Alnea did not stop the Whitebud Wanderer from hopping back on to his platform, or urging the artifact. If it was an artifact, that is. Then again, nothing else could explain how the Wanderers of the Lotus clan could follow his team without alerting even Yuri and Vestia. For a moment, he could imagine making mistakes, but those two…

Regardless, Alnea had no intention of stopping the Whitebud Wanderer. After all, from what he had observed, the white robed man could use the artifact only to hide his breath and move in the desert. The Lotus itself did not have any means of attacks. It probably did not even allow the Wanderers aboard its petals to launch any attacks, or the Lotus clan would not have announced themselves before launching their ambush.

For the moment, the Whitebud Wanderer alone, be it on or off the lotus, could not pose any threats to his team. Unless he called for reinforcements. But that would take time. Going back to the city, even with the aid of the artifact, would take hours. Not to mention the time that the man would waste on explaining the need for reinforcements, and bringing everyone back to the desert. By the time the Lotus clan could come searching for him, his team should already be back in the Lost City. Probably.

The only way that the man could pose him and his team any kind of threat would be by staying back to fight to the death. With the condition that he and his team were in, they would have to pay a considerable price to take down a Peak Stage False Wanderer in a near perfect condition. So, rather than trying to keep the man in the desert, Alnea watched in silence as the lotus began rotating at an ever increasing speed, with its petals soon turning blurry, blending into the scorching desert around the man. And before he knew it, the lotus had almost vanished from his sight.

Still, it was not until both the lotus and the Whitebud Wanderer had completely faded away, scurrying into the depths of the desert, that he finally let out a sigh, allowing himself to relax. But not for long. Turning around, he dragged his tired body towards the rest of the Star Seekers. Literally. Even with the chains of his Oaths helping him recover his Spirit Power, such an intense use of his Spirit had left him completely drained. Both in his body, and his Spirit. He could already feel his headache getting worse, and his vision turning dark and blurry. And yet, he could not fall. Not at the moment. Not when his team needed him the most.

“…How are they?” Alnea asked, after he somehow managed to drag his body back to the Star Seekers. “Is…”

“…Don’t worry,” Yuri said, shaking her head, while walking up to his side with worried eyes. “Their wounds may look serious, but those are just some flesh wounds. They will get better once we return to the city and have them treated.”

“…That’s good,” Alnea said, letting go of the final stone in his Heart. “As long as they are fine, that’s good…”

“…Are you not going to ask how I am doing?” Cecilia said from the side, puffing up her cheeks to express her dissatisfaction.

“…How are you doing, Lia?”

“Too late.”

“…That is because I knew that nothing could happen to you. We were dealing with just some False Wanderers, after all. How could they ever be able to hurt you?”

“Huh... Don’t think that I will forgive you just because you say some nice things about me.”

Although she said so, Alnea could see her dissatisfaction practically melt away from her face, leaving just a wide, satisfied smile in its place.

“…Then I will ask for your forgiveness once we return to the city,” Alnea said, smiling wryly, playing along with Cecilia. “I—

A sharp pain shot through his back, forcing Alnea to stop talking for a few moments, and take a deep breath. One that almost made it seem as if he was gasping for air… That was already the best he could do though. The pain… it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He had borne even greater pain when Forging his Spirit, but that was only for his Spirit. For his body…

Besides, the pain had come so abruptly that he did not have the time to prepare himself. If not for his strong will, and excellent self control, he would not have been just gasping for breath. Not that there was anything wrong with showing his pain in front of his teammates. But with an enemy that could turn invisible, and observe them secretly, how could he dare to show his weakness so openly?

“…I also need to ask your forgiveness,” Alnea said, turning towards the Star Seekers still standing. “Because of me, you had to face such a dangerous situation…”

“…I thought that I would die—

Cecilia stomped Karl’s foot, forcing him to gasp in pain.

“You…”

Gulping down his words, as he saw Cecilia’s glare, Karl quickly changed his words, and said, “But that was just my imagination. Because I know that you would never let me die in front of you, Captain.”

“…Stop bullying him, Lia,” Alnea said, earning a few disgruntled snorts, along with the title of ‘ungrateful idiot’, and a promise of a beating when they returned back to the Lost city…

“Regardless, I—

“…We are a team, Alnea,” Vestia said, stopping Alnea before he could say anything else. “We are Star Seekers, Wanderers who help each other chase after the Stars they are Seeking. And if in the process, one of us happen to go against the world, then we will help him fight against the whole world. A mere Lotus clan… It is not worth your apology.”

“…Star Seekers,” Alnea mumbled, glancing at the men lying on the ground. “Although we have been a team in name for nearly a month, this is the first time that we actually feel like a true team.”

“…Like they say, nothing brings a group of Wanderers together better than sharing some life and death experiences.”

“…I cannot argue with that,” Alnea said, letting out a chuckle, only to force himself to shut up when he felt the pain in his back flare up once again. “Still, I owe everyone an apology. If only I had assessed the situation better, and had not been so selfish and irresponsible in my decisions, then we might not have been forced into such a dangerous situation. If you feel that I do not deserve to be your leader anymore…”

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“We can discuss that later,” Yuri said, pointing to the men lying on the ground. “Although the wounds they suffered may be just some flesh wounds, some of them may still require some immediate care. Right now, our priority should be bringing them back to the city for treatment.”

“…I am afraid that we cannot return to the city just yet,” Alnea said with a sigh, as his exhaustion increased by one more layer, infecting even his Heart. “Their situation may be dangerous, but travelling in the Black Desert in our current state will be even more dangerous. For now, our highest priority should be recovering as soon as possible. Only when we have enough strength to protect ourselves can we think of returning…”

“…I agree with everything that you said, but I still think that we should leave this place as soon as possible,” Karl said, with gloom practically seeping out from his body. “Trust me, I would like nothing better than resting myself. And I surely would not like to walk into another trap. But is it really safe here? Even if we ignore the scorching heat, or their injuries… Can we really avoid the attacks of other Oren Beasts and Wanderers by just staying in place? Especially after the commotion we made…”

“…Although the movements we made earlier were quite loud, no Wanderer or Oren Beast would deliberately move towards a sandstorm… This should be the safest place in the desert… At least for a while. But you are right. Until we are out in the Black Desert, we cannot be really considered to be safe. So, we might need some external help,” Alnea said, sighing once again, before turning towards the blue robed woman. “Vestia…”

“…I do not mind sharing it with you, but…”

“…With half of us being incapacitated, having just one or two of us recover will not be enough.”

“…I do not have an endless stock of potions, you know?”

“Stingy woman,” Cecilia said, clicking her tongue in disgust. “It is just some potions.”

“…Who was the one who sneakily drank my potion?”

“…If it was so precious, you should not have kept it lying around like that.”

“…It is my potion. I think I have the right to keep it however I like.”

“…Now that I think about it, you clearly said that it was water, and you also knew that I was thirsty. And yet, you so carelessly put in front of me… You were clearly baiting me into drinking your potion… You vixen, what are you planning?”

“…How did you stealing my potion become my fault?”

“Stop trying to—

“That is enough, Lia,” Alnea said, shaking his head at Cecilia, signalling her to stop bothering Vestia. “You should have already guessed that Vestia was just shy to share her potion with you directly. There is no need to embarrass her.”

“…I am not embarrassing her. But we really do need the potions…”

“…It is exactly because we need the potions that we must restrain ourselves. Forcing others to hand over things just because we need it… If we really do something like that, what would be the difference between us and those like the Lotus clan?

“…Then what are we going to do?”

“…It is not as if there are no other ways to recover our Spirit Power,” Yuri said, glancing towards the battered corpses of the Oren Beasts. “We would just have to—

“My apologies for interrupting, but I never said that I will not share my potions, did I?” Vestia said, feigning a hint of anger and dissatisfaction on her face. “Besides, talking about others in a third person perspective right in front of them is bad manners.”

“But you said earlier—

“I said that I do not have an endless stock of potions, not that I will not share them. No matter what you say, I am also a Star Seeker. One of the very first, in fact. I was there when we came up with the name of our team. And I even contributed my Medals just to deepen Alnea’s image as our Captain in everyone’s Heart. Having invested so much in our team, how can I be stingy with something like potions when everyone’s life depends on it?”

“…Are you really willing to share your potions?”

“Of course,” Vestia said, flashing her dimples to Alnea, before showing a hint of hesitation on her face. “However, using five potions at once…”

“…Don’t worry,” Alnea said. “We will compensate you for the potion—

“No need,” Vestia said, shaking her head. “The value of each potion in itself is not much. Just ten False Oren Stones, or around a hundred Blood Coins each. It is just that… every potion that we use is one less potion in my stock. And the only place I can replenish my stock is in the Erwein Forests…”

“…Stop talking around in circles,” Cecilia said, furrowing her brows, and waving her hand to express her impatience. “Just tell us whether you are going to share the potions or not.”

“…I can share the potions, but I should be able to get something in return, right? That is what a team is, after all. A group of Wanderers gathering together because of their shared interests…”

“…How much do you want for the potions?” Cecilia said, continuing to pressure Vestia. “A hundred Blood Coins? Two hundred Blood Coins?”

“…I am not short of Blood Coins… or Oren Stones for that matter.”

“…What do you want then?”

“Let’s see… How about a day out with Alnea?”

“What?”

“A day with Alnea,” Vestia said, flashing her dimples once again. “Just me and him.”

“Impossible!” Cecilia said, unconsciously moving closer to Alnea, trying to pull him behind herself, all the while glaring at Vestia, ready to fight her at any moment. Even Forne, feeling the changes in her mood, arched its back, while hissing at Vestia, warning her to back away. “What are you planning, vixen?”

“…I have already told you what I am planning, have I not?” Vestia said, replacing her smile with a sad and aggrieved look. “I just want to spend some time with our Captain… Is that too much to ask?”

“You…”

“It is alright, Lia,” Alnea said, shaking his head, before reaching out to—

The sharp pain came back as soon as Alnea raised his hands, forcing him to stop in his actions. The pain…

“Not, it is not alright. You don’t know, she—

“And I don’t want to know either,” Alnea said, allowing his hands to return to his side, while trying not to gasp for breaths. “Right now, the most important thing for us is to get back to the city as soon as possible. Besides, she is not asking for too much.”

“Yuri, talk some sense into him!”

“…He is right,” Yuri said, letting out a tired sigh, while glancing coldly at Vestia. “Right now, agreeing to her conditions is the best choice.”

“But she is a Weina!”

“Don’t you trust him?”

“I do, but…”

“Then that is enough,” Yuri said, before turning towards Vestia. “You win this time, but next time, we will be prepared.”

“…I just want a day with Alnea,” Vestia mumbled, with a hint of loneliness in her voice. “Why do you have to misunderstand me so?”

“…Don’t take their words to your Heart, Vestia,” Alnea said, shaking his head with a wry smile on his face. “They are just a little shy. In their Hearts, they have already taken you as a friend.”

“We have not!”

“…She, a friend?”

“See? Didn’t I tell you so?”

“…I do not understand what you are tyring to make me see here,” Vestia said, as the grievance on her face melted away to make way for confusion. “But I will believe you.”

“Vixen.”

“…Vixen, indeed.”

“…It is just their way of accepting you… Anyways, I promise to spend a day with you after we return to the Lost City.”

“…Thank you, Alnea.”