Jinmu went back to see Emi.
The little girl advanced faster than her senior sister and became an adept wizard a week earlier. Emi was driven for vengeance on what happened to her hometown.
She became gloomy and rebellious. Even Jinmu shivered just by looking at Emi from afar. Sometimes, he needed the help of the map to locate her accurately.
After her ascension, Emi developed a new effect on her magic root that gave her the ability to blend perfectly with the environment.
Although it was a good thing, in this particular situation however, Jinmu saw it as worrying.
If not for the fact that he had the system to help him, he would've lost track of Emi while they wandered towards Norva Assili.
'This is bad. We need to get to the Norva Assili sooner than expected.'
He opened the map and saw a group of green dots nearing Emi's location. Their formation was linear and travelled orderly.
'Is this a caravan?', he thought.
…
The captain guard stopped. This spot was a flat ground with a natural barrier guarding their flanks.
He ordered his men to set up camp and rest for the day.
A merchant man alongside two people dressed in wizard robes went out of one of the carriages.
The captain guard approached him and bowed, "Sir Aurpiel, we should rest for now. In a few days' time, we will step foot on the Norva Assili."
Aurpiel nodded, "Thank you, Greywolf.", signaling the two wizards behind him to guard the area.
A little girl jumped on his back. It was his daughter, Lila. Her hair was tied up to a ponytail, holding onto Aurpiel's collar as if she was riding a horse.
"Lila, stop it. You're going to choke father to death.", Aurpiel reprimanded but the mischievous girl didn't stop.
"Papa, papa. You haven't told Lila who that sister coming with us is. She is beautiful and always sleeps on the corner. Did you kidnap her or something?", Lila asked.
Aurpiel choked on air. What thoughts were running on his daughter's mind? Kidnap that woman?
That woman was no other than Haera Zumfiel! Why would he dare to kidnap a noble household's descendant?
He sweated profusely and corrected Lila, "Look Lila, it's best to not tell you for now. Alright, go over with uncle Greywolf. I have something to do.", grabbing her and putting her down.
Despite Lila's grumpy look, Aurpiel shook his head and sighed. Lila stomped her foot in annoyance and went to where Greywolf, the caravan's captain guard was.
She then noticed a small silhouette on the far distance. The figure was staring at the sky with a blank expression.
"Uh, uncle Greywolf, do you see that?", Lila pointed to the figure's direction.
Greywolf turned his head over as well, wondering what did Lila see this time around. It was just an elevated slope with a protruding earth and grass above it.
"Lila, are you playing a prank on us again?", Greywolf sternly asked. This girl had been infusing anxiety over him and his group as she kept on asking them whether they were seeing something only she could see.
What was there to look about but patch of soil with green grass and fresh air?
Greywolf shook his head and returned to his work. Seeing that her uncle ignored her, Lila became curious and cautiously approached the figure.
Up close, she realized that this figure was no other than a demi-human with toned-down cat ears and a tailed coiled close to her body. The demi-human was no other than Emi.
"He-hello? Are you there? Are you real?", she stuttered.
Surprised, the demi-human turned around and saw Lila hiding herself on a nearby tree. Her long elven ears perked like a curious dog.
"You can see me?"
"Ye-yes, I can see you clearly. Why are you there? Is there something in the sky that you wish to see?"
Lila's question awakened the sadness in Emi's heart.
"There is indeed, something in the sky that I wish to see.", she solemnly replied.
"Then did I disturb you? I-I'm sorry then, I will go now.", Lila started to retreat. It was rude to intrude on other's privacy.
Emi shook her head, "No, don't be sorry. You didn't disturb me. In fact, you piqued my interest.", smiling Lila, "How can you see me even though I am supposed to be not seen? Do you have any power that allows you to do so?"
Lila put her right index finger on her mouth, thinking what was so special about her that she could see things people wouldn't normally see.
"I-I don't know either. I just see things as the way they are, I guess?"
She doubted her answer. She doesn't know why this was happening to her and no one was interested enough to dabble on her mystery.
Even the two wizards that her father hired thought that Lila was just hallucinating.
Emi, however, saw it as a satisfactory answer. She wouldn't pry on Lila's secrets. The elf child was harmless. There was no point to shoo her away just because she could see Emi while under the effects of her magic root.
"May I know your name, elf? I am Emi…", she wanted to say her last name but decided not to do so.
"H-hi Emi, I-I am Lila. Ni-nice to meet you.", Lila shyly waved her hands.
The leaves rustled on the sides, alerting the two little girls.
Jinmu arrived, albeit in a messy manner. Leaves and mud splattered all over his body. Searching for Emi was harder than it sounded.
"Emi, where are you? It's time to go back-"
He noticed a foreign party confronting Emi.
[ Name: Lila Meretha ]
[ Age: 8 years old (24 in human years) ]
[ Race: Elf ]
[ Status: Alive ]
[ Affiliation: Alderian Terrestrial Sanctuary, Aurpiel Merchant Caravan ]
[ Magic Power: N/A ]
[ Magic Root: Resonant Magic Root (Legendary) ]
[ Magic Aptitude: N/A ]
[ Magic Affinity: Wind, Light ]
Was a legendary magic root this common?
He rejected the thought and argued that it must be because of the system giving him the ability to analyze the other party's information.
Otherwise, he would just see her as a child elf lost in the middle of nowhere, no different from other people.
The three were on a stalemate as they stared at one another. Suddenly, footsteps resounded downhill and a strong voice shouted, "Hey, Lila. What are you spacing there out for? Time to come back for dinner!"
Greywolf arrived with two men to retrieve Lila. They then saw Emi and Jinmu as they looked around.
"Wait, aren't you that brat who we saw back on the road a few days ago? What are you doing here?", Greywolf became suspicious.
How could a party of children travel that far and coincidentally meet them again a few days later?
Jinmu gulped, "Sir, I mean no harm to you and your caravan. I came here to… to retrieve my little sister back.", pointing at Emi who was standing on the side.
"Mean no harm, huh?", Greywolf narrowed his eyes.
Either these young people were trailing them or this encounter was just a coincidence.
"What's going on here? Who are you talking to?", Aurpiel arrived and was dumbfounded to see Jinmu here of all places.
Greywolf turned to Aurpiel and alerted him, "Sir, these people are suspicious. We saw them back in the Alderian Terrestrial Sanctuary a few days ago and asked us of news in the Sanctuary."
"Now, they arrive her and talked to your daughter. I don't know what they are up to but for them to manage to catch up on us…"
Aurpiel dismissed Greywolf's thoughts, "What are you talking about, Greywolf? They are merely children. How is it possible for them to have that train of thought?"
"Also, don't you see what they are wearing? I don't know what materials were used to tailor those sets of robes but I can tell you that they are very expensive and rare."
"If they meant harm to us, we would've long suffered for it.", Aurpiel reasoned, "And I don't think with the wealth they have on their pockets, they would set their sights on a poor merchant caravan like us."
He sighed and tapped Greywolf's shoulder.
"Alright, go back in the camp. I'll deal with this."
Greywolf had no choice but to comply with Aurpiel's orders. The two men followed after him and left the area.
Lila quickly ran to her father's side, "Papa, papa. These people are friendly yet strange. Also, you have met them before, didn't you? Surely you can tell me something about them now, right?", she grinned.
Aurpiel patted the head of his mischievous daughter. The sly girl would always find a way to extort him of information that she needed and he was very helpless about it.
"Lila, I'll tell you more later. For now, we should attend to our guests."
Jinmu went to Emi's side and bowed at Aurpiel, "Sir, there's no need to be this hospitable. We will be off now."
Aurpiel clicked his tongue, "Kid, don't you dare deny my generosity. At least let me offer you to a small meal. It will not take too much of your time now, will it?"
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