There were days in which nothing could go wrong—luck smiled on a person, all the good choices were made, all the gambles turned out worthwhile, not even fate itself could do anything to sour the mood. For Dallion, this wasn’t; one of those days. Looking back, there were signs that it was going to be a tough day since morning. For starters, he had lost his cool during the fight, resulting in the match being stopped. At the time Dallion hadn’t thought anything of it, but for everyone watching—the nobles especially—his reckless side had shown through. Following that was the visit from the tattooed man, the whole issue of helping him escape—which had all but forced Dallion into another deal with the general, should he want to keep Gleam. Later, when Dallion had tried to claim the skill gems, it turned out that he no longer had access to the sword room. The only positive thing was that the Icepicker guild had believed him. They weren’t in the least pleased, but they had definitely believed him. However, that didn’t make Dallion feel any better.

I made a mess of it, didn’t I? Dallion asked.

There’s no denying that, Nil replied.

I supposed you’ll suggest that I leave the city as well?

There’s no point in me saying anything, dear boy. I don’t have the strength to drag you out of the city. Besides, now that you know the threat, leaving might be as dangerous as staying if you don’t have enough conviction.

In what sense?

The realm is a representation of an object. It’s a representation of us all. Your achievements and victories help you shape that realm, but so do your flaws and regrets. By leveling up, you deal with those flaws, growing along with your realm. However, it works in the opposite way as well.

You never said that before.

I thought it was obvious, the echo said. For some reason, he was lying. Dallion could feel the vibration throughout his realm. More than likely Nil suspected he would be caught and yet, he was doing it all the same. Remember when I told you that achievements come with their baggage? It’s the same with regrets. Even seen people ruining their lives because of some memory or regret?

Dallion had. His mother in Dherma had gone through a lot after the village chief had sealed her awakened powers. Even with all the support and the help of Dallion’s awakened grandfather, she had crumbled inside. The only reason she hadn’t withered completely away was pure will and Dallion’s father. If either hadn’t been there, neither would have Dallion.

It comes down to this: try and save the city or live with knowing you could have, Nil went on. Pick your poison, as they say.

What about you? Would you leave the city?

Ah. Well, I’d do the same as my original would, and that is to stay.

Hannah was back at the inn by the time Dallion returned. To his relief, he saw that Gloria’s condition had improved. She, along with her brother, was busy working the lunch shift, as usual along with Jiroh. Despite that, the place remained half empty.

Dallion waved to Gloria in an attempt to get her attention. Seeing him, the blonde smiled faintly, though it was obvious that the smile was forced. A bundle of complex contradictory emotions formed within her. There was gratitude, shame, fear, pain, sadness, and half a dozen more emotions of various intensity. Just as Dallion was about to approach her and ask, Falkner appeared from the staircase.

“Hel, Dal,” the boy said.

“Falkner?”

This was a surprise. Given the festival, Dallion expected Falkner to be among the other nobles at the arena or the Lord Mayor’s palace. He was definitely dressed for it, wearing clothes created of gem threads that probably cost more than the entire inn itself.

“What are you doing here?” Dallion asked out of habit.

“Glo needed some help, so she asked me over.”

Clearly, the two were becoming more than friends. As far as Dallion knew, they weren’t a couple or even dating, but the fact that he was the one who was called spoke volumes.

“I see.” A sense of awkwardness filled the air. “If it’s anything serious, let me know. I’ll go get some rest.”

“You do that. You must be ready for the tournament, after all.” There was more disdain in Falkner’s words than Dallion expected. “Oh, and you can have this.” Falkner took out a kaleidervisto from his belt and shoved it into Dallion’s hands. “Can’t forget this, can you? How else are you going to cheat during the fights?” He shoved Dallion as he walked by.

Just great, Dallion thought.

As if he didn’t have enough problems already. Now Falkner had gotten the impression that Dallion had abandoned Gloria in her time of need. Actually, that was pretty much what had happened. Dallion could have stayed an hour while she was getting better. Given how close they had been, that was the least he could have done. Instead, he had slapped the kaleidervisto on her forehead and gone off without a word.

In hindsight, that was a terrible thought. People weren’t items that could get better thanks to a magic item. They needed someone to talk to. Gloria needed someone other than her brother to be there, and since Dallion wasn’t she had called Falkner.

All that about following the Path of the Empath, and I still treat people like crap, Dallion said to himself.

That is one of the common misconceptions, dear boy. The path of the empath lets you understand and talk to guardians, it doesn’t change your character. Sometimes you just focus on so much that you end up being nowhere at all.

You can say that again. Maybe I need to—

“Dallion,” Hannah said in a sharp tone, even for her. “I need to have a word with you.” She opened the door of the kitchen, inviting him to go inside.

What else could go wrong? Dallion rolled his eyes. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that he would soon find out. The moment the door closed, there was no longer any doubt. The kitchen was empty, as Dallion had never seen it before. The silence was almost eerie.

Whenever Hannah was slightly pissed off, she would either yell a lot or use sarcasm as sharp as a sword. Whenever things were really bad, though, she would be calm and collected.

“Sit,” the innkeeper said, then went across the kitchen and took a large mug of sapphire liquid and two glasses. Even from this distance, Dallion could smell the alcohol.

Hannah poured two glasses, then drained hers in one gulp. Immediately after, she refilled the glass and repeated the process.

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Dallion asked.

“Yep.” Hannah finished a third glass. “For the first time since I found him. The place won’t be the same without him. Heck, I’m not sure there will be a place without him. He worked for ten at no pay, not to mention that he actually knew a thing or two about cooking. Everyone before him was utter crap. Maybe they’ll get a local to pass by. But no awakened would set foot in this place.”

Dallion went to the table and took a sip. The drink felt warm and tasted of lemons and strawberries. Leave it to Aspan to make a mysterious drink that felt exactly like home.

“He left this for you.” Hannah slammed appeared to be a transparent glass dagger on the table. “Said it might be useful for the fight to come.” The design was strange, as if someone had taken a standard dagger and flattened it like a pancake. It seemed quite suitable for a slime weapon, though, capable of slicing as well as blunt attacks.

“I didn’t know he had a weapon.”

“He claimed it was made specially for him by his imperial forge,” Hannah cracked a laugh. “Knowing him, it was probably a lie. It meant a great deal to him, though.”

Sadness filled the woman to the brim, so strong that Dallion felt as if he were drowning in it.

“Will you be leaving?” he forced himself to ask.

“That’s the reasonable thing to do. Assassinations are messy things. Even if they don’t succeed, they make life miserable for years. And if there really is a plan to unleash a wild chainling in the city, then things will be messy indeed. Just the thought that someone put an imperial in danger would be enough to get the army here. I’ve seen cities razed for less.” The innkeeper tilted her empty glass, but didn’t refill it. “I’ve arranged to get the kids to safety. Not that they wouldn’t have managed on their own.”

“Falkner,” Dallion whispered.

“A slight shove in the right direction was needed. He’ll discreetly leave the city tonight and take them along.”

“And the rest of the nobles will follow soon after.”

“Most don’t suspect, and those that do prefer to stay. Call it boredom, political maneuvering, or petty stubbornness. Some are even looking forward to it. Seeing a wild chainling is rare and the rewards from killing it are significant. That said, what about you?”

“I have a plan, but it just became more complicated. There’s something I need to do in the guildhall, and I’m not the guild’s favorite person right now.”

“You never knew when to stop. That’s always been the problem with otherworlders—you always go too far.”

“Any chance you can help?”

“I’ll try to get in touch with captain Adzorg, but that’s about it. I’d suggest having a chat with the overseer, but I suspect she already knows.”

“Do you think it’s possible?” Dallion asked. “Do you think the Star can be stopped?”

“Who knows?” Hannah shrugged. “The Star is bound by the rules of the land. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have bothered gathering cultists and artifacts. Even if he has the Vermillion keys, he needs people to use them.”

That was true. With the entire city guard, and now all the countess’ troops, working to find and stop the cultists from summoning the chainling, it was quite possible that the Star’s plan could fail. Add to them the mirror pool and the large guilds, and there was every chance that the thing was over before it started. Yet, for some reason, Dallion didn’t feel at all reassured.

One thing he had learned about the Star was that since he couldn’t achieve his plans directly, he manipulated others to do it for him. Everything was put in place, waiting for the precise moment to spring into action.

“Just like an awakening trial,” Dallion said.

How hadn’t he seen it up till now? The Star claimed to be from Earth, which meant his thinking would also be similar. The whole city represented one giant puzzle in which the Star had scattered his pieces in such fashion, so as to achieve his goal. Dallion knew what the goal was, he also knew the nature of some of the pieces. Now, all he needed to know was where these pieces were placed.. and there were ways to achieve that. It wouldn’t be something Dallion would enjoy doing, but it was the only course of action.

“What is?” Hannah asked.

“The Star’s plan. He’s still missing a few pieces to solve his puzzle. If I learn what the puzzle is before that, I can stop him.”

“Hundreds of others are probably saying the same.”

“Yes, but how many of them are from another world?”

“One at least,” Hannah said, referring to Euryale, no doubt. “That might be an advantage, but don’t rely on it too much. If the Star was easy to catch, the Order would have done so already.”

“True, but I won’t be focusing on the Star. Instead, I’ll focus on those he’s tasked to get the chainlings for him. There might be no way to find the location of the Star, but everything else has to go through normal channels. And when it comes to illegal activities, there are only so many places one could turn to.”

“Have someone in mind already, do you?” The left corner of Hannah’s mouth curved up in a smile.

“Yes. Unfortunately, I do.”