"Hey Ciel… I have a question." Rein asked in a somewhat nervous manner
They were on their way to the edge of the cliff next to the Pearl River's distributary.
Even though they had a set of extra formal clothes, they were still wearing the fur coats that were made in the Special Gate.
Only once they reached near their destination would they change back.
Ciel looked towards her and replied:
"What is it?"
"Do you still have the location of the Blood Bear? Or did you remove the Eternal Stone that it consumed?"
"Surely it's not going to chase us again after all this time… right?" She said solemnly
"I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not… but I have no idea where the Blood Bear is. I didn't remove the Eternal Stone, so it might be too far away to track."
"If it somehow removed the Eternal Stone, I would still be able to track where the stone is."
"At least if it hasn't removed the Eternal Stone from its body and comes to us, I'll still be able to track it." Ciel answered calmly
"So, we're safe… for now."
"In that case, where are we headed? Surely we can't just enter the Floren Kingdom like this…" Rein asked
"Good thinking. Entering the Floren Kingdoms Royal Guards isn't going to be easy." The Starlight Lantern said
"Who said we're joining them? There's no way it's worth infiltrating a Royal army just for a chance at getting your stupid Star Fragment." She said as she looked towards Ciel, but he didn't deny it
"No way… you're not planning to infiltrate the Royal Guards, are you? There's no way we can pull that off without getting caught."
"Nothing's been decided yet. It's just a choice for now. We'll see if there's a better way once we get into the main kingdom."
"Well then, let's go. We'll head back to the Arrow village before entering the kingdom." Ciel said as they reached the edge of the cliff
.
A few days later, near the border of the Arrow village. There was a young woman wearing a purple shirt under a black coat, along with black pants.
There was a beautiful and majestic lantern attached to her coat.
[ Are you sure this is going to work? ] Rein asked
[ Yes. All we have to do is wait, and we'll be invited to the kingdom eventually. ] Ciel replied with no doubt in his voice
The plan was simple, but effective. They would go back to the Arrow village, and stay at Rein's old house that was still over there.
She had left a fake diary saying that she would be gone for a few months.
Still, there was bound to be suspicion around her, as she had disappeared the same time that Ciel had escaped from the Royal Guards.
However, this suspicion could be used for their benefit.
Ciel himself was inside of Rein's shadow, as there was no way he could walk around freely in this area.
[ You know… if you disguise yourself as a female, you wouldn't be suspected for anything. ]
[ Just untie your hair, put on some glasses, and wear a dress. ] Rein said in a somewhat serious tone
From now on, she would need to work alone as Ciel couldn't show his face. At least on the outside.
Ciel could still support her from the shadows.
[ No. ] Ciel immediately ended that discussion
Rein chuckled before saying:
"Lantern. Don't do anything suspicious from now on, or I'll sell you for a good price. The only thing you have going for you is a good design after all."
"I guess I can act as a regular lantern for now. It's not like I have anywhere to go around here."
"I've been trapped in that Special Gate for over 1,000 years, there's no way that the Floren Kingdom will be similar to that time period. The Starlight Lantern said
'So the Floren Kingdom existed in some form a thousand years ago… it has quite a long history it seems. No wonder it was called one of the three Great Kingdoms.' Rein thought to herself
In a world filled with monsters such as Forsakened, 1,000 years of maintaining a kingdom was nothing to scoff at.
They soon entered the Arrow village from its main gate. There was no real security, as the village only had a population of about 5,000 people.
After walking towards Rein's house for about 5 minutes, Rein stopped in front of a large wooden board that caught her gaze.
[ Yeah… there's no way I'm doing a female disguise without getting caught in a few minutes… ] Ciel said as he broke the short silence
[ So you were actually thinking about it? ] Rein said with slight shock
In front of them was a bounty notice, with a rough drawing of Ciel's face along with his name.
There were two versions, with one being his regular appearance, and the other being what he would look like with his hair untied.
[ 100 Gold… only alive? I guess that anomaly thing was not bad for the kingdom… or they want to torture you for some answers. ] Rein said
[ Hopefully it's the former. Well, it's not like I ever plan on seeing anyone of status from this kingdom. ]
[ Also, my last name, Novasky, is still free to use. Good thing we don't need to give our last names in this world. ]
In this world, only nobles had a last name, therefore Ciel couldn't give it out unless he was a noble.
[ Hey… if anything happens and we need money, you can give me in to the authorities… and share my bounty money with me. ]
[ Make sure to rescue me as well. ] Ciel said in a keen voice
[ No way. That would be too much of a hassle. Why do you love money so much anyways? ] Rein asked with slight interest
She still didn't know much about Prisma, but she knew Ciel trusted her and was honest with her.
Maybe his obsession for money came from there.
[ I guess… It's like a natural instinct? Most people are born like that on Prisma. ] Ciel answered
'I see. Poverty must have been a huge problem on Prisma. Kids growing up with an instinct of greed… quite deplorable.' Rein thought
In reality however, Ciel had a much higher level of not necessarily greed, but questionable virtues than most of the kids from Prisma.
After a while, Rein reached her house. It was in its normal condition, as if nothing had happened to the house in the time that she was gone.
She entered the house, and closed the door behind her with a soft sigh.
[ Feels good to be back. Someone is going to report my appearance to the kingdom, and some Royal Guards are likely to arrive. ]
[ We'll have some free time until then. ] Rein said
Even though they had free time, there was nothing for them to do.
[ How about we make something to eat? It's been a while since we ate something interesting. ]
[ I can't go out, but you can buy the ingredients. ] Ciel suggested
[ Good idea, but we don't have enough money. I guess it's time to make my introduction to this world… ] Rein said
They were planning on giving away the fact that Rein was a Soul Sorcerer to whoever would come to question Rein.
Of course, she wouldn't share any major details, and would make up some believable nonsense for her reasonings.
Now was a good time to make her debut in the world of Soul Sorcerers.
She soon left her house with the materials of some of the Twisted Forsakened they had killed.
After returning, she had made quite a killing. For a regular citizen at least.
They didn't know how much an Awakened Sorcerer could earn, therefore going easy on the materials.
In the end, she ended up with 15 Silver.
"Hunting Forsakened is quite an awesome job. As long as you target the weaker ones that is." Ciel said as he exited the shadow
"Is that what you would pursue if you could live a normal, everyday life in this world? Of course, as a Soul Sorcerer." Rein asked
"I guess any job that requires minimum social interactions would suit me." Ciel replied
"We're quite similar in that aspect. I would also prefer minimal human interaction… I'm actually much worse at socialising than you think." Rein said as she looked towards the Starlight Lantern
"I could already tell that. Okay then, get to work already." The Starlight Lantern said
"You don't even eat… I think. Whatever, just remember that you are an inanimate object. I wasn't even talking to you." Rein said with noticeable infuriation
The duo started to cook a proper meal for the first time in ages.
They weren't culinary experts, and their ideas of dishes were quite different, but they managed to add and harmonize their own elements.
'Hmm… I could get used to a simple life like this. Hopefully our life in the kingdom could be similar to this. That is if we really manage to get in.' Rein thought
She thought of Ciel as a close friend. A best friend even. The same went for Ciel.
Even though these were the worst times of her life, it was sprinkled in with the occasional good memory.