Rheya was surely up to no good. The girls she gets her hands on will surely have a terrible experience. Who knows what's she thinking? And what's she planning?

I read that black magic sometimes requires human sacrifice. She could be preparing something very ominous and I'm going to stop her. With the witches guild gone there was nobody to control crazy witches, although I now doubt if they were controlling the evildoers like they were supposed to. I don't want Rheya to sully the good name and reputation of witches. Some are bad, but there must be good ones too, the same as people without any magic. I like to believe that people are inherently good.

The fire spirit suddenly snuggled at my cheek. It did it from time to time when I got lost in thought.

"I'm fine. I just had bad encounters with Rheya and neither of us ever convinced the other of anything, but I believe I'll be able to stop her this time. We shouldn't let her do as she pleases," I said.

I explained everything about Rheya to the spirit in the morning and although it didn't talk it mimicked some gestures while I was talking. In a way, we had a conversation.

"Everything alright? Did you say anything?" Taavi said from the front of the carriage as he looked back at me.

"Everything is fine. I didn't say anything," I said.

"I must have imagined it," Taavi said and turned his gaze back at the road.

I felt relief because I also didn't want him to think I was a crazy girl who talks to herself.

"We're now approaching a bad road. Full of holes and stones. The ride will be bumpy so hold on tight and if you can stop our merchandise from falling over," Taavetti yelled from the front. He was controlling the horse with rains and couldn't spare a moment to look at me.

"I'll try," I said.

A few seconds after Taaveti warned me, the carriage was jumping all over and the merchandise was falling all over. I couldn't have stopped it with my hands even if I wanted.

"Movens subsisto!" I chanted a spell that halted the movements of the things around me.

Taavi looked at the back of the carriage where I was and saw his stuff frozen in mid-air. His shocked expression suddenly became a smile.

"Calytrix, thank you for protecting our merchandise," he said.

"It's nothing," I answered.

The bumps in the road didn't stop for a while but keep my focus on the spell was easy. Even though it was uncomfortable it was still better to take a ride then walk all the distance on foot. I couldn't see the outside scenery at all because the cargo part where I was sitting had an old, big sturdy cloth that covered everything. Instead of the sky, all I could see up was a dirty orange white mix.

Taavi and Taaveti weren't rich merchants judging from their carriage and items they sold, but they did manage to get by. Their carriage was made of old wood that had cracks at some parts but the main support pillars were sticking well.

The items were neatly put in boxes and they weren't heavy because they sold small things like jewelry, glasses, and plates. Since everything was lightweight I didn't need much energy to maintain the spells.

We took only one short break to let the horses rest and quickly rode to the capital. The merchants were in a hurry because they wanted to sell some of their wares before the nightfall and that worked fine with me. I'd like to find an inn before nightfall too and the next morning I'll carefully investigate what's Rheya up to.

The deal where they'd offer me as one of the girls for Rheya was off and I'll pay them for the trip myself. I didn't want to present myself to Rheya and take her money. It wouldn't make any sense to do that. I just want to protect the dignity of witches that Rheya must have already tainted.

The fire spirit was a little bored and it flew in and out of the carriage. I stayed put and closed my eyes because I was feeling sleepy. As I was slowly entering the dreamworld I noticed an incredible amount of energy near me. I immediately opened my eyes and saw that a blonde boy sitting across me with a smile that seemed warm. As always he had a charismatic aura around him and dressed nicely.

"Big sister! It's been a while, but since I came to your world I thought I'd stop back and say hi," Andrezey said.

"That's nice of you," I didn't know what to say so a standard courtesy line was surely okay.

"As promised I came to check out if your world was fine. We completely closed off the black holes at that time. They won't be coming back," Andzerezey said.

"That's great news," I said and immediately looked at the merchant's direction. They could hear us talking and would surely be shocked by the situation.

"Don't worry about those guys," Andrezey pointed to Taavi and Taaveti. "I enclosed the space where we're at so that they don't see me or hear our conversation. If they look back they'll see an illusion of you sleeping."

"That saves us a lot of trouble. Thank you once again for helping my world, Andrezey," I said with a smile.

"I just did what I think it's right," Andrezey said."Too bad you broke off the contract with me, but you were in for it only to save your world. I wouldn't mind having allies like you on my side a little longer."

"Even without a contract you can think of me as an ally if we're both doing the same thing we think is just," I said in a way that Andrezey would understand. He often talked about justice and I don't think his thinking was bad, especially when it was accompanied by actions that brought positive results.

"Akios is still under contract with me, but he was unable to accomplish his goals," Andezey said. "But you're still under contract with Akios. What do you the two of you plan now?"

"I don't know."

For starters, I didn't even know what Akios's true goal is. He failed at it, but he might try again. I don't know whether he'd include me in his further plans or not. If it was something shady I didn't want to have any business whit it, but the contract was still in effect. He could borrow my magic any time he wanted, but he hasn't appeared before me ever since my world was saved. I thought his goal was accomplished by now and his business with me was finished.

"You look surprised. Don't tell me he didn't tell you anything?" I also surprised Andzrezey by my behavior."That's impossible. Akios told me he was fond of you and that you are good friends." He did what? I was, even more, surprised the more Andrzezey spoke. "He's feeling down about the failure, but in the beginning, I told him that his success rate was 0.1 percent"

"It's below 0? Then success wasn't possible in the first place?" I said.

"I told him everything before we forged a contract, but he was ready to cling to any possible hope," Andrezey explained."That's how important it is to him."

"Akios told me that he could do the rest on his own after my world was saved," I remembered my last interactions with Akios.

"I'm sure he'll contact you soon and explain everything," Andrezey reassuringly said."I gotta go back now before anybody notices I've been gone." With those words Andrezey teleported somewhere.

I was alone in the cargo part of the carriage when Taavi looked back. "Calytrix, it's good that you're awake. We have some trouble with the carriage."

"What happened?" I asked.

"It seems that the horse injured his leg. We won't be able to go anywhere now. He'll need to rest for at least a day," Taavi said.

"You didn't care about it properly!" Taaveti angrily looked at his merchant partner.

"Me? You're seriously accusing me?" Taavi said.

"Yes, you!" Taaveti yelled."Remember the time when you..."

I stopped listening to their conversation. It was just a fight between partners that didn't concern me. They halted the carriage and I jumped out of it. The fire spirit immediately followed. Since it was a problem with the horse it may take more than one day for the animal to rest and I didn't feel like waiting that long.

I ignored the merchants and approached the horse. It didn't have any outside injuries but the way it made a posture with its leg was out of the ordinary.

"Curatio!" I cast a healing spell on the horse's leg. The problem the horse suffered from wasn't a grave injury and I easily fixed it. The hose moved its legs after I was done and made a move with its head as though it was thanking me

The merchants were still arguing and I decided to let them be. Although the horse was healed now it ran for half a day, giving it a rest would be in its best interests and the distance isn't that grave anymore. I'll continue on foot the rest of the way or perhaps try to find a new ride.

I slowly walked down the road making my way to the capital while a lot of merchant's carriages passed by. This was an indication that Rheya's kingdom was prosperous since the trading business was frequent.

If I find someone taking a break with the horses I'll ask them for a ride the rest of the way. Just as I thought that I saw a horse eating grass near the side of the road and a small carriage near it. My lucky chance immediately appeared.

An older man was resting on the ground near the horse.

"Hello!" I called out to him.

"A girl?" The man had a heavy muscular build and had some small patches of hair on the head. He carefully looked at me from bottom to top."Come closer!"

His behavior reminded me of the merchants I traveled just a while ago, but he had an intimidating atmosphere around him. He had dark brown eyes and a bronze tan.

I took a step back. The atmosphere around him wasn't good.

"I'm talking to you, don't ignore me!" he yelled. In just a few seconds he ran behind me and tightly grabbed me. He lifted me up with ease. I tried to struggle, but I couldn't move at all. His grip was the strongest I've ever felt in my life."You're just the same age as those girls and you're pretty. You're coming with me."

I wasn't afraid because the only one who could wield magic in this situation was me which gave me the upper hand. The fire spirit remained hidden but it increased its flames when it saw what happened to me. I shook my head to signal it that I had the situation under control. I didn't need help but I didn't immediately react because I wanted to collect my thoughts. Once I'm in a calmer situation I'll use my magic to get out of this bad situation.

I could never beat him with physical strength, but I could easily deal with him with magic. He quickly brought me to his dirty, old carriage where several girls rope bound girls were sitting. They were all his prisoners. What I saw shocked me, but at the time reminded me of my first meeting with Rheya's slaves. This man was terrible just like the princess.

All of the girls had blank expressions and were somewhere my age. Each one of them was pretty but they were all on the verge of crying. One of the girls was sobbing terribly while a long-haired one yelled: "Don't think you can get without punishment. When my dad and brothers find you they'll kill you for this!"

"Shut up, will you? Or do you want to end like that girl?" He pointed to a girl who was sleeping at the back of the carriage. No, she wasn't sleeping. She was knocked out cold. The girl who yelled immediately went pal and stopped talking.

This time the girls will surely be happy if I free them, but I'll ask them once he is away. He didn't linger long. The man just checked if each girl was tightly bound and left satisfied. I could easily free myself and leave, but leaving the girls in their current state seemed wrong.

"Do all of you want to be freed?" I asked them.

"Of course I do," a girl said loudly.

"Shhh...don't yell. He'll come back," a girl with braids tried to calm the long-haired girl near her."All of us want to leave. We were taken away from our homes and villages by force."

The sobbing girl couldn't stop to say anything but I'll interpret that it also means she wants to go home.

"Princess Rheya is looking for friends her age, but we didn't want to go. Most of us are satisfied with our current lives and wouldn't want to go live in the capital with the royals," the girl with braids explained.

"You're also here without your will, isn't that right?" the long-haired girl."Our families will surely come to save us."

"I can free all of you now," I said.

"How could you do that? You're also tied up," the long-haired girl angrily looked at me.

"Ignis!" I chanted and burnt all of the ropes that bound us.

The girls were speechles for a few moments and were strangely looking at the burnt ropes.

"How? A real witch?" the girl with braided hair spoke.

"We need to run away quickly now," the long-haired girl spoke.

"But that man is still out there. If we escape he'll capture us again," the sobbing girly finally said something.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him," I said with a calm voice to assure them.

The hesitated only for a second before they jumped out of the carriage. The man was still there keeping a watch on the carriage, but it won't go easily as he thinks.

"Musus ignis," I chanted a flame wall between us and the man. The girls used the chance to ran away after saying a quick thank you. They ran in the direction of the forest from where they'll slowly make their ways home.

"What do you think you're doing wenches?" the man yelled from the other side of the flame wall.

The girls already left and I was the only once left. I didn't answer him because I thought that the flames would make him give up but the didn't. He walked through the flames and got burnt badly. In fact, his clothes and he himself was on fire. It was such a terrible idea to walk through flames and I never thought anybody would attempt that except for those who had magic protection. This man had no protection yet he still did it. He screamed in agony and rolled all over the ground.

My first instinct was to help him, but I remembered how he took the girls hostage against their will and wanted to sell them off to Rheya. The man continued to scream. He was surely a good for nothing criminal, but at this rate, he might die. And I don't want anyone to die.

"Dona mihi aqua," I chanted a water spell and extinguished the flames that burned the man.

He silently lied down on the ground for a few moments before he stood up. For some reason he avoided looking at me and with his back turned to me he said, "I'm just making a living here. Rheya doesn't care if the girls come by force or out of their free will. It all matters that they are pretty and I'll do anything to get food on my table."

"That's wrong behavior," I said.

"Right or wrong? Who cares?" the man said."I'll remember you for standing in the way of my profit," With those angry words the man left.

It didn't feel right letting him go like this. He'll probably hurt someone again, but even such terrible injuries he suffered from didn't stop him. If Andrezey were in my place he'd kill the man and claim it was just, just like he did in Onocetraurum, the hidden monster village. Killing him didn't seem the right solution for me. If Akios was in my place he wouldn't care and would only work in his own interests. That also didn't seem like the right thing I'd do either.

As I was deciding what to do the man already disappeared from sight. There wasn't anything I could do.

"Shall we head to the capital?" I asked the fire spirit."You agree with me that we should stop Rheya?"

The fire spirit vigorously nodded and as I walked I suddenly remembered that there was an unconscious girl left in the carriage.

When I peeked in the carriage the girl was regaining consciousness. She was yawning and stretching her hands as though she just woke up. Her short born hair as in a mess and she looked at me with fear in her chestnut brown eyes.

"I'm Calytrix, a witch on her journey and I was just passing by in the area."

The girl looked around her and once she confirmed we were alone she looked at me once again:" I see that the other girls are goon and it's better to have fewer rivals...my name is Ann and I'm the one who'll become Rheya's next lover."

"Lover?" I couldn't comprehend her worlds. All the other girls were led in the carriage against their wills and she was knocked out cold. Did the shock cause her damage and she wasn't aware of what she was talking about?

"Rheya doesn't care much about people. Even if you have some sort of relationship with her, she'll probably treat you poorly," I said.

"I don't care. I've always been treated poorly by others so there won't be any change except for the fact that I'd have access to money if I were successful,"Ann said.

"Ann, did that man hit you in the head?" I asked because she was talking strangely.

"I see everything quite clear now. From the start, I agreed to go with that man, but then he said that one girl wouldn't be enough and that he should offer more girls. That's when the trouble started. Everyone he met refused to go so he took them by force," Ann said.

"Why would he hit you if you agreed with everything?"

"Those girls were sobbing uncontrollably and talked so much about their homes that they almost convinced me to give up. When he heard our conversation he hit me hard to give the girls an example. If anyone defied him, that one would end up knocked out like me," Ann explained.

"Why did you change your mind again?" She wasn't making sense to me.

"I wanted to escape my poverty filled life and find a decent place. And everything is more decent from how I used to live. I ran away from home without looking back," Ann said."Those girls made me remember my poor mom whom I left all alone. I thought about going back to her, but now I realized it would be better just to send her some of the money I receive from princess Rheya. That way she and I'll be able to live more decently."

Ann told me her entire sad life story in just a few minutes. It was overwhelming and I didn't know what to think. There was no proper advice I could give her. I wanted to tell her to try and live honestly with hard work but such simple words wouldn't reach out to her. During our conversation, in the end, I decided to tell her that and she just laughed it off.

She wasn't sure why Rheya gathered girls either. Some people said she was looking for friends and other said it's a hunt for lovers. Ann was inclined into thinking it was a search for lovers, but she didn't care whatever it was as long as she got good graces from a royal. I was sure neither of the answers was correct. Rheya was probably looking for obedient slaves or human sacrifices.

"I know a shortcut to the capital. I'll show it to you as thanks for getting rid of that violent man," Ann said."But I still consider you a rival. I won't let you get Rheya's affection before I do."

She completely misread me, although I clearly said I'm not interested in any kind of relationship with Rheya.

"Don't think that you can fool me with a blue face with whom you fake a sickness whenever I mention princess Rheya. You're an excellent actress," she told me.

I just wanted to be quickly over with all this Rheya business so I didn't want to start a fight with Ann.

"Let's head to the capital quickly," I said.

"Follow me," Ann said and started running before me.

The fire spirit and I also quickly dashed after her. Once I deal with it my journey will become peaceful once again.