“…Let us pick up where we left off last night,” Alnea said, tearing his eyes away from the crazy girl in blue robe. “Does anyone have anything they would like to share or discuss?”

“Other than what we discussed last night?”

“…If you have anything to add, then sure.”

“There is indeed something I would like to add,” Vestia said, dropping her usual craziness for a solemn tone. “After what happened last night, we can all see that experimenting with our Glyphs and Arcanas within the mansion is not safe. Even if the mansion can contain the aftermath of our failure, it might end up disturbing others. On that note, we probably cannot practise our Martial Styles to our Heart’s content either. The disturbance caused by exercising our Martial Styles and Aspects to their greatest strength would not be less what we experienced last night.”

“He already apologised for last night,” Cecilia said, furrowing her brows at Vestia. “What else do you want him to do?”

“Him? Nothing,” Vestia said, shrugging her shoulders as she pointed at Alnea. “I believe in our Captain. Since he said that he would take preventive measures to not let his experiments disturb us, I am sure that he will keep his words. Everyone else though…”

“…Are you trying to point your fingers at me, vixen?”

“Do not get me wrong. I am not talking about just you. I am talking about everyone, including myself. After going back to my room last night, I realised that what happened to Alnea can happen to any of us. It is just that he was the first one to have an accident. Fortunately, he had enough means to keep himself safe. If it was anyone else…”

“…This is why I prefer using Arcanas created by others over creating one myself.”

“…You are playing the role of a Scholar right now, Karl.”

“…This is why I chose the path of Scholars over the path of Arcanists.”

“…The explosion that happened last night was because of Glyph I was trying to inscribe.”

“…This is why I always follow the experiences of my predecessors when inscribing my Glyphs.”

“…That is what I also did.”

“…Can you not finish everything in one go?” Karl mumbled sullenly, as Alnea tried to reign in his laughter. The girls, on the other hand, did not seem find anything funny. Or maybe they just did not bother listening to what Karl said, focussing all their attention on the crazy blue robed girl.

“…There is indeed a risk that our Arcanas and Glyphs might get out of control,” Yuri said, with a slight hint of frown on her face. “But that is a risk that all Wanderers must live with.”

“You are right. Wanders do indeed have to live risking their lives every day. Be it in the Origin Sea, or in our own world, there are just too many things that can threaten our lives. Yet, is that not why we should always keep looking for new ways to mitigate those risks?” Vestia said, raising the corner of her lips ever so slightly. “That is how Wanderers progress. By figuring out solutions to their problems, instead of allowing those problems to perpetuate.”

“…Stop going around in circles, and just say it already.”

“Patience, Cecilia,” Vestia said, allowing her smile to widen a little more than before. “Patience is a virtue that we must all cultivate.”

“…If you don’t stop your nonsense and get to the point, then I will show you a few other things that Wanderers must cultivate.”

“Though I would not mind taking you up on that offer sometime, I am afraid that we do not have the time right now,” Vestia said, with a hint of regret on her face and a tinge of reluctance in her voice. Both fake, of course. Manipulating expressions was her forte. Even the way she fought often included misdirecting her opponents’ attention. Adding some fake emotions to her face and voice was not too difficult for her. And she seemed to enjoy teasing Cecilia the most. If left alone…

“Just get to the point, Vestia,” Alnea said before Cecilia could fall into Vestia’s trap. “Everyone’s time is precious.”

“But their life is even more precious, is it not?”

“Vestia…”

“Fine, fine. I will get to the point,” Vestia said, adding, “No one likes play with me anymore,” in a grumble, before resuming her solemn face. “As I was saying, if we can minimise the risk we face, then why try to make life more difficult for ourselves?”

“And how do you propose we minimise those risks?” Yuri said, withdrawing her frown, along with the rest of her emotions. It looked like she had figured out what Vestia was trying to say, but did not want to take the credit for herself, so she just continued to play along with the blue robed girl.

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“There are many ways to minimise those risk, but for now, we can start with taking precautions and preventive measures when experimenting with our Arcanas and Glyphs.”

“And what about our Martial Styles? Just like you said, if we exercise our Aspects to their full extent, the disturbance caused should not be any less than what we experienced last night.”

“Can we not just restrain our Aspects?” Karl said. “That is what we have been doing up until now anyway.”

“We can restrain our Aspects for now, Karl, but can you guarantee that they will never get out of control?” Alnea said, answering for Yuri. “What if we get so engrossed with our Martial Styles that we forget about everything else?”

“How can anyone forget about where they are when practising their Martial Styles?”

“It has happened to me,” Alnea said, shrugging his shoulders. “And not just once.”

“…So, we might experience another explosion in the near future?”

“Don’t worry,” Alnea said, shaking his head with a wry smile. “I have taken enough measures to ensure that even if I lose control of my Aspects, I will not disturb anyone else, let alone disturb you by just becoming engrossed with my Martial Styles.”

“Then that solves our problems, right? You can just share your preventive measures with us—

“Unfortunately, the means I used are a little special. Not only is it related to my secret, but it should not work for anyone else either.”

“…What are we going to do with our Martial Styles then?”

“That is what I want to know too,” Yuri said, turning towards Vestia. “You cannot expect us to give up practising our Martial Styles, right?”

“Absolutely not,” Cecilia said, vehemently shaking her head. “Although I should be focussing on my Glyphs for the next few days, I cannot give up on my Martial Styles.”

“No one has to give up on their Martial Styles,” Vestia said, mirroring the wry smile on Alnea’s face.

“Do you have any other solutions?”

“Since I brought up the topic, I naturally have thought up of a solution.”

“What is it?”

“Mansion.”

“Mansion?”

“Mansion.”

“…Did she hit her head in the aftermath of last night’s explosion?”

“…Probably.”

“Maybe this is her retribution for always acting like a vixen.”

“…Sorry to disappoint you, but my head is perfectly fine,” Vestia said, still with a smile on her face. If only the corners of her lips had not twitched for a moment, she might even have fooled everyone. Except for Cecilia, of course.

“Then why did you come up with such a stupid suggestion?” Cecilia said. “If the mansion would have been enough to stop our rampaging Aspects, it would not have shaken so much last night.”

“…I am not talking about this mansion,” Vestia said, glancing at the murals in the hall, before turning back to the Star Seekers. “There are many other mansions in the city, some of which come with Glyph Arrays strong enough to contain all out blows of First and Second Stage True Wanderers, let alone the rampaging Aspects and failed experiments of False Wanderers. As long as we have enough Blood Coins…”

“There are such convenient mansions in the Lost City?”

“Did you not read the information about the different kinds of mansion in the city?”

“…We left it to Alnea.”

“And you did not tell them about it?”

“…I forgot,” Alnea said, resisting his urge to scratch the back of his head. He was their Captain. Even if he was at fault, he could not appear to be weak… or embarrassed. “It did not seem important back then.”

“…In any case, as I was saying, there are all kinds of mansions in the Lost City. We just need to choose one with better protective measures, and all our problems will be solved.”

“…Not all problems can be solved by just choosing a better mansion,” Yuri said, glancing at Alnea, before turning back to Vestia. “But you are right. We should indeed shift to a better mansion.”

“…Another layer of safety measure does sound good,” Karl mumbled, before glancing at his teammates. “So, when are we going to shift?”

“…Since we are going to shift anyway, we might as well do it today,” Cecilia said. “I do not want to restrict myself when practising my Martial Styles.”

“…As expected of a Serpia.”

“What? Do you have a problem with what I said?”

“Me? No. But it sure does look like you have a problem with what I said.”

“…Are you trying to pick a fight, vixen?”

“Obviously not. I do not want to cause any troubles for our Captain. But if you insist—

“Stop provoking her again, Vestia,” Alnea said, prompting the blue robed girl to glare at him with a pout, while Cecilia put on a triumphant smile. But not for long. “And you put away your smug smile, Lia. We will not be shifting today.”

“Why?” Cecilia said, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice. “What is the problem with shifting today?”

“…The problem is that there are still more than ten days left for the one month period we booked the mansion for to be over. Shifting to a new mansion right away would be a waste of our Blood Coins.”

“…Wasting Blood Coins would be better than wasting our time or risking everyone’s safety.”

“…You do have a point, but I still think we should not shift right away,” Alnea said, nodding at first, before shaking his head. “Do not forget that we are not alone in the city.”

“…The Lotus clan…”

“It is not just the Lotus clan. In the Lost City, all Wanderers except for those in our team, are our enemies. Not mortal enemies, but enemies, nonetheless. Wanderers who are blocking our path to the inner city, just as we are blocking their paths. And just as we are gathering their information, they are gathering our information, watching every move we make. Rather than randomly selecting a mansion, it would be best if we scout the city first.”

“…Tsk. Fine. I can wait for a few more days,” Cecilia grumbled, before glancing at Vestia. “If only a certain vixen had not thrown her mind in the sewers, and done her job properly…”

“…If only a certain snake could stop baring its fangs all day, and actually focus on her training…”

“…That’s it. Today, I am—