I spoke with Matt a few seconds more. He said he'd go home for a few hours for something important and planned to return to the party before it ended. It seemed he wanted to discuss something important with me. I had a good feeling about it, and I'd be waiting eagerly for his return.

"You did well." Susan appeared slowly from behind some trees.

"Do you think so? I was a bit soft on them." I could have hit them a little for what they'd done, but I didn't want to cause a scene at Arisa's party or trouble any family.

"It wasn't the right moment. Knowing how to control yourself is a virtue, Maki." Susan patted me on the head. "Sometimes the simplest way is best; other times, blood is the only answer. You'll face many situations like that in the future. Get used to keeping a cool head." I thanked her for the advice. If it had been someone close to me in that situation, not even my mental ability would have kept me in check.

"By the way, thanks to yesterday's little lesson I was able to use that restraining technique." I was happy to be progressing fast—this ability would be very useful in the future.

"Yes, I saw. It was rough and raw, but in the end it worked. You'll polish it little by little." I had felt the same: my mana overflowed, and my Imra felt a bit unnatural. I needed ways to practice.

"Did you finish both bottles?" I saw Susan's hand holding two empty bottles—she'd downed her beer and mine in those short minutes.

"I was very thirsty." Without further explanation, she turned around, and I followed her toward the little fair.

The opening shows were fantastic: plenty of mages shaping figures with different affinities, another group dancing the marquisate's traditional music, and other types of performances.

"Glia, want to go for a walk?" Glia had chosen not to show herself yesterday—those fancy events aren't really her thing.

"Yes, this looks more fun." The jaguar stepped out of my cube. She'd grown a lot lately; her shoulder already reached near my waist. Susan looked at her for a moment, then smiled and went back to scanning the games around us.

"I'm going to try this one." After walking a few aisles, I found a booth offering either a huge bear or three small bears as prizes. The game was to create a small sphere with your ability and hit all the moving targets within a time limit. Thanks to my mana control, I cleared it on the first try.

"I'll take the three bears—one black, one orange, and one white." The booth owner had an impressive range of colors. I picked each one to match the hair color of each girl. I stored them in my dimensional bracelet to give them their gifts when I saw them.

"I don't know if your luck is good or bad." I looked at Susan; she was staring in one direction. Following her gaze, I saw the three girls walking straight toward us, unaware of our presence.

Glia had already noticed them and was eager to say hello. She couldn't speak to them telepathically, but she was happy when they spoiled her, and she could understand human speech just fine.

When Marga noticed us, she tapped the other two on the shoulder. They almost ran over. A wave of embarrassment hit me because of yesterday; better to face the teasing early and get it over with.

"Look who we have here. I hope today you also tell us how much you love and adore us." Marga threw the first bomb.

"I want my cuddles too today, Maki." Arisa teased as she twirled her hair.

"We should've bought wine before coming; that makes him more affectionate and attentive." Sol landed the final blow. I felt my face burning red.

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"I drank a little more than planned yesterday, so I brought you these." I took the little plush bears out of my dimensional bracelet and handed them over at the same time. Their eyes widened in surprise. Each hugged her bear tenderly. Thankfully, they liked them; they all thanked me and hugged me.

"Grandma Susan, forgive my manners. Good morning." Sol greeted first.

"Good day, Grandma." Arisa followed.

"Grandma Susan, you look radiant. If it's not too much trouble, could you give Maki a little more wine today?" Marga kept up the teasing, her satisfied smile plain to see. Susan returned their greetings and winked at Marga. That didn't bode well for me. I needed to keep myself in check today—I needed more of Susan's advice, and alcohol clouded my mind.

The three of them noticed Glia at the same time, knelt to hug and spoil her. Glia was thrilled—I could feel it through the bond. She was very excited to see them again. "Don't tell them I can understand them. It's more fun this way." Glia spoke to me telepathically, and I nodded to her request.

When we finished saying hello, I told the three about what had happened with Matt. Sol was in shock, Arisa flushed with anger, and Marga just frowned.

"How dare those idiots cause trouble at my party? My father and uncle must know." Arisa cursed through her fury.

"Most men are idiots. They can't control their egos and jealousy." Marga looked at me. "At least I already picked a decent one." Heat rose through my body; my defenses against Marga's attacks weren't the best.

"Yes, I've known him since we were children. Maki was always sweet and a perfect gentleman." Sol lunged and took my arm. Not wanting to be left out, Arisa took my hand. "I was with him in a dungeon; he treated me like a princess." I didn't want to burst anyone's bubble, so I accepted their praise with a good-natured smile. Susan seemed the happiest of the five of us.

"It's almost time to head back, girls. The main show is about to begin. Want to come with us?" Arisa suggested we accompany them. I was about to accept when an Imra stopped me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Susan—the culprit.

"No, girls, thank you. We'll watch from somewhere else." They wanted to protest but didn't, because it was Susan who refused. They already knew who she truly was, so they accepted her words.

They left after making me promise to see them later. "Why did you refuse? We could've watched from the best seats." I doubted we'd find a better spot than with the birthday girl.

"Maki, I'm a busy person. If you want help with any ability or Law, it's better to do it now. I don't know if I'll stay until the end of the party." I hadn't considered that—someone of her rank and status had to be busy all the time. Two days with her was already a luxury. "Follow me."

We walked through a stand of trees until we reached a moderately open space. I felt a barrier form around us; in less than a second, it became terrifyingly strong. My Personal World tried to expand and couldn't. It was held back by Susan's barrier.

"You don't look happy." I'd been so focused on trying to break her barrier that I briefly forgot why we'd come. "Have you thought of a specific ability to train? Or do you have something else in mind?"

"Not really… I've been focused on improving my movement skill and obtaining a pseudo-law or a lightning Law. The rest of my abilities I can improve little by little over time." I hadn't thought about learning a new ability. I already had enough on my plate—and I still owed myself turning my ice pseudo-law into a full Law.

"Show me all your abilities and explain them in detail." Yesterday I'd only given her names and a surface-level description. If I wanted help now, I couldn't hold back. I would explain everything as thoroughly as I could.

I showed each ability one by one, explaining its function, how I obtained it, and how I'd been improving it. It wasn't hard—each ability was rooted in my cube, mind, and body. They flowed out of me as easily as breathing.

"I already had a good opinion of you. Your versatility is astounding, and your explanation makes it even clearer. You can fight in every position, be a healer, a scout, or even an assassin with that death affinity—you can fill every role on your own." She folded her arms, thinking. "You're better than many at the Sapphire rank in almost every respect. You'd be an eight or nine out of ten in each aspect, only losing to a specialist or someone with years of experience and training."

That was true. I could venture alone into dungeons or dangerous situations because of my kit. But I would lose to someone who had devoted four or five abilities to a single discipline. Being versatile had many advantages and a few drawbacks; I could complement any team well.

"Thank you, Susan. I worked hard to get where I am." She answered my smile with one just as bright. "By the way, what affinities do you have?" She was known for wind and capable space magic—I was sure that wasn't all she had up her sleeve.

"Wind—my main affinity. I have some command of the four supreme affinities, especially death and space. Lastly—and only those close to me know this—I have a secondary Storm-type affinity." She winked. "It's a rare affinity. I can power up my main one and throw lightning at the same time. You're in luck, little alcoholic."

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