Daru sighed in blissful satisfaction, not noticing that he was nodding from ti to ti.
’How superb...’
He had fallen hook, line, and sinker for Hailey’s trap.
But that was fine. After all, why would he be displeased when he didn’t know? The food is utter bliss, and ignorance is bliss, too.
Beside him, Caleb had long been resisting the urge to laugh evilly.
He knew Daru quite a bit — perhaps better than his sister did. This...this will rope him in...
With every slice of steak and chunk of lobster at, their chance increases.
The siblings, both their faces donning crafty smirks, sneaked a glance at each other.
’Yes...Yes...just like that, Daru...just continue eating...’
With every chew, every swallow, Daru fell deeper into the trap. Happily.
Caleb had been briefed by her sister about the governnt’s current relationship with Onimaru Kunitsuna while they were passing through the underground passage.
He could not believe how his predicant turned out to be a blessing. In this regard, at least.
An hour later, Daru was both stuffed and happy.
’What a nice, healthy al...’ he noted to himself, unaware of the more subtle side of things.
Hailey then masterfully stirred the situation to a more professional vibe.
She first asked how the food was, then slowly shifted the focus to the topic of the eting. Soon, the three of them were in a full-blown conversation about their experiences in the Underworld.
"So, you said you’ve been stuck in a gray realm called Limbo, correct? And that there are many Underworld Regions...hmm...that explains why there are no consistent reports about the Underworld...everyone’s experiences are different. It was highly likely that our past expedition force got unlucky and was sent to a realm they couldn’t handle..."
"T-The governnt had sent an expedition force before?" Caleb asked. He had a suspicion, but to obtain confirmation from his sister was still quite a shock.
"Of course. What, do you think the Seven Sword Guilds hadn’t either? Perhaps one of them even got lucky already and was obtaining unique items from the said realm."
Caleb only sneered, however.
"I doubt it," he said with a fair amount of confidence.
One of Hailey’s brows rose.
"Oh, how can you be so sure?"
Although Egress was a force comprised mostly of the Damned, who couldn’t use any Sword Skill, they had Nando’s knowledge — sothing far more priceless than sheer might.
Yet, even they barely succeeded.
Caleb doubted that the Seven Sword Guilds could have encountered soone like Nando.
"Conquering an Underworld Region isn’t so easy. It’s not as simple as having sheer might...although that would certainly help," he answered.
Looking back, Caleb shuddered.
Had he been stuck in a different underworldly realm, even if he could handle the dwellers of that region, the chances of his returning would’ve been close to nonexistent.
"Elaborate."
"Limbo is most likely one of the few Underworld Regions for Novices, aning the difficulties we encountered are already on the milder side, yet we barely survived, thanks to Daru here. There are divine rules there that one must follow, sis. One will have to slowly uncover the mysteries of the realm and analyze how one would be able to obtain a key. At least that’s how it went for us."
Caleb then paused, as if reminiscing about the bitterness of their struggles.
"I’ve already ntioned the old man, correct?"
"Yes, Nando."
"The ancient fart had almost every piece of information we needed, thanks to that divine quest of his. He gave us direction. I would’ve been stuck for longer, perhaps forever, had we not t the old man. Do you think every realm has soone like that?"
Hailey slid into pondernt. Indeed. If this was how difficult it was to secure a key, then perhaps the expeditions of the Seven Sword Guilds also ended in vain.
At least there had been no strange movents from their elite forces in the past five years. That the young division leader was certain of.
Most likely, the Seven Sword Guilds had temporarily given up on the Underworld, just like they did.
Not forever, of course, just until they obtain more information. Hailey finally did.
It seed that she was overthinking things and was still underestimating the Underworld. Based on what her younger brother said, the Seven Sword Guilds probably hadn’t had success yet.
This...was another advantage the governnt could capitalize on to try and even the battlefield, even if only slightly.
"I see...this return key, is it a consumable?"
Caleb grinned. "No. It’s a Soulbound Relic."
Hailey’s heart skipped a beat. She knew what this ant...
This ant that as long as they brought Daru with them on an expedition, their chances of returning with even more information — mayhaps even so underworldly loot, if they were lucky — would be higher than not.
After all, while the governnt’s overall force could barely compare to one of the Seven Sword Guilds, they have mighty elites, too, and most importantly, the mightiest.
Sword Saint Caladbolg.
The governnt would naturally be reluctant to send the one person keeping the world in order into a highly uncertain expedition.
Now, however, they have a relic that could open a portal back to the surface.
Exploring the Underworld had beco far less risky and more likely to bear fruit.
The young division leader was shaken, excitent coursing through her body at the thought of having a clear advantage in a specific field against the Seven Sword Guilds.
Just based on this, Daru Finnley had beco worth it to rope in at all costs.
Then there was still his rather mysterious talent.
Still, Hailey’s exterior remained impassive, seemingly impressed but not too much.
She nodded.
"This relic, care to explain its abilities, Mr. Finnley? Of course, if you do decide to share, there would be an appropriate reward."
The relic couldn’t be stolen from him.
Plus, with Hailey turning out to be Caleb’s sister, his wariness towards the forr lessened a lot. The latter had proven his trustworthiness already, after all.
He was a respectable individual, at the very least. His sister, she whom Daru once called a cunning witch in his mind, shouldn’t be too bad in comparison.
So, he decided to share the ability the governnt seed to need the most: [Monochro Rescue].
For a cost of Underworld Essence, the expedition force would be able to return to the Surface.
There were limitations and risks, however.
First was that Daru didn’t have a single essence right now.
Secondly, if they ventured too early and were sent to a realm too far from Limbo, there was a chance the expedition force would be stuck waiting for him to gather enough essences before they could return.
A day? Two? A week? Years?
It was impossible to tell.
Hailey acknowledged these limitations and risks with a thoughtful nod.
It seed that the matter of Underworld Expeditions would have to wait for later, though this was for the better, too, as bringing Daru as he was now was extrely risky.
If he were killed, everyone else in the expedition force would be as good as dead, based solely on the sheer difficulty of forging a return key.
Of course, the rascal’s words might prove an overexaggeration in so regions, but what are the odds they would be sent to those regions?
Hailey masterfully shifted the conversation topic.
Expeditions are for the future, but a detailed, restricted information report should be compiled as early as now if they want to succeed in the future.
Daru and Caleb’s experiences from the mont they first descended to Limbo to the mont they escaped.
The Swordspawns they fought, the features of the ashen expanse, the Cetery of the Damned, the Underworld River, the harrowingness of being buried six feet under the ashes after being caught by a part of Accursed Soulcatchers, Egress, Nando’s knowledge, and many more.
Hailey listened keenly to them all, asking questions from ti to ti.
The more she heard, the grimr her expression beca, and her heart couldn’t help but break for her younger brother.
The rascal suffered so much.
On the bright side, his experience as the Damnedling army’s leader seed to have made him mature a lot, now far more reliable than he had been back then, when he was as arrogant as a young master yet as anxious as a mouse.
Still, that damned Gravewarden had to pay for the wickedness of his enforcers. Hailey was naturally far more willing to help Nando now.
After all, she would also be avenging her younger brother. She seethed yet suppressed it in a mask of professionalism.
Daru’s experiences were also harrowing in their own right.
Exploring the Cetery of the Damned without soone to watch his back during his early days in Limbo, the heretical temple, his solo mission on the other side of the Underworld River, and dueling one of the five guardians — a faceless, bony, cackling horror donning a circlet of thorns and had her mouth sewn shut like a primary antagonist in a horror movie..
Yet, whenever Hailey rembered the two respected Bladeborn Physicians’ words, she couldn’t help but look at the young man weirdly.
’He’s...enjoying that?’
If this Daru Finnley isn’t a madman who was at least on the level of Caladbolg, then no one else was.
This eccentric quality only made him more valuable in the young division leaders’ eyes.
Inevitably, the conversation steered to the much more recent happenings, including how they t Sigrun.
Hailey’s brows rose.
"That... is quite a peculiar first eting..." she remarked. Out of all places, the two would et there.
Caleb grimly recounted all of Sigrun’s abilities — both those she explained and those he observed.
The Ivory Enclave, too, would probably send expedition forces to the Underworld soon.
Strangely, his sister didn’t seem to be too worried, for so reason...
"Sis, Daru’s identity..."
Hailey sighed.
"This is actually perfect," she began, her tone mysterious to Caleb. "Continue recounting your experiences first, Mr. Finnley’s identity would be our next agenda."
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