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After the festivities quieted down, it was time to finally continue the journey that had come to a standstill.

“As I promised–this is the most reliable steed in the village,” Alekkai said.

A Verma villager, responsible for tending to the horses within the land, brought the lead to Vandread’s hand, who looked at the ginger-furred stallion, petting its hair as he sized it up.

“He’ll do nicely. Thanks,” Vandread said, hopping up on its back.

Alekkai hoisted up a large sack that seemed filled to the brim, “Don’t forget this. You’ll need to eat to survive such a long journey. My wife made sure you had plenty to fill your stomachs with,”

Emilio couldn’t help but smile at those words as he accepted the heavy sack of supplies, handing it to Vandread before getting on the horse, sitting right behind him.

“It’s not just food in there; natural medicines and basic tools are in there, too. It is the least we can do for you,” Alekkai said.

“Thanks, Alekkai,” Emilio smiled.

Though he yearned for his journey towards the Guild Foundation, he knew he was going to miss Verma village; the petrichor from the previous night’s rain, the kind elders, playful children, and warm food.

It won’t be easy, what’s ahead, but if this world has more people like the Verma…I’ll manage, he thought with a smile.

Saying his goodbyes to Alekkai and his family, along with the others, he waved them off as Vandread began to pull the reins of the stallion._.

“AAAAAGHHH—! Hey—! Wait–!”

A familiar voice called out as he looked back, seeing the young warrior of the Verma racing towards them with something held carefully between his hands.

“Bruman?” He called out in return, perplexed.

Bruman reared his hand back before tossing forward something wrapped in a beige cloth, “–You need a memento, right?! I’m not going to rely on your memory alone, so here’s something so you don’t forget—so you don’t forget that you need to visit again after you become an adventurer!”

He watched as the unknown object secured in cloth sailed towards him before catching it while the stallion had already begun trotting away.

What’s this? He thought.

As he opened it, he found a bracelet in it; a string bracelet with canine teeth decorating it. Looking up, he saw Bruman waving with a large smile, catching his breath, but what caught his eye was a matching bracelet on the young warrior’s wrist.

He smiled, accepting it as he slid it onto his right wrist, “Thank you!”

I’m building a collection of mementors, aren’t I? He thought with a warm smile.

The fabric, gold-and-brown ring on his index finger, reminding him of Reno, the wolf-tooth bracelet from Bruman, and his dragon-symbolled necklace gifted to him from Irene.

“Let’s hurry,” Vandread said, guiding the stallion, “We should be able to make it out of the forest before nightfall if we move with haste.”

“Right,” he nodded.

He wasn’t prepared for the monotonous journey ahead. Of course, somebody who embodied the definition of ‘overly cautious’ to a fault like Vandread opted to travel slowly and steadily, which meant the horse simply gandered slowly through the barely-visible trail.

Hours of this persisted, making him more annoyed by the loss that had occurred in the first meeting with the Outriders.

It was a far cry from the comfort of the dreary carriage, which he somehow came to be nostalgic over, if not from the bumpiness of riding on the stallion’s back as its hooves trotted over the uneven pathway.

Though the barbaric bear warriors had been dealt with, the unexplored, mysterious nature of Tseurilia forest led him to be cautious of whatever else may inhabit its borders.

It had been two months since he’d first entered Tseurilia, and he’d started to become sick of the sight of the overbearing trees and thick foliage; the sound of birds chirping and critters scampering grated his ears.

“Urgh…” He groaned.

He was forced to hold onto the man most of the time for stability, though he didn’t like the idea of being clung to Vandread, though the man didn’t seem to like the thought of it much, either.

“Keep it down back there,” Vandread said, guiding the stallion, “I need to keep a clear head. We’re not home safe yet, so keep yourself ready.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He knew well what sort of troubles lurked in the world of Arcadius; it was a world that, while beautiful, could be as dark as an abyss when looked at carefully.

The sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon as the pale-blue sky shifted to a soft sepia, bringing the temperature to a perfect balance between brisk and warm.

“Vandread,” he called out quietly.

“What is it?”

“What’s it like being an adventurer?”

Vandread glanced back at him, keeping the majestic stallion steady in its pace, “Huh? What’re you asking me for? You’ve been around your pops all your life. I’m sure you’ve rang his ear about it.”

“Well, before I didn’t realize what being an ‘adventurer’ meant,” he said with an expression of lament, “I thought it would be all about journeying around the world, fighting monsters, discovering precious artifacts, you know the drill…”

Hearing his words, the stoic man slowly sighed out as he looked forward, “I know what you mean. It’s a common misconception kids have when they idolize adventurers. They only see the ‘good side’; the glory, victories, riches, and the tales of heroes. Well, that’s not their fault, really. But nobody talks about the nitty gritty side of it.”

“–” He looked down, knowing well what he was talking about.

The lively forest dimmed with the sunset arriving; the chirps of morning birds quieted and the sounds of critters traversing the overgrown land settled down. Soon, only the soft trots of the stallion’s hooves resounded.

“What happened with the Outriders isn’t your typical quest, but it’s not out of the norm, either. Things like that happen; people are taken captive, either to sell or worse,” Vandread continued, speaking from experience, “There’s a whole lot of darkness in this world. It’s not just Milligarde; I’ve been around the world, and I’ve seen it at every corner; humans, elves, demons–it doesn’t really matter. We’re all tainted down here on the pretty fields.”

“That’s a bit pessimistic, isn’t it…? There’s still good left,” he said.

“I’m not saying there isn’t. I’ll even admit that there’s more good than bad, but sometimes the abhorrence far outweighs the nice things you see. It sticks to your mind more; things you won’t forget,” Vandread looked back at him, directly into his eyes, “…I know you experienced something when we were in Elsia.”

“Huh?” He let out in surprise.

Though he wanted to deny it, he knew there was no deceiving the discerning, wizened eyes that belonged to Vandread; the man whose scars spoke of his experience, tested by trial after trial.

“…How’d you know?” He mumbled.

Vandread exhaled slowly, “The look in your eye changed. You may not have acted like it, but I could tell; that sparkle dimmed. But, perhaps it motivated you. Who knows. As long as you came back in one piece, I had nothing to complain about.”

“Well, the truth is…”

Finally, he poured off of his chest the entire ordeal that occurred within Elsia, from meeting Reno and the thugs, to finding the trafficking ring, and the fight against Oswell.

“I see,” Vandread said, “That certainly sounds like an eye-opening experience. I heard about what happened to you before, you know. When you got captured by that low-life crew.”

“You knew?”

“Julius really doesn’t know how to shut up and be concise in a letter,” Vandread sighed, steering the stallion clear of a jutted tree root, “…Anyway, you’re not ignorant to that part of the world, at least. A shitty silver lining, but a silver lining,” he glanced back at him, “I’d take this as a good opportunity.”

“For what?”

“You asked me what being an adventurer is like. From the sounds of it, you’ve already seen for yourself what the bad parts are like,” Vandread told him.

“Yeah…”

Vandread looked forward, “You haven’t seen the highs yet. So, if you ask me, if you’ve only seen the crappy parts and haven’t booted the opposite direction, then you have what it takes.”

Expecting a negative response, and though it wasn’t exactly reassuring, it was something positive, at least as light as words from Vandread could get.

What I’ve seen are the low points? And I’ve yet to see the highs?…I guess that’s true, he thought, then I can do this.

“If you need rest, now is your time to get it. We’re coming up on a clearing that stretches on, leading out of Tseurilia,” Vandread told him, “It’ll be safe through that.”

“Alright,” he nodded.

Even if he wanted to act tough in front of the man, he knew how important it was to get any wink of sleep that he could.