Going back inside the Guild, Rayla seems to be swamped with men trying to get her attention. She still seems like she is keeping up that new persona but she also looks quite annoyed. I can tell from her tails that she’s stressed out.

  “Hey, Rayla! We gotta go!”

  “Excuse me gentlemen, it seems that duty calls.”

  She then gracefully walks over to me and whispers in my ear, “Please, we’ve got to go quick. I’ll tell you more outside.”

  “Sure.”

  We briskly walk outside and Rayla’s entire facade breaks as she goes back to her usual self and gives me a hug.

  Petting her back, I ask, “Are you alright? You seem stressed out.”

  “Thoma...You can’t imagine how boring and annoying it was!”

  “Were you not having fun?”

  She sounds almost like she's about to cry when she says, “I was at the beginning but this is so not fun long term. They were all being super creepy and boring. They also constantly kept demeaning each other to make themselves look better. None of them were acting like normal people! It’s like they completely turned their brains off.”

  “Hmm…How about this, after we’re done training, why don’t we go and buy a nice smoothie on our way home and I’ll brush your tails for you after we’re done cleaning.”

  “That sounds heavenly! Thank you Thoma you’re the best! I’m sorry for doubting you, you were right from the beginning, I should have just been myself…”

  Loosening my hug, I looks at her face, give her a smile and wipe one of her hairs to the side, “Hey, it’s okay. I get why you did it. In the end we all just want to be liked, right? For that purpose we all wear a mask. Everyone is a master craftsman of masks. We have one for every situation. We change how we want to be seen at work, then change our mask when talking to a friend and change it again when talking to family. All in an attempt to make others like us. But in the end we quickly forget that we have only shown our intricate masks to people and never our true face. Many go through life never having shown their real face to anyone. Many grow so fearful of taking it off that at some point they can’t do it anymore even when they want to. Their mask has fed so much on their fears and insecurities that it becomes a curse, a prison. And yet even if you do manage to take off your mask, no one will recognize you. The ones that only know your mask will leave you and you’ll be alone. That is why you need to be strong and show your true face to others at all times, even if it makes you vulnerable and people won’t like it. Because only that way can you find people that truly like you.”

  Rayla seems both moved and a bit stunned when she answers, “Wow…That’s…Surprisingly deep Thoma. Are you secretly a philosopher or poet?”

  “Haha, no. It’s not from me, it’s just something my brother used to tell me. But if you want to practice truly being yourself, then you can do that with me. I want to get to know the real you, with all the good, the bad and the weird that comes with it.”

  “I…I don’t know what to say. I…I’m feeling weirdly emotional right now and I’m not sure why.”

  “It’s okay to let it out. It’s just you realizing that you were wearing a mask.”

  Taking a step back, she seems a bit flustered, “I…I was? I…Can I think about this? I think I need to sort this out in my head first before I can say anything.”

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  I give her a gentle smile, “Sure, take your time. If you feel insecure about any part you haven’t shown me yet and you want to share just ask me. There is a very high likelihood that I won't mind.”

  “Hmm…Alright, I’ll think about it.”

  Uli and the pedo granny then show up at the front porch next to us and a short time after that, a fancy looking carriage appears before the guild. Two Elven servants leave the carriage and beckon us to come in. They are wearing the same clothes as that woman that got our magic aptitudes tested.

  Clapping her hands togther, Uli says, “Alright, that’s our ride. Come in everybody.”

  Feeling nervous, I say, “Uhm…Rayla?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you mind if I hold your hand? I know it's dumb but I think I’m a little scared of entering this carriage.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Well…The first time I entered one I got kidnapped so even if it’s with Uli and I know it’s okay it doesn’t feel right.”

  Giving me a bit of a somber smile, she answers, “Oh…Yeah that makes sense. You can hold it if you want. Also if you’re scared you don’t have to waste your time asking about this small sorta stuff. At this point our smells rubbed on each other so much you’d think we’re siblings anyways.”

  “Okay, thanks Rayla.”

  We then enter the carriage and with every bump in the road I squeeze on Rayla’s hand tightly.

  Uli seems concerned as she looks at me and asks, “Are you alright, Thoma Ahad? You seem uncomfortable.”

  “Oh…Uhm…It’s just…”

  “He’s scared because the carriage reminds him of the kidnapping.”

  Looking a bit annoyed, Uli answers, “I see…I didn’t consider that. Perhaps this will be better then…”

  Uli then stands up, throws both Rayla and me over her shoulders and jumps out of the moving carriage.

  “EEEEEEEEEEEh!? What are you doing, guildmaster!?” Rayla, screams.

  “Major boost strength, Major boost speed.”

  Glowing twice in rapid succession Uli jumps upwards on top of the roof and starts jumping from house to house at a speed faster than the carriage.

  Getting a smirk on her face, she answers, “If I do this, then Thoma Ahad won’t need to be afraid anymore, right?”

  “What are you talking about!? This is a hell of a lot scarier than before right Thoma!?”

  “Woah…This is so cool. Thank you Uli!”

  “He totally doesn’t care…But why did you take me along too!? I like the carriage!”

  “I just didn’t think making him let go of the hand of someone he trusts and then running off with him while he’s scared would be good for him. It might make him think he’s getting kidnapped again.”

  Looking like she's about to throw up soon, Rayla answers, “Sigh Fine…How long are we going to have to stay like this?”

  “We’ll get there in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

  “That long!?”

  “I can go faster if you want.”

  “No…It’s fine. I’m already feeling a bit woozy.”

  About fifteen minutes later we start reaching what looks like a high class neighborhood where nobles have their vacation homes and merchants of high renown live. Uli then jumps into a particularly big garden of one of the mansions.

  “Alright, we’re here.”

  Exhausted, Rayla lays down on the grass, “Oh sweet, sweet earth…How I missed you…”

  Looking a bit confused, Uli quips, “That’s not how you absorb mana from the earth.”

  “I wasn’t trying to! Where are we anyways?”

  “My garden. From now on we’ll teach you here. You can also do your training and self study here. You will be spending more time away from the guild now as you complete D-Rank quests, so make sure to use the time between quests well. The more you train the less likely you are to die.”

  “Yes Ma’am...”

  “Alright then, you can stay here. The pedo granny will arrive soon, Thoma Ahad, you come with me.”

  “Alright!”

  A bit concerned Rayla interjects, “Wait, hold on. Are we not going to train together?”

  “Your training will be different from Thoma Ahad’s. His magical training will start next week during the full moon, until then I’m going to start teaching him a better fighting style.”

  “What kind of fighting style?”

  “My own.”

  Getting up from the ground, Rayla looks star struck as she asks, “Wait, wait, wait. Hold on, you’re going to teach him your own fighting style!? The one that led you to become an S-Ranked adventurer!?”

  “That would be the one, yes.”

  “Can you teach me too?”

  “No.”

  “What. Why not!?”

  “Because I’ll only teach it to Thoma Ahad. Keep developing your own fighting style and try to xxx the things you’ll learn from Meshir Bakan into it. It will come in useful.”

  “Who?”

  “The pedo granny.”

  “Oh. But still…I’d rather learn a style that I know is going to be good than develop my own.”

  No longer looking at Rayla, Uli answers, “If it’s any xxx, my style would not suit you well anyways. I doubt you’d get far with it. Now then Thoma Ahad, let’s go.”

  “See ya later Rayla! Don’t be too sad, just imagine all the nice smoothies we can get in this area!”

  “Pfft, you always know what to say don’t you?”

  “Not really, I just say what’s on my mind.”

  “Gotcha, haha.”