Sitting by the bank of a river, Liria started absentmindedly at nothing in particular as she thought about the little half-elf she had left behind two days ago.

 

Hearing a rustling sound coming from behind her, Liria turned her head to look at the source of the sound and saw her companion appear just as she expected. Seeing that he also had no luck in finding Ailya, Liria let out a sigh as she asked:

 

“Nothing?”

 

“I’m afraid so…”

 

“Any clues?”

 

“Nothing really, what about you? See something interesting.”

 

“Nothing on my part either… Though I did come across a group of bandits.”

 

“Ohhh, and how was it, did they cause any trouble for you?”

 

At this question Liria simply twirled the longbow in her right hand and responded:

 

“What do you think?”

 

Seeing her make a face as though he was an idiot for asking such a question, Croix let out a small chuckle as he shook his head slightly. After a few seconds of silence Croix smacked his fist on his palm as he adopted an expression as though he had just remembered something important as he said:

 

“Oh yeah! I saw something interesting while looking for Ailya”

 

Turning to look at the old man with a slightly incredulous appearance as she raised her eyebrow at his statement, she asked in a mocking tone:

 

“What? Did you find an interesting looking rock again?”

 

Not minding the slight jab from his companion, Croix happily responded:

 

“No, not that this time. Listen, while I was searching for Ailya I felt my senses flare up, as if something was observing me. And what do you think I found when I turned my head to look at the source of this feeling? A poor girl who looked like she had seen a demon!”

 

“So you scared a girl… What’s so impressive about that.”

 

“Huh? Well obviously the fact that she was able to get an idea about my strength! I’m telling you, while she’s nothing impressive right now, she could really become someone great with such instincts to guide her!”

 

“What’s her name? And where is she from?”

 

“I don’t know… I didn’t ask really.”

 

Releasing a sigh and shaking her head, Liria looked at Croix like he was an idiot once more before yelling:

 

“Well if you though she had such talent, then why didn’t you ask her who she was or bring her with you!”

 

Once again not minding the outburst from his companion, Croix simply answered in a calm voice with full confidence:

 

“That’s because she was terrified of me, I’m not in the business of terrifying innocent girls you know? Also, she was with her sister, so I decided to let the two go and return to where they were heading after giving them a few warnings. Also, even if I don’t do anything, I believe someone capable of sensing my power while I’m wearing a pendant of shroud, should be able to find their own way to attain great power regardless of whether I aid them or not due to fate they must carry.”

 

Hearing the old man’s answer, Liria decided to let the matter drop but not before asking one last question: 

 

“You said she had a little sister… Was she anything special?”

 

“I don’t think so, I didn’t really get a feeling like I got from her big sister. She’s most likely just a common girl.”

 

“Is that so…” 

 

“Yeah, but well, if we meet again, I’ll make sure to help her become a great adventurer! Hahaha!”

 

With Croix laughter ending, the two came to a momentary silence before Croix spoke up once again and said:

 

“Well, since we couldn’t find Ailya in the perimeter surrounding the forest, I think we should head to Dene and stay in there for a while. I think that most likely than not that would be the first place she would head to since if she just walked straight from where you dropped her, that’s where she would eventually reach.”

 

“Yeah lets do that, we can also use the opportunity to search for demon cultists and try to gather some information from them.”

 

 

---

 

 

“Brother wait!”

 

Running frantically after her brother was a girl around 11-13 years old with a head of chestnut colored hair.

 

Hearing the shout of his little sister, the equally chestnut headed youth turned back and picked up his sister before continuing to run ahead at full speed as the girl protested:

 

“Wait! Put me down! I can run by myself!”

 

Not minding the protest and ruffling of his little sister in his arms, the young man who was around 15-17 years old continued running at full speed. 

 

After turning at a corner, the shouts of a red headed girl who looked to be the same age as the boy could be heard as she yelled:

 

“HURRY UP YOU TWO! WE’RE GOING TO BE LEFT BEHIND AND I REFUSE TO CRAWL BACK HOME!”

 

Hearing the shouts from his childhood friend, the boy picked up his speed as he ran frantically in order to reach the boat that was about to depart… 

 

Having made it to the boat right before it departed, the boy put his sister down gently before he himself dropped to the planks and started panting heavily.

 

Looking at her childhood friend laying on the deck of the boat, the girl humphed as she complained:

 

“Honestly, this is why I told you that we needed to be ready 4 hours before the time of departure. Yet here we are making it at the last minute! Imagine if I had to show my face back home after all that work I did to convince my parents to let me go! Ahhhhhh! What was I even thinking following such a fool!”

 

Seeing that his childhood friend was simply up to the usual antics, Daniel knew that she wasn’t really mad as he said through panting breaths:

 

“Sorry about that Eli… Thanks for following me… on my journey”

 

Turning her head away, Elizabeth simply humphed slightly before saying in a soft voice:

 

“If someone isn’t there to watch over you, you’ll probably get yourself killed with your recklessness. Idiot”

 

Thinking back on his 16 years of life and all the close calls he’s had while Elizabeth bailed him out, Daniel couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh as his heart was filled to the brim with excitement.

 

“Don’t laugh you big idiot!”

 

“Sorry Eli, I’m just so excited that our journey is finally beginning.”

 

“Haaaa, before that you need to think how we’ll get to Actia. We barely have enough money and supplies to get across the border into the Kingdom of the Sacred Tree, how do you expect us to get across such a large country plus the one after?!”

 

At this question from Elizabeth, Daniel let a cheeky smile appear on his face as he reached behind his pocket and took out a piece of paper.

 

Looking at the piece of paper in his hand, Elizabeth looked at Daniel incredulously as she asked him:

 

“Can you even read what’s on there?”

 

“No, but I was able to find someone who could. Look, don’t worry about it so much and read what’s on there. It’s because of this that I was late you know.”

 

Snatching the paper from his outstretched hand, Elizabeth quickly scanned through the information before releasing a sigh and saying:

 

“Seems like you’re not so useless after all…”

 

Ignoring her biting response, Daniel smiled as he said:

 

“Not bad right? We get to travel for free with food and water supplied all the way to Dene as well as get paid.”

 

Turning to look at the little girl standing next to Daniel, Elizabeth glared at her as she asked:

 

“Did you know about this, Rose?”

 

“Hehehehe~ what do you mean?”

 

Deciding not mind the girl that had clearly allowed her to yell at Daniel for no reason, she began to look over the boat and into the large lake that surrounded their little Island, a little hesitant of leaving the tiny island that had been their entire world for 16 years, but also excited to go on a journey with the boy she had known for all of her life and experience what the world had to offer…