"Aelia, is there a public library around here?" Estorea asked as she dried her hair off with a towel; having gotten out of the shower.

"Yes young miss! I will take you there tomorrow." Aelia wanted to ask more questions but she shut her mouth, it was known her mistress doesn't tell them the reasons for her actions.

And she won't be proud of it, Young Miss is her saviour after all. She has no right to interfere in her business.

Estorea nodded and smiled, "Thank you." She hung the towel over the wooden chair and did small stretches before getting onto the bed. "Well, let's retire for the night. I'm exhausted after today. Good night."

She lied down and pulled the covers over her and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Aelia stared at her for a few minutes before shaking her gaze off and covering herself with the blanket, her hand tightened. "Will you tell me your thoughts one day, young miss?" She mumbled.

Aelia closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep, she was more exhausted than Estorea.

"..." Estorea opened her eyes, she sat up. She had heard her words earlier.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, "I wish I could... But look at me, I'm getting attached to you guys already. What's going to happen to me if I lose both of you?" She questioned, her eyes watering slightly.

In truth, she was scared. She didn't want to die a second time. She really didn't... She must do everything to survive... Everything...

Her eyes hardened, she rubbed her eyes. "That's right. To fulfill that wish..." She muttered. "Wish..."

Whose wish...?

Her mind turned fuzzy.

She stayed silent, and laid down once again. 'I should go to sleep.'

Morning arrived.

The sunlight streamed through the window, hitting Estorea's face. She winced, and her eyes fluttered open only to close once again as the sunlight blinded her.

She turned her body over and opened her eyes, rubbing them, she let out a soft yawn and swung her legs over the bed.

Her feet touched the floor and Estorea made a beeline for the bathroom, it seems she has woken up earlier than Aelia.

Once she finished showering, she proceeded to wake Aelia up next and waited for her to finish showering and changing before going downstairs to order some breakfast.

Yosa was already downstairs, sitting at a table. Once Aelia and Estorea arrived, his eyes lit up at the sight of Aelia, immediately, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Oh, you're already here, Yosa? It's quite early! It's 7AM." Aelia said in surprise when she saw Yosa. She took a seat next to him nonchalantly while Estorea took the seat across them.

A waiter attended to their table and they ordered breakfast.

Estorea ordered some rice porridge with green onions as toppings, a simple breakfast dish for her.

Aelia ordered a plate of medium steak with rice, and cabbage and carrots as toppings.

Yosa ordered the same thing as Aelia.

Once their food arrived, they immediately dug in. They finished at 7:30AM and Aelia and Yosa decided to go to the Adventurer's Guild to take up a quest, agreeing to meet back up at 8:45AM.

Estorea decided to stay in her room and update her notebook on her current situation.

It only took her 15 minutes to note everything down. Estorea still had an hour left so she went outside to explore the town on her own, making sure to avoid all the shady spots and mingled around crowded places.

Estorea noticed an antique-looking store. She read the elegant-looking sign hammered onto the store.

Her eyes lit up, 'A bookstore!'

Without hesitation, she went inside and got assaulted with the nostalgic smell of old, musty books.

She couldn't help but smile lightly.

Estorea glanced around the store and noticed several people. Some old and some young.

She observed them and her eyes brightened, 'Book lovers! My kind of people!' Excited to talk to people with similar interests.

Estorea calmed herself down and moved over to the bookshelves and browsed through them, seeing if any would capture her interests.

So focused on the books, she didn't notice someone was next to her. And the moment she took another step sideways, she bumped into them.

Her eyes widened as she hastily stabilised herself and stepped back. About to apologise, her eyes then caught sight of the book in their arms.

'The History of the Empire.'

She assumed the empire must be referring to Gigara.

"Excuse me... Are you okay, Miss?" A honeyed and modulated voice interrupts my thoughts.

I blinked and lifted my head to see a man with cobalt hair and eyes. There were two golden hair clips pinning up the side of his fringe, golden frames glasses rested on his face as he stared at me with a puzzled and concerned look.

]

_____

I narrowed my eyes slightly, he seemed to give off an unsettling aura. I forcefully ignored it and let out an apologetic smile, "I apologise. I wasn't looking where I was going."

He smiled back at me and nodded his head slightly, "It's alright. Are you alright? You seem to spaced out quite a bit." He lifted the book in his arm, "You were distracted by this book, correct? Do you want it?"

"Ah..." He spoke quickly and clearly. I nodded my head, "I'm alright. Are you okay? Anyway, yea, I would like to have that book. Is there another copy?" I asked.

He turned around and reached his arm out to a higher part of the bookshelf and pulled out an identical book, he handed it to me. "Here you go. Would you care to chat with me at a nearby cafe?"

"Ah, n-" Just as she was about to reject, she flinched slightly when she saw the man's eyes looking directly at her, a light smile still at his lips.

"Sure. I need to tell my companions first though." She accepted the invitation, 'This guy... He's dangerous.'

The man beamed, "My name is Azura. It's nice to meet you." He held out a hand for a handshake, Estorea returned it.

He then took the book in her hand, "Let me pay for this. I insist."

Before Estorea could say anything, he walked off to the cashier.

"..."