The competition for that day was done and the committee gave the participants one day to recuperate. Some participants who passed to the next round-battle were unable to continue for the day, due to some of them being passed out and badly hurt. Jai wondered how worse did it get in the South stage, because in the North stage, the fights were not very critical. He could count Haku and two more people that got quite rattled, but the rest of them were only with minimum injuries."I kind of disagree with the one day rest... It felt too slacking off," Jai muttered as they leave the square with Barun.It was afternoon. The sun was still high in the sky, but it's not right at the top. It was probably around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Darrion hummed, "I could guess that must be the princess' doing."Jai frowned and thought, 'They have a princess here too? Well of course, it's a kingdom. Why am I

"What's an earthmate?" Jai looked confused.At the question, Galum smiled. "It means 'friends of the earth'.""Is that how you earth elemers call yourselves?" Jai asked.Galum shook his head. "No, it's not. People of the earthdom have no saying for elemers. We treat each other equally."Jai hummed. "So people from the earth kingdom are all earthmates?"Galum nodded."Please don't get offended by his questions. He lived in a cave and just come out," Darrion said after sipping empty his drink. He was afraid this new guy would think Jai was insulting. Galum's eyebrows rose and he looked at Jai, "really?"Jai had this slightly irritated look on his face, "no, I did not. Darrion!"Barun chuckled, "Jai had an unfortunate accident and lost his memory."Galum 'ooh'-ed, and then he smiled, "but you did great in the

Darisha, Darrion's mom, was just like how Darrion had described. She was very kind and she welcomed Jai and Galum warmly. Well... She actually welcomed them excitedly right when they entered the house."Dari sweetie! Welcome home! Oh! Who are these gentlemen?" She greeted them."Hi, mom! They're my new friends! This is Jai, our handsome unique elemer," smirking, Darrion introduced her to Jai who bowed his head. "Nice to meet you, madam," Jai smiled politely at the lady. Darisha 'aww'-ed at him and pinched his cheek softly. "You are so adorable, Jai!"Jai blushed and awkwardly standing there in the middle of the room. This lady reminded him of his friends' mothers in high school. They coo at him like he was a baby. Then Darrion gestured his hand to Galum and introduced the big guy with a bright grin, "and this is Galum, our humble giant. He's an Earthmate!"

Jai and Galum arrived in front of the church. It was built with yellow bricks, and there were debris everywhere nearby. Darisha was right to say it was abandoned, but it wasn’t just the church. The surroundings were also in ruins. Jai couldn't imagine what kind of buildings ever bulit here. But the remainings were quite saddening. This was like the equivalent of a building junkyard. Thankfully, there were no small garbage or wrappers alike.There was only a small house in front of the ally though, owned by one friendly old couple whom they passed on their way here.The big front door of the church was closed. It looked very rusty, and when Galum pushed it a bit, it gave a crank sound. Then Galum retreated, saying that it’s not safe to enter.“The structure is weak in this front gate. The back of it is not very fragile, but the front, hmm...” Galum hummed, looking at the front walls of the church with slight worry.

Ater cleaning up, they had dinner together. Darisha’s cooking was superb! It reminded Jai of his own grandmother. She loves cooking and her cooking was always delicious. Jai missed her.They had a chat together after dinner, and Jai learned more about Darrion’s family. His father was travelling the continent, studying medicine. While Darrell, his brother, was working in the water nation in the south east. The guy only comes home once in a few months.Darisha told them that she always enjoyed the company because there were only Darrion and her in the house.“Sometimes, when Darrion is working, Auntie gets so lonely and decides to visit some friends. But it’s still lonely sometimes...”Darrion smiled at her mother, “I try coming home early everyday, and she always smothers me whenever I came home.”Darisha didn’t even protest. Instead, smugly smiling and replied something alongside a mother has right