Daien took me next to the yole tree, a place no one seemed to approach. There, under its yellow foliage, I noticed the strange arrangement of branches that seemed to bloom from the dirt. Like an arrangement of muscular tissue, twirling over itself in a static permanence - the tree was built of many as one, like a unit that could fall apart at any second.

The roots of each little branch were white, circling and twirling towards the trunk - an ashy brown. At the highest branches, burnt black lines traveled between the leaves. The tree’s pale colors and strange structure gave it an alien stance. The feeling of a twisted corpse.

Corpses.

There were dead bugs resting at its roots; none of them were craved by the living. They stayed there, carcasses intact, letting the dirt claim them. There were birds nested amongst the many branches, but almost none of them sang. The multitude of creatures that inhabited the tree had no voice.

Laying on their deathbed, the yole tree shone as brightly as ever.

- “Von.” – Daien let go of my hand to hold her staff properly.

- “Yes?”

- “This is a yole tree.”

- “Y-Yeah.”

- “It’s dangerous.”

- “I assumed so.”

- “We need to get a branch from it. So choose one.”

- “Wait- Wait- Take it slow. Why do we need to take a branch?”

- “For your staff.”

- “…Can’t I get one like- from the training bunch or something?”

- “All mages make their own staves! You need to start now so it’s done soon!”

- “…Alright. But aren’t we supposed to not touch them with our bare hands?”

- “I was going to get the branch for you.”

- “I mean- It’s a staff, I’ll have to carve it.”

- “Gloves, of course! Use gloves! Now choose a branch!”

I stared at the tree, trying to choose the right one. One that wasn’t too high up, nor too heavy, and that was straight enough. And Daien, well-. She just climbed to get it, despite the clear fact that she shouldn’t be touching the tree directly.

Even if she was rather chubby, she had no trouble moving around. It was almost surprising how she just went and chopped off a tree branch, without even letting go of her own staff. I guess I had forgotten that she was a mage and, by definition, had trained to be a soldier.

On the floor again, branch in hand, she smiled and led me to the back of the Academy. On the way, I fixed her hair and brushed the leaves and dirt out of her clothes. What a pleasant pair of minutes.

The workshop was as one would expect. A picturesque little shack full of tools and training gear. Spare uniforms, staves, gloves, woodworking knives, and so on. The dust was accumulating from lack of use – as Daien told me, the first years had their classes delayed due to the war, so they still haven’t started to work on their staves.

- “I don’t think I’ve done any woodworking in a while.”

- “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.” – Daien said, while gathering a few tools. – “But the most important thing is to feel the movement of the wood. The wood will tell you how it wants to look.”

- “…I don’t think I caught that… But I’ll figure it out.”

I grabbed a pair of spare gloves so we could start smoothing out the wood. It had a strange feeling - like it was soft and easily malleable, despite the branch being tough and stable enough to work as a cane. It was similar to a willow branch when you touched it.

The aforementioned yole branch was roughly the size of my arm, just like Daien’s staff. Knowing that she carved it herself - the white wood turning into perfectly sharp diamond shaped disks – I felt compelled to admire her hard work.

- “Did you make these too?” – I pointed at the diamond-shaped hairpins she wore.

- “Yup! But they are made with regular wood. Dad taught me, and it’s a lot of fun. I like to make instruments too.”

- “Oh! Is it alright if I see them one day?”

- “I can teach you to make some! Want to learn?”

- “Sure- If I can manage with practice first, we-”

We heard some clanking outside, and the door of the shack suddenly opened.

- “Hi, hey, can you get me- Oh, Dai!” – A tall person with a ponytail, tan skin, and full armor. They stood by the door and waved at us with a smile. – “Oooh, so that’s the guy from another world. Heyo.”

Daien waved at them without answering. The stranger just walked inside and kept talking.

- “I’m Minerva, by the way. And you? Ah, pass me a pair of gloves, they’re right behind you. No, not those, the small ones. They are for milady. Uhhh no, those are dirty. I don’t think milady would like them. Lemme- move a bit, I’ll look.”

Minerva gently moved me aside, chair and all. I barely had a chance to answer her.

- “Ah, huh…”

- “Got the gloves. Ah, you’re carving your staff already? With those noodle arms, too.”

- “Can I like- answer? I mean, you talk too loudl-”

- “Ah, sorry, sorry. Out there is noisy so I’m used- Anyways. Your turn.”

- “I’m Von, nice to meet you.”

- “Ahá, well done! You finally said it!” - She wasn’t being sarcastic or anything. She was just genuinely cheering me on, patting my back and all. – “So, so. I heard you’ve got cool magic. Can I see?”

I looked at Daien, hoping she would answer for me.

- “That’s a good idea, Von. If Minerva is here, Renime is here too. She is really talented, so she can give you feedback.”

- “Ah- Daien, I think I’m fine- I don’t think I’m ready for that-”

- “It will be fine, Von. Renime is a good girl. Minerva is also a good girl.”

- “…Fine. I trust you, so.”

My to-be staff was left aside in a corner. I grabbed one of the spare ones, and we left the little shack. The evening sun was hidden - it had gotten cloudy in the few minutes I wasn’t looking at it. Maybe with some luck, I wished, I would live my first rain in another world. A spring shower.

- “So Renime is that ‘milady’ of yours?” – I asked Minerva, fidgeting with my mage license.

- “Yes- Renime Meilar. Haven’t you heard of her?”

- “…Mei…Meilar…As in Duke Meilar?”

- “…Yeah. She’s his daughter!”

- “Oh-”

Daien, who was once again holding my hand, whispered to me with a silly smile.

- “Renime is the Prince’s fiancée.”

- “O-Oh.”

Minerva patted my back again, making my whole body resound.

- “You’ll like her! She’s a real cutie. But don’t eye her too much. Renime is suuuuper mad in love with the Prince, so.”

- “…I see.”

- “Ah, but don’t tell her I said that! She would get mad at me!” – Minerva’s smile was strangely bright. Pure and sincere, with a hint of mischief. A transparent person. That’s how she seemed to me.

A few moments later we arrived at where the second-year students – alongside the recruits - were training. It felt weird to wear the same uniform as them. Then I looked at Minerva again.

- “W-Wait, you are a mage too?”

- “Yeah- You didn’t notice? There is clearly a uniform under my armor.”

- “Is just- I thought mages didn’t wear armor.”

- “Normally, yeah. But I like swinging a halberd around more than I like throwing punches. It’s more fun.”

- “F-Fun, you say…”

- “Ah, come on. If you are gonna be on the battlefield, it’s better to enjoy it as much as possible.”

- “Y-You went to war too?”

- “No, no! I’m only a second year! Third years and above are the only ones allowed to fight. But there is a rumor that we might get an early promotion! So maybe when the war resumes, I can go and get some action.”

- “I…Is nice that you are optimistic about it, I guess…”

- “Then again, I think Dai also didn’t go to war? You had to take care of the regulations and all, right?”

- “…It was a lot of paperwork.” – Daien sounded…defeated. – “I don’t want to do that again… But the Director says I have to do my part…”

Mid-ramble, a tiny girl approached us. She walked high and mighty, furrowed eyebrows pointing at us. Her uniform was more of a dress than a robe, royal blue contrasting against the crowd. A skirt of soft, pastel red blossomed around her, floating and jumping like a flower bud carried by the wind. Its fairytalesque elegance declared her superiority.

It was easy to see she was the Duke’s daughter – they shared the dark red hair and slightly pointy ears. But I was stunned after noticing her dark magenta eyes. It reminded me, once again, that this was a different world.

- “Minerva! Come on, give me the gloves!”

- “Yes, milady, here they are. The smallest size I could find.”

- “Thanks. I can’t believe I los-…Daien! Hiiii!” – Apparently, she hadn’t noticed us.

- “Hello. Are you okay? Your hands are red.”

- “I’m fine, just sparring. Pincoy set my gloves on fire by accident.”

- “Ah, alright. Be careful though.”

- “Wait she burned her hands-“ – I tried to say.

- “I will, Daien! Don’t worry! I’m totes, totes fine.” – But Renime spoke extra loudly.

- “Well, milady- Care to go against me next?”

- “Without the halberd - you need to practice projecting more.”

I was blatantly ignored. It didn’t feel that bad, to be honest.

They almost walked away, but Daien remembered I existed.

- “Renime-. Can you spar with Von too?”

- “Who?”

- “Him, the-”

- “I don’t see anyone! I don’t see any husband snatchers!”

- “Milady, that’s-”

- “A~ny~ways. Let’s go. Let’s gooooo!” – So, Renime walked away, towards the improvised arena they had on the patio. Minerva followed her, and I had the luck of watching them spar. A knight in full armor going melee against a girl that looked like a small and fragile princess.

They placed themselves inside the small circle marked on the ground.