On the Airship

With his mission finally over and since it had been a week since they last saw each other, Shui decided to invite the twins to dinner. When he went to invite them, he immediately noticed that their expressions were brighter than he remembered, and that they were in new clothes.

"I'm glad that you seem to be doing better. You bought new clothes?"

"Yes, was that okay?" Diana asked hesitantly.

"Of course, if I didn't want you to buy anything then I wouldn't have given you money in the first place. While I understand that it's hard for you to overcome what happened, if you don't keep trying then you'll never be able to escape it."

As Dia patted her back, Diana nodded and gave her thanks. Shui then left to his room to organize what he had learnt in the past week. He was reluctant to touch on those memories even though he wasn't sure what they contained, but his gains were too important to give up. Shui wasn't much of a dancer, so he didn't even know if he was good or not, but as he tried to apply his new technique he could feel himself moving to an indistinct rhythm. He felt that if he could consciously discern this rhythm that he would break through to a higher understanding of the natural laws, but the path was elusive.

"To think I would come up with the third form of my Unorthodox Blade Method while I was in a sealed state. I'm almost tempted to unravel my memories and find out how it happened, but if I was worried enough to seal them then it's better I don't mess with them thoughtlessly."

Based on what he could tell, the first stance of the new Control Form he had created, worked by leading his opponents into moving the way he wanted them to. Once mastered, he would be able to manipulate any fight from start to finish, but that was still far in the future.

When it was time for dinner, Shui dressed up slightly and escorted the twins down to the restaurant that he had reserved spots at. He was making sure that they didn't stand out, but now that the twins were beginning to recover mentally, their charms were starting to come out. With an elegant smile on her face, Diana looked like a high-class beauty exuding pride and dignity. Similarly, while Dia remained stoic, a glare from her could draw out both fear and excitement in a man.

Shui could acknowledge that both were pretty, but he had no desire to monopolize them. It was unclear what their future held, but he believed that they would part ways sooner or later.

They spent dinner talking about what happened during the time Shui was working, and since there was much he couldn't tell them about his work, it was mainly about what the twins did. Alia had already given him a summary of what they did, but he felt it was important to hear from them to get their perspectives. Shui also took the opportunity to inform the two that they would be leaving in a few days to Heavenly Territory. He hinted that they could stay in this city if they didn't want to continue travelling with him, but they either didn't notice or ignored his hint, so there was no change to his original plans.

The next day, they checked out of the hotel and pretended to leave the city. He wasn't sure if anyone would check his activity in this city and deduce that the twins were related to his assassin persona, Faceless, but he had to be careful. If he was by himself then there would be less hassle, but since he had decided to bring the twins with him, he had to ensure that they wouldn't be targeted by his enemies.

For the days leading up to their airship flight, Shui explored the city and observed the various technologies in place while the twins stayed at a small inn that he had sneaked them into. He felt a little sorry for stuffing them in a room right after he returned, but he couldn't compromise on this matter. The Tower of Killers was likely on his tail so he couldn't afford to be optimistic. Although he didn't fear the Tower, if their power targeted his loved ones then no amount of regret would save him.

When the day of their departure came, Shui and the twins arrived at the entrance to Area B in disguise. They came here early, but waited near the gate instead of entering. Shui didn't say why, but the twins agreed without complaint. He had his eyes closed and his arms crossed until he felt something land on his shoulder.

"I'm back."

"Good, how was it?"

"There were no problems. I went a decent distance, applied the seal and then came back."

Although she said that she would be napping, Shui asked Alia for a favour to ensure that the loose end that he was worried about was tied up. On the day they left the hotel, he had Alia fly out of the city with a bag containing their crystal cards and told her to seal their presences with talismans and place them in a storage ring once she was far enough before coming back. This way he could fool the city's systems into thinking that he had left the city. Even if the systems were able to detect the access cards despite the seals and someone decided to check, there was no evidence of anyone entering or leaving with the access cards so the information likely wouldn't be seen as accurate.

"Okay. Thanks for the help."

"Hmph, keep your thanks. Just remember that you owe me for this."

"You say that as if you wouldn't force me to do a favour for you regardless."

"I'm glad you understand your position. Now, let's hurry up and get to this airship so I can see if it was worth all this effort."

After Alia returned, the group approached the Area B entrance and Shui presented the requisite documents. They were able to make it past the gate, but the strong look of disdain and skepticism in the guards' eyes was reminiscent of what a merchant might encounter when trying to enter a noble district. It wasn't completely unexpected given what sort of place Area B was, but it certainly dampened their excitement.

Past the gates was not the intriguing and mysterious city they were expecting, but what appeared to be a normal city. As he had been here, albeit in a sealed state, Shui sort of knew it would be like this, but the twins deflated. However if they noticed what Shui and Alia did, their amazement would be through the roof. Although Area B seemed much more mundane compared to Area C, its advancements were actually hidden under the ordinary. The 'horse-driven' carriages had no drivers, a metal container exited a store and silently flew off, someone walked by with a card that displayed a moving image; what seemed to be the norm was actually packed with advanced technology that made Area C seem like an fluffed up fake.

Shui thought it would be nice to stay here for a while without sealing his memories, but unfortunately that idea would have to wait for another opportunity.