piece of paper he got from the event board, suddenly spun his head as a man with a wrinkly face walked passed our table. Camaro turned his whole body to study the man.

"Dr Creed?" he questioned. "That is you, isn't it, Doctor? It's me! Ray Van Camaro from Gilead. You still remember me, don't you?"

The wrinkled man, apparently named Dr Creed, stared at us in confusion before his eyes shrunk and he spun on his heels, making his way out of the tavern in a sprint.

Camaro got up to chase after him, but only got as far as the door before he realized his two companions were in no condition for a foot chase.

"We're sorry," Heloise said. "If we weren't hungover, you would've caught him."

Camaro shrugged it off. "Don't be ridiculous. If you guys didn't get drunk last night, we would've been out of here this morning. That, in turn, would mean I would've never run into him in the first place."

"What kind of doctor is this Creed fellow?"

"He specializes in everything. Anything you think of, he'll know. He's smart too and sometimes researches biology and jynx."

"He specialized in everything?" I repeated. "So just like Mother?"

"Yes, but he outclasses her without even trying. You don't remember this, Ilias, but he's the person who helped your mother deliver you."

He was the wrinkled man present during my birth?

"Oh, he was?"

"Yeah, just a couple of weeks before you were born, I asked General Clegane if they can send over a doctor to help aid your mother during her labour and run the clinic while she was recovering. Apparently, King Arthureus was visiting Seraphim when the message arrived and insisted to let Dr Creed deliver you. Dr Creed is a revered doctor so I certainly wasn't complaining."

"He stayed to take care of the clinic?"

"No, he left suddenly after your birth. General Clegane sent one of his doctors to do that. Your mother was the only doctor in Gilead after all. She couldn't be recovering while going around doing work and taking care of you."

"Where'd Dr Creed go?" Heloise asked.

"I don't know. I thought he left because he needed to do something important but he winds up missing a couple of weeks later. Now we know where he went."

"One of Mother's friends came to Bel Tine to look for a powerful doctor strong enough to cure her brother's deafness."

"Yeah, I remember her. Odetta."

"Yeah, Auntie Odetta. Is there a chance that the doctor she was searching for was Dr Creed?"

"Not a chance. It was Dr Creed," Camaro insisted. "I heard from your mother about a town with a powerful doctor that denies he exists. This is that town and he is that doctor."