1166  Delinquents

While Oriole was learning of a dangerous secret in Yalen, Arthur and his two companions found an old friend to help them. The strict lockdown, further supported by the current reconstruction of Kera, made it impossible for them to find a place to sleep.

Arthur did not want to draw attention to his arrival; thus, he contacted Joe the Bartender. He first met the man after being transported to Mountain Range Rovero upon awakening his legacy, and their relationship continued until now.

"I wish you would forgive my requests, Joe," said Arthur with an apologetic face as he stared at the man in his pajamas. "I tried contacting other acquaintances in Runera, but none of them responded."

"If anyone in Kera learns of your ident.i.ty, you would be treated as a G.o.d," said the bartender while pouring his guests some drinks. "After you protected Kera, you became somewhat of a worshipped celebrity here."

"That scares me even more than the kingdom learning of my arrival," said Arthur with a smile. "I contacted you to learn about the task I have given you. Have you been able to monitor the situation in the mountain range?"

"After your battle against Amelio, most awakeners decided to protect the city from dungeon breaks and whatnot, making the mountain range swamped with monsters. I had to retreat to the city since your fight also destabilized s.p.a.ce, making dungeons appear left and right."

"It seems I caused more harm than good," said Arthur in self-ridicule, but the bartender seemed offended as he placed down his teapot and looked at Arthur with a serious face.

"You are the guardian protector of this city, and everyone shares that sentiment. After the attack against Kera, many learned that you were born here, making your contributions to the city even more appreciated."

"I am happy to hear that," said Arthur with a smile, "but I still feel like there is something wrong in Kera. It has lost its bustling activity."

"Things have been a little rough," said Joe as he carried the teacups to his guests sitting around his dining table. "The Yalen Kingdom is not sending us enough resources to rebuild the city. We are lacking everything to survive, making the last few weeks a struggle just to keep existing. But everyone refuses to leave the city."

"Did the king release an official statement?" asked Arthur with a frown as Joe placed down the cups. The bartender poured them some honey into their tea, making Sarohan and Koby look at him as if he was a monster.

"Just some bulls.h.i.t about reallocating the city somewhere safer since a lot of dungeon breaks have been happening," said Joe with a mocking tone. "Everyone saw through his bulls.h.i.t. He just wants to erase Kera and the infamy it brought him."

"He failed as its king, after all," said Arthur as he raised the teacup and drank it, forcing the other two to follow suit against their wills. After gulping down the tea, their eyes lit up again. "What about the fissure?"

"I visit it every week and write down any changes there," said Joe as he reached for a drawer and took out a notebook. "These are my observations for the past months."

Arthur took the notebook and flipped through it, while his two companions looked at Joe as if he was a magician. In organized and detailed reports, Joe took his job seriously. Arthur has been sending him monthly payments through Ascent, letting him live in comfort and grat.i.tude.

After the second trial began descending into the world, its progress has been anything but slow. The giant city was descending at a brisk pace, pushing the limits of being hidden from the world. The Yalen King has abandoned this city without knowing that it would be his gateway to one of the strongest artifacts.

"What about the howls, Joe?"

"As powerful as ever, sir," said Joe with a proud smile. "I saw that many wolf packs appeared around the fissure just for that reason. Kira should have grown a lot since the two of you last met."

Arthur did not know if this was a coincidence, but he was almost sure that the Scholar Guardian had some part in doing this. In order to ensure that Arthur survived the trial, he might have sent his wolf in this timeline to the trial.

"Things have been shifting in Kera, Arthur," said Joe with a worried tone that prompted Arthur to leave the notebook aside for now. "Many factions have appeared that call to take matters into their own hands. A few extremists even attacked the Temple."

"From what I know, the Temple is independent of the kingdom," said Arthur with confusion, failing to understand their reasons. "Did something happen between the Temple and the rest?"

In the union, the Temple was created to regulate the existence of awakeners within society. Since strong people could harm the public, the Temple was created to punish those who used their powers for evil.

"Things are heating up between the public and the temple, as a matter of fact," said Joe with a sigh. "Good and evil are decided based on where you stand. Some awakeners began attacking the trade routes to s.n.a.t.c.h resources for the city, and the Temple intervened to stop them."

"The Temple cannot foretell what the awakeners intend to do with the resources," said Arthur with a frown.

"When there is misunderstanding, there is always conflict," said Koby with a nod. "I have seen many situations like this one before. Both sides will not back down because doing so would show weakness, even if the real disagreement is resolved."

"Our friend here is right," said Joe with a sigh. "I thought about doing something myself, but I am nothing but a part-time tamer, part-time bartender."

"Do not underestimate your abilities, friend," said Sarohan in a rare instance, since Arthur asked him to be quiet. "You don"t need to be the fire, just the spark!"

Although he has given his warriors runes to communicate flawlessly with others, their foreign accent was distinguishable. After all, waigas were closer to snowmen and monkeys than to humans. However, his words were on point, and they seemed to affect the bartender.

"A spark?" muttered Joe with a stunned expression, which he followed by a deep introspection of himself. "Those wise words indeed explain how I think about the issue. I cannot change Kera, but I can do little things that might push in that direction."

"You flatter me, lad," said Sarohan as he patted the bartender. If he was not wearing his cloak and hood, Joe would have found it weird to be patted by a giant monkey. "We are also willing to help."

"That"s not for you to decide, d.a.m.n monkey," said Koby with visible rage as he glared at the waiga. "Our lord has yet to decide what to do regarding this. Who are you to make promises on his behalf?"

"This is his hometown; of course, he would help," said Sarohan with a snort. "You lack the insight and knowledge to understand our lord. It is you that needs to stay quiet when wise men are talking."

"You used one metaphor and now you"re a sage? You will always be a d.a.m.n monkey, monkey!" said the mage as he pointed a finger at the waiga. Arthur felt an incoming headache as the two began to bicker.

Arthur hated to admit it. But his warriors were just a bunch of delinquents. If this group were to be left alone, they would burn the entire world to the ground just to find a needle in a haystack. The most rational one in them was Ilia, but he drew the short end of the stick on this trip.

"I would never ask our savior of such a thing," said Joe with genuine shock and terror as he rose from his chair and bowed toward Arthur, both hands on the table. "Please forgive me if my earlier rambling sounded like I was asking for help!"

"I would help even if you never told me, Joe," said Arthur with a smile as he raised his hand toward the other two to stop fighting. "I came to the Yalveran Union not for personal purposes, but to free this kingdom of its unjust king."

"…sir, are you saying that…?" muttered Joe as he raised his head with widened eyes, too stunned to process the implication in Arthur"s words.

"Kera has always been my home. You called me its guardian protector earlier, right?" said Arthur as he rose from his seat and walked toward the bartender. "You accepted us into your home without a thought, knowing how it would endanger your life. It speaks of your character, Joe."

"You flatter me, sir," said the bartender with emotions as Arthur held his shoulder for him to rise. "Thank you for letting me be a part of something bigger than me. After my wife"s death, I thought life stopped for me, no matter how young I am. But… you have given me purpose."

Arthur still remembered that Joe"s pub was called Elise"s Eyes, named after his deceased wife. As he gazed past the bartender, Arthur saw the shadow of a woman standing behind him.