“New members,” Alnea mumbled, ignoring the faint headache coming from the new chains of his Oaths. “Is it dawn already?”
“There is still a little over an hour to dawn, to be exact. But the time we agreed upon was one hour before dawn. And our mansion is quite close to the Sixth Blood Hall. Or else, the two of us might have missed today’s recruitment.”
“…I am sorry. I—
“You should indeed feel sorry,” Yuri said, nodding solemnly at his words. “If only you could have slept for a little longer, we might have had the entire morning to just the two of us.”
“…What?”
“…I was just joking,” Yuri said, giggling at the confused expression on his face. “Come on, let’s go. Or they will truly leave us behind.”
Although Alnea would have also liked to spend the entire morning with Yuri, he could not let Cecilia, even Vestia for that matter, roam the city on their own. The Lotus clan… they were bound to get their revenge. And judging from how they normally behaved, if they could not find him, they would get it from the girls… He could not let that happen. Even if he had killed their heir first, he still could not let them hurt the people close to him.
Was he being selfish? Maybe. But he had always considered himself a selfish man anyway. A man so selfish, that not even his guilt could stop him. Or maybe that was because of his Oath. In any case, he was never going to stop, no matter what. Even if he had to kill ten, hundred, or even thousands upon thousands of people. He would keep protecting his Heart, and strive to complete all his Oaths. Because he was Alnea Oathkeeper.
“Alright,” Alnea said, feeling his Serenity return him, stronger than ever before. Maybe even strong enough to support him all the way to the Peak Stage of the False Rank. “Let me freshen up first.”
“Don’t take too long.”
Stretching his limbs, Alnea walked into the bathroom attached to the room, and washed his face, before strapping his sword back to his waist, and walking out of his room. His temporary room to be exact. Everything had been in such a mess the day before, that none of them had the mind to choose their rooms. The girls had spent their entire day in the hall, trying to comfort him in their own ways, before finally deciding to let him meditate, and temper his Heart. After all, for Wanderers lost in self-doubts, tempering their Heart was the quickest way to return their Serenity to their Hearts.
Still, afraid that he might enter the Origin Sea, or Forge his Spirit, they did not dare to let him be on his own. Vestia had even suggested that he meditate in the main hall, with everyone to keep an eye on him. Thankfully, Yuri had insisted on bringing him to a room, and promised to keep an eye on him. Only then, did Vestia relent, randomly choosing a room to rest, with Cecilia deciding to keep an eye on her, just in case.
After all, Vestia had been their teammate for just one day. And she had never hidden her intentions from them. Her offer to help him soothe his Heart with the Arcanas of her clan had not helped her case either. With how vulnerable he had been the day before, if Vestia had used the strange Arcanas of her clan, the girls were not sure if they would be able to keep him from falling to Vestia’s charms.
In the end though, Vestia had respected his opinion, just asking him to come to her if he needed her help. Even at the moment, as she saw him walk into the main hall, looking visibly better than before, there was nothing but relief and joy on her face. Of course, Cecilia was the same, but he had an unbreakable bond with Cecilia. She was his Heart, just as he was hers. What about Vestia? Why was she standing with him, despite the fact that it would mean offending the Lotus clan? Just because they were teammates?
“You look much better than before,” Vestia said, nodding at Alnea with a relieved smile. “Of course, if you would have let me help you, then would have become better much sooner.”
“He does not need the help of your shady Arcanas,” Cecilia said with a snort. “Last night was just an accident. As long as we give him enough time, he can come out of the shadows of the Whitebud heir’s death on his own.”
“Why wait for such a long time, when I can help him in just one night?”
“…Wanderers should always face up to their fears, Vestia,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “Running away will only deepen the scar in his Heart.”
“…Scars can always be healed with time. And it is not as if I cannot help with those scars too. Only the price…”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“…It makes me happy to see that you are so concerned about me, Vestia,” Alnea said, scratching his head in embarrassment. “But its alright. I am fine now. In fact, I am greater than ever.”
“Is that so,” Vestia said, with her smile even wider than before. “That could not be better. Still, my offer stands. You can come to me any time you feel that you are troubled, or in a bad state. Even if I cannot heal you, at the very least I can still make sure that you forget all your worries, and have a good night’s sleep.”
“…I will keep that in my mind.”
“Alright, alright. If you two have had enough fun winking at each other, then can we go to the Blood Hall now?”
“I did not wink at anyone!”
“Are you jealous?”
“Who will be jealous of a vixen!”
“Then why not try winking at him yourself?”
“That… I… I am not a pervert!”
“…I am still here, you know? Don’t talk about me as if you are talking about a third person.”
“Shut up, pervert.”
“Saying that he is a pervert would be exaggerating things a little, but he does seem to like me winking at him.”
“Wha—What are you talking about? Don’t slander me!”
“See, you blushed again.”
“What? How can I blush? I am sure that I was using my Aspects… did it fail?”
“…Idiot.”
“Fool.”
“What?”
“…Nothing,” Vestia said with a giggle. “It is just that you helped me prove my guess.”
“Your guess… You are cheating!”
“…At least I am not using my Aspects to hide my feelings.”
“Tha—That’s just an instinctive reaction.”
“Using Aspects on instincts… It looks like the world is still looking down on your talent.”
“…I was talking about my blush.”
“…Stop talking,” Cecilia said, looking at him as if he was an idiot. “You are making things worse.”
“But—
“I hate to agree with Cecilia, but this time, she is right.”
“I…”
“Are your friends being mean to you, Alnea? How about you come with me? I promise I will never be mean to you.”
“…They are not mean. That’s just how we are. We—
“Just stop talking,” Yuri said, massaging her head, while glaring at Vestia from the corner of her eyes, warning her to not tease Alnea anymore. “We have wasted enough time already. Let’s get going, or we truly might be late on the first day of our recruitment.”
“…Will anyone even come for the recruitment?” Alnea mumbled, as they walked out of their mansion. “After what happened last night…”
“Do not underestimate yourselves,” Vestia said. “Almost half of the city is interested in you. And after last night, even more people will become interested in you as they learn of your deeds. Still, it is true that what happened last night would indeed make those people hesitate a little. At the very least, few people would like to have too much contact with you. Especially since they know that you are not going to join their teams.”
“…In the end, are you not saying the same thing?”
“Of course not,” Vestia said, shaking her head, while Yuri continued to lead their way, and Cecilia kept glancing at the blue robed woman. “Most of the decently strong Wanderer would indeed have their own teams, but there are bound to be some outliers everywhere in the world. And some of those outliers would not be afraid of the Lotus clan’s revenge.
“Rather, by standing against the Lotus clan, you may have inadvertently become friends with their enemies. Even if those enemies do not join you, they will still try to support you in their own ways. Other than them, there might also be a few people who have nowhere to go. People who are just trying to prove their strengths. For them, the Lotus clan’s revenge might just be their best chance. Maybe even their last chance. Such people would surely not miss out in joining our team. They might not come today, or tomorrow, but they will surely come to register with our team.”
“…I see,” Alnea mumbled, before being pinched in his waist, and brought away from his thoughts by Cecilia.
“Why are you letting her lead you?” Cecilia said, ignoring Vestia’s complaints from the side. “It does not matter whether we will recruit anyone else or not. Worst case scenario, we will just randomly pick a few Wanderers to accompany us in the Trials of the inner city. It would not change what we have to do anyway. So, stop thinking so much, and focus on the present.”
“…How come you can speak such words of wisdom from time to time?”
“What’s with you look?” Cecilia said, feigning a look of disgust on her face. “Fine. I accept it. I am a genius. I just do not like spending my energy on thinking.”
“…You can think too?”
“…Are you trying to pick a fight?”
“Joke, joke,” Alne said, dodging Cecilia’s punch, as bursts of laughter escaped from his mouth.
“…I will show you what a joke is, alright.”
“Wait, wait! There are so many people around us. Do you want them to laugh at you too?”
“Too? You were indeed laughing at me…”
“Us! Us! It was a slip of tongue. Wait, why are you urging your Aspects?”
“…Are they always like this?”
“…Most of the time,” Yuri said, glancing helplessly at Alnea and Cecilia running around them in circles. “Alright, you two. Stop playing around, or even those who want to join us might change their mind.”