While Tun Kla is pulled (not literally) into the elder's house, Aria is relaxing comfortably in the spring pond, soaking in the warm water. Not far away, wild cosmos flowers are blooming.
"This is heavenly bliss, bathing under the stars, this is the best~"
In a previous lifetime, she would've never dreamed she would be living like this.
"Meow~"
The cat lying contentedly on the cushion placed beside the small plant bed where Aria grows catnip grass echoes her sentiment.
Under the moonlight, Aria notices a faint red mark on her wrist; the red mark wasn't there before.
"Did I scratch my hand somewhere?"
But, her wet hand doesn't sting so it's not a scratch.
When she brings her hand to her face for a close-up inspection, the faint red mark becomes more distinct, revealing a thin red string tied around her wrist.
It looks like a string bracelet tattooed onto her skin.
And then, as if a switch has been triggered, the world around her goes into slow-mo mode.
Despite the suddenness, Aria doesn't panic. She remains calm as she leans back against the stone in the spring pond, but what happens next makes her catch her breath and her heart beats fast.
An unfamiliar pair of eyes that reminds her of the midnight sky appears in her vision; his dark gaze unfaltering and unwavering.
Aria could not look away nor did she want to as his gaze captivated her entire being. In that brief instant, she understands one truth - the connection they share.
What his name is or where he's from is irrelevant.
As for why she's sure the gaze belongs to a man, she just knows.
Splash
The world returns to normal so does her vision; her hand unconsciously reaches out when his dark gaze disappears as instantly as it appears.
She purses her lips in disapointment.
Aria slowly lowers her body until the water in the spring pond reaches her chin.
Then, her gaze drifts to the two moons in the evening purple sky - a full round moon hovering on top of the crescent-shaped moon. Looking at the two moons reminds her of a myth about star-crossed lovers who can only meet once a year.
"This is not leading to a similar situation as that star-crossed lovers, right?" Aria mutters with doubt. "My luck in romance shouldn't be that tragic."
Aria shakes her head before abruptly standing up. Her sudden movement caused a large ripple in the spring pond. She gets out of the spring pond and puts on her bathrobe.
When Aria looks at her wrist again, the red mark that looks like a thin string bracelet is still there. It reverts to looking faint.
Until earlier today, she was living carefreely with the occasional scolding from Tua Jia and now…
And now, her heart is longing for a person she doesn't know.
If another person goes through the same experience as she did, the normal response would be to question whether their mind was charmed by a sorceress and seek consultation with a healer from the Mushroom Hat Society. Unfortunately, Aria is not a normal person by the standards of this world, so the only person she can turn to at this moment is her feline friend.
Aria squats down and shows her wrist to the cat.
"CJ, do you know what this is?"
She's genuinely asking the cat.
The cat named CJ takes a couple of sniffs of Aria's hand then tilts its head. Either the cat doesn't understand, or it doesn't have the answer Aria is asking for.
Aria chose to think the latter.
"Since you also don't know, let's ask someone who does."
Just as Aria decides to do so, Tua Jia comes to see her.
From the look on the elder's face, Aria can guess that she's not here for a casual visit.
Aria invites her into her house and prepares a pot of tea from tea leaves that she personally plucked and dried. She's still in her bathrobe while doing all this and she shows no intention of changing her clothes as she sits across from Tua Jia.
Tua Jia doesn't wait until the tea finishes brewing and explains to Aria the purpose of her visit this evening. By the time the elder stops talking, Aria pours tea into the elder's cup to quench her thirst before pouring herself one.
She doesn't drink the tea right away and instead says, "You think they're targeting the Sacred Beasts. There are several around that area, do you know which?"
"That depends on who is filling their money pouch. The fancy pretentious scums like to use other trash who's not right in the head to poke at the Sacred Beasts."
It's a good thing Aria is not drinking the tea right now or else she might accidentally choke.
The elder who usually speaks gently just used crude words so naturally that Aria almost thought she heard it wrong. Also, wasn't Aria asking about which Sacred Beast is being targeted by the outsiders? How did the conversation turn into cursing the villains?
Fortunately, the conversation is back on track.
"It's considered an open secret that the Waterfall Village's prosperity to this day is because of the protection of a Sacred Beast."
"A Sacred Beast living amongst people, as opposed to hiding from people…interesting…" is what Aria thought, intrigued.
Aria brings the cup of tea to her mouth then pauses to ask, "Has anyone seen this Sacred Beast?"
"If you wish to know, you may ask their elder," Tua Jia speaks as though Aria has already decided to go to the Waterfall Village, which she is. Otherwise, why would she ask the elder for information about the Sacred Beast in that area?
While they were talking, Aria was already making a mental to-do list for her travel plan.
After seeing Tua Jia off, Aria goes to her workstation table which was formerly a dining table.
A large map takes the middle of the table space. Starting from where the Waterfall Village is marked on the map, she traces with her finger westward and stops at the border of the Land of the Blessed.
CJ jumps up on the table and meows curiously.
Aria stroke the cat's head and says, "Apparently, the mercenaries call this place Erest."
Cause saying its official name, 'The Edge of the Border', is a mouthful.
"Perfect timing, we've never had the chance to go there before. Let's go see what Erest is like after we're done at Waterfall Village."
CJ agrees by purring loudly in satisfaction.
The next morning, Aria stops by Tua Jia's residence before leaving.
Tua Jia only says a couple of words, "Just focus on doing your part, let others as you say 'do the heavy lifting', and lastly, don't bother bringing back souvenirs again."
Aria nods at the elder's every sentence except for the last part.
She looks almost offended when she says, "Why not? The children in the village always look forward to the souvenirs I bring back."
"If the children want something, they can bother their own parents."
"I just want to be the cool older sister/ aunt who always brings back delicious snacks after coming back from a business trip, what's wrong with that?" Aria says with a shrug of her shoulders then looks at the elder as if she doesn't do the same and exposes her. "How many dried sugar fruits in your stash do you have left?"
"That's not the same thing," Tua Jia retorts before shifting her eyes away. "Between your snacks and my dried sugar fruits, which one cost money?"
CJ the cat watches from the side, licking its paw.