The comfortable atmosphere of the living room shifted as Kojo and Lin prepared to recount their experiences in Ezkanur. Sharone, Adriana, and even Nefaria leaned forward, their expressions a mix of curiosity and concern. The earlier levity had given way to the weight of the information they were about to receive.
"So," Sharone began, her voice steady, "tell us about Ezkanur. How are things up there?"
Kojo took the lead, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Well, to start, I got into a bit of trouble. There was this… misunderstanding, you could call it, which led to me being put on trial."
Lin interjected, rolling her eyes. "Misunderstanding is putting it mildly. He beat up some knights."
"Yes, you told us about it last time," Adriana said, taking a sip of tea that Keo had provided so that they could refresh themselves while food was being prepared.
"Wait, you already told them about it?" He looked at Lin with a questioning and hurt expression.
"Don't act as if she did wrong for telling us this, unlike you, who attacked knights of a foreign nation on their own land," Sharone scolded him.
"Hey, in my defense," Kojo protested, throwing his hands up, "they were bullying a kid! A group of grown men, ganging up on a defenseless kid. Was it any of my business? Absolutely not. Did I know the reason why the kid was being chased down? Absolutely not. Did I think it through? Eeeeh, maybe towards the end, but even then, I couldn't just stand by and watch them lynch the kid."
Adriana raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her gaze.
"You intervened in a conflict you knew nothing about? What if that boy was a wanted criminal?"
"Uh..." Kojo couldn't come up with a reply.
"Well, it concerned me the moment they decided to be bullies," Kojo retorted, his tone firm. "Besides, someone needed to stand up for the kid. Criminal or not, you can't just mercilessly beat someone like that. As a gentleman, I had to step in."
"Gentleman?" Nefaria scoffed, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. "You're one to talk."
"You're a literal trouble magnet," Lin said, shaking her head.
"Anyway," she continued, "Kojo's a teacher now."
"A teacher?" Sharone asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Kojo confirmed. "As a sanction for my actions, I'll have to engage in community service, that is, teaching a bunch of kids at the Luminaria Academy for the duration of our stay."
"So you're now a teacher?" Adriana asked, her voice incredulous.
"Temporarily!" Kojo clarified quickly. "Why do you sound so surprised at this?"
Nefaria chuckled.
"I'm wondering what exactly you're going to teach those kids, or if you can even teach them at all. With a personality like yours..."
"Hey!"
"Anyway , about the Glory Knights." Lin took over, her expression turning serious as she was suddenly conscious about their one-hour time limit. "The Glory Knights are the twenty-two strongest people in the Holy Land of Ezkanur. They are split into two distinct orders: Saints and Paladins."
"Saints," Kojo explained, "are the top ten knights who are in charge of guarding the Gates Of Sephirot scattered all across the planet to prevent breaches both from here and the other side."
Kojo then filled them in on what the Gates of Sephirot were and what they did. It seemed that Sharone was already aware, mostly, of what they did, probably because she was old enough to have encountered them in some way at some point in her 7,000 years of life, and it was Nefaria who told him about them in the first place, so his elaboration was more for Adriana's benefit than anyone else.
"And the Paladins?" Sharone inquired.
"The Paladins are different," Lin said, choosing her words carefully.
"They're also warriors, incredibly powerful ones. Based on what Yukio said, all the Glory Knights are comparable in strength, with the ranking based on the amount of 'Faith' one has. So, based on that, we can assume that they are just as powerful as the Saints. Of course, this excludes Yukio herself, as she's an Archsaint, operating leagues above them in terms of power."
"Right?" Kojo added.
"She's a proper monster."
Nefaria chuckled again.
A monster calling another a monster? How funny.
"But their roles are different. They are the ones who operate in the mundane, acting as the militant force of Ezkanur. They go on peacekeeping missions in places where the church has influence, as well as investigating and trying to cleave out the dark side of society." She put emphasis on the last few words. Sharone and Adriana understood the cryptic meaning she was trying to convey by putting it like that and nodded. Nefaria couldn't be bothered, though.
"You mentioned Faith as their source of power. I read theories about it but couldn't quite grasp it. Could you explain, based on what you were told?" Adriana asked politely.
"In Ezkanur," Kojo explained, "Faith is the lifeblood of their society, the source of their power.The Glory Knights, in particular, wield immense power derived from their firm belief in the Goddess Shrena. Basically, the more one believes, the more one has access to a spark of her divinity and so can exert their will on the world, similar to but more potently than with normal magic. That's why their Holy Magic is so strong. They get divinity by faith to generate phenomena, while normal mages exert their will through the manipulation of ambient Arcana."
"I see," Adriana said, nodding with understanding.
"Thank you."
"No problem," Kojo said with a smirk.
"That's all very interesting," Sharone said, absorbing the information about Ezkanur. She exchanged a look with Adriana before turning back to Kojo and Lin.
"Now, let us bring you up to speed on our end."
"The railway line has been completed," Sharone announced, a hint of pride in her voice. "And Lloyd's steam engine is finished as well."
Kojo's eyes lit up. "That's fantastic news! You actually pulled it off!"
Adriana nodded, a smile gracing her lips. "Lloyd will be taking the first train from Opal to Carnelia soon, carrying a shipment of his Mystium tech."
Kojo paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. Then, understanding dawned.
"Oh yeah, you're talking about Mystium Engineering, right? Where you program incantations into Mystium crystals?"
"Exactly," Adriana confirmed.
"That's great news all around," Kojo said, genuinely pleased. "It sounds like everything's progressing smoothly."
Sharone nodded.
"It has been. And while you were… occupied, Sasha was coordinating with Kamau in Gwaltch. They've finally managed to deal with the last of the Decorum insurgents."
Kojo nodded, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Good. That's one less threat to worry about."
Lin, ever thorough, asked, "Did you find anything related to the 'Glamour' drug?"
Adriana shook her head.
"Unfortunately not. Marconni was the sole middleman, and he… well, he's no longer with us to provide further leads."
Kojo leaned back, a thoughtful frown on his face.
"No big deal," he said with a sigh. "We'll get to the bottom of it."
Sharone shared a determined look with Lin and Adriana. They nodded.
"We're making progress," she affirmed.
Lin then turned her attention to a more immediate concern. "Where's Koniko?"
"The railway was built outwards from Opal," Adriana explained, "so she was the one overseeing the construction. She made sure everything was on schedule while Lloyd worked on the train."
"Meaning the train and the railways are ready to use immediately since they'll both be ready at the same time," Kojo deduced. "Pretty efficient."
Sharone inclined her head in acknowledgment and smiled. "Thank you for the compliment."
Adriana pouted. "I helped too!"
"You all did well," Kojo said, his gaze sweeping over the three of them. "A wonderful job, in fact."
Adriana beamed. "We're planning an unveiling event in Carnelia in a few days. All the dukes and nobility will be there to witness the debut of this new technology."
"Sasha and Koniko will link up and act as Lloyd's bodyguards for the event, after all, one can never be too careful," Sharone added.
"Okay," Kojo said, absorbing the information. "So, you've got everything figured out." He rose to his feet, and the others looked at him questioningly. "The hour is almost up, so we should get going." Lin also stood, a conflicted expression on her face. Despite being the most vocal about his departure, Sharone seemed reluctant to see him leave so soon.
Then, Sharone remembered a crucial detail. "Oh, before you go, there's been a steady influx of outsiders coming into the province, seeking to settle here."
Kojo was silent for a bit, then folded his arms and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Seems suspicious."
(Or it could be a group of people who genuinely want a place to stay.) Sysia's voice echoed in his head.
Kojo voiced the question. "How many groups?"
"Seven so far," Adriana replied, her brow furrowed. "And their arrival has either been heralded, accompanied, or linked to a Maajin sighting or attack in the province."
Kojo's eyes narrowed. "So there have been Maajin sightings of late, huh?"
(Very suspicious indeed.) The first couple of times could be a coincidence, but seven times? That consistency was a big red flag. He turned back to the group. "And how are you handling it?"
"We've gathered them in a settlement between the mountains and the glades," Sharone explained.
"So they can be monitored by both the orcs and the harpies," Kojo deduced. "Good. Keep a close eye on them for now. It's still possible this is just chance, but I have a bad feeling about this."
He then leaned forward, pulling Sharone and Adriana into a brief but warm hug. Then, he turned to Nefaria, opening his arms invitingly. Nefaria, however, simply turned her face away, pointedly ignoring him.
Kojo shrugged, unfazed. "Alright then. Goodbye, everyone. And give my regards to the others." With that, he and Lin vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
The sudden departure left a strange silence in the room. It was broken by the arrival of Mekna and Keo, who entered carrying trays laden with food. They stopped short, staring at the empty space where Kojo and Lin had been moments ago.
Nefaria, however, seemed unfazed. With a flick of her wrist, she used her powers to levitate the plates towards her, simultaneously shifting the table to a more convenient position.
"Thanks for the meal," she said to the stunned servants, already beginning to eat.
Keo and Mekna could only gape at her with exasperation.