A Talk with Alex

Once the official business was over, Maha called up some girls to serve them. Shui was reluctant at first, but he did feel pretty good after accomplishing his first objective and unexpectedly increasing his wealth. He made sure to be careful around the food and drinks, just in case Maha or anyone else had malicious plans, but it wasn't a bad experience if he ignored the snickering spirit floating by his face.

When the date changed, Shui finally decided to leave and left Maha there to enjoy herself. He thought it was a bit weird how much of a lecher she was, but he didn't think she was a bad person. The rank-up exam still wasn't over, so the two of them would only be called back the following day, and then a few days after that, it would be time for that idol's concert. He was pleased so Shui took his time heading back to Myriad Flower Pavilion.

Meanwhile, Emily was trying to refine Dull Harmony. Although it was made with her in mind, it was still a tesora-rank artifact so it was a struggle for her to control it. On the bed of the room she had rented in a fairly decent inn, Emily's forehead was dripping with sweat as she made a constant effort. It was difficult, but she could feel herself forming a closer bond with the artifact.

While Emily was concentrating, a silent figure approached her window. Without a sound, the locked window was opened and the figure snuck into her room. Unaware of the sudden danger she was, Emily's eyes remained closed as the array she had around her bed failed to activate for some reason. With no obstacles before him, the figure stretched out his hand towards her. The rest should have been a simple affair, but there was a surprise waiting for the figure.

The moment his fingertips touched Emily's hair, Dull Harmony proceeded to follow its duty of protecting its soon-to-be master.

'All is equal within the bounds of the five elements.'

Without any forewarning, the artifact released a gentle light that coalesced into a small sword. Before they knew it, the figure was enamoured by that small sword, and so when it was pointed at them, they completely forgot to raise their defences.

It took less than a second for the small sword to pierce through their head and end their life. Leaving no trace of battle behind, this assassin died all too easily. Only a couple hours later, when Emily finished superficially refining the artifact, did she notice his corpse and scream in fear and surprise.

Moving the clock back, Shui had reached the entrance to the Myriad Flower Pavilion, but he was stopped there.

"We need to talk."

The one who stopped him, was the brother of Alicia who had come with her to the city. Just like his sister, he was blessed with good looks, so there would surely be women sending flirtatious looks at him even if Shui was next to him. It wasn't too unexpected that he would come looking for him, but Shui found it a bit surprising that he waited for him here.

"For you to wait so patiently, it must be pretty important."

"Of course."

The brother wasn't brimming with hostility or killing intent, but there was no doubt in Shui's mind that he didn't like him. Even so, there was no reason to throw mud at his face so Shui accepted his request and the two left.

Watching them from her room, was Alicia. She was aware of what her brother was planning, but she didn't interfere. If she didn't allow him to check Shui's value for himself, then her plans would never progress.

The two went into a small tavern near one of the still-bustling streets of the city. Alicia's brother turned to look at the barkeep, before leading Shui down the stairs to a private room. Shui thought that his hidden bodyguards would be following them, but surprisingly they had stayed outside of the store. It was likely a gesture to make him feel more relaxed, but that only made Shui feel more nervous.

"Well, how about we start off with introductions. My name is Alex, and I'm Alicia's older twin brother."

'Twins, huh? I guess I can see it.'

It wasn't obvious to him before, but when Shui imagined both of them standing side-by-side, he could see the high resemblance.

"You can call me Shui."

"Okay. Firstly, I would like to apologize for the trouble that my sister has caused you."

Shui was sure that he would express his discontent after introductions were over, so he was shocked when Alex suddenly bowed his head in apology. It caught him off-guard, but the apology sounded sincere so he said not to mind it despite the fact that Shui minded it quite a lot.

"It's fine, but I'm surprised. I thought for sure that you would accuse me of seducing your beloved sister."

"Heh, that's not a bad idea, but I trust her judgement. If she's decided to stick to you then you're obviously not someone I can mess with easily."

'So it's because of that, huh.'

Once the apology was out of the way, Alex quickly moved on to the real topic.

"Now that that's out of the way..."

"What do you want to ask?"

"Just a few questions to get to know you better. My sister is an adult so I won't interfere with her decisions, but if you two are going to get closer then I think we should also get to know each other."

"I suppose."

"Yes, now then. Do you have a lover?"

"Huh?"

For a moment, Shui had to doubt his hearing. He knew what he heard, but he had to wonder if it meant the same thing he thought it did.

"A lover. In other words, someone you cherish in a romantic sense and feel the urge to have se-"

"Okay, I get it. Why are you asking that?"

"I told you. I want to know more about you."

Shui still thought it was a strange question to start off on, but it wasn't one he couldn't answer, he just found it hard to do so.

'If I had to pick someone it would be Kate, but we haven't really confirmed it...'

Shui wasn't sure what the best response would be, so he answered honestly.

"I do have someone in mind but we haven't finalised anything yet."

"I see. Next question. If you ever settle down, are you willing to move in with your wife's family?"

'What the...'

If the first question wasn't strange enough, then the second one was definitely out of the box.

'Why does this suddenly feel like I'm being interviewed by my potential father-in-law?'

Shui wasn't very comfortable with this topic, but when he looked at Alex's serious and firm expression, he felt obligated to answer for some reason.

"Well, I'm not very fond of the idea but I guess it would depend on the circumstances."

"Hmm. My sister tells me that you're a skilled array master, but I haven't heard of you. Do you have a stable source of income?"

Although the first two questions made him feel awkward, this one made him sweat. He rarely experienced money problems in recent days, but it wasn't like he could proudly state how he gained most of his wealth.

"Well, I'm sort of a freelancer but I have a decent, consistent supply of jobs."

Shui hid a lot of information with his answer, but he didn't lie. Alex nodded his head and then continued.

"I know you probably have some questions for me as well, but I hope you'll allow one more question."

"Sure, what is it?"

"How far have you gone with Alicia?"