—--- Hikari —--
[Mind :754 -> 755]
[Martial proficiency : 269 -> 270]
[Firearms proficiency : 110 -> 112]
[Dark flames of the RazenHeir house potency : 157 -> 158]
Hikari was back at her dwelling up in the hills near the RazenHeir estate.
It's been days since she cleared the cultist stronghold.
She was back on her daily morning run along her usual path. Her shoe prints from the previous day's run were still visible.
As she ran, a dust storm was created behind her, her earth shaking footsteps scaring off flocks of birds.
The area around the estate was beautiful, lush forests teeming with wild life.
On the route back, she could see the RazenHeir estate in the distance. Its pristine white walls. Its windows were so immaculately kept that she could see the internal furnishing from where she was.
When she reached her dwelling, she ran into a grizzly bear. It seemed to be enticed by the dried meat she hung from the ceiling.
Being at her knee height, it stood little chance of reaching her meat stores.
After a brief staredown, the bear let out a whimpering cry and scurried into the woods. Hikari looked on as it ran away.
Her stomach rumbled.
The bear ran as fast as it could.
Moments later, a ballista bolt whirl through the air and skewered it through its back.
Hikari gingerly puts away her bow, grabs one of her daggers and jumps towards the dead creature.
Just as she walked back to her dwelling with her kill slung over her shoulder, her breakfast arrived.
A horseman pulling a full cart of mostly grain, raw vegetables and a rack of meat. A volume of food that would feed at least ten men for a day.
She cranked a level to fill up the cauldron with water.
Raising her palm, she incinerated the coal below the cauldron.
As the cauldron boiled, she lifted the cart with one arm and poured the contents in along with with some fresh bear meat.
While it cooked, she sat down on a boulder and kicked off her flats.
The bottoms and sides were muddy and they were worn out too from constantly being under her crushing weight.
"Going to need a new pair soon"
She put her socked feet up on another boulder.
They stink. This was her last clean pair until another pair comes back from the wash bay.
She might have to wear them until the end of the day regardless of how sticky and grimy they had already become.
As cauldron bubbled, Hikari goes into a deep meditation. She circulated her mana through her body, an important basic exercise for a mana user.
It's quiet here.
And peaceful.
As it has been for however long she has lived here.
It was like a paradise frozen perpetually in time.
She could hear in the distance the bustling sounds of an increasing number of refugee camps.
It was nothing unusual. The RazenHeir house has for as long as it existed culled the surrounding area of monsters.
Whenever there was a crisis such as a rampaging cult, refugees would come to their territory for safety until the crisis had passed.
The cauldron lid shook, allowing the lovely smell below to escape. Hikari grabbed her ladle, sprinkled a bit of salt and ate. Each mouthful she takes is a full meal for a grown man.
In minutes, she cleaned out the cauldron. Her ladle scraping the iron for the remaining scrapes.
It was time for a shower.
Her shirt was a series of individual squarish cloth pieces stitched together using weaving runes. It was the only practical way to cloth her.
She channeled her telekinesis, the individual pieces of cotton floated off her body and landed in a stack.
She cranked a lever, allowing water to flow into a trough.
Dipping her finger in, the water stirred in a whirlpool entered around her finger and then wrapped around her body in a whirl pool, scrubbing off the dirt and sweat with just the force of their momentum.
She grabbed a bundle of her silver hair from the back of her head and squeezed the water out.
Her towel floated onto her body, moving round and round and following the path the whirling water previously took.
Her bare foot touched the stone ground, leaving a trail of wet foot prints as she stepped out of the shower area, causing a bit of dust to stick to her sole.
She lifted the lid off a crate containing her neatly stacked fresh change of clothes. The sheets of cloth floated to her and assembled themselves on her body.
Her white cotton tops were just big enough to cover her breasts, leaving her steeled abdominal muscles exposed.
Below that, it was a skirt today as she had torn her pants again.
She had to wear her worn knee socks from the morning run as she didn't have any replacements. The stench of the morning run was still strong.
Her claymore was hoistered on her back.
She was ready to set off for the RazenHeir estate and report herself to the scout master.
If he has no missions for her, she would drill for the rest of the day before returning to her dwelling.
As she was about to march, she sensed the presence of several horsemen approaching at walking speed towards her dwelling.
Curious, she wasn't expecting visitors.
She calmly stood before her dwelling to receive them, hands by her side.
The troop of horsemen emerged from the corner covered with thick forestry.
It was Ria with her escort of knights. As they approached Hikari, the knights shuffled their legs, pushing their lower body against the front of the harness.
"Morning, my Lady."