“What do you think they meant?” Stella asks as she takes a picture of the plaque.
“I don't know, but maybe there's something here.” Agami stands up and looks around the tomb. “Pass me the flashlight.”
“No way! Should have packed your own,” Stella replies.
“Are you serious?” Agami looks at her with a tired expression.
She childishly sticks her tongue out at him.
“Fine, just shine it in front of me,” he sighs.
Agami starts to look around the tomb, searching the destroyed coffin, hoping to find something.
After searching for nearly an hour, he finds only a broken watch.
“A watch?” Stella says with a disappointed expression.
“Yeah…” Agami studies it for a few seconds and finds the letters ‘M, E, and A’ on the back. “I remember this. I think it was a gift from Marik and Erina.”
“Who's that?”
“They were the people who raised me. Back before I died…” He points at the letters. “These are the first letters of our names…so that we would never be apart. It was a birthday gift.”
“That's sweet.” Stella shines her light around the tomb. “Does it bring back any useful memories? ”
Agami shakes his head slowly. He remembers only the gift and the sun shining on his skin. Unlike the previous ones, these memories fill him with some life.
Stella yawns and shines the flashlight on the floor. “Ah, well. Maybe we can figure something out.” She looks at her phone before continuing. “But right now, it's pretty late. We should head back, or else everyone is going to freak out.”
Upon hearing the suggestion, Agami remembers what happened earlier. Tenmei incinerating those people. Arcadius’ deal. The hotel room. The inadequacy.
“No,” he weakly answers. “I’m not going back.”
“But they're waiting for us. As much as I hate it, I don't want to get–”
“I refuse!” Agami answers slightly louder. The intermittent flashbacks aggravate him.
Acknowledging his opposition, she stops and crosses her arms for a few seconds. “Okay, then, you don't want to go back. But we need to stop those crooked benefactors or whatever, right?”
Agami only stares at her, nodding slightly.
“Okay, okay, okay,” she quickly repeats. “Is there anything you need from the hotel if you’re not going back? Like medicine, memorabilia, et cetera, et cetera?”
“Not that I can think of…”
“Then I, Stella Roselin, have a proposal.” She places her arms by her hips and smiles. “Let's ditch this city and take our adventure elsewhere.”
“Seriously? But what about the benefactors?” Agami says, intrigued by the thought.
“Eh, we'll handle them along the way,” she scoffs.
“What about money? We're going to need some if we–”
“Bah, bah, bah, bah!” She interrupts him with random sounds. “You in or out?”
Agami looks around the tomb and at his arm for a few seconds. His mind remembers Arcadius's words.
It's a choice.
He turns to her and nods.
“Alright!” She excitedly shouts. “Let's grab some sleep and get out there tomorrow!”
She excitedly hums and walks up the stairs. Agami turns one more time to look at the tomb before joining her.
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An hour later, the two arrive at a hotel called King's Retreat. Compared to the Cloudy River, it is a much smaller hotel. While the Cloudy River had a calm and relaxing theme, this hotel emphasises regality and elegance.
The floors are covered in a carpet with intricate symbols, and the furniture is made of polished wood. On the wall hung pictures of people who you assume, from their crowns and proud stances, were Kings and Queens.
Stella walks up to the counter while Agami admires the decorations. It reminds him of the Stilmur mansion.
I wonder if these people were real.
His thoughts are interrupted by a light tapping on his shoulder. He turns around to find Stella dangling keys in front of his face.
“Come on, we're sharing!” she tells him.
“Cool,” Agami answers, wondering about the rooms. “Wait, how many beds are there?”
“From what he said, there's a queen-sized one in the room we are in,” she answers nonchalantly.
“Wait, why did you get a room with one bed?”
“If we are going to travel, we are going to pinch our pennies a little. Besides, I may be reckless, but that doesn't mean I'm not frugal.”
As they walk to the room, Agami can't help but worry about his decision a little.
“Oh,” she suddenly stops and points at him. “And before you get any thoughts, you're sleeping on the couch!”
“What? Why do you get the bed?” Agami says.
She closes her eyes and speaks in a high-pitched voice. “Because a man always sacrifices his comfort for a beautiful woman. And mainly because I’m paying.”
Agami can only sigh, unable to argue.
After settling in, Stella crashes into the bed and falls asleep almost immediately. Agami, unable to sleep, lies on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
He looks at the armament and wonders about Tenmei.
He would probably be angry right now.
He sits up and leans back on the couch; his mind drifts to his family.
I wonder if they're worried. He recalls his experience with them up to today. They were friendly and helpful toward him. Danzo would often catch him up on what had changed since his death, and many of their sessions would go on for hours. Cosmic Shine was pretty cool. Vito would always get angry and come crying to him. He remembers how Maria would share facts from the books she read and make a smug face when Agami was surprised.
He looks at the Sharpshooter Imino got for him. He should have given his parents more time. He remembers how Sora would laugh loudly or joke when he was in trouble with Imino. Although she was standoffish, she tried to speak to him, often becoming more social when talking about her favorite topics.
Gearfried is going to kill me when he finds us again.
I don't want to be ungrateful, but I need to figure myself out. I can't expect someone to tell me who I am.
…where do I start…?
He closes his eyes.
I need to find Rosa.
Agami opens his eyes and turns to Stella, who is carelessly snoring in her bed.
I'll tell her in the morning.
Having an idea in mind, he returns to sleeping. His consciousness slowly fades away.
In the morning, the two check out the hotel after a quiet breakfast. Stepping outside of the hotel, Stella lightly stretches and smiles. “Alright! Time to hit the road!”
Agami is busy adjusting the straps on the Sharpshooter as he walks behind her. “Where are we going first?”
Stella stops and slowly turns to him, an embarrassed smile on her face. “Right, we still needed to discuss that, hehe…”
“If it's fine, I have an idea where we can go first.”
“Oh? I'm all ears,” she replies, crossing her arms.
“I want to find the people who knew me before my resurrection.” He does a final tug on the strap before placing his hands in his pockets.
“As long as it's not grave robbing, I'm in.”
He places his left hand on his chin. “I'm not sure, to be honest. If I were gone for seven years, there's a chance they would have moved houses or mansions.”
“Then how are we going to find them?” Stella sighs.
“It's easy. I just need to find Rosa.”
“Rosa?” Stella asks as she turns to him.
“Rosa Hoffwell. Her family is super famous, so it shouldn't be too hard to find them.”
“Rosa Hoffwell, got it… Wait, Rosa Hoffwell?” Her eyes suddenly widened.
Agami places his hand back in his pocket. “Yes, Rosa Hoffwell.”
“The Rosa Hoffwell?!” Stella grabs him by his shoulders and shakes him. “Why didn't you say anything?!”
“Is she that big a deal?” Agami asks.
“She is a super big one!” Stella's excitement begins attracting the attention of passing crowds. “The Hoffwells own the continent, and she is the princess!”
Agami grabs her hand to stop her shaking him, feeling slightly nauseous from it. “Okay. I didn't know that.”
She takes out her phone and begins typing on it.
“Hoffwell…residence…Rosa…Got it!” She stands next to him with her phone. “They are currently in Louchins, Fu Shuin, where Rosa Hoffwell is expected to wed Strix Noel on the 35th of Fleur, 372. Whoa, that’s about a month and a half from now.”
