"You have returned!"


    <o>,m My attention is taken away by the delightful exmation thates out of a young girl''s mouth, which is bewildering since this is not a ce suitable for kids. I know the owner of the voice, though, so a faint smile creeps up my face as I turn to face the supposed young girl.</o>


    "What a pleasant surprise to find you still alive, Vibiane."


    "That is so cruel!"


    The blue-skinned Monster girl takes a step back and puts her hand on her chest, trying to look hurt, but the smile on her face tells everyone that she is feeling d. I prefer considering Vibiane as a mentally stable Monster, so I believe that she is feeling d for seeing me again.


    Weird as she is, she is not so weird that she feels d for being insulted.


    "Ah, Lady Valeria. Pardon me for my insolence." She bows politely.


    "It is fine. Come join us."


    "Then, I will take up on that offer."


    Vibiane sits across me with a smile. When Valeria asks if she is not going to order anything, she takes out a sack full of fruits. Sheys out the fruits on the table proudly, offering them to everyone at the table. Her passion for fruits brings a smile to a lot of our faces, so a lot of us take the fruits she is offering.


    "What about you, Land?"


    "No."


    I am, of course, not among the people who take the offered fruits. I have eaten so many fruits for the days I spent doing a Mission with her that I can still even feel them in my stomach.


    My refusal seems to disappoint Vibiane slightly. I am used to looking at her disappointed face, so I merely shrug at it. The girls are different, though. It is much to my surprise that I even find Millonia urging me to take one of the offered fruits. I wonder whether they just want to screw with me or Vibiane''s sympathy-evoking look has managed to get them.


    Whichever it is, I still take one of the fruits that she offers me. She beams up instantly before frowning as she looks at me doubtfully.


    "Are you sure that you want to take that?"


    "Why is it?"


    "Do you know what that fruit is?"


    "Just tell me," I urge.


    "Well, that fruit is called Dragon''s Uv because of its shape that resembles a uv and how it tastes," Vibiane exins. "When you peel the red skin of the fruit, you will find a ball of vermillion mesocarp that will burn your throat as you swallow it."


    "Why will even people eat this?" I ask.


    As Vibiane exins why people still want to eat the fruit, I peel the one in my hand and gulp down the vermillion ball of flesh whole. It explodes pleasantly in my throat, burning it like chili and warming my body.


    Taste-wise, like most fruits in this world, it is mostly sweet but I also can taste the faint sourness that the sweetness overshadows. It is not well-bnced but I still find the taste amazing.


    Burst!


    What is more amazing, however, is the fact that I can create a small fire with the smoke that the fruit produces in my mouth. The smoke is highly mmable; it will even catch fire because of my body heat.


    "That is why people consume it," Vibiane concludes her exnation.


    "This is a good alternative for lighter indeed. I assume this is highly popr in the south, the coldest ce that people are still willing to inhabit."


    "Oh, I forgot to mention that but as expected of Land!"


    I ended up asking a lot of Dragon''s Uvs from Vibiane. This is the reason why I am not so excited to taste the fruits Vibiane has with her. She always gives me the weirdest and most unforgettable fruit. Being me, I can''t help to keep a lot of them and let them remain uneaten in my Spatial Storage. I be a fruit collector whenever I am around her.


    I soon remember that I haven''t introduced her to the girls, so I immediately do that. The girls seem to be interested in her after she showcased her vast knowledge about this world''s fruits, so they hit off quite well.


    Valeria is also no different. She wonders aloud how she has never heard of Vibiane and even goes as far as offering her a job at Profound Night Garden, the castle''s garden. This is the moment that I figure out that Vibiane has never been there. It turns out ess to enter it is only given to the Eighth Wing and above.


    Therefore, she happily epts Valeria''s offer. From this point onwards, Vibiane is officially the castle''s gardener. Her job is cultivating nts that produce fruits that may rece our main food in times of emergency. Needless to say, she is very excited about that.


    "Land...you have returned."


    An emotionless voice takes my attention away. I turn to look at the owner of the voice and find Eliseus looking at me with a faint smile. Her green eyes lightly gleam, telling me that she is d to see me. I have a suspicion that she is one of my fellow Candidates, so I can''t return her smile.


    My face remains stoic yet she can''t tell that; my mask hides it well. My aura is still as weing as always and so is how I sound.


    "Eliseus,e join us."


    Nodding her head, Eliseus sits beside Vibiane. Thetter immediately offers the former her fruits and the former doesn''t even think twice before taking them.


    "Have you told General Velucan about your return? He always reacted in excitement whenever news about you killing a Hero or destroying a vital part of a territory reached his ears."


    "I am going to meet him after this. I still need to take our new allies on a tour around the castle." I gesture at the girls, prompting Eliseus to acknowledge them. "This is Abigail, Gabri, and Lunea. The first two are my good friends since the Academy and you should be familiar with the other."


    "Lunea dis Cresundia, the Runaway Princess. Did you make her kill her fianc?? or did you ept her because she killed her fianc???"


    "There is a piece of interesting information about that. I will share it after we take Antares down."


    Eliseus nods her head lightly and eats her fruit. This is the moment when I wonder if Eliseus will never acknowledge Valeria''s presence. I turn to Valeria to see how she reacts and she seems like she is already used to it. I wonder if there is an enmity between them but the civility and theck of awkwardness deny every possibility that they hate each other.


    I am curious about what happened between them but I don''t even bother to ask Valeria for an exnation. I will wait for her to tell me about it herself.


    "Are you losing control over it?" turning to Millonia, Eliseus asks. "I can''t help but notice the aura you are exuding. It reminds me of how you were in the past."


    Widening her eyes slightly, Millonia looks at Eliseus coldly. "You don''t know what you are talking about."


    Eliseus seems taken aback as she stays for a few seconds. She nces at me furtively before saying, "I see. You are still hiding it from him. Ashamed of your old self? Or...are you just afraid of what is toe in the future?"


    "Shut your mouth, bitch!"


    "Woah, hold on! This is not the Arena."


    If I was a secondte, Millonia''s sword would have reached Eliseus'' neck by now. Nothing would happen to Eliseus, still, but a fight would break out, which I am sure would result in Millonia''s utter defeat.


    Holding the tip of Millonia''s sword, I solemnly say, "Millonia, control your anger. You are loosening the Seal--the Seed is eating your consciousness."


    Millonia res at me intensely for a few seconds before retracting her sword. Her face rxed but she can''t help a dejected sigh froming out.


    "The Seed?" Eliseus says in amusement. "Is that what you are going with?"


    "You bitch!"


    The sword that has been retracted is now thrust at Eliseus. Millonia powers her thrust with Mana, so it is extremely fast and powerful.


    Stab!


    I have no other way to stop it than giving my body. The sword enters my abdomen but it stops before it pierces through my back.


    "Oh, no! Land, I didn''t mean to. I am sorry. I am so sorry!"


    I would like to smirk and wave it off but upon looking at how Millonia behaves, I can''t bring myself to. She is a strong woman; seeing her panicking and crying like a helpless maiden shocks me to my core.


    Is this the same Millonia that I know? I find myself asking. Her tough demeanor is nowhere to be seen. We had cut each other a lot but she had never acted this way. She had done worse things to my body yet she had never felt remorse. At this moment, however, she looks like someone who has identally destroyed the whole world and regrets it immensely.


    I put my hand on her forehead and hit her with a light Mana st. "Go to sleep," I say, and sleep she goes.


    I catch her body before it falls. I then pull her sword out of my abdomen, store it, and carry her out of the dining room. Everyone''s eyes are on me as I walk toward the door. Except for Valeria and the girls, all of them look at me as if asking if I know what kind of trouble I have gotten myself into.