In the room.
" I'm listening." Levi's hair draped over his shoulder.
" I don't know if you will believe me..." Aria lowered her head.
" You'll need to tell me before worrying about whether I'll believe you." Levi pinched his nose bridge.
" It decimated the imperial city," Aria intoned.
" What?" Levi's back straightened.
" About half a year ago, it destroyed most of the city. Many people died." Aria's eyes narrowed.
" What did? What about the Inn? Are our people safe?" Levi asked.
" I'm sorry. We couldn't protect the Inn." Aria bowed.
" Our people, did they all die?" Levi waved.
" 20 or so." She straightened herself.
" They were out of harm's way since most of them were in the countries gathering mutated beasts." She said.
" I see." Levi crossed his arms, his head lowered.
" Wait, was Nerezza one of those twenty?" A bead of sweat slid down his face.
"No." Aria looked to the side.
" Phew. So what exactly caused this? Was there some kind of dispute? Did the king go on a rampage after being served cold tea or something?" Levi chuckled.
" No. Apparently, it was a giant beast wreaking havoc," Aria said.
" Apparently? What kind of beast?" Levi tilted his head.
" I had left for the Half-moon belt. You may know it as the arc belt. Those who survived recalled seeing the silhouette of a huge monster through the fire and smoke." Aria said.
" What were you doing there?" Levi's brows tightened.
" They mine many precious metals on the islands. I went to offer work. I also left some of our people to supervise and contact us when the products, and raw materials, we're ready." Aria said.
" Wait, wait a second. What products?" Levi grabbed his face.
" Swords, knives, cutlery, and such. Things that our people will need. Since the finished products are more expensive, I chose to take back the ore and raw materials instead. Should I have gotten your permission beforehand?" Aria asked.
" No, your judgment was sufficient." Levi massaged his temples.
' Why is she speaking so stiffly? It's irksome.' He looked up.
" Will we trade with them regularly?" He asked.
" Yes," Aria said.
" Mhm. Back to this beast, then. It destroyed the Inn?... What happened to the old innkeeper?!" Levi stood.
"...He passed away." Aria looked to the side.
"...Damn." Levi clenched his fists.
' I can still clearly remember the night of the lantern festival...' He clicked his tongue.
" The old fool. I told him to take some time off." Levi sat.
" What about Aron? He should have still been sleeping in there, right?" He looked up.
" No. As his condition worsened, I had Old Gray look after him. There weren't many other choices as when he wakes, everything catches fire. The sedatives started losing effect some time ago." Aria said.
" Oh? Speaking of the old man, is he doing all right?" Levi grinned.
"...More than that, the little store he works in was the only building intact for miles." Aria said.
" Hahaha! The old thing just won't die!" Levi threw his head back.
" Ha, so did the monster just leave after destroying everything?" He asked.
" The king drove it away but lost an arm. The beast injured him severely from what I've been told," Aria said.
" Is he still injured?" Levi asked.
" Some of his wounds should have healed by now, but a lost arm will never...Never grow back." Aria's gaze drifted to his side.
' The king may be on his deathbed, so why are his children here pestering me?' He stroked his chin.
' Then there's that Thana. I'm not going to think about her right now.' Levi shook his head.
" Two years worth of information is hard to process." He said.
" Where would such a thing come from, anyway? Ugh! And it destroyed my house. I have no place to go back to." Levi rolled on the bed.
" The Inn has already been rebuilt," Aria said.
" Then why didn't you say so?!" He shot up.
" I apologize," Aria said after a pause.
" Where is Nerezza?" Levi pinched his nose bridge.
" That..." Aria shrank back.
" Hmm?" Levi tilted his head.
" Where is she?" He asked.
"...In...The Inn you were standing in front of." Aria gripped her sleeves.
"..." Levi almost fell from the bed.
" Why didn't you say that sooner?" His brows rose with the pitch of his voice.
"...I didn't think it was important." Aria turned her head.
" Something happened between you?" Levi pointed.
" No-Never-Not at all." She said.
" That's the most energetic answer I've gotten from you all day. Something definitely happened." Levi's elbows locked as he leaned back.
" Nothing happened," Aria said.
" Nothing?" Levi asked.
" Nothing." Aria shook her head.
" Then go get her for me." He grinned.
"..." Aria oped her mouth only to close it multiple times.
" Nothing happened, so it shouldn't be a problem. Hurry back!" Levi waved as he made himself comfortable.
Aria stiffly left the room.
...
A few minutes later.
"...Pft. Go wait outside for a minute, Nerezza. Please." Levi covered his mouth.
"..." After taking a glance at Aria, she did as she was told.
" Bwahahaha! So she rejected you? That's what caused this stiffness?!" Levi kicked his legs as he rolled around on the bed.
"...At first, it was like that. I was heartbroken. But that was a long time ago. I readopted this formal way of speaking to eliminate any lingering awkwardness while serving you, young master." Aria lowered her head.
' I feel like if the word 'awkward' walked up and slapped you in the face you still wouldn't know what it was.' Levi's brows rose.
" I'm sorry for laughing, that was insensitive of me. But you're misunderstanding her." He waved.
" What do you mean?" Aria asked.
" Whatever you think of her or what you thought back then, it's a misunderstanding." He said.
" I don't understand." She stepped forward.
" It's not my place to tell you anything. Just know that you will understand someday, maybe sooner rather than later." Levi stood.
"..." Aria closed her mouth soundlessly.
" Don't fret about it for now." He gripped her shoulders.
"..." Aria's head turned as Levi left for the door.
' What on earth could have happened during his time here?' She thought.
" Oh, before I forget. Did either of you see a group of divers here when you arrived?" Levi took a seat.
" No. We saw a fairly old looking ship while sailing up to this point, but..." Aria said.
" Did any of the people on it jump into the water? Or were any of them bare-chested?" Levi asked.
" I can't remember..." Aria looked at Nerezza.
" Yes. They wore pants, but had their upper bodies exposed." She said.
" Get those guys to work for me." Levi smiled.
" Why? We already have people who know how to operate the ship. And if you're looking for sailors-" Aria got cut off.
" They do some interesting work. Who knows, if they fished the right thing out of the ocean, it could mean a huge profit." Levi said.
" Am I to assume that this is a gamble and not an investment?" Aria asked.
" Hmm, I guess you could say that." Levi tilted his head.
" It seems someone took advantage of them before, so treat them well." He said.
' This should give them a little enthusiasm for their work.' He smiled.
"... We understand." The two looked at each other before saying.
" Hmm. I'm leaving the sect in a few days for my material retrieval mission. Will you still be here a week or two from now?" He fell onto the bed.
" You're not coming back with us?!" Aria took a step forward.
" Not yet." Levi looked up at the ceiling.
' It's not like I need to stay but there are still a few questions I would like to get answered.' He put his hands under his head.
' The demon saint refuses all the people I find for him to possess. He's too picky. Too ugly, not enough potential, too short. I swear I will purge him from my mind if he doesn't stop that.' He closed his eyes.
' He also wanted me to find out about a 'brilliant star' sect. But why wait until I'm this close to leaving to ask this? How troublesome.' His eyes narrowly opened.
" Do you need us to stay?" Aria asked.
" It's not that important. Even if you left, I would find some way to get where I need to go." Levi said.
" Speaking of, Aria..." He called out.
" Yes?"
" Do you have my hair tie? As you can see, my head is a mess." He ran his fingers through his hair.
" No, I didn't bring it." Aria shook her head.
" Is that so..." Levi exhaled.
" But, I can do something with it if you would like?" She said.
" Huh, sure." Levi sat up absentmindedly.
A few minutes later.
" Look." Aria passed over a palm-sized mirror.
" Are men even allowed to have their hair braided?" Two loose braids hung at the sides of Levi's face. Two smaller ones secured his combed-back hair in place behind his head.
" Um, anyone can do whatever they want with their hair?" Aria said, unsure.
" Hmm, then I hope people leave me alone now." Levi returned the mirror.
"...Excuse me." Nerezza walked up.
" Huh? What's this?" A black bead cupped the end of the braid.
" These beads will help your braids last longer. If not, they will become undone quickly." Nerezza placed the end of his other braid into an opening in the black bead. She then pushed in a small protrusion, securing it to the braid.
" Oh. Feel's kinda heavy." Levi tilted his head from side to side.
"..." Aria smiled.
" What?" Levi looked at her suspiciously.
" You've become more handsome, young master. Have any girls confessed their undying love for you yet?" She covered her mouth as she giggled.
"..."
' I think I liked her better when she didn't say much.' Levi thought.
" No one is brave enough to approach me. My eyes are intimidating." Levi smiled.
" What?! Who said that! Your eyes are one of your best features!" Aria stomped.
' Her shell was so strong, but as soon as he appears...' Nerezza lowered her gaze.
" Another thing. Can either of you communicate through mental energy?" Levi asked.
" Communicate..."
" Through mental energy?"
The two questioned.
" I have heard about it from my family, but I was never taught how," Nerezza said.
" It's not hard. Just think about the words you want to convey while sending out your mental energy." Levi said.
" It works like this; when you think of words, the frequency of your mental energy changes. And when the mental energy flame of the intended person receives it, the information flows into their mind." He continued.
" You both should learn how to do it. Practice together or something." Levi smiled.
"... We understand." The two looked at each other.
" Hmm. It was nice seeing you two." Levi got up. He walked to the door.
" Wait! Young master!" Aria called out suddenly.
" Huh?" Levi turned around.
" I almost forgot to tell you. The house on Desolate mountain..." She paused.
" Did someone come out?" Levi's eyes brightened.
"... The guards posted there reported that it was empty." She said.
" What!?" Levi's brows furrowed.
" After switching out, one of them noticed that the black lines on the walls had vanished. That they could get so close to it was proof enough, but when they entered, it was empty." Aria said.
" Not a thing was inside..." She repeated.
' It wouldn't be impossible to survive without food or water for a while if one practiced the blood evolution skill. If your blood energy level was high enough, your body could live off of the large store of nutrition-rich blood until it ran out.' Levi thought.
' This would cause your blood energy level to drop, but if it was so high that you could live in seclusion for years...' He clenched his fist.
" Tsk! When did this happen?" He asked.
" About a year and a half ago..." Aria said.
" Then why I told?!" Levi asked.
" I-" Aria got cut off.
" At the time you had already come to this continent, and there was no way to contact you. And even if there was, you wouldn't have wanted anyone to contact you. Also, since we had yet to find a protective shield for the ship, we couldn't have come here to tell you. She is not to blame." Nerezza took a step forward.
"..." Levi looked at her.
" Think calmly and you will come to the same conclusion." She said.
"... Everything she said is right. I was venting my frustration on you. I'm sorry." Levi bowed.
" Y-Young mas-" Aria got cut off.
" If he can't even apologize after making a mistake, he will think everyone but himself is at fault." Nerezza stopped Aria.
" Even so! You shouldn't talk down to him like that! You-"
" Enough, don't fight," Levi said.
" I will see you in a few days." He looked back.
'...' He glanced at Nerezza before walking through the door.
...
At the other inn.
" Senior sister is asleep?" Levi asked.
" She fell asleep after dragging me around for hours. Who knew a small port town could be so large?" Yuri sighed as his shoulders fell.
"Also... What happened to your head?" He looked up.
" Oh, this was..." Levi glanced to the side.
" Nevermind. Just go to sleep. We're leaving tomorrow." Yuri turned over in the bed.
" Where am I supposed to sleep?" Levi asked.
" How should I know? Go rest your head on that lady's lap or something. In any case, shut up." Yuri hugged a pillow.
After a pause, Levi sat on the floor with his back against the wall.
He fell asleep not long after.