Chapter 158 This Is The Place
The two former Vikings, Lennart and Stefan, plus Toby separated from their Lord, opting to retire to their respective apartments. 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 mention 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 someone special when I saw you yesterday at the market. Because of my brother and father I couldn't ask for your name." 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 name? I don't remember telling you." The curly redhead took a step back and stared at him guardedly.
"I overheard the older man accompanying you mention it when addressing you yesterday." He explained composedly. "It wasn't intentional."
Caitlyn immediately relaxed. Obviously, this wasn't the first time some 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 met. While before she was at least cordial and respectful, her attitude had drastically changed upon learning that their talent was mediocre.
She had already said something to Asselin about avoiding them, but he had laughed in her face. She still remembered his words, "If Ikaris and Malia don't have talent, then nobody does."
It was the first time 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 mentioned their dorm and not their skills. Caitlyn could draw whatever conclusions she wished from her statement.
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. Time will tell." Ikaris replied jauntily. "However, if I do nothing the risk will only increase."
Caitlyn's curiosity, who dreamed 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 time 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 stammered, 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 time."
" ??? " The quizzical looks of those present revealed that no one understood the meaning 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 me 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 time 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 some whining, she let herself be dragged along to go shopping.
Ikaris gave Asselin a questioning look, wondering what all this meant, 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 screamed 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 establishments 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 someone who had never been here before, he was well-informed 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 establishments 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 immediately 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 some drinks and once served, he showed them the black metal 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 me as loud as you can." Asselin suggested with a big grin.
Ikaris wondered if he had some 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 mental probing." Asselin explained with a very pleased look on his face.
Malia entered the room a few seconds later, her face rosy with shame.
"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 me 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 same time.
"Pfft." Ikaris choked back a laugh, but it was too late.
Malia's face broke down. She had finally remembered that there were three men with superhuman hearing in the room.