“After that, I tried to find out what had happened to Rora and Garn by investigating in the city. However, I only had two years due to the King’s royal decree outlawing the presence of demi-humans in Songrande. Jane retired back to what was left of Pharona, but with all of the controversy around her daughter, no settlers ever returned to repair the ruins of the once great city.”

Hazeel wiped her tears away as she finished her story, and I wrapped my arms around her to comfort her. Bella, who had finished cooking the stew, moved the pot to the side and came over to embrace Hazeel as well.

“Thanks Hazeel. You tried so hard to make it up to my grandma. I appreciate that, and I’m sure she does too.” Hazeel reverted to a much younger and more insecure version of herself as she started to bawl in our arms.

“There there, it must have been hard for you, but we’re moving forward now.” Hazeel buried her face in Bella’s chest, and Bella herself gave Hazeel a loving smile. She turned to me and mouthed, “get her some food.” I let go of the wood elf and stood up to serve the stew, but a set of arms wrapped around me and refused to let go.

“Come on Hazeel. I’ll be right back. You must be hungry, right? Let me get some food for you and we can sit down again after that.” She slowly let go and I walked towards the stew while Bella continued to hold the trembling Hazeel.

Minutes later, Hazeel had emptied her bowl and had relaxed significantly from her previous tension level. “Thanks guys… I lost it there, sorry about that.”

Despite her supposed calmness, her hands were still shaking and there was still an audible tremble in her voice. It must have been suffocating, both physically and mentally. Not only being trapped under all that debris, but then finding out that your disciple and his wife were dead on top of that?

I imagine it’s similar to the amount of pain I felt when Dantae was… my fists clenched until Hazeel placed her hands on top of mine. I shot her a look, but my anger instantly evaporated once I saw her smile.

“Sorry, it seems I’ve dredged up some bad memories of your own. Nevertheless, this stew was really good Bella. Did your grandma teach it to you?” Bella shook her head with a smug smile on her face.

“Nope, it was in my father’s cookbook. He called it ‘Soldier’s Stew’, and said that it used to be his master’s favorite. Granted, I didn't have all the ingredients so I just made do with what I had.”

A new tear rolled down Hazeel’s face, but this time she had the strength to wipe it away on her own. “Thanks Bella, I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

After another bowl was filled and another eating break had come and gone, we started to put everything away.

Hazeel turned to Bella as she wiped the soup remains from the pot with a rag. “Still, you took to discovering that you were a princess better than I thought you would.”

Bella shot up from where she was seated and slowly turned around to face Hazeel. “Oh yeah, I guess I was so preoccupied with how you were feeling that it kind of just breezed past me.”

She sank to her knees and Hazeel laughed. “Even I was surprised to find out that Leo had connections to my former teacher and her granddaughter.” The smile faded from Hazeel’s face as she continued to clean.

“If my hunch is correct, the people who were backing the conservative party in the kingdom were the ones who detonated the tower I was in, and during the time I was out of commision, did something to make it appear` as if Rora had killed Garn. If I had to say-”

“I hate to interrupt your thought process,” I sat down next to Hazeel and stroked her hair, “but let’s solve one thing at a time first. The phrase, ‘divide and conquer’ is bullshit. The more resources you spread out, the less you have to get any of your desired tasks done in a timely manner. I’d like to find out something about Dantae before we move on to any other problem, alright?”

“Okay.” Hazeel lost all her intensity from her conversation with Bella and leaned into my hand. Bella looked dumbfounded but let it slide in the end.

“We can go for your information first, Leo, but I can’t help but think this is going to bite us in the ass at some point if we just leave it alone.”

I leaned back and stared at the sky. She might have had a point there, but as long as I couldn’t feel Dantae’s photon signature in this world, she would always come first.

“Uhh, Leo?”

I couldn’t help but think this was a cruel test of faith for me to regain my memories yet still be unable to reunite with her. If only I had a clue… well, I guess that’s what we’re going to the guilds for.

“Leo?”

Now how should I proceed afterward? Dantae would probably twist my arm behind my back if I didn’t return the favor of Bella and Hazeel’s help, so we’d probably have to spend even more time in this world to solve this murder mystery-

“Leo!”

I shot up straight and looked at Bella, who called my name. She pointed to my right, and I looked over to see Hazeel red-faced and panting, and melting to the ground next to the campfire. I quickly removed my hand from her head, and realized I had been stroking her ears while thinking.

“Leo, you’re a pervert.” Bella scoffed before walking off to her tent.

“I’m fine if you’d wish to continue, master.” Hazeel’s sweet words drawled like syrup, and I had to retreat to my tent, lest the temptation to pin Hazeel down become too much for me to bear. Needless to say, I had trouble falling asleep that night.