Angel's Rest

After passing through the gates and undergoing a standard inspection from the guards, they bid farewell to the farmer and headed to the nearest inn for some rest.

Sofi skipped ahead of Hazel, singing, “Swinauk~ swinauk~”

Hazel softly laughed as she followed her through the inn entrance, immediately hit with a blast of savory, soupy aromas. Her stomach growled in response, but luckily, the rowdy chatter of patrons drowned it out. A bar stood at the back near a set of stairs with a young girl behind it wiping down a mug while chatting with some customers. The rest of the floor was filled with a mix of wooden tables, mostly occupied.

They found an empty one tucked in the corner and sat down. Soon after, an old lady approached.

“Good evenin’ lassies. What can I get for ya?” she asked. She was hunched, with thinning gray hair cut into a bob, but her eyes sparkled with a lively energy.

“Good evening, ma’am. We’re new here, so we’ll take your best recommendation.” Hazel said.

The old lady studied them both for a moment, then chuckled. “Travelers, eh? You look like you’re from the South, even if your clothes are a bit strange. Your friend on the other hand… looks like she’s from Lenka. You a church-goer, lass?”

“I am indeed, ma’am!” Sofi chirped cheerfully.

“What an unusual combination. You girls best be careful out there. Better ya change into some commoner clothes or somethin’. The emperor may favor Helena, but you stand out too much.” She clicked her tongue in distaste. “Anywho, I can getcha some beef stew like the others. That’ll be eight len for the two of ‘em.” She turned to shuffle back toward the bar.

“Wait!” Hazel called after her. The old lady raised a brow and turned back.

“Um, how much for a room? We’ll be staying for a week.”

The lady scratched her chin thoughtfully. “Two marti and I’ll give ya free meals whenever you come down.”

“Alright.” Hazel agreed. She turned to Sofi, who summoned the coins from her inventory, as the lady walked away, and asked, “Hey, do you know what she meant by me looking like I’m from the South?”

Sofi grinned. “Sure do! Southerners usually have tan skin like yours. And by ‘South,’ I don’t mean just in the Osten Empire—but also in the Arcadian Empire, just past the Caines River. I heard it’s really hot down there, and they grow tons of yummy fruits! Osten trades with them a lot, so we might see some at the market.”

“And what about Lenka?”

“Mmm… I don’t know much about the Lenka Kingdom, to be honest. It’s a small coastal country that still worships Lady Luxeria, unlike the others. They also have a yearly festival in honor of both Lady Luxeria and Lady Helena. Other than that, there’s not much else that’s interesting about them.” She shrugged nonchalantly, then instantly brightened as the old lady returned with two wooden bowls of steaming stew.

“Here ya go, lassies. Enjoy.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key, dropping it on the table with a clunk. “Your room key. Up the stairs, third door on your left. Bath’s at the end of the hall. Make sure ya lock the door when you leave.” She took the two coins as payment and left.

The stew was still piping hot–thick, and rich, with generous chunks of beef, carrots, and potatoes. Sofi wasted no time digging in, letting out an “Mm-mmm!” as she shoveled the soup into her mouth. Seeing her eat with such pleasure, Hazel picked up her own spoon to try it.

The broth was savory and well-seasoned, with a hint of sweetness—likely from the onions she found settled at the bottom of the bowl. Each bite melted in her mouth, and before long, she was scraping the last few chunks of potatoes out of an empty bowl.

“Hwaahh! That was sooooo scrumptilly delicious!” Sofi exclaimed, setting her bowl down on the table.

Hazel chuckled, “Scrumptilly?”

“Yes~” Sofi patted her stomach contentedly.

“–believe that loony emperor’s at it ‘gain.”

Hazel perked up. A burly man at the table beside them was talking, and she tried to concentrate on their voices amidst the drunken laughter from the other tables.

“Hey, hey, watch what yer sayin’. But yeah, I heard li’l Mark was caught in the raid. Poor kid. Boss told me he’s got a sick sis at home,” another man chimed in.

“Hah! Hope he knows ‘nough of the Helenic scripture to get himself outta there.”

The second man leaned in and said in a lower tone, “Why d’ya think he’s crackin' down on ‘em Luxerians, though? It’s been almost a hundred years. They must’a been long gone already. I thought all ‘em saints were dead.”

“Nah. Ya haven’t been here long ‘nough. Most folks know that he’s actually keepin’ one of ‘em locked up in the dungeons. Dunno why. Prob’ly usin’ him for somethin’.”

Hazel’s gaze dropped to the wooden grain of the table. Even Sofi was quiet, clearly listening.

The burly man lifted his beer and gulped down the contents, slamming it onto the table with a bang. Wiping the foam from his mouth, he continued, “Don’t tell anyone I told ya, but a guy I know said there’s actually four saints still alive. Obviously, the first one’s in the dungeon, but the second’s hidden in Illyaen. Dunno ‘bout the rest of ‘em.”

“Here?” the other man hissed, glancing around nervously. He pulled the burly man closer and whispered something to him. They continued their exchange in hushed voices until the young girl from the bar came over to refill their mugs.

Hazel made eye contact with Sofi and whispered, “Let’s go up to our room.”

The room was modest—just a bed, a round table, two chairs, and a wardrobe—but clean and comfortable. Fortunately, the bed was wide enough for both of them.

Sofi dove onto the bed, releasing the magic that hid her wings, while Hazel chose to sit in the lounge chair, still mulling over the conversation she’d just heard.

“Sofi, you heard them, right? About the saints? Do we need to find them to complete the mission?”

Sofi rolled onto her side, nodding. “Yup! I can roughly sense where they are, but only when we’re close. Even if they’ve lost their divine power, there should still be some traces left. We’ll find them using that. Good thing we found a clue today!”

“Shouldn’t Helena know?”

She shook her head, “They’re not under her jurisdiction. She can’t communicate with them anyway, which is why she sends us angels in her stead. Unfortunately, we haven’t found any of them yet.”

“By the way, how are they still alive? If it’s been ninety-eight years since the last demon war, they must be well over a hundred years old by now.”

“Indeed, they are. Well, I’m two hundred and thirty-eight years old myself! And I’m still young. Divine energy does that to you. Even if they only have trace amounts of it left, it should keep them from aging for at least another century.”

Interesting… will I also live that long, too? Oh, but wait… I’ll probably have to give it up when I go back to my world—or I’ll get mauled by a demon before I can even test it.

“Alright, what about the one locked in the emperor’s dungeon? There are probably guards patrolling it, so we can’t just stroll in.”

“Mmm…why don’t we ask the emperor?” Sofi said. “I’m sure if we explain our mission—”

“What?” Hazel raised an eyebrow incredulously. “Didn’t you hear what those guys called him? ‘Loony.’ That means crazy.” She spun a finger beside her head. “And crazy means we can’t reason with him. We can’t assume he’ll support our cause. There’s gotta be another way in.”

Sofi’s brows furrowed in confusion, but she agreed anyway, figuring only a human would understand other humans best.

“Let’s just leave that one aside for now,” Hazel said. “We’ll look for the other hidden one first. Since we’re staying here for a week, we’ll divide the city into reasonably-sized areas to explore each day. That way, we’ll be able to get information from the locals as well as stock up on supplies. I’ll handle that. Your job will be to sniff out that divine energy, okay?”

Sofi sat up excitedly, her wings accidentally knocking the pillows to the floor. “Yes! I can do it! Hehe, this reminds me of a book Sariel lent me once—oh, Sariel is my other sister—but it was about a brave commoner girl who became a spy maid in a duke’s mansion! I was on the edge of my sheep, thinking she would get caught by the duke… but then the plot twist happened! Her identity was instead discovered by the duke’s knight captain–but he was a spy too–and they fell in love! Ooh, it was soooo romantic how they gave up their missions for each other and—”

Edge of her sheep? Hazel imagined Sofi perched on a giant sheep, squealing as she read her romance novel. The image was so absurd that she snorted, which caught Sofi’s attention.

“What?” Sofi asked, blinking innocently. “Do you want to read it? There’s also a sequel!” She leaned on the footboard of the bed, resting her head on her arms.

“Nah,” Hazel replied, rising from her chair to pick up the fallen pillows. She placed them back down on the bed and said, “Hearing you talk about it is enough.”

She began to pace around the room. “Back to the saints… once we find the first one—and we already know where the second is—that leaves two. They’re probably not in the capital… but, maybe one of the other saints will know where they are. If we can find them—”

“Of course we’ll find them!” Sofi jumped up and grabbed Hazel’s hands to hold her in place. “You have me, your one and only guardian angel, hehe! I promise everything will work out. So, no more mopey, soapy what-ifs. We’re going to save this world even if it’s the last thing I do!”

Her glittering eyes shone with a contagious confidence that once again reassured Hazel's doubts. She had always been a timid person, wracked with anxiety and insecurities, pushing forward with effort alone. Like a mantra, she kept telling herself that her effort would pay off someday, but at some point, she realized that no matter how hard she tried, she was simply mediocre. No one ever praised her or even criticized her. In fact, no one paid any attention to her at all, as if she was destined to be overlooked. She continued struggling out of spite, wanting to prove them all wrong. But time wore her down and eventually, she found herself lost in a cycle of self-pity.

Sofi came into her life like a rainbow at the end of a storm. Although the situation was undesirable, she’d never met anyone this bubbly and happy-go-lucky before.

Hazel felt something stir—trust, maybe. A rare flicker of belief in herself.

Hazel hesitantly smiled, ignoring the unease gnawing at her stomach, and replied, “Yeah, ok. You’re right. We’ll get through this somehow.” She looked down and realized her clothes were soiled and stained. One leg of her jeans even had a hole at the knee, likely torn from falling earlier that day. She blushed and pried her hands out of Sofi’s grasp before shyly saying, “I’m going to go wash up. What about you?”

“Me too, I’ll go!” Sofi hopped off the bed and followed Hazel out into the hallway.

ʚ ✧ ɞ

Later that night, Hazel couldn’t sleep.

After getting out of a satisfying, warm bath—during which she discovered Sofi’s wings needed thorough drying—she changed into a flowy white sundress Sofi had found in her inventory. It was a bit eye-catching though, so she planned to get more inconspicuous clothes tomorrow. Then, they turned off the lights and went to bed.

Sofi lay beside her, fast asleep, wings stretched out over the edge of the bed. Every so often, they twitched and made a dull thunk against the floor. Despite the movements, her face remained serene. It made Hazel wonder what kind of dream she was having.

She turned toward her, unable to stop thinking.

With the moon gazing in from the window as her light source, she took in Sofi’s features—flawless skin, a button nose, and light lashes that dusted her soft, pale cheeks. She’d been too busy to notice before, but by appearance alone, Sofi was quite literally the textbook definition of an angel and the most beautiful girl Hazel had ever seen.

Do all angels look like this? she wondered. Blonde hair, blue eyes…I wonder if her sisters look just like her.

A loose strand of hair fell over Sofi’s lips as she shifted, making her scrunch her nose in discomfort. Hazel carefully brushed it aside, tucking it behind her ear. Sofi’s expression eased again once the ticklish sensation was gone, and her even breaths lulled Hazel into drowsiness. She listened to the slow, gentle rhythm, her own eyes growing heavier with each breath.

And for the first time since arriving in this strange world, Hazel drifted off into a dreamless sleep.