After the unusual but scrumptious dinner, the duo was now free once again.
"Ciel, do you need to sleep right now?" Rein asked
"I'll stay awake. On the other hand, you should sleep while you still can."
"You'll have to deal with the Royal Guards who could come at any moment." Ciel replied
It was only a matter of time before someone from the Royal Guards was sent to Rein's house in the Arrow Village.
"We need to hide the Starlight Lantern as well. It would be awkward for you to explain where you got such a lantern from." Ciel suggested
"Where can we even hide it though? Can you use Soul Transfer on a Living Artifact?" Rein asked
"I don't think I can. It's a living being after all…"
"I think you can. We made the Soul Contract, thus it should be possible for me." The Starlight Lantern chimed in
"No harm in trying I guess." Ciel said as he went up to the Starlight Lantern
He used the marking feature of Soul Transfer, and managed to mark the Starlight Lantern after a few moments.
'Cool… that took quite a bit of our Spirit Essence though. At least it worked out without any issues.' Ciel thought
The Soul Contract had allowed Soul Transfer to work on the Living Artifact, allowing Ciel to send the Starlight Lantern into their Soul World.
"I guess he won't be able to hear us anymore? Still, I wonder if it's a good thing keeping him in the Soul World. Who knows what he's up to over there." Ciel said
"Well, he can't do anything malicious there, or anywhere to be precise. Directed to us at least."
"Who knows, there may be some loophole in the rules."
"Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed. Could you summon one of those fancy beds? The bed I have here is quite mediocre to be honest." Rein asked in an easy going manner
"Sure. But if anything happens, I'm going to unsummon it and you'll fall to the ground. You've been warned." Ciel replied starkly
It would not be good if someone saw the luxurious bed in a random villagers house.
Rein brushed off the warning as if nothing would happen.
Ciel entered her shadow and summoned one of the two beds he got from the Special Gate.
The fancy bed looked quite out of place in Rein's bedroom.
She jumped up on the fluffy matress and buried her face in the soft pillows, before falling asleep while Ciel kept watch.
They had both decided to always take turns sleeping so that nothing could ambush them.
.
The next day, in the early afternoon. It was a sunny day, with the sun shining brightly in the sky.
Nothing had happened during the night or morning, but Ciel finally sensed someone approaching.
[ Someone's here. Looks like they're a Radiant Sorcerer. ] He said to Rein, who was lazing around
The Radiant Sorcerer didn't try and hide their Soul Tier, making it easy for Ciel to notice their presence and strength.
'After the disaster with Ryker, I guess they don't want to take any chances. Even if there's only a chance that Rein is an accomplice.' He thought to himself
They soon heard a knock on the door.
Rein went to open the door as if everything was normal. Once opened, there was a pretty woman in her mid twenties standing there.
She looked like an ordinary person with a normal glance, yet she exuded an aura of brilliance.
She had lush, chestnut coloured hair, with yellow eyes. She was wearing a uniform that belonged to the Floren Royal Guards.
The uniform was a green, long sleeved shirt, along with grey pants.
Though the uniform looked normal on the outside, there was a metallic protective layer that was present on the inside. It was thin enough to not hinder movements.
[ From the vibes I'm getting, I think that the metal has some magical properties that increase the defense. ] Ciel noted, using his enhanced senses
"Hello, Ms. Rein. I'm Captain Emille from the Royal Guards." She said politely as she gave out a hand for a handshake
"Hello, Captain Emille. Please, come inside." Rein replied formally as she accepted the handshake
[ Hey… tell me what to say in case I get lost. ] Rein said in a chaotic voice
She was good at deception, but when it came to a fluent and honest social conversation, she had a fair bit of trouble.
[ I'm not any better at social interactions… I might even be worse than yoh. ] Ciel replied honestly
Emille entered the house and sat down by the nearby table.
[ Am I meant to give her some tea like in a book? She doesn't look like she's expecting something… ] Rein asked awkwardly
[ On Prisma, no one would spend a penny for a visitor… even if they were a friend. ] Ciel said in an unsure manner
The etiquette of Lumos was still a mystery that needed to be solved for them.
"Don't mind me. I'm just here for a short chat." Emille said with a smile, sensing the awkward atmosphere
Rein nodded with a sigh of relief and sat on the opposite side of the table from her.
"Do you know why I'm here?" Emille asked
"It's about the man named Ciel, isn't it?" Rein replied after waiting for a few seconds
She didn't want Emille to feel like she was expecting a guest from the Royal Guards. It was time to play the pure and innocent girl card.
"That's one reason. On my way here, I got to know that you are a Soul Sorcerer. Since when have you been one?" Emille asked with a stern look
"Yes, it's true that I am an Awakened Sorcerer. I've only become one last month." Rein replied with a fake nervous expression
Even though the one questioning was at Soul Tier 3, Rein knew that she would be safe. In the worst case scenario, she would need to escape and get a bounty notice as well.
[ Explain a bit more. We already discussed what you need to say. ]
"You see, I could become a Soul Sorcerer because of Ciel. He helped me out."
"He said that he would help me become one as long as I helped him out afterwards with his goals."
"Before the final step was reached, I ran away because he started acting weird towards me…"
"I then managed to complete the final step by myself, becoming an Awakened Sorcerer." Rein said with a proud face
She needed to give off a naive young girl act, making the Royal Guards underestimate her.
"Do you know what his goals were? Are you still in contact, or have a way to contact him? Emille asked
"He told me that he would only tell me once I became a Soul Sorcerer. I also don't have any way of contacting him."
"Sorry about that. I had only heard of Ciel's crimes after I ran away." Rein said while looking down
"No worries. Thanks for the help."
[ I'm glad you didn't dream of becoming an actor. I don't think something like this suits you very much. Still, it was believable enough. ] Ciel said
[ Shut up. You wouldn't have done any better. ]
"In that case, how about you join the Royal Guards? You don't have to decide right away, you can come to the kingdom for now."
"All Soul Sorcerers are treated with respect." Emille invited
[ She's basically saying that a Soul Sorcerer can't move freely, unless they want to be an enemy of the kingdom. ]
[ They want to keep an eye on all possible Soul Sorcerers, and recruit them into their military if possible. ] Ciel said
However, this was exactly what he was waiting for.
This was a free chance of getting close to the Royal Guards, and thus getting their hands on the Star Fragment.
"Thank you, I'll think about it. I still don't know what I should be doing right now…" Rein said with a naive expression showing on her face
There was no reason for her to rush the decision, as it could raise more suspicion on her.
"Take this." Emille handed over an envelope
"It will explain how you can join the Royal Guards. For now, I recommend you move into the 2nd quadrant."
She bowed and elegantly got up from her seat before leaving the house.
[ That was fast… the Floren Kingdom sure likes to keep it's Soul Sorcerers on tight leashes. ] Ciel said
It did feel weird that Emille didn't pressure Rein too much with questions about Ciel.
'They probably have a way to keep an eye on her.' Ciel thought
[ Since we've… I mean I've been invited with such hospitality, let's go to the 2nd quadrant to begin this stupid task. ] Rein said
[ Yeah. We have to wait until tomorrow though. It takes around 12 hours just to reach the kingdom from here. ]
[ Once we reach the kingdom, it will take another 12 hours to reach the 2nd quadrant. ] Ciel added
That was only if they went by foot. There was probably going to be cheap public transport once they reached the kingdom.
[ We have quite the journey for the next few days. ] Ciel said in a cheerful manner
This journey was going to be much better than travelling through the dangers of the Emerald Forest.
Ciel was quite tired of running away from unknown monsters lurking around the woods.
.
Early next morning, Rein had left for the Floren Kingdom.
[ There's someone following you. Well, that's to be expected. The Royal Guards would be quite stupid to blindly trust your words. ] Ciel said
[ All I have to do is to wait and slowly remove all suspicion from myself. Before long, I'll be free from all this nonsense. ] Rein replied
Only once all the suspicion was removed from Rein would they be able to start getting closer to the Royal Guards.
She went on through the Emerald Forest towards the Floren Kingdoms Southern Quadrant.
They eventually reached the Valenor Gate, which led into the 3rd quadrant by nightfall.