After a few hiccups, mostly from a certain narcissistic Arcanist, who seemed to have overcome all the gloom in his Heart, the Star Seekers finally made it to the Blood Hall. One of the largest buildings in the Lost City. At least, in their part of the city. And also, the most unique, with a dome for a roof, and the least number of windows. Relatively. It still had much more windows than necessary.

  Yet, the most unique part of the building was not its windows or roof, and neither its size, but its entrance, standing three floors above the ground. They had to take the stairs just to reach the building’s main entrance. A pair of giant red doors, a little less than twice his size, carved with figures similar to those carved on the gates of the city, that remained open at all times. Just like how it was half a year ago…

  “…What are you staring at the doors for?” Cecilia said, when she noticed Alnea stopping at the Blood Hall’s entrance, bringing him out of his thoughts.

  “…It’s nothing,” Alnea said, smiling in reminiscence at the doors, before turning his attention back to the Blood Hall. But he did not walk into the giant hall right away. Instead, he glanced back at his teammates, and said, “Whom are we going to ask for help?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “…No. But—

  “Then ask whomever you want,” Norren said, shrugging his shoulders. “They all have good relations with you anyway.”

  “Not all,” Vestia added. “Just a few women.”

  “But yes, you can ask whomever you want.”

  …Alnea turned around stiffly, before leading his team into the hall, ignoring the stares being directed at them. And the stares being directed at the back of his head. Fortunately, the stares were not as cold as they were the day before. They were at a level he could bear. Still, just in case, he decided to buy the girls some sweets later. The more expensive ones. Anyways, he had more Blood Coins than he could ever spend.

  Though, if he was buying sweets, should he also buy some sweets from the women he was going to greet? He was going to ask for their help, after all. It was only polite that he went with a gift. On second thought, his politeness might result in the weather becoming a bit chillier than he could bear, so he gave up on that idea, and made his way straight towards his goal. A woman standing behind an archaic table, clad in the blood red robe of the city, and with a bright smile on her face.

  “I was wondering when you would come.”

  “…Good morning, Wanderer Tia.”

  “Good morning to you too, Alnea,” Tia said, relief leaking into her voice. “And congratulations for clearing your Final Trial.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You must have had a hard time.”

  “…Nothing that I—we could not handle.”

  “…There is no need to act brave,” Tia said, and paused for a moment, before finishing her words. “I heard the rumours about your Trial…”

  “What rumours?”

  “About the Heterodox Wanderers sneaking into the Final World…”

  “Huh? How did you know that?”

  “…It was your teammate… former teammate, Greenspark.”

  “Fran?” Alnea said, just as the rest of the Star Seekers perked up their ears, shifting a little closer to Wanderer Tia. “What happened to him?”

  “…Your question should be what he did,” Tia said, and let out a sigh. “You do not know how worried I was when I saw him return all alone. I thought… It was only later, when I went to the inner city to… run some errands, and heard the stories he had spread, that I felt the stone in my Heart fall.”

  “…What stories?”

  “About your encounter with the Heterodox Wanderers. And how they had even prepared some Rituals. It was only because of Goddess Ilea’s blessings, that you were able to prevent it from erupting it with all its might, or the entire Final World might have fallen in the hands of the Heterodoxies. He even lodged a formal complaint against the Lost City through his clan for their lax management, allowing Heterodox Wanderers to sneak in.”

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  “Wait. So, the city knew that some Heterodox Wanderers had sneaked into the Final World as early as a week ago, yet it still chose to let the Trials continue?”

  “…For a time, some rumours did circulate that the city wanted to abandon the Trial and call everyone back, but some people pointed out that even if some Heterodox Wanderers did sneak in, they were only of the False Rank. And you had already killed them all. So, there was no point in cancelling the Trial.”

  “…Fran said that?”

  “Was he lying?”

  “Not exactly. We did defeat the Heterodox Wanderers, but we also suffered some injuries.”

  “…Do you think the city would care for you injuries?”

  “…Those bastards—

  “Ahem.”

  “…Those people would only be happy to see us injured or dead.”

  “And you have your answer,” Tia said, letting out a sigh. “Maybe, if it was another group that was taking the Trials, then they might have thought about cancelling it, but you… Like you said, you were not exactly in the best shape after confronting the Heterodox Wanderers. And you still had hundreds of challengers left to face. Letting the Trial continue was in their best interest.”

  “Those idiots do not know what… Forget it. There is not use complaining about what has already happened.”

  Alnea paused, and glanced back at his teammates, before turning back towards Tia.

  “What about Fran? He went around publicising the mistakes of the Lost City… Those bas—

  “Ahem.”

  “…Those idiots did not do anything to him, right?”

  “The city is not as unbearable as you think it is,” Tia said, shaking her head, only to turn stiff in the next moment, when she recalled who she was talking with. “Except in certain cases… And even in those cases, it is not the city that is unbearable, but the people who run it.”

  “So, Fran is alright?”

  “…He is more than just alright. Though, at first, some people did call for him to be punished for maligning the city, the city itself did not take any actions against him. On the contrary, it rewarded him, allowing him to enter the inner city despite him having given up on his Final Trial.”

  “Fran has entered the inner city?”

  “…Yes. But he had to leave your team. That was the condition the city gave him.”

  “…That bastard…”

  “How could he…”

  “…Traitor…”

  “…Say that after you wipe the grin on your face.”

  “…Like you are one to talk.”

  “Being happy for him does not mean that I do not want to punch that bastard’s face.”

  “…How about we go punch that bastard together?”

  “Sounds like a good idea…”

  Tia glanced at the Wanderers in front of her in confusion, and after a few moments, could not help asking, “Are you not angry at him for betraying your team?”

  “Of course, we are angry,” Zain said in a grumble. “That bastard used tricks to get to the inner city before us. Now, he is going to rub that fact into our face for the rest of our lives.”

  “…I want to punch him even more now.”

  “…Ignore them,” Alnea said, rolling his eyes at his teammates, before turning back to Tia. “They are just excited to hear Fran’s news.”

  “…But he betrayed you…”

  “I think you may have a misunderstanding,” Alnea said. “Fran never betrayed us. We just had some contradictions in our goals, so we had to part ways. But we are still friends.”

  “…I see,” Tia said, as a smile replaced the confusion on her face. “It looks like Goddess Ilea’s blessings has always been with you.”

  “…I would not say that her blessings have always been with me, but she did bless me with excellent teammates.”

  “…That, she did,” Tia said, responding to Alnea’s grin with a nod. “But the same could not be said about the Wanderers who challenged you. To think that their own teammates would lure them into Heterodoxies…”

  “He revealed that too?”

  “…So, those rumours are true…”

  “…It is not good manners to test your own friends, Wanderer Tia.”

  “…I… That was not what… My apologies…”

  “It is alright. But next time, just ask us what you want to know. As long as it is not related to our secrets, we would not mind telling you a few things.”

  “…I will keep that in my mind,” Tia said, nodding solemnly at Alnea, prompting the latter to break out in chuckles.

  “I never knew you could also make that face, Wanderer Tia.”

  “…I am also a human, after all. It is only natural for me to make mistakes from time to time. That is how I…”

  Tia paused, and shook her head, before resuming her smile.

  “Let us leave it at that for now.”

  “Leave what?”

  “…Nothing.”

  “…You are acting weirdly today, Wanderer Tia. Is everything all right?”

  “…You will know once you enter the inner city.”

  …He already did. And had known for quite some time. From even before he had cleared all the Trials of the Blood Hall. Though, back then, it was just a guess. It was only when he saw his updated Blood Card, that he became certain. And probably, so did the girls, or else, they would not have kept glaring at a True Wanderer so blatantly. But he could not say that out loud. After all, he had no intention of embarrassing Tia. So, he could only follow along with her and change the topic.

  “…Speaking of inner city, can you tell us how to get there?”