Chapter 03 - Old Companions

A day later, Ara gained his consciousness back and slowly opened his eyes. He tried to wake up, but his body is far too weaker to do that. Then, when he tried to remember the last thing before he fell unconscious, his eyes widened as only one thing came to his mind.

"VERA!"

He groaned as his body hurts so much when he forced his body to wake up. But suddenly, he heard a chuckle come from the door.

"Take it easy, boy. You have been unconscious for almost a full day. Here, eat some porridge."

"What happened to Vera?" Ara couldn't help but ask, ignoring the grumbled sound from his stomach. The man raised his eyebrow before he pointed to the bed next to Ara. There, Ara could see Vera is sleeping, yet in better condition.

"She was awake about three hours ago and has already eaten something before she fell asleep again. Now, eat."

"Who are you?" Ara asked, still ignoring the porridge in front of him. He winced inwardly at his rudeness, knowing he had no place to ask considering he was saved by this man. He couldn't help it though, as he has to treat this situation cautiously. He still doesn't know anything about the man.

However, the man smirked amusedly at his question as he replied,

"Well, you can call me Argo, and in case you forget anything before you lost consciousness, I am the owner of this temple and the killer of the Were that chasing you."

Ara tensed a bit, remembering the Were who was an inch away from his body.

"Are you a knight?" Ara couldn't help but ask again. But this time, the man, Argo, shook his index finger as the answer.

"No no no. You need something for your stomach first. Eat first, then ask the question later. And don't worry, I didn't add anything that would harm your body in it, just eat it." Argo added the last part seeing Ara's hesitant look.

Ara could only nod as he took the porridge from the man. Surprisingly, the food is good. Very good, in fact. It is still warm and didn't have the bland flavor that he usually gets at the porridge from the merchant outside of Musia Kingdom. It is probably the best porridge he has ever eaten in his life.

Ara didn't know if it is due to the taste or his hunger, but he ate the porridge as if there is no tomorrow.

Argo just watched amusedly, waiting for him to finish his food. After ten minutes and another bowl of porridge, Ara finally put back the spoon and looked at Argo gratefully.

"Thank you for the food."

Argo lets out a small chuckle as he saw Ara suddenly change from a hungry boy into the polite one.

"Don't worry about it. The girl over there didn't stop eating until his fourth bowl, so if you want more, just say it."

Ara didn't know what to answer, so he just nodded dumbly at Argo. Then, Ara's eyes widened at the high-skill magic displayed by Argo. The man in front of him just waved his hand and the bowl in front of them suddenly vanished without any trace.

'A space storage magic!'

Ara only knows about this from the whisper around the city, but he has never seen one. Rumor said that you need to be a master space mage to create this space storage. With this magic, you don't need to bring anything as you can just put your thing there and grab it whenever you need.

"Who are you?" Ara couldn't help but parroted his last question, earning another chuckle from Argo.

"Well, take a guess. If you can impress me, I will give you and the girl presents."

Ara took a deep breath as he formed his thought.

"At first, I thought you are a knight from the Musia kingdom, above the commander rank, seeing as you killed the Were easy with your sword. But you just show me your space storage, so that means you are at least a master at space mage. But I have never known about anyone who could master magic and become a powerful knight at the same time, so I don't have any guesses. What I know is you are not an ordinary man. So, who are you?"

The man chuckled once again and patted Ara's head.

"Good guess. You have vast knowledge and a sharp brain, it will help you in the future." Ara blushed a little at the compliment. That was the first time he received any compliment from someone.

Argo just ignored it for now and replied to his question.

"As for who am I, let's just say I am just a wandering old man and leave it like that."

Suddenly, a snort could be heard from the door, and when Ara turned around, he could see a very classy and charismatic old man standing behind a gorgeous blonde woman who looked at Argo in annoyance.

"Wandering old man? Is that your identity right now?" The woman asked while glaring at Argo. However, the one who received the glare just give her a smile while ignoring the woman's question.

"It's been a long time right, Vanda?"

Ara didn't know who they are, but he knows they are not enemies. The woman's eyes hold no hostility, only annoyance in them. There is only one thing that came to his brain as an explanation.

'Probably this man's companions.'

Then, right to his thought, the annoyance expression suddenly vanished from the woman's face, and now all he could see is a blissful smile. Without hesitation, the woman leaped forward and hugged Argo, while Argoting in joy,

"Good to see you again, big brother!"

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Vanda was a child Argo took under his wing when he was just twenty. He treated her like a little sister, taught her everything he knows. Her reputation bloomed when she took a test to be a mage, which resulted in her being dubbed as the most talented earth mage that the elf race has in their history. Even the leader of the Demon spoke highly of her sheer ability.

She was also known as the ice queen due to her cold demeanor, especially to men and the human species. However, all of those tough appearances vanished when she met Argo.

To everyone else, Argo is her master, her teacher. Yet, to her, Argo is her big brother, her knight in shiny armor who would save her from the big bad demon. And Argo didn't care about her title and high status the elven race. That is probably the reason why she could be childish around him.

Argo himself smiled fondly at the childishness shown by her. Even though the last time she already has a middle-aged woman appearance, Vanda would forever be a child that need to be pampered in front of his eyes.

"Well, I don't know how long the time has passed since we last met-"

"It has been fifty years and twenty-seven days, My Lord." Gavin cut in, giving Argo the basic information.

"Thank you, Gavin. It has been that long since we met the last time. How are you, Vanda? And how is the Jade Forest? Are the elf doing good?" Vanda's eyes brightened at his question.

"I am doing well! And the elf also managed to survive after your last encounter with them. The elders are still afraid and hold a grudge against you though." Argo smirked as he remembers what Vanda is talking about.

"Well, if they have some grudge against me, they can talk about it personally. I wouldn't mind." Vanda pouted, annoyed with his answer.

"Of course, you would. You enjoy tormenting us too much."

"Well, if they didn't lay their hand on you, I wouldn't mind leaving them alone."

"Would you?"

*Cough!*

Their banter was interrupted by the sudden little cough from Argo's guest. Vanda raised her eyebrow and turned her attention to Argo as she looked for an explanation.

"Sorry, Ara. I get caught with the past. Let me introduce you to my companions. The girl is Vanda from the elven race, and the man standing behind her is Gavin, my friend from the Demon race. Gavin, Vanda, this is Ara and the girl over there is Vera."

Gavin suddenly bowed down at Ara's introduction as he spoke dramatically,

"My lord! How can you introduce this lowly servant as your best friend?! This lowly servant doesn't deserve the title of master's best friend!" Argo just rolled his eyes but didn't reject what Gavin said.

Meanwhile, Ara is overwhelmed by Argo's introduction. He only heard the story of the other race from the merchant in the city, so he couldn't believe he could see a demon and an elf in front of him. However, he wouldn't make himself look like a fool, so he took a deep breath and spoke slowly,

"Nice to meet you."

Vanda just took a single glance at him before he turned her attention back to Argo.

"So, who is he? Is he related to your disappearance?"

Ara couldn't help but wonder about what Vanda just said.

'Disappearance? What did she mean? Is that related to how they haven't met for fifty years or something else?'

However, before he could think of any wild theory about it, Argo's answer to Vanda froze his brain to death.

"Not really. But I call you for the girl over here. And if my suspicion is correct, I think you will find something interesting about her."

"Oh?" Vanda raised her eyebrows as she approached Vera. However, she was stopped by Ara's shout.

"Don't touch her!"

Everyone else turned their attention to Ara, as the boy glared at them all.

"Don't you dare to touch her!"

Then suddenly, the temperature inside the room dropped astronomically as the pressure rose from Gavin's body. Ara gulped nervously as he saw the demon glares fiercely at him.

"Threatening My Lord? Who do you think you are, mortal? I can kill you here right now and do whatever I want with the girl if My Lord ordered me to. So, you better shut your mouth!"

Argo could only sigh as he remembers how hothead the demon is. He took a glance at Ara and when he saw the boy lose consciousness, he tapped Gavin's Argolder to stop the demon from killing the boy and crashing the temple.

"That's enough, Gavin. The poor boy is already passed out. He couldn't handle your pressure. And you are close to leveling this building to the ground, so you better stop it."

Right after Argo said that the room is back to normal again as the demon kneel in front of him.

"I am sorry, My Lord. I lost control. Please, punish me!"

Argo deadpanned at the innuendo while Vanda snickered behind them.

"Just apologize to the poor boy later and forget about it."

"Yes, My Lord!"

Argo turned his attention back to Vanda who is already in front of Vera and chanted several spells to the girl. After a few minutes of doing so, Vanda finally finished what she was doing, as she gasped and turned around to Argo as if asking for confirmation.

Argo could see many expressions in her eyes, from shock, disbelief, joy, and the most visible one, hope.

"So, is it true?" Vanda nodded a little while muttering,

"Incredible. I thought she was gone a long time ago. I can't believe I found her here in this poor condition, stumbled inside this temple. Once again, your luck is really the best, big brother."

Gavin who didn't know what they are talking about couldn't help but ask.

"Excuse me, Master, Lady Vanda. Can you explain what is happening here and what is wrong with the girl?"

However, the answer he got was something that shock him to the core.

"She is the last descendant of the elven royal family.." Vanda whispered lowly, staring at the little girl in front of her in astonishment.