40: Next Phase of Plans
It wasn’t easy retelling what happened within the dungeon to Nina while also sensing the hostility coming from Haley rising up further and further. No matter how much she teased and nagged her brother, it was clear that she wouldn’t like anyone insulting Van right in front of her without trying something.
Van kept to her side, rubbing her shoulder and wearing a smile that showed that he had no qualms in however this went down. That finally got Haley’s soul to ease up, though her expression never straightened out from being sour. All the while, Nina listened intently to Aidan’s story, which also included meeting up with the Red Riot members searching for the guard who took their quartz. That got her attention for a moment, but she quickly lost interest when she heard about their fate afterward with the Prime.
After mentioning the repository from the Merunian people within the dungeon, her eyes turned focused as her mind churned from the information.
“So, it looks like the Red Riot found a surplus of rare treasures and were trying to find a way to get them out. That’s why they took the quartz. They really did get unlucky to have that little shitstain take something so valuable from them. And you’re certain each one of the Red Riot members were dead?”
“As far as I know,” Aidan said honestly. “I didn’t exactly have much choice when we were running from the Prime.”
“I see,” Nina let out a sigh. “I suppose that’s more than enough to ask of you. So that means that the Red Riot were trying to find a way to bypass the Merunian security lock all this time. That’s probably the reason why they’ve been ramping up on their activities.”
“Have they been making trouble while we were away?” Aidan asked, prompting Nina to shake her head.
“It looks like they stopped paying attention to me when they were notified about the disappearance of the quartz gem. They won’t care much about some supplies going missing when something more important disappears on them. That’s how valuable Merunian tech is. It supposedly went beyond our ordinary standards and improved the quality of life by multifold.”
“And do you know someone that might be able to figure out how to unlock the tech?”
“That’s where I’m flustered,” Nina answered. “It’s not easy to find information regarding anything Merunian. The kingdom makes it difficult for any random citizen to find out about the ancient people for a reason, and is heavily favored in most black markets. Even the lowest end of the Merunian tech can sell for over hundreds of gold to the right buyer, hence why Red Riot is trying their hardest to pin down anyone with even the loosest knowledge on Merunian history. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a way to find out.”
“What do you plan on doing?”
Nina smiled. “This is where I’m going to ask you to join me this time. It’ll be the first time we get to work together, and I’m excited to see what you’re capable of now that you’ve gotten so strong. Reaching Level 15 in just a few weeks is impressive, and according to what I see, you’ve got some interesting skills from what I last checked. It’s time to see how you do out in the field with me.”
Aidan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He would finally see what Nina does on a regular basis? It didn’t seem all that impressive, yet a part of Aidan was eagerly excited to see what she was always doing by herself.
“For now, I’m going to rest here for a few hours, so you three go on with managing the store for the day. Tonight, once I’m prepped and ready, you and I will be heading out to the Grim Corner for a special investigation.”
“The Grim Corner?” Haley asked, catching the two’s attention. “That place is filled with loads of dangerous people, way more than in the slums. You’ve been heading there every time?”
“I’m sure you must be confused considering my level, but don’t think this is the truth,” Nina answered Haley with a grin. “I’m not the type to reveal my hand so easily. What you see is just a fabrication using a magic item. I’m actually much higher level than you think.”
Wait, seriously?
As far as he knew, his scan indicated that she was a Level 14 Warrior, though her behavior and demeanor didn’t seem to reflect that kind of status at all. Considering how she managed to give him a pass that bypassed the city’s scanning, it would make sense that she would have something else that could actually obfuscate her own level to others’ scans.
Haley quickly nodded, figuring that must be the case. Nina’s smile only grew at her, raising her hand and patting her hair, shocking Haley.
“It’s nice to see you care about me. But I’ll be fine.”
“I-I wasn’t… well…”
Haley quickly grew flustered, turning away from Nina’s touch. It felt so different from how she was acting just minutes ago against Van, something that Aidan noticed as well. But that’s why Aidan couldn’t help himself. He just couldn’t find it in his heart to dislike Nina, despite her methods.
Nina stretched her arms out, groaning sharply before shaking her head. “Well, I better get some sleep. I haven’t had any in two days, so I hope you can keep things quiet as best you can. I’ll wake up probably around the evening, so Aidan, make a decent meal for me when I do, alright?”
“You got it,” Aidan shrugged. “Good night.”
“You mean good day,” Nina smirked. “I’ll be off.”
Nina pleasantly walked over to the back room, and with his senses, Aidan saw her heading up the stairs and back into the personal room she used whenever she came here to rest.
Aidan let out a breath before facing Van. “Listen, I–”
“Don’t worry, I’m not upset,” Van raised his hand, interrupting Aidan. “I know you were trying to help me out. I appreciate it. Now I get to be with my sister without worries. We even got stable pay, if what she said is true.”
“She makes good on her promises,” Aidan answered, and that finally got Haley to speak up.
“Aidan, I want you to be honest with me–why are you so friendly towards her?”
Aidan was afraid of this, and now that Haley just asked it so simply, it felt like he got caught red-handed. His hand flew over to the back of his head, not really knowing what to do.
“Uhh… I know it’s weird.”
“It’s mega weird,” Haley answered. “You told me that she forced you into a contract just like she did with me. And I haven’t seen her do anything that makes her out to be a good guy. I know you’re a good person, Aidan, so I just wanna know why you’re still helping her even though you can do all these incredible things!”
She made sure to keep quiet when she ranted, but her expression was loud enough to say everything clearly. Aidan let out a short breath, wondering if perhaps his middling thoughts would be enough.
“It’s… weird. I know. But you know how I can sense other people’s souls?”
The two siblings nodded in agreement.
“Well, when I sense hers… it kinda vibes with me.”
“...Vibes?” Van asked, raising a confused brow.
“Like, I really like the song she makes,” Aidan muttered, trying to make up the words from his complex feelings. “It’s interesting. And somehow, I can tell that she’s just not the type to… well, be evil.”
“Evil?” Haley scoffed. “Forcing others into soul-binding contracts isn’t evil?”
“Not necessarily,” Aidan tried to explain. “She could’ve easily just chained the two of us up and forced us to do manual labor. Yet she gave us this house, a paying job, food, water–we’re not exactly prisoners here.”
“We have no other choice but to stay here,” Haley said. “That’s literally the definition of a prisoner.”
“Prisoners don't get the chance to level up and get stronger,” Aidan countered, bringing Haley to clamp her mouth shut. “Or get paid. I told her about what we found and what we got as treasures, but she never asked for any of them. I honestly thought she was about to ask for the armor and bow back, but she didn’t.”
“That’s because she knows that what we have, she owns,” Van said, crossing his arms. “In other words, why bother keeping something she doesn’t need if we can benefit from it instead, which in turn only helps her out?”
Aidan snapped his fingers, pointing at Van. “Exactly. She’s vicious, but she’s not cruel or stupid.”
“I-I get that…”
Haley muttered, her hand floating up to the part of her head where Nina patted it before. Aidan could sense her soul in disarray, unable to figure out how she truly felt. He was certain she was just as in the dark about it.
“Listen, I’ll be honest with you guys,” Aidan said. “Nina’s not nice. I admit that. But there could be way worse options for any of us in this city. As long as we play by her rules, let her act as she does, we’ll only benefit.”
“What if she brings us down?” Van asked. “What if she gets in trouble like with the Red Riot and it comes back to bite us?”
“That’s where I come in,” Aidan said simply. “That’s why I’m trying to level up and get stronger. With her help, I can make do easily. With my help, none of us would get targeted by the other gangs. With your help, we’ll only get richer.”
When he said that, the siblings looked back at each other with a glimmer in their eyes. It was clear that their past living before they ended up under Nina’s authority wasn’t exactly what they would call easy living. Meanwhile, they made more money than ever by working with Aidan, and all they had to do was just simply follow Nina’s orders to manage the shop unless stated otherwise.
It was a rather tense working relationship, but Aidan had a good feeling about this. Seeing that, Haley just shrugged her shoulders.
“Alright, alright, I guess I get it. I still think you’re just some dude who’s into someone dominating you.”
“I prefer to call it ‘going with the flow’,” Aidan answered, though that didn’t appease Haley from the way she stared dubiously at him.
“Alright, that’s enough, sis. You know it’s better not to question a guy’s fetishes.”
“Hey, take it easy with that,” Aidan quickly argued, but it looked like the siblings just straight up ignored him as they went to do their duty, which was Haley teaching Van how the store worked.
Seriously, it’s not like that, Aidan thought, but he knew there was no point in bringing it up any further.
…..
The day passed easily enough, the store running smoothly with Aidan creating multiple items ahead before leaving them around to fill up the store for later use. This way, the store would never really run out of items to sell as long as they had a stockpile of useless mass they can easily buy up from somewhere else. Without really having to worry about getting any specific parts to create certain items, they don’t have to worry about any sudden price gouges in the market if anything occurred.
At least that’s what Aidan believed Nina thought would be the case, and seeing how the store worked, Van was more than ready to get acquainted with how it was run rather than going back into the grind of picking up quests from the guild. He’d done a great job assimilating himself into the environment of the store, understanding the prices and dealing with the customer haggling as easily as his sister.
Thanks to that, Aidan had more time for himself, allowing him to practice more with Soul Meditation and Craft in the backroom. Of course, he would still occasionally go outside and greet the customers to not let the siblings handle absolutely everything. At the same time, he wanted to see how Nina was doing. During his Soul Meditation, Aidan saw that she was still resting peacefully in her room.
It might have been extremely invasive and rude to peer into a woman’s room, but Aidan was too curious whether she was actually sleeping or doing some strange ritual that he might not know about. Knowing that she did as she promised got him to instantly get back out without doing anything else, of course.
Eventually, the time passed when he heard something stir within Nina’s room using Sense Vibrations, so he gathered up his things and told Haley and Van that time was up. Soon Nina came walking down the stairs, looking more rested and sharper than before.
“I hope you’re ready to go,” Nina said, adjusting her cloak over her leather armor.
“Ready when you are,” Aidan said. He turned to the siblings. “Make sure to close up before you leave.”
“You sure you don’t want us to stay behind to look out for the store?” Haley asked.
“No reason to,” Nina answered instead. “Besides, without Aidan here, what if more of the Red Riot comes around? The store can be easily replaced–but it’s not easy to replace either of you, now is it?”
Hearing those sobering words got the two to frown, but nod in appreciation before preparing to leave. Aidan nodded to the two before he and Nina left the store and continued on their way towards the Grim Corner.