"What task?" Yurian asked curiously.
"Evil spirit subjugation," Alistair shrugged, taking out a small jewel from his pocket and activating it. Immediately, the surrounding air froze, as if the four of them was in a separate space from the rest of the canteen. The [Surround] jewel was a scarce magical charm that cordons off an area and renders it sound-proof to outsiders. Even the small jewel that Alistair had was a rare commodity.
"Actually, this is related to Persephone," Alistair continued speaking. "Sigh…We all know what happened three years back on our infant mission to Clomodor." The atmosphere turned dour, but Alistair ignored it.
"This mission is a covert mission that is related to Persephone. Even after more than two years, Persephone's remnant powers have led to sporadic eruptions of natural disaster within the borders of Auglarus and Clomodor, and the public has grown increasingly displeased with my Royal Father's response. While the public understands that Persephone has been sealed, we know better than that.
"First, my Royal Father wants us to escort Marianne to clean up Persephone's remnant traces. The second part of the mission is to track down the potential locations of Persephone, using Yurian's and Marianne's sensory abilities. The secret mission team will follow up after that."
"What? I understand the first part, but tracking Persephone?" Yurian exclaimed in shock. "Didn't our attempt to track her down lead to her rampage?"
Sylvester also scoffed; his eyes filled with disgust. "The secret mission team? Seriously? We are the ones with first-hand experience with Persephone, and we are no longer mere knights-in-training, Alistair. We can do the entire mission on our own."
After the incident in Enzak, all of them were deported ungracefully by the Clomodorian secret forces, and their mission was erased from everyone's memories. They were told that the presence of Marianne in Clomodor led to Persephone's anger due to her pure holy power, but neither Clomodor nor Auglarus was prepared to deal with her destruction after seeing Enzak's aftermath. So, they were removed from the entire case, and asked to return to their ordinary lives.
The Auglarians who they have helped on the night of Persephone's escape, and those who have entrusted them with the mission such as the moustached Oberon and his soldiers, forgot about them. It was easy to see that their memories had been modified by magic. The citizens in Enzak have seemingly disappeared into the air.
Erasing memories was a violation of the magical law. But Alistair refused to answer any of their questions and told them to never speak of that failed mission if they wanted to live. His adamant refusal to explain led to Marianne, Sylvester and Yurian refusing to speak to him for three months. Until now, Persephone had always hung on their minds as their personal nightmare and their obstacle to overcome.
"This is the order by my Royal Father," Alistair rubbed his glabella.
"What, he still thinks we are still kids, doesn't he?" Sylvester countered. "Just using us and throwing us away after that, your Royal Father only cares about his Royal standing. He must feel stifled not being able to do anything about Persephone's rampaging powers, and all the complaints are arrowed towards him. Otherwise, he would never have suggested going after Persephone after seeing what happened to Enzak."
"Watch your mouth, Sylvester," Alistair narrowed his eyes, "Just because you are my brother, does not mean that I will always let you run your mouth about my Royal Father. Don't forget which land you are on, now."
"But it's true, isn't it?" Yurian said calmly. "We all know that going into close contact with Persephone sets her off. What measures does the King have in mind to prevent that?"
Alistair took out four blue jewels from his breast pockets and handed one each to his friends. The blue jewel was carved beautifully and decorated with gold trimmings, but despite its size, the magic power it projected was extremely strong.
"What's this?" Sylvester asked.
"Have you heard about the River of True Tears?" Alistair smiled mysteriously.
"Yes," Sylvester was confused. "Isn't that the legend of a spiritual river located inside the Auglarus Palace? Whoever who is blessed by its water will unlock their magical potential and become unparallel magical geniuses in history, something of that sort."
"Wow, how come I've never heard of it? I'm supposed to be an expert on these types of things!" Yurian cried.
"Because it's just an urban legend…but since you've mentioned it, I guess it is not?" Sylvester raised his eyebrow at Alistair.
"Bingo!" the Auglarian Crown Prince smiled. "But Marianne would be better off explaining since this is related to the Moon Spirit."
With the trio's attention on her, Marianne sat up straighter and cleared her throat. Then she started to tell the story.
"A long time ago, before the three kingdoms were even formed, the Moon Spirit blessed the lands and lead them to prosperity. It is said that when the Moon Spirit blessed Auglarus, it cried tears of joy, which formed the River of True Tears, and asked the first King of Auglarus to baptise each heir to the throne with its water.
"Not only that, when selected, each Moon Saint is also required to drink a ceremonial cup of water from the River of True Tears to receive the blessings from the Moon Spirit. Only then, will they be recognised by the Moon Spirit to be their mortal representative and perform the duties of a Moon Saint."