Chapter Five: It's Xelloss Again!
Kera was about to answer her when a familiar purple-haired person in priest's clothes abruptly entered the tavern and seated himself down at their table. "Hey! Can't you see that this table is occupied?" Martina exclaimed indignantly, banging her fist on the wooden table.
"What are you doing here, Xelloss?" Kera asked sharply.
"Why, I thought you'll be happy to see me, Kera-chan," said Xelloss, wearing his usual smile. "You've been alone for such a long time… poor thing."
"Very funny, but I'm not amused," said Kera, giving him a steely glare.
"You two know each other?" Martina asked in surprise.
"Of course we do," answered Xelloss. "I've known her for much longer than you have, Princess Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova."
"Huh? How did you know my name?" Martina asked.
Kera glanced at Xelloss, then rolled her eyes. Ignoring her, Xelloss wagged his finger and winked at Martina, saying, "That's my secret."
Leaving Martina to digest this information, Xelloss turned to Kera and said, "I told you that I would find you, didn't I? Anyway, have you found out anything about Lina Inverse?"
"Nothing much… She just destroyed most of Zoana with another Dragon Slave after discovering that the Clair Bible was not the Clair Bible," said Kera. "And… you were right that she met with her two companions."
"Ah…" said Xelloss, smiling. "So do you believe me now?"
"More or less," said Kera. "But, you still can't be trusted completely."
"That's too bad," sighed Xelloss. "I was about to tell you where another Clair Bible is rumoured to be. Since you won't trust my information, well… I guess I should leave, then."
"Hey! Wait," said Kera, grabbing his arm as he turned to leave. "I didn't say that I mistrusted you completely, did I?"
Xelloss looked at her, then glanced at her hand on his arm. Kera quickly let go of his arm, blushing. Martina looked at the both of them and grinned. Xelloss sat down again. "So it's this way, huh? You won't trust me but you still want my information," he said. "All right then, take it as a favour I'm doing to you, Kera-chan. The manuscripts of the Clair Bible are with the leader of a certain group of bandits…"
The trickster priest told them the exact location of the gang of bandits who had the manuscripts. He even went as far as to sketch a map for them. Kera grew suspicious and she said, "You're being very, very helpful. Is there a reason why you want us to go there so badly?"
"A reason?" Xelloss looked confused. "No. I just happen to like your company, that's all."
"Don't you give me that answer again," demanded Kera. "Tell me exactly why you want us to look for the manuscripts."
Xelloss put his face very close to Kera's, then murmured, "Now that… is a secret. Have a good night, Kera-chan."
"Ha!" Kera scoffed as he walked out of the inn. "Since you won't tell, we won't go. It's as simple as that."
"But… Kera-san," said Martina. "I thought you wanted to look for the Clair Bible?"
"Not any more," said Kera decisively. "There are other parts of the Clair Bible out there. It won't matter if I miss out a little bit of information."
"If you say so," said Martina doubtfully. She looked at Kera's half-full plate and asked, "Aren't you going to eat any more?"
"No, I'm full. You can have the rest of my food, if you want," said Kera, pushing her plate to Martina. "I'm going to the room now. Come up when you're done. And don't order any more food even if you're still hungry, ok? We're on a tight budget here."
"Sure, sure," replied Martina.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A little while later, it was lights out for most parts of the town. However, in Kera and Martina's room, the princess was still not asleep yet. Martina tossed and turned on the bed while Kera was curled up on the floor. "Kera-san," whispered Martina. "Are you asleep yet?"
"Not now, I'm not," replied Kera. "What is it?"
"Are you comfortable on the floor?"
"What do you think? But it doesn't matter much to me. I'm used to it," said Kera. "I can't possibly let a high-born princess like you sleep on the floor, could I?"
"I think there's enough space here on the bed for the both of us," said Martina.
"It's fine, Martina. Go to sleep."
~ ~ ~
A few moments later, Martina whispered again, "Kera-san, are you asleep yet?"
"How can I possibly sleep when you keep asking me if I'm asleep?" Kera said, sounding rather irritated with Martina.
"I'm very sorry, Kera-san," said Martina apologetically. "But I need to ask you a very important question. It's very urgent."
"What is it?!"
"Well… it's about Xelloss-san," said Martina, blushing.
"What about him?" Kera asked.
"Um… are you and him together? I mean… as in a couple?"
"What?! No way! I can't stand the sight of him," said Kera.
"But he seems to like you," remarked Martina.
"Nah," disagreed Kera. "He just loves to annoy me… that's all. I wonder what his true motive is…"
"In that case, can I have him?" Martina asked. "I mean- since you're not interested in him… well, I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend like him."
"Huh?! Martina…but he's a… oh, never mind," said Kera, sweatdropping.
"Don't you find him kinda cute?" Martina said, sighing.
"Er… yeah, sort of. Ok, that's enough. I'm not about to spend the whole night discussing him with you, Martina," said Kera. "Good night."
"Good night, Kera-san."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Even though Kera thought that Martina was asking a silly question, it nevertheless set her thinking. Could Xelloss be genuinely interested in her? If so, why? Also, other Mazoku had been after her ever since she started this journey. Why? Was there some secret about her that she herself did not know about? With a troubled mind, Kera was now the one who was unable to sleep. Getting up, she decided to take a stroll around the town. She opened the window and jumped out, using Levitation to slow her fall. However, instead of having a quiet walk, loud explosions were heard nearby. Evidently, another sorceress had insomnia. And looking at the extent of damage done, Kera had a good idea who it could be. Lina Inverse!
Not her again… Kera ran swiftly towards the direction where the explosions seemed to come from. Lina was interrogating a hapless peasant who obviously did not know anything about the Clair Bibles. Kera clenched her fists but forced herself to remain hidden. It was not time for a confrontation just yet. "Lina!" came a familiar voice. It was Zelgadiss, Gourry and Amelia who were running towards the redheaded sorceress.
In addition, Kera spotted a very familiar figure standing on a burning, wooden post. What was Xelloss doing here? She crept closer to find out. "Ah! The famous Lina Inverse!" Xelloss said, jumping down to land in front of the surprised Lina.
"I've followed you for a long time, Lina-san," said Xelloss, his hair covering his eyes. "It looks like I haven't been barking up the wrong tree. Indeed, you are as powerful as they come."
"Who are you?" Lina asked with deep suspicion.
"Don't worry, I'm not a dangerous person. My name is Xelloss and I'm a priest," he said, smiling at them. "I have also been searching for the Clair Bibles for a very long time."
Xelloss glanced around them and spotted Kera. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, "Why don't we go somewhere more convenient to discuss this further?"
"All right," agreed Lina.
The five of them promptly walked out of the town. Kera was about to follow when she heard a faint voice calling, "Kera-san! Where are you?!"
Martina! Kera had almost forgotten about her. "I'm here, Martina!" Kera shouted, waving.
"Kera-san!" Martina cried out as she picked her way among the fallen buildings towards Kera. "Why did you leave like that? When I heard the explosions, I thought that something had happened to you. How am I going to survive without you?" Martina berated her.
"I'm sorry, Martina," said Kera, her thoughts still on Xelloss' sudden appearance. What was that Mazoku planning to do? Was he going to tell Lina about the bandits who had the Clair Bible manuscripts because Kera refused to go? It didn't matter. She did not want to be used by him for his plan, whatever it was. Meanwhile… "Say, Martina, do you think we should we help to clean up this place?" Kera asked.
Martina looked at her strangely. "Whatever for?"
Kera starting casting Aqua Create to douse the fires. "Maybe the townspeople will offer us a reward for helping them," she said. "Then we won't have to work to earn money just yet."
"But… this mess? How are you going to rebuild all the buildings?" Martina asked. "It's not very possible for two girls like us to-"
Kera sighed. "You're right. If only I knew more white magic spells."
"So you're still not going after the Clair Bible manuscript?" Martina asked.
"No. Anyway, Xelloss seems to have found some people who may be more willing to carry out errands for him," said Kera dryly.
"Huh? When?" Martina asked, looking confused.
"Never mind about that now. I'll explain it to you later," said Kera as she continued dousing the fires. "Ok… I'm done. Let's go."
"Wait!" A deep voice cried out.
~ ~ ~ The End of Chapter Five ~ ~ ~ Wonder who that could be? *evil grin* Sore wa himitsu desu. Well, until the next Chapter. Ja ne!