"What do you mean Aaron and Arlene are missing?" Augustus frowned, staring at the grey haired old-looking man in rugged clothing, then turning to Felix, "You said that they left home when? Who did they leave your house with?"
"They said that they were running some errand for you." Felix replied, turning to the old man with his brows furrowed and pointing with his finger, "Mother said I should get him if something goes wrong. They've been out since last night."
'Since when do they run errands for me? I never even sent them on one to begin with.' Augustus heaved, clicking his tongue and tapping his feet on the ground. He was walking to his destination, when met with this two and they brought him more problems.
"Hello, my name's Gerald. I was taking this kid to see Melissa." The old man frowned as he looked Augustus up and down, then he smiled, "I was sceptic, but I see it now. You must be the traveller that handled the raks? I can't thank you enough."
"You're welcome." Augustus nodded, then he pointed to Felix with a calculative gleam in his eyes, "When did this kid come to meet you? Were there any other persons following him to you? I am making sure if he's the only one who knows of this."
"Well, he came crying in the middle of the night and was all alone." Gerald rubbed the back of his head, then he patted Felix on the shoulder, "I helped him calm down, but I had promised to help him find his parents. So, what quest did you send them on?"
"I asked the father to help me clean out the leftover raks, I am guessing Arlene wanted to help…" Augustus held his brow and cast his gaze to the ground to hide the gleam, "They will be fine. I don't think Melissa would be off any help to them."
"Sadly, that's where the issue is. My neighbour got attacked by a rak on his way out to get some wood for his carpentry," Gerald's tone lowered, his gaze darted from side to side, "I don't think Aaron went out to handle the raks. Something is definitely wrong."
'Go figure.' Augustus wanted to roll his eyes, but he comported himself. He grabbed his blade tight, turning in the direction of his destination then frowning, "I will go see her by myself, you should take care of Felix. Leave this matter to me."
"You will handle it? Thank you so much!" Gerald shouted, laughing heartily as he put his arm around Felix's shoulder, nodding his head, "I will make sure Felix is taken care of. Please make sure his parents come home in one piece, traveller!"
"It's nothing." Augustus waved his hands, turning from them to the path ahead. As he walked forward, his eyes darted from villager to villager, counting houses, searching for a defect, Augustus tried piecing together the information, but something was missing.
Why would they go on an errand for him when they never received one? If it wasn't an infestation control mission, then what the fuck did they go do? They could have been lying to Felix about his sending them on an errand as he could not see any reason otherwise.
Aaron was not dumb. Arlene was even smarter. There was no way that they would get themselves in a tricky situation from an errand he never sent them, right? He turned from the path to the side, sighting a massive space where a few men and women gathered.
The men and women trained with swords in the open space, a massive building behind them. He turned from the building to his left, and in the distance was a fenced building an eerie contrast from the one to the right, "The garrison and the dungeon."
Men and women came in and out of the garrison, no one looking suspicious. Augustus waited calmly, his brows furrowed, "Aren't we supposed to be quick with these stuffs? It's been— oh wait, there she comes, and… no one is with her?"
The dungeon, which was as dry as a desert and quiet as a graveyard, couldn't dull the energy that radiated from Melissa as she walked out from it. She had her hands deep into her shorts' pockets, her hair scattered across half her face.
——
"I can't believe that I am doing this shit for that bastard." Lily cursed, kicking a tree and sending it tumbling over into other trees. She clenched her teeth, "You said that you could fall over when I kick you! Anyway, sigh, I need that power boost."
Lily chuckled to herself as she fantasied about all she could do with an evolved time manipulation skill, drooling from her mouth corners. She walked for miles, until she got to the location Ralph had described for her, "I can't believe Augustus went on ahead."
After reaching a certain point, she paused. She stared, watching a young woman with silver hair and pointed ears talking with a few men wearing tattered cloaks. Lily looked in the cave behind them, then quickly ducked behind a tree to peep.
"You mean that he did not come here?" The silver hair woman cast her glance to the ground, her expression completely breathtaking, then she turned to the side— her bright silver eyes locking right in the direction of the tree Lily hid behind, "I smell fire."
"Yes, the prince was not attracted. Our spies in the village say that he went to meet Melissa instead… A slight mishap, princess…" One of the cloaked man explained, feeling coldness wrap around his heart as the last word fell, and he cleared his throat.
"You should have left more crumbs. He'd have definitely followed if he smelled a big enough incentive…" The woman said, her head cocked as she glared into the trees, "The prince might have caught to our plan too. He's dangerously intelligent."
Lily pressed her eyes shut, her chest heaving up and down as she laid her back on the tree, and held her breath. A trained royal had heightened senses, and as long as Lily could not feel out the woman then she could not do the same. She needed to be very—
A rock whistled through the air, and as Lily's eyes darted to the rock, her heart skipped a beat. It flew past Lily and knocked into some tree metres away, but Lily did not calm her racing heart, bracing herself for impact as a pressure collapsed upon her.
The silver haired woman turned in the direction of the trees, slashing with her fingers across the air in an arc and all the trees — in a straight path from where she stood — were reduced to splinters, and as they rained down to the ground, Lily was left exposed.
"Ah, Haha. Can we act like this never happened?" Lily turned around, frowning to see her deepest fears confirmed. The woman grinned at Lily, and Lily reluctantly drew all her daggers, "I am not doing this for the upgrade brother, but for m— our happiness."