Dear Risa,

  We have left Setemup. I got my claws done yesterday, so that’s good. I was kinda worried that leaving Cali alone all afternoon would result in a charm magic boost stone, but instead it resulted in my cousin going on a date with someone, without noticing it was a date.

  The date was with an elegant-looking treant woman. I feel a bit sorry for her, but hopefully we meet again someday. Aaaand hopefully it’s after I’ve figured out if Cali wants to date her.

  In the meantime, Cali isn't thinking about making totally-not-illegal runes on a totally-not-illegal gem in her possession! Yay…

  Hmm, should I write about how our meeting with the king went? It was kinda boring, so nah. He was expecting us. There was barely any discussion at all.

  Oh, Maki and Luke went to the church again, and apparently the priests had set up a huge long list of questions for the Goddess. Maki wasn't allowed to be in the room with Luke, so he went to the kitchens and must have turned on alllll the charm, because he came back to the inn with a whole chicken dinner and two of the absolute best apple pies I’ve ever had.

  I don't know how my brother keeps getting free food from people. Old ladies just look at him and something in their souls must insist he be given food.

  Luke, meanwhile, was apparently having a miserable time. He doesn't really like talking about religion, which is ironic. He said that the priests kept starting questions to the Goddess like “in your infinite wisdom, what do you think about…” and “oh great, perfect one, why did you…”, and it took all his self-control to not do something that would get him instakilled for disrespect.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Thankfully I'm here for him to complain to. I kinda wish he’d have more annoying, stressful days, cuz getting him unstressed was… enjoyable.

  Until Maki came in and announced he had food, purposefully failing to read the room.

  Tonight we’re camping, but if we stay in an inn tomorrow night, I’ll have to insist we get our own room.

  And yeah, unless we get some divine message about where to go next, I’ll suggest we stay in Mouse for a week when we get there.

  Just one week. To truly sit down and think about what we’ll be doing next. I mean, we left on an impulse. It might be good to make our way back towards home. Or it might be fun to head into Raddish. Or maybe we’ll decide to do something completely different! Who knows, we might decide to head West into the Empire, and see what changeling culture is like.

  Or we could decide Mouse is a lovely city, and we want to live there forever. Unlikely, but you never know.

  At the very least, I should write some letters to people who aren't you. And send them, instead of keeping them all in a book.

  Not that I don't enjoy writing in here, Risa dear, it’s just sad that I don't know when you’ll get to read all my extremely entertaining letters.

  I should write you a real letter, reminding you this thing exists, and demand you get a book of your own to write to me in. That way we could read each other’s books at the same time!

  Who am I kidding, you’re waaaaay too busy to do that.

  Thankfully I’m not too busy to write to you.

  Unoccupied Regards,

  Maeve Zee