"Fleur, didn't you say you were going to gather some herbs today?" her mother asked. The two of them were at the kitchen, making a note of all the cooking ingredients they got in stock. Unsurprisingly, they were lacking a lot of stuff.

"I did," Fleur answered while closing the drawer in front of her, "But I can't exactly leave you alone with that man. Beside, I still need to take notes while you should be staying in bed."

"Nonsense. I feel just fine. Besides, I don't see any problem being with Arch."

Fleur turned around and looked at her mother in disbelief.

"In fact, Arch will keep the house safe while you are gone!" her mother continued, a smile plastered on her face. It took Fleur quite a lot of willpower to not just slam her palm onto her face.

"Mom, we barely know him. Who knows whether he was telling the truth or not. How could you trust him so easily?"

Hearing the worry in Fleur's voice, her mother immediately dropped the ingredients in her hands. She walked up to Fleur and grabbed her hands before giving it a good squeeze. "That's a good point, and I'm well aware of that. It's just... he is your father's protégé. I can tell. The way the act, the way the talk, it is very similar," her mother giggled. "That might sounds foolish... But I'm still confident that Arch is a good person. Your father wouldn't have taken him in otherwise."

"But-" Fleur's protest was cut off when her mother shoved her a basket.

"No buts, young lady!" her mother said as she pushed Fleur out of the house, "You are going to go out and gather those herbs! I need some of them to cook some of your father's favorite dishes!"

The door closed behind Fleur. She couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration. Ever since her mother heard about her father returning, she had been busy around the house. She cleaned the windows, swept dust off the old books, and of course, checked their stock of ingredients. Fleur was worried that her mother's condition worsen because of fatigue, but luckily so far such thing hadn't happened. With heavy heart, she left, hoping that her mother's judgement of Arch turned out to be true.

The sun was starting to set when Fleur reached the village again, the basket in her hand filled to the brim with herbs. She exchanged greetings with everyone she passed by. In a small village like hers, everyone was practically family.

As she continued to make her way, a couple of children ran past her, one of which slipped and fell. Soon after the boy that fell let out a loud cry while holding his wounded knee. A glance on the wound was all Fleur need to know that the boy had scrapped his knee against some pebbles.

In lightning speed, Fleur kneeled beside the boy. Her hand rummaged her basket before taking some red herbs and mixing it with water and some magic on her palm. She then before apply the concoction on the boy's wound. With that done, she pulled out spare bandage from her pocket and wrapped it over the wound.

"There we go. It doesn't hurt much anymore, right?" Fleur said with a big motherly smile.

"Y-Yes! Thank you so much, sis Fleur!" the boy said with glowing eyes.

"Don't mention it. Just be careful from now on, Eric," Fleur said while ruffling the boy's hair.

The boy stood up and ran away with his friends while an elderly man walked toward Fleur.

"Working hard as usual, I see," the elderly man commented.

"Elder Karl! I'm glad to see you well," she bowed.

The elder nodded, "What a coincidence we meet here. I was just on my way to your home."

"Oh, do you need more medicine elder? Is your back hurting again?"

"No, no. That's not it. I want to ask about the person you saved last night."

Fleur stomach dropped. "Words travels fast, I see." She knew her village was small, but she was still baffled at how nothing escaped the elder's ears or eyes. She was sure that the storm would have deterred people from going around. Though... there's one person that could around her home even in such condition.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"You know, I haven't seen Quin today. I'm guessing he finally got his retribution in the form of a lightning strike and is now bedridden?"

The elder laughed at her blatant hatred of her admirer, "No, no. I sent him out to track a weird monster up north."

"Weird monster?"

"Yes. Pier's son said this particular monster was constantly drooling and had black crystals sticking out all over its body."

"That sounds trouble. Shouldn't we contact someone more well equipped to handle such thing?"

"You know how it is. Unless we can prove the monster or the crystals to be interesting or beneficial to the officials, they wouldn't bat an eye. Not even after that monster wiped out the whole village."

"Yeah, I know that, but this is different. How many times in your life do you hear a monster with crystals, probably magic crystals, sticking out of its body? For all we know he could be the result of a failed magic experiment."

"That's certainly a possibility, but I doubt they would want to conduct such experiment so close to the border. For now, we will wait for Quin's return. I told him to gather parts or materials from the monster that we can show to the authority. Just make sure you and your mother stay safe for the time being."

"I always do, elder."

"Good. Good. Now back to the topic of the outsider..."

Fleur internally cursed at herself. She was hoping the elder had forgotten about him with all that talk about the weird monster.

"Do you know who he is? Why is he doing so far out here?"

"He said his name was Arch. He was sent here on a mission. I don't know the details though. If you want to know more, you should ask him yourself."

"You are right. You are on your way home, correct? Let us go together then."

Fleur nodded. The two walked back home, their conversation revolving around news and events in their small village.

When the two got close enough to her home, they were greeted by the sight of Arch chopping firewood out front. He was still wearing his helmet, but the tunic and pants he wore belonged to her father. Arch noticed the two approaching and waved his hand toward the two.

"Are you not feeling hot in that helmet?" Fleur asked when she and the elder got close enough. The elder didn't say anything but did raise an eyebrow at the helmet Arch was wearing.

"Don't worry. I will be fine. I feel more uncomfortable not wearing this," Arch said while putting away the axe on his hand.

"I see. Anyway, Arch, this is Elder Karl, leader of this village."

The two shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you sir. I'm Arch, a knight of the Requiem Empire."

"Ah... I had my suspicion. But you just confirmed it. You are the exact same as him."

"Pardon?"

"Roerich. He also wore that same looking helmet all the time and he also served the Requiem Empire. Though even to this day I have no clue where that is."

"Ah, Roerich is my mentor. The empire is indeed a long way from here. We were supposed to come here together but got separated in the way. He should be here anytime soon."

The elder raised an eyebrow once more. "Roerich is coming back? Well that's good news!" the elder said gleefully, "Though what's the occasion? Fleur told me you were sent here on a mission."

"That's right. Unfortunately I can't tell you any of the details. Perhaps you can ask my mentor when he arrives."

"Ah, shame. That man's tongue wouldn't slip out a thing. But since you are with Roerich, I'm sure you are here with good intention. Anyway, we should prepare a celebration for Roerich! Is your mother aware of him coming back?"

"Very much," Fleur grunted while throwing her gaze to the side, "She spent the whole day preparing ingredients to make father's favorite dishes."

The elder noticed that despite the happy news, Fleur didn't look that enthusiastic. "What about you, Fleur? You don't seem that happy about your father coming home."

"... I think I'm tired. I'm going in." Fleur ignored everyone and just rushed into the house.

"Arch?" the elder turned to the knight.

"Yes, sir?"

"I know we just met today, but can I ask a favor from you?"

"Certainly. As long as it's within my capabilities."

"Please, keep an eye on Fleur for me. I'm worried about her."

"Of course. Fleur is my mentor's dearest daughter. I will help her however I can."

The elder nodded. As much as he wanted to console Fleur, he believed that she needed time to sort out her feelings. Her father left her at such a young age, so there wasn't many good memories between her and her father. While everyone else seemed happy, she alone felt secluded for not being able to share the same sentiment. The elder sighed, hoping that Fleur would be fine.

After excusing himself, the elder left, leaving Arch who was still secretly consumed by the void of losing important parts of his memories.