Earlier that day, north western area of Nefra. The Noble Quarters.

“What do you mean we can’t tag along with Ery?!”
“Listen, ma’am, this golden seal only vouches for the young woman here—and only her. There’s nothing in this letter that allows for the inclusion of two extras.”

Astrid was now menacingly having a stand-off with a guard, one that was unprovoked and unneeded.

“And? Are you implying that we’re too suspicious to gain entry alongside her? We’re Adventurers and we have a golden seal, both of those should be more than enough for all three of us, shouldn’t?!”
“Ma’am, if you keep this up, I will have to—”
“H-hey! Let’s just calm down for a second, Astrid... Didn’t you listen to me earlier? I already said that I wasn’t entirely sure we’d be able to head inside with Eru. We came here fully knowing that might be the case...”

Lukos had now attempted to pacify the situation at hand, as he redirected Astrid’s attention to himself. I could see him flash an awkward smile toward the guard as the that same guard then sighed and stepped back to his post.

“Haah?! Are you certain about that? That’s definitely the first time I’m hearing about this...”
“Of course it is...”

The gate was ready and open for me—and only me—unfortunately, as I walked forth.

“Um, I’ll be going on ahead then, you two...”
“Don’t worry about us, Eru. We’ll be waiting here.”
“You’re giving up too easily, Lu!”

The three of us had made our way through the Common Quarters and into the Noble Quarters. We now stood at the back-end gate into the Garden Quarters. It was quite the roundabout trip. Unless you had approval to gain access via the Administrative District—where the main entrance resided—you were instead forced to walk near the ‘slums’, through the commons and two separate gates in total to reach this particular entrance. I felt rather puzzled of my first impression of Nefra, since even a golden seal wouldn’t allow for one to use that main entrance.

"From my experience in Nefra so far, the only people I've seen actually use that entrance are those who were said to have a connection with one of the Triskeles. That includes qualified merchants that were transporting cargo directly to them."

Lukos had explained this earlier, putting into perspective just how influential the Triskeles actually were in Nefra. To be able to control an entire gate within a city for themselves seemed like a blatant flaunt of power. With that in mind, I was starting to feel even more nervous now.

Will it really be okay for me to walk through here, all alone...? Maybe I really should have waited until we found Albel first. No, he wouldn’t have been able to enter either... At least Cruubi could have, right? But there’s no telling when it would have returned from its trip from the Outer Region...

“Why’d you have to go and send Cruubi away in the first place, Albel?! And then to disappear on top of that? I swear, the rate in which your irresponsibility grows is moving from a daily to hourly increase now!”

My mind was now filled with frustrations awaiting to be vented in full as I murmured slights as a form of mental alleviation. If Albel hadn’t sent Cruubi away, there wouldn’t be any issues to begin with. That was something I would refuse in believing otherwise.

He better expect an earful when I finally find him!

Given directions prior to entering the gate, I was now walking through the Garden Quarters and toward the previous Magister’s residence. The area was definitely living true to its name, as the sides of the pathway was adorned with an endless spread of flowers. Yet, the sight of them was dulled by the combination of the setting sun and eclipsing of the surrounding mansions.

“I bet this place is gorgeous during the morning, but to think that a place like this and that one exists so close to each other...”

It felt unnerving to compare my current scenery to the one shortly earlier as we passed near the area Lukos referred to as the slums. According to him, an area like that was natural in every major city too. It didn’t make any sense to me as to why it did though. I lingered on that thought until I finally reached the gate to Elemnin’s supposed home. A single guard stood at attention near the center of the entrance as I approached.

“Um, excuse me... Is this the Magister’s—I mean, Mr. Elemnin’s residence...?”
“Yes, this is the residence of the former Magister, Elemnin Eibe. Might I inquire about your reason for visiting, ma’am?”
“...My name is Eru, and I was hoping to meet and talk to him directly. He’s an old friend of my grandfather’s. This letter here should explain...”

In a nervous bow, I handed the guard the letter with the golden seal on it. He then read over it, and as his eyes met the bottom, his gaze quickly shifted toward me. Folding the letter, he promptly handed it back with an aloof attitude and rather unfortunate news.

“He currently isn’t in at the moment, and most likely won’t be until late tonight. You’ll have to check back here tomorrow.”
“Huh. Is that so... I understand, thank you...”

I had walked quite the distance to get here, only to then be turned away. I definitely felt disappointed, but at the same time, I felt a bit of relief. I took another short bow as I walked away from the guard and began heading back down my initial route.

I guess all I can do is wait until tomorrow then... It’s already deep into the evening, but it’s not like I can just wait here the whole time while Ms. Astrid and Lukos are sitting outside still. Hopefully Cruubi will be back before tomorrow too...

I let my eyes wander a bit as I continued walking, scanning the empty sky that was painted in an orange tint as a strong and odd wind suddenly appeared from my right. I quickly turned my head, but before I could even gather a thought on what it could be, I then caught the glimpse of a mysterious appearance. One that stood near the outer fence that surrounded Elemnin’s home.

Is she a noblewoman from around here...? She has to be while dressed like that, right? She absolutely beautiful...

Her blood red eyes remained fixated on the mansion inside, fully absorbed in thought as she rested her chin on her white gloved hand. Her fairly long black hair, tied with a white laced bow, made slight wavers against her intricately etched black dress—with modest continuative trails of the prior wind. I couldn’t help but stare as the seconds went by. Her line of sight then finally shifted toward me, as she immediately seemed alarmed by something. I titled my head in response with slight confusion.

Is she not used to seeing visitors around here...? My appearance isn’t too gaudy, is it?! No... Grandpa even told me it suited me quite well! Then I wonder what it is? She was also looking into... Oh! That's right. She must be here to see Mr. Elemnin too.

I decided to approach her with that in mind as she remained standing in that same spot, staring toward me with an odd expression. I could see her step slightly back as I closed the distance. It felt as if she were preparing to run away within the next second.

“Wait! I just wanted to talk to you for a moment!”
“...What?”

Her eyes didn’t even attempt to meet my own, but neither did mine. We were both seemingly standing before each other, not looking directly at one another.

“Are you also here to see Mr. Elemnin?”
“...I don’t think that is any of your business...”

Hwah. She’s pretty prickly...! Are all noblewomen like this? But she’s not exactly wrong either... Aaaaa! Why’d I even come over here in the first place?!

“S-sorry, you’re right, it isn’t... I was just going to let you know that the Magister—no—I mean, Mr. Elemnin isn’t going to be back until late tonight apparently... But I guess you probably already know that too though, huh? S-sorry...again...”

I could feel the pace of my words fluctuate between a stammer and a sluggish strain. I was beginning to harbor a sense of regret and anxiety for even deciding in favor of talking to her at all. It only led me to embarrassing myself, ultimately. And just as I turned away from her to leave, she finally spoke up.

“I see, so he’s not home yet and won’t be back until tonight? That helps. I wasn’t aware of that, so thank you for telling me...”
“Oh. You’re...welcome...”

Her eyes drifted back toward the building over the fence as a question then suddenly popped in mind that I couldn’t help but ask.

“Since you’re also visiting him, are you...perhaps a close friend of his?”
“...Something like that. Now, forgive me, but I have other business to attend to.”

Her back was now turned toward me as she began walking away. Before I could do the same though, she then suddenly stopped, voicing her own question aloud.

“...That’s right, I didn’t catch your name, did I?”
“...It’s Eru.”
“I see, Eru, huh? Until next time then, Eru. Since I have a feeling we’ll certainly meet again.”

And with that, she disappeared into the distance as I quietly watched her leave. Her words definitely struck me as odd, but that was soon enough dismissed by something else that occurred to me shortly after.

“Oh. I forgot to get her name myself...”

I finally then made my way toward the back-end gate of the Garden Quarters and reunited with Astrid and Lukos. After I gave them a short explanation about what the guard had said, they agreed to accompany me again on the next visit—for whatever reason. The three of us then headed to the Entertainment District in the Foreign Quarters, due to Astrid’s prior complaining.

"It's been ALL day, Lu! 8 hours, 47 minutes, and 32 seconds! All combined to create too long of a time frame that I've been sober! Baal's Tavern. Now! If you're even thinking of saying no, you better be prepared to die on that hill."

According to Lukos, she was even counting the time from when she slept on the carriage. I initially couldn’t tell if she were serious or not about that last part, but Lukos’ facial expression to her saying it and how fast he agreed to it, could definitely be considered an answer to that question.

Honestly, I still don't know if I should be frightened and wary of Ms. Astrid or not at this point...

By the time we made it to the Foreign Quarters, the sun had already set. A decorative and festive environment greeted the three of us on arrival. It was apparently the end celebration of the first day of some tournament that was being held. It felt rather nostalgic in a way. It reminded me of the celebratory nights at the Mirth Oak Inn, but on a larger scale. We then made our way toward and inside a place called Baal’s Tavern. I could feel my eye twitch as I was immediately greeted by a familiar voice.

“Listen closely and get it through that thick head of yours, Euler! I don’t care if that damned thing would be akin to sipping from the Holy Grail itself! I’m not drinking it, and that’s final!”
“C’mon, buddy! I don’t know what a Holy Grail is, but I’m sure this is even beyond delicious compared to that—and you’d agree! So, drink some with us!”
“Euler, I think we should just let Mr. Albel do what he wants...”
“Please listen to your wife and sit back down, on your side of the table too!”
“Just a sip, bud! Just a sip! You’ll definitely come around to it with a single sip!”
“If only you were the one that was hit by the debris. Maybe it would have knocked some much-needed sense into that empty head of yours! I’m not drinking it.”

At a center table inside the tavern, my eyes instantly attached themselves to a familiar person struggling against the advances of a blonde-haired man holding a large pitcher. I couldn’t help but feel angry at what I was looking at.

After you spent an entire trip—and possibly day—feeling sick, why in the world am I finding you in a tavern of all places, Albel?! You’re being too careless, you idiot!

[Revised: 5/21]