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“Then what are you going to do after you complete your contract with Palan?” Elrith asked, staring at his sister who was wrapped up in her demon’s tail. “Assuming you’re able to.” He shook his head. “I still don’t understand why you insist on going to the capital.”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Raea said. “I always wanted to be an animal doctor.” She shrugged. “But I guess I can’t do that anymore now that I’ve lost my healing powers.”

“Huh?” Cleo asked. “You can still be one without magical powers. We had one in the village. You’ll just need a lot of leeches and alcohol and bandages. Oh, and fire.”

“Fire?” Raea asked. “What would I possibly do with fire?”

“To stop bleeding?” Cleo asked in return. “For big, leaky injuries, you take a pot, heat it with fire, and then press it to the wound. It stops the bleeding. I’ve seen it happen to my dad.”

“That’s barbaric,” Raea said and furrowed her brow. “Isn’t that painful?”

“Of course,” Cleo said. “But when the alternative is death, you learn to deal with the pain.”

“We’re taught that for emergency care,” Elrith said, “for when the medics run out of mana. Amputations are common too.” He raised an eyebrow at Raea. “But I don’t think you’ll get many customers looking like you do. I don’t mean this in an offensive way, but you look more demonic than you do angelic.”

“Then I’ll be an animal doctor in Eljiam,” Raea said and snorted. “I bet I’ll be appreciated there since there aren’t any kindness demons.”

“Injured animals get eaten. Healthy animals get eaten too. Sometimes doctors are also eaten,” Palan said as he exited his meditation and cracked his neck. He glanced at Raea. “What are you doing to my tail?”

“Making myself comfortable,” Raea said. “Problem?”

“No. I was just curious,” Palan said. “The meditation is slowing down again. I think I need to eat a few archangels or archdemons if I want to evolve.” He glanced at Elrith and licked his lips.

“Don’t even think about it,” Elrith said and narrowed his eyes at Palan.

“Well it’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?” Palan asked. “Don’t worry. If I do decide to eat you, it’ll be painless. You won’t even know you died.” He flinched when Raea pinched his side. “It was a joke.” A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck Palan while shocking Raea at the same time.

“Joke, huh?” Raea asked and made a face. Palan shrugged. “You’re not allowed to eat my family. That’s an order. I promise I’ll make your life miserable if you do.”

“I thought you didn’t get along with the rest of your family,” Palan said.

“That doesn’t mean I want you to eat them,” Raea said and rolled her eyes. “Besides, only Elly and Nina are archangels. And my parents of course.”

“Wasn’t your family supposed to be prestigious?” Palan asked. “There’s only four archangels?”

“Only four?” Raea asked. “You think archangels grow on trees? There’s less than thirty of great renown: the four generals, the six council members, and the heads of the seven families.”

“What?” Cleo asked and blinked, a cooked haunch dropping from her mouth. “Doesn’t that mean you’re amazing?”

“An archangel that’s less than twenty years old is a miracle,” Elrith said and nodded. “I thought it would take much longer for Raea to become one.”

“Wait,” Cleo said. “So why did your parents look down on you? I don’t understand.”

“I became a greater angel when I was fourteen,” Raea said. “Ariel became a greater angel when she was eight. Angels’ virtues really don’t start taking shape until they’re around seven years old.”

“Why isn’t Ariel an archangel now?” Cleo asked.

Raea shrugged. “I’ve already said archangels don’t grow on trees,” she said. “Sometimes angels just become greater angels and can’t go beyond that.”

“I thought archangels were a lot more common,” Palan said and frowned. “You made it seem like they were everywhere which is why angels became the dominant race.”

Raea wrinkled her brow. “A single archangel is equivalent to a natural disaster,” she said. “You’ve seen what Michael and Elrith can do.”

Palan rubbed his chin. “So when I become an archdemon, I’ll be able to cause just as much destruction as they can?” he asked and raised an eyebrow. He smiled. “It’s normally very difficult to find things that excite me. I’m looking forward to the day I become an archdemon.”

“You shouldn’t,” Raea said.

“What do you mean? I can’t?”

“You can, but you shouldn’t. Wanton destruction is bad,” Raea said.

“Bad for who? Not me,” Palan said and laughed. “The only problem is it’ll take a while to become an archdemon now that I know there aren’t that many archangels to eat. It’s a bit disappointing, but I’ll deal with it.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to dissolve your contract with him?’ Elrith asked. “I think it would be a pretty good idea. For everyone.”

“I won’t,” Raea said. “He’s mine. No one else can have him.” She rubbed her cheek against Danger Noodle’s head.

Elrith sighed. “I can’t help but feel a bit concerned for your future,” he said. “I know that may sound a bit weird coming from someone who threw his away, but still, I’m worried about you. It’s really not too late to turn back. I have connections with the headmaster of Hailing. I could write him and explain the situation.”

“Didn’t I already tell you that I didn’t want to turn back?” Raea asked and slightly narrowed her eyes. “I’m happy with how I am now. Happier than I’ve ever been. I have to be happy,” she said and looked down. “This was Sely’s final gift to me. If I could bring her back at the cost of my newfound powers, I would, but I can’t, so I won’t give it up. Stop trying to convince me otherwise.”

Elrith nodded as Cleo pulled out a bucket of water. She gathered the empty bowls and pot, and stuffed them into the bucket before handing it and a rag to Elrith. “Forget it then,” Elrith said as he began scrubbing the dishes, “I just wanted you to know that the option is there.” Cleo yawned and waddled inside of the tent, pulling Sally along by her butt feathers.

“Thanks, Elly,” Raea said. She turned towards Palan. “Carry me inside.”

“Your legs work just fine,” Palan said as he stood up. He began to unwind Danger Noodle from Raea’s body, but she refused to let him, holding onto his tail. “Quit being so unreasonable.”

“Carry me.”

“You’re heavy,” Palan said.

“Then use your powers to make me lighter,” Raea said and smiled. “It’s good practice.”

Elrith shook his head as Palan walked past him, his tail dragging Raea on the ground, refusing to carry her but not letting go either. Elrith finished washing the dishes and placed them upside down near the fire to dry before heading inside the tent where he found Palan sitting in meditation with Raea using his lap as a pillow and tail as a blanket. Cleo was sleeping on top of Sally, using her wings as a sleeping bag. “Man,” Elrith muttered, “I was the one who did all the transportation. Why are they the tired ones?” He sighed as he went to the corner of the tent and pulled a blanket around himself. His mind cleared, and soon he was drifting off to sleep. There was no time for pointless thoughts. He had to wake up early to begin transporting them after all.

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