Setting Off

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Scarlette Overland is shrouded with mysteries that made everyone around her couldn't help but to be either cautious or perplexed by her whole being.

'Scarlette Overland. What is your relationship with [that person]? Why do you have its item around your neck?'

He thought as he succumbs to the darkness as he closed his eyes and fell asleep as the moon shines brighter as the midnight passed.

Unbeknownst to Ryan, outside of the inn where he stayed for the night, at the corner where the silhouette of the black-hooded woman stood as she looked at the direction where Ryan's room are, Scarlette didn't say anything as she turned around and left that place without saying anything…

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"You've got to be kidding me?!"

Ryan exclaims as he jumped himself off the bed and changes his clothes immediately as he woke up late and then hurriedly fixed himself.

'D*mn it! Hoping that I won't be late!'

He grumbly thought as he took all of his belongings, including, of course, his dimensional pouch that contains all of the supplies that he had bought for yesterday and then, hurriedly left the inn and ran towards the Central Plaza where Scarlette said to meet in that place.

Thanks to Kira's guidance from yesterday, Ryan made it to the Central Plaza without losing his way up here and then, he turned around to look for the familiar crimson-haired woman within the crowd, but he couldn't find her as there are so many people early in the morning.

'Where is she? Does she leave me behind?' – Ryan thought as he slumped his shoulder down.

"You're here."

"GYAHH!" – Ryan got startled as he looked behind his back and saw Scarlette looking at him with crossed arms around and the crimson-haired woman looked at Ryan with her cold mismatched crimson-lilac eyes.

"You're late." – Scarlette said in a dull tone as she looked at Ryan with her raised eyebrows and then hummed coldly under her veil.

Ryan, on the other hand, scratched his head out of embarrassment and bowed a little as he spoke; "S-sorry for being late, Lady Overland! I overslept!"

At that moment, Scarlette frowns when the man addressed her formally, but she didn't correct him as she didn't want to waste anymore time as she speaks; "Let's go. At the Capital gate. The wagon."

"What?" – Ryan said as he couldn't comprehend what the woman was trying to say.

Scarlette sighed as she didn't like to talk that much but her companion wouldn't understand her, so she rephrases her sentence.

"Our wagon is ready. Better hurry."

Scarlette said in an annoyed tone and then walked away from there as she didn't wait for Ryan to respond.

Ryan snapped from his thoughts as he saw Scarlette had left him and, in the instant, Ryan hurriedly followed the crimson-haired woman behind and both of them are now walking side by side with each other as they make way to their destination.

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"We need to cross two cities before we could get into Fordel Village and for now, we would stop over at the first city from there, the Mirken City."

Scarlette explained as she looked through the map she was holding, and Ryan raised an eyebrow at her because of the crimson-haired woman's sudden long speech and that makes Ryan had an amused expression on his face.

At that moment, the crimson-haired woman noticed her companion's expression as she raised an eyebrow back at him; "What?"

Although she wears a veil that conceal half of her face and only her unique mismatched crimson-lilac eyes could be seen, Ryan chuckled as he could tell that the woman is slightly annoyed when she looked back at him.

"Nothing. It's just… you can speak normally, Lady Overland. Why didn't you talk to me like that yesterday? Don't you know I'm trying to comprehend what you're trying to say?"

Ryan complained and Scarlette just looked back at him with a dull look.

"Troublesome."

Ryan, with his dumbfounded expression as he looked at her; "…"

'Are you serious, woman? Could you please speak normally! Argh! I feel like my mouth would dry up just becoming her companion. It seems like I would be talking to a stone for the rest of our journey.'

Ryan thought as he shook off his head and focus on the road while listening to the woman from behind as he pulled off the wagon.

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< … 30 MINUTES AGO … >

Earlier, when the two of them reached the near gate of the Capital city, Ryan saw the wagon that Scarlette was talking about.

He noticed that there was a guard standing at the wagon and it seemed like he was guarding it.

When the guard looked in their direction, the guard rushed over to their side and went over in front of Scarlette.

"Scarlette! The wagon that you left here yesterday is ready to use! Also, some of us here managed to clean it up when they learned that you might set out for another journey outside of the Capital city."

Ryan looked at the guard who's talking to Scarlette and it seemed that the crimson-haired woman had quite a few people that she knew around in this area and from Ryan's observation, this particular guard seemed to have a close relationship with Scarlette as how this guard could have a casual talk with her.

'Unlike some of the people we happened to crossed paths earlier, when they noticed Scarlette's presence, it's either they would avoid her like a plague or praising her as if she is some sort of deity that walks on the mortal realm.'

Sometimes, Ryan didn't know what to think about this kind of absurd treatment that he witnessed and there are times when he questioned himself about what Scarlette would feel about this however, Ryan didn't want to meddle that much and could only stay silent on the sidelines for now.

"Sorry, Evan. Thank you. Here, take it."

Ryan snapped from his thoughts when he heard Scarlette thank the guard that she called Evan, and he saw that the crimson-haired woman took something on her pouch and gave it to the guard Evan.

"A-ah! N-no need for that, Scarlette!"

Even though Scarlette's words are a bit hard to understand, for Evan who had known the crimson-haired woman for a long time, quite catch up some of her phrases and when he saw that Scarlette took some money from her pouch and was about to give him, he immediately refused.

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