“The Fortune Spring is incomplete?” Alnea said, his face turning a little pale from the realisation. It was only when he saw both, the Purplebud woman, and the red robed Alnea, shake their heads, that he regained some colour. But the explanation that they gave him made him even more wary than before.

  “If the Fortune Spring was still in its stage of formation, we would not have had the chance to say, or even think of anything, before being assimilated by its overbearing Mysteries.”

  “…I do not know much about Fortune Springs, but I can feel that the Mysteries and Concepts in this world form a complete system. The only reason you feel that the Fortune Spring is incomplete is because you have not found its true secret.”

  “…And you have?”

  “I did, but I do not think you will believe me if I tell it to you directly, so I will let this lovely lady answer your doubt. You would not mind doing me this little favour, would you, Lady Vaniya?”

  “If you ask me so politely, how can I refuse you?” the Purplebud woman said, putting on a bright smile, as she glanced between the two boys, Red and Black. “Though I would have told him about how to leave this world, regardless. Still, now that you have said that you owe me a favour, you cannot go back on your words.”

  “…Like I said, it is an honour for me to owe a favour from such a lovely lady.”

  “What about your other self? Will he recognise your debts?”

  “What does his debts have to do with me?”

  “See,” the Purplebud woman said, shrugging her shoulders. “How about you convince him first?”

  “…That is going to be a little difficult. You do not know how stubborn he can be.”

  “…That sounds like another interesting story…”

  “I will tell you about it when we have time. More importantly, did you not say that you would have told him the way to leave this world regardless of whether I asked you for the favour or not?”

  “I would have, but now that I can also gain a favour in the process, why should I tell it to him for free?”

  “…Did I dig the pit myself?”

  “That, you did,” the Purplebud woman said, letting out soft chuckles, reigning in her smile only when she had had enough of the helpless face of the red robed Alnea. “Alright, I will stop teasing you.”

  “Are you finally giving up on the favour?”

  “No, how can I do such a loss making business?” the Purplebud woman said, raising the edge of her lips up in a curve once again, as she glanced at the black robed Alnea. “Whether he likes it or not, once you owe me a favour, he would owe it too.”

  “Indeed, if you put it like that…”

  “…I have said it before, and I will say it again,” Alnea said, glaring at both the woman, and his other self. “We are not the same.”

  “…I would not be so sure if I were you,” the Purplebud woman said, raising the edge of her lips up in a smirk. “At least, not if you still want to leave this place and return to your teammates.”

  “…What do you mean?”

  “…I think I was obvious,” the Purplebud woman said, glancing at the red robed Alnea with a smirk, prompting the latter to chuckle.

  “I did not think you were so vindictive.”

  “All women are vindictive. Some just do not show it until the time is right.”

  “…Maybe you are right. I will keep it in mind for future reference. But for now, you should stop playing around. Unlike me, my other self does not appreciate a twisted humour. Especially when it comes from our enemies. Not to mention that he is in a hurry to return to his teammates. If you continue delaying, I do not think he will be able to hold himself back from making a move against you.”

  “Just me?” the Purplebud woman said, glancing at the black robed Alnea, noticing the impatience and frown evident on his face. “You mean us, right?”

  “…This time, you are wrong,” the red robed Alnea said, shaking his head. “We are both part of the same whole, after all. Even if he is a little impatient, he will not move against me until he confirms that I am an enemy. And at the moment, I have neither any desire, nor any need to become his enemy. On the contrary, if I support him, then I might regain some of his trust. So, if he makes a move against you, I might have to do it too.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Even if you owe me favour?”

  “Owing you a favour does not stop me from ganging up with him against you, right? At best, I will just make sure that he does not kill you. That should be enough to return the favour I owe.”

  “Are you so confident in him?”

  “In us.”

  “…I really want to hear your story more and more,” the Purplebud woman said, biting her lips, while glancing between the two boys with fiery eyes. But she did not make any other moves. Instead, after a momentary pause, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them to reveal her usual calm, and Clear eyes. “But you are right. It is indeed time to give him his answers.”

  “…Let me warn you,” Alnea said, when he noticed the Purplebud woman shift her focus back towards him. “You are still my enemy. No matter what you say, I am not going to be grateful to you. Neither will I recognise the favour he promised. Not to a Wanderer of the Lotus clan. Once is enough. I do not want to get stabbed by you people again.”

  “…I guess we do deserve some of your hostility. We should not have used that little girl to test the defences of your robe. But not all our decisions are in our control. Sometimes, we—

  “Save it. I do not want any explanations. If you really feel remorseful about the actions of your clan, then just tell me, how do I leave this place?”

  “…The answer is a little complicated. Especially in your case.”

  “Then make it simple. And be quick.”

  “Do you not know that haste only makes waste?”

  “…I only know that the more you delay, the greater the chances for you to be killed by me will be.”

  “…The Lost City surely has made you ruthless.”

  “Enough with your nonsense. Just get straight to the point.”

  “…If you insist.”

  “I do. Now, hurry up.”

  “…Let me ask you once again,” the Purplebud woman said, glancing at the world of Red and Black. “What do you think is this place, Alnea?”

  “What does that have to do with me leaving this place?”

  “If you want to return to your teammates as soon as possible, then just answer my question.”

  “…A Fortune Spring?”

  “Think again.”

  “A sub dimension? A separate world? I don’t know. Why does it matter anyway?”

  “It matters, because the clue to leaving this place lies in recognising its true essence. Only when you understand what this place is, can you have a chance to return to your teammates.”

  “…So, were my guess wrong?”

  “What do you think?” the Purplebud woman said, rolling her eyes at the black robed Alnea, before turning back to the world around them. “This is the world of Red and Black. A Rule, a Concept. That is what you said, remember?”

  “…I did say that, but so what? You cannot possibly mean that the clue to leaving this place lies in those words, right?”

  “Why not?” the Purplebud woman said, smirking at Alnea once again. “The clues have always been in front of you. You just refused to see them.”

  “…A Rule, a Concept…”

  “Did you ever stop to think what that Rule, or that Concept was?”

  “…I—

  “Forget about the Rule. Did you even bother to think why the Spring tore a part of you, and condensed it into your form?”

  “Isn’t that what the Fortune hidden in this Spring is?”

  “Is it?” the Purplebud woman said, with her smirk growing wider with every question. “Then where is my other half?”

  …Where was her other half?

  “Honestly, I am a little surprised that you did not notice it until I pointed it out to you.”

  “…But—

  “—It does not make sense? That is only because you never understood what the Fortune hidden in this Spring is.”

  “…I…”

  “Besides, when have you ever seen someone leave a Fortune Spring weaker than before, not to mention losing an entire half of their self? Or did you think that you would recover on your own when you left the Spring?”

  “…Isn’t that what the Fortune is supposed to help me to do?”

  “Of course, not.”

  “…What exactly is the Fortune hidden here?”

  “Now, would it not ruin the fun if I gave you all the answers?” the Purplebud woman said, barely holding in her laughter. “But I can give you a hint. The answer lies in the origin of this Fortune Spring.”

  “…Red and Black,” Alnea mumbled to himself. “Two sides of the same coin. But we can only see one of them at a time…”

  “I would not say that you are wrong, but you are not exactly right either.”

  “…To see both of its side at once, we must push ourselves to the same level as the plane which the world is flipping in…”

  “…I think you are getting a little ahead of yourself. Not even Mystic Wanderers would dare to say that they can rise to the same level as the Rules of the Origin Sea, and you want to see how the world flips? Try again, and be a little more grounded. Start with the basic introduction that I gave you when we first met.”

  “…The origin of the twin nature of all things. Only those who can understand the twin nature of the world are qualified to look at it directly.”

  “Finally, you are getting somewhere.”

  “But understanding the twin nature of things would only give me the qualification to enter this place.”

  “You are almost there.”

  “To leave, I must first learn how to reconcile the Red with Black. I must…”

  “Go on, say it. Say the answer you have been looking for.”

  Instead of responding to the Purplebud woman right away, Alnea paused, and looked at his other self. His red robed self, the man who once inspired him to take his Oaths as his Roots. Though the man in front of him was more like the manifestation of his namesake’s memories. Alnea Oathkeeper of the world of Attuners was already dead. But in a sense, he was still alive. Just not completely. To be able to live again, he would have to…

  “—become one once again.”