(Vincent POV)

I pulled on my horse's reins, telling her to slow into a walk as the gates to Irance came into view. Even the walls surrounding the place were beautiful. White stone with ivy traveling up them, as well as flower beds at the bottom. I smiled slightly at the sight.

The guards by the gate smiled politely at me as I passed them, which I returned along with a small nod. As soon as I entered Irance I dismounted, taking ahold of my horse's reins and leading her through the crowd.

'No time for sightseeing,' I told myself 'I have a job to do.'

I focused on the path ahead, forcing myself not to look around at the breathtaking view of the place or enjoy the sweet aroma of flowers. If I did that I'd probably be here for hours-

"Hey, stranger."

"Huh?" I stopped walking, feeling my horse nudge my shoulder in surprise, before looking to my right to find a familiar friendly face.

"Oh, hey Erika," I smiled, waving at her as she made her way over to me "Long time no see."

She giggled, dusting some dirt off her dress "It's nice to see you back in Irance, Vincent, but where are your friends?"

I blinked "Oh, I'm by myself this time. My friends are out on quests elsewhere." Maybe it's best not to mention Iris's 'house arrest'...

"Fair enough then," She smiled "Sooo, what brings you back here then?"

"I need to speak to the General, it's classified so I can't tell you the reason." I told her apologetically, but she just waved her hands in dismissal.

"It's totally fine, I wasn't looking for exact details anyway." Her face then formed into a thoughtful pout "But you know, you can't visit the General without a guard accompanying you."

"Why?"

"Because despite being a very skilled fighter she's only small. Think of it as a safety precaution."

So wait, is she a child or something? "I see..."

"Oh wait a minute, I have an idea!" Erika beamed before turning on her heel to run to her shop, poking her head through the doorway and yelling "SCARLET CAN YOU COME HERE FOR A MOMENT?"

She came skipping back to me, followed by her younger sister who had a curious expression on her face. It morphed into a smile as soon as she saw me.

"Oh, it's you," She greeted while approaching, standing next to Erika "How are you?"

"I'm fine thank you," I nodded.

"Great! Um..." She began looking around suspiciously, her eyes squinted and her lips pursed together "That Foxeen isn't with you, is she?"

I frowned "Uh, no, she's on her own mission."

"Phew. Don't want to be around that red eyed beast if I can--" She squeaked when Erika jabbed an elbow into her side "Ow..."

"Don't be rude, Scarlet." The older woman scolded "There's nothing wrong with Silver."

"Ugh..." Scarlet turned away, sulking.

"Anyway, if she stops being a brat Scarlet can take you to see General Lilya. She's pretty close with the Lieutenant, so she can probably get you there no problem."

Probably, huh?

"Erika you know I can't do that!" Scarlet stated, suddenly serious as she glared at her sister "I can't use my friendship with Astrid to get an outsider inside, that would be against the code of Irance guards--"

I quickly pulled out the letter from Alzdrak, holding it up so Scarlet could get a good look at the stamp. She examined it for a moment, her face frozen from scolding her sister, but then she stood up straight and cleared her throat.

"You're here on behalf of Emiliana."

"Yes."

"Very well," She began walking towards the academy "Follow me."

I nodded, giving my thanks and my horse to Erika and speed walking to the brunette's side. We conversed for a while, mostly about Irance and its vegetation percentage. Turns out most of the plants get their life force from an earth crystal, which is located directly below the giant tree in the middle of the kingdom. Must be why the life energy felt there is stronger.

"So anyway," Scarlet turned to me, her face friendly once again "How come you're doing jobs for Alzdrak, when I can tell from your armour you're from Resuk?"

"Oh," I rubbed the back of my neck "General Lukali sent me to train there for a few months along with Hunter. Though, really I think he just wanted us to watch out for his sister."

"Sister?"

"Iris."

"Oh."

"But yeah, nothing too exciting. So how about you, why did you decide to be a guard instead of an herbalist like your sister?"

"Ugh," Scarlet scrunched up her nose "The time she spends towards planting and tending to flowers, in my opinion, is a waste of time that she should spend on more important skills like self defense and- better yet ways to dump her mutt."

I frowned "You know you really need to lighten up."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Fox? Dog breath? Red eyed beast? Mutt?" I listed "Shifters are people too, you know."

"Not in my eyes." She grumbled.

"You treated Jet as an equal, and he's a shifter."

"What? No he's--"

"Dragnian."

"WHAT?! But those lizards are so hostile and--"

"See this is what I mean." I cut her off, crossing my arms and sighing "You stereotype shifters based on what you've heard. For example, Jet; You thought he was a human and conversed with him like you would with anyone else, but the moment you find out he's of a different species you freak out. Being a Dragnian doesn't change who he is as a person, and it most certainly doesn't automatically make him hostile. That's what they were like in the past; when there was a war going on. And I bet you haven't actually met a Dragnian before."

"Well, no..."

"Exactly, so you can't assume that they all have the same motives. Same with Foxen, and Werewolves. They are all their own person, and I think you should open your mind a little more rather than just hating them because of their race. I mean, how would you feel if someone treated you like a criminal, just because you're human?"

Scarlet's eyes fell to the floor, her eyebrows pulled downwards "Pretty shit..."

"Exactly," I placed a hand on her shoulder "Just think about it, okay?"

She silently nodded.

---

The rest of the trip was silent, presumably Scarlet was still pretty shocked about my lecture, and we soon found ourselves outside the guard academy. Scarlet showed her ID to the guards by the gates and explained that I had something important for General Lilya, and they generously let us in. To be honest, most Irance civilians were extremely polite, with the exception of one or two individuals. *Cough* Scarlet and Scott *Cough*.

Scarlet lead me down a large hallway, which was highly decorated with flowers that blessed me with many familiar and exotic aromas at once. It reminded me of when Iris and I used to play in the fields together as kids.

"Right here." Scarlet said, and we stopped right in front of a large white door. Oh did I mention this place was very clean? The girl knocked on the door three times, and three seconds later a woman with long black hair and circular glasses opened it. Her armour was similar to Scarlet's but instead of silver and purple hers platinum was and blue. Obviously she was of higher ranks.

"Scarlet," The woman greeted with a smile, along with a salute.

"Lieutenant Astrid!" Scarlet saluted back, also smiling "Good to see you, ma'am."

"Same to you, soldier. Who's this?" 'Astrid' asked, gesturing towards me.

"This is Vincent. He has news for the General." Scarlet claimed.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant." I bowed, holding a hand out to her.

She shook it firmly, smiling kindly at me "Likewise. Though, I'm afraid I'll have to do a search to make sure you don't hold a threat towards Lilya."

Safety precautions indeed... "Very well."

Astrid did the search, and I had to bite back my discomfort as I wasn't used to this stuff. She gave me the all clear, stepping aside to let me enter the room. It was a typical General's office, though it seemed to hold a lot more books than average. An office inside a Library; that's what it looked like.

"General Lilya," Astrid spoke from behind me "You have visitors."

"Do I now?" A high cheerful voice spoke from somewhere in the room, causing me to curiously start looking around "It's been awhile since I've had one of those."

A pink light suddenly appeared right in front of my face, making me yelp and fall backwards onto my ass. I winced, before looking up to see a... Holy son of Emira.

Standing- or hovering right above me, was an adorable pink haired pointy eared fairy with the cutest green and platinum armour I had ever seen. She even had a flower crown to match. Her wings were pink, which explained the pink light, and her smile was angelic as she stared down at me.

My jaw dropped to the floor.

She giggled, flying down to meet my face and waving with a closed eye smile "Hi~ I'm General Lilya. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Erika wasn't kidding... She really is small.

---

"Pathetic."

Thorn watched as Raven drew his spear through a Werewolf's chest, their body going limp and falling to the floor as soon as he pulled away. The woman approached, kneeling by the victim and smirking widely.

"A werewolf's coat is supposed to sell for a high price," She claimed, running a hand through the poor creature's snowy white fur "We should make the most of this weak excuse of a wolf."

"She was an Omega, Thorn..." Delta approached, looking down solemnly at the wolf "She didn't stand a chance against a professional like Raven."

"My statement still stands." Thorn hissed "If she couldn't fight for herself she shouldn't have ventured out this far alone. Raven, grab her fur and then let's get moving."

"Alright..." Raven sighed, kneeling down and pulling out a knife.

Delta watched silently, his face sad as he thought about how this poor girl's family would never see her again. Just like how he probably wouldn't see his.

'I hope you're still alive out there, Hunter.' He thought to himself 'Because despite everything, you're still my sister.'