Swaths of grass tumbled across the sweep beyond the open air windows of the carriage. Lavender eyes gazed out at the landscape, a freckled mosaic of cattle and farmland. The agrarian view made for a diverting ride. It took Essairyn back to childhood days of apple and pumpkin picking, horse and hayrides, and growing and eating fresh produce. Although her experience with farms was infrequent, no more than the typical person who visited them for holidays like Halloween or simply during the autumn, a sense of nostalgia billowed through her. Coupled with the soft breeze and balmy weather, Essairyn felt exceedingly content. Her eyelids drooped shut as she leaned out and let the wind glide across her face.

"Only about five minutes 'til we reach Farinheld," announced the driver with what must have been the accent of this world's countryside.

"Okay!" Darren called back before turning to his seating partner again to continue their conversation.

"So mine is about as big as that farm with the blue shutters we passed by previously. Our family has been living there for generations. That's how Farinheld came about; it was a farming village. And that's why there're so many farms down this road, too." Leœss gestured toward the outside.

Nodding, Darren remarked, "No wonder why Byar'non is supposedly considering whether to include Farinheld as part of their territory for when they eventually expand. There's basically a stretch of civilization from here to Farinheld. But doesn't that contrast with the current configuration? To include rural land as part of a city?"

"True, but these farms provide most of the city with food, so it's easier to integrate them for economic and trade purposes." Leœss slouched on the cushioned bench with his hands behind his well-tamed mop of wavy auburn hair.

At the mention of town economies, Essairyn retracted her head from the window to interject. "Do you think Byar'non will eventually establish a state with the surrounding towns including Reisparte?"

"I'm almost positive it will. Neu'arth has long been pushing for expansion of civilizations across As'pyze using an expanding node system of sorts through the five provinces with itself as the center." Resentment shaded Leo's face. "Unlike the elemental kingdoms who've had centuries of advancement, the human kingdom is weak and vastly underdeveloped."

"Another problem is the environmental erosion along of As'pyze's west border," interposed Aispin, opening his eyes from a light slumber.

"Oh sorry, did we wake you?"

Aispin shook his head at Essairyn's question. "I was just resting and heard the driver earlier. So I needed to wake up now anyway." He flexed his stiff back as Leœss commented on his remark.

"You mean the Borderlands, right? Yeah, that place will eventually become a problem for the cities of the Western Province. Even the ocean degrades the land at a slower rate."

"Heaven's Fall." Essairyn almost whispered the name. While ethereal sounding, the sinister undercurrent divulged the true nature of the northwestern corner of As'pyze. Beyond the guileless glimmer of the seashore laid misty crags with waterfalls that evaporated into the void. It was the abyss where the fabric of the world had been wrenched free by Water and Light. The very foundation of the land had been torn and stowed away into another dimension, leaving behind a forsaken beauty of nature.

Both Heaven's Fall and the Borderlands deteriorated the adjacent land. But the latter was ruthless in claiming fertile land and reaping it of all bounties. Lifeforms withered into dust and rose as occasional miasma in the heart of this barren stretch between the frozen kingdom and human nation.

"Those lucky ice elementals don't have to worry about the erosion. Their magic type preserves their land for the most part. Instead, it's like we get double the amount."

Essairyn chuckled inwardly at Leœss's discontent. Since the icebreaker of The War Game a little over a week ago, they had been able to properly make acquaintance with Leo. And in getting to know him better, he had become increasingly expressive. His honesty and openness was quite the contrast to his initial rough impression. And through all their challenges at school, they had established themselves as quite the infamous trio of the advanced classes. Although their peers now respected them enough to be cordial due to the evaluation results of The War Game, they mainly stuck together with the occasional addition of Aispin.

After Essairyn and Darren's duel, the knights had revealed that a trainee had learned of the evaluation location ahead of time and scouted the area, thus finding the treetop passageways. All who played The War Game were prohibited from divulging anything about it so that the evaluation could be fair for each group. Both he and the senior who told him about the location were punished for cheating and aiding in the act, but the senior hadn't actually known about the treetops. Only Darren's wild guess based upon Essairyn's observations were deemed to be honest.

However, the hidden layer was in fact off-limits, but since no one had ever flown up into the trees before, no red markers were laid. Due to this and the unbalanced advantage the other side had, the knights couldn't justifiably disqualify the two. For the future, they decided to mark off the tops of the trees as well.

Historically, these leafy passageways were the homes of faeries when Light was still in this world. So, the school had another basis for preserving these natural artifacts. While the habitations of the fae folk were long gone, the ancient magic imbued into the forest which caused this irregular type of growth still remained.

For Essairyn, this had been shocking as she vaguely remembered Errol, the leader of the solh'vunds, mentioning that her presence in the Spirit-Demon forest was tolerated because of the faes. She also recalled the fairylike appearance of the wraiths that had seemingly greeted her at dusk. They did not look like the faeries of her textbooks, but perhaps they were distant cousins just like how the last of the dragon race also lived in the same forest. Essairyn then realized that the guardians of the forest were simultaneously protecting its inhabitants as living fragments of history.

Jolting Essairyn out of her thoughts, the driver announced their arrival in Farinheld, a quaint but lively village. The driver and his team would rest up before finding passengers for the ride home.

"We have to meet up with everyone else at the inn, but we also need to buy supplies on the way," instructed Aispin as he whipped out a checklist and set of orders given by Bodraig. "This town is small, so I doubt it would take long, but any volunteers for shopping, finding the inn, or helping Leœss back to his place?"

"Oh! That's fine. I can go back on my own." Leœss cut in with a wave of his hand.

"Are you sure? You might not be able to join the mission, but we were still tasked with looking out for you along with everyone else in this town."

"Pft, I'll be fine, seriously. Those knights worry too much for a new cadet going back home to personally tell the news."

"Yeah, man. Even if something happens, I've got your back." Darren smirked lopsidedly with a friendly shove to the other boy's shoulder.

Leœss jabbed him right back with a crooked grin. "Just don't get in my way."

"Ouch, that's harsh!" Darren laughed along with Leœss. Due to their similar circumstances at school, these two had found a confidant in one another. Despite Leœss constantly having a standoffish, sharp expression that seemed to be cursing the world, he actually had a good sense of humor. For Darren, he was much easier to talk to than Aispin.

"I volunteer for the shopping!" Essairyn raised her hand cheerily. She was excited to see what kind of adorable knickknacks might be found in the store of a small town.

Aispin smiled and inclined his head. "Sure, we'll be needing ten dozen mid-potions. A set for each member plus an extra. The inn will provide the rest of our essentials, so it's just these we need. Are you able to store them all in your inventory?"

"Yup! It shouldn't be a problem!" She gave a thumbs up, almost bouncing at the action due to her eagerness to set out for the local magic convenience store.

"Then I guess it's you and me for the inn," chuckled Aispin, turning his head from Essairyn to the two boys who were still chatting with one another before they departed in separate ways. Seeing them deeply engaging in their conversation, Aispin smiled and looked back at the ebony haired girl. "Maybe I should've tried convincing Bodraig to let Leœss join."

Essairyn giggled cheekily. "Yeah, those two are inseparable in class. I wouldn't be surprised if Darren decided to quit traveling with me if he could with Leœss," she quipped.

"Hey! I heard that!" Darren shouted over his shoulder. Essairyn made a face at him in response, garnering an amused, unamused look from the sandy-haired boy.

"That girl." Darren exhaled with a shake of his head. "Anyway, we'll catch up later after the mission is over okay? I'm sure she wouldn't mind us visiting your farm before we set out again."

"Sure thing! It's just my siblings and I at the farm. So it'll be a fun time I promise." Leœss winked, concealing the hidden pain of no longer having parents to scold or embarrass him when he had friends over. "I'd like to join you guys, but eldest son duties, you know?"

Darren understood completely. Although Leœss was just twenty one, he now had the responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings. Only one sister was older than him, but she was married and no longer lived at the family farm.

"I got it. Maybe one day, Leo." Darren smiled and added playfully, "Although Akari's a fox spirit, at least Essairyn has a girl with her. Kinda makes me feel left out, you know?"

Leo laughed with a hand on his stomach. "I know exactly what you mean. I feel that way all the time with my sisters; even though, I have one brother, but he's still just baby really. So he can't understand my pain, haha! Although..." He paused in thought. "You and Aispin aren't all that close despite being roommates?"

Darren pursed his lips in a strained smile. "Haha, is it that obvious?" He scratched his head.

"Uh yeah. You two barely talked to one another. It was mostly just Essairyn conversing with him. Although admittedly, the guy was snoozing most of the trip."

"I guess it's just... a little hard to talk with him."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Why? He seems like a pretty easy going guy."

"That's...." Darren hesitated with his mouth open to speak. Before he could say anything, Leo answered his own question.

"You feel like it's awkward, right? Because he's a higher knight class?"

Leœss's discernment rendered Darren unable to reply, only to sheepishly chuckle his confirmation that his friend was right. He and Essairyn had come to a deeper understanding of each other after their duel. But, Darren still struggled to open up to Aispin who reminded him of Essairyn's nonchalantly confident nature. That quality of theirs was something he wished he had. And seeing the two together, he couldn't help but think that Aispin would have made a more capable traveling partner for her.

"I get it. But then what about me?" Leo laughed with a slap to Darren's back. "How do you think I feel around you guys? I don't even want to meet the rest of your mission team at the inn. I got enough of the condescension back at school!"

If it wasn't for Leœss's playful tone and grin, Darren would have genuinely felt bad, despite having undergone most of the same criticisms. He also knew that Leo was just joking to make him feel better.

"Haha, no worries. I'll be representing for us D class, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. See you later, man." Leœss abruptly waved goodbye after realizing that Aispin had been patiently waiting for him. Essairyn had already left for the store.

Picking up on the cue, Darren returned the wave before jogging over to Aispin.

"Yeah, see you."

While Darren and Aispin began meandering their way through the village, Essairyn was already nearing the shop. Its red roof was visible between the gaps of surrounding buildings. That bright cherry color was the defining factor of the store according to Aispin. So she knew that she had found the right place.

As Essairyn picked up her pace, her eyes connected with another shock of red. A tall, lithe man was leisurely departing the store. For a split second, Essairyn thought they made eye contact. But the man casually turned his head with the rest of his body and continued on his way as one would do to a seemingly invisible stranger. Although brief and uncertain, the exchange made Essairyn halt in her steps. That man was the same one Darren had bumped into when they were walking together in Byar'non.

The girl's pause prompted Akari by her heels to look up at her in puzzlement. Following Essairyn's line of sight, the little fox jumped up a nearby barrel to discern the cause of her sudden stop. Spotting scarlet locks flowing gracefully behind a well-dressed man, Akari snickered softly.

"What? You saw a good looking guy?"

Partially closing her eyes in disgruntled disbelief, Essairyn turned toward the little rascal. A small, defiant huff escaped her frowning lips. "And what's with you and pointing out good looking guys all the time? Is that why you sat so cozily on Aispin's lap for the whole ride?"

A sly grin curled the corners of the fox's mouth. "What? Did you want to sit on his lap instead?"

"Wuh- You—!" Lavender eyes popped open at the ribald remark. Ignoring her urge to squish that smile off those mischievous cheeks, Essairyn whipped her gaze away and tromped a few steps of the way toward the store.

Although curious about the redhead's unexpected appearance in Farinheld, Essairyn pushed aside the fluttering misgivings to the back of her mind. It was a small town, so she would eventually figure out his identity.

Once inside, all thoughts vanished at the sight of the shop interior. The somewhat dimly-lit, large space was orderly crammed to the brim in an assortment of bright wares. From daily necessities of townspeople to essentials for passing adventurers, the store covered all the bases of potential visitors. It was a true one-stop convenience shop with all the quaint, rustic allure of the old countryside. Most would hardly be impressed by such a store, but to Essairyn, it was affirmation of living in a bygone fantasy.

While Akari perched herself by the window, Essairyn swayed eagerly toward the ceiling-high, open-back shelves on the right which seemed to be the side for adventurers. One shelf in the middle was dedicated for potions of various colors and likely differing purposes. She carefully picked up a bottle to inspect the rich, blue-green liquid swirling inside the delicate glass. The celadon glimmered enticingly, casting soft flecks of light onto nearby surfaces. With the bottle still in hand, she bent down to a lower shelf to look at the other colors more closely. The clink and chime of glasses as she repositioned bottles sent small thrills flushing over her countenance.

But composing herself, she fixed her eyes resolutely on the shelf for item labels. Seeing none, she confusedly inspected the bottle once more for labels. However, she only reconfirmed that it was indeed devoid of any designation on the glass or cork. Slightly troubled, she pondered for a moment before resigning herself to ask a clerk which was a mid-potion.

Straightening up from her crouch, Essairyn returned the celadon potion back to its proper place. As her fingers left the glass bottle and her vision refocused beyond the foreground of potions, her lavender eyes glimpsed green ones through the shelves.

"You—" Her lips uttered a word before her momentarily blank mind could stop her from suddenly speaking. At the inquiring sound, the man on the other side turned his head and peered through the wall of magic potions. She could no longer see those virescent irises. Was I just imagining it?

Quickly rebounding from her blunder, Essairyn waved her hands at the hooded man. "Ah, sorry!" She withdrew her flustered gaze and diverted her attention back to the potions, waiting for the stranger to walk away.

But he merely smiled a soft expression. "You," he began with subtle bow, "we meet again, lady."

Essairyn's gaze spun back to the man shrouded in a dark gray cloak. Her eyes scoped the visible parts of his face, searching for familiarity at his apparent recognition of her. The sharp jaw, lips curled in a soft smile... She flicked her eyes away in self-consciousness.

"You're the man from Reisparte market." Her statement bordered on a question. Though she had few physical features to base her conclusion, Essairyn was sure that it was the same hooded man who had helped her with the swindling Ayvirdizite merchant. They hadn't talked much, but that indescribable timbre of his voice was already unknowingly memorized in her heart.

"Yes, that's me." His light chuckle sounded almost like a purr. Essairyn's eyebrow involuntarily twitched at the throaty yet velvety voice. She subtly shook her head in order to break off the strange attraction to the sound. It seemed when one lacked visual features, the mind automatically focused on other sensory details.

"Which one is a mid-potion?" She blurted, wanting to end this itching bashfulness sprouting from her chest.

He nimbly picked up an emerald potion by the collar of the bottle. "A mid-potion is technically any potion with middle-level potency, but the term usually refers to health potions in native jargon. Here." He handed her the potion. "It's the ones with the double band on the cork."

Essairyn's eyes lingered on a silver ring on his forefinger. The ring band was etched with elegant, intricate, ice blue designs that coiled around a sapphire-violet hued gem slightly larger than the ring width. She hadn't spotted the ring on his right hand before because she had only closely seen his left palm during their Reisparte encounter.

Moving her gaze from the ring, she took the bottle by the heel. "Thank you." Essairyn replied in a cursory but grateful tone. As she picked up similar sized bottles of the same color. she noted that each cork was marked by a number of bands from one to three. Earlier, she hadn't realized the significance of the thin stripes around the top of each cork.

The man watched her silently take every double-banded, green potion off the shelves. He observed her purposeful avoidance of any eye contact in the realm of his hood; even though, she couldn't actually see his eyes. With an amused, internal sigh, he plucked one mid-potion off the shelf and headed to one of the registers.

His actions did not go unnoticed by Essairyn who had taken all available mid-potions on the shelves. She only managed to collect a little over a dozen. Although one additional potion wouldn't make much difference in her quota, it would significantly add to her current number. So, she followed the hooded man to the register in order to retrieve the last one. At the very least, she was quite positive that he didn't actually need it. But something told her that he had another idea in mind while taking it when she very clearly needed as many as she could get.

As she walked up to the check-out counter, Essairyn felt awkward at the sudden realization that she had stuffed all the potions in her magic cache for lack of external carrying capability. It feels like I'm stealing, but I didn't see any shopping baskets in here... Do people not usually buy this much? Ten dozen seemed like a lot to me, too... Brushing aside her concerns, Essairyn figured Bodraig had reason for the high number.

Coughing faintly, Essairyn prepared to explain her situation when the hooded man turned his body toward her and informed, "They're getting a box of mid-potions from storage. How many do you need?"

"Ah." She murmured with her mouth slightly open, caught off-guard. "T-ten dozen?" It sounded almost ridiculous to say it out loud when the shelves carried no more than twenty of each size and type potion.

But the hooded man merely nodded as if it was normal and looked back behind the counter where the clerk left. Unbeknownst to him, this gesture and movement revealed a snippet of raven black hair fluttering against the side of his right cheek. Essairyn spied the stray strands before they drifted languidly back in the shadows of his hood. Keen curiosity flickered within her at the combination of the few identifying features about this man. In her ardent imaginations, crossing paths once again with a mysterious figure entailed a greater story. Their second, unexpected meeting was for a reason. She needed to know his name.

"What's your—" "Okay, sir! Here're more mid-potions; how many total did you need?"

Essairyn subconsciously flashed a sharp glare at the clerk who had interrupted her upon his return. Her disappointed expression faded before either men could glimpse it.

"A hundred and twenty!!" The clerk repeated the other man's words with a gasp, almost losing his grip on the box just before he placed it on the counter. "These potions don't come cheap, sir! Why do you need so many anyway?"

The cloaked man gestured toward Essairyn to the right behind him. Stepping forward, she gave a succinct explanation. She, along with others, were on a mission assigned by the Knight's Order. Immediately, the clerk accepted the abridged clarification. He was a chatty young boy, but even he knew to stop questioning when it came to Knight missions.

The clerk processed the transaction, not minding that Essairyn had temporarily stored some mid-potions in her magic cache. To common people, a Knight's integrity was worth their trust. Unfortunately, their store didn't carry more than forty mid-potions in stock. As a small town business, they didn't have the means of storage or selling capacity to warrant such a high number. Adventurers didn't usually buy more than one because regular, one-banded health potions already cost a synde while mid-potions were four times greater at a quarthe eleuar. This was a small fortune to common people who could live off that amount for a couple weeks.

Gaps in human development engendered socioeconomic disparity between villages, towns, and cities. Essairyn's tins of gourmet candies from Reisparte would be small luxuries to the Farinheld townspeople. And merchant families like the Andelrins were considered financially privileged despite their nomadic life. Such was the difference between farming, working class people and businesspeople. Adventurers and low-class knights fell in-between. Mages and upper echelon knights were on a whole other level far above the general populace.

After storing the mid-potions in her magic cache, Essairyn left the store with the hooded man and Akari trailing behind. Just as she was about to head in the direction of the inn, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't been able to ask who he was. Turning to her side, he was no longer next to her. She spun all around and searched the sparse crowds in front of the store, but he was already gone. An odd sense of loss permeated Essairyn. The enigma remained a mystery. A dull murmur crept from her lips.

"I still don't know your name..."

Akari peered pensively at the disappointed girl but made no comment as Essairyn quickly recollected herself and pressed forward. Finding the inn was fairly simple, but it was a bit of a trek maneuvering around the closely situated buildings. By the time they arrived, Darren and Aispin had settled down and just met the rest of the mission group.

Upon informing Aispin that she couldn't buy 120 mid-potions, one of the new group members elucidated the intent of the supposed shopping instructions. All of the supplies didn't have to be bought at Farinheld, for they had already acquired most of them before arriving. The 120 number was only an ideal maximum for preparatory mission expenses. The instructions had duplicated on both ends of the group without communication clarifying their collaboration. Another member zoned in on this uncharacteristic peculiarity.

"Isn't it odd that we don't have a superior to oversee this mission?" Izlende, a platinum-haired, blue-eyed girl of twenty years, pointed out. She wasn't a sworn knight, but Academy students knew that chief-level knights were assigned to supervise missions.

"Yeah, I thought someone was coming with you." Added Theryn, a sandy blonde with almost shoulder length hair. His sea-green gray eyes glinted as he narrowed them in dramatics, whispering loudly, "You don't think they're setting us up for failure?"

Despite the half-joking tone of his voice, the rest of the group unconsciously furrowed their brows hearing this conspiracy theory. "Don't fool around, Theryn. This is a serious mission. Do you even know what rank it is?" Chided Rakun, the tallest of the bunch. His warm brown eyes reflected reticently beneath sleek pitch-black hair tied in a high pony-tail.

Theryn sighed ruefully with quirked smile and shrugged shoulders. "Beats me. I was just glad for some fresh air and a break from studies. Argh, Benni caught me yesterday. I would've gotten my ass kicked if it weren't for a knight appearing to inform me about the mission. I got the hell outta of there—dodged a real bullet!"

Rakun's side-bang drooped around his jaw as he tipped his head to the side with a light disapproving shake and tut of his tongue. "Should've gotten your ass kicked. You skip way too many classes, I don't even know how you're still passing."

"Aw, did you miss me? I'll make the next class just for you!" Theryn quipped boisterously, making Rakun roll his eyes ever the slightest before he turned back to the group with a faint smile. "Our apologies, we got off topic there."

"It's okay Ra," assured Aispin with his arms languidly crossed while he reclined against a wall beam. "Nice to see Theryn as lively as ever. I feel like I haven't seen you all in ages. I didn't think we'd meet in this manner, though."

Rakun nodded with a grave air. "The mission is low B-rank. I can understand why Ennrion and I are here, but for the rest of you, it's concerning." The others dipped their head slightly in acknowledgement. After knowing Rakun for years, they knew his words weren't meant to be offensive. He was straightforwardly honest to where he was almost blunt, but his naturally mellow tone always softened any edges.

"Either this will be a mostly melee mission, seeing as the four of us are knights out of six that I know, or the Academy and Knights really screwed up in their furtiveness." Ennrion stated it plainly. Seeing his stern smile, Izlende bent down to the sitting man and pinched his cheeks to erase the austere lines. He willingly let her do as she wished, almost seemingly pleased by her affectionate action. She let out her breath lightly at his softened expression, straightened her back, and placed one hand on top of Ennrion's chair.

"First thing's first. Everyone, state your name, position, and rank. Let's be prepared for whatever happens. I'll go first. Izlende Ryrarin. You can call me Izra. Dual-mage. Mid-upper C rank. Short-sword, knight. Upper E rank."

The dark scarlet-ash eyes of the sable-haired man seated to her right glimmered with quiet self-assurance. "Ennrion Azolil. Longsword, knight. Low-mid B rank."

"Rakun Umista. Katana, knight. Low-mid B rank."

"Theryn Fenens. Broadsword, knight. Upper D rank. Gods, I hate introducing myself after these two."

"Brynhilde Melisande As'nyte." The brunette seated the furthest away in the group encirclement proudly began with her hands laid elegantly on top of her crossed legs. "Spell-mage. C rank."

Theryn rolled his eyes melodramatically. "Could you say it any more condescendingly?"

Brynhilde's bright brown-amber eyes flickered in annoyance as she huffed. "Well sorry for being born more talented than you, you boor. I'm only stating what is."

"Tch! You're only a C because of your elemental blood. You haven't even improved your rank after all these years while Ra and Rio—" "Please don't call me Rio, Theryn." "—are already rank B."

Visibly peeved, she snapped back. "Cultivating magic is much harder than any knight training you know!"

"Blah, blah, whatever with your magic training nonsense. You depend on spells anyway, so what's your big deal? Not even a true-mage despite being an elemental, heh!"

"Ancient spells, takes years to learn and properly cast! Why do you always have to pick a fight with me about the same damn thing?!" Brynhilde's cheeks bubbled up in a rosy shade. Her little outburst and dignified pout almost made Rakun chuckle in amusement.

Theryn waved his hand dismissively. "And why do you have to act so haughtily all the time?! Flinging your middle name around just 'cause you're a royal. It's not like you're the next in line."

"Argh, you!!!" She seethed and almost vaulted from her seat toward Theryn who stuck a finger in his ear in boredom. A steady hand placed itself on her shoulder, preventing her brash reaction. Brynhilde looked up in surprise to see Rakun gaze wordlessly at her. She quivered inside, not noticing his subtle movements until he was by her side. She could never fathom those sharp yet softly clear eyes. Unknowingly, she clenched her fists.

Essairyn attentively observed this whole exchange. Already, she formed loose understandings of the group and interpersonal dynamics. What an interesting bunch... There was definitely more to them than what met the eyes.

Although Theryn seemed happy-go-lucky, she sensed something deeply somber and resentful underneath that skin-tight masque. And the stable Rakun exuded a tautly-wrapped mystery that was speckled with subtle idiosyncrasies. Brynhilde was vain, and perhaps rightly so for she did invariably work hard at her magical craft while still being part of the royal As'nyte family. But the tale of her struggle reached deeper than the mirror surface. Ennrion was a lake hidden by the moonless forest. She couldn't quite make heads or tails of this guy. Izlende, on the other hand, Essairyn's heart beat a little quicker upon her grasped impression of this silver-haired girl. She had a striking, rare intuition that they were going to be great friends.

Similarly, Darren looked upon the quarrel with good humor and spirits. The barren roads wouldn't feel so cheerless alongside this motley crew. Clearing his throat, he caught the attention of the others and stated his position and rank. Essairyn followed after a slight hesitation. She wasn't sure about her true rank and position, so she simply asserted, "Upper D rank knight, Upper C rank mage."

Izlende blinked twice, lightly inquiring, "Hm? Sounds like you're strong, but you don't know your mage-type or have a definite melee weapon?"

Essairyn slowly nodded. "Um, you could say that I haven't quite decided on a single weapon yet. As for mage-type, I guess I'm a combat mage? ...sorta."

Izra laughed ebulliently. "You don't sound too sure. Oh! That reminds me, Aispin did say you two were travelers as well as newbies and that you didn't join the Knight's Order. How come?"

"I like traveling around, so I figured it would be better for now if I wasn't bound by the Knight's Oath as I'm still learning about this world."

Izra's high-pony tail and side-bang swayed luxuriantly about her shoulders and right cheek as her head bobbed listening to Essairyn. She and Rakun could almost come across as siblings with their matching hairstyles with reverse placements of the bangs if it weren't for their contrasting hair and eye colors, not to mention, the manifest scar gracing a few inches up the left side of Izlende's scalp. Essairyn imagined that Izra chose this hairstyle for the confident purpose of exhibiting that scar.

"Cool! I'm all for freedom and adventures!" Izra lifted her palm up for a high-five, surprising Essairyn for a split second before she completed the action.

"Well now we're a little better on the magic situation at least—"

"But aren't mages the ones being captured the most?" Theryn interrupted Ennrion. "How do we know if Izra, Bryn, and Ess—" "Brynhilde!" "—airyn are actually the bait in this mission?" He ignored the vexed brunette and looked at the rest of the group.

Rakun released a heavy breath. "It's good to be cautious, but hopefully that's not the case. I doubt the Knights would deliberately endanger the mages. We can only follow the instructions of scouting the town and discovering who exactly's behind the abductions."

"Yes, it doesn't do us any good mulling over this now." Izlende voiced. "Let's get to work and talk to the townspeople. We might get more clues, and then we can discuss battle plans when we reconvene after dinner."

Everyone agreed and proceeded to assign various sections of the town for each to cover. Information and familiarity with the surroundings was crucial to preventing further incidents or sneak attacks. Although the town wasn't large, they were few in number. And while they were under the guise of an adventurer group, it would be tricky to not alert the enemy in their reconnaissance. The longer they stayed in town, the more suspicious they would appear.

That night, Essairyn laid in bed with Akari curled up by her side. Lavender-hued brown orbs stared at the star-lamps bumbling lazily in the skies. These night-lights dusted the dark with pale auroras. Their gentle glow quelled Essairyn's roiling anticipation, guiding, beckoning her to sleep. This peaceful view outside her bedside window contrasted with the busy events of the day and the following week.

Despite the group's apprehension, they had not witnessed any strange activities nor received any concerning villager testaments to Farinheld's supposed straits. Instead, Essairyn was harmlessly practicing her swordsmanship inside her room. The quivering air shrieked noiselessly wherever her blade passed, and the scintillating gleam of the frozen sword frolicked around, casting the room in an ice-diamond luster. Even the morning light couldn't match the intensity of the reflecting illumination inside the living space. Nor could the glowing stream of falling twilight color the room gold. Frigid billows gushed from fine cracks imperceptible to human eyes. The leaking iciness from the wooden board walls would make anyone approaching the girl's room shiver from the sudden drop in temperature.

Creak. The blade whistled in a downwards strike in the direction of the opening door. Silver hair bounced weightlessly like spiraling feathers behind a honey-cream complexion. "Sairyn, you ready?" The brilliant ice sword disappeared into the magic cache as Essairyn bobbed her head at Izlende. The platinum haired girl scrunched her face at the appearance of the frosty room.

"I know you can't reveal that weapon in public, especially not in this mission, but man, this is crazy. I hope everything thaws in time before we go to bed tonight!" Izlende plodded over to the nearest piece of furniture and tapped a suspicious finger upon the shimmering chair. "Eeep~! So cold!" She dramatically clutched her arms after quickly withdrawing her finger.

The sight made Essairyn giggle. "Don't worry. You know it only takes half an hour."

Izra flashed a helpless smile. "I know, it just amazes me every time. I still can't believe you got an elemental weapon from some random farmhouse couple on the outskirts of a town. What luck! Although... it's not like anyone else but you could use it anyway, haha!"

"You can try again if you want," offered Essairyn.

"Nah." Izra waved her hand and chuckled. "I don't want to get ice-burnt again." A sudden remembrance of yesterday's scene with the boys popped up in her mind, making her laugh louder in amusement. "Pft! Though I wouldn't mind seeing Rion's face again! I've never seen him so red in my life, hehheh!"

Essairyn shook her head at the sound of Izra's devilish chortles at the expense of her boyfriend. "You're the one that set him up like that. Poor guy! So evil, but I approve!" She gave a thumbs up, and Izra grinned, returning the gesture.

The two girls strolled over to the modestly resplendent dining room of the town inn while chatting pleasantly. Despite the short time together, the girls formed a quick bond. Essairyn was delighted to have found someone who she could be completely comfortable without any pretense or caution. She didn't want to be clingy with someone she had just met, but luckily, Izlende shared her enthusiasm. So Essairyn flicked away her inner self-warning to not get close so quickly. Regardless of what happens, she felt most at ease with Izlende, so there was no need to restrain herself due to concerns about the future or self-preservation from getting hurt.

This decision made Essairyn realize that she needed to live more emotionally free. If she kept guarding herself, she'd only end up the same as in her previous life. With little Akari alone, Essairyn still needed to remove the final psychological barriers between them. She hated loosing friends from disconnect caused by time and her weak courage. She was shamefully coward to let go of people she held dear and then mope introspectively like she had suffered greatly after. Essairyn only had herself to blame for the layer of ice that sparkled innocuously around her heart. People were drawn by her aura, then eluded, and rebuffed like a magnet that attracted all until they were too close.

"Yo Izra, Sairyn! Over here!" Theryn thumped the table with a bright smile. Ennrion glared at the blonde while Rakun elbowed him. "Ack! Okay okay, I only wanted Sairyn to sit next to me anyway, not Izra, tch!" Ennrion half-rolled his eyes at Theryn's confession.

"Not today, buddy! She's with me." Izlende stuck out her tongue and plopped next to her boyfriend. She patted the seat to her left for Essairyn to sit. Seeing the other girl oblige, a sunny smile graced her elvish face. She had to resist pinching the other's cheeks like she was an older sister doting on a younger. Izlende, though, was in fact a year older than Essairyn. Except for Ennrion, the Academy group including Aispin were all the same age. Brynhilde was a year younger, Ennrion, one older.

Shortly after the two girls' arrival, the rest of the crew arrived along with the host of the dinner. Upon the sight of the inn's owner who had invited them to this small feast, Essairyn inwardly gasped. It was the red haired man that she had encountered previously. Amber eyes connected lavender for a brief, breath-stopping moment. Instantly, her mind tumbled with theories. She could now connect a name to his face. As she sat down after the group's greeting, she wiped away her conspiring thoughts. Questions could be asked in person later.

"Thank you all for staying at my inn and graciously accepting my humble wish to dine together. I hope you enjoy the modest town delicacies I have prepared. Please dig in!"

Landing upon the assorted dishes that seemed to be glossed in a delicious shine, her eyes sparkled ravenously. Hearing the accompanying low rumble of her stomach, Darren seated next to her blinked at the girl with round eyes. If Essairyn weren't feeling a little self-conscious, she'd have smiled a little at his curiously cute expression. Izlende, on the other hand, cackled at her eagerness to eat. Pouting, Essairyn stabbed the food closest to her and chomped down on a strip of steak. A radiant light flushed her countenance. Ah~! Nothing beats good food! Hearts seem to emanate from Essairyn as she devoured everything in front of her.

"Whoa, and I thought I was the biggest foodie!" Izra gasped.

"Oh, I know someone who has an even bigger bottomless pit!" Essairyn snickered, thinking of a certain fox.

"So you admit to having a bottomless void for a stomach!" Theryn hooted, receiving another elbow jab from Rakun. Hurt by his scolding, the blonde was tear-filled as he protested, "You hit me again! And I thought we were best friends! What's with you hitting me so much lately!"

"Because you've been very bad lately," responded Rakun apathetically.

Theryn held his chest as if he had been struck by a brutal arrow. "My best friend, you have hurt me so." Everyone laughed at Theryn's antics; even Ennrion scoffed in amusement.

The rest of the dinner continued merrily. When Essairyn retired to her chambers before Izlende returned, she was impudently greeted by a pale caramel streak. Immediately, the girl retaliated with aggressive head pats and cheek squishes.

"Mmphff! I surrender!" Akari shrieked as she struggled in Essairyn's arms. "Pah-too!" The fox shook her fur after the girl let go. Akari didn't run and just looked at her with vigilant but happy eyes. "You're hardly around now. I rarely get to see you these days. Are these rounds even effective? Did you discover anything yet?"

"What, did you miss me, cutie?" Essairyn grinned and hugged the fox who was now the size of a small dog rather than a stuffed plushie. She already missed the miniature Akari who had gotten fat and big from good food of the Farinheld inn and Byar'non campus. The fox was too large to stand comfortably on her shoulder now. "We didn't find anything yet." She sighed. "You should join me next time instead of lounging around all day."

"Hey! I was not! I was helping too!"

"Is that so? Then tell me, did you discover anything?"

Akari turned away guiltily. "N-no."

"Hm, thought so." Essairyn lazily smiled and rolled over on her back on top of the bed covers. "Pu~ you deserted me as soon as we entered Farinheld. So you can't complain that I didn't look for you."

"Wah!" Akari jumped and slumped over Essairyn's belly with her front legs. "You can't say that! You know I like to explore on my own! Besides, I don't like that guy. He looks at me weird..." She drew soft ellipses with her right paw on the girl's shirt.

Essairyn propped herself up on her forearms. "You mean the innkeeper, Kajarn?" Akari nodded with big, glimmering eyes. Essairyn placed her palm comfortingly behind the fox's head. "Yeah, I have mixed feelings about him as well. And to think that he's actually a noble, too. ...I wonder what he's doing in this small town much less in Byar'non."

"Maybe, he was just restocking in the main city for his business?"

"I thought you didn't like him, but you're making up reasons for him?"

"I don't know. We might just be overthinking things because of the mission and all. And it's not like it's the first time people stared at me strangely. Actually, you're the weirder one for sticking with me."

"Hmph, I would rather have you over him anyway. Although, to be honest, I dig the long hair. It's quite pretty. Do you think he's a fire elemental or something with that red hair and orange eyes?"

Akari shook her head. "Trust me, when you see a fire elemental, that guy's red would pale in comparison. He isn't even an elemental, just a human."

Shocked, Essairyn sat up completely. "Really?! But he's dressed so finely! And a noble!"

"Humans can be part of the noble class too, you know? It's not like the elemental kingdoms are anarchies. Sure, they can't be part of the royal family, but there are plenty of mixed elementals who married humans. Kajarn isn't mixed though. His family serves As'rien kingdom."

"Choyal family, huh?" Essairyn murmured pensively.

"I know nothing about the family except that they've been around for a long time. Maybe the royal family's pretty lenient? Or he got kicked out?"

The door clicked open. The two turned their heads at Izlende's entrance who had returned from Ennrion's quarters. "Hey girls! How're you feeling after dinner, Sairyn? Theryn's jaw drop when you announced you had a second stomach for desserts was priceless! I can't believe that idiot actually took your words literally!" Izra guffawed with her fingers over her mouth. "I kinda understand though. Your magic's amazing, so a goof like him would fall for it!"

Essairyn blushed at the casual compliment. "Thanks? Haha..."

Izlende suddenly darted toward Essairyn's bed and leaned over to whisper mischievously, "Let's surprise Brynhilde in the washroom."

"Huh?!" Essairyn jerked back in surprise.

"She deserves it after stealing the bathroom first for three nights in a row! Gods, I can't believe this inn only has one each for the guys and girls on this floor!" Izlende protested vehemently. "And we're not allowed to use the ones on the other floors! Such a tiny inn, so strict! **** this! I want hot water today!"

"Pft!" Essairyn stifled her laugh. It was true that the spoiled Brynhilde spent all of the hot water with her hour long soaks. While the inn was nice overall, it was still lacking due to being in a small town village detached from the city. They would have to wait another hour before the water heated sufficiently enough, and that was if the guys didn't consecutively shower. Both she and Izra weren't patient enough to wait or skip the shower after another dusty, long, fruitless day of scouting. The unsuspecting Brynhilde who took Izlende's tolerance for granted didn't know what hit her that night. The prank was a comical success—and an antithesis to the hellish fires of the next morning.

Caught in gray, Essairyn barely heard the rumblings before dawn. Her ashy vision blurred her other senses as she tried to wake up from a cold sweat. Her sluggish limbs floundered motionlessly, unconsciously causing her heart to pound in panic. That sinking feeling spurred her body to arise from the unseen entrapment that unraveled reluctantly at her will. A sudden jolt jarred her body upright from covers that looked like they had just been made. Like the listless dead, she had laid obliviously in sleep as the screeches of despair whipped past her ears.

"You're awake!" A tearful sob intermixed with wild joy numbed her senses momentarily. Izlende had pounced upon Essairyn as if seeing someone awaken from a coma. "I thought I had failed and made a terrible mistake in trying to counteract the poison discreetly." She cried, hugging Essairyn even tighter. "Thank goodness it was effective in the end. But..." Izra loosened her grip and turned her head warily toward the unconscious Brynhilde and shut door. "Looks like you were the only one strong enough to break free in time."

"Izlende." Essairyn's slightly slurred voice was rough with a lingering trace of drowsiness. "What's happening? What're you talking about? Why is there—"

"Shh—!" Izra lightly hushed Essairyn's loudening voice with her palm. "Talk quieter! I don't know if anyone's inside the inn on our floor. We can't alert anyone! I'll answer your questions quickly." She took a deep breath and stared at the other girl with clear, determined, steely-blue orbs.

"Someone's been adding poison to our food at the inn. Technically, it's not poisonous until it comes into contact with an activator. But the more we consume before the activator, the stronger the effect of the resulting poison. Last night's feast was laced with this slowly catalyzing activator so that we wouldn't be aware before we went to sleep. I figured out the poison three days ago. And since then, I have been casting purifying spells on you, Brynhilde, and Ennrion. It was only now that I realized it was a catalyzing poison." Izlende explained the situation while laying her hands on the slumbering brunette. Every second was precious.

A shocking realization flashed in Essairyn's eyes. "So then last night you were actually—!" Izra knew that Essairyn figured it out. "Yes, I was actually casting a spell on you and Brynhilde in the bathroom." She coughed abashedly. "I need direct skin contact in order to detox the body. You couldn't see the magic circle because I condensed it on your back. I'm not a white mage for nothing, you know!"

Essairyn smiled softly at Izra's subtle display of pride. For sure, having a healer in these situations was reassuring. She understood that Izlende had to act secretly in fear of alerting whoever had done this. Otherwise, they might miss the reason behind their clandestine ploy that could ultimately be connected to their mission.

"We're lucky to have you. How long will it be until the others wake up? The poison renders us immobile?"

Izlende nodded. "The poison is harmless if it doesn't come into contact with the activator within ten days or so as the body dispels it naturally. But it's been building up for a week now, just four days for us, Bryn, and Rion. When you fall asleep while it's active, it's more difficult to wake up. Thankfully, it didn't take that long for you. Using you as an estimate, Brynhilde should be up in twenty minutes. As for the others..." A dark shadow crossed her face. "It could take hours if I don't get to them soon."

"How long did it take me? You were able to avoid the poison and wake up earlier?"

"Ten minutes. ...You eat a little too much."

"Hey!" Essairyn picked up her pillow and stopped short from chucking it at the silver-haired girl who had bit her lip in order to resist a chortle.

"Ah, sorry, ahah. I could cancel out the poison as it entered my body with an inner spell, but I'm not able to do that easily for others much less in a hidden way. Besides, I was caught by surprise too. I didn't know that they would attack tonight. Otherwise I would have—"

Creak. Thud. The sound of someone walking up the stairs resounded dimly in the clamorous night. Both girls froze, concentrating on the steady thump of boots against wood as it neared their door. A pale bead of magic whooshed from Essairyn's fingertips.

Click. The door swung open, revealing a heavyset, tall man garbed in muted colors. For a split second, he stood still in the doorframe, his mind piecing together the unexpected scene before him. But before he could unsheathe the sword on his waist, the magic bead burst in front of his forehead. He staggered backwards, toppling past the doorway.

Taking advantage of the reverse sneak attack, Essairyn leapt from her bed, instantiated her magic sword, and sliced the man's legs and arms. He shrieked inaudible gurgles and twitched involuntarily as the blood pooled below him.

"Why didn't you aim for the neck? Just kill him quickly instead of letting him bleed out. Now you might've alarmed the enemy." Izlende breezed past Essairyn and dealt the finishing blow with her dagger.

"But shouldn't we try figuring out the situation from him first?"

"Asking him is pointless, especially since you blasted his face off basically. We need to get outside and see what's happening. Don't you hear the screams? There's a big fight out there, and the townspeople seem to be caught up in it!"

Essairyn shrunk back in shame. Izra sighed and looked at the girl with gentle eyes. "We can't waste time. And you can't be so kind in a life or death situation. Just listen to your instincts like when you made that magic bead. Don't think too much." The girl still had to adapt much more to this ruthless world.

"I understand." Essairyn hardened her eyes and stepped over the man's body.

"I'll stay here to wake up the others. Ennrion will come help you soon. Be careful." Essairyn inclined her head back, nodding at Izlende's words. The silver haired girl felt her heart tighten in distress. Shaking her head, she steeled herself that Essairyn would be okay and rushed over to the boy's room, hoping she wasn't too late.

Barefooted, Essairyn crept down the stairs. Before the bottom of the first floor, she spied a man entering the inn. She crouched down, fixing her sharp gaze upon the man drawing nearer. Feeling something was off, the man stopped and suddenly noticed a large shadow by the top of the stairs. Alarmed, he gripped the hilt of his sword, drawing it out as magic needles abruptly barraged him. Blinded and unbalanced, he screamed and teetered forward before ultimately falling down.

Hearing the cries of their accomplice, nearby men stomped over to the formerly silent inn. Essairyn hastily put on the boots stored in her cache and tied the laces with magic while hurtling out the door. Spotting the people heading towards her, she extended the blade of her sword and swept in a wide arc, striking them all. Running past the fallen group, she whipped her head about, trying to grasp the situation.

Burnt houses and torn bodies bestrewed the townscape. Men and women fled and defended themselves with wild, desperate cries. Children clutched at their mother's skirts or trembled on the ground, their backs pressed against walls bloodied by the futile sacrifice of their parents. Dark-clothed intruders, aided by deformed, blackened figures, indiscriminately slaughtered the townspeople.

Demons?! Essairyn was bewildered by the sight of the grotesque creatures that were disgustingly humanoid. Why would demons be helping humans while also killing them? What's going on?! Wait. Where's Akari?! She spun on her heel in the direction of the inn. The danger had caused her to temporarily forget about the little fox. Surely, Akari should have perceived the demons' presence before the night attack. So, she must have gotten away as Essairyn didn't remember seeing Akari sleeping on her bed when she woke up. But she had shared the inn's food with the gluttonous fox several times. Could the poison affect spirits too?

A whistling blade snapped Essairyn to her senses. Now was not the time to be distracted. She deftly dodged the back strike and pivoted. Blood sprayed from the gash; some droplets splashed Essairyn's cheek. Her eyes widened as they connected with the attacker's bulging eyes which were mired in shock, terror, and death. Numbed by the dying gaze and dripping sensation on her cheek, Essairyn stood frozen in place. A slow hand reached up and wiped away the blood. Peering at her bloody fingertips, she trembled, horrified. Just what am I doing? Killing people...

"Essairyn!!" Two voices jolted her out of her daze. She looked up, just in time to see a glinting blade pass inches by her head. An agonized screech followed from behind.

"What're you doing standing in the middle of this?! You're going to get yourself killed!" Aispin berated Essairyn, making her cringe in chagrin. He was right. She needed to calm herself. Stop thinking as Izlende had said.

"I'm sorry."

The girl's faint voice gripped Aispin's heart. He didn't mean to yell at her like that.

"I—"

"We need to get a move on." Ennrion interrupted Aispin. "I'll cover the front of the inn. Aispin, go to the west where the main residential neighborhoods are. Essairyn." He paused, sizing her up. "Go to the east, find out what they're after."

"Ennrion you—!" Aispin began to challenge his orders for Essairyn.

"I got it." She cut him off and sped away.

Aispin turned on Ennrion. "Why did you tell her to go there?! She's obviously frightened by everything that's happening. Why send her to the heart of it?!"

The taller man exhaled with a heavy conscience. "She's stronger than you think. If she's going to survive in this world, she needs to change."

Aispin gritted his teeth in contempt. "You don't have to be the one that decides that for her."

Ennrion stared at the back of Aispin's retreating figure. Izlende, tell me that you're right... A nearby scream brought him back. Silently, he sprinted to the townspeople's aid. The morning would be a long one.

On the other side of town, Essairyn skillfully, thoughtlessly cleared the path before her. Wails of dying foes and black demon dust swarmed the air. A large cage entered her sight. Bound townspeople trapped inside were being hauled away into the back of a truck. Streaking towards the vehicle, Essairyn was ready to slash the tires. Before she reached five meters from the caged people, a man whose face was partially covered by a black scarf dropped down from the sky, blocking her path. Wordlessly, he engaged Essairyn with lightning-fast moves.

"Oh? You're pretty good." She couldn't help commenting on the ninja-quick man. He didn't respond. Frowning, she switched her sword hand and materialized her scythe in her right hand. She couldn't let him get near as he obviously was best suited in close range. Witnessing the casual switching of magically created weapons, the man's eyes widened, and he jumped back in alarm.

"What? You're scared now?" Essairyn taunted with a side-smirk that instantly twisted in a sneer. This man was not like the henchmen she had previously fought. He was sent to protect the getaway of the truck. She wouldn't take him lightly, but that didn't mean she was the least bit intimidated by him.

Essairyn leapt into the air and swiftly ran over his head toward the truck. Shocked, he raced over and prepared to fend off her aerial attack. As expected, she targeted the tires. He blocked her strike, but he wasn't well equipped to withstand it. Not only did the long reach of her scythe prevent him from properly counter attacking, but it was now apparent that she had only been testing him before. He was no match for this strange girl who could wield a weapon crafted instantaneously from magic.

As that thought settled in, greed rose in his heart. Perhaps they could capture this girl too. Evidently, she was a mage despite being able to fight physically. But he only entertained this delusion for a moment. They didn't have sufficient strength to capture her this time.

In a split second decision, he flung one of his daggers at her while leaping away. Reflexively, she blocked the throw and even grabbed the dagger as it dropped. Her triumphant expression lasted but a moment when the truck began moving. She had wasted too much time with the man and overlooked her ability to fight magically instead of physically. If she had just sent magic needles over, she could have pierced the tires. ****. I'm getting too used to the knight's style of fighting since attending the Academy. This isn't suitable for me. Get yourself together. You've made too many mistakes already.

Unwilling to let the truck escape, Essairyn accelerated her movements with magic and tailed it. She flung a wide arc of magic underneath the truck, making it skid and collapse under itself. But again, she had celebrated inside her head too soon.

A chilling voice accompanied slow, booming claps. "Very good. Just what I'd expect from a C-class knight. Or should I say, mage?"

Essairyn spun her head around and glared at the speaker. Long, scarlet hair, playful yet hostile amber orbs. She inwardly gasped. Kajarn Choyal.

"Surprised? I believe this is the third time that crossed paths, dear Essairyn. Yet you're looking at me so coldly. I'm hurt."

The man's simper annoyed the girl. "Cut the flirty villain speech crap. What were you planning to do with these villagers?" She retorted while bashing the lock free on the truck's back doors. Essairyn kept an eye on him as she strapped a magic rope around the bars of the cage, dragging the imprisoned townspeople out. To her vexation, he only smiled leisurely at her actions, not moving a finger to counter the escape of the captives.

"Were planning to do? Who said I'm not doing anything right now?"

Essairyn's eyes widened in slow realization. His underlying message indicated that this truck wasn't the only one with townspeople. She jerked forward, yelling at Kajarn. "You bastard! What'd you do?!"

"Did. Everything's complete now. Good work holding her off, Lyam." Kajarn turned and walked away.

"I asked you a question!" Essairyn burst forward and swung her scythe at him. He shifted his head back and lifted a hand up to block her blow. Electric sparks the color of byzantium erupted from the collision. To her utter shock, Essairyn was flung backwards. Catching herself in the air, she skidded on the dirt and quickly regained her balance. Kajarn peered at the trickle of blood from his fingertips.

"The prototype isn't complete after all." He frowned and looked up at Essairyn. Tipping his head to the side, he faintly grinned. "You're a strange one. I don't suppose you'd care to join us?"

"You—!" Speechless, she couldn't believe the gall of this guy. He merely chuckled softly and waved his hand.

"Lyam." The black scarfed man appeared at Kajarn's side. Drawing out his daggers, he readied his stance to face off Essairyn as Kajarn stepped back. Worried about him escaping before she could interrogate Kajarn, Essairyn dashed forward, but Lyam deftly repelled her. Visibly incensed, she hurled her scythe to the right, and it vanished into thin air. Taking advantage of Lyam's split second surprise, Essairyn ensnared him with magic ropes before harshly kicking his chest. He spat out blood as he dropped onto the ground like a rag-doll.

"Ah." Kajarn murmured with a hint of disbelief. He had barely taken a step away, and Essairyn had trounced his second in command. It seemed that this girl had been holding back after all. Or rather, she was too inexperienced in real battles to employ her full potential yet. He clapped heartily.

"Bravo! If you had fought like this earlier, maybe you would have found out about our real plan! Too late, I hope we meet again, Essairyn." A ray of disintegrated black that glowed like red cinders streaked toward Essairyn immediately following his words. Without a second to dodge the close-range, unexpected attack, she braced herself for the impact.

Boom! The black beam struck a virescent barrier that abruptly materialized in front of Essairyn. The force of the explosion knocked her backwards. But she she never felt the fall as sweeping arms caught and steadied her back on her feet. Black boots, black pants, and an oddly familiar cloak.

Surprised, Essairyn whipped her head at the person who had helped her. It was the hooded man. Or, it could've been any man in a cloak, but somehow she knew it was the same mysterious person she had met before. In fact, if it weren't for his cloak, she might've even thought it was the enemy for a split second and elbowed him in a knee-jerk reaction. The man felt her gaze and dipped his head lightly in a nod. She could've sworn he winked under his hood when he said, "Hello again, lady."

Something fluttered inside her heart, making her wonder why she felt so happy seeing him in this moment. Inwardly shaking her head from such puzzling feelings, she quickly returned to the precarious situation at hand. Not only had Kajarn fired off an attack on Essairyn, but darkly garbed men and gnarled, humanoid demons had descended from the rooftops around them.

Caught surrounded, Essairyn hurriedly dashed forward with a sweep of her scythe to part the way toward Kajarn. Her unanswered questions were many. She couldn't let him leave without an explanation for their attack on Farinheld. And sure enough, he was escaping through the concealment of the attackers.

"Don't let him get away!" A thundering voice resounded from above. Essairyn jerked her head up in time to see a well-built man drop into the heart of the encirclement. With one flourish of his great sword, he severed all the enemies around him, over two dozen total. As they fell, Essairyn spotted the twinkling remnants of a teleportation charm.

"****! He got away." The blonde man cursed and flipped the great sword onto his back with a half-sigh. His sword arm dropped while his other hand placed itself on his hip in defeat.

Although astounded by his one-hit strike and sudden appearance, Essairyn didn't forget about Lyam who was still bound. Ripping off his scarf, she commanded, "What did Kajarn mean? Why did you attack Farinheld and capture the townspeople?"

Lyam calmly gazed at her as blood dribbled from the corners of his mouth. After a quietly tense moment's face off, he replied with a triumphant smirk. "Head northwest. You'll find your answers there." And with that, he bit the pill in his mouth and disappeared in a flurry of black specks.

Distraught, Essairyn clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth. The mission was a complete failure. And not only that, the mysterious man had disappeared in the fray yet again after helping her. The third time was not the charm to know his name, much less who he was. Exhaling, she composed herself and straightened her posture. Angling her head toward the blonde stranger, she inquired, "You are..?"

The man turned toward Essairyn at her voice. A spark of interest flashed across his mien, and he walked over while grinning. "You must be Essairyn." He stuck out his free hand while the other still rested on his hip. "The name's Classerth. I was sent here to help you all in place of Bodraig as overseer of the mission. But I arrived a little late, heheh.." He smiled apologetically.

"No, I'm thankful for your assistance." She politely responded with a sidelong question to why Bodraig didn't join them from the start instead of sending someone from far away. "I didn't realize that they would both teleport away. It was my miscalculation." She gritted her teeth.

Classerth shook his head. "If I had listened to Chaera and gone here when you all arrived, then the outcome might've been different. It's my bad." His eyes narrowed slightly when he furrowed his forehead in contemplation.

"Damn! Why didn't she just directly order me to arrive earlier?! Tch! I swear that woman is always scheming for me to mess up!" Realizing that his outburst made no sense to Essairyn who stared at him blankly, he hastily explained with a dismissive wave. "It's nothing. Just an internal communication issue."

Essairyn blinked. "So you are Lieutenant Classerth Ajenak? And you were speaking about Knights Commander Chaera Ch'tahur?" Her words subconsciously sped up in anticipation despite her efforts to remain level-headed. She was keenly curious about the top leaders of the Knights Order, especially after seeing Classerth's easy one hit-ko against so many enemies.

Classerth merely grunted in confirmation. It was expected that all knights, much less the common people, would know about them. He was used to the fame, especially as the youngest Knights Lieutenant ever. So he just went about casually, not caring about his status and adoration from the people. For him, fighting was his first love.

"Essairyn!!" Izlende, followed by Ennrion and Aispin, sprinted toward her. "Are you okay?! Ah, this is—" She gave a curt bow to Classerth as a greeting.

"What? That's all I get after not seeing you in ages? No hug? Izlende~~" Classerth shuffled coyly toward Izra's shoulder. No sooner had his sleeve touched Izlende that an air-splitting chop numbed his arm. Ennrion then swept the silver-haired girl possessively into his arms.

Classerth huffed and disregarded his injury as if Ennrion's brutal strike was nothing. Or perhaps he was just used to it by now. "Wuu, why is he so vicious to me? Do something, Izra! A knight shouldn't treat his superior like this!" If fighting was his first love, then Izlende was surely his second.

Izra whacked the top of Classerth's head with her magic staff. He shrunk down in pain yet seemed oddly happy by it. "Still fooling around as usual, I see. Now tell us why you're here."

Classerth instantly switched and became serious. He caught her underlying drift. "I don't know why Chaera withheld the mission's intelligence from me, but this situation went beyond the Knights' expectation. Look at this." He held up a shredded piece of cloth.

Izra peered closely at it and read the letters across the banner of a torn emblem. "H.T." Her gaze darkened. "This is.."

"Yes." Classerth handed the cloth to her. "The symbol and initials of the group that attacked Farinheld and other towns."

"Other towns!? You're kidding!?" Izlende and Essairyn gasped.

He shook his head gravely. "I'm afraid that this hidden organization is much larger and more connected than we had foreseen. Only now are they finally showing themselves. The first attack on Farinheld was merely a test. From what I gathered on the way, H.T. advocates for equal rights and power among humans and elementals."

"Equality?" Essairyn uttered in disbelief. "Their goal seems right, but to demand it through violence is..."

Izlende gave a stern nod of agreement, asking, "Are you sure that H.T.'s objective? It's not just a false declaration to coverup something else?"

"We can't be sure of anything at this point. But even if that is indeed their objective, their methods are unjust. We, the Knights, cannot allow the destruction of towns and capture of innocents."

"Did you also find out why they're capturing people?" Izlende subconsciously looked over at Aispin who was currently freeing the caged villagers.

"Not completely. The focus is definitely on mages, so they're after magical power. I can only imagine what they're doing with them back at their base, wherever it is."

Everyone shuddered at Classerth's words. If their violence was any indication, then the mages surely would suffer from the extraction of their magic. But only that was a supposition. H.T. could also be brainwashing people or using them for other nefarious deeds. It was a complicated situation where the goal was congruent with the Knights, but the actions were just too malevolent. Perhaps rather than equality, this group sought a complete turnover of power.

"Let's discuss more after we clean up the town and tend to the injured." Essairyn interjected. "We have more to solve on this issue, but we can't let more people suffer."

"Right." Izlende agreed and the others nodded. At this point, Rakun and Theryn had arrived along with Darren and Brynhilde on their tails. They had finished dealing with the rest of the H.T. intruders and came to check on Essairyn and the rest.

With the assistance of uninjured townspeople, the group mended the town and its people the best they could. By the end, Izlende was thoroughly wiped being the only healer. As for Essairyn, she no longer tried healing people after Akari's fierce disapproval of it. Instead, she better used her talents to fix the buildings. Throughout her work, Essairyn was tempted by the stinging urge to seek out her little fox. She kept hoping that Akari would come to her as usual, but the day went by without a single appearance.

Returning to the girls' room, Essairyn flung open the door, ardently wishing for the fox to be waiting for her. What welcomed her was a startlingly cold space devoid of life. Unblinking, she quietly walked inside and inspected every nook and cranny as if looking for a lost item. When she turned around to walk back out, she spotted the blood splotched ground beneath the doorway. It was from the first man she had killed when escaping the inn earlier. With hardening eyes, she slowly walked and carefully stepped over the blood before scraping her soles on the hallway floor. But the blood would never truly disappear.

Drifting like a specter, she stonily made her way downstairs and past her friends gathered in the lobby. Her feet were on autopilot, taking her anywhere as long as it was away from there. Not hearing a thing, she didn't even realize Darren had followed silently behind her. They aimlessly tromped forward into the nearby woods. For some reason unknown to her, being in the forest mildly soothed Essairyn. Perhaps it was the effect of nature. Perhaps it was because her journey had started in a similar surrounding. And it was where she had first met Akari.

She stopped by a random, tall tree and looked up beyond the branches to the pale blue-gray sky above. She looked for a long time. When she tilted her head back down, fat drops edged their way down her cheeks. Without any care for her appearance, she let them fall quietly to the ground until her vision blurred, and she saw nothing but gray. It was only then, without her sight, did she feel the warmth on her back. Essairyn spun around and grabbed the large body before her, sinking her head into a hard but soft chest. The sandy-haired boy just held her tighter, leaning his head down to hover over her head.

His warm voice rumbled from the closeness of his chest. "It's okay, you'll find her soon."

"Darren.... I killed a man."

He stiffened for a slight pause before relaxing and placing his palm across the back of her head. "I... killed a man too."

"More than just one, I—" A sob choked back Essairyn's words. Gathering her strained voice, she rasped out, "Just what are we getting ourselves into in this world? A mission." She scoffed at her words. "This isn't some stupid game but reality. Why do I keep treating it like this all isn't real? We had to defend ourselves today, but what for? Why did I have to lose Akari? Why am I—? ...so deep into this." She took a step back and pushed herself away to face Darren. "I can't stop now, it's too late now to live a peaceful life or some fun adventure. Am I kidding myself? I should've listened to you, and—"

"Stop." Darren gently shook Essairyn who was still within arms length. "We're...in this together. It's true that this isn't what we expected. And up to now, even though I thought I had accepted this reality, I only realized today that we're never going back. In just the few weeks that we've lived here...so much has happened. We have to fight for ourselves, whether that's against H.T., the demons, or this whole world. We'll make it. I know you can do it. You're awesome, remember?"

Essairyn's lavender eyes were wide open upon Darren's remembrance of her teasing words to him back at the Welforts' farmhouse when they were fixing the fence. "Yeah." She laughed lightly and wiped away the remnants of her tears. "Thanks for listening to my senseless rambling. I'm still feeling mixed up about a lot of things, but..." She looked up at him with sincere, grateful eyes. "I'm glad you're here with me."

Letting out a deep breath, she inwardly shook off her depressive aura. Essairyn had always hated this feeling of hopelessness. In this new world and life, she didn't want to feel this again. Now that she had the power to control her fate, she wouldn't let anyone stop her from enjoying it with those she cared about. Although she would never be able to erase the faces of those she killed, Essairyn wasn't able to ignore the safety of innocents for the sake of her morals either. It was time that she fought for herself and her vision.

The sound of nearby footsteps made the two turn toward an approaching man. Seeing that it was Aispin, Essairyn reactively obscured herself behind Darren's shoulder and discreetly checked the puffiness of her eyes.

"Ah, sorry, am I interrupting something?" Aispin asked while eyeing the two of them close together.

"Hm?! No! That is, Darren was just cheering me up. I'm feeling better now."

"That's good then." The black-haired man smiled gently. "Izlende and the others were really worried about you when you blew by them and wandered into the forest."

"Sorry! I didn't mean to worry them!" Essairyn furrowed her brows. Now that she thought about it, Izra truly had looked upset at that time. But Ennrion had held her back as if knowing that Essairyn needed some time for herself. Thankfully, it was Darren and not anyone else who had tailed her. She didn't feel like she could show this side to anyone else but him yet.

At that thought, she glanced at him subtly. Although Essairyn hadn't known him for much longer than the others, she strangely didn't mind him seeing her weak side. Was it because they both arrived here from Earth around the same time? Or because they had argued and made up back at Byar'non Academy, so that somehow made them closer than she expected? A small smile inched its way on her face. It was a relief, his presence.

"Right now, they're searching for Akari."

"Ah?!" Essairyn's mouth opened in a small circle before closing into a touched smile. "That's nice of them." She inhaled resolutely. "I'll have to thank them later. Can you help me search, Aispin?"

"Of course." He smiled. "That's what I'm here for."

The trio searched for close to an hour inside the forest and town outskirts where the previous night's intruders had appeared and left. They didn't have any leads on Akari, so they could only guess that as a spirit animal, Hyd' Tyml might've taken her for her powers or as an offering to the demon force. More than demonic powers, spiritual power was more appealing to demons, and vice versa. This notion alone concerned Essairyn the most. They knew nothing about how or why humanoid demons were helping the organization.

Upon returning to the inn to regather with the others searching, a sharp shout made Essairyn jump. Recognizing Izlende's shocked cry, the trio raced back quickly. At the front of the inn, the rest of the group was huddled around the door.

"What's wrong?!" At the sound of Essairyn's voice, the others swiftly moved away to reveal what was on the doorstep. A blackened bundle of biscuit colored fur laid motionlessly on the wood. The sight made Essairyn stop dead in her tracks before bursting forward and lightly embracing the injured fox.

"Akari—!"

"Shh, I'm not dead...yet."

The fox's familiar, sarcastic undertone put a smile on Essairyn's shaking lips. "How did you get back here? We've been looking for you. Are you okay, what happened?"

"Too...many questions." Akari blew out an exasperated sigh. "Some man brought me here when I was unconscious. That brat...couldn't he have placed me somewhere more comfy?"

"What man? Who was it?"

Akari only replied with a grumble. Essairyn instantly registered the fox's message and apologized. "Let's get you somewhere nice and comfy, and you can tell all about it later. I'm just glad that you're okay. You really had me worried."

When Essairyn had seen Akari lying on the doorstep, both joy and pain stung her at the sight. It had reminded her of when her dog had made her way back home after being lost for a week. While she had mostly composed herself after earlier in the forest, Essairyn still struggled and couldn't help the shining emotion leak from her eyes.

The fox peered up at the girl through narrowed vision. This girl, really... Akari couldn't help feeling relieved and happy upon seeing Essairyn. But guilt pricked at her. What had started out as a lie had turned into a half truth. Akari didn't know whether she ought to be forgiven for her past deeds, but somehow, she knew that Essairyn would forgive her; even though, she wasn't in a position to forgive what had happened thousands of years ago. She'd probably tell me to live the life I want or some optimistic shit... Perhaps that girl would say the same thing if she was still here today.

Scooping the fox gingerly in her arms, Essairyn carried Akari to her bed and tucked a spare blanket around her in a cocoon. Seeing the faint demonic aura puff up from her in wisps, Essairyn frowned. Izlende, who had followed alongside her, similarly had a grave expression.

"Looks like the demons affected her. But that's strange, I've never heard of demons being able to corrupt a spirit animal like this. Essairyn... I'm not sure if I can purify it from her body."

"It's okay, do what you can. I'll see if maybe I can do something."

"You think you can—?" Izlende breathed in suspended disbelief.

"I can only try. Before, it seemed like demons didn't like my magic, so I might be able to expel it somehow."

Izra nodded seriously at the other girl before setting her hands upon Akari's small frame. White specks floating in waves of light that undulated from beneath Izra's hands slowly dispersed across the fox. The magic settled into the wounds which visibly began repairing themselves. Pained, Akari grunted and gritted her teeth.

"Essairyn, can you..? I think the demonic energy is hurting her even while I'm healing."

The raven-haired girl immediately concentrated and sent a web of magic that covered and spliced the dark magic sprawled across Akari's body. Indeed, it was like Essairyn's magic was the natural enemy of demonic power.

"Strange... how strange." Izlende muttered. "No magic should be able to do that... except light magic... but that's disappeared from history and your magic is...purplish, not white."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Izlende shook her head and grinned hesitantly. "It's nothing. Since you're a traveler from Earth, I doubt that a connection to an ancient kingdom exists. Your magic is just really weird."

Essairyn silently mulled over Izra's words. She didn't feel suspicious of the silver-haired girl, but it did put her on guard even more against showing anyone else her magic. It looks like developing a battle style that uses more of my magic is going to be more difficult than I thought. She sighed to herself. Although she was relatively skilled with physical weapons, it wasn't her forte compared to magical attacks. But to continue hiding for sake of keeping it a secret to be safe didn't feel right either. So she decided that it would be a working progress over time.

Eventually, she might be able to perfect it if she studied at the Neu'arth Academy. From what Izlende had shared about the main campus, Essairyn was intrigued and excited to experience it first hand. In fact, after today's events, she was seriously considering heading back there with Izra's group and put her adventure on hold until she understood more about this world and its conflicts as well as to improve her abilities.

"Kaff!"

"Eh? Did you just cough? Why did it sound so cute?" Essairyn peered at Akari who looked back at her through slitted eyes.

"Don't make fun of my cough, I'm dying here."

"It was a compliment, silly! And I personally helped heal you, so stop being so dramatic. Dying? Hmph, you were fine from the start being as you could be your usual sarcastic self!" Essairyn crossed her arms in a show of mock upset.

"Fuuu~" Akari let out a heavy exhale. "Go away, you're ruining my rest."

"Pft, what a tsun." Essairyn teased under her breath.

"Um, are you guys usually like this?" Izra awkwardly asked.

"Yes." Both of them answered at once. Having said it at the same time, they looked at once another blankly before bursting out laughing.

"Oh f—" Akari hacked, causing her tiny body to convulse. "I shouldn't have laughed. That really hurt." She whined pathetically, evoking sympathy from Essairyn. Without words, she gently stroked Akari's head and ears. The comforting sensation soon calmed the fox down, and out of exhaustion, she instantly fell asleep.

"She really does need to rest since the healing magic forces the body to exert itself to mend the injuries. I can only provide so much of my magic to lighten the burden." Izra mumbled regretfully.

"Since not all magic is compatible, right?"

"Exactly. White magic, or healing magic, is one of the few kinds that's pretty universal. But it's still inefficient. A lot of magic gets lost in transferral."

Essairyn paused, deep in thought. "...Maybe that's why H.T. is so vicious. All of the power literally lies in the hands of those with magical power. It can't even be really transferred..." As she trailed off, a sudden spark of realization dawned on her as she connected the possessed wolves and humanoid demons. "Wait! That's it! Izlende, tell me, if demonic power can't influence spirits, then what about ordinary animals and humans?!"

It took a moment for Essairyn's underlying idea to sink in for Izlende. "You don't mean—!" She gasped. "Damn it! The answer was there in plain sight in front of us all along! I can't believe those bastards are actually taking the magical power of demons and injecting it into humans! No wonder why those humanoid demons looked so grotesque. No wait, demonic magic can't possibly disfigure the body like that. Is it a side effect? ...We need more information."

Determined, she shifted her seat and stared at Essairyn. "I'll discuss this with the Knights and Academy. If what you're guessing is true...then we have a even bigger problem on our hands. Tch, what equality? They really are just trying to rule the world themselves! But at what cost?" A troubled, crestfallen expression shrouded Izra's mien. A deeply embedded memory wound its way up to the front of her mind.

Yes, it's just like that time. I had received that spirit's power then too. So it's not a far cry to say that humans can use the magical power of demons. But will demons really just let humans have their way? It surely can't be that simple. Izlende revolved her experiences and suppositions into a theory inside her brain, making her scar sting. She lifted a hand to apply pressure to that front area of the scalp.

"Your scar, are you..?" Essairyn blurted out thoughtlessly upon seeing that movement. Catching her rudeness, she backtracked. "Sorry, I didn't mean—!"

"It's okay." Izra smiled graciously. "I have nothing to hide about this scar. I got it from when I accidentally stumbled in-between a demon god and spirit god's fight as a little girl. Crazily, my sudden interference allowed the spirit god to finish off the demon, but what resulted was a nasty blow to my head, much bigger than this scar." Izra tapped her head, totally captivating Essairyn into her story.

"That spirit god had a conscience at least and said it was too old and worn out from the fight, so it healed me and this scar is what's left. Kinda cool, right?" She grinned brightly, making Essairyn can't help but grin with her.

"Actually, it's due to that encounter that I was able to refine my healing abilities as well as to be able to fight besides healing. Before, I was just a minor budding healer in a remote village without any real future of ever becoming anyone great. So I guess, I'm really lucky?" Izlende's lopsided smile and laid back pose with her arms straight out behind her as she leaned back made quite a contrasting picture to her tale. Essairyn's eyes glittered at Izra's positivity and ability to use such an experience to her advantage. Instead of staying in her village, she decided to make use of the newfound potential and enrolled in the most prestigious magic school.

"Izra." Essairyn suddenly grasped Izlende's hand and stared at her seriously. "You're so cool!" The black-haired girl jumped on the shocked silverette who quickly recovered and returned the hug with equal enthusiasm.

"Hahaha, stop being so adorable!" Izra giggled and squeezed the other girl's cheeks.

"AH! You can't do that!" Essairyn huffed and puffed her cheeks. The expression only made Izlende chortle harder.

However, Essairyn wasn't at all bothered. She needed a good laugh. And being with her and Akari made Essairyn feel warm and cozy inside. If only they could have these good times everyday with none of the messy conspiracies and plots. Then again, perhaps it was due to bad times that made good times all the more meaningful.

"Oh, by the way, Aispin had wanted to speak to you earlier. Did you guys get a chance to talk?" Izlende suddenly remembered that enigmatic guy's words. Despite knowing him for two years now, she still felt he was a bit of a stranger. No matter what happened, what missions they had taken together, Izra never quite felt like they had become close, just enough to call each other a simple friend. She had a gut inkling that he was holding back a lot. But she wasn't the type to force anything out of anyone. Rather, she opted for mutual trust.

Although, regrettably, Izlende had a bad habit of being too open and accepting. Thankfully, Ennrion had been by her side since youth to rein her big heart and antics in before she got truly hurt. Sometimes, it was to the point that it infuriated her. Still, she loved that dumb idiot more than anything. Sighing inwardly to herself, she got up and headed toward the door.

"Well I'm going to take a nap now after getting no sleep and using up so much of my magic. Make sure to talk to him, okay? It looked like he had something important to say."

Essairyn replied she would, and Izlende went on her way. Mulling over what Izra said, Essairyn wondered what Aispin wanted to tell her. Is that why he came to find me earlier? She glanced over at Akari, sound asleep, before quietly getting off the bed and exiting the room.

It didn't take long for Essairyn to track down Aispin. She discovered him leaning against a tree trunk with a cup of coffee just outside of town. It was the same direction from where she had wandered off to earlier in a fit of depression.

"Enjoying your drink outside?" She casually commented as she approached him.

Aispin smiled and took a small sip before replying. "Yes, something about being outside makes the coffee taste better."

"Mm, I approve. Being out among nature does that. Although, I prefer tea over coffee, so we can't be friends."

Aispin chuckled at her cheeky mouth. "That's too bad then, I really wanted to be friends."

His sincere straightforwardness caught Essairyn off guard. "Oh," she uttered with a slight blush before catching herself from further embarrassment. Stupid Essairyn! He didn't mean anything special by those words! It's ordinary! Ordinary! You just got momentarily blinded by his stupidly good looks. Yes, that's it.

"Um, head in the clouds again?" Aispin waved his free hand in front of Essairyn's blank face.

"Huh? Ah, sorry! Yes, haha..." Damn it girl! Get yourself together! This isn't some confession scene! ...Shit. Now I just made myself more needlessly nervous. Essairyn sighed at the hopeless case that was herself. "You wanted to talk about something?"

"Yes, I hope I didn't bother you? I know you were treating Akari. Is she okay?"

So polite! Essairyn fawned inside. Erp—! I mean— "Yes, she's all better now and is resting." Her face was neutral almost to the point of blankness. At this expression, Aispin unexpectedly suppressed a chuckle. This reaction confused Essairyn more, and her face turned into one of puzzled concern.

"Haha, sorry, your face was just too funny."

"Funny?!" Essairyn almost exclaimed in shock.

"Cute! I mean cute, hehe." One eye closed in apology, making it look like he was winking.

Essairyn's face was stony. Damn you, boy. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Fooling with my girlish heart, eh. Stupidly... cute... giggle. Ugh, I make me sick.

"Anyway, you don't have to be so nervous around me. It's nothing bad, I swear! This day's been pretty awful, but I hope that despite it you'll..." When his words trailed off, Aispin paused and restarted the subject in a different way as if dissatisfied with his approach.

"What do you think of H.T.?"

Essairyn scrutinized his somber expression before carefully responding. "Their goal sounds courageous and innocuous enough, but their means are not justified."

"I thought you might say that." Aispin half-smiled with slightly creased brows. Feeling the awkward atmosphere that he had created, he took a deep breath.

"You see, I've been trying to discover H.T.'s whereabouts for a long time. I guess you can say that I was one of the first to know about them. I... lost my younger sister to them." He gripped the handle of his coffee cup tighter, almost making the knuckles white.

"I couldn't save her from that demon. But I know she's still alive. I'm not really sure why I think that. Ahah, maybe it's just my heart wishing for that to be true. Regardless, I've been chasing at H.T. to find the truth and expose their hypocrisy." His cup shook in an accompanying gesture of resolution, almost making the coffee inside spill out. Essairyn reflexively grabbed it and upon realization of his touch, quickly retracted her fingers.

"Sorry, I'm being a little too emotional right now, huh?" Aispin gave an apologetic smile. He looked up at the treetops and narrowed his hazy eyes. "She's my only family. And we're the only survivors from our village. If it's the last thing I do, I'll make that bastard and those demons or humans or whatever pay for what they've done." A murderous glint flashed in his dark blue eyes.

"That's where you come in." He gazed at her earnestly. "The others have to go back to the Academy, but I'm not bound to it as I've been assigned a running mission that encompasses the H.T. case while they were just here as a one-off. Can you join me in following H.T.? W-wait!" He held up a hand when he saw Essairyn open her mouth to speak.

"Don't say anything yet! Just think about it, and let me know later okay? I know it's a lot to ask of you, especially since this was the first time you've experienced...such horrifying events, so..."

Essairyn placed a reassuring hand on Aispin's wrist. Surprised, he peered into her lavender orbs, wondering what she meant by the gesture. She held the gaze and confidently replied. "I'll help you."

"W-what?" Confused, Aispin didn't whether she meant she would join his mission or help some other way. But his heart sped up a little from her fervent gaze and comforting touch.

"I'll help you find your sister."

"Ah— this—" Placing a hand on his forehead, he couldn't help laughing derisively at himself.

At his unexpected reaction, Essairyn didn't know how to respond. Before she could ask if she said something wrong, Aispin suddenly embraced her. Shocked, she became as stiff as a board while countless thoughts spun incoherently in her head, even more so when he plopped his head on her shoulder. F—!! Too close! Her eyes seemed to swirl in a daze of bewilderment.

Unbeknownst of the girl's internal breakdown, Aispin clutched her tighter. How long had he waited to hear words like those? Everyone had found his reason for chasing after H.T. to be silly if they didn't first think that chasing after them was stupid. After all, before today, they had never caused any manifest problems. And they were too secret of an organization to be able to be of any use to investigate for the Knights. The Order had bigger concerns to deal with than a mere boy's revenge.

Even after today, they might argue that she was already dead as others had said previously. It had been almost five years by now. Still, he would never give up as not only was she his family, she was his only link to his past. His memories from his hometown was foggy, especially from the day that H.T. massacred everyone in it. He felt that this emptiness inside him and desire to regain what he lost would be solved along with his questions if he met the leader of the organization.

To finally find someone that didn't question nor mock him, but accepted his reason and sincerely agreed to help him, Aispin momentarily lost himself. Hugging her, he surprisingly felt more at peace. This sensation slowly woke him up to the realization that he had just intruded upon the girl's personal space.

"I'm sorry! It just meant a lot to me that I overreacted like that, I—!"

A tinkling giggle halted whatever else was about to spew from his mouth in apology. "That's okay! I was a little surprised, but I understand. You love and miss your sister very much, don't you?"

Aispin bashfully turned his gaze away from Essairyn's sweetly sunny smile. It was now his turn to be excruciatingly embarrassed. "Yes, I do. So thank you...Sairyn."

For a few minutes, the two pleasantly chatted about the memories that Aispin could recall about his former life in his hometown and with his sister. After also laying down some loose plans for tracking down H.T., the two headed back to the inn. On the way, they met two familiar people.

"Leœss, is that you?" Essairyn called out to the guy's back. He turned around at his name and upon recognizing her, waved. Coming closer to him and Darren, she asked Leœss, "Is your home okay? And your siblings?"

"Thankfully, they're uninjured, but the farm was partially ransacked. We're not sure if it's H.T.'s doing or some random demons nearby that took advantage of the confusion." Leœss roughly ruffled his hair in annoyance. "Once I fix up the farm, I'm going to request the Knights to join a mission to combat H.T. Hopefully they'll agree after what's happened, but I'm still a newbie, so I'm not sure..." He sighed and dropped his hand from rubbing his head.

"You want to follow them?" Aispin jumped at Leœss's words. "Then maybe you can join us—Essairyn and I are going after them with the clues they left behind. We're heading northwest as that guy Lyam told us. It's risky, but it's the only solid information that we have."

"Wait—" Darren cut in before Leœss could reply to Aispin. The sandy-haired boy directed a sharp gaze at Essairyn. "You just decided to go after Hyd' Tyml? Why.. didn't you tell me?" The forlorn look on Darren's face stung Essairyn. She immediately knew that he was referring to when she previously made headstrong decisions on her own. Darren had thought that after what they had been through together, they'd stick together and discuss with one another. Clearly, Darren realized that he had thought too soon. Old tendencies died hard. He continued without letting Essairyn explain; although, the latter didn't know what to say back anyway.

"You had been thinking of this since the battle ended or from the very start? Or, did he convince you to come?" Darren shot a sharp look at Aispin, making the black-haired boy almost flinch and wonder why the usually stoical guy was acting this way. "What's your reason for going after H.T. and dragging along Essairyn?"

Unable to take his misplaced accusatory undertone, Essairyn stepped between them and finally found her tongue. "I was the one agreed to go with Aispin to find his sister that H.T. captured. He didn't—"

"Essairyn! After today you're still set on putting yourself in danger again?! I thought that we had come to an agreement earlier that—"

"Agreement?!" Essairyn's voice unconsciously rose a little to match Darren's. "I thought you understood me earlier! Didn't you say to fight against H.T.? That this is a different world, and we can't act like we did back on Earth? We're in this together, you said!" By this point, her face was only two feet away from Darren's, as if challenging his nonsensical stance.

"Exactly! Together! We'd talk about it together! But—!" Darren slackened the muscles around his gritted teeth in order to calm himself. "..I don't want to see you get hurt again. It's like.. you're just throwing yourself into the fire! We don't have to change ourselves that quickly for the sake of adjusting to this world! Are you really going to let it control you like that?"

His eyes gleamed with pitifully hidden desperation. He knew Essairyn could be brashly spontaneous, but Darren also knew that she was sensible and also more sensitive than she allowed herself to appear to others. In his gut, he had a wrenching notion that she would eventually and slowly destroy herself without even realizing it if she continued to act in this manner. Adventuring was innocuous enough, but it was foolhardy to willing put oneself in harm's way to this extent. This Farinheld mission had only proved his initial apprehension was correct.

Essairyn had opened her mouth to speak, but no sentences that felt right came out. She closed it and her eyes to wind herself down and think more equably. She didn't want to start another heated argument nor say any hurtful words. Contrary to what she had hoped, the two of them couldn't be in accord for as long as she had thought after their last disagreement.

"This is my decision, Darren. I'm not going just because fate dangled some—" damn shit storm "—it in front of my face to deal with." Essairyn inwardly imagined wiping her sweaty brow for almost saying something that would only escalate the situation. "You're probably right that I should just ignore this. But I don't want to hide anymore, Darren. This might be stupid, but—" She clenched her fists remembering the slain bodies, grotesque demons, and sheer scorn spewing from Kajarn's scarlet-tinged eyes.

"I'm stupid, okay?!" She vociferated suddenly while momentarily squeezing her eyes. "I just can't let them have their way! What happens if we just ignore them? Then what peaceful lives will we have in the end anyway? Shit." Her curse was accompanied by a click of the tongue and walking away from Darren.

Now, her heart and mind was heavy and muddled again. She couldn't say that despite being somewhat traumatized by the Farinheld attack, she wanted to feel that adrenaline rush through her being again. Even though they had ultimately lost this time, her zealous spirit couldn't take that as the final verdict. It wasn't revenge, just a foolish desire to get even because she felt robbed of her expectation to excel. Yes, her silly competitive streak with herself and this world—she was subconsciously daring herself to become the fictitious heroine made in the image of herself. Who could ever admit that unabashedly in front of others? Even she found it to be ridiculous. But by latching onto this lofty, crazy notion, she could separate herself from the weak-willed person of the past. She was now Essairyn; she had to be—

"Aispin." She turned her head around slightly and gestured for him to follow her. Not quite sure what to make of the situation that escalated beyond his expectation, Aispin blinked in a daze for a short second before awkwardly accompanying her inside the inn.

The second reason. Also stupid, she declared in her heart. Essairyn wanted to get to know Aispin more. A crush? No, she wouldn't admit that to herself quite yet. But she didn't want to let go of this fluttery feeling. It was something she hadn't felt in a long time. Like her heart had thawed, Essairyn desired to open her heart and chase after what she never dared to do before. Always giving excuses, until entering this world and meeting new people, that stone cold heart protected herself and those weighty, idealistic responsibilities that surely had to be her joy in life. Unknowingly, perhaps knowingly, she had only been kidding herself while slowly sinking and becoming a robot.

Ahahaha. Essairyn laughed to herself and clutched her chest. What am I? An empty, unfeeling void? It's like I'm learning everything, how to feel again. So strange... Why am I so strange? ....Puhah. What is this, another identity crisis, puberty? So... silly. The girl tossed aside these sentiments as inane, not wanting to deal with it or make sense of this human personification of ambivalence that was herself. However, Essairyn still had much to learn, that such feelings were human and not uncommon.

"Essairyn," Aispin began carefully. "If you don't want to... if it's better that you don't..."

"Aispin, it's okay. I just—" Stopping short, she was unable to continue. It was like the words had died, and Essairyn was too tired to try to find replacements. Instead, she slumped down onto a chair and propped up her forehead with her hands and elbows on her thighs.

At this sight, Aispin didn't know what to do or how to approach the defeated looking girl. Much less for the opposite gender, just understanding any person was a difficult task if words and feelings were kept inside. With a soft sigh, he padded over and kneeled down in front of Essairyn. Taking her hands gently, he looked into her now surprised lavender eyes.

"Sairyn, you—"

The inn's front door opened abruptly and Darren stood resolute in the doorway. Seeing Aispin and Essairyn together in that pose, he reflexively halted his steps forward. They blinked blankly at him, and Darren almost turned around to excuse himself out.

"Uh! That, Essairyn." He rubbed his temples, attempting to get rid of the awkwardness he felt about this subject and their argument. "It's fine. I don't have any right to dictate what you do either. I... also want to come with you."

"Huh?!" Essairyn shot up from her seat. "You don't have to just because I—"

"No, no, I want to do this too. Not just because it doesn't feel right to not go with you. I also want to learn the truth. After speaking with Leœss, I'm convinced. He wants to join you guys. And I don't see how, as long as we're careful, that it would be a..bad idea to stop H.T."

"Darren..." Essairyn bit the corner of her lower lip. "Thank you.."

Darren smiled gently at the sincere yet restrained emotion across her face. "Yeah... you owe me one," he jokily cracked, making Essairyn break out into a laugh while beaming merrily.