The pleasant meadow, the flowers stretching endlessly in all directions, the birds and insects flying all around him, and the laughter of the children echoing in the distance, along with the blood red Assistant Panel, all shattered in an instant, dissipating into the darkness of the Judgement Hall, making way for a pillar of white light some ten metres away from him. And though there were no warnings urging him to leave the Trial Space as soon as possible, he still quickly made his way to the pillar of light, returning to the Blood Hall. To his master.

  There she was, standing along with the other Grand Wanderers, welcoming him with a smile, while the rest looked at him with an ugly face. Except for Daes’ mother, of course. She too, had a smile one her face. Rather, she was smiling even wider than his master, and even mocking the other Grand Wanderers, who let out a snort, and gave him a glare, before vanishing in the same way as they had come. In a flash of light.

  Good riddance, Alnea thought, as a grin formed on his face.

  “I am back, master.”

  “I always believed in you,” his master said, returning his grin with a nod, before glancing at Daes and Tia. “We will talk later. Let us complete your formalities first.”

  “About that,” Yuri said, glancing at Daes and Tia, before turning back to Nyssa. “I think I should tell you something, big sis—

  “It is alright, Yuri. I have already checked it with the city’s creator. It is not that their fates have not changed, but that their fates have been covered by the city, rendering it impossible to be spied upon.”

  “…Why did you not tell me earlier?”

  “I just received the news too,” Alnea said with a wry smile, as his master glanced at Yuri.

  “What is it?”

  “…Nothing. I remembered it wrong. The matter has already been dealt with.”

  “Are you talking about—

  “That’s enough talk,” Alnea said, interrupting Daes before she could voice out Yuri’s secrets aloud in the Blood Hall, earning a strange gaze from her and her mother. But he did not care. Hiding the grimace on his face from moving too quickly, he walked past Daes and Tia, waving at them to follow behind him. “Come on, let’s go register you as my Dependents.”

  “Are you so impatient to have me as your Dependent?” Daes said, raising her lips in an amused smile, but followed behind him anyway. As did Tia, still restraining herself to just a smile. Though she was not the only one acting a little meekly. Even Vestia had not seemed to recover from being surrounded by Grand Wanderers. Especially since they still had two Grand Wanderers with them, one of whom was his master.

  In the end, it was only when Alnea reached out to grab her hand, and pulled her along with him, that she was forced out of her daze, with the price of red cheeks and a glare from Cecilia. But it was a price they were willing to pay. They did not have to walk for too long anyway. Just a couple of flights of stairs, and half the length of the Blood Hall, and they were already before the counter of Dependents.

  A separate counter, that dealt with all matters of Dependents, from their registration to their assessments. Even a few other things that Alnea could not understand. Like a gamble between Dependents. And a gamble for Dependents. As long as it was anything related to Dependents, the counter could handle them all. But those things were not in his consideration.

  “Goo—Good evening, your highness,” said the two men behind the counter, bowing deeply to his master and Daes’ mother, only to be met with an annoyed look from the latter.

  “Enough with the chatter. You know what we are here for.”

  “I…”

  “…We have heard the rumours, your highness.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  The two men nodded in unison, before turning towards Alnea.

  “Little friend—

  “I am not little.”

  “…We need your Blood Card,” said the man on the right, while the other man glanced towards Daes and Tia.

  “And yours too.”

  Alnea took out his Blood Card, and handed it to the man, just as Daes and Tia handed their Blood Cards, barely suppressing their tremors of excitement. But they could not hide the light in their eyes.

  “Before I register them your Dependents, I am obliged to tell you about—

  “I already know everything that is there to know. Just register them as my Dependents.”

  “…As you wish,” the man said, placing the Blood Card on the black box, glancing at its details while he was at it, and froze in place, with his mouth and eyes wide open. Noticing the strange state of his partner, the other man also could not help himself from glancing at the Blood Card, only to react in the exact same manner, freezing in place, with his mouth and eyes wide open.

  “…What are you two doing?” Daes said, glaring impatiently at the two men, bringing them back to their senses.

  “…Our apologies.”

  “We were just a little shocked.”

  “About what? Do you not know the rumours already?”

  “You do not know?”

  “Know what?”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “…Nothing.”

  “What are you mumbling about?”

  “You know, we cannot reveal any details about the people coming to us.”

  “…But you should know in a while anyway.”

  “Seriously—

  “Let them do their job, Daes. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you will regain your freedom.”

  “Tsk. Did you not listen to what he said? Hurry up.”

  “Just a few more moments,” said the man on the left, as he placed Daes’ Blood Card on the second slot on the black box. “Let me ask you again—

  “Stop asking useless questions and just complete the registration.”

  “…As you wish,” the man said, and pressed something on the black box. In the next moment, Alnea felt a strange thread being connected to his senses. Or rather, to his fate. Not like the Thread of Fate that connected him with Yuri, but something similar, extending from him to Daes. Except, it did not let him communicate with Daes. It did not even tell him where she was. All it did, was tell him that she was connected to his fate. Just like Tia, who also became his Dependent a few moments later.

  “Congratulations,” the two men said, staring enviously at the two women. “Do you two need me to tell you about your duties and—

  “No need,” Daes said, clenching her fist. “I have been waiting for this day for too long… When are we going to leave?”

  “…What she means is that we already know everything there is to know. And city will never tell us what it does not want us to know. So why bother?” Tia said to the two men, with a wry smile on her face, as the corners of her lips kept twitching a little more than usual. Almost as if she was barely controlling her smile. A guess, that was proven correct when she heard Alnea’s words.

  “In a while,” Alnea said to Daes. “I still need to take care of a few things, but it should not take more than a quarter of an hour. After all, the sooner we leave, the better it would be for us. Am I right, master?”

  “…You have learned how to use your head.”

  “I always knew how to use my head.”

  “So, you were acting dumb on purpose?” Cecilia said, sticking out her tongue, prompting everyone to burst out in a light laugh. Or at least, a smile. One that Alnea was unwilling to ruin. So, he really acted dumb, changing the topic.

  “…Anyways, can you point me to the direction of the Martial Style library?” Alnea said, taking his Blood Card back from the two men. “On second thought, I might as well check out the other two libraries too. And the resource exchange counter.”

  “…You should indeed check out those places. Though it is a pity you are leaving so soon.”

  “The most important resources of the city can be enjoyed only within its walls… Are you sure—

  “Alright, that is enough,” Daes said, as she and Tia put their Blood Cards away. “We will take it from here.”

  “…If you would not min—

  “Do not mind us,” Daena said, dismissing Tia’s concern with an amused smile on her face. “Just act as if we are not here.”

  “…Then, where would you like to go first, Alnea?”

  “Let us go check out the resource counter first.”

  So, they went to the resource exchange counter, where they were met with a man and a woman standing behind the table. And after stuttering through their greetings, they quickly handed over some memory crystals to Alnea and the girls, who, in turn, used the memory crystals right there, in the hall, to browse through the list of resources they could exchange. A nearly inexhaustible list, Alnea noted. Or at least that was how he felt about the list, battling his headache.

  …Maybe he should have thought this through. Perhaps, it would not hurt to rest a little. It was already nighttime anyway. Maybe a sleep…

  “Give me a hundred kilograms of White Sand Essence, a hundred kilograms of Red Sand Essence, ten kilograms of Black Sand Essence, a hundred litres of Ornia’s tears, bark of a hundred year old Red Oak tree, thousand sets of one metre, bark of a hundred year old White Star tree, thousand sets of one metre, a hundred year old Black Star tree’s sap, ten litres, Gold Veined Earth Crystals…”

  Alnea fought off his headache, and named nearly a hundred materials, all of the Peak Grade in the False Rank, some of which could even be used as auxiliary materials in True Ranked Glyphs. But he felt that it was not enough. After all, he would not be coming back to the city in at least ten years. So, after some thought, he named a few more materials, all of the True Rank.

  “…Your total comes out to fifty seven millions, two hundred and seventy three thousand, five hundred and fifty six Blood Coins,” said the man on the right, with a slight tremor to his voice, while the woman next to him looked at Alnea with wide eyes. Even Daes and Tia had similar reactions, while Vestia and Cecilia looked at him in confusion. Only Yuri, his master, and Daes’ mother did not act surprised.

  Daena even nodded in satisfaction, adding, “That is quite a reasonable spread of resources. And the quantity should also be enough for you to practice for a few years. But there is one thing I must remind you about. In the future, it would be best if you also add in some unrelated materials so as to confuse your enemies, and not let your information be leaked. Otherwise, it would be easy for everyone to guess what Glyphs you are preparing.”

  “…Thank you, Wanderer—

  “Call me Aunt Daena,” Daena said, stretching her lips into a smile. “Now that I think about it, everything has been happening in such a rush, that we have not even had a proper introduction yet… As you have seen already, I am this useless girl’s mother.”

  “…Who are you calling useless?” Daes said, recovering from her shock, only to be met with a roll of her eyes from her mother.

  “Just look at other people, already preparing their own resources at the False Rank. And look at you, asking me to buy resources for you every other week. What should I call you, if not useless?”

  “…I am the normal one here, alright? Which False Wanderer can take out tens of millions of Blood Coins like it is nothing?”

  “Stop making excuses and learn how to take care of yourself… Seriously, I wonder how you will live without me.”

  “…You do not have to worry about me,” Daes said with a snort, turning her head away from her mother. But Daena did not mind her reaction. Rather, her smile even turned a little soft, as she reached out and caressed her daughter’s head, only to have her hand be slapped away in the very next moment. Yet, Daena still smiled softly, taking off a bluish white ring from a finger in her left hand, before putting it in Daes’ hands.

  “This should be enough for you to use in the next ten years, but if you need more, you know where to find me.”

  “Who needs your resources?” Daes said, trying to push the ring back to her mother, but her mother just shook her head.

  “Just take it.”

  “…I can earn my own resources!”

  “I know. But what is wrong with having a few more resources? Maybe it will help you grow faster.”

  “Then I will grow faster without your resources.”

  “Stop throwing your tantrum, Daes. I will not be there to take care of you anymore. You should learn how to behave properly, and restrain your recklessness.”

  “I told you, you do not have to worry about me!”

  “Silly girl, if a mother would not worry about her daughter, who will?”

  “…I…”

  “Just take the ring,” Daena said, looking at her daughter with a melancholic smile, before turning towards Alnea. “She may be a little outspoken, and act arrogantly, but she is still like a little girl on the inside. Sometimes, all she needs is a little coaxing.”

  “Stop speaking nonsense!”

  “…I am not asking you to tolerate all her tantrums but try not to be too harsh with her. And take care of her. At least, bring her back alive.”

  “I will, Aunt Daena,” Alnea said, nodding solemnly. “She may be my Dependent, but she is also my friend. So, you do not have to worry about her anymore. I will definitely bring her back alive. I promise.”