"Sometimes, we're afraid to know what we really want to know." ~Catelyn Nivan

"Even if it was normal mana, was it wise to show them that kind of pressure?"

Shallies looked at four unconscious people sleeping in her tavern as Valor'el asked her the question. They had arranged the chairs to give them a makeshift bed. Arun'dul helped them out, as they barged in while he was having some coffee. Luckily enough, there were no customers this early in the morning.

"You mean was it wise to show Yoshelle?" she clarified.

"I was thinking more of their morale in general, rather than your secret."

"What happened?" Phey'lan asked, rushing from upstairs, the fragrance of soap still fresh on her. She found Yoshelle last, which took her by surprise. "Oh, my…"

Shallies took the time to explain the situation. In the meantime, she made coffee for the seraphim and herself, including Arun'dul, who had his drink interrupted. Breakfast for everyone was also on the way.

"Did you just technically tell her you're not a normal adventurer?" Phey'lan asked.

"It's not like I'm against it," Shallies admitted. "There's a reason why I asked Val to use all his Runic Barriers. I don't mind Yoshelle finding out, I'm sure she can keep a secret."

They knew that the Elemental Archmage was still unconscious. Still, they made an effort to make their statements vague. At least, no mention of her being a Godkiller, since that was exactly what Yoshelle was suspicious about.

"Even if she figures it out, it wouldn't really have a detrimental effect on me."

"What are you going to do if she does figure it out?" Valor'el asked.

"Well, that depends," Shallies said after serving everyone's meal. "I'll do it like I always do, just go with the flow."

"I suppose that's worked so far."

"Mhm…"

Shallies took a seat with the seraphim and had her own breakfast. A Bacon and Egg Sandwich. At the same time, she opened her System Console.

Of course, Phey'lan and Valor'el recognized the look. It wasn't often that the Godkiller would open her System Console as soon as she sat down with a bunch of food on her plate. Mostly, she would just eat while talking, or doing something else, other than looking at her screen.

"You got a Level?" they asked at the same time.

"My Chef Levels," Shallies clarified. "It's a good thing Profession Classes level up differently from Combat Classes."

"Oh, right." The two looked disappointed, while Arun'dul was confused.

"Come on, guys. I only get levels from Divine Wars now."

"Yeah, we realize that," Phey'lan said. "We just don't see you that excited very often anymore."

"I vicariously feel the excitement from my students…" Shallies pondered on that statement a bit more. "Usually…"

"You're not getting the same energy from Grace and the others?"

"When they level up? Yes," Shallies pointed out. "When they're busy choosing their Skills? No. But that's technically not a bad thing."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Some time after, someone stirred from the makeshift beds. It was Yoshelle. Everyone had long since gone on to lighter conversations. For a while, she just sat there, looking around and trying to get her bearings. When her eyes drifted towards Shallies, who met her eye contact, the sudden realization quickly hit her.

"How long was I out?"

Shallies beckoned her over to the counter and served her breakfast. Only after the Elemental Archmage had taken a few bites did the Godkiller answer the question.

"About an hour," she replied. "Still a few hours before lunch. How are you feeling?"

"I'm not sure. I feel fine, physically speaking, but I don't know how to process what just happened."

"What you experienced was mana-pressure from someone who has mastered The Perpetual Method," Shallies explained. "The point of that exercise was to show you how powerful mana can be when processed through that method. Anyone who's capable of it, even if not fully mastered, will be able to release mana in that same vein."

"Even Valor'el?" Yoshelle asked, turning to the seraph.

"Honestly speaking, not in the same intensity that Miss Shallies displayed earlier," he said. "Unlike her, I haven't fully mastered the technique. I'm unable to keep my mana-flow going while sleeping. It's the last step, but it makes an entire league of difference.

"You know how difficult it is to start The Perpetual Method. And while we can keep training to get used to its effects, there's no shortcut to the process. It's a lot easier to keep up the momentum, than to start it."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Does that mean…?" Yoshelle turned back to Shallies.

The Godkiller felt the Elemental Archmage's hesitation. It was clear to anyone who could see what her question was going to be. But Shallies made sure not to get ahead of herself. She made it a point not to tell her true identity to people who couldn't ask the question straight to her face.

Yoshelle tried again.

"Does that mean you're one of Godkiller Bernadette's students?"

Shallies blinked at that.

"What made you think that?" she asked, both as a way to buy time and to entertain her curiosity.

"Well, since Godkiller Bernadette invented the method, and almost anyone else in the world either thinks it's impossible to master or is fake, I thought you might be… one of her students."

Shallies shifted her glance towards Valor'el, telegraphing her message that they should keep out of the conversation.

"Ah, did I get it right?" Yoshelle asked, inferring from the glance. "I promise, I'll keep it a secret."

Shallies had been asked that same question many times before. Though the Elemental Archmage simply misunderstood, whatever her reason was for hesitating, the Godkiller still wouldn't give away the real answer. It wasn't because she was getting some entertainment value out of it, though she wouldn't outright deny it. It was because she had been burned by revealing the truth too early too many times already. It was always safer to thread on the side of caution and let the person figure it out by themselves.

Unless, of course, during the dirests of times. The situation right now, however, wasn't one of those times.

"Well, I'm not her student anymore," Shallies started, playing with her lie. "I was, but not anymore, since I'm retired. Or I did retire. I left her mentorship when I did."

"But I thought you could graduate from a mentorship after getting just one Hero Class?" Yoshelle asked.

"With Godkiller Bernadette, you have to have two Hero Classes to graduate. She doesn't mentor anyone who wants to split into a Profession Class, which is also why I'm not her student anymore."

"That's such a shame!"

"Can't deny that," Shallies said, giggling.

Yoshelle started to say more, but her System Console interrupted her. After reading something from her screen, which she chose to keep hidden, she suddenly finished her meal.

"I've been gone too long," she started, pulling out a few bits to pay for her meal. "I'll be back again next time!"

Shallies was impressed at the Elemental Archmage's memory, as she left the exact amount of bits.

That was when all the seraphim breathed out.

"Guess we're adding that to our background story," Phey'lan said.

"It fits, though," Valor'el added.

"I'm glad I'm not as involved in this lie as you two," Arun'dul commented. "But I'll keep the narrative consistent, promise."

"Thank you," Shallies said last. "I doubt that's a convincing story, though. Yoshelle hesitated what she really wanted to ask. I just went with the flow."

"Do you think she's reading more into it?" Phey'lan asked.

"I don't really think it matters in the long run." Shallies turned to her still unconscious students. "What matters is that I should wake these kids up."

Before she could get to that, however, Stachie sent her a message.

[Shallies, I just got confirmation from Syfrus. Thrush'ven Alir has absorbed a significant amount of mana from The Great Conflagration Reality. It might start pushing remnants of its essence through the Same-Plane Rift soon.]

"Thanks, Stachie," Shallies replied as she closed her System Console. She turned to the seraphim. "We might have more work than we initially intended."

Yoshelle sighed as she walked down Catelyn Road.

"I should've asked if it was actually her…"

She didn't know exactly why she hesitated. It could've been one of many reasons, it could've been several of them. It could've been none of them, as well. But somehow, she thought it was that she felt afraid of what sort of answer she might receive.

Yoshelle couldn't understand the fear, or why she should be afraid in the first place. At best, she would finally know that Shallies was actually Godkiller Bernadette in disguise and obtain a personal audience with her. At worst, she would look crazy in front of people for thinking it in the first place. Crazy, for a while, but nothing permanently harmful. Gods wandered around Ysvil disguising themselves as mortals all the time. So it only made sense that the Godkiller would do the same.

"Now I lost my chance completely," Yoshelle said, sighing. "Acting as one of her own students, that's like the absolutely perfect disguise. I'll have to find some proper evidence to completely…"

The Elemental Archmage clutched her head and shook it vigorously, trying to get herself out of her own dilemma. She shouted her frustrations to the heavens.

"Get a grip! You can just ask her properly next time!"

Yoshelle took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Her embarrassment was overpowered by her frustration, that it took her a while to notice Apple looking at her and giggling.

She felt heat rise up her neck. Though she wished she could disappear right at this moment, her title as the Gaiamaxims Guild's heir pushed away the thought. It would be rude to just make an exit without saying proper goodbye.

"I'm sorry, Apple," she began. "I didn't see you there. I hope I didn't scare you?"

The teacup fairy shook her head. She mimicked Yoshelle screaming to the skies and then shrugged while giggling slightly.

As embarrassed as she was, Yoshelle took a moment to decipher Apple's gestures.

"You wanted to know why I was screaming?" she asked, feeling her face going bright red.

The fairy nodded once.

Is it alright to confide in Apple? Yoshelle frowned, trying to analyze her choices. At one point, it was revealed to her that the teacup fairy was Shallies' Soul Confidant. It was one of the most compelling reasons that convinced her against the idea of the Godkiller disguising herself as a tavernkeeper.

Godkiller Bernadette doesn't have a Soul Confidant… Yoshelle closed her eyes, twisting her own knowledge at the same time she frowned harder. But what if that's the idea behind the disguise? I don't even have full confirmation that Apple's actually Shallies' Soul Confidant…

She felt the teacup fairy land on her shoulder, tapping her face with a gentle hand. She looked clearly worried now.

"Oh, umm… It's nothing Apple," Yoshelle said. "I just had a question in mind that I wasn't sure if I should ask Shallies or not."

The teacup fairy folded her arms and closed her eyes, pondering to herself. She nodded, seemingly to show her understanding.

Apple flew in front of her and made a shrugging gesture, and then flexed her arms, before finally pointing a finger back to the Elemental Archmage.

"You don't know… strong… me?" Yoshelle quickly shook her head. "No, wait. I should take courage and ask the question?"

The teacup fairy nodded vigorously.

At that, she sighed once more.

"I'll think about it, Apple. Thank you. Genuinely. They're calling me back at the guild, so I'll do it next time."

When the fairy replied with a smile and a thumbs up, Yoshelle bid her farewells and went back to her guild.

There, she saw a small squad gathering near the main road. Laika beckoned her over.

"What's going on?" Yoshelle asked.

"You're here to dispatch with the others," Coraline said, appearing from the organized crowd. "Thrush'ven Alir has been forcing through some of its influence across the closed Same-Plane Rift. You need to quickly dispatch of any threats and create a containment. We'll organize a second squad and send you reinforcements in a couple of hours. Before then, we'll expect a report from you so we can adjust our resources from here."

It didn't even need to take a second for Yoshelle to fall back into her role. She set aside all of her concerns, moving front and center her mission. She had never failed the Gaiamaxims Guild before, and this wouldn't be the first time. Without effort, she pressed a fist gently to her forehead, and then placed it on her chest.

"Roger that."

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