Amara pulled her gaze away from the bottom of the lake and began searching for Adriel, but she couldn't see him anywhere.
'Where did he go? I've been waiting for over an hour for him to show up.'
With a small but gentle movement, she stood up, then walked over to Kael, since he was the one in charge of checking Adriel's condition."Where is he?"
"Where is who?" Kael didn't look at her as he continued staring at the two books.
"The only one who disappeared." Amara crossed her arms.
"Adriel isn't the only one who left. Liora and Selene are gathering plants, too." Kael glanced at Amara, then returned to the books.
Hearing that from the protector made her feel bad, but she tried to maintain her stance about the hunter."Even so, Adriel has a broken arm. You can't just let him go."
Kael gave a small sigh, then looked at Amara face-to-face."You know how Adriel is. Even if I told him a thousand times not to go, he'd run off anyway."
She wanted to deny it, but after thinking for a few seconds, she realized no one was more unruly than Adriel, at least in her close circle.
Amara sat down again by the lake's edge. Soon she felt someone sit beside her.
"Let's wait together, alright?" Elena sat next to her, trying to start a conversation.
"I guess."Both girls stayed at the edge of the lake, talking for five whole minutes, sharing stories and laughs.
Soon they heard rustling in the bushes and saw Adriel come out with a woman walking at his right side. Both were chatting cheerfully. Suddenly, the woman ran toward the slime's corpse, and Adriel followed her. Amara and Elena weren't the type to enjoy gossip—well, at least not on the outside—because they were even nosier than the neighbor across the street. So they positioned themselves near them to listen.
"I have a companion who chose a sorcerer or ritualist class. He told me that slimy eyes can represent regeneration in a ritual."The woman stuck her hands inside the strange creature and extracted its eyes skillfully.
"Actually, the reason I was in that place was that I needed some plants to perform my healing ritual," Adriel spoke while smiling as Azucena inspected the eyes carefully.
"And did you find them?" Azucena looked into Adriel's eyes. Both had wide smiles that reached every feature on their faces.
"No. I still need four more of these and two more dandelions." Adriel held the Brugmansia in his right hand.'Even so, I feel like I found someone more valuable than even my arm.'
Azucena stood up and twirled a finger through her curly hair."If you want… we could go back into the forest later to look for them again."She gave Adriel an even more sincere and tender smile. He would have said yes without hesitation, with or without the smile, but someone got in the way.
"No! Adriel is hurt right now, and I'm not letting him go back into the forest."Amara stepped between them, pouting.
"Ah. Hello, little one, are you Adriel's younger sister?"Azucena bent down to look Amara in the face. She was a head taller than the small girl, while Adriel was a head and a half taller.
"I'm the same age as Adriel! Do I really look that small?"Amara looked at Azucena, Adriel, and Elena, searching for an answer.
The beautiful woman looked more carefully and noticed that, although small, Amara's chest wasn't that of a little girl."Sorry, it's just that I didn't get a good look at you."
Azucena turned to Elena. Seeing her, she glanced back at Adriel, who stood with his right arm wrapped across his chest—he would use both arms, but his left was unusable.
"Adriel… I think it's better if I go."The hope and happiness disappeared from the woman's eyes. She was about to leave when Elena stopped her, hugging her from behind and whispering in her ear.
"Don't worry. That boy sees me more as a combat tool than anything sexual. From what I know, he's still a virgin."Azucena blushed, feeling the sensual woman pressing against her, and pushed her away slightly.
"Why would I want to know that?"She glanced at the hunter as she said it, feeling something strange inside her.
Elena made a circle with her thumb and index finger, holding it to her eye."It's obvious from a mile away what you like—or what interests you. But don't worry, if Adriel were as clumsy physically as he is emotionally, he'd trip even walking on the smoothest floor in the world."
Azucena put her hands on her cheeks and looked away."I don't believe you."She covered her face even more and forced herself to breathe slowly to calm down.
When she lifted her head and turned around, she saw Kael—taller than Adriel by half a head." And you are?" she asked with the same sweet tone she had maintained the entire time.
"My name is Kael. Seems Adriel found a beauty in the grasslands. If you ever have a problem, you can call me. I'm a protector for a reason."Kael smiled slightly and placed his hand near Azucena's to shake it.
She shook his hand with some hesitation, then tried to find Adriel with her gaze, but didn't see him.'He must be somewhere behind Kael,' she thought as she quickly pulled her hand away."Nice to meet you, I'm Azucena, in case no one told you."
Kael looked at his hand, then in the direction Azucena walked off.'Looks like there will be a love story here.'Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"This is all cute, but we need to go find Liora and Selene. Those two have been missing for over three hours. Let's go."Elena appeared in his field of vision; she was clearly worried.
"Let's go immediately. Adriel, even injured, will be able to protect Amara and Azucena."Both headed into the forest while the others talked.
Adriel was sitting near the lake, reading books.'They already know everything we need, but researching rituals isn't a bad idea,' he thought as he reviewed each ritual in the book. They all pointed to different things—some trivial, some necessary, others essential.
He felt a small nudge at his side."Why did you leave me alone?"Azucena sat next to him, splashing her feet in the water.
"Is something wrong? He's my friend."Adriel closed the grimoire and looked her in the eyes.
"Even so, you're the one who brought me here, and you're the only person I really know. I want you by my side."The beautiful woman hugged her legs and looked straight into his eyes."I want you next to me."
"Eh?" Adriel couldn't pretend to understand; she had spoken clearly and loudly.
He saw a blue ball appear in front of his face.' It's a swimsuit.'
"Want to get in?" Azucena pointed to the lake, then dropped the ball into Adriel's hand."I know plants that can purify water. I'm an apothecary for a reason."
She was about to start undressing, but remembered Adriel was watching."Turn around so I can change."He turned quickly, allowing her to remove her clothes and put on her swimsuit.
Adriel took advantage of her not looking to change into his own swimsuit. Luckily, it didn't have a shirt, so nothing would hurt his left arm.
When he turned around, he saw her. Her swimsuit was full-body; the first things he noticed were her thighs and arms, uncovered. Then he scanned the rest of her body, noticing only a small portion was covered. He glanced at her back and saw an X-shaped design.
The light, the smell, the temperature—everything was perfect. She was the first to submerge."Come."Her sweet voice made Adriel tremble; he felt like his heart was about to explode, but he approached her without realizing it.
"You haven't told me your class's weakness, and I haven't told you mine. How about we tell each other?"She hugged him, making his heart pound even harder—he felt like he might soon go into cardiac arrest.
"I… My weakness is that I feel less and less. My emotions get weaker every day." Adriel said, hesitant at first.
"My sense of touch, taste, and smell are fading. Each day I feel them less. But the system gave me a limit. I guess it didn't give one to you."Azucena pulled him into a tighter hug, pressing him against her heart as she smelled his hair.
'She's going a thousand per hour.'Adriel heard her heart racing and felt his own matching it from the noise echoing in his chest.'If it beat any faster, I'd die.'
"Let's get out," Azucena said softly.
"Sure."Adriel barely heard his own voice over his frantic thoughts and pounding heart.
…
Deep in the forest, two girls were hiding in the bushes, their pockets stuffed with plants. Suddenly, they felt the ground tremble lightly and heard a green creature approaching slowly.