A calm silence prevailed over Loganel and Azura as things had finally calmed down a bit for both of them. They had separated after sharing that brief episode of intimacy and were now sitting in their original spots, not too far from the other in this small bedroom of the abandoned house they had decided to use as their temporary camp. As Loganel rested his head on the stone wall with closed eyes, he listened to the outside city. All he could hear was the occasional rattling of the bones and sound of rotten flesh making contact with the floor. All in all, aside from the noises made by the Undead, it was calm.

"You think everyone made it out alright?" Azura broke the silence with a soft whisper.

"I think so," Loganel opened his eyes and gazed at the empty air before him. "Whatever that wolf was, it's dangerous. I think it's that thing that was attacking the expedition team the whole time."

"..."

The silence returned, enveloping both of them in an awkward moment where drowsiness existed but has now lost the amount of power such that one does not feel a real desire to sleep immediately. That was the reason why the two of them merely sat there, waiting for the desire to for rest returns once again.

"You said earlier...about the time nine years ago," Loganel started as he looked over at Azura.

"Y-you heard that?" Azura appeared to shift a bit from her sitting position, with flushed cheeks as her face reddened from embarrassment. "You do not remember?" Azura frowned.

"I ugh...I lost my memories when I was eight, which is um...seven?--no almost eight years probably. My birthday's in a few days so..."

"You lost your memory?" Azura's eyes were opened wide as she leaned her body forward towards Loganel out of curiosity.

"Yeah," Loganel sighed. "It just sorta happened."

"T-then do you still remember our promise?" Azura stuttered as she gazed at Loganel's face, reading it while displaying a stern expression on hers.

"Sorry," Loganel apologized. "I really don't remember anything before my eight birthday."

"Well," Azura sank back down into her sitting position, "when we were seven nine years ago, my father had taken me to the frontier, in the Ainzloft territory. I was out by myself with my maids when I wandered away into the forests by accident, almost as if I was in a trance and drawn towards something. I couldn't remember much of it, but," she paused, smiling with joy as she recalled her past memories, "you were the first person I saw when I regained my consciousness. You were bruised almost everywhere on your body, with numerous cuts here and there. Even then, with all your wounds, you looked at me and smiled as if nothing had happened. I know something had happened for why else would our parents be so angry and glad at the same time?"

"I-is that all?" Loganel inquired. "You're not hiding anything from me are you?"

"That is all," Azura shook her head. "It's getting late so I'll be off to bed now," she said as she closed her eyes.

"H-hey wait," Loganel got up and reached out towards her. "You said something about a promise earlier on. What was it?"

As Loganel's hands moved closer and closer to Azura's he immediately stopped it. He was hesitant on making physical contact due to him still unsure about whether or not the she would give consent to it. Loganel had thought he was good at reading people, but maybe that only applied to men. To him, a girl's heart is like the great unknown, shrouded in a mysterious mist that just somehow could never unravel. It will never tell him where he's going, until he maybe one day stumble upon their "island".

He sighed and bitterly smiled as he watched her face. Her closed eyes and a poorly concealed smile made it obvious that she was pretending to be asleep. Loganel knew this and he also knows that no matter what he tried, she will not speak of the subject again. Therefore, with a sigh, Loganel dispelled his curiosity as best as he possibly could, and resorted to just observing her face.

Loganel blushed as he focused on her face. For some reason, she appeared quite heavenly to him, almost as if she was an angel that had descended from the kingdom of the deities onto this earth, pure and untainted by any earthly desires.

Just looking at her, she sure is beautiful, Loganel thought.

Azura had curled her legs close to her body in a way that one could not see up her skirt by accident. In addition to that, she hugged her arms close to herself, and shivered slightly from time to time.

Loganel sighed as he began taking off his outer coat. He quietly said his goodbyes to the piece of clothing that brought him warmth in this cold underground ruins before he gently laid it over her body.

"Here, just like how you had done for me way back then," whispered Loganel as he recalled that night he had spent outside the cabin while they were on their mission to rid the mountain village of the Orcs.

Loganel then slowly walked back over to his little corner and rubbed his hands together. He summoned a small orb of fire into his hands and warmed himself up. Then, he curled his body together so that his body heat could be evenly distributed. Finally, he closed his eyes as he prepared for a slumber.

As Loganel gradually stirred, he blinked his eyes in the darkness of the underground city. He still wasn't very used to waking up in darkness. He yawned and shivered as he moved his limbs, feeling the cool morning air in his hands. He felt something slip down as he stretched his arms out, and when he opened his eyes and studied it for a brief second, he realized that it was the coat that he had taken off and covered Azura with. Loganel looked around the room for her, and was quite surprised to discover that she was already up and was sitting on a chair that she had dusted off. She smiled as the two of them made eye contact. Her long hair was still straight and tidy despite the long days that they've been underground, and in addition, it would appear that she has kept her level hygiene quite high for she appeared as clean as ever.

"Looks like you finally decided to wake up," Azura commented.

"What time is it." Loganel yawned and shivered as he slowly put on his coat.

"You're the one with the pocket watch," Azura calmly responded, arms crossed before her breast.

"Sorry," Loganel summoned the watch from his storage ring. "I forgot about that."

"What do you think should be our plan for today?" Azura looked over at Loganel as she checked the condition of her rapier by unsheathing it and observing the sharpness of the blade as a whole and its tip.

"It's the same as yesterday," Loganel brought the sheath that harbored his blade to his belt and clipped it on. "We try to catch up with them."

Standing before the blockaded doorway, Loganel inhaled and exhaled deeply. His heart pounded as the new day's adventurer dawned on him in an area filled with unknown mysteries. Why did the Kobolds disappear? Why are there suddenly Undeads roaming about here? And what is that wolf creature that they had encountered? These questions filled him with insecurity, causing him to be paranoid and on edge despite him trying his best to conceal it from others.

He glanced back at Azura and smiled. The sight of her calmed his nerves. It is comforting for him to have someone be with him. Even though he was used to fighting on his own like he had done in the past months, having a companion that he could rely on to watch his back is extremely reassuring.

"You ready?" Loganel asked, a casual smile on his face.

"Yeah," Azura nodded.

"Then let's go then."

Loganel took the first step into the outside world. He quietly looked around for enemies and upon seeing that there was no enemies in his vicinity, he gestured to Azura for her to emerge from the interior of the stone brick building.

"Objectives for the day," he said as he ran through the streets of Ekeletas, looking side to side so as to watch for any enemies and search for the stairway leading to the next floor down, "regroup with the team, and get out of here alive! Avoid unnecessary confrontations and do not get distracted by the monsters."

He glanced over his shoulders at Azura and saw a look of determination on her face. No longer did that face belong to that gentle and tender girl, but rather, she was now a warrior, ready to face any enemy when needed. Despite all of this though, she still retained her feminine beauty: pale white skin that was smooth and long white hair that moved in the air behind her.

We'll get out of here alive, Loganel thought as he maintained his current jogging pace. Iry, wait for me.

Author's Note:

And add this book to your reading list and follow me if you haven't. Thank you!!!!