"Are you both okay?"
Archibald was the who who had asked.
"For the most part," Lamperogue replied.
"I'm sorry about your comrades, I couldn't make it in time."
"You shouldn't apologize, it's our fault."
"What about her?" Archibald pointed at Lutessa who was still partly frozen.
"She'll be fine."
Archibald, having witnessed a decapitation at the age of five, had become accustomed to the sight of blood.
Lutessa, however, had not, as evidenced by her frightened expression and involuntary urination.
It was understandable that such a gruesome scene would be distressing to most individuals.
Surprisingly, Lamperogue did not appear to be affected by the slaughter of his comrades.
("This guy must've seen a lot... Just look at his eyes...")
Archibald remained fixated on Lamperogue's lifeless gaze, which eerily matched his pale complexion.
Mistaking Archibald's stare for a cue to introduce himself, Lamperogue spoke in a slightly muted tone, "My name is Lamperogue." Following this, he proceeded to assist the frozen Lutessa to her feet.
("Sometimes I forget this world can be dark... These monsters were brutal no doubt.")
The fellow thought as he stared at the corpses of aspiring adventurers.
Such a grimm fate.
---------
They returned to the guild.
Seated on chairs surrounding a wooden table, Archibald explained how he knew they were in peril.
"I overheard you guys planning to take a job... Normally, I wouldn't involve myself but I noticed the way one of your party members handled his sword. He didn't look so skilled with it."
"That's Gilbert... Or that was Gilbert, our party leader," said Lamperogue.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to criticize him or anything."
"It's not a problem. I had a feeling this would happen."
"I figured... You don't seem too fazed by it."
"That's because I'm not... I warned them against taking jobs like these." He clenched his fist, "But they wouldn't listen... Confidence they said."
After a considerable amount of time, Lutessa was able to recover her mental stability.
Following this, Lamperogue and Archibald engaged in conversation, during which Archibald discovered that Lamperogue had recently become a member of the | Blue Dew Lions |.
It was revealed that Lamperogue had traveled from the Beldris Kingdom to Falmuth where he met them.
"Are you okay?" Archibald asked Lutessa who sat in silence.
The girl tightly held onto her staff, struggling to speak due to the traumatic memories of her party members dying.
Despite this, she managed to respond to Archibald's inquiry with a weak voice, saying:
"I'm fine."
"That's good to hear."
Archibald was pleased to hear her speak.
"Do you need anything to drink?" He asked her.
"N-No, I'm not thirsty." She politely declined.
("She looks like a priestess..")
His guess was almost accurate, but Lutessa was a priestess in training.
"So... Are you you really an Adventurer? You look too young to be one." Lamperogue asked as he placed his shortswords on the table.
"Oh, I am," said Archibald, he took a sip of grape juice, "Well I'm eleven but you don't look much older than I am."
"Well that's because I'm fourt—" his eyes widened, "Wait, you're eleven?"
"Yeah," he chuckled. "I get that a lot."
"Well I'm not surprised... Your sword skills are well refined for someone who's eleven."
"Well I've been training since I was three so if my skills weren't good I think I'd cry." Archibald rubbed behind his head with a light grin on his face.
Lamperogue wasn't given a break from surprises today, "You're joking right?"
"No, not really."
"That's amazing." He wore an ambivalent look.
It was standard practice for individuals of the Swordsman class to start training from when they're 10 years old.
Archibald being born with strong bones enabled him to start training early. He could crawl by three months old and walk much earlier than the average baby.
"Sir Knight... Mister Rogue..." Lutessa called their names.
In unison, both of them said:
"Huh?"
("Umh excuse me, Sir Knight? Mister Rogue? She makes us sound old.")
Archibald decided to reintroduce himself. This was so Lutessa would know what to call him.
"I'm Archibald."
"Thank you, Sir Knight." Teardrops tumbled down her cheeks.
"Umh, it's Ar—"
"I'm forever in your debt, Sir Knight."
"Umh, it's Ar—"
"Thank you so much," after which she stretched her arms across the table and held his hands.
"Sir Knight it is." Archibaldʼs cheeks turned a faint hue of red.
("I gotta say, she's a ten... But she's a priestess, it wouldn't be right to have any unholy thoughts about her.")
He quietly stared at Lutessa.
"Mister Rogue." She turned to face him. Placing her hands together to gesture prayer she bowed her head to show gratitude, "Thank you."
"It's fine. I just wish I could've done more." He clenched his fists.
"I as well. I was useless," she frowned.
"Unfortunately," Lamperogue bluntly replied.
"Rogue?!" Archibald uttered to admonish him.
"It's fine Sir Knight... He's right." Lutessaʼs grip on her staff eased.
"I apologize, it seems I was a bit careless with my words." Lamperogue spoke indifferently after receiving the eye signal from Archibald.
The signal itself was an excessive blinking.
"T-Thank you." Her voice was soft.
In order to break the currently awkward silence, Archibald asked her:
"So what's your name?"
"Lutessa Aquila Jorgelia."
"Yeaaaah... I'll just call you Tess." His eyebrows slowly climbed his forehead.
"Umh... Sir Knight, would you mind if I asked a question?"
"Fire away."
"Are you an Adventurer in this city?"
"Well, for the Tempest Fall Guild, yes. But for this branch, no. I'm just passing by with a friend."
"I thought so." Lamperogue entered the discussion, "I would've seen you here at least once. So which branch are you from?"
"The headquarters... In Pantoran." Archibald replied.
"The Velvana territory?" Lamperogue wanted to confirm.
"Yeah, in the Ixtal Kingdom."
"So you're here on a job?" Lutessa asked.
"No, not really."
"Not really?" Lamperogue repeated Archibaldʼs words, slightly confused by his response.
Archibald elaborated, "Well, it's not an official job bu—" he stopped midway having made a discovery.
("Wait, could this be the reason Muramasa wanted me to come here? To meet these guys?")
"Hm?" Lamperogue and Lutessa both uttered, confused about his sudden halt.
"What're you guys going to do now?"
"For now? Maybe take solo jobs," the usual calm response from Lamperogue.
"..." Lutessa had no words.
"I don't know if this is saying much, but would you guys like to travel with us?" Archibald offered them.
With the skills Lamperogue had, he'd be a great asset and Lutessa being a girl was an automatic ticket in Archibaldʼs opinion.
"I'd love to go with you, Sir Knight!" An excited response came from the priestess-in-training.
It was easy for her to trust someone, and vice-versa.
("Well that was effortless.")
However, "Where to?" Lamperogue inquired with a stern voice.
"Rivelune." Archibald was equally serious.
"Wait, isn't that—"
"Yes, the village of the water spirit," Archibald interjected.
"Then isn't it off-limits to non-denizens?"
"It is, but we were permitted by Undine herself," he smirked.
The momentary widening of Lamperogueʼs eyes was the biggest expression he'd displayed all day.
Archibald took advantage of Lamperogue's building interest and proceeded to inform them about the current situation in Rivelune.
He explained that he and Rumia were equipped with a pocket watch to guide them through their journey in search of Rivelune.
Furthermore, he informed them that upon arrival, they would meet with a select group of Adventurers that Undine had managed to gather.
"I've never heard of this Rivelune place before, but I'd be interested in helping the Lady of the Lake however I can," although Lutessa hadn't heard of such a place before, she wanted to offer a helping hand.
She didn't know of Rivelune or most places having been in the temple all her life.
Lutessa didn't consider the water spirit to be a religiously iconic figure, as she followed the Vayetran Belief.
Vayetran Believers worshipped the first Magic Emperor, Augustus Vayetra.
While the water spirit held significance in Spirit Religion, she didn't hold the same importance in Vayetran Belief.
"So, are you in?" Archibald asked Lamperogue.
"When do you leave for Rivelune?" Lamperogue inquired.
"If all goes well, tomorrow," he cleared his throat after.
"Then I'll give you my answer, tomorrow."
Without any warning, Lamperogue stood upright and exited the guild.
("Okay, he's definitely falling between anti-social and weird.")
Archibald watched him leave.
Only he and Lutessa were left.