The trip to Ghithyan would last about a week longer. It was strange to see Ghithyan's Prince running around nearly a week away from his throne, but we had all assumed that the people he was chasing were important to him. At least—we had to believe that. After all,

John: "If it's true, and the 'escapees' he's chasing are those two kids, then..."

Either they had done something truly terrible, meaning that Connie and I had just saved a pair of treacherous Humans, or the Prince who was chasing them was the true villain. Either situation would be a horrible one.

Jessie: "At the very least, it would only be that boy, Jay. Ira should be safe—and you should feel safe in your choice to rescue her."

Connie: "Huh? What makes you say that?"

Jessie: "Two kids, both with darker skin that any of us, with the sister being the eldest. Does Ira fit that description?"

John: "But that doesn't—"

Jessie: "It does. If we run by the assumption that Jay is from a foster family, then that means his sister may well be looking for him. That sister could not be Ira."

Connie: "That doesn't change anything! We either saved a treasonous Human, or we—"

Steven: "Ladies, ladies!"

Steven called to us all from the front of the carriage, still holding the reigns to the horses.

Steven: "Eyes up, yeah? We've got company."

Having all been within the closed doors of the carriage, we popped out heads out of the windows to take in the view. All around us was nothing but the empty forests of Europe's Barrier. Following the rocky gravel road leading to Ghithyan, Steven had somehow taken our carriage directly into the hands of a man waving us down, his own carriage crashed off into a ditch to the side. The man looked to be young—early twenties perhaps—sporting a gray paddy cap and a strange blue soldier's coat. To be quite honest with you, that type of military jacket...Well, it simply didn't exist yet. White pants, white button-up, a long blue overcoat, a holster for some kind of rifle...

John: "Yeah, I've got no idea what that is..."

Riley: "HOWH."

John: "Yeah, you too?"

Sticking his head into the blowing wind was a gray wolf from the snowy mountains, whom I had aptly named Riley. The animal hadn't really gotten the chance to walk around back at the cliffside camp, so being thrown right back into a horse-drawn carriage was really not good for his health. These little bouts of window-wind were most of the action it could get in a day during our travels.

John: "Don't worry, you'll get plenty of time to run around while we're in Ghithyan."

Jessie: "Wait, his coat..."

John: "—? You recognize it?"

Jessie: "It's—sorry. That coat is from the New World."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

???: "I really do appreciate you stopping by for me! But..."

Shoving a wolf out of his face, the young man in a soldier's coat sheepishly requested something of us.

???: "You mind getting your pet away from me? Especially when it comes to snow-dwellers, I've got bad memories of animals..."

The traveling man, calling himself Bentley, had a kind face and a warm smile to him. In all honesty, his smile was pretty close to beating the sheer strength that Steven's had. With the cap covering most of his curly black hair, and his shining yellow eyes staring through our souls, it was easy to see how the man gave off the feel of a "merchant" as he raised his backpack to us while we sat around him in our carriage.

Setting the full pack onto the wooden flooring, Bentley's kind demeanor shifted right into that of a solicitor, and his charmed turned into something far more concerned with profit and gain.

Bentley: "What you see here is a rarity in Europe! With this kind of craftsmanship, originating directly from Asia's Great Barrier itself, you'll be sure to find the effect that suits you—truly!"

Jessie: "You're going to...sell us drinks?"

Taking out glass bottles, vials, canisters, and other such containers, Bentley presented fused drinks of all kinds of colors and hues. Taking a narrow vial of blue liquid, he began to demonstrate the usefulness of his "potions". 

Bentley: "These things are one-of-a-kind—truly! And that's why I'll show you, right here right now, what these puppies can really do! ——! With just a small swig, I am now—"

All gravity seemed to leave his body in an instant, and with the sudden appearance of being weightless, Bentley lightly tapped his pinky finger on the ground.

Bentley: "Capable of levitating at any desired speed, and in any desired direction!"

Just that small tap of the pinky gave him a bit of upward-momentum, carrying him to the carriage's ceiling as he continued to list off the greatness of his wares.

Bentley: "And that's not all! We've got potions for strength, speed, intelligence, memory loss, weight loss, limb recovery, limb remove-ery, Rune creation, Rune destruction, and so much more!"

Connie: "I feel like I'm watching some kind of bizarre ad..."

Bentley: "But that's the point!"

Having reached the ceiling, Bentley pushed off towards the ground with both of his hands, slamming right back into the floor as if his weight had suddenly returned—or, in fact, it had returned. As if he had simply willed away the effects of the potion, his immunity to gravity vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

Then, slamming his hands on his cross-legged knees, Bentley's face shifted back to something more human—something like sorrow, or anxiety.

Bentley: "To be completely honest with you, you really don't have to buy anything. Just giving me a ride to Ghithyan is enough for me! I'm a little short on money right now, so consider any one of my potions completely free to take! That should make us even, right?"

Connie: "If your potions are 'one-of-a-kind', then why did you drink one as a demonstration?"

Bentley: "That's an absolute lie! I've got a pretty shitty manager, and if I don't make my quota within the month, I'm totally toast! I—I guess you could say that the place you buy it from is one-of-a-kind? Nobody else sells these things. They're way too risky to make..."

Ann: "Huh? Toast...risky?! But—you're like me!"

Sure enough, withing Bentley's glowing yellow eyes was that of white pupils, just like herself and myself. All three of us, bereft of "normalcy", had some kind of attachment to death, and as I had been told, I was the exception to the rule. If Bentley had white pupils, just like the deceased ghost of Annie Leider, then surely—

Bentley: "Yeah, I know, I'm a Spectre too...But that doesn't change how terrifying the world is!"

Ann: "You can just make yourself invisible to everything! Why do you even have a manager?!"

Steven: "Do ghosts even have to work?"

Ann: "Argh! I'm not buying this at all! I bet those pupils of yours are just contacts, too!"

Bentley: "Huh?! Wait—don't do that!"

Rapidly crawling across the carriage, Ann reached her hand into Bentley's head. As she phased through and sifted around his head, Bentley continued to scream and fend her off, but to no avail, it seemed as if—

Bentley: "Just kidding!"

—As if he had just turned on some kind of switch in his body, allowing him to take hold of Ann's arm and throw her to the ground.

Ann: "Wha—?!"

Bentley: "Sorry, but I'm not exactly sure what'd happen if you actually got a hold of my brain. Or my eyes...ergh."

Shuddering at the thought, Bentley made it clear to everyone in the room that he possessed far more knowledge on being a Spectre than Ann, as he finally declared:

Bentley: "If you had wanted to see my memories, I would have let you grasp my pupils no problem! But, since you clearly don't know anything about that...let's just say I didn't trust your marksmanship to be able to properly grab what you needed."

Ann: "Your...memories?!"

Bentley: "Like I said! No idea what any of it is, huh? It's a good thing I acted so quickly, bringing my body back to physicality. I don't really like being 'touchable', especially if a Monster were to attack so suddenly, but it's times like these that call for stepping out of one's comfort zone!"

Then, his face snapping back into a friendly demeanor, he suddenly pulled his arms back and allowed Ann to recuperate.