Chapter 18: Chapter 18 : The Village’s Apothecary

Days passed quietly and it was another jarring day for Zeres. A day where he’d be tortured by the sound of beating hearts and the scent of fresh blood.

"Who would have thought I’d have to study again" Zeres exhaled through his nose, his head rested on the parchment laid across the table.

The quill on his hands made a clicking sound while he continued to knock on the polished wooden table lightly. There was a crease between his brows as he slumped his head "What should I do now?" The voices of his classmates and the Professor on the podium all blurred into background noise while he contemplated on what he’d do next.

"Hey, Zeres, when are you planning to take on a mission? " he was pulled away from his thoughts when he felt an elbow nudged him by his side.

He turned his head, Aeliz was sitting beside him, her head slumped against the wooden table, her slender finger tapping lightly on the quill beside her.

"Right, a mission" Zeres’ eyes gleamed, he straightened, then he stretched, a groan escaping his mouth.

"I haven’t seen you drinking blood, are you really a vampire? " She narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. She wore the academy uniform carelessly, long white hair spilled over her shoulders.

"I can manage somehow" Zeres answered, he had to endure it, a certain gut-feeling was telling him that he should endure for a little longer.

"Anyways, will you take a mission this weekend? "

"Yeah, my credits running low so I have no choice" Zeres admitted, a sigh escaping his mouth. Leaning heavily on his own seat, he glanced at Aeliz

"We’re still freshmen, even if we’re from Class A, they can only at most issue a two-person mission."

"I’ll take one mission after this lecture, you coming?" Aeliz stated, her hands shooting up to touch Zeres’ long white hair.

"Yeah, let’s go together later" he mumbled, slumping back his head against the wooden table.

___________

"A mission for Two-people please" Aeliz went on the counter, hands clasped behind her back.

"You’re both from Class-A right?" The young man behind the counter asked, his hands scanning through the parchments beside him.

"Yes"

"Here it is, choose between this two" He handed two of the yellow parchments to Aeliz.

════════════════════

[HERB GATHERING ESCORT]

Client:

Gleria Village Apothecary

Objectives:

• Eliminate 4 sighted Ravagers

• Secure nearby herb gathering zones

Reward:

50 Credits

════════════════════

════════════════════

[SURVEILLANCE REQUEST]

Objectives:

• Observe a suspicious individual within the Capital

• Report all unusual activity

• Avoid direct confrontation

Note:

Target may possess ties to an Apostle.

Reward:

38 Credits

════════════════════

"Obviously, I’ll pick the first one, I need credits" Zeres exhaled through his nose, the food he liked on the cafeteria was too expensive.

"Then we’ll take this" Aeliz chuckled lightly, then she went back on the counter to take the mission under their names.

’Well, the other mission will be taken by the Protagonist, she loathes Forsaken after all’ His gaze drifted across the wide space, students—mostly of commoner origin were there looking for some missions plastered on the wooden wall.

"Well then, when should we go? " Aeliz asked, holding the yellow parchment in hand.

"I don’t have anything to do right now, but it depends on you" Zeres answered, both hands in his pocket as he leaned against a pillar.

"Then we’ll go today"

________

"Straight on Gleria Village" Zeres knocked on the thin wall inside of the simple wooden carriage as they entered.

The carriage creaked as it passed the uneven road, sunlight slipping through the window.

"I’ll finally experience a travel without any guards" yawning, she stretched. "Hmm, can I sleep here?"

"Sure, if you can, that is," Zeres smirked faintly. "The seat’s hard wood, you see."

Their gazes locked for a moment, neither avoiding, then Aeliz luscious lips tugged upwards "That won’t be a problem" a playful grin was plastered on her face as she stood up.

Before Zeres could ask what she meant, she shifted then sat beside him.

Zeres’ smirk faded, his body stiffened as he felt her head resting on his shoulder, her white hair spilled messily over his arm.

"Now I can sleep perfectly right? " she let her head rest on Zeres shoulder, chuckling quietly, she drifted to sleep.

"Sigh, am I a mattress? " Zeres sighed, it was the second time his shoulder had been used as a pillow.

’Still, she’s not as annoying as I thought when I was just reading’ his thoughts raced while his gaze drifted on the window as they went past the inner wall of the Capital.

’This is hard’ he gritted his teeth, he could hear the vivid sound of Aeliz’s steady heartbeat beside him, the scent of her blood grew stronger every minute.

Silence stretched inside the carriage, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, it was a familiar one.

The carriage rolled quietly for a while longer. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

___________

"We’re here" Zeres tapped Aeliz’s shoulder lightly, his voice careful not to startle her.

"That fast? " Aeliz rubbed her eyes, yawning, she stepped out.

The cold wind bit at their skin as they walked inside of the village. The village spread along a narrow dirt path, small wooden homes standing close together. Villagers moved between gardens and drying herbs, quiet chatter mixing with the creak of carts. Smoke and damp soil lingered in the air, giving the place a strangely calm warmth.

"Are you the students from Lunaire Academy? The Apothecary who requested of your assistance is in the farthest." A man wearing a plain brown shirt smiled at them. "Let me guide you"

The man guided them quietly, though he occasionally sneaked glances at Zeres.

"Ohh, so this is what a village looks like" Aeliz marvelled, her eyes sparkling as if she had encountered something worth a praise.

"Yeah, maybe it’s also your first time stepping on soil, young lady" Zeres teased, his lips tugging upwards as he evaded a smack from his side.

They circled around a path as they went near the foot of a mountain.

"Here it is, I can only guide you this far, the Apothecary’s quite eccentric so good luck" the man who guided them immediately sprung away after leaving them with cryptic words.

"It’s that one right? " Aeliz pointed at the hut.

The hut stood far from the village, separated by a narrow dirt path and patches of tall grass. No other houses were nearby. Its wooden walls looked old, faint cracks spreading near the corners while dried herbs hung beside the window. Thin smoke drifted quietly from the chimney. Compared to the lively village behind them, the place felt strangely quiet.

Zeres stepped up, his hands hovering before the old wooden door before he knocked.

"I told you I won’t be entertaining guests when I’m studying herbs! " a loud voice bellowed behind the door.

His brow twitched slightly, then he knocked once again, hard. "We’re from the academy, if you don’t want guests then we’ll be off" He waited for a moment, then he turned around.

"Academy? Wait! " the old wooden door slammed open, the barely holding on hinge made a sound before it fell hard on the ground.

"Ahem, let’s talk inside" the old man invited, his gaze fixed on his broken door, before he turned around—his bald head shone under the sunlight.

Zeres stared at the old man’s bald head, then he turned his head back at Aeliz, their gazes met, her lips trembled.

She pressed her lips together, trying to stifle a laugh as she trudged past him "You bastard" she whispered "making fun of someone’s hair." Zeres’ lips twitched, then he retorted "Did I mention his hair? " following the apothecary, they both stifled a laugh.

’Damn it, I’m getting childish’ Zeres shook his head as he stepped inside. A pungent smell assaulted his nostrils, a green smoke was coming from the kitchen.

The inside of the hut was simple, devoid of any luxuries, only filled with collections of herbal ingredients and books tucked in every shelf messily.

"Sit here first" The apothecary pointed at an old wooden chair barely holding on.

"What is this smell? " Aeliz rolled her eyes, then she stared at the old wooden chair, it made a creaking sound for a moment. "Is this even usable? "

"Here’s the tea, don’t worry, I didn’t add anything suspicious" the apothecary smiled as he put the three cups on the table.

"At least you have a good tea" Aeliz then sipped the tea, a soft smile appearing on her elegant face.

"Of course, I do have them in my backyard, Yves leaf is hard to stumble upon, it was just a fortuitous encounter of mine" the apothecary smiled, reminiscing about his old days.

"Ohoho, pardon this old man, but you two look to be from a well off family so I apologize for the state of my house"

"Now let’s get into the topic, I wanted to collect a certain herb since last month, but the scout of our village reported a sighting of Forsaken—and the chances of it being of Ravager-rank is high" he said seriously, though the afternoon sunlight still made his bald head shine.