“Fight?” Alnea said, reaching for his sword, only to grab empty air once again. He had to get his sword back soon. And his dagger. But he could do that later. For the moment, he followed Yuri’s gaze to turn towards the Wanderers of the Lotus clan’s alliance. “I can do much more than just fight.”

  “Like recklessly charging ahead?”

  “…I know I may be sounding a little reckless right now, but trust me,” Alnea said, clenching his fist. “Just leave those bastards to me.”

  “No, absolutely not,” Cecilia said, shaking her head. “I am not letting you out of my sight.”

  “…I will not be out of your sight. Our enemies are right in front of us.”

  “No, I still cannot let you fight on your own.”

  “…I will be fine.”

  “That was what you said when you separated from us.”

  Alnea let out a wry smile, as he turned towards his left, where the voice came from, and found Vestia stepping out of the fog. Just like Yuri and Cecilia, she too did not have any visible signs of injuries, but looked exhausted to her limits. Though she did a better job than Cecilia at hiding her tiredness, and also did not kick him. Instead, she held some dissatisfaction and complaints in her eyes, as she looked at him with a pout on her face.

  “And you ended up being possessed by some ancient race.”

  “…That was not my fault.”

  “Then what about the time you almost sacrificed yourself to fight those Heterodox Wanderers?”

  “…Alright, that was my fault. But trust me, I no longer have any intentions of sacrificing myself.”

  “No, we still cannot let you fight alone,” Cecilia said, glaring at him. “We are a team. If we fight, we fight together.”

  “On this, I agree with her,” Vestia said, before glancing at Yuri in the distance. “And I am sure that Yuri would also say the same thing.”

  “…Leaving Yuri aside for now, have you two seen yourself? One cannot control her Concepts, and the other cannot maintain her phantoms… How are you two going to fight?”

  “…At least we were not defeated by some weaklings.”

  “…I will never be able to rid myself of this shame, will I?” Alnea said, letting out a sigh, before quickly putting on a solemn face. “But on a serious note, you really are not in any shape to fight.”

  “And you are?”

  “…It is hard to explain—

  “I think my question was pretty simple.”

  “…Long story short, I made a deal with the being who occupied my body—

  “What?”

  “—and he helped me heal all my injuries and restore all my Spirit Power.”

  “Is that the point here?” Cecilia said, stepping towards Alnea with a glare. “What kind of idiot makes a deal with someone occupying his body?”

  “…I—

  “You have been reckless in the past, but this a whole another level of recklessness,” Vestia said, staring at him in all solemness. “Do you understand the implications of your words? The severity of your situation? Making a deal with an ancient being… That too, one occupying your body… It is a miracle that nothing untoward happened to you.”

  “…I did not have any choice. He already had control of my body.”

  “That still does not excuse your behaviour!”

  “…I know, but the situation was complicated. I will give you an explanation later. Right now, we need to focus on dealing with our enemies.”

  “…Do not think that this is over.”

  “…Anyways, as I was saying, neither of you are in any shape to fight.”

  “Don’t think that you can look down on us just because you have recovered your Spirit Power,” Cecilia said, letting out a snort. “We can take care of ourselves.”

  “Don’t be stubborn, Lia,” Alnea said, and glanced towards the Wanderers of the Lotus clan’s alliance. “Do you know how they defeated me earlier?”

  “Because of your reckless—

  “By threatening me with Zain’s life,” Alnea said, turning back towards Cecilia. “They could not hurt me, could not even touch me, so they attacked Zain, forcing me to defend against their attacks head on and waste my Spirit Power. And if you insist on fighting them with me, they will use the same strategy once again.”

  “…I—

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  “I promise that I will not be reckless. But I need you to promise me to stay put. At least until you have regained enough strength to take care of yourself, and not be used by them to lure me into a trap.”

  “…Fine. But if I feel that you are in any danger, then I can join in at any time.”

  “Of course. If I really fall into any danger, then I will be counting on your help,” Alnea said, before turning towards the blue robed girl next to him. “And yours too, Vestia.”

  “…I still have some strength left. At the very least, I am sure that I will not let them use me to force your hands.”

  “I know. Which is why I must ask you to say behind and take care of Lia—

  “I do not need the vixen’s care!”

  “—and Yuri. Especially Yuri.”

  Alnea paused, and turned towards Yuri, still struggling with her steps.

  “…I am fine.”

  “…You cannot even walk properly right now.”

  “That is just a side effect of using one of the means big sis Nyssa left to me. It did not cost me much Spirit Power.”

  “But it did cost you something.”

  “…I will be fine.”

  “Be honest.”

  “…I may be a little weak for a while, but, if our situation calls for it, I can recover almost instantly.”

  “And this is not one of those situations. Like I said, just leave those bastards to me.”

  “So that you can get yourself captured once again?”

  “…It was not my fault. I—

  “I am scared, Alnea. Seeing you almost die right in front of my eyes… not once, not twice, but three times… My Heart cannot take this anymore.”

  “…Trust me one last time, Yuri.”

  “…One last time?”

  “One last time.”

  “…If something happens this time—

  “Then I will listen to everything you say.”

  “Even if I ask you to leave me with to the Union right away?”

  “Even if you ask me to leave for the Union right away. Or even charge into a Thrall Domain.”

  “I would never—

  “No matter what it is, I will do it exactly as you say. That is my promise.”

  “…You are a fool.”

  “Thank you for the compliment.”

  “Go ahead. But I will be watching all the time. And if anything happens—

  “I know. And thank you for trusting me again.”

  “…Fool.”

  “…What happened to Yuri?”

  “…Nothing as such happened to her, but she is not in a good state right now,” Alnea said, glancing back at Vestia. “Everything in the Origin Sea comes at a price. Including the means she showed earlier. And it won’t be long before the time to pay the price for those means comes. By then, even if she somehow manages to stay awake, she will surely not be in any shape to defend herself. I know it is asking a little too much. Especially in your state. You must also be very tired. But—

  “It is alright,” Vestia said, shaking her head. “I am not that tired… At least not as much as Yuri. In any case, you can rest assured. I will not let anyone get close to her. But you must also promise to come back safely.”

  “I will,” Alnea said, nodding with a smile. “After all, I still have not confessed to you properly.”

  “…Are you ready?”

  “…I am, but let us wait until this is all over… Until we complete our Trial and return to the Lost City.”

  “…Then I will be waiting,” Vestia said, smiling for the first time in a while. But Cecilia did not seem to be happy with how things were unfolding.

  “Are you two seriously flirting right now?” Cecilia said, glaring at both Vestia and Alnea. “Two perverts!”

  “…Are you getting jealous?”

  “Who will be jealous of a vixen like you?”

  “A little snake, who seems to have not yet been confessed to.”

  “You—

  “Stop teasing her, Vestia,” Alnea said, trying to save Cecilia from embarrassment, only for her to glare at him instead.

  “Shut up! I don’t want to hear your voice.”

  “What did I do?”

  “…I just don’t want to hear your voice. Do you have a problem with that?”

  He did, but he did not dare to say that out loud. Or even show it in his actions. Reasoning with an incensed Cecilia was impossible. So, he hurriedly shook his head. Though it seemed to enrage her even more than before, earning him another snort. In the end, he could only stretch his hand holding the blazing flower towards her, and try to change the topic away from himself.

  “What do you think of this flower?”

  Cecilia blinked, and shifted her gaze to the flower, with confusion beginning to replace the frustration in her eyes. After looking back into Alnea’s eyes, and confirming that he was serious, she looked at the flower once again, before stretching her hands towards it. And though the flower did not jump into her hands, it did not resist her touch either. Rather, after it got used to her, it even took the initiative to tilt towards her and rub its petals on her fingers.

  “…Is it sentient?”

  “Amusing, right?”

  “It is not the first time we have seen sentient flowers.”

  “But it is the first we can hold one in our hands without them trying to eat us.”

  “…I guess, you could say that,” Cecilia said, tracing the flower’s petals with her other hand. “It feels warm… a cozy warm…”

  “Do you like it?”

  “It does have a certain charm,” Cecilia said, with her cheeks growing red, returning some colour to her pale face. “And it reminds me of home…”

  “Then keep it.”

  “But it came from the—

  “Don’t think so much. Just let master make sure that there is nothing wrong with it once we get back to the Lost City.”

  “…If you insist…”

  “I do,” Alnea said, and grabbed both of Cecilia’s hands, as he stepped closer towards her, placing his lips next to her ears, before whispering, “And there is nothing for you to worry about.”

  “What are you talking—

  Alnea pressed lips against Cecilia’s, cutting off all her words and thoughts. Or that was how it seemed from the way her body turned stiff. It was as if she simply stopped processing what was happening. Though her body still reacted honestly, making all her blood flow to her cheeks, turning it red like the fire in the distance. But when the haze in her eyes began clearing up, he understood that it was time for him to leave.

  Releasing the soft hands, turning warm from his touch and her embarrassment, Alnea quickly turned around and ran away before Cecilia could come back to her senses. Fortunately, it was only after he had picked up his weapons, and was already halfway to their enemies, that he heard her voice echoing in the forest.

  “Pervert!”