The 3 boys sat on a bench, luggage next to them with bags on their laps.
"When do you think they'll invent a better way to travel? Like.l.Teleportation!"
"I dunno… I just wanna collapse into a bed. Are they done checking in yet?"
Kevin and Elijah rested their bodies onto the bench, letting them relax . Kevin wiped sweat off his face with a towel, while Elijah used his hands, already drenched. After getting off the car hours earlier, the five of them had hiked through the blazing sun for almost three hours.
Cars were considered a luxury in remote villages, and considering the fact that they were going to a remote village, if they entered, they'd get a lot of attention
Kevin looked around the surroundings. They were currently inside the hotel, sitting on some random bench and sweating a lot. They didn't get a chance to observe the surroundings as Elijah seemed to quiet.
As Kevin scanned the surroundings, Azreal had his attention on Elijah
"Your shirt looks wetter than the fountain we walked past," Azreal snorted.
"I should've dived in…"
"…"
Ignoring Azreal's piercing glare from the side , Elijah pulled out his phone and typed.
Kevin immediately rested his head on Elijah's shoulder again.
"Whatcha texting?"
"Just informing Mr Farrell we arrived. Why are we doing this mission undercover anyway?"
Azreal sat beside Elijah, fanning himself with his shirt.
"So we have more freedom," he replied. "We can reveal our identities if we need to, but this way we avoid suspicion.Besides, this village may not be all that it seems. It took strangely long for them to report the presence of demonic beings."
Kevin perked up as the girls approached with keys.
"Oh, they're done!"
He sprang up from the bench and dashed toward them.
"So! We got a luxury room, right? Five rooms? Big beds?"
Saoirse deadpanned as she held up two keys.
"Nope. Two rooms. One with three beds, one with two."
Serena wiped sweat from her forehead.
"Let's go before we start smelling like expired food."
***
Elijah stepped out of the stall wearing a towel around his waist and his shirt thrown on.
"Someone tell the girls the shower's free. I'm taking a nap."
Azreal blinked.
"A nap? You were the one who wanted to go explore though?"
"I'm tired. You can do it."
Without waiting for a reply, Elijah dragged himself to the bed and immediately fell asleep.
"He fell asleep so fast…" Azreal muttered, lying down on the bed across from him.
Kevin returned from informing the girls and launched himself onto his mattress.
"Ow..this bed isn't as soft as I thought."
He massaged his butt as he sat up on the bed
"It's not a luxury room," Azreal sighed. "Be grateful we even got two rooms. At least it probably didn't cost much right?"
"Who cares if it doesn't cost much? We're not the ones paying for it."
Kevin glanced at Elijah's unconscious form, then walked over to Azreal, who was sitting on a counter
"Gonna wake him?"
"Nah. I'll go out alone later. Besides, he seems tired. If it weren't for that sudden bounty.."
"I'll go with you then, I'm full of energy right now"
Azreal raised an eyebrow, Kevin seemed to be trying to change the topic. Made sense, though the bounty was put off, it still put Elijah in danger
"You're nor going just to go to the stores, are you? We're supposed to be lazing around."
Kevin plopped onto Azreal's bed instead.
"We should still pay attention to awakened individuals here. I'll scout while I laze. It counts."
****
The plaza
"Haha! I can't believe we got such a steal! Just by guarding this town we can earn so much"
A bearded man smacked the table multiple times, laughing. Next to him, were a bunch of drunk men, similar in stature, they were all drinking outside a winery.
Next to them, a store was closing.
The lady, old and wrinkled, had a worried face. She quickly pulled down and closed the store.
The plaza was, rowdy, to say the least.
The blond boy walked around, scanning the surroundings, sweat dripping off his forehead.
Under his breath, he muttered:
"Black hair... yellow eyes… star on his back…"
He ignored the stares he drew from passersbys'.
He had already noticed this before, but this remote town seemed strangely full of people.
Yes, it was the plaza, but it didn't have the environment of one.
It seemed more like the mecernaries guild
The blond boy wandered and wandered, till he reached an alley.
He looked around the alley
'Traces of mana…'
He turned back and walked away.
There were signs of a fight there, and it seemed quite recent too. Who was he to interfere? Unless it involved that "hero", he didn't care much.
'If I can't find him, should I try finding his comrades first?'
As he walked out of the alley, he saw two new figures.
Two boys who seemed of similar age to him, if not slightly older, were chatting
'They look.. similar to the one I saw then'
With a calm heart, he approached the two.
The white haired one was looking at the flowers as the blue haired one seemed to be bickering with him.
The white haired one had… interesting pupils.
"Hello"
"{£883]!"
"!"
The blue haired one shouted a swear and the white haired one put his hand on the blue haired's mouth, muffling it
"Ah.. sorry, hello, is there anything you need?"
The white haired boy stammered.
"Have you seen someone? He's of a similar age to you, black hair, unique eyes. Yellow irises and a star. He also has a star on his back."