Rose lowers her head again, anxiety clear on her face.
"He's a fugitive with an extremely high bounty, Hiro. I'm afraid he'll be executed."
Far from the ruins of coastal Zepharia, deep within a dark castle, the doors of a chamber swing open.
Two figures sit around a long table. They recognize at once who has returned—Albert.
But his return is striking. Someone is slung over his shoulder.
"What about your mission, and—" the first begins.
"Who is that?" the second cuts in.
"His name is Oliver," Albert says, laying the body out across the empty space—the seat Jiza usually occupies.
"That legend?!" the second exclaims. "How did you manage to capture him?"
"Answer in relation to the crystal," the first adds.
Albert exhales heavily.
"The Paragon has appeared. I returned, just as I said I would. But Oliver the Legend stood in my way. For reasons I don't understand, he was already that weak."
He drops into his chair, placing his staff beside him.
The second figure smiles with pride.
"I never underestimated your intellect, Professor. I understand," he says faintly. "Of course—execute him. That will draw them out and lead them straight into the trap…" He shakes his head at the end.
The first responds quietly, "Is that truly so, Albert?"
Albert lifts his gaze to the shadow-filled ceiling.
"It is."
---
"Don't dwell on it too long, Rose. Like I said… calm down. We'll find him, Rose."
Rose nods slowly. We've almost finished climbing the hill. I don't expect a miracle beyond it, but we climb it all the same.
I turn to her and smile faintly.
"Rose, do you know what I just saw?" I say.
"What? What did you—" she starts.
"A village."
Since the journey begins, the dove perched on Rose's shoulder never makes a sound and never seems to bother her.
I glance over. Rose is busy teasing the dove as it tries to sleep.
"Can't it move to your hand?" I ask.
Rose nods and raises her left hand to stomach height.
"Of course. Watch this."
The dove doesn't move at all.
I smile faintly.
"Not like that. Watch this." I lift my left hand to chest height.
WUSH—the dove hops onto my hand.
"Ugh. Favoritism," Rose mutters.
When we arrive at the village, I don't think there's any need to hide our faces. It's Rose's idea to talk—go to the market and buy supplies.
"Our food and drinks are running low. Besides, we can ask the sellers where the harbor is, right?" she says.
Of course. I don't need to worry about the journey when Rose is beside me, smart enough to plan everything.
"I'll go along with whatever you want, Rose," I say.
She nods. The market is right in front of us, crowded and noisy with buyers.
"First, we buy canned food and milk…" she says as she heads toward a shop. There's a fruit stall nearby.
"Do you want some fruit?" she asks.
I shake my head lightly.
"No," I reply.
"All right, then we'll just buy two items," she says.
"Very well, young master and miss. What would you like?" the vendor asks.
"Please give us some canned food and a few bottles of milk, sir," Rose replies.
"Alright. Anything else?" the vendor says as he puts them into a bag.
Rose shakes her head. Everything is packed. The vendor hands it over, and Rose trades it for a pouch of coins.
"Thank you, miss," he says.
Before we leave—just like the original plan—
"Sir, may I ask you something?" Rose asks.
The vendor nods slowly.
"Where is the harbor?" Rose asks.