A full party. The Isekai stupidity even reached Haldenvale. The old couple picked four of the young men and sent them on their way. They had a mission, they needed to be six people. Six armoured and armed men on horseback a week away from the nearest border zone and almost as far from even a rural adventures guild attracted attention. Ioha having the build of an ogre with an outlandish shield strapped to his back didn’t help.

  A three-day ride stretched out over a week, and the first signs of summer capitulating to the oncoming autumn showed wherever they rode despite their use of the dark hours. They used a barn the first day and paid for the idiocy by taking a huge detour to shake off pursuing militia.

  Now they were somewhere deep in Wergaist territory, but without GPS, or even a simple map, Derina could only give uncertain guesses when the rest of them asked. It wasn’t really his fault, Ioha understood that. Flat land, wheat fields, small patches of forests, and farmhouses looking like copies of each other, with barns sprinkled into the meal, made any use of the hypothetical map they didn’t have moot. You either grew up here, or you got lost. Ioha wondered if people didn’t get lost even if they grew up here.

  “And now?” the youngest of their followers asked one late night, just before dawn broke.

  The road forked. North or north-west?

  Derina picked up a coin from one of his pockets.

  You can’t be real?

  Two of their followers shook their heads. The other two exchanged exacerbated looks.

  Derina spun it high into the darkness.

  It whirred, lost speed and returned to his hand. He grabbed it without even looking and slapped it to the back of his other hand.

  “North west.”

  Haldenvale will shake with fear of superior federation planning the next time these guys decide to invade. Yup. Right.

  “You just thought something rude,” Derina said from his horse ahead of Ioha.

  “How could you guess?”

  “My superior thinking.”

  “Love the self-awareness.”

  “They’ll never know what hit them.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because even we don’t know any longer.” The last sentence came with at least a modicum of modesty.

  The sound of hooves on dirt, muted in the night followed them as they trotted on. Night gave, and greyness painted the sky until the sun rose and bathed them all in a reminder that the days ahead would be just a little darker and just a little colder.

  “Barns ahead,” the oldest of the young men offered from his saddle at the edge of a tiny forest they just rode through.

  Ioha urged his horse on and came up beside him. “We can’t use those.” Something caught in his throat, and a cold hand gripped his heart. “There’s no sleeping here.”

  “Why, there’s plenty of…”

  “We have to keep going. An hour at least,” Derina said. He placed a gloved hand on Ioha’s shoulder and squeezed. “Sorry.”

  Ioha blinked tears from his eyes. “Please! Derina, please!”

  “Half an hour north from the crossroads, Ioha. The western barn. We’ll be waiting.” Derina waved the men to him. “Be careful Ioha!” He gripped his reins. “Follow me! I know where we are.” They pushed north on a dirt road. It would curve in a wide bow and connect with the east west main road less than an hour’s ride away. From there almost nothing to the crossroads and on to the barn. Ioha knew that. He knew it so well.

  “Thank you!” he whispered to the vanishing backs. He’d take a different route.

  A lone rider with a packhorse, clad in a muted burgundy with a worn cloak covering his back, shouldn’t make anyone look twice. Well, unless they got close and noticed he was a head taller than them. He’d take that chance.

  Ioha rode the northernmost of a grid of roads. He’d hardly be noticed that way. To his west a grey monstrosity rose from the ground, and the fields there were littered with barns despite this being in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Spellsword Academy had to be the most misplaced school in the entire world.

  Ioha picked the one road that would have the school shop south of him, and on one of the nearby fields he had spent early mornings and late evenings training his heart out. Maybe, just maybe. He extended aura to his senses. There were sounds of people training, so second years or older.

  A few minutes later he had the sounds nailed down. The barren fields close to the stables. Warmth rose in him. There really should only be a few people picking that place among so many better.

  On their way to the capital, they never came closer than the crossroads. Suddenly seeing building one from a distance was an entirely different thing. He had to see for himself.

  The field where they had their duel with Derina and Harvali came into view. Ioha let aura flow to his vision and focussed his sight on the field.

  Karaki waited in a defensive stance with a parrying sword in each hand. Around him, like flashes of light, Canadena accelerated in impossible angles and enveloped him with thrusts. How he was able to parry and dodge them without a full grid of shields was beyond Ioha. As for Canadena, two or three times during a match, she once said. From the way she changed direction midair, she could cast her tiny shields at will these days.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Miri and Genu stood a bit apart. The knight clearly taught her how to use her smallsword. At least the four of them hadn’t split up during his year away.

  In the corner closest to him a first year he didn’t recognise, no, third year now, did the same with Ai. Ioha’s stomach churned, first with jealousy and then with joy. They weren’t a couple any longer. She was just the woman who stole his heart, had been for so very long now. He revelled in watching her parry thrusts and cuts with her sword. She had become a lot less clumsy with a weapon in her hand now. She even wore the helmet he picked for her.

  His horse snorted. He had stood there for too long. It was time to go. He smacked his lips and urged it onwards. All the way until the school shop blocked the field from his vision he followed Ai with his eyes. When he passed it a hedge hid him from the school grounds, and he sped up.

  From the corner of his eye he noticed a subtle hint of a movement. The defensive grid went up before he even had time to react. A second layer came into existence when he landed on his feet, shield sliding over his shoulder and along his arm. The partisan came unclasped just as his inferno roared alive. Then a hailstorm of metal hammered into his shields.

  Ioha smiled and released the inferno. She was fast, probably the best cat in the entire school. He truly admired how she had become skilled enough to force Derina to take a duel with her seriously now. That said, compared to Derina her movements were still sluggish and slightly out of sync.

  Ioha funnelled her closer with multiple sets of triggered shields and barriers. The last two shields he triggered on her touching them, and they threw her into two expanding fields he created. They were nothing she couldn’t handle, but that took a fraction of a second, and he never gave her that. The next shield slammed her down between two barriers on top of a field, and he locked her inside with two hard shields right on top of her prone body.

  “Welcome, Princess Argander. Been a while,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Promise not to flail around?”

  “Promise.”

  Ioha released all magic but the field she lay on. After she got on her feet, he released that as well.

  “You’ve grown faster since I last fought you. My respects.”

  She stared back at him. “What happened?”

  “You attacked. I trapped you.”

  “Where did you…”

  “Life. Good school.”

  “Maybe I should get expelled as well.”

  “Please don’t. I don’t want to make enemies with Lord Argander as well.”

  She giggled. Ioha guessed she was beautiful in her own way. But for Ai he might have developed a crush on her just like most of the rest of the boys had done.

  “I won’t. Two more years.” She looked in the direction the road took him. “You sure about this?”

  Ioha nodded. “Promised to meet a friend.”

  Their princess glanced through the hedge. “You have friends here as well.”

  “I don’t owe them a promise.”

  “Harsh.”

  “I know. Look, I can’t.” Ioha stared at his feet. “I just can’t.”

  “Just a visit. I’ll cover for you.”

  He offered her a thin smile. “That’s the problem.”

  “Visiting them?”

  “Yeah. I want nothing more than crossing that field and throw them a stupid joke halfway over just to see their stupid faces. I can’t.”

  “They are your friends. I know you love that girl. It’s just a brief visit.”

  “I can’t,” Ioha pleaded. “Going there is easy. I can’t leave if I do.”

  “I see.” The princess’ voice sank. When she spoke again it was filled with sadness and pity. “I never want to love the way you do.”

  “It’s been my pleasure meeting you.” Ioha bowed. “Don’t tell them…”

  “I’m not promising anything. Not today at least.”

  He mounted. “You really have grown stronger. Derina couldn’t laugh at you now.”

  “Derina? You’re riding with young Wari?”

  Ioha bowed again. “You can’t tell anyone.” He grimaced. “No, tell Lord Argander. Warn him. We’re killing Clevasti’s men within a few days. Openly.”

  Her hands flew to her face. “You’re killing Clevasti’s soldiers in Wergaist?”

  “In their estate. It’s going to be bad.”

  “You’re killing Clevasti’s soldiers inside their own estate?”

  Ioha nodded. “You should warn your father.”

  “I understand.” She grinned. “I have to go back now. See you.”

  “See you.” He waved when she jumped into the air and ran along the treetops to the school.

  With a smile, he resumed his course. This route took him outside the fences, and when he was back on the main road the red iron gate welcomed him to enter the school. He sent it a mock salute and rode in the direction of Schooltown.

  He wouldn’t have wanted anything more than meeting his friends again. That, Ioha admitted was a lie. He wouldn’t have wanted anything more than meeting Ai.

  Shortly after Schooltown, just far away no fourth year students living there would catch sight of him, their princess caught up with him.

  Ah, yeah, see you. When her horse came up along his Ioha turned. “No lectures?”

  “School starts next week.”

  “You didn’t tell them?”

  “Promised you not today.”

  Good! He smiled. “Thank you.”

  They rode in silence until they reached the crossroad.

  “Absolutely sure about this?” Ioha asked.

  Her mouth lit up in a grin that made her look almost like a boy. “Twofer. I’m dead certain.”

  “Twofer?”

  “Young Wari is unmarried, and I find him attractive.”

  That was one reason. “The other?”

  “I get to kill Clevasti’s men, in his own estate to boot!”

  “You like killing?” Suddenly, she lost most of her princess aura.

  “Not at all.”

  “But you just said the second reason was killing Clevasti’s soldiers.”

  “Yes, and?”

  “What and?”

  “I don’t like killing in general. Killing Clevasti’s men is something else. Please don’t confuse the two.”

  “You…” Ioha gave up. He’d made the same kind of reasoning himself. She was his princess. Killing was bad. Killing Clevasti people was good killing. Made perfect sense. “Welcome to the raid.”