Cursed Flower - The Hunt Begins

After leaving the pharmacy, Dante and I walked towards the Eden branch office.

I stole a glance at Dante, who looked relaxed carrying our shopping bags. A smile occasionally appeared as he watched children playing on the sidewalk or when a vendor shouted out his wares.

He seemed unaffected after hearing all that.

"What are you thinking?" Dante suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"Ah, nothing... it's just, do you think the old man's story about Clementia is true?"

"Who knows?" He shrugged.

"Then, what do you think about the story?"

"Well, it sounds like a classic horror tale."

"Hmm, is that so?"

"Yes."

"But, Miss, you should never ignore warnings from others," Dante said seriously, his gaze meaningful. "Even if they sound trivial or even ridiculous, vigilance is the first shield that protects us from unseen dangers."

"Alright... I'll keep that in mind," I replied, my voice slightly reluctant.

After that conversation, we continued walking in silence.

I walked in front while Dante followed behind.

After about 15 minutes, we finally arrived at the branch office.

On the wooden bench in front of the office, I spotted Arion sitting alone, staring at the sky. His black hair was slightly disheveled, and his golden eyes, fixed on the sky, looked sad.

What is he doing?

Dante and I approached him.

"Arion, we're done with the shopping."

Arion looked at us with his usual flat expression, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. With a small motion, he pointed to the car parked neatly in the parking space.

"Put it there," he said briefly, without any gratitude or complaint.

I glanced around, hoping to see Joshua, but there was no sign of him.

"Joshua still isn't here," I muttered softly.

Dante, who heard me, looked at his pocket watch.

"It seems like he'll be back soon. 10 minutes is the time he promised for us to gather."

We placed our shopping bags in the car's trunk and arranged them neatly. Then we sat down on the long bench next to Arion. The atmosphere felt slightly awkward, with silence only accompanied by the sound of a gentle breeze.

"Take this," Arion suddenly said, handing two brown paper bags to us.

I looked at the bags with curiosity.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Your lunch," Arion replied briefly, his tone still flat as usual.

I slowly opened the paper bag, and the smell of fresh bread wafted up. Inside were two sandwiches filled with ham and egg salad, neatly wrapped in paper.

"Thank you."

Dante, who had also opened his bag, smiled immediately.

"You're very thoughtful."

Arion shot him a glance, his face momentarily creasing.

"If you don't want it, give it back to me."

"I never said I didn't want it. Thank you."

I was about to eat when the sound of light footsteps approached.

Joshua appeared, breathing slightly heavy, holding something rolled up in his hand.

"You're here," Arion said.

"Yeah. Here's the map."

"What about the information?"

"I've asked around, and the situation might be worse than we thought. Many people who went to that city disappeared."

Joshua exhaled again, this time more heavily.

"The food merchants who regularly went to Clementia... they never came back. It's not just one or two people; almost all of them. It's been over five months since anyone has heard from them. The remaining residents there are said to be rarely seen outside the city."

Arion raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharp.

"Did they just disappear? No traces or clues at all?"

Joshua nodded slowly.

"The pharmacist we visited earlier for the medicine also said the same thing," Dante added.

"The same thing?"

"He said many people disappear after going to that city. Including people equipped like us. There's also the report of a black shadow seen from the city."

"Finire and black shadows, huh?"

Dante nodded at Arion's question, and Joshua continued his explanation.

"One of the merchants, who was from a major guild, investigated because his subordinates did not return for their regular deliveries. But the result was the same. No one came back, except for one person."

"One person? Who?"

"His name is Weston. He's a famous hunter who usually hunts wild beasts or blightwalkers. People say he knows more about the state of that city than anyone else, but he refuses to say anything about it."

"So... where is this person now?"

"According to the information I got, he's currently at his home in a slum in district 4."

"Are we going there?" I asked.

"Yes. We need as much information as we can get."

Arion stood up from his seat and tossed the last bag to Joshua.

"Oh, what is this?"

"Your lunch. Let's go. We're going to meet this person."

After checking the contents, Joshua looked at Arion with a touched expression.

"What is this? It's unusual for you to be this kind."

"Dante, you're driving," Arion said, ignoring Joshua.