"Is this the place?" Elenwyr asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"How quaint. It's quite a nice, humble little place."

We stood in front of the tavern where the twins worked. He had previously asked me if there was a place we could speak in private. Naturally, this was the only spot I could think of. I hope those guys won't mind.

"Then, shall we?" Elenwyr smiled.

Blanc was more or less attached to me the entire time. It seemed like she was scared of him, and I can't blame her for that. The last person to smile so kindly to her was Bishop Kain, and he turned out to be a psychopath.

I walked up to the door and knocked three times. Slowly, it opened, and a head of orange peeked out. For a single second, I genuinely couldn't tell if it was Lenny or Lina. The moment they realized it was me, the door swung wide open.

"Noir!" Lina shouted, and Lenny popped up right behind her.

"Hey, guys," I greeted them.

"What happened?! There was fire! And then even more fire! And then... And then... Explosions! And I saw a bunch of those priests running away from these people in black capes! Kinda like... h-him..."

Her eyes trailed to Elenwyr, who was wearing the same uniform as the people I saw earlier.

"Hello there," he smiled.

"A-ah... Hello!" Lina grinned affectionately. "Are you new around here? We're not open right now, but I'll open up the tavern just for you."

"Haha, I would appreciate that."

"Please, come on in."

She led him to a table with the most enthusiasm I had ever seen from her. Lenny crept over to me with a brow raised.

"Seriously...?" he mumbled. "One good-looking guy comes along, and suddenly, she's head over heels. Don't even know why she's trying."

"Head over heels?" I asked.

"Yeah. You know. In love."

"Head over heels... I see. Come on, Blanc. Let's go join the gentleman."

"O-okay..." she said.

We sat down at the same table on the other side of Elenwyr, who was giving his order of drinks to Lina. I've only seen her work a couple of times, but this might be the happiest she's been. After she finished taking our orders, she ran off into the kitchen.

"What a lively girl," Elenwyr chuckled. "I can see why you chose this tavern."

"If you don't mind my bluntness, sir, what did you wish to speak about?" I asked.

"Haha! Straight to the point, eh? I like that. Then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Arseus Elenwyr, first lieutenant of the World Expedition. By chance, have you heard of us?"

"Hm... I can't say that I have."

"That's quite alright. Allow me to clarify. The World Expedition is a worldwide guild of Wayfarers based in Archidaemia."

"Archidaemia..." Blanc mumbled.

"Have you heard of it, Blanc?" I asked.

"Mhm. Mama used to tell me stories of her travels there. She said it was... the island continent, home of the Sylvians."

"Indeed, you are correct, miss," Elenwyr said.

He slid his decently long hair to the side, showing us his pointed ear. At the same time, Lina came back with our drinks and nearly dropped the platter.

"Y-you... You're a Sylvian?!" she screamed unnecessarily.

"Haha. That, I am, ma'am," Elenwyr laughed. "Thank you for the drinks."

"It's my pleasure!"

With that, Lina rushed back into the kitchen. It was then that we heard a loud, perplexing squeal.

"What an interesting girl, indeed," he smiled. "As you just heard, I myself am a Sylvian. You may have heard that my kind is not the most accepting of humankind, but the World Expedition is an inclusive guild. I'm pretty sure we have more humans than anyone else under our wing. We even accept normal people as long as they have the qualifications to help us. As you can probably guess from our name, our main goal is to chart the unknown corners of the world in an effort to gain knowledge."

"That sounds cool and all, but why are you telling us this?" I asked.

"Because I'm extending an invitation to you. Miss Blanc, was it? I can see that you two are close, so if you'd like, you may join as well."

Immediately, I became defensive, and Elenwyr noticed right away.

"You appear to be cautious," he said. "After your encounter with Sanctus, whom you know as Bishop Kain, I can understand why. He must've tried to recruit you into his cultish church. Am I correct?"

"You are, and that didn't end well," I replied. "Can I ask for the reason as to why you are inviting us in particular?"

"Admittedly, it is partially because you are a Wayfarer. I witnessed your powers of Ignis, and it was brilliant. Not only that, you stood your ground against Sanctus, a Thrall. Your bravery is commendable as well."

"...Thrall?"

Elenwyr slightly turned his head in confusion. I remember hearing him saying something about a 'Thrall' when he was speaking to those two men. Sanctus and... Archeota, I think it was.

"Have you not heard of the Aetolian Thralls either?" he asked.

"It hasn't been long since I woke up without my memories, so no, I don't," I said.

"Is that so? Well, simply put, the Aetolian Thralls is a group of dangerous people whose mission is to destroy the Paths of the Logos."

"What? Destroy? How would they even manage to do that?"

"I'm not sure, but recently, they have made their presence known through various acts of violence. Prime example: Sanctus and the Crimsheart Church's hold on this village. It was only a while ago that I heard about what was happening here. I came as fast as I could."

This is quite a lot to take in. It turns out that Kain was actually much more vicious than he portrayed himself to be. These 'Aetolian Thralls...' I have only seen two of them so far, and they were both completely different people. If anything, it seemed like they heavily disliked each other.

And then there's the offer that Elenwyr is presenting to me. He seems like a righteous and kind person, but that could easily be a facade. I also have no idea what this 'World Expedition' truly stands for.

'Never trust anyone completely.' That's what Silverain told me, and my feelings are telling me to stick to that. However, apart from me, there is someone else whose opinion does matter in this conversation.

"Blanc," I called out. "What do you think?"

"Erm... I'm not sure," she said sheepishly. "I don't think I'm fit to be in a guild just yet."

"That's alright," Elenwyr smiled. "There's no need to rush. Take some time to consider. If you ever come to accept my invitation, travel to the World Expedition headquarters in the city of Elysion. Ask me by name, and I will answer."

"If it comes to that, we will," I said. "Thank you."

"Of course. Now, I think that just about wraps up our conversation. It seems like my team has finished weeding out the rest of the church's followers. Then... Noir and Blanc. I hope to see you two again in the future."

"Likewise."

He stood up and left the tavern after paying for the drinks, leaving me along with Blanc. Right when the doors closed, Lina popped out of the kitchen was that expressive face, but it just as quickly dropped when she realized he was gone.

"Eh? Where's Sir Elenwyr?" she asked.

"He left," I answered. "Said he was going to meet his teammates. He probably won't stick around for long now that the church is gone."

"What?! Nooo!"

She stumbled over and threw her head on the countertop.

"Just when I thought I had met my knight in shining armor to sweep me away. This life is cursed..."

Lenny walked out with a chuckle from behind her. "You're a fool for believing you had any kind of chance. Did you see that man? He's way out of your league."

"What did you say?!"

Lina tackled him back into the kitchen, and while I couldn't see it, I could guess that they were slapping and pulling each other's hair.

"Hah..." I let out a brief laugh. "Blanc. Why don't you go and wash up?"

"Mhm!" she nodded her head. "Where will you go?"

"I'm gonna look around for a bit. I know Elenwyr said that his team finished off the church, but I wanna make sure."

"Oh, okay. Be careful, Noir."

I rested my hand on her head with a smile. "Don't worry about me. I'll be back by nightfall."

A massive grin appeared on her face as she went off to the back. I'm glad she's safe now, and now that this village is free, she'll hopefully stay that way.

My fingers curled around the cup and took one last sip, then I stood up to leave. I should find Elenwyr when I can. There are a couple of things I need to confirm.