"This is terrible.."

"What's going to happen now?"

Lahat ng tao na nasa kalsada ay pinag-uusapan ang iisa lamang na paksa. Ang biglang paglitaw ni Shaera sa Centrio at ang tuluyang pagsakop dito.

Dalawang taong nakatago ang mga mukha sa ilalim ng suot na kulay itim na cloak ang nagpapatuloy lamang sa paglalakad. Pinulot ng isa ang papel na nasa sahig at ito'y binasa.

Shaera, one of the gods, has appeared in Centrio and dominated the whole country. She sent hundreds of demons to the surface, causing havoc all over the place. The knights failed to stop the intruders from conquering their kingdom. The King and the Council surrendered after the generals were defeated.

The goddess is now the Queen of Centrio and she's monitoring the whole kingdom. No one should leave the country and no one must come in without consent from the Queen. Demons are all over the place, making sure that no one will cause trouble under the goddess' reign.

This is a warning from the Queen. Obey or death. Choose.

Zai smirked and let go of the paper. Trois chuckled after reading the newspaper. "It seems that it's getting exciting back there."

Ngunit hindi nagsalita ang dalaga na madalas naman nitong ginagawa. Nagpatuloy ito sa paglalakad at sinisiguradong walang makakakita ng kanyang mukha.

Dalawang buwan na ang lumipas mula noong umalis sila sa Centrio. Sa dalawang buwan na iyon ay nanatili sila sa Westernia, ang kaharian na nasa kanlurang bahagi ng Archodonia. Mas mataas ang temperatura ng lugar kaysa sa Centrio at ang kaharian ay napapalibutan ng disyerto.

Ang buong kaharian ay nasa loob ng nagtataasang mga pader na nagsisilbing proteksyon mula sa mga mangangahas na pumasok ng walang pahintulot. But fortunately, Zai and Trois managed to get in without a pass by making the guards unconscious in one swift movement.

Zai looked around and notice the same thing that she's been seeing ever since they step in the country. Most of the people here are tourists and they're carrying different kinds of weapons. Westernia is a place full of talented smiths kaya dito nagpupuntahan ang mga adventurers na nangangailangan ng magagandang sandata. Legal rin sa bansang ito ang magdala ng mga sandata sa kahit anong parte ng bansa. They have skilled knights patrolling from dawn till dusk to prevent trouble.

"Thief! Stop you dirty rat!" tumigil sa paglalakad ang dalawa noong makarinig ng sigaw sa di kalayuan. Zai stared at the young man running to their direction. Sa tagiliran nito ay nakasabit ang isang maliit na supot na lalagyanan ng mga barya. May suot itong ngisi habang tumatakbo, hinahabol naman ito ng isang lalaki na mukhang ninakawan nito.

The thief bumped Zai's shoulder and he looked back while giving her a glare, "'Wag kang paharang-harang sa daan!" saad nito at nagpatuloy sa pagtakbo. Zai just glanced at him then back to the man whom he stole from.

Akmang lalagpasan lamang siya ng matanda ngunit hinawakan niya ang braso nito. "Anong ginagawa mo?! Makakatakas ang--"

But Zai gave him a familiar bag of coins. Tiningnan naman ito ng matanda na tila hindi makapaniwala, "S-Salamat..." saad nito at tinanggap ito. Zai just nodded her head and continued to walk with Trois following behind her.

Shane hid in an alley to catch his breath. He chuckled, "Ang bagal naman ng gurang na 'yon. Haha! Dinner is on the table--" ngunit natigilan ito noong kinapa niya ang kaniyang tagiliran only to find nothing. He checked his side but saw nothing. Kinapa rin nito ang kaniyang pwetan at kabilang tagiliran ngunit wala siyang mahanap. "Shit."

Sumilip siya sa direksyon kung saan siya nanggaling at nakita ang kaniyang hinahanap. Inaabot ito ng taong nakabunggo niya kanina sa matandang humahabol sa kaniya kanina lamang. Mukhang nagpasalamat ang matanda dito.

Tumango ang taong nakatago sa cloak. Shane flinched when he saw the woman under the cloak glanced at him, the side of her lips also raised before turning her back. Shane frowned and his grip on the corner of the wall tightened, "That woman..!"

--

"Listen up, you brats." the group stopped messing each other in the living room when Sinner arrived in the dormitory. Wein and Zai who is talking in the corner regarding about the report papers Zai is holding also glanced at his direction.

"I won't be here for the day and since I can't leave you here alone with just Zai and Wein to trust, I asked someone who can look after you for the day." he announced with a bored tone. May sumilip naman mula sa pinto and he smiled at them.

"Hello." Ermo, the weaponry teacher greeted.

"Sensei!" masayang bati ng mga ito at ngumiti.

"I'll leave them to you, Ermo. If you need anything, ask the captain." saad ni Sinner at muling lumabas ng pinto. The others immediately surrounded the teacher and asked him some things they wanted to ask. While Wein and Zai continued to talk about the things that they need to discuss as captain and vice captain.

After talking, Zai looked at the papers again. "Okay. I guess that's all of it. I'll submit this to the headmaster's office." Wein nodded and went upstairs while Zai walked to the door.

Ang iba ay nakikipag-usap pa rin kay Ermo, tinatanong ito tungkol sa mga sandata. Humihingi rin ang mga ito ng suggestion and opinions na binibigay naman ng guro.

Bumuntong hininga si Zai noong makalabas siya ng opisina ni Levine. She reported like what she was suppose to do but after that, Levine kept her in the office for an hour. Clinging to her like a possessive child but luckily, Heister came back and scolded him.

Muling bumalik si Zai sa dormitoryo and saw the others still in the living room but the teacher wasn't there. "Where is he?" she asked.

Layn faced her with a candy in his mouth. "He's in the backyard, Zai. I think he's working out."

Zai nodded and went to the backyard. She intends to tell the teacher that he can leave them to her now. She can manage them all on her own. Noong makarating siya sa likod ng dormitoryo ay nakita niya itong nakaupo sa damuhan. He is topless, showing his muscles and not even ashamed even if he's in a different dormitory. His eyes are closed and a spear is in front of him.

The weapon caught Zai's attention. It was big and thick. The blade is sharp and shape like a machete. You can clearly see that it was well-made. Just from a glance, you can already see the high quality of the spear.

"Who made it?" she asked. Ermo slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"You have good eyes." Ermo said and stood up, grabbing the spear as he do so. He played it with his muscular arms and pointed it at his side. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" he said while staring at its blade.

"She's from Westernia. My hometown. Westernia is full of skilled smiths but I'll recommend to you the best of the bests. His name is Garp. My grandfather. He's the best smith you can find in Archodonia."

Zai went inside a bar along with Trois. Maingay ang lugar ngunit ang ingay ay mula lamang sa mga nagkekwentuhang mga manginginom. Nagpunta sila sa counter at naupo sa stool na naroon. Humarap naman sa kanila ang bartender na may malaking pangangatawan, kahit na babae ay maskulado ito.

"2 beers." Trois said, the large woman looked at them suspiciously before nodding and getting them what they ordered. Ilang saglit lamang ay naglapag ito ng dalawang malaking baso na puno ng beer sa kanilang harapan. Trois grabbed its handle and drink it, raising his face to drink even the last drop.

"Turista?" tanong ng barista habang pinupunasan nito ang isang baso. Ibinaba ni Trois ang malaking baso na wala ng laman at pinakita ang madalas nitong ngiti pagkatapos ay tumango. Tanging mga labi lamang nila ang nakikita ng barista kaya hindi nito napapansin ang nakakakilabot na ekspresyon ni Trois na madalas naman nitong suot.

"Mag-ingat-ingat kayo. Hindi lahat ng turista sa bayang 'to ay protektado ng pamahalaan." saad nito at hindi na muling nagsalita pa.

Ngunit muli itong lumingon noong magsalita si Zai, "Do you know someone named Garp Wault?"

The woman suddenly dropped the large mug in front of her with a loud sound. Inilapit nito ang mukha sa kanya at sinusubukang masilayan ang kaniyang mukha at siya'y sinisindak ngunit hindi man lang nagpakita ng reaksyon ang dalaga.

"Anong kailangan mo sa matandang 'yon?" tanong nito. Base sa tono nito, sinasabi nitong sasagutin niya ang kaniyang tanong base sa kaniyang rason.

Tinitigan ng babae si Zai na nakatago ang mukha sa ilalim ng cloak. Hindi nito sinagot ang kaniyang tanong. She was about to speak again but someone sat beside Zai like he didn't even cared about the atmosphere.

"Yo, Daisy! Kamusta na ang nanay mo?"

The bartender named Daisy rolled her eyes. "Wala kang mananakaw dito, Shane. Umuwi ka na bata."

But Shane just chuckled, "'Wag kang mag-alala. Hindi ako nandito para magnakaw. Nandito ako para kausapin 'tong kustomer mo." saad nito at humarap kay Zai na iniinom na ang beer na kanilang inorder.

"Patrician? Commoner o Plebeian?" tanong nito sa dalaga ngunit hindi man lang siya tinapunan ng tingin nito. Shane sighed and showed his annoyed expression. "Wala akong pakialam kung anong estado mo pero wala kang karapatan para mangialam sa trabaho ko. Ilagay mo ang mga kamay mo kung saan dapat nakalagay, kung ayaw mong maputol."

Trois suddenly stood up when he heard what the man said. "Trois." but he stopped when Zai said his name, telling him to sit down. Trois sat down again like what Zai wanted him to do. Zai glanced at Shane and scanned his face.

His innocent looking face is wearing an unpleasant expression. Nakasimangot ito at magkasalubong ang mga kilay. His hair has the color of cream with the touch of pink. Mayroon ding balahibo ng isang ibon na nakaipit sa kaniyang buhok na may mga maliliit na tatlong beads sa ugat nito. Kaunti lamang ang itinangkad nito kay Trois at normal lamang ang size ng kaniyang katawan, hindi katulad ng ibang mga maskuladong mga binata. Marahil ang edad nito ay 15.

The corner of her lips rise with amusement. The boy had the courage to threaten her but she could see that the boy has no experience in such a thing. Mukhang hindi pa ito nakakasakit ng isang tao at mas lalong hindi pa ito nakakakita ng taong pinatay sa harapan nito. He looks innocent. A thief but not tainted.

"You're threatening the wrong person."