Silence descended on the Blood Hall once again. Though, this time, it came down only around Alnea, his friends, and the five Wanderers around him. And it came for just a short moment. Only until Daes and Tia came back to their senses.

  “It is not good manners to hurry someone into a decision, Nubia,” Tia said, glaring at Nubia. Though most of her glare was from embarrassment, rather than anger. “He has not even learned everything about the inner city yet. And he needs time to digest the information he has learned. To think about his decision once again.”

  “What is there to think about?” Nubia added. “You two get the freedom you so desire, and he gets to have two followers. Both at the Fourth Stage of the True Rank. I think that is as good a deal as any. Am I right, Alnea?”

  “I—

  “Do not listen to her, Alnea,” Daes said, stepping in between Nubia and Alnea. “You can take your time to think about your decision once again. Get used to the inner city first. Try out some of its resources. Take a few missions. Maybe even buy some information. Then, when you are ready to leave the city, we can come back to the Blood Hall to register us as your Dependents.”

  “…It is alright, Wanderer Da—

  “Call me just Daes. And the same with the Bluestorm. If we are going to be your Dependents, then we need to be on a first name basis. Or it would be too tiring to talk.”

  “…It is alright, Daes. Tia. I have all the information I need to make my decision. Though—

  “There is no need to be in a hurry.”

  “At least let me explain my Roots.”

  “…This is the first time—Well, not the first time. Still, it is rare to see someone in such a hurry to explain their Roots.”

  “That is because if I am going to be your Dependent, then I need you to trust me.”

  “…But I already believe you, Daes. And you too, Tia.”

  “Still…”

  “…I think it would be best if we reserve registering us as your Dependents for the last hour before we leave the city. It will be like a farewell of sorts…”

  “…I think that you two are just trying to hide something,” Alnea said, narrowing his eyes at the two women. “Why do you want to delay becoming my Dependents?”

  “Because they are too shy to roam around the city as your Dependents,” Nubia said, answering for Daes and Tia with a laugh. “Dependents are an open secret in the city. Everyone knows about them. Mostly because all the Blood Lords have them. At least those, who have not been punished by the city. But that is still quite a large number. Enough to spread their rumours to everyone who can know their information. To even some False Wanderers.

  “More importantly, every Dependent has a Blood Lord behind them. So, every time a new Dependent is registered, their information is quickly spread among those in the know, to prevent them from unknowingly offend a Blood Lord. Usually, this would not have been a problem. But in their case, the Blood Lord they have chosen is you, just a False Wanderer. That too, of only the Advanced Stage. And that is where their shyness comes from.”

  “…Are you ashamed to become my Dependents?”

  “No! Absolutely not!”

  “I would never think like that, Alnea. On the contrary, I think it is my—our honour, to become your Dependents.”

  “Then…”

  “Look at what you did!” Daes said, glaring at Nubia, before turning back towards Alnea. And in doing so, triggered her blood to rush to her face. Which, she could have easily avoided with the help of her Aspects. But she did not. Because what she needed at the moment was the sincerity of a Dependent, not the dignity of a True Wanderer.

  “I… We…”

  “They just do not want to create more trouble for you,” Nubia said, restraining her laugh for a smile. “Like I said before, Dependents are an open secret in the city. Which means, if people learn that they have become your Dependents, then it would not be hard for them to guess that they are going to leave the city. And some people might not want to see that happen.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they are jealous of me!” Daes said with a snort, but that only made Alnea more confused.

  “Just because they are jealous, they will try to stop you from leaving the city?”

  “…Humans are very complicated creatures, Alnea,” Tia said, shaking her head. “Sometimes, they need elaborate reasons, and detailed plans to even take a step. At other times, a simple emotion is enough for them to fight against the whole world. Besides, you do not think that you are the only one with enemies in the city, right?”

  “…I see,” Alnea said, nodding solemnly. “So, if we register you as my Dependents right now, then your enemies might try to trick you into making mistakes, and force you to stay in the city?”

  “…Or they could just trick you into being punished, depriving you of the right to have Dependents.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “…I understand,” Alnea said after a few moments. “Then let’s do as you suggested, and leave the Blood Hall for now. Anyways, I also had a few things that I need to share, before you can become my Dependents. And it would be best if we could discuss these things in private. Though, we do need to rent a mansion first—

  “Nonsense,” Daes said, waving her hand to dismiss Alnea’s words. “You can just live in my mansion. It is empty anyway.”

  “I would not want to impose—

  “There is nothing to impose. Just think of it as your own mansion.”

  “But my friends—

  “Of course, they are coming too. Do not worry. My mansion is large enough to accommodate twenty people at once.”

  “That is not the problem here…”

  “Give up, Alnea,” Tia said, with a wry smile on her face. “Once she becomes stubborn, no one can change her mind. Besides, it is just a mansion. Compared to the hope you have brought us, it is not worth mentioning.”

  “…It looks like I do not have any other choice then,” Alnea said, before glancing at his friends. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “…About that…”

  “We will not be leaving with you, Captain.”

  “…What?” Alnea said, pausing in both his steps, and his thoughts. It was not until a few moments had passed, that he finally registered what Aren had said. “…Why?”

  “…We have already dissolved our team.”

  “And our goals have also become different.”

  “You want to leave the city.”

  “While we still have things that we must accomplish in the city.”

  “But we can stay together while I am still in the city…”

  “There is no point, Captain.”

  “We have already talked with our clans.”

  “They should be sending someone to pick us up in a while.”

  “So soon?”

  “It is not soon.”

  “We have already delayed for a couple of days.”

  “Our clans wanted us to return the day we came back from the Final World.”

  “We had to hear quite a lot to stay with you for a few more days.”

  “But it is time for us to part our ways.”

  “…I…”

  “…We knew that this day was going to come sooner or later.”

  “We even had a farewell feast a couple of days ago.”

  “And it is not as if we are dying.”

  “Or cutting off all our contacts.”

  “We will still be friends.”

  “And we can meet whenever we want.”

  “Is that not what you said, Captain?”

  “…You bastards have quite a good memory.”

  “Stop being so sad, or you will make us sad too.”

  “…I am not sad!”

  “Then what are those tears doing in your eyes?”

  “…I don’t have any tears!”

  “Captain is crying!”

  “I am not crying! And who is your Captain?”

  “You.”

  “…Not anymore.”

  “But you will always be our Captain.”

  “Just as we will always be Star Seekers.”

  “Star Seekers,” Alnea mumbled, before glancing at his friends. “Have you decided on what Stars you want to chase next?”

  “Of course, we have.”

  “Who do you think we are?”

  “Had we not wanted to come to the inner city together, we would have already gone off chasing after our Stars.”

  “…Be careful. This time, I will not be there to save your ass.”

  “…At least we were not stabbed by an Initial Stage False Wanderer.”

  “Or caught in a trap.”

  “…Let’s see how smug you will be when you have to take care of yourself,” Alnea grumbled, before glancing at Ralph. “What about you, Ralph? Did your clan finally recognise your efforts?”

  “…They said that they were pleased with my performance. And that they are willing to let me return with all honours. But I must either give them all your information, or stay in the city until I become a True Wanderer.”

  “It is alright. I do not mind. You can tell them—

  “I chose the latter.”

  “…You… You are at just the Fifth Level right now. Do you know how long you will have to stay until you reach the True Rank?”

  “A couple of years? Maybe three. It does not matter. I will never betray my companions.”

  “…You are not betraying me. I am asking you to tell them my information. I will be leaving the city anyway. And by the time I come back, any information you would have given them would have become obsolete.”

  “It is not about the value of the information, but my principles,” Ralph said, with a firm light in his eyes. “If I did as they asked, then what would be the difference between me and my father?”

  “…Why do you have to be so stubborn?” Alnea mumbled, but did not persuade Ralph any longer. Instead, he turned towards Aren. “What about your clan? Are they trying to stop you from getting your sister’s information?”

  “…I am already in the inner city,” Aren said. “No one can stop me from seeking my vengeance now.”

  “…But they will not help you either,” Alnea said. “Do you need some Contribution Points?”

  “No,” Aren said, shaking his head. “I have to do this on my own.”

  “Another stubborn man,” Alnea mumbled, before glancing the rest of his friends. “What about the three of you? Unlike these two, you came to the Lost City just to hone yourself. So, what are you going to do next?”

  “…My clan asked me to return to the Red Trail Desert with the next group of Wanderers that leave the city…”

  “…I want to search for the secrets of the inner city…”

  “And I need to… I need to… Hey, what was my line?”

  “…Idiot,” Karl said, kicking Zain’s leg. “You had just one line, and you still mess up.”

  “…It was a confusing line.”

  “What is so confusing about wanting to learn Arcanas of the Lost City?”

  “That! That was confusing. How can the Arcanas of the Lost City compare with the Arcanas of my clan?”

  “…You…”

  “I told you, we should not have given him any lines.”

  “Then he would have jumped up and said even more dumber things.”

  “…What are we supposed to do now?”

  “…What else can we do?”

  “…You rascals…”

  “Let’s run!”