The two forr Vikings, Lennart and Stefan, plus Toby separated from their Lord, opting to retire to their respective apartnts. On the other hand, Charlotte Wynphine and another woman a year or two younger and as redheaded and pretty as her kept following him, chatting passionately. Ikaris recognized the second redheaded woman as the slightly rebellious and tomboyish teenager they had run into at Lord's Paradise the day before, accompanied by her older brother and father.
"I heard you ntion the word Healer." Asselin chuckled as he walked toward them.
He tried to hug Malia to celebrate their reunion, but the palm of her outstretched arm flattened his nose, keeping him at arm's length.
"Hmmph, sho cold..." The blond boy lisped as he massaged his sore nose.
"Ah I knew you were soone special when I saw you yesterday at the market. Because of my brother and father I couldn't ask for your na." The redheaded student next to Charlotte squealed as she grabbed his arm.
"Ikaris."
"Ikaris...?
"Just Ikaris." The youth repeated with no change in expression. "And you are... Caitlyn."
"You know my na? I don't rember telling you." The curly redhead took a step back and stared at him guardedly.
"I overheard the older man accompanying you ntion it when addressing you yesterday." He explained composedly. "It wasn't intentional."
Caitlyn imdiately relaxed. Obviously, this wasn't the first ti so creepy guys had investigated her. A little embarrassed, she laughed awkwardly, "Hehe, sorry, but my dad has a lot of enemies, and I have a lot of admirers..."
Ikaris and Kellam rolled their eyes. The girl was pretty, okay, but not so pretty that she could make every man's heart skip a beat with a single glance. For that, she had to be at least at Anaphiel's level...
However, as they glanced at Taguchi and saw his face flushed with emotion, their group realized that there was at least one person among them who was not indifferent to her charms.
Charlotte, who hadn't said anything until now, quietly nudged Caitlyn and whispered in her ear, "They have to share a dorm. Don't let their appearance fool you."
Today the pretty redhead with ocean blue doe eyes was wearing a shorter, sexy lavender dress than when they first t. While before she was at least cordial and respectful, her attitude had drastically changed upon learning that their talent was diocre.
She had already said sothing to Asselin about avoiding them, but he had laughed in her face. She still rembered his words, "If Ikaris and Malia don't have talent, then nobody does."
It was the first ti her childhood friend had used such an absolutist pitch. It had unsettled her, but she couldn't so easily change her preconceptions.
'Unless, of course, they lied about their talent.' Charlotte thought inwardly.
She wasn't stupid. She had considered it right away. That was why she had simply ntioned their dorm and not their skills. Caitlyn could draw whatever conclusions she wished from her statent.
Ikaris and Malia had keen enough hearing to hear her whispers, but neither of them exposed her. Turning his attention back to Asselin, he said, "My territory doesn't have a qualified Healer yet. I have a risky expedition in a few days, so I'd like to be prepared for any contingency."
Asselin wore a worried expression. "Is your village already in trouble?"
"Not yet. Ti will tell." Ikaris replied jauntily. "However, if I do nothing the risk will only increase."
Caitlyn's curiosity, who dread of getting her own Stele and becoming a Lord like them, was piqued and she blurted out,
"What kind of risk?"
Ikaris was too lazy to answer, but sensing no objection Ellie explained, "Our territory is near a Tartarus Gate."
The youth had not yet had ti to brief them about the dangers of winter and the Undead Season, but even without that Ellie and the other villagers had always felt an overwhelming sense of danger as they stared at the dark forest west of their village. Even though the Hellhound Pack had joined them, the Werewolf raid was an incident still fresh in their minds.
"Wh-what?!" Caitlyn stamred, her eyes widening to the brim. With a glint of genuine concern in her eyes, she approached him and patting his shoulder she said, "Are you suicidal?"
Ikaris swatted her hand away from his shoulder, and then replied unruffled, "So what if I am? At worst, I die. It's not like this is the first ti."
" ??? " The quizzical looks of those present revealed that no one understood the aning of his answer. They understood the words individually, but could not interpret them.
Smiling at the awkwardness of the situation, Asselin briskly asked, "Where do you plan to recruit your Healer?"
"Why are you asking that?" Ikaris said cautiously. "Do you know where I can find a good one?"
Asselin looked around, motioning Charlotte to pull Caitlyn away. She understood his intention and suddenly said, "Oh, I forgot I tore one of my dresses yesterday on purpose. I really need to buy a new one. Caitlyn you know the city well, right?"
Without giving the nosy redhead ti to ask more questions, she took her by the hand and led her briskly toward the Trade District. Ikaris and the others heard the girl grumbling and protesting, but after so whining, she let herself be dragged along to go shopping.
Ikaris gave Asselin a questioning look, wondering what all this ant, but the blond boy shook his head, "There are too many Sorcerers here, we could be overheard. Let's talk in a neutral place away from prying ears."
They were all intrigued by the Hadrakin nobleman's zeal for caution and decided to follow him, at least to find out where he was bringing them. Very soon they passed the Trade District and entered the adjacent Night District... In broad daylight.
"Erm, Asselin? Where are you taking us?" Malia scolded accusingly, giving him a scornful look that scread the word pervert.
The blond boy laughed and boasted confidently, "There are not only brothels and massage parlors here. The black market, and all sorts of establishnts with a dubious reputation are located here. Protecting the identity and interests of their clients is the very basis of their reputation in this business. I couldn't go with Irkan, who reports everything to my father. I am also wary of Toby and Charlotte. Toby, because he is ambitious and Charlotte because she loves to gossip and has a certain proclivity to drink too much. The timing is perfect."
For soone who had never been here before, he was well-inford because he confidently stopped in front of a teahouse a minute later.
"This is the place." He smiled, hands akimbo on his hips as if he were coming into conquered territory.
From the outside, the facility looked clean and well maintained. It was a rather fancy tea house, of a completely different standard than the tavern where they had recruited 3 priests the day before. One was in the Trade District, the other in the Night District, which was much more infamous, but the difference between these two establishnts was day and night.
On the wooden sign, the slogan "The Secret Tea" was written in gold letters. The place did not even hide its shady agenda.
A bell jingled as they entered the building, and a waiter in a neat, elegant uniform imdiately asked if they wanted a "quiet" place. Asselin gladly accepted and they were led upstairs to a luxuriously decorated room furnished with comfortable sofas and a coffee table for casual conversation.
The blond man ordered so drinks and once served, he showed them the black tal rectangle on the table that looked like a remote control. The others watched him with perplexity, but when he touched the object an invisible force field coated the walls of the room.
"Malia go outside and insult as loud as you can." Asselin suggested with a big grin.
Ikaris wondered if he had so weird kinks, but the Dhampir wasn't the type to think that far ahead. If this annoying kid wanted to be insulted, she would gladly grant his wish.
She left the room and the group inside waited for Malia's verbal abuse to startle them. They never got to hear it.
"All the VIP rooms in this house are soundproof and equipped with protective spells against all kinds of ntal probing." Asselin explained with a very pleased look on his face.
Malia entered the room a few seconds later, her face rosy with sha.
"What happened?" Ellie worried.
The Dhampir looked away, but faced with her friend's incessant prodding she whispered in her ear, "A waiter threatened to kick out if I kept squealing, I quote, like a sow to the slaughterhouse...I've never been so embarrassed in my life."
"Mwahahahaha!" Kellam and Taguchi guffawed at the sa ti.
"Pfft." Ikaris choked back a laugh, but it was too late.
Malia's face broke down. She had finally rembered that there were three n with superhuman hearing in the room.
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