A figure got closer to Laudis. He stood still for a second, observing the boy closely. His clothes were all dusty and covered in sweat mixed with sand. A wind blew some of it into the youth's eyes, causing him to lose vision.
"Get up," a deep, male voice said.
"Yeah, right."
The kid took his hand and stood up, wiping his eyes. Dantenium was lying on the dune with Udania next to him.
'Who was that? It was not Aamir, I would recognise his voice. As I recall it, I didn't hear it before. Damn...' thought Laudis, fixing his clothing.
"How could you stand up?" asked Solisia, kneeling on the ground.
"I thought you've used up your mana completely," she continued.
"What do you mean?"
"You've grabbed the air and got up without any problems, almost like you clung to someone or something. How can you explain it?"
"I guess I have pretty strong abdominal muscles. I tried to help myself with the hand movement, but it wasn't that helpful. You should also consider training those muscles—" he replied, trying to help her with standing up.
The girl slapped his hand, rejecting his offer. She looked away, as if she was outraged about the fight.
"Now, now. You don't have to be so angry about your loss. He has beaten you, that's a fact. If you don't want to lose again, then you should work harder. Just because you're named as the Prodigy doesn't make you unbeatable," stated Dantenium, walking to them.
"Still, what was that last move, Laudis? You didn't take a proper stance; therefore, you performed the Cage of Sword differently," the man continued, crouching.
"To be completely honest, I don't know it either. I just tried to perform the technique as fast as I could have done it. My mana capacity is probably around its low. Still, the sparring wasn't easy. The last part was the hardest one. If I didn't risk it, then I would lose," the boy replied.
"Nice joke. I've lost because I was weaker. Next time, you won't win against me. Do you understand?" the girl declared, pointing at him.
"Understood..."
"So, why don't we go back to that cafe? I really enjoyed the cake we had last time. Don't you agree, Udania?" she continued, changing the topic to hide her irritation.
"I guess... If they are not against it, why don't we go there?" the blue-haired woman responded.
"I don't see the reason why we wouldn't. Let's go," the Fire sorcerer agreed.
The three of them left the training grounds. Solisia tried to get up, but without any success. She was exhausted by the sparring. The girl never had to use so much mana in one fight. The Crusaders were distancing themselves from her. She was unable to speak because of dehydration.
'Those jerks left me behind. I can't talk or shout. If anyone doesn't turn back, I will have to crawl to the city. We've walked here for fifteen minutes, so that would take... One freaking hour of crawling! Please, anyone! Turn back!' thought Solisia, her eyes were on the brink of crying.
When she accepted her fateful fate, someone glanced at her. A silhouette of a man was approaching her. The girl was trying to stay awake, but her vision became blurrier and blurrier. A wind blew sand into her eyes, making her close them up. She lost her consciousness. After a while, she fully regained it.
"Huh? Someone's carrying me? It can't be Udania, because she isn't that strong. It's not that I'm fat! She doesn't train physically. It leaves me with either Laudis or Dante... Whatever, judging by the sound, we're near the city anyway,' she imagined the possible scenarios. She had her eyes closed to play along and see how it would unfold.
The Crusaders were entering the Zachiria. Merchants were looking at the four of them, murmuring. Their looks pierced through them, giving them an uneasy feeling. Still, the sellers weren't mean, but pleased by the sight. It was almost like they were congratulating them. An older man came to them.
"Congrats. I wished I were like you again, young and filled with those emotions," the man whispered to the boy.
"Thank you, uncle," the kid replied, thinking he was talking about pride. After all, that was the emotion he was most familiar with.
As they were walking down the street, the smell of freshly baked pastries was getting more pronounced.
"Why did he say to you?" whispered Udania.
"Congrats, something, something. He probably meant it about my winning sparring," the youth replied confidently.
She glanced at Dante, and they both knew it wasn't his intention to talk about the fight. Solisia got curious and opened her eyes, observing the situation. The Water sorceress and the crimson-haired man were walking beside her, leaving only one possibility. Laudis was carrying her, but not in the conventional way. Most people would bear an unconscious person on their back or something like that. The youth wasn't normal. He was holding her in front of him, like she was his bride.
"Huh?" murmured disoriented Solisia.
"What 'huh'? I'm carrying you and you have a problem?" the kid replied, trying to understand her.
"One question. Why the hell do you carry me like I was your wife?!"
"I am not familiar with such mannerisms, because I've never been at any wedding. Isn't that the way you were supposed to carry people?" the boy responded, looking at them.
Dante hid his laughter, and Udania covered her face with her hands in disbelief. The girl blushed and demanded to be put away. He let go of her, and they walked to the cafe. The Crusaders went there in complete silence. They entered the cafe, avoiding any contact with the locals. They picked a table by the window. The cafe was kept in the typical Carolar style. Simple structure built with sandstone. A few paintings were hanging on the wall. They were mostly abstract art, focused on colour usage. Mr. Moodeen noticed and went to them. The confectioner was modeling cupcake. The pastries were covered in a honey glaze with a vanilla filling. The man was focused on the work, cutting away every single imperfection. After a moment, he was done.
"Oh, you're back. How's your father?" the chief asked.
"Better, his condition is stable. Thank you for asking," the worker replied.
'My father is long dead.'
"Denir, some people came in. Serve them," the chief stated from the kitchen.
"But I'm a confectioner, not a server—"
"I know, but the server didn't come. Could you serve them?"
"Yes, chief."
'Yay, another idiots I have to deal with. Two hoes and their two wallets. The only people I tolerate are those destined to be experimented on. Just kill me already!' the male thought, facepalming his misery.
He noticed the empty table and went to them.
"Are you ready to order?" he asked with a smile on his face, it was fake, yet mimiced to be seen as real one.
The man stood in front of the Crusaders. He was pretty tall and roughly handsome. His jawline was rather sharp. He had pretty long, brown hair with a small, but noticeable, facial hair. He also had a thin scar on his left cheek. The male wore a white, cotton apron, black shoes, black trousers, a white shirt, and a hairnet.
"Yes, we'd like to order two pieces of the cake we ordered yesterday. It was the bratcalo cake?" said Solisia.
'You imbecile, it's brotcali, not bratcalo!'
"You mean the brotcali cake, right?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm not that familiar with these words."
"Perhaps, are you tourists?" he asked them.
"Yes, we're on a business trip concerning fragrance export," lied Dantenium.
"I see, so I would recommend you drink our regional beer. We just got a delivery of it, about an hour ago."
"That'd be great."
"And do you want anything, sir? he asked, looking at Laudis.
"I'd like a tea, a bitter one if possible," the kid replied, avoiding eye contact.
"Roger that, two pieces of broctali cake, one beer, and one tea. I'll be back in about five minutes."
'Was he avoiding my sight? Am I tripping or what?'
Denir came back with the order, holding a large, steel tray. He set the food away and was about to leave when he noticed something. Something that caught his attention.
"You have a beautiful eye," he whispered, looking at the girl.
"Didn't you mean 'beautiful eyes'? Nonetheless, thank you," she replied, blushing slightly.
"Yes, my bad. You have beautiful eyes," responded Denir without any emotion, glancing at Laudis.
'I've never expected something like that! Especially in the work...'
The worker went to the storage room. He closed the door and observed if anyone was watching him. The male supported himself by a wall. His heart began to beat faster, and his pupils widened. The man collapsed to the ground with a smirk on his face.
"A half-vampire? No, they have the same eyes as the full-blooded ones. Perhaps a quarter-blood? I've never seen something like that before. He was immune to the sunlight. He isn't a part of the Mirage Wings because he's too short. Man, he is perfect. Perfect for the experiments, I mean," he whispered, writing down the details.
"So, why don't you use spells, Laudis?" wondered Solisia.
The youth spat his tea, caught off guard by the question. As he was wiping the spilled liquid off the table, he thought about the reply.
'How can I say I don't have a dominant element?'
"I don't know what my dominant element is," he responded, avoiding eye contact.
"How can you not know it?"
"If you recall, I've said that I don't remember anything before the age of seven. I don't know my parents or any relatives, so I don't know what my main element is. It's hard for me to understand the concept of elements because I didn't need to use them."
"Oh, okay. Would you like to try casting Earth spells? Maybe you are an Earth sorcerer like me."
"Why not? We can try it tomorrow, if you don't mind it. Also, I'd like to ask you one question too."
"Go for it."
"Why is your bounty alias 'the Prodigy'?
"Because I've got a natural talent," she replied with a smirk.
"That's not true at all," interupted Dantenium.
"I remember it like it was yesterday..."
The sun shone from the windows, lighting the room. A smell of steel was noticeable to everyone present in there. The three Crusaders knelt in front of the king, then stood up.
"Dante, Gladius, and Udania. Are you ready to kill the Upper Hands?" asked King Leopold, sitting on his throne.
"Not yet. We lack people; we need at least four. When we would attack them, I'm sure they would respond with their armies. Thus, we need more Crusaders," explained Gladius.
"I see, how about one of my choices? Here, there are two candidates that I've picked," the ruler replied, handing down the papers to him.
"Name: Solisia Petronia; age: fifteen; country of origin: Kingdom of Piscaria; dominant element: Earth; range: long; current strength: ten vampires—"
"What do you mean by the 'ten vampires'? interrupted Laudis, intrigued.
"How many vampires can a person defeat at once, going back to the story...
"Strength: ten vampires; potential strength: up to one hundred vampires.
Name: Byron Amor; age: nineteen; country of origin: Realm of Luxaris; dominant element: Air; range: short; current strength: twenty-five vampires; potential strength: seventy-five vampires," the paladin read out loud.
"So, what's your choice?" the monarch asked him.
"Can you give us a minute?"
"Go for it."
"Thank you.
"What do you think about them?"
"Byron is a stronger, short-range Air sorcerer with lesser potential. On the other hand, Solisia is a weaker as of now, long-range Earth sorceress with greater potential. In my humble opinion, I'd pick the girl. We need more control rather than another close fighter," stated Dantenium, analysing their feats.
"I can agree with Dante. Byron might be better, but we need someone to help me at the long range," added Udania.
"To be completely honest, I wanted to choose Byron. Another man to help us wouldn't hurt. Still, you've outvoted me. Thus, we have the answer," the captain acknowledged.
"We choose Solsia Petronia!" the knight declared, filled with enthusiasm.
"You mean 'Solisia Petronia', right?"
"Indeed!"
"After a while, she got a notice and travelled to the capital. At first, the girl wasn't a fan of the idea, but when she heard about the salary, she changed her mind. We trained with her for two years, because she was a baker in her town. And there we are," said Dantenium, finishing the beer.
"I see... But why is she called the Prodigy?
"Great question! I don't have a damn clue!"
"Wow."
"She's called that because she experienced her mana release at the age of six. It is very uncommon, almost impossible," replied Udania, putting their utensils in one place.
"Oh, I guess, it actually makes sense."
The Crusaders asked for the bill. Denir came and received the payment, avoiding any unnecessary conversation. They left the cafe and headed to further training.