"Eric Layman?!"


    A surprised Kamala exclaimed after she followed Orion from her house.


    "When you said this was important, you meant it was about Eric? Why didn''t you say it immediately?"


    "What''s good about revealing the surprise?"


    Orion smiled while teasing her.


    "So it was true... you really have a way to bridge long distances."


    Eric blinked a few times seeing the chocolate skin color specific to Kamala. He wouldn''t mistake her for anyone else.


    Though, there was something different about her.


    "You seem more relaxed than you were during the Apostles'' meeting. I haven''t heard you talk that much either."


    From the beginning, everyone knew her as a calm, composed, and mysterious woman. It wasn''t wrong to think like this, but this was before she got over her own problems.


    But it would be strange to not be surprised by her new self.


    "Hello."


    Caroline bowed politely in front of Kamala. Now that she acknowledged Orion, and that she also knew the Apostle Kamala by name, she tried her best to avoid getting on their wrong side, mostly for Eric''s sake.


    But she did not expect a sweet smile coming from Kamala.


    "Hello. I''m Kamala Genathis, Lord of Hocride. Who might you be?"


    She straightened herself, and introduced herself properly.


    "I''m Caroline Layman. Eric''s wife. It is a pleasure to meet another Apostle."


    With slight surprise, Kamala looked at Eric.


    "You were married? Where is your ring?"


    This question was one Eric rarely got to answer.


    "Here."


    He grabbed a thread tied around his neck, and pulled on it until a ring appeared, previously hidden under his shirt.


    "Around your neck? Isn''t it supposed to be at your finger?"


    Even Orion thought that it was strange.


    "I can''t keep it on my finger! What if I break it using Balmung? Its recoil is no joke, I broke my fingers multiple time when I started firing it!"


    While they agreed it was a reasonable reason, they returned to the subject of at hands.


    "Anyways, you wanted to know how I happened to create this place, so I brought Kamala."


    "You made me come all this way for that?! Really, I''m happy to see Eric is well, but some of us are busy."


    Orion''s lifted his chin a little higher, and took a deep breath.


    "Right."


    Kamala felt something similar happened before.


    ''Oh... I might have messed up there. I know this expression.''


    She tried to look away in a hurry, avoiding his gaze as much as possible.


    "I was thinking about taking a few days off to train. I''m sure you would be interested in that too. Right?"


    Bringing her hands in front of her chest while making panicked movements with them, she looked like a child about to cry.


    "RIGHT?"


    ''Scary! What happened for Kamala to look like this in front of this man?!"


    Eric couldn''t believe it.


    "P-Please be gentle..."


    When she gave up, Orion smiled warmly.


    "I''ll come pick you up when it''ll happen. It certainly has been a while, I hope you haven''t forgotten to train your skills."


    "That I am confident I didn''t!"


    With conviction, she stared straight in his eyes.


    "Good. I like strong willed people. We''ll work on that ability you''ve lost later, maybe we can make some progress."


    Kamala nodded, then both her and Orion turned to Eric and Caroline, with Nylon listening quietly on the side.


    Nylon was taught to behave like an assassin. To learn the most in a conversation, he simply had to listen until someone asked for his opinion. Doing that, he wouldn''t look out of place.


    The problem was that it also affected his everyday life sometimes, like this very moment. There was no need for him to be silent currently.


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


    "To begin with, look at this."


    Orion opened his hands, and two elements unknown to them appeared. He closed his hands to make them vanish, and created the last element by approaching his hands together.


    "That''s my elements."


    ~


    "I''m Amelia Diom, that man''s companion."


    May looked at Amelia pointing back at Orion. They were both done petting Sirius, and didn''t particularly wanted to join the others, so they walked along the shore of the Siren Sea together, followed by Sirius himself, who happily ran around.


    "May. I don''t have a last name."


    Amelia didn''t particularly mind that detail.


    "You don''t seem upset at all?"


    "Why should I? My other companion doesn''t have a last name either."


    It was true that Karteira had no last name.


    "Why are you saying that to me?"


    "F-For no particular reason."


    The redhead looked at the sea, evading the question.


    "Too bad for you, it won''t work on me. I understand others pretty well, and I''ve lived with someone who hides his thoughts as much as possible. I played dumb because I thought you would talk about it, but you still chose to hide matter nonetheless."


    With a fast turn of the heels, Amelia found herself face to face with May.


    "Others have said bad things to you because of that, isn''t it? If I had to guess, Eric and his wife are the only one who were never bothered by it, so you''ve chosen to stick around them."


    "Ha-haha..."


    A dry laugh escaped May''s mouth.


    "Spot on, right?"


    With a wink followed by a smile, Amelia broke through her defenses in a single strike.


    "Why the sudden interest? Are you looking for something in me, or are you doing that to anyone you see, miss Amelia?"


    A big frown appeared on Amelia''s face.


    "Remove the ''miss'', I really can''t stand that coming from another woman. Call me Amelia, plain and simple."


    "S-Sure... A-Amelia."


    May found herself in a difficult situation, where her disagreement would lead nowhere. She could only comply.


    "That''s better. So, to answer your question."


    ''Vesta.''


    A vortex of fire exploded from Amelia''s hand, before forming the dagger she named Vesta.


    Bright, colorful, yet scorching, that was Amelia''s fire. Instinctively, May reacted to it, and extended her hand in front of her, forcing her fire out of her body.


    A pale red flame formed. It was quite different from Amelia''s, as it did not take any particular shape. It was the purest, most primal form of fire.


    Yet, it burned with the intensity of an incinerator.


    "That is one beautiful fire."


    This was Amelia''s first and honest thought.


    "It doesn''t compare to your flames. Mine is bland, with no particularities. At least it helps me repay Lord Eric in his duties."


    "Do you hate your flames?"


    To that, May shook her head.


    "No. It might look like it, but I love this little fire. It has never failed me, and will always stay with me. How could I hate a part of me?"


    Amelia realized that this woman had already accepted the element as a part of her, something she had a difficult time doing until recently.


    "Then."


    She approached Vesta to May''s flames.


    Instinctively, May retracted her hand to her chest, but seeing the warm smile on the blonde woman in front of her, she timidly held it in front of her again.


    Vesta''s edge made contact with May''s flames. At first, it showed no change. Only after a few seconds, did the first sign showed.


    The pale flame absorbed some of the colorful red, mixing together to form a beautiful flame that contained both colors.


    Even after Amelia made Vesta disappear, May''s flame kept its change.


    "That''s all I can do for you. It doesn''t do anything in particular, it just makes it brighter. Did I do something I shouldn''t have perhaps?"


    "You''re asking that now?"


    May''s bright smile took Amelia by surprise.


    ''Seems like I managed to bring a smile to her face. She reminds me of myself after the orphanage fire.''


    "You have a really beautiful smile. When I saw you for the first time, I saw myself. I couldn''t help myself but try to do something good for you."


    "Life isn''t kind to us fire users isn''t it?"


    Her smile slowly reversed, as she began to bite her lower lip.


    "..."


    With the pale and bright red flame between her hands, May brought it closer to her chest, and as if she was hugging it, closed her eyes.


    "Thank you... thank you."


    The only thing Amelia could do for her, was to caress her red hair.


    ''It is surprisingly smooth.''


    Sirius watched all of this from afar quietly, but when he noticed his time, he jumped at his next victim.


    He ran toward May, and sat next to her. Silently, he stared at her until she noticed him.


    She erased her flame, and crouched to hug the dog.


    "Why are you all so kind to me? We were strangers until a few hours ago."


    "We took that from the best."


    Amelia looked in Orion''s direction.


    "That man. He seems very important to you. Not only you, but your friend too."


    With a giggle, Amelia sat on the sand.


    "You have no idea. Not only me and Karteira, but there''s also three more woman very interested in him. There is no end to the competition, and I don''t know how many will join later on."


    "At least, I will always be number one. No to brag, but I''m his childhood friend."


    "Do you want to hear why he his so important to us?"


    A serious expression on her face, Amelia prepared herself to explain.


    May also sat on the sand, and nodded.


    "Tell me, please."


    ''I want to know if I can trust him.''


    "Alright."


    The mood lightened, as Amelia began to talk with a smile on her face.


    While this was happening, Senia was quietly listening not far from them. To say that she wasn''t interested would be a lie, but she also didn''t want to look like she was eavesdropping, so she popped out of the water and dragged herself on land.


    "C-Can I listen too?"


    "Sure. May, this is Senia, a siren. Senia, this is May, my new friend."


    "H-Hi."


    "Nice to meet you."


    The two women greeted each other with a smile, before turning to Amelia.


    "You see, Orion and I are orphans. Since he was a kid, I''ve always watched over him-"


    Going over what made Orion the greatest man for her and Karteira, May and Senia arrived at the conclusion that her love was heavy.


    But they understood the appeal of a man like Orion. There was no one like him in this world, a rare occurrence, someone with a clear mind, never doubting, and always cherishing his family and friends.


    A lone wolf at first, who changed to depend more on the ones around him. Saving people wherever he went, yet somehow finding himself in trouble when he was expecting it the least.


    Someone with great ingenuity, always coming up with ways to make others shine in their own light. Though obsessed with training, his body was toned to its maximum from constant workouts.


    And this was only the top of the iceberg.


    The conversation dragged on until Orion, Karteira, and Kamala finished to tell how Horizon came to be, and even managed to get Kamala updated on what happened recently.


    Thanks to Orion lowering the speed at which time was flowing in Horizon, it was still midday on Triazils.


    ...


    "Orion, are you planning on following me to Logran?"


    Nylon asked the question, though he knew the answer already.


    "Yes. I''ve had trouble finding it since I don''t know the southern area very well."


    "How''s tomorrow morning sounds like?"


    "Sure."


    Next day''s destination, Logran.


    Once Amelia and May returned, and Senia went back to the sea with a burning face, he walked Kamala back home, and made Eric, Caroline, and May return back to Turric.


    Just before walking through the portal, May stood still and looked intently at Orion, before nodding and going through the portal. Orion questioned her strange behavior, but quickly erased it from his mind.


    Nylon also returned to Turric to find a place to sleep at, not wanting to impose himself on his newfound brother.


    With Amelia in an awfully good mood compared to usual, she prepared a great dinner that nobody complained about.


    They went to sleep like usual, took a day off to look over Horizon''s many new features requiring attention, and exited the next day.