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“I am not doing that again any time soon.”

That was Erin’s honest thought after using Bespoke to conjure a weapon that she treated as a one-off spell. The result was more than she expected and the backlash was even twice as worse. While the Mana consumption wasn’t too terrible, it did leave her mentally and physically exhausted. She was even forced to ask Nivia to carry her to their wagon.

Erin felt a tad embarrassed after all that bravado and she returned looking all so sluggish like she was afflicted by a severe cold. However, no one thought that way. In fact, The noble ladies and the guards she saved were nothing but grateful for her actions. They were even bowing until their heads were only a foot away from hitting the wagon’s floorboards. Her companions, especially Lyra and Siv, were unsurprised that she managed to kill the Rune Drake. Erin gave a very brief explanation of why the Rune Drake acted the way it did and the noble woman’s knight vowed to investigate that matter after they reached the city.

“Thank you, Lady Erynthea,” said the noblewoman, bowing. “Thank you so much for saving us. How can I ever repay your kindness, Lady Erynthea?”

The noble woman’s daughter was also bowing along. She was a near-perfect duplicate of her mother with the only difference being she was young. The two guards and the knight weren’t in the wagon but on their own horses, all summoned by Lilian using her powers as a Dryad. The wagon could not accommodate all of them and so it was decided that the two guards and the knight would be riding their own mounts.

“You can start by introducing yourself, madam.” Though Erin said that, she already knew their names from her Appraisal but heeding the advice she was given, she acted none the wiser so as to not reveal her Appraisal skill.

“Ah, of course. Where are my manners? How unbecoming of me. I am the High Lady of House Valdrun, Melissa Valdrun.”

Erin fought down the urge to scream out her surprise. She learned from Iris that a High Lady or a High Lord was a position that was second only to the king. They were essentially the monarch of their own region as no one other than the king could challenge their authority. The reactions were varied among Erin’s companions. Lilian didn’t look too surprised but she was a little taken aback. Nivia had a dubious glance that seemed to say she did not believe the woman’s claim at all. Lyra was completely frozen stiff and so was Aera. Siv was the only one that did not look the slightest bit astounded at the revelation.

And as if she had only said something trivial, the High Lady continued with her greeting without a break in her rhythm. “You may call me Melissa, Lady Erynthea. This lovely young lady here is my daughter, Aeria Valdrun. Say hi, Aery.”

“H-hello…” the little girl greeted shyly. She tried getting up to greet with the usual greeting befitting of a young girl but the mild shaking of the wagon made her fall back on her rear. Having adorably botched her greeting, she dove into her mother’s embrace and stuck her reddened face into her mother’s bosom.

Everyone shared a chuckle, even Nivia, but she immediately stopped herself when Lyra flashed her a grin.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Melissa,” Erin greeted back. “And you may simply call me Erin, too.”

“Heavens, no. I can’t do that, Lady Erynthea. You’re a Fae and my saviour. And you have five tails. I can’t be disrespectful.”

“Won’t it be more disrespectful to not obey your saviour’s wish and request? Moreover, you’re a High Lady. It isn’t that disrespectful for you to be simply calling me without any honorifics.”

“If you insist, Lady Fae, then I shall comply, Erin.”

“Thank you, Melissa.” Erin refrained from heaving a sigh. She had never liked being formal with words. It was exhausting and a tad pretentious in the tone, something she rather reserved from those she deemed to be her enemies. “Allow me to introduce my companions. The Elf here is Nivia. The Dryad is Lilian. This lovely girl beside me is Lyra. The ones on the reins are Siv and Aera. Siv is the beast-kin.”

Siv glimpsed behind her briefly and nodded at the High Lady. Aera mimicked Siv in a haste after seeing her doing it.

Melissa greeted them in turns with a bright smile that wasn’t forged. “I must say, Erin, your companions are very… atypical.”

“Atypical?”

“Yes, it is so. Pardon me for saying this. I don’t mean it in a bad way. I’m sure you have heard of the ill-will between humans and Fae but it would seem that rumour does not apply to your companions. And I have also heard that Beast-kin are coarse and unrefined but Lady Siv over there is even more refined than most of my acquaintances. Your companions are very interesting and so are you, Erin.”

“Thank you, Melissa,” Erin said. “It soothes my heart to know that no one’s presence here is conflicting with each other.”

“I most certainly do not wish for that either, Erin.”

Then, Erin’s amicable expression turned solemn “I have to ask, and I’m sorry in advance if it offends you.”

“Oh, no. It’s alright. Ask away, Erin.”

“Valdrun is far away if I’m not mistaken.”

“You are not, Erin. It is in the far north.”

“For a High Lady of a place far away, you sure seemed to be travelling light. You don’t have an army of escorts. You don't have an insignia painted on your carriage. Why is that?”

Melissa tittered. “The reason’s quite simple actually, Erin.”

“You are being furtive, that I know, Melissa, but is there a reason for you to be furtive?”

The High Lady’s eyes narrowed and sharpened. The air in the wagon shifted drastically. “If it’s trouble you’re worried about, then you can be at ease, Erin. As far as I can tell, you are just adventurers. Anyone knows adventurers are motivated by gold. And you’re a Fae, Erin. I can assure you that no one will be coming up to you to ask about me. Does that suffice as an answer?”

Erin donned back her smile. “It does, Melissa.”

And so did the High Lady. “Splendid, then. I hope that’s all you have to ask of me. I certainly don’t want any misunderstanding between me and my saviour.”

“There is none,” Erin assured her. “For now.”

The mood returned to normal after Erin shed her inquiry. Lyra and Aera looked to be suffocating when Erin was questioning Melissa. They were panting when the tension dispersed. Aeria, perhaps too young to understand, was still sporting her embarrassment as she was still huddled up in her mother’s arms.

Better than Erin could hope for, the mood in the wagon was improving after the initial looming awkwardness from Erin’s inquisitive gesture. Aeria was gradually losing her shyness and slowly opening up to them. It was Lyra who took the initiative to talk with Aeria and the reason was that she reminded Lyra of Celia. Erin wondered briefly how Celia and the others were doing. She made a mental note to write letters to them after they reached Sephrodia Valley. Melissa was doing her best to talk with each of Erin’s companions and she was very ardent with Lilian and Nivia despite the latter’s reluctance. She was asking an array of questions that Erin didn’t even think of and it was at this point that Erin learned a very important fact about the Faerie-kin.

“Is it true that all Elves are female?” Melissa asked.

Erin was leaning against the canopy of the wagon, resting her exhaustion from using Bespoke when she heard that question. She opened her eyes and jolted up.

“Not just the Elves, Melissa,” Lilian answered. “The Dryads and Fox-kin too.”

“Oh, my. That’s very fascinating to hear. I thought it was all just the hearsay of the expectant lechers. So it is true.”

“I did not know that!” Erin cried.

“You didn’t?”

It was a question asked by nearly everyone in the wagon except for Aera.

Erin shook her head. “I didn’t,” she affirmed. “I had no idea at all.”

“You did not know, Erin?” Melissa asked, utter confusion painting her face.

“She was raised outside of the forest,” Lilian explained. “So I hope you can excuse her for any indelicate actions of hers.”

“Indelicate? Like you’re one to talk, Lilian.” For some reason, it was Nivia who baulked in response.

“So you didn’t know? Truly?” Lyra was making doubly sure of what she heard.

“Yes, I didn’t.”

“Since the beginning of…, you know?”

“Yes, since that time.”

Lyra looked to Nivia. “You were the one who taught her all about Fae ethics. Why didn’t you tell her then?”

“Don’t lay the blame on me. How would I know she didn’t even know that? Everyone had at the very least heard that as a rumour. I didn’t know that she was completely unaware of it.”

“Alright alright! Please don’t start another fight. Not in the wagon at least.” Erin cut in before the two could explode into another fit of argument. “So, about Fae being all females—”

“Not all Fae. Just Elves, Dryads, and Fox-kin,” Lilian said.

“Sprites too,” Nivia added.

“Them too. The others are all males.”

“The others? Such as?” Erin asked.

“Spriggans, Druids, and Gnomes.”

“What about the Fox-kin? Sure they have males since they were once part of the Beast-kin.”

“They did have males but the children that were born after their assimilation into the Faerie-kin, no more males were born among them.”

“So you’re saying it’s either all-female or male?”

“Yes, that is what I’m saying.”

“How do you even reproduce and conceive between two Elves?”

“With the help of the Spirits. We receive their blessing once they confirm the love of a couple and the Spirits will choose the suitable among the two to conceive.”

“I see…” Erin muttered. Though the information wasn’t exactly view-changing, it was a very surreal one, as surreal as when she found herself in the body of a Fox-kin girl. No, just a Fox-kin. There was no male Fox-kin. “I’m sorry… I need a moment,” Erin said and excused herself to the driver’s seat. As the seat was only big enough for two, Aera switched places with Erin and went to join the others in the back.

Erin heaved out a huge sigh like she always did after the end of a battle. “Did you know?” she asked while she was rubbing her temples on both sides.

“I did, mistress,” Siv answered. “I’m actually quite dumbfounded that you didn’t know.”

Now that Erin thought about this whole new fact she learned, she never once heard anyone being gender-specific in addressing Elves and Fox-kin.

“Was there no race in your old world that comprised only a single gender?”

“If it’s sapients we’re talking about, then yes, as far as I know at least.”

“Forgive me for saying this, mistress but that sure sounds like a very dull world to be living in.”

Erin smiled wryly. “It has its moments but yes, it was very… colourless.” She took a deep breath.

“Was it that shocking?”

“It’s a precedent for me. It’s very shocking.”

“Then maybe you’ll also be surprised to know that Dragons are actually androgynous.”

Erin choked on her own saliva and breath as she heard that. She snapped her eyes to Siv. “You can’t be serious,” she said, on the verge of shouting.

Siv then broke out into a gleeful cackle.

Erin blinked, confused for a moment before she finally regained her senses and came to a realisation. “You weren’t serious.”

“Not at all, mistress.” Siv shook her head, simpering.

“Have I done something to offend you, Siv?” Erin asked with a narrowed gaze.

“Why would you ever think that way, mistress?”

“You are angry, Siv.”

“You are just imagining things, mistress.”

Erin sighed for the umpteenth time and abruptly pulled Siv into her bosom by her wrist. Erin was quick to cover Siv’s mouth to avoid her squeal from escaping. “I’m sorry, Siv. I’m sorry for whatever I did or could have done.” She said her apologies as she was embracing Siv and caressed her head.

“You called Lyra lovely but you didn’t call me that,” Siv muttered softly.

“That’s what you were angry about?”

“I know what I have said before about our relationship, but… I’m starting to regret it…”

Erin hugged her tighter. “What are you regretting about, Siv?”

“Vengeance… I’m still angry and I still want revenge for what happened to my brother but… I wished I didn’t let it rule over me then and made those stupid conditions about our relationship.”

“Listen, Siv.” Erin tipped her face up with a single finger by her chin. “I may be your mistress for your vengeance but that doesn’t limit me to solely being your mistress. I’m not your employer, Siv. I’m your friend, your lover.”

Siv shuddered as she heard Erin’s proclamation. “Truly?” she asked, like a maiden who just fell in love for the first time.

“Truly, Siv,” Erin assured her and softly brushed her lips against Siv’s. “I love you, Siv.”

“I love you too, Erin.”

And they shared another kiss, not minding the gazes they were unintentionally garnering.