With Enn having long set into the horizon, by the time they got out of the Blood Hall, the only light in the skies were those of the stars. After all, the Lost City may be the core of a Forbidden Area, but it was still a part of the world. It shared the same skies with the rest of the world. When the skies of Rianra grew dark, so did the skies of the Lost City. On the ground though, the city was shining in a blood red light, making it look even more eerie than it was during the day.
“This is the true face of Lost City,” Martha said, staring towards the depths of the city, as she noticed the uncomfortable look on faces of the girls. “If you wish to stay here, you must get used to it as soon as possible.”
Tearing her eyes away from the eerie city, Martha turned back towards the girls, and noticed them glancing at the greyish black crystals in their hands.
“The language spar contains the basics of the city’s language. Do not ask how it is made. No one will be able to answer you. At least in the outer city, no one knows how these spars are made. We just inform the inner city when we are running out of these spars, and they deliver it to our Blood Halls. As for how to use them, you just need to place them on your foreheads, and extend your Spirit into these crystals. These spars will do the rest of the job. Do you understand?”
“We do,” Cecilia and Yuri said, as they glanced at each other, before stuffing the spar into the inner fold of their robes. After all, exposing their storage bags, when they did not even know who their enemies were, was not a good idea. Though hanging the pouch on their waist had already given away the secret. Maybe they should learn to be a bit more careful…
“…I should also get going now,” Martha said. “You know where I usually am during the day. If you need any help, or want to know something, then you can come to me without any hesitation.”
“…Thank you for taking care of us, Wanderer Martha.”
“…I am just trying to rid myself of the guilt in my Heart,” Martha said, shaking her head. After a moment of hesitation, she glanced over Alnea, and added, “Be careful of other Wanderers in the city. You might never know who may betray you.”
“…We will be careful, Wanderer Martha,” Cecilia said, agreeing with the woman’s words. However, contrary to what she was saying, she shifted closer to Alnea, while leaving her back open to him. The crazy girl… she was truly fearless of everything. Yet, it was exactly because of how crazy she was that he liked her so much.
Her craziness was not well received by the woman in front of them though. She kept staring at Alnea, as if she could not wait to teach him a lesson for leading Cecilia towards the wrong path. Thankfully, they were in front of the Blood Hall, and the Lost City had its own rules. Or else, he was not sure if the woman would have been able to control herself from giving him a beating.
“…I just hope that you do not come to regret your choices.”
“We thank you for your concern, Wanderer Martha, but we are not Seeds,” Yuri said with a polite smile on her face. Just like Cecilia though, she too left her back open to him, standing less than half a hand’s distance away from him. Usually, she was calmest of them all. But when she became crazy, she would often become the craziest of them all…
“We are Wanderers. And as Wanderers, we can decide whom we can trust. And we can bear responsibility for our decisions. Even if our decisions turn out to be wrong, we will never regret them.”
They had offended dozens of False Wanderers just a few hours ago. And a few hours later, they were offending a True Wanderer. Not that he was complaining. Rather, he felt quite happy. When considering from the perspective of the team though…
“Of course, we still appreciate your words of advice, Wanderer Martha. We have no intention of offending you. And we hope that you will continue to help us in the future. But we cannot let you insult our bonds.”
Never mind, Alnea thought. If they offended a True Wanderer, then so be it. He had already offended the entire Lotus clan with just his mere existence, and had an entire Heterodoxy chasing after him. There were already some Heterodox Wanderers of the Mystic Rank in Rianra, and his master was expecting even some Grand Wanderers to come searching for him. A True Wanderer…
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“You are right,” Martha said after a few moments of silence. “Your young age made me unconsciously think of you as kids. But you are Wanderers. And you are fully capable of accepting the responsibility of your decisions. That is what being a Wanderer is all about, after all. Accepting the consequences of your decisions, and growing up…”
Staring into the distance, the woman did not wait for them to respond to her words, and stepped down the stairs, walking into the red glow of the city.
“…Do you think that she is living in the regrets of her decision?”
“Maybe,” Cecilia said, while nudging the cat with her fingers. “But there is nothing we can do about it.”
“…But she helped us. Should we not return the favour—
“She is a Wanderer, Alnea. And Wanderers must take responsibility for the consequences of their decisions. If she wants to keep walking on the path of Wanderers, she must get over her regrets on her own. The best thing that we cand do to return her favour right now is to leave her alone.”
“…I guess I cannot argue with you.”
“You can never argue with me,” Yuri said with an over exaggerated snort. But the fake look of arrogance on her face, and the slight curve of her lips only made his smile wider. He did not wish for other people to see her cute side though. And there were quite a few people around them.
“…What are we going to do next?”
“…If we want to enter the core city, and meet with big sis Nyssa as soon as possible, then we need to plan our next moves. But this is not exactly the best place to discuss such things.”
“How about we go back to our rooms?” Cecilia said, while allowing Forne to stretch out its limbs. “Even if it is not safe to discuss some secrets, I guess we can discuss our plans without worries of other False Wanderers overhearing our conversations.”
“Let’s go back then!” Alnea said hurriedly, afraid that things might get awkward once again. Thankfully, Yuri was in her calm mode at the moment. Letting out a tired sigh, she nodded to express her acquiescence, before she began climbing down the stairs. Glancing back towards Cecilia, he noticed that she was still focused on Forne. But she could not hide the lost expression on her face. In the end…
Alnea shook his head to clear his thoughts. Living with girls was truly tiresome. Even when it was not his fault, he still had to risk his life to coax them. Gritting his teeth, he seized his chance, and snatched the dumb cat from Cecilia’s hands, before rushing down the stairs. Fortunately, he did not have any ill intentions towards the dumb cat. And Cecilia’s life was not in danger either. Still, as he ran with the cat, he had to use all his strength to ensure that the half asleep stupid cat would not run away from him.
On the other end, as she felt Forne being snatched away from her hands, Cecilia failed to react for a few moments, and kept staring at his back in shock and confusion. It was only when he reached Yuri, and stretched out his hands to snatch the storage pouch hanging by her waist that Cecilia came back to her senses.
“Alnea!” Cecilia yelled, and ran after him, just as Yuri reacted to his actions. At first, she did not notice that the one snatching her storage pouch was Alnea. Almost on instinct, she reached out to grab his hand, ready to throw him down the stairs first, and then ask questions later. When she noticed that one snatching her pouch was Alnea though, she paused, and stared in confusion. Taking advantage of her confusion, Alnea swiftly freed himself from her grip, and snatched her storage pouch, before running away from her, leaving her even more baffled than before.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of answering Yuri through their bonds, Alnea turned around, and dangled her storage pouch in his hands, yelling, “What do you think I am doing?”
“Stop right there, Alnea!”
“Catch me if you can!” Alnea said, and turned around, before rushing into the streets. Just to be sure, he entered his Spirit State, and as he had expected, he found both the girls chasing after him. However, it was not just the girls who were looking at him with weird gazes. All the Wanderers around them were looking at him as if he was a maniac. Especially when they spotted him repeatedly turning around to taunt the girls, and laugh at them.
He was too lazy to bother with them though. And they were too lazy to stop him. So, the chase continued. From Blood Hall into the streets, and from one street to another, until… Alnea finally found himself lost in the city. He could swear on the name of the Gods that he was rushing towards their rooms. Yet… It was probably the fault of the stupid buildings. Why did they have to be so similar to each other?
“Time out!” Alnea said, panting, and heaving, as he stopped, and turned towards the girls, just as he let go of the dumb cat. It had already woken up from all the noise, and was beginning to struggle in his arms. If not for the robe he was wearing, the dumb cat might even have bloodied his arms. Even then, he knew that he would not have been able to hold the cat for long, so he let go of it on his own.
Dumb as the cat was though, it did not appreciate his gesture, and instead, turned around on him, tackling him to the ground. And before he could get up, and handle the girls, they were already upon him, pinning him back to the ground, with a crafty light shining in their eyes… Why did he feel that coaxing Cecilia and Yuri was more dangerous than fighting Heterodox Wanderers?