Valurn woke up early in the morning.

He was inside a very large bed that could likely fit at least twelve people. The slick oak walls and floor were glistening as sparkling dust danced throughout the morning rays. Luxurious decorative gemstone glistened in the background, making for a wealthy yet natural atmosphere in the room. 

As he sat up, five beautiful Elven woman adorned in green garments bowed down in front of him.

"Good morning esteemed guest!"

Valurn looked at the procession of beautiful Elves with a nervous expression. He wasn't used to luxury whatsoever. Having grown up in a poor village and lived his life as a commoner and retired as one, he wasn't much interested in upper class society nor servants. To him, such a life was unthinkable for a guy like him who'd rather relax than worry about flaunting riches around.

So, it was only natural for him to be sweating buckets trying to adapt to being treated like a noble.

"Um...morning?"

As he thought of what exactly he should be doing in this situation, one of the Elven maids came up to him and began to remove his night-clothes. He looked at her with a blank face then immediately blew up red.

"Wa..wa..wait!" The embarrassed assassin pleaded, trying to stop the maids from taking off all his clothes. "I can change myself you know!"

"NO! We cannot allow that!"

The maids all replied with a stern expression on their faces; eyes showing unyielding determination. Valurn took one look at the resilience of the maids in front of him and sighed.

"Fine..."

The maids expressions turned back to one of joy as they continued their duties. In contrast, Valurn's face was one of pure embarrassment. His pride didn't exactly enjoy the idea of having maids unclothe him or work for himdespite having no choice.

After changing into some expensive Elven-styled clothes and some borderline 'questionable' episodes with the teasing maids, he finally got dressed and ready for the morning.

Being rich is too much...

Shaking his head, he walked out of his room into a long oakwood hallway. Fairies were flittering about watering the numerous beautiful plants while maids were cleaning and dusting. Lines of golden laced paintings of various images of nature shined in the hallways while the opposing wall's windows lit them up. 

As he continued walking, he suddenly bumped into someone.

"Oh hey. I'm sorry about...that..."

As soon as he started apologize, the person he bumped into looked straight at him with a glare. Her wavy long golden hair gave her small-teenage figure a mature look, as if she were the adult and he was the bratty child. Her raging sapphire blue eyes bore into him, as if she were scratching every last bit of dirt she could on him. 

Silence bore on between the two of them. The sudden tension in the air was as thick as fog.

"Watch it asshole."

With a "hmph," she closed her eyes and continued walking down the hallway. She paid no more heed to the dumbstruck Valurn.

Damn, what's the deal with her...

He could tell she wasn't a normal servant or maid in the household. She had on typical common Elven garments of a green tunic and hood. She seemed to know her way around the place, so it wasn't like she was a temporary guest either.

Nevertheless, he decided to leave the issue for another time instead.

Finally, he found the dining area and went inside. His eyes popped out as he looked at the display in front of him.

A golden-diamond crusted chandelier hung from the ceiling over a long rectangular table. Dozens of plates and glasswere were spread out, giving off a sense of luxury and high-class. Elven maids were busy putting the last finishing touches on the elegant display.

At the end of the table sat Herceran and a beautiful brown-haired Elven woman beside him. They both were patiently waiting for his entry.

"Hey Val! How're you doing this morning?" The Chief greeted with a smile.

"Well, certainly quite surprised at the luxurious display around here..." Valurn returned the greeting with a sigh.

Herceran laughed as he gestured Valurn to sit down in a chair. With a tired smile the assasssin sat down and greeted him and his wife.

"Yeah, quite a shock, I know. Half the time I'm not even used to it," Herceran commented and looked over at his wife with a teasing expression. "However, Alavara insisted I try and look like a Chief, so I had to get all this for my queen."

"Oh hush honey," Alavara scolded with an embarrassed smile. "You make me sound like a spoiled rich girl."

"But aren't you a spoiled rich girl?"

"Hey!"

Valurn laughed at the two of them and shook his head. 

"Damn you two sure get along. Me personally, I probably couldn't stand any bit of this luxury. Too much stuff for me to worry about. You're quite the good husband to be able to handle all this."

Herceran let out a chuckle as he replied.

"Oh, you don't even know what I have to deal with when it comes to her..."

"Hey! I'm not that hard to please..."

The three of them continued on with the light-hearted chatter when suddenly a maid showed up in front of them.

"Hello Masters and esteemed guest," the maid began, "I would like to request permission for the reading of today's breakfast."

Herceran nodded for her to continue.

"Alright. For today's breakfast, we have various culinary masterpieces prepared by Velicya la Carilla. For starters, the choices consist of Eggs Hussarde, Pain au Chocolat, and a cup of Chai tea or Coffee. Our entrees include Arugula and Pistachio Pesto Quiche, Coquito Egg-Coated Pastry, and Giant Apple Gallette With Dulce de Leche. Seconds may be prepeared at any time if need be."

Valurn's head spun as she read out the breakfast items. Being a common man, he would consider eggs and bacon as the fanciest item he's ever eaten. He understood Elves were known for the finest cooking in Elys, but he didn't know said cooking was this fancy.

"I'll have the usual alongside my wife. And try to prepare the starters alongside the main dish this time." Herceran spoke to the maid.

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"I'll have three portions of what he's having with two of them to-go." Valurn replied, deciding whatever fancy concoction they gave him was bound to bring his taste buds to the heavens.

The Elven maid nodded as she ackowledged their order and went into the kitchen.

As the three of them waited, Herceran was the first to speak towards new topic.

"Anyways, I saw you had a bit of trouble on the way here..." the Chief commented apologetically. "I hope that wasn't much of a big deal."

"Don't worry about it," Valurn said as he shook his head. "It wasn't a bother. Anyhow, who is that girl?"

Herceran's expression turned serious as he thought about how to answer.

"Well, she's more or less someone who I've taken in to look after," he replied while sighing. "Her name's Celestia. After what she went through, that girl has never trusted another living soul again. It took a ton of effort on my end to convince her to even stay at my place."

Valurn nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry about giving me the details. I'll make sure not to bother her."

"I appreciate that." Herceran replied in relief.

As they continued chatting, the food finally came over. The plates were soon adorned in plenty of elegant foods giving off pleasant aromas.

Valurn looked down and unconsciously began to drool. After eating wildlife and wild plants for weeks on end, he was starving for something good to eat.

Immediately, he reached down and grabbed his fork and knife in a hurry. Afterwards, he started to scarf down bites of his food.

"Damn, this shit's delicious," he commented while munching down some good Giant Apple Gallette With Dulce de Leche. "What's the recipe and how much does this cost to make?"

Herceran laughed while his eyes glinted teasingly.

"Well, just a few dozen Fairie Gold would get you something around this quality."

Valurn sputtered and coughed as he heard that insane price. A few dozen Fairie Gold would likely get him a huge plot of land and a nice house in the Demon capital. Just hearing such a price casually said for what appeared to be simply apple-fused pancakes was insane.

"Damn, maybe I should try getting rich for a change. You fucking Chiefs give some high Demon Nobles a run for their money."

Alavara and Herceran laughed at Valurn's tired expression. Of course, they weren't blind to the fact their meals were expensive. While it was expected for village Chiefs to be adorned in luxury, it was always amusing to see everyone's expression of surprise at said wealth.

The three of them continued to eat and munch down.

"Anyways, you still sure you don't want to bring the two children with you in here?" Herceran asked in confusion. "They're more than welcome to eat with us."

"Don't worry about them," Valurn shook his head. "One of them's not in their right mind, and I'm having the other take care of her. I don't think it's a great idea to let those two come in here. Hence, why I asked for two to-gos."

"Well, at the very least we should send them the food now before it gets cold." Herceran persisted with a compromise.

Valurn shrugged and told him to do whatever he felt like. The Chief nodded in appreciation and sent one of the maids over with food in hand.

"It's a damn shame though what happened to Alicia," Valurn muttered. "As I've said last night, she hasn't taken the destruction of Tanquai well."

Herceran stared at Valurn while thinking deeply. His thoughts wandered back off to a time when he's been through something similar.

"I can empathize with that. I'm sure you know all too well."

Valurn smiled. He certainly knew. After all, it was him who decided on a whim to save Herceran who was struggling to get away from his old burning village. He went through some very similar circumstances as they have.

"Never did I expect you'd turn out like this after that." He remarked while glancing around at various luxurious items.

"Haha. Me neither." Herceran replied with a smile. "I guess Alavara's the only one who did."

Alavara shrugged her shoulders while she smiled. She reached out for Herceran's hand and held it in hers.

"Of course dear. I always knew you had this much potential."

"I'm gonna get sick now." 

While Valurn complained and the Chief and wife started getting lovey-dovey with one another, suddenly a maid came bolting into the room. Perspiration swept down her forehead as he hurried towards the table.

"Master! I apologize but I have an emergency to report!"

Herceran's jubilent face immediately turned stern after hearing the maid's words. He turned around to face the maid with a serious expression.

"Go on."

The maid inhaled as she started to speak.

"Young guests Darian and Alicia were both not present in the single-housing facility outside!"

Valurn's face fell as he heard those words. He was given responsibility to look after those two children after Levion died. The thought of them being lost wasn't pleasant at all.

Frantically, he stood up and grabbed a hold of the maid. Spitting out, he yelled right at the maid's face.

"What?! Where are they?!"

The maid's face paled as she kept on getting shaken. After mustering a tad bit of courage, she spoke the truth.

"I...um...don't know."

Valurn stomped down his foot in rage. His face scrunched up in anger and concern over the whereabouts of those children.

"Fucking hell! Sorry Herceran, but this clearly is an emergency."

The Demon assassin quickly left the premises in a hurry. Alavara and Herceran stayed behind, looking at the disappearing figure in worry.

----------------------------------------

"Darian! Alicia!"

Valurn was streaking through the Elven town with [Presence Detection] on. His face was dripping with perspiration and worry as he hoped with all his heart that they were safe and sound.

Currently, his plan was to search every nook and corner around town. He figured Alicia probably got better and decided to go on some quick tour around the village. 

At least, that's what he hoped happened.

Running and stumbling into both Elves and Dwarves, he kept persisting on in worry. Finally, turning a corner towards a small plot of land behind a storefront, his [Presence Detection] blared off as it recognized an ally in its vicinity.

Reeling in his joy, he ran off to where he felt the sensor going off. Soon enough, he saw a messy disgruntled figure sitting on a rock.

"Hey Darian! What are you doing over here?!"

The unkempt figure slowly turned his head towards Valurn without focusing on anything. However, what met the assassin's eyes was worrying.

Darian's eyes were bloodshot and puffy, with sleep lines and tear marks streaked around it. His red hair had twigs and leaves resting in between its fibers. A blank and pained expression was plastered all over his face.

It was as if he had just witnessed Hell and lost the will to live.

"Wait? What's up? Where's Alicia?"

Valurn ran up next to Darian, whose eyes were still unfocused. Grabbing his shoulders, he forced the young man to look at him straight in the eyes. He wasn't going to take any excuses for an answer.

"Tell me. What happened?"

Darian eyes started to re-focus on Valurn as he regained awareness. Depressed, he started to speak.

"Alicia...she...left..."

Soon, he began spilling everything that had happened the night before. How Alicia suddenly woke up insane and started screaming at him. How she said she hated him and ran off. How he tried desperately to catch up, yet unable to. How she ran off to the forest to somewhere he can't detect.

Most importantly, he recalled how she told him she hated him.

"I...just don't know. I've treated her like shit. I have. I guess, I don't know. My personality maybe? I just never tried to get closer to her level and understand her better. Now look what happened..."

Soon, another waterfall of tears fell through Darian's eyes. Weeping, he ran straight into Valurn's arms and cried.

Valurn patted Darian's head and started to speak his opinion.

"Darian...listen to me."

Tearstruck and stuffy, Darian looked up at Valurn.

"We'll go and look for Alicia. If we don't find her, I have a good feeling she'll be fine. I know she didn't mean any of what she said. She's just shaken up after the tragedy we've all been through."

Darian shook his head in denial.

"No...she had to mean it. I mean, she was right...I was a piece of--"

*SLAP*

Valurn hand slashed across Darian's face, interrupting him. A red-laced palm mark soon started to visualize on the redheaded boy's face. His eyes opened wide as he looked at Valurn in surprise.

"Get yourself together! Do you think your dad would want to see you like this? Do you think a sane-mind Alicia would like to see you like this?!"

Valurn screamed and spat all over Darian's face in fury. He did not appreciate any of Levion's son's depraving comments.

"Listen to me! We're going to look for Alicia. Even if we don't find her, she's chosen her own path. Fate will definitely guide us back together eventually. However, what I want is for you to get yourself together and understand just who you truly are! You're not a piece of shit and you know it!"

Darian's mind was in turmoil over Valurn's words. He was in such a depressed and down mood after Alicia escaped. However, the assassin's words was the encouragement he needed to escape the dark prison he walled himself in.

He thought back to his life. How he met Alicia. How they became friends, did everything together. How despite his annoyances at her personality sometimes, they'd always continue to be as close as siblings, understanding one another even more.

He then realized just exactly what she was going through. Knowing her compassionate side, he knew she must've been really hurt over the idea of her living while her family and friends were dead. She tried escaping reality, but at the cost of her sanity.

She lost her purpose as everything was taken away. However, with that comes the pathway for a new future that she'll have to eventually find.

As for himself, he found a new purpose almost immediately. His vow had set his future in stone.

Alicia didn't have that yet. She tried escaping it. But with the struggles she's facing comes another door. Perhaps it was due to learning the secrets of [Presence Detection], but he had a faint feeling that maybe her running away was all a part of fate.

Even then, he realized he shouldn't be sitting here doing nothing. He made a vow to himself and everyone of Tanquai. He knew he had to fulfill it to bring back happiness once more in everyone's lives, especially Alicia.

He got up with a bittersweet smile. 

"Let's go then."

With a renewed focus in life, Darian got up with newfound determination burning inside.