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“There’s a lot of nameless villages near the capital,” Erin said. In her hands was a bowl of soup, filled with chunks of meat and bits of vegetables. It was nothing luxurious but this very bowl of soup was worth more to a nameless village than a pot of gold.

It was Amyra and Aera’s turn to accompany Erin. Together, they had passed by more nameless villages, each village had no more than thirty residents. Some villages were completely empty while the others looked worse for wear. The villagers were incredibly wary when they passed by them. Erin could understand why. There were bandits in the area and they had been the cause of the few empty villages.

“There’s certainly a whole lot more of these nameless villages than I remembered,” Aera mused in agreement. She had the same bowl of soup in her hands. “There’s usually not that many of them. I wonder what could have happened? It’s not common for the plain people to move so close to the capital, yet settle for so little of the territorial benefits.”

“Desperate times, desperate measures,” Amyra explained dryly while gobbling up the bowl of soup in her hands. It was the same soup but the contents were much more than what Erin or Aera had.

“Even with all the bandits that are apparently roaming around so close to the capital?” Erin asked.

“Evidently, the kingdom has a hand in this,” Amyra said. She had the same bowl of soup in her hands, but there was barely any meat or vegetables in her. “Bandits never operate this close to a provincial city, let alone the capital. The court or the nobles must be benefiting from their presence somehow.”

“As I have told you two, the bandits were selling the villagers they kidnapped to some wealthy merchant.”

“Yes, that’s still fresh on my mind, but what does that entail other than the kingdom might be dabbling in some demonic affairs. If that’s true, there will be a war, but fought within the kingdom itself. The kingdom will implode.” Amyra scoffed. “I doubt the court or the nobles will take such a risk, especially with the Ruvan Cathedral residing within the capital. They’re greedy but they’re not stupid.”

“We can’t deny that a noble may be involved.”

“If a noble is involved, the kingdom might not know about it.”

“Might?”

“Yes, might. Because it’s impossible for the kingdom not to take notice of the disappearing villagers. Nameless villages are formed when the residents can’t afford the taxes imposed by the governing lords. Therefore, they are nameless. They don’t need to pay tax, but in turn, they won’t receive any protection from the governing lord, and they can’t make any trade. Even so, the governors still keep an eye on these villages. They know what’s going on.”

“But they are doing nothing.”

“They see these nameless villages as leeches and parasites.”

“And the bandits help the kingdom get rid of them. Is that why the kingdom ignores all of these disappearances?”

“I wish that’s the case but not likely. The bandits’ presence may have been of some use but they still pose a threat to the travellers and merchants.”

“Unless the bandits are smart enough to avoid target travellers and merchants.”

“That’s another huge possibility but I have the feeling that the truth won’t be something so simple. It never is. So, the other possibility is that the kingdom might not be aware.”

“Why would they be unaware?” Aera questioned dubiously.

“Something huge is happening inside the capital or the court. It was exposed that some nobles were working with the Covenant. Our dear friend Rylan Grid, for example. They must still be dealing with the aftermath until now. Anyway, it’s just my guess.”

“...I don’t feel like going to the capital anymore,” Aera’s voice shrunk along with her posture.

“Oh, don’t be afraid. I’m sure it will be nothing we can’t handle.”

Aera put down her bowl and shrunk even more.

They were sitting by a river, near the bank. They were having their midday meal. The waters were calm, which was why the sound of water splashing loudly instantly drew their attention.

“Oh,” Erin muttered in relief. “I was wondering where she went.”

In the waters, they expected a monster to be creeping up on them or an enemy. It was none of those two. It was just Ruri, the Kirin, playing around in the water.

“Damn,” Amyra gasped lightly. “She was barely the size of my palm just a few days ago. Now, she’s the size of my head. She grew so fast.”

“Do Dragons grow slow?” Erin asked.

“Well, they grow fast at first but their aging slows when they reach maturity. It seems this is what is happening to Ruri. She is indeed a Dragon.”

“Don’t Dragons eat a lot?” Aera inquired. “I heard Dragons never stop eating. She hasn't eaten anything for days now.”

“Dragons eat a lot in one sitting but they can go on for weeks without eating. The evidence just keeps piling up. Ruri is indeed a Kirin but she looks like a cat. This is so strange.”

Erin was smiling warmly at the playful and gleeful Ruri when she suddenly glanced behind her in a swift motion.

Both Aera and Amyra went into their battle bearings.

“Enemies or monsters?” Amyra asked. She finished her soup in gulps and placed her hand on her gigantic sword, ready to draw and swing.

“I don’t smell or hear anything but my guts are telling me that something or someone is watching us.”

“Bandits?” Aera muttered her guess.

“That would be terrifying if so. It would mean that they’re good enough to conceal their scent and noise from Erin.”

“It’s terrifying regardless,” Erin retorted. “But I don’t think they meant any harm. I don’t sense any ill intent. If anything, I can sense a very faint trace of fear… Hmm?”

“Something happened?”

“The fear scent grew stronger when I pointed it out. Our stalker is eavesdropping on us. They are intimidated by my words.” Erin rose from her seat after setting aside her half-empty bowl. “Show yourself or I will make you.”

There was no movement nor a sound. Only the winds whispered in response.

“E-Erin, if you didn’t sense any ill intent, perhaps you shouldn’t be so—”

“Just because she didn’t sense any, doesn’t mean there’s none,” Amyra explained as she stopped Aera who was about to reach out to Erin.

Erin manifested her sword and strode towards the spot where she felt the fear emanated from. The air turned heavier the closer she came to that very spot. A stump was in the way, tall enough to conceal a grown man behind it. Erin tapped the stump. Not a sound could be heard except for her blade striking the wood. Carefully, she looked behind the stump. To no one’s surprise, she did not find a soul.

“Anything?” Amyra called out.

“Nothing,” Erin responded. She looked around some more. Nothing was out of place. However, she still felt the stalking presence. She sighed and closed her eyes. “I require your help…” she whispered under her breath. “I invoke your assistance… dear Spirits.”

Erin waited for something to happen but to her dismay, nothing happened.

“Damn it,” she cursed. Clenching her fists tightly, she brandished her tails and began emanating a pink mist to the surrounding area.

“What are you doing, milady?” Amyra asked. Erin’s action was a bit unexpected. Knowing the effectiveness of the pink mist, she stepped back as far as she could, dragging Aera with her.

“I won’t be able to sleep well tonight if I don’t catch this stalker. Show yourself!” Erin roared. The pink mist spread out. The mist spread as far as a few good yards before it stopped and disappeared into nothing. Erin dropped to her knees, gasping. That was as far as she could spread her mist. “Fuck…”

“...Find anything?” Amyra was hesitant to ask but she had to.

“Nothing. Whoever or whatever it was, they’re good. Save to say that they aren’t human or a simple beast.” Grumbling, Erin dispelled her sword and returned to the fire.

At the same time, Ruri had just returned to the shore after getting her fill of playing in the water. She shook her entire body to dry herself. She saw the strange situation before her. She tilted her head before trotting towards Erin.

Erin stared at the Kirin approaching her. It was odd and rare. Ruri rarely preferred her company. She would always pick Amyra or Lilian, or anyone else for that matter. Erin didn’t blame her. They did get off on the wrong foot. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Ruri mewed and climbed up to Erin’s shoulder. She then began rubbing her head against Erin’s cheek.

“...You’re being strange today.”

“Kyu.”

“Do you disagree? You rarely let me touch you. What’s changed?”

Ruri continued to rub her head against Erin’s cheeks.

To Erin, it felt as if the Kirin wanted to drill into her. However, she realised Ruri was trying to tell her something. “Show me,” Erin said.

Ruri nodded and hopped off from Erin. Very much like a cat, Ruri landed safe and sound on the ground without making a sound. She beckoned for Erin to follow her with a nudge of her head before sprinting off into the trees.

“I’ll go ahead first,” Erin said and chased after Ruri.

“Well, let us go too.”

“What about our items?”

“We can come back for them later.”

“Won’t it be stolen then?”

“It’s just pots and pans. Right now, Erin needs us. You know what she’s like.”

Looking hesitant for a while, Aera eventually nodded and joined Amyra in running after Erin.

Meanwhile, Erin was right on Ruri’s tail. The Kirin wasn’t going too fast, but she would lose sight of Ruri if she didn’t make any effort. Eventually, they reached a dense part of the forest where the light of the sun struggled to enter. Ruri stopped right at the border of the dark forest.

“...We’re not going in there.”

“Kyu?” Ruri tilted her head.

“It’s not worth it. We don’t know what’s inside and we have no proper reason to chase the stalker so deep into somewhere unknown.”

Ruri lowered her head. “Kyu…”

“You did great, Ruri. It’s not your fault. It’s just—”

Suddenly, their surroundings changed. The bright forest was no more. Withered trees and dark skies became the new reality. It was as if they had entered the dark forest.

“Kyu!” Ruri jumped from the abrupt change of environment. She quickly climbed up to Erin’s shoulders and curled herself up.

Erin wanted to comfort Ruri but their safety came first. She drew her sword from the empty air and brandished it against the darkness. She took a whiff of the air but nothing was amiss. Everything smelled like what she expected, except for the lack of odour of any kind. In a forest, there was bound to be dead animals or their droppings, tainting the air with their foul smell. Such common odors were absent.

When Erin couldn’t smell or hear anything that could suggest the culprit’s identity, she tried to sense the presence of divinity. There was none. However, she did sense something oddly familiar. She tried to recall that feeling she once had felt so intensely. She recounted the time where she fell into an ice cavern and stumbled upon a vault.

Exalted Spirits, that was what she sensed.

“What is this place?” She couldn’t help but mutter the obvious question.

“You’re finally here,” a voice said. A girl’s voice.

Ruri jumped to its feet and hissed in the direction where the voice came from.

Erin spun in that direction. She saw the figure, sitting on a fallen log with her short legs dangling off the ground. She was a child, or at least she looked like one. As she was still shrouded in darkness, Erin could only see the girl’s contour, although her long, pointy ears were already a huge tell.

“I didn’t think I would get the chance to meet you so soon.”

“Who and what are you?” Erin demanded.

The figure giggled. “You can call me Sylvie and I’m a Dark Elf.”