“…What dangers are you talking about, master?”
“…The rats have started taking the bait.”
“The rats…” Alnea paled, as he heard his master mention that word. Even Cecilia, and Yuri had turned stiff at the mention of that term. Especially Cecilia. “How did they come so soon?”
“They have not come yet, but it is only a matter of time,” his master said. “Especially with the ruckus that Serena made before leaving for the Grand Chasm. I had repeatedly told her not to make too much noise, but she still ended up scouring the entirety of Rianra, hunting nearly five hundred Heterodox Wanderers in the process.”
Pausing for a bit, his master shook her head, before continuing.
“I cannot fault her entirely though. Her pride had been hurt deeply after the attack on Anneve. Besides, the Lotus clan might think that you have been taken away by Heterodox Wanderers, but Heterodoxies know the truth. They were bound to come sooner, or later.”
“…I am causing you trouble once again, master,” Alnea said, biting his lips, while clenching his fist. Just as Cecilia clenched hers. Even Yuri could not sit still, and sent comforting messages to him, promising him that everything would be alright. That they would handle everything. But it was exactly that thought, which was causing him distress. “I…”
“Silly disciple,” his master said, flicking his forehead to break him out of his daze, and bring his attention to herself. To her amused, but an accusatory face. “Clearing up after the troubles of her disciple is the joy of a master. Do you want to take that joy away from me?”
“No…” Alnea said, rubbing his forehead, with his blood rushing to his face. “But—
“There is no but.”
“…Yes, master.”
Seeing the gloomy, and guilty look on his face, his master chuckled, and ruffled through his hair.
“You are too stubborn… This is not good for you, you know? You should let the people around you help you at times.”
“…Not if they will get into trouble for helping me.”
“I think I can understand a little of what he used to feel…”
“…Who, master?”
Instead of answering his question, his master looked at him with a solemn gaze, and said, “Now, do you feel the pressure?”
“…Yes, master.”
“What about you two? Do you think that you can still pass your days as leisurely as before?”
“…I know my faults, big sis Nyssa.”
“…My apologies, Lady Nyssa.”
Both the girls, a little abashed, had solemn look on their face, and determination in their eyes. They looked at each other, and in a tacit understanding, gave each other a nod, before turning towards his master, and speaking in unison.
“We want to go deeper into the Night Canyons.”
“…Forget it,” his master said, shaking her head. “You two are not in the right condition to explore the depths of the canyons.”
“But you just said—
“What I said was that you two need to increase your vigilance. Not to rush to your deaths.”
“…We are not rushing to our deaths.”
“Do you think you can hide your thoughts from me?”
“We—
“Heterodox Wanderers may be terrible, but Forbidden Areas can be just as terrible. Especially those like the Night Canyons, where the danger comes not just from the Oren Beasts, but also from the canyons themselves.”
“…What should we then?”
His master paused, and thought for the moment, before donning a solemn look, glancing her eyes over all three of them at the same time.
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“Do you want to fight the Heterodox Wanderers?”
Cecilia looked a bit hesitant at the question, but when she saw the determination in Yuri’s eyes, she steeled herself, and nodded along with her. Alnea, however, looked at his master with shame.
“I… I know my limits, master. I have just begun my Wanderings. Even the weakest of those Heterodox Wanderers that came after me were at least at the True Rank. I… If I fight against them, then I will only end up giving you more troubles…”
“Like I said, the more troubles you create for me, the happier I would be,” his master said, still smiling at him. “On the topic of not being able to fight the Heterodox Wanderers though, you do not have to worry. The case with Anneve… it was too extreme. Not all the Heterodox Wanderers are at the True Rank. The true Heterodox Wanderers, those who are really part of the Heterodoxies, and not just their pawns, train like us Orthodox Wanderers. And as such, there are plenty of False Wanderers amongst their Ranks. You can fight such Wanderers, right?”
“But… why would the Heterodoxies send such weak Wanderers after me, master? Especially when they already know that even the True Wanderer that they had sent was not enough to bring me back. They must already know someone is protecting me, so if they wish to send someone after me, then they would send someone even stronger… maybe even a Mystic Wanderer…”
“Good critical thinking,” his master said, nodding at his words. “And yes, the Heterodoxies will indeed send some Mystic Wanderers… Maybe one, maybe more. After all, we do not know for sure how many Heterodoxies are after you. But you do not have to worry about them. You just have to tell me, are you willing to fight the False Ranked Heterodox Wanderers?”
“…I am,” Alnea said, gritting his teeth with determination. “As long as I have to fight only False Wanderers… I will have a chance to beat them.”
“Even if you would have to fight against Peak Stage False Wanderers?”
“…Peak Stage?” Alnea said, staring at his master in a daze. “But… I…”
While was struggling within himself, trying to find his words, find his courage, Cecilia, who had been silent up till then, patted his shoulders, to bring his attention to her, and said, “What are you afraid of? It is just some Peak Stage False Wanderer. You charged into a group of hundred True Wanderers to save me. Yet you are afraid of a few measly Peak Stage Wanderers?”
“…That was different. I was not fighting them. I was just saving you. I—
“Why do you whine like a girl at times?”
“I am not whining!”
While Alnea was struggling to get his thoughts across to Cecilia, Yuri came to his rescue, and said, “He is right. This is indeed not the same. Back then, he went charging in alone. This time, we will do it together.”
Or maybe not.
“This is Peak Stage False Wanderers we are talking about!”
“So?” Yuri said. “That will only make things more interesting, don’t you think so?”
“Right,” Cecilia added with a laugh. “And I have to get back at those rats for trying to hold me hostage… I will show them what happens when they mess with a Serpian.”
“…You two are mad!”
“After all the reckless things you have done, you have lost the privilege to say that,” Yuri said through the rings. And through her mouth, she said, “Don’t you want to join the fun?”
“Or will you let you true friends fight the Heterodox Wanderers alone?”
“Faein’s mercy! You two… Damn it! Fine.”
“There you go. That is the old reckless Alnea we know,” Yuri said, giggling at her own words, and was joined in by Cecilia in her giggles. But Alnea did not find anything funny in what he had said.
“What is reckless about this? We just have to face some Heterodox Wanderers. It is not like I have never faced them.”
“Not face them,” his master said, looking at him with a solemn gaze. “You will have to kill them.”
Not understanding what his master was trying to say, Cecilia looked at his master innocently, and asked, “What is the difference between those things?”
Yuri, however, turned towards him, looking into his dark brown eyes. She did not show worry. She did not show support. She looked only for answers. This was not something she could help him with. Neither was she intending to help. Even his master had left everything up to him. Killing people…
“They are not people… they are parasites,” Alnea said. “Ridding the world of such parasites is what I should do as a Wanderer.”
Hearing his declaration, the solemn gaze retreated from his master’s face, as an amused look took its place. Before she could say anything though, Yuri turned towards his master, and said, “Will these Heterodox Wanderers will be our next training target, big sis Nyssa?”
“You are not wrong,” his master said. “But you are not entirely correct either. You may have convinced him otherwise, but Alnea was right on one thing. He has just begun his Wanderings, and Cecilia has only had a month explore the depths of the Origin Sea. Except for her greater reserves of Spirit Power, there is practically no difference between them. You can even say that both of them are at their weakest point right now.
“And while you have stayed at the False Rank for a longer period of time, even you have just recently reached the Intermediate Stage, so your abilities are not too far apart from them. Let alone Peak Stage False Wanderers, you will have trouble facing even some Intermediate Stage False Wanderers. As it stands right now, none of you three are ready to face the Heterodox Wanderers.”
“…But you said that the Heterodox Wanderers are coming.”
“They are indeed coming, but Serena, and I have made some arrangements to distract them for a while. As such, you will not have to worry about them for a few months at the very least. But that does not mean that you can take it easy. Like I said, I want you three to deal with all the False Wanderers by yourselves. Do you think that you can do it?”
None of them answered immediately. Instead, they paused, and looked at each other. In each other’s eyes. And in those eyes, they only saw confidence. In each other, and in themselves. Things may become a little difficult. And dangerous. Even if they had a year before the Heterodox Wanderers came, the highest point that he would be able to reach would be the Intermediate Stage. Same with Cecilia. Only Yuri had chances of reaching the Advanced Stage. But if they had each other, then what did they have to fear?
Grinning in confidence, all three of them turned towards his master in unison, and said, “We can!”