The orb witch found another sorcerer, waving at her nervously. If Merlin's party consisted of a group of monks with a gallant stature and spirituality almost as close as pantheons, this person would stand out from his kind. He was distinct enough from the intimidating Ganika and Ko Zarni.
Tenshin Tsemo still waved his right hand. Alicia might not see it clearly, but Tenshin's blushed face was sweating and his mouth could not stop trembling. His body 𝘢𝘯𝘥 soul witnessed the wielder of the Divine Grace, only a few metres away. The wielder of the gift was sure the fairest, limning the ever-perfect fruit of Divine's work.
He was probably the most socially inept monk Alicia had ever met. Dressed more or less the same as his colleagues, but made worse by the presence of a dull cotton robe unsuited to his underwear colour. Just imagine going out into the battlefield wearing a bathrobe because his latrine was being bombarded by the enemy. Was he seeking a sauna in the middle of a war? That was how frivolous Tenshin was, worse than Alicia's own father. Even though dressing as fashionable as possible was a dogma to receive a fine first impression of the opposite sex. Just guess what Alicia's first impression was.
Thankfully, his baby face sheltered in the eyeglass frame was quite charming. Messy grey hair suited him well, giving the impression of a sleep-deprived genius alchemist.
Expressions full of admiration came from the young sorcerer. "F-finally! I have the chance to see you in person, not just with my inner sight anymore! Y-you are indeed attractive… I-I mean unique. You are unique!" Tenshin cleared his throat. "You do something that no Arcane magic wielders can do… You can address the source of power itself. That is… unique, indeed!"
"Another Merlin follower?" Alicia mounted a stance against him. "Where are you taking me? Let me out of here!"
Tenshin stammered even more after hearing the girl's negative sound. "P-please c-c-c-calm down, Miss! I d-don't want to c-complicate matters—"
"You've already done it 𝘯𝘰𝘰!"
Alicia's exclamation made Tenshin jump; pool little novice. He let out a small scream due to his carelessness. "R-r-r-really, I don't want to cause any trouble. Especially after seeing you cry recently. Please, let us converse about this peacefully."
"W-what? How—"
"The people around you may not be aware, but your eyelids are slightly swollen. A slight red in your eyes and the area around your nose is mildly runny. Your voice still has traces of shock. And judging by the way you behave, your emotions are still not stable as a whole."
Tenshin comprehended Alicia's current condition. One could not tell know if this was his hidden talent—seeing someone's self and empathizing with one—or if Tenshin had been stalking her crying from the start through his astral projection. Either way, this scared her.
"𝘕𝘢𝘸, 𝘯𝘢𝘸, 𝘯𝘢𝘸… ye freak, 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘦 come any closer!"
"I-I'm not a freak, M-Miss! The body is always gi-giving signs of a person's condition. If denying is your coping mechanism, I will not judge you. B-but… W-would it be better i-if we knew each other f-first? My name is T-Tensh–"
Without hesitation, an Arcane shot was fired onto the tiles right before the approaching lad.
"I 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯𝘢𝘦 care less what your name is! Let me out, and 𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘦! For Orb and I have no mercy left for you later!"
Emotional damage to Tenshin. The scolding shattered his efforts to lure the girl of his dreams.
However, the ambition of the Master and all the people of Danhar was more critical than his lust. He had all the days in the world to find love if the universe was not left destroyed.
So Tenshin said to Alicia, "F-fine, fine, I am sorry. I d-did not mean to act weird in front of you. A-Alicia, is it not? I pulled you into the mirror dimension. That is why Arcane could not reach your friends, because basically, we are in a d-different world…."
Mirror dimension. Such a sentence alone gave a spark of curiosity in the girl's eyes. Hidden in her mind were questions to know more about the interdimensional magic. But the last time she lulled into a magical experience, the Eternal Empire captured her, and now she became a fugitive from the entire world of thaumaturgy. Alicia was a Crimosmane mare, not a 𝘫𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘵. And horses should gracefully jump through a hole, not fall into it, much less twice.
"G-good trivia. But I 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘢𝘦 hear anything about getting me out of here!" Alicia replied.
"You 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 be out, Alicia! Only if you're willing to hold hands—I mean come with me—no, come with 𝘶𝘴!" Tenshin slapped himself while shaking his head at the mismatch of words. His mind was still contaminated with a fondness for the girl.
Alicia still understood neither Tenshin's way of thinking, nor all sorcerers' in common. "Do you think it makes sense for a girl to voluntarily accept an invitation from a foreign group of sorcerers, who barges into someone else's house and causes a 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘩?"
"T-that is why I am here, A-Alicia. That is why I brought you here, I want to resolve it diplomatically. Please forgive Master Merlin, his nature is unpredictable. But he is a good person!"
"Maybe he's a good person to you, but to us, he's nothing but an 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 swindler!"
"S-swindler… WHAT? Miss, no! You do not know Master Merlin! Master Merlin is not a swindler. He has protected Danhar for centuries and now, he is about to spread his wings to protect the world once again!"
"Protecting the world? Protector of Danhar for centuries?" Alicia was getting irritated. "Listen to yourself. I expected more intelligence 𝘧𝘢𝘦 𝘺𝘦 as a sorcerer!"
"We have ancient scriptures and complete documentation that supports the existence of Master Merlin for centuries."
"Merlin granted his Eternal Peace a thousand years ago, he was killed by his own disciple during the fall of the Pendragon dynasty!"
"O-okay! Then w-where is the body now?"
The bespectacled girl was stunned for a moment. She seemed at a loss for words to reply to the clumsy professor's argument. There was no complete account of Merlin's ending, Alicia remembered that well. The entire story also felt like a made-up, akin to the tale of a fictional character than a historical figure. So she opened her mouth, "His body was not found… but that doesnae justify Merlin's eternal life and disappearance from civilisation until now!"
Tenshin threw out his left forefinger while exclaiming somewhat shrilly, "HA! I mean…. N-no! I did not mean to m-make you feel more miserable. I am j-just saying, your people do not know about his body now. It could be that he was lost, or he never died in the first place. We have all the explanations for that, if you please come with us. I-I will teach you all that knowledge, it is sure to be an interesting date—no! Not that! N-not me! I mean, there are other masters who will teach that… not me, haha. I'm just… an ordinary student, please, just, just… ugh! Y-you know what I mean!"
Tenshin sure loved to mutter inconsistently, a lot. Alicia kept thinking to herself, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘥? 𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? The girl knew she was angry, but the usual response she got when she was angry was to get bullied more by other people, even by her best friends.
"𝘈𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,, you see, Sorcerer—"
"My name is Tensh—"
"𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘴𝘵! I told you I don't care about yer name!"
Tsemo flinched with such a foolish expression.
"You're right. I just wept. I'm exhausted. I can't think straight now. All the more reasons I don't intend to join you. C-care to know another? Let me explain slowly so you understand!" Alicia took a breath and let it out through her mouth. "'That person you think as Merlin, even if he is hundreds of years old, no one will ever believe him. I mean, he uses Protos particles! Ever since Orb chose me, I've been hunted down and nearly killed by its users, until this 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺! 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵! So forgive me if I 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘦 care if he claims to be Merlin, or a bloody Divine! He could have used black magic to keep himself young!"
"I understand, Miss Alicia," Tenshin replied briefly.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?"
"I understand your concern. Arcane and Khaos, cannot unite, yet there are still greedy people who want the two powers together. So it is all about that, right? Arcane is good power, whereas Khaos is the opposite. A mage with the power of Khaos is a sinful one who deserves all the hatred in the world. His blood is lawful to shed! But we never believe a power is an affiliation of a certain party."
"What do you mean?"
"Arcane and Khaos, both are just powers. There is no good or bad, Miss Alicia. It is just a way of our perception of seeing and understanding the reality of everything, including these two. They are just… energies that rub against each other and repel each other. Nothing more than that."
"You're 𝘯𝘢𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 jester when you say that, Sorcerer!"
"Because I am not a jester! Do you not know how many kind magicians use 'dark magic' for noble purposes? Or how many Roman sorcerers abused their Arcane might? Merlin is not evil, Miss Alicia. He never wants your Arcane might. He only wants the best for you, for Danhar, for the safety of the universe. You have been chosen, Miss! The Universe appointed you to be its protector! The Danhars have been waiting for it, and soon the whole world! So please, accept Master Merlin's offer. This is your chance to unlock your greatest potential as a wielder of Arcane energy, and become the realm's saviour !"
If he thought about anything other than the desire for the woman, then one could see his charisma and confidence. Tenshin Tsemo momentarily forgot about his first-sight experience when he remembered how serious the prophecy he believed in was; the hopes and prayers of his ancestors had a massive impact on the world. Alicia could feel the pure intentions of the words he was speaking. The girl was about to think about accepting the boy's invitation. Alicia loosened her stance.
"If your intentions are sincere, you should not have caused an uproar," Alicia responded. "And I'm sorry, but Grand Magus Haddock has a point. You separatists are at war with Chixian Shenzhou. Everyone in the world already knows of my existence. If I go with you, more threats will come upon you all...."
"Do not worry about the threats in Danhar land, Miss Alicia! We can take care of it!"
"I'm not done yet," said Alicia again. "What about my house, Camelot? Can your group handle it if Chixian Shenzhou distributes its troops to launch an aggression against my hometown?"
Tenshin's sense of inferiority flared up again. This time for being unable to retort to Alicia's question, thinking he looked like a fool before the lady of his dreams. In the end, it was just a form of egocentrism of every human being. Who was more worth hearing, who was most in need, all pointing to themselves.
Alicia said again, "So I beg of you, Sorcerer. Let me out of here, ask your group to retreat. I can find my own way of learning Arcane magic with Orb. Once again, p-please?"
The tone of the pleading voice pierced Tenshin's heart. The girl sure looked tired, but this male adolescent became more infatuated by her soft pleading voice alone!
Orb had a tone of approval. In the song, it also asked the young sorcerer to leave them alone, at least for a while. Alicia glanced at Orb for a moment, after which the words, "at least for a while" were translated into the girl's ears. Alas, the young sorcerer understood nothing about the sounds of a magic ball.
Only a while when he was in love, Tenshin thought once again of Master Merlin and all the people of Danhar. He shook his head, throwing off the diversion in the form of a calflove. "No. No! Master Merlin entrusted me! Danhar and the world depend on me! I shall not go home with an empty hand!"
A series of hand gestures were made! Two tangerine circles formed on his left hand and right palm, which were covered in metallic gauntlet!
"Eh… Sorcerer?" An uneasy feeling started to creep up on Alicia. "W-what are you doing?"
"I have reasoned with you, Miss! If that does not work, I cannot help but take you by force! Forgive me!"
Tenshin treaded step by step nervously. Nervous about having to give a speck of violence to the young lady he adored. Nervous, for the presence of the Divine Grace wielder herself was that significant, the world was at stake.
"Sorcerer! Do not even try!" []