In the two weeks that Lailah, Sorey, and Mikleo had stayed at Alisha's home, the so called "warrior-princess" had learned one thing: namely that the boys were absolutely obsessed with history. Even though the human woman wasn't able to hear what the water-seraphim was saying, it was enough to hear Sorey's side of the conversation to realize what the topics were all about.

One topic that the spearwielder had found interesting was the subject of sublords. Naturally, Sorey had told Alisha all about the incident of the missing worker and how he got possessed (from what she understood) by a hellion, before Sorey and Alisha managed to safe him. Mikleo had felt more than a bit miffed because he had been unable to help out, due to a lack of cleansing powers. This problem apparently could be circumvented by becoming a sublord of Lailah. What this basically meant was that Mikleo would become something of a subordinate to the fire seraphim, like a noble was to a king, and thus receive the necessary power to fight the hellion threat.

Sorey wasn't too keen at the prospect, mainly because it would put his longtime friend in danger. He revealed this to Alisha during a private talk the two of them had between themselves. At least Sorey had assured Alisha that the talk had been private, as he was the only one who could see Seraphim in the first place. The boy had promised Mikleo he would at least think about the prospect during the time his arm was recovering, but that process was almost at the end. And yet, the new Shepherd had yet to give his pseudo-brother a satisfying answer or any answer at all for that. Of course, the water Seraph wasn't happy with that at all.

Said Seraph was currently standing outside of Alisha's home and watching over the city of Ladylake. It was nighttime, so there was a reduced risk of someone accidentally running into him or over him in case of horses. Incidentally or perhaps not so incidentally, Lailah happened to join the young Seraph outside.

Mikleo had to suppress a sigh, as this situation was like out of one of these fictional novels. Here he was, angry at his best friend for not trusting him to keep himself alive during battle and here came Lailah trying to persuade him to put more trust into Sorey. Or something along those lines.

"What a pleasant night, wouldn't you agree?" Lailah opened the conversation, as she placed herself right next to her male counterpart.

"I guess," Mikleo replied, crossing his arms. "The view is quite nice. Of course, it would look better without any of the malevolence rising from inside the city."

Lailah giggled. "I believe you have said something along those lines already. Nevertheless, what you said is just as true now as it was before." The fire seraphim closed her eyes. "I still remember the old days, back when hellions were a rare sighting and humans were living up to their full potential. It's a shame it has come this way, but I suppose all good things must come to an end someday."

"I guess life would be boring if the opposite were the case," Mikleo sighed. "On the other hand, there are a lot of things in life I could really do without it existing. Sorey's recklessness would be a good example. I have long lost count how many times I had to get him out of a trap, when we were out investigating ruins."

The lady of the lake smiled at the mental image of Sorey pulling a wrong lever somewhere and falling into a pitfall trap, landing uncomfortably on his rear.

"We all have to live with our burdens I suppose," the female Seraph replied.

"Yeah," Mikleo frowned. "I just wish Sorey would share some of his with me."

Lailah was silent for a couple of moments, allowing the words to sink in, before speaking up again. "I take it he has decided against making you a sublord?"

"No, but he hasn't said yes either," came the reply. "He's been avoiding the subject like the plague." The water seraphim let out a frustrated sigh. "At this point I wouldn't even mind if he said no. Simply having some closure on the subject would help me with the stress that has been building up inside me over these past two weeks. Naturally I would be happy if he just allowed me to help him out…" he trailed off.

"Sorey is worried, you know? He fears that if he involves you, you will get hurt or worst case scenario, die. He simply wishes to protect you."

The male seraphim snorted. "Funny, I want to do the same thing." Mikleo shook his head. "Sorey isn't a bad fighter by any means. However, given what he is up against, he needs all the help he can get."

"Including someone that can drag him out of a trap door?" Lailah asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, don't even get me started on those," he groaned. "The last time he fell in one of those, I had to knot vines together in order to create a makeshift rope for him to climb up. It's a small miracle he didn't break any bones." Another sigh escaped Mikleo's lips. "Five minutes later he activates another trap door."

A small laugh escaped Lailah's lips, after hearing the short story.

"Do you wish for me to talk to him?" the fire-seraph asked.

"I'd appreciate it," Mikleo gave a slight bow. "Sorey has been brushing me off so far. I don't know if you will be able to get through his thick skull. But if you can't, then I am considering locking myself in a room with him and freezing the lock until I get a satisfying answer."

"Oh my, well, let's hope you won't have to do anything so drastic. I will do my best."

Mikleo took in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. "Thanks, Lailah. I appreciate your help."

XXX

At the same time, Sorey and Alisha were sitting together in the living quarters of her home, enjoying some tea and biscuits, while talking with each other.

"It's just…" Sorey was looking for the right words to say. "I'm scared of what might happen to him, you know? Don't get me wrong, Mikleo's can hold himself in a battle. It's just… just…"

Sorey let his head sunk, looking down on his legs. "I've known him for all of my life… and…"

"You're afraid to lose him," Alisha finished for Sorey, after he couldn't finish the sentence. This thought had been troubling her friend for almost the entire time he had been at Alisha's home.

The warrior-princess put her tea down and thought for a minute was she was about to tell her newly found friend.

"I can understand how you feel. But, aren't you doing Mikleo in return injustice?" she asked.

"Injustice?! What do you mean, Alisha?"

The woman calmly folded her hands over her lap, before explaining herself. "Well, by taking on the mantle of the Shepherd and fighting the hellion menace, you're risking your own life. Imagine how Mikleo must feel, knowing that you will soon go out into the world, trying to fight the incoming darkness and all he can do is watch you from afar and do nothing. Imagine how you would feel if you were in his shoes."

Sorey's eyes widened for a moment, before they returned to their normal state.

"I… I haven't thought about it this way…" he admitted.

Alisha frowned a little, crossing her arms. "To be frank with you Sorey, I know I couldn't stand the thought of staying behind while watching as my best friend went into battle without me. Wouldn't you feel the same if you were forced to watch Mikleo fend for himself?"

Her tone may have been a bit harsh, but it had the desired effect. Sorey was seriously contemplating her words and hopefully came to the right conclusion. She knew how hard this was for the young man.

She had been in a similar situation once. It was back when she was still relatively new to the military and had been given her first assignment as a leader over a small group of soldiers. Up to this point she had only been following orders and had been glad she had had no responsibility over others. This changed as soon as she was given that one assignment.

The warrior princess had been more than nervous once the orders had left Lady Maltran's lips. Her nervousness must have been visible on her face, because the older woman took Alisha aside for a little private talk afterward.

During it, Lady Maltran asked Alisha a simple question: namely whether Alisha was ready to die for her kingdom or not. The blonde had been taken by surprise by the seemingly random question, but once she caught herself she answered in the positive. Her superior then explain that she as well was ready to give her life for the country, just like Alisha and ANY other soldier in the army was.

Death is an unavoidable truth in the world. It didn't matter how skilled a leader was. It was guaranteed that he or she would lose men in battle. Even worse, a time would come where Alisha would have to sacrifice men in order to secure the overall objective of the battle. It may seem heartless to send good men to their doom, but sadly that was the reality they lived in.

Lady Maltran had hammered this point into Alisha's head, especially since she was the future ruler of a kingdom. Then she wouldn't have the responsibility of just a squad of soldiers, but over hundreds of people. In a way this mission had been meant as a learning experience for Alisha. If she wasn't ready to lose even one man under her command, then she wasn't fit to be a leader of any kind.

It had struck a few cords with the warrior princess, but she understood. Of course, Sorey's situation was slightly different. But nevertheless, he needed to be ready to lead others into deadly situations, no matter the risk.

"Sorey," Alisha said after a while.

"It's alright," Sorey said and got up from his chair. "I've made up my mind."

"And…?" Alisha asked.

XXX

When Mikleo heard the door to Alisha's house open again he turned around. He was both relieved and tense at seeing his longtime friend exciting the building. After closing the door behind himself, Sorey waved at Mikleo and approached the water-seraph. He had a sheepish smile on his face.

"Hey Mikleo, enjoying the night air?" the shepherd asked.

"Hmph, I see Alisha has taken off the bandage for good. I take it your arm is fully healed now."

"You betcha. It feels good being able to scratch that spot again."

Both young men chuckled for a short moment. However, Mikleo decided to get straight to the point.

"So, have you finally made up your mind," he asked.

"Yeah," Sorey nodded in an assuring matter. "Sorry it took so long. It… wasn't an easy decision to make. I hope you understand."

"I do," Sorey's friend assured. "But it doesn't change the fact that I'm a little miffed for you avoiding the subject up until now."

The shepherd at the very least had the curtsey to flinch. "Sorry. Anyway, I think I'll do us both a favor and cut this short. If you really want to become Lailah's sub-lord, then you won't hear anymore objections from me."

Mikleo didn't try to show it, but he was very relieved to hear those words from his longtime friend. "Well, it's good to know that you have enough trust in me to let me help you. Who knows in what kind of snake pit you would end up otherwise?"

"Hey, you're the one who fell into the snake pit!" Sorey pointed an accusing finger at his friend. "I remember you even screaming like a girl."

"You're the one who screamed like a girl, after a snake fell on your head," Mikleo grinned. "Best of all, it turned out to be a harmless blindworm."

"How should I have known? I never studied snake biology or animals in general!"

From a distance Lailah watched the two boys bicker among themselves. She was glad that this situation had been cleared up, especially since it meant that they hadn't have to look for another water-seraph later down the line. She made a mental note to give Alisha her thanks to Sorey, for convincing the young boy to allow his friend to become a sub-lord.

On another note, Lailah wondered if it was possible for Alisha to accompany them on the upcoming journey. Of course, given Alisha's status in the local military, as well as her being the heir of this very kingdom, this might lead to unwanted complications all on their own.

But first things first, Sorey had to pass the first test every Shepherd was required to pass in order to proceed with his journey. And since he was now fully recovered, they could take the first step of this journey the very next day.

After a bit more back and forth between the pseudo brothers, they eventually stopped their bickering and simply enjoyed the view of Ladylake at night.

"Tomorrow we will be going down those sewers," Sorey told Mikleo. "If we can take care of the Hellions, we might be able to stop any further incidence from happening to the workers."

"And while we're at it, we might be able to learn something about the history of Ladylake," the water-seraph chimed in. "To be honest, I can hardly sit still. For the past years we have been studying the same old ruins to the point we know them inside out. We barely discovered anything new up until recently, before we found Alisha."

"Haha, the only reason I'm not running ahead right now is because of the chicken we had for dinner. Alisha's servants sure know how to cook," Sorey chuckled. "Ah, I'm gonna miss this once we're on the road again."

"They're not bad," the seraphim admitted nodding. "But I think I could teach them a thing or two about making snacks."

"Come on, Mikleo. Cut them some slack. They don't have magic to help them out."

Mikleo shrugged and smiled. "You know, maybe we should give them one of my recipes and see what they can do with it. Speaking of Alisha's servants, they have been whispering among one another. Specifically they're wondering why they're making meals for four people, when there are only "two" who they cook for." The young, white-haired man smirked. "I believe they think you're some kind of glutton."

"Well, it's not like you or Lailah actually need anything to eat. Maybe you two should refrain from eating anything?"

"Not a chance," Mikleo shot down. "There's no telling, when we will be able to dine like nobles again."