New Mission, New Approaches

Charlotte finished packing up her stuff in an old, worn bag. She checked the wooden watch that Zoe gifted her. It read past one o'clock, yet she was still awake. Tired, she flopped down on one of the couches and let out a long sigh.

“Hey Bastion…”

There was no response. The only sound accompanying her was the soft ticking of her gifted watch. It had been a while since she'd felt this way.

“I haven’t been able to talk to Zoe,” she said to the air. “The others seemed mad.”

She ended up lying down completely, looking at the ceiling.

“What should I do?”

Tic tic tic.

She slapped her cheeks with both hands and quickly stood up.

“What am I saying? Zoe has always helped me.”

She hesitated.

“She would never lie, right?”

Once again, she was talking to herself. Feeling a tightness in her chest, she lay down on the bed without even turning off the lights. That's how she fell asleep.

The sky was taking on bluish hues, and the first orange rays were heralding the dawn, while the evening breeze still blew, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

“Is she always this late?” Suri asked the group.

“Usually, yes.”

Charlotte arrived, dragging her suitcase and panting from exhaustion.

“Sorry I’m late.”

A long carriage drawn by two white horses was standing there. Her classmates were already inside, except for Zoe and Suri, who were waiting for her. Once they had loaded their luggage, the three of them got in, and the horses began to move.

For a long time, no one said a word, and the carriage rocked so gently that Charlotte fell asleep for a while.

“Wake up.”

Suri softly moved her.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You need to listen to some instructions.”

Charlotte figured that quite some time had passed because the sunlight was brighter.

“About what?”

“First of all, I need to forget everything about the tournament.”

Everyone looked each other in the eyes.

“From this moment on, you’ll need to work together as a team.”

Alysia let out a sarcastic chuckle.

“I’m being serious.”

The prince raised his hand.

“Can I ask you something, Miss Suri?”

“Go ahead.”

“What’s the purpose of sending students to a mission like this one?”

Suri kept her arms crossed.
“Ideally, missions like this are reserved for when you’re further along in your training at the academy.” She paused. “But we’re running out of time.”

“What about the royal guard? Or the great mages like yourself?”

Gerald pointed out.

“The royal guard has been decimated and ineffective. And other mages have been sent with other student groups.”

“So, do you expect us to defeat The Buried Tree?”

“No, you lost the tournament, remember?”

There was a sense of discouragement among the group.

“What I mean is that your mission is simpler.”

“Really, what do we have to do?”

Suri turned to look at Charlotte, a little surprised.

“You don’t know your mission?”

“I’m sorry, my mind has been elsewhere.”

She sighed.

“You’re simply going to defeat the former hero.”

“What? That doesn’t sound simple.”

“He’s been corrupted by that tree. He should be very weak.”

“And we can’t help him?”

Charlotte unconsciously grabbed her left arm.

“No, rumors said that his corruption is way too advanced.”

Charlotte looked downcast.

“So, we're going to search for him?” Alysia asked.

“No, no, it seems that he has been attacking his own hometown,” Suri answered, raising one eyebrow. “Did anyone read the mission information?”

Only Arthur, Zoe, and Gerald nodded.

“No,” Leif confirmed, clumsily.

Suri put her hand to her head. “Doesn’t matter. That's the only information you need to remember.”

“Really, is that all? Or is this mission hiding something?” Alysia challenged.

“That’s all.”

Suri leaned back and closed her eyes.

“You should rest now. We still have 4 hours of road ahead.”

“No way, 4 hours!?” Charlotte whined.

Between rest stops, route changes, and encounters with thieves, who were easily defeated by Suri, the trip ended up taking nearly 8 hours.

The sun was slowly setting, and the rest of the group was already fast asleep. Charlotte, who had fallen asleep earlier, was awake with her head down.

“Are you nervous?” Suri asked, almost whispering.

“Just a little.”

“Calm down. It’s just a side mission.”

“N-no.” She hesitated. “Miss Suri, have you ever had feelings for someone?”

“You mean love? Has the prince already stolen her heart?”

She blushed. “No! I mean like someone you really trust, but then something happened, and now… things got weird… but you want to trust her… ” She sighed. “I don’t even know what I’m saying.”

“Is that person important to you?”

“Yes.”

“You think that person is lying?”

“I don’t know.”

Suri put her hand on her shoulder.

“Maybe you should change your perspective.”

“What do you mean?”

“Instead of thinking whether she is lying or not, think why.”

Charlotte tilted her head.

“Do you really think that person would hide or do something to harm you or someone else?”

“Of course not... I don’t believe she could ever do something like that.”

“People often hide things to protect people.”

Charlotte lowered her head again.

“But it hurts. Why can’t she trust me?”

“And it’s going to hurt even more, but that's how trust works.”

Charlotte fell silent, thinking about those words. Suri's voice always had that monotone, almost indifferent quality, but the more Charlotte got to know her, the warmer she seemed.

They finally arrived in the town, entering via a wooden bridge over a river. Unlike the capital, the town had neither walls nor towers.

The moon was already visible and lighting up the scene. The town was still quite lively. There were food stalls and street vendors everywhere.

After getting off the carriage, they walked through the streets carrying their respective luggage. Charlotte was fascinated with every little thing, which caused her to fall behind.

“I had imagined a sadder scenario. You mentioned that the hero had attacked, Miss Suri.”

With a gesture, she motioned for the prince to be quiet.

They continued walking, now in silence, until they entered a secluded tavern. They sat down at a table and ordered their food. Leif had ordered the most.

“Remember, everyone pays for their own food.”

Leif, whose mouth was already full, looked straight at her.

“Fine, today is on me.”

He went back to stuffing himself, grateful.

“Why couldn't you answer me before, Miss Suri?”

“The count in charge of the town has kept it a secret.”

“Why?”

“The former hero is the pride of the city. They can't let the people down.”

“So what did he do to make them cover it up?”

Suri remained silent for a few seconds.

“It is said that there were two attacks.”

“Against whom?”

“They say he first lost control at an orphanage he had visited as a volunteer.”

There was a deadly silence.

“What about the other?”

“Against his former party, they have all disappeared… And most likely dead.”

Everyone, including Leif, lost their appetite, but they couldn't stop eating because their stomachs needed the food. Charlotte felt a chill run through her body and couldn't help but look at her left arm.