Suppressing the giddiness within his Heart, Alnea reached out to his ring, and prodded it with his Spirit, urging it to do its work. It did not. Instead, it asked him to do all the work. Lazy Evi. What was the use of having a soul—was it a soul? It felt more like the personification of his ring. Or a will. Maybe it was a consciousness stuffed into the ring by the Goddess of Fate? Regardless, what use was Evi, if it had him do all the work?

  Cursing the stupid ring, Alnea stretched his Spirit further into the ring, and tugged on it, as he would have tugged his Roots. In response, the ring—No, not the ring. It was the thread stretching out from the ring, that tugged back on him, guiding him, telling him, where its other end was. About two kilometres to the west. That was a wise choice. Keeping away from the mound. But not so far away that they would not be able to come to his rescue if he needed it. As expected of Yuri.

  Withdrawing his Spirit from the ring, Alnea hurriedly walked out from the clearing, before picking up his pace. Just not his fastest pace. And he did not forget to keep up his vigilance either. He had no intention of falling into another trap just after walking out of one. Especially since the rest of his teammates had yet to face any kind of traps. One trap, he could excuse himself out of. But more than one…

  Alnea tore himself away from his thoughts when he noticed his teammates at the edges of his senses. And a few moments later, they were already within his sight. All excited on seeing him come back safe and sound. Especially the girls. Even Yuri. Though she knew that he was fine, it was only when she confirmed it with her eyes that she let go of the stone in her Heart. Still, at least she restrained herself. The other two…

  Ignoring the rest of their teammates, Vestia and Cecilia rushed towards him to give him a hug. And in a rare show of maturity, the two did not even fight each other. They just each took one of his sides. Probably because they knew the severity of their situation. Or maybe their concern for him superseded their jealousy. It could—

  After a moment, Alnea just gave up thinking, and enjoyed the rare peace. That was until he saw Yuri staring at him from a distance. And the rest of his teammates glancing between him and Yuri, with an amused expression on their faces.

  “…He is done for,” Zain whispered. “Provoking three girls at once…”

  “…Not just any three girls, but three of the most terrifying girls…”

  “…He would win the respect of all the men in the Red Trail Desert…”

  “…When they bury him in the desert, that is. I tell you…”

  Alnea feigned a cough, signalling the girls to let go, but they refused to listen. Especially Cecilia. At least Vestia pulled back from him a little, and began checking him for any visible signs of injuries. Was she doubting the robe his master had made? On second thought, her worries did make sense. After all, the only two times he had fallen for a trap before, he had ended up being brought to Inkah’s doors. Besides, he had just killed a man wearing the same robe as his. How could he blame Vestia for caring about him?

  It was Cecilia, whose behaviour he could not understand. Instead of admonishing him for being careless, or teasing him for falling into a trap, she just held on to him tightly. It did not matter if everyone was staring at them. She did not care. She did not even listen to his persuasions. Instead, the more she heard his voice, the tighter she held him. Especially when she felt his hands pat her back.

  “…I am sorry,” Cecilia said in a quaky voice. “It was my fault…”

  “…It was not your fault, Lia.”

  “It was. If I had been more careful… If I had pulled you back in time…”

  “With what? Your eyes? You were at least a hundred metres away from me back then. And the Ritual acted too quickly for you to react.”

  “…That is still my fault… If I had been with you…”

  “We discussed it, did we not? We needed a lookout. Besides, even if you had been with me, I do not think you could have pulled me back from that force. You saw how overwhelming it was. Not to mention that it involved the Mysteries of Space. That too, of at least the True Rank, even if attenuated. Without a good grasp of Space, not even True Wanderers could have resisted Ritual once they fell into it.”

  “Then I should have been the one to go!” Cecilia said, almost in a shout, trembling along with her words. “I should have been the one to fall into the trap!”

  “…Stop being ridiculous,” Alnea said, gently caressing the back of her head, as she buried her face on his shoulders. “You know that the trap was designed for me. It would not have been activated for you even if you went knee deep into those bodies. Which meant, you would not have found any clues, so I would have had to go in there myself. In the end, the result would have been the same.”

  “…Is it the same as last time?” Vestia said from his other side, drawing his attention to herself. “Just how many things have you left behind that can be used by your enemies to target you?”

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  “…Not much,” Alnea said, finding it hard to believe his own words. “Even if there are other things, I will take some preventive measures to make them ineffective once we leave the Lost City.”

  “…So, there is a chance that we might face another trap that would target only you?”

  “…Perhaps.”

  “…No!” Cecilia said, holding him even more tightly. “I will not let you fall into any more traps! I will not…”

  “It is alright, Cecilia,” Yuri said, caressing Cecilia’s back. Wait. When did she get next to them?

  “After all, mistakes are meant for learning. Since you think that it was your fault this time, just do not let it happen again.”

  …There was nothing wrong with what Yuri said. On the contrary, he was planning to say something similar to Cecilia to calm her down. And from the way her trembling were decreasing, it looked like their idea was correct. Rather than denying her words, it was best to guide her thoughts in a different direction. There was just one problem. Why was Yuri looking at him when saying those words? And why did he feel guilty all of a sudden?

  “…That’s right,” Alnea forced himself to say, gulping down all his uneasiness. “Next time, let’s face the traps together.”

  “…Fine,” Cecilia said after a few moments, reluctantly letting go of him, and backing away. Even her voice seemed to have returned to normal. Though Alnea had a hunch it was not his words that did the wonder. On the contrary, they might have given him another set of troubles. “You better remember your words, and do not rush ahead on your own.”

  “…I know.”

  “Alright, that is enough for a reunion,” Yuri said, bringing everyone’s attention to herself. “He was gone only for a couple of hours, not months.”

  “…Says the one who seemed most worried out of us all, and was also the happiest on his return,” Vestia said, raising the edge of her lips upwards. “How did you even confirm his return before we saw him?”

  “…That is a secret between me and him,” Yuri said, returning Vestia’s smile with her own. And for once, Alnea saw her showing her devious side to someone else beside him. Was she finally accepting Vestia? Though, even if she was, there was no need to share a side of her that belonged only to him… Maybe he was a little more possessive than necessary. Then again, in a sense, Yuri’s words could also be considered as a show of her possessiveness…

  “…Let’s talk about this later,” Alnea said, hastily changing the topic before any more weird thoughts could drill their way into his Heart. “We may have passed our most vulnerable state, but we are still not safe. Do not forget that we have yet to face the Lotus clan.”

  “That is what I find so strange,” Vestia said, using Alnea’s words to deflect her embarrassment. “It was such a perfect opportunity for them to besiege us. Why did they let it go?”

  “…I, personally, do not mind them letting us go,” Karl mumbled. “It would be even better if they never came at us.”

  “Come on,” Norren said, bumping his shoulder into their grey robed teammate. “What are you afraid of?”

  “…Death?”

  “This again? I never understood why you are so afraid of death.”

  “…I am not afraid of death. It is just that I do not want to die because of my carelessness.”

  “…Die of carelessness? I think you will die because of being too careful.”

  “I—

  “Forget it. I do not want to hear your lies. Anyways, even if you do not trust yourself, you should at least trust in your teammates.”

  “Why else do you think I agreed to this ridiculous Final Trial?”

  “That’s right. We have survived most of the month, and over a thousand Wanderers. What more can just a Lotus clan do?”

  “It is not just the Lotus clan though…”

  “It is the same thing. In any case, I am sure that none of us is going to die today.”

  “…You muscle brained idiot,” Ralph grumbled. “Why did you have to go and set a flag?”

  “Flag? I do not see any flags.”

  “He is not talking about that kind of flags,” Aren said. “It is more of a metaphysical flag than a physical one. In short, he is saying that those who say that they will not die are the first ones to die.”

  “…What if I say that I will be the first one to die?”

  “…Then you will be the first one to die.”

  “…What kind of Inkah stained flag is this?”

  “A death flag.”

  “Who came up with such a ridiculous thing?”

  “No one knows.”

  “There must be a trace.”

  “Except, there is none.”

  “It is as if it came from the Origin Sea itself.”

  “With no beginning.”

  “And no end.”

  “Only those who raise the flag can feel it.”

  “And that too, only when the flag comes for them.”

  “An endless banner fluttering in the distance.”

  “Calling them.”

  “Inviting them to Inkah’s Domain.”

  “A Death Flag.”

  “Maybe, it could even be called as Inkah’s Flag…”

  “…I think you have scared him enough for the day,” Vestia said, laughing along with the rest, when she saw Norren gulping, and restlessly reaching for his swords. They had indeed gone a bit too far. Even the ones who made up the story were beginning to feel uneasy. But none of them were more uneasy than their Captain. He just did not show it like the rest. Inkah’s flag…

  “There is no such thing as a death flag. It is just a trope used in stories to make them more interesting.”

  “…You bastards!”

  “It was Zain’s idea!

  “Hey, do not drag me into this mess! I had nothing to do with your childish jokes.”

  “Then who was the one who brought up Inkah’s flag?”

  “…I only said one thing.”

  “An endless banner fluttering in the distance…”

  “Alright, maybe a little more than one thing. But it was not my idea.”

  “…I will kill you all!”