-Zeke's Room

"Zero, what intel do we have on Kael?" The very fact that he piqued the old man's interest means he's hiding something. That old codger wouldn't waste his time on direct contact unless the individual had something truly noteworthy, and a simple TSI device wouldn't be enough to tickle his fancy.

"Boss, the boy Brey, or Kael as he seems to prefer, only sauntered into the capital about half a year ago. We tracked him with a couple of others at the time, but any other traces have been conveniently erased. From what we've gathered, they ran into some problems about a month back, and Brey ended up hiding as a beggar in the slums. There were rumors circulating about his family backstory, but we've confirmed them as fabricated - probably his own handiwork. He only started making moves again a couple of days ago."

"Hmm, so he played the poverty-stricken beggar card, huh? And what about his roots? Where's he from?" From what I can tell, he's not a local – his mannerisms aren't quite in tune with the rest of this kingdom's crowd.

"We're not entirely certain, but we think he hails from the south. There's a residual demonic aura in their tracks, which suggests his two companions were of the demonic persuasion. Based on that, our best guess is he came from the Republic of Kendra. But there's a catch - we found some discarded clothes he'd been using, and they originated from the Elven Kingdom, as you know Elvin's clothes are difficult to maintain and are only sold by elves."

"So his origins are a bit murky. His garb hails from the Elven Kingdom, but he comes from the Republic of Kendra, which has zero ties to the elves?" It's not unheard of for people to pay a visit to the Elven Kingdom, but making a trip from there to the Republic of Kendra is a different ball game altogether. Kendra's a bit of a recluse, shunning traveler portals and barring Dwarven trains from its borders. It's largely unvisited, which begs the question - what would draw Kael there?

"Understood, Zero. Keep me posted with any fresh intel."

As Zero vanished, I found myself sprawled on my bed, lost in thought. This Kael character was a bigger mystery than I'd initially bargained for. His roots, his sudden appearance in the capital, his peculiar knowledge - all reeked of suspicion.

My contemplation was disrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," I called out, sitting up. The door creaked open, and Eira's head popped in.

"Hey, psycho, Kael sent me to discuss some materials I need. But honestly, I'm more curious about why you guys dragged that kid in here."

I motioned for her to enter, and she sauntered in, leaving the door ajar. She perched on the chair opposite me, arms folded across her chest.

"I know you guys are no saints," she began, her voice laced with suspicion. "So, Kael randomly bringing in a girl, and you agreeing without a second thought isn't normal. What are you two scheming?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You're really not as smart as you claim you are, are you? The girl is a potentially valuable research subject. Why don't you check out her mana and see for yourself?"

"Ugh, so you freaks brought in a little girl to use her as a damn lab rat? You think I'm going to stand by and let that happen?"

Whoa, whoa, calm down, shorty," I said, laughing. "By the looks of it, Kael used the idea of studying the kid as an excuse to bring her in. I'm not entirely sure what his game is, but I'm curious to see where this rabbit hole leads." After all, if Kael knows as much as he seems to, there must be something more to this little girl.

Eira's frown deepened, but she held her tongue. She stared off into space for a moment before sighing heavily. "Fine. But don't think for a second that I'm going to be a part of your freak show. I'll keep an eye on her, but that's the end of my involvement."

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I waved a dismissive hand. "Fair enough. Now, let's talk business. What are the materials you need?"

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

The following day, I woke up early to prepare breakfast. To my surprise, Desolara was already in the kitchen, sitting quietly at the table. Her gaze was vacant as she stared at the wall with empty eyes, lost in her thoughts.

"Good morning. I'm surprised you didn't try to escape. I feel like proper introductions are in order. You can call me Kael, and you?" I greeted her cheerfully, hoping to lighten the mood.

She jumped, startled by my sudden presence. But she quickly regained her composure and nodded at me, her eyes guarded. "How could I escape from a psycho and a creep? My name is Desolara," she mumbled.

"I'm making breakfast. Would you like to help?" I asked, trying to involve her in something simple to help break the ice. Zeke really screwed me over; now this kid thinks I'm a freak. Hopefully, my cooking can change her perception of me; if there's one thing I'm proud of, it's my cooking skills.

Desolara looked surprised for a moment before she hesitated and finally nodded. "Sure," she replied in a small voice.

As we prepared breakfast together, I tried to engage her in small talk. It was challenging, given her wary nature, but I managed to get her to open up a bit about herself. I found out that she had been living on the streets for a while. She didn't go into details, but I could see the pain in her eyes as she spoke about it.

After breakfast, Zeke and Eira joined us. Eira, looking surprisingly bright-eyed for someone who had been woken up in the middle of the night, immediately took charge of the situation.

"Alright, Desolara. We've decided to give you a chance to work with us at our store. You'll be responsible for cleaning, cooking, and assisting us with any tasks we might need. In return, we'll provide you with food, shelter, and a small salary. Does that sound fair to you?" Eira explained, her tone business-like.

Desolara's eyes widened, her guarded expression slowly replaced with a glimmer of hope. "Really?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "You're not going to… you know?"

"Touch you? No, Desolara. We're not those kinds of people. But don't worry, Kael isn't like that, though you should be careful with that psycho Zeke. Just to let you know, these morons only brought you in because they're interested in your mana. But don't worry, I won't let them harm you," Eira reassured her, her voice softening. "We just ask that you respect our rules and behave yourself. Can you do that?"

Desolara nodded eagerly. "Yes, I can do that. Thank you, but I don't understand. I don't use magic, how could I have mana?" she replied, her voice filled with gratitude.

"Um, that's why I took you in. In simple terms, you have a unique constitution. It seems that your mana was awakened in an unusual situation. However, the problem lies in the fact that normally, in order to awaken your mana, you would need to learn and use a circulation method to prevent a mana overload, which could kill or cripple you. However, somehow your body ignored the mana overload and that chaotic mana is running loose all over your body," I explained. Of course, this could happen to someone else, but the real reason she's like this is that when the devil fused with her core, it automatically forcefully awakened her mana. The devil is also the reason she hasn't died or been crippled because of an overload; after all, the devil needs a healthy vessel.

"So, you're saying I'm not normal?"

"There is no such thing as being normal. The idea of being normal was created by people who are jealous or scared of others. Don't let them get into your head."

Desolara looked at me, her eyes wide and filled with surprise. For a moment, she was silent. Then, she smiled - a small, genuine smile that lit up her face and made her look her age. "Thank you, Kael," she said softly.

"You're welcome, Desolara. Now, why don't we start your first day of work?" I suggested, trying to steer the conversation in a more positive direction.

She nodded, her expression resolute. "I'll start immediately."

"I like your enthusiasm, however, you should wait for your coworker to come by. He should be here soon."

"Coworker?"

"That's right. Just help out Eira with whatever she needs right now. Zeke, I need to have a chat with you. Let's go out a bit." They're both the same age, so they should get along just fine.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

"So Kael, what's this about? Is it about the girl or business?" Zeke said with a tired look.

"Zeke, I'd like to personally hire you to awaken my Aura." Although I'd like someone like Darius to teach me, he'd probably ask me to sell my soul, so the best option is to ask Zeke. Although Zeke specializes in magic, he should be aware of the fundamentals of aura.

"Hmhmhmahahaha! Seriously, man, I did not expect you to make such a request. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to ask the old man? Why didn't you ask me about magic instead?" Zeke said, laughing uncontrollably.

"Do you honestly believe Darius is affordable? And although I plan to learn magic, I need to attain aura beforehand."

"You know I'm not cheap, right?"