Eighth day of Sat’xahr, 4043 AOT

Wave 3, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region

Fred just missed Azalea by a few minutes before she disappeared after a fight, but he has not stopped looking for her. Unfortunately, there has been no good results so far.

“I haven’t found her yet.” Fred talks on the phone. “She’s hiding pretty well… Even I am having a hard time-”

“Maybe you should put yourself in her shoes.” Cassandra replies cutting him off. “Like… You’re running away from bounty hunters too.”

“I’m trying.”

“No, no, no, you don’t get it. Lone is really weird on her own. Her only student couldn’t be too far away from her eccentricities.”

“I don’t get what you’re trying to say. Stop beating around the bush.”

“Right…” Her response is followed by a silent sigh. “She won’t be in the route that you think she would take to escape, because that’s also the first thing that the bounty hunters will think of.”

“Ah-!” The thought suddenly comes into his mind.

“She’d go around to confuse and lose them.”

“I see, I see… So, where do you think she’d be?”

“How would I know?”

“You were being such a smarty-pants, I thought you actually have some idea.”

“I’m trying to help you here.”

“Sure, sure… How’s the situation there in your village?”

“We’re still investigating the irregularities in the movements of the high ranked monsters. I don’t think this will be over any time soon. If it isn’t for this-”

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of the young demon hunter this time… I owe her my life. Everyone had their own business to take care of. Fortunately, I happen to be free.”

“Right… Update me from time to time.”

“Then, look forward to some good news.”

He ends the call. He looks at the black screen for a while as if he is in daze. To learn more about his target, he needs to look deeper into her background. Maybe he will get a grip of her flow of thought and reasoning.

The rest of the demons hunters that was involved in the hunt of Ur’Yarha learned about the reward that was put in capturing Azalea at the time when they are already preparing to leave Aesbyl. Most of the monster hunters that has joined the hunt are from different regions of the country, so they returned to their dominion soon after the hunt is over. Aaron is going on a journey of his own. He does not talk much but it seems like he has a destination in mind. Matt needs to return to his region in the northern parts of Surus. Gustaf brought three fledging hunters with him to gather experience in demon hunting. He cannot risk getting them involved in trouble with the authorities of this country. It would have been fine if it was just him. Carlos wants to return to his village to show his family that he is fine. He has always been like that and he does not want cause them to worry by breaking that routine, though he promised Fred that he will come to his aide right after he is done. Cassandra is eager to look for Azalea and help her get out of Surus but the problem with monsters back in her village makes her unable to do as she promised.

In the end, only Fred is left who is free to move and lend his savior a hand. He knows that Azalea is in tough situation now, so he wants to find her as soon as possible and help her get out of Aesbyl Region. The Shilan group have influence in different regions of Surus, but it is strongest in this Aesbyl. If she could only leave this region then that will be good, and if she escapes out of the country then that will be the best.

“I can’t believe, I’m having a very difficult time tracing and finding a child.” He grumbles while looking at the map. “Am I getting old and rusty?... Or is that young demon hunter just that skilled?..”

He then browses in his phone to gather some information from the latest news. While scrolling down, a fresh article catches his attention. He looks into it and more related articles pops up. He also looks into the forums discussing the incident. He is beyond dismayed.

“What the hell is she actually doing? She destroyed some plantations?.. Why?... She should just be on her way to get out of this place. I don’t think I’d understand her at all… or I might just go crazy once I do…”

∞×∞

Eighteenth day of Sat’xahr, 4043 AOT

Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region

Azalea has decided to stay for two or three more days to rest with the peculiar family of children. She has already checked while spending the night in their house, that she does not detect any animosity among them. She did not feel anyone following them on the way or anyone watching them closely since she stayed in that place. The currently unorganized mercenary group in this area does not seem to be on guard for her. So, it is safe here for now. She can rest a little while gathering some resources for her journey out of this country.

“We'll drop by the Nest, to report and to resupply.” A female’s voice states.

“Yes, we’ll leave earlier today. I already instructed Jad what to do.” A male’s voice responds.

The sun is yet to fully rise, but Azalea’s rest has been interrupted by the presence of two early birds. She stays silent to listen a little bit before greeting them. However their serious tone and manner of speaking bothers her.

“I heard there is a problem with the supply of Fairy Dust in Aesbyl.” Mark continues. “The shortage is making the addicts very uneasy. There has been several incidents of the far-gone randomly rampaging.”

“Did you tell Jad to be careful?” Mary’s tone rings with worry. “Guide the other kids properly and stay away from the mercenaries. Some of them seem to be on edge these past few weeks.”

“They’ve become quite aggressive lately… To the point that they are even fighting amongst themselves.”

“I just hope we can avoid getting dragged into this mess.”

“Is there something big happening in this area?” Azalea suddenly approaches.

Mary jolts back. “L-lea… Have you been awake all this time?”

“Not really… I just heard you talking. Anyway, I’d like to ask you a favor.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Well… If it’s something we can do within out power, go ahead.”

Azalea takes out the transparent marbles. “Can you help me sell this in the black market? I’m in a situation where it will be quite troublesome for me to go to the city, or like show my face in crowded places.”

“So…” Mark stares at her. “You’re really in some dispute with the mercenaries.”

“I won’t stay long here. If you refuse to help me, I’ll just leave.”

“That’s not my intention.” He answers quickly.

“Don’t worry, we won’t throw you out.” Mary follows up. “If we just abandon you in this situation and then we find your corpse a few days later, that’ll be in our conscience forever.”

“Wow, you’re so kind.” Azalea forces a laugh. “Though I doubt you’ll ever get to see my corpse if that happens…”

Mary takes the pouch of transparent marbles then passes it to Mark. “We’ll have this appraised by someone we know on the job. It’ll probably take one or two days before we can cash in.”

“We better say, Jad found it while looking for scraps in the canyon.” Mark advices.

Mary nods.

“There are only a few things I need for my travels. Do you have a pen and pa piece of paper?” Azalea asks then Mary passes her what she needs. “If you can get these supply for me, you can keep the rest of the sales.”

“Won’t you need some money too?” Mary takes the piece of paper with the list.

“I should be fine with just those things for a while.”

“If you say so…”

“We don’t know much about your situation and we do not want to pry into it.” Mark adds. “Since you are already in a pinch… I suggest you avoid other residents of Wave 5 too. Some people are very sensitive when it comes to new faces here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Mary and Mark then leaves carrying the baskets. Azalea stays in the leaving room to rest some more while waiting for the other kids to wake up.

∞×∞

Jad and Romi takes Azalea out of Wave 5 into the canyon. Today, they are going to catch some desert lizards and look for some eggs for food. If they can find something they could sell then that will also be great. While they are out looking for food and additional livelihood, Brenda is left to take care of the younger kids and the house. Normally, Jad and Romi come back before noon to help prepare lunch. This time, maybe having an experienced hunter with them will make the errand easier.

Azalea’s armor has been cleaned, however Brenda advised her not to wear it yet because it will make her stand out among the people of Wave 5. People who are wearing armor in these parts are mostly part of the mercenary group. If one is not a member, they will be marked and the mercenaries will be wary of their every move. For now, it is important not to draw any unnecessary attention so she continues to wear her casual house clothes.

“You can find them in the cracks in the stone walls.” Jad explains proudly while leading the way. “Sometimes you can find rats too, but the foot-long lizards are better. We can sell their skin. Rats taste good too but that’s all, no extra income.”

Romi nods. “Lizard meat is delicious. Hm. But you have to be careful not to get bitten or scratched. I heard some adults died because of a tiny bite.”

“Don’t worry I can heal.”

“You can heal?!” Romi turns at her excitedly. “So, you’re like a walking hospital?!”

“W-walking what now?”

“I got a great idea!” Jad raises his voice while putting down the cages where they will put the captured lizards. “How about… We go house to house and check on sick people then charge them? Like a roaming doctor!”

“That’s not how things work. I don’t specialized in healing diseases. I heal something like battle-related injuries… and I can nullify poison. But if you ask me to heal cancer, I can’t do that.”

“Bummer.” Jad frowns.

“Why not?” Romi asks.

“It requires a different, higher level spell that I haven’t studied.”

“Then let’s look for mercenaries and hunters that got inju-”

“Absolutely not.” She cuts Jad off before he can finish.

“Reallyyyy bummer~… Well… Welcome to Elteb Canyon, the lifeline of many Zone-0 residents. Let’s just look for food. There should be some eggs at the higher places. We need to go deeper into the canyon to find a populated nesting area. Not far from there, there’s an underground lake we can get clean water from.”

“What about the water from that well in Wave 5?”

“Oh that water is fine for bathing and cleaning things, but it’s not safe for drinking or cooking. The water underground is clean and not contaminated. Thanks to your magic that can make things float, we don’t have to make another trip to fill those jags.”

“I’m glad you find my existence very convenient.”

Azalea watched Jad and Romi set up the traps to catch some desert lizards, before they walk deeper into the canyon. They lead her to the underground lake where they fetch their drinking water daily. Inside that underground cave that leads to the lake, she feels a strong flow of mana. She casts magic to create balls of light that guides their way inside the dark cave. Deeper inside some luminescent mushrooms and moss started to dimly light the path. There are some small animals and docile little monsters that lives inside. The lake is crystal clear. They can see it glow from afar. There seems to be something deep in the lake that produces light which makes it look like it is glowing. Azalea touches the water and then scoops some to take a sip from her palms. Considering that there is no reaction from her body, Hol did not react so that means it is indeed clean and safe. She believes that the flow of mana inside the cave and whatever is producing the glow from deep in the lake might be what makes it all safe.

While Jad and Romi are filling the jags with water, Azalea informs them that she is going ahead to look for eggs. It is easier for her with magic to reach higher places and collect the eggs. Jad tells her not to take too much and that a dozen would be enough to last them for three to five days. Normally they would only take two or three eggs because it is dangerous to climb up and steal the egg from the nests. Having a “do it all with ease” mage with them makes the gathering easier but they do not want to over-indulge themselves and rely on her too much.

After filling the jags and placing a dozen of eggs into their basket, they went back to check on the traps. Azalea casts magic on the jags making them float and follow them. Romi is holding the basket with eggs, and he added some herbs growing underground as well. Two out of the three traps caught a lizard, which is two days’ worth of food. Jad carefully takes the cages ensuring that the traps are not loose enough for the lizards to escape. He fixes it a little and then carries it on their way back home.

On their way back, they witness some “black suit people” pass by. Their way of dressing is too eye-catching in places like this Zone-0. People do not wear formal clothes here so they always attract attention when they are strolling around in the morning.

“What’s up with them?” Azalea’s gaze follows the black suit people.

“Don’t mind them.” Jad answers while continuing on their way. “You’ll see them here in the slums once in every few months. They buy children.”

“Buy children? What for?”

“Who knows…”

They approach closer to their house.

“Maybe they sell their organs.” Romi says with a creepy tone.

“Don’t you think five years old is too early to harvest organs?” Jad responds.

“I don’t know… Maybe they raise them first. Or maybe! Maybe they train them and make them fight in underground battle to death!”

“I bet the rich people just feed them to their pet monsters.”

“That sounds boring.”

“That’s supposed to be some sort of entertainment?” Azalea scoffs.

“Some adults use those black suit people to scare children, you know.” Romi frowns. “Some parents say they’ll call them and give you to them if you don’t behave.”

Jad chuckles. “And then what’ll they do to the kids?”

“They’ll gonna give them hellish trainings and then turn them into secret agents!”

“That’s different from what you said earlier.”

“He forgot the plot that he was imagining.” Azalea laughs it off.

“Wow! You’re back an hour early today.” Brenda greets them as they reach their home. “You got more eggs… You can rest a bit, I’ll store these and the water.”

“Sure.” Jad answers while putting down their catch. “Romi and I will skin the lizards later… We can cook one today. The other… Let’s dry it to preserve it for another day.”

“Okay.” Brenda agrees as she carries the basket inside. “Lea, bring the jags inside with your magic.”

“Ah- y-yeah… I’m Lea…”

“Tell us too! Tell us too!” Kou and Raichi comes running towards Jad and Romi. “You were talking about secret agents!”

While they are taking some leisure time, they notice dark smoke rise up in the middle of Wave 5. Whatever is causing it has escalated, spreading the smoke into different places.

“Is that a fire?” Brenda comes out to check.

Leika with Lei follows behind looking curious and wary at the same time. Romi, Kou and Raichi hides behind Jad who is staring intently at the place where the smoke is coming from.

“What’s happening?” Azalea asks as she increases the sensitivity of Pulse. “It looks like there’s an intense battle over there.”

“Yeah.” Jad answers. “The mercenary group in-charge of taking care of this territory… um… I think they had a falling out. It has been noisy and messy for the last two weeks or more.”

“An internal fight?...”

“I don’t know the full details. I just heard some adults talking in the market. They wanted to divide the territory because it has expanded too much… and that might be the reason why they have been at each other’s throat.”