Suddenly finding myself in the infirmary, Rayla smiles at me before I can even say anything, “Took you a while sleepyhead.”

  “Am I in the infirmary? Did something happen? I think I fell asleep in the creepy guy's carriage after he was saying a lot of weird stuff.”

  “Yeah, turns out that creepy guy was a Cultist that tried to kidnap you.”

  Quickly sitting up and being instantly hit with vertigo I ask, “What!?”

  In a calming yet happy tone Rayla answers, “Don’t worry you’re fine. The guildmaster took care of that really quickly! They also didn’t have any communication devices on them so it’s not like anyone else knows of this.”

  Calming down again, I answer, “Sorry about that…”

  “About what?”

  “Giving you trouble…It seems like I just keep relying on you recently.”

  “Pfft, don’t worry about useless things like that. Here if you want to apologize you can help me carry the basket.”

  “Basket?”

  Throwing an empty basket on me, she relies, “Yeah, you’re feeling fine right? If we hurry we can make it to the fields before sundown and have a bit of a picnic. I was allowed to bring a bunch of the good foods from the veterans lounge with me.”

  “From the veterans lounge!? How did you do that!?”

  She gives me a smug smile, “Kekeke, your party leader has connections in high places that she can’t reveal.”

  “Oooooh~ Praise be to the party leader, ever so wise!”

  Taking on an authorative pose, she adds, “Fufufu, yes, praise me more, my underling!”

  “Your brain is truly as giant as your tail is fluffy!”

  Bending over, she lets out a chuckle and looks at me with a smile, “Pfft, that’s the best you could come up with?”

  “Haha, sorry. Usually people were giving me compliments, not the other way around.”

  Intrigued, she asks, “Oh? What kind of compliments?”

  “I…I don’t remember.”

  “Kekeke…So it already came in handy huh?”

  “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  “This!”

  She then holds up a journal.

  Cogging my head, I ask, “A journal?”

  Holding it up like she's trying to sell it to me she adds, “Not just any journal! This one is enchanted. It’s protected against fire, water, dirt and being ripped!”

  “Woah…That must have been expensive.”

  “It was very expensive! Two big silver coins in fact!”

  “Woah…You have that sorta money?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then… Did you steal it?”

  “Tsk tsk tsk you truly think lowly of me. I of course bought it legally!”

  “But how?”

  Giving me a smug look and a wink, she answers, “I gave them the guildmaster’s name as a guarantee, so she’s the one paying for it!”

  “Did…Did you ask Uli before you did that?”

  “Nope, but this one's for you and she owes us, so it will be fine.”

  “For me? But I don’t need a magic journal.”

  “Well it’s not for you in the sense that I'm giving it to you but I’m using it for you.”

  “What are you using it for?”

  “Well, you often say these things about your past that you instantly forget. I thought it might be good if I write them down from now on. That way, neither of us will forget these memories again and maybe we can even figure out who you were in the long run! W-w-wait, are you crying? Do you not like it?”

  “No I do. I love it! It’s just so thoughtful…It made me tear up a little.”

  Giving me a hug while brushing through my hair she laughs, “Kekeke! You really are a crybaby aren’t you? Come on, let's leave this boring place, we have a quest to complete!”

  “Haha, okay!”

  I then get up, get dressed and together go onto our way towards the field.

  —----------------------------------------------------------

  Thoma Ahad memory journal:

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Entry 1 (4th of July 397 Age of Water):

  -Thoma used to be called Jara Shahom because that is the only thing he could say when he was found two years ago (June Year 395 Age of Water). Jara Shahom means “I want to go home” in Elvish —>Thoma knows Elvish, Maybe he was an Elf or raised by one.

  -Memory triggered by asking where he heard Uli before: (Uli Elvish for auntie)

  Memory of going through a flower field. People calling his name but name triggers curse and makes him forget things. —> visit flower fields with him. Maybe that will help.

  Entry 2 (4th of July 397 Age of Water):

  -People used to compliment him but he did not compliment back—> Maybe arrogant? Noble or Rich? Very handsome? Elf’s are handsome, maybe he is an Elf that grew up around non Elves?

  —---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  About an hour later, outside the gates, Thoma Ahad and Rayla have started their picnic, waiting for the sun to go down.

  Having a flavor explosion in my mouth I I say, “Woah! This food is soooo goood…Rayla we need to become B-Ranks quickly!”

  “Right!? It’s just so unfair that they get food like this. I’m not sure I can go back to the other stuff after this!”

  “How much longer until we rank up?”

  “Hmm, let’s see. We need 40 points to rank up. We did one E Rank quest at the start for 4 points, We did one F-Rank Quest and a G-Rank so that’s another 3 points. Provided everything goes well today we’ll get another 4 points putting us at 11. That means we need to either do eight more E-Rank Quests and start off our next rank with three bonus points or we could do seven more E-Ranks and a G-Rank to get it exact. So, if we’re efficient and don’t get injured we should be able to rank up in a month or so.”

  Trying to do the math on my hands I ask, “So it’s going to take us four months to get to B-Rank?”

  “Of course not, don’t be stupid. The higher ranking the quest, the longer it takes to complete. F-ranks take about a day but we can do them in the city. E-Ranks are usually outside the walls or dangerous. Once we get to D-Rank we have to start traveling to neighboring villages. C-Rank quests can send us packing around the entire country, B-Ranks are for the entire north and once you get to A-Rank you basically constantly travel the world. Our goal for now is to stay in Rostock until we get to C-Rank. Then when we get to C-Rank we have the funds and strength to travel the world and visit many other countries and guilds.”

  “I see, are you going to marry people while we’re traveling? It’s going to be hard to travel with so many people.”

  She looks at me proudly while taking a bite from a chicken leg, “Kekeke, of course not! I already planned this out! Once we get to C-Rank I’m guessing another year or so will pass. Until then, I should have both developed my physique and matured enough that men that aren’t Beastkin will see me as an adult. I am in my final growing phase after all. Then, once we start traveling a lot, I’m going to go around sampling different men from different countries and races so that once we’re rich, famous and retired I can start building my xxx.”

  “Gotcha, one question though, what is a growing phase?”

  “Oh yeah that’s right I guess as a Human you don’t have one. So, every race kind of matures differently in terms of their body and mind. Orcs for example physically and mentally become adults by the time they’re twelve, while an Elf takes a hundred years or so to do that. High Elves and Dragons are the ones that take the longest to grow into an adult. I don’t know much about High Elves but Dragons turn into an adult after about four hundred years.”

  “Do you know any Dragons?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then why do you know that?”

  Suddenly getting a little shy, she avoids my eyes and says, “Well…I’ll tell you but you’re not allowed to tell anyone else okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “I've been a biiiiiit of a nerd when it comes to dragons ever since I watched an xxx match with my parents. I just think they look really cool. They’re super smart and powerful and they rival Elves in terms of prettiness when they transform into humans. I really hope we get to see some once we enter the Dragon Kingdom! But I’m not sure I’d be able to contain myself if we do!"

  Getting a little embarrassed and calming down again, she continues, "Uhum. Anyways, to get back to the point I was going to make… For us Beastkin we usually have three growing phases. In our first growing phase we turn from baby to the equivalent of an eight year old Human child within a few days. Then in our second growing phase we grow into the equivalent of a fourteen year old human and in our third growing phase we grow into adults and from then on we physically age like a human would.”

  “Huh…So do you suddenly get super smart after each growing phase?”

  “Nope, our minds actually mature like humans do. So, mentally I’m an eighteen year old woman.”

  “Uhuh…”

  “You totally don’t believe me, do you!?”

  Scratching my head while avoiding her eyes, I answer, “I mean…You are definitely smarter than me but I’m not sure that you’re that mature…”

  “Rude! I’ll have you know that I’m quite mature for my age!” She says, with a bunch of sauce stuck at the corner of her mouth.

  “Is that so…”

  “Hmph! You’ll see, you’re just blinded by my young appearance but once my physical appearance changes you’ll see how my personality matches an adult body way better than a teen!”

  “Sure…I’m looking forward to it. When is that going to happen?”

  “I’m not sure. I started showing signs of it happening soon about a month ago. The changes could start any day within this next year.”

  “Won’t that be dangerous? What if it starts to happen during a quest?”

  “Oh no it will be fine. I’ll know about two weeks before it starts because that’s when I need to eat a lot every day to prepare for the changes.”

  “Is it gonna hurt? I mean you’ll almost double in size in a few days, that sounds painful.”

  “It is. I’ll be bedridden for about three days when it starts.”

  “Is there anything I can help you with when it happens?”

  Leaning back and getting out a smoothie from the basket she replies, “Hmm…Not really. Let’s see, you could help out Nekara when it starts. She’s the owner of the boarding house I’m staying in. She’s Beastkin like me so she will know how to help me when the time comes but it would still be nice if you could help her out a bit as well in her business when that happens.”

  “Sure! I’ll do my best!”

  Giving me a kind smile, she answers, “Thanks Thoma, that means a lot.”

  Taking out a fruit salad, I think for a bit and ask,

  “So is your tail gonna grow too?”

  “Yep! I’ll even grow at least one more!”

  “What? You’ll grow more tails?”

  Proudly showing off her tail, she says, “Yep! Depending on how much mana we get when we mature we grow extra tails. My Dad has two tails and my mom has three. The Maximum you can get is nine, but that’s only for legendary priests or mages.”

  “Who knows? Maybe you’ll get nine!”

  “Nah I don’t even want that many. Any more than three tails would probably hinder my fighting style.”

  “But you could be an awesome mage instead if you had nine tails!”

  “Heh, maybe.”

  Eating a strawberry, I think out loud, “But that must feel super weird. I can’t even imagine what that would feel like. Like growing eight arms out of your butt or something.”

  “Pfft, it doesn’t feel like that at all. A tail is just an extension of your spine. Here I’ll just trace it with my hand while you ima-”

  A bit shocked and disgusted at her touching my spine without warning I push her away.

  “Please don’t touch there without consent!”

  “I…Uhm…I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d have a problem with it. Did I hurt you?”

  “N-no it’s just. I don’t like my back being touched, especially around the spine. It’s fine as long as it’s over clothes and we’re hugging or something but not directly and especially not without saying anything first!”

  Confused and concerned, she asks, “Sure but can you explain why you don’t like it? Does it hurt? What does it feel like?”

  “I just don’t like when other people touch my-”

  “Thoma?”

  “Huh? Oh sorry, I spaced out there for a bit, haha. It would be super cool if you had nine tails!”

  “Yeah…”