Elena sat next to Faust after he invited her over to their table. He introduced his party and while the Companions just nodded or grunted, Leona, Cassius, and Aquila were more welcoming.

Especially Aquila seemed to be captivated by the pale beauty before him who was smiling softly and thanking Faust for saving her.

‘She seems quite unbothered by what just happened…’ Faust wondered but took a few large gulps of beer. The beer didn’t really have any effect on him anymore and it annoyed him to no end. All in all, he was in a good mood.

After a few minutes of polite conversation, Leona was arguing with Aquila and Cassius over something when Elena brought her mouth to his ear and whispered:

“I know you are a cultivator. I want to talk to you outside. I mean no harm.”

Faust’s body stiffened and he could see Titus subtly reach for the dagger at his waist.

‘She could not possibly mean…’ his thoughts spun.

‘This woman is not who she appears to be… this might be risky, but I stepped in to help her. Even if she could’ve solved it herself, she shouldn’t have any bad intentions.’ He turned his head to look her in the eyes who glinted at him cleverly.

He didn’t reply for a second and she cocked her head, raising an eyebrow.

Faust struggled with himself but eventually nodded.

‘I’ll take my chances.’ He thought and stood up.

“I need some fresh air.” He announced and before he turned to leave Elena stood up as well.

“Let me accompany you.” A smile showed on her face again, but Faust now knew, that it was an act.

“I’ll come a-“ Leona tried to stand up, but Titus forced her to stay, giving her a look that left no room for discussion.

He had exactly seen the interaction between Elena and Faust. Whatever it was, they were looking to have a private conversation.

Leona looked at Titus confusedly after Faust and Elena had left the room.

“Titus, why?” she asked, not worried he might have eyes for Elena, she knew that wasn’t the case. Still, she was intrigued as to why Titus stopped her.

“That woman doesn’t seem to be as simple as you thought… they have left to talk… alone. We can only wait in here. Do you worry about him being with a woman like her?” he asked her, but she shook her head with a smile.

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“I trust him.” She grinned up at Titus who sighed.

‘Must be nice to love…’ he heaved a mental sigh and focused on the matter at hand again. He turned around, stood up, and sat down next to Ryat who slightly jerked, surprised by the sudden turn of events.

“Hey.” Titus grinned at the young assassin who quickly gathered himself and returned the greeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside of the inn, there was a fire bowl with two wooden benches next to it. It was dark already and there was nobody on the streets anymore. With a sigh Faust sat down on one of the benches, looking into the fire, waiting for Elena to join him.

She sat down opposite him, the light from the flames dancing over their bodies. He leaned forward and looked into the fire. For a minute they didn’t say anything, then, without looking up he spoke in a deep, calm tone.

“Who are you?”

She chuckled.

“I was about to ask you the same. I am a cultivator. Just like you.”

He frowned and looked up at her. There was a weird smile on her face. Faust didn’t know what to make of it.

“You say that like I should know what the term means.” He raised both eyebrows when he heard her chuckle in response.

“Don’t play games with me. The speed you grabbed the man’s hand with… and those movements… someone else might not notice, but I did.” She smiled gently.

‘Cultivator… does she mean the abilities that I have gotten after the underground lake?’ he thought, his face showing confusion.

He pondered and Elena was taken aback by his genuine confusion.

‘Does he really not know? Is he such an incredible actor?’ she couldn’t make sense of it.

Faust sighed.

“I choose to trust you. While I have never heard the term cultivator… I have discovered that I have gained new abilities over the last weeks. My body has changed.” He explains and sits back up, taking a deep breath.

“Y… you…” Elena couldn’t find the right words. She had too many questions.

‘Why does he trust me? Master told me there were no other cultivators on this continent, maybe this is a chance to escape my master’s clutches! Are the others inside also cultivators? Quite likely. I need to be careful.’ Hope blossomed and it was a feeling she hadn't experienced in months.

Still, the tension between the two of them could be felt. Both were unsure how to react. This was new land for both of them.

‘Could she be from Antioch? Is this good or bad?’ his mind raced.

“Who are you?” he asked again and she pursed her lips.

“My name is Elena. I am an assassin from the Tide of Blood. Or at least I was…” she mumbled and Faust unconsciously reached for the dagger at his belt.

She sighed.

“Don’t bother reaching for your dagger. I am not here to kill you or harm you.” She raised both of her hands in her defense. She didn’t know how strong he really was and she needed help.

‘I need to make friends, not enemies.’ She reminded herself. That man could be the ticket to freedom for her.

“Can you prove what you said?” he asked her and in response, she stuck her right hand into the flames and Faust instinctively reached out to pull her hand out of the fire. She just smiled and held it in place. He couldn’t move it.

‘She is much stronger than me! How can that be? I need to know more!’ he gasped and retracted his hand. She held her hand in the flames with a smile on her face and eventually retreated it, uninjured.

“Alright… I believe you have supernatural powers… but what is a cultivator?” he asked, cocking his head.

‘I can gain incredibly valuable knowledge from her, maybe this mission will be shortened.’ His eyes glinted at the possible gains.

Elena took a deep breath and sat up straight.

“I need help. And I think I might be able to help you too.” Her beautiful, red eyes reflected the fiery flames and stared deep into his.

Faust nodded slowly.

“Maybe we can help each other.”