A Stressful Vacation

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Job Sign-Up: Page 32, Post Number 797

-Crescent Island, early afternoon-

When the boat to Crescent Island pulled up to the dock and the passengers began to disembark, Leona purposely hung back and let the other passengers go first because she was in no hurry. She also did not want to be seen as leveraging her formidable reputation as the Wizard Saint of Courage to get special privileges like being able to cut in line without repercussions. She was on vacation for the next three days and she was going to act like it... or at least try to. It had not even been a full day and she was already regretting the decision to leave the guild hall.

Two days after traveling across Desierto with her mother, laying the foundation for reconciliation with her brother, and successfully fighting off a bandit attack on her village, Leona decided to take a long-overdue vacation before taking any more high-risk/high-reward jobs. Three days was the longest that she felt she could stay away from Silver Wolf Guild Hall and still come across as responsible. Theo, Mercury, and Aspen were capable mages who could handle the responsibilities of a Guild Ace. They were certainly more adept at administrative tasks than she was; Mercury had a particular flair for administration due to her attention to detail and laser-like focus. However, Leona did not want them to feel that she was dumping all the guild's paperwork onto them and taking all the credit for the guild's continued success.

When everyone else had filed off the boat Leona walked down the plank and onto the wooden dock, where people were taking pictures, gathering into families or groups of friends, or simply standing out in the sun awhile before going to the hotel lobby to check into their rooms. Speaking of which, Leona needed to go do that now before the lines got too long. She had booked one of the luxury suites just to see what it was like to live like the Sultan for a few days. Dressed in a white t-shirt and her "chocolate chip" desert camouflage shorts with brown boots, Leona was as dressed for a vacation as she could get. She had no weapons of any sort with her but had a blue one-piece swimsuit inside her backpack in case she felt like getting into a swimming pool or trying to brave the ocean for a swim.

Leona also had her Argent Gloves stashed in her backpack in case a crisis happened or there was some heavy lifting that needed to be done. Hopefully they would not be needed and she could have an actual vacation this time. Leona walked through the sliding glass doors and into the lobby, which was starting to get crowded but not overly so. She estimated a good twenty-minute wait if she got into line now.

-Inside the lobby-

Leona entered the busy lobby and got into the middle line behind a teenage male in loud pink Hawaiian shorts with white flowers, brown sandals, a suitcase in his left hand and an unopened bottle of tequila in his right hand. In front of them loomed twenty-five people and one overwhelmed hotel clerk trying to get everyone checked in in a timely fashion. To her left and right were children who were screaming because they either wanted something to drink, were tired from traveling, or were overwhelmed by the tropical heat. Checking in could be a lot longer than Leona had anticipated.

The line inched forward as generic "tropical island vacation" music softly played over the PA system and the screaming children continued to wail. Leona tried to grin and bear it, but the line was moving at a glacial pace because someone way up front was too busy talking on an iLac about their vacation plans to get out of line. This was hardly the ideal start to a vacation. At least it only took ten minutes for the person on the iLac to finally move on and let the line proceed.

Once the obstruction had left the line proceeded at a smooth pace; it only took an average of four minutes a person for them to be checked in, which meant that after Tequila Guy had checked in it was Leona's turn. Leona presented her paper ticket for the accommodations and was soon given the keycard to her room, which was Suite 13 on the thirteenth floor. Leona thanked the overwhelmed clerk for their time and walked towards the stairwell, then opened the door and began climbing the stairs.

-Inside Room 1313, the thirteenth floor-

Leona entered her room and found it to be a real luxury suite. It largely was the same as the room from last time, but the gray carpet was of a much finer quality, the television was now 72" wide and high-definition, and the immaculate white bedsheets were touted as having been hand-woven as opposed to mass-produced by machine in a factory. Leona set her backpack down on a chair sitting in the right corner of the room, then walked over to the bed and sat on it before taking off her boots and socks. After the rough start to the vacation everything was going smoothly for the blonde. Maybe she could actually relax this time instead of having to worry about providing security for a meeting.

Still, something bothered Leona.

Leona had been in the middle of the action for so long that she had no idea what to do with herself in times of peace. If she was not fighting outlaws in Desierto, she was fighting a supernatural threat in the Cursed Lands. If she was not recovering a relic from a long-lost civilization in the Forgotten Deserts, she was doing paperwork at the guild hall. Without a goal to pursue the blonde was hopelessly lost. She had no idea how to relax because in her considerable experience there was always danger lurking just around the corner and she always needed to be ready for it.

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Leona sat inside her room and desperately tried to figure out something interesting to do. She noticed a white brochure detailing the resort's amenities sitting on the desk beneath the wall-mounted television and walked over to pick it up and peruse it. Thumbing through the brochure informed her that there were several options to choose from.

There was a 24/7 indoor gym full of modern equipment to go to for exercise. There was a large outdoor swimming pool available for guests. There was the beach, the four-star seafood restaurants, and a lighthouse tour. Leona continued to read over the other tourist attractions of Crescent Island and saw a new name on the list. Mermaid Cove.

Since Bamila had been killed and her penguin and crab minions had returned to normal, Mermaid Cove was now listed as a tourist attraction. Leona thought of paying the site where she had nearly died a visit, but closer reading showed that that location was listed as off-limits to tourists due to an "incident" that had occurred a few months ago. That was of interest to her.

Maybe Leona should ask the staff about it and see if there was any work that needed doing. She was supposed to be on vacation, but she could not afford to let a potential threat to Earthland go without taking care of it. However, Leona had left all of her weapons back at the guild hall, even the knife her brother made for her years ago. That would make things difficult, but the strength of her magic and her experience would see her through the trial. Then something hit her.

It was sad that the very first thing the vacationing Wizard Saint tried to do while on vacation was to find some reason to go back to work.

Leona put her socks and shoes back on, put on her backpack, pocketed her keycard and the brochure, and let the room behind to go inquire about the status of Mermaid Cove.

-In the manager's office-

"Oh, Mermaid Cove? That was taken care of months ago. A pair of mages took care of it for us, then another team of mages was sent in to do clean-up. You must have read your information from an old brochure." A middle-aged female manager politely informed Leona that Mermaid Cove was no longer off-limits to tourists and that any danger the area had once posed had long since been taken care of. The Wizard Saint produced the brochure that had been left in her room and the manager replaced it with an up-to-date one. Leona felt equal measures disappointment and embarrassment for even bringing the subject up because doing so undoubtedly made her look stupid for getting worked up over outdated information and made her look desperate for action. Leona thanked the woman for her time and left the office feeling like an utter idiot.

-Five minutes later, in her room-

Leona was back sitting on the foot of the bed and was no closer to finding something to do than she was when she had set out for the hotel lobby. She was desperately trying to find something to do in order to take her mind off of work for a few days. Her stomach spoke up and provided a welcome distraction from how dumb she felt asking about the possibility of entering Mermaid Cove to make it safe for tourists. Leona read the updated brochure she had been given and found that she had a few lunch options available to her.

Leona thought about going to one of the beachside restaurants and eat a meal there to see what it was like. If she felt like staying at the resort, she could always hit up the buffet line for some simple but readily available fare. If she were really wanting to avoid the spotlight, she could simply call for room service and have food carted into her room. Each option had its pros and cons, but she had better make a decision soon because she was hungrier than she had realized.

Leona opted to go check out the buffet because she wanted food that was already prepared and easily accessible, something which the food at the restaurant would not be. It was made to order and would be hot instead of lukewarm after sitting under a heat lamp, but the restaurants would be packed and Leona would have to wait a long time to get any food. Leona would go and check out the buffet anyway because it was something to do. Hopefully she had not waited too long to get a meal and some food would still be there. Having lukewarm food was better than not having anything.

Leona left the room behind and shut the door behind her, then went downstairs to see what the buffet had to offer.

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-Five minutes later, in the hotel restaurant-

Leona entered the hotel restaurant which advertised itself as having "something for everyone" and advertised its buffet line that lived up to its claim of having something for everyone. There was fried fish, baked fish, salad, fried chicken, baked chicken, marcaroni and cheese, couscous, rice, pork chops... and that was just the "main courses" section. The "dessert section" had an impressive variety of desserts from ice cream to cookies to cakes and more. She paid at the counter, grabbed a nondescript tan plate and a bundle of silverware wrapped in a napkin, then sidled up to the couscous to get some of the dish she had grown up eating in Nebdoui.

While some would expect a person of her status to eschew a buffet line as being beneath her, Leona did not care about appearances or about status. She herself came from a common background and had been catapulted to prominence by being in the right place at the right time as much as she had by her own efforts. She had come from a village that had went through periodic famines and had personally witnessed a famine that claimed over one hundred lives. The blonde would take food where she could get it.

Leona had gotten a decent serving of couscous and went to an empty table in the corner of the sparsely populated restaurant to eat. Leona unfurled the silverware bundle, grabbed her spoon, and ate quietly while observing table manners but ate as quickly as she could because back home one always had chores to do. One also had to be ready to fight bandits at a moment's notice because bandits could come out of the dunes at any moment and they did not respect mealtimes. The Wizard Saint had eaten so quickly that she had forgotten Within five minutes of sitting down she had finished and was on her way to go do something else while on vacation.

-In Leona's room-

Leona was back in her hotel room for the third time and still had no idea of what to do with herself. She still had several hours of daylight left and could do any number of things like go to the beach for a walk, go take the lighthouse tour for a glimpse at the past, watch television, even go to Mermaid Cove and reminisce about the fight with Bamila. All of those activities were about as appealing as a punch to the face or another night at Capital Crocus' auction house.

Leona took off her boots and socks and lay back on the bed trying to figure out what to do with her abundant free time. Maybe there was something decent on television. Leona got up, walked over to the desk, picked up the TV remote, and turned on the television to flip through the channels and see what she could find.

The TV flickered on and up popped a weather forecast for the next seven days, a forecast which promised sunny days for the next week. Leona's thumb pressed the UP arrow and the next channel in line was a talent show called Fiore's Got Talent. On it a teenage male in a white t-shirt and blue jeans was riding a unicycle while juggling flaming torches. Leona flipped to the next channel and saw that she was watching a travel documentary on The Cursed Lands. With nothing else good on, Leona set the remote to her right side and watched as a narrator with a deep bass voice described Silent Cemetery and the dangers that lurked within it as the camera gave a sweeping view of the cemetery.

-Three hours later-

Leona had dozed off during the Cursed Lands documentary and woke up to find that the documentary on now was on Bellum, a country that was the polar opposite of Pergrande. While Pergrande persecuted mages, Bellum persecuted non-mages. Leona tried to watch the hour-long segment on Bellum but was bored to tears before the halfway point, so she changed the channel and landed on a show about the Wizard Saints that was just beginning. Intrigued by the show, Leona set the remote down and watched it with rapt attention.

It started with a picture of Samira Nassar and a brief rundown of her numerous accomplishments and her lengthy tenure as Earthland's strongest mage. Then it flipped to Serilda Sinclair and Mythal Ragnos and described the exploits of the Rune Knights who had come from nowhere to climb the ladder even faster than Leona had. Next came Nessa Cordelia Lux and her achievements as a part of Fairy Tail, then a hint at her blooming relationship with Markus Eldridge. Leona looked at that and remembered that she had no relationship to compare to Nessa and Markus.

Next came Mura Kensho, the Fairy Tail Guild Master and Wizard Saint from Midi. He was billed as being less powerful than his fellow Wizard Saints but was not to be sold short because he was projected to catch up to his peers in a short time, something that Leona could easily see coming to pass. Then came Johann Von Weiss, the former West Fiore Trading Company Vice-President and current Guild Master of Dies Irae. Finally was Leona herself. Leona could care less about herself and tuned out the description of her exploits, which did not have much variety other than what threats she had slaughtered when.

Leona realized that she had met all of the other Wizard Saints but knew very little about them other than what she had gleaned from Sorcerer's Magazine and a meeting or two with the individuals in question. Next came a segment about former Wizard Saints and Gods/Goddesses of Ishgar, a segment that gave the blonde a lot of apprehension. Her apprehension proved to be well-founded when Leila Vergious' face flashed on the screen, her blue eyes facing straight ahead. It seemed like the former Silver Wolf founder, Guild Mistress, and Ace was coming back from beyond to pass judgment on Leona for her accomplishments, something that Leona was anxious to avoid. Next came Ruvel Mizune, Sorano Granon, Astrid Foss, and other figures from the past with portraits that stared straight ahead as if to ask Leona "What have you done to deserve becoming a Wizard Saint?"

Leona had had all of the show that she could take, so she just turned off the television and set the remote aside. She had never watched television as a child, so the TV set did not hold any special power over her. Television was not a source of entertainment, education, or even a pastime... it was just a screen in a box that could be turned on off and produce pretty pictures to stare at.

At a loss as to what she could do now, Leona tried to go to sleep and forget all about the television show with the Wizard Saints and their accusing glares. It was an attempt that was likely doomed to failure, but she would try anyway. Any escape would be welcome.

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-Ten hours later, Day 2-

After going to sleep to avoid her feelings of inferiority to the other Wizard Saints and the belief that Leila Vergious, Ruvel Mizune, and Sorano Granon were judging her from beyond, Leona woke up the next day not feeling any better than she did when she had went to sleep. She still felt lost without something to do and still felt like a pretender to her title, a desert upstart who got lucky by being in the right place at the right time. Since the last generation of Wizard Saints and Gods/Goddesses of Ishgar had mysteriously disappeared a little over a year ago, she had been appointed to help fill the void and the public's need for heroes. Part of her was proud to have earned the title since it gave her purpose, but the other part wondered if she had been granted the title for the right reasons.

Leona got up and went to go take a shower before she went out in public. Today she would be going to Mermaid Cove to check out the site of an old battle and maybe forget about what she had seen last night. In the grand scheme of things she was insignificant. Wizard Saints came and went as time went on. That was how things went well before she arrived in Fiore and that was how things would go long after she had been buried and forgotten.

Leona got a bathcloth and towel from the small closet just to the left of the bathroom and shut it, then went inside the bathroom and took her clothes off. Maybe a shower would bring her some comfort and keep the bad thoughts at bay for awhile. Leona closed the bathroom door and turned the water temperature to be as hot as she could stand it to be.

-Thirty minutes later, inside the bathroom-

At the end of a leisurely bath Leona stepped out of the shower with red skin due to turning the water temperature a bit too high, but that was the least of her problems. She still did not feel any better about herself and still thought about the other Wizard Saints. She thought about how they had more to their lives than just a fancy title and great personal power. Nessa had Markus, Johann had Amalie, and Artemis Dagger had Sivvy. Leona dried off, wrapped a towel around herself, and came to a grim realization.

All Leona had was herself.

Leona looked in the mirror and saw herself. Unable to stand the sight of what was staring back at her, she closed her eyes and looked away. All she saw was something that would have been better off staying in Desierto. Hell, she might have been better off not even being born. Sometimes she wondered if there was something to her mother's fear of having cursed her by naming her "Leona" and now was one of those times.

Leona opened the bathroom door and the steam rushed out in a cloud that would take one's breath away. She needed to get out of this hotel room and do something, anything. Paying a visit to Mermaid Cove would do the trick. Leona put on her black one-piece bathing suit, then put on her camouflage shorts before walking over to her backpack and putting it on. She would carry her boots with her in case she needed footwear, but with the mysterious threat to the island having been eliminated months ago she should have no need of them.

Pocketing her keycard, Leona left the room behind and set out to go to Mermaid Cove to try and find a modicum of peace.

-Mermaid Cove, one hour later-

Leona had finally reached Mermaid Cove after an hour of walking. The trip itself was not too long, but there were numerous delays brought on by so many people wanting to meet the Wizard Saint of Courage and take her picture. As a Wizard Saint and thus a public figure, she felt that she owed it to the people. Besides, anything that might help her being known as a mage who could do things other than leave piles of corpses wherever she went was welcome. Thankfully there were no other people at Mermaid Cove, which meant that Leona was alone with her thoughts.

At least the weather was nice.

The first thing that drew Leona's attention about the location was the eponymous Mermaid Cove, the same place where she had retrieved the treasure chest with half of Bamila's heart to keep some unscrupulous mage from retrieving the heart and obtaining a power boost that could enable them to fight on the same level as a Wizard Saint. Leona looked at it and recalled the fight with Bamila, who captured Leona in a bubble of water and had nearly drowned her until the Furies came to the rescue. She remembered the Furies seizing Bamila and dropping the evil mermaid head-first onto the top of the cove. It was one of the more violent finishes to her fights, but the evil mermaid was long gone and she was not coming back unless a necromancer revived her.

Leona heard the dull roar of the waves as they lapped at her feet and instantly recoiled from the touch of water on her skin, scrambling to get away from it before it lapped at her feet again. Leona embodied the lion in more ways than one. Ever since she nearly drowned beneath the Abandoned Cabin she seemed to have an adversarial relationship with water. Getting into Silver Wolf's hot springs was fine and so was taking a shower, but swimming, bobbing for apples, or other water-related activities gave her no small amount of trouble. Leona was amused by the nature of her relationship with water given what her name meant.

Staying well away from the water, Leona slowly approached Mermaid Cove and listened out for any signs that the danger had not been taken care of. She did not know what to expect, but anything that had required two separate teams of mages to handle had to be bad news. The Wizard Saint of Courage would handle whatever was in there... if anything was in there to start with.

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Leona had reached Mermaid Cove itself and carefully began to climb up the rocks to peer inside the cavern. She was not detecting any trouble nor did she see it inside the cave, but part of her was still wary of going into a tidal cave that flooded whenever high tide arrived. Leona had neglected to ask when high tide was before setting out, so going into the cave without anyone knowing could end very badly for her if it flooded while she was still in it. Leona paused in place and began to carefully consider what she was about to do.

A manager had already said that the problem had been taken care of months ago, so Leona stood to gain nothing from going in other than setting her current problems on the backburner. If the cave flooded while she was inside, she would gain nothing but a new set of problems for her stupidity, not the least of which was being swept deeper into the cave and drowning. Leona thought about the matter more and weighed the risk/reward of it all. In a moment of lucidity, she determined that going into Mermaid Cove would be far more trouble than it was worth. It would be best to just turn around and admire the place from afar.

Having thought the matter through, Leona did just that. She abandoned all notions of cave exploration and walked away to do something safer like look at the site of her battle with Bamila and try to think a little about why she felt the way she had earlier. Now that the stressful moment caused by the television show had passed the blonde began to think a little more about her situation and how she got to this point.

Leona was not alone because no one liked her. She was alone because she wanted to be alone. No one would want to deal with the kind of issues she had for very long.

Gaining a boyfriend or girlfriend would not instantly fix Leona's laundry list of problems such as her struggle with the use of force to end threats, her struggle with whether she really deserved her titles or not, her lack of social skills, her constantly feeling like a fish out of water in the modern world, her tendency to rush into danger instead of thinking things through, and more.

At best getting a significant other would be like slapping a bandage on the bleeding stump of a severed arm. At worst Leona would drive someone away with her laundry list of problems that never seemed to be resolved, but instead only grow.

No one in their right mind would want to deal with that much drama from one person. Leona might be able to get someone who was not afraid of her power level or her reputation, but they would not stick around long if she did not show any signs of improvement with her issues. No one wanted to hang around someone who seemed to cling to her problems and complain about them instead of actually trying to fix them.

Leona listened to the roar of the waves while giving herself time to think about what else she had trouble with. It did not take too long for her to come up with more problems.

Leona owed Leila Vergious a lot. The latter essentially gave the blonde her start as a mage and Leona felt indebted to Leila in a way that Jewels could never repay. When combined with feelings of insecurity about her place in the Wizard Saints, that was why Leona had reacted so strongly to her face appearing on the television program.

This sense of being indebted came about because Leila represented Silver Wolf and Silver Wolf was the guild who took a chance on Leona after the latter had admitted that Jacob Goodnight had almost ended her life. If Silver Wolf did not want a mage who barely survived fighting a mundane serial killer in their ranks, Leila had every right to tell Leona to get lost. Instead Leona was taken to Silver Wolf Guild Hall, given the guild mark, and the rest became history.

If Fairy Tail, West Fiore Trading Company, or Sabertooth had been the ones to find and recruit Leona, she would have been every bit as loyal to them as she was to Silver Wolf and to Leila.

Leona would need a lot more than having long-overdue epiphanies to solve all of her problems. Standing on a beach and moping about them was not going to be the solution. Leona would need to be proactive and actually work to find the solutions herself. If she wanted to improve her anemic social skills, she could start improving them by seeking out the company of someone who was friendly towards her and doing something with them that did not involve a life-or-death situation. Samira Nassar was a good start; the pair were on friendly terms and had attended a few festivals together in the past. Then the rally faltered... Leona knew very few people outside of Samira.

She was an acquaintance of Nessa, Mura, Arcadia Fairchilde, Aven Alveron, Serilda, Mythal, Johann, and other big names of the magic world, but there was not much rapport with them. They all had their own business to take care of and did not have time to babysit Leona through her petty crises. Rather than waste their time on her mundane issues, Leona would have to look elsewhere for companionship.

But where should she begin looking?

If push came to shove Samira might be able to point her in the right direction, but then Leona would look even weaker for having to rely on Samira for introductions. Leona would look like an underling of Samira's rather than a (nominal) equal. Maybe Leona was reading too much into the matter and the solution was simpler than she thought, but pride and proving that she could stand on her own were influencing the blonde's decision-making process. The Wizard Saint of Courage did not want to look like anyone's lackey. She wanted to prove to the world that she could do things on her own with Samira or anyone else holding her hand.

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Once she had reached several epiphanies on her personal woes Leona was now faced with the task of prioritizing which problem she would take on first. The first and most pressing was to quit trying so hard to prove her worth as a Wizard Saint. Luna Mira, Sophia Jarnefeldt, and Leonidas Jarnefeldt had all told Leona that acting like she had something to prove would burn her out at best and get her killed at worst. Leona needed to heed that advice before she got humiliated again or even killed for getting in way over her head, but her role as Wizard Saint of Courage put her in situations that did not always allow for her to hang back and think things through before having to go into harm's way.

Leona still needed to heed their advice because they had made a valid point about the danger she got into by trying too hard to prove herself.

Leona would have to work on fully learning the lesson, but she was already off to a good start by refusing to be lured into getting encircled by gangs of enemies like on the trip to Capital Crocus to find the wine shop or the latest skirmish in Desierto. However, those fights were against easy opponents who had little sense of tactics other than trying to swamp the Wizard Saint in sheer numbers before she could defeat them all. Against opponents who actually knew what they were doing Leona would have to step up her game and think harder. The Crimson Sashes were one such opponent... their elite soldiers were proving to be a challenge and knew what she was capable of. They fought in teams and carried primitive flashbangs and poisoned throwing knives to take her blinding speed out of play, but she had overcome them in the past with quick feet and even quicker thinking.

In the meantime Leona tried to think of an easier problem to begin solving. A valid option would be working on her social skills so that she would not need to be a wallflower like she was at Nessa's birthday party. At the party Leona looked utterly pathetic clinging onto Sol; she had only gotten away with it because over half the party-goers moved over to the bar for drinks and thus did not pay much attention to the cowardly lion. If there was a next time Leona would be a little more brave and actually introduce herself to someone rather than hang back and look pathetic like she had. She would also remember to at least bring a gift for the birthday person.

Leona then thought about how unfamiliar she was with modern technology. She did not own an iLac because of the security risk that an iLac with Silver Wolf's secrets falling into the wrong hands would pose to herself and the guild. She also did not want to break it because she had read that while the devices were being given out for free at the factory in which they were made, people only ever got one of them. Were she to take her free iLac into harm's way and it got broken she would simply be out of luck because procuring a replacement would be impossible. Leona would just have to find another way to learn about modern technology... maybe she could go to a library and learn some basic computer literacy from the staff.

Another problem of the blonde's was that she felt that all she was good for was destroying bandit gangs. Any adventurer worth their salt could wipe out bandit gangs. Leona wanted to become known for more than just that, but lately it seemed that all she did was fight bandits.

She remembered how both Aura Sparks and Leila Vergious had condemned taking lives without good cause and remembered how she had told Aura Sparks that in a fight between her and a bandit it was not going to be Leona who died. That harsh attitude was the result of Leona's harsh upbringing. The Wizard Saint had grown up in the unforgiving desert, where the rule of law did not extend beyond the gates of the Tri-Council Cities and desert dwellers had to stand ready to defend themselves with lethal force whenever they were confronted with a threat to life and property. She vividly remembered making her first kills on three Crimson Sashes at twelve years old and remembered how they would have gladly killed her if she had not killed them first. That memory influenced Leona's attitude towards force to this very day... that attitude was part of why the outlaws of Desierto hated and feared her, to say nothing of the other outlaws across Earthland.

The Wizard Saint had demonstrated on numerous occasions that she no problems using force to defend herself and others. She would try to spare enemies who fled or surrendered, but if they came at her with intent to kill Leona would not hesitate to strike them down. It was a grim necessity and something that she did not take pleasure in. Some threats just could not be reasoned with, so force had to be used to put a permanent end to them. For example, she could not let the zombies of Fulci escape the city or the demons escape Fat Monsterland... if they had gotten away the damage would be catastrophic.

That ruthlessness was fine and dandy when the enemies were mindless zombies or demons, but what about being ruthless when dealing with human adversaries? Where could the line between pragmatism and cruelty be reasonably drawn?

Those were questions that would have to be answered another day.

Leona was not used to introspection, but now that she had slowed down and actually thought about her numerous problems she saw a common thread that united them.

They were all self-inflicted.

If her problems were all self-inflicted, that also meant that she could fix them if she put in enough effort.

Leona listened to the dull roar of the waves and felt a little of the tension that she felt ebb like it was flowing down her legs and out of her feet. While she still had problems that needed to be solved because she could fully feel comfortable with who she was, the Wizard Saint realized that they could not be solved in one sunny day at the beach. They were problems that required a lot of time and effort to solve. Leona would have to take it one day at a time and make a serious effort. She might even require help from friendly faces like Samira Nassar.

In the meantime she would go back to the hotel and figure out what else to do from there. She had a little over a day of vacation left and did not want to waste it all moping around Mermaid Cove. With a rough plan in mind, Leona turned away from the cove and set off for the resort.

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-Day 3-

Leona woke up the next day feeling better about herself than she had yesterday, which was not too hard when one was at rock bottom less than twenty-four hours ago. Now the Wizard Saint had concrete ideas about what she needed to do to make herself feel less insecure and more like she was a mage who could do more than just kill things all across Earthland. While there was always evil that needed to be forcibly removed from Earthland, that did not mean that was all Leona could do to prove her worth as a Wizard Saint. She had assisted in a few archaeological expeditions in the past, so maybe she could find another one to join. She was sure that some archaeologist needed help from the Wizard Saint of Courage.

If archaeology was not something that interested her, there were always other jobs that needed doing. There was mail sorting, mail delivery, potion making, loading cargo onto a ship... there was even work in a maid cafe if one was up for it. Leona had no shortage of choice. She just needed to make up her mind and pick something that did not involve fighting.

Leona did not feel like there was anything more to gain by staying here another day, so she was sorely tempted to check out early and head home to act on her epiphanies while her resolve was at its peak. However, she had paid a hefty sum for this room, so she would stay on the island resort for the full three days. She did not need her mother complaining about how many Jewels she had spent on the room only to check out before the full three days was up. Speaking of family, reconciling with her mother and her older brother were yet more problems that Leona needed to work on, but they could wait because she had more urgent priorities... they would understand.

The blonde got out of bed and headed for the shower. She had seen and read about a tiki bar that was reminiscent of the one at Nessa's birthday party and recalled how she had liked the low-alcohol margarita that she had drank there. She was not sure how the public would react to her drinking alcohol since the last time she had drank was at a private party. Like it or not, Leona was a celebrity, so she had to be very careful about what she did in public because a misstep could cause a public relations nightmare that could also hurt her guild. Such was life for a prominent mage.

-Thirty minutes later-

Leona had gotten out of the shower and dressed in a clean black one-piece bathing suit and a pair of clean khaki cargo shorts since she had worn her desert camouflage shorts for two days. She had thought about the matter of getting a drink in the shower and had come up with a decent plan. She would eat first, then get a single low-alcohol margarita to minimize the impact on her reputation. At least that was the plan.

Leona put on her socks and shoes and made a beeline for the resort restaurant to get more couscous. She did not need to hurry to finish her meal because the tiki bar was open late. Pocketing her keycard, the Wizard Saint left her room behind to go for a meal and maybe even dessert.

-The hotel restaurant-

Leona paid for her meal at the counter and picked up a nondescript tan plate and a bundle of silverware wrapped in a napkin, then made her way over to the buffet line and dished out some couscous. Leona then grabbed a clear plastic glass and made her way to the drink machines, where she chose water without really having to think about it. Once she had everything she needed Leona sat down at the same empty corner table and began to eat her meal in the thinly populated restaurant.

Ten minutes later Leona stood up and cleaned up where she had eaten. She put the dirty plate, silverware, and glass in a neat pile in the center of the table, then left the restaurant to go do other things, namely try to get a lime margarita.

-At the resort pool area-

Leona walked through the double doors on the right side of the lobby and found the large swimming pool that the brochure had described two days before. It was a swimming pool that was Olympic-size and carefully marked with depth indicators painted both on the concrete and on the side of the pool so that one did not literally get in over their head. It also had a white bottom that mirrored a beach with white sand. The pool was full of children with their parents, young teenage couples, and other resort guests enjoying the swimming pool.

It was too crowded for Leona's taste, so she kept walking towards the tiki bar, which located 800 meters away from the pool and was named Tropical Flavor. It had a thatched hut look with about a dozen red swivel stools positioned at the counter and anchored into the ground. On shelves behind the bar was a wide variety of bottles that advertised the drinks that the bar offered. Leona took a glance at Tropical Flavor and saw that it too was packed... all the stools were occupied and there was a line of thirty-three people ahead of her, so waiting in line was an option, but not one she was willing to take. The Wizard Saint was not up to socializing just yet.

She would come back later in the day to get a margarita. She might even wait for nightfall to get a drink, but she ran the risk that the bar would be crowded even then. Leona thought about it and decided to take that chance... if she could not get a drink at Tropical Flavor she might try the bar inside the hotel named High Society. However, taking that option would lead to its own set of problems.

As the name indicated, the bar catered to a higher class of customer and tended to offer "high class" drinks like wine and other types that were touted to be more refined than common drinks. The price tags also started in the low quadruple digits and went up as the vintage of the wine got older. Leona would get laughed out of the place if she ordered a margarita.

Taking all of that into consideration, her best choice was to come back to Tropical Flavor later in the day. For now Leona would go take a lengthy walk on the beach.

[Post Word Count: 1,118]
[Total Word Count: 7,360/8,000]

-Day 4, morning-

Leona woke up the next day having been unable to get a drink at Tropical Flavor last night due to the bar being reserved for a birthday party for some wealthy young woman named Kenzie Roberts, but that did not matter. She passed time by walking on the beach while everyone else was busy visiting the seaside restaurants, the two bars, and taking the lighthouse tour. Leona was not too upset by missing her chance at a drink... besides, she would be back to Crescent Island one day and when she returned there would be plenty of chances to get that margarita.

When night fell she returned to the hotel room and watched documentaries on places she had visited like Capital Crocus, Midi, Shirotsume, and others until she had fallen asleep during a documentary on Minstrel. When she woke up the documentary that was one was a repeat of Silent Cemetery. Leona turned off the television and looked at the time. It was five minutes after 9:00 A.M., which meant that the Wizard Saint had to get up and get moving.

Leona needed to vacate the room by afternoon and she had three hours to pack and leave. It was a good thing that she had packed lightly... that would make the process of packing up a lot easier and quicker since she did not bring a whole lot to begin with. Rolling out of bed and inelegantly hitting the floor, Leona quickly got to her feet and hurried to get a shower before housekeeping came in to send her packing.

-Thirty minutes later-

Leona had showered off and changed into a white t-shirt with khaki cargo shorts for the trip home. She quickly stuffed her dirty clothing into a clear white plastic bag and put it into her backpack, then took out a clean pair of socks to wear and put them on the edge of the bed. Leona was pretty much ready to go, so she sat down and put on her boots, shouldered her backpack, pocketed her keycard, and proceeded to the lobby to begin the checkout process.

The room was well worth the price she had paid to rent it; if time and resources allowed she would rent this type of room again for her next visit to Crescent Island. Having an entire luxury suite to herself was an indulgence that she easily could have done without, but it was nice to be able to live in relative luxury for a few days instead of always having to live in spartan simplicity. As long as Leona was frugal with her money the Wizard Saint could afford to rent luxury suites on vacation.

-Six hours later, Silver Wolf Guild Hall-

Leona stood in the foyer of Silver Wolf Guild Hall and made her way to her room so that she could change into an outfit that was more appropriate to her station. Six hours ago Leona had reached the mainland without any problems and had returned to Silver Wolf Guild Hall as quickly as she could so that Aspen, Mercury, and Theo did not feel abandoned by their Guild Mistress. Now that her vacation was over there was work to be done; she was sure that there was paperwork of some sort waiting for her on her desk when she got to her office.

-Leona's personal room-

Leona opened the door to her personal room and saw that Shoki was lying on her desk along with a letter in a white envelope and a note on a half-sheet of white notebook paper on top of that. Leona was happy to see that the weapon had been fully repaired and was waiting on her; she wondered when it had come in. She carefully picked up the note and read the scrawled handwriting that occupied the center of the half-sheet.

"THIS CAME IN FROM MIDI YESTERDAY. TAKE TO THE GUILD MISTRESS' ROOM AT ONCE!!!"

Leona set the brief note down and looked towards the sheathed sword that rested on top of her desk. She was sure that Ieyasu's work was flawless, but she would have to examine the demon-quelling sword later because right now she needed to get dressed for work. Looking the part of a Guild Mistress was every bit as important as having the power of one.

She closed the door behind her and walked over to her dresser, opening the top drawer and picking out her green, white, and gold outfit to wear for the office. Setting the outfit on the bed, Leona fished out the matching boots from underneath her bed and then locked the door so that no one could walk in on her while she was changing clothes.

Leona changed into her green, white, and gold outfit and set the traveling outfit on the bed to be put into the guild laundry later. She then found the knife her brother had made for her in the middle drawer to her dresser and put it inside her right boot to have on hand if trouble came to the guild hall. She also took Ses Revanche with her to keep it out of the hands of thieves, then fished out her Argent Gloves from her backpack and put them on. Now that the Wizard Saint was dressed and armed, Leona shut her room door behind her and went straight to the Guild Mistress' office to begin taking care of the administrative functions that were part of her responsibilities as Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf.

[Post Word Count: 903]
[Total Word Count: 8,282/8,000]