Tia stared at Alnea for a few moments, before bursting out into a laugh.

  “I did not think that you would be able to see me so clearly, little brother,” Tia said, glancing at Nubia, before turning back to Alnea. “You are right. Although I like the feeling of watching the Wanderers I guide grow up, I have not given up on my ambitions… My conviction… And I have already learned my lesson. I have paid for the mistakes I made. And if given the chance to fulfil my dreams once again, I certainly would not hesitate. But I still have to ask. Are you that chance, Alnea?”

  “…You should have guessed it from my conversation with Wanderer Martha.”

  “I did. But I dare not believe in my guess.”

  “…Then how about we go to the inner city to turn that guess into a confirmation?”

  “…Indeed. Everything will be confirmed once we enter the inner city.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” Alnea said, and bowed towards Tia, just as how he had bowed towards Nubia moments ago. “After you, Wanderer Tia.”

  “…You have done a good job of teaching him,” Tia said, glancing towards the girls with a smile, and gave them a wink, before turning towards the opposite direction of the street from where the Star Seekers had come. “Keep up.”

  Not waiting for the Star Seekers to react, the two Wanderers began walking towards the depths of the city, leaving just Martha standing in place. But Alnea did not have the time to worry about her. For some reason, the two women were walking at a very brisk pace. Probably because they could not wait to get to the inner city. Or they just wanted to tease him.

  Regardless, Alnea could only follow behind the two women, and try to keep up with their pace. Or he could just run. But that would be embarrassing. Both for him, and his teammates. So, he just quickened his steps, following behind the women from one street to the next, watching their surroundings turn from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Though he had already expected as much.

  Unlike the outer city, he had not heard of the inner city being divided into four regions. And as such, it could exist only where the four Districts intersected. Right at the very centre of the Lost City. Unless it lay in a completely different world, with its entrances scattered all across the four Districts. But his tired legs were saying otherwise… Should he ask Vestia for a potion to relieve his soreness?

  Alnea paused in his steps for a moment, before quickly resuming his walk, Slaughtering the errant thought in his Heart while he was at it. Relying too much on external forces for every little thing was not good for his Heart. And his will. He had spent years, drowning in all kinds of pain, to sharpen his will. He did not wish to see it go to waste just because he could not bear some soreness.

  Besides, letting his body recover on its own had its own benefits. Like more resilience. Higher stamina. And after a period of repeated cycle, even a higher recovery rate. More importantly, it did not affect the growth of his height. On the contrary, the more exercise he got, the more his body would grow. Though he was already taller than all three girls, and was catching up to women walking in front, he did not mind growing a little more.

  In any case, after walking for so long, Alnea was sure that the inner city lay in the very centre of the Lost City. And he also confirmed that asking the Wanderers of the Blood Hall to lead their way was the correct choice. Otherwise, given how unfamiliar even Vestia and Karl were with the path they were walking on, they really might have taken weeks to make it to the inner city. Maybe even more…

  “…Why do those people look like they are in a daze?”

  “…They are not just in a daze. If you follow their movements, you will also notice that they are moving in a circle.”

  “Have they been caught in illusions?”

  “…Who would dare to cast illusions in the Lost City so blatantly?”

  “And why has the city guards not come to their rescue yet?”

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  “…Maybe, it is not that the city guards have not come, but that there is no need for them to come.”

  “…Why would—

  “Remember what we discussed earlier?”

  “…Are you saying…”

  “…Now that you mention it, this place does feel a little strange…”

  “…It is a little too deserted…”

  “…But the people on the street—

  “They do not belong here… Though there are people on the streets… these buildings are empty.”

  “Huh? That’s right. Why did I not think about it earlier? We have been walking for so long, but why have we not seen anyone exit these buildings?”

  “It is not just these buildings… even these streets are unfamiliar.”

  “…But how can there still be a place within the Northern District that we are unfamiliar with?”

  “Unless it is not a part of the Northern District…”

  “…Is this the inner city?”

  “Not yet,” Nubia said, glancing towards the group of Wanderers that the Star Seekers were talking about. “This is just the buffer zone…”

  Nubia paused, and glanced back at the Star Seekers, before continuing with her words.

  “Think of it as the place where the outer city transitions into the inner city. A place to filter out all the unqualified people, who stumbled towards the inner city either by design, or by mistake.”

  “…By filter, you mean…”

  “Guided out of this place,” Nubia said, following the gaze of the Star Seekers to look at the Wanderers in the distance. “What else did you think would happen?”

  “…Even if the city guides them away from the inner city, surely, they should be able to tell that there is something wrong with this place.”

  “If they can remember this place,” Tia said, answering for Nubia. “You cannot feel the Mysteries because you have already become Blood Commanders, but had you come here as Blood Soldiers, like those people, then you would have only thought that you got lost. And the next time you came close to this place, your subconscious mind would have guided you away.”

  “…Just like we thought…”

  “…Oh? Did you already have an inkling of what was happening?”

  “…Not at first,” Vestia said. “But when we came back after completing our Final Trial, and could not stop our thoughts of going to the inner city, Alnea was able to quickly make the connection.”

  “…Somehow, I do not find that surprising,” Tia said, before glancing at Alnea. “Do you want to help them?”

  “No need,” Alnea said, withdrawing his gaze from those hapless Wanderers. “Let us continue on our way.”

  Tia’s smile grew even wider at his words, as did Nubia’s, but they did not say anything. Instead, they turned their attention back to the path ahead. Alnea, however, could not stop himself from glancing at the other Wanderers around them. Not the ones who had stumbled into the buffer zone, but the ones who had come there rightfully. Either by clearing their Final Trial, or by the virtue of their strength. And of them all, nearly half wore a blood red robe.

  “…Just how many people has the Lost City employed?”

  “…Probably around five to six thousand,” Nubia said. “The number keeps on fluctuating, but it stays around that figure.”

  “Five to six thousand True Wanderers…”

  “…We cannot really be considered as True Wanderers anymore.”

  “Nonsense,” Alnea said, turning back towards the two women. “You both are splendid True Wanderers. And you should not let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  “…I am glad that you think of us in such high regard, Alnea, but like you said to Martha, there are some things that we cannot run away from.”

  “There is a reason why we cannot leave the Lost City. Even if you help me get rid of some of the city’s restraints, that reason will not change.”

  “In the end, we are just some people with broken Hearts.”

  “…I am not denying that you do not have your flaws. Everyone has them. Yours is just a little greater than others. But as long as you are willing to work on those flaws, as long as you are willing to piece back your Heart, you will stand tall once again. Is that not why you agreed to my invitation, Wanderer Martha? And why you chose to stay in the city, Wanderer Nubia?”

  “…Are we being lectured by a kid?”

  “…It looks like we are.”

  “…First of all, I am not a kid. I am almost fifteen years old. And I am already an Advanced Stage False Wanderer. More importantly, I was not lecturing you. I was just stating the truth.”

  “…Since you believe in us so much, how can we let you down?” Tia said, glancing at the woman walking next to her. “Am I right, Nubia?”

  “…Although it goes against my philosophy… Sometimes, we must guide others with examples, rather than just words of wisdom.”

  “Now, you are just being shy…”

  “…Stop messing around,” Nubia said, glaring at Tia, before turning towards the gateway that stood just a hundred or so metres away. “We have arrived at the inner city.”