Late in the night, Blue Haven villa, Alex could see staring at the stars in the sky; he was lost in thoughts; he didn't even notice Maria's arrival.
Maria stood silently beside Alex and observed the stars as well.
After observing the stars for ten minutes, she finally talked.
''You can't sleep either?"
''Yeah. I wonder where she is? What are they doing to her? I swear if any harm were to happen to her, I would slaughter everyone one of them.'' 1 10 i
While saying this, Alex released a thick killing intent that almost twisted reality; Maria gulped.
''Don't worry, we will help you find her and teach them not to mess with the Touch family.'' Maria declared.
Hearing Maria emphasized the word family, going to the extent of saying the Touch family brought a little bit of warmth to Alex's chaotic heart, unconsciously he smiled.
''Fufufu! At least you have finally smiled. I don't like to see you as you currently are. I love the cheerful Alex more than the cold one; we all do. I know that even if we were to find her, everything wouldn't go back as the way they were, but at least I don't want to see you lose your smile.'' Maria stared into Alex's eyes as she said this.
''Don't worry, I will never lose my smile no matter what will happen, I can at least promise you that.'' Alex made a promise. He then added.
''You know what I lack?"
Facing Alex's question, Maria contemplated for a moment before answering.
''A personal force under your command, that can carry task you can do such collecting information and protecting your loved ones from shadow.''
Maria's answer was perfect. Alex smiled.
''As expected of El Diablo's daughter. It's exactly as you have said. I was planning to form a team specialized in collecting information; however, now I must have another force responsible for our protection in the dark. I can't always be beside; I'm bound to travel alone, go somewhere where you can't go, meaning I can't protect you. It will be easy if I have someone to protect while I'm gone. Having my force, I can be at ease when I'm gone.''
Alex took a deep breath before continuing.
''You know previously I had the misconception that having my private you would end up dragging me into politics, something I don't want; however, this thinking is wrong. I must own private force.''
''I also think it's a good thing. Say, what did you do when you went to see Leonardo earlier?" Maria inquired when she remembered that Alex went to visit the imprisoned Leonardo.
There was a cruel smirk on Alex's face as he said.
''You will know in the future.''
Maria did not pursue the matter any longer as she understood that Alex did not wish to talk about what he did.
''That black-skinned woman is strange; she killed her comrades before injuring us. While she could have killed us if she wished to, she didn't do such a thing; she could have seriously injured us, leaving us to be bedridden for a month, and yet we did not receive a life-threatening injury. I don't know why she did such a thing, but I have the feeling that you will find out once you encounter her.''
''Maybe,'' Alex said before adding.
''Tomorrow, I will leave with Luna and Sakuya. You will stay behind and look after the Golden spoon as we need many funds to finance our private force. Artemia will assist you.''
Maria nodded her head; even though there was something she wished to ask, she didn't dare to voice it as she was well aware that it was not the time. As a woman, she noticed the subtle change in how Artemia looks at Alex after their return; the others also noticed this. Something must have happened; however, due to the current situation, none of them raised a question.
''I'm curious why you didn't seriously injure Damien as he was the mastermind behind what happened; Leonardo was just a pawn.''
Maria inquired as she remembered Alex not giving Damien a hard time.
''It is not that I don't wish to do anything but that Damien's status is pretty sensible. I must carefully think before acting.'' Alex explained why he didn't act more than he should have.
However, if he did act, would that not ignite a war? Would that not evoke a calamity upon his head?
Was he passive? Was he a coward? Others might think so, but he considered himself intelligent and far-seeing. Acting without a modicum of certainty in his self-preservation was a fool's gamble and often led to a foolish fate. He would punish Damien for what he had done; however, Damien was working on someone else order; his interest may have gotten mixed along the way, however, initially going after Luna was not Damien's wish, someone must have ordered it, someone of high standing, as for why this person is after Luna it's yet to be found, so dealing with Damien without dealing with this person would not resolve the problem, someone else might target her.
''I see. To deal with Damien, more accurately, the person behind him might take some time. I believe that Damien was sent to Freya's academy, especially for Luna; his goal went beyond a simple feeling of love. As I have observed the way he looked at Luna, there was love, but there was also a little bit of reverence as if he was looking at a Goddess, which is strange, Luna is a simple mortal; one day, perhaps she can become a Goddess, but not at the moment. Maybe Luna looks like one of the gods they worship-"
''What did you just say?" Alex interrupted Maria and asked; his voice was loud, startling Maria, who took a step back.
''Sorry, I don't mean to shout; I was just surprised. Can you repeat that last words you said?'' Alex apologized.
''Don't worry, I was just surprised, that's all,'' Maria said with a smile.
''Well, I was saying maybe Luna resembled one of the gods the Holy Crux empire worship, maybe they went her to become their next goddess.'' Maria speculated.
''I doubt it's the case. If I guess correctly, Luna would be like a vessel. It's typical of fantasy story on Earth.'' Alex shattered Maria's speculation.
〖It does make sense now why Damien is so obsessed with Luna, why he was sent here. Seriously, are they tired of living?〗Silveria couldn't help but get angry knowing what those fanatics from the Holy Crux empire were planning.
''Calm down. It's just some speculations; however, if this happens to be true, then, hehehehe! I won't be polite. They dare to covet my woman; they must be tired of living. It's a good thing that I'm leaving with her; who knows what they may do, what a desperate Damien might do?''
''We must be careful from now on. Now that Damien has screwed up, they would try a different approach. Let's stop talking about this topic; the more urgent thing to do for now is to find Gracier.'' Maria said.
''Yeah, you are right. We will deal with Luna's problem later. Let's go back to sleep; I will need it. Tomorrow, I'll be leaving early.'' Alex said before leaving, Maria followed him, she gave one last glance at the shimmering stars in the night sky, they would have looked more beautiful if Gracier was present, she loves stars.
•••••
The next day, Alex woke up pretty early.
After taking a light breakfast with the others, he left with Luna and Sakuya.
En route, they encountered Artemia, Isabella, and Lilith, who had come to see them off.
The three girls accompanied Alex's group until the adventurer guild before leaving.
''Alex, take care. Don't die, don't forget our next mission.''
It was Lilith who said this. Alex smiled.
''Don't worry. Once I come back, we will start.''
Lilith smiled, pleased with this response. She would have loved to accompany Alex, but many people were waiting for her to step out of Avalon and catch her. Therefore, she could only wait until someone stirs a storm to use this chance to slip away, and she believes Alex's group soon would accomplish this goal; they are about to shake the whole continent looking for his sister.
Alex, Luna, and Sakuya entered the guild; they were immediately brought to the seventh floor, waiting for Elseria.
Alex was not surprised to see Sera present; she was dressed as Zero.
''Welcome, Alex and you ladies. I will not waste time; we have identified where this piece of black metal originated from. This type of iron could be found in three places, three cities (two large cities and one medium), both have dungeons. Here is the map of the three cities; you should pick the one west of Avalon. In the other two cities, my subordinates are already there. Zero will go with you.''
''Understood. Let's leave.'' Alex didn't wait; he stood up and leave with the girls.
Alone, Elseria sighed before her eyes turned cold; she crushed a stone inside her hands.
''Pray that nothing happened to her if not, I will erase that Holy citadel you are so proud of.''
It was unknown how but a voice responded to Elseria threat; it was a sigh.
''Hmph!"
Elseria harrumphed before closing her eyes.
On the other side, Alex's group had already left the floating capital, direction, El-Reech, the coastal city.