A moonlit night had fallen. Loki Familia's camp had been set up at the edge of the plain, a position that would let them stare down at the Rakian army. Ares Familia's encampment was visible in the distance, but the surrounding tents lit by campfires and magic-stone lanterns all belonged to Orario's familias. Except for the lookouts, the camp fell into slumber.
The fragrance of the grassy plains, foreign to Orario, drifted on the wind as a dim darkness enveloped everyone. And among the sea of tents, the light of a magic-stone lantern seeped out of one of them.
Elfie: Lefiya...Are you still awake?
Sheets rustled as her roommate, Elfie, turned to glance at her. The sound startled Lefiya, who had been on her stomach reading a book by the light of a magic-stone lamp.
Lefiya: S-sorry, Elfie, everyone. You can't sleep with the light, right?
Elfie: Nah, I'm fine with a night-light, so it isn't a problem, but...
The book was a treatise on magic. As Lefiya dimmed the light, Elfie and the hume bunny Rakuta made odd faces. There was no need to obsess over developing her skills in a situation like this. Lefiya could tell exactly what they were thinking.
They were right. Whatever she could stuff into her head right now would not allow her to gain mastery over much. It was far more important to sleep and restore as much stamina for the next day as possible. However, Lefiya could not help but be irritated at doing nothing as time slipped away.
Loki Familia didn't have a moment to waste on venturing outside the city and getting into conflicts with other countries. They needed to develop the means to combat the groups trying to destroy the Labyrinth City or else devote their time and energy to further improving themselves. With this in mind, something resembling a compulsion had seized Lefiya.
Lefiya(mind): Like I suspected, I'm bothering them.
Lefiya: I'm just having a bit of trouble sleeping. I'll try getting a little fresh air.
Lefiya said, picking up the thick book she had been studying. Waving at the lookouts she passed, she headed to the edge of the camp and sat on a comfortable-looking stump. It was decently far from the closest patrol, so she probably wouldn't be questioned. Along the way, she had turned on the portable magic-stone lantern she had borrowed, and now she started reading again.
Lefiya: Ah...Miss Asuna. And...
After a short while, a breeze blew through. As it brushed aside her long hair, Lefiya happened to glance in the direction of the wind and noticed the blue-haired, azure-eyed High Elf girl sitting there. On her lap, was one single boy clad in black, with black haired and the same azure eyed as the High Elf.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Sora and Asuna had volunteered to keep watch because they had hardly done anything during the day. The Level-1 and Level-2 members of the familia were uncomfortable to have someone in the leadership on watch duty, but they eventually gave in to her request. Though no one had mentioned anything, Asuna probably noticed that the lower-level adventurers were getting more nervous than they were during their usual dungeon crawling. Finn had also granted his approval.
