The bustling town of Amos served as the Lumus Empire's thriving port town where many ships from different countries come and go to trade. The town itself is surrounded by the vast ocean and is considered to be the maritime hub of the Empire. While Sanders is also indeed a village that trades fishes as one of its economic staples for the capital city of Arkanos, a small village obviously is nothing compared to a massive town with huge walls surrounding it and a garrison of at least 10,000 soldiers with legitimate empire trained Witches in their ranks.
Merchants from faraway places were the norm around, and a vast network of connections can be established for those with the opportunistic heart and mind.
Naturally, said connections may also translate to valuable information that can be bought for the right price.
Some rumors, intimate or otherwise, circulate around the town, and it won't take long before a gossip spread like a wildfire and become a hot topic for everyone to mingle around, like middle-aged aunts who got nothing better to do while their husbands were away for work.
And in this port town that she found herself in, a certain St. Raven heiress could not help but frown upon hearing the words of the bartender in front of her.
"My apologies, Ms. St. Raven, but we have not seen any of your kin or any ravens for that matter here in this town, much less a violet one." the bartender, a dignified old man wearing a suit, answered in a regretful tone.
"I see." Erika could only sigh in defeat while leaning her head on her hand on the bar counter. "If you have any new information, be sure to update me, kind sir."
"Will do, Miss." The old man nodded and left her to tend to his other customers.
"So, not even here, huh." The junior witch beside Erika could only groan in annoyance while drinking her glass of wine, "This little witch of ours proves to be quite crafty. The colonel and especially the lieutenant sure is going to be pissed that we hit another dead end again."
"Four months… fufufu, finding our protégé is a whole lot trickier than I imagine," Erika chuckled despite this unfavorable predicament that they found themselves in, "The girl is a St. Raven, after all. What are we if we are not cunning?"
"Uhm… just a family of black-haired weirdos?" The witch responded in a sassy tone.
"Fufufu, oh, how I admire that bluntness of yours, Delilah." Erika just smirked, not even offended in the slightest. "Makes me wonder where that bravado of yours came from despite knowing that I am one of the esteemed St. Ravens and also its heiress, mind you. Perhaps that wine of yours is doing the talking?"
"Maybe?" The witch named Deliah smirked in retaliation, "Or perhaps it just comes with the fact that we get to know you even better, considering that you have been with us in the platoon for the past four months. If I dare say so myself, the three of us even consider you as a friend and fellow comrade-in-arms."
A brief moment of surprise was present in Erika's face for such a warm answer, but it was immediately replaced with a pleasant smile.
"I suppose it's a lovely change and far better from being treated like a mere superior or stranger." Erika took a sip from her own glass of wine. "Being out from the capital city sure does some great wonders for my mental and social health, it seems."
"You got that right." Delilah agreed, "Those old fossils back home can be insufferable sometimes."
"That… I don't disagree…"
The two continue to drink as they immerse themselves together with each other, talking to their heart's content and taking a break from the mission that was assigned to them.
When the pair were done with their drinks, they left the tavern and continued with the task at hand.
While they walked away from the tavern, a chill suddenly run through Erika's spine and she instinctively look above at the sky in quick response.
But what she saw was nothing. Just the clear blue sky with the white clouds that was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Is something wrong, Erika?" Delilah asked with concern.
"It's… nothing." Erika grimaced as her head immediately returned below, "Let's keep moving. Perhaps we shall have more luck in the villages nearby."
Yes, it's certainly just her imagination. Besides, if there really were something amiss, then her very own raven companion would notify her of any potential danger in the vicinity. Even the skies above were not spared from the all-seeing eyes of the raven.
But little did they know, a particular birdie was watching them from above, its eyes trailing on the pair. When the two were finally out of town, the bird, in satisfaction, left the town as well, in pursuit of whatever agenda it had in mind.
******
There was still a matter of concern regarding a certain violet raven's gender and name, and Zack took charge of determining the former.
"So… are you a boy or a girl?"
"Caw!!"
"Right… so a boy, huh."
"What in tarnation?! How the hell did you understand that!?" Bianca shouted comically with a shocked expression.
"Call it a gut feeling." Zack grinned spiritedly, "Besides, it… he did not object rather. So, yeah, the little one is certainly a boy, no question."
"Uh-huh." Bianca was still skeptical but decided not to question it.
"Now for his name." Zack cupped his chin as he contemplated deeply on what he was going to call him.
"I know!!" A spark of an idea came to Bianca as she made her suggestion, "What about… Croaker?"
*Peck!!*
"Aw!!! What was that for you stupid bird?!!" The girl cried in pain while caressing her swollen hand.
"He did not like the name, obviously." Zack could only sweatdrop at how Bianca was simple-minded at times. "And I'm so not letting you name our child in the future."
"A… a child!!?? Hehehe…" Bianca was in bliss and cupped both her hands at her cheeks like a shy maiden in love. The imagination of Zack and her having children was definitely a favorable prospect, and she could not help but blush profusely while having a huge grin on her face.
Zack, Alice, and even the raven could only shake their heads at how being ridiculous she now was.
Alice eyed Zack in a deadpan and asked, "What did you even see in this girl of yours?"
"Her unrelenting kindness and otherworldly beauty?" Zack responded, and Alice merely shrugged her shoulders dismissively.
Indeed, love can sometimes be blind.
Zack resumed thinking of what to name his raven. It was a grueling process, mind you. A name is not to be taken for granted. It's one of the things that define you uniquely as an individual. It was what a person, whether man or beast, was going to be known for.
"A raven… flying endlessly above at the eternal sky… Sora." The boy uttered the word like it felt natural to him.
"Sora, huh?" Alice smiled pleasingly and nodded her head in satisfaction, "I'm surprised that you know a word that those Akanir from the East speak."
"I read it in a book." Zack answered, "Or to be more accurate, someone read it for me. Sanders had a small library in its church, and it just so happens that I stumbled upon a book of Haiku. One of the villagers, Uncle Haruki, was an Akanir and he would sometimes read it for me. Reading Haiku and reflecting upon it… yeah… It kind of bring peace inside my heart and soul."
"Caw, caw!!!!"
"Oh, your feathered friend appears to have liked the name." Alice chuckled upon seeing the raven flapping its bird with excitement. "Sora… it's certainly a fine name for such a majestic creature."
"Caw!!!"
"You love that, huh?" Zack gave the raven a warm smile, "Alright, Sora, I bid you welcome to the family."
"Finally." Bianca recovered from her fantasies and grinned impishly, "Something to call him other than stupid bird…hey, AW!!!!"
Zack and Alice could only laugh as they witnessed Bianca being now pecked in the head by the now-named Sora as her hair was also being pulled in a rather comical manner.
The boy then eyed Alice, his face now sporting an earnest smile as he said…
"Thank you."
"For what?" Alice knew what the boy was thanking him for but she decided to humor him.
"For that…" He pointed at the hysterical scenery between the now two rivals of girl and bird, "For taking good care of Bianca."
Alice grinned and simply patted the boy's head.
"Don't mention it, kid. It's my job as a respectable adult, after all."