Episode 10

Aiyla stood from her chair and stomped towards Ilan. No one could move from where they were since the aura she was emitting raised their danger levels, well except Lesker's. However, he could feel that Aiyla's anger held no malice. It was actually full of concern so he didn't do anything but watch.

Ilan flinched when Aiyla drew closer and closed his eyes. When she got close to him, he received what he calls to this day, the worst nagging of his life. He was inspected thoroughly and harassed and she fussed over him. At some point, Lesker couldn't keep his laughter in and let out a chuckle. It earned him a glare from Ilan.

When Aiyla was finally done, the sun was sinking on the horizon. Quella had long returned and had gone to prepare dinner since it was her turn that day.

"How the hell did you end up here at the outskirts of the kingdom? Where is your hunting crew?" Aiyla questioned. At the mention of his hunting crew, his mood soured. He shook his head and Aiyla gasped.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. Oh, my poor baby brother. You must've suffered"

"It's okay big sister, I'm fine now. One of the reasons why I followed Lesker was to come to see you and apologize for not coming home. I never knew you would come here. Why are you here anyway?"

"We came here because of the popularity of this stall. The adventurers talk well about this merchant and you know how much they talk when they find something they like. We're looking for the Dragon Musk Flower and The Blind Eagle King"

"A quest?"

"Something of the sort. It must be fate that brought me to you. Praise be to the cosmos"

"Praise the cosmos. I see you have met Lesker, my friend?"

"Yes. He was very charming"

"Was he now? He's usually very shy"

"Well, when you see two S class adventurers come to your humble stall, if you're not charming, then you're an idiot. It's that simple. By the way, are you Ilan's biological sister? He rarely talks about family" Lesker asks.

"We grew up in the same orphanage. Ilan was a dear little child that was always following me around. I would never know why he dropped being an adventurer for a hunter. Well, it is a stable job and he's an A class hunter. He's outstanding"

"He sure is"

"Speaking of which, the last time I saw you, you were about to break through the barrier to become a Mage Grandmaster. Why are you still a Mage Master?"

"Well big sister, it's a long story that we cannot discuss now. Let's go and eat dinner now. My communication talisman has been going off the rails with messages from Miss Quella to invite us for dinner"

"Sure. Let's go" Lesker said and closed up the stall.

The evening passed and the night ended without any air of uncertainty and sadness. They all just enjoyed the night as it simply was. The morning came with a slight surprise but soon faded into the normal bustle, at least for them.

Lesker manned the stall, Quella went out with Yuli, Ilan and the two adventurers guarded the stall. The presence of the strangers garnered more attention for them but most turned away when they realized what they wanted was not there.

Seeing Aiyla and Bruon since the day before, he felt a prick in his brain. It was a gentle itch at first but it soon progressed into a full-blown ache. Taking medicine from Aiyla, it calmed but it still pricked at his mind. He tried ignoring it, hoping it would go away. It never did. But, he couldn't bother Ilan and Quella so he just kept on ignoring it.

He didn't realize from that moment that his mind was being affected slowly. The minute detail could never catch anyone's attention, even the one being affected so for that period of time, nothing was wrong. Everything and everyone was fine.

How could Lesker have known that far above in the sky, a particular deity with flowing black hair and fierce hazel eyes was glaring intensely at him that her malice gave him a headache.

The sky darkened as her temper got worse when she saw the way Aiyla tended to Lesker.

"I've finally found you, my dear husband" she said with a very dark smile.