"Lisa?" Julius asked before his father could speak, "She's missing?"
Aunt Frey nodded, "Yes, boy, have you seen her anywhere?"
Julius paused as he tried to recall the relevant memory. He vaguely remembered something about Lisa and her knife, but he had been so distracted by Orien's gift that the exact words were escaping him.
"Uh... Orien said he saw her training with her knife... I think." Julius answered as he scratched his head and tried to give more details to sound more convincing, "He also said something about the forest, so they might've met there? Maybe by the river?"
To Julius, the forest was the best place to practice. This preference, plus his vague memory of his conversation with Orien, created a story that strayed ever so slightly from the truth. It was like rumours changing and become greatly exaggerated with its eventual spread.
"The river..." Aunt Frey nodded, "Indeed. The girl loves to visit that place quite often."
She then turned around with a wave, "Thank you for the tip, boy. See you around, Dentre."
Seeing Aunt Frey leave, Julius met his father's eyes, "What was that about, Dad?"
Dentre shook his head when he heard the question, "I don't know. Let's just pray that your cousin is safe."
.
.
.
Night swiftly arrived as Julius admired his sword. He felt giddy every time he slid the blade in and out of its sheath.
'I wonder where Orien is right now? Could he be fighting wild beasts already?' thought Julius as he thought back to the few-hours friend he had and the promise he made in the heat of the moment. 'I will definitely become a great knight. I won't disappoint you, brother!'
It was then that Dentre suddenly barged into his room, "Julius, get your sword and pack up your things. We need to go to the village fort right now!"
Julius heard the shiver in his father's voice. He turned around and saw the sweat that soaked his beard as well as the quiver in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Dad? What happened?" asked Julius as he strapped the sheath of his sword to his waist.
"Just get your things. I'll explain later. I'm going to get your mother so wait at the door.'
Julius watched as his mom and dad rushed to pack a few of their essentials—from a few pouches of coins, a spare change of clothes, and a few trinkets that were important to them.
He followed them as they rushed out of the house and saw many of the villagers running in the same direction as them.
They went through the dark streets, careful not to trip as they half-jogged to the centre of the village where a stone fort stood strong and intimidating. His parents were panting and so was he when they arrived at the fort. Julius looked around and saw many of his friends there as well.
"Dad, what happened?" Julius saw that his father had relatively calmed down and felt it right to ask again.
"Remember when your Aunt Frey visited us earlier in the day?" Dentre asked his son, wiping the sweat off his brows.
"Yeah. Why?"
"When she sent out a few hunters to search for your cousin, they discovered what seemed to be an Exiled camp."
Julius was intrigued as he asked, "The Exiled? Those criminals?"
"Yes, Julius. Those criminals. They're dangerous and we don't know what they might do if they learn that we found their camp." Dentre sighed, "May Libra protect us all."
.
.
.
Several hours away from Varis Village, Athelei scrunched his brows in thought as he secretly glanced at his tri-coloured Cosmic Interface.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
=} Varis Village {=
- Preparing for a siege.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Using a loophole in the targeting system that his Analysis Skills employed, Athelei had executed Inspect on Varis Village as a whole.
This sort of target designation did not cause anyone discomfort as they weren't under Inspect's direct surveillance. At the same time, it allowed Athelei to see whether or not his plan was effective.
'So it has spiralled out of my expectations...' thought Athelei as he wondered just what they had discovered for them to react in such a manner, 'On the bright side, that means Lisa can show herself now. The plan was a success despite the strange turn of events. I did not have to use any of my Plan Bs.'
Returning to his carriage, he carefully took apart the tight packing of crates and sacks. When he removed the box that served as the ceiling of Lisa's little room, a pair of hopeful brown eyes gleamed in the darkness.
"Is it safe?" was Lisa first words after several hours of bearing with such bad travelling conditions.
Athelei knitted his eyebrows when he got a whiff of the smell of stomach acid, "...Yeah it's safe. We should be far enough. Come on out."
With wobbly knees, Lisa crawled out of her room and out of the carriage. She used Athelei's helpful head as a crutch to keep her balance.
When she made it out and stood on solid ground, she bent down to kiss the earth, "Thank the Gods I'm out... I never want to do that again..."
Athelei's brows were raised when he heard her exclamation but he threw it to the back of his mind. He gave Lisa a few pats on the back as he said, "There's a stream nearby that you can use to refresh. Wanna go there?"
Lisa nodded and stood up to follow Athelei to the nearby body of water.
As coincidence had it, Thallium Yan was heading back to the camp after washing herself up in the dark waters. Athelei froze momentarily when he saw this before acting like there was no Lisa following behind him.
"Hi, Sister Yan." Athelei greeted.
"Hello, Orien." Thallium Yan smiled playfully as she continued, "Where did she come from?"
"Ah..." Athelei chuckled innocently, "Her name is Lisa."
"Lisa, this is Sister Yan." Athelei introduced the two using the manners he was taught, "Sister Yan is a captain of the Harmonic Knights. She's a beautiful sister and she's also very kind."
He also made sure to butter up to the knight captain while he could. After all, that's what the nobles did, so Athelei assumed that the compliments were useful. 'If only I could draw the pattern for Sway... but Sister Yan probably knows about that ability... Am I in for a scolding?'
"Hm? Hello, Lisa." Thallium Yan stepped forward as she locked eyes with Lisa.
"H-hi, S-sister Yan..." Lisa nervously said as she avoided the knight captain's unwavering gaze.
This went on for a few seconds as Thallium Yan acted like a strict mother about to scold her daughter.
Athelei was watching this as he inwardly laughed at the entire thing. A small, yet visibly smug smile surfaced on his lips.
"Hehe," Athelei giggled... and immediately regretted it.
Thallium Yan's eyes instantly snapped to him as her hands reached out to Athelei with shocking speed.
Athelei tried to dodge with all he had, but his agility attributes were clearly lacking in comparison with the fully grown human.
Slender fingers found themselves squishing Athelei's soft cheeks and kneading it like dough, "You cheeky little boy," Thallium Yan laughed, "We're going to have a talk after dinner. Not even a single word to defend your friend while you stand at the side and laugh, eh?"
"Ow, ow ow ow, Sister Yan, pwease! I did not mwean it. It was an accident!" Athelei tried to wrestle out of Yan's arms despite his despairing chances. There was no way for him to win in the contest of agility, much less, strength. What made the squishing worse was the fact that he couldn't hold back his mischievous giggles. Every laugh of his earned a few more pinches.
It took a good minute before Thallium Yan let Athelei go with red cheeks, "Don't forget, Orien. My tent after dinner. Bring Lisa with you."
"Urgh..." Athelei rubbed his swollen cheeks as he watched Yan make her way back to camp. He then glanced at his side and belatedly noticed that Lisa was making the exact same expression he had made just a minute ago.
That same smug look was mildly infuriating yet quite funny now that he thought about it, 'Is this what Mom called "karma"?'
"Come on, we've got to get back to the camp before everyone eats all the food."
.
.
.
Lisa did not have the leeway for an actual bath so the young pair were already on their way back after a few splashes of water. There, Athelei introduced her to the survivors, the Harmonic Knights, and the merchants. When they arrived before the merchants, Athelei had to discuss the transaction with them.
The two kids had to work with them after they passed through Aren. The reason they could enjoy a free ride right now was thanks to the Harmonic Knights.
Athelei was happy to do as requested while Lisa let Athelei call these shots. She was the one who asked for help in the first place, so there was little she could complain about.
The merchant with who Athelei had the pleasure to discuss business, sent the two kids off while thinking, 'Kids grow fast nowadays, don't they?' before chuckling to himself. The caravan would have a bit more life with the two of them around.
Once dinner was finished and the introductions completed, Athelei and Lisa found themselves at the entrance of Captain Yan's tent.
"Come in, you two." A stern yet sisterly voice called out to them.