"Hey hey, Ian, hold on!"
As soon as the discussion was over and the crowd scattered, a golden-haired youth rushed to Ian's side, running through the mass.
"You can't be serious!"
As he stopped Ian's stroll, he scanned the boy's face.
Exhaustion was written all over his face. His eyes were swollen red, appearing hard to keep open. His lips were dried up and parched. The boy was paler than ever, and some parts of his eyebrows were missing for some reason. Not to mention his wounds and haggard body.
He was in no condition to use his power again.
Ian, however, completely disregarded him.
"Give us a temporary tent to stay."
Hearing the request, Amelia nodded and ordered the elves to prepare them a place to stay. Everyone got to move as soon as the words were spoken.
"Ian, are you listening to me? You need to rest!"
The nobleman didn't seem to be affected by continuously being ignored. He once again rushed at the bluehead. It was easy to reach Ian as he couldn't walk really fast.
"And you're wounded still."
The others also began following them to where their tent was being set up, but none spoke except for that one person.
"Heyyy listen to me!
"What's wrong with you? Are you deaf?
"Sit down and let Miss Eleen tend to your wounds!"
Tap. Ian finally halted. With dull pupils that didn't hold their primary luster anymore, he stared into Alaric's eyes.
"I'm fine."
That face was screaming fatigue.
-Alariccc
Poff
A tiny fluffy head popped out from under Ian's shirt. The child's ears were drooping, and eyes sunken.
-Alaric, master- eh??
Before the child could say anything, his vision got obstructed by a layer of cloth. Ian had pulled his cloak and covered his whole body, including Lior. He then turned around to leave, not caring about anything at all.
'....he so obviously hates me.'
Alaric didn't stop. He ran behind Ian's back. Even Raven wasn't interrupting him this time, meaning he kind of agreed with Alaric's words.
"Whether you think you're fine or not, I don't. You can't save that World Tree or whatever in this state. Nope! I won't let you!"
Tap. Ian once again halted at the entrance of the newly set tent. Ian didn't turn around, yet Alaric sensed his chilly glare on him, so cold and impressive that brought goosebumps all over his body.
"Yeah? And who are you not to let me?"
"I-"
Alaric opened and closed his mouth a few times, but he was out of words to respond. His eyes darted around to the others, seeking help, but all avoided him, similarly experiencing the horrors. No one rushed to his rescue.
"I'm your..." Just then, a sudden spark lit up in his mind. "Master!"
"....." "....." "....."
Yet another set of terrifying silence. Once which Alaric couldn't bear.
"...I-I'm your master, of course. You think you can disobey me just cause we're out of the manor? No! You're still my slave!"
Alaric wanted to cry.
He was sure, by every fiber of his being, that he wouldn't see the light of dawn. He was done for. He was gone.
His vision darted to Raven. The swordsman was gripping his sword tight, clenching his teeth. Alaric could see veins popping up on the man's forehead. He was restraining himself, it seemed, but that didn't help ease Alaric's fright one ounce.
He was going to die.
This was the end. Everything was over. Goodbye new life, he cried in his heart.
"Uh..."
But then, something strange happened.
Blink blink blink. Ian pressed his eyes open and closed, tilted his head, and gasped at once. A spark of realization dawned on his face, and his expression lit up in a flash.
"You... are right..."
Alaric was his master, indeed.
Ian gasped for a second, a bizarre tinge of joy gleamed across his face. His lips pulled up, ever so slightly, and colors returned to his dull eyes.
"Yes. Yes, right. You can order me around since I'm a slave!"
".....Eh???"
Alaric took a step backward. This... This wasn't good. This was even scarier than Raven almost pulling his sword out. No way! Everything was so ominous. He didn't want to die young!
Despite him wanting to run for his life, Alaric couldn't budge under Ian's intense gaze. Those sapphire blue eyes were locked on him, staring deep down into his soul, demanding him to say something, to continue on the topic.
"Uh... So... I- I o-order you to rest and tend to your wounds before anything else."
Alaric witnessed his whole life flash through his eyes three times in a row until he managed to utter those words.
On the other side, upon hearing Alaric's words, Ian sighed with a helpless face. Despite him appearing very unwilling while sitting down and pulling up his sleeve, he looked somewhat pleased at the same time.
"Huh... It worked?"
Everyone looked at Ian and then at Alaric with wide eyes. Eleen even had her mouth shaped in an O as she hesitantly approached Ian.
Things seemed to have turned out as he desired, but Alaric felt like a total scumbag. He wanted to cry his eyes out.
While examining him, Eleen kept nagging under her lips about how much blood he'd lost and how irresponsible he was. The bluehead looked extremely reluctant to let the doctor touch her but held back his disgust and silently allowed the woman to do her job. Bandages after bandages wrapped around his wounds after proper medicine was applied. The process seemed painful, especially the treatment of his right arm which was bit and burnt at the same time, but he didn't let out a single gasp. To the group, this too appeared strange.
"Uh, um..." Doris knelt down right beside Ian, fidgeting with her fingers.
"Thank you for saving me back there."
Her eyes lingered between the bandaged arm and Ian's hidden face.
"Okay."
The tent was being filled with various stuff brought by the elves at the same time. Some were gifts of gratitude and some were sent by Amelia for them to use while staying there. Ian's response to them all was the same simply a one-word phrase.
HYAAP! POFF!
Once again, a tiny head popped out of Ian's clothes. The baby reached a paw and waved it at Alaric, this time having a brighter face than before.
As Eleen's treatment and naggings came to an end, food was brought to them by the elves. The plates were filled with strange colored stuff, which according to Claus, were all different products of the same plant he'd mentioned before.
This was a celebration, he said, thus they brought their best meals.
Were these the best meals elves got to eat? Weren't they just too... Miserable?
The humans wished to have some meat...
. . . . .
"Hmm..." Alaric rubbed his chin and peeked at the papers Ian was busy scribing on. He'd been working on them for three hours now. His writing speed was slow due to his right arm being injured, yet he insisted on finishing everything by night.
"Hmmm.... I remember you once telling me that you were illiterate."
That was a few months ago. The first time he entered the count's mansion's library. He'd know that it was probably a lie after traveling with Ian for a while and guessed that this boy had at least the basic knowledge of the language, but what he saw in front of his eyes wasn't basic at all.
"I lied."
"Yeah, obviously."
Was that a contract he was writing? In full detail?
Seriously, why did they need to do this? They were some random traveling mercenaries, only. What was the need for a signed agreement with the elves?
While wondering, he peeked at the contents of the documents. Before Alaric could read through the first paragraph, Ian put aside his pen and gathered the papers. He checked them one last time before handing them to Claus, telling him to hand them to the village chief.
His actions were so neutral and passive that he looked more like a student handing out the homework he'd written by cheating, not a contract meant to be verified by the elf village chief.
-Yaaaaawwwnnnn~
As soon as the papers were handed out, Lior jumped down from Ian's shoulder and began stretching its body. He soon plopped down atop Ian's lap, sprawling out.
-Master, when are we sleeping?
-...Soon.
They weren't using that 'special link' they had, so Alaric could also hear their conversation.
-Lior is really tired. I want to sleep for two whole days!
-Yeah. Let's go.
-Carry me...
-Sigh.
Everyone else was already preparing for the night. The elves gave them some mattresses and other necessities despite the group saying that they already had their own traveling stuff. It seemed that the villagers wanted to show their appreciation to the fullest, so the group didn't refuse.
Ian lay on the mattress and pulled the blanket up, with the wolf child sprawled beside him. Lior fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Everyone was weary from what they went through that day, so they all fell asleep within a few minutes.
"...."
Ian stared at the ceiling, eyes wide open.
His eyelids gradually became heavy and hard to keep open. At that point, Ian took a deep breath and sat up straight. Rubbing his eyes, he did his best to chase away the sleep.
'With my Aether reduced this much, I doubt I'll have any pleasing dreams.'
Ian wasn't ready for another round.
On his side, Lior was deep asleep. He was even snorting. Chuckling, Ian covered him up with the blanket before stepping out of the mattress and standing up. He tiptoed to the exit as silently as possible and left the tent.
The cool night breeze slapped his face as soon as he left the tent, washing away his sleepiness at once. Ian stretched his arms and yawned as he began walking around the village. The serene and calm atmosphere was extremely pleasing after the hassle they went through the whole day. It was the best moment of the day when everything was as quiet as dead.
Finding a secluded spot, Ian sat down and closed his eyes.
As he sat with his eyes closed, he concentrated on the inner energy flow that circulated in his body and mind. His consciousness was dragged into a dream-like space after a few seconds, a dark place barely lit by some brilliant golden specs of light.
As he looked around, he noticed how the circles around him had changed. The number was still the same as before, indicating that the capacity he'd achieved in the past few months wasn't reduced at all, but the glow they emanated had reduced. His Aether was used up.
'I need to train more...'
His body kept floating in the endless space, weightless, and with no direction at all. Ian looked underneath his body. There, a twinkling bright star could be seen, a star he could never reach, and a light that was out of his reach.
A desire lit up in his chest once again. Ian reached out his hand, turning his body upside down. Using up the remaining Aether, he pushed himself downward, or maybe upward, in the directionless space. He moved a tad closer to the star, but at the same time, was dragged further away.
Like Always.
He couldn't pass through one point until he had a proper amount of Aether to use.
'Well, what did I expect?'
Chuckling at his stupidity, Ian gave up on struggling and focused on his training. Fine grains of illusionary light gradually gathered near him as another circle began to form around his floating soul. As soon as one was perfected, he moved to create the next circle.
But then he suddenly paused.
'...What was that?'
A ripple. He could feel a ripple somewhere. It was a strange feeling. His senses, which were connected to the outside world and at the same time, to his unconsciousness, told him that something was causing a tide in both.
'Aether? No, it isn't...'
His surroundings were still calm, but the wave could clearly be felt. The ripple didn't originate from Aether but from another force. Something separated but still capable of affecting the surrounding holy power.
'Mana. It's mana.'
Ian snapped his eyes open.
"Gasp!"
Taken aback, Alaric fell backward on his butt.
"...."
"...."
"I-I..." Alaric stuttered as he got up, dragging himself back. "I got lost searching for a toilet. Then I saw you and thought you'd fallen asleep here so I came to check! Don't get me wrong!"
Ian didn't comment on his excuse. He narrowed his eyes to two slides, scanning the boy up and down.
'Was it him?'
No. There was no way Alaric could create such a surreal effect in the surrounding mana.
'Then what...'
Feeling the continuous ripple, Ian followed its trail with his senses. He got up and faced the direction where the wave was coming from.
'That way...'
Something was there. Deep inside the jungle.