Hi, all! Author here again.
I will once again put a reminder that I have links on my profile which lead to galleries in case any of you want to see how things look like. Or if you prefer to fill in the blanks with your own imagination, feel free to do so.
Nevertheless, here is the next chapter. See you again in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
Middle Fire Month (8th Month), 26th Day, 17:40
The royal capital of Re-Estize Kingdom, which had the same name as the kingdom itself, was bathed in the light of the setting sun, painting every building with the color of pale orange.
Most of the citizens were ready to wrap up their business for that day, although there were a number who still intended to continue further into the coming night. Those with a fixed work schedule were already walking home with the intention to rest, and then resume at the following day.
Among the citizens, there was this particular group of adventurers walking through the streets of the capital. There were four of them; three men and one girl, although the way the girl dressed would make pretty much anyone think that she was a man like the others. A gold plate signifying Gold Rank were hanging from the neck of each of the adventurers.
This group was none other than Swords of Darkness. They had just completed their latest job and now they were walking off from the Adventurer's Guild after turning in their report.
"Glad we made it in time"
"Ha! Took the words right out from my mouth!"
The exchange between Peter and Dyne happened because all four of them were quite exhausted, and they wanted to spend the night in the proper shelter of an inn instead of camping out in the wilderness.
"I can't wait to taste the drinks of the tavern, and admire the gorgeous lady!"
"Lukrut-san... you know it never ends well for you"
Lukrut just laughed heartily hearing Ninya's remark, while Ninya herself just gave out a wry smile.
Despite the generally happy atmosphere on the outside, a feeling of gloom lurked at the inside of the group. They had come to the capital with the goal of finding out the whereabouts of Ninya's sister. They had worked themselves to the bone, getting promoted to Gold Rank in the process, and making as much connections as they possibly could to gather more information, but so far they had not obtained much.
To make matters worse, the small bits of information they had actually managed to get was bad news for them. In truth, they felt that they could have been better off not knowing this.
They had learned that women who had been forcefully taken away from their home by nobles would likely be sold into slavery or to a brothel. However, since slavery had been recently abolished and made illegal, the remaining fate for them was to become prostitutes at underground brothels, which in all likelihood could be worse depending on what kind of client they met. In the end, a woman who has exhausted her usefulness would be disposed and left for dead.
In addition, underground services, brothels included, were run by the criminal organization known as Eight Fingers. Anyone with a decent amount of knowledge would know not to even step close into their business unless they were prepared for what would come next.
No matter how high the Swords of Darkness group held their hopes, they had to face the reality that the chance of Ninya's sister being still alive after this much time had passed was slim. Even if she still was, the chance of her being still physically and mentally well was even lower. And even if by some miraculous chance she still was, the group still didn't have a way to get to her and rescue her. The seemingly hopeless situation only served to put the group deeper into despair.
Ninya was the one most affected. Often times while walking she just became speechless, bowing her head with a seemingly sad face expression. She felt really guilty making her partners work so much for her sake, while knowing that everything had a high chance to end up getting pointless.
This had just happened again right after Lukrut's laugh, and he was the first to notice since he was walking beside her while the others were in front. He smiled a bit and gave Ninya a pat on the back.
"Cheer up! We all agree that we will not stop until your sister's condition is confirmed, right? And hey, we're Gold Rank now! Everything we have done so far has meaning!"
Ninya smiled a little, appreciating Lukrut's effort to cheer her up. Peter and Dyne just kept walking with a smile on their face, knowing that Lukrut was the best guy in this matter. Like what Lukrut has said, even if the worst case scenario of Ninya's sister being already dead was confirmed, the group as a whole had established a pretty good career as adventurers, and at this point they already had enough savings to live off for at least one year without lifting a finger.
"Let's take a shortcut to the inn"
Peter exclaimed his intention to take a shortcut through a nearby alley. The alley they would walk through was usually rather dark unlike the main streets, but not particularly dangerous. Moreover, everyone had learned a lot of things and thus the group had collectively become stronger than they had been when they were still in E-Rantel, meaning they could easily handle a bandit group or two.
"Wait!"
Lukrut held Peter's shoulder with a serious face. Everyone else immediately knew that something was up since despite his cheery attitude, Lukrut was always vigilant to the surroundings and so far he had been very reliable for noticing something the others couldn't.
"What did you see?"
"There's a man acting suspicious behind the corner of the alley"
"Is he armed?"
"I don't sense any weapon. He just stands there, sometimes peeking out to the streets. What do you say, Peter?"
"Hmm, let's walk past him naturally. But stay alert"
Everyone else nodded, and then they continued walking while staying vigilant. The alley corner where the man was located, was the entrance of the shortcut they intended to take. The unfolding situation didn't change their mind, and so they turned into the alley. It was at this point they could have a full view of the man. He seemed to be an ordinary man with a bulky build. He had a streak of short facial hair going around his mouth and jaw, and there was a thin scar going vertically through his right eye.
The group intended to ignore him if he didn't say anything to them, but it was the opposite which happened next.
"E-Excuse me! You are adventurers, aren't you?"
"Yes, and what do you want with us?"
Peter replied in a rather cynical tone. Against a suspicious man like this, he believed that it was a better option to not show any kind of weakness.
"I need your help! Let me hire you!"
"If you need help then you should go to the guild and post a job there"
"No! I can't do that! This is urgent! I need help right now!"
Peter stopped to think for a second. A spontaneous hiring was actually possible but it was a practice frowned upon by the guild. Normally, the client would post the job and specify whether they would place the payment in advance at the guild or pay the adventurers personally later, with different cut rates for the guild depending on which payment method. In either case, the client was obliged to pay a certain amount of money to the guild before he could officially post the job.
However, a spontaneous hiring on the streets like this would mean that the adventurers would receive all the money first hand, and without official documentation they could easily lie about how much money they got, or worse, keeping their mouth shut about the job and thus getting to keep all the money. Adventurers who did the latter was no different than workers, and in the event they get found out, they would highly likely be expelled from the guild and end up becoming workers for real.
Depending on the urgency of the matter, exceptions could be made as long as the adventurers in question reported to the guild about the job and pay the appropriate amount of cut rate to the guild. But generally, adventurers with decent conscience would avoid such spontaneous hiring.
"Tell us what you need, and we might consider"
"I need to flee from this city... No! From this kingdom!"
Peter immediately could guess that this man was being chased by something dangerous. At first glance, it wouldn't be far off to say that this man was part of a criminal group or such. The most likely scenario this man had could be that he had screwed up somewhere and now he was being hunted down, either by officials or the underground organization itself, probably Eight Fingers. Getting involved in the affairs of such organization was never a good idea.
"Sorry, we can't do that"
"Please! I can pay! Look!"
The man took out a small pouch and showed the content, which was several platinum coins. The group was surprised at the amount of money they saw. That amount would allow them to live off for at least five years without doing anything.
But they all knew that the man's generous offer had made him even more suspicious. It was outright impossible to get one's hand on even a single platinum coin unless one was at least a high class merchant or a noble, and this man didn't look like such at all.
"Sorry, we really can't help you. We have reasons to stay here in the capital for a while"
"No! Please! They will kill me!"
The man's plea was quite loud and it was unavoidable that some civilians glanced at them. Soon, several people dressed in guard uniform approached.
"What is this commotion about?"
One of the guards asked, and Peter answered.
"This man is looking to hire adventurers for an urgent matter, and he's trying to hire us on the streets"
"I see"
"Unfortunately we are too occupied to accept his request. Would you do us a favor and escort him to the guild? He seems to be very afraid for his life"
"Sure. It's just over there down the street, right?"
Peter nodded and turned to the man again.
"Tell the staff that you need immediate help. They won't ignore you if you can pay appropriately"
The man was silent as the guards escorted him to the Adventurer's Guild. Peter and the others immediately resumed their walk to the inn, but they changed their mind about using the shortcut.
Later, they arrived safely at their inn room. Right after Ninya closed the door and locked it, all of them dropped down sitting on the floor with a big sigh.
"Peter, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah, Dyne..."
Peter looked at the other two, and each of them nodded as their eyes met.
"It seems we all are"
Peter couldn't help thinking that they had just skirted a dangerous line. A thug-looking man in possession of platinum coins and seemingly afraid for his life could only mean anything but good. The most likely scenario was that he had stolen it and now he had just realized that whoever he had stolen it from was extremely dangerous, like someone affiliated with Eight Fingers, or worse, someone of high position within Eight Fingers.
"What should we do now?"
Ninya asked with a worried face.
"I don't know. For now, let's just hope we haven't been seen by them"
Peter stood up, put down all his luggage on the floor near his bed, and dropped down lying on the bed with another sigh. The group had been just carrying on their lives as adventurers, and within an instant they now had to worry about the kingdom's underground organization being on their tail.
[X][X][X]
Middle Fire Month (8th Month), 26th Day, 18:27
"Come over here, sir"
"Wha- But the Adventurer's Guild is that way"
The man was bewildered when one of the guards prompted him into a plain-looking house instead of the Adventurer's Guild building. At this point, he already had a bad feeling.
"There's someone who wants to meet you here"
The guard smirked as he said that. The man noticed, and he gulped with pale face. The guards around him were all accomplices of Eight Fingers, and he had been found out. He wanted to run away, but he knew that if he had been found out this far he would never be safe no matter how far he could flee. His only option now was to cooperate.
Once they were inside, the man was blindfolded and led through a series of passageways and staircases. The length of the trip within didn't make sense for a plain-looking house, it was probably a deliberate roundabout trip to confuse him.
Later, he was asked to sit on a chair and he complied. His blindfold was then removed, and right in front of his eyes was the one and only big boss of him; Cocco Doll. Several guardsmen were also present in the room, armed with spears. The room itself was plain with no window and only one door. The only furniture within the room was the chair the man was sitting on, and the lighting of the room came from illumination magic.
"Well, well..."
Cocco Doll smiled while holding a familiar pouch. It was the one filled with several platinum coins which this man had. He had no idea at all when the pouch had been taken from him.
"It seems you have got yourself a nice deal, haven't you?"
Cocco Doll said that as he put his face close to the man's. The man just froze in fear, with beads of sweat running all over his face.
"I heard from my men that you were supposed to dispose of a woman, yet here you are with this amount of money..."
Cocco Doll stood straight with his right hand still holding the money pouch. The man kept himself silent.
"We all agree that you should be punished, but how about this? You tell me everything about how you got this money, and I will let you off"
The man gulped again. He knew that there was no other option for him.
[X][X][X]
Middle Fire Month (8th Month), 28th Day, 06:00
Somewhere in an undisclosed location, several men and women were seated around a large round table. Several seats were empty, but none of the ones present seemed to care about the absence.
"So, can anyone tell me why we're here? The meeting is supposed to be next week, you know"
The man who just spoke was Zero, the head of the security division of Eight Fingers. He was a little displeased being called to this meeting room all of a sudden when the regular, scheduled meeting was already on the horizon. But since there were not only one calling for it he decided to come and see what would happen. Who knows, it might be an opportunity to earn big.
"I am here, and I will get straight to the point"
The one who had just spoken was Hilma, the head of Drug Trade Division. Zero was a bit skeptical on her since all the divisions of Eight Fingers never got along well to begin with.
"I have an important cargo delivery and I want to hire some men to escort it"
"Heh, as long as you can pay, I have no problem"
"I will discuss the details with you soon. One thing for sure, I want some men of Six Arms level, and I want them tonight"
"Those are two things, and both would crank up the price"
"If you show me results, any amount of money will be worth it"
Zero became even more skeptical about what had just happened. So far, Hilma had never hired any men from his division, saying things about leaking confidential info and stuffs, but now she had just requested an expensive job without breaking a sweat. Could this be some kind of trap? Was she preparing some kind of arrangement to make the mission a failure, thus tarnishing the name of Six Arms?
Zero smirked in his mind. In the case his guess was true, then he would gladly accept it as a challenge. He would make the mission successful, and therefore making her nefarious plan have the opposite effect of raising the name of Six Arms instead.
"Hey, what about me? Won't you let me say something?"
Suddenly another man who had been sitting on his seat spoke. It was Cocco Doll, the head of Slave Trafficking Division.
"Heh, what's your business, Cocco Doll?"
"I also want to hire a strong man, preferably of Six Arms level, for an urgent matter that just came up"
"How many do you need, and can you pay?"
"I'm good for it. Just one is enough, but I want that someone ready in an hour or two"
"I brought someone with me. I will lend him to you"
Zero looked at Hilma after saying that.
"Do you mind with that?"
Hilma elegantly put the end of her pipe into her mouth, inhaled, and then blew some smoke into the air.
"I don't need to hire all of you at once anyway. That would be overkill"
"So, any other topic to cover, or we can go straight into this business?"
[X][X][X]
Somewhere in Baharuth Empire, Unspecified Time And Date
Four people were walking along the dirt road of a plain within the borders of Baharuth Empire. They all look a little exhausted but pretty satisfied.
One of them, a man in full clothing which hid the chainmail he wore underneath, checked a sheet of map while walking and looking at the surroundings.
"At this pace we will arrive in Arwintar by tomorrow morning"
"Great! I can't wait to get the payment!"
"Don't you always donate most of the payment?"
"That's what I'm getting at!"
The man in full body armor heartily laughed. This man was Roberdyck, and the others with him were the other members of Foresight worker team, which consisted of Hekkeran as the leader, Imina as the ranger, Arche as the arcane magic caster, and Roberdyck himself as the divine magic caster.
The Foresight team had just completed their regular undead extermination trip at Katze Plains, and now they were walking home to Arwintar to collect their reward money. Workers didn't get well-paying jobs often, so a regular trip to Katze Plains was pretty much necessary to sustain their income.
"Sorry for raining the parade but..."
Arche said that while looking at the sky.
"We will have a downpour soon"
There was no denying that the sky was covered with thick dark clouds which let nearly no sunlight through, making the surroundings within sight as dark as dusk even though it was still noon.
"Is there a spell to protect us from the rain?"
"There is, but I haven't learned it"
"Let's look for shelter in the woods then"
The rest of the group agreed with Hekkeran's idea, and they all went into the nearby forest. In Hekkeran's mind, a hollow tree or a large lush tree would be sufficient, but the former wouldn't fit all four of them and the latter wouldn't completely protect them from the rain, with the addition of the risk of lightning strike. Ideally, a rock cave would be the best find but he didn't get his hopes up on finding one.
Ten minutes later, drizzle started to fall and the group was getting worried since they had not found a suitable shelter at all yet.
"My armor will rust at this rate"
"My chainmail too, Roberdyck. None of us want to get wet. Imina, found anything?"
"I think I see a cave over there"
"Great! As expected of our ranger! Let's run for it then"
The group then increased their pace into jogging pace and went towards the cave Imina had seen. The drizzle got more intense as they got closer, and so they began running at full speed. It was fortunate that right after they all entered the cave the rain became a downpour for real.
"That was close"
Hekkeran said that with a little sigh of relief. The cave would shelter them from the rain, and fortunately the ground of the cave itself was a very slight upward slope, so no water would flow into it.
"Let's rest here for a while"
Everyone sat down on the dry ground at a distance from the entrance.
[Continual Light]
Arche casted a spell to illuminate the dark interiors of the cave. Thanks to the illumination, the group could see that the cave was not deep. The end of the cave was about a stone's throw from their position, and it was in the form of a larger circular space. However, they also noticed something else.
"Isn't that the remains of a firecamp?"
Nobody objected to Hekkeran's remark since it was obvious. Without saying anything, Imina approached the charred wood and touched it.
"It still had some warmth"
What Imina said meant that the campfire had been put out not too long ago. In addition, the group also noticed two lumps of dry grass arranged as beds by the wall of the cave, and a stack of dry wood seemingly stored to fuel more campfire in the future.
"Someone, probably two, lives in this cave"
Arche's quick conclusion had a fair chance to be correct. Whoever lived in this cave was likely to be going out for some reason such as hunting for food, which meant they would return anytime soon.
"What do you think we should do once they return here, leader?"
Hekkeran pondered about the situation. The ones living in this cave could be anything, and might even be not human. In the case they were human, they could be anything from hermits living a secluded life, or wanted criminals in hiding.
"Arche and Imina, use magic to conceal yourselves and hide in a corner. Rober and I will try talking first and see if they can be reasoned with"
Everyone else nodded hearing Hekkeran's command. Arche immediately casted a spell to conceal the presence of herself and Imina, and then they sat down at the back corner of the cave. They were not invisible, but most people wouldn't notice them if they weren't looked at directly.
"Should we dispel the light?"
Roberdyck asked about the Continual Light spell which was illuminating the cave.
"Oh yes. Arche, if you would"
Immediately, the cave became dark again. Both Hekkeran and Roberdyck sat down waiting while still keeping themselves vigilant towards the cave entrance.
Less than ten minutes later, both Hekkeran and Roberdyck heard the sounds of footsteps amidst the sound of the downpour. Indeed, they could immediately see the figure of two people hastily entering the cave.
Hekkeran couldn't believe what he saw. The two people were young girls; one with long black hair seemingly about Arche's age, and the other one with long red hair was even smaller. But what caught his attention the most was the demonic horns protruding from the older girl's white fluffy hat. There was no clear sign whether the horns were the hat's decoration, or part of the girl.
Before Hekkeran could say anything, the older girl noticed them. They never intended to be unseen to begin with, so it was natural.
"Who's there!?"
As the girl said it, the younger girl was startled and immediately hid herself behind the other girl. Hekkeran slowly came forward with his hands up, trying to show that he meant no harm.
"I'm sorry that we intruded your home. My name is Hekkeran Termite, and we were just taking shelter from the rain"
The older girl didn't seem to relax from hearing Hekkeran's statement.
"You have weapons... Are you one of those garbage?"
Hekkeran didn't understand what the girl meant, but he could feel hatred radiating from her, especially from her blazing red left eye. A violent conflict was likely to happen, and that was why he had prepared Arche and Imina for providing an element of surprise in case it really happened. However, he had a hunch that the girl's power was much greater than what the entire group could handle.
"Forgive me, but I don't understand what you meant"
The girl was silent for a few seconds.
"...You're not wearing those necklaces"
"What necklace? Please explain in a way we could understand"
"Those garbage... They all wear metal necklaces of different colors"
Roberdyck, seeming to realize something, leaned over to Hekkeran.
"Hekkeran, I think she is talking about adventurer plates"
Roberdyck's remark lit a light within Hekkeran's mind, and he immediately spoke to the girl, still with his hands up.
"We are not one of those people. In fact, we don't like the way they do things"
That was technically not a lie. Though to be more specific, he didn't like the way the guild took cuts from the rewards, so the reason was more about greed. Hekkeran just hoped the wordplay would make him and his partners seem to be on her side, whatever her reason would be.
The black-haired girl was silent, and her eyes still showed suspicion. The other girl was still hiding behind her, sometimes peeking a little with worried face.
"Alright... I will give you the benefit of the doubt. However..."
She glanced at the girl behind her, and back to Hekkeran.
"If you harm her..."
Hekkeran immediately caught her drift.
"I understand. But before that, let me tell you that there are four of us"
Hekkeran gave a hand signal to Imina and Arche, and they came out from their concealment spell. Like the others, they also put their hands up to signify their intent of not harming anyone.
"I told them to hide inside for their safety"
"...Or as ambush party in case we are hostile..."
The black-haired girl said the sentence with a straight face and eyes still showing suspicion. Both Hekkeran and Roberdyck gulped, while Arche and Imina started to look worried.
"Yes, you are correct. I'm sorry for that"
The girl's face seemed to relax a little as Hekkeran apologized.
"Put down your hands... I understand"
All four members of the Foresight team were relieved, though they all still kept themselves vigilant.
"Let's sit down inside and wait the rain out"
Everyone then went into the end of the cave and sat on the ground around the campfire remains. The red-haired girl sat right next to the black-haired girl, and she kept hugging the black-haired girl from the side, seemingly worried and afraid. The black-haired girl caressed her, with her eyes still watching over his group.
Hekkeran was a little uncomfortable with the silence which had been lasting for several minutes, but he was worried that he would trigger some kind of mine if he tried to talk in any topic.
It was at this point Hekkeran started to pay close attention to how strange the outfits of the two girls were. They looked nothing like any clothing he had ever seen worn by anyone. The younger girl's boots had quite an alien design, and the skintight shorts with skintight body suit underneath a red long coat felt like a mismatch.
Putting that aside, he noticed something even weirder. Both of the girls were completely dry despite having had to run through the downpour just moments ago. They didn't seem to be cold either, despite the weather making the cave quite cold. His group being slightly wet didn't help either.
Out of a sudden, Arche had the initiative to speak.
"I'm sorry, but it feels cold here. May we light a fire?"
"...Sure. Go ahead and use those"
"No, It's alright. We will use our own wood"
Indeed the team brought a fire starting kit and dry wood in a rainproof storage since they had been on a long distance trip. Soon, without any trouble, a campfire was lit in the middle of the room and the team felt the comfortable warmth.
"...Sorry that I didn't notice you feeling cold"
"It's alright. By the way, can we introduce ourselves? I'm Imina"
Hekkeran had a mixed feeling about Imina's initiative, but he welcomed the break from silence.
"My name is Hekkeran. This is Roberdyck, and she is Arche"
"You can call me Sheep. And this girl is..."
The younger girl opened her mouth while still looking worried and afraid.
"M-Mer.. I mean... Rose..."
"Are you two related?"
"No... We met by chance"
Hekkeran couldn't help wondering. A wary demonic girl and a timid human girl was not a match any people would say as normal. There must have been a more complicated story behind them being together. He wanted to dig more information, but he also was still worried on the chance of triggering a mine.
"Why do you hate adventurers?"
Imina!
Hekkeran prepared for the worst that might come after Imina's sudden, direct question. However, Sheep's face expression didn't change. She just looked at Rose who was still hugging her from the side.
"Those garbage... They tortured her..."
"What?"
"If you want to know... I will tell you"
The Foresight team nodded slightly, and then Sheep began telling them about Rose's story where she got mistaken for a demon like Sheep, captured, and tortured on the spot. Sheep seemed to get angrier as she told them the story, and she also told them that Rose used to be more talkative, but the trauma from that event had seemed to leave her broken.
"That's messed up"
"Heh, those bastards"
"I've never known that adventurers could fall that low"
"What did you do to save her?"
"...I killed them"
Sheep said that with straight face and tone. The Foresight team couldn't hide their fear. In addition, Hekkeran realized something important. Sheep was definitely the target of the Adamantite Rank job he had heard about recently when the team was passing the city of Rothar. Additional rumors such as her being able to instantly kill an Orichalcum Rank adventurer with one attack were also circulating. There was no mention at all about Rose, though.
None of the two Adamantite Rank teams within the empire was willing to take the job yet, and Hekkeran himself could guess why. None of those teams had an individual combat power befitting their rank. Those two teams had become Adamantite thanks to either great teamwork or special quirks of their members of rare classes. A truly powerful opponent would rip them to shreds within seconds, and none of them would be willing to risk it.
Hekkeran himself also didn't want to risk it. The chance of failing and getting killed was too great to be worth any amount of prize. However, he had a different idea after knowing that Sheep seemed to be protective over Rose.
"So, what's your plan? I mean, you don't plan to live in this cave forever, do you?"
"...No idea"
"How about, we help each other?"
"...What do you mean with that?"
"From your story, I can conclude that you are very strong and you want to keep Rose safe. We can help you with that, and provide a better life than this cave"
Hekkeran looked at the other members, seeing if they agreed with him. They all nodded.
"...What do you want in return?"
"Join our team and work with us"
The other three members couldn't hide their surprise. Roberdyck was the one speaking first.
"Wait, Hekkeran! Are you sure with what you've just said?"
"Yeah! It's not like I disagree, but it's really out of nowhere!"
Arche didn't say anything since it seemed Roberdyck and Imina had covered what she wanted to say already. Sheep herself didn't change her expression, though Rose seemed a little surprised.
"...I'm listening. Explain"
Hekkeran then tried his best to explain the details of the deal he was negotiating. In short, the Foresight team would use illusion magic to conceal Sheep's horns and red eye to look normal, and then they would rent a room for her and Rose in the inn they used as home base. In return, Sheep would be required to work with them in any future jobs they take.
"And that's it. Do you agree with this?"
Sheep seemed to be thinking, and she looked at Rose.
"...Do you want me to do this?"
"I only ask that you don't leave me alone"
Sheep took about two minutes to think, and then she looked at Hekkeran.
"Alright... I will take the offer"
Hekkeran, feeling relieved, reached his right hand to Sheep to offer a handshake.
"Welcome to Foresight, Sheep"
Sheep accepted the handshake offer, and the two shook hands as the other three members gave a light applause. Hekkeran himself had never thought that his team would have scored a very powerful new member like this, and he became excited at the prospect of his team becoming unstoppable.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
As you have seen, this chapter is mostly side stories starring canon supporting characters. As for what will happen next, I only can say 'Wait and see'
As usual, I'd like to express my gratitude to those who have been following this story. For those who put comments, you have no idea how significant those comments have been for me.
See you again soon.
