The manager tried to get them to stay, but they promptly refused and then hurried out of the building, though not before Nolan became the object of a hushed wave of ridicule from many of the other patrons. As soon as they made it outside and began walking back in the direction of the inn, he threw his arms up in annoyance.

“Listen, I get what you’re trying to do here. That guy’s a higher up in the CMA, so he probably knows things that others don’t, and you want to find out whatever you can from him. I get it. But do you think he’s gonna be cool with just getting stiffed like that? I guarantee you he sets some sort of creepy trap for you, like sneaking some master-slave contract on you or something.”

“That won’t work on me, though. I’m already trapped by the Red Mountain King, aren’t I?”

He became even more annoyed. “I forgot about that. We’ll have to go kill that guy after we finish up with your inheritance, at least after we visit the first spot on your ancestor’s map. And when I say we, I mean I. As long as he can command you to do anything, it’s a bad idea for you to go anywhere near that guy.”

She grasped his hand a bit tighter. “Just make sure you’re strong enough to do it without putting yourself in danger.”

“Careful’s my middle name,” he said, stifling a belch with his free hand. “Although I’ve got a feeling that Conick guy’s gonna be more trouble than he’s worth.” He stumbled as his toe caught on an uneven cobblestone, a rarity in the neat and orderly city. Thankfully Nyla quickly supported him, though she too was unsteady. “Man, I’m smashed. “It’s a shame we forgot the rest of those golden spirits at the restaurant.”

“Someone is following you,” came Delia’s voice, the woman hiding in an unseen location. She was directly transmitting her words into his mind.

He touched a sound transference talisman that was sitting in a pocket of his trousers. “Thanks for telling me, but no need to worry. He can’t do anything to us.”

“Trust me, I’m not worried.”

Rather than taking offence to her comment, he was surprised that she had bothered to send a second response. Delia had been acting strangely since they had left the island, which left a lot of question marks floating around in his mind.

“Do you still want to go out somewhere?” asked Nolan. He’d told Nyla that she could decide on the plan for tonight.

“Let’s wait until tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, examining the people that filled the busy streets. “There’re a lot of strong cultivators in this city, and more are arriving by the hour. Since it’s like this, I wouldn’t mind spending a bit more time cultivating.”

He suspected that she simply didn’t want to be spied on by Conick’s acquaintance, one of the Genesis-staged men that had been at the restaurant with him. Aside from those two, he could sense many other auras at the Genesis stage in different areas of the city.

“Sounds good to me.” Pulling her in close, he whispered in her ear. “What’d I tell you? Buddy’s a creep.”

She giggled, placing a finger over her light smile and shushing him lest he betray that they were capable of sensing the man that was currently relying on some sort of treasure to hide his appearance as he followed after them from about eighty metres in the air. Since he was only one level above Nyla—albeit an extremely significant level—he had to have known that she would be able to detect him. This told Nolan that the man was under the impression that they couldn’t sense him, likely due to whatever treasure he was relying on to make himself invisible. Maybe it allowed him to go undetected by people at the same level as himself? It was a good guess, he figured, since Nyla’s spiritual sense was so sharp that she could even detect someone at the fifth level of Genesis. Not just that, but never in the man’s wildest dreams would he expect someone at the third level of Integration like Nolan to be able to sense someone at the sixth level of Genesis.

It seemed that the so-called Merchant Lord’s Chamberlain had taken quite an interest in Nyla. Instinct told Nolan that he had made a new enemy, though these days he had more enemies than friends, so he wasn’t too worried. While it was true that he wanted to avoid butting heads with the CMA at all costs, Conick wouldn’t be a problem if he died under mysterious circumstances while he and Nyla were visibly present at a completely different place.

We’ll see what happens, he thought, enjoying a strong, focused buzz as he walked arm-in-arm with Nyla down the bustling streets of Tallgate. Though the city was well lit now that evening was turning to night, the sky still sparkled with tens of thousands of stars, a sight that had been uncommon back on Earth where any sizeable city gave off so much pollution that seldom an impressive amount of stars had ever been visible. He hoped that Conick wouldn’t turn into a problem, but some part of him knew deep down that the man already had.

***

“Really?” said Sean, who was relaxing on a sofa chair with a cup of ordinary ale in his hand. “We were at a bar and some kid was being pretty aggressive with Lyra, so you can guess how she handled it.”

“What does that have to do with what I just said?” Nolan had just told the others about what had happened with Conick at the fancy restaurant. “Don’t tell me she killed the guy.”

“She would have, if he didn’t keep bringing up his uncle and threatening to have the guard arrest us. Apparently his uncle a chamberlain too.”

“What’s the big deal, though?” asked Esteban. “For all we know, there’re hundreds of chamberlains in the city.” He was sitting on another sofa with the Varai siblings, helping himself to a bowl of walnut-shaped berries.

“I don’t think so,” Nyla said pensively. “Conick received a lot of attention and respect when he walked into that restaurant, which is supposedly the nicest one in the city. He also said he owned it, so even if there are other people with the same position as him in this city, I don’t think there would be a lot.”

Alicia and Aine were cultivating in another room, while everyone else was sitting around a golden coffee table while sharing how their evenings went.

“I actually wanted to talk about something related to this.” He paused for a moment to accentuate the importance of what he was about to say. “We hardly know anything about the CMA, except for the fact that it’s a big association for merchants. I think it’d be best if we split up into a few groups tomorrow and spent some time looking into their organization. That way we can avoid creating any unnecessary problems with people that might pose a threat to us.”

“I wish you told me that before I crippled that guy.” Lyra seemed genuinely annoyed, as if he had been the one to do the deed.

“He told you he was some big shot’s nephew, and you still crippled him?” He leaned his head on a hand. What if it’s the same guy we ran into?”

“What’d you want me to do, go home with him?”

“You could have just left.”

“Because of him? I was having a good time.”

Ian patted him on the back. “Don’t be so stressed, Nolan. We’re not pushovers anymore. So what if it’s the same guy? We can just cripple him too.”

“What’s up with you two and crippling people? Listen, just because we can defend ourselves doesn’t mean we should put ourselves in—”

He stopped talking as the double doors that served as the main entrance to their suite were suddenly opened, revealing the clerk that had registered the room for them.

“Uh, excuse me?” said Sean. “You could have just knocked, you know.”

“My apologies, dear guests, but the situation is urgent.” The man seemed nervous beyond help, with wide eyes and beady irises, his brow covered in an obvious sheen of sweat. “An unexpected development has occurred, and we have no choice but to ask you to vacate the premises. You will be fully reimbursed, of course, including for today’s fees.”

Ian made to stand up, a defiant glint in his eye, but Nolan placed a hand on his shoulder and signalled for him not to move.

“Can you elaborate? What do you mean by ‘unexpected development?’”