“If you two have had enough fun, will you stop your public display of affection, and explain what just happened?” Vestia said, bringing Alnea and Yuri out of their bubble, reminding them of the people around them. And just like that, the adrenaline that was rushing to their heads made their cheeks red for a whole different reason. Though Alnea did not have much blood left in his veins to flush his cheeks. That was probably the reason why Yuri did not just push him away.

  Still, being stared at by over half a dozen pair of eyes, even Yuri’s Clear Heart could not stay calm for long. A moment after hearing Vestia’s voice, she reluctantly let go of his lips, and reigned in her tears, before raising her head and turning towards the rest of the Star Seekers. All staring at them, some with amusement, some in shock, and a few in envy, waiting patiently for their answer.

  “…I will let this fool explain what he did,” Yuri said, evading all responsibility. Though when he tried to do the same by closing his eyes, she pinched his arm, forcing him to face the inquisitive eyes of their teammates. Especially that of Vestia and Cecilia.

  “Go on,” Cecilia said. “We are waiting.”

  “…Can I have that potion first?” Alnea said to Vestia, trying to hide his emotions. In vain. He was in no condition to use his Spirit. And even if he could, his Roots… Maybe he had been relying too much on borrowed powers, he thought, making a note of practising how to hide his emotions without the aid of his Aspects. But for the moment, he could only try to be a little shameless, and ignore the strange gazes being directed at him.

  “…Here,” Vestia said, bending down, and handing him the vial. “Can you drink it on your own, or do you need Yuri’s help to pour it down your throat?”

  …That was not a bad—

  In the end, he was still not shameless enough. But it was not his fault. Vestia’s eyes… For a moment, they looked even more terrifying than Death. And so did Cecilia’s. It was as if they could not wait to tear a piece of him. Though they did not seem to be angry at him. Maybe a little resentful. Still, the way they looked at him…

  Subduing the errant thoughts that came to him from Vestia’s suggestion, Alnea pushed himself into a sitting position. Or at least tried to. No matter how much he tried, his body kept resisting his will to move. Almost as if it preferred to lie on Yuri’s lap. Though, in a way, so did his Heart. And if not for the eyes glaring daggers at him, he might even have let his Heart have the win. But for the moment, he could only keep trying—

  “Stubborn fool,” Yuri said, and helped him into a sitting position when she saw him struggling, allowing him to lean on her. She even reached out to help him open the vial, but he shook his head. Some things, he had to do on his own. Even if his hands shook, and almost dropped the vial, he held on, and opened it all by himself, before bringing it to his mouth, and gulping down the potion. Its effect was not immediate, but as one of Vestia’s more precious potions, it was enough to keep him from losing his consciousness to weakness.

  “Now, can you tell us what is going on?”

  Alnea opened his eyes and saw Vestia’s eyes staring into his. Just like how they had been moments ago. Except, this time, they were filled with worry.

  “Why did you refuse to drink my potion earlier, and why did you faint all of a sudden?”

  “…Clearly, he did something stupid once again,” Cecilia mumbled, with just as much worry tainting his voice as Vestia’s, and a hint of resentment. “Stupid and dangerous.”

  “…Calling it dangerous would be an understatement,” Karl added, ignoring the look Alnea sent his way. “Rushing around the battlefield, ignoring all the attacks being directed at him… He even took some of our attacks, just to get to the enemies a bit faster. All while still bleeding from his wounds. I know that his robe can block most, if not all of our attacks, but still… If I did not know better, I would have thought that he was trying to die.”

  …That was an absurd guess. By the time their attacks hit him, he was already dead. Or at least on the way to his death.

  “That’s not something to joke about, Karl,” Norren said, slapping Karl on his shoulder, prompting the latter to turn towards him with a glare, but Norren did not care. Instead, he turned towards Alnea with a solemn face. “Speaking of being bleeding… You really did bleed a lot.”

  “It could not be helped,” Alnea said, shrugging his shoulders. “That’s what happens when people get wounded.”

  “But that was a lot of blood.”

  “…And I had a lot of wounds,” Alnea said, brushing his hands over his chest. Although the wounds disappeared the moment that he cut off their Cause, it still stung a little from time to time, especially when his robe brushed his chest. “But they are gone now, so there is no need to worry anymore.”

  “That is another thing I am curious about,” Aren said. “Where did all your wounds go?”

  “Isn’t it a good thing that his wounds are all gone?” Zain said, tilting his head in confusion, before glancing at the bodies of the Heterodox Wanderers. “What we should be more concerned about is how they got past the defences of his robe, and if there are other people who can do the same.”

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  “I am sure that there are people who can use similar means, but I don’t think we will meet them in the Final Trial,” Alnea said, shaking his head, surprising everyone with his decisive answer.

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “…These people were able to wound me because their Ritual involved Mysteries of Cause and Effect,” Alnea said, turning his gaze towards the bodies of the blue robed and yellow robed Wanderer. “And they succeeded only because they had prepared in advance. Most likely, they got hold of some items I used in the past. And at least one of them was important enough to influence my Fate, even if only slightly. Such items…

  “I would be lying if I said that there no other items—which might have influenced my Fate in the past— that I misplaced, or do not even know of. But the only other group of people in the Final Trial who are likely to get those things is the Lotus clan. And unlike the Heterodox Wanderers, obnoxious Orthodoxies like the Lotus clan are less likely to go through my old stuff just to entangle my Cause and Effect. Though, even if they do, next time, I will be prepared. After all, they are not the only people who can play with Fate.”

  “…Cause and Effect?”

  “…No wonder.”

  “…I am now starting to wonder if I have ever left any of my important items behind…”

  “…Maybe we should all learn a few Mysteries to shield us from such esoteric Mysteries.”

  “…That’s a good idea.”

  “…But I don’t think there are any such Mysteries at the False Rank.”

  “What?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “…I don’t remember seeing any corresponding Arcanas in the collection of my clan.”

  “…Just because your clan does not have any corresponding Arcanas, does not mean that there are no such Mysteries at the False Rank.”

  “…Are you doubting the Enhalls?”

  “…No, but Captain…”

  “…Are you doubting the collection of my clan too, Captain?”

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “I am not an expert in Fate either.”

  “Then how are you going to protect yourself if the Lotus clan also used similar means?”

  Alnea answered by turning towards Yuri with a grin.

  “I will leave my Fate to you, Yuri.”

  “…That’s what you should have done in the first place,” Yuri said, pouting to show her dissatisfaction, not bothering to hide her emotions from the rest of the Star Seekers. There was no point in hiding it anyway. Not after what they had done a few minutes ago…

  “Although there are no Mysteries involving Cause and Effect at the False Rank, there are ways you can shield yourself from getting your Fate entangled by others. Of course, it would not work against True Wanderers. But we are not going to face any True Wanderers in the Final Trial either. At worst, it will only be a bunch of False Wanderers, emulating the effects of True Mysteries through some Rituals. Just the perfect targets for the means I mentioned earlier.”

  “…Can we also use those means?”

  “No need,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “Rituals that can involve the Mysteries of Cause and Effect, especially at the False Rank, are incomparably precious. Not to mention the time and effort they would have to put in to search for items contaminated with the breath of your Fate. Why waste so many resources when they can kill you through normal means?”

  “…That’s one way to put it,” Ralph mumbled, laughing awkwardly, while taking a step away from Yuri, wondering if he had offended the white robed girl recently. Maybe he should not have smiled in amusement when he saw her kissing their Captain…

  “Don’t worry, Ralph,” Alnea said, relieving his teammate’s embarrassment. “You are not their target. The only reason you are on their opposite side is because you are on our team. They should not make any extra efforts to deal with you.”

  “That’s right,” Fran said, in a bit more solemn voice than the rest, solemn enough to bring everyone’s attention to himself. “We are not their target. You are. Both, for the Lotus clan, and the Heterodox Wanderers.”

  “…What are you trying to say, Fran?” Aren said with a frown, only for Fran to glare at him with reddened eyes.

  “Do you not get it?” Fran said, almost in a hiss. “He is their target. Always has been. Even before coming to the Lost City.”

  “But we knew that already, didn’t we?” Norren said, matching Aren’s frown, as did the rest of the Star Seekers. “Captain made that clear before we joined the team.”

  “He told us only about the Lotus clan, not the Heterodox Wanderers!”

  “…Does that make any difference?”

  “It does for me!” Fran said, before turning towards Alnea, with his Aspects leaking through the broken expressions on his face. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  “…What are you talking about?” Vestia said, moving in front of Alnea, as did Cecilia, blocking Fran’s path, but the latter did not care.

  “…I had always wondered why they attacked my city… Why they killed everyone…”

  “…Fran—

  “That’s why I kept inquiring about them even after I came to the Lost City, tracking all their movements and activities…”

  “…I understand. Let’s calm down first…”

  “But I could never understand what they were after… Their attacks were so random… wreaking havoc all over the Fifth Sector… That was until the Anneve incident.”

  “…We can talk about this later…”

  “After their attack on Anneve, their movements became more focussed. More targeted. As if they had found their purpose. And that purpose is you, right? You are the one they have been looking for…”

  “…For now, you need to get reign in your Aspects, and regain your Serenity…”

  “You are the one who is responsible for death of my family.”

  “…Don’t answer him, Alnea,” Vestia said, summoning her Aspects, making her hands glow in a bluish light. “He is very unstable right now. It would best if we subdue him first, before—

  “That’s right,” Alnea said, still leaning on Yuri, but showing no weakness on his face. Neither did he relent under Vestia’s gaze. Though he agreed with her evaluation of Fran’s state, he understood Fran’s Heart better than anyone else. The man did not need to be subdued. He needed answers. True answers, ones that only he could give.