Katrin watched in a state of utter shock. {He just… he just…!}
"Why didn't he do that earlier?" Katrin wailed. "With my other Frenzieds? My first batch of Comrades…"
All Sealed now.
"Why didn't I do that earlier?" Katrin demanded. "Can I do that? What does it require?"
"You can't do it, Kat." Satrox told her, on the other side of the comms link. "Even I can't do that."
"Then why can he do it? Is it a Forester power?" Katrin choked. "I should have joined them…"
"No, I don't think it is." Satrox said, sounding troubled."The only time I've seen it happen was when Lynn did it, and she had to use an Edict. Colin didn't. I don't know, maybe there's some item requirements…"
"I'm going to ask her." Katrin decided, getting up. "I'm going into the Forest of Legends."
"Kat, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, last I checked, you were down to three Comrades, none of whom are above level 60."
Katrin told him. "I have Lynn's mark. As long as she reigns as Forest Princess, the Wilds there won't harm me."
"I see…" Satrox paused. "But Kat, going to the Heart of the Forest means meeting Colin for sure. Didn't you just say you never wanted to see him again?"
Katrin froze. "But…"
"Tell you what. Take the rest of tonight to prepare. Gather supplies, gear and allies. Don't just look for Comrades – get other J-Knights if you can. Tomorrow night, we'll head to Skycrown Mountain."
"Skycrown?" Katrin had to ask.
"It's where the Mountain Princess reigns." Satrox explained. "The Wilds there are even stronger than those in the Forest of Legends, but we'll have Sora with us."
"Sora Melody? From Lamico?"
"He's a Mountaineer now, remember?"
"Right…" Katrin breathed. "So we'll be safe."
"On the mountain itself, perhaps. Getting to the mountain is a different matter. Better get training."
"Just out of curiosity, Satrox… where {is} Skycrown Mountain?"
Satrox told her. "In a land of ice and snow. The Continent of Eternal Winter."
Katrin really groaned then. "I hate that place!"
Satrox barked a laugh. "What choice do you have? Lynn's place is too dangerous for you as you are now. At least going with Sora, you're sure to reach Casiphia's place safely. The only other option is…"
Katrin raised her head when Satrox trailed off. "What?"
"There is a third Princess." Satrox mused. "Iylara, the Ocean Princess."
"Where is she?" Katrin asked.
"North of Lamico and a bit west." Satrox said. "We could have flown there from Lamico, but getting to Lamico is a lot harder without the airport. We'll need Shinji's help."
"Can we do it right away?" Katrin asked. "I really, really want some answers."
"So do I." Satrox admitted. "Okay. Let's call Shinji."
Katrin half-regretted it as hour later when Shinji let them down at Iylara's place. She found herself throwing up.
"Sorry. Was that too fast?" Shinji asked, concerned. He glanced at Satrox.
"Looks like it." Satrox winced. He didn't even look flustered or anything. Neither of them seemed to feel bothered about that crazy ride they'd just taken to get here.
Despite all the Ocean Tower's wonders and sights, Katrin's queasy stomach spoiled the experience. She barely paid attention as Satrox led her to Iylara's throne room.
There were three guys standing before Iylara when they entered.
"You're ready?" Iylara asked.
"Yes, princess." They saluted.
"So. What is the most precious water?" Iylara questioned.
One guy held up a glistening vial. "Miracle Water. Given this, any plant will grow in any land."
Another guy took out a small cold box. "Starlight Rainbow Ice. I'd open it, but I don't want it to melt."
The third guy said, "A tear, shed in honest repentence."
"What's this?" Satrox asked.
"Shh." A girl guard at the entrance poked him.
Iylara considered their words, then said, "I accept."
The three exchanged guarded glances. The middle one asked, "Which one?"
"All three answers. Now my second question. What would you leave out of the Royal Ocean?"
There was a short pause. The first one fidgeted. "The Leviathan."
The second took a deep breath. "Drilling platforms."
The third one said, "You. I'd take you with me."
Iylara threw up her hands. "Get out. All three of you. Get out of here right now."
One of them started. "Did we… pass?"
"YOU FAILED!" Iylara roared, and the three of them scrambled for the exit. She watched them go, glanced over Satrox and Katrin and sank back onto her throne wearily. "Honestly, the kind of idiots I have to deal with these days…"
"What's going on, Iylara?" Satrox came up to her. "That didn't look like some petition."
"Those louts thought they'd participate in the Ascension." Iylara shook her head. "I'm desperately short of time, but I'm not {that} desperate."
"How bad is it?" Satrox asked.
"Bad. I'm exhausted. I couldn't fend off another Green Men attack if my life depended on it." Iylara sat back with a sigh. "Do me a favor and take the Three Keys Quest, Troxy."
"No thanks." Satrox said at once.
"Last chance, Satrox. I'm about to call the Tournament."
"I'm sure." Satrox told her. "Call it."
Iylara sighed. "If not that, what did you come here for?"
"Answers." Satrox said. "Colin just Pardoned a Frenzied."
Iylara nodded. "What about it?"
"Is that even {possible}?!" Katrin burst out.
"Evidently, it is."
"But {how}?!"
Iylara shrugged. "Ask him. I've never done it before. Most of the time I just Seal Frenzieds. Lynn's the only one who Pardons them."
"Last I checked, she used an Edict." Satrox pointed out.
"So?"
Satrox gave her a flat look. "You're not going to tell me?"
"You're not taking my Quest. Of course I'm not going to tell you." Iylara pointed out. "Unless you've changed your mind? You've got about a minute before it's too late."
Satrox threw up his hands. "Forget it. I'm outta here. That price is more than I'm willing to pay."
Katrin sagged. "So much for that."
Satrox nodded. "Yeah. We'll have to ask Cass tomorrow."
***
At roughly one in the morning on the fifteenth night of Colin's Travels on Nakama World, Colin Rivers found himself wandering the Forest of Legends and fuming about Katrin.
Officially, he was simply trying to find an answer for the Three Keys Quest. As far as anyone could see, he was going from clan to clan greeting all the Lords of the Wilds and asking them about the Forest and how things were.
But the truth was, Colin's heart wasn't in it. The situation with Katrin boggled him more than Lynn's questions.
{I already know the answer. It's all over the forest floor. Oreb gave me the answer back at Lamico.} Colin nodded politely as the Grand Aspenar complained about the very thing. {The thing I want to remove from the Forest of Legends is litter.}
He called Lynn about it as he headed back to the Heart of the Forest, his mind still on Edward's angry voice.
"Perfect." Lynn purred when he told her his answer. "The final question – what would you {add} to the Forest? Not just the Forest of Legends; I'm talking about all the forests of Nakama World collectively."
Colin found himself scratching his head. "I'm gonna need to think about that too."
Lynn barked a laugh. "I expected as much. Meanwhile, is there anything you need?"
"Well, I could use some advice right about now." Colin said. "Are you nearby? I'd like to send you my memories."
"I'm almost back at the Heart."
Colin reached out with his mind, found hers, and greeted her mentally. He ended the call and sent her his recent memories in a thought-burst.
Lynn considered Katrin's situation and Edward's words for a bit. As Colin returned to the Heart to find her there, she shook her head. "I've gone through your memories, Colin. I don't understand it any more than you do. You've done nothing wrong. I didn't think Katrin was the type to abuse her own Comrades like that."
"Not even letters seem to help any more." Colin agreed in near-despair. "I don't even know why she's avoiding me."
"When did it start?" Lynn asked. "Can you send me earlier memories? After Lamico, you and she went with Sekai…"
"To the Continent of Eternal Winter." Colin nodded, and sent her the first few minutes of their arrival.
And then Lynn snapped her fingers. "That's it."
"What?" Colin blinked.
"She was happy. The two of you were finally Traveling together." Lynn said.
"Really?"
"But then you called May." Lynn pointed out. "That's when she got mad."
Colin frowned. "Because I called May? But she was feverish… and I wanted to find shelter for her…"
"You might want to tell her that." Lynn advised. "She probably thinks you wanted to spend time with May rather than her."
Colin froze. "Uh…"
"Write a letter." Lynn suggested. "And quick, before she causes any more trouble."
Colin sat down. "Lynn… I don't like this."
"Don't like what?"
"This. Katrin getting upset with me over everything. It's like she's just waiting for an excuse to get upset. I could do any number of things wrong and she'd explode in my face, and most of the time I don't even know why." Colin said, his head lowered. "We used to be good friends, and we had fun, but now…"
"She's young. And afraid." Lynn sighed. "I can't blame her entirely. You're not some normal boy making normal mistakes. You're just too powerful. Everything you do has huge consequences. It's no wonder she's insecure."
"Can you fix that? Make it so that I'm not so powerful?" Colin wondered.
Lynn shook her head. "I can't, Colin. I can make you more powerful, but I can't make you less. In fact, I think a lot of this is my fault. I'm the one who put you in power. Keeping secrets for your protection only made things worse. I did this to you. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. You're just being nice to me." Colin said. Then he shifted. "What's this about secrets?"
Lynn glanced at Ranger-girl watching them both with very wide eyes. "I could show you some of them. But that means giving you even more power. Are you sure you want that?"
"More power? And make Katrin even more jumpy around me?" Colin groaned. "No. Please don't. Just look at how I abused the power you gave me."
"That's not abuse. Not to me." Lynn took a deep breath. "About Katrin… Colin, you've got two choices here, and I don't think you can afford to put it off much longer."
"What choices?" Colin asked.
Lynn hammered the nail in his coffin. "Either you explain and make it clear to her that you just want to be friends and nothing more… or you ask her to be your girlfriend."
***
The letter that Katrin received later came as a total shock to her.
.
Dear Katrin,
Please don't yell at your Comrades any more. Cour is safe with me now, but things could have been bad.
Why couldn't we just be friends? We used to have fun when we played together at Edward's Farm. Why couldn't we just stay like that?
I can't ask you to be my girlfriend at my age. It's just too early. Ever since that stupid kiss, everything I do keeps making things worse. I don't want all that trouble. Please stop going crazy over it.
I'm sorry. I really am. I wish I hadn't kissed you. I wish we'd just stayed as friends until we were ready for more.
Please understand.
- Colin
.
***
To which, Colin received a reply.
.
Colin,
Since when do I yell at Comrades? Stop imagining things.
I'm busy now. Talk to you later.
-Katrin.
.