Chapter 396: Where are we going?
"Miss Esma, I’ve always wanted to ask where you come from?" said a young girl in the branded clothes of the Queens Guild, sitting by the driver’s seat. She glanced at the girl with the unusual hair, who was flipping through her smartphone in the front seat of the SUV.
Esma raised her head and looked at the girl, then returned to her smartphone.
"I’m from Cel... damn!" Esma almost misspoke, but, cursing to herself, she remembered her legend and continued:
"I’m from a small town, an orphan. I don’t remember my parents."
"Oh," the girl driver said, returning her gaze to the steering wheel.
She glanced at Esma from time to time, finding her charming. Over the past few days, Esma had become very popular in the Queens Guild, quickly gaining the position of the real princess of their Guild. And all the Guild members were very interested to learn more about her.
"Ah... how can she be so charming!" the girl driver exclaimed in her mind.
"Here she is," Esma said, finally looking up from her smartphone. She shifted her gaze to Irene, who was one of the first to leave the Awakened Association building.
"Her again, — Esma muttered, noticing a familiar face. Then two young persons, a guy and a girl, caught her attention. They stood out from the local awakened ones, as if shining with their skin and having long blond hair like Lucinda’s. Even sitting at a distance, Esma could sense the fluctuations of the Light element emanating from them.
While her attention was focused on these two young girls, Irene, accompanied by two short girls, headed straight for the SUV.
When the girls got into the back seats of the SUV, one of them immediately hugged Esma, ignoring the uncomfortable position.
"Oh, sis Esma, I missed you so much," Hazel said, hugging Esma tightly, while Esma had a tired face.
"And why did I just call her sister?" thought Esma, regretting her hasty decision.
Irene could barely contain her laughter, and the other girl, a short girl with long white hair, looked at Esma with interest.
After a short time, Hazel finally let Esma go.
"Little sister Esma, let me introduce you to my best friend Yulaya," Hazel said, pointing to the second girl with long white hair.
"Yulaya is the leader of our guild," she added.
"Nice to meet you," Yulaya nodded, greeting Esma.
"Likewise, — Esma replied, greeting her back.
"Katie, follow the others," Irene said to the girl driver as soon as the girls finished getting to know each other.
"Yes, leader," replied Katie, the driver, who started the SUV and followed the others.
"Where are we going?" asked Esma as the SUV started moving and joined the convoy.
"We’re raiding the Stone family’s private territory," Hazel replied.
"Information has been received about suspicious activity on the territory of the Stone family outside the capital. There are fears that they could betray humanity and collude with our enemies," Irene explained, ahead of Esma’s questions.
"There is also reason to believe that they are related to the recent mysterious disappearances of the Awakened," Yulaya added, joining the conversation.
"Enemies? What kind of enemies?" asked Esma curiously.
Hazel hesitated before answering, and looked at Irene and Yulaya, as if waiting for permission to share this information.
"Outsiders from another world," Hazel said, seeing Irene nod.
"Oh, — Esma was surprised and turned her gaze to Irene, who also nodded, confirming Hazel’s words.
"Interesting," Esma muttered and didn’t ask any more questions.
Irene started discussing the upcoming case with Yulaya.
As Esma understood it, about seventy awakened ones from seven different guilds participated in this raid. In addition to the Queens Guild and the Flower Gardens Guild, representatives from the other five most famous guilds participated in the raid: Titans, Defenders, Raven, Dojo and Gemini.
However, only the leaders of the Queens Guild, the Gardens of Flowers, the Titans, and the Dojo personally led their members, while the leaders of Raven, Gemini, and the Defenders were absent, and the vice leaders acted in their place.
When the convoy of twenty SUVs approached the outskirts of the capital, Esma noticed that Irene had finished talking with Yulaya, and decided to ask her a question that interested her.
"Tell me, Irene, who were these two? The guy and the blonde-haired girl who also came out of the Awakened Association building?"
"Oh, you mean Alistair and Arianna Royce?"—before Irene could answer, Hazel interrupted her.
"So their names are Alistair and Arianna? And what kind of family is Royce? Are they as famous as the Morgan family?"— seeing Hazel’s enthusiasm, Esma decided to ask her this question.
"Yes, the Royce family is one of the influential families, but it shouldn’t be compared to the Morgan family. The Morgan family is more influential than the Royce family," Hazel replied. "As for Alistair and Arianna, they are both representatives of the Awakened Association, and they are currently both leading the upcoming raid."
Esma listened attentively to Hazel’s story, nodding her head. The more she learned, the more confused she became in her own thoughts.
"Tell me, Irene, are all outsiders from other worlds, no matter where they come from, considered your enemies?" asked Esma, this time using the Soul Force.
Irene, who was already used to communicating with Esma from time to time through the Soul Force, remained unperturbed. However, this question turned out to be somewhat difficult for her. She knew that Esma herself came from another world, and to say that all outsiders are enemies would be like admitting her as an enemy.
"In most cases, yes," Irene replied after a moment’s thought.
"Hmm..." — Esma rubbed her chin thoughtfully and sank into thought.
Then Esma turned back to Irene and, gathering her thoughts, asked a question.:
"Irene, did you know that Alistair and Arianna Royce are outsiders?"
"What?" exclaimed Irene, unable to hide her surprise. She looked at Esma in disbelief.
"What did you just say?" Irene asked aloud.
Before answering, Esma glanced at Yulaya and Hazel, who, not understanding what was happening, looked questioningly at Irene.
"You can talk, I trust these two," Irene said, noticing Esma’s look.
"Okay, — Esma nodded and repeated what she had just told Irene about Alistair and Arianna Royce using her Soul Force. Upon hearing this, Yulaya and Hazel, as well as Irene, stared at Esma in disbelief.