Astella walked away with an irritated expression.
She brushed the dirt from around her mouth, then left with heavy steps.
Up above, Stella quickened her pace of eating.
She stood up.
"Sorry, everyone. I'd like to go check on my sister for a moment."
Stella then went to find Astella.
She took both of Astella's hands.
"Congratulations." Said Stella in a cheerful tone.
Astella quickly pulled away.
"You'd be better off looking after yourself, Stella! Your mouth is full of food. Have you no shame in front of all these people?! You are the heir, you know. Stop acting like a child!" Astella snapped at her in front of the crowd.
She then left, leaving Stella behind with an expression full of anger.
"Oh, that was really bad." Said Sophie, peeking down from the upper floor of the food stall.
Stella then wiped the food from her mouth using the cloth she had brought.
Stella returned to Ichigo looking sad, head bowed low.
Ichigo offered Stella a little of his strawberry ice.
"It's alright, Ichigo. Besides, this really is my own fault." Stella gently pushed the glass back toward Ichigo.
They then continued watching the matches until the afternoon arrived.
"So the total comes to this, including the extended seating time." Said the server with an unfriendly expression.
Stella held the bill with trembling hands.
"Wow, that's really expensive?!" Wanda was shocked at the price.
Ichigo then tugged at the hem of Stella's clothes and offered her several Winter Kingdom royal coins he had on him.
"You can use these." Said Ichigo, handing over three Winter Kingdom mithril coins.
The server froze on the spot.
Stella immediately covered the server's mouth and whispered to him.
"Please keep this a secret."
The server nodded.
Stella looked around. Fortunately, Sophie and Wanda had not seen any of it.
She handed a cloth to cover the coins Ichigo had given.
"Please put them back." She whispered.
Ichigo put the coins back into his pocket.
Sophie then turned to look at the server.
"Hmm... I really am puzzled. Why is this server being so rude?"
With a worried expression, Stella explained.
"Ah, that is because... his older sister and the owner of this establishment is... um... my teacher." She said while trembling.
Wanda immediately cried out.
"EHHHH?!! SERIOUSLY?!!!"
The server confirmed it in a flat tone.
"STELLA, YOU KEPT THIS A SECRET FROM US?!" Sophie and Wanda asked at the same time.
The server raised a hand between the two of them to calm things down.
"She didn't keep it a secret. You two simply never paid attention."
He let out a sigh.
"It has been written clearly on the signboard all along. Ayu Permata, the founder of this establishment, my older sister, Stella's teacher, and a senior upper-level spirit user in our forest."
"Ah, we know that. We just forgot." Sophie and Wanda turned their faces away.
After all of that, they stepped outside the food stall to be greeted by a bright orange sky and air that was growing pleasantly cool.
Outside, several elves were still practicing their martial arts.
That included Astella and her teacher.
HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Astella swung her sword toward her teacher.
However, the slash was deflected with ease.
Astella stumbled from the rebound force she had created during her own attack.
She grabbed one arm, bracing against the pain from the impact.
"Enough, Astella. You need to rest." Said the teacher.
Breathing heavily, Astella refused to stop.
"No, teacher! I still haven't..."
"ASTELLA!"
Astella was stopped cold by her teacher's firm warning.
"YOUR BONES ARE NEARLY FRACTURING! END YOUR TRAINING FOR TODAY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SERIOUSLY INJURED!"
Astella had no choice but to limp her way home.
On the other side, Stella watched all of it with a look of deep concern.
She walked slowly toward Astella's teacher.
The teacher turned around.
"Oh?! Miss?! How are you?" She said with a full smile.
Stella looked at her with a worried gaze.
"I'm fine, but Astella..."
The teacher placed both hands on Stella's shoulders.
"She's simply going through puberty a little earlier than most. We only need to guide her so she doesn't lose her way."
Stella's eyes grew more sorrowful.
"Given everything going on around her, that is somewhat difficult."
The teacher lowered her gaze.
"But difficult doesn't mean impossible, does it? Oh, by the way, who is that behind you? Is that the outsider everyone has been talking about?" She glanced over at Ichigo.
She circled around Ichigo, looking and observing.
"Well, for a young child, your muscles are remarkably well developed. Your posture is upright, your build is solid, and you seem experienced somehow..."
Stella pulled Astella's teacher away from Ichigo.
"Miss, what's the matter?" The teacher asked.
Stella then whispered to her.
"The spirits are asking us not to touch his skin, so as not to bring harm upon ourselves."
The teacher nodded.
"Alright, I understand."
"BUT!"
"I AM ASKING TO BE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO TEACH HIM SWORDSMANSHIP! AT THE VERY LEAST, I WANT TO SPAR WITH HIM!" The teacher said loudly.
Stella turned toward Ichigo.
"So, what do you think, Ichigo? This is a good opportunity for you, though we won't force you into anything."
Ichigo was quiet for a brief moment, turning various things over in his mind.
"I agree to it." That was his final answer.
The teacher straightened up.
"Yosh! We begin training tomorrow!"
Stella finally escorted Ichigo back to her home.
"It's getting dark. We'd better head up to the upper floors quickly, as wild animals tend to roam frequently after nightfall."
A warm room welcomed their arrival.
Stella turned off the light and closed the door.
"Rest well." She said.
The next morning arrived, accompanied by birdsong coming from every direction.
The spirits tugged at Ichigo's sleeve to wake him.
He rose from sleep and began getting ready, waiting for Stella to take him to the training grounds.
The sound of irregular footsteps began to be heard.
Stella opened the bedroom door.
"GOOD MORNING, ICHIGO!"
She saw that Ichigo was already dressed and ready.
"Oh, you're ready already? Let's go then, straight away!"
Down at the lower grounds, the elves were clearing up the aftermath of the wild animals' disturbance from the night before. It was quite a mess.
Many of the wooden training dummies had been broken, some torn apart entirely.
Swords that should have still been gleaming were now shattered into fragments.
Arrows had been snapped into several pieces. Shields were cracked and clawed through.
The ground, which had been level before, was now an uneven tangle of random furrows.
"Teacher Basoa!!" Stella called out.
Basoa turned around.
"Oh?! Miss."
Ichigo greeted with a respectful bow.
Basoa bowed in return as a sign of respect.
"My apologies, but it appears training will be delayed a little."
She looked out at the state of the grounds.
"As you can see, wild animals have been behaving restlessly lately. And this isn't even their mating season."
"Is that a bad thing?" Ichigo asked.
"OF COURSE IT IS!" Stella and Basoa both exclaimed.
Stella began to explain.
"If wild animals start becoming unruly in this forest, it means the balance of the elements is being disturbed, or that a powerful force is heading in this direction."
Astella then arrived.
"You two... why are you here?"
"Did I not mention it to you, Astella? You'll be training with Sir Ichigo." Basoa pointed at Ichigo.
Astella's expression darkened.
"I REFUSE! I REFUSE! HOW CAN AN OUTSIDER JUST BE ACCEPTED LIKE THIS, WHEN I HAD TO PROVE MYSELF ON MY OWN BACK THEN?!" She slammed the sword she had brought from home onto the ground.
Basoa hurried after Astella in a panic.
"Wait, Astella! I'll explain everything!"
Stella and Ichigo stood in silence at the commotion.
Stella tried to redirect Ichigo's attention to something else, but Ichigo appeared entirely unbothered by the whole thing.
On that calm morning, at the border between the forest and the death desert:
A desert king eagle flew from the desert side toward one of the forest guards.
A letter was tied to the bird's leg.
One of the guards unfurled the scroll from the eagle's leg.
He was startled by the news it carried.
To Be Continued