Chapter 26: Treasure hunt
The sounds of rummaging could be heard in the somewhat barren forest as the purplette finishes cleaning up the campfire site they had used. Patting the dust off his hands, his gaze went to the west.
'I suppose our next destination is Gold Port...'
"Not necessarily~"
"...?" He turns to the Succubus in confusion.
There's a certain look in her eyes, like someone who's about to do something they know they probably shouldn't do but are going to do them anyway.
"..." Luka frowns at her in worry.
Floating up from the tree stump she was leaning on previously, the heavenly knight leisurely slides herself closer. "Oh relax~ I'm sure Lady Alice wouldn't mind if it's you who I let know about it~"
"...Will it get you in trouble?"
She pauses.
"...And what if it does~?"
Luka simply shook his head and turned the other way. "Then I don't want you to tell me."
The wind didn't warn him of anything as Alma Elma then proceeded to glomp him.
"Wha-!?" His words were cut off as she stuffs his face in her bosom.
"Let's go on a treasure hunt, Luka-boy~!"
As she was explaining to him about the 'Holy Wind Shrine' and the 'Six Orbs' that can apparently summon a monster named 'Garuda Girl' as a loyal companion, he was busy trying not to suffocate between her boobs.
"That's enough."
The mature voice echoes out in the middle of Alma Elma's antic as a mass of metallic tentacles emerges from 'The Four Animists' and pushes her back.
"Aww..."
"If you want to tell him about the Garuda race, then at the very least you could have explained it properly." Said the Queen Class monster as she fully exited the book.
Luka still has no idea what's happening, but he's grateful for being able to breathe again.
"Thanks..."
The librarian gave him a gentle smile before crossing her arms beneath her chest.
"Let's start with a bit of a history lesson..."
...
...
...
===0===
Right, he understands why it's a kept secret now.
If everyone knew of how docile and helpful the Garudas were, then there would no doubt be a disaster. A bunch of awful people like the Ilias Kreuz would go out of their way and take advantage of the Garuda for their own selfish gains.
"One of the eggs of such Garudas was kept in the hidden Holy Wind Shrine just in case it would be needed one day. If one were to bring all six orbs to the altar, then the Garuda would awaken and remain loyal to those before her."
"Hmm..." He thought to himself.
They could already fly through the air. If they wanted to, going to Hellgondo would be of no issue. Why would Alma Elma want to awaken the Garuda then?
The forest dweller looks over to the Succubus.
She looks back.
"...Oh." It occurs to him.
The answer is pretty simple; she just wanted to spend more time with him before they go to Hellgondo.
He blushes at that. "Alright... Let's go collect the six orbs then..."
"Fufufu~!"
"Five, actually." Cogita corrects him.
The librarian reaches inside her book before pulling out a small red gem. Luka remembers it's the same one that the merchant gave them back in Port Natalia after completing his quest.
"That's one of them?" He asked.
Cogita let out a small chuckle. "Fate likes to play a game on us sometimes..."
That's one down, five more to go.
"Where do we go next...?"
Looking west, Cogita advises them to speak with Poseidoness first, as she's the closest to their location.
===0===
It took a while for the forest dweller to calm her down after what happened back at their camping site. The Succubus' affection towards him was double as she wouldn't stop making physical contact with him at any opportunities she could find despite the warnings from Cogita.
As they flew through the air over to the Nothern Sea Shrine to collect the silver orb, the heavenly knight asked him a rather odd question.
"How come you don't wear gloves, Luka-boy~?"
"Hmm?"
"Just humor me~"
...Well, he could somewhat understand why she would ask that.
Most adventurers wore protective clothing with hardy leather coverings or just straight-up metal armor for their whole body. This is mainly to keep them safe from attacks and the dangerous environment they're in.
For someone like Luka, wearing protective clothing is not as important.
He's too fast for regular monsters to ever land an attack on. If he was in any dangerous environment, the wind would warn and protect him from it. Not to mention, any armor good enough to survive a blow from the monsters he has fought will only slow him down with their weight.
"I do use a pair of gloves back when I was gardening in my front yard..."
"But not while traveling~?"
"No, I wouldn't need it."
"What if you find one that looks really fashionable~?"
Luka thought about it for a second, "That depends... If I find a pair that looks good on me, maybe..."
Fashion isn't his most studied subject, but he certainly wouldn't mind getting himself some stylish pair of gloves.
"Oh really~?" She smirks mischievously. "I'll keep that in mind~!"
Well, that wasn't ominous at all...
===0===
"Let's see..." He pulls out the ball of guidance that Meia gifted to him from his bag and-
'Luka, what are you doing...?' Undine asks in confusion.
'...I'm going to use the ball to help us find the Norther Sea Shrine...?'
He could hear her sigh in exasperation.
'Luka, I'm the literal Spirit of Water, better than any magical artifacts you could find; why didn't you just call upon my power...?'
"Ah."
"You forgot about Undine, didn't you~?"
He did.
===0===
True to her words, Undine was much more efficient at getting them to where they needed to go. It took her only half the time it would have taken them normally to get to the Northen Sea Shrine.
"How strange... I've never seen a male Angel before." Said Poseidoness as they present themselves before the big cephalopod monster. She's a very intimidating Queen Class monster with eight powerful-looking crimson tentacles coming from her lower body, one of them holding a trident, piercing yellow eyes, and a towering figure.
"I'm not an Angel, madam..."
"Then how do you explain the halo above your head?"
"...I can't."
"How curious..." She then turns to the Succubus next to him. "And what of you, Heavenly Knight of Wind? Has there any message the current Monster Lord wished to inform me of?"
Alma Elma simply waves her hand at the notions.
"None of that; we're just here for the silver orb~"
"You what!?" The atmosphere changes instantly. "The silver orb is one of my most important responsibilities. For me to give you the orb, it would need to be a direct order from the Monster Lord herself!"
His perverted companion beams. "Oh, we know that~"
"Then you must know that-"
"But we're still going to take it anyways~!"
"Thieves! I shall punish you both!"
The forest dweller turns to her with a tired expression.
"Why...?"
"Fufu~!"
That doesn't answer his question...
"SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE SEA!"
===0===
[Sea God's Thunder]
Zigzagging his way through Poseidonees' attacks, Luka keeps count of how many of her tentacles are occupied at the moment.
Four of them were busy trying to catch Alma Elma as the heavenly knight nimbly dodged all of them with ease. The other four were on their way to him from every angle.
'I need to make an opening for a clean hit...'
Considering how strong she is and the fact she's not taking him lightly, simply using his eye magic to make her stop for half a second wouldn't be enough time for him to end the fight. It had only worked with Granberia by virtue of it being unexpected.
'Her limbs are very powerful... You wouldn't be able to bashed them aside...' Undine warns him.
'I bet they can still flinch from pain~!' Sylph suggest.
'...' The Earth Spirit encourages the use of her power.
'Guess this is as good as any time to teach you this!' Salamander's booming voice exclaims.
Swiping his partner in a wide arch, a whirlpool appears around the forest dweller, protecting him for the moment.
'Teach me what, Salamander?'
'One of my most destructive moves, of course! Young man, you need to use 'Vaporizing Rebelion Sword' to make that opening you need!'
'Isn't that the move Granberia used on me back then?'
'Exactly! You should know firsthand how strong it is!'
Well... it's worth a shot.
"Alma!"
"Yes~?"
"Cover me for a bit! I'm going to end the fight!"
In an instant, the Succubus appears next to him in a dynamic pose.
"Ask and you shall receive~!"
"Preposterous! I'll skewer you both!"
[Tentacle Raid!]
Confident that his perverted friend could hold the attacks back, Luka closed his eyes in concentration. He replays the memories of the time back on Gold Volcano.
The way the Heavenly Knight of Fire used the move, her stance and footwork, the insane level of skills it took for her to pull it off both gracefully and destructively. It all came back to him in that moment.
'Sorry Gnome, I promise I'll use your power next time we fight someone powerful.'
'...' Gnome nodded, understanding yet still disappointed.
Luka focuses all of his being and connections with Sylph, Undine, and Salamander into his next actions.
"Burn my dread! Salamander!"
[Vaporizing Rebelion Sword!]
The flames roared to life as he made a mad dash forward. Alma Elma noticed his approach and smoothly matches his tempo. They parry their way across the myriads of tentacles and headed directly to Poseidoness.
The Queen of the Norther Sea flinched back from the unexpected burning pain, and sure enough, an opening was created. The purplette saw the whirlpool the second it appeared, launching himself in the air as he got into the proper form.
Before Poseidoness realized it, her whole body was bound by inky black shadows that came from her shrine's floor.
"Drain magic!?" Exclaim the monster, her strength leaving her.
"Got you~"
Poseidoness never got to respond, as her body was then assaulted by the searing hot flames of his attack.
As she fell to the ground, the purplette couldn't help but notice just how tired he was.
To be able to perform such a taxing move like that so perfectly...
"Granberia... you're truly an amazing warrior..."
"Oh~! Did Luka-boy get a crush on Granbery~?"
"D-Don't say it like that!"
"Fufu~!" Picking him up into a hug, she affectionately brushes her cheek against his.
He sighed in embarrassment. She's always going to be like this, isn't she...?
===0===
By the time Poseidoness woke up from her defeat, the forest dweller had already finished healing her injuries. She realized that the two of them truly meant no harm and willingly gave up the orb to him.
After obtaining the silver orb, the two then decide to head over to the Pyramid in the Safina region. Sphinx was the one entrusted with keeping the yellow orb by the previous Monster Lord.
Splash!
The water below them was pushed apart as Alma Elma flexed her wings. The sudden wind pressure surprised him.
"...?"
She flashes her usual smirk as she points in the direction of the Pyramid.
"Let's see who gets there first, Luka-boy~!"
So that's why. The heavenly knight just wanted to race him.
'Bring it on~!' His fairy friend excitedly took the challenge.
He smiles. "It's been a while since I last went all out..."
Closing his eyes, Luka dove deep and brought forth a typhoon of magic from his soul.
SWOOSH!
"Let's do this!"
The Succubus struck a menacing pose. "What's this? Are you thinking of actually beating me in a battle of speed~? How unlike your usual shyness!"
The purplette took a deep breath. "I can't overcome my past self if I don't!"
"Oho~! Then please, try as hard as you can~!"
As she launched herself forward, he took a step-
BOOM!
===0===
"Hrm...?" The young boy scratched his head in confusion.
As a simple village boy, his usual daily activities comprised of waking up early in the morning, catching some fish in the sea next to his village, warding off any critters trying to get in his family's house, and helping his neighbors whenever he could.
But this morning, it feels different. Something isn't right.
The fish dispersed even before he got close, and even the wind feels weird.
The young boy wonders what could have been causing these oddities when his instinct screamed at him to immediately leave the area he's in as far away as possible.
Then he heard it.
Boom...
What is that...?
Boom.
The sound got louder as he saw something on the horizon.
BOOM!
Before his village, a rapidly growing 30-meter wave appeared as the sea around his village went completely still.
BOOM!
They wouldn't be able to move away in time...
BOOM!
Is this... the end...?
BOOM!
Closing his terrified eyes in acceptance, the young boy held his head in his arms as he waited for the wave to hit.
"-st! We have to stop it!" He heard someone say something in the distance.
"-er. I forgot that can happen." Another voice; this one is more feminine.
The two voices went quiet for a moment before he heard the first one again.
"Become my strength! Gnome!"
What...?
The young boy cautiously opens his eyes to see a flaming meteor slammed into the giant wave.
BOOOOMMMMM!
It was unbelievable. Watching the explosion happen before his eyes as he was blown away from the wind pressure and-
"Whoah there!" He was caught by someone as they gently lowered him to the ground.
The young boy's head was still spinning as his savior checked on him to see if there's any injury.
"I'm glad you're alright..."
"Sorry about the wave~! Me and Luka-boy got a bit carried away~"
Shaking his head, the young boy looks to find two people in front of him. The explosion ended up causing some light rain to fall on the village, and combined with the rising sun illuminating the scene, what the young boy saw was like that of a Renaissance painting.
With fish falling back into the sea from the sky to his right, the village people came out in shock to see what was happening to his left, and before him, an angel stood with a green cloak covering his figure as his long, violet hair danced in the wind. His heterochromatic eyes were filled with concern and relief for the boy, and his expression is that of a kind neighbor looking out for someone. The halo above his head shines a radiant light as he offers him a hand to help the boy up from the ground. Slightly behind the angel, hovering above the ground, was a Succubus smirking at the boy with an easygoing posture. Her dark blue cape did a valiant job covering her body, yet despite that, one could still see the prodigious curves of her sinful figure. All of her monster characteristics were amplified by her glowing, deep red eyes as she stared into his soul. The giant purple magical barrier around his village disappears as the Succubus snaps her finger.
Faced with all of this, the boy could only do one thing.
"Bluurrgghhhh!"
He pukes all over the floor.
"How rude~!"
"Alma, we put the little kid through a life-threatening experience. Of course he's going to puke."
It was never meant to get that dangerous. Luka admonished himself for not being more careful and made a promise to never go overboard near a large body of water again.
After helping the kid and apologizing to the people of the small village they had almost drowned, they went on their way to The Pyramid and met up with Sphinx again.
The hot dessert wind greeted them as they got nearer.
===0===
"So, we meet again, Luka." Sphinx then turns to the Succubus. "I see you have altered your appearance as well as gaining yourself another friend in your journey...?"
"Very close friend~"
"Alma, please."
They carefully explained why they were there, and Luka made sure to inform Sphinx of his friendship with Alice before she could get the wrong idea.
"I see... so you are here for the yellow orb."
"Hmm."
"And the Monster Lord wouldn't have minded any of this?"
"Probably~"
"..."
"..."
"..."
'Please don't fight us. Please don't fight us. Please don't fight us...'
The Sphinx nodded. "I understand. As someone who I've deemed trustworthy, I'll give you the yellow orb. Please take great care of it."
The relief washed over him like the rain they caused earlier.
===0===
The rule of teleporting magic is that one can only use it to go to a place they are familiar with; henceforth, Alma Elma couldn't use it to get to the Northern Sea Shrine and the Pyramid.
"I didn't know you were so familiar with Grand Noah, Alma..." Said the purplette as they appear high above the kingdom.
"Well~ Let's just say I have somewhat of a reputation here~!"
"Good ones, right?"
"Hmm~"
"...Right?"
The heavenly knight never answers his question.
===0===
When the Queen of Grand Noah saw the current champion of her Queen's Cup, and the infamous Kyuba present themselves in front of her throne room, the woman's brain did a little rebooting.
"...!?"
"Greetings, your majesty~! Down worry, I'm not here to crash your little tournament again~"
"You crash her what!?"
"It's just a small hobby of mine~"
'I wouldn't call crashing a tournament a 'small hobby'...' Undine commented.
"Well... at least you didn't crash this year's Queen's Cup. I don't think I was strong enough to beat you at that time..."
"Aww~ What a lost opportunity..."
Back then, the Succubus were so busy gushing about the forest dweller to her fellow Heavenly Knight that she forgot about the whole thing entirely.
"Luka. It is good to see you again." Said the Queen, years of training in maintaining her composure paying off as she recovers from the shock and regains her bearing quickly.
He bows to her in respect. "Likewise, your majesty..."
"How come you don't bow like that around me, Luka-boy~?" Alma Elma quips
"You're not a queen."
"Technically speaking, I am the Queen of Succubus~"
"...I'm still not bowing to you."
"Fufu~ That's only a matter of time~"
"A very long one..."
"I can be patient~!"
The Queen clears her throat. "Ahem. You two, please keep the flirting to a minimum when talking to royalty in the future. Since we knew each other, I won't take any offense. But still..."
Luka splutters in denial; all the while, Alma Elma's perverted laugh continues in the background.
...
...
...
"I see, considering you won the Queen's Cup, and you left the kingdom before we could give you your reward for winning..." The Queen walked to the display of ancient treasures along the walls and took the green orb.
Walking back to them, she gave him the orb with a serene expression.
"It would be my honor to help you on your journey, Luka."
"A-Ah! Your- I mean-!?" It was all too much for the shy forest dweller. His face reddens, and his heterochromatic eyes look around in panic.
The Queen took it all in stride. "It's the least I can do after how much you've helped me before."
"R-Right... T-Thank you, your majesty..."
"My oh my~ Where did that gentleman from before go~?"
"Not helping, Alma!"
===0===
Heading south, their next destination is the Southern Sea Shrine where the Queen of the Southern Sea, Kraken, lives and manages the weddings between humans and monsters among all of her other responsibilities.
"Hmm? Oh, I certainly remember you. Welcome once again to my domain." Said Kraken as she saw him. "Though, I don't remember you ever having a halo before..."
Please don't ask him... he really can't explain it even if he wanted to...
He bows in respect to her as Alma Elma announces her presents in her usual lackadaisical attitude.
"Well now, if my memory serves me well, last time you completed my trial for a quest and not for yourself, did you not?"
"Yes, madam. The reason for me coming here now is different from before..."
"Say no more, Luka." Kraken gestures with her hand, "I understand why you're here now."
"You do...?"
She nodded with a relaxed smile, "Why, of course. It's one of my responsibilities after all..."
Oh, good. That means they don't have to fight her like they did with Poseidoness.
"Let's see..." The Queen of the Southern Sea begins, "Have either of you prepared any written vows?"
"Hmm?"
"Ah, I see that you have not." She simply said, "Very well, we'll simply make them here instead." Pulling out an empty sheet of paper and a magical artifact of sorts with her other tentacles, Kraken whispers an incantation as the blank paper begins to be filled with paragraphs of written texts.
After she was done, Kraken then handed it to him, much to his confusion.
"Here, it should cover everything well enough for now."
"Uh... Thanks?" The forest dweller unsurely inspects the paper.
As he was reading it with Alma Elma leaning over his shoulder, Kraken then cleared her throat and spoke aloud. Her booming voice filled the space around the shrine as his eyes got wider and wider.
"W-Wait! This is!" He panics.
"Oh my~!" She cackles.
"As the Queen of the Southern Sea, I hereby declare Luka the forest dweller and Alma Elma the Queen of Succubus to be lawfully wed-"
"WE'RE NOT HERE TO GET MARRY!"
===0===
Five down, one more to go...
Luka sighs as he holds the half-eaten grilled starfish in his hand. Sitting atop one of the buildings in Port Natalia as he unwinds from the hectic events today.
"I didn't know you helped her make this; no wonder it got so famous~" His perverted friend commented on the food. She was also sitting on the same rooftop, only less embarrassed and coyer.
"..."
"Oh, relax~!" She leans on his side. "It wasn't that bad~"
"..." He gave her a dry look.
"Well~ If you ask me-"
"Alright. We've already rested enough. Let's find the last orb..."
Luka got up and cut her off before she could finish. Knowing her, it's probably another lewd comment to tease him.
"Aye aye, captain~!" Alma Elma bounces back up without problems, spouting out words he doesn't even understand.
...
The purplette turns to his left to find the mysterious woman that has been following them since they got here staring right at them from down below.
"..." There's an unreadable look on her face.
"...We should go talk to her."
"Is this your heroic instinct acting up at the thought of a quest~?"
He shook his head. "No, she just looks like someone who could use our help..."
===0===
And help they did, mostly from Luka, but still.
After the mysterious woman introduces herself as Selena, the granddaughter of the great pirate Captain Selene, she had asked them to assist her in getting to the treasures on the late pirate's ship.
It's the monsters she said she was worried about, yet not once did he sense any fear from her when monsters appeared or the rest of her crews on their journey across the sea.
He easily took care of them all, of course. The look of surprise on Selena's face turns into a hopeful one as he reassures them that there's nothing he and his perverted friend couldn't handle unless the Monster Lord herself shows up.
"...?"
"It's nothing."
"..." Luka patiently waited for her.
"...It's just, I guess you can say that I'm glad you are here for this."
That got a blush out of him and Selena laughs alongside Alma Elma.
When they got to the old haunted ship of Captain Selene, the only thing there was a group of powerful monsters called the Beelzebubs. They inform him of what had happened to the legendary pirate and their plan of reproducing an army of powerful offspring to take over the world.
Luka tries his best then.
"Can you girls not take over the world...?"
"You look like a good one to start with! I can't wait to fill you up with my-"
The monster's unhinged words were interrupted when the Heavenly Knight of Wind stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Luka-boy, mind letting me have a turn~?"
"Hmm?"
"It's our quest, after all~"
The forest dweller decides to humor her, stepping back and wondering what she'll do.
"What's this? Running away from us and hiding behind this pathetic friend of yours isn't going to stop us, you know?" Said one of the Beelzebubs.
The forest dweller cringed, hard.
'She probably should have kept her mouth shut...'
His thoughts were proven correct when Alma Elma playfully pointed a finger forward; a concentrated stream of powerful wind magic appeared and swirled around it.
"How rude~"
In a moment of shocking realization, Luka grabs Selena and jumps out of the old ship through the window.
BOOM!
===0===
Now standing in Selena's ship, Luka looks on in complete and utter disbelief as the remains of Captain Selene's old ship and the Beelzebubs dead bodies were scattered among the sea around them.
"..."
"Oh my~! How careless of me."
"...You're impossible..."
"I'll take that as a complement~"
Afterward, Selena reveals herself to be the ghost of Captain Selene all along and that after accidentally unleashing the violent monsters from their seal, she used another treasure, the Jewel of The Rotten World, to create a barrier, separating the ship from the outside world before her life was lost by the Beelzebubs.
The ghost of Captain Selene gave Luka the purple orb as she and the rest of her crew disappeared into thin air.
"Well now, isn't that spooky~" Alma Elma wiggles her fingers as she says that.
He stares at the orb in his hand. "I think it was more bittersweet than scary..."
"Of course you'd think that~"
===0===
And with that, they have gathered all six of the orbs needed to summon the Garuda Girl. All that's left is for them to complete the ritual, and the winged monster will be loyal to them.
As they make their way to the Holy Wind Shrine, he couldn't help but think of the implication of having such a versatile and loyal monster at his command. On one hand, he could do so many goods with her. On the other hand, it made him feel a bit conflicted to have the monster be so obedient to him outside of their own choice.
'You're underestimating yourself; it'll be way happier with someone like you than it would with anyone else...' Undine pointed out.
'Yeah! Deeny's right~!' Sylph chimes in. 'If you still feel conflicted about this, then we'll just have to give that Garuda Girl the biggest and warmest nest ever as a present~!
'...' Gnome agrees with Sylph's sentiments, not her energy.
'Don't overcomplicate it, young man. Just treat that girl the same way you do with all your other friends.' Salamander chides.
Their advice leaves the forest dweller a bit sheepish; maybe he really was overcomplicating it.
'Thanks girls. I needed that.'
'Any times, best buddy~'
Upon seeing his companion speeding towards something akin to a shrine on the horizon, the purplette stomps forward once more before slowing his trajectory.
Descending from the sky to the ground below, he landed next to Alma Elma and looked around to see lush trees and bushes growing around the shrine. There are also some stone structures built around the area, alongside a pond surrounding a small patch of earth in the middle. Over the stone platforms leading to it, he could see an altar of sorts that seems to have been created for holding the six orbs and Garuda's egg.
The curious thing is that the egg wasn't there at all.
That's weird; maybe Alma Elma forgot to mention something to him.
"Where's the egg...?" He asks.
"You know..." She raises her hand to her chin in a thinking pose. "I've been wondering about that too."
Luka turns to her in concern. "What do you mean?"
"Well, last we checked, the thing should still be over there~" She pointed towards the taller stone altar placed in the middle of small ones.
"So... where do you think it is now?" The fact the egg is not where it's supposed to be is giving him a bad feeling.
"Hmm~"
"..."
Alma Elma snaps her finger in confirmation.
"It probably got stolen~!"
He sputters, "Why are you saying that like it's a good thing!?"
"If you're worried about someone cracking it, don't be. The shell of the Garuda egg is impossible to break for any human~"
"That... well, it's good to know that, but it's still missing. How come you're not worrying more about this, Alma?"
"Because our answer is right behind us~"
"EPP! How did you know I was here!?" Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Luka turns to find a man crouching behind the bushes a bit further away than them.
The outfit he's wearing has the symbol of Ilias Kreuz on it.
"..."
"..."
Luka's eyes flash a bright light, catching the man off guard.
[Eyes of Control]
As his eye magic took effect, the man mindlessly stared into nothing. The forest dweller then asks him the most important question first.
"Where's the egg that was supposed to be here?"
"We... took it to our headquarters back in Gold Port..."
"Why did you people steal the egg?"
"Our leader... Lazarus wanted to destroy it but not a single one of us could... so he planned on using explosives instead..."
"That still wouldn't have worked~" Alma Elma informs him before he could panic.
The forest dweller sighs in disappointment, "I can't believe they would do something like this..."
"Eh..." The Succubus waves her hand in a so-so manner. "I've seen people do worst~"
"That's not helping, Alma..."
END OF CHAPTER
Author's Note: Don't really have much to say, to be honest. Sorry it took a while for me to make this, college has been taking my time.
If nothing else, next chapter is gonna be very important to Luka's and Alma's relationship.