"Is there a way for me to reach Tulla before they do?" Sief raised his eyebrows as he struggled to move the fin-bladed dagger to his back, sliding it into its sheath, already feeling its weight becoming a nuisance. He frowned as he finished speaking, "Is that really possible? And the plan to explore the new territories—is that gone?"
"That's exactly why," Edgar gave a faint smile, finally rolling up the letter he had received. "The information is scarce, and to avoid raising suspicion by overstepping, I'll stick with what we have, which allows us to draw a few conclusions. I don't think Astrad will personally seek out Tulla's location, but rather, a group handpicked by him, which means you have a chance."
"You must be valuable to him, for him to hand you that information so freely." Sief gave a slight smile, and Edgar scratched his neck awkwardly before hearing, "So, what's in it?"
Edgar let out a long sigh, sitting on one of the fallen logs still facing Sief. He removed the backpack from his shoulders and spread out the map on the ground.
Sief moved closer, noticing Edgar's eyes glimmering, revealing a green flame much lighter than his own seen in the central city, and finally, Edgar spoke.
"According to him, they managed to trace the mana from that projection. It led to a common territory, but for some reason, it raised suspicion in him." Edgar lifted his eyes, and Sief raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, he went to a territory and disappeared right there—he didn't cross any more territories and just vanished, leaving traces in all directions."
"It sounds suspicious, but I don't think he'd lie to you." Sief sat across from the map, his eyes quickly scanning the regions. "I don't know all the territories, but so far, none of them stand out to me—unless he mentioned something more unique."
"Good point. I still need to think deeply about it, but I have an idea." Edgar smiled slightly, biting the tip of his finger. "If there were traces of him throughout the territory, why do they think he didn't flee?"
With this question, Sief raised both eyebrows in doubt, but despite his smile, Edgar's expression remained serious. Finally, Sief rested his fist on his cheek, observing the territories on the map.
His eyes quickly passed over Dokkel and the main cities. In all of them, there were paths and roads connecting the territories, but one stood out—it had only one road leading to it, with no exit.
He frowned and continued surveying the other locations, even some on the extreme edges with reddish or bright yellow tones, all of which had alternative routes. Gradually, Sief's eyes widened as he concluded.
"He might be luring someone there... or..." Sief looked up at Edgar. "It was a territory with only one route."
"Wow, you nailed it," Edgar laughed, entertained, and circled some maps that had only one road leading to them. "Usually, territories have entry and exit routes, but some places stand no chance of having an underground path... so I'll rule out a few here..."
Sief watched as Edgar eliminated 'Kaara Desert' and 'Ruby Lake,' leaving only three locations as he continued.
"One is a red territory—even if he's there, you can't get in... but the other two..." Edgar traced a line to a territory with a strong green hue. "Giant's Dwelling, a dense forest territory with strong green hues. It's the closest from here, taking three days to reach, crossing common green territories. It's a bit higher level, but with that dagger, you might manage."
"Green, huh?" Sief narrowed his eyes, turning toward the other isolated territory. "And this one is common yellow."
"Yes, Red Stone Mountain. As the name suggests, it's a mountainous region, and they didn't spare any creativity for that name." Edgar smiled slightly, but eventually rested his fist on his cheek again. "It's far from any city, and it would take seven days to get there. But if you started from the Giant's Dwelling, it would take five days since you'd need to backtrack one territory. Still, I wouldn't want you to go, even with that item—"
"Astrad must trust you a lot." Sief gave a slight smile and stood up, unsheathing his dagger with both hands and wielding it with difficulty, but eventually smiling as he turned toward a tree, saying, "This thing seems too valuable to hand to just anyone."
Edgar watched Sief and smiled, leaning back and lying down while gazing at the clouds.
"It's not that simple." He closed his eyes, stretching with the support of the log, and finally said, "Besides you and me, there are only two or three others sponsored by him. That item of yours is valuable—it's made from Leviathin fins, summoned magical beast servants. Yet, Astrad is so wealthy that, even with that crazy plan, he might not even miss it. If Nora keeps quiet and only talks when asked, I think he'll leave you alone for a while."
"That's not what I was talking about." Sief smiled as he turned toward Edgar, who raised his head. "He doesn't seem like the talkative type, but he sent you a personal letter, and with apparently confidential information. Do you think he'll send you to investigate these territories too?"
"Maybe... I don't know what he's thinking." Edgar smiled, sitting up and resting his fist on his cheek again. "Maybe this information won't spread much, but even so, it will get out. I just got it a bit earlier, so it won't make much difference if I'm wrong. But I don't think he'll send me there."
"Why do you say that?" Sief steadied the dagger with one hand, his hand trembling as he continued. "Aren't you also part of the team going to explore the new territories?"
"No, I'm staying behind to clean up the territories, and I'll make sure to start with Forta." Edgar gave a slight smile and sighed. "Don't change the subject, Sifritt, I still don't want you going to a yellow territory, especially at your current level."
Sief felt the weight of the weapon pressing down on him even harder, his hand giving way as the dagger fell to the ground. The assassin wiped the sweat from his chin with a furrowed brow.
"Don't start a topic out of nowhere." Sief sighed, picking up the dagger with both hands again. "I thought Astrad only wanted people to explore these new territories. What did you do to make him want you on his team so badly?"
"In short, yes." He leaned forward with a slight smile. "If you don't find her there, meet me in Forta, Sifritt. We can come up with a new plan of action. We still have places to go, and I can go with you."
"If they find Beatrice before I do, they won't be friendly. Given how he appeared in Dokkel and is well-regarded here, many explorers likely have blind trust in him..." Sief raised the dagger close to his face, gripping its handle with both hands. "If he gives the right information to the right people, they might want to attack me and reduce me to a monster... If they do that to Bea—"
"Will you burn down the whole garden because one flower had thorns, Sifritt?" Sief's face turned toward Edgar, who was still smiling before closing his eyes again. "It seems like you've been through rough times, and I can imagine—if my father disappeared and I had to find him, I wouldn't stop. But just because Astrad is a morally questionable explorer doesn't mean they all are. In all of this, hasn't anyone treated you well?"
Sief's eyes widened as he lowered his head slightly, feeling his mind clear as he recalled a few faces he had encountered along the way, thanks to everything that had happened.
As he turned toward Edgar, the sound of a falling paper caught his attention. There, he saw the letter sent by Tom, which in turn reminded him of the villager's face and a few others who had welcomed him along the way.
Slowly, he lowered his dagger, and Edgar smiled again, letting out a long sigh before finally saying.
"If you can't do it alone, ask for help. I don't want you going to Forta to give up. I want you to go there to meet me. Then, we can go together after the territory is cleared." He opened his eyes and stood up, stretching his arms as he spoke. "What do you say? Don't you want to fight by my side again? And honestly, I'd like to see how much you've grown. Even though it's been a short time, as I said, it's been a while."
Before he knew it, Sief was lowering his brows again and sheathing the dagger on his back, letting out a long sigh and muttering, "Such a meddler..."
He crossed his arms, bowing his head slightly as Edgar continued to smile. Finally, Sief sat where he was and picked up the letter, breaking its seal, before turning to Edgar.
"Well, if that's all, I'd better get going." He turned his eyes back to the letter and continued, "I know we haven't talked much, but the sooner I leave, the less chance I have of bumping into Astrad's jerks on the way."
"Not yet." Edgar kept smiling and finally drew his sword with one hand, pointing it forward as he said, "You won't be able to cross all those territories in one day at the pace you're going. Those 'Astrad jerks' will get there before you if you keep this up."
"Didn't I tell you?" Sief raised his eyes to Edgar. "I crossed the last two territories to get here in a single day, reached Regias Forest, and by the next morning, I was at the central city gates."
"You told me about that, but I'm saying, going from a light green region to a common green one is a completely different level." Edgar shrugged. "Besides, the strong green zone is where you'll be looking. Being able to wield that dagger freely would make things much easier, but you're going there to search, not knowing if you'll be there for a day, two days, or ten."
"It's really heavy, but I know with the attributes I gain, it'll get easier to use." Sief raised an eyebrow as he eyed Edgar's sword. "Besides, I don't think a single day's training will let me use it with that kind of freedom. After all, the hunts start tomorrow."
"And that's where our strategy comes in." Edgar rested his sword on his shoulder and raised a finger. "Light green territories will be tough. I know you'll manage, but time is short, and you'll need to strengthen yourself by fighting monsters. The problem is, the Giant's Dwelling is a strong green zone, but if there's really an underground area, it could also be strong green... or, in the worst case, light yellow... So, even after you find it, you might have a hard time."
"That's not a strategy, that's just reality." Sief narrowed his eyes. "If you're saying that the difficulty jumps that much between levels, it's a grim reality."
"And that's where the plan begins." Edgar smiled and raised another finger. "You're not the type to fight with brute strength, plus it's harder to teach that concept. Physical training wouldn't solve it in one day either. You're also afraid of the abilities that might come from this Vetra, and they wouldn't help you handle the dagger better or save time."
"I'm not afraid—"
"So, what's the solution?"
"One thing at a time." Sief put the letter back in his pocket, frowning as he stood up. "What do you want to fix? My ability to use the dagger, saving time, or developing a new skill?"
"I plan to solve all three at once." Edgar grinned widely and raised a third finger. "Time to learn a new ability that'll handle all those problems, Sifritt."