MOSKY INN. NOLMES.

"Dear Mother…"

Celio clenched the paper in his hands and, after a minute, crumbled it into a ball.

After Edris brought up his parents, Celio thought it was okay for him to at least send his mother a letter, letting her know that he was alive.

Over two months have passed since he ran away from home. Other than the Commander, the rest of his family and friends were under the assumption that he had gone on a training excursion.

The young beast tamer grew glum at the thought of his overbearing old man. He couldn't grasp what was going on in the Commander's mind. When Celio first ran off, he thought he had concealed everything perfectly.

He was young, but not stupid enough to venture into the unknown on a whim. He had made countless preparations months in advance of his plan's execution.

But the Commander. His unyielding, obsolete father!

Little could he have guessed that the old man saw through his plans from the very beginning. However, this was exactly where Celio grew confused; rather than chasing him down and hindering his escape, his father had turned an unprecedented, shocking blind eye towards his action.

It wasn't like him at all. With the Commander's personality, Celio was fully expected to be beaten half dead having his plans found out.

Sliding down the chair with a sigh, he tossed the paper ball into the trash can, where it met up with its other crumbly paper friends.

Since his earliest memories, Celio hadn't been on good terms with the Commander, to the point where he couldn't recall the last time he addressed the old man as "father."

While he lived in Adalan, all that came out of that old man's mouth was training, order, and power. Merely living under the same roof as him and his relentless mumblings was enough to instigate a rebellious soul within the young beast tamer.

After a couple failed starts, Celio walked out towards the door with a sealed letter in his hands. Before his hand even landed on the handle, however, there was a knock.

Celio froze.

Edris carried the keys to this room, so there was no need to knock. It wouldn't be the inn owner, either, as he's been avoiding them for dear life ever since the Orteon Manor incident. Not only the owner, but most people who recognize Edris would walk the long way in fear of the Fallen Prophet.

Who would be looking for him at a time like this?

***

DUSK. MOSKY INN.

The walk back took longer than usual, because Edris kept getting distracted looking for bakery shops. Carrying a paper bag filled with limberry tarts, he trudged up the stairs to the inn's second floor.

When he opened the door to his room, however, Edris was confronted with a strange sight.

Not one, but three heads simultaneously turned towards him.

"Master!" Celio immediately ran up to him like a frightened puppy. "You're finally back!"

Aside from the young beast tamer, there was another man standing beside his bed, and yet another leaning by the balcony fence.

"...It looks like we have some guests." Despite smiling, there was not a hint of delight in his voice as Edris skimmed around the room.

"Edris. Fancy seeing you again," Magnus Vyris strolled into the room, waving as though they had been friends for a lifetime. "We were originally waiting by the lobby, but you took quite the time to arrive, so we had little Celio let us in. I hope you don't mind."

Edris glanced sidelong at the pink-haired archmage, studying him intently. The last time he saw Magnus Vyris was at the banquet. Thanks to the latter's cordiality and poise, Edris's first impression of him was quite favourable, at least when compared to the other nobles he met.

Unfortunately, he had a feeling his impression wouldn't last long.

"Sorry for the intrusion!" Beside the pink-haired archmage stood beside the eldest son of the Ablemores, who bowed multiple times before returning to his uptight posture.

Faren Ablemore tightly clenched the long staff, but even that wasn't enough to hide his trembling hands.

"If I remember correctly…" Edris raised an eyebrow. "His Highness agreed that he would not interfere with his reinforcements."

"As the Crown Prince, perhaps not." Magnus gave a smile so radiant it would make flowers bloom. "But Dolan requested my assistance in the name of my fellow friend. I simply could not refuse. I truly hope you understand."

"You're a very hopeful person, Lord Magnus."

"I do appreciate your compliment! Also, Magnus is fine."

"Alright then, Magnus." Dropping the formalities instantly, Edris shifted his gaze from the pink-haired man to the one beside him. "I am assuming His Highness had asked you for the favour, so what is this gentleman here for?"

"Ah, you see…" At his question, Magnus pressed both hand to the mage's shoulders, giving them a good pat. "My good friend Faren here is going to assist you in my stead."

"It's a pleasure working with you, Prophet Edris!" Faren Ablemore exclaimed.

Edris silently stared at him with somewhat of a strange expression, then turned his gaze towards the pink-haired man beside him.

"Although Dolan did personally ask for my help, I'm in a bit of a situation here. Even with the Crown Prince's authority, we still need to undergo a set of procedures for me to be registered to participate in official missions, let alone ones like this," Magnus explained, his face sullen. "Having the status of an archmage is kind of a pain, you see. My mana is tracked by the Risk Faction, and I'll never hear the end of it if they find out that I used it without notifying them beforehand prior notice."

Edris thought Magnus Vyris must have been holding himself back at the banquet. Never in his life did he meet a person as loquacious as him. Not to mention, he was an esteemed lord and archmage of the upper society.

Before Edris could say anything in return, the archmage seemed to have convinced himself of something as he returned to his previous cherry state.

"But worry not! I assure you that Faren would do just as good of a job in my place," he stated. "Not only can he cast wide-radius spells, but he's also someone who's full of surprises."

"I will try my best!" Faren quickly chimed in.

"Wait, Master, we're going somewhere?" Celio perked up at the contents of the conversation he was hearing for the first time.

— …Heh.

Edris sighed.

This was a mess.

He didn't know the Crown Prince's intentions behind sending these two here, but it was definitely unnecessary.

When Edris assured he didn't need reinforcement, he was serious. The traveller himself may not be enough, but he still had a certain pink fluff at hand. Edris planned to make good use of this opportunity to test Ace's limits—if he even had any.

He thought the Crown Prince was clever, but what's with the unexpected stubbornness?

Not to mention, Edris felt even more confounded at the way the archmage threw out all those violent terms like wide-radius attacks, combat…

The last time he checked, they were going to hold an investigation—not head to war.

This wasn't simply Edris being an optimist. Rather, his statements came from realistic considerations.

As someone who had personally experienced the so-called slums in other kingdoms, Edris knew the rules of the people there.

To an extent, those who lived with nothing were more civil than those who always wanted something; the former understood the notion of exchange and the value of sacrifice, while the latter resorted to oppression.

"I'm going to the Slums," Edris turned to Celio. "There's been sights of dark magic that seem to originate from around the area."

"Then I will…"

Edris held up his hand before Celio could finish his sentence.

"Even though it's an investigation, there's no saying what would happen there. I might get injured, and I might die." Celio didn't miss the seriousness on his face as Edris spoke. Unlike its usual nonchalance, his voice was grazed with fatigue. "You would be subjected to the same risks, perhaps even greater."

Of course, Edris wasn't planning for himself nor the people going with him to get hurt. There was Ace and also the Tempest for him to use.

Even though Celio lacked experience with the "real" world, he didn't think the boy would have too much trouble with his talent and abilities. If anything, he might have a better chance than Edris of surviving in a situation involving violence. However, he still chose to prepare Celio for the worst-case scenario.

Edris didn't want to take responsibility for anything unforeseeable.

The beast tamer was still young and innocent, but he should know at least this much.

"Are you saying this because you don't want me to go with you?" Contrary to Edris's intentions, Celio's mind landed on a whole separate channel. His golden eyes looked like they were about to water up, but they remained locked on Edris, irises unmoving. "I'm coming. I promise I won't be a burden."

"I know you won't, but…"

"Please."

At Celio's adamancy, Edris fell silent for a few seconds before shrugging in compliance. "Do as you wish."

As he said that, the man pulled out something from his bag and tossed it towards the beast tamer, who caught it with one hand on reflex.

"A weapon. It's yours now."

Celio's eyes widened. In his hand was a small but intricate, double-edged dagger. Sophisticated lining traced around the handle, and the blade glowed majestically under the warm lamp light.

He had scammed it off Alan the last time he visited his shop. Given the nature of their collaboration, he knew the machina wouldn't refuse.

"I will cherish it!" This time, his eyes really did grow teary, and Edris had to hold up his hand once more to stave off any of the beast tamer's emotional rambling.

"Prophet Edris, may I also become your disciple—"

"No." Edris firmly cut Faren off, only to notice Magnus's entertained look from peripheral vision. He was getting a headache from the people in the room.

"Come to think of it…" Celio's cheery voice waned slightly as his eyes wandered from one person to the next.

Edris, with his dark hair and ghostly grey eyes, was practically known throughout the capital. Then there's the famous eldest son of the Ablemore family. Lastly, Celio himself had golden hair that screamed the word "foreigner."

According to the plan, the three of them were going to investigate the Slums secretly.

"…Does anyone here know any disguise magic?"

Faren awkwardly scratched his chin while Magnus shrugged as if it was none of his business.

Edris looked at him strangely. "What do we need that for?"

For once, Celio didn't know how to respond.

From Edris's mind, Ace let out a long, long sigh.