96: Meeting with Yanu

Haley learned of Aidan’s true origins when he accidentally spoke about his time during his delirious moments after facing the demonic Matriarch.

It was some time after defeating the Matriarch while he was still in and out of consciousness, something that thankfully hadn’t lasted for long. While the others just simply ignored it, Haley took in a small piece of information that, after careful deliberation, confronted Aidan about.

About the fact that he wasn’t born here, but taken here from another world. When Aidan was confronted, not in an accusatory way but just in a genuine curious way, Aidan decided to spill the beans to Haley about where he came from.

Strangely enough, she took a lot of interest in it and continued to sit down and talk to Aidan about his homeworld, something that he was glad to do considering he never had a chance to talk about such things to anyone else in the world. Quite literally, in this case.

Nina didn’t know about it, and he wasn’t quite sure how she would handle it. Maybe she would care about it, or just outright ignore it as some rambling. Either way, he didn’t really feel that comfortable talking about it considering she never really talked about her own past to him. Once they somehow manage to get past that, perhaps he’ll reconsider.

After Nina, there wasn’t really anyone else he had to talk to about his home world, and Haley just happened to be the first one to take an interest in it. He talked about a lot of things from his world, including their latest technological advances and, probably more importantly, the entertainment business.

It was like introducing a fish to water as Haley just absorbed everything, her eyes twinkling in that little way that made her so damn likeable in the first place. He also found out a few other things that he didn’t consider, such as the fact that his world was actually more chaotic in comparison to this fantasy world.

One of them included the fact that this world doesn’t have easy access to recordings.

“Those crystals they showed off before were those recording crystals I’ve been hearing about, right?” Aidan asked, prompting Haley to nod.

“Right, though only a small few are allowed to carry them. It’s mostly to make their jobs easier.”

“Isn’t it possible to alter those recordings? I can imagine anyone just casually accusing someone of a crime if that’s the case.”

“Naturally, but it’s said that the church signed a contract stating that alterations of any kind are not allowed, and they even swore an oath that would seriously hurt them if they did anything about it.”

“Is that… really gonna do anything though?” Aidan raised a brow.

“I mean, I don’t know. They do lots of shady stuff behind closed doors, so I wouldn't be surprised. But I still think that’s better than just having some random joe being able to record everything like in your world.”

“Okay, I admit we’ve done some stupid stuff, but we’re still pretty capable of incredible things doing that.”

“I just feel like there’s no privacy in that kind of world,” Haley shook her head. “I wouldn’t like it if someone could just naturally find me when I want to hide everything because they kept recording everything around them.”

Aidan decided to leave it at that, as he couldn’t really fault Haley for feeling that way. His world did indeed advance to the point where anyone could just record everything and post it online, something that Haley described as a powerful magical nexus that contained all the world’s knowledge that just happened to be accessed by just about anybody, including children.

When she learned about the concept of the internet, she was definitely impressed. When she learned that everyone just mostly ignored it, she was disappointed in his world’s humanity. He couldn’t even argue against it, considering he was pretty much the same as everyone else in his old world.

And of course, the topic of religion came into being, to which Aidan was more than happy to dunk on to Haley as they made their way across multiple stalls and even to the port side as the day progressed.

“Do you ever miss it?” Haley asked, surprising Aidan with such a question. “You said it was destroyed… Do you miss it?”

“I do, sometimes,” Aidan genuinely said, scratching his chin a little. “Though I kinda just push it away into the back of my mind. Whenever I think about it deeply, I still feel like it’s not real, no matter how much time passes.”

There was also the fact that he was utterly alone, but he never told Haley that. Though he knew for sure that Haley picked up on it as she nodded.

“I think someday you’ll find somebody that came from your world,” Haley said with genuine assurance. “And maybe after that, you won’t feel so lonely.”

“I’m more than fine with the company I have now,” Aidan said with a grin. “Now come on, I’m getting hungry and that meatstand over there is calling our names.”

“Ooh, good eye!”

The two quickly got to the meatstall, the merchant who owned it enthusiastically shouting with glee over his self-proclaimed best meat skewers on the market, something that Aidan had to agree that they were definitely delicious.

He was also glad to have these conversations with Haley. He knew at some point he was going to address this sort of thing later, and he was worried about how he would feel when doing so. Having someone to talk to was somehow liberating, and he felt more and more at peace about what happened to his old world.

And maybe, someday, he might start talking about it with Nina, allowing her to learn more about him. Perhaps that way, she could be trusting towards him as well, which was something Aidan figured she would want even if she never said it.

…..

Back at the inn, Nina gladly took a bite of the pastries laid out before them within the living room, sitting across from Yanu as they conversed.

Van stood by her side, standing upright and looking serious. He was a commendable bodyguard, that was certain. She assumed he must have taken guard duties once upon a time, showing such a steely expression even now.

Meanwhile, Miko was also part of the group, though she was sitting alongside Yanu and Nina. Miko did two things throughout the entire meeting–taking a bite whenever there was food involved, and closing her eyes to meditate. Nina, of course, didn’t mind this attitude at all as even Yanu let her do as she pleased.

“Once again, I thank you for coming by to see me despite your first impression of my confidant,” Nina said, displaying a smile that she had practiced and refined nearly all her life. Yanu responded in kind, picking up a cup of tea.

“It’s no problem. In truth, it looked like Miko entertained herself, so that wasn’t an issue. I have to say that your confidant is rather impressive. It’s not every day that Miko would face someone near her standing.”

Considering that she was mentioned a few times, Miko opened her eyes to survey the meeting around her. Seeing that nobody was actually looking at her for a response, she closed her eyes again to enter meditation. It was honestly rather adorable in Nina’s eyes, making her seem extremely unlike the warrior told of in rumors.

Though her status page clearly told her that the rumors weren’t a lie or an exaggeration.

Miko Kurokami, Level 67

Class: Samurai

Talent: Frozen Flame

One of the main reasons why she wanted to have a meeting with Miko was precisely to learn more about her status. This would normally be a difficult endeavor as not only was Miko difficult to have a meeting with, but one can barely see her for long enough periods unless they were in the same battlefield as her.

Nina wanted to take her time to study her status page, so having a meeting with her while discussing things with Yanu was a perfect chance to do so. She had to study because, as one would expect, Miko carried a lot of titles to read and one could easily access their personal history through their titles.

Miko certainly kept herself busy, as there were dozens of titles showing that she had cleared many dungeons, and some on her own. That was one thing that she had over Aidan, who had impressively taken down an entire dungeon with a bit of help from their adventurer comrades.

But what struck her the most was Miko’s talent. It wasn’t like your usual talent where one could just naturally control a single element, but control something beyond just one element. She heard of mixed types of magic before, but this was the first time she saw a talent perfectly suited for such a thing. Mixing elements wasn’t an uncommon practice, as mixing fire with anything close to water would just make steam.

However, her talent completely overrode the magical common sense, combining them together to create an entirely new type of magic. A concept that clearly stood above your average affinities and used effectively against anything else.

Still, Nina had to make sure not to focus too hard on her status while she kept speaking to Yanu, who she had also studied the status of.

“When we heard about the demon attack, we wanted to help out. But as soon as we heard the rumors, we heard it was dealt with already. You have no idea how disappointed Miko was when she heard a powerful entity just disappearing before she could even do anything.”

Nina chuckled lightly. “I can imagine it. Though if I’m being frank, I’m thankful that it was settled faster than normal.”

“Of course, of course,” Yanu nodded enthusiastically. “Nobody wants a demon to hang around longer than necessary, which begs the question. How exactly did it come about? Do you happen to know anything, considering your position and all?”

“I’d be glad to tell you, as it shouldn’t be a secret. In fact, this should be something that you should know in case something like this happens again.”

Nina didn’t hold back as she explained her story about the cursed relic that Red Riot had used to commit atrocious killings, something that instantly took Yanu’s attention. She also explained that she was once a target, only for Aidan to save her. She also explained how it was Aidan himself who recognized the threat coming first, with the cursed relic as the cause.

All the while she explained the story in an elaborate and carefully woven way that made her stand out way more than she let on. In other words, she made herself out to be the one who had the insight to handle everything, but also managed to keep it humbling enough to not make her sound overly arrogant.

She had to do so as she wanted Yanu to see her as a good ally to have, especially for someone like Miko considering she had Aidan by her side. This would make it so that Yanu would think of Nina in case they were to have any problems, something that Nina wanted to take advantage of.

As Yanu listened, his eyes seemed to thin, his brows furrowed in thought. Seeing how he entered into a moment of silence, Nina waited for a bit before asking.

“Anything comes to mind?”

“Yes, though I’m afraid I’m a bit skeptical, but after hearing about this… I think we might have encountered such a cursed relic that you spoke of somewhere close to here.”

Nina instantly took notice, as well as Van who perked up hearing it.

“Please explain,” Nina insisted. Yanu saw the change in atmosphere as he nodded.

“About a month ago, my party and I were traveling in a dungeon not that far away from Palestorm. It was just your usual extermination quests, nothing that would be problematic. But we stumbled upon a hidden pathway that led us into a secret room. In that secret room, we found what we believed to be a natural treasure rather than an item. When we scanned it, it told us that it was Merunian made, but also stated that it was corrupted somehow.”

Nina kept her expression still, her mind whirling at the idea. That certainly reminded her of the relic that the dark mage tried to use on her, though it sounded less like a relic than anything else.

“We kept studying it some more, but ultimately we decided it was best to leave it be.”

“You haven’t brought it with you?” Nina asked.

“To be safe. It radiated some form of malicious mana that it made me hesitate to even put it into my spatial bag. The fact that even Miko stayed far away from it was also proof enough.”

When Nina turned to face Miko, her eyes were open as she was listening in to the conversation.

“I wasn’t entirely sure about it, but I sensed something was off and told Yanu as such. But are you perhaps saying that this was a cursed relic capable of summoning demons?”

“That might be the case here,” Nina said gravely. However, the look in Miko’s eyes lit up as she spoke.

“Then we must find it and deal with it as soon as possible,” Miko stated. “If another demon were to be summoned, then I must–”

“Hold on,” Nina said, raising her hand. She could somehow understand what Miko was trying to get at, making her interrupt her. “I think it’s necessary that we just destroy it rather than risk anything else. Aidan has the ability to channel magic that can actually destroy such relics. I’ve seen it before. Most likely as long as we can destroy it before it is used, we don’t have to worry about another demon attack.”

“If that’s the case, then it would be best if you and your group head to the dungeon and destroy it then and there before somebody else walks in,” Yanu said, nodding to her sentiment. “I think it’s the best thing to do in this situation.”

Miko clearly looked disappointed, pursing her lips like her idea was immediately shot down. Nina could tell immediately that Miko’s intention was to see if she could face this demon herself, and that was to see if she could somehow summon it there to face it.

But no matter how much of a battle-junkie she was, and how much she would rely on Nina if she were to agree, there was no way in hell that Nina would call out for another demon. The first time was bad enough as it is, and it put Aidan through a wringer. Yanu smiled warmly at Miko, shaking his head.

“Please don’t look too upset. I’m sure another chance would come up eventually. Besides, we’re busy with our own schedule, remember?”

“I suppose,” Miko let out a sigh. Thankfully she didn’t seem to gung-ho about it. Perhaps it was just an inkling that it was possible and she wanted to see if she could rather than thinking that she should.

“Thank you for telling me this,” Nina said, bringing back the topic of the relic. “Did you perhaps seal it off before you left?”

“Naturally, though not by a lot. We wanted to make it seem like a natural cave in, but I’m certain if you focus on it, you could still see the dark energy it exudes. If you wish for me to draw a map there, then–”

“That’s fine,” Nina said, raising her hand. If Yanu went ahead to do something like that, it would be like doing her a favor, and the last thing she wanted was to use up the rare favors when she can just do the jobs herself. Or rather, her confidant doing it. “I’m certain my comrades can easily find it. As you know, Aidan can be capable when it comes to matters like these.”

“I see,” Yanu nodded. “Then it looks like you’re heading off to the Leafair Dungeon. I must warn you that the level requirements are naturally pretty high. Just the first floor makes you face a level 30 or above creature.”

“Even better. Aidan has been wanting to level up for a while now, so this is going to turn out to be quite fun.”

The two continued to talk, mostly about the dungeon and their reasoning for diving in it. Once a few hours passed, Yanu and Miko left the inn to deal with their own busy lives, leaving Nina and Van behind.

“Looks like we’re off to another dungeon,” Van said, looking over at Nina. “Sorry if I’m being slow, but it didn’t feel like we did that much roadwork with them.”

“Naturally,” Nina answered. “Yanu is a careful sort. He knew my intentions before we even met. I needed to make sure that while that was on my list, my first priority was to just talk to them. Making friends is a lot more complicated as you get older, especially when assets are involved.”

“Treating such a powerful warrior like her as an asset is still so boggling,” Van shook his head.

“That’s how it is for every major power who deals with powerful weapons. They are all assets, but what makes them complicated is the fact that they have their own goals and desires. Yanu is the sort that already has a good grasp of what Miko wants and needs, making her a total pawn to use for his own gains. He was just as much testing me to see if I can also be a good enough asset.”

“I’ll pretend I know what you’re talking about and ask something else,” Van replied. Nina was frankly impressed at his subtle yet brave responses, understanding why Aidan likes him as much as Haley. “What does Yanu want in return? Do you know?”

“Most likely plenty of things, but he still doesn’t have a good grasp of what I can provide. One thing is certain–he’s definitely interested in Aidan. As for whether he believed him to be an obstacle for his own goal, or perhaps a necessary connection for Miko, that remains to be seen.”

Van stayed silent for a moment, letting her words sink in.

“I guess the only thing I can do is to try and keep up with Aidan, then. I’ll do what I can to get stronger and learn magic so that I can be useful in the dungeon.”

“I believe that’s all Aidan would ever want from you,” Nina smiled. “As for me, just be a good pillar of support for Haley. I’m rather fond of her, and the last thing I want is for you to die and leave her alone.”

“...There’s no need to worry about that,” Van said with a steely resolve in his eyes. “I’ll never leave her alone with you.”

Nina smiled in return. She really was starting to grow fond of Van as well. Enough to the point where she was thinking of devising a contract for him.