“Kahaha, oh that is rich!” laughed Jack. She sat at the dining room table in our hotel suite. Reading a newspaper while she ate the continental breakfast that room service brought up for us a few minutes ago.

“...What?” I said. While idly buttering a scone.

“This hotel gets newspapers from all over, including back home in the low-realm. And guess what? It seems the 17th Pearl’s Cornichon Kingdom’s had a change of leadership with one of the princes winning over the others after the old King bit the big one,” said Jack.

“Uh, huh? But what’s so funny about that?” I said.

“Well, a certain dickhead Count, with a gross, fucked-in-the-head, murdering, rapist, son,...went and backed one of the Princes that lost. The dude really went all in too. Taking part in an attempted coup...So, he and all his allies were executed alongside the dumbass Prince,” said Jack.

“Oh…” I suddenly understood why she was laughing. I was also suddenly a lot more concerned.

“Are...Are you okay?” I said.

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” said Jack. Her smile dimmed. A poignant loneliness and lostness appeared in her expression.

I’d been with Jack long enough to know that in moments like this it was best not to beat around the bush. Trying to be subtle, or overly gentle, just gave her space to hide, which often ended up making things worse in the long run. When it came to Jack, it was often best to just rip off the band-aid and deal with matters straightforwardly, so the issue wouldn’t fester and turn into something even more troublesome.

“Well, firstly, the Marrows were your family...and even if they were largely all fucking awful people, I know that for whatever reason you still always wanted their love and respect on ‘some’ level. And even now, right up until the moment you read that newspaper, I'm willing to bet that there was still a part of you that still wanted them to love and respect you. Now they’re dead, and you no longer have the chance to show them exactly what they missed out on. You no longer get the chance to get any sort of revenge...or closure. Everything between you and them is just suddenly over...I imagine that can’t feel great. Thus the question, ‘are you okay?’ So, Jack...Hon, Are you ‘actually’ okay?” I said.

“.....” Jack didn’t say anything for a moment. A dozen expressions flashed over her face. Then she sighed and laughed.

“Shit...Okay, okay...I give. Cut a girl break, why don’t ya’? Sheesh. I ‘am’ actually okay? Okay? But yeah, I’m maybe a little bit bum... Like seriously just a tiny-teensy bit bummed that my dumbass dad, and the rest of my shitty family, will never get to see how awesome I ended up being,” said Jack. Rubbing the back of her head agitatedly.

“I...I get that. And uh, sorry, Jack. Sorry if I took it too far,” I said.

Jack sighed.

“It’s fine…I know how you roll. You fuss the more you care. I swear sometimes you're worse than my nan,” said Jack. Shrugging and shaking her head.

I blinked.

“You had a grandmother?”

“What? No!...Or technically yes, because my parents had to have come from somewhere. So hypothetically, I probably had at least two grandmothers....but in this case, I was mostly being facetious and now you’ve sort of ruined it, by making me explain the thing to death,” said Jack. Furrowing her brow at me in annoyance.

*************************************************************************************************************

We spent the next couple of hours after breakfast cultivating. Or rather, Jack cultivated, while I used my Potential and my Idle-Clicker System to actively study some of the newer stories that had popped into being as I reached new stages of enlightenment, and knowledgeableness, with the stories I already had. We stopped around 2 PM because we had plans to go meet up with our friends in the city. Alina had set up a lunch date with us, Mr. Sigi was supposed to be there too.

“Man, look at you, man! You’re even bigger than me, little brother! What were they feeding you in that jungle?!” laughed Sigi. As we did that whole thing we’re our seniors got to gush about how time has flown, our heights have changed, and the puberty fairy has clearly come and gone, after doing a great deal of work on both of us.

“Heh, thanks..." I laughed. Slightly weirded out to find that I'd gone from looking up to Sigi, to looking over his head.

"So, we heard from Ms. Alina, that you’re a Captain now,” said Jack.

“Oh, yeah, oh yeah...Basically, our Black-Wolf Company and the Rose-Boar Traders are like a dog and its stomach worms. So when the Rose-Boar Trader’s fortunes started going up, our Black-Wolf Company’s fortunes started going up, which meant everyone who was involved in that got opportunities to be promoted and whatnot,” said Sigi.

“Ah, that’s cool. Anyway, good for you...So how’s the position? How are you liking it?” I said. Forcing myself to be more of an active participant because I ‘do’ actually like Mr. Sigi, even if talking wasn't my thing.

“Eh, I like it good enough...There’s way more paperwork and bureaucratic nonsense nowadays though. Way more politics too,” said Sigi.

“Kek, guess we’re lucky in that regard. Though keeping track of expenses for tax purposes will probably be a bit of a nightmare for the foreseeable future until we get a new gig,” said Jack. Chuckling.

We shot the breeze with Alina, Sigi, and the Clerk, Ms. Alisha, who was also there for whatever reason. Apparently, the woman was Alina’s protégé and Alina was having her work her way up through the ranks of the company to get experience, and contacts, with the various branches that Alina had gotten involved with when she was working her way through the company. That still didn’t exactly explain why the Clerk was there, but neither Jack, nor I, was going to kick up a stink over such a small thing.

At some point during the lunch, I had a thought, and was encouraged by the [Tale of the Fool] and the [Tale of the Cultivator] to go through with the thought. So I said,

“So, this has been great...And Jack and I ‘have’ been enjoying taking these easy since we’ve gotten back to civilization, but we’re almost two months in and we’re already starting to get antsy. Any suggestions as to our next steps guys?”

“Oh, yeah, shit!... That’s a brilliant idea, Jill! We’re here because we sort of hit a dead end regarding how far that jungle could take us. We’ve seriously been thinking about our next moves, and well, we were wondering if you guys have any suggestions regarding groups or organizations we could join to get stronger. Preferably ones that you guys are on friendly to neutral terms with, because well, besides trusting your opinion, and shamelessly wanting to take advantage of any connections you might be able to leverage, we’d hate to mess this whole deal up by joining the Capulets when you guys are Montagues,” said Jack. Batting her eyes at our seniors a bit, and managing to play cute while still being a grown-ass woman.

“Heh...Er, you said you guys reached a dead-end with the jungle. Just how strong ‘did’ you guys get out there?” said Sigi. Taking a sip of tea and quirking his brow.

Jack and I exchanged a look and a bit of wordless communication before deciding to just be upfront. We really did need their help after all, and in this case, it wasn’t like it could hurt us to reveal this particular bit of information.

“Mhm, that’s a hard one….” Jack.

“We’re not really experts on this sort of thing. We’ve basically been living in the wild all this time...We’re more, or less, the textbook definition of rogue cultivators,” I said. My [Tale of the Cultivator] was less helpful than you'd expect it to be in regards to this because the story seemed to treat the standards this world used for measuring strength as terminally imprecise nonsense. What's more, Jack and I had grown in a very non-conventional way, so it was kind of hard to know exactly how we matched up to the rest of the world.

“That being said...we’re pretty sure we’re somewhere in the ballpark of the Primordial and True-Soul Ranks,” said Jack.

The table fell silent as no one said anything. Eventually, Sigi drained his teacup and said,

“Are you absolutely sure about that?”

“We’re pretty sure...yeah,” I said.

There was another lull. Then Alina said,

“Not that we don’t believe you, darlings...But I don’t suppose you could show us a little…”

“Er...Sure,” said Jack. She gave me another look. This time to signal that I should use my restriction ability, and spatial manipulation, on the space around our table, so that we didn’t affect our surroundings. Once I did that, Jack and I proceeded to show our seniors our auras. We didn’t show all of it. Exposing Sigi, and Alina, to that made spiritual pressure would have overwhelmed them and potentially done them some harm. But we did show them enough.

Once we were done. I undid the restriction and seals around our tables. I decided to leave a seal that would keep people from overhearing what we were talking about in place, because I suspected things were about to take a turn for the sensitive and confidential.

“Uh...W-, Wow,” said Sigi. His face twitching in quite an interesting way. Like his face was trying to run away from his head.

“In-...Indeed. Truly remarkable,” said Alina. Managing to keep her outward poise, but revealing that she too had been shaken by the effects of our auras, as her hands trembled while she tried to pour herself a fresh cup of tea.

“So, what do you guys think?” said Jack.

“Heh…”I” think that you’ve put us in a bit of a bind here,” said Sigi. Laughing ruefully.

“Eh?” said Jack. Bewildered. I sat up as well. Concerned that we might have broken some unknown social norm.

“Pft...I can’t speak for Alina, but if the portion of your powers that you’ve shown just now is any indication of the rest of your capability, then I’m pretty sure that as an officer of the Black-Wolf Company I’m all but obligated to extend an invitation to you...Just for the sheer potential, you’ve shown...Never mind the reality of your considerable strength,” said Sigi. Laughing some more, and shaking his head.

Alina chuckled.

“I think you’ve put it quite well, Mr. Protz. I’m pretty sure my status as an executive of the Rose-Boar Trading Company puts me in a similarly difficult position,” said Alina.

“That being said,...Based on our earlier transaction just a few weeks ago, and some of the other goodies you’ve placed in our company’s care to auction off for you...and based on your stated desire to join a group that can help you get stronger...I suspect that our offers would likely be rejected, no?” said Alina.

“Uh...I guess, so,” I said.

Jack nodded. Agreeing with my answer.

“Well, at least we tried,” said Sigi. Taking a bite of the cheddar-and-tomato topped toast that was on his plate.

“Yes...It’s best we can do considering that I strongly suspect that neither of our groups can help you get stronger, and you have little need, or desire, for the wealth that we could offer,” said Alina.

“In which case, we’d probably suggest joining one of the sects,” said Sigi.

“A sect?” said Jack.

“Well, either that or a religious order,” said Sigi.

Jack made a face.

“We’re not very religious,” I tried not to squirm, as I imagined two literal monsters like us joining one of the holy orders.

“Then yeah...A sect would probably be your best choice,” said Sigi.

“Any suggestions on which we should consider?” I said.

“Hm, I think I know the perfect group...They’re technically a high-realm sect, but they keep numerous branches in the middle and low realms...Both Sigi and I, often cooperate with them, so it won’t be hard for us to get you an interview even though the public recruitment period has already passed,” said Alina. Excitedly clapping her hands together after a moment of thought.

“Oh?! You mean ‘that’ guy. Yeah, actually that’d probably work. The Forest of Life and Death are a pretty upstanding bunch. Not as hypocritical as your typical righteous sect, not as deviant and destructive as the demonic sects...Deep pockets and more than 100,000 years' worth of history...Yeah, I think that’ll definitely work,” said Sigi. Seeming to get more on board with whatever idea Alina had just had, as he thought about the matter.