I had a feeling, something between a paranoia and a sixth sense, that Naread was going to backstab me at the first opportunity. Even if he wasn't, I didn't plan on taking chances. Thankfully, Naread's slow speed of traversing the mountains gave me plenty of time to prepare for everything.
'Pest, tell me, can you use magic to speak aloud like Marianna and Naread did?'
'Sure. It's one of the simplest spells.'
'Can you make the sound come not from me, but from somewhere else, then?'
'Oh, that's trickier—but I can it now, yes. Even while keeping the poison delaying spell on you. You didn't spend EXP on me for nothing, Master. Keep spending it, yeah! And I learnt some tricks from the books Bishop brought, so if you find any more…'
