Esoteric Fantasia [ F!Reader x Various Male ]

Ch. 13 [ Camping At Night ]

"We sure managed to get pretty far. According to Vin's familiars that were scouting up high, we're getting closer to the Ignifera deserts," I commented as I sat there on the ground, admiring the view of the moonlit plains as I played with the radiant nocturnal flower at hand. "Admittedly, we used the potions to recover quickly and get back on the road but still."

"To be honest, I've gotten kinda sick of the taste though," Leo complained with a pout, who was sitting near the campfire. "It's like when you eat something so much that it stops being delicious..."

Vin let out a sigh, sounding slightly defeated for some reason. "Can't be helped. The alchemists either probably didn't care that much to make different versions of it with varying flavors or didn't want to risk messing it up," he explained as he threw alchemical fuel into the campfire. "Some potions have strict recipes that give no leeway for additions like that, sadly. Then again, I'm speaking as an alchemist from the kingdom Chalybes so I can't vouch for the ones from the Kingdom of Gaia and the kingdom Okeanos."

"Why did you learn to make potions anyways?" I asked, earning the male's attention as he turns to look at me. "I mean, you're an engineer and a mage, aren't you? Did you take it up because you needed certain items?"

He nodded his head. "...admittedly, yeah. I was already busy as is but it was necessary," the blue-haired male answered, frowning. "We didn't have alchemists in our group back then and we really needed solutions for our projects. Sadly, they were hard to come by since it was in popular demand so I took up the mantle of learning alchemy. I was curious about it anyway so it was a win-win for me either way."

"I see. Sounds like you've been with that group for a long time then, huh," I pointed out, but stopped talking any further when I saw Leo looking down at the ground, a troubled expression written all over his face.

Worried, I decided to approach the angel, sit beside him, and then poke him, who seemed to be off in his own little world. "Are you alright...? Do you need someone to talk to?"

He jumps a little, as if I was interrupting his train of thought, then quickly glances at me and nervously laughs in response. "I-I'm fine! There's no need to worry about me!" Leo hurriedly exclaimed. "It's just something trivial so I can deal with it myself! After all, I'm supposed to spar with you right about now!"

I blinked my eyes in surprise, realizing I completely forgot about that due to the laborious thinking, traveling, and small breaks throughout the whole day. "Ah, right, Vin did mention something like that earlier ago," I mumbled to myself as I looked away, my cheeks burning red from embarrassment. "It somehow completely slipped my mind. My bad..."

"There's no need to rush. After all, I won't get an accurate assessment if both of you aren't fully recovered," Vin commented, causing both Leo and I to turn to look at him. "As a heads-up, I'm going to be making use of portable training zones so don't expect the fight to be in these plains. Rex happened to have some in that base so I took them since Leo needs to learn more about magic."

"Makes sense. Those cubes were used so much during my time in the Academy, especially during combat class. They saved us from having to go out and about just to find an ideal spot for training," I said, nodding my head in approval.

"Heh, really? That sounds pretty awesome, honestly!" Leo exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. "Seriously, it's like mages live in a whole different world compared to us normal people! I can't help but be jealous!"

I couldn't help but laugh while Vin smiled, amused. "Yeah, I can see why you would be. I couldn't help but be amazed too when I first started off in the Academy," I admitted with a grin.

Though, that quickly changed due to my Void affinity and becoming a Devourer but I can't say that to him. Admittedly, it's sad but there wasn't much I could do. After all, we're born with an affinity or two and have no say in the matter. Unfortunately, I ended up with the one that makes me the bane of mages. Because of that, I had to deal with a lot of hostility and fear from them.

Suddenly, I felt someone pulling my cheek, yanking me away from my mind palace before I could be reminded any further about my unpleasant experiences. Frowning, I glanced at Leo, who was cheekily smiling at me.

"Welcome back, (Y/N)~! Nice to have you back with us!" He exclaimed as he stopped pulling my cheek and took away his hand. "Anyways, returning to the original topic, I already feel fully recovered because of the potion so I'm ready whenever to spar. Just say the word and we'll start."

...I didn't say anything but I guess my expression made it clear I was thinking about something sad, huh? Now that I think about it, he did mention before that my expression changed so much while I'm deep in thought.