"S-Sister? S-So you are … Almira's brother? I mean Elywien's?" I asked in a high-pitched voice.
"Elywien is my sister. She used to be an intelligence member of this kingdom. Before finally leaving her job and family after marrying a human. Are we talking about the same person?"
I immediately covered my wide-open mouth. Unable to contain the shock of such an unexpected coincidence, I shuffled back a little.
"Yes, you're right. My friend Almira is indeed Elvian, who eloped with her husband,"
"How is she now? I haven't seen her in years," Elzhar asked enthusiastically as if he didn't care about the condition of his body that had not fully recovered.
"She's fine, really. Indeed she lived a simple life, but she is now happy. I've never met her husband. I think he's a loving husband. Oh, yeah! She also has an adorable five-year-old son, his name is Cedric,"
Elzhar suddenly smiled, an expression of relief now attached to his face. "Thank God she's happy. I'm glad to hear that,"
"Don't you ever see your sister again?"
Elzhar shook his head weakly. "Let alone meet her. Since she decided to leave everything behind, I never heard anything from her again,"
"Don't you want to meet her?" I asked quietly, trying to sympathize with him. Elzhar's story about being separated from Almira made me feel very sorry.
"You should know how the relationship between humans and Elvian is. There's no way we can freely visit each other," Elzhar was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. Maybe he was sad that he couldn't see his sister again.
I understand the situation a little. When an Elvian decided to marry a human and leave his/her family, they would never be able to meet them again. It's as if that point is when you have to let go of everything you have here without being able to get it back. Be it position, wealth, and family. That was the price to pay dearly for Elvian, who married a human.
It's impossible for humans living in Elvian City. So the only way is for Elvian, who has to leave his/her family and mingle in the human city.
"My sister is the only member of the family I still have," explained Elzhar in a small voice and head down. "We are from the famous 'Kri' branch family in the capital of the West Elvian Kingdom. When my sister first expressed her intention to marry a human, all members of the main family flatly refused.
"That's because my sister was groomed to be the next head of the family's successor. Just so you know, my sister is an honorary military member," he said with a bit of pride. "She is capable of fighting and mastering Esze very well. Because of her ability, she was entrusted to settle a high-ranking position in the military. The current head of the Kri family, Kharzall, is amazed by my sister's achievements and intends to make her the successor of the Kri family,"
Elzhar's expression now hardened with a tinge of sadness evident on his face. "But that changed when my sister decided to leave everything she had. Kharzall was furious with her actions. He then kicked us both out of the main mansion,"
Elzhar's face grew darker and melancholy. "I had time to restrain my sister from leaving. But she insisted on her will. Since then, I haven't heard anything from her again until now."
The young Elvian lowered his head deeply and squeezed his own hands. Sadness and longing whack his soul at this time.
Until now, I never knew Almira's past. It was because she never talked about it. Even when I tried to talk about it, she immediately shifted the topic to something else.
Now I know her past was not pleasant enough; she was forced to leave the only sibling she had. Almira is a gentle person. The woman must have felt very hard to leave Elzhar here. She probably felt the same longing that Elzhar felt.
I didn't know what I was thinking. Suddenly, I gently grabbed both of Elzhar's hands and stared at him intently. "Elzhar, after all this is over … I will try to bring you together with your sister,"
The young Elvian froze for a moment and looked at me in disbelief. "Is that true?"
"I promise I'll do whatever it takes so you two can meet again,"
"Thank you," he replied, relieved. "Although I don't know when it will happen, I will wait,"
After that, we looked at each other. I saw his eyes seemed to have hope in me. Elzhar's gaze was like the wailing of a stray kitten begging for food. Anyone who still has a conscience will not be able to resist.
As the night fell, the accumulation of drowsiness and fatigue increased. Plus, the energy drained when fighting Elzhar earlier made my body limp and lethargic.
I tried to rest, laid down, and closed my eyes on the woven carpet in the living room. Because there was no more room, Dimas, and Shella also slept on the side. Elzhar apologized for not being able to prepare a proper room. But for us, this is quite good compared to sleeping in the open, which we have experienced the last few days.
The night passed quickly. As soon as I opened my eyes, the room was brightly lit. The sun shone in through the overhead window. It felt so warm, caressing me gently.
I woke up and found Dimas and Shella already awake and sitting on the side of the room. They were eating a piece of dry bread wrapped in a leaf. As I recalled, the crusty bread we brought from Glafelden ran out. Where did they get it from? Did they secretly keep it without me knowing?
Shella, who met my eyes, instantly gave a faint smile. "Anggi, are you awake? Here … eat this!"
Before I could answer, Shella handed me a piece of bread still wrapped in a leaf. I got up and rubbed my eyes, trying to fully regain my senses.
"Sorry, I can only give you this. It's the only one I have on my food storage shelf," said Elzhar, who sat cross-legged across from Dimas. It seemed that he had recovered to the point where he could move his entire body.
There was a slight silence pause before Dimas turned and patted my arm. "What is he talking about?"
"He apologized for being able to provide only this bread,"
"Oh, is that so?" he replied enthusiastically. Then the man cast a glance at Elzhar. "It's okay. This is more than enough. Instead, we should be thanking you," Dimas said confidently in Lurivian, even though he knew Elzhar wouldn't understand what he was saying.
Now it was Elzhar's turn to be confused. He looked at Dimas and me alternately. His expression seemed to ask me to translate Dimas' words.
I, who understood what he meant, immediately helped him, "Dimas thanked you for hosting us. This alone is more than enough,"
"Oh, I see," replied Elzhar, slightly embarrassed. "Wait, Anggi!"
"Yes?"
"Yesterday, you said you wanted to find a rare plant, right?" Elzhar asked in a heavy tone, his face became serious. I nodded in a positive answer. "I don't know for sure, but I can name one place for you."
***
Armed with the information from Elzhar, the three of us continued our journey further into the Hanarusa Forest. According to the young Elvian, about half a day's journey east of Arnest City, there was a Hanarusa tree that was bigger than the others. That said, the townpeople hallowed the tree as a sacred place. Every big day, they often hold religious ceremonies and rituals there.
Elzhar had visited the place once, and he noticed that some strange plants never existed around the city grew there. That's why the young Elvian suggested we go there.
It has only been an hour since Dimas, Shella, and I left the city. The sun had started to rise overhead, its rays falling on the ground through the thick leaves. The water that flooded the forest had receded since morning, so my team could walk on the ground. Surprisingly, even though it was flooded every day, the forest soil wasn't as moist or soft as after the rain. The surface of the ground was hard as if it had never been touched by water.
I didn't know what had happened. There were too many things in this world that I didn't understand at all. However, being able to see the strange phenomena of nature is a fantastic thing.
"This robe is so hot!" Shella exclaimed while glancing at the black robe she was wearing.
Before leaving the house, Elzhar gave the three of us robes and face coverings to hide our appearance. Worried that we might run into other Elvians while out of town. Indeed, that appearance actually made us look suspicious. However, suspicious people were still more natural in the city than human existence.
"Take it off, but don't throw it away! This robe might be useful later," said Dimas, walking in front.
The three of us took off the black robes and put them in our bags. After that, my friends and I continued our journey.
The sun's rays began to feel scorching hot, proving that the day was getting longer. A little sweat dripped from my forehead. Along the way, we were accompanied by constant creaking of insects sound, along with the flapping of the birds' wings flying from branch to branch.
Our formation line was still the same as usual. Dimas led in the front while Shella and I followed behind. We continued on without stopping until we arrived at what seemed to be our destination.
A few hundred meters ahead, I could see a vast clearing. The Hanarusa trees rarely grew in the vicinity, as if they were reluctant to approach the clearing. Once after walking again, I could clearly see what was there.
A Hanarusa tree grew in the middle of the field. The size was much bigger than the others. If the usual Hanurusa tree had a trunk diameter of about 50 meters, then this one tree was three times the size. But its height was almost equivalent to an ordinary tree. Maybe that was what made it unobtrusive from a distance. The tree's gigantic roots spread out above the ground as if intimidating other trees from approaching.
I looked in amazement at the Giant Hanurusa tree. My eyelids didn't blink at all for a few seconds. Not only me, Dimas, and Shella were amazed by it. I might be stuck in that place forever if Shella didn't carelessly run closer to the front.
"This place is great!" she cried cheerfully, then lowered her body and reached for the fiery orange plant that grew on the roots of Hanarusa. "There's even a very rare Ember Bush here! Oh, look! There's the Purple Turmoil Flower too!"
The girl with the long hair rushed to the other plants that grew around here. She started to put some plants into her little bag. It was like seeing a child who was overjoyed when she/he was invited to an amusement park for the first time. For the time being, I might just let her be. This field was shaped like a giant atrium. As long as Shella didn't come back into the forest, I could still keep an eye on her.
Dimas and I approached the trunk of the Giant Hanarusa. The tree size seemed to increase every time I cut the distance. We both climbed up to the roots and walked over them. Looking around, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say these overlapping tree roots form a giant maze. You will get lost if you don't climb up the roots and see a way out.
"This is the place, isn't it? Where is that Wind Spirit Crystal?" asked Dimas as he turned his gaze in all directions.
"How do I know! If it was that easy to find, someone else would have found it already before us,"
Perhaps this was a sacred place hallowed by Arnest City's citizens. But that didn't mean this was where the Spirit Crystals were. Prince Keylan told me the Wind Spirit Crystal was in Arnest City but didn't say its exact location. It could be this place, or it could be somewhere else.
But … for keeping great thing, isn't this place suitable?
"We should split up and look for clues about the Spirit Crystals," I suggested.
Dimas muttered for a moment, then raised his head. "Why don't we just use your Super Sense?"
"You think I'm a metal detector who can find valuable things? If I could, I wouldn't be living like this!"
"Is it wrong to try, anyway?" Dimas replied angrily.
I glared at his eyes, but he replied as if to invite a fight. After a few seconds of staring at each other, I relented. I let out a long sigh as I groaned.
"Okay, I'll try."
While half kneeling, I put my hands on the tree's roots. In another breath, I activated my Super Sense. The echoes emitted from my body spread in all directions, then bounced after hitting something. That was how I got a 360° projection around me.
Even though I didn't move an inch, I could see far around. I could clearly see the roots behind this tree, dozens of birds perched above me, insects crawling on tree trunks, and Shella, who was busy gathering herbs behind me.
There was nothing strange about the scene, not a single hint of a Spirit Crystal. It was too ordinary. But suddenly, I flinched after getting a projection from the underground. I lifted my hand from the roots and slowly got up.
"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Dimas, who noticed the change in my expression.
I started to control myself and tried to stay calm. "There's a huge space underground and some sort of altar in the middle."
"Is it possible-."
"Gyaaaah!" Suddenly we were both startled by Shella's scream. I panicked. Her figure was nowhere to be seen. "Anggii! Dimass! Help me!"
Dimas and I immediately went to the sound source not far from where Shella was before. A moment later, I found the girl slumped into the ground, her upper body still above the surface.
"What are you doing, Kak Shella?" I asked in surprise, holding back a laugh.
"I was collecting plants and accidentally fell into this hole," she replied with a faint laugh. She raised her hands, hoping her friends could help her out.
"Be careful next time!" Dimas grabbed Shella's hand and helped her out. "After a while, I think you are careless like Anggi!"
"No way!" I grabbed it curtly.
Once Shella managed to get out of the hole, I realized. The hole seemed to be some kind of entrance into the underground. Dimas also observed it with me, then we looked at each other. After a few seconds, he smirked.
"You must know what I'm thinking,"
"How to get rich quick through pesugihan(1)?"
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1) Pesugihan means dealing with demons/spirits in hoping that it will make him/her rich.