Episode 48

The party joins up in the sparring arena, where Hyacinth can be seen dueling one of the Platinum Sabres. Hyacinth easily dodges Mina’s spear attacks and defeats the woman without leaving her original spot. They shake hands afterwards, and Hyacinth gives Soulfire a nod of recognition and a friendly wave.

K asks if she has time for another spar, which Anthos is quick to pitch in. She agrees to fight them one at a time. K and Hyacinth speak for a bit in the arena. She gives her weapon to a blushing fanboy and borrows a new one from a girl in the crowd. During the sparring session with K, Hyacinth makes sure to poke fun at him. She is surprised to see his sand demon form, but manages to defeat him with some lightning magic behind her attacks and various clones. She tells K that he has improved since their last session, and acknowledges Anthos as K is ushered away by Ingred.

He steps down to join her. Anthos holds his ground as Hycinth attacks him, casting blur and using his shield to defend himself. He manages to drop her down to half health before being knocked down by Hyacinth and her blue flames.

The others gather Anthos and Lily invites her to join them for a treat at the bakery. She accepts, and the party leaves after getting the boys patched up a bit. Along the way, Ingred asks Hyacinth why she fights alone. She says it’s because she’s very strong. Although Lily had offered to treat the group to pastries, Hyacinth beats her to it. As the sweets are delivered to their table, Hyacinth asks what they want of her.

K says that he would like to be trained to be able to make himself more useful against spellcasters. Ingred asks to join in. She accepts to take them both under her wing. She appears to enjoy a bit of drama as K and Ingred bicker across the table. At some point Ingred leaves to look for Marisol.

The party talks more with Hyacinth. They discuss her clone spell and Lily’s source of magic. Lily asks Hyacinth if she could teach her the clone spell, to which she agrees. They talk a bit about the Aima Region, which is apparently distasteful towards anything magic. The laws and order there are strict and more defined than the ones in the Asurion Region. They eventually discuss family relationships, and Anthos leaves abruptly during the conversation. As Hyacinth signs Bilak’s gift, Mage fire is mentioned. She takes it seriously, but doesn’t know much about the contraband item.

They leave Hyacinth’s company to do their own things before meeting back at Basalt. The party discusses the job offers without Marisol. They decide to deal with the lightning bugs in the Posette Mines. The insects are an invasive species, and the mines are a four days journey from the Benton Outpost. Once they arrive, the party must talk to the lead foreman Gloiber for more details. They worry about the Conclave of Ebony Wings being in the Yaro Region. K says if they do make an appearance, it will be his first priority to deal with them.

The party does their own things as the night progresses. Marisol returns, taking the bottle of wine with her as she leaves. She seems unusually cheerful. Anthos disappears with her, later returning with blood on his shirt. He announces that he apologized to Marisol before retiring for the night. The rest of the party eventually follows suit.