There are many rumours surrounding the outer city. 'The outer city is the source of many diseases within Chasrol'. 'If you venture into the outer city, bandits and goblins will rape and kill you'. But the most spread rumour and the most disturbing rumour circulating among the nobles in the inner city is one Arthur has heard before, many times—'The outer city is filled with sub-humans. Creatures not fit for life within, or near to, high nobility'. He often heard this rumour from his late mother and his father—high nobility within Chasrol. Because of this, he verbally clashed with them more than his spoiled siblings did, which led to his ex-communication from the Samael household. But that is a story for another day.
As for Arthur and Alora, after departing from their friends at the infirmary, they said their goodbyes and returned to their respective homes. Arthur filled Azrael in on the students' plan to find Rasui and Azrael informed Arthur of his encounter with Marquis Snaek Brastad, Marchioness Atalante Dukas and Pope Alexander Samael.
"Pope... Alexander Samael?" he asks, clenching his fists.
"So, I was right. That man is your father."
"HE'S NO FATHER OF MINE!!"
Azrael stares at Arthur, shocked. This is the first time Arthur has become visibly frustrated. He did not pester Arthur further and changed the topic. Arthur left the dinner table without clearing his plate minutes after Azrael's mention of Pope Alexander and locked himself away in his room.
The next day Arthur met up with Alora. They used the morning's daybreak as their sign to venture into the outer city. "Let me guess," says Alora, staring at Arthur smugly, "This is your first time going to the outer city." He nods his head, still visibly upset. "I can see how nervous you are. And no matter how much you try to hide it, I can sense the tension within your mana." She pats him on the back, saying, "No matter what, I will protect—"
Arthur walks forward, avoiding her not-so-gentle pats. "Am I not ranked higher than you?" he asks. "If anyone will do the protecting, it's me." He walks through the gate connecting the inner and outer city after showing his identification to the guard at the gate's entrance.
Alora watches him walk ahead of her and her face becomes flushed momentarily. She snaps out of her daze and says, "That was a first."
"What was?"
"N-nothing..." she says, blushing. Why is my heart pounding so fast? she thinks. She looks at Arthur, who stares off into the distance, thinking about his outburst last night. Her gaze fixes on him and she gets lost in thought. No, I know why it's pounding. But... I can't, she thinks, looking dejected. Chari likes Arthur. I can't betray her like this.
After ten minutes of walking silently through the forest, Alora looks at Arthur again, asking, "I-is something bothering you?"
Arthur turns to match her gaze and says, "Why do you ask?"
"I don't need Chari's thought magic to see how bothered you look."
"Is it that obvious?" he asks, forcing a smile. Alora nods her head nervously. Arthur turns his gaze forward and says, "I spoke to Azrael last night and told him about our plans for today and he... told me what happened after Marquis Snaek Brastad led him to the academy council's headquarters."
"He went to the academy's headquarters?"
Arthur nods his head. "When he arrived he met with Marchioness Atalante Dukas—"
"Marchioness Atalante!?" yells Alora, excited. "He really met the Marchioness Atalante?"
"Y-yes. Do you... look up to her?"
"Look up to her? It's more than that. She's the woman I respect most. As one of the twenty-five judges in the Imperial Court, Marchioness Atalante is possibly..." she shakes her head, "no, she is the most influential woman on the continent. She's also one of the Ten Wands of Gaia—ranked fourth in the Ten Wands, she is 'The Huntress' Marchioness Atalante Dukas. Her beauty is unparalleled and she handles herself with such awe-inspiring grace and elegance that she has been voted (unofficially) the epitome of womanhood."
"You know... a lot about her, don't you?"
"That was only the basic knowledge any person who hasn't been living under a rock should know," she hounds. "I know much more than that—like when there was a marriage scandal surrounding her which destroyed the hearts of many bachelors. Or the time she fought against a black dragon and won. Maybe you want to know about the time she worked for the Hero's party—"
"I... think I've heard enough," he interjects before she goes on a fangirl rant and sighs.
Alora places her hand before her mouth, realising what she's done. "S-sorry. You were saying?"
"Right..." Arthur remains silent momentarily, then says, "Well, according to Azrael, she didn't appear as a bad person. So, if you meet her, I don't think you'll be disappointed... I think."
Alora smiles brightly, "Thanks, Arthur."
After another momentary silence, Arthur clenches his fists, grits his teeth and says, "Then there's... the third person he met."
"Third person? Oh, right, come to think of it, the academy council consists of three individuals. Though, they don't make it publicly... known..." Alora's face drains of colour. There is one of the three academy council members who has made his position abundantly clear. The only council member left after Marquis Snaek Brastad and Marchioness Atalante Dukas—"Pope... Alexander Samael..."
Arthur tries hiding his frustration but cannot stop the rage from erupting through his mana. His usual warm, innocent mana corrupts with rage and murderous intent, pulsating throughout the forest. Nearby birds migrate to safer climates and plants start withering. Alora stops walking, trying to distance herself from Arthur because his murderous mana becomes suffocating.
Alora looks at him with fear-filled eyes. This is... Arthur's mana...? It's... terrifying...
Only after he noticed Alora stopped walking behind him did Arthur realise his erupting mana. "Ah! Sorry, Alora!" he says after witnessing her drenched in sweat. He walks closer to her but she pulls herself back, frightened. He pauses after seeing her body trembling and the horrified eyes she stalks him with. "Are you... scared?" he asks—his voice trembling.
Alora snaps out of her terrified daze and reaches out to Arthur but he draws himself backwards. "Arthur... I..."
"No, it's fine. This was my fault. I... shouldn't have brought his name up in the first place." He turns around and continues walking forward.
Alora and Arthur do not speak to each other for the next thirty minutes. They continue their excursion through the thick forest and reach a wooden cabin at the centre of a vast open space. The palatial cabin generously fills the open space, leaving a comfortable distance between the man-made object and nature's forest. Nature; however, intrudes on this space and infects the cabin with vines, bugs and animals.
As Arthur and Alora exit the forest and enter the cabin's personal space, the keen-eared mammals and reptiles flee, making themselves scarce to the new intruders. The bugs hide themselves within the cabin's crevices and stalk Arthur and Alora as they step onto the creaking porch.
"Who's cabin is this?" asks Arthur.
"From what I found, it belonged to a noble who loved the outer city's scenery. That noble was robbed and murdered by bandits not long after constructing this cabin."
"I see. Was he—"
"No, he was far from a generous noble," says Alora, staring at the cabin's door infuriated. "He has committed heinous sins in his lifetime—some, irredeemable."
"I see." Is this noble somehow connected to Alora? Her hatred towards him feels oddly similar to... mine. "I meant to ask this but how exactly do you know—"
"AAHH! NOOOO!!"
After hearing a man's scream, Arthur impulsively rushes into the cabin. When he does, an arrow greets him as it soars across the room to his face. Alora kicks the back of his knees and he falls back, narrowly dodging the arrow. "Tch," exclaims a man dressed in black overalls as he leaps through the window behind him and runs away.
"Arthur, are you okay?" asks Alora. "Should I run after the assailant?"
"No," he says, lifting himself, "he's run into the forest. If we chase him, we'll only play into his hands. First," he says looking around the room, "we should find out what that scream was."
Together, they carefully search the cabin. The dusty shelves filled with moulded books, the bedrooms infested with cobwebs, the bathroom erupted with a rich, rancid scent, and finally the living room, where Arthur was attacked.
"Nothing," says Alora. "I found nothing. It's weird though..."
"Yeah," says Arthur closing his eyes, "I can sense lingering traces of mana. There was a fight here not too long ago. Do you sense Rasui's mana?"
"It's been a long time since I felt his mana but I'll try." Alora closes her eyes and her ears wiggle. She remains silent momentarily, trying to distinguish Rasui's mana from multiple lingering traces. "It's... faint," she says, opening her eyes, "but I do sense mana similar to what I remember."
"Good. Can you trace the scent?"
"Trace?"
"Yes, try to memorise the lingering feeling of Rasui's mana, then thinly spread your mana over a wide radius. If Rasui is in this cabin, your mana should recognise his from your memory. This is called Tracing."
Alora follows Arthur's instructions and memorises the faint traces of Rasui's mana within the cabin, then she spreads her mana over the cabin. After searching for a few minutes, she shakes her head, "I can't find anything."
"Then he must not be—"
"Wait, I found something!"
"Where?"
"Outside. Behind the cabin, in the outhouse. There's a lump of mana lying in the building where they store supplies."
Arthur rushes out of the cabin and runs to the outhouse. Alora follows after him. As he runs, he notices the door of the outhouse creaked open. When he reaches the outhouse, his eyes widen and he clicks his teeth. Before Alora arrives, he closes the door and looks to the ground, trying to hide his expression. Alora, after seeing Arthur's pained expression stops running and falls to her knees. "No," she says. "It can't be..." Tears pool in her eyes and she starts crying. 'The Sleeper' Rasui Joseph, is dead.