The next day, Zachary and Katherine got up early in the morning and headed deeper into the jungle. They couldn’t stay still for too long as they were afraid of the Blood Church catching onto their trail. They also needed to establish a new camp and hunting ground. Without Jean-Pierre, Zachary had to bolster his summon lineup. He really only had two summons that could fight in Arrow and Onkie. He needed a lot more than that.

They headed east, using the rising sun as their guide. This region named Outpost Emerald was so vast but it was also small. With over a thousand adept rank summoners roaming the land, they were bound to run into each other. With just two people in their group, Zachary’s only choice was to go deeper until the dangers from wild Ensouled outweighed the threat of murderous people.

“What if we get lost?” Katherine asked halfway through the morning, “Look in front, look behind us. All these trees look the same. The bushes look the same. Even the dirt looks the same. I can’t even remember which direction the ocean was.”

Zachary snorted, “The ocean is to the west. And I still have Blue, he has a good sense of direction.”

“Ah, I guess that works.”

“Don’t cats have a good sense of direction?”

“Hah! You wish. If I asked Marble which way to go, she would simply go back to sleep!”

The dynamic between them had shifted somewhat after last night. Katherine was far more talkative than before. But given that she barely talked, she still wasn’t a chatterbox like Jean-Pierre. However, the change was a welcome one as Zachary often fell back to brooding if he had nothing better to do.

The only things that improved his mood besides Katherine were his summons. Although Blue was useless in a fight, the little blue bird was cheerful and obedient. It brought a smile to his face whenever he summoned it. The happy chirps it made when he fed it were especially pleasing to the ear.

He felt the same about the other three in his lineup. Onkie was always silly and made him laugh. Arrow was a serious one but it was adorable enough. Even Boba which was proving the most temperamental of the bunch had its moments. They all fell into his hands by chance but he already felt attached to them. He could never be like Jean-Pierre who was cold and callous with his summons. In this respect, it was a relief that the weird guy was gone.

Around noon time, the pair decided to rest on the bank of a wide river. The water was deep and fast. In addition to the strong current, there could also be all kinds of dangerous Ensouled living beneath the surface. But they couldn’t just stay on this side. They had to cross the river if they wanted to head deeper into the jungle.

Zachary suggested that they try and catch an Ensouled in the river. Aquatic Ensouled could help them scout the waters and provide extra assurance. Katherine agreed and they got to work. He made a sturdy fishing pole out of a young sapling while she helped make a fishing net out of green vines.

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Plop!

Zachary cast a line attached with a fat grub. He had nothing for a fishhook. If something came up to bite the grub, it was Katherine’s task to throw out the net and hope for the best.

“Are cats supposed to be good at fishing?” He asked.

Katherine beside him was staring intently at the rushing water which was clear as glass. Underwater plants swayed with the current, sometimes revealing the black sand on the bottom.

“Yes, cats are very good at fishing, at least the ones that are not afraid of water.”

“Oh? Are you?”

She answered by kicking the water up at him.

“Hey!” He protested, “You’ll scare everything away!”

“Jerk!”

Her laughter was warm and pleasant. He couldn’t help but smile. He forgot about all other matters as he fished. Her accompaniment soothed his frazzled soul; it was exactly what he needed.

“Look, something is coming!” Katherine pointed at the water.

He followed her finger and saw a dark mass approach his line. It was the size of a washbasin and roughly rectangular. When it got closer, he could distinguish a sharp snout and four clawed limbs.

“A turtle? It’ll be tough to capture.” He said.

“Who cares, get ready!”

The line pulled as the turtle chomped on the whole grub. Katherine immediately threw the net which sank around the turtle. But before she could pull on the rope to catch the thing, the Ensouled retreated into its shell and started spinning. It quickly picked up speed and started moving in a steadily widening circle.

After a few rotations, its spinning shell met the net. The green vines it was made of only lasted a few strikes before they were severed cleanly. The turtle, sensing that it was free, popped its head and limbs back out and quickly swam away.

“Aiya!” Katherine slumped down in disappointment.

“Yeah...”

Zachary reached out a hand instinctively to comfort her but pulled back when he realized what he was doing. He quickly preoccupied himself with repairing the broken net. Afterward, he tied another piece of bait to the fishing pole and started over.

The pair continued to fish by the river. Their summons took turns patrolling the area to make sure they were safe while they cast out bait and repaired nets over and over. The Ensouled of this river were all tricky things and not so easily caught.

“Damn fish!”

“Stay still!”

“It ran away again!”

Katherine blurted out a stream of nonsense after each failure. They encountered rainbow-colored fish, bright red salamanders, and even a small crocodile. Each one left them empty-handed.

Finally, after countless tries, a slow-moving crab waddled its way into view. It was about the size of the turtle from before and had one claw that was several times larger than the other. It probably used it as a club to bludgeon its prey to death.

Right as it started to nibble on the fat grub, a large net fell over its head, accompanied by two frustrated humans.

“Bless the Ice Saint! I finally caught one!” Katherine shouted as she resurfaced, dragging the struggling crab which was now completely entangled by the net.

Zachary also emerged from the waist-deep water. He laughed and helped her pull it to shore.

The two eventually stood over the wriggling, furious Ensouled and looked at each other. Her smile was radiant. Her thin prisoner’s garb was plastered to her drenched body, making her far more attractive than before. His gaze drifted as he appreciated her beauty for the first time since meeting her.

As for Zachary, he had abandoned his shirt sometime while fishing. With only tattered pants, his long hair dripped water over his wide shoulders and his toned figure. He could feel her gaze on him as well, her green eyes wandering in inappropriate ways.

“Uh…” He eventually spoke, breaking the spell between them, “Do you want this?”

Katherine looked away to hide the rising color in her cheeks, “No way. How can this water bug compare to my Marble? It’s yours.”

“Oh, alright.”