"I can't believe he actually went out on a date," Runa was overlooking a large window watching the southern entrance of the Castle, and out towards the City, on the third floor.
Kokei was standing there leaning against the frame of the window, staring outside, as if longing to go out there. The only problem was the general population would freak should they see him.
All of his items which he wore, made him out to be a monk.
He wouldn't be able to see the sun, not freely. He wouldn't be able to touch anyone, anything, it wasn't safe to do so.
The skeleton's eyes drifted on over towards Runa who had spoke a few seconds ago and shook his head. "He's using it as an opportunity to move around the city."
"With a Witness?" Runa looked to him with a brow raised, resting her hands on the windowsill in front of her. "What would be the point of having a witness?"
"Boast Material," Kokei's jaw shifted slightly as his eyes went back towards the lit outside world. "I can only assume, he wants others to see he has the Lord's Daughter twisted around his finger. That he has the power to inherit the castle."
Runa blinked at the educated guess which had been brought to her attention. "What made you think of that?"
"Remember when Jack killed Nakajima? The guy didn't even feel sick about what he did... And had enough constitution to set up a portal soon after!"
Runa shrugged a bit when Kokei had pointed another fact out to her, "I'm sure it was premeditated."
"Eh?"
"When we were in the dungeon, Jack was prepared to let Nakajima die as many times as he saw fit in order to see if the revival statues worked like they did in game." Runa informed the skeleton who had been probably too afraid to actually acknowledge this at the time.
"Ah..." Kokei would bring his pointy bone digits to his chin in thought, scratching at his jawline. "Well, at least we found out they did."
Runa shook her head slightly, "At first they did. However, once the resurrection magic was used, I noticed that the first statue no longer had the effect."
"What'd you do, appraise it?"
"Mhm, when we were hiding behind it, I was wondering if we could use the cave in order to keep coming back whilst we fought. Didn't seem to be the case." Runa let out a quiet sigh, "Though we do have some revival items, one of us have to be alive to use them on another person."
"I should have at least warned Jack though," the skeleton let out a sigh, remembering how Jack appeared and found no one visibly there waiting for him. "Has anyone heard of a cowardly Lich?"
The female elf couldn't help but let out a sigh, nodding slightly. The one person who had been able to warn him, the skeleton right in front of her who had said something, had been too afraid.
"Has anyone ever heard of a cowardly Lich that is a master chief?" Runa reminded him of the omelets and his recreation of Ketchup, a grin across her lips as she did so.
As the jaw of the skeleton dropped, he stared at her. He could see the shine in her eye, how she looked at him, even though he had nothing to give in a physical means.
"You're a rarity, Kokei, especially in this world." Her eyes shifted towards the front gates as she still hadn't seen Jack and the unlucky girl she had sent off with him.
"I wish I could've tasted actual food for the first time," the skeleton mage let out a quiet sigh as he moved his fingers to his teeth. "The only thing I actually remember is the texture of nutrient paste..."
"Don't make me vomit," Runa's eyelids flexed and puckered.
Kokei chuckled at this as he took a step back from the window and leaned against the wall, fidgeting with his hands. He had no nerves, but he was definitely feeling nervous.
"Don't flake on me now, cowardly lion." Runa pitched her head down and arched both of her brows as she gave him her gaze as he looked like he was about to make a run for it.
"Oooh~" Kokei groaned before pausing as he could hear very faint footsteps.
That's when the two sisters appeared hand holding, walking side by side, down the corridor.
Snow raised a brow when she saw the two of them and raised a hand with a slight wave, "Heya Guys!" She said with a cheerful disposition, before pausing and looking over the skeleton.
Even though he didn't have expressions, his little orb-like eyes were shaking in their sockets. He seemed nervous, if not afraid, maybe even anxious.
"You alright?" Rein picked up on this as well and asked in the place of her sister.
"Ye-yeah, I'm fine. Just talking with Runa about things," Kokei tapped his booted foot on the ground slightly before turning to look at the half-elf player.
Runa nodded to the two sisters and tilted her head to the side slightly. "So what are you two doing? I've seen you guys all over the place earlier..."
"Oh!" The two of them giggled in unison, "We were lost, trying to find..." They both paused and looked at one another, then back to the two of them. "Princess Vivian."
"Huh? Why?" Runa blinked at the two sisters.
Kokei didn't really seem all that interested, but he didn't move from that wall. The only thing keeping him from flopping onto his boney rump, was the friction of his clothes against the stone wall.
"Jack gave us vouchers to use in the Dungeon!" They grinned widely as they took the items out of their jackets. Flaunting them around as they were considered a treat of sorts.
"Eh?" Runa frowned at this seeing the items. "You are aware that the resurrection altar doesn't regenerate the blessing after its been actively used. Right?"
The two sisters blinked a few times and lowered their flaunting arms, before looking at the items in their hands. Both of them sucked on their front teeth, making a 'tch' sound before stuffing them away into their clothes. "How annoying..."
"Why'd Jack tell us to go then with Lord Carmichael?" Rein tilted her head slightly, away from her sister.
Snow pursed her lips as she placed two fingers against her lower lip. Curious, she looked to Runa, then towards Kokei. "Perhaps he didn't know about the altar then?"
"Though we can only assume that the altar of a newly generated dungeon might still work?" Rein suggested, not knowing how the game world actually functioned. Or let alone the difference between this world and the last.
Runa toyed with her lower lip slightly with the tip of her forefinger, her thumb wristing on her chin. "If we go, we'll be wasting a voucher, especially if the second statue doesn't work. If one will even appear now that we've used the altar once, meaninglessly at that."
"Ah..." The sisters sighed, they had actually been wanting to go back to the dungeon.
"When Jack returns from his tour date, we'll go see if he wants to experiment with the Dungeon. If not, we'll just do what we want." Runa shrugged lightly, since everyone technically still had a will of their own.
Kokei could do what he wanted, and so could Runa. The only problem was, neither of them could safely move around the city.
Elves were viewed as slaves and heathens. Undead were just seen as abominations, and living atrocities which was typical, even if Kokei's existence didn't mean any actual harm.
"I might check and see if we can go to the Fae Imperium to gather information." She turned her gaze to Kokei, her head cocked to the side. "Would you want to go with me?"
Kokei stared at her for a few seconds, "Do you not know how to cook?"
"I know how to extract proteins and needed nutrients from dead rats and cockroaches." The Elf blankly spoke with a dry tone, clearly not enjoying the skill in which she had.
Kokei would've cringed if he had any muscles or skin to show the expression of such an action. "Sssure..." His eyes turned towards the girls, this left them and Vivian with Jack.
"Hmmm... Maybe we can ask him if we could become Guardians of the Dungeon. If feels weird here, even with all the luxuries..." Rein said as she gazed around the hall. "Perhaps we could build a small village in front of it?"
"You two could probably join the Adventurer's Guild," Kokei bobbed his skull before looking down the hall at the Lord and Lady Carmichael coming on toward them.
"Not a bad idea," Snow scratched her nose slightly with her free hand. "Or we could join the Mage Guild... The Guild Master looks like an interesting person."
Rein looked to her sister for a moment before shaking her head. "Merchants Guild seems to be where the money's at, and Jack just placed a new person in charge of it. Perhaps I could become his assistant, maybe bodyguard?"
Runa liked where this was going. If they were spread out, they could cover a lot of ground. That and they were all stronger that the average person.
This meant they'd be able to make names for themselves without being grouped together.
That and they'd be free to do as they please.
The only question was, how were they going to leave the city and cross the border? Would Jack open a portal for her and Kokei? Or would they have to get smuggled out?
Runa shivered slightly at the idea of using the slave trader to get smuggled out of the city.
Clearing their throats, the Lord of the Castle and his Lady, looked over the group of people present. "I see everyone is here...?" Ivan would've asked until he noticed that one person was missing from the group.
Vivian, the Thirteenth Princess of the Royal House, wasn't amongst the group.
"Where's Princess Vivian?"
Runa looked to the man with a brow raised, "She's currently sleeping in our room. She seems tired whenever Jack's not around. Which I guess is understandable..."
"Ah... Alright. Once Jack comes back from his date with my daughter, we'd like to have a meeting with him." Ivan addressed before looking to his wife, who nodded in agreement. "Please let him know as soon as you can."
The two would then leave the group alone, walking down the corridor with their arms hooked together. Ivan was definitely more confident, and it seems the Lady which Jack hadn't even turned wasn't causing all that much problems anymore either.
"How long until he comes back, anyway?" Kokei asked as he looked to Runa.
"Considering the direction they went, they still have a few hours. I don't even think he's on the wall yet." Her eyes scanned the horizon the castle oversaw.
"Perhaps something interesting will happen..."