The sound of rain filled the quiet streets as Lucas came to a stop under his umbrella. Jeanne, still holding onto his arm, turned her head in confusion.
He took a deep breath and let out a small laugh.
Guess I was being narrow-minded… So that's what they mean by "failing to see the mountain beyond the single leaf."
He had been blinded by his own assumptions, mistaking his limited knowledge for absolute truth.
Thankfully, Jeanne's words had cut through that illusion. Otherwise, it would've taken a painful lesson to make him realize it.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly, noticing his brief daze.
Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. Feeling the warmth of her grip against his arm, he smiled. "Nothing. Let's keep walking."
---
A low boom split the skies above Orario, thunder rumbling like an angry beast as the rain thickened to a downpour.
Puddles gathered on the cobblestone streets, reflecting the faint shimmer of the city lights.
Footsteps splashed rapidly through the rain. Two figures in black hooded cloaks stumbled through the maze of alleys, their breathing ragged and uneven. After what felt like an eternity, they ducked into a small residential area, half-hidden beneath a canopy of lush green vines.
One of them, a white-haired elf girl, looked pale and utterly exhausted, her hair clinging to her face.
"Lorie… I—I can't…"
Before she could finish, her knees buckled. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into the wet underbrush with a heavy thud.
"Aura!"
The other elf—a blonde girl—fell to her knees beside her. Mud splattered up her cloak as she tried to shake her unconscious companion awake, panic flashing in her golden eyes.
Then came the voices—muffled but closing fast—accompanied by the echo of many boots striking wet stone. The elf froze, her pointed ears twitching sharply. Her face went pale.
"Damn slavers… they're still chasing us! Persistent bastards!"
She gritted her teeth, forcing herself upright. Ignoring the mud staining her hands and knees, she hooked her arms under Aura's shoulders and tried to drag her forward.
What neither of them noticed was the pair standing quietly under an oak tree not far away. Two figures beneath one black umbrella—Lucas and Jeanne—watching everything through rain.
"Lucas, those two girls…" Jeanne's voice trembled with concern, and she made to step forward, but Lucas caught her wrist.
He frowned slightly, eyes cool despite the turmoil in his chest.
"Wait. Let's see if it's real or staged. Orario's full of scams like this. Could be a setup—bait to lure in bleeding hearts."
Jeanne bit her lip, clearly anxious, her instincts screaming to help.
Moments later, rough shouts came closer through the storm.
"Find them! They couldn't have gone far! Haven't eaten for days—no way they have the strength to run!"
Lucas and Jeanne exchanged a look, the truth clear in their eyes.
"Slavers," Lucas muttered under his breath. "So it's real."
A flash of lightning illuminated the scene, and for an instant, their faces were fully visible beneath their hoods.
"...Elves?"
The sight made Lucas's brow twitch in surprise.
Wait a minute—those faces… yeah, I've seen them before. A few days ago at the Adventurer's Plaza. Two elf girls, both stunning… don't tell me they're newbies fresh from the forest?
It clicked almost instantly.
They must've just arrived in Orario. Probably naive, got tricked by slavers before they could even register a Familia… and now they've escaped by sheer luck.
Two innocent elven girls on the run from human traffickers—no experience, no power, no hope… classic setup.
Within seconds, he'd already pieced together their entire backstory in his head like some tragic play titled "The Flight of the Enslaved Elf Maidens."
He smirked. "Talk about a blessing falling from the sky." His eyes gleamed as he glanced at Jeanne. "Jeanne, help them."
"You didn't have to tell me twice!" Before he even finished the sentence, she was gone—darting into the rain like an arrow loosed from its string.
"Tch. Two elves, and both look like models… gotta make sure we rescue them properly," Lucas muttered with a grin.
---
"Damn it! We're surrounded!"
Lorie could hear them coming closer—their boots splashing through puddles, their curses muffled by the rain. Her keen elven hearing told her there were at least six of them, closing in fast.
She hadn't eaten in days; her legs were trembling, her lungs on fire. With Aura unconscious on her back, she didn't stand a chance.
Despair settled in like ice. For the first time, she shut her eyes and whispered a prayer to the gods.
Then—rustling. A flash of movement from the bushes.
A girl stepped out, her long golden braid glistening in the rain.
"Are you alright? Give me your friend. Come with me."
"You…"
Even in the dim rainlight, Lorie's sharp eyes caught the woman's face. Something in Jeanne's expression—calm, confident, warm—told her instinctively this was no enemy.
It was strange, but the moment she saw her, she knew she could trust her.
"Who are you…?"
"Explanations later. Move now if you want to live."
"Th-thank you!"
Lorie handed Aura over, watching Jeanne hoist the unconscious elf effortlessly onto her back. Without another word, Jeanne turned, moving with agile precision through the trees, guiding Lorie to safety.
Any footprints or scent trails left behind would vanish within minutes in this torrential rain.
And Jeanne wasn't alone.
---
Not far away, Lucas still stood under the oak, umbrella tilted slightly as he watched the trio disappear into the distance.
The corner of his mouth lifted. Two beautiful elf girls—one blonde, one silver-haired. Jackpot. Guess my luck's finally kicking in…
Then he chuckled under his breath. No, wait—that's Jeanne's ridiculous luck rubbing off on me.
Still, he couldn't help but smile at the thought that the pair might one day join the Lucas Familia.
"Delightful," he murmured.
He glanced toward the alley where the slavers were now scrambling, their lanterns glowing faintly through the sheets of rain. He listened for a moment—rough speech, curses, and not a single aura of a real adventurer among them.
Lucas snorted, turned on his heel, and vanished into the storm.
---
The midsummer night lay wrapped in gray, the sky weeping ceaselessly as cool wind whispered through the trees.
The rhythmic pat of boots on wet stone broke the silence.
Lucas walked alone beneath the heavy black umbrella, his reflection wavering in the puddles. Ahead, through the rain, he saw the faint golden glow of home.
Jeanne's fast, he thought, smiling faintly as he quickened his pace.
When he finally entered the courtyard, locking the gate behind him, Jeanne emerged from the doorway, her stance calm and expectant—like a wife waiting for her husband to return home.
"The slavers?" she asked.
"Handled," he replied, closing the umbrella and shaking off the excess rain before propping it open to dry. "Don't worry. They didn't see a thing. A storm like this wipes away every trace."
"You should still be careful," Jeanne warned. "What if they had special tools or magic items?"
Lucas paused for a moment, seeing the worry in her eyes. Then he nodded.
"I checked. None of them were adventurers, and I didn't see any suspicious gear or magic trinkets."
Unbuttoning his soaked black shirt, he peeled it off and tossed it into the laundry basket. "My guess? They're just grunts working under some small gray-market guild. The kind that's too weak to keep two unblessed elves locked up properly."
That explanation finally eased Jeanne's nerves. Thank the gods those thugs weren't adventurers—dealing with that kind of pursuit would've been a nightmare.
Especially when the merchandise were rare elves. Had they been shipped off to another country, nobles would've paid a fortune for them.
Lucas stripped off his wet pants and boots, now wearing only shorts as he sat on the stone bench with a low chuckle.
"Think about it. Two gorgeous young elves—any smart trafficker would send adventurers to track them down. The fact that they didn't? Either the leader's incompetent or doesn't even know his men screwed up yet."
Running a hand through his damp black hair, he smirked. "My bet's on the latter. Some idiot in charge is about to find out his crew lost a multimillion-valis shipment."
Jeanne picked up his clothes, holding them carefully in her arms as she prepared to wash them. "Or maybe they just underestimated the girls—thought they couldn't possibly get far?"
"That's possible too. But either way, it's too late now. The rain's erased everything."
He leaned back, voice light with amusement. "Besides, their whole approach screams rookie. No Orario veteran would ever make such a stupid mistake."
He laughed softly. "After all, the dumb ones are already rotting in Ganesha Familia's cells—or locked up by Astraea Familia's justice squad."
Jeanne chuckled too. "So that's why you said they're clueless newcomers?"
"Exactly. And I'd bet good money they're panicking right about now—realizing the goods have vanished and wondering how the hell to explain it."