"I-I see him!! I see Hero Kael!!"
Aria stood up in surprise.
Sarah opened her eyes, her striking blue eyes shimmering brightly. Yes, Kael had told her not to look for him in the forest, and she wasn't. She would never go against the Hero's orders.
She was just looking around the perimeter. The townsfolk had formed a camp inside the forest on the other side of the bridge, the sun was about to set, so Sarah was simply keeping an eye on her surroundings to make sure they were safe.
She never expected to see Kael.
It was a pleasant surprise.
Aria questioned, her violet eyes excited as well.
It wasn't just her, even Lyra, who would usually be sleeping in such a situation, was awake till now. She didn't say anything, but the other two women could tell she was worried about the Hero, and with how her sharp green eyes darted towards Sarah when she said those words, their suspicions were confirmed.
Yes, within just a few days, Kael had managed to win over all three of them.
Sarah stared at the two women in front of her and, with an extremely serious look on her face,
"I was the first, so I will be the first to be served, okay?"
Before Lyra could say anything,
Aria nodded with a playful smile on her face.
Yes, the women had no qualms about sharing.
They were like sisters, so wouldn't it be fine for them to become sisters for real?
Aria brought back the more important topic.
"He just crossed the bridge and is looking for the trails. It seems like he is trying to find us."
Saying those words, Sarah stood up, and with a smile on her face, she continued,
"Oh ho? Look at you, already prepared to shoot your arrow, eh? A true archer indeed."
Sarah didn't say anything and, with a flushed face, she walked out of her tent, and Echo came out of her Sanctuary.
The soldier who was on watch duty called out when he saw Sarah coming out. Sarah, however, climbed on top of Echo and,
Without explaining anything, she flew in the air.
Echo nodded as he raised his speed, rushing toward the direction Sarah had pointed at. Even the Luminark was excited to see the Hero again.
On the other side, Kael, who was tracking the traces left by the townsfolk as they moved, suddenly paused.
The Dragon could sense that little 'thing' his father rode today.
And yes, the Dragon was extremely dissatisfied. So much so that even though he was only a meter big, he told Kael to sit on him, and he would take him into the air instead.
Kael, of course, denied it.
But it took a lot of effort to please Igni after that, and even now, it didn't look like little Igni was over it.
Yes, Igni was a jealous Dragon.
His father was only his.
Kael, who could sense Igni's feelings, laughed out loud.
"Yes, Igni, I am only yours."
He affirmed those thoughts.
Kael heard Echo's voice.
He looked up, and he was finally able to spot it—Echo, who was rushing towards him with Sarah on his back.
Sarah waved her hand excitedly.
Kael waved back. A few seconds later, Echo landed next to Kael and rubbed his head against Kael's.
Kael gently rubbed Echo's feathers. In his mind, however, he was busy dealing with someone else.
'No, you cannot burn him, Igni.'
The 17-day-old was too toxic.
Sarah rushed into Kael's arms. He hugged her back.
"I told you, didn't I? I wasn't planning on dying today."
"What about the beast? What happened to it?"
Sarah questioned. She knew Kael was nowhere near strong enough to kill it, even if he was the Hero.
"I awakened an ability that helped me hide my presence. I used it to avoid it. I didn't know where it went afterwards. I moved around for a few hours just to make sure it didn't have a way to track me down. But it seems like that wasn't the case since it didn't come for me."
Kael lied right through his teeth.
"I am so glad you awakened that ability!"
Again, he didn't have to explain anything.
He was the Hero. He could say anything, and because of how clueless these people were, they had no choice but to believe it.
Kael smiled as he patted Sarah's head before he distanced himself from her and Echo. He didn't want the archer to get the wrong idea.
Yes, Kael wasn't dense. He could tell that Sarah had developed feelings for him, and he also knew that she was an amazing woman.
Normally, Kael would have made the move. After all, this was exactly what he was looking for all this while.
He had other things to worry about. It wasn't just Igni, but his life as the Hero in general. Kael had too many doubts in his mind, especially after everything that transpired today.
Kael's head was filled with too many doubts, and… the number of people he could trust was… very limited.
Yes, even trusting Sarah was difficult for him at this point.
In the end, Kael shook his head and stopped thinking about it, it was something he would deal with later.
"Shall we return to the camp?"
Kael questioned with a smile.
Sarah nodded as she quickly climbed on top of Echo, and the two stared at Kael, who climbed up as well.
Sarah's face flushed. She, however, didn't let that come in her way and,
Echo flew in the air. He moved even faster than normal so that Kael and Sarah would sit close to each other.
Sarah, who knew what he was doing, couldn't help but be happy as she gently rubbed Echo's feathers. She stole a glance at Kael from the corner of her eye, but the moment she met his gaze, her heart pounded, and she quickly looked away.
Normally, Kael would show a reaction to this. Right now, however, Kael was very busy.
'Yes, yes, I know you can fly faster than him, Igni.'
Yes, little Igni still needed attention.