The next day, the girls woke up early to continue their journey. Their guide bought them something to eat, and both girls ate their food in silence. As they opened the door, they met a man talking to their guide. The man stared at the girls for a while, frowning as his heavy gaze fell upon them.
"What's going on?" Thia asked their guide.
"Nothing, my lady. Just return to your room. I'll get back to you soon."
"Why?" Thia asked. "Aren't we leaving?"
"No one is leaving," the other man replied. "No one is going anywhere until we find the killer."
"Which killer?" Thia asked.
"Someone murdered our friend, and until we find that person, no one leaves."
"That has nothing to do with us," Thena shot back at the man. "We are leaving."
"No one leaves," the man repeated, ready to use force if necessary. Thena wanted to act, but Thia stopped her.
"Fine, we will stay, but only till noon. If you are not done finding your culprit by then, we'll leave," she said.
The man scoffed and replied, "You stay until you are proven not guilty. Try leaving before then, and I'll cut off your legs myself." The man turned immediately and left. Thia sighed as soon as he was gone. She turned to their guide.
"What do you know about this dead person?"
"Nothing much. Just that he was part of those drinking across the street yesterday."
"Find out more. We have to leave this place as soon as possible," Thia said.
"Yes, my lady," he replied and left. Once he was gone, the girls returned to their room and locked the door behind them.
"You know, you're beginning to get a hang of this princess thing," Thena said.
"I'm almost tempted to kneel at your feet."
"Almost?" Thia asked.
"Yes, almost, and that's all you'll get." Both girls sat down on their beds.
"Are we really going to wait?" Thena asked. "Yes, I don't see why not?"
"Well, we have a mission," Thena said in an obvious tone.
"It will have to wait."
"Can't you use your death curse to, you know, speed things along? Maybe you can find the killer."
"I don't think my curse can do something like that," Thia said. "What exactly does it do? Summon that monster you summoned that day?"
"I don't know. Why are you so curious about my curse?"
"Hey, can't a girl be curious? Besides, we'll be here for a while. I might as well satisfy my curiosity."
"Well, if you must know, I will tell you what my curse does if you tell me why you came to HappyLand voluntarily."
Thena thought about the deal for a while before speaking. "I'll pass, thank you."
"So, you are hiding something." "I've always wondered how you could do some of the things you do—the way you fight, move. It's more than just a few months of HappyLand training. I used to train with my uncle before HappyLand. It's one of the reasons I have the strength I possess."
"I think it's the same for you, with the exception of the whole curse," Thia said. "Hmm. You've figured it out," Thena replied. "No, I know there is more—something more. Something more dangerous. I can sense it. It's an eerie feeling I get when I'm around someone who has killed a lot of people. I'm familiar with that feeling because the same applies to me too." Thia explained. "You have killed a lot of people, Thena. Maybe more than me. And that man who they claimed died this morning is one of them, isn't he?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Thena replied.
"Okay," Thia said. "I know you cover your tracks well, so I won't worry much. But if those guys somehow find you out, I'll charge you for an escape, and you'll have to tell me everything about you."
Thena replied once again, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Thia stopped probing, and the room grew silent. --- Shortly after their conversation, their guide came back with news.
"We can leave, my lady. It seems they found the culprit."
"Oh, really? Who was it?" Thia asked.
"It was the receptionist. He drugged the man's drink, and when he slept, he snuck in and killed him before taking his jewels and coins."
"Oh. Let's leave then," Thia said, and Thena followed from behind. The girls made their way back to their wagon. They saw Karkal's men ravaging the inn, demanding compensation. They had already beaten the receptionist to a pulp, and he was hanging by a thread. They ignored all the unnecessary show and drama and walked quietly to their wagon before moving on. Once they had left the inn and the entire village in the distance, Thia spoke again.
"It seems you were right," Thia said. "You knew nothing about it." Their journey continued uneventfully and quiet. Both barely said a word to each other. When night fell, they either camped outside or entered a nearby village to seek shelter. Their journey to the Temple of Fate would take another day. They continued their journey until they finally reached Lyokis. Their mission wasn't to the city itself, so they had no reason to venture into it. They ignored the city and headed deep into the Whispering Mountains, ditching their wagon when it could no longer make the trip. After a few hours, the valley finally came into view—the valley where the temple was supposed to be located. When they arrived, Thia got confused.
"Isn't the temple supposed to be here?" Thia asked.
Thena looked at her. "It is. Can't you see it?"
"See what?" Thia asked.
"Are you playing some kind of prank?" Thena said in annoyance.
"No," Thia replied. "Are you?" Thena turned to their guide, who scratched his head.
"I can see it too, my lady."
"Well, why can't I?" Thia asked in confusion.
"Probably because you're blind." As they were arguing, a woman walked out of the valley followed by five masked guards armed with bows and arrows. Thia was shocked and nearly jumped on Thena.
"How did she appear suddenly?" she thought. Thena grew angry, and the two began to bicker and argue. Their guide ignored them and approached the priestess and her guards.
"Good day, Your Holiness," the guide greeted.
"Good day to you too, young spirit. I can sense you have been traveling for a long while. A shame I won't be able to accommodate you due to some... reasons."
"Oh, I don't really mind, Your Holiness. We are looking for someone," the guide said.
"Of course you are. A lot of people have come here to look for the same someone in the past few days. Some were foolish, trying to force us to speak. They all met a fool's end. But only a few were as wise as you, young spirit. All they needed was to ask respectfully."
"So, will you tell us where that someone is?" the guide asked. "Not until I have spoken to them," the priestess replied.
"Are they always like that?" the priestess asked. "Unfortunately, yes, Your Holiness." The guide turned to them and separated them as much as he could.
"The priestess has something to say to you two," the guide said. Thena and Thia finally calmed down and listened to the priestess.