As Blair meandered towards the first training yard she thought about how Seung-Eun had told her Leal didn't like Iiser due to their King stealing the Queen of Leal, but now it was clear there was more to it. If Leal was indeed religious, did they worship Aher? If they did, was that due to the continent being named Ahera?

“Park Seung-Eun, can you please come out?” Blair called in a whisper as she shuffled over to sit on the stairs by the track in the training yard.

Unlike how Cleo had gently faded into existence, Seung-Eun appeared in her peripheral in the same manner a game loads assets when the camera is turned away from them. Blair nearly jumped out of her skin so see him there so suddenly.

“You're the one who called me, why are you so jumpy?” He huffed before adding, “at least you know how to call my name with respect.”

“Well, it would be rude otherwise, right?” Blair sighed, releasing the tension in her body.

“Exactly! You know how to treat your elders!” He laughed boisterously, smacking Blair on the shoulder in a friendly manner that would've knocked her over if he wasn't a ghost.

Blair smirked, “how do you think you're older than me?”

Then, something like pity flashed across his face before his bemused smile returned, bitterness lingering, “you may act mature to others, but when you're my age you can just tell these things.”

Blair sighed, giving a slight nod as she leaned back on her hands. “Seung-Eun, do you know anything else about Leal?”

Seung-Eun sat down next to Blair and stroked his chin in thought, “I only know about the issue with their king and some of their laws, why?”

“Sir Jaune told me that Leal is religious, so I was wondering if that was part of why our countries don’t like each other. He even called me crazy just for saying the work ‘God.’”

“I didn’t know, I only looked into how to get into Leal because Mina asked me to.”

“Did she say why?”

“she asked about a lot of different kingdoms, she said it would be good to know about them to help find the missing piece.”

“I asked about their history!” Mina suddenly yelled, face popping out directly into Blair’s, causing her to fall back and nearly hit her head. “I kept asking you to buy history books but you only bought law books!” Mina continued, berating Seung-Eun.

“I did get one!” Seung-Eun protested.

Mina huffed as she crossed her arms, “you never even opened it, you kept saying you were busy helping dad and never bothered.”

“Mina, did you know that Iiser is an atheist country?” Blair asked.

Mina turned away from Seung-Eun, who sighed in relief to have her attention taken away from him, “no, but it makes sense. There’s not as much discrimination here as I would expect from an era like this. Though mom and dad mostly kept me at home, I didn’t really have a chance to explore.”

“Did any of you make progress in finding the piece?” Blair asked, exasperated. 

Mina and Seung-Eun looked at each other, both hoping, and knowing, that neither of them had done so. Not for lack of trying, however. Mina had been a child, unable to go past the front doors of the modest home that now belonged to Blair. Seung-Eun had been too preoccupied with earning enough money to subsidize the search, as well as being trapped in a woman's body for five years after fifty some-odd years as a man. The only thing Blair could think to do was look through religious texts for hints, but that would be impossible in Iiser.

“Dame Klein,” Shawn called from the other side of the training grounds.

By his side was Eric, who looked both giddy and ashamed due to his conversation with Blair. Blair knew her commoner status had been a thorn in his side, despite her, or rather, Cleo’s skills with a blade.

“His Grace, Duke Bell, will be arriving soon, if you’d come to my office…” Shawn said as he sauntered up to Blair.

“I hate this guy,” Seung-Eun stated, glaring at the man from his seat on the steps.

Mina giggled, “I think he’s cute, but Eric is more my type!” She exclaimed. “Do you think Duke Bell is handsome? A silver fox maybe?” 

Blair fought the urge to roll her eyes at the two and stood from the steps, brushing the stone dust off of her pants as she did so. “Of course, Commander Wirst,” she replied, following after Shawn as he nodded his acknowledgement.