Johanna sat down beside the swordsman to have a little one-on-one chat with the leader, to give him some advice, and to explain her plans to him. She explained that she would get them out of the forest tomorrow after they had recovered enough. After that, she gave him some advice on how to get out and navigate the forest safely, saying that he should be able to control his emotions better as the leader of the group and that they shouldn't feel so bad for their teacher since living only in regret will get you nowhere. He listened to her advice, but it didn't look like he could open up to Johanna completely yet. To get his mind off of the topic, Johanna asked him if he would like to teach her some swordsmanship, where he could let out his anger and repay the favour. The swordsman stood up, looking back at his companions, and then followed Johanna out of the house to the front door.
The swordsman wanted to hand his sword over to Johanna so that he could teach her, but Johanna shook her head, shifting a sword into her hand with the same length as the swordsman's. He looked at her in astonishment, surprised by her mysterious ability.
"What if you thought I was a regular woman living in this forest with monsters?"
"Yeah, kind of. I thought the Minotaur protected you."
"That's true, but only out of convenience; if I wanted to, I could kill him; it wouldn't be easy in my current form."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I can tell you that."
The swordsman shrugged his shoulders and started to give her simple instructions, like swinging the sword up and down from side to side—any basic move she would need to know to learn swordsmanship.
"Your movement is very powerful, but it's sloppy, kind of like you don't know how to handle your strength."
"That's true; most of the monsters in the forest I can easily overpower, and otherwise I have to use Plan B, which I can't tell you."
"Well, teaching you won't be easy; if we were to weaken you somehow and you had less strength that was more controllable for you, I think it would make things easier."
"Good idea. Wait a second, and I will be back."
Johanna quickly walked back into the house, where she then shapeshifted into other clothes, which looked like a weighted vest and equipment, while in the meantime she shifted her bones into a mixture of titanium and steel, adding more weight to her body. Once she was finished, she could only move way slower than before, since moving her heavier limbs was no easy task. She stepped out of the house again to continue her sword training, summoning back her sword and trying it again. This time, since the movements were harder and slower, the swordsman was actually able to correct her. Now that moving the sword took energy, Johanna had to use her power more efficiently.
After practicing for two long hours, the swordsman deemed that she could handle the sword well enough for today, and since they had a long journey ahead of them, Johanna sent him to sleep with the rest of his companions. She changed into more regular clothes and returned to Basil, who was still playing with the children. Johanna cooked some food for Basil and the still-recovering Molly, who had taken the first few steps after giving birth. Basil and Molly ate together while the adventurers were all sleeping in the dining hall together.
As dusk was setting, Johanna let Molly sleep with all the babies, while Johanna had to ask Basil for something.
"I have to go somewhere tonight. Is it okay if you stay here? I will be back shortly."
"Where do you want to go?"
Johanna kept silent and didn't answer, which confused Basil even more, wondering what his wife would need to do this desperately at night, but once Johanna offered him to do anything he wanted for a full day after the teenagers had left, he agreed. It wasn't like Johanna refused his wishes, but Basil still anticipated this day, hoping to do a lot of things to her. He wasn't worried that she would be doing anything bad or dangerous, so he didn't worry at all, even though it was a very strange request from her.
"Thanks, honey, and don't argue with the human children."
Basil nodded while Johanna was walking out of the room and back into the kitchen dining area. She tried to keep quiet to not wake any of them up, and then she left the house. Then she slowly started taking on the shape of a bird again. Once this transformation was done, she slowly picked up speed, taking off and flying off into the night.