One Last System

Mia rushed outside without even a second thought.

She heard enough to figure out what was going on.

'Please, let me find him,' she prayed to some unknown god while landing down on the street and looking around.

She could instantly recognize the place where the person that Veila noticed stood. This single spot on the road was so thick with the leftover mana that even when the man disappeared, not a single living soul dared to cross that point in space.

'Just where are you?' Mia asked through teas, not daring to voice her question. She felt as if a mere whisper of Arthur would instantly dissipate all her hopes of actually finding him.

Mia looked around, eager to find some clues as to where that mysterious man could go... But the longer she tried to strain her eyes, the more desperate she became.

Because no matter how long Mia was looking around, she couldn't find a single clue.

'It's like he vanished into thin air,' Mia thought, clenching her hands into fists.

To her side, a soft sound of someone moving appeared.

Mia turned her face around, alerted by the sound, only to notice Sander sneaking up around her.

He wasn't trying to approach her back. Rather than that, he simply moved forward in an extremely chaotic and unpredictable way while throwing suspicious glances all over the place.

'Oh, right,' Mia finally reflected on her own behavior. 'With how I acted when I rushed out, it's no wonder he is wary of an attack,' she thought, taking a deep breath as she attempted to calm herself down.

Sander finally got satisfied with his patrol. He then raised his face as he straightened his back and loosened his focus.

"What was that?" he asked in a hushed voice, taking a step forward and grabbing Mia's arm. "With how you acted, I nearly beheaded that bastard on the spot," he informed, still trying his best to keep his voice low.

Now that they were out in the open, everyone had to be wary of what they were doing and telling. There was no saying who could be observing them right now!

Soon, the entire group gathered around Mia, ready to protect them from whatever threat she perceived.

Out of the six of them, only Jenne remained within the Caffe, clearly unwilling to give Mia's group any reason to doubt his honesty. And seeing how troubled they were with Mia's sudden actions, he wisely decided not to infringe on their bottom line and just quietly wait in the restaurant.

"How did he look like?" Mia rapidly turned around on her foot, grabbing Veila by her shoulders and looking down into her eyes.

"Huh?" Veila shook, startled by the sudden question. Then, her eyes widened up a little as she threw a long glance at Mia's face.

It was a known fact that Mia had someone that she liked. While the girl didn't go around flaunting it on every step, it was no secret that there was someone in her life that basically defined who she was.

That mysterious person was the only way for Mia's group to make her truly cheerful, just by asking about the man.

And now, seeing how Mia reacted to a mere mention of a stranger being there, Veila would have to be stupid not to connect the dots.

'She didn't react like that even when facing Jenne...' Veila thought, gulping down her saliva as the significance of the current moment and her testimony dawned upon her.

"It's hard to tell," Veila said after swallowing down a gulp of saliva. "He was dressed in merchant's robes; his face was covered in the shade of his hood," she recounted everything that she could remember. "Oh, and his face was covered in fresh scars!" she added, happy that she could give some direction.

'Was it him?' Mia asked herself, listening to every word the girl uttered. 'But those scars part... it doesn't fit,' she thought, hesitating over the topic.

Was it all just a massive, big mistake? Just a rush created by her desire to reunite with Arthur, making her find any and all chances of meeting as given?

'If it was him when he saw me with Jenne like that,' Mia thought, bitting down on her bottom lip as anxiety-filled her heart.

She still has yet to process what Jenne revealed Arthur went through, but the situation was already pretty shitty even without this.

And it wasn't because Mia had anything to feel guilty about. The only reason she was anxious was that she was worried that this image of her sitting at the same table as Jenne could hurt Arthur if he actually ended up seeing it!

'What should I do?!' Mia screamed out in her thoughts.

There were no clues in her surroundings that could tell her where she should go to catch up with that mysterious man. Despite obviously being here, right in the spot she was standing right now, there wasn't a single trace of the man left.

She didn't even know if Arthur actually returned or not. This entire thing could be very well a provocation of Sangakarts, one aimed at forcing her to get her eyes off Jenne!

Torn between the possibilities and risks of every last one of them, Mia lowered her head. She needed some time to process everything.

"How about we go and ask at the auction hall?" Veila suddenly asked, proving that she was the first one to come to her senses and accept the new reality.

She knew full well just how much Mia thought about her man. And seeing her friend's state right now, it was pretty damn obvious that Mia was on the verge of breaking apart.

The stress of the hard training, long hours of work, and then a sudden burst of hope could tire every and one down. And despite being their leader, Mia wasn't an exception to that rule.

"If it was really him, then his appearance has to do something with the events from yesterday!" Veila pointed out, pushing Mia's hands off her shoulders only to place her own hands at Mia's back.

"Right, the fire..." Mia muttered, shocked when such an obvious conclusion appeared right before her eyes.

If there was any place that Arthur was bound to visit upon arriving at the town, it was auction hall. That's why, if anyone had any real information about Arthur's whereabouts, it has to be the auction hall!

"You are right, let's go," Mia muttered, turning around on her heel and heading directly for the auction hall.

'Arthy...' she thought, a strange feeling welling up in her chest.. 'Wait for me.'