Free Web NovelChapter 126: Aelric’s Mission
Despite supposedly being the smartest among them, Kaeloris had to admit that even he didn’t understand the conversation taking place between Regaleon and Aelric.
Therefore, the failed Gnost did the only reasonable thing. He asked. His brows furrowed behind his spectacles as he looked between the two youths.
"Uhm... What exactly are the two of you talking about?" He adjusted his glasses before continuing.
"I mean, you left the rest of us completely in the dark here. Could you explain it in a way everyone can understand?"
As he spoke, he gestured toward the others, and judging by their expressions, none of them seemed to understand the exchange either.
Regaleon drew a slow breath before speaking. "Actually, I was only trying to confirm something."
He paused for a moment before explaining.
"You might not have noticed it, but back when we were searching for the Breeding Nest, I constantly had the feeling that someone was watching us."
His golden eyes drifted toward Aelric.
"At first I thought it was simply my imagination. But after hearing his answer just now, I realized it wasn’t."
"In other words..." Sureleah calmly picked up where he left off. "...he has been watching us for the past week, isn’t it?"
Regaleon nodded. "Exactly."
"Hold on..."
Kaeloris immediately raised both hands in front of himself as though asking everyone to stop. He stared directly at Aelric and asked.
"Are you trying to tell me that this isn’t actually the first time you’ve met us?"
The green-eyed youth smiled apologetically before replying. "Unfortunately... It’s not."
"Okay. Let me get something straight..." Vaelorin suddenly leaned forward as he asked. "So you saving us from that Black Stalker wasn’t just some random coincidence?"
Aelric slowly shook his head. "No."
Before he could elaborate, however, Veyrath suddenly burst out.
His amber eyes were wide with disbelief, his voice filled with incredulous frustration.
"How are you even worried about that when we just uncovered something far worse?"
He pointed dramatically at Aelric, his time becoming almost indignant.
"I mean, we’ve literally been watched for an entire week! Think about the implications! Think about everything we’ve done during that time!"
Aelric scratched the side of his cheek awkwardly. "Actually, it’s not quite as bad as you’re making it sound."
Everyone looked at him, clearly waiting for his explanation...
"You see, there were plenty of times when I wasn’t watching you..."
He casually pointed toward the waterfall before continuing.
"For example, there was one entire day when I completely lost track of your group until eventually, I found you again after you came out of that cave."
His expression remained relaxed. "I still don’t know what you did inside there till today. And honestly, I don’t really care. This is because my assignment wasn’t to investigate you. Instead, it was simply to keep an eye on your group."
He shrugged. "You know, I have my own responsibilities as well. And sometimes, they occasionally took priority."
After saying all thses, he smiled faintly before speaking further. "So yes, you could say meeting Regaleon and the others during the attack wasn’t entirely a coincidence because I was just on my way to deal with some of those priorities of mine."
He tilted his head. "However, from another perspective, you could also say that me meeting them was a coincidence entirely. It depends on how you want to see the situation actually."
Then as though the explanation had settled everything, Aelric calmly picked up the skewer beside him and resumed eating...
There was silence for the space of a few seconds before Caelestra finally spoke.
"Hold on. If you’ve actually been spying on us secretly..."
"Watching from a distance..." Aelric corrected through a mouthful. "...not spying."
"I fail to see the difference." Caelestra sighed while rolling her eyes. "But that’s beside the point. Like I was saying, if you intended to remain hidden, then why did you reveal yourself now?"
Aelric swallowed before answering.
"Like I told Regaleon earlier, they needed help. I happened to be nearby so I helped. There wasn’t any grand conspiracy nor was there some sort of hidden agenda. In fact, I was simply following a directive when I was watching over you guys."
"Whose directive?" Sureleah caught the key words in his sentence and asked immediately.
Unlike everyone else, her expression remained calm despite the revelation of Aelric’s conduct.
However, only the slight narrowing of her silver eyes betrayed the caution she felt towards him now.
Aelric paused halfway through another bite. Silence settled over the campfire until eventually, he slowly lowered the skewer and spoke.
"You people really won’t let me eat in peace, will you?"
No one replied as they waited for his answer.
With a resigned sigh, he wiped his fingers against his clothes before adding.
"You asked earlier how I knew about the Sauryeans. Well, let’s just say they aren’t the only race living within the Nether Lands."
He leaned back slightly as he explained. "You see, over the years, survivors like myself eventually gathered together. And together, they built something called... The Sanctuary."
"The Sanctuary?" Vaelorin repeated.
"Wait a minute, why does that sound awfully similar to a Sanctum? Hold on, are there Sanctums inside the Nether Lands?"
Sylveris tilted her head, her silver eyes gleaming with a hint of curiosity. "What’s a Sanctum?"
Vaelorin scratched the back of his head.
"Uhm... How do I explain this. Actually, think of it as a school. A place where Mancers like me learn to control elemental Aether."
"Oh..." Sylveris nodded before immediately looking back at Aelric and asked. "So there are schools in the Nether Lands?"
Aelric chuckled slightly before replying.
"Not quite. You see, the Sanctums and the Sanctuary are completely different. Unlike the Sanctums, the Sanctuary isn’t an institution. Instead, it’s a settlement; a home if you will."
His voice was gentle as he continued. " It’s actually a place built over countless generations by survivors to make life in the Nether Lands... survivable."
Kaeloris slowly adjusted his spectacles, then he spoke with a bit of awe in his voice.
"I must admit, that’s really fascinating. You see, we once theorized that there might be individuals strong enough to survive here indefinitely. But an entire settlement..."
He shook his head before continuing. "We never even imagined something like that would actually exist in this place."
Several members of the group silently nodded at his words. Aureleah, however, wasn’t finished with her probing.
"So... What exactly is this Sanctuary that ordered you to spy on us?"
Aelric released another tired sigh. "I already told you, we weren’t spying on you. If we truly were, then we would have known every single thing your group did."
Aureleah raised one elegant eyebrow and asked a simple question. "..We?"
"Yes... We." Aelric replied, sounding almost exasperated.
For perhaps the first time since meeting him, the perpetually relaxed youth looked genuinely tired. Honestly, this was one of the reasons he disliked dealing with assassins.
They were simply too perceptive for their own good and it genuinely makes his head ache...
He rubbed his forehead while changing the subject of the conversation.
"Anyway, that’s not important. What matters is the Sanctuary and its mission. You see, every year, it tends to send scouts into the surrounding regions. And the job of these scouts is to search for anyone who might have survived."
His green gaze swept across the group as he added. "My assignment happened to cover this area..."
He gestured around them.
"You know, the Crimson Forest. And that’s where I found your group." He concluded.
"Excuse me!" Veyrath abruptly interrupted.
The failed Alchemist’s amber eyes was widened as he asked. "Did you just call this place the Crimson Forest? Like this forest has an actual name?"
Aelric blinked. "Yes..."
Then he frowned slightly and asked. "Didn’t you know?"
Veyrath slowly turned toward the others. "No. As a matter of fact, none of us did. And this is actually our first time hearing about it."
Silence fell over the campfire because for the first time since the conversation had begun, everyone suddenly realized something scary.
They had actually survived an entire week inside a place whose name they had only just learned and somehow, that makes the whole situation even more mysterious...
