"Sol and I will look for information. Meanwhile, you go back to the castle and ask Visar all the questions you can think of. That way, we'll get twice the information with the minimum effort."
Arra's blue eyes sparkle as she chewed on the cheese, and Strauss looks at me with jealous eyes. I take another piece of cheese from the tray, but Arra snatches it again and pops it in her mouth. I look at her with confusion, but she only shrugs it off with a smile. Wow. She can use her charm very well. That's admirable, to be honest. We make our way outside.
"When and where will we meet? You smell like wine. Did you drink?" Strauss scratches his head.
"A little bit. Don't worry about me. I have Sol to keep me company." She then leans close to my face and touches my lip with her index finger. Her breath reeks of wine. A powerful one.
"You're being very cheeky today, Arra." I look her straight in the eyes.
"You haven't seen anything yet. We meet back here at three. See you later, Strauss."
Arra cheekily smiles and pinches his elbow before dragging me to a nearby alley. Come to think of it, I never knew which direction this was. Arra shuffled from side to side, so I leaned her against the wall. I then touched her whole face with my healing gloves, but they didn't work, so I tried lightly slapping it for a few times. She moans, opens her eyes, and kisses me on the lips, much to my surprise. What a weird turn of events. Her lips tasted sweet for some reason. Is it the wine? It's pretty good. She realizes what she's done and starts to blush.
"Right, so... About the mission. Should we hold off for now? I don't think you're in good shape." I ask.
"O-Oh. Thanks for worrying. I-I'm fine now. "
"You still don't look fine. How about we rest on that hotel over there? I'll ask you some questions and I'll go try to find them myself."
"Oh, my. You're pretty bold."
"Why?"
"Nothing. You know, I think a small rest wouldn't hurt. Let's go."
Leading her to the inn sure was tough. I had to lead her by the hand and she kept on wobbling, so I carried her on my back instead. I asked her if it was fine and she didn't seem to mind, so we got inside quietly. That's when I remembered. My pouch was back at the house. I was about to return outside when a voice stopped me.
"What are you going to do with her?" She yells, and I swear I could feel a large number of eyes staring at me.
"I'm helping her find a place to rest. I know. I'll just bring her back to the orphanage." I nervously laugh, and this doubled their suspicion. She puts her left hand on my shoulder and turns me around. I tightly close my eyes, waiting for a punch.
"Oh... Aren't you the guy who helped me with the old lady?"
"What?"
"Yeah... I remember now. You're the one who protected us back when the Dolls attacked. Um... What happened to her?"
"I think she's drunk, but I have zero money right now, so I'm taking her an orphanage in the West."
"That's a long walk. She should stay here. I'll take care of the expenses."
"You don't have to do that."
"But I do. Who knows what you'll do to her."
"What?"
"Sit her on that couch over there."
She starts to make arrangements on the lobby as we wait. I check up on Arra. Her face is flushed, and her breathing's ragged. Just what was in that wine? And how come I didn't see her drink? Oh, right. I was focused on Strauss and the doctor's son and she was behind me. Maybe it's an allergy? Or was it because of the cheese? I better ask for a medic.
"Is there a medic in here?" I call while fanning her face with my hand.
"Don't worry. I'm a healer. For now, she needs to rest. I'll take care of her. You can wait in the lobby."
"I won't. I still need to ask her some questions. I'll go with her."
"No, you won't. Are you stupid? You're a guy."
"What does that even have to do with this?"
"The spell for determining her sickness requires that I strip her naked."
"... How long will it take?"
"Twenty minutes at best."
"... Alright. Thanks for the help. I'll go wait now."
...
Is what I said, but isn't this taking a bit too long? It's been twenty one minutes now, and the two of them is still nowhere to be found. So boring... Hey. The packed biscuits on the table looks delicious. Maybe I should try one ou--
"Hey."
"Ah! Fuck! Oh. How is she?" I almost crack my voice.
"She's fine now. I'm going to go." She coldly says and heads for the stairs.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Thank you."
"It's my job."
"Hi, Sol." Arra wipes her forehead and sits on another couch near me. Time for business.
"Can I ask you some questions?"
"Sure."
"Shouldn't we be looking at that doctor's house first? There may be a clue there."
"Sorry, but that's invasion of privacy. Also, he's homeless."
"He's homeless? Isn't that bartender his kid?"
"Well, you're right, but..."
"What?"
"His relatives disowned him because of his mental illness. He's suffering from bipolar disorder."
"That's really messed up. How does he get by, then?"
"Random work, just like what Nelen used to do back then. By the way, how did you manage to convince her to join you guys?"
"It's because of that armor guy. He promised that he'll find her mother's killer, and she's buying it. I honestly think that we'll move from another place once this is done, and she'll be coming with us."
"... Nelen's going away? What about Esmeralda? Is she coming, too?"
"I don't know, honestly. She probably will. They're lovers, after all."
"They're... Lovers?" She takes a pack of biscuits and opens it.
"Uhh... Yeah. I thought you'd figure it out by now."
"Oh... I was just surprised. So that explains why she's unusually affectionate towards her girl friends."
"Oh, right. You grew up on the same orphanage as her, right? What was she like when she was a kid?"
"Funny, smart, kind and beautiful. Just like her mother... Let's hold off for now. We're going to go and finish our business."
She smiles a sad smile as she looks at me, and I didn't like that. It makes my chest tight again. She stands and heads for the door, and I quietly follow along her. From that point on, small talk wasn't really necessary. She obviously wants to be left alone. I wonder if that's really the case, though. Her eyes and overall body language suggested the contrary. It's like she just doesn't want to admit it. Should I talk about it? Hmm... It's a pretty sensitive matter. It also seems like a stupid decision... I'm doing it... Wait, what?
"You and Nelen's mother must be very close." Ah, shit. I've really done it now.
"... We are. The way she smiles. How she forgives so easily. She's perfect. You can say that she's the first person I loved."
"Loved? As in love-love? Or parental love?"
"Love-love. By the way, you're fine with me being a lesbian, right?"
"W-why do you say that?"
"You were giving me glances. It's funny watching you."
"Really, now? Oh, well. You're my third lesbian crush, I guess. Don't I really have a chance?"
"Nope. I appreciate the offer, though." She giggles.
"We're going to avenge her. That's a promise, Arra."
"... Thanks."
Gods. Seeing this beautiful girl smile really sets my mood. Alright! Let's do this! For Arra and Nelen!... Ugh. This is harder than I thought. We've been walking for an hour now. Jean still needs to teach me how to properly use magic and read alphabets. Maybe I should just give up... Nope. For Arra... And Nelen... Huh. I'm getting tired. Maybe I should buy a drink first... Damn it. I forgot about the money problem again. Maybe I should just die in here. I'm immortal anyways, and Jean would pick my body up in no time.
"The information told me that Kanshir used to work for these two bars. You go to the one on the left while I go to the right. Seems good?" Arra asks.
"Roger. Why here, though?"
"He was last seen working here. He used to be a doctor, but he got himself fired, so he worked for this place before he disappeared."
"How did you know this? I didn't hear Visar talk about this."
"Oh, it's this orb on my chest. Did you notice that all Chimerians have one?"
"Oh, wow. Now that you've mentioned it, you're right."
"Well, I just touch it and a copy of the mission pops up along with other information relevant to it."
"What a neat gadget."
"Yeah. I'll see you in thirty minutes?"
"Make it twenty."
"Alright."
She makes her way onto the large oak door while I examined the signs at the top of each bar. The images of the sun and the moon, along with the names "Sol" and "Luna"... I was named after the sun?... That's amazing, actually. Maybe it's because of my bright, yellow eyes. I enter Sol, the bar Arra told me about. Wavy streaks of crimson, orange and yellow followed a large fireball painted behind the counter, as if it was coming towards me. There's a door to the left that leads to the restroom,and in its wake... Darkness. The design of the interior resembled the galaxy, and it felt as if I just ascended into another form of power. This feels amazing. I feel like I can control the world!
"Welcome to Sol. How can I help you?" The large, tanned man with charred hair greets me.
"Oh, well... We're looking for a guy named Kanshir. We were told that he used to work here."
"Kanshir, huh? Let's see... Oh, it's that guy in Luna. The one with the old man's voice. Go to the other shop. Are you sure you don't want a drink?"
"I don't have any money. You can answer my question, though."
"What is it?"
"Is your name Sol?"
"No. Why?"
"Just asking. I'll go now."
...
"Hi, Arra. You're already done?" I ask as she closes the door behind her.
"Hi, Sol. That was quick."
"How did it go?"
"The owner told me that he used to sleep near the potion store that way."
"Alright. Potion store it is."
We were about to make our way towards it when the orb glows. Arra notices and presses it, and a translucent hologram of energy makes its way from the orb to the pair of her ears. She then starts nodding and talking to herself, and I just stood there, awkwardly waiting for her to get done. The hologram disappears after a good twenty seconds.
"That orb can handle calls, too?" I verified.
"Nope. It's recorded. Visar usually provides updates and additional information relevant to the cases we're working on."
"Why didn't he add a call function, though? That seems unreasonable. It's work."
"Oh, he encourages the Chimerians to handle the situation themselves. All the Generals before him did this, as well. We're going to the our subquarters. Visar told me something interesting."
"What is it?"
"They caught Kanshir, and we're going to do the interrogation."
The walk to the subquarters only took a short amount of time. Or did it? I don't really know. I was too busy daydreaming about the foods I've eaten for the past few weeks. That fried lizard's tail. The soup from that same night. Those gingerbread cookies. The curry from the orphanage. Damn. I'm feeling hungry again. Come to think of it, we still haven't eaten lunch.
"What time is it? Aren't we going to meet Strauss at five back at the Gallows?"
"Well, yeah, but this'll only take an hour. Trust me. We'll be in time."
Jean's jet-black armor stood with his back turned to us, blocking our view from a large man who was sitting on a couch. Arra pats my back and goes to the couch, so I follow her without much thought. I hastily took a candy bar that was lying on the table.
"That's my candy bar, Sol." Jean smugly says.
"The subquarters doesn't have an interrogation room, so we're going to do the interrogation here. Would that be okay?" Arra asks.
"Yes."
His rough voice caught my attention, and the flashbacks soon followed. An old man's voice. A large frame. The heavy armor I saw when I was at the theatre. Is this for real? I peer over Jean's shoulder. Shit. It really is him.