Reaching into the blue pouch hanging by her waist, Vestia took out five vials, similar to the ones she had given him the day before, handing four of them out to the Star Seekers still standing, while keeping one for herself.

“You should already know how to use the potion…” Vestia said to Alnea. “Just a reminder. Although the potion can help in quickly restoring Spirit Power and physical strength, it cannot heal your wounds.”

…He had almost forgotten that Vestia could observe everything happening within the sandstorm. And since Yuri had been sharing her senses…

“…Wounds?” Cecilia mumbled, before turning towards Alnea with worry. “Are you wounded?”

“…It is nothing to worry about,” Alnea said, turning his eyes away from the girls, while trying not to move too much. The pain… It was only getting worse with every passing moment, spreading from his back to his legs. Even breathing was beginning to become a little difficult. But that was all the more reason why he could not show his weakness. Not while they were still within the Black Desert.

Probably that was also why Yuri and Vestia had not overreacted yet. Or why Yuri did not resist Vestia’s condition. Whether it was for him, or for the Star Seekers lying on the ground, they really did need to get back to the city as possible. Still, what kind of Arcana had the Pinkbud Wanderer hit him with anyway? And why had its effects not been cleared yet?

“Just a little scratch.”

“…If it was a scratch, the vixen would not have mentioned it specifically… Hey, vixen, don’t you have any healing potions?”

“…Healing potions cannot be used with restoring potions, Cecilia,” Yuri answered for Vestia. “That is the basic common knowledge that all Wanderers know.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

“…It is alright, Lia. I am fine,” Alnea said, forcing himself to smile, as he waved his hand to dismiss Cecilia’s worries. “If you don’t believe me, you should at least believe the robe I am wearing.”

“Your robe,” Cecilia mumbled, with the worry in her eyes fading away, being replaced with relief. “That’s right. How can you get hurt with your robe… I almost fell for the vixen’s words.”

Cecilia turned towards Vestia with a pout, glaring at blue robed girl as if daring her to a fist fight. Yet, instead of stopping her, Alnea let out a smile. That too, not the fake kind, which he used to reassure the girls, but a true smile that came from within his Heart. Such was the euphoria flowing from his Heart, that not even the pain flowing in his veins could stop it from surfacing on his face. The situation they were in though…

No, Alnea said to himself. Their situation may not be appropriate for a smile, but it was not too grim either. He had, after all, kept his promise. No one had died on his watch. That alone was worth a smile. Besides, after all that he had been through, he had no intention of suppressing his emotions. On the contrary, he treated letting go of his emotions as a reward to himself. A reward for his plan finally succeeding for once.

The past month… It had been nothing short of a disaster. First failing to complete the goals he had set for himself, and then leading his team directly into the Lotus clan’s ambush the first time they walked out of the city, things had not been going quite like how he had planned for them to go. Even in the Night Canyons, the encounter with the Heterodox Wanderers, and resonating with his Roots had not exactly been a part of his plans. The last thing he needed at the moment was another failure.

Fortunately, Cecilia did not disappoint him. Though he could not relax just yet. Unlike Cecilia, Yuri was not so easy to fool. Thankfully, aware of how dangerous their situation was, she did not say anything to dismantle his lies. At least not out loud for everyone to hear.

“…How many Blood Crystals did you detonate?”

“…I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“…Really? Then do you dare to share your senses with me, and let me see for myself?”

“…How did you guess it?”

“…The way you moved at the end, and the strength you showed… were far beyond the limits of even your peak state. Then there is your wound. Your robe may have cleaned itself up, but I saw the moment your blood burst forth from your back…”

“…I was hoping that you had not seen that…”

“…Are you still bleeding?”

“No… The burst of energy quickly sealed up the wounds.”

“And then wreaked havoc inside your body?”

“…We have to pay a price for the strength we gain… Especially the strength which we have no control over…”

“…Had you controlled the Blood Crystals you detonated to spread out, or better yet, lowered the number of Crystals you detonated…”

“Then the strength I would have gained would not have been enough to end the battle in time. Even after detonating my Blood Crystals, I still failed to make it in time, and let one of the Wanderers escape…”

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“Fool.”

“…What?”

“…Nothing,” Yuri said, and paused for a moment, before continuing. “How bad is your situation?”

“…I can hold on for a while.”

“…Then hurry up,” Yuri said, opening the vial, and downing its contents in a gulp. “We have to return to the city to get you treated as soon as possible.”

“…It is not as if we can hurry up our recovery just because we want to,” Alnea mumbled, before focussing his attention to the rest of the Star Seekers. “Who is going to take the first watch?”

“…The first watch?”

“Of course. You do not expect us to just sit out here, in the middle of the Black Desert, with no one to keep the guard, right? Even if this is safest place in the desert right now, it is still a part of the Black Desert. We can never be too careful. At the very least, one of us should be keeping guard at all moments.”

“…That does seem to be the safer option,” Karl mumbled, glancing between the girls, before hesitantly raising his hand. “I—

“Then let me guard first,” Vestia said, smiling nonchalantly. “I have already used one recovery potion earlier—

“So did I,” Cecilia added from the side. “I can also take the first watch.”

“But you personally went into battle, while I watched from the side.”

“And created a whole sandstorm to trap our enemies. I am sure that you are more exhausted.”

“Relatively. In terms of amount of Spirit Power, I am sure that I still have more Spirit Power at my disposal right now. After all, I was originally a Peak Stage False Wanderer to begin with. You, on the other hand…”

“…Don’t be too smug. I will catch up to you soon anyway.”

“I am waiting for the day…”

“It is decided then,” Alnea said, stepping in between Cecilia and Vestia before they could jump at each other’s throats. “Vestia will keep the first watch, followed by Karl, Cecilia, Yuri, and then me. Let’s limit the watch to half an hour each. In total, everyone will have two hours to rest and recover. That should be enough for us to recover some of our combat power. At least enough to return to the Lost City safely… Probably.”

“See? I told you Alnea would believe in me.”

“…He just does not want to see me tired,” Cecilia said with snort. “And you never said anything like that.”

“Huh? Did I not? Then would it alright if I say it now?”

“…Stop teasing her, Vestia,” Alnea said, with his exhaustion leaking into his voice. “The sooner we recover, the sooner we get back to the city, the sooner we can get the rest treated.”

“…I will let her go, but only because you are asking me to…”

“Who is letting go of whom? Do you dare—

“Lia…”

“Tsk… Fine. I will deal with the vixen when we return to the city.”

“…Thank you, Lia,” Alnea said, before back turning towards Vestia. “There is one more thing I would like to trouble you with, Vestia.”

“There will be no troubles. As long as it is something you want…”

“…There is another reason why I asked you to take the first watch,” Alnea said, gesturing to the bodies of the Wanderers lying around them. “Since our enemies came out to specifically to ambush us, they should not be carrying anything too precious. Still, they were from an Orthodoxy, even if a declining one. Not to mention that all of them were Peak Stage False Wanderers. They should still have quite a few valuables on their bodies. I hope that you can search their bodies, and collect all their valuable items…”

“…You want to let a girl like me deal with so many corpses?” Vestia said, staring at Alnea with wide eyes, with colour draining from her face.

“…Let me complete first,” Alnea said, ignoring Cecilia’s laughter from the side. “After you have collected all their valuables, you will have the first right to choose your share. As long as the value of the items do not exceed one tenth of the entire collection, you can take whatever you want. No one will say anything.”

“…But I am not too short of Blood Coins or Oren Stones…”

“…And I will listen to your arrangements on our day off. The day we are supposed to spend together…”

“No—

“Deal!” Vestia said hurriedly, as if afraid that he would take back his words. “I mean, this is what I should do… Everyone is tired, after all. And it is not like I will be doing anything else while keeping a watch, so I might as well deal with the bodies…”

“…Damn vixen.”

“…I am really beginning to doubt my decisions now…”

“…Stop looking at me like that, will you? It is not as if I am going to eat him…”

“…I cannot believe anything you say now…”

“…If you dare to do anything…”

“…Alright, you three… Stop playing around,” Alnea said, stepping in between the girls once again, trying to end the farce as soon as possible. At least before his headache and the pain flowing in his veins could force him to the ground. Although they should be safe for a while, he could not be sure that there were no enemies lurking around. Even if the possibility was small, he could not afford to take the risk.

“It is time—

“…Who is playing with her?”

“…I agree with Cecilia…”

“…I do not mind playing with you two though…”

“Enough,” Alnea said, a bit more forceful than before. “Don’t forget that we are still in the Black Desert. If you have the leisure to play around, you better spend your time recovering as soon as possible so that we can return to the city that much sooner. If not for your own sake, then for the sake of our companions waiting for us to bring them back to the city to get them treated.”

“…I was not playing around,” Cecilia mumbled, puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, before sitting down on the scorching black sand right where she was standing, and downing the contents of the vial in her hand. It was only then that Alnea realised how rude he was. Even if he had reason on his side…

“…I am sorry, Lia… I…”

“…It’s alright. Just don’t shout at me next time.”

“…I won’t. I promise,” Alnea said, binding himself with another set of chains. Not a very bright idea, considering how he was already on the verge of fainting from exhaustion. Some things though, could not be done according to logic…

“You too, Yuri and Vestia. I promise not to be so rude next time…”

“…It’s alright, Alnea. I do not mind your tough attitude…”

“…Unlike the pervert next to me, I would prefer if you would think about the consequences of your actions first,” Yuri said. “And I hope you know what action I am talking about.”

“…I am sorry… I… It just felt right…”

“Forget it. Stop talking so much, and just go rest. You need it more than the rest of us.”