I listen to Hewie and then scowl slightly. "Hey! Why do you always appear and disappear out of nowhere?!" I grumble quietly to myself and sigh before my attention is drawn towards Ellirith once more.

I contemplate how to answer her, although Hewie still bugs me a bit. 'How does she always appear at the right time? It's almost suspicious... As for Ellirith's request...'

"Fine, I'll help you. So, do you remember where she got kidnapped?" I ask her and put a hand on my hip, staring at her intently.

Now that I think about it, I don't even know where I am nor how this land looks like. I wouldn't know the place even if she told me the name... What a pain.

"I believe that it was somewhere around the outskirts of the Haunted Glade." She answers me, and I raise an eyebrow at the mention of Haunted Glade.

'What the heck is that? I don't think that I want to know why they named it the way they did...' I look at her with a small groan of annoyance.

"Do you have a map of the whole Elarion?" I ask her and wait for some sort of reply from her. "Does a map of Eldur suffice?" She asks me with a slightly surprised expression.

'Eldur...?' I stare at her for with an even more bewildered expression. "What's that?" I ask her dully as I tilt my head.

An awkward silence stretches on for about a minute before I hear Hewie laughing somewhere in the background, clearly enjoying my embarrassment. 'That damned bird... She didn't mention anything about Eldur!'

"Excuse me...?" Ellirith asks, completely dumbfounded at my question. I take a deep breath and repeat the question. "What is Eldur?" I realise that it sounds weird.

"Eldur is the continent that we live on..." Ellirith finally answers after snapping out of her shocked trance. Oh, I see... I must've sounded like a total idiot.

Poor lady, I feel kinda sorry for her that she has to talk to someone like me. But I can't just reveal that I'm not from this world! "I see. Thank you."

She nods and then goes to the altar, muttering something once more before a scroll appears on top of it. I observe curiously, wondering how she's summoning items however she wants. 

"Thank you once again. The map is more than plenty." I give her a small bow as I take the map and open it. Uh, woah. I didn't expect this, to be honest. But it would be useful to keep it...

"I'm sorry to bother you once more, but is it possible to keep this map?" I try to be a bit more respectful now. I hope I sound respectful enough.

She gazes at the fountain and nods ever so slightly. "If it helps with the search, then sure." I'll see what I can do about her lost twin.

"Thank you. I'll use it well." I give her a nod and glance around. The force is still trying to push me out... However, I noticed that Ellirith doesn't seem affected. Why?

"But I have to ask..." I start, a bit hesitant to ask her about this. "What's this force that's trying to push me out?" I give her a curious look, which she repays with an unreadable one before she points somewhere.

"The whole village is protected by the forest guardians and ancient magic, so intruders aren't usually able to enter. This garden is under strict supervision specifically." She answers, and a small firefly flies above me.

"Now answer me this in return. How are you here despite not being recognised by the guardians?" She asks me with a serious expression, and I freeze on the spot. 'What...?'

'What? I'm not recognised...? Then how... Is this thanks to Hewie?' A million thoughts run through my head as I try to figure out how this is possible.

Ellirith just looks at me, her gaze almost piercing, but she scoffs a bit before shaking her head. "It seems like you don't know the answer yourself, Alaire. But keep in mind that this will definitely happen again in the future of your journey."

After that, she adds with a stern tone and a rather hard glare. "You're lucky that I know more than you at the moment. Others may not be like that."

I stare at her with a shocked expression. 'She knows more than me? Does that mean that she knows something about this?' But despite my obviously suspicious and curious look, she doesn't give me answers.

I look at Hewie, who's sitting on my shoulder and seemingly sleeping. She's such an oddball. 'But if this place is protected, then who kidnapped Liralia? Since she mentioned that it happened in the outskirts, it's possible that the barrier doesn't reach there, but that's very unlikely.'

I think hard and try to put something together so that at least one thing makes sense. 'How complicated...' I sigh and look at Ellirith, my eyes narrowing a bit. I'll have to take her word for it and trust her for now.

Since we're alone in these gardens that probably nobody else can access, there's a possibility that she might kill me if I ask her too much, know too much, or even overstep the boundaries. Ah, how scary...

I take a deep breath and then exhale, calming myself down before I put on my calm facade. "I have an offer..."

"I'll find Liralia for you and bring her back, and you'll support me. You wouldn't dare spill my secret unless you want me to reveal yours to the whole village." I continue, hoping that she'll fall for it.

"Is that a threat?" She asks with a somewhat amused and annoyed smirk, raising an eyebrow. The villagers probably won't trust me over her, but I still hold her secret. Unless she kills me right here...

"Maybe. Depends on how you take it. For me, it's more of a deal." I say with a small smirk, extending my hand as a seal of our deal. "So?" I wait for her to do something as I nervously gulp. 

"Hmph, fine. You're a sly one, aren't you?" She says and grips my hand rather tightly, and I return her firm grip with one of my own. "I'm not quite sure if I understand." I say and shrug a bit, our deal now sealed. Phew, I'm safe for now...

After the whole ordeal, we walk through the gardens, side by side, as she clearly keeps an eye on me. 'She's probably cautious of me, thinking I'll stab her in the back, literally. Well, I have the same worry, so I can't blame her.'

After some time, we get out of the gardens. Finally, I feel like I can breathe a bit better now. It's like the barrier is denser in the gardens...

I lock eyes with Merle and decide to take him with me. I need someone who knows Eldur more than me, and Hewie doesn't really count. She's more of a distraction than anything. She says what she wants and mostly doesn't answer my questions.

And you know what they say. The more, the merrier. I give Ellirith one last look before I depart and make my way towards Merle.

"Will you join m-" "Can I join?" We speak at the same time, and I blink a bit in surprise before I give a small laugh. I didn't expect such a thing to happen. Merle just gives a small smile.

"There's no need to ask." I say, and he puts an arm around my shoulders. I'm glad that he's more comfortable with me now. Hewie laughs in the background, clearly wide awake now. 'What is this crazy bird laughing at now?' But she just flies around and motions at something with her talon.