The sky began to darken, while the duo moved toward their next resupply point, another beastman village.

As droplets of rain began to rapidly fall towards the ground, they ran under a tree to take shelter, waiting for the rain to clear.

"Unbelievable! The voyage until now was so smooth. Why couldn't it stay sunny all the way?"

The rain was Amelia's enemy. Having wet clothes and hair felt awful, as she couldn't dry either in the wild.

"There's the sea on one side, and the mountains on the other. It was a miracle, not having rain for so long."

Orion had nothing against the rain, you could even say he liked rain. The sound always put his mind at peace.

"Well, I'm not knowledgeable like you, so I wouldn't know about that. It doesn't change how I feel about it."

"Thankfully, that tree was here to protect us. Otherwise, we would definitely have caught a cold."

"I've never caught a cold, Amelia. You're talking for yourself."

"O-Of course, I never caught a cold, either."

Amelia turned her head the other way, while whistling.

"Let's keep it at that. Anyway, look, the sky is clearing out."

"Already? I was sure it wouldn't clear for at least an hour."

"You were mistaken, it seems."

A grin appeared on Orion's face, as he moved away from the tree.

"Right, keep mocking me. Next time you're wrong, I'll make you eat your words."

Her boots sunk into the mud created by the rain, as she followed behind Orion. He looked at the sky, before nodding to himself.

"We should be able to continue. The clouds appear to be moving further away, and no other rain clouds are coming either, it seems."

With the rain having passed, they returned to the path and continued their journey north-west.

...

On the way, Amelia asked him a question, as she became curious.

"How can you know when it's going to rain? For me, every cloud look the same. Maybe the color is different sometimes, but I didn't think it would be relevant to rain."

She believed Orion would give her an answer, and with a nod, he began to think about the right way to explain.

"Follow my finger."

He lifted his index finger and pointed at the clouds that glided past them. Amelia focused on the clouds, and listened to his words attentively.

"The clouds that passed us, those were rain clouds. I don't know their specific names or their different shapes and forms, but I can observe the unique characteristics of each type."

"The rain clouds usually stay pretty low, while having a dark gray color. This is why they darken the sky. I remember in one of those books about weather hazards, it had many interesting observations about them."

"Water accumulates in the air because the sun evaporates the water on the ground, or seawater. Then, it turns into clouds. The more water evaporated, the heavier the cloud becomes."

"As the clouds continue to fuse, it will evolve into a larger cloud. When it becomes too heavy, the water pours down from it, and there it is, rain."

Amelia looked at him with an impressed gaze, as his explanation made it simple to understand. She wasn't uncultured, but she wasn't a bookworm like Orion.

Most of her knowledge came from him, from their three years together.

"So, the lighter clouds are less packed with rains, less dark, and higher in the sky? That's how you can differentiate both?"

With a nod, she resumed the explanation to fit the answer of her question.

"You're right. It seems there are exceptions because rain can fall when almost no clouds are around, but it remains rather simple to read the sky's state, and prepare in advance for any downpour or storm. Mist is an exception, though."

"I'll explain storms and mists another time, we have a long way before reaching Eogis."

"Thanks for the lesson. If I had known before, maybe I could've avoided my laundry getting drenched."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

They exchanged smiles, before Orion looked forward while chuckling.

"Who's the one who refused to read books, and refused to listen to my explanations? You never liked it, so why the sudden change?"

"Possibly, the fact that there's nothing to do aside from walking? Plus, I'm not a child anymore. Stop comparing my current self to me from ten years ago!"

She playfully slapped his shoulder while pouting lightly.

"You were so cute, so shy. It's a shame I never noticed those beautiful eyes you've hidden under your bangs while growing up."

A faint look of embarrassment showed on her face.

"I never explained that to you, have I?"

With a rapid glance, Orion dismissed the conversation.

"The reason for hiding your eyes? No. Actually, if you don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to ask."

He couldn't care less about the reason, as it wouldn't change the relationship between them. The fact that he loved her rosy pearl eyes wouldn't change either.

"It's just... those eyes, as long as I remembered, they were never normal. No one around had pink irises, so I got scared of showing them."

"What do you mean by 'white irises'? They're not just white."

"Let me ask this time. What do you mean? I always had that dead gaze for as long as I remember. That's why I hid them."

Orion shook his head, and looked at her with a warm expression.

"Your eyes have a beautiful pink color, showing small spots with various other colors. Well, I do find it strange, as they look rather unique."

She looked down, perplexed.

"You think so? I haven't looked at myself in a mirror for many years, since I hate my eyes. I believe you if you say they're beautiful, but I hope it's not a lie to make me feel better."

"I wouldn't dare. I would not lie to you."

Suddenly, Orion thought of a reason for a potential change in Amelia.

"I saw your eyes for the first time during the incident, so maybe something changed when you acquired your magic?"

"This is nonsense, don't you think? Eye color can't change like that."

"Don't forget that you aren't normal, either. You're the only one to be so special."

Orion frowned at his own words, realizing that he could have hurt her feeling.

"I almost forgot about that. I'm not a normal human any-"

Her sentence was cut short by Orion.

"You don't have to continue. What you are now is irrelevant, since what you are today is because of me, and not because of you."

"You didn't have to cut me, I'm not going to be depressed because I'm not normal. I won't remind you, but you're not normal either."

"I'm half-angel and half-demon. It's evident I'm not normal. So who cares? Let's just do our thing, and think about the rest later."

When Amelia finished her sentence, Orion reacted to something unexpected.

Stepping in front of her smoothly, his senses alerted him to an unidentified person.

"Excuse me, but I heard something quite interesting. Could I have a little talk with you, handsome?"

A mysterious middle-aged woman dressed like a merchant appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Me, handsome? You might be joking. What can I do for you?"

The two women looked at each other and rolled their eyes at his dismissal.

Orion approached the merchant lady, silently observing intently her in case she showed any kind of suspicious reactions.

'If she tries something, I'll show no mercy. I don't want to kill an innocent, so I'll just listen for now.'

His eyes were locked on her, making it rather stiff for her. Yet, she gave back the same gaze, as she scanned Orion.

"Alright, who are you lady? And what was the interesting thing in our conversation? Eavesdropping is a good quality to have, isn't it?"

Amelia once again rolled her eyes.

'It's the pot calling the kettle black, Orion. You've spied on the Apostle back in Thaalgar.'

The merchant lady smiled faintly, before lifting her arms in the air.

"You don't have to worry about my name. I just wanted to ask something, and I would like your honesty."

"I'll think about it after you've asked your question."

"You're quite cautious for someone your age. But fine, I'll ask anyway. Are you truly the child of an angel and a demon?"

Orion observed the old lady carefully, but nothing seemed to indicate she would attack. He thought for a moment, and decided to answer honestly.

Given the specifics of the question, she was definitely someone in the know of the extinct factions.

"I am. I was born a few years ago."

He crossed his arms with a stern expression.

"Does that mean these factions are still alive somewhere?!"

The woman grabbed Orion's shoulders and began to rock him.

"Can you not shake me this much?"

He pushed her hands away gently, brought himself together, and answered.

"No, I am technically the last one alive. They were definitely wiped out two thousand years ago."

The woman looked extremely dejected by that answer. She placed a hand on her heart, and began to think.

After a few seconds, she began to search for an item in her bag.

"Descendant of the Forgotten, I have something for you. It would please me if you could accept it."

Rummaging through her bag, she nodded at the item in her hand.

"What is this? I hope it has nothing to do with the occult."

The item the lady took out was a white branch oddly shaped like thunder, with a few colored jewels embedded on it.

At its tip, a small thread was found attached, holding an insect resembling a beetle trapped in a spherical cage made of web silk.

"It is not, this is a gift from me, to help you with whatever you intend to accomplish. Please, take care of this artifact for me."

With a nod, Orion reached for the item and held it in his hands.

"I have no reason to refuse. Though, I shouldn't have any reason to accept either, since I have no idea who you are."

Orion accepted the artifact, and carefully placed it in his bag after wrapping it in a piece of cloth.

"One day, it will be useful. That day, you'll be glad to have met me."

She smiled, before picking up her bag.

"I hope you are right. Since you were kind enough as to gift us something, I won't stay on the defensive as a token of my appreciation."

"Oh, you're lowering your guard around an old lady? You are too kind."

Before leaving, Orion held his hand in front of the merchant lady.

"Anyway, we should be on our way. Have safe travels, lady."

"Same to you both, be careful."

She grabbed his hands, before moving separate ways.

When Orion turned back to check on the old lady, she was nowhere to be seen.

"I hope she wasn't a ghost. This was too strange of an encounter."

"She knew about the angels and demons. If she's not an Apostle, then who is she?"

The item they received popped in Orion's mind.

"We got a weird item too... Anyway, let's go, we shouldn't be that far from the next village."

They returned on the path to their next resting spot, while guessing the purpose of the artifact they received as a gift.

Arriving a few hours before sunset, they managed to resupply without problems, to find an inn to sleep at, and enjoyed some shopping together.

The next day, they left early in the morning in the direction of Eogis, their last stop.