Now that Dreigh and the others had a closer look at the woman, they could say that she was really beautiful with her long wavy hair and crystal blue eyes that reflects the sunlight which makes it more alluring. It can make anyone stare at her in amazement. She was the type of woman who could clearly get what she wants by just using her looks. Her body was clad with all black which highlighted her alluring shape and magical like vibe.
"Stop staring at her, she's already an old lady." The tone of Arthur's voice was bland and a hint of mockery can be slightly heard from it.
The woman gave Arthur a glare, "do you want another beating?"
Arthur refrained from talking back and averted his gaze. He would like to talk but if he did, this violent woman would only give several bruises and make his life more difficult. The woman smiled in triumph after she saw Arthur's sulking face.
"Are you an acquaintance of Arthur?" Vira asked out of curiosity. From the interaction he had seen he could tell that there is a bit of intimacy in there.
"Oh yes, I forgot to introduce my name, I'm Karina Alva. You can say that I am Arthur's older sister in a way since we belong to the same Order." She introduced herself in an overly cheerful manner that garnered another sneer from Arthur. Karina only laughed at the man's childish antics. "I have known him for years now although this is the first time I've seen him after three years." She spoke while holding her chin in thought.
"The both of you looked closed with each other," Rond commented.
"Close!? Are your eyes working clearly? Where in this vast continent did you see that I and her are close!?" Arthur could not help but have a fit at what he had heard. Him and Karina were not close, the vicious woman who was smilingly standing there like a proper lady whose sole purpose is to make his life miserable will never be close to him.
Karina suddenly hugged Arthur and rubbed his head like petting a pet and talked in an overly sweet voice, "oh come on, stop with your exaggerated reactions and accept the fact that other people could see that we are close."
Arthur was pushing Karina and trying his best to separate himself from the clingy woman but he was not successful. The woman has an unnatural physical strength that he can't beat so he could only give up.
After the entire ruckus, the group together with Karina found a rest where they could rest and catch up with each other. Arthur was unwilling but with four people versus one he could only relent.
A distressed sigh was the only thing he could do. He could see that the other four people were getting friendly with Karina and he doesn't have the power to stop them. They found a fairly secluded cave covered with vines and hanging plants and made camp in there for the rest of the day and possibly the night.
"Wait, we've been talking for like an hour now but I don't even know your names," Karina exclaimed as she realized that she don't know the people she was talking to. As the four came to the realization they could only laugh. They were so engrossed with their conversation that they did not realize this fact.
"Sorry, we were enjoying the talk that we did not think of that. I'm Endo Cleyton and these are my friends," he pointed at the person on his left, "he is Vira Asfer and the stoic man on my right is Rond Ruid and the unspeaking person who hasn't spoken a word ever since the beginning is Dreigh Straut."
Karina followed Endo's introduction and gave each of them a once over and lingered a bit on Dreigh. All these actions were clearly seen by Arthur but he did not say anything.
"So I'm guessing that all of you are also remnants?" Karina asked as she scooted a little bit closer to the fire Endo made to give the slightly dim cave a light.
They nodded their heads in affirmation and gave Karina a summary of what they can do and what their affinities were. Endo was also especially talkative and even told her what had happened to them and why they were currently travelling. "I see, so where are you headed to now?" Karina asked after she finally had the chance to speak and showed interest as she heard the loosely mouthed Endo talk endlessly.
"We're headed to Westdenn," it was Dreigh who answered for the first time that day. Karina nodded seeing that he did not elaborate further.
"Oh, you've made a long detour though and didn't you know that this place has been plagued with shadows? So talking this route would only endanger you," her gaze fell at Arthur but the man did not offer any explanations instead it was Dreigh who answered her.
"Our contact with the other people are very limited and we dare not stay for a long time on one city or town because the palace had many eyes everywhere," he explained in his usual toneless voice.
"Right," a sigh came out of Karina at the information she got. She did not think that Arthur would become a fugitive with four other people and it was not only Glasfale that is looking for him, even the Kingdom of Luellia is after him.
Dreigh observed the woman before he spoke again, "do you have other information about this place? Last night we encountered a group of Bloom Stage Shadows, do you anything about them?"
"Wow, I'm surprised you survived." She knew how vicious these Bloom Stage Shadows were and had seen so many people die in their hands. "These shadows are the reason why I am here, you see, I am what you call an Exterminator. I was called to remove these shadows and to investigate the reason why there are abnormally high numbers gathered in this place."
"Do you already know the cause then?" Arthur asked out of nowhere as this was the question bothering him from their very first encounter with the shadows.
"I've come across a legend that in this area there resides a light spirit," Karina started and Arthur perked at the mention of light spirit.
"Is this light spirit special?" Vira voiced his own question while listening attentively to Karina like a good student.
"Yes, unlike water, wind, earth or fire spirits, light spirits are very rare and difficult to find since their kind had decreased in numbers for the past thousands of years. But this light spirit is rarer, since it had already gained a mind of its own and it can communicate with humans, it could also change into a human form. All of this are pure conjectures though since no human had actually seen this spirit." All the people listening were engrossed at the story and formed their own thought on the matter.
"Do you believe that story?" Arthur looked at Karina.
"Yes, and I will find that light spirit." The conviction on her voice gave the group a different feeling. They could tell that she was serious about it.
"We will help you then," four pairs of eyes looked in shock at Arthur.
"But how about our trip to Westdenn?" Endo became anxious. He missed his family dearly and wanted to see them immediately but if they would help Karina they will be further delayed on their journey.
"No need to worry, we will still go to Westdenn after this. I'll use my affinity to help us cover the time we will lose in helping Karina," there was no wavering with Arthur's voice which gave them no chance to argue. Endo reluctantly agreed since gave them his word.
Karina watched this exchange and she did not miss the look that Arthur had given Dreigh while he was talking. She raised an eyebrow at that action and decided to talk with Arthur alone.
"It's settled then, we will accompany you." Karina gave a nod and gave the men a sign of approval.
After they've made some arrangement, Karina gestured for Arthur to follow her outside. The four remnants stayed behind and gave the both of them space to have their private talk.
"I've heard that you became a mercenary after we parted ways," she was looking at the slowly setting sun on the horizon as it paints the sky yellow orange. Their surrounding was calm and peaceful.
"That's none of your business," Arthur coldly answered but it doesn't have the slightest effect of Karina. She knew that their parting was not that good and she had regretted her words back then.
"I'm sorry about what I have said that time, I did not mean to blame you on what had happened –" she did not continue as she saw Arthur's glare.
"Don't apologize. It is so unlike you to be this emotional. Part of what had happened was my fault and I have come to terms with that already. Let's keep the past be buried in the past." Arthur returned to looking at the horizon and did not speak anymore. Karina smiled, she saw that Arthur had already matured and even though there were traces of the childishness in there, she was still glad that he had grown.
They remained silent and no one talked until only a glimpse of the sun can only be seen behind the mountains and the surrounding was slowly turning dark. Animals of the night slowly came out and made noises very typical of a forest area.
Karina opened her mouth and asked the man beside him, "Why are with them Arthur?"