Promise

Wisteria

"The Crystal Cave of Kruber is the grave of the Zu land god," Gistara said, not taking her eyes off Javier.

They both then fell silent for quite a while. They knew that the Kruber Crystal Cave was one of the most dangerous places in Terra, besides the slopes of Mount Damavand and the Moon Devil Castle. That place is even more dangerous than The Ruins of The Dark Dragon Temple.

"I have been assigned to that place once, with two of my teammates. But at the time, the Zu Fortress region and the Zu God Temple inside the cave were still far away from where we were on duty. Staying in that place for too long is just as dangerous as being exposed to miasma." Gistara tried to recall the memory of the mission she had undertaken 10 years ago when she was still part of Division III under the command of an S-rank defense specialist wizard named Dmitriy Borisov. Gistara and the three other people were sent to check out the mineral content of the rocks in the area of the Kruber Crystal Cave.

Javier remained silent. He is reluctant to say honestly that this is not the first letter he has received. Anthonius also sent several letters a few months ago asking to meet, but Javier kept ignoring them. Javier felt the need to meet his brother this time. Javier chooses to ignore Anthonius' request for an encounter, ignoring the reason behind it.

…

The dark clouds slowly drift towards the ruins of a building that only leaves a few pillars of white marble and the nearly shattered stained glass window frames. Row of decayed wooden benches still appears to be neatly lined up. The floor of the building, made of a mosaic of ceramic tiles forming a painting of gladiolus, appears cracked and destroyed in some parts by wild plant roots.

"This place has changed a lot," Javier said softly.

Javier went straight to the place where he and Anthonius were to meet as soon as he got to Euhron. Unfortunately, the weather that afternoon was unfriendly. Every inch of the city's sky was covered by dense gray clouds that drifted slowly from the east. The drizzle that falls does not cease, bringing with it a chill that is almost freezing.

Near the ancient piano, a shadow emerged from the wild-growing trees. Between the gaps of the trees, Anthonius's figure emerged dimly from the shadow. A gray ushanka, a one-handed sword tucked into his waist, and a black cloak made of bear fur.

"Didn't I say 9 o'clock? It's only seven o'clock! It's still too early," Anthonius said as he sat on a bench in the front. "That was like our usual meeting. Even Mother used to praise your discipline back then."

"There are hundreds, or even thousands, of places that would be much better for you to choose as the place for our reunion after eighty years apart, yet you chose the ruins of a church that is no longer recognizable. Just the strewn-about remains of a structure." Javier felt annoyed that his brother had chosen a place for the meeting that was far from ideal.

Anthonius laughed upon hearing his brother's complaint. "You are right, but you will only fulfill my request if I choose this place." Anthonius stood up, then turned around. Looking at Javier while smiling.

"Elves are indeed different. Even after 80 years passed, you haven't aged," praised Anthonius.

Javier, upon hearing it, just laughed. "Just say what you want," Javier said curtly. He doesn't like small talk. "I have to go back to Malang right away," he added.

Anthonius smiled as a mocking. "You don't need to go back there anymore!" Then, Anthonius threw a wooden box towards Javier, who instinctively used his left hand to catch it.

"Meuz formed a core investigative team that will be specifically assigned to handle the cases of witch murders occurring in Terra. The five members of this team will be made up of combination members from the Lazuardy Sword and Crimson Knight, and they are all rank S members in their respective specialties."

Javier fell silent. His heart was racing; his hands were trembling. Javier tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath, then exhaling slowly. Javier was about to refuse Anthonius's request, but the words he wanted to say seemed to be stuck in his throat.

"Are you out of your mind?" Javier said, raising his voice. Javier snorted in annoyance, then stood up while glaring at Anthonius. Javier intended to leave Anthonius alone in the ruins of the church, but he refrained from doing so. Javier could not hide his desire to be involved in the efforts to find the suspect behind the witch murders that occurred in Terra. "Will you also be part of this team?" asked Javier, then looked at Anthonius, who returned his gaze with an ambiguous smile.

"I am waiting for your decision..." Anthonius patted Javier's shoulder, then was about to step away, but Javier stopped him.

"What wage can I get?"

Anthonius laughed, mocking the words his younger brother had just uttered, as if it were something funny.

"What do you want?" asked Anthonius. “I will help you ask Meuz directly. If it's just a new weapon made of the best orichalcum in Terra, then I'm sure Meuz will grant your request immediately.”

"I don't need it…" interrupted Javier.

Anthonius looked surprised at what Javier had just said, but a moment later he smiled. "I heard you're still looking for that girl?"

Javier was startled. He was absolutely sure he had never said anything about Luda to Anthonius, especially about the search for Luda's whereabouts that he had been conducting in secret for almost 100 years.

"I don't understand what you're saying." Javier tried to evade, but it was clear that Anthonius was not so easily deceived.

"Have you ever met Wisteria?" asked Anthonius, which immediately made Javier look confused. "She was a girl who used to follow one of the kitchen maids working for the Volkova family. A left-handed girl, and she has hearing problems."

Javier fell silent for a moment. He tried to remember all of the memories from the events that happened almost a hundred years ago. Recalling all the memories of the people he met while with Luda, especially all the servants and workers in the Volkova family. That was not easy, as Javier had only visited Luda's house a few times. A few years after Luda disappeared, Javier even only visited Volkova's house secretly.

"The little girl was named Wisteria... Her entire life was spent serving the Volkova family, even after the last descendant of that family passed away."

Anthonius took out a piece of paper and then wrote something on it. "Try to meet her once and exchange stories from the past. Her memory might have faded due to her age. So… try to be patient to get information from her!"

Javier stared at Anthonius with a shocked expression, as if he couldn't believe what his older brother had just said. His hands were still trembling just to take a piece of paper that Anthonius handed to him.

"You... you're not playing with me, are you?" asked Javier, who still didn't trust his brother. "What do you really want from me?"

Anthonius smiled again. "Join the core investigation team and complete this task immediately!" commanded Anthonius. "Currently, Meuz has not yet appointed the other four members. When I was given the opportunity to choose one of the best wizards of Terra, I felt that you were someone I could trust to complete this task. Besides that, I also believe I have a reward that is quite worthy, which I can give as an appreciation for your hard work."

Slowly, Anthonius's body faded into thousands of fireflies that gradually flew into the sky. At that moment, Javier realized that the figure who had been speaking to him was merely a swarm of insects that Anthonius had deliberately sent to meet him. Between being angry and happy because he obtained information about Luda's whereabouts, Javier chose to remain silent and ignore the fireflies that kept scattering all over the ruins of the church.

…

"He's not playing with me, right?"

Without wasting any time, Javier immediately headed to the address written on the paper that Anthonius had given him. The distance was only a 20-minute walk from the ruins of the church where they met, and when Javier arrived, he immediately realized that Anthonius had planned everything from the very beginning.

'KKRIETTT...!!'

The heartbreaking creak of a wooden door hinge just opened by a woman in her early 90s caught Javier's attention. The woman walked slightly hunched over her slow steps. Wrinkled, pale, white skin also has hair that has completely turned white. 'That Wisteria?' Javier wondered. Javier has long lived among humans. He really hates dramatic physical changes in humans. This often leads him to misidentify his friends, even getting their names wrong. Javier recalled Anthonius's words about one of Wisteria's traits, which is being left-handed, but this condition can only be known when someone performs certain actions. For example, writing or eating.

"Excuse me…!" Javier gathered his courage to greet the elderly woman who had just entered the front yard of a simple cottage-style house with a spacious garden filled with rose bushes.

The old woman that Javier called also turned around. He then looked at Javier with slightly squinted eyes, perhaps due to her diminished eyesight.

"Did you call me?" the old woman asked with a confused expression.

Javier nodded, smiling. "Yes, Ma'am. I was the one who called you earlier. I would like to ask about this address." Javier immediately showed the address that Anthonius had given him.

The old woman fell silent, carefully examining the writing on the paper that Javier had given her. "This is my house. I am Wisteria ...," said the old woman with a smile. "This is the second time in my life that I can see an elf. I truly feel very grateful," said Wisteria.