"For now," King started the conversation as Miana took a seat. "Let's start with you, Miss Miana. What brings you to the Information Veil?"
Miana straightened up after giving me a meaningful glance. Her behaviour was a bit different from the last time I met her. She was paying more attention to me.
"I need help. I need to hide." She said, her words taking a more worrisome tone.
"Why?" King was intrigued. Miana knew how to gain his attention. "What did you do?"
Instead of speaking, Miana created a barrier around us and took something out of her robe.
Clack—
It was an orb-shaped object about the size of my fist and gleamed in a fierce blue. It pulsated with power every now and then, shining a light into our eyes.
"A Mana Core!" I gasped, instantly recognising what it was.
How did Miana get her hands on such an ultra-rare object? Something had gone truly wrong with the timeline. The butterfly effect was creating more events that were out of my expectations.
"A Mana Core?" King asked, his brown eyes were dyed blue at this moment. An immense amount of curiosity was shining in the depths of his gaze. He looked at me, "What is it and how do you know of it when I don't?"
"...Is that what this is?" Miana asked, "A Mana Core... I see. What is it useful for?"
I pursed my lips. Their confusion made sense. Even the masses weren't even aware that such a thing existed. It never appeared even in rumours.
Only a select few individuals were aware of what Mana Cores were. But even their knowledge of such an item was limited.
I smiled.
"You got your hands on quite the beauty," I eyed the Mana Core with a slight tinge of greed, startling Miana who hesitated on whether or not to take the item back into her robes.
Seeing her hesitate like this was rare. I couldn't help but chuckle.
"A Mana Core is a special natural phenomenon that can be found in Unique Beasts, Great Beasts, and a few monsters." I said simply, "It is a god-like material that can be used to make the highest tier of Mana Technology or the greatest alchemical potions. It can be made into anything you can imagine, really. Just as long as the craftsman knows how to handle it."
I excluded the portion that only I was aware of. Mana Cores were basically brains of mana. Neurons made of mana and mana programs in the billions composed each core. It was an astronomical amount that not even the gods themselves could fathom.
Sharing such information with them was of no use to me. It was also better to keep the world away from such facts.
Nonetheless, what I just said was enough for both Miana and King to freeze.
"...Are you sure, Caelum?" Miana warily glanced at me, "If it is of such value... How was I able to steal it?"
"Right," King nodded, "If it is something that can be harvested from those kinds of beasts... How can anyone below B rank have control over it?"
I simply smiled. Yes, Great Beasts were at minimum B rank. They were giants that were capable of massacring cities the moment they were born. They were the sources of many rural legends.
Unique Beasts were special existences. These beasts were the only ones of their kind. They were nigh-immortal, blessed by their refined genes and grand evolutions. Although their strengths weren't as grand as Great Beasts, only two existed on the entire continent.
Rarer than rare.
On another hand, monsters, by themselves, were rare beings. They blended with human society by taking human forms, hiding in plain sight.
It was common knowledge for the masses to run the moment a monster appears in the area.
"How would I know how you stole it?" I shrugged, giving King a look as well, "Not everyone is aware of the value of a Mana Core. Even those who are at B rank. Some idiot probably underestimated its value. A monster can still yield a Mana Core, after all. It just has to be the right kind. One that isn't above rank C."
"Perhaps that explains the weaker security despite their obsession with me." Miana nodded to herself.
"Them?" King asked.
"A few bigwigs in the underworld. They're the reason why I need your help, master of the Information Veil." Miana replied as she gingerly stored the Mana Core back in her robes.
"Ah," King laughed, "Right. Well, in the first place, stealing something from those guys will always lead to a relentless retaliation."
King then looked at me, "What do you think I should ask in return for providing my aid?"
With a careless grin, I looked at Miana. I thought about things for a moment. Asking for the Mana Core would be much too much a price. If Miana was pushed into a corner, the spellcaster would surely go berserk.
That was something that King and I could not deal with.
So obviously, that was not what I was asking for. From the start, I already knew what was a good request.
Miana's specialisation was [ Information Gathering ]. She had a beautiful arsenal of spells that could draw loads of information from her surroundings. Most were too difficult to use constantly, but with the Mana Core, I could make something that would help with her spellcasting and growth.
She was the perfect person to assign to the search for Camellia. If the princess was still alive of course.
Thus, I spoke.
"Two things: The investigation of Princess Camellia Therine Jin Ganatria's whereabouts and a promise to help the Information Veil three times."
King smiled upon hearing my words, "A favour for three more favours... How nice. I like it."
He leaned forward and rubbed his hands, "Let's go with that."
Miana nodded, "I can do that as long as you can keep me hidden to the best of your abilities."
"That is a given, Miss Miana." King smiled. "Shall we have a contract witnessed by the goddess Alliyaha?"
"Sure. But before that," Miana ruffled her robe, "There's another thing I need help with."
Before I could raise my brows, Miana added,
"It's less asking for help and more asking for advice."
There was something in Miana's tone that made me feel like what came next would be something bad.