"So, where exactly are we going?"

"...."

Ater maintained his silence as he walked alongside Esme—the both of them headed towards a widespread cluster of tall trees that stood at a distance.

The place was akin to a wild forest, but was referred to by the Elves as the Sea of Trees. It was where their territory ended on the Eastern Continent, and they never went past it for the reason that there was nothing beyond the dense wall of trees there.

He knew better than that, though.

"You know there's nothing beyond that point, right? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Ater remained silent stll.

'There's no need for me to respond when she'll see for herself soon enough.'

He wasn't going to waste his time explaining anything, especially when there would be no utility in doing so. 'I've already achieved what I wanted. I laid the groundwork to earn her trust and cooperation long before this moment, so even if she grows impatient and upset at me, she won't be leaving my side.'

There was a reason he was on Esme's side when she wanted to go to the Elf Continent with Rey; among other things as well.

'Even though her relationship with Rey has soured, she still feels like she owes me.'

She also respected him.

'Then there's her curiosity as well…' He smiled to himself. 'She's probably getting bored of life with the Elves and is curious about what I want to show her.'

All of these were enough reasons for her to keep walking beside him, so why would he need to make pointless chatter with her?

"D-did Rey set you up to this?"

"Hm?" Ater turned at her, his brows raised slightly as he leaked out a sound.

The only reason he was forced to respond to her was because his Master was mentioned. As long as it had to do with him, there was a special kind of interest that he had to give to the subject matter.

"We haven't spoken since… well… I'm sure he told you. I just want to know if this whole thing has to do with him."

"It doesn't."

"Oh… okay." Esme sounded slightly disappointed, but also relieved.

Ater didn't like that.

'It seems like she still has feelings for Master. This isn't good…' He sighed internally, shaking his head slightly.

'I need to nip it in the bud as soon as possible.'

Ater understood that his Master had no need for distractions such as her—or romance in general—at this point in his evolution. He was even overjoyed when Rey actively wanted the major cause of his distraction and weakness, Alicia White, to leave H'Trae.

With her nearly out of the equation, his Master would be able to focus on more important affairs.

In essence, the things that actually mattered.

'I don't need you replacing Alicia, Esme… even if you are far more valuable than she is.'

He would have even ensured such a thing would never happen by personally handling the emotions that Esme had, but since his Master had actively prohibited such actions, he couldn't help but play a passive role.

'It's annoying… this whole thing is.'

But he had to endure.

All of this was for his Master's sake—and by extension, his own benefit.

'All in due time…'

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice suddenly erupted out of nowhere.

"Kyah!" Startled by the sound, Esme jumped towards Ater for support, but he simply shifted out of the way, causing her to fall on the ground.

He didn't bother picking her up or even looking in her direction. Instead, he found it more expedient to focus his senses on whatever just made the surprising sound.

"Y-you jerk…" Esme growled as she glared at him, slowly picking herself up from the ground.

Ater still couldn't be bothered, though.

"You aren't a child that needs a babysitter. Right now, a more pertinent issue is at hand. I expect you to be mature about this and focus."

As soon as he said this, Esme saw the sense in his words and swallowed her anger.

Unlike with Rey, she couldn't argue with Ater or snap at him. Anytime they interacted, it was obvious who held all the cards and who was the mere lackey.

"U-understood…" She muttered, dusting off the stains that her attire managed to sustain.

In a second, she was good as new.

'See? No need to make a fuss about something so trivial…' Ater wanted to say, but stopped himself and focused on the important matter.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Esme yelled out loud, her defenses high.

Ater remained quiet and instead gave in to observation. After Esme fell, he had heard some light giggles from the same voice that stopped them.

They were clearly having a lot of fun with Esme's embarrassing moment.

'The voice sounds feminine as well. Still, I can't sense them at all…'

That meant this person—whoever she was—was either stronger than Ater, or she was hiding within cloaking territory that was superior to his sensory prowess.

'The former is impossible, so I should assume the latter.' He cast his gaze on the wall of trees before him and instantly completed his deductions.

"She's hiding over there." Ater stopped Esme from making any further demands, resuming his walk the moment he spoke.

"R-really? It sounded like the person was behind us, though."

"Illusory Sound Magic. It's not a particularly difficult thing to do." He responded dismissively, closing in on the location.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP!"

"No." Ater replied, now a few meters away from the trees.

However, the moment he tried to take one more step forward… he found himself unable to do so.

'Ahh.. so this is where the barrier begins.'

"HM? WHY AREN'T YOU UNCONSCIOUS?"

"I see…" Ater smiled.

'So the barrier causes anyone who interacts with it to turn unconscious and be subjected to some mind manipulation, which causes them to remember things differently. That's why this place has been secret for so long.'

Ater had already sent a few guinea pigs to this location, with none of them remembering nothing of the incident, so he could be sure of all his deductions.

'Looks like I've hit the jackpot.'