"You know… those four are going to bother me about this for the remainder of the System Introduction about this, right?" Avahni muttered, nudging Jon with her knee beneath the table. The green-haired woman watching as Lucielle and Yukino giggled at her from across the table, gesturing for her to close the distance between herself and Jon.

Although Wilheim was sitting opposite her, the hazelnut-skinned just grinned, fanning the flames as he chatted away with Sophie and Shamael.

Sariel, who had shown up minutes after was looking down at a menu, Aerilayna pointing out various different food options that the nine of them could try. Food Mana Cores were not that rare in comparison to Chef Mana Cores or Hunger Mana Cores, but several individuals within Springtown had managed to create livelihoods through the serving of food within the Safe Zone.

"I've gotten quite good at manipulating context… among other things," Jon replied, causing Avahni to glare at him, knowing the meaning behind his words. Wisps of lie natured spiritual energy flickering in the corner of her vision, released from the Memento Source Item contained within his Source.

The presence of lie natured spiritual energy causing her to grimace, feeling something within her Source churn as though disagreeing with its presence. [Bestial Intuition] noticing the subtle changes in her expression, causing Jon to pull back his threads of mana.

"I thought I told you that I did not approve of you using Lethe to tell lies Jon?" Avahni said, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Jon just smiled, shrugging his shoulders in response.

"And I thought I told you that if you wanted me to stop, you would have to take it away from me?" Jon replied, watching as Avahni pouted in response to his words.

Several of her summoned companions churning within her various fragments, incensed at the words of the Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation. Each of them knowing the meaning behind his words.

He did not allude further on the matter, instead choosing to manifest the Mask Of Jade Lies in the palm of his hand. The pure-white mask was devoid of any contours or distinctive features, save a crescent-shaped smile and two thin lines where his eyes should have been.

Despite the fact that he had manifested his Memento Source Item at the table, no-one else turned to look at it. Even as her friends, Lucielle, Yukino and Sophie all continued to discuss his and Avahni's relationship, not a single one of them turned to observe the Mask Of Jade Lies.

Said Memento Source Item, humming in response to the activation of his Fragment Of Ward.

"Fragment Of Ward at Mortality and a Fragment Of Lies at Knighthood?" Avahni could not help but ask, lifting her head and observing the hundreds of threads that enveloped herself and Jon. Weave natured spiritual energy containing within it concepts of lies and constructed from emotions of loneliness, isolation, and selfishness.

Jon nodded in response, placing Lethe on the table.

His manipulation and grasp over the Memento Source Item great enough for him to use its effects even without having to wear the Mask Of Jade Lies. Allowing him to boost the effectiveness of his Knight Ranked Spell [Spiritual Weave Art; False Faerie Ward] when creating various wards and formations.

"I've been taking lessons from Lee-Soo and Igraine." He admitted, fingers brushing against an intricate floral-shaped weave, stretching it as far as the Spell effect would allow him to.

This was one of the more basic illusory-type wards that Jon had found himself using. Fragments Of Ward, as opposed to Fragments Of Formation, relied towards using emotions to fuel their creation rather than the actual structure and complexity of the construct in question.

Although a myriad number of wards with an innumerable number of effects could be created, Jon found himself wanting to specialize in concepts relating to "concealment," "subterfuge," "lies," and "shadows." After transforming the [Spiritual Weave Art; Phantasmal Faerie Ward] into [Spiritual Weave Art; False Faerie Ward] his manifested wards were now both more difficult to detect as well as being in a state somewhere between real and illusory.

Lies were considered fact until the truth was discovered.

Cats placed in a box full of poison were considered both dead and alive until they could be observed.

In the same sense, until someone observed the contents of said box, it was impossible to tell whether or not they were looking at the truth, or a lie.

Avahni too brushed her fingers against one of the floral-esque patterns that constructed Jon's false faerie ward. The expression on her face growing soft as the weave natured spiritual energy brushed against her fingers.

"Lee-Soo has taught you quite well. Although the image of your ward structure being flowers doesn't not quite seem to suit your personality Jon," Avahni giggled, watching as Jon rolled his eyes, cheeks flushed slightly pink as he leaned back further into the chair beneath him.

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"I'm… still working on that part. Although I am getting better and better at swift-shaping illusory wards and locking-wards. I was discussing the possibility of integrating a Fragment Of Ward into Lethe with Song and Eis the other day and-."

Jon halted his words mid-sentence.

Hearing the sound of his Seir-Perpetual Heart pound within his chest.

His Minerva-Infiltration Eyes glancing towards Avahni, taking note of the changes in her expression, demeanour, heart rate, and pupil dilation. Within the span that it took an uninitiated human to blink, Jon had observed more than half-a-dozen different qualities on Avahni's face.

His stomach sinking as he noticed her fingers twitch beneath the table, something observed through the eyes of his Hades-Draconian Shadow.

The atmosphere between the two grew strange, with just the utterance of a single word.

"You couldn't even last ten minutes without mentioning her, huh Jon?" Avahni broke the silence between the two of them, her expression impassive and her tone several octaves lower than what it was previously.

Jon suppressed the urge to bite his lip.

"… I think it might be a record actually?" He replied.

Controlling his expressions through the manipulation of his Sea Of Knowledge and [Bestial Intuition] seeing Avahni furrow her brows in response. The voices of her various summoned companions within her Mental Aquascape shouting at her, hoping that she would summon one of them to her side.

Ortlinde. Ru Luan Di. Ler Setanta and Titus Claudius silent from within their respective dwellings.

"…" Avahni took a deep breath in through her nostrils, quieting the voices within her mind. Lowering her head, Avahni ignored several strands of green-coloured hair brushing over her forehead and obscuring her brows and eyes.

Her hands clenched tightly within one another. Her grip so hard that it turned her hand white, save the faint red geometric lines that stretched across her arms and fingers.

"She tried to kill me Jon." Avahni whispered, barely audible even with his Knight Ranked senses. The sheer amount of emotion in her voice, caused something to twist uncomfortably within his chest.

All Jon could do was nod in response.

"And I killed her for it." He replied, memories bubbling up from the depths of his Sea Of Knowledge. The control he had over his Fragment Of Mind slipping for just a single moment, before the combined weight of Guf, Tehom and Hadal crushed said memory beneath two decades of other experiences and emotions.

The event was still raw within both of their minds, despite having happened almost half-a-year ago. Schwarz Eis Seir having taken advantage of his closeness with Avahni, had plunged her frozen longsword into the chest of the Imaginary Princess Of The Round Table.

Jon had long since wondered what a battle might look like when Avahni used all her summoned companions at the same time. He had found out the hard way, even with all the advantages of being a Knight.

The Voracious Wood-Swallowing Mangrove

The Incarnation Of The Hunt.

The Virtuous Flame, Grand Creation.

The Wind-Void Sword Scripture.

The Father Of Spirits And Souls.

And the Three Daughters Of Destruction.

Alongside more than a dozen other summoned companions, each of them burning lifeforce and spiritual energy without a single thought for their own lives or wellbeing. Each of them moved without care for the wounds that they endured, pushing forward to kill him and Eis.

It took Jon killing Eis with his own two hands to soothe their growing rage.

Not understanding what would prompt Schwarz Eis to do such a thing in the first place. Her dying breath, muttering but a handful of words whose meaning to this day still escaped him.

"I'll… soon… Jonathan" The context behind them lost as she sputtered out blood from her mouth and neck. Vanishing into motes of ice natured spiritual energy.

After being summoned again, the White Devil Of The Ninth Circle had the audacity to claim that she remembered nothing of her actions or words.

It was the reason why Avahni left both the Merchant Guild and moved out of the Wonderous Citadel Dwelling.

Living so close to the thing that almost killed her… there was no way Ru Luan Di or Ortlinde could accept such a thing, even knowing how much each of them owed Jon.

After a brief respite away from Harcourt, Avahni decided to join both the Explorers Guild with Aerilayna and the Creationist Guild with the assistance of Jibril. Her status as another individual with a Memento Source wielding summoned companion placed her amongst the upper echelons of said Guild.

Although below that of Maliq, Celadonis and those that could create Knight Ranked spiritual items, given that she was still just a Mortal rather someone that had attained Knighthood.

The Creationist Guild was one of the few organizations within Springtown that valued mastery over Rank, so even without the expanded spiritual energy capacity of a Knight, Avahni still pushed her way towards becoming a more influential member of the Creationist Guild. There were a number eagerly awaiting her ascension to Knighthood wondering what was taking her so long to integrate her final fragment.

"… I do miss hanging out with you guys," Avahni muttered, causing Jon to perk up despite his forlorn expression. His brows twitching as he watched Avahni raise her head, smiling while gesturing towards Wilheim, Shamael and Sariel.

"I miss camping. Laughing around a campfire while trying to pronounce words in English or Vaayli."

"I miss exploring. Walking off in random directions hoping to find a Dungeon or Wonder during our early days within the System Introduction."

"I miss swimming. I miss playing. I miss talking. I miss everything about our first encounter within the forest. One lutin encountering for the first time in her life one strange and naked human." Avahni smiled, although Jon could see that it did not quite reach her eyes.

"I miss us having to hunt for food or take turns foraging for firewood and looking for fragments. I miss the feeling of having someone to rely on when I fall asleep, knowing that someone is there beside me. I miss everything about our life before coming to Springtown. And I wish that the five of us would do it again."

Jon felt his eyes widen, almost imperceptibly.

His mouth moving before his mind even realized what was happening.

"If that is what it takes… then the five of us can leave tomorrow." He replied.

Something flashed within Avahni's eyes, something familiar and something undefined. In that moment, Jon felt as though the distance between himself and Avahni had grown wider than ever, an unassailable gap that could not be crossed regardless of what he could say in that moment.

Her smile turned sad, or at least, that is what he thought she looked like.

"I thought I told you… I don't like it when you tell lies Jon."

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