“…Me?” Alnea said, hesitantly pointing to himself. “I am your Good Fortune?”

  “…That is what my Roots tell me. Though my mother is a little sceptical—

  “Wait. Your mother knows about me?”

  “Of course, she does. Where else do you think I got those fifteen thousand Contribution Points from?”

  “…And she has nothing to say about you becoming my Dependent?”

  “Oh, she had something to say, alright. Especially when she learned that you are not even fifteen years old. Though she was impressed by your talent. But that is still not enough cover up for your age, and current Rank. It was the first time I have seen her make such rich expressions. Almost as if she was beginning to doubt everything she knew in her life. Or maybe she was beginning to doubt my Roots…

  “In any case, she has become very interested in you. And if not for the fear that the Final World might not be able to bear her presence, she might even have waltzed into your Final Trial to see you. And when she did see you—

  “Stop!” Alnea said, pinching his brows, as his heart began to palpitate. “When did your mother see me?”

  “When you returned from the Final World, silly. Anyways, as I was saying, when my mother saw you, her interest in you grew even stronger. And she agreed to let me become your Dependent. She even wanted to bring you back to the Blue Thunder Canyons—

  “He is not going to your clan!”

  “…But she gave up the idea when I told her that bringing you back to our clan might down calamity upon us.”

  “…Calamity?” Alnea said, rolling the word off his tongue, as he recalled the past two and a half years of his life. “Did your Roots warn you about me?”

  “…Do I look like a prophet to you?” Daes said, rolling her eyes. “My Roots did increase my affinity with the Mysteries of Fate, but they did not teach me the art of peeking into Fate. Neither does my clan have any relevant Arcanas in the field. At best, my Roots just occasionally guide me when I stand on a crossroad of fate.”

  “…Then all that about me brining calamity…”

  “Of course, it was a lie. I did not spend fourteen years in this Raeon forsaken city, just to go back to the Blue Thunder Canyons as soon as I regained my freedom. Though I think that my mother might have caught on to me. Thankfully, she did not dare to risk my Roots to test my words…”

  The more that Daes spoke, the more smug she became with herself, until she could not help bursting into a laugh.

  “I am indeed a genius to think of such an excellent excuse!”

  “…Is it really alright for you to lie to her?”

  “No worries,” Daes said, waving her hand dismissively. “She is my mother. I know her best. Even if there is only the slightest of chance, she would not risk destroying my faith in my Roots by digging into my lies. Though, just in case, we should not stay in the city longer than necessary… When do you plan on leaving the city?”

  “…Soon,” Alnea said. “We just need to meet with someone.”

  “Your elder?”

  “My master.”

  “…She is in the core city, right? Do you want me to send her a message?”

  “No need,” Yuri said, taking out a Glyph Token from her storage pouch. “We can call her whenever we are ready to leave the city.”

  “A communication token?” Daes said, nodding at the token. “Then all that is left is just registering us as your Dependents…”

  “…And?” Tia said, glancing at Daes with a frown. “Are you forgetting something?”

  “…Nope,” Daes said after some thought, shaking her head. “I did not forget anything.”

  “…Think again.”

  “…I really cannot think of anything that I might have forgotten—

  “Me! You forgot about me!”

  “And us,” Vestia added. “Since we are going to be companions, then it is only fair that everyone introduces themselves.”

  “…Who is going to be companion with you flies—

  “Daes.”

  “Joke. It was a joke,” Daes said, laughing awkwardly, as she glanced at Tia. “Anyways, I have already said everything that I wanted to. Next, it is your turn. Just try to hurry up a little. We do not want my mother catching up to us before we leave the city. Otherwise, even if she does not take Alnea back to the Thunder Canyons, she will take back all the Contribution Points she gave me.”

  “…Why do I think that the latter is your true purpose?”

  “Huh? Did I say something?”

  “…No. You did not say anything. And you do not have to worry. I am not going to begin my story from thirty two years ago.”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “Thirty two? But I thought that you were thirty—

  “Shut up,” Tia said, glaring at Daes. “You have already had your chance to speak. Now, just sit there and listen like everyone else.”

  “…Tsk. It is just your age. Why do you have to be so shy about it?”

  “…It is just your mother. Why do you have to be afraid of her?”

  “…Please, continue,” Daes said solemnly, as she straightened her back, before gesturing to seal her mouth, but only got a sneer in return. Yet, instead of returning the sneer, she just watched in silence, as Tia shifted her gaze back to Alnea.

  “Now that you have listened to Daes’ story, do you still think that there is no need for us to tell you more about ourselves?”

  “…I never said that I did not want to listen to your stories. I just said that your past has nothing to do with whether or not I will accept you as my Dependents. And I still stand by what I said. But…”

  “…But?”

  “It would not hurt to know more about you,” Alnea said, glancing at crazy woman, sitting in silence, before shifting his attention back to Tia. “Not just to understand you as my Dependents, but also to understand what kind of Wanderer you are.”

  “…What if I am a heinous villain, who betrayed her own companions?”

  “Then I will become the kind of companion whom you would never want to betray.”

  “…If only things were so simple,” Tia said, stretching her lips to mimic a smile. But she was not smiling. And neither was anyone else.

  “Unlike Daes, my story is not so complicated. Though I showed some talent as a Seed and a False Wanderer, it was not prominent enough for the enemies of my clan to waste their resources in plotting my downfall. Neither did I face any betrayals from my companions. Sure, we had some disagreements from time to time, but not to an extent that would see us pointing our swords at each other’s throats. Yet, we were also not so close as to risk our lives for each other.

  “The rest of the story is as you would expect. In our Final Trial—We did not have Final Trial back then, but you can think of it as our Final Trial to understand our situation more intuitively. In any case, in that battle, our team somehow managed to make it to the end, with only two other teams standing between us and the inner city. But we were all exhausted. So much so, that half of us were even having trouble standing, let alone be in a condition to fight.

  “It was only natural then, for some of us to suggest giving up. After all, back then, there were no rules preventing us from applying for the Final Trial once again. Since we could try again in a few months, there was no point in needlessly risking our lives. And they were right. It was just that some of us did not like the idea of giving up after we had come so close to entering the inner city. Some of us, like me. Especially me…”

  Tia paused, and closed her eyes, restraining the emotions leaking into her voice, opening them only when she had returned back to normal. At least on the surface.

  “…You see, though I was never as talented as some of the best Wanderers my age, I did have some talent. And I was very ambitious. While most of my companions were content with just making it close to the inner city, I wanted to enter the inner city… and even the core city. Because only with the resources of the core city, could I fulfil my dreams of becoming a Grand Wanderer. Maybe, even go beyond the Grand Rank…

  “There was just one problem. With my talent, and the meagre strength of my companions, it was almost impossible for me to make it to the inner city. Yet, there I was, standing so close to taking the first step of my dreams… It was almost as if Goddess Ilea herself was giving me a sign. Or so I thought, and convinced my companions to make one last charge with me, only for it to become the last charge of their lives…”

  Tia paused once again, going into a daze, reliving the last moments of her teammates…

  “…Tia?”

  “…Forgive me,” Tia said, quickly coming back to her senses, resuming her fake smile, that looked more like a cry for help. “Where was I?”

  “…You do not have to—

  “Right, the charge,” Tia said, ignoring the concerning gazes of the people around her. “It was a total disaster. Of the thirteen of us, only three survived. And even of the survivors, one lost his right hand, and the other, his left eye. Only I was left mostly unscathed, without any scars… Do you want to know why?”

  “…Tia—

  “Because I abandoned them,” Tia said, clenching her fist, as she finally lost the fake smile. “I was the one who convinced them to charge with me, yet when things turned sour, I was the first to run away. I turned my back on them when they needed my help… That’s the kind of Wanderer I am. One who abandons her companions…”

  “…It was not your fault, Tia. Everyone fears death…”

  “Death?” Tia said, breaking out in a hysterical laugh. “Do you know what my first thought was when I saw my companions die before my eyes?”

  “…Tia—

  “Ah, there goes my dream of entering the inner city… That was the first thought in my head.”

  “…Tia.”

  “I never feared death. The only thing I ever feared watching my dreams slip away from my hands… It was no wonder that even my clan refused to stand up for me…”

  “Let’s stop here, Tia.”

  “Stop? But I have not even begun. There are so many things I still want to tell you…”

  “…We can talk about those things later—

  “Later… That is what I told my companions. That we will all go to the inner city later… They could not even return to the outer city…”

  “Enough,” Alnea said, bouncing off his seat, and moving towards Tia in one swift motion, with his left knee still on the ground, to hold her by her shoulders and shake her back to her senses. All while asking Daes for her help with his eyes. Yet, all he received was silence. She did move closer to Tia, and even urged her Aspects, ready to subdue the latter if she lost control. But when it came to coaxing the hysterical woman back to her senses, she left it all for him to handle.

  Then again, her actions did make sense. After all, Daes could never give Tia what she needed. Neither could the girls, also getting ready to jump into action. Although he felt that he was being a little presumptuous, and maybe even a little too arrogant, the moment he looked into Tia’s dazed eyes, he knew that only he could guide her back to her senses. Only he could give her the salvation she yearned.

  So, he did was he had to do, and let go of Tia’s shoulder, before slapping her cheeks with both his hands, snapping her into silence.

  “Look at me,” Alnea said, staring into Tia’s dark brown eyes. “Are you a coward?”

  Tia shook her head in a daze.

  “Then why are you trying to run away?”

  Tia stayed still.

  “Do you regret your actions?”

  Tia slowly nodded her head.

  “If you can go back in time, and live that moment again, would still abandon your companions?”

  Tia shook her head. Hesitantly.

  “If you are forced in a similar situation again in the future, then will you still abandon your companions?”

  Tia stayed still.

  “Answer me, Tia. Will you abandon me?”

  Tia shook her head vehemently.

  “Will you abandon your companions again?”

  “…Never.”

  “Then that is all I need to know to make my decision,” Alnea said, stretching his lips into a grin. “Come, be my Dependent, Tia. And I will take you to fulfil your dreams.”

  “…Then I will be in your care from now on, Alnea…” Tia answered with a smile, as tears streaked down her cheeks. “And… thank you… for trusting me. I promise that I will never let you down.”