“Let’s talk,” Stella said, sitting down opposite Robert. “It’s clear that you’ve been wanting to do so for quite some time. Otherwise, why have you been keeping an eye on us ever since you first identified that we were Solace?”

  Robert showed no reaction, instead, he raised his index finger. Immediately, everyone else in the room, the two that were sharing a table with him, and the rest that were sitting on a couch, stood and left the room.

  “There, I believe this level of privacy to be far more adequate for a conversation between the two of us,” Robert said, leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers. “Now, I don’t suppose you came here to ask me what I want—no—you came with intentions of your own. So, let’s skip formalities and get straight to what each of us wants.”

  “You want something? From us?” Stella asked, her expression serious. “From what I can tell, you have no information about us. What exactly can you want from someone you know nothing about?”

  Stella’s words were genuine, there was no trickery here. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if she could play any trickery at the moment. With the burning sensation that was slowly moving within her, and the interaction with Eric’s siblings, Stella was already stretched thin in terms of mental capacity.

  That wasn’t to say that she couldn’t attempt something if she really wanted, or felt the need to, but the conversation was only starting. And up until this point, there really wasn’t anything to grasp, for either of them.

  “It’s a funny thing you should say that,” Robert said with a light chuckle. “If this conversation had taken place when we first arrived here, or even just a couple hours ago, then you would be correct in your assumption—because make no mistake, that is an assumption—and there really wouldn’t be much we could possibly want from you. Maybe some information about your training, or maybe even your location. I was still undecided.”

  Stella flinched a bit, surprised by his words.

  “Really? What could’ve happened in just a couple of hours that you suddenly changed your position in what you wanted from us? It couldn’t have been the match from yesterday, because you would have said so otherwise.” Stella paused, narrowing her eyes. “This isn’t the first meeting of this kind you’ve had today, is it?”

  Robert smiled at Stella’s accurate guess, but it wasn’t a smile of approval, because to him, it was an obvious guess to make. Stella herself took said smile as mere confirmation of her words and nothing more.

  “Who was this meeting with and what could you have learned that your stance regarding us changed? Did you come to a decision because of yesterday’s match?” she asked.

  Stella didn’t have to search her memories for long in order to find what could’ve been the subject of discussion that Robert had with whoever it was that he had a meeting with.

  Other than Solace in general, and our position at the top of the leaderboards, there isn’t anything that people know about us. At least not as far as I know. So, if I discard that, which he should’ve known from before, that really only leaves the matches from yesterday… Right?

  “Oh! It seems I’ve forgotten my manners!” Robert exclaimed, his expression a bit flustered. “My name is Robert,” he said, outstretching his hand. “Yours?”

  Stella eyed the hand suspiciously. Not a single part of her believed that the man before her, Robert, had forgotten to introduce himself, and just so happened to remember to do it in this instant.

  Is he trying to throw me off? Why?

  Stella, trying to keep a straight face and appear unbothered by Robert’s slight outburst, extended her own hand and answered. “Flame is fine,” she said, clearly marking the distance she wanted to keep.

  Robert’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly, but Stella caught it, though she didn’t know what to do with that.

  It’s likely that he just didn’t expect that I wouldn’t be even a bit thrown off. But this is nothing, even if I’ve barely practiced this part, I can still recall enough of my training to be able to handle something of this degree, Stella thought.

  Robert, as if he hadn’t been affected by Stella’s response, continued.

  “As I was saying… The circumstances regarding Solace changed. And while there was a brief discussion about yesterday's match, it honestly had little impact on my decision changing.” He leaned forward, lowering his arms. “No, my decision changed when I came to learn that the people from Solace possess something far more valuable than a clearly superior training strategy.”

  Robert stopped speaking, as if expecting for Stella to continue what he was saying. Expecting her to reveal that which he believed to be more valuable than an effective leveling strategy. But there was a clear problem that he hadn’t accounted for, and it was the fact that she had no idea what he was talking about.

  Stella frowned, this time making no attempt to hide her confusion. “Excuse me? What do you mean by something more valuable than a superior training strategy? And for that matter, what do you mean by a superior training strategy?”

  Shaking her head in confusion, she continued before he could answer. “And before you answer. Let me assure you that I am being genuine when I ask you what you mean. I truly have no idea what exactly you could be referring to.”

  And it was the truth. Nothing within Stella’s memories fit the words that came out of Robert’s mouth.

  Superior training strategy? We don’t do anything revolutionary. I least I don’t think we do, Stella told herself.

  The training that they did mostly amounted to exposure therapy. The strategy was simple, get those that wanted to hunt monsters and get stronger, to actually get used to monsters. Once they were used to monsters as a whole, they would be left to their own devices.

  Sure, Anna’s excursions into the dungeon city could be considered training, but from what I’ve heard of what goes on in those excursions, the most that she does is protect the people that are with her when things get a bit tough. I wouldn’t necessarily call that superior training. In fact, I would barely call it training at all, Stella thought, quickly running through the possibilities in her mind.

  And something even more valuable than said nonexistent superior training? Is it the fact that we know how to convert mana crystals into electricity? Is it the mana crystal mines? What could he be referring to? Maybe the dungeon?

  Robert’s face turned serious, but without a hint of anger. It was like he expected this response and was now ready to take this conversation seriously.

  “I could continue to play with words, hoping that you tell me what I want to hear. In all honesty, I wanted for our relationship to begin with honesty, not only from me to you, but from you to me.” He let out a small sigh. “But it’s clear to me, that if I wish honesty from you, I need to be more direct. I only hope that you respond in kind.”

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  Stella’s expression was stiff, she had no idea how to react to the words that kept being spoken to her.

  Is this guy playing a game with me, right now? Is this how rusty I really am? Wait, did Jamie and the others get more from me than I thought?

  “I have come to know, from a very credible source, that you, the people from Solace, possess a method by which you can prevent the influence of gods,” Robert said, flatly.

  And if Stella’s body reading skills weren’t as rusty as she had thought only a second ago, she was sure that he was putting it all on the table.

  That’s what he meant by “something more valuable?” her thoughts paused briefly. Now that I think about it, I can kind of see why that would be the case.

  Feeling like there was still more that she had to learn, she spoke. “Why would something like that even be of concern to you?” she asked. “From what I’ve gathered, none of the people that are with you, at least directly, have any connection to the divine.”

  Robert’s eyes widened a bit, clearly surprised. “You can tell who does and doesn’t possess divine energy?” he asked.

  Stella narrowed her eyes. “Yes, I am in daily contact with someone that constantly exudes it, if only mildly. Before you know it, the difference becomes clear. Almost like differentiating smells, but…different. You have to experience it yourself to understand it clearly.”

  Stella knew that she didn’t need to share this information with him, but considering the amount of divinity powered people she saw, or just guessed there were from yesterday’s round of matches alone, it was clear that it was information that would eventually spread.

  Right now, that information has value, even if it’s small.

  “Is that really the case?” Robert muttered. “I’ll have to take that into account for the future.” His demeanor quickly changed back into a serious one. “But let’s get back to the important topic, your means of dealing with gods and their interference.”

  Stella took a moment, considering how to respond. No matter how she thought about it, answering Robert was tricky. It wasn’t like his assumption was wrong, they did technically have a way to block any godly influences. The problem was that said method was a person, a person who wasn’t currently in Solace.

  Honestly, my answer depends on who he heard this information from. One of our own? Then I have to be somewhat honest. Eric’s disappearance is a commonly known fact, so I have to consider that when responding. On the other hand, I can’t think of another way that he could have figured out about the god thing.

  Stella narrowed her eyes, concentrating on the man before him, not caring that time was stretching on. But it was thanks to this brief scrutiny that she noticed an important clue as to who told Robert such information, a familiar sensation coming from him.

  “The god of Abundance,” Stella said, clearly. “You met someone that has a connection with them, didn’t you? That’s how you know that our leader has a way of blocking them out of Solace.”

  “Has? So, he still has it in his possession?” Robert asked, his interest obvious.

  Now that Stella had answered the questions that had plagued her, she felt like she could earnestly participate in the conversation at a more appropriate level.

  “You focused on that, instead of on our more efficient training methods,” Stella said, taking Robert’s misunderstanding about their training as if it were fact. “Training methods that could easily bring you great results, not only in the short term, but also in the long term. There is only one reason I can think of for doing something like that.”

  “I would be careful with what you say next,” Robert warned.

  “You’re having problems with gods on your land. What? Did an entirely new religion sprout up? Putting your government at risk?”

  “Yes,” Robert confirmed.

  “What?!” Stella asked, astonished at the ease with which he answered.

  “It is now my turn to speak. Because like I said, I want our relationship, and the relationship between our two factions, to be one of honesty and cooperation,” Robert said, again seeming to lay it all on the table.

  “About nine months ago, when all the gods came into Earth, after the operation that was launched against your leader, a particular god came to Earth. They promised prosperity and abundance for all.”

  “The god of Abundance?” Stella asked.

  “Yes. But that’s only where this begins. From information that we gathered from before, we came to know that said god, chose a potential saint or messenger on Earth. But something went wrong, and the god had to reach out to another. And this other person was chosen not for their beliefs, but for their capacity to achieve what was needed.”

  “This probably brought more problems than intended.”

  “Yes, it did, but not for the god, but for everyone else,” Robert said, his voice bitter. “In order to recover the messenger, this new chosen supplanted Earth’s biggest religious belief, turning most of the believers of old faiths, into their own.”

  Stella didn’t have to say anything anymore, she couldn’t, her attention was fixed on Robert’s words. What he was saying was beyond world shattering and even a bit unbelievable.

  “That is to say, that our problem is really the entire world’s problem,” Robert finished. “And that was all the information we had, until earlier today.”

  Robert’s gaze settled on Stella’s eyes, who refused to shy away.

  “And what did you learn today?” Stella asked. “Other than about our leader.”

  “Apparently, this messenger, saint, or whatever the god wants back, is in Solace.”

  Robert’s gaze didn’t waiver, waiting for Stella to react, maybe even let something slip if she was flustered enough, but to his surprise, she didn’t react at all.

  The reason Stella didn’t react to Robert’s words was simple, she already had an inkling about what he said.

  It makes sense, she thought. Lydia’s class changed almost immediately after Eric disappeared. The only other explanation for why she changed so soon was because she was meant to aid this messenger. But considering that the only other ones with a connection to the god of Abundance that I know of don’t even have a fraction of her strength, the answer is obvious, Stella concluded.

  Stella nodded, a picture already formed in her mind. “The most I can promise is a conversation with our leader at some point in the future, nothing else,” she said, her tone neutral.

  “As long as the method to resist the influence of the gods is on the table, that is more than adequate,” Robert responded.

  “Good. With that topic settled, what more was discussed in this meeting regarding us?” Stella asked, leaning forward.

  Robert relaxed somewhat, settling in his seat as he contemplated what to share.

  ----------

  “Apparently, an agreement has been reached,” a bearded man said in an alley.

  “Regarding what?” someone asked.

  “Don’t trust me if you don’t want to, but apparently, every government that remains wants Solace gone. One way or another,” the bearded man said.

  “And?” another asked.

  “They’re paying a lot to whoever can help them,” the bearded man added, gesturing money with his hand.

  “You seem to know a lot,” the Merchant said, coming from out of nowhere. “Would you mind elaborating on what you just said and maybe, even telling me where you heard it?”

  Silence took over, the Merchant’s very presence somehow shutting everything down.

  “Cat got your tongue?” the Merchant asked, slowly approaching the speaker.

  The bearded man, powering through the strange atmosphere, made a fist and stood.

  “Do you know who I am?” he asked, taking a brief pause, allowing for the Merchant to answer. Ultimately, he didn’t. “You don’t, do you?” he said, shaking his head.

  “Why is it, that no matter what great, world shifting event happens to people, they always revert to the same stupid behavior? Huh?” the Merchant asked, a glint of yellow escaping his eyes.

  “Did you just call me stu—”

  Before the bearded man could finish his sentence, the top half of their skull slid off and fell to the ground with a chilling thud. An ooze of brain and gray matter seeped out, pooling on the ground. The sight made the small crowd that had gathered fall into deep silence, only amplified by the tension that everyone was already feeling.

  “There appears to be a misunderstanding here,” the Merchant began, a wide smile on his face. “I wasn’t looking for a conversation, I was merely asking for information. And even if I was looking to converse, weren’t you too aggressive from the start?” The Merchant shook his head in disapproval.

  “Your reality is not what it was once.” He raised a finger and moved it side to side. “Oh no, it definitely isn’t. Before, behavior such as this would at most get you injured, and only in extreme or crazy circumstances would you be risking death. But now? Now death is the least of your problems.”

  “What—what are you going to do to us?” one of the onlookers asked, shaking uncontrollably.

  “Oh! My mistake, I should have made it clear from the beginning,” the Merchant’s face suddenly turned apologetic. “It is clearly my mistake that you didn’t quite grasp what’s happening.” Holding a hat that he didn’t have before, the Merchant bowed and left.

  Behind him, the alley appeared to glimmer faintly. Inside, the gathered crowd began to scream as their bodies began to disintegrate like dust in the wind. However, no sound escaped the small alley and soon, there were no traces that there was anyone there to begin with.

  When he was clear of the alley, the Merchant looked to the top floor of the human pagoda, where Solace resided. “I hope your conversation goes well Robert, because I have business with them,” he said with a smile.

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