CHAPTER 92
AN INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT
A sound rang in his head, jolting him all of a sudden and his eyes were greeting the unfamiliar yet known box which only he could see, "What the fu…", he almost cursed but what was written in that window stopped Hans in mid.
Notice : A Parvian artefact detected, unlocking a privilege “SCAN”
Startled by his sudden outburst, Delimira searched her surroundings but saw no one approaching. She began to panic, realizing that they were defenceless without the protection of Parvians. "What's happening?" she asked. "Did you see someone?"
Hans shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that. Come here for a second," he said, pointing at the box. "Do you not see this bright slab of light in front of me?"
"It must be in your head. Did you eat something bad?" Delimira asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
Hans almost chuckled. "No, not through the mouth at least," he said, touching his neck and whispering "COMMAND CENTER" under his breath. Meanwhile, Delimira kept an eye out for any potential surprises. As the unfamiliar box's window appeared before him, there was one peculiarity that caught his attention.
COMMAND CENTRE
Status : Connected
Terminal : 05IRIS
Name : Hans Parv
Health: 100%
Clearance level : Interim Administrator
PRIVILEGES
SOLAR BODY : INCOMPLETE
SCAN : it allows you to scan various things even a person and give the relevant results saved in the records. If not found, you can register it as a new entry to help others connected to the Command center.
(Interim Administrator perk )
* NO limits.
* you can assign clearance level to the thing you register.
* You can read other people's facial expressions to predict whether they are saying the truth or not. [note - Accuracy and Precision might vary]
Reading SCAN Hans mumbled,
"Well, this is an interesting development."
He concluded the new privilege must have been unlocked due to the artefact activated by him, it was called SCAN for looking into artefacts and things, even a person. One thing that piqued his interest more was the interim administrator perk that enhanced the SCAN, no limits on usage and reading people’s expressions was enticing him to try this right on. Looking at Delimira, vigilant as ever, he called her and activated SCAN through his words.
Notice : Unknown species found, do you wish to register.
Hans said dismiss and the notice box disappeared just as Arat had told him previously. now, he wished to test something out so he asked her to lie to him about anything. it didn't take long for him to hear her words.
"I enjoy your company, Hans," she said, with a smile genuine as ever.
Notice : Subject’s lying probability is 100%, [ Caution advised ]
Hans dismissed again and turned towards her,
"Not a shred of honesty was in it, haan," he said, shaking his head.
"You told me to lie."
Hans grumbled a little and fixed his eyes on her, "I always wanted to ask you something," he asked, pointing, "How do you always know that I am hiding something or lying?"
"It's written on your face."
"Do I have a tell"
"No," she hooked her head and continued "I am just attuned to reading people"
Hans grew curious
"How?" he asked
"When you live among those who constantly have it out for you, you develop these senses."
In contrast to Delimira, Hans relied on his instincts, which made it difficult for him to discern the authenticity of the Parvians. He had already harboured doubts about Arat's sincerity even before the latter injected him with the strange substance. As he began to question his decision to trust Arat and accept whatever that man was preaching, that's why he decided to do what Vanessa had taught him "Trust today and get betrayed tomorrow." As a result, he chose to flee rather than wait.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
leaving those thoughts at some corner in his mind he took out the artefact from the pocket and said,
SCAN
Notice : This is a Parvian artefact registered to the Royal treasury called Mother’s Warmth. It warms the area like a mother embracing her child in the cold nights. It can maintain an ideal temperature for about 14 hours of continuous use and can extend to 24 hours if the area of effect is shortened.
Hans said in excitement,
"Sweet mother of God."
This new scan was more of a thoughtful present from the god to him. They both started moving further south, while Hans kept playing with his newfound toy called SCAN on the way. After a lot of walking under the artefacts shroud of warmth and resting from time to time, they finally reached a civilised area, a village covered in snow
Hans asked her,
"Hey Deli, does your mother have any companies in Grimgar"
"Yes, but I would not trust those people."
"Why, aren’t you paying them?"
"Hans, paying does not mean I have their loyalty, someone might out-pay them more for my head. I don’t think that the PM of Parv was lying about the assassins though."
"You bought that?" Hans was surprised because he thought of it as Arat blowing his own trumpet.
"Yes, didn’t you - "
"I told you I have trust issues", interrupted Hans, saying "I can't tell who is genuine or fraud so I choose not to trust strangers."
Delimira let out a chuckle,
"You will live a long but lonely life that way," she remarked.
"Whatever, Winters," Hans brushed her off, and they headed towards the closest house in the village in search of a communication orb. However, they were quickly shooed away without any proper conversation. Hans was eager to contact Rudolf to arrange for their pick-up, but they soon realised that finding a communication orb was no easy task. The villagers were reluctant to speak with them, two children covering themselves under the expensive hood asking for shelter spelt nothing but trouble for them.
Having been born into wealth and privilege, both belatedly realised that for some, affording a communication orb could cost their lifetime savings and they were searching for that kind of luxury in this boony village
Despite the difficulties, they persevered and searched for the most well-maintained house, hoping to fish out the wealthiest person. However, the sudden snowfall made it even more challenging, as no one answered their calls. the villagers were already reluctant to talk before and the snow had finally placed a lock in their mouths. Hans looked up at the sky, which was now covered in snow. They had already spent a significant amount of time travelling to this remote location, but no one was showing them any hospitality.
Hans looked at Delimira "So what should we do, Winters," he asked, " I'm feeling like becoming a bandit right now."
"Then someone might report us."
"That would be better, I don’t think I can sleep outside today, follow me," he said pointing to the next house.
Delimira hurried after him towards a dilapidated house that was barely illuminated. Hans kicked the door, and it flew open as it was so weak. Inside, they found an elderly woman living with two young children. Despite the loud commotion, no one in the neighbourhood seemed to take notice of them. Both saw the old woman hugging her children tightly, pleading, "Please spare us, we don’t have anything, please just the children, spare the children."
Hans answered in a grim tone,
"Do you think your children could survive these harsh winters without you old lady? If you die, these two will suffer miserably before finding you in the afterlife. Is that what you want for these two?"
The old woman was clearly frightened, and Hans' question left her speechless, making her unable to even plead for her children's safety. She was feeling miserable, but Delimira's composed tone provided a glimmer of hope.
"Don’t worry, we won’t bother you, we just need a place to warm ourselves and fill our bellies, and we will be out of your hair in the morning."
Still, on her knees, the old woman listened to their uninvited guest and replied,
"I'm sorry, but we don't have any food."
Hans let go of the wrapped thing on his back and said to her,
"Then cook this, you can also eat it if you want, it would be spoiled after today anyway."
The children living in the house had gone without meat for quite some time, and when Hans presented them with a piece of a second-class beast that he had managed to kill, they were practically drooling with anticipation. Unfortunately, neither Hans nor Delimira knew how to cook the meat beyond simply roasting it.
After enduring two difficult days and the bland military rations cooked by the Parvians, the duo was longing for a delicious meal. The old woman watched the children with a mixture of concern and hoped as they brought out the meat.
She belatedly noticed the gryphon with a sword insignia on the duo's clothing, a symbol that was deeply ingrained in the minds of the villagers. While they might not recognize the coats of arms of the nobles or Grimgar royalty, the gryphon with a sword was well-known to them. There was a time when Parv had implemented a policy to invite suffering commoners to live in their nation, which not only helped in increasing the population but also provided a chance for the commoners to be a part of a nation that upheld equality.
The old woman was hesitant as she looked at the visitors, but Delimira's words brought her back to reality. "So, are you willing to cook or not?" she asked, hoping they could satisfy their hunger.
Knowing better than to keep her mouth shut to live long, she cautiously took the meat and requested her uninvited guests,
"Please sit by the fire"
They did as the woman suggested but there was no change in their temperature as both were in the shroud of the artefact. However, the children of the house sat far from them, since their mother was adamant and warned her children to be far from the visitors. it could not escape Delimira's watchful eyes as she glanced at the fire once again which was definitely not enough to warm the entire house. So she nudged Hans.
"What?" Hans responded
She pointed at the far-seated children and Hans asked again not getting her point,
"What? you have a mouth use it, Winters"
She sighed and said,
"Activate the artefact you cold-hearted jerk."
Hans responded to her negatively,
"What if they show greed over the artefact and get themselves killed, unnecessary goodwill causes Harm, Winters."
She knew that greed causes a significant decrease in rationality but she did not feel that happening in this household. She insisted Hans activate the artefact to which Hans sighed, "You will be responsible for this, WInters," he responded as he turned on the Mother's Warmth. And it did not take long for a layer of warmth to shroud the entire house, warming it up as she looked at the surprised expressions of the family and just like she sensed, the old woman had nothing but gratitude in her eyes.
She nudged Hans again,
"See I told you."
"Whatever Winters."
***