"Uh…" Having been called out, Lucas quickly broke out of his daze and couldn't help coughing awkwardly, lowering his head as he apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare."
The girl snorted lightly before jumping off the Golden Hawk and landing right in front of Lucas.
Lifting his head, Lucas was about to speak when the girl actually turned away from him and called out, "Sir Green, go with Aunt Vanessa."
This idea clearly did not sit well with 'Sir Green' and he immediately tried to object, "But Your Hi…"
"Tina," the girl called out, "Here, I am just Tina."
"… Young Lady Tina, my orders were to protect you," Sir Green continued to press his case.
"Whatever your decision, please make it quickly," Vanessa declared, still using a polite tone of voice, before she urged Starlight to take-off and headed for the battlefield, obviously unwilling to delay here any longer.
"As I said, no one here can harm me, so I have no need of a guard," Tina argued, quickly adding, "The only threat to me here is from those beasts. The sooner they are dealt with, the safer I will be."
Although Lucas couldn't see this Sir Green's face, he could imagine it being quite scrunched up at this moment. He very much wanted this strong man to join the fight because together with Vanessa, the humans would certainly gain the advantage over the beasts.
Still, as an outsider with no influence to speak of, Lucas decided to keep his mouth shut and simply let things play out.
The pair, one young, one old, stared each other down for a moment before Sir Green let out a sigh and nodded, "Very well."
Without another word, the armoured man flicked the reigns of his mount and took off, heading west to join the battle.
The clashing sounds only grew louder with the addition of two Peak Spirit Initiates, though it still seemed like the battle wouldn't be settled anytime soon.
Pursing his lips, Lucas debated using his Soul Sense again, but ultimately decided against it. His Soul was definitely more powerful than an ordinary Second Step Sea Establishment Practitioner, but it was quite exhausting trying to 'see' what was happening so far away.
On top of that, the most Lucas could perceive was a fuzzy picture of the battlefield, which only served to increase his anxiety.
Lucas had lots of other things to do, thing that were important and could make a real difference, so he decided to just trust in his Master and focus on his own tasks.
With the immediate danger seemingly contained, Lucas turned his attention back to the matter in front of him.
Now standing just a couple metres apart, Lucas realized there was something wrong with the black cloak covering this girl. Somehow, it seemed to be obscuring his senses, making it impossible for him to tell anything about her appearance aside from her general height.
Maybe it's a Spirit Tool?
His curiosity piqued, Lucas began scanning the robe fixedly, but before he could figure anything out, a familiar voice called out, "You're a rude one, aren't you?"
Looking up slightly, Lucas was just in time to see the girl remove the cloak's hood, revealing her countenance for the first time.
Lucas already had a hunch this girl was quite pretty, but when he finally saw her face, he realized that his imagination had been seriously lacking.
This girl looked like she was a couple years older than Eris, but while there was a tinge of maturity in her figure, she still retained a youthful innocence. Her cream-coloured skin only made her deep violet eyes and light pink lips stand out even more; but, the true defining feature of this girl was her lustrous, shoulder-length silver hair.
In a word, she was gorgeous, the prettiest girl Lucas had ever seen before, both in this world, and the other his inherited memories came from.
Had he been an ordinary 10-year-old boy, Lucas might have completely lost himself in this girl's dazzling appearance and instantly become smitten with her; but while he was in no way a mature adult, he at least knew that after rudely staring at her twice, gawking dumbly for a third time would only solidify his reputation as a good-for-nothing.
Thinking like this, the young boy quickly composed himself and put on a friendly smile, "Hello, my name is Lucas. I'm sorry about staring just now, I was simply curious about your cloak."
Raising her brow, the girl couldn't help feeling a bit of surprise. She was well aware of her own beauty and what kind of effect it normally had on those of the male gender. Everyone from little boys to full-grown men would ogle her with varying degrees of desire; that is, until they found out who she was, at which point they would generally lower their heads in fear.
Some might still gaze at her with slimy, covetous gazes, something Tina hated immensely, but very few would dare to do so openly. Most would try to sneak glances at her when they thought she wasn't looking, only to avert their eyes once she turned her attention to them.
With this wealth of bad experiences, seeing this boy named Lucas remain so calm in front of her was new, to say the least. He offered no flattering words or empty praise and simply apologized for being rude while explaining his actions.
Now it was Lucas' turn to feel uncomfortable, as the girl stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes, seemingly scrutinizing him.
Although he had heard her name just now, not knowing how else to break the ice, Lucas asked, "Um… you are?"
Realizing she too had been staring for too long, the young girl cleared her throat and straightened her back, "My name is Tina. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucas…"
Tilting his head in confusion, Lucas wondered why Tina's voice had trailed off at the end of his name, but after giving it a thought, he quickly understand and smiled wryly, "It's just Lucas. I'm a commoner, so I have no surname."
Lucas didn't miss the look of surprise on Tina's face when he explained to her that he was a commoner. Apparently, she had assumed otherwise and expected him to reveal his surname, despite the fact that she hadn't revealed hers.
Still, Lucas saw no reason to take offence.
Despite her apparent surprise, Tina didn't show any signs of disdain or disgust at him being a peasant boy; as far as he could tell, she was just genuinely curious.
There was another awkward pause that lasted a few seconds before Lucas again decided to try to start a conversation, "Is there some special reason you came here with Commander Clark?"
Nodding, Tina replied, "I am here to gain some worldly experience to prepare for when I become…"
Here, Tina paused, seemingly not quite sure what to say. Eventually though, she continued, "For the future."
"Oh? Interesting!" Lucas couldn't help nodding in approval, thinking that it was impressive that a girl barely older than his big sister was already out trying to better herself.
Tina, on the other hand, blushed slightly; not from the young boy's honest praise, but from the fact that she had just lied. Coming out for life-experience was indeed part of the reason she was here, but it was a rather minor afterthought.
The real reason she had left the capital in such a clandestine manner was simply to hide.
Essentially, she was running away from a potentially troublesome situation.
Sir Green, one of the 10 Royal Guardians, wasn't even supposed to be with her and had only been able to accompany Tina thanks to a series of fortunate coincidences.
In the original plan, Tina should have snuck out of the capital together with Vanessa Clark, with no one other than her parents being the wiser. The sudden addition of Sir Green happened less than an hour before they departed from the Golden Wings Legion's main base.
"Ahem," desperate to move the subject along, Tina coughed to get Lucas' attention before saying, "Tell me about the situation here."
Although the way she asked wasn't exactly polite or courteous, Lucas didn't find that strange. In his mind, Tina must belong to a very powerful family and was simply accustomed to ordering people around, leading to her somewhat commanding tone.
She wasn't trying to be rude, this was just the way she normally spoke.
The fact that Tina didn't look down on him was enough to show she wasn't a bad person at heart, or so Lucas thought.
The fact that she was really pretty might also have had something to do with the boy's favourable opinion…
In any case, Lucas felt there was nothing he needed to hide, so he simply began going over the events of the past few days.
By this point, Lucas had told this story over a dozen times and even written a formal report about it, so he had no trouble recalling all the crucial points and laying them out in a clear and concise manner.
Lucas wasn't much of a storyteller, but his factual summary quickly allowed Tina to grasp the overall situation. It also raised her evaluation of this boy quite a bit.
Tina had always been studious and rarely had much free time, so she had developed a serious and practical personality. Meeting another youth who seemed to share her demeanor caused her to unconsciously appreciate Lucas.
At the very least, it was much easier for Tina to communicate with this boy than it was to deal with those noble children who tended to swarm around her and only knew how to flatter, snicker, or boast.