The wind blew over the valleys as all the tall grasses sway from left to right creating varying colors of green and gold. The forests were as green as can be seen by the eye and reaches far and wide. The mountains continue to stand with their might and glory. All of these scenes have been seen by Dreigh and his group as they traveled around Glasfale.
It has been a month ever since they left the military institute and became fugitives. Several portraits of them were scattered around Glasfale, a bounty was even set for each of them. The five of them moved around covertly and with Arthur's help, they can easily infiltrate any city they wanted to. His close friends were lucky enough to wake up after two or three days but the other remnant together with them was not able to wake. Rozen's illusion was deadly and if a person was not mentally strong they would ultimately die. His friends might have been able to survive that nightmare but it still left a dark shadow on them.
They would gather information about what was happening inside Glasfale and move based on this information. From the month that they have been hiding, they learned that the military institution was temporarily closed and all personnel assigned to the institute was released. The massacre that had happened had also come to the public's knowledge. With this news, the dislike of the common people towards the remnants became more intense and the remnants remaining inside the kingdom were becoming more and more aggressive.
Commander General Rozen was also said to be resting in his manor because of the injuries he had sustained during the fight. According to some rumors, he was crippled and cannot continue his service to the kingdom that is why the Supreme Commander has permitted him to leave his post.
"Have you found them?" General Emrys asked the man currently standing in front of him with a disheveled appearance. For the past month, he had concentrated on finding Dreigh and his group to ask them what had really happened during that incident.
Captain Mathis shook his head in frustration, "Not yet. We have received several accounts of people who had claimed to have seen them but we still did not find them." He has been working nonstop in investigating the matter and had come to some clues but without proof, everything will remain as it is.
"I understand. We can't proceed forward without solid evidence to what had happened that day and without that we can't pacify the unrest building within our walls," General Emrys was growing worried each day as the situation inside the kingdom was escalating day by day. He had already appealed to the Supreme Commander to appease the people but appeasing them was not enough. If one day this situation blows up, their enemies would take that chance to bring them down.
"How about the investigation being conducted by the Ministry of Justice, are they making a progress?" Mathis asked with a little bit of impatience in his voice.
"Don't expect too much from those old geezers. Although we've requested for them to deeply investigate the matter, they would only pass it off as a massacre done by the remnants." Emrys waved his hands in displeasure as he remembered how those people at the Ministry of Justice smilingly agreed to his request but after a month nothing had happened. They instead said the murders of those soldiers were done by the remnants. They even had the face to make an excuse that they only said that to give the people something while they will continue to look on the matter.
Mathis remained silent and also frowned. Their current government was really nothing but pretense. Those people in position only know how to preserve their own selves and protect their own interests. "How about the Supreme General had he said anything about this?"
"Nothing, I have not received any news from the Supreme Commander's side which is not surprising. The Ministry of Justice would not let out that news if the Supreme Commander did not approve it therefore we can't count on Kaius about this matter." He answered with a deep frown, it was as if the Supreme Commander has lost the interest to maintain his kingdom's peace. "We need to find them first before the others could find them."
At the Crescent Moon, the business has not been doing well ever since posters of Dreigh and the people with him were released to the public. Sometimes people will come to mock them or just plainly denounce them. They would also receive some threatening letters or experience vandals.
"Have you received any letters yet?" Levhon quietly asked Mr. Mazir while they were having a drink inside the store's kitchen.
"Not yet, there has been an increase in the eyes watching my every move. They have also extended to watching my people that is why it is a little bit difficult to send out a letter or even receive one," Mr. Mazir heavily placed the cup on the table making a loud noise.
Levhon helplessly shook his head, "Is that so. The last letter had stated that they were fine but I'm still worried about them."
"I know but for now, we need to be more careful or we might be implicated and that would become a burden to them. As long as we believe that they do not have anything to do with that massacre that is enough." Mr. Mazir exclaimed. It was simply unbelievable that they could stage a massacre and even attempted to take the general's life unless they were provoked.
Levhon had been involved in fighting almost every day whenever he stood by his son's innocence. No one would believe his words, they only believe in the words from the government. "You're right but as a father, I can't help but think of the worst-case scenario."
Mr. Mazir looked at Levhon with understanding. He wanted to help them as much as he could but it was difficult to move and he was even being pressured by some of the merchants he had dealt with. Their position was extremely dangerous and they could not do any wrong steps for the time being.
--
In a secluded place a few miles away from Westdenn, five men in black cloaks were currently preparing a place for them to rest after a long journey. One of them used his ability to create fire while the other made some temporary shelter where they could rest for the night.
After they had set up a small camp, they sat around the fire while they cook their food. A simple stew was currently boiling in a pot and some skewered fish were slowly being cooked by the fire on the sides.
"Are we really going to Westdenn?" Endo asked with a little bit of excitement in his voice. It had been so long since he last saw his family so he would take this chance to visit them.
"Yes," Dreigh nodded. "But we can't stay there for long."
"Can I visit my family?" Endo asked again, he was not deterred by Dreigh's words.
"You can but you need to be careful. According to the last letter I've received from Mr. Mazir our families are being watched and if these watchers discover that we had contacted them, it might become dangerous for them." He explained in a solemn tone. Endo frowned a bit but even so he still wanted to go look for his family even for a short period.
"You can visit them peacefully, I'll send some wind spirits to go with you and prevent you from being discovered," Arthur casually spoke like the matter was not dangerous and nerve-wracking enough.
"Are you sure?" Dreigh asked unsurely.
"What, you'd rather let your family be involved in this mess?" he raised an eyebrow and glared at them.
"All right, all right, thank you in advance," Dreigh let out a soft laugh at this remnant who likes to act like a child most of the time.
For a whole month they had been with Arthur, they learned a lot from him. Although he seems to be amicable and easy to get along with, these characteristics will vanish when he was facing enemies. One time that they had encountered a group of bandits, Arthur did not show any mercy and killed them all. He had suddenly turned into the cold-blooded remnant they faced during the battle against Luelia.
Arthur noticed that Dreigh was looking at him while he was lost in thought, "what are you looking at?" he asked annoyed.
Dreigh snapped out from his stupor and shook his head. He did not answer and instead focused on the cooked fish in his hand. Arthur did not probe any further and also focused on eating.
The night passed without any notable events and they continued on their journey to Westdenn. No one had anticipated nor expected that they will once again encounter a life and death situation through their journey because they were confident with Arthur's ability but fate had decided to throw some more messed up things on their plate.