女神归来的夏天

~~~(Time: 7:44 AM)~~~

They won\'t like how long it\'ll take to traverse to the actual spot where we\'ll cross. Going over the wall isn\'t an option. The magical barrier produced by the border wall prevents anyone from coming in that way. Getting through the actual wall has happened before, but only on really old sections of the massive border. Going under is the best option.

There are only a few places along the border where the ground is soft enough, and the border wall isn\'t that deep into the ground. We\'re heading for one of my scarcely traveled paths. The Elven Kingdoms authorities have been finding some of my more frequent routes. Nothing stays hidden forever, and that applies to everyone.

My contacts are in places, and all the right people have been bribed. Once I get them into the Elven Kingdom, I\'ll get my legacy dagger. "Helda... When are we leaving? They\'re probably already up and waiting for us..." Melimora has a problem dealing with new customers, and I do too. This has a lot of ways going bad, and most of them are for Meli and me.

All this planning has been done to prevent the worst outcomes from happening, but there are still some bad ones. "We\'ll leave at exactly 8:00 AM... I need to focus my thoughts and go over everything in my head... I suggest you do the same, Meli..." The people we\'re dealing with are powerful on their own, but this Cera... He\'s in a different league.

His supposed sister, Hailey, is also extremely powerful. I doubt she\'d be able to straight-up beat her brother, though. The feeling I get off him terrifies me... It makes me feel small compared to him... "Should we care about why they\'re trying to cross the border? That Cera can cause some serious damage if he wanted to..." She brings up a brilliant point.

One that I\'ve been avoiding and doing so because of my fears. "I don\'t know, Meli... It\'d be in our best interest not to dig into why they want into the Elven Kingdom... We don\'t want to know, plausible deniability and all." While what they do in the Elven Kingdom isn\'t my concern, my curiosity has officially peeked.

They\'re not going for good and just reasons. No one who wants to get into the Elven Kingdom using my help ever has good intentions. They have incredibly powerful gear and are a tightly knit group of friends. "Have you found anyone that can handle Cera for the right price?" We don\'t have the funds to have such a strong adventurer help us.

Fighting them for the dagger is a last-ditch option, and if they refuse to give it to me after getting them across the border. "The Empires are keeping the S class adventurers and higher on retainer. None are this far out and in our price range. As much as I hate it... We have to trust them." Trusting people isn\'t in our nature, and we\'re only doing this to get the dagger.

We\'ll have to follow along the border to the west. I have a carriage that\'s willing to take us. It\'s not going to be cheap, but it\'s better than walking. "When we do this... Promise me we\'ll never break our rules again... I know how important the Fotis dagger is to you, but it\'s not worth our lives..." Apart of me wants to say it is... How selfish of me...

~~~(POV: Melimora)~~~

~~~(Location: Helda\'s Private Residence, Border City)~~~

~~~(Time: 7:53 AM)~~~

Her silence speaks volumes... To her, this dagger is worth dying for... After this mission, I\'m going to have to take some time to think about things. "You wouldn\'t understand how much this dagger means to me, Meli... It\'s all I have left of my family..." She doesn\'t see me like family... I guess she wouldn\'t... We\'re not blood-related... It hurts way more than I thought it would.

Staying in the same room as her will only show how much that hurt, so I leave and head to the bathroom. Once inside, I lean over the sink and look into the mirror. It\'s not a face that I like seeing sometimes. "You\'re my family, Helda... Why don\'t you see me as a sister too..." Salty and hot tears guild in the corner of my eyes and slowly start to fall.

My life has been one that always followed behind Helda... We\'ve been business partners and friends for centuries... She\'s willing to risk it all for some stupid dagger... We might be done working together after this... "The thought of leaving her doesn\'t upset me as much as I thought it would... As much as I want it to..." What does that say? Isn\'t that an answer?

Blaming Cera and his group does me no good... Somewhere deep inside, I knew this day would eventually come... Helda considers me a friend... Not as family... "Time to put on your poker face, Meli... You\'ve got a tough road ahead..." This job is likely my last with Helda... I better make it worthwhile... Give a good ending to the chapter we\'ve shared...

My eyes dry up, and I wash my face and eyes to get rid of the crying look. Now that I\'m all good, I leave the bathroom and head back to Helda. I enter the living room, and she\'s putting on the last of her gear and getting ready. "Since you\'re already dressed and prepared for the trip, you have to wait for me." She speaks, but her words go through me.

~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Temporary Home, Border City)~~~

~~~(Time: 8:02 AM)~~~

Sally and Hailey continue talking in the run-down kitchen. They\'ve left Jasmine with me. She\'s more uncomfortable around me now. Knowing who I am. "You know I\'m still the same person. The blood in my veins doesn\'t make me any different." She looks towards the ground after I try to start some dialogue with her.

She slowly raises her head and sees that I\'m still looking at her and waiting for her to talk. She takes a calming breath and straightens out her hair, and tries to gather some courage. "What\'s it like..." My confusion is obvious on my face. "Y\'know... To fly..." That\'s one way to try and get past this awkward barrier. She, and many others, have never flown before.

It\'s a rare ability on Gaia. Only certain creatures and magics allow you to fly. "It\'s the most freeing feeling in the world. Nothing compares to seeing the world pass below you as you fly at 400+ MPH." She smiles lightly, and I think it\'s a good sign. "Hailey and Sally have both flown with me before." Hailey had a rough time flying over that massive ocean.

She\'s probably airsick after that whole ordeal, but she was a real trooper. "If I asked... Would you mind taking me on a flight in the future..." She\'s becoming more comfortable and casual now, and these are leaps in progress. "I\'m sorry... I shouldn\'t have even suggested that..." And the progress is torn away by her fear and hesitation.

When people learn about me, they all act like they\'re of a lower status than me. Gaia\'s laws and ways may say that, but I don\'t. I\'m still half-human. "I want you to consider something, Jasmine..." She lowers her head thinking she\'s done something wrong. "I\'m still half-human." Her head shoots up, and she looks at me with wide eyes.

From her reaction, I don\'t think that ever crossed her mind. Everyone only focuses on the angel blood in me, not the other human half. If people recognized it, it\'d make my life easier. "Okay... I\'ll try my best to remember that..." I don\'t see the difficulty in remembering that. There are probably many factors that I can\'t see. Since I\'m who I am.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Below this line, I\'ll be keeping Cera\'s player information. That way, I won\'t have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.193]

[Exp: 3/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 30] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir\'s Whistle (Divine)] [Sally\'s Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl..77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]