“Thank you, Mister Harper”

Silcard Fedge smiled at the dishevelled young apothecary sitting across from him.

“A-ah just call me Charles. I did what I thought was right… and…”

Charles paused for a bit, looking a bit anxious, “No one seems to be looking for them.”

“I suspect that, after what happened to him, Espero completely forgot about his slaves. Anyway, please accept this as a token of my gratitude.”

Silcard took a small pouch and pushed it toward Charles Harper.

“I only did what was right. All life is precious and no one should be allowed to treat slaves like that.”

At first, Charles stubbornly refused them monetary reward, but after much persistence from the slave trader, he reluctantly put the pouch in an exquisite satchel he always carried with him.

“As for the last slave, you need not worry about her. I’m certain she’s with her savior.”

Charles frowned but didn’t require any further. He had seen how Espero’s knight was killed by something, but back then, everything happened too fast.

As a traveling apothecary, Charles had no small amount of brutalities, but that only made him feel more repulsed of violence.

“I must say, Charles, we could use someone of your talent here. You treated all of my people and didn’t ask for any payment.”

“Thank you for the offer, but my creed is to travel the world and provide succor for those in need.”

Silcard let out a sigh of disappointment, but he kept his amiable smile.

“Very well, then. You are free to stay in my humble abode until you leave Raml Asfr. If you ever need anything, just tell me. Thank you again, Charles.”

The young man nervously fidgeted around for a bit, hesitantly deliberating about something.

Silcard noticed that, but he maintained his silence and patiently waited for the apothecary. Eventually, Charles steeled himself and asked,

“I need help to find someone, Mister Fedge. He’s known as the Devil Doctor.”

Hearing the notorious name, Silcard creased his brow, “He is a dangerous person. It would be unwise to seek him out.”

“I…I need to. I believe he can help me find something.”

“Oh? And what would that be? I’ve got some connections in the black market.”

“...”

Seeing that Charles wasn’t willing to disclose anything more, Silcard refrained from asking any questions, he merely nodded his head.

“Alright. Give me some time. Hopefully, I’ll be able to procure a bit of information that could help you. Meanwhile, could I rely on you to take care of my people? I’m sure that your medicinal ministrations would still prove beneficiary.”

“Of course!”

…

One day before the end of the deadline given by Arthur

“You two are such early birds, I didn’t even noti-... ehm… wow! That’s quite a nice look, Bella!”

Chris jumped from his seat and dashed toward Isabella, whom he started to call ‘Bella’ despite her objection.

At dawn, the girl had left along with Evelyn, who took her shopping, for want of a better word.

Not only did get new and more appropriate clothes, she even had a shortsword strapped to the left side of her waist.

“Indeed, you look much better.” Remarked Arthur, who softly smiled and inspected her.

Isabella still looked unnaturally slim and had signs of malnutrition, but her facial complexion regained some vibrancy.

It had been a day since she met their merry group of theirs, but she seemed much more comfortable and less gloomy.

“I’m going to learn how to fight.” She declared, her voice soft but filled with confidence.

Evelyn glanced at her and nodded her head before explaining, “She told me that she’s immortal. Although I find that hard to believe, I don’t think I’m inclined to conduct tests.”

“Immortal? That’s much cooler than what I got! Why does everyone get to have good abilities while I’m still stuck with boring magic?”-Chris

“Magic isn’t boring, it is you who is untalented and lazy. Unless one is born with a magical ability, normal mages spend years studying theoretical and practical magic to be able to cast potent spells.”

Christopher grumbled but didn’t rebuke Evelyn, instead, he focused on the quiet Isabella. The girl wasn’t particularly talkative, but neither was she a mute. Rather, she would only speak when spoken to.

“Let us gather up for a second.”

Arthur gestured for them to sit around the small round table, which had a couple of half-eaten dishes on it.

Isabella extended her hand, attempting to grab a piece of meat, but Evelyn intervened.

“We ate breakfast an hour ago. You should exercise restraint and not eat just anything.”

“Let the girl enjoy whatever she wants. You’re such a hard-ass, Evelyn! Did you forget that Bella was a slave? They must’ve starved her for days.”

“...”

The maid’s cold eyes glared at Chris, but he shrugged and handed a piece of meat to Isabella.

“You’ve bickered enough, let’s start. Ahem…” Arthur cleared his throat and continued, “From now on, we’ll have ‘team meetings’. We’ll try to make it a regular thing, perhaps once or twice a week. As we are going to travel together, it is good to discuss our operations and plan ahead for possible complications. Chris and I used to do this a lot in the past.”

“It was fun in the beginning…. Not so much when you’re having a meeting with 20 to 30 people though.”-Chris

“Everyone is free to share their opinion and suggest things.” Arthur paused for a second and stared at Evelyn, “You know everything about me and Chris, Evelyn. No more secrets. The team meetings are meant for us- together as a group- to decide the next course of our journey. I don’t want to be the one making decisions.”

“Every person will have a different plan or opinion about something. I suspect this will only lead to more arguments, Master. Isn’t it better for one person to lead? If everyone trusts them, then it would be efficient and less time-consuming.”

“No. It is imperative that we discuss our objectives, our future destinations, and how we are going to proceed. Admittedly, we cannot plan ahead for every problem, but we can at least try to avoid, or better deal, with the ones we can expect.”

Evelyn sat there, silent for a couple of breaths, before she retorted, “Then, as this is a team meeting, I can openly say that pursuing this ‘Devil Doctor’ is a stupid move? To begin with, why are we so hell-bent on him, Master?”

Arthur, who expected her to say such a thing, smiled, “If he is the master of that gargoyle, then he must have answers about what happened to me and Chris decades ago… in our world. I’ve given it much thought and I think what happened to me before my death wasn’t a simple case of depression. Put simply, I want to get to the bottom of that matter, I want to know and understand why and how that gargoyle appeared that night.”

“...”

Chris glanced at Arthur, his expression inscrutable, but he didn’t say anything.

“There is also the matter of Isabella and that mysterious ‘X’, as well as my connection with her and that demon. Moreover, why and how was I, Chris, and Isabella brought to Astria? There are so many mysteries and questions, but we cannot tackle everything at the same time. Evelyn, I know that you worry about the dangers of seeking a member of the Circle of Damnation, but we can’t just ignore everything and aimlessly travel the lands, can we? What good would that do?”

“If I’m safe and I get to eat then I don’t care what we do or where we go.” Stated Isabella while stuffing her mouth with more food.

“I also have no objection. Even if he’s going to Hell itself, I’ll still go with my brother.”

Only Evelyn remained, though after much internal deliberation, she sighed and nodded once, “Very well. Even if your reasons were unconvincing, I wasn’t going to leave Master’s side. The constant embroilment with powerful and dangerous people notwithstanding, I prefer this life to that of an assassin’s. However, if we ever decide to travel South, please do keep in mind that my former organization will come for me.”

“If they ever come, we’ll deal with them. For now, let us officially begin the first ever team meeting!”

Arthur enthusiastically clapped his hands, followed by the cheerful Chris. Isabella busied herself with the food, though only half of her attention was focused on the conversation.