Today, during cafeteria lunch through their banter Hunters were mentioned once again. This time, Maya paid careful attention to Elena’s reaction.

Her reaction was similar to the way she would tap out of conversations whenever the subject was something uninteresting. With a bored or indifferent expression, she would start searching her surroundings for something to occupy her mind. However, this time, her gaze fell down—where she was less likely to find something stimulating.

“Wow, you were right,” Leo said. As per her request, he was also paying closer attention to Elena. “Hunter’s aren’t something that disinterests her, but something that bothers her.”

Despite all that, Maya found herself even more perplexed. In her mind, Hunters had an image of noble and selfless people who lived their lives by putting themselves in danger for the sake of others. There were even songs celebrating them. What meaning would they have for Elena?

Luckily, Maya didn’t have to gruel on this alone. While walking to her next period, Maya caught a chance to talk to her friend.

“Andrea, what’s so attractive about being a Hunter?”

“Being one? I don’t know. As to being with one, heh, you can ask Sarah,” she gave her a sly smile.

‘Has Sarah really been with one, though?’ Maya’s thoughts were sceptical.

“I’m not interested in that. I really don’t know much about them.”

Andrea looked forward with a thoughtful expression. “As far as I know, besides hunting vampires, they are an intelligence organization. It is like a CIA or NSA. So if someone wants to become one, I would guess they are interested in secrets no one else has access to.”

“Huh.” Maya was intrigued. There are indeed secrets Elena would be interested in.

“So yeah, I’d say juicy secrets.”

“It’s freedom,” Linda chimed in from behind, startling them both, as they never noticed she was listening to their conversation. “We are talking about Elena, right?”

There she goes again. Linda catches far more than you would give her credit for.

“Becoming an agent is tough work, but when you get there, you are the freest person in this world,” Linda explained. “You can go anywhere, gather information, find anyone, and on top of that, you are protected by the shroud of secrecy. People automatically trust Hunters. It’s a channel through which she could find her parents.”

“Find them?! Do you think Elena was originally from this world?!”

“Of course not. I am just guessing like you are. In the end, if you want to find the truth, you should ask Elena herself.”

Linda’s words gave Maya a lot to think about. There was one fact she kept forgetting about Elena; she had been an orphan since birth, never knowing her parents’ identities. What effect would that have on her life and mindset?

In the end, there was only one way to figure that out.

Since they had a convenient way of reaching the top of the wall, there was no reason not to exploit it. Even though they had a roof terrace on the other side of the hall, Elena liked to escape through the window and have smoke on the curtain wall, overlooking the wilderness outside Amellan walls.

Upon seeing the plank on the window, Maya saw an opportunity and joined Elena. They kept a low profile to avoid being seen by the guards from nearby bastion towers. Even though the chances of running into guards during the day were low, they still tried to avoid getting into trouble.

It was late afternoon, so Maya brought out her textbook to study for midterms while catching some of the low sun rays. Elena also had a notebook, but it was to doodle idly, looking for ideas for her latest commissions. Although since she would briskly scratch them out, it didn’t seem she was very inspired.

‘I bet Elena would rather trade her newly awarded merit points for money.’

Maya guessed Elena was low on funds again, otherwise, she would be procrastinating indefinitely. Good thing they have food and a place to sleep already provided for them, otherwise Elena wouldn’t be able to manage it with her alcoholism.

Maya learned not to criticize her for her addiction. By now, it was easy to conclude it was because she was in an unhappy state, and Maya hoped she’d be the one to help her fix that.

‘What was that experiment with rats and cocaine water?’ Maya vaguely remembered an experiment she had read about before. ‘Miserable rats would drown themselves in cocaine water to death, but the ones in rat utopia wouldn’t reach for it even when right there.’

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Maya shook her head. Her thoughts were getting out of hand. ‘Now, I’m comparing Elena to rats?!’

It was unpleasant, but Maya based her theory about Elena on this experiment. She wanted to provide Elena with what those isolated rats lacked and make her never reach for alcohol again. That was her strange goal. Elena was like her small-scale test for saving someone. If Maya succeeds with one person, she could theoretically be able to save the world.

Although, in reality, it was the other way around. It seemed like Elena was the one keeping Maya from slipping back into her melancholy. Ever since meeting Elena, Maya was constantly being pulled into ridiculous situations, outrageous adventures, challenged and provoked, constantly on the move and never having a dull moment. Perhaps that’s why Maya was even more inclined to pay her back.

Maya’s gaze returned to the girl who was seemingly angry at a piece of paper.

‘She should paint herself because she does look like a work of art,’ Maya thought, enviously observing Elena’s soft raven hair swaying in the gentle breeze and her pale skin glistening in the sunlight.

Then her brilliant blue eyes shifted toward Maya, feeling her gaze.

“What?”

“Oh, sorry. I just got lost in thought.”

Maya returned to her textbook. ‘Starting conversations is hard.’

“Did you know that ancient Greeks believed thyme contained a source of courage? We learned that in Herbology,” Maya said out loud. Knowing Elena never paid attention in class, this way she could pick up something along the way.

“Mh-hm,” Elena wasn’t paying attention. “Nowadays, it’s plain ol’ ethanol,” she mumbled.

“You are aware that exams are coming up? Don’t you think that you should study a bit?”

“Don’t make me laugh,” Elena scoffed.

“You haven’t been paying attention in class. I don’t think you can pull through just on your wits alone.”

Elena gave a slow exasperated sigh. “Look, Maya. I don’t give a rat’s ass about my grades. It’s not like they matter.”

“Maybe you should. At the end of the trimester, they will send people to the Slums again.”

“No, they won’t. It was to Castra they would send people to. Hunters are gone, so there’s no point in that, anymore.”

According to Maureen, one couldn’t become a hunter through regular means like applying for it. They wouldn’t be able to preserve their code of secrecy if they’d allowed just anyone to infiltrate them. Students who were unfit for becoming mages but otherwise had potential would be recruited to Castra — Hunter’s headquarters at an unknown location. Contenders were picked by a shadow council according to unclear standards.

If Maya went back to the first week of school, it seemed Elena did gather some hints of how to cater to their standards.

After a short silence, Maya spoke again. “You wanted to become one, right? A Hunter.”

Elena furrowed her brows. Since Maya decided to stop dancing around and confront her directly, she could no longer pretend.

“What do you mean? Why would I—”

“That’s what I’m interested in, as well.”

Elena sighed.

“The Warrior’s Training, you getting all depressed after they had fallen, getting vaguely irritated and withdrawn every time they are mentioned… I live with you, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.”

“So what if I was?”

“Talk to me. I’m very curious. Why would you be interested in something like that?” Maya leaned in.

Elena was squirming. It seems that for the first time ever, she was struggling in a social situation she didn’t have a solid ground to leave.

“I don’t like school. Just being in a classroom brings unpleasant memories, so I wanted something that would suit me more.”

“Weren’t you more on the side of breaking the law and order instead of upholding it?”

“Do you think Hunters are Police?”

“Enlighten me. What’s your interest in them?” Maya nudged a bit more.

Elena sighed, hesitant to give a proper answer. “It seemed like the only place I could belong…”

“Aren’t they a strict militarized organization with a focus on discipline?” Maya pointed out an obvious contradiction.

“Ha!” Elena looked away and pressed her lips tight, looking as if she was holding something back.

“That isn’t the real reason, is it?”

There was no answer.

“From what I’ve heard, Hunters were also the strongest intelligence organization. Powerful enough to find anything… or anyone.”

Elena’s lips stretched into a joyless smile and she looked at Maya again. “You’re right. I wanted their resources…”

“…To find your parents.” Maya finished that sentence. “That was the favour you wanted to ask of me before when your first plan fell apart?”

Although, slightly more supernatural, Maya could offer her a different source of intelligence through the means of the undead souls.

Elena gave her a small nod. Although whenever she was serious, her expression was always impassive like that of a beautiful porcelain doll, this time Maya thought she noticed a flicker of emotion behind it. This was her chance to strike the iron while it was hot.

“Then let’s define our conditions,” Maya straightened out. “I want your help in saving this world, and in return, I’ll help you find your parents,” she offered her a hand.

Maya smiled brightly, feeling like she finally understood this perplexing person. In the end, all Elena wanted was to simply belong.

“In the meantime, I can be your family,” Maya added her words of encouragement. She couldn’t offer her just a dry deal, exploiting Elena’s deep desires for her own gain. Maya truly wished for Elena to be happy whether they succeeded in searching or not.

Elena stared at her hand, her expression complicated. Then she sighed and shook it.

Overjoyed that she couldn’t contain her excitement, Maya grabbed Elena into a hug, giggling like an idiot who just won a game. In her eyes, Elena was no longer this lofty enigmatic figure comprised of unsolvable puzzles. She was just a girl, searching for her place in the world.