I had explained everything I myself knew of up until this point. Olya apparently obtained immortality through the use of the Book of Fortune, and has spent the last milennium trying to revive him and Schnell. In essence, that's the bare minimum of what I can say without him getting cranky. In fact, I think that's all I CAN say for now.
"Wow, that fatass really went through so much just for us...?" He smiled warmly.
"Yeah, including kidnapping me and my friend Lem over here." I pointed, "Who, by the way, is extremely cold without his blanket you're using to cover up your privates. Please return it to him immediately."
"I don't feel comfortable being in a room with a little girl fully nude." He winced, "If he wants it, he can take it when he wakes up."
"He can't. He's in a coma." I explained, "He's recovering from the damages your friend Olya gave him, and his body is extremely weak. Please, if not for him, do it for me."
"Sorry, but as I said—I can't do anything unless you find me some clothes to cover up with."
"Two seconds after Shaid said that, he had already gotten fully clothed with proper attire." I jotted down in Misfortune before looking up to see a way more appropriate man standing in front of me, "There, now hand me the blanket."
"How'd-!? Wait a second...!" He stepped back, "That power, it's just like the Book Olya uses!"
"Yeah, he gave it to me." I grumped, "Though the one I'm using isn't the same one you know of. This one can predict the future."
"Oh, okay." He sat back down awkwardly.
Okay? Okay!? The hell do you mean okay, you idiot! Did I imagine telling him we got kidnapped by his friend, or did he imagine hearing it? It's gotta be one or the other, but so help me if he's just feigning ignorance or worse, defending Olya's actions...! No, I gotta be careful and calm. Give him the benefit of the doubt, Nelly, you never know.
"Ahem, so." I tried nonchalantly adding it into the convo, "After he KIDNAPPED me and Lem, Olya..."
"Don't say that." He interrupted me, "Amigo, Olya is a lot of things, but he is not a child kidnapper. Please, explain to me what connection you three have with each other before we continue."
A strong shiver crept up behind my back. I felt something—A disturbance, emanating from the door to the room we were in. I recognized that icky feeling immediately, the feeling I only experience when I'm talking to a certain immortal old man.
"She's not wrong, though. When you put it on paper, there's no other thing to call me than a child nabber." Olya smirked at both of us, "That being the case, I guess seeing you here once again after so long makes it all worth it, huh?"
Shaid's face was something to marvel at in and of itself. His jaw was relaxed to the point of dropping down. No, more like not a single muscle in his face could tense up from the sheer bewilderment of the scene before him. I'm sure in his mind he had many questions, but this appearance only gave him even more.
"Why ya' staring at me so hard with that mouth wide open?" Olya cackled, "You look like you're sucking ghost dicks, cheh."
"There's no way, amigo..." Shaid still couldn't believe it, "There's no fucking way. Olya...?"
"Yes, Olya's dearest?" He slowly and shakily approached the two of us, "Scared to see your best friend wilting away before your very Eyes? Thankfully you won't have to worry about that ever happening, since as I'm sure Nelly here told you, I'm not the type to die so easily."
So these two finally get to meet, that's one half of the puzzle done and over with. No wait, I still don't know what this entails for me, since I can't exactly grasp Olya's opinion on this. Is he gonna praise me? Scold me? Let me and Lem go? It's all uncertain, but I guess until I don't ask, I won't receive either.
"So there you have it, I revived your friend for you." I spoke up, "Now can you take these ankle bracelets off of us, please? I think I did more than enough to earn that much."
"Not yet, I'm afraid. Be patient, there's more work to be done." He said with a devilish smile.
"Wait, so you really did take these kids from their homes, amigo?" Shaid got a bit pissed, "What the hell, man? No, you're shitting me. There's no way this isn't a misunderstanding or something-!"
"It's not a misunderstanding, and we both mean what we say literally." Olya revealed to him, "I took Nelly and Lem from their families, because I need them to bring you and Schnell back."
"This girl? There's nothing more outstanding about her than you, though." Shaid pointed out, "I highly doubt you couldn't do all this without them. Hell, the boy's unconscious this whole time, he doesn't look alive at all!"
Wow, what a strange way to defend victims of kidnapping. I guess this guy has a rather crude way of explaining things, but he seems to have a lot more level of a head than Olya, at least. His heart seems to be in the right place, in spite of his rather olden methods of reasoning.
"Welp, y'ain't wrong, bud." Olya smirked, "These two could be exchanged for a bucket a' shiet and I'd still get a good deal out of it."
"Hey!" I shouted.
"But they're necessary for Schnell's case." He explained, "Think about it like this, when we betted on horseracing, who did we go for? One of those nameless rising stars, or the pedigree riddled speedy stallions?"
"...Mn, I get it now." Shaid nodded.
You might get it, but I'm completely lost. Horseracing? I never knew people could bet on such things. I guess they had a different definition of fun back in ye olden days. Though if I am to understand correctly, he's calling me a horse, which I take high offense to! I'm a princess, not the horse carrying her!
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"So, what's the situation like exactly?" Shaid asked.
"Her father." Olya explained, "He's just the man we need to pull off an impossible stunt like reviving our burly old friend."
"Wait, I'm still kinda confused on this..." Shaid grabbed his head, "If her old man is the one we're looking for, then why not just ask for his help directly?"
"Why are you giving me such a suspicious gaze, bud?"
"Given your track record, amigo, I just think you're adding extra detours to kidnap a little girl for your own motives."
"I'm suddenly a lot more uncomfortable on this island." I backed away.
"Nah, I had a reason for that too." Olya brushed it off, "Lune Grimheart doesn't know me, and sadly he seems to be living a pretty content life right now."
How is that "sadly"?
"If I didn't throw a wrench in his cogs one way or another, I highly doubt he'd ever lend a helping hand to solve such a monumental task." He shook his head, "That's why I took up the part in playing the bad guy and took his daughter and her boyfr-"
"Ahem!" I cleared my throat.
"...Friend." He corrected himself.
"That's better. And don't get it twisted from now on!"
"Amigo, is it possible to put that ankle bracelet over her mouth?" Shaid asked, "She's annoying to listen to."
"That'd cut my face clean in half!" I yelped.
"Of course she's a drama queen..." Shaid continued to complain, "These types of girls are such a chore, always making small stuff seem big."
"Just perfect for you, eh bud?"
"I've seen what you packed in your prime." Shaid returned a deadpanned stare, "You have no grounds to speak on, amigo."
"This isn't about me."
"Then why mention it in the first place?"
"Cause the situation presented itself to me?"
"It took a magic Book that sent you the horniest ladies of the night the world had to offer for someone to present themself to you, please be quiet."
These two are bickering over me again. I feel pretty left out, but more importantly no one is talking about the serious stuff.
"Hang on, my dad's pretty eager to help anyone in need of it." I steered the conversation back towards dad, "Why didn't you try to just ask him nicely before going for me?"
"Ooh, she's got you there, amigo!" Shaid egged him on, "Can't beat the allegations this time, you old bag of worn out bones!"
"Course I can." Olya turned to me, "It's for multiple reasons, one of which is the very Book in your hands."
"Eh?"
"As you know, I can't use Fortune anymore because I filled all my pages. Being immortal certainly doesn't help with that either." He elaborated, "For this, I'm gonna need someone willing to work with me and write the same wish into both Books. In theory, as the midpoint between past and future, this should allow even the most impossible wishes to become possible."
"Ah, I see!" Olya nodded, "...as much as blind guy does."
"I understand." I added, "So you chose to grab both the Book of Misfortune and me in one fell swoop. Smart."
"Praise from the little lady? What has this world come to?" He smirked smugly.
"Just tell me this." I asked once more for good measure, "You mean no harm to me or my family, right?"
"I only wish to revive my best friends, and I don't think that brings you guys any harm." He said with a genuine tone, "That being the case, I also don't plan on just using you either. Like I told you before, Nelly, the Grimhearts are cursed by the Books just as we were, and I plan to help you get rid of that curse."
"Man, you had me scared for a second, amigo!" Shaid gave him an overhand hug, "And here I thought you actually turned bad! Turns out you're just looking out for us like usual though, haha!"
"Ahem!" I cleared my throat, "And? What's the other reason you need my dad's help?"
"Ah yes, I read something in Fortune a few years back about him that I just couldn't gloss over." He explained, "Your father has the key to escaping the land of the damned."
"He does?" Shaid stood there flabbergasted.
"Bringing Shaid back is easy, it's taking Schnell out of a plane of existence that doesn't even exist anymore that's the hard part." He continued, "That's why I need him, someone who single handedly beat the Gods at their own game and returned from Heaven 2.0 to write it in. If he did that, I'm sure it would work."
"And if it doesn't, you at least have me, eh amigo?" Shaid grinned.
"Cheh, who'd want you, ya' damned chick hogger?"
"Hey, at least I'm not rotting in my own immortal skin."
As the two friends laughed in a way I can only assume is reminiscient of old times, I couldn't help but to join in on the laughter. For the first time since coming here, I saw what it was like to make progress. With this, I can feel at ease when I'm told I did everything in my power to help. Now all we have to do is wait for dad to show up, explain the situation to him, and we can all go home safe and sound!
"Then, whaddya' say, Shai?" Olya called him over, "I got a pretty sweet crib just east of here. Shall we play some Blackjack for old time's sake?"
"Of course, amigo. Err, just make sure to watch your step." Shaid carefully helped him move.
This is giving off an odd sense of déja vu... Showa?