Renso opened his eyes again, then lowered the sword. The crystalline spine stopped glowing, and the sparks stopped flying off of the blade. At least he had his sword with him now. This fact gave him a measure of comfort. After all, no warrior wanted to be without their weapon. Well, it was time to store his weapon. He focused on assimilating the sword with his essence again, which caused it to disappear into glowing white particles. The particles trailed light as they flew into his chest and vanished.

Dannus stared in amazement and horror. "How did you do that?! It just vanished! I had to pay two thousand boris for that, and it's the main exhibit here!" Seeing the sword disappear clearly made him have a change in heart about giving it away.

"But dad, it belongs to him. He's the only one it responds to, and we both saw it shooting lightning. Plus, you already said you'd give it away." Minna crossed her arms and sent her father a stern look. As soon as he turned his gaze away with a defeated expression, she looked back at Renso and eased her face. "It is pretty amazing that you're able to make something disappear like that."

Renso's eyes narrowed while he wondered if he should give away how it happened. Explaining really did no harm, but he doubted that they would understand it. And if they didn't understand as he expected, he would just need to explain even more. Thankfully, Sparra gave him a good excuse to just leave. "I would stay and explain how, but I have other things to do. Should we go now?" He turned his head to address the relic hunter.

Minna followed his gaze, and he could see out of the corner of his eye that her expression soured for a moment. She quickly went back to her usual cheerful face, though. "Oh, Sparra. You were so quiet that I didn't notice you here. Guess you've met Renso, too."

"Er, yeah. I came here to look at the exhibit and met him by chance." Sparra edged closer to Renso uncomfortably. Did these two dislike each other?

"Well, don't let me keep you here. Go on." Minna gestured for them to 'shoo'.

Sparra released a breath, then turned to leave. Renso followed behind him. That was a weird exchange, but it really wasn't his business to ask them about it. After all, he didn't know either of them very well. Right before he walked back out through the entrance though, Minna stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Oh, Renso. One last thing." She leaned in close and kept her voice low. "Don't trust Sparra's family. Those Silver-Hammers are shady, especially Farrok. There's a rumor that those brothers conspired to kill their mother. Be careful." She let go of his arm.

Renso shook his head and continued on his way. It was such a strange rumor that it made him wonder who started it. How did these people get their news, anyway? He didn't think they had the technology for long-distance communication. Maybe they used birds. The idea reminded him of his old uncle who used trained birds to carry messages because he thought the government was spying on the courier crystals. Well, the old guy was long dead by now. No need to be thinking about him.

"Wow, what are you?" A female voice called out from the bottom of the museum's steps. "You could be my next big scoop! How do you feel about answering some questions for me?” Sparra stopped in his tracks.

Renso eyed the source of the voice: a woman who was staring intently at his wings while holding some kind of parasol. She was quite pretty, but definitely not to his tastes. Her hair was long, wavy, and as black as the night sky, though the reflected sunlight gave it a bluish shine. It contrasted greatly with her pale skin. She obviously didn’t spend much time outside unprotected.

Sparra sent a worried gaze back at Renso, which made him wonder if this woman was some sort of bad news.

“It won’t be anything too intrusive, so don’t worry,” she continued as she walked up the steps toward the two. Her attention went to Sparra for a moment. “Oh, you’re Sparra, aren’t you? One of my juniors spread some rumors about your family. My apologies for that.”

Sparra turned his head to the side with a sour expression. “It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize for someone else.”

Renso watched the two, tucking his hands in his sleeves. “What are these questions you want to ask?”

The woman looked back at him, smiling. “I just want to know about you. You’re an interesting sight, that’s obvious. We could chat over some food if you want. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it.”

Renso thought for a moment. This was an opportunity to see what kind of food these people ate. Maybe the culinary arts had come a long way in the time he was frozen. Once he was done thinking, he spoke. “Food sounds nice. I am rather hungry. Are you alright with this, Sparra?”

Sparra let out a short sigh. “Yeah, I guess I’ll come along. It’d be nice to have someone else paying for my food.”

“Great!” The woman exclaimed. “I’m Neere, by the way. You are?”

“Renso.”

“So foreign.” Neere commented. “Is there anything in particular you feel like eating? I know all the good places to get food around here.”

“Any places with seafood? Eel, maybe?” Despite himself, some of his eagerness managed to slip out.

Neere nodded. “I know a place like that. It’s a bit of a walk, though.” She turned and walked down the steps, both Renso and Sparra following her lead.

Sparra sent a stare Renso’s way, his eyebrows furrowing. “Eel? You mean those slimy snake-fish? And you eat them?”

Renso looked back at him, a rare smile forming on his face. “Yeah. They’re great when simmered and have a sweet flavor. The soft texture is very appealing as well.”

Neere snickered quietly. “I’ve heard that eel blood is poisonous. I guess you must like living on the edge.”

Renso glanced over. “If I really liked living on the edge, then I would be asking for pufferfish. While the poison in eel blood can be cooked off, no amount of fire alone will make pufferfish edible. It must be prepared specifically.”

Sparra’s mouth fell open in shock. “You mean your people ate pufferfish as well?”

Renso nodded. “Yes, but it was considered a delicacy. I had it once before when I attended a nobles’ party. It was fine, but it wasn’t able to compare to eel.”

Neere spoke up again. “What about squid? Or octopus? Have you eaten those before?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“No. They’re considered sacred animals. They have the blessing of-” Renso stopped himself, then shook his head. “Nevermind. I’ll wait to explain it until we can sit down.”

He went quiet for the rest of the walk, allowing Sparra and Neere to idly chatter. None of the topics were particularly interesting, so he didn’t pay them any mind. What he was more concerned about were the staring that he got from almost every person on the street as soon as they saw him. He scowled, making his wings shrink until they were much less noticeable. This made him involuntarily shudder; hiding his wings gave him an uneasy feeling that sat poorly in his gut. He still looked quite foreign, but at least he wouldn’t draw nearly as much attention.

The trio ended up in front of a lively-looking building somewhat near to the beach. It had large windows facing the street. Looking inside revealed that the building was heavily occupied by people, most sitting at tables or the bar. Though he was too far to know why, two of the patrons looked familiar.

“Well, let’s head on in,” Neere declared, pulling Sparra into the building by his arm.

Renso followed calmly, his gaze focusing on the two that looked familiar. It didn’t take him long to realize who they were now that he had a closer view of them. They were two of the people who had been working in the mine. Reaching up, he took the goggles that had previously been resting on his head and lowered them so they were around his neck. He fixed his hair accordingly.

Neere led them to an empty table and sat down, waiting for the other two to do the same before she started talking again. “I have a pretty good idea of what to get for you, Renso. Are you alright with a bit of a surprise?”

He nodded, watching the two miners out of the corner of his eye.

“What about you, Sparra? Do you want any recommendations?” Neere rested her head on her hand.

Sparra chuckled nervously. “Yeah. I’m not really sure what I want to eat.”

“Well, the fish pie here is really good. I’m planning on getting a slice of it.” She idly twirled a strand of hair as she spoke.

“That sounds fine,” Sparra muttered.

Renso turned his attention back to Neere. “Pie?”

“Basically just various ingredients stuffed into a crust, then baked. They can be filled with anything from meat, to fruits, to custard. Personally, I like skyfruit pie. Hard to get around here, but delicious enough to make up for the rarity,” she remarked happily.

Renso simply nodded along, listening to her speak. This information was rather strange to him though, as skyfruit had been rather common in this area before he was frozen. It made him wonder what else would be different from what he was used to.

Neere called over one of the waiters afterward, ordering the food and something to drink for them. Once she was done, she turned to Renso with a sly smile on her face. “How about some warm-up questions while we wait? Nothing too serious, don’t worry.”

Renso shrugged. “Sure. Wouldn’t hurt.”

Neere’s smile changed into a happy one. “Alright. So, where are you from? You’re obviously not from around here.”

“I’m from this area. A very long time ago, though. It’s a story that I don’t feel bothered to share.” He rested his hands on his lap.

“Huh. So you really are a crystal person. I considered that when I saw your wings, but then I thought to myself, ‘That’s silly, there’s no way an ancient’s alive now’. I just thought you had some sort of mutation,” Neere mused, obviously entertained by whatever theories she had. “So, can you fly with those wings? What’s it like?”

He looked down in thought, wondering how to describe the feeling of flight. “I can. It’s like falling off of a cliff from the summit of the world except I never hit the ground. Very cold and the wind I’m rushing into can be biting sometimes. I have to be protected from it, which is why I wear such warm clothing.”

Sparra listened, speaking up when Renso stopped talking. “Is it tiring to fly? You haven't told me how exactly your wings work.”

“Somewhat. They can absorb the energy from the wind during flight, but it takes a lot to activate them. Apparently, I have a much larger appetite than most people because of the energy consumption.” He tilted his head for a moment before continuing. “It does make some sense though, as the hunger pangs I felt after particularly long flights were nearly unbearable.”

Neere smiled when he finished talking. “It’s good that I ordered one of the largest dishes then, huh?” She snickered, obviously quite pleased with the information she was getting.

Just then, a waitress carrying a tray came over. “Two slices of fish pie, a bottle of mint, and the ocean surprise will be ready soon.” She set the plates down on the table, followed by three utensil bundles, a large bottle, and three cups. Reaching over, she used an unfamiliar device to take the cork out of the bottle.

“Thank you very much. I’ll be sure to give you a good tip.” Neere took her plate, then picked up the bottle to pour the liquid inside into the cups.

The waitress smiled and nodded. “Call me over if you need anything else.” She then walked away.

Renso eyed the bottle. “What’s that?”

“One of the popular local drinks. It has a cooling flavor.” Neere set the bottle down, sliding one of the cups over to him. “You’re old enough to drink alcohol, right?”

He shrugged, picking up the cup. “In a way. I never had much aside from water.” He brought the cup up to his lips, taking a sip of the liquid inside. The cold, somewhat sweet taste made him blink. “It’s almost like candy,” he muttered.

Sparra pulled his plate over, unbundling the utensils and picking up the fork so he could take a bite out of his pie. “Oh, that’s pretty good. Do you want to try some, Renso?”

Renso stared at the pie for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m not too sure if I’d like it. The crust appears rather dry and unpleasant.”

Neere snorted, taking one of the cups and drinking a small amount of the mint inside. “What, are you a picky eater? Even children like the fish pie here. You should learn to appreciate a lot of foods, you know,” she teasingly chided.

Renso shrugged. “I suppose I will have to, if the foods here are very different from what I usually ate.” He rested his head on his hand, going into thought. Idly, he wondered if any of the sources of some of his favorite foods had gone extinct in the time he was frozen.

“Why not try now, then?” she insisted.

He looked down, seeing a fork hovering by his mouth with a small bit of the pie resting atop it. With a sigh, he opened his mouth to let Neere feed it to him. He considered the flavor, then frowned when he swallowed it. “Not to my taste. I would rather just eat the filling.”

“Ah, so you are a picky eater,” Neere teased. “I guess you’ll have to try a lot of foods until you find something you like.”

Renso shrugged, then watched as the waitress came back to the table with a rather large plate. It was packed with an assortment of seafood, the most eye-catching being the eel. The arrangement was very appealing which helped to increase his appetite.

“Hope you enjoy,” the waitress chirped before walking away again.

Renso finally unwrapped his bundle of utensils, picking the fork out. What a strange thing to eat with. He hesitated slightly to figure out how to use it before he started to dig into his meal.

Neere waited for a while before she spoke up again. “You seem to like it. How about some more questions now?”

Renso swallowed the bit of food that was in his mouth before nodding. “Alright.”

“Since you were alive in ancient times, what was it like back then? We find a lot of working technology from the crystal people and it helps a bit in figuring out what lives your people lived, but there are a lot of gaps,” she explained.

He considered his answer, his gaze resting on the table. “Well, I don’t think I led a very conventional life for the time. I was a member of one of the warrior clans. Most of the time, I busied myself with training. Unfortunately, someone else would be much better to ask for information on the life of civilians.”

Neere frowned. “Ah, that’s a shame. I wonder if there’s others of your kind out and about. That’s a fanciful idea, isn’t it?”

Renso shook his head. “It’s not that unlikely. Many were frozen under the same circumstances as me, but most of them will not have lived the life of a civilian. Perhaps one of them was lucky and was broken out by a miner like me.”

Speaking of miners, he glanced back at the pair. However, just as he did this, he caught the gaze of the female miner. She nearly spit out her drink when she recognized him, quickly turning to the other miner and nudging him. Renso let out a sigh.

“We’re going to have company soon, I’m assuming. What a coincidence to see them here,” he remarked, taking another bite of his food while he still could. After all, he was most likely going to have to deal with socializing with even more people.