Pushing himself off the ground, Alnea stretched out a little to wake up his limbs. After all, no matter how miraculous the recovery potion was, it could not prevent the soreness from sitting in the same position for too long. It was only when he felt the warmth of blood flowing in his limbs once again, that he picked up his sword from the rack, strapped it back to his waist, and walked straight out of his room. One of the only two rooms on the ground floor. The other one belonged to Karl.

Alnea still could not understand how the girls had not fought for the better rooms on the ground floor. With how Karl was, he would not have complained about living on the first floor. And Alnea himself was fine either way. He even offered to live on the first floor, allowing them to exchange rooms with him. But strangely enough, after glancing at each other, all three of them refused to change their rooms.

He could never understand what the girls were thinking. Just as he could not understand what he was seeing at the moment. All three girls, along with Karl, were sitting in the hall, meditating in silence. Did they not have their own rooms? Or did they not even bother going back to their rooms?

…On second thought, it did make sense. Although the girls had recovered their Spirit Power while watching his battle, two hours was not enough for them to expend their Spirit Power in their training, and then recover back to their peak state. Rather than training half-heartedly, the girls had probably just given up training altogether, and chosen to meditate while waiting for him to come back after resting for a while. Even Karl must have made the same choice…

Maybe he should not be so demanding of them all the time, Alnea thought, as he quietly made his way to the centre of the hall, and took his seat between Yuri and Cecilia, without disturbing their meditation. Or he could just enjoy the rare moment of peace. It had been quite a long time since he had seen Yuri and Cecilia’s quiet, meditating face. More than six weeks, to be exact. Or was it seven weeks?

The Heterodox Wanderers, resonating with his Roots, living with his master, coming to Lost City, fighting in the Arena, completing the Trials, meeting Vestia, creating his own team, becoming the team leader… Everything kept happening so quickly, that he was beginning to lose track of time. When he looked at Yuri’s calm, and peaceful face though… Everything seemed to make sense.

Smiling to himself, Alnea glanced around the hall in silence. Cecilia, Vestia, Karl, and all the other Star Seekers that had yet to come… All the things that had been worrying him, all his insecurities and confusion, vanished just like that, while all the different parts of the puzzle that had been occupying his mind for most part of the past month fell right into their perfect places.

“What are you doing?” Alnea said to Yuri.

“…Meditating,” Yuri said in return, still with her eyes closed. “Are you done recovering your Spirit…”

Yuri paused, and opened her eyes, looking back at him with her unfairly charming smile.

“You have learned how to play pranks.”

“What can I say… I have been taught by the best.”

“Cecilia would be happy to hear that.”

“…And she would reward me with another one of her violent pranks. You know who I am talking about.”

“How was your experience with the recovery potion?” Yuri said, smoothly changing the topic away from herself.

“It was… pleasant.”

“Pleasant should be an understatement,” Yuri mumbled. “…Did you have any weird visions while you were recovering?”

“I would not say weird, but I did have images of the Erwein Forests flashing in my mind.”

“…Cunning vixen,” Yuri mumbled, with a hint of indignance, and helplessness tainting her voice. “If I had a recovery potion myself, I would never have allowed her to give you the recovery potion.”

“It is fine, Yuri. For me, your smile is my greatest potion.”

“…Living with Vestia has made your tongue even more slippery than before.”

“But I am just saying the truth.”

“…What do you think about the Erwein Forests?”

“What about it?”

“…Is it a good place?”

“It did feel like a warm and safe haven. At the same time, I could also feel the cold, wild aura hidden within the forest and the lake… If it could even be called as a lake.”

“It is a lake,” Yuri said. “The Great Erwein lake.”

“…That does sound like an apt name,” Alnea mumbled, before coming back to his senses. “Anyways, as I was saying, I could feel two different types of air from the forest, but somehow, these two completely opposite types of air were coexisting at the same time, forming a seamless harmony, trying to beckon me to its depths…”

“…It should be a side effect of the recovery potion. But we cannot rule out Vestia’s manipulation either. Try to be careful—

“Have you not figured it out already?”

“…Figured out what?”

“That I will not leave you, no matter what. Even if Vestia joins us after we leave the city, she would only be following us, and not leading us. There is no need for you to worry, Yuri. Just relax and be yourself. Although I enjoy seeing you become jealous for me, I still like the calm and confident Yuri more. The one who is always ready to face anything in the world.”

“…Even I have times when I am not ready—

“And for those times, I will be by your side. So, just smile like you usually do, and stop worrying.”

“…Pervert.”

Alnea did not ask why he became a pervert once again. Asking was meaningless. He just smiled and accepted his new ‘identity’. In return, he gained one of the most valuable things in the world, Yuri’s bashful smile.

“…How long have you been waiting?”

“Not long. Probably just about two to two and a half hours.”

“…Should we wake them up?”

“…Let them meditate for a while longer.”

“Right, it is for their own good.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“…For their own good.”

Smiling, while trying their best not to laugh, and wake up the rest, Alnea and Yuri spent some rare ‘alone’ time with just each other.

“…Speaking of meditating, I discovered something in my meditation last night.”

“What?”

“…You know how my Roots work—

“By changing Fate.”

“Well, that, but I was talking more about the effects of my Roots.”

“Sharing your senses?”

“…Will you let me finish?”

“…Sorry. Go on.”

“…As I was saying, when I was meditation last night, I thought about my Roots, and how it works. Though, to be honest, I have been thinking about it for quite some time. Especially after I resonated with it a month ago. After I somehow managed to let my Roots act in reverse, and experience what you were going through. That got me thinking. What else is there about my Roots that I do not know?

“Can I share my senses with more than one person at a time? And if so, how many people can I share my senses with? Can I also let all of them share their senses with me at the same time? And what if I tried to share one person’s senses with another? Will that work? In the end, what exactly are the limits of my Roots? Just how much can I do with the powers I gain by changing Fate?

“There so many questions that I want to know the answer of… So many mysteries about my Roots that I wish to uncover… Yet, despite all my curiosity, I could only sit in silence, and think, wondering about those questions in my head. I did not even dare to use my Roots. At least not before I could be sure that it had stabilised. You, on the other hand, began taking your Oaths as soon as you came to the city.”

“I—

“Like I said, let me finish,” Yuri said, not allowing Alnea to explain himself. “I am not mad at you for taking Oaths. I was, back when you took them, but not now. I am—was, just a little frustrated with myself. My Roots are literally about changing fate, just as my conviction is to fight against fate. Yet, I did not even dare to use my Roots, fearing the fate that might befall me. But you…

“Despite carrying a cursed fate, you have never feared fate yourself. You fight—are always fighting against it, never considering what would happen if you failed. And even when you do fail, you always get back up, ready to fight against it once again. Just as you got up after failing to inscribe your Glyph. Others in your place might have taken a few days of rest before trying once again. Some might have even given up on the Glyph that they failed. But not you.

“You… I saw you experiment with your Glyph. I saw you fail, and then I saw you succeed. And then I saw you go beyond your limits. Even if it was only a partial success, no one can deny that you brought your idea into reality. You created something that even True Scholars find it hard to make. Something that you did not even know existed. And you did it, because you believed in yourself.

“In contrast, I… I did not even try surpassing myself. Except for when I was worried about you and my family. Yet, both of those times I managed to learn something more about myself, about my Roots. And that was when I realised that I have been wrong all along. I always thought that I need to bring some dramatic changes to other people’s life before I can share my senses with them, but that is not how Fate works. That is not how my Roots work.”

“…Have you been experimenting with your Roots?”

“Why? Are you the only one allowed to experiment with your Roots?”

“I did not experiment with my Roots… At least not without master’s supervision. And you know that is not what I meant either.”

“So, you do admit that playing with your Roots, especially after resonating with it, is dangerous.”

“…I have been taking precautions.”

“And so have I.”

“…I am just worried about you.”

“Now you know how I feel,” Yuri said, as the edges of her lips curved upwards ever so slightly. “You do not have to worry though. My name is not Yuri Reckless Faed.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I am not stupid enough to play with my Roots.”

“Then what you said earlier…”

“I just came up with some possibilities that my Roots can take. For now, I have no plans on acting on them. Given that other things go according to our plans, that is…”

Just as how their ‘alone’ time did not exactly as Alnea had expected it to. Things never went according to plans. That was a truth that Alnea had learned the hard way. Then next, the question was, exactly how and when Yuri was going to use her Roots? And if it would have any impact on her? Had the side effects of her resonating with her Roots already subsided, or—

“…Good morning, Captain,” Karl said in a voice so low that Alnea could barely hear him, but still loud enough to bring him out of his thoughts. It was not just him whom Karl alerted though. Both Cecilia and Vestia were also startled out of their meditation by him.

“Alnea… Are you done resting?”

“…How was your experience with the recovery potion? If you like it, I can give you more.”

“Hey, if you have more, then why can you not give me one to taste?”

“Are you Alnea? My recovery potions are just for Alnea to use.”

“Why? Have you mixed something in them? Are you trying to drug him?”

“…If I was trying to drug him, I would have done it in private, and not in front of everyone.”

“So, you admit that you are trying to drug him.”

“…When did I say that?”

“Tsk… I knew that you could not be up to anything good.”

“…Forget it. I will not argue with a little girl like you.”

“Who are you calling a little girl? Do you want to try my fists?”

“…Have you thought about it, Alnea? I have more than just recovery potions… Do you want to try them?”

“Don’t listen to her Alnea. Who knows what she has mixed into her potions… Unless she is willing to let me check them, you should not drink or eat anything that she gives you.”

“…Admit it. You just want to taste my potions.”

“Yeah, I just want to taste your potions. But only to make sure that you do not make Alnea drink something weird.”

“You…”

“…Good morning, Karl,” Alnea said, not even bothering to stop the girls. They were going to stop when they got tired anyway. “How did you notice me?”

“…That is just one of my basic skills of survival.”

“…You keep refreshing my views of what basic means. How was your night trip?”

“…Eventful,” Karl said. “I was almost attacked by more than twenty Wanderers on more than ten different occasions. If not for my excellent stealth skills, I would not have returned safely.”

“…Were they attacking you, or were they just glaring at you?”

“Glaring is the first step of attacking.”

“…What if it is a surprise attack, or an ambush?”

“A qualified Wanderer should never get surprised or ambushed.”

…Recalling the number of times that he had been surprised and ambushed, Alnea wondered if he could still call himself a Wanderer or not.

“Anyways, did you check what I asked you to?”

“I did.”

“Did you find anything?”

“…Sort of. But I am not sure yet.”

“Then keep looking until you find solid evidence,” Alnea said. “What about the things that Aren asked you to check?”

“…I looked into them too.”

“And?”

“…Things that happen in the Lost City are too messy, but unless they are isolated by the Origin Sea itself, all things must leave some traces in the history of the world.”

“So, you got the information?”

“…You can say that. I just do not know if that information that I got is the information that he is looking for.”

“…Leave that up to Aren to decide. You just tell him what you know.”

“…I do not like these troublesome things anyway,” Karl mumbled. “If there is nothing else, I should go back and rest a little.”

“You can rest later. Stay with us for now.”

“…Do you have anything else to say to me, leader?”

“It is not just you,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “The rest of the team should be coming soon.”

“…Is it a month already?”

“There are still a few days left, but… Whether it is you and Vestia, or the five of them, all of you have already fulfilled the tasks that I gave you. And I will not be able to catch up to your ranks in the Arena even if I wait for another month. Waiting for a few more days just to observe the time I set back then does not make any sense.”

“Then…”

“…It is finally time for us to begin acting together. And by us, I mean all ten of us.”

Alnea paused for a moment to let his words sink in, before continuing.

“It is time for the Star Seekers to finally begin chasing after their Stars.”