Orion and Amelia arrived in Thaalgar quite late.


    They found an inn where they could spend the night in, and were now looking around the shopping alley to resupply on food before the stores closed.


    "What would be good to eat while traveling? We''ve eaten mostly soup and sandwiches recently. I can keep some fresh vegetables for a few days, but meat is out of the question."


    "Can''t we take some already prepared meals with us? If we could keep dried or cooked meat, it might taste better than plain soup."


    Food was a problem for any traveler. Orion and Amelia discussed taking proper meals during the travel to Eogis.


    "You might be on something, I''ll see if I can prepare something tomorrow morning. Something simple, though, I don''t have time to do extravagant dishes."


    "Money is not of concern, so take your time picking what''s good."


    Since he had hunted down plenty of impressive creatures threatening Auro during his childhood, Orion accumulated quite a wealth.


    At this point, he was filthy rich, thanks to the high demand in obtaining the materials from his kills. The Apostle of Albriar was particularly interested in those materials, and paid a high price for them through Auro''s merchants.


    Making extra money wasn''t a bad idea, though it would ultimately attract attention to them. Hunting on these grounds could affect the whole ecosystem.


    The situation was already hard for them. They had no reason to go out of their way to lose time on this matter.


    ''We have a way to move fast, but it is exhausting for both of us.''


    Orion immediately thought about the ''First Gear''.


    ''We should avoid using it. Its use is dangerous outside of battle.''


    The only thing Orion could do was stay silent, while Amelia browsed around the store.


    ...


    After a bit of shopping, they walked back to the inn they made reservations at, enjoyed an excellent dinner, and went to bed.


    There was only one problem. One, very, small issue.


    "I''m going to ask again, but why did you refuse to sleep in another room?"


    Amelia laid down on another bed in the same room Orion was sleeping in.


    "There are many reasons, but the main one being not wasting money."


    Orion crossed his arms, and before smiling.


    "If I have to be honest, I don''t mind. We''ve been sleeping together outside anyway."


    Amelia sighed, and turned around in her bed.


    "You''re no joke."


    With a big grin on his face, Orion stared at the ceiling, before turning the lights off.


    "Have a good night."


    They both enjoyed the comfort of a soft bed, and fell asleep quickly.


    ~


    The first to wake up was Orion. He opened his eyes, looked around the room, and concluded after a few seconds that he was inside the inn''s room he reserved for the night.


    As his eyes adjusted to the light, he glanced toward the window.


    It looked to be around 8AM. The sun had risen past the horizon, while the morning dew hanging from the leaves of the tree dropped.


    His gaze turned to Amelia, who was sleeping like a log in her bed. She was a heavy sleeper, which caused a lot of trouble for Orion every morning.


    ''She''s still a simple woman in the end.''


    Those were his thoughts, as he pulled himself out of bed.


    ''Alright, let''s move. There are a few things I need to buy before we depart.''


    Orion put on his clothes, tidied the sheets neatly like they were the night before, and exited the room without making a sound. He did not forget to leave a note for Amelia:


    (Dear Amelia, I went out to buy your ''stupid map''. I''ll be back in an hour.)


    He stepped outside the inn, before stretching to remove the built-up fatigue in his body.


    After doing that, he made his way towards the shopping district.


    He easily found the bookstore, but it opened an hour later. So, he entered another shop that possessed the items he liked the most. That was, long-range weapons.


    Orion loved crossbows. It was an eye-catching weapon, full of intricate parts, exhibiting the ingenuity of mankind. He also liked bows, even though he never showed interest in using one.


    ''Now that I can create crossbows from magic, it is odd how all of them look bland in comparison. I don''t think I''ll get back to using a standard one again. It was a huge pain to do maintenance after four or five shots.''


    The groove, the string, the small parts, everything took time to maintain. It became a routine for him, so it didn''t felt laborious, but he was glad to be freed of it.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ''I should still do maintenance on the magic weapons sometimes, maybe it''ll help me visualize and create better shapes.''


    Orion explored the shop, and stopped in front of one type of weapon that deterred him.


    The weapon in front of him was recently added to the market, perhaps a year or two before embarking on this journey. It was the musket, a type of firing device that shot a small ball of metal faster than any arrows.


    The problem that this weapon had, which also irked Orion, was it''s absurdly loud blasts. For a hunter that needed to be silent, this was out of the question.


    ''Alright, I''ve seen enough, I''ll try the bookstore again.''


    Having seen enough, he turned around and left the shop, before walking toward his original goal.


    The bookstore was now opened, which he was grateful for. Amelia was still resting at the inn, and who knew when she would awaken.


    He made his way inside, and bought the map. Orion could now rest easy, as the grudge Amelia held against him finally vanished.


    But before returning to the inn, he witnessed something unusual, or maybe not so unusual for the locals.


    A large group of armed soldiers made their way across the village, and stopped as two men moved towards a secluded alley.


    The soldiers each left in a direction to ask questions to the villagers, also showing interests in helping them in their mundane problems.


    ''I guess this village has its use if they''re protecting and helping the residents. They''re trying to avoid any riots. This is smart, but I guess it is to be expected since they allowed the lamias to live peacefully.''


    Orion noticed something, and his instinct told him to go and check on the two men who walked away.


    The air surrounding him changed slightly, as he slowly made his presence weaker. He moved swiftly and without any loud noises to the alley.


    In the dark alley, a burly man quietly exchanged information with someone who appeared to be a subordinate.


    "Lord Eric, are you sure about that?"


    "I''ve said it before, but the whole situation has changed."


    The burly man, Eric Layman, was one of the Apostles.


    "I understand that, but are the soldiers going to accept that?"


    "I''ll speak to them, they need to understand the importance of relaying this information to the others. I might have been a fool for confiding that matter to my soldiers, but at least they''re more faithful that way. "


    Eric looked at the sky.


    "Faith is what we need the most in our ranks."


    His subordinate nodded.


    "Alright. I need to ask, though. What do we do if we find that individual? He still killed two corrupted..."


    "We''ve confirmed that our unit was wiped out by the corrupted beasts, but they still represent a danger for us."


    Looking back at his subordinate, Eric frowned.


    "You are correct, as I would be the only one able to fight them. The outcome could differ if what we saw was but a fraction of their power."


    "Though, we won''t mourn the loss of those thick-headed men. Even if he had killed them, May would have done that for us at some point."


    The subordinate nodded again, and glared at a vacant space.


    "Bunch of traitors!"


    ''Huh? What are they talking about? Someone killing two corrupted... two corrupted... soldiers... someone leading an army...''


    Orion rapidly pieces the parts together, and linked everything together.


    ''Two corrupted beasts, or as we call them, mutated species. Soldiers, the ones we saw dead in the grove. And...''


    ''Don''t tell me! Is this man one of the Apostles? This is my chan-''


    Orion stayed his hand, and shook his head internally while listening in the shadows.


    ''No! Not yet. If I think about what they said, they definitely have found the grove where we battled the mutated species that they call corrupted beasts.''


    ''The corpses of those soldiers we''ve come across were prey to the mutated wolf... They might have been part of his battalion, which explains why he knows already.''


    ''He mentioned an individual killing two corrupted. Wait, is this how they see us? Amelia and I are considered a single entity? Isn''t this the best opportunity we have to strike during their weakest moment?''


    Glaring at the Apostle, Orion took a step back.


    ''Keep believing in that, and sooner, Amelia will be at your front door, while my arrow pierces your heart.''


    Orion thought the situation couldn''t be more perfect for them, alas, the next information was way more important.


    "What are we going to do about the ceremony? We still need a few more cores before leaving for Eogis."


    "Don''t worry, I''m sure we''ll find some corrupted on our way. They''ve been appearing more and more over the last twenty years, we''ll stumble on a few eventually."


    "I understand. Then, as soon as we''ve resupplied, we''ll move in the direction of Eogis as quickly as we can."


    The two moved out from the alley, but Orion was already long gone. Full of questions, he made his way towards the inn.


    ''They know about Eogis, which means I was right. The humans did alter the written history of this world. It seems only the Apostles and the ones close to them have this information.''


    While walking around the soldiers discreetly, avoiding any contact or sudden movements, he slipped past every one of them while in deep thoughts.


    ''They''re also killing the mutated species to get their cores, which might be that dark organs we''ve been destroying. I thought they were impossible to extract without breaking to dust.''


    ''The last information I came across was the mention of this ''ceremony'' in Eogis. If they are right, this is my best clue to finding the place Elliott is.''


    He kept racking his brain, linking this conversation to other events he went through.


    ...


    Orion stopped in his track, and noticed he had arrived at the inn.


    There were still a few hours before leaving, so he decided to wait for Amelia. He made his way upstairs, and opened the door slowly in case she was still sleeping.


    Amelia was awake, brushing her long blonde hair. She was humming a song, until she saw Orion at the door.


    "You''re finally back? How dare you leave a frail girl by herself in a place like this?"


    "Was I supposed to try waking you up for three hours, in vain?"


    "You could''ve at least waited for me, I can''t believe you enjoyed yourself and didn''t include me."


    "What, you like crossbows too? If it''s that, next time I''ll take you with me to a sh-"


    "No, I''m good. I don''t particularly like your weapon."


    ''This woman.''


    Orion sighed internally.


    "Also, please don''t stick the note on my forehead next time? You''re treating me roughly recently."


    "That''s what you get for being a heavy sleeper. At least you saw my message without panicking."


    A drop of sweat formed on his forehead, simply recalling a past incident.


    ''That would be dangerous. If I don''t leave her a message, she begins to freak out and starts screaming my name.''


    "The desk was fine for that! You''re too cheeky for someone a year younger than me!"


    "Age as nothing to do with this."


    Orion became serious, which made Amelia straighten instinctively. Her playful mood vanished, replaced with a grave expression.


    "Let''s stop this farce now, I have heard some interesting news while shopping, I''m sure you''ll want to hear it."


    "You''re pretty confident, I see. Alright, spill everything."


    Everything he heard and deducted, Orion told her.


    ...


    After thirty minutes.


    "Unbelievable... What is that rotten luck of yours, this is more than interesting news, it''s life changing for us."


    Amelia began to laugh while Orion looked at her with a confused expression.


    "Why are you laughing, it''s not supposed to be funny."


    "Don''t worry, I was just thinking that if I had gone with you, maybe we would have missed critical information. I find it amusing that the whole situation fell on you like that."


    "That might be true."


    They smiled at each other, before Orion stood up from his chair.


    "Alright, Amelia. We''ll enjoy the rest of Thaal- mouthful. The rest of this village, and we''ll leave around noon like promised."


    He bit his tongue trying to say the village''s name. Taking this chance to mock him, Amelia laughed at him as he looked away in embarrassment.


    "I assumed you would leave immediately after seeing an army close by, but we''re still leaving later?"


    "I promised you. Even if the world disappears tomorrow, you come first."


    Amelia blushed at that.


    "I see. Thank you."


    With their conversation done, they both checked out of the inn, enjoyed the town as much as possible, before resuming their journey toward Eogis at noon.