Pool Area, 10:00 PM
The ship's pool area was serene, bathed in the silver glow of moonlight. The calm waters mirrored the stars above. The soft hum of the ship's engine provided a faint background noise, blending with the occasional crash of waves against the hull.
There, Alice leaned against the railing, looking at her phone with various thoughts going inside her head.
"What am I even doing?" she thought, exhaling a shaky sigh.
Her fingers tapped idly against the phone case as a thousand thoughts collided in her mind. Her lips tightened into a thin line before she whispered, "...Should I tell him?"
Alice contemplated, looking up with a sigh, "...No! I can't tell him that yet. He's not ready..."
Her grip on the railing tightened, the cold metal biting into her palms as she tried to suppress the storm of emotions threatening to overwhelm her, "...Yeah. It changes nothing about what the actual truth is. That guy is still my brother no matter what happens. I just hope...that whatever happens...he'll choose the right path..."
Her gaze shifted to the horizon, where the moonlight met the endless sea. As she continued to gaze at the sea, her hair hovering because of the cool breeze, some tears formed in her eyes unknowingly as she softly murmured, "Yeah. It changes nothing, it doesn't matter what I have to do, I'll continue to protect him from that fate no matter what..."
As she was looking at the sea, she heard footsteps coming in her direction. Looking at it with her blurry eyes, she observed a blurry figure that had 7 shadows coming towards her.
She rubbed her eyes, her vision clearing just enough to see Artis stepping closer. His face was expressionless, his movements measured, but his eyes told a different story, his eyes were quiet but a storm of fury brewing inside.
Alice straightened up, and said with a soft smile, "...You're here."
"I am here," Artis said back.
There was a moment of awkward silence between them, with both of them refusing to make eye contact with each other. Alice continued to avoid glances while Artis continued to glance at his feet and sometimes at the ocean.
With a deep sigh, Alice finally broke the silence, "Hey...let's sit down somewhere."
Artis responded with nothing but a simple nod.
...
The two sat down on the lounge chairs near the pool. Alice took a seat first, her movements unusually hesitant, while Artis sat down a few feet away, his posture rigid. The hum of the ship and the distant sound of waves filled the silence between them.
Alice broke the silence starting with a polite tone, "Hey...You know...I just wanted to apologize to you for what happened earlier in our room today..."
"Apologies? For what?" asked Artis, his tone still emotionless. but Alice could hear some anger dripping from it.
"For not being a good sister...and for how I treated you before and being unreasonable...I know you have every right to be angry at me and I don't know what got over me at that moment...but I am really sorry about that..."
Artis leaned back slightly, crossing his arms as he stared out at the pool. "You know Alice, you are my only family member left you know that right? I also thought about it tonight and now thinking about it...maybe I was a bit unreasonable as well."
Hearing that surprised Alice a little, as she turned her head to look at him, "Perhaps you are going through something that you can't tell me about...Perhaps it's something you can't tell anyone about...and I am also sorry for forcing you to do something that you didn't want to do. But, I still deserve some answers you know!"
Alice looked at Artis surprised, who seemed to be blushing from what he said as she couldn't help but chuckle out loud.
"Heh, without me knowing, my little brother has grown up this much, huh? Alright fine, I'll share one of my worries with you. It's about the Dream Enterprise."
"Dream Enterprise?" Asked Artis in curiosity, "The company you became a Director of? Don't tell me they already fired you without even joining the company?"
"Oh, you!" Alice tried to strike Artis's head at that moment, which Artis swiftly dodged as he continued to mockingly joke with her, "I knew it! Once they saw how violent your records and portfolio is...no way they wouldn't let you join their company!"
"Urgh! You are such an ass! Let me finish my talking!" cried out Alice as she crossed her arms.
As they continued to tease each other, a figure, just above the pool area leaning against the railing could be seen watching them together. That figure had short purple hair wearing dark sunglasses watch them bicker as she had a small cryptic smile on her face as she said her orders in a transceiver.
"Target secured. The operation will begin in the next 2 weeks. Until then, observe the rest of the targets."
...
Alice sighed, unknown to her that they were being observed as she looked at Artis with a weary smile and said, "Artis, are you excited for our next start?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Artis immediately turned off his jokes as his expression turned to concern.
Alice hesitated, before clearing her throat, "I'm just saying...are you ready to be an Adventurer in Aurosia?"
"Do I really have to?"
"It's the rules you know...as much as I know how much you hate it, I can't help you with that. The moment you land on Aurosia, you will have to register as an Adventurer..."
"Dammit...and I thought I could've avoided that!"
"Heh! If only life was that easy..." Alice said with a self-deprecating tone.
As Artis and Alice continued to gaze at the moonlight, Artis couldn't help but ask, "Sis? Can you tell me your days as an Adventurer?"
Alice blinked in surprise at Artis's question, the moonlight catching the faint glimmer of surprise in her eyes. She leaned back in her chair, her expression softening as a faint smile tugged at her lips.
"My days as an Adventurer, huh?" she repeated, almost as if testing the words. Her gaze drifted back to the horizon. "You're curious now? I thought you always found it boring whenever I brought it up before."
"Well...." Artis scratched his cheeks, "You can say I am curious now...after all the praises I've heard from Captain and the others, one can't help but be curious you know..."
Alice chuckled softly, the sound carrying a mixture of nostalgia and weariness. "Alright, fair enough. Let me think… where do I even begin?
"Well, being an Adventurer for me wasn't always a top priority...after the accident of papa and mama, our uncle took us in...and I don't have to say anything about that right?"
Artis nodded, his expression turning to that of irritation, "You better not, if I ever met any of those relatives of ours, I am afraid, even you wouldn't be able to stop me!"
"Haha! Don't you worry, I'll be there to support you!" Alice laughed at that as she continued, "Well, I don't have to tell you about that time, you were 7 and I was 15, and good lord! That was a horrible experience, I couldn't wait to turn 18 just so I could take you out of there and live freely!
"Turns out, they were waiting for me to turn 18 as well so that they could kick us out! Well, after that, I didn't forget about how they treated us and became an Adventurer to support both of us!"
"And then?"
"My first year as an Adventurer was… chaotic," Alice began, her voice tinged with both fondness and regret. "I was barely older than you are now, and I thought I knew everything. Just because I went through a hard life and because I had the best scores in all the subjects, I turned out to be a cocky brat! And I suffered because of that...
"My first assignment was to fight a few Spirit Beasts swarming Paradise, and I made a rookie mistake...I ignored the battle formation and charged right ahead. And because of that, my senior Adventurer, Cedric, got injured by taking a Bite Attack meant for me!
"It was that day I realized what a heavy burden being an Adventurer is!"
Artis leaned forward, his eyes wide with intrigue. "What kind of creature was it?"
Alice rubbed her temples with a faint laugh. "A Razorkin. Think of a wolf but twice as big, with scales instead of fur, and fangs sharp enough to cut through steel."
Artis winced. "Ouch. That creature huh? I remember that incident..."
"Yeah..." Alice had a tone of regret in her voice, "Well, after that...I learned from my mistakes, took missions I knew I was capable of, raised my level and the power of my Gate, joined Captain Fervier, toured the seas, and became a Master and a dependable figure in Inloen!
"How was training with Captain like?"
Alice couldn't help but sigh at that, "Don't even ask! It was rough! I learned various skills through that!"
Alice raised her arms in a victory pose as she looked at Artis, "...but it was worth it!" she declared with a cheeky grin, flexing her arms as if to showcase her imaginary biceps.
Artis chuckled, leaning back on his chair. "You? Struggling? That's hard to believe."
"Laugh all you want, but it's the truth!" said Alice, poking Artis's shoulders as she said with a serene smile, "...And that's why, I know you will thrive in Aurosia!"
"What bought that on, Sis?"
"Nothing! Just imagine all the news I will get to hear for all the troubles you will cause in Aurosia!" said Alice with a hearty laugh as she stretched her arms, "Well, there's that and let's focus on the present now! Focusing on the past won't help us move towards the future! In the next 2 weeks, we will be entering Aurosia!"
She continued to stare at the moonlight with a smile but her eyes said something different, "And...I am still sorry about how I treated you today," she apologized again as she extended her hand, "Friends?"
Artis accepted the hand, "Friends."