Morning came. Avernus was woken up by the sound of singing birds and wood being chopped. The typical ambiance of a village. After so many days, it was the first time that he had a good night's sleep.

He slowly got up. For someone like him, he got used to staying at inns and the places people generously accommodated him during his travels. It was a common thing for him. Avernus checked his clothes and noticed that they were all gone, and the rest of his equipment was reorganized. There was one person that could've done this: Velvet.

"She's an early bird, plans ahead, clears up clutter, cooks delightful meals, and looks out for everyone just like a good mother would. Hmm… I wonder how old she is. Velvet is so young, but acts like an adult. Never thought I'd meet a village girl to be like that. She's probably an exception."

As he was coming down from the ladder, he saw Velvet rewashing the dishes from last night. She didn't trust the cleaning with anyone else. Also, she didn't pay attention to him waking up.

"Well, that bitter look says it all; Velvet is definitely angry about last night. I hope she's not that angry."

"Morning, Velvet."

Velvet deferred from responding to him for a few seconds, but she complied with a cold one.

"…Morning."

"Do you know where the bathhouse in your village is? Or how do you bathe? I dunno, just asking."

Velvet heavily sighed, as if she was annoyed with something else.

"We've got a small shack outside. And I knew that you'd probably want to take a bath since you, Mr. Avernus, have been reeking with a spoiled and rotten smell since last night. But it's not yet warm enough for bathing." she replied, still avoiding eye contact.

"Wow, she's so direct!" He let a low sigh. "You don't have to call me 'Mr. Avernus'. That just makes me feel old. But thank you, Velvet. I can heat up the water myself."

Avernus went outside and found that small shack she mentioned, their house was one of the few that had their own bath shed.

Ten minutes had passed. There was nothing like a warm shower in the morning. More importantly, no curious eyes of any villagers were detected.

Avernus then remembered about Velvet's gloomy mood. He loved a challenge. Today's challenge was to make that authoritarian, tsundere and stubborn girl smile.

"Velvet needs a surprise and something to cheer her up… But what can make that dictator happy? A flower; simple yet gratifying."

He thought about where he could find a suitable flower in this cold, dying world. Everywhere he looked was filled with autumn leaves or a few bunches of Croci. Frustrated, he started to regret the idea until he saw the shopkeeper in the middle of the village. Avernus immediately went to the man.

"Hey, do you sell flowers, old man?"

Shopkeeper's face wrinkled, irritated because of Avernus's attitude, "…Well, yeah, but not so many of them left, especially with the weather and all. Only a bunch of roses and tulips left."

"Whatever, just give me a pink rose."

The shopkeeper groaned."Only red roses…"

"Red roses?! …No, it would probably send the wrong message to her, Laphicet, and Arthur. That's wrong."

"Don't you have something else?"

The shopkeeper felt insulted, "No, just tulips and red roses. Take your pick, you impudent bloke."

Avernus narrowed his eyes at him, "Impudent bloke? Heh, you should be grateful that in these times, you found someone willing to barter for your trash."

"Are you here to buy something or to waste my time, city boy?"

Avernus huffed, "Just give me a red rose before you get a taste of my "city boy" generosity, little man…"

The shopkeeper pressed his lips, "…That would be …one hundred and fifty gald."

Avernus mockingly grinned, like he heard a stupid joke, "Say that again? Unless there are some more services attached to it, you won't get that money."

"Then it's no deal! Get out of my face!"

Avernus glanced at his wares, smirking, "It seems trade is already in a bad state for you, and with that manner, you won't sell anything… A hundred I think, is enough."

He was right, the economy was falling apart, and trade was at its worst.

"…Fine! Give me the money."

Avernus threw the pouch on a shelf and grabbed the rose.

Not wasting any more time, he rushed back to the house and nearly bumped into a girl accompanied by her two dogs. The girl's eyes followed him on the path to Velvet's home, smirking and thinking to herself: "Oh, damn girl! Your glory days have finally arrived!"

Avernus, at last, reached the house before any more people could see him with that flower. He knocked, and after a few moments, Velvet opened the door.

Indifferent, without saying anything, she left the door open and immediately turned to avoid having to look at Avernus.

"Wait, Velvet."

She stopped and slowly turned to him.

Avernus was holding a rather large rose with his two hands and smirking. Her eyes first caught a glimpse of the rose.

Velvet felt she had a cold and frozen shower.

"What…is this?…", she mumbled, brows knotting.

Quite contrary to his expectations, she didn't seem flattered. That was enough to shatter the man's confidence to say a word, but he continued nonetheless.

"It's a flower. A gift for you to say that I'm sorry for last night. I didn't want to, I mean, to carry you to your bed, but I couldn't leave you in that situation. I had no ill intent whatsoever."

Velvet, then shifted her attention to his eyes, "It's a rose."

She said it with a surprised look. Velvet wasn't a stranger to being asked out or receiving affection from boys in the village, but her attitude towards men made it clear that she wasn't interested or concerned with such business. This boy came along and straightly gave her a rose above all kinds of apologies that he would have thought of. She slowly took the rose and looked away.

Avernus had no clue what kind of signal he sent.

"So… are we good, Velvet? Be sure to put it in a vase. With the daemonblight and all, these things are rare to come by these days."

Velvet went to the kitchen to find something to put the rose in. She couldn't get that stunt out of her head and she felt that Avernus was teasing him.

"That dumbass just outright gave me a rose! A rose! How dare he?! I'm not one of those city girls who lose themselves at the mere sight of him! What nerve!"

The clueless man noticed her face and realized, albeit a bit late, that a simple apologizing might've been enough.

Unknown to him, Seres, Arthur's red-haired malak, was standing behind him. Avernus turned back and saw her watching them. He nodded at her and realized that Arthur is nearby. Avernus came out of the house and saw him behind the house, near the stacks of chopped wood.

"It seems that everything went well yesterday. Did you find your equipment, Avernus?"

"Yes, but I had to fight some daemons to get them back. It was entertaining, though."

Avernus deliberately decided not to tell Arthur or anyone else about the underground temple in Morgana Woods. Or about the malakhim he met.

"I'm glad you sorted out your problem because I have some good news to tell you. I've mentioned you to one of my colleagues, and he was delighted to enlist you as one of us."

"One of you?", Avernus asked.

"We're exorcists. What we do here is not much different than what you used to do back in Hyland. Most importantly, our goals are the same; stopping the malevolence once and for all. With your help and knowledge, we can surely save the world from utter destruction."

"Yeah, I heard about that. You fight daemons and make pacts with malakhim. How did you convince malakhim to work with you?"

Arthur looked at Seres and answered, "From teachings left by our… Shepherds."

Avernus senses topped at max. Shepherds. A title that he was very familiar with.

"I'm surprised, Arthur. Pacts with malakhim and mentioning Shepherds? I guess I was wrong about Midgand; your knowledge is commendable."

Arthur slowly walked up to him, "Having you here is a blessing, Avernus. Your arrival was a sign that our endeavors and sacrifices were not in vain. I believe that we're in luck."

Avernus breathed heavily. The flow was going too fast for him. It just felt too good to be true.

"What's the plan then?", asked Avernus.

"You will understand soon enough, young man. Tomorrow is the next Scarlet Night and the anniversary of Celica's death. We will depart for the capital after I have finished some business here.", ensured Arthur.

"But we need a lot more men. We need armies, Arthur. We need resources and a lot of it.", suggested Avernus.

"Do not concern yourself with armies and resources. I will handle them. For now, I need to tell Velvet about Laphicet's medicine.", said Arthur.

They both returned to the house, seeing Velvet opening the door to Laphicet's room. This time, however, she was happy and cheerful. The only thing that mattered to her the most was her family. Avernus felt a little envious because of their affection towards each other and the simpler life they had.

Avernus' lips curved into a smile. "Nothing beats family. Friends come and go, but family is forever… I wish..."

"Laphi! Time to wake up." Velvet announced, waiting for her brother to get.

The boy struggled, eyes barely opening. "I told you to stop calling me 'Laphi'. I'm not a little kid anymore."

Velvet came to his side and patted his head. "Grumble-grumble, huh? You must be feeling good." She placed a hand on his forehead for a fever. "Hmm, a bit of a fever, I'm afraid. At least the new medicine's supposed to come today. Until then, you stay in bed, got it?" She then pinched his brother's cheeks.

"What? Aww, but I wanted to go to the cape.", the boy complained.

"Sorry. You'll have to wait, Laphicet." Velvet said.

At this moment, Arthur and Avernus walked into the room.

"Don't trouble your sister, Laphicet,", said Arthur.

"I didn't mean to…"

Velvet turned to them. "Arthur! Done chopping firewood?"

Avernus raised a brow at Arthur. "Oh, if I knew you were chopping firewood, I would've offered my help. I'm sorry, I was thinking about something else."

Velvet noticed Avernus and thought to herself, "Yeah, 'Thinking about something else'. That's all these city boys have."

"You don't need to concern yourself with such things, Avernus. And, yes, there's enough firewood to last through winter. But there's something else I need to take care of first. Sorry, but medicine money'll have to wait a bit."

Velvet cocked her head proudly. "I can earn it myself, then. Bring down a few prickleboars, and I'll have plenty to offer in trade."

"On your own?", asked Arthur.

"I'll help her. It'll be fun to go hunt boars. Right, Velvet?", Avernus smirked and told Velvet, catching her by surprise.

A shade of pink appeared on her cheeks, frowning slightly. "I can do it alone! Arthur's first maxim! "Plans must be solid, and reactions flexible."", Velvet said as she closed her eyes, trying to not look at Avernus's smug face.

"All right. I shouldn't doubt my student's abilities, but Avernus will be there helping, so I'm not that worried. I'm sorry to put you two on the spot."

"I'm sorry, everyone.", Laphicet also apologized.

Velvet waved her hands. "Whoa, hey. What's everyone apologizing for? We're a family, right?"

"Family?" Avernus chuckled. Velvet's conviction, and her sense of responsibility ignited his praise. Maybe Midgand wasn't hopeless after all.

"Right, I'll see you all later." Velvet went to her room and equipped her combat blade on her right wrist. Avernus scanned the main chamber to look for the rose, but couldn't find it.

"She got rid of it? Well, whatever works. At least she's happy now. That's all that matters."

Then Avernus thought it was probably a good idea to bring his staff for the hunt. He called the Dreamshadow, which flew from the top of the ladder on the second floor back to his hand. Velvet winced, but Laphicet punched a victory fist in the air, and shouted in excitement.

"That was so cool!"

Velvet shook her head dismissively before turning to her brother, "I whipped up some porridge for you, OK? Be back by evening."

"Thank you. Be careful, you two."

"We'll be OK. You just rest up.", said Avernus.

"Don't forget to take some gels with you. Velvet is careless sometimes." Laphicet advised.

Avernus smirked and nodded in confidence. "Don't worry about your sister, Laphicet. I'll protect her."

Velvet scowled at Avernus, glaring at him sideways like the tsundere she was, "I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, Mr. Avernus!"

Avernus grinned amusingly. "Nobody said you aren't. We're a team now, and we need to work together."

Laphicet chuckled at the new companion his sister got for the rest of the day. She always did everything alone, like a lone wolf. Seeing her flustered face was refreshing for the boy. "Hehe, then I'll be in bed resting."

Velvet noticed her brother's snarky behavior, raising a doubting brow. "You'd better be, you little…"

"I should stop teasing the girl so much. Not a good habit, Avernus, but I can't help it. She is so innocent and pure. Velvet is too cute for her own sake."

Before they left the house, Avernus decided to change the shape of the Dreamshadow, shrinking it with magic into a small size and put it on his arm as people would freak out, seeing someone with a big staff walking around in the village.

As they walked out of the path and into the village itself, they saw a concerned couple talking about the daemonblight. Velvet and Avernus joined the conversation. The husband sighed, "Ever since the Opening seven years ago, this world's really gone crazy. Famine, freezing weather… and worst of all, this daemonblight that's turning people into monsters."

"I can't believe that people can turn into those… things. It's a nightmare.", said the wife.

Velvet turned to Avernus, "It seems you and Arthur know a lot about daemonblight, am I right? Can it be healed?"

"Daemonblight…" There was no such thing as daemonblight. It was a myth and lie humanity made up to conceal the true reason: Malevolence. But Avernus didn't say anything. "Healed? With our current state, no. But later, maybe, if we can gather enough knowledge. Your best bet is to avoid daemons and any contaminated animal or vegetation. Leave the fighting to those who are more suited for combating the daemons.", advised Avernus.

"But there's no such group capable of battling them, and there are these exorcists that can't do much. Since the Opening…"

"Hey, Arthur is always helping!", Velvet cut the man short.

"What is the Opening, Velvet?", asked Avernus.

"Seven years ago, daemons attacked the village. The night that my sister died. Somehow after that, people were able to see these creatures and their numbers multiplied in the dozens.", answered Velvet.

"Yes. Whoever named it the Opening named it right. It's like someone opened a portal directly to hell.", said the wife.

"It might be a good thing Celica died when she did. She didn't have to suffer through all of this." the man mocked.

Velvet's eyes widened and then her face wrinkled in anger, "… It's "good" that my sister died? How can you say that?!"

Avernus suddenly felt an urge to get back at the couple for their arrogance. Watching Velvet angry made his sense of chivalry flaring up. "Is this how you treat your neighbors? Couldn't your mind process a better response, you old fool? Or do you need me to force some sense into you?!"

Unintentionally, Avernus moved a bit closer. Just looking in his eyes was scary enough to feel the intimidation and his voice boomed in power and strength. The man nearly trembled in fear. He took a step back, eyes widening in fear.

"S-Sorry… I didn't mean it that way! P-Please don't…!"

The wife quickly moved in to rescue her loud-mouthed husband, "You're a real idiot, you know that? Please forgive him."

Velvet herself had a temper. The neighbors weren't always fair to them, and the life she had led made it hard enough to withstand these puny insults. But seeing another one with the same mindset was refreshing. Somehow she felt more powerful.

"Let's go, Avernus."

He nodded, and they left the couple to themselves.

"You looked scary back there.", said Velvet. Slight praise and happiness flashed behind her eyes for a moment.

"What can I say? I'm a scary guy. Especially when it comes to dealing with morons like him. So irresponsible and ignorant. And I can't bear to see anyone insult a girl or a woman."

Velvet blushed. "I-I can take care of myself, but… Thanks for standing up for me. It's good to have someone on my side."

"Think nothing of it, Velvet. I can't tolerate arrogant people like that. A trait I picked up from being a… Nevermind. It's kinda funny; you and I are both quick to act on our feelings. We'd make a great team."

Velvet's cheeks crimsoned more. "W-We…", she gasped, but they noticed a small girl running toward them.

"Hey, Velvet. Is Laphicet feeling better?", asked the little girl.

"No… not yet. He needs a little more rest… I think."

The small girl's beaming face darkened, "Aww, too bad. Tell Laphi I'm looking forward to hunting beetles with him again when he's better."

The little girl's mother joined them, shaking her head. "Laphicet's illness sure is persistent."

"Yeah. That fever still keeps coming back, like clockwork. The medicine always helps a little bit, but still…", Velvet worryingly expressed.

"That sounds terrible. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Thanks, but we'll be fine. At least we've got Arthur to take care of anything that requires muscle. And before he came, Celica raised Laphi and I all by herself. So now I have to do my best too!", Velvet confidently and cheerfully said.

"You sound just like your sister. That optimism must run in the family.", said the girl's mother.

Velvet raised her brows in surprise. "I do? That's nice of you to say."

The mother looked at Avernus, smiling. "I hope you're feeling well. Velvet is a considerate and responsible girl, so you're in good hands."

Avernus nodded, "You're right. I couldn't ask for a better caretaker. She's energetic, optimist, and determined. The kind of person everyone needs in their lives."

Velvet exhaled as her cheeks began to heat up and swallowed and pushed Avernus away. "O-Okay! See you around!"

They continued their way towards the center of the village. Avernus looked at Velvet, smirking. "Laphicet sure is popular. It seems that he's a girl magnet now at his age. You'll certainly have a lot of problems later."

She smiled haughtily and raised her right arm in the air. "I know, and as his big sister, I will have that little brat in check!"

"Easy, Velvet. Who's going to keep you in check then?", teased Avernus.

Velvet dropped her arm and swallowed,

"Keep me in check? What do you mean?!"

Avernus turned to her and grinned, "You're probably going to be dating soon, Velvet. Going out with boys is inevitable at your age. They're going to ask you out, and you'll develop a crush."

Velvet's face was going through a metamorphosis, and Avernus understood that she probably hadn't had a date till now. He smirked and decided not to pressure her anymore as her cheeks couldn't handle more blood rotation.

"I-I have to take care of Laphicet and Arthur. I don't have time for… for these distractions!"

"Whatever you say, Velvet. But don't be too surprised when people start asking you out."

Velvet swallowed, "What do you mean?"

"All I'm saying is that emotions are sometimes… persistent, and you don't always have a say in it."

To Velvet, Avernus was forcing some random thoughts into her mind. Changing the subject was the way to go.

"We… should probably stock up on a few things before we go into the forest. I don't have a lot of money to spare, but like Arthur always says, "Battles are won and lost with the preparations made before the first strike.""

"I will protect you. And if you get hurt, I can heal you. So don't waste your money on gels. Keep it in case the medicine's price goes up.", said Avernus.

"But…"

"No buts, Velvet."

During their talk, a young woman approached them with a toddler resting in her arms.

"Hiya, Velvet. Doing a little shopping today?"

"Wanted to, but we checked and it seems we have everything. How's the baby doing, by the way?" asked Velvet.

"We're all quite healthy, thank you. Do you want to try changing the little one's diaper? It won't be long before you're doing it for real, you know!" said the young mother.

"Uh… I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. I'm only sixteen. Uh, but changing diapers I can do!"

"Haha! Time passes quicker than you think. And you're a pretty girl. I'm sure the boys in the village will pick up on that.", then she looked at Avernus, sizing him up. "And boys from out of town too, it seems."

Avernus faked a smile for the woman but decided not to deny her claim.

"Boys out of town… Right."

Velvet quickly turned to Avernus, "But I don't have time for that… And Avernus… He's just here to help me hunt some prickleboar. Isn't that right?"

She waited for confirmation from him, and he acted dumbfounded,

"Uh… What was that, Velvet?"

She widened her eyes at him. The thought of hitting him in the head was not far from fantasy.

The woman giggled, "It is so sweet to see young people together."

Velvet tried to salvage the situation, sighed and gestured at Avernus, "Uh… We'd better go hunt while there's still light! Talk to you later!"

The woman raised her brows, "I didn't mean to scare you! Alright, dear. Take care now, you hear?"

Velvet yanked his arm and they headed for the entrance to the Tranquil woods. Before opening the door, an older woman standing near the gate abruptly started talking to the air, "The daemonblight is a punishment send to us by the Empyreans for forgetting the old prayers…"

The word "Empyrean" grabbed his attention. The hair stood up on his back.

"Do they know about the Empyreans?"

"Who are the Empyreans?", asked Velvet.

"The four Empyreans created the world… The one Empyrean shall bring it to peace… Be afraid… When contradiction permeates this world… the time of suppression will be upon us…", the elderly woman spaced out.

"Are you okay? Want me to take you home?"

"No! Don't treat me like a child!"

"Alright, then."

"Oh, it's you, Velvet. If you're going to the cape, take care."

Velvet sighed and shook her head, "Don't fall into the shrine of tranquility, right? I know. I'm not a kid."

"Of course, of course. You're thirteen now, aren't you?"

"… I'm sixteen,", answered Velvet, looking annoyed.

The older woman's preach piqued Avernus's curiosity. "Excuse me, can you tell me more about this shrine?"

"The shrine on the cape has no name. It is a silent shrine of tranquility. Something nameless sleeps there — daemons and Empyreans slumber within. Into the deepest depths, in perfect silence. Sleep. Fade."

"That description sounds so damn familiar to me…"

Velvet noticed that he went deep into his thoughts. His stare was blank.

"We can go there if you want.", said Velvet.

"Sure. I need to see this shrine for myself. But first, let's go hunt some boars."

They went towards the door, but something was on Velvet's mind for some time. "Can I ask you something, Avernus?"

"Yeah, shoot."

"…How… How old are you?", she blushed.

Avernus sneered. "I turned twenty-one a month before I started my journey to Midgand.", he said, softly.

"Twenty-one…"