There was a round-of-applause for Artis back in the backstage as they cheered after seeing his performance congratulating him.
"That was a great show, kiddo!"
"Brother, how did you do that?"
"Congratulations on getting such a pop!"
"Dude! You've to teach me some of your tricks!"
As various people came towards him to congratulate him, praise him, Artis was internally overwhelmed by the response he got but from the outside. he controlled his facial expressions and smiled thanking all of them.
"Alright guys, give him some space." The manager interrupted them as he walked towards Artis.
"Good job Artis, you sure riled up the crowd. Captain wasn't wrong when he said you would do miracles on crowd. You will get your pay after today's show is done. Keep up the good work!"
He said as he took Artis's hand and shook it.
"Thank you Manager. I had fun out there too!" said Artis as he shook the manager's hand firmly.
After the show was over, Artis returned to his room carrying a slip that was given to him chuckling slowly as he continued to lay in the bed staring at the envelope.
"Aaah, it's such a great feeling when you get paid for the hard work you do! The best feeling ever that is!" grinned Artis as he stood up feeling refreshed after the show.
Opening the envelope, that had his fees for tonight's show, he grinned mischievously thinking of the amount he earned.
As he opened the envelope, he took out the bills that counted 10. 10 sickles!
"Oh YES!" shouted Artis, "I love money!!"
As Artis cheered himself, feeling motivated, he wore his Green Jacket over him and went outside his room to the bar again and help himself with a light drink.
As he sat in the bar, he asked the bartender to give him a light drink of Taro Wine. A drink popular in the country of Ingia.
As he began to enjoy his drinking, talking to the bartender discussing about some mundane topics as he felt that someone had come to sit beside him.
As the bartender tend to the person, Artis turned his head to see a familiar lady that he had met once in a while.
The lady had long silky black hair that reached her back tied in braids, a back dress with white stripes and patterns that made Artis felt like she was an aristocrat, a thin but pale face with dark black eyes that showed no expression, and a slim but beautiful body that made Artis look at her for moment.
Sensing his gaze, the lady moved her eyes to look at Artis as he, startled turned around to sip his drink acting like he was not even looking at her.
Artis recognized who this lady was, she was his sister's friend that he had encountered a few days ago who ignored him completely back then and sat beside Alice when he was performing just today.
The lady that was surrounded by a mysterious aura took a sip from the wine savoring the taste of it as she continued to glance at Artis, as if seizing him up to study him
"Sigh..." the lady sighed.
"Is something wrong?" Artis asked, glancing at her secretly.
The lady stared at him with her emotionless eyes as she replied turning away from him, "...None of your business."
Artis was taken aback by such curt response from the lady. Taking another sip from his drink, he turned to face the lady and said, "Sorry, if I intruded, Just couldn't help but notice that you look distressed."
The lady turned her head to look at him, as Artis couldn't help but realize there was a moment of sadness in her eyes, before it turned emotionless again as she sighed.
"Your sister....really didn't teach you anything, about how to treat a lady right?" said the lady as she took a sip from her drink.
Artis blinked twice. Not able to understand what he was feeling as his eyes twitched.
"Now listen here, lady..." he began, "I was just curious because you look stressed! Just because you're friends with my siste-"
"Be careful out there, Artis!" the lady suddenly interrupted him.
"Huh?"
The lady fully turned towards him now, her eyes showing seriousness.
"In next few days, you'll be in grave danger." she continued, her voice low but urgent.
Artis felt a shiver run down his spine at her words, "What do you mean? What danger?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The lady shook her hand, as after saying that, she clenched her temples in pain, "I can't say more," she replied cryptically. "But remember my words, Artis. Trust in your instincts, and stay vigilant."
Before Artis could respond, the lady rose from her seat, leaving a handful of coins on the counter. She glanced at him one last time, her dark eyes holding a silent plea. Then, without another word, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Artis sat there in stunned silence, his mind reeling from the encounter. Who was she, and why had she sought him out with such a grave warning? And what danger awaited him in the days to come?
Lost in thought, Artis finally rose from his seat, leaving a few coins on the counter to pay for his drink. As he made his way back to his room, his mind raced with questions, but he couldn't find any answers.
Restless, he decided to find his sister to talk about this friend of hers as he called her but she wasn't picking it up.
Just at that moment, an announcement came from the speakers signaling their arrival in the Aurosia Continent.
[Ladies and Gentlemen, We've finally arrived at Aurosia continent. Thank you for joining us on this journey. We'll be arriving at our first destination tomorrow, Tranquill Haven Pier. Please, a request from our captain to join us the the dinner tonight to celebrate our safe arrival at Aurosia!]
Artis was momentarily taken aback by this announcement as he finally realized something, We have finally reached Aurosia....A new life is right before our eyes....
Taken over by his emotions, he started running again, determined to find his sister and talk to her about this.
As he continued to run in the hallways, not noticing, he bumped into someone as he fell to the ground.
"Whoa! What the hell! Don't you know the basic rules taught to little children? No to run in hallways! Huh? Artis lad?"
Rubbing his head, Artis looked up to see a familiar face and voice that snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Captain?"
Artis was glad at that very moment that he ran into the most dependable person he could think of right now.
"Captain! Oh I'm so glad I bumped into you right now! You've to listen to me! Do you know where my sister is?"
"Whoa there, slow down lad! Calm down, take deep breathes and drink some water. Why are you in such a rush?"
Artis, taking deep breathes to calm himself down looked straight ahead as he answered, "Captain! Have you noticed anything strange that happened here in the past few days?"
"Anything strange?" asked the captain as he fell into a deep thought, "Not that I can think of.....why? Is anything wrong?"
Artis took a moment to gather his thoughts, trying to decide how much he should reveal to the captain.
"Well, you see Captain?" began Artis, "It's just that....I've had a couple strange encounters during the past few days and I can't help but feel that something....something is wrong and a dangerous incident is about to occur...and that there's the feeling, that something is actually not right, you know?"
The captain listened intently, his brow furrowed in concern. "I see," he said thoughtfully, "Alice gal did say you are a genius at figuring things out. You're right. I've heard some reports from my men as well as we are also looking everywhere to see if there is any trouble.
"But don't you worry! We've find nothing of trouble at this point and our motion sensors also has not detected anything. But...and it's a big but, if a trouble occurs. There are multiple Expert Tiers and a Master Tier on board with us. If we are in trouble, you can bet they'll handle this!"
Artis, listening to Captain couldn't help but feel a sense of relief listening to Captain's confident voice as he sighed in relief.
"Alright Captain, I trust you!" replied Artis.
The Captain nod his head as he patted Artis's head, "That's the spirit lad! Continue practicing [Aerial Ace]. You're close to master it soon."
"Sure." said Artis as he made his way to find his sister.
Unknown to him, the Captain looked at Artis's back with a complicated feeling as he took out his communicator and whispered, "It seems we might have to search the entire ship again. This is direct orders from your Captain, continue to look at the docks and search for anything strange you find and report it to me quick. Over!"