In response to John's introduction of her, Evangeline weakly waved her hand towards Dignitas.
"H–hello…"
"Hi." Dignitas replied bluntly. "Welcome to the team, Eva. Hope you don't mind me calling you that, Evangeline is just a really long name. Do you maybe… have anything you want to tell us about yourself? Are you good in battle?"
"I can use Astral Arts… and Conjuration magic."
Astral Arts was more of a fancy term used to refer to the way Lunalites drew their power. Unlike humans, who relied on using whatever mana they could obtain in the air, Moon Elves derived most of their magics from the stars and other celestial bodies including their home.
And it was often said that a Lunalite's strength was determined at birth. Depending on the Astral Sign they were under on when they were born, their magical prowess could be either extremely strong, or pitifully weak.
On the other hand, Conjuration magic was an Arts-based power that closely aligned itself with the Light and Soul affinity. It mostly consisted of calling upon forces that resided in the various Afterlife realms, like the Spirit Realm the Jin Clan often talked about.
It could be used to conjure Spirit Armaments, as well. Which, according to their Astral Signs, were granted at birth.
"Interesting… I guess some races really do have different ways of using mana."
Mana, Devil Ashra, Divinity, Astral Arts. They all were of the same ilk, with almost every one of these variations being able to perform the same tasks and have the same uses as their closely related cousins.
"What's your Astral Sign, Eva?" John asked the elf, already knowing of her race and their qualities.
"It's… Yethshoth."
All of the Astral Signs had their own Astral Entities that closely represented their ideals and beliefs. Yethshoth was often depicted as a three-horned bull covered in feathers. It made for a weird image when thought of, but was considered holy in the Lunalites' eyes.
Yethshoth's behavior could be described in these three qualities: rashness, recklessness, and lack of care for oneself.
"But now that I think about it, she has yet to show a single one of those qualities expected of a Yethshoth-born…"
As for the Spirit Armament assigned to those of Yethshoth, it was almost always the trident for those of royal blood and the two-pronged spear for commoners.
But then again, enigmas were common everywhere. And Dignitas just somehow couldn't stop running into them. Perhaps Evangeline herself was one?
Not that it mattered whether she was or not; being herself was extraordinary enough.
"Should we go now? I'm sorry to cut this whole interaction short, but I'm afraid we're running on a tight schedule. We'll have plenty of time to talk and get to know each other as we hit the road."
"Dignitas is right. Can you walk, Eva?"
"Y–yeah… I'll be fine."
"Alright, let's go. But before we do, I have one thing to say. I suggest you maintain that same shrinking stature you're doing, at least while we're in the open."
"Indeed," John agreed. "I don't like forcing people, but it will make the people living here wary of us if you don't act like a… object, sorry."
"Nuh-mm." Eva said, shaking her head. "I'll be okay."
***
The first few hours of travel the party did was quite uneventful. Aside from the occasional display of criminality Mislokur's inhabitants did everywhere, there wasn't much to really take in with the place.
The air here was nasty and irritating to the nose, forcing the trio to hasten their pace constantly.
Thankfully, after rescuing Evangeline, John did his best to avoid repeating his earlier actions. It wasn't easy, but Dignitas had thoroughly made sure to convince him that no matter how many he saved, there would always be more he couldn't.
It created a somewhat down atmosphere between them, but John knew what his friend said was the truth. Rather, instead of staying dejected, it only made him want to save more people.
Truly the best example of a person too good for this world. John's pure heart was easily a match for the kindest of people.
"Look ahead, guys. It's an inn." Dignitas pointed to the building in front of them.
After blindly walking through Mislokur for hours without knowing whether they made any progress, finding a place to rest was akin to finding an oasis in a desert. That was just how tired they were.
"I'm pretty beat, too. Do we have any money, though?" John asked.
"Yeah. Picked quite a bit up from some of the guys we knocked out."
And while John did try his best to restrain himself from saving more people, that didn't mean he was entirely successful. But luckily, none of the situations they encountered required as much interest as Eva's case.
It wasn't that they couldn't find another Moon Elf, it was just that they couldn't find another person. Almost as if all the slaves who were planned on being auctioned were already brought to the Sister Of Fate.
Figuring today was a good place as any to spend the night, Dignitas led John and Evangeline inside the inn, where they made their way into their rooms after dropping a few coins at the counter.
The only rooms available at the moment were one single room and a double, so Dignitas opted for the single room, figuring the silence would be peaceful. And seeing as Eva was having a hard time physically distancing herself from her savior, he found no reason not to let them stay together.
It would probably hurt Curie if she ever caught word of this happening, but it wasn't like the two were actually going to do anything. John wasn't the type of guy who loved playing around women.
Seven hours later, and the next day soon came upon Mislokur. It was quite hard to make sense of the time, but thanks to the Sun Affinity lamps the inn had generously gifted them, Dignitas' Circadian Rhythm wasn't too messed up.
Once he got up, Dignitas walked to the edge his cramped room and opened the doors to the balcony. As the first few gusts of wind started to blow inside, the swordsman allowed himself to bask in the chilly morning air for a short moment.
After that, he made his way for John and Evangeline's room, where he found the two already dressed and ready to set out.
"You guys ready to leave? I managed to receive a map from the inn staff just before I went to my room, so now I know where we should be heading."
Upon receiving a "I'm ready whenever you are!" from John and a subtle nod from Eva, he led the two downstairs, where they then continued on their way.
"According to the map, the Sister Of Fate should be about half a day's travel from where we are right now. If we take a few breaks, we should be there by midnight. I'd love to just blaze through the entire city right now, but we'd get tired pretty easily."
And if that wasn't enough of a deterrent from the first option, they also had Eva with them, who wasn't exactly fit physically. Eating only rations and the small bit of food the slaver gave her was tough on the body.
From there, the trio started journeying to their original destination, making sure to consult the map frequently so as to prevent losing their way.
It wasn't only until halfway through their hike to the SoF did Fate decide to throw in a event so as to entertain itself.
Currently, the trio was walking through a narrow road that could barely fit five people if they stood side by side. It was then that the atmosphere in the area suddenly began turning more dense with mana.
As if it wasn't already, the intoxicating scent that lingered in the area becams overpowering, and a heavy pressure suddenly began to push down on the trio.
"Imagine how excited I was when the generals told me the culprits behind my brother's murder willingly exited their safe haven."
"It's my chance, yes. Two of the humans who had a hand in my brother Varnier's death, within my reach! Imagine how eager I was to come here ahead of time."
"But I waited, and I waited. And the day finally came. The day that I could finally take revenge for your crimes against us, the Earth Demons."
"I will make you proud, Varnier. I will show you that your death that day was no caused by these two, but rather the gods playing a trick on us! And I will do so through honorable combat!"