[City]

A sigh escaped Claude as he heard Peters's words.

"Yes... I should most likely be leaving in a few weeks." Said Claude.

"Is that so?" Peter spoke, his head hanging slightly low. "You have been delayed here for quite a while, you will probably need to go ahead and complete whatever task has been entrusted to you by Solhart."

He paused, looking into Claude's eyes as he continued. "At least come by here and visit if you are ever free in the future." His words were tinged with hope.

Claude had grown to be a close friend of his and he didn't wish for him to simply disappear without a trace.

"Don't worry." Claude smiled as he replied. "I'll be sure to return in the near future after completing my mission."

Peter heard these words and was relieved, feeling as if a load had been lifted from his shoulders.

Grabbing the array of weapons and shoving them into the large woollen sack that he had brought; Peter waved goodbye to Claude as he carried the sack to the newly established barracks in the city.

Watching Peters's silhouette disappear from his vision, the smile on Claude's face slowly faded away.

Despite not wanting to lie to the face of his friend, Claude couldn't just outright tell him he wasn't an Emissary and that he wouldn't be returning.

Even if he did, how would he explain he wasn't from this world in the first place?

The subspace network had already notified Claude that he could return back to his world any moment now.

Was it because the danger had passed?

Or was it due to his growing in strength?

Claude wasn't sure which one it was, but he knew what it meant.

He was going to return soon.

The only reason he didn't return right away was his inherent curiosity about this world.

Would he be able to find more ruins packed to the brim with advanced technologies and weapons?

Claude hoped that might be the case despite how unlikely that may be.

Furthermore, the difference in time between his world and this one only complicated things further.

He returned to the library he had initially been in, staring at the various books.

"I'm done with everything here then..." He walked over to a sturdy wooden desk and picked up Raymond's diary from it. "I guess I should say my goodbyes and tell them ahead of time."

Though he wouldn't be leaving immediately, he wished to give some sort of notice to those whom he had grown closer to.

Placing the book, under his outermost layer of clothing he hurried out of the house.

As he strolled through the city, his eyes wandered around taking in the bustling scenery around him. 

Unlike when he had initially come to the city, it no longer held a sense of lifelessness.

Instead, the inner ring of the city was now filled with villagers as they went about their daily lives.

Every time they saw him they would bow in reverence.

After all, his previous actions where he helped the village conquer the city spread rather swiftly and made his reputation skyrocket.

'The inner ring...?' As he thought about the bustling inner ring, he thought of the still desolate outer reaches of the city.

Due to its decrepit and dangerous nature, the villagers had yet to go and inhabit the region.

Perhaps once the population experiences a surge they may be forced to do so.

Nevertheless, that wasn't what was floating in his mind.

What hung in the back of his mind were the ghosts that he had encountered over there.

Through his years of reading the various texts he had found, he could explain a lot of things in the city.

The strange floating balloons were something called 'airships'.

The veined metal paths were rail lines and the strange metal serpents that lay on them were 'trains'.

However, the ghosts made no sense to Claude.

They weren't some sort of technology recorded in the books and were instead probably some sort of subspace creature.

After all, despite the Techno-Theurgists of the cult fusing themselves with metal, they were never stated to transcend their physical body.

So, who or what were those things?

Strange unknown creatures?

Then why were they brought here from the subspace?

Were they residents of the city?

If, so why? Why were they turned into such strange creatures?

As Claude found himself submerged in a sea of doubt, he was snapped out of his daze once he realised he had arrived at his destination.

Agnes' Apothecary

The name of the building was hung on a clean wooden board that dangled from a line of rope above the entrance.

Stepping inside, a chime rang out and Claude was met with the now-familiar scent of medicine and herbs.

The walls of the shop, are made of polished steel, similar to all the other buildings nearby. 

The floor is laid with cobblestones, worn smooth by the ruthless onslaught of time.

Against the walls, tall steel shelves are meticulously arranged with glass bottles and jars filled with colourful concoctions and dried herbs. 

In the centre of the room, a large wooden counter serves as the heart of the apothecary.

The counter, scattered with various tools of the trade - mortar and pestle, scales, and beakers - exuded a sense of organised chaos.

Behind the counter was Agnes, talking animatedly to Karl who rested his body on the counter.

"Oh my! Look who we have here! Isn't this a rare visitor?" Agnes chuckled as she teased Claude who had entered.

"Come on Agnes don't tease the boy. How have you been Claude? I heard you helped the village- No, it should be called the city guard... I heard you helped repair their weapons?" Karl shook his head as he spoke to Claude.

"Ah? Have you heard about that?" Claude raised a brow, surprised by how well-informed Karl was.

Puffing up his chest Karl spoke up proudly, "Who do you think I am boy? I'm the city chief. I've got my ways."

"Stop boasting Karl. Didn't Peter tell you about this a day prior?" Agnes spoke mercilessly, her words piercing Karl's briefly inflated ego.

Claude chuckled mirthlessly at their antics, finding himself relaxing and indulging in the warm atmosphere.

"Well, I did repair their weapons," Claude said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Though I did find something odd."

Curious about what Claude was referring to, Karl repeated after him. "Odd?"

"The spears you and others were using, seemed very similar to the weapons we had found here. Do you know where you got those spears from?" Asked Claude.

"Hm? I can't say for certain." Karl crossed his arms as he fell into contemplation. "From what I know, they had been found by our forefathers generations ago from a ruin..."

Raising his head he looked up from his pondering. "You don't mean to say that they found these weapons here? Hah! Talk about coincidence."

Similar to Karl, Clade was also rather surprised that these ruins had been discovered before.

He could also guess why they never returned there...

The ghosts.

I mean unlike Claude, a normal person wouldn't be able to harm them.

So, it was very likely they just had to make do with the things that they had uncovered such as those spears.

"Enough about all that. What is it that brings you here Claude?" Agnes spoke up all of a sudden, breaking Claude away from his musings.

"Oh, that's right..." Claude took a moment to recollect himself. "It's about my mission."

Claude had to force himself and use his forged identity to explain his decisions.

"I'll probably have to leave the city soon."

Agnes' and Karl's eyes widened in shock, they had known this day may come but it still felt too soon.

Yet, there was little they could do to stop it.

Afterall, they would then be interfering with Claude's duty.

That also wouldn't be taking into consideration all the things Claude had done for them.

The boy allowed them to forsake their status as a wandering settlement and gave them the ability to defend themselves.

In the past, everyone was reluctant to use their weapons to often as they lacked the knowledge required to repair them.

Furthermore, each one had limited energy. Once that energy had drained completely, they would be like ordinary spears.

However, Claude after learning the knowledge in the city taught the basics to the villagers.

Though they couldn't make new weapons or improve the existing ones, maintaining them and recharging them was no longer a problem.

"It's okay Claude. We all hope you can finish your mission as soon as possible." Tears welled in Agnes' eyes "If you do, perhaps you could return here in the future?"

Like Peter, Agnes had grown considerably closer to Claude over the years, almost treating the boy like her own flesh and blood.

Betraying his truest thoughts, Claude could only smile wryly as he replied. "Of course I will. I might even bring back some gifts from my long journey?"

However, Claude wasn't able to hear a reply as shouting echoed from outside the shop.

A wary look crossed everyone's faces as they heard it.

"What was that?" Karl said out loud as he narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not too sure..." Claude replied to him and Agnes behind the counter shaking their heads.

"I'll go check that out." He continued. "You two can just wait here for me."

Without awaiting a reply he rushed out of the shop, leaving a bewildered Agnes and Karl.

They looked at each other for a moment in befuddlement, yet, understood Claude's concerns.

Both of them had already grown rather old, grey hairs were beginning to sprout on their scalps and wrinkles were carved onto the edges of their face.

It wasn't a surprise that Claude would be reluctant to let them endanger themselves.

Nevertheless, it wasn't like they would just sit back and let Claude do all the heavy lifting.

"Come on Old Man." Agnes poked Karl. "Aren't you embarrassed to just stay here as the village chief?"

Rolling his eyes at her, Karl sighed to himself as he moved his body off the counter and began walking towards the door.

Seeing him heading out of the door, a smile appeared on Agnes' face as she hurried after him.