Sora POV

The Abbe realized soon enough, I wasn’t lying to him when I said that they were watching him and not me.

“Sora-sama…this is very bad…” The Abbe lowered his voice.

“I know…” I sarcastically replied back. It was bad like ten minutes ago but the Abbe didn’t seem to be bothered then and kept going on and on about rules that Guardians have to follow. So how has the situation changed since then?

“We should go different ways.” The Abbe suggested.

“Fine, Maylon and Gustav can be one pair. Abbe, stick with me.” I suggested.

I think my suggestion pained the Abbe. It didn’t seem he wanted to be separated from Maylon.

“We all can meet back at the Blue Inn once we are certain that we are no longer being followed.” I added to ease his worries.

Everyone nodded in unison.

Maylon and Gustav were first to leave, as we watched them step outside the park, I could tell that a gaze was following them…how did I know? Well apart instinct, there was my monster aided senses which seem to have boosted up since my fight with the Abbe. I could see several red lines which originated from people’s eyes and directed to my group. I could only guess this was computer aided graphics intending to pin point hostile gaze. Not too shabby of a feature. Though I felt it was interfering with my senses more than it helped.

Once they were out of our sight, I looked at the Abbe. “So tell me, how did your previous Guardians die?”

“That I cannot do.” The Abbe replied.

I have my foot stuck in the door, I would like to believe the Abbe but then things like this happen and or he says something and it puts me off. I never really trusted him but at least now as much as I hate to admit it, there is some expectation I keep of the Abbe….an expectation that he will be there for me when I need him….or so I hope.

“Abbe, before we make our move let me be frank with you. There have many a times where I have felt that your actions don’t match your words, it is because you keep doing things like that (and by that I meant keeping secrets), I find it hard to trust you. I understand you have your circumstances and rules but you need to find a middle ground.”

The Abbe frowned. He had hoped that he had already convinced me.

“Let us go.” I said, without giving regard to his pained expression. It’s not that I didn’t care about the Abbe’s feeling but I felt the gazes were becoming stronger. I don’t think anyone was following Maylon so that would mean their target is the Abbe….

The Abbe and I got up and quickly meandered through the park casually before jumping for the fence and running across the road. The moment we acted so rashly I could see behind us all the folks dressed up in casuals pretending to be commoners enjoying the day were in distress. Some were running around hurriedly and others were packing up the act.

I could only smile, they were so-so when it came to training however they were quite good. It really seemed like a scene from the Hollywood movies where CIA agents or something are after somebody. However, what really got me smiling was when I noticed Valkyries chasing us from above.

The Abbe was shocked from seeing my gleeful expression however, I didn’t really care.

“Sora-sama! Why do you smile?” The Abbe asked me.

“Because this is exactly how I would have done things.” I calmly replied.

The Abbe kept quiet as we ran and then asked. “Why are you enjoying this?”

My grin grew wider, “Cause my apprentice is alive.”

I am not sure if the Abbe understood but he could tell that this was a good thing.

I am not so bothered about the people chasing us, I could think of a few ways of dodging them…

Right before I forget and create an image of suspense, ‘my apprentice’ is Enma. Although, we are good friends and everything, he is really my apprentice in Royal Road. It’s a long story but it was entirely Enma’s doing, he alone decided to call me master and thus became my apprentice…I am sure there is more to this story but I cannot remember it now….I feel like I may have forgotten something important.

“We need to run into a crowded street.” The Abbe shouted out.

Although, it sounded like a good suggestion, I was truly shocked. I didn’t expect the Abbe to have stealth training….wasn’t he a Templar? Aren’t they honourable just and fighting head on?

“Do they know you?” Right now there wasn’t much time to explain, so I asked directly.

The Abbe looked behind at the Valkyries trailing us in the sky and then at me. I think he understood the hidden meaning in my question. “Sora-sama! I apologize for hiding this from you…I am a spy for the Alliance…please trust me, we need to lose them…”

I nearly tripped on hearing what the Abbe said. A spy? Him? So not only is my guardian an old man, but a Templar…whose learnt magic of varying degrees, served the Imperial Army of the Empire but is secretly a spy for the Alliance? Two thoughts in a summary; did I hit jackpot for 1FP? Isn’t this plot twisted like crazy? I didn’t think about either of these questions, everything just started making more senses…why the Abbe is so good…and why he acted so strange when he saw Feladonia…

“Sora-sama!” The Abbe shouted as he pointed to a market street.

“No!” I shouted back.

I need a second to think here.

Normally, the Abbe’s idea would have worked nine out of ten times however this is Enma I am dealing with, if my training were in the slightest bit effective he would have had a bit of sense and would have sent the elite of the elites…tracking us through a crowded street would be easy for them…in fact it might just slow down our movement. Also given that the Abbe is a spy and this fact apparently is known…then the Abbe’s cover must have been blown….I can only conclude that only idiots would send idiots to catch a spy.

“Here.” I said as I grabbed the Abbe and dashed into a store.

I think the Abbe was as surprised as the store owner when we barged in.

“Here?” The Abbe asked with a confused look.

I have Abbe the death stare to shut him up. If this bungling idiot hadn’t been so secretive in the first place we would have never been in this mess to begin with.

“Sit, I said as we grabbed a table. We were in some sort of store cum restaurant?”

The Abbe obediently sat.

“Explain.”

The Abbe looked at me painfully, “I cannot master.”

Yeah, my blood is really starting to boil here. I am scared of dying here and this moron here is dragging me to my death.

Okay…calm down….remember the basics….breathe.

All better.

“Your previous masters? Were they aware of this?”

The Abbe guiltily nodded.

“Oh f*ck!” I swore in anger. “You got them involved in your mess didn’t you?”

He nodded again.

“Oye! You need to order something or get out!” The angry restaurant owner shouted at us.

I gave the death stare to him as well, I could see he was shivering as I unleashed my complete blood thirst.

“Why now?” I asked.

“The rules dictate that I let no harm come to you….if my actions bring you harm then I must tell you…”

“Bullsh*t!” I swore again. “You needed to protect your own skin. If harm befell me and you were the cause you would die, wouldn’t you? So you told me what was necessary to live….you are only and only protecting your own skin!” I hammered my voice into the Abbe’s head.

The Abbe tried to avoid direct eye contact.

“So what’s the secret?” I asked.

The Abbe looked up as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

“Don’t play me now! What is the alliance after?” My voice thundered in the small store.

Thankfully, other than the store owner and us there was nobody here.

“They are looking … for anything to defeat the Immortal God….” The Abbe said.

Well that was kind of obvious.

“I meant is there anything specific they are after other than killing Enma?”

The Abbe looked at me in shock. “For the past few hundred years…our leaders have only been gathering information….no one has dared to take any bold steps.

I think I got the gist of it. “So leaders are other adventurers or heads of states….but why does everyone want to kill him? Shouldn’t other adventures be helping him, isn’t he the blessed star child? Unite the world defeat the darkness etc. etc?”

The Abbe looked as if I didn’t know Enma at all, no in fact he said it. “Master…do you even know the Immortal God?”

“…”

“The Immortal God…doesn’t intend to unite the world or defeat the darkness. He does nothing and prevents anyone from doing so…”

“Eh?”

“Although, we believe every adventurer has potential to become the blessed child of the star….the Immortal God is surely not the child of the star.”

“Eh?”

“The Immortal God, created the desert to prevent others from unifying the lands.”

“…”

“He has a battalion dedicated to prevent others from vanquishing the darkness from haunting the wastelands…”

“…”

“But master….the worst thing he does is….and not because so many residents have lost their child but many children of the stars have also f..”

“STOP!” those are the only words that left my mouth.

I didn’t want to hear anymore.

No….I couldn’t hear anymore.

I am completely stumped….