The Rock Eater boar… Although not as much as the food that his master had prepared, the food that Yuri cooked was surprisingly delicious in its own rights. At the very least, it was delicious enough for him to forget all his worries, and enjoy himself for a while. However, the darkness around him remained the same. And so did the dangers. Just because they were enjoying a meal did not mean that the Oren Beasts would let them be.

Rather, from his own experience, Alnea knew that the best time to attack was when his enemies were too busy to pay attention to their surroundings. And the Oren Beasts would have that fact ingrained into their very being. Though Yuri had guaranteed that no Oren Beast would be approaching them for a while, nearly two had passed since they had killed the boar. The longer they stayed in the place, the greater the danger they would have to face. So, despite the groans, and protests of his body, Alnea pulled himself off the ground, forcing the girls to do the same.

“Where are we going next?” Cecilia said, stretching her body to wake up her extremities. “I guess it should be about time that we ought to return, but now that we have already eaten, should we explore a bit more of the canyon?”

“Ask Alnea,” Yuri said, also stretching out her limbs, but in a much more elegant way. “He is the one leading us next.

“Let’s go back for now,” Alnea said, staring into the darkness that lay ahead of him. “We have explored enough for the day.”

“Or we can go around looking for some of the things that Lady Nyssa had mentioned.”

“…What things are you talking about.”

“The Springs of Fortune.”

“…It’s just our second day in the canyon. It would be too dangerous for us to go after such precious resources. Let’s wait until we grow a little stronger—

“That’s the point. We need the resources like Fortune Springs to help us grow stronger as soon as we can. Or have you forgotten about the target that Lady Nyssa set for us?”

“I remember what master said. She gave us four months to break through to the Intermediate Stage—

“She gave us four months to break through to the next Stage, and that also includes Yuri. Maybe we can increase our Spirit Power to the Intermediate Stage in four months, but what about Yuri? Will she be able to break through to the Advanced Stage in the that time?”

“…You don’t have to worry about me,” Yuri said, smiling helplessly at Cecilia. “I will think of a way to reach the Advanced Stage. You don’t have to drag me into this.”

“See, she also thinks that it is not necessary to—

“No, she is not thinking anything. She is just agreeing with you. Like she always does.”

“That’s not true. Did you forget how we were arguing just before we fought the boar?”

“…Can you stop treating me like a kid?” Cecilia said after a moment of silence, with annoyance clearly evident on her face. It was not the cute kind of annoyance though. She was truly irritated with him. But he could not understand what she was saying.

“…When have I ever treated you like a kid?”

“Cecilia, I think—

“Please, just stop,” Cecilia said, putting her hands up in the air to express her frustration. “Just stop… I can ignore you two going off into your own world… I can even look past the fact how you keep ignoring me… But never treat me as a kid. I am a Wanderer. A Serpian. I will not let myself be humiliated like this…”

“…I really don’t understand what you are saying. When have I humiliated you?”

“It is the fact that you don’t even realise what you are doing which vexes me so!”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Calm down, Cecilia,” Yuri said, stepping in between them. “There is no need to get so agitated… Why don’t you tell us what is bothering you?”

“Do you really want me to point it out?” Cecilia said, clenching her fist in determination. Or was it frustration? Alnea did not know. But whatever it was, it made her voice grow even more strong, and firm.

“Do you think I cannot see what you two are doing all day? I already had my suspicions back in Anneve, but that suspicion has now turned into confirmation. I don’t know how you two are doing it, but somehow you are able to talk to each other without saying anything. Like you are talking to each other with your eyes… or directly into each other’s minds.

“I seriously wouldn’t have minded it too much if you would have told me about it directly. Easy, and fast communication can be the key to victory in fights. And I would never say no to anything that can better our chances against the Oren Beasts… against the Heterodox Wanderers. But why did you have to keep it a secret from me? Is it because you keep talking about something that you cannot tell me… Or is it because you think of me as a hindrance? Do you want to get rid of me?”

“It’s not like that, Cecilia. I never—

“You never what? Did you never expect me to stop being a musclehead, and think for myself?”

“No, I—

“Didn’t you want me to keep my promise, and tell you when I have something on my mind? To tell you when something is bothering me? Then I am telling you right now. The way you treat me like a kid is bothering me. The way you keep secrets from me is bothering me. But most important of all, the fact that you do not even trust me to enough to talk to me like a teammate is crushing me.”

Cecilia paused, and took a deep and heavy breath, before continuing once again. This time, staring daggers at both of them.

“We are supposed to be a team. We. The Three of us. Not just the two of you. If you think that I am coming in between the two of you, or that I cannot be trusted enough to be a part of the team, then just say so. I will ask Lady Nyssa to send me back to Rian. I can take a few words of criticism. Poros’ fangs, I can even bear a scolding. But I refuse to be treated like this. If I am going to be a part of this team, then you have to treat me like one.”

“…I am sorry,” Alnea said, with guilt, and shame tearing his Heart. She was right in a sense. He did discuss important matters with Yuri through their rings. But not because he wished to keep those things secret, or keep Cecilia out of the loop. It was just a force of habit. However, that did not change the fact that he did, indeed, kept secrets from her. And he had no excuses.

“I… I did—

“It is my fault,” Yuri said, stepping in between them once again, taking all the blame on herself before Alnea could say anything. “I discussed things with him in private, keeping you away from some of our decisions. And I may have inadvertently treating you like a child. But that was only because you were behaving like one.

“Do you know how many times you have lost control of yourself? How many times have you jeopardised our plans? Most of the time Alnea made mistakes, it was in order to keep you safe. And I cannot even keep track of the times I cleared up your mess. Not to mention how we keep getting ambushed every time you led our way. Did you already forget why Alnea was having such a hard time against the Mud Fish?

“In contrast, have you ever seen us fall into ambush when Alnea is leading the way? No, right? Can you understand now why I kept you out of our discussions? It is not because I want to hide things from you, but simply because you have not proven yourself worthy for me to discuss our plans with you.

“However, you are indeed right in the sense that I treated you like a child. It would have been better if I had confronted you earlier, rather than to wait until now. It was not Alnea’s fault though. If you want to blame anyone, then blame me. I was the one who asked him to play along with me.”

“Yuri, you should not—

“Enough, Alnea,” Yuri said, looking at him with a solemn gaze. “I know you are worried about her… but Cecilia is right. We are a team. The three of us. We cannot keep treating her like a child. Sugar coating words would not do her any good. Rather, it will only make her Heart more vulnerable. So, you can either help me in convincing her to behave like she should, or stay quiet, and listen from the side.”

“…Can I act as a medium between you two?”

“No,” Cecilia said, taking a deep breath to stop herself from trembling. “La… Yuri is right. I do not want to listen to any nice words. I want to be a part of the team. A part of what you two have… I want to become your strength, and your liability… If you cannot tell me the truth, then do not stop Yuri from doing so.”

“…Fine. But you two should try to keep your voices low. We are still surrounded by Oren Beasts from all sides.”

Ignoring him, and his guilt ridden face, Yuri turned back towards Cecilia, and said, “If you want to be treated like a part of the team, if you want us to show our trust in you, then you must do your part to earn that trust. And the best way you could have done that would have been by correcting your mistakes, and learning from them. But you probably do not even remember your mistakes.”

“I…”

“This is the difference between you, and Alnea. Although he keeps making mistakes, he always strives to correct them. To learn from them. And to become a better Wanderer every single day. Now, do you understand why I would discuss our plans with him, but not with you?”

“I…”