We headed back to where the crowd had formed. I looked down and saw that the winged shoes Jaspher had conjured had disappeared.
Jaspher folded his arms and glanced at Victor. "I can't believe you bought an item from my cart rival, Victor."
"Well, it's not my fault she makes more useful items than you," Victor replied.
Jaspher scoffed and shook his head. "Wah... we don't even know if those potions are verified by any authority."
Victor lifted the potion bottle, now half empty, and gave it a small shake. "Her potions worked for me. They helped me recover my strength after our last fight."
I walked beside them quietly as they continued arguing.
A few minutes later, we reached the crowd again. People were whispering and pointing toward the center.
Two unfamiliar ladies stood there.
"Oh, there they are!" Jaspher said as he raised a hand and waved to them.
"Ezekiel, this is Emilia and Charlotte." He gestured toward the lady with white hair and the one standing beside her.
I stepped forward and offered a small smile.
"Nice to meet you." I extended my hand toward the white-haired lady.
The other lady stepped closer and shook my hand first with a friendly nod. "You must be the new recruit in Grim Stalkers."
Before I could answer, the white-haired lady looked at the injured civilians around us.
"Charlotte, let's heal the civilians," the white-haired lady, whose name is Emilia, said as she stepped forward.
Both of them moved toward the people sitting and lying on the ground.
Emilia raised her hand slowly. A faint golden glow appeared around her fingers. Soon, small golden musical notes began to swirl around her. She moved her hand gracefully, guiding the notes as they circled in the air around her.
The glowing notes continued to spin faster, gathering together above her palm. Then they combined, shaping themselves into a radiant golden harp that appeared floating in front of her.
Charlotte also raised her hand slightly. Shimmering dust gather in her palm out of nowhere. The dust slowly twisted and formed, shaping itself like a bow. It became clearly visible, and with a soft burst of light, it appeared fully in her grasp.
She lifted her bow toward the sky, where the injured civilians lay below.
"What is she doing?" I asked Jaspher, leaning toward him.
He shrugged and gave me a grin. "Relax, Charlotte can heal with a bow and arrow."
"Starlight Shower!"
She fired an arrow into the air, and a glowing magic circle appeared above. From it, golden-pink arrows rained down, striking ten of the injured civilians. Shimmering dust scattered through the air.
The crowd gasped, shocked at what Charlotte had done.
In a few moments, the burns and wounds of the civilians and children vanished. The people clapped and cheered in relief.
"Harmony Chorus!"
She strummed her golden harp, and a circular wave of harmonious light spread outward toward the injured, the floating musical notes shimmering in its wake.
"Emilia can give encouragement and also heal your weary bodies," Jaspher explained to me, nodding toward the two.
"Alright people, we can move now," Luna called, and the cheering slowly began to fade.
The people thanked us for our service, especially the Golden Lamp Squad, before dispersing under Luna's guidance.
Emilia and Charlotte walked toward me.
"I can't believe he didn't heal those injured people, and some of them are children. He can heal, right?" Emilia asked, gesturing toward Victor and Jaspher.
"I was about to approach them, but suddenly an enemy appeared," I said.
"I told both of them to come with me to catch this creature, Emilia," Victor said, motioning toward the small demon hovering beside him.
"Even so, he should have prioritized the injured ones!" Emilia said, her eyes narrowing.
"Now now, he is just a new agent. Maybe he's just new to this," Charlotte said calmly, leaning on Emilia's shoulder.
"But he's the one who caught the imp, you know," Jaspher added, patting my shoulder lightly.
Margaret descended the staircase along with their Vice Captain.
"Vice Captain!" Jaspher ran toward Alistair and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me by my name," Alistair replied, shaking his head with a small smile.
Margaret arrived at my side.
"Are you okay?" I asked, concern in my voice.
"Hmm," she nodded.
"What about you?" she asked, tilting her head.
"I'm okay," I replied, giving her an assuring smile.
"What are we going to do with this imp, Alistair?" Victor said, glancing quickly at the hovering creature before crossing his arms.
"You can access its memory?" Alistair asked, studying the small demon hovering next to Victor.
"Yes," Victor replied.
"I think we shouldn't do it here," Luna said, stepping forward.
"Luna's right. We should also consult Captain Malachi," Alistair added, nodding in agreement.
We began moving away from the street.
I took a few steps, then hesitated. A reminder struck my mind. I hadn't yet completed my system quest.
Jaspher noticed my pause. He slowed down and glanced back at me, raising an eyebrow.
"Aren't you going to come with us to the headquarters?" Jaspher asked, tilting his head.
"I, uhh... I have something," I began to explain, but Margaret moved in front of me, cutting me off.
"We have something to do. He has a system quest to complete," Margaret said firmly.
The Golden Lamp Squad looked between us, uncertain.
"I think we should leave them be," Emilia said, walking up to Jaspher and placing her hand over his.
"What? I mean, they are both part of this now," Jaspher said, shaking his head and glancing at us. "I've really missed working with the Grim Stalkers, just like the old days. It's been fun teaming up with them again, right Emilia?"
Emilia gave me a sharp look, her eyes narrowing as she stepped a little closer. "I really do miss working with them, just like the old days. But there is one type of person I can't stand working with, those who ignore injured civilians or prioritize other things. It gives me an ick every time," she said, her voice playful and teasing, her gaze fixed on me.
"She is just joking, Ezekiel," Victor said, reaching out and giving Emilia's hand a gentle squeeze.
"I don't like people who also show up late when you need them. It just feels unprofessional," I said, raising an eyebrow at her.
Emilia gasped. "That's because we're exhausted from our previous—" She was cut off as Margaret intervened.
"Yeah, we can come to the headquarters," Margaret said, glancing at me.
I don't understand why she doesn't like me, but I decided to tease her. My system quest could wait until tomorrow.
"Are you both sure? What about your quest?" Charlotte asked, glancing between Margaret and me.
"I can complete it tomorrow," I replied confidently.
"Alright!" Jaspher raised his fist into the air with a grin.
They walked toward their company SUV, and Margaret and I followed, heading to our own car.