Chapter 46: Moving Away (4)
Adrian realised something while drinking. The Troll blood in his veins worked quite effectively as despite drinking two bottles of wine, he didn’t get drunk. It was likely because the alcohol in his blood was detoxified before it could take effect.
Adrian didn’t know if he should be grateful or cry about it. In the end, he shrugged, let go of the fact and retired to his room for a while before leaving Nexaria for good.
While there, he laid awake, remembering Vesper. Among the mentors assigned to teach the inexperienced Heroes, Vesper was the one he was the closest to.
She was the one who drilled them on stealth and sneaky tactics. Most Heroes didn’t take her lessons seriously and instead focused on learning about brute strength and flashy moves.
But not Adrian. Being the weakest among them, he grasped Vesper’s teachings like they were the holiest of bits of knowledge as they suited him the best.
Then, his mind went to one of their initial subjugation quest, where Vesper mysteriously disappeared. At the time, the Church had declared her missing in action, but now, reflecting on it, Adrian couldn’t shake the suspicion that the Church might have played a hand in her disappearance.
From what he recalled, the Church didn’t seem keen on locating her, much like they hadn’t bothered much when he went missing. It dawned on him that Vesper might have faced the same fate he did.
"But she got lucky and somehow escaped death... unlike my dumb ass." Adrian chuckled, remembering how uptight she used to be, but she appeared chill. "Guess I’m not the only one who changed after the Church’s betrayal."
Still, Adrian was happy to see her alive, even if it was as a smuggler and not the teacher he remembered. Adrian closed his eyes to sleep. Instead, the memories took hold of him.