DAISUKE AND RAIJIN returned to the camp with Melody, much to everyone’s surprise.

Luckily, the two didn’t return empty-handed as the herd of deer inside the forest didn’t wander too far that Daisuke managed to track and trap two deer.

Jack was still resting, unaware of Melody’s presence.

Daisuke and Raijin told the group how they encountered Melody and what happened inside the forest.

“So, where are you from, Melody?” asked Riku.

“My friends and I originally came from Eaucove. We’ve been here in Aria for a year now, where we started to become treasure hunters.”

“But don’t worry guys. She’s not a bad hunter. They don’t trespass and steal national treasures,” Raijin immediately defended Melody.

Riku squinted her eyes at Raijin. “You’re so quick to trust people.”

“How about you, Daisuke? You trust her?” Siegfried asked.

“I see no reason not to. Besides, it’s none of our business if she is a treasure hunter. As long as she’s not doing anything wrong, I have no problem with her.”

“I see. Raijin has infected you with his poor decision-making skill.”

“Come on, Riku. Give Raijin a break,” said Brunnhilde.

“Anyway, where will you and your friends meet?” asked Daisuke.

“We decided to go to the Arcanas Kingdom. But I guess they are still here in the forest. If I'm lucky, we'll meet outside the forest.” Melody said while her friends were hiding in the trees just above the group.

“You’re such a small group to be treasure hunters. There’s just three of you?” asked Riku.

It is true that in the world of Laniagaea, three members are quite small for treasure hunters. It has been the norm to have around ten to twenty members, and there are even those who have more, like the Fishbone Hunters.

“Aria is still filled with uncharted land. A small group like us can make traveling faster in case there are unexpected events that would happen.”

“Hmmm. I still don’t buy it,” said Riku who was still skeptical of Melody.

From the tent, Jack suddenly came out, stretching his body. “Waaaaaah! That was a nice—” He stopped talking when he saw Melody.

“Ah. Jack, this is Melody,” said Raijin. “We found her inside the woods. Melody, that’s Jack, the third elf of this group.”

Jack stared at Melody, his eyes widened.

Melody looked at him with an innocent smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Jack. I am Melody.”

Jack tried to speak. But his body felt heavy that he started to wobble. “I…uh…”

“Are you okay, Jack?” asked Daisuke.

“I think you still need to rest,” Brunnhilde added.

“What happened?” Melody innocently asked.

“Jack has motion sickness,” Riku answered. “I guess he is still nauseous after our wolf ride.”

Raijin and Daisuke assisted Jack.

“Alright! That’s enough interrogation. I’ll start having us some venison,” Siegfried announced.

“Can I help? I wanna learn how to properly slaughter animals for meat,” asked Daisuke.

“Riku, let’s get some water by the river,” asked Brunnhilde.

“Alright. Raijin, is it okay if you stay here to look over Jack?” asked Riku.

“Y-Yeah.”

“I can look after Jack,” Melody offered. “Two ladies shouldn’t be doing the hard work, don’t you think, Raijin?”

Raijin’s heart pounded. “W-Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll go ahead and help Brunnhilde and Riku.”

“Suit yourself,” said Riku.

* * * * *

When the three were already away and Siegfried and Daisuke were out of earshot, busy slaughtering the deer, Melody faced Jack.

“Go ahead,” said Melody.

“M-Ms. Melody…W-What are you doing here? Are you here for Daisuke?”

“We're here for something else,” Melody pointed upwards and Jack saw the two other women. “The avatar of Ariyani is all yours. Let’s just say that my being here is just a coincidence.”

Jack cleared his throat. “May I know what it is that required your presence?”

“You should not worry, Jack. It is nothing Chaser-related. But since we are on the topic, may I know how it is going with you being a Seeker and a Chaser at the same time?”

One of the deer started to cry as Siegfried started. Daisuke couldn’t look at the deer with all the blood splattering.

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“I already informed Torai. And he should have already informed Sir Bolton. At this point, they should be deliberating what to do next back at Union Gates,” Jack reported. ”They also provided me with an orb that could record events in case Daisuke used his avatar powers again so that the U.A. could watch it later.”

”Have you done that yet?”

”No. Daisuke did use his avatar power back at Colosseum Empire, but I wasn't able to record it because we were restrained.”

Melody was watching as Siegfried teach Daisuke how to cut the deer's gut and remove its internal organs. Daisuke looked so innocent, nothing much like an avatar. It made her smile genuinely. For her, it was a shame that he might fall to the hands of the United Alliance.

“I know you joined the Chasers secretly and you have been leaving your island with the help of your father without alerting the other elven council. Durant will do anything to find your sister, even if it breaks the elven laws.”

“My father would leave the island if not only for his duties. He trusts me that I can find my sister, and hopefully bring her back.”

“What if I told you I know where Jill is?”

Jack’s mouth opened wide. There’s no reason for Melody to lie. But why would she suddenly offer such information? “I’ll do anything. Anything for information about my sister.”

Melody smiled. “Great. In exchange for the information regarding your sister, I want you to do something for me at the Arcanas Kingdom.”

“What is it?”

The second deer cried as Daisuke did what Siegfried instructed him to do.

“Convince your group to stay in the Arcanas Kingdom for three days. Use those days to find and warn Prince Leon that a group of treasure hunters will try to steal the Star of Arianna.”

“And?”

“Catch the treasure hunters. I want you to be there when the treasure hunters were caught and find out how they learned about the Star of Arianna. Again, you have three days.”

“What will happen if this star was taken by the hunters?”

“Then I trust that you and your friends will do anything to recover it. If the Star of Arianna falls into the wrong hands, it would lead to a catastrophe. And once you have completed this mission, it is up to you whether you continue to lure Daisuke to the United Alliance or go after your sister Jill. I could not care less.”

“What happens if I fail this mission?”

Melody took a rock on the ground bigger than her hands. “Since this is not a Chaser-related mission, you won't receive any punishment from the United Alliance,” Her hands started to glow, the rock got covered with glowing pink glass-like objects. “However, you can count that you'll hear from me again.” She then crushed the glass object with her bare hands with no sign of the rock inside.

Jack gulped. Despite Melody's innocent looks, she has been regarded as the true Rank 1 in the Chasers Program of the United Alliance in terms of strength and power. But she hated office work so much that she let Raya, Luna, and Bivon, the official Ranks 1, 2, and 3 of Chasers, respectively, take all the credit.

Melody was even dubbed as “the Queen of Broken Glass” due to her power to encase people she touches inside a bright, pink, glass-like object and crushes them.

“Oh, right. As for your sister, she is alive. Our intel suggests that she's in one of the 'living islands' at Eaucove. As for her captors, we do not know their identity or their objective.”

Jack felt relieved knowing that her sister was alive but at the same time angry knowing that some people have his sister captive. He could not help but let the tears roll down his cheeks.

At that moment, Siegfried and Daisuke were done skinning and getting venison from the deer. Raijin, Riku, and Brunnhilde returned with clean water in makeshift pots that Brunnhilde created using her earth magic.

“Are you feeling alright now, Jack?” asked Brunnhilde.

“Yes. I feel a lot better now,” he said as she wiped his tears.

* * * * *

Raijin cooked the venison with the assistance of Brunnhilde who has been very fond of his cooking, a combination of dwarf and human cuisine. Even Siegfried could not help but to watch and volunteer to taste test. Even the two women wished they could taste the food as the aroma was so alluring.

Once the cooking was done, the group dug in. Raijin, Daisuke, and Siegfried recounted to Melody what happened for the past few weeks back in Port Royale and Colosseum Empire. Brunnhilde also added about the Dragon Raiders’ expedition, confirming Melody's hunch that they were Drasgardians.

After the meal and conversation, everyone went to sleep.

When everyone was already asleep, Melody discreetly got up and went somewhere far enough from the camp. The two women hiding in the shadows then reappeared.

“Melody, what happened?” asked the woman with maroon hair and a black outfit.

“Change of plans, Cat,” said Melody. “We’ll leave the Arcanas Kingdom to their hands.”

The other woman protested. “But Melody, this is an important mission. Besides, that avatar is his next target.”

“And we will stop him, Ashe, before he could reach the avatar.”

“Should I contact Miho and Piro?” asked the woman named Cat. “During our last communication with them, they said that he is already here in Aria, somewhere in Pit Valley.”

“Yes. Tell them not to engage him alone and wait for us. He already has three Ishvaran mana at his disposal.”

“Okay. That settles it then. But what about that group?” asked Ashe.

“Well, I am sleepy. That guy named Raijin really knows how to cook and I’m stuffed. Here, reheat this and have some. I saw you two earlier craving for some.”

Cat and Ashe tried to hide their embarrassment but still gladly accepted the food.

“Anyway, I’ll see you two tomorrow at the end of the forest. That’s when I can depart from this group. We'll discuss the specifics tomorrow. Have a good rest you two.”

“Alright, then. Good night, Melody,” said Ashe.

“See ya!” said Cat.

Melody returned to the camp. Riku jerked out of sleep.

“Sorry, did I wake you up?” asked Melody.

“Y-Yeah,” Riku said half asleep. “I thought some animal is crawling inside here. Where have you been?”

“I just...relieved myself.”

Riku lay down again and continued to sleep.

Melody lied down as well and went to sleep with a peculiar smile on her lips.

* * * * *

Morning came and the group took down their camp. They had an easy breakfast, courtesy of Raijin due to popular demand, before continuing on foot.

The group didn’t take too long to reach the end of the forest where Cat and Ashe were waiting.

“These are Catriona and Ashe, my friends,” Melody introduced the two. She then introduced Daisuke and his friends to Cat and Ashe.

“Nice to meet you all. And thank you for taking care of Melody,” said Ashe.

“Sorry that we do not have anything to offer as a token of gratitude,” said Cat.

“Oh, no. It’s alright,” said Raijin. “We just did what we thought was right.”

“Why don’t we all go to the Arcanas Kingdom? Melody mentioned that you are all going to Arcanas as well.” Daisuke offered.

“Actually, Cat and I decided to go on a detour first. If it is okay, Melody.”

“Of course,” said Melody. She then faced Daisuke's group. “Well, I guess this is where we part. Thank you, guys!”

“We hope to see you again,” Raijin quickly responded.

Melody chuckled. “And I wish to taste foods you'll cook again.”

Catriona and Ashe nodded internally. We wish that as well!

Everyone said goodbye.

For a short while, Raijin felt a connection, a spark, between him and Melody.

“Cheer up, Raijin,” said Brunnhilde. “I'm sure you'll find someone else.”

“Really?” said the sobbing Raijin with a runny nose.

Riku shook her head. Ugh. Men.