“We will need to go on foot from here, so it will probably be best if we change.” Adel said while grabbing my hand and pulling me into the small bedroom.

“Do you have armor, Adel?” I asked as I started to pull out my leather armor and the underclothes that went with it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adel already taking her own clothes out and felt my question was kind of stupid, but she still kindly answered with a nod. “Yep! Everyone needs to have armor when going to the academy, so I have a few sets.”

A few sets…. I looked at my only set of armor that I normally had to wash a few times a week and sighed. Must be nice to be rich. I really need to start earning some money! Although I guess normally, when one went out, it could be said they would only be carrying a single set of armor on them. So I guess it was not wrong to only have one set. I think I will start going with the motto of, only real adventures wear one set of armor until it can not be worn anymore! Although I do get annoyed with how sweaty I can get when it is hot…. Maybe I should get a few sets after all when I become rich. So much for my motto. -.

“What’s so funny?” Adel’s voice entered my ear. I almost jumped out of my skin because she put her face right next to it. I looked over at Adel, who was already dressed while I was still standing there in my underwear, and pursed my lips. “Just thinking about something my brother did when he was younger.” And so I lied. But I can’t help it. It is too embarrassing to say that I was lost in my own thoughts and that I was basically talking to myself and making myself laugh. She will think I am crazy, and then bam! I will be booted out of the carriage.

“Hmmm?” Adel raised an eyebrow as I quickly averted her eyes and began putting my armor on at lightning speed.

A couple of minutes later, we were standing outside the carriage, looking at the long path in front of us. It was already starting to get dark, but I guess there was a reason why we had to make this trek at night. Sir Randford stood in front of us and began issuing some warnings. “The place we are heading to is owned by the spirit race. We must not by any means attack anything unless it attacks us first.”

So it seems this place is under the watchful eye of the Kingdom. No wonder Adel knew about this place. This at least answered the question I had before. “Princess, Miss Faith, Always watch where you are stepping as well. Do not step on any spirits by accident. Spirits come in all different shapes and sizes and are easily injured, but if angered, they could upturn the entire Kingdom by causing droughts and other natural disasters.”

The spirit race was a race that was the closest to the world and was born from the world. Any spirit race habitats were always secured and protected by the government. A one thousand mile perimeter is always established around their habitats. So this way, even the soldiers would not be able to bother them. During times of war, a huge force of soldiers would protect the habitat before any cities or towns. This was just how important they were.

And a commoner like me would never be able to check this place out without being with someone from the royal family. I had read all of this in a book, and was a major part of any kingdom’s history. It was also something I needed to learn more about when I entered the Academy. They say knowledge is the greatest weapon, and to be honest, it truly was.

“Are you ready?” Sir Randford asked. “Yes!” Both Adel and I responded at the same time, causing us to giggle. While Sir Randford was trying to be all serious, I was still rather calm. Because if anything happened, I could quickly act no matter what the situation held. At least, I hoped.

All the guards except Sir Randford all stayed behind while Sir Randford led the way. We made our way down the path that had tall grass up to my shoulders growing on the sides that hung over the sides of the path. We had to watch our step every inch of the way to make sure no spirits would fall victim to death by foot.

Although we did not actually see any spirits until about three hours later when the sun finally went down. Only then did we start to see glowing lights begin to fill the forest all around us. And to my amazement, spirits of all sizes began walking around. Some were shaped like leaves, while some took on the forms of sticks. There were even those who were nothing but a rock. Each one had a set of big black eyes, and almost stick figure sized arms and legs. You could even see some floating through the air as little balls of light.

“From here on, be extra careful.” Sir Randford reminded. But what made me chuckle was the cute little voices of the spirits that repeated Sir Randofrd’s words. “Yeah, be careful!” “He said to be careful!” “Careful, careful!”

I smiled and looked at the cute little spirits that were coming to check us out. I guess they were quite a curious race. I had a few climbing up my leg, so I stopped so that they would not get hurt. I even helped them up so they wouldn’t fall. But as I did all this, everyone else was giving me strange looks, which made me realize that neither Adel nor Sir Randford has a single spirit around them.

I watched as Adel smiled warmly at me and shook her head. “Leave it to Faith to do the unthinkable.”

I could only smile and stick my tongue out at her. The little spirits kept coming out of nowhere and climbing on top of me. At some point, I have no idea when but my head was covered in quite a few of them. Some rode on my horns while others swung from my hair. To be honest, this was the first place that seemed truly magical to me in this world. I know this sounds weird since I have been casting magic, but this was how I truly felt at this time.

As we walked further up the path, the bigger the spirits got as well. Currently, I had two rock spirits holding my hands while more large ones surrounded me. I do not know what it is that they like about me, but they seemed dead set on being near me.

Adel, on the other hand, was pouting. She wanted to have one of the little ones sit on her shoulder, but it spat at her and called her stinky. I almost died from laughter while Sir Radford’s face turned bright red from trying to hold back his laughter. And poor Adel, the victim, lowered her head and pouted even more.

By the time we reached the top of the mountain, it was already late into the night. But what stood before us was truly a mystical sight. A large ancient tree spirit with a humanized face made of bark and a long beard made of leaves sat at the peak, looking at us with curious eyes. “To think humans would come this far after such a long time. And even a dragon who is loved by the spirits. This is indeed a grand occasion. I had been wondering why the little ones seemed so excited.”

I watched as Adel stepped forward and dropped to one knee with her head bowed. “Your Grace, I have come with a word from my father. He says the war has been quelled, and the lands are safe once more. To ensure the safety of your lands, we had over a million soldiers encircling your territory to make sure it was safe.”

“I see… It is good the pact with your kingdom is being upheld. As you know, I am able to see all that happens in this kingdom. Every vibration is felt by me. I know that you humans are not all good. But I can see that you are at least good at sticking to your word. But this little girl is very different. She gives off a feeling that I have not felt since ancient times. Strong yet noble. One who will help those in need. It is also thanks to her that your human war was quelled so quickly. I hope you humans will treat her well.” I was a little shocked by what I was hearing. Why would the leader of the spirits of this Kingdom go so far to speak out for me?