Chapter 28 - CHAPTER 27

"You're both ba…what is that?"

Ren and Eli look at each other before looking down at the blue-eyed robot staring at them and back to the woman looking at both of them with her hands on her waist.

Eleanor sighed and told Historia everything that happened. The woman listened to her but her eyes seemed to be glued on the robot just sitting there like an innocent dog that didn't just kill men earlier.

"I see. Seems like trouble keeps on searching for you no matter where you go little lady", she said after hearing the entire story. She looked at the innocent-looking dog and said. "So this 'thing' really is considered a Holy Object?", she asked.

Eleanor nodded. "You see, when I command it….Go sleep!", the robot looked at Eli and in a split second, it transformed back into the familiar silver ball that Eleanor got from the shop she and Ren visited.

"And well, he'll go back into being a….well, dog, when you press it somewhere here", the girl then took the ball and tried to find the button she needs to press. She pressed it and put the ball back on the ground as it transformed back into a dog again in a snap.

"And it killed those ERA members who tried to kill you. Hmmm", Historia looked at Raul and the two of them nodded at each other. "This is not just a coincidence anymore. You said so yourself, they told you that they need to eliminate you because their leader seems to believe that you are a stumbling block in their plans and goals", the guild leader and her assistant looked at her worriedly.

"Eleanor, I think you should go back to Orien for now", Eleanor and Ren sighed as Historia and Raul came close to the both of them, holding their shoulders.

"We also received a letter from Meridia, she needs you both back now since the school is going to reopen again, she'll need help in creating potions again not only for the student's activities but also because new clients started making requests again", the two looked at Historia, who took out a paper from the drawer on her desk and hand it to them.

They read the letter and smiled upon seeing how close the two seems according to how the letter was written with words that are not…formal.

"Well, what about him? I mean this umm….Ri…right! Riku! What about Riku?", she asked while pointing at the robot with her whole hand to not seem to be rude.

Historia put her hand on her chin and looked at the dog seriously. She then sighed after a few minutes and looked at the dog. "I'll send it to you after inspecting it first", she said as Eli nodded.

"Then, we should start packing now"


















"We'll come visit you guys soon again", Historia smiled at Eli and Ren. Today is the day the two will be going back to Orien. They bid goodbye to the guild members earlier before they were led by Historia and Raul towards the passageway where their horse are waiting for them at the end of the tunnel.

"Be careful on your way there and say hello to Meridia for us"
"We will aunt"

The guild leader smiled at Eli who smiled back at her. She then faced Ren and looked at him in the eye.

"Take care of this little one, Ren. You know how important and precious she is to each one of us, so please take care of her", she said making Eli pout and

"Aunt, quit teasing me!"

But Ren replied to her with the same seriousness as the guild leader's, looking at her earnestly he said, "She's important to me as well. I will really take care of her not only for your sake but for mine as well, since she's a very important friend", Historia nodded.

The 2 climbed on their horses carrying their stuffs.

"We'll be going now"
"Yes, take care"

The 2 nodded and soon, they're off to Orien. The 2 adults watched their backs with smiles, hoping that they'll come visit them again soon.


























"We're finally here!"
"Eli! Wait a minute!"

Ren tried to catch up to her while Eleanor just laughed out at excitement while walking very fast towards the new building of the Alchimia Academia right after getting down from her horse, tying its reins properly in the new barn, and taking her luggage out.

They entered the new building, walked in the hall, and soon they finally came face to face with the door of the lab that the 2 of them were trying to find based on the instructions given to them by the guard earlier.

Eli and Ren, who finally was able to catch up with her, nodded at each other and opened the door together.

But it seems like instead of Meridia being surprised by them, it was the 2 of them who seemed to have been caught off guard when they saw Duke Lucian and young master Lucius in the lab, sitting in front of their master alchemist.

Eleanor immediately held her hair pin after remembering that the young duke found that hair clip/pin and gave it back to her when she was still wearing her mask, that means, if he see her wearing the same hair clip now that she's not wearing her mask, he might figure out that she's the 'privileged person' Anette examined.

Ren noticed it as she hid her hair clip on her pocket.
At that exact moment, Meridia finally saw them standing in front of the door and her face brightened. "You guys are back!", she smiled enthusiastically causing the 2 gentlemen to look at their direction as well.

Eli and Ren bowed at them as they got a nod in return. Meridia came close to them and soon enveloped the two of them in a big hug. "It's a great thing that you rascals are back now", she said, making their hearts melts more after hearing how she genuinely missed them.

"We missed you too, master", Eli chuckled as the 3 of them looked at each other and soon laughed again. Ren faced the 2 nobles looking at them. "So, what's going on? Why are the Duke and the young duke here?", he asked the alchemist.

"Oh, they ordered more tracking potions and well were in the middle of discussing our deal. You both can go to your room and house to put your luggage down first and then rest, you guys can start your work tomorrow. Rest first", the two nodded and faced the 2 gentlemen.

They bowed before exiting the lab. Ren came back to the house where he lives before, which is fortunately still standing and just attained a few damages due to the flaming monsters' attack and is now fixed, while Eli arranged her stuffs at her new room next to the lab and in front of Meridia's room.

The buildings of the academy were all rebuilt, and with the help of magic spells and potions, every single damage was repaired in just a short period of time. She opened the window and gazed at the new school built. The students are still on a break and will come back to academy when it reopens next month after rechecking everything and making sure that the buildings are all safe for the students.

She sighed and laid down her bed, staring at the ceiling with a tired look on her face. She and Ren travelled for days, stopping every once in a while to either eat snacks and at evening, taking naps with either one of them staying awake to guard the other or their stuffs.

She just realized now how it actually drained her so much after feeling the soft mattress that is now slowly lulling her body to sleep. She took out her hair clip from her pocket and put it under her pillow securing it to make sure she won't squish nor accidentally destroy it while sleeping, then she finally let sleep take over her tired body.












"So, you'll stay at the nearby hotel until every single potion was made?", Lucius nodded. "We know that you won't take THAT long in creating it", the duke firmly said. And base on the face of the two, they're determined about this. "What about your workload, Duke, you're managing your own territory and you and the young master are both absent and are waiting for the potions"

"We already took care of the important matters so we have time. Just please focus on making the potions needed as soon as possible", Meridia can't help but sigh in defeat and nod. "Okay, leave it to me"














"What about this?"
"Hmm…well yeah that is included in the list"

Lucius turn to his right after hearing familiar voices near him. Not far from where he is are Ren and Eli. Both of them are holding 1 basket each filled with different kinds of leaves that he supposed are herbs and ingredients for a potion.

He went out for a walk in the market of the main city of Orien, Poculum. His father, Duke Lucian is staying on the hotel where they'll be staying for the meantime while waiting for Meridia to finish the potions they ordered.

It's been 3 days since they requested more tracking potions from the alchemist and according to her update, 30% of the needed potions are finally done so up until now, they're still currently waiting.

"You both are out in an errand?"
"Oh my ga! Oh, young master! It's you!"

The knights beside Lucius can't help but snicker a bit when they saw Eli's cute face after being surprised while Lucius smiled a bit. "Sorry for startling you, Eleanor", but the girl just shook her head and looked at the place where Ren headed off.

Lucius also looked at the window of the store and saw the guy choosing some leaves from the ones on display. "So, are you guys heading back to the lab after this?", Lucius asked while looking at the basket now full of pack of different kinds of leaves.

"Oh, yes sir. Ren is now picking out the last one we need to get", Eleanor answered still looking at the window of the store. She then faced the young duke and asked.

"Why are you here young master?", Lucius looked at her face looking at him questioningly. "Oh, I'm just well…trying to get some fresh air and well explore the market since I don't have anything to do back at the hotel anyways, but well I can't really do that since we don't have anyone with us who knows their way here", he answered.

Eli looked at the 2 knights nodding at what their master said. After thinking for a bit, Eli smiled and looked at the herbs in the basket she's been carrying.

"Well, I have an idea", the 3 men look at her wondering what she thought of. "My only work for today is to get some herbs that master needed to create potions since I'm not an alchemist, I can't help her create potions. So, I thought after delivering these to the lab, how about I tour you guys here? I know my way around even before and know where the shops for certain things are, but now that the town was reconstructed due to the incident of the flaming monsters before, I need to re-explore it to know where I can buy things again. So I can do two things by touring you; Re-explore the market and tour you guys at the same time"

She then looked at Ren who's on his way towards them, he smiled and greeted the young noble by bowing his head before looking back at Eli. "I got the last one", Ren said while putting the plastic of herbs on his basket.

"Oh, right on time. After delivering this, are you free? If you want, you can go with us and have a tour around the market", Eleanor offered but Ren shook his head. "Oh, I'm sorry. After finishing my errands for today I have to go back home. There's an emergency that I need to take care of", he answered apologetically.

Eli nodded understandingly. "It's okay, maybe next time", she then faced Lucius again. "I'll just deliver this back at the lab, young master, then I'll be back", but Ren suddenly grabbed the basket that she's been holding with his other unoccupied hand. "You go on and start your tour, I'll bring this back to the lab myself", he said with a smile.

He then leaned and whispered on Eli's right ear, "Where is your hair clip?", when he noticed that she's not wearing it. "I left it at my room earlier; it's in my table I think. Can you please secure it and put it inside my drawer?"

The young man nodded and looked at the young duke who's been patiently waiting for them to finish talking with each other. "I'll be off then, young master. Please take care of Eli", and with a bow, Ren left.

"Then shall we go?"
"Mhm!"





















"Oh! You're back from your long vacation Eleanor!"
"Yeah I am. And wow! Your store looks better than ever!"

Lucius watched as Eli interacted with the old man who's the owner of the store where they're currently in. During their exploration they went to different kinds of stores. Bakery, blacksmith, ones that sells paintings, and even toy stores.

They went from one place to another, and now they're currently in the store where Eli and Ren usually pick out some herbs that Meridia uses in her potions. The 2 assistants only come to the forest if the herbs they've been finding cannot be found on the stores in the market.

He looked around and found not only leaves but also some flowers either stored in pouches or jars. He went and took a closer look with a look of amazement. These plants are being used in creating amazing potions that helps people in making their jobs easier. "You interested in getting some herbs?", he look back and saw Eli who's now behind him also looking at the herbs on the shelf in front of him.

"No, just looking", he answered, bringing his attention back to the herbs displayed on the shelf. "These herbs are not only used as ingredients in creating potions, they're also used as medicines. Like…oh! This one! This purple flower here can be used as a medicine for headache. And this one! It can be used to cure indigestion"

As the girl continued to talk while pointing from one variety of plants to another, the young duke can't help but smile at how her eyes sparkle while explaining things that she knows. It's like seeing a cute dog boasting how much bigger the bone it found is compared to the other dogs. It's cute.

The 2 then soon continued their exploration and went to more shops. Clothing shops, shop for shoes, shops for accessories, and many more. But then, Lucius and the 2 knights stopped when Eli stopped in front of an alley. The young duke approached her and asked, "What's wrong?", as he looked at where the girl is looking.

At the end of the alleyway, a purple tent can be seen. "I never saw that tent in there or in the market before. Are they newcomers?", she murmured, her eyes still glued to the unknown tent at the end of the alleyway.

They didn't even notice that they started entering the alley when the 2 knights stopped them. "Young master, it's a bit dark over there, let us go first", Lucius nodded and pulled Eli behind him, who continued to stare at the tent.

They entered the alley and came close to where the tent is. And soon, they came face to face with it. "Weird. I never saw this tent here before"

"That's because I'm not permanently staying here"
"Kyaah!"

The startled 4 people who all became alert looked at the direction where the voice came from.

Behind them stands an old woman wearing a black cloak. Lucius who immediately put Eli behind him stood firm and spoke, "Who are you?!"

The old woman laughed a bit and looked at the tent before looking at them all. She then started walking and passed by them, but before entering the tent, she looked back to the 4 of them.

"Oh, I thought you're here to check out this tent of mine", she said with a smile and went inside. The 4 of them look at each other. "Are we sure it's safe for us to go there?", Lucius asked while looking at the girl who looked at the entrance of the tent again. With a serious face this time.

"Eleanor?"
"I….I have to go inside"

The 3 men all look at her determined face. She looked at them all and sighed. She know, it doesn't look that safe, on the contrary, the tent and even the old lady who just appeared out of nowhere behind them are both suspicious.

"We can just report it first before coming inside to inspect it you know. Or if you really insist in going in there to inspect it right now, we can do it instead. You can stay here instead, since it's safer for you, one of the knights can stay here with you while I go inside and inspect it for a bit"

But Eli just shook her head. "Young duke, I…I have to enter inside", she said looking at Lucius with her determined face yet again. Lucius looked back at her in wonder. What is wrong with this tent? What makes this girl so eager…determined to go in there despite it being suspicious?

Eleanor looked at the entrance of the tent again. She needs to enter, she needs to know what that old lady meant when she said those words while passing by…when she said,

"Oh, what an unusual visitor I have. An extra on the spotlight"