Elaine stood on the other side of the iron bars.

Before walking away from that cell, Elaine repeated what had been told to her for confirmation: ‘I’ll find the papers about the seal inside the safe in Vath’s office? And the code is 2607, all spun to the right?’

‘Yes.’ Vienna sat on the ground. Elaine had only given her first aid treatment with her magic the night before, and now instead of having proper medical care she was bandaged messily. She might have been a member of a bandit group, but the way Arkef treated her was sloppy. So much that she pitied her.

‘You’re not mistaken are you?’ Elaine asked, verifying it again.

‘No. The code is those numbers, it could only be that. The way they’re spun however, I might be wrong.’

‘How are you so sure that it’s 2607?’

‘That’s the only code he’ll use. The date of my mother’s death.’

‘… Sorry.’

Silence occurred between them. With nothing else to speak of, Elaine prepared to leave. And before Elaine had gone out of sight, both she and Vienna said at the same time: ‘’Thank you.’’

***

Inside the tavern, Elaine could hear the clash of sword between Ray and Dunnford coming from the window.

Elaine sat on the floor, trying to understand the papers she had gotten from the safe that Vienna told her. Elaine stooped her back, looking at the papers laid on the ground. She scratched her head and growled in frustration for being presented with incomplete information.

The papers contained the exact seal on Dunnford’s body, but they didn’t contain the explanation on what certain inscriptions did. Without knowing what each part of the Extinct Formulae did, it was hard to break the seal. Now that she had the papers, she was no longer approaching the seal blindly, but it was as if she was lost in a forest without any guide.

Helpful, but not helpful enou—

‘What are those?’

Elaine’s body jumped, the voice was close to her. She immediately looked to the right and saw Freya. When did she enter the room? Elaine thought.

‘Don’t scare me like that.’

‘I called you twice, but you zoned out,’ Freya said. She carried 2 books with her. ‘What are those?’ Again she asked about the papers.

‘These papers are about the seal on Dunnford.’

‘There’s a seal on Dunnford?’

‘You don’t know?’

‘First time hearing it.’

‘Right… Do you want me to fill you in?’

Freya crouched and took one of the papers, giving it a read. ‘No thank you. I get the gist of it I think.’ She had took the paper with nothing but extinct language on it. ‘Are those papers over there your solutions to break the seal?’ She asked.

‘Yes, basically there are lots of approaches to break the seal, but I’m unsure which one is correct. Perhaps you could help me out with the seal a little?’

‘I would like to, but I’m going out again to celebrate yesterday’s victory with the library’s guards.’ Freya stood up and placed the 2 books she carried on a table.

‘You’re going out again? You should rest.’

‘I suppose I should. But I’m going.’ She was about to leave again after placing the books on the table. ‘Elaine,’ she called. ‘That paper on your left.’

‘This one?’ Elaine picked the paper up. ‘What of it?’

‘That’s the right approach to breaking Dunnford’s seal.’

‘How do you know it’s right?’

‘Because it is.’

‘But—’

‘See you later Elaine.’ And with that, Freya escaped.

But how can you say for sure?

***

With a quill and magic, Elaine had written Formulae Magic on Dunnford’s body. All that’s left is to activate the magic and hopefully break Dunnford’s seal, Elaine thought. Usually she would be more confident, but Extinct Formulae Magic was uncharted lands for her.

‘Are you sure that the papers you had received is true?’ Ray just had to ask. ‘The Extinct Formulae Magic user who gave it to you could be lying.’

‘No,’ Elaine shook her head. ‘Vienna didn’t lie to me.’

‘And how could you tell?’

‘She just couldn’t have.’

‘Dunnford’s life might be at stake here, and you choose to trust your enemy? You’re being naïve.’

‘Oh, now you care for Dunnford’s life.’ Elaine rolled her eyes. ‘I recall that yesterday you wanted me to break his seal by trial and error.’

‘The circumstances demanded it yesterday. Right now, you’re risking Dunnford’s life by believing in your enemy. The enemy who almost got you killed!’

‘Shut up! Vienna didn’t kill me! And without these papers, I won’t even have a clue on how to break the seal! She’s no longer an enemy!’

‘That’s nonsense!’

Before Elaine was about to protest and argue with Ray, she was interrupted by Dunnford clearing his throat. He had done that on purpose to prevent the argument that was about to break.

‘Master Ray,’ Dunnford said, ‘I am grateful for your concerns, but I believe that Miss Elaine has her own reasons in believing her enemy. If the worst case scenario does occur and the whole papers were a lie, then I should be alive with my Special Magic I believe.’

With the knight on Elaine’s side, Ray was silenced. He crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair.

In all honesty, Elaine had only managed to narrow down the approach to break Dunnford’s seal to 2 possibilities. One that had the highest success rate, and one that Freya told her to use. Both were right, and Elaine had to choose one. In the end, she decided to trust Freya. Without any basis.

Maybe Ray is right… Elaine thought. Maybe I am naïve. For believing in Vienna and Freya. But… I still think it’s the right choice.

‘I’ll activate the magic,’ Elaine told Dunnford.

‘Please.’

Elaine did a chanting in her mind and activated the magic she had written on Dunnford's body. The Formulae Magic that Elaine had written moved like worms and preyed on the seal on Dunnford's body like a predator. And after a few minutes had passed, the seal was devoured completely and the Formulae Magic dissipated into air. Elaine told Dunnford to use his magic, and a current of wind appeared above his palm.

Elaine breathed a sigh of relieve. I was right to believe in Vienna and Freya.

Before Dunnford even got the chance to thank her, Elaine immediately turned to Ray to continue the fight they were having. ‘You see that?’

‘… You’re just lucky.’

‘Had I believed in you, it would’ve been the wrong choice.’

‘It’s foolish to believe in your enemy.’

‘But it’s ri—’

There were loud knockings on the door, so loud that it disturbed Elaine. Dunnford went to the door to see who that was.

***

When Freya returned to the tavern, she was surprised to know that Elaine and Ray weren’t arguing with each other. She had thought that the cause for that must have been because Ray and Elaine were too busy reading the books she had brought: Adventure of Girome volume 3 and a book by Eva Rosette. However, that wasn’t the case.

The moment Freya entered her room, Elaine immediately called her name in excitement. ‘Freya! You wouldn’t believe it!’

‘Believe what?’

‘We’ve been summoned by the ruler of Arkef for an audience,’ Ray said from his chair. There was also hint of excitement in his tone. ‘The ruler wants to reward us.’

Normally, Freya knew that Elaine would get irritated by Ray for stealing her thunder, but she was too happy to care. ‘Imagine the magic treasures that the ruler might offer. Or perhaps Arkef’s classified Formulae Magic,’ Elaine said.

‘You should also think of the reputation you’ll get,’ Ray said. ‘This would establish good relation between my country and Arkef, and perhaps Freya’s family.’

‘That’s great,’ Freya said with a smile. ‘When is it?’

‘A week from now,’ Elaine answered joyously.

‘I see. That’s great for all of you.’

Freya walked across the room to the wooden drawers where she had kept her clothes. As she walked across, she almost didn’t spot Dunnford who was deeply engrossed in reading Adventure of Girome in one corner of the room on his chair. It must have been simple for the knight; he would go wherever Ray go.

‘”For all of you”? Don’t make it sound like you’re not involved, Freya,’ Ray said.

‘Yes,’ Elaine agreed. Freya found it strange that Elaine could agree with Ray. She thought it would never happen. ‘… Are you packing your bag?’ Elaine asked.

‘I am.’ Freya placed her clothes inside her bag.

‘Freya, the audience with the ruler is in a week.’

‘I know.’

‘Then why are you packing your bag?’

‘I have made travel arrangements with Kuiper to leave Arkef tomorrow morning.’

‘You need to cancel it. The coachman will understand.’

‘I don’t plan to. I plan to leave tomorrow.’

‘That’s preposterous! You’ll miss the audience with the ruler!’

‘I have no intention to attend it.’

‘But you should attend! This is important! Your family would be proud of your achievement!’

‘Honestly, Elaine, I don’t care about that.’ Freya finished transferring her clothes from the drawer into her bag. She then checked on the amount of her coins.

‘You’re currently low on finance. The ruler could reward us with coins which you can use for travel.’ Ray made an attempt to persuade her.

‘I could just hunt monsters along the way to earn.’ She had been relying on her pocket money this whole time without relying on Freya’s family. She thought that she would draw suspicion to herself from the family if she had asked for travel money.

‘… You came here to gain information right?’ Ray made another attempt to persuade her. ‘The ruler might just share their classified information with you. And perhaps it might be what you seek.’

Little did Ray know that Freya had asked the book fairies to get her all the books they could get. And that included the classified books which weren’t meant for public. Also, she had asked the fairies about the magical treasures that Arkef might had. The books had no information which I seek, and the magical treasures are useless to me.

‘Nope. Listen, I don’t see the problem here. You can all attend the audience in a week’s time, meanwhile I’ll leave tomorrow morning. I don’t mind if all of you choose to attend the audience with the ruler.’

‘You’re putting us on the spot, Freya,’ Elaine complained. ‘Having us choose between you or attending the audience.’

‘I’m not. You can choose both. I’ll leave first and you can all catch up if you would like to.’

‘That’s not choosing both,’ Ray also protested. ‘Can’t you delay leaving Arkef? Why are you in such a hurry anyway?’

‘There’s nothing left for me to do in Arkef. And in a week’s time, I might as well already be in Malegonia.’

‘Isn’t it more important to attend the audience with the ruler?’

‘It’s more important to leave.’

‘Why?’ Ray asked.

That was a question which Freya couldn’t answer. Not if she still would like to keep a secret. So she went on a roundabout way to answer the question: ‘Because I have no more reason to stay here.’

‘The audience with the ruler is a reason to stay.’

‘That’s not enough to make me stay. Anyway, I need to rest. I’m already tired. You can discuss what you’ll do without me.’