“In the last meeting, Alnea told us about the Lotus clan, and their apparent plan of ambushing us outside of the city. Clearly, this information was deliberately released by the Lotus clan to prevent us from leaving the city. And in a certain sense, their plan has worked perfectly. Unless we are absolutely sure of their movements, we dare not step out of the city lightly.”

  “…So what if they have planned an ambush? It is not as if this would be their first time. We have defeated them before, and we can defeat them again.”

  “That’s right. We are not afraid of the Lotus clan.”

  “Not being afraid is not the same as foolishly charging into a trap like a beast,” Vestia said, shaking her head. “This time, it is not just the Lotus clan that we will have to deal with.”

  “…That’s not certain.”

  “Exactly. We are not certain how many enemies we will have to face,” Vestia said, before letting out a sigh. “I have to admit, the Lotus clan is indeed good at playing with the Hearts of their enemies. It was probably their arrogance, and some bad leadership, which led their repeated defeats at our hands. Now that there has been a change in their leaders, they probably will not be fighting us head on anymore.”

  “There has been a change in their leaders?” Cecili said, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice. “Did those old bastards finally die?”

  “…I am talking about the leader of their group within the city. The Elders of the Lotus clan are fine.”

  “…Tsk. Those bastards have a long life.”

  “…As I was saying, with the recent reinforcement, the leadership of the Lotus clan has been reshuffled. And it were these new leaders who made the plan to trap us within the city. This got me curious, as to what exactly does the Lotus clan want to do. What is their end purpose… It was when I was looking for the answer to these questions that I came across an interesting piece of information.”

  “Stop going around circles, and just get to the point.”

  “Patience, Cecilia. You need to learn patience.”

  “I am patient alright. Or I would not have been talking to you right now.”

  “Is that how you talk to someone who has done you a favour?”

  “…I knew I should not have asked you to take care of her…”

  “You know that everyone can still hear you, right?”

  “…Just do whatever you want.”

  “…So, as I was saying, I have an interesting piece of information. One that might affect how we approach the city, and our competitors. Can anyone guess what is it?”

  “…Has someone finally figured out what the legacy of the city is?”

  “Unfortunately, not, Zain. That is not the information I was talking about. And no, no one has figured out the city’s legacy.”

  “…Good. It means I still have a chance…”

  “…Anyone else?”

  “…The Lotus clan has gotten in league with the guards?”

  “…The guards will face a fate worse than death if they ever dare to betray the rules of the city, so no, Aren, they have not joined the Lotus clan.”

  “If it not the guards, nor the city, then the problem must be related to the Lotus clan itself… Is it related to the alliance they have established?”

  “Although I do have some information about their alliance, but that is not what I am talking about, Norren.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “It looks like you people are hopeless.”

  “…We are just focussing on different things.”

  “That’s the same as agreeing to your incompetence,” Vestia said, giggling at Fran’s stiff face, before turning towards Yuri. “You give it a try too, Yuri. What do you think I am talking about?”

  “Something that might affect how we approach the city…” Yuri mumbled. “Is it related to the final Trial we will have to face to gain the qualification of entering the inner city?”

  “As expected of the person whom Alnea always looks for advice,” Vestia said, before turning back towards everyone else. “The qualification battle to enter the inner city has always been a headache, both for the organisers, and for the participants. Every month, the city has to organise a certain number of people to face off against each other, with the winners gaining the qualification to live in the inner city, and the losers being forced to wait another month, before tyring once again. If they survive, that is.

  “However, the qualification battle is not just a simple battle. Although the competing teams get to face each other, that is not the main theme of these battles. Or at least that is the case most of the time. Though sometimes, the main theme is indeed a battle royale, most of the time, these qualification battles are about completing a certain goal. This is one of the reasons why these battles are also considered as the final Trial of the outer city.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “This is the interesting piece of information you were talking about?” Cecilia said with a scoff, only to be met with Vestia’s unperturbed smile.

  “This is just common sense. I have not even begun talking about the information.”

  “…Then stop wasting our time, and get to the point.”

  “I thought you asked me to do whatever I want?”

  “You…”

  “Let her finish, Lia,” Alnea said, before the two girls could derail their discussion even further. “There is a reason why she is saying those things.”

  “…Let me see what this reason is then.”

  “Listen carefully then, or it might go over your head,” Vestia said, before turning back to the rest of the Star Seekers. “As I said earlier, the final Trial of the outer city has always been a headache for everyone. On one hand, the organisers have to think up of a new Trial every month, while on the other hand, the losers keep forcing themselves to stay in the city, thinking that they might succeed the next time.

  “Though that might be true for some, most of the Wanderers never get to see the inner city. On the contrary, by continuing to try entering the inner city, they develop a flaw in their Hearts, which cuts off their path. Even if they reach the True Rank, they are destined to not walk far. What do you think would happen to these Wanderers, who used to be once revered as geniuses of their clan, when they find out that their path has been cut off?”

  “…The flaws in their Heart would amplify.”

  “The flaws in their Heart would amplify,” Vestia said, nodding at Karl. “With such glaring flaws in their Hearts, it is only natural for them to make a mistake. And that is how most of the Wanderers who serve the city come about.”

  “Wait,” Ralph said, raising his hand to stop Vestia. “Are you telling me that all those Wanderers in the Blood Hall who work for the city were once talented enough to almost enter the inner city?”

  “That is what the information I have tells me.”

  “Then… why does their clans let them stay here? Why have they not been redeemed? With their talent, they would surely be valued back in their clans.”

  “It is not that those clans do not try to redeem their Wanderers, but that they cannot. The rules of the city cannot be violated. Besides, did you not hear what I said earlier? These Wanderers, they have all had their paths cut off. Do you think their clans would still value their talents?”

  “Their Hearts might be flawed, but they have already shown their talents. As long as their clans can help them make up for the flaws in their Heart, they can get a talented Wanderer…”

  “You are not wrong. There are indeed such treasures available to all Orthodoxies. And if those people had shown enough talent, then their clans might really have used such treasures for them. But if their talents had been so high, then they would not have fallen to their points. Forcefully healing their Heart would just not be worth the effort.”

  “But… They are from the same clan… They have already shown their talent… Why do their clan still refuse to recognise them?”

  “Because the talent they have shown is just not enough,” Alnea said in a solemn voice, looking straight towards Ralph. “So, if you want your clan to recognise your efforts, then you must show them what you are capable of. Reach the inner city, and make them regret their actions. Then, they will come to you on their own.”

  “…I will,” Ralph said after a moment of silence, clenching his fist with a determined light in his eyes.

  “Good boy,” Zain said, laughing out loud. “You almost have one tenth of my temperament now.”

  “…You can continue, Vestia.”

  “…As I was saying, after Wanderers make mistakes due to the flaws in their Heart, they end up working for the city as a form a punishment. This is the common information that can be known with just simple investigation. After digging a little further, I found out that rather than serving punishments, Wanderers who work for the city do it willingly. And that the clans behind them actually encourage them to serve the city.

  “This is clearly not normal behaviour. Why would these clans want their Wanderers to serve the city? And why would these Wanderers, most of whom look listless all day long, be willing to serve the city? Unfortunately, this information is guarded very closely. None of my information channels were able to find any news. All they told me was that serving the city was beneficial for these Wanderers with flawed Heart. As for what kind of benefits they receive, that is not something that we can get in touch with.”

  “…Huh, was this your interesting information? Some rumours about a secret? I—

  “I am not done yet,” Vestia said, facing Cecilia’s smirk with a calm smile.

  “…You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

  “Who knows?” Vestia said, not bothering to hide her giggles. Ignoring Cecilia’s pout, she turned back to face the rest of the Star Seekers, and continued from where she had left off.

  “As I said earlier, for some reasons, Orthodoxies encourage Wanderers with flawed Hearts to serve the city. However, they are not very willing to lose their Wanderers to the city. And rightfully so. These are True Wanderers. Even if their Hearts are flawed, and have had their path cut off, they can still serve as masters in remote branches, and can even hold important positions in main branches.

  “It is just that they cannot stop Wanderers with flawed Hearts from serving the city. So, they decided to prevent their Hearts from becoming flawed in the first. Or at least, they are trying. There have been attempts to the change the rules of the final Trial in this regard, but they have always been met with opposition. The city’s council either found the new rules to be too ruthless, or they found it to be too soft to bring about any good change. But that was in the past.

  “Apparently, there has been too much infighting among the Trialist recently. This goes contrary to what the city stands for, nurturing the new generation of Wanderers. As such, the city is going to ban infighting amongst the Wanderers. Even in the desert, Wanderers cannot fight against each other directly. Any violators will be expelled from the city.”

  “…What if there is an irreconcilable feud between two parties? How are they going to resolve it?”

  “I was getting to it,” Vestia said. “If Wanderers have irreconcilable grudges with each other, they can either be solved through the Blood Challenge, or through the final Trial. After the new rules are rolled out, the city will change the way it holds the qualification battle, and officially name it as the ‘Final Trial’. This will be a true ‘Final Trial’, as in one can only either pass, and enter the inner city, or fail, and be expelled from the city.

  “At the same time, the Final Trial will be open throughout the year. Wanderers with irreconcilable grudges can just apply for the Trial together, and then solve it within the Trial. The details of the Trial, and the requirements to gain qualification to enter the Trials are still a secret, but it is only a matter of time before this new ‘Final Trial’ is rolled out. Once that happens…”

  “I understand,” Yuri said, letting out a helpless sigh. “So, that is the Lotus clan’s plan…”