“…The Lotus clan’s plan?” Norren said, scratching his head. “Are you talking about the Final Trial? That is the Lotus clan’s plan?”

  “Most probably.”

  “But that does not make any sense. If they use the Final Trial to settle our grudges, then they will have to fight us head on. Would it not be better is they just ambush us?”

  “…Who said that the Final Trial is about fighting head on?” Vestia said, shrugging her shoulders. “Just because I do not know that details of the Final Trial, does not mean that other do not know about it either. I am not from the Lightning Region in the first place. It is only by owing a few favours, and exhausting all my means, that I was able to get the information about the Final Trial.

  “Still, despite all my efforts, the Final Trial remains mostly a mystery to us. We have no clue as to how exactly it will work, how many participants it will allow at a time, and what the goal of the Final Trial will be. The Lotus clan though… Clearly, they have known about the Final Trial for a while. And they plan to use this to their advantage. Their Alliance may also be a move towards this cause. And now, they are finally using it against us.”

  “…Why does the Lotus clan know so much about Final Trial?” Karl said, furrow his brows in thought. “The fact that they can know about the Final Trial in advance makes sense. Rumours are bound to happen whenever there is some large scale action. But why do they know about it in such detail?”

  “Do not forget that the reason I got this information is because I was following their trail,” Vestia said. “Maybe their clan was one of the participants in overhauling the rules of the city, or maybe they just happen to come across the news about the Final Trial. Regardless, it is evident that they have a source of information from within the city’s council. I cannot think of any other reason as to why their information can be so much more detailed than ours.”

  “…Does the city’s council not care about this?” Aren said, with his brows mirroring Karl’s. “Their plans have been leaked months in advance. It may even affect their subsequent actions.”

  “Or they may use this as a demonstration for showing the Wanderers of the city how to resolve their grudges,” Yuri said in a solemn voice. “Everything in this world works on the basis of interests. As long as the Lotus clan can show its value to the city’s council, it would not mind them knowing a few things in advance. Of course, this is just my speculation. But one thing is certain. The city is acquiescing with their behaviour.”

  “…This whole world is rotten,” Fran said, and closed his eyes, as if trying to fight away some unpleasant memories.

  “…That’s just how the world is,” Alnea said, shaking his head helplessly. “With the information about the Final Trial, we can now guess what the Lotus clan’s plan is. They want to face us in the Final Trial. Probably with an overwhelming number advantage. To that end, they cannot let us qualify for the battle to enter the inner city. At least not until the Final Trial has been rolled out.

  “It is just that the Lotus clan may have come to an agreement with the city’s council, but it still cannot break its rules. The Lost City is very strict in that regards. Any violations will result in severe punishment, maybe even expulsion from the city. And it may even affect their clan. As such, the Lotus clan cannot stop us from completing the Trials of the three Halls, or raising our ranks in the Arena.

  “In the end, the only way they can prevent us from participating in the qualifying battle to enter the inner city in advance, is by interfering with our Black Desert Trials. Of all the places under the jurisdiction of the Lost City, the desert is the only place where it will overlook infighting amongst is Trialists outside of the Arena. So, the ambush that they have set up may not just be an empty move.

  “However, it seems that the Lotus clan is not quite confident in its means to stop us. At least not without suffering a large number of casualties. And if these casualties also involve Wanderers from the other clans of their Alliance, then they might end up facing a lot of pressure, and give up even more benefits than they already have. That is clearly against their interest.

  “This is where I admire whoever the new leaders of the Lotus clan in the city are. Instead of confronting us in the desert, they just released the news of their ambush to us in advance, clouding our judgement, and making us hesitant in leaving the city. And by doing so, they stopped us from reaching the standard in the Black Desert Trials, effectively preventing us from participating in the qualifying battle until the Final Trial rolls out. They may have lost the advantage of their ambush, but they have achieved their goal with the least amount of loss.”

  “…If you put it like that, their new leaders are indeed quite capable.”

  “…I could have come up with a better plan. But I will admit that they have a tenth of my intelligence.”

  “It looks like we will have to face some tough opponent next…”

  While everyone was expressing their acknowledgement of the Lotus clan’s competence, Cecilia looked at them with her brows scrunched in annoyance.

  “Why are you all praising the bastards of the Lotus clan? Have you forgotten how they have been hounding us for the past half year? How many times they have tried to kill us?”

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  “…We have not forgotten anything, Lia. Especially me. The things they have done… I will make them pay their due price.”

  “Then why are you praising those bastards?”

  “It is exactly because they are our enemies that I am praising them. Respecting our enemies is the first step in understanding them. And only if we understand our enemies can we make better plans to deal with them.”

  “…Those bastards do not deserve our respect.”

  “…Do not let hatred cloud your judgement, Lia,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “For now, we are at a clear disadvantage. Both in number, and in information. We know nothing about the Final Trial, or how the Lotus clan will force us to face them head on. It would be best if we do not underestimate them at this juncture, lest we end up failing because of our carelessness.”

  “…Fine. I will be careful. But I will still not respect those bastards.”

  “We are not exactly respecting them either. It is just a form of recognition of your enemies’ abilities… Forget it. Leave the planning part to us. You can just enjoy the fight when the time comes.”

  “That is what I was waiting for,” Cecilia said, finally regaining a smile on her face. “You should have said that earlier.”

  Anea shook his head with a wry smile, as he turned back towards the rest of the Star Seekers.

  “Everyone should understand what we are facing now. Like I just said, we know nothing about the Final Trial. And given our relationship with the clans behind us… We will have to wait until the official announcement of the city comes out to understand more about the Final Trial. That gives all the initiative to the Lotus clan. And for now, there is nothing we can do about it. What we can do instead, is prepare for the time when we will have to face them head on.

  “Unless necessary, there will be no more missions in the near future. Use the time you would have spent doing those missions to hone your skills instead. Try going to the Arena a few more times during this period. Get as much fighting experience as you can. You can also come to me to if you need any resources. I can lend about a hundred Stars worth of Tokens to everyone.

  “In short, before the city announces the Final Trial, try to increase your strength as much as possible. That is the only way we can deal with the unknown. Also, practise your Arcanas and Glyphs honestly for the next month. It is time that we begin conquering the city’s Trials.”

  “…Understood,” everyone said, nodding in unison.

  “Alright, that roughly sums up today’s meeting. Everyone can go ahead and do whatever they want. Just try not to cause any troubles during this period, and focus on increasing your strength.”

  “We will…”

  “You too, Captain. Do not just keep worrying about us. Focus on yourself too.”

  “That’s right. It has been nearly a month since we came back from experiencing the Fortune Spring, and you are still at just the First Level of the Advanced Stage. It is time for you to breakthrough.”

  “…This time, I agree with Zain. As our Captain, you must be stronger than us.”

  “…I am much stronger than all of you.”

  “But you are still at just the First Level of the Advanced Stage.”

  “Get lost, you bastards,” Alnea said, picking up his cushion, and throwing it at Norren, who dodged with a laugh, and left with the other Star Seekers, leaving only the girls behind.

  “Let’s break through soon, Captain. Or you will soon become the weakest of us.”

  “These bastards…”

  “Ahem. Language.”

  “…You are the least qualified out of all of us to teach me about language,” Alnea grumbled at Cecilia, while ignoring the other two girls snickering at him.

  “That was different. I was cursing at our enemies. That is allowed.”

  Ignoring his thick skinned friend, Alnea turned towards Vestia, and said, “Thank you for your hard work these past few days, Vestia.”

  “There is no need for thanks. This is what I should do. Besides, as Cecilia pointed out earlier, I did not get much information…”

  “…Do not mind her. Most of the time she says the first thing that comes to her mind.”

  “Hey! I am still here.”

  “Regardless, you have done a splendid job, as always. Without you, we would have never known about the Lotus clan’s true plan. Or the dangers that are looming above us. And it is not just this time. From the first day you met us, you have always been giving us all kinds of information. I cannot even count the number of times you saved us with your information… Now that I think about it, letting you join the team is one the best decisions I made as the Captain of this team.”

  “…That is the greatest praise you could have given me, Captain,” Vestia said with a grin. “Just that alone is enough to justify all the work that I did.”

  “No, that’s not enough,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “I have been a bit busy recently, so I did not have time to give you your due ‘compensation’. But I promise that I will make it up to you before we leave the Lost City.”

  “…It’s alright,” Vestia said, with a hint of flush on her cheeks. “I am just glad that I could be of help to you, Alnea.”

  “…A pair of perverts.”

  “…Regarding what you were saying earlier, have you completed the favour I asked of you?”

  “It was not easy. Especially since you wanted the list of people who came to the city as early as half year ago. Who knows how many people joined and left the city during that time? Thankfully, because of your feud with the Lotus clan, I have been paying attention to them ever since the day I joined this team… Here, this is the list you want,” Vestia said, taking out a scroll from her storage pouch, and passing it over to Alnea.

  Taking a deep breath, Alnea unfurled the scroll, and began going through the list. A rather long list, containing all sorts of details about the Wanderers of the Lotus clan. Even the ones he had not asked for. As expected of Vestia. The list was so exhaustive, that it would be worth owing the favour even if he did not find what he was looking for. Though, in a sense, he would be happier if he did not find—

  There it was. Hidden at an inconspicuous corner of the scroll. A name that he was all too familiar with. One of the few survivors of the Anneve incident. A rising genius of the Lotus clan, who had come to the Lost City on her initiative. And one of the only few people of the Lotus clan that he had a good impression of. Especially after the Purplebud patriarch’s sacrifice. Amira Purplebud. A Lotus clan Wanderer he once owed a favour to.