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“I’m getting a bit tired,” Susan said and exhaled. “Should we stop and take a break?”
“The longer we stay here, the more tired you’ll get,” Emile said and puffed out a ball of bloodred flames. He plucked a berry with his beak from the nearby vine and passed it to Susan. “Here.”
Susan sighed and ate the berry. After swallowing, she mumbled, “Shouldn’t we wait here for someone to save us? That’s the first rule of getting lost. If you get lost, don’t move around.”
“No one’s coming to save us, stupid,” Emile said and rolled his eyes. “Tafel’s probably having an adventure with Vur without us again like she always does, and you know Mom never leaves the nest.”
Susan’s brow furrowed. What Emile said was likely the case. “But we don’t even know where we’re flying. What if we’re flying deeper into the continent instead of heading to the coast?”
“Don’t think of it that way,” Emile said. “You have to be positive. Even if we’re flying south instead of north, if we fly south enough, we’ll still reach a coast. As long as we fly in a straight line and not in circles, we’ll be perfectly fine.”
Susan stroked her beak with her wing. “Have we been flying in a straight line though?”
“Probably?” Emile tilted his head. Without the sun or stars or moon or any discernible object to guide them, it was really difficult to tell which way they were heading. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’ve been alive for so long, but we haven’t died yet. I’m not fully convinced it’s even possible for us to die in the first place. Maybe we’re like the main characters in a story.”
Susan slapped her brother with her wing. “Don’t jinx us.”
***
Vur munched on an unidentified piece of meat. It was unidentified because there was a mountain of food on his table, and he was indiscriminately grabbing from each plate. The other patrons in the restaurant were whispering to each other while pointing at Vur and the Recordkeeper, but after a while, they stopped. However, one man stood up and came over. He had blond hair, and his eyes were two different colors: green and blue. His companions, who were sitting at his previous table, consisted of three women. “Hello,” the blond man said and flashed the Recordkeeper a smile. He glanced at Vur and nodded. “I’m Helden Generisch. You might notice my last name shares a striking resemblance to the Generis Squad.”
Vur furrowed his brow. Usually, Tafel did all the talking for him, but she wasn’t here right now. Although he wanted to kick the man away for interrupting his meal, Vur remembered Tafel’s words about making friends. He had to greet them, but not with his fists or feet; he was supposed to use words. “I’m Vur,” Vur said. “I’m a dragon.”
Helden blinked. He ignored Vur’s words and turned his head towards the Recordkeeper and flashed her his signature smile that he practiced in the mirror for fifteen minutes a day. “And you must be an angel,” he said. “Your wings are quite pretty.”
The Recordkeeper blinked. “I’ve heard about you and the Generis Squad,” she said and nodded. “I’m quite impressed by you, actually.”
Helden’s eyes lit up, and he placed his hand on top of the Recordkeeper’s. However, she moved it away, letting his fingers touch the table instead. The Recordkeeper glanced at Helden’s companions. “For a man who’s impotent, you do have a certain charm about you that keeps your companions around. Or maybe it’s the money. I was never quite sure.”
Helden’s face paled, and his hands clenched into fists. “Who told you that?” he asked while standing. “Was it Sherman? I told him we’d have issues if he slandered me again.”
Stella’s eyes lit up, and she flew over to the Recordkeeper’s shoulder. “Who’s this guy? What’s the Generis Squad?”
The Recordkeeper ignored the trembling man and turned her head towards the fairy queen. “He’s an interesting person,” she said. “He could read and write before he was even a year old. Mathematics and literature came naturally to him. People called him a prodigy; it was almost as if he was an adult in the body of a child. As a young adult, he became an adventurer and quickly advanced in ranks. His companions are all people he saved in one way or another, and his ultimate goal is to find the miracle herb that can solve the problems where the sun doesn’t shine.”
Helden took in a deep breath and stared at the Recordkeeper with narrowed eyes. He gripped the hilt of his sword which was hanging on his belt. “Who are you?”
The Recordkeeper smiled. “You’re not qualified to know of my existence.”
“And he is?” Helden asked, gesturing towards Vur with his head. “If I defeat him in a duel, will I be qualified to know your name?”
Vur frowned. “Go away,” he said, waving a half-eaten drumstick at the blond man.
Helden sneered and shook his head. His expression returned back to normal, and he turned around, flashing a smile at his companions before returning to them.
Stella raised an eyebrow. “What a weirdo,” she said before flying down to the table. She picked up a grape and peeled away a portion of its skin before biting into its flesh.
Vur grunted and finished the remainder of his drumstick. Then, he ripped away a piece of roasted boar and munched away at it. When he was halfway done with the boar, there was a loud thumping sound. Vur raised his head to see Helden standing at the entrance of the restaurant with his fist pressed against the door frame. When the blond man saw Vur was looking, Helden smirked and walked out, followed by his three companions. Vur blinked and grabbed the other half of the roasted boar.
“Vur, he was provoking you!” Stella said. “Why didn’t you attack him?”
Vur blinked again. “He was? I thought he was just clumsy and crashed into the doorway.”
“You should be careful,” a feminine voice said from the side. It belonged to Amy, the waiter. “I’ve heard bad rumors about Helden Generisch. They say he can take the skills of the people he kills. There was a famous swordsman who went missing, and later on, Helden appeared with techniques remarkably similar to that swordsman’s.”
Despite speaking so much, the only reply Amy received was the crunching sound of Vur eating the bones of the roast boar. It was almost as if he hadn’t heard her. Amy sighed and shook her head. Why did she even bother trying to be a nice person?
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Helden took “in” a deep breath and stared at the Recordkeeper with narrowed eyes