"That's a yes," Lyda told Cyrus.

"Okay," he gave a mental sigh of relief.

He really wanted to talk to the Silver Oracle and find out why Lyda succeeded where others had failed before.

"Meet me at the bar," Lyda told him. "I'll inform Madam Mara about the trip."

Cyrus nodded, then made his way downstairs and sat at the bar. A different bartender from the night before stood behind it, a woman in her early twenties with dark brown hair and eyes the color of milk chocolate. To Cyrus, the shade reminded him of the specific brand and type his brothers loved the most. He made a mental note to buy some for them within the next few weeks, as it would help placate them a little.

"I'm waiting for someone," Cyrus told the bartender. "Before I leave. Me sitting here isn't an issue, is it?"

"No," she answered with a smile. "You must be the hottie who went with Lyda last night. My boyfriend mentioned you."

"Yeah," he set his tablet on the bar and started checking things.

It only took him a moment to find something, and he sighed. His brothers had gotten up to no good while he slept. He was gone not even a day, and they were up to their antics. A record, even for them. Cyrus pulled up his messaging system and told them that they better be at home, behaving, when he returned, then opened up a message he had received during the night. The user was recorded as SnK, and he had given them a profile of a pair of jewels, one blue and one green.

I thought you would live to be a thousand before you ever had sex. S

Cyrus snorted at his mother's message. He wasn't sure how she knew he had sex, but also knew that she had probably watched the entire thing just to see how he did.

It was an effort.

As he sent the message, he became aware of Lyda standing beside him, wearing the dress she had worn that night. He raised an eyebrow at seeing the dress.

"I don't score every night," she told him. "And the rooms have to be free for paying customers. I live elsewhere. Hey, Sabbie, I'm going on a trip with him."

"A trip?" Sabbie asked. "Have you talked to Madam Mara?"

"Yeah," Lyda answered. "She showed up a few moments after he left. She wanted to know how it was. He offered to take me to the Silver Oracle for the quest."

"That is an impressive advancement," Sabbie said. "And also an impossible one. Do you trust him when he says he can take you?"

"I trust what I've learned so far," Lyda answered. "See you around, Sabbie."

"Come on," Cyrus stood and began to leave.

"Where did your tablet go?" Lyda asked.

"I put it away."

Cyrus left the restaurant, and Lyda followed, then led him to her apartment a block down the street. They went up to her apartment, a studio apartment with a mattress on the floor and a couch, along with a chest of drawers.

As Cyrus waited, Lyda took a shower, then dressed in plain clothes, before packing a bag.

"I saw your screen, before you finished," Lyda told Cyrus. "Who's S-n-K? You didn't seem the type to talk about your sexual exploits, and your expression was the same as usual, no hint of pride or bragging."

"Sink is two people," he answered. "I told you my mother contacts us."

"That was your mother?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"You told her you had sex?"

"No."

"Then how did she know?"

"A goddess has her ways," he answered. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she answered. "Where are we going?"

"The airport," he answered. "My flight leaves in an hour and a half."

"Do you think they'd have an extra seat for me?"

"I book first-class," he said. "And always two adjacent seats."

To avoid risk of someone touching him. He also sat on the widow seat, to avoid risk of someone walking down the aisle bumping or brushing him as they passed. If there weren't two adjacent seats available but two seats available, he would book both, then offer the person sitting beside him the other seat. If they wouldn't move at that, he'd pay them to move. That always convinced them. In the event that there weren't two seats available in first-class at all, then he booked a different flight.

Lyda pulled on her bag, then they left, boarding the bus stopping a few yards down the street. Ten minutes later, they arrived at the airport and made their way in. Cyrus checked in with Lyda's bag as a carry-on, then they went through security.

"You don't have a wallet?" Lyda asked after they completed the checks. "Wait, where do you keep your money?"

"Several places," he answered. "You're sitting on the aisle."

"Okay," she said.

They moved to their gate to wait for boarding, and Cyrus began using his tablet to pass the time again. Several people claimed to have ancient artifacts, though only half of them used pictures as proof. Cyrus ran a check on the images through a database to find if the images could be found anywhere on the net.

For the ones which he found other images of but as part of a collection or something owned by someone, he researched to see if the supposed finder or seller had any connection to the owner. If he could find no relation, then he eliminated them. That resulted in half of the results being eliminated. Two more, he eliminated because he already knew they were shady.

By the time he finished filtering through the results, Cyrus had two sellers and a finder who had contacted him he was willing to check up on. Pulling on his magic, he focused on their information and the supposed objects they had. After verifying their authenticity, he sent them each a message saying he would negotiate.

He could have used his magic to divine their location and truth from the start, but he hated using it repeatedly when results might show up empty. His brothers didn't care about that and would check everyone anyway, but Cyrus had his own preferences.

As he finished sending the messages, a regular finder sent him a message.

I found a katana from Japan, it's more than a thousand years old according to the information that came with it. I had it appraised and it came up authentic. Do you still look for swords? I'll be in Mierar for the next week, and will be traveling to Brital the week after that to look at a new item.

Cyrus decided to make arrangements with him, as his plane was already on his way to an airport near Mierar. The Silver Oracle didn't live there, but the easiest way to her was there.

"A new seller?" Lyda asked as he finished making arrangement, and he looked at her. "Sorry, I just saw you suddenly typing a lot and got curious."

"Old seller," he explained. "A finder who hunts rare items for people. He sometimes comes across things while looking for other things that he thinks I or my brothers might be interested in. Reliable."

"Ah," she said. "We're going to Mierar? I thought our plane was taking us to Henmis? Wait, you said you were taking me to the Silver Oracle, but you already had tickets?"

"I live in Henmis," he told her. "Mierar is a three hours' drive on the interstate. We'll be heading to the islands, specifically."

"The Silver Oracle lives on the islands?" She asked.

"No," he answered. "But going through them is the easiest way to get to her."

He returned to using his tablet for the rest of the flight, only putting it away once they landed. They exited the plane and made their way to the airport's lot, and Cyrus walked straight to a plain, green car and entered through the driver's door.

"This is not as fancy," Lyda commented as she entered through the passenger's door. "As I would have expected from someone with a lot of money who buys up ancient artifacts."

"And rare items," he added. "Not all of those are ancient."

"You collect recent things, too?" She asked.

"If they're rare," he answered. "And my brothers do it more than me."

"What's something you collected that's rare and recent?" She asked as he turned on the car and pulled out.

"Silver and gold Manakao figurines."

Lyda stared at Cyrus, who ignored the stare. They were children's toys that came in cereal boxes, their run lasting for a full decade, ending only two years ago. The majority of the figurines were varied in color to look like people, but the company also made ones in pure silver or gold colors.

The chances of finding one of the silver ones were one in ten thousand, while the chances of finding a gold one was one in one hundred thousand. Cyrus had all of the silver ones and was missing one of the gold ones.

"I was not expecting that," Lyda said. "I suppose the car fits you more than a fancy car. I can't picture you in one."

"I drive those, too."

"You do?"

"My brothers and I have over one thousand cars," he stated. "I just prefer this one. That was a four-hour flight, and their snacks weren't appetizing. We haven't had breakfast or lunch. I'm stopping at a fast food place."

"We're not going to your home?"

"The agreement," he said. "Was that I take you to the Silver Oracle, then back your home and work. Nothing about my home."

He wouldn't have minded taking her by his house so that he could reprimand his brothers, but Cyrus really wanted to talk with the Silver Oracle about Lyda. His brothers could wait, anyway. There was some point in her saying he needed a break from them and to let loose. When he finished dealing with Lyda, he could handle the fallout of whatever his brothers did in his absence.

Though he wondered if maybe he should stop by their home and discard all of the cotton balls they had bought. Deciding against it, he drove to a fast food restaurant and ordered. After paying and receiving their food, Cyrus drove to the interstate.

"Thank you," Lyda said after they ate.

"Everyone needs to eat."

"I mean for taking me."

"There's always the chance I'm a kidnapper or here to sell you into the sex trade."

"I doubt it," she told him. "You seem-"

"Do you mind shutting up?" He asked. "I prefer it when it's quiet."

She gave him a strange look, but Cyrus dismissed it, she had done that a lot. The rest of the drive to Mierar was made with complete silence between them, Lyda napping lightly on the way. When they arrived, Cyrus pulled up to a parking garage and paid the fare, then parked his car on the fourth level before he woke Lyda with a snap by her ear.

"We'll meet the finder first," he told her. "Then head to the Silver Oracle."

"Okay," she yawned. "Do you mind if we eat again before we head to her?"

"We will."

They exited the car and Cyrus led her out of the parking garage and down the street. After a few minutes, they arrived at some docks. He walked up to a noodles shop open to the street at sat beside a man nearly twice his age, who had a long box leaning against the stall between them.

"Noodles?" Lyda asked as she sat on Cyrus's other side. "Fast food and noodles. Not the kind of thing I'd imagine someone who does what you do to eat."

"Got yourself a girlfriend?" The older man asked as the chef began preparing two bowls.

"No," Cyrus answered. "I'm taking her to meet someone. Is that it?"

"Yes," the man answered, and Cyrus grabbed the box and set it on the counter, the man quickly moving his bowl to avoid it being knocked off. "Watch the food, Cy."

"Don't call me that," Cyrus muttered as he opened the box, examining the sword.

He lifted it out the case and examined both sides of the blade and the hilt.

"It's a Masamune, as you said," Cyrus noted. "One of his earlier swords, too."

He lowered the sword back into the box, then accepted the bowl of noodles as Lyda tried to figure out where the box disappeared to when she took her eyes off of it to look at the food. Cyrus handed the finder a stack of bills with a band around their middle, then began eating his dinner.

After they ate, Cyrus led Lyda to a nearby boat, where they were greeted by a woman in her early thirties dressed in simple, yet expensive clothes.

"It has been awhile since you came here, Cyrus," she greeted him with a hug. "Are you here to delve into the dungeon again?"

"No," Cyrus answered as he shoved her away from him.

"The Mierar islands have a dungeon?" Lyda asked as she tried not to laugh at the interaction.

"A deep one," Cyrus answered. "It goes a thousand feet down, and the last three hundred are flooded from the ocean. There's a secondary entrance at the top of the water that leads in from the ocean. Or out, if you go that way. As with all dungeons, the monsters native don't leave."

"You go dungeon-diving, too?" She asked.

"I've gone a few times," he shrugged.

"A few times?" The woman laughed as she led them onto a boat. "Cyrus here has obtained tokens from more than twenty dungeons, including ours. And it wasn't by buying them – he claimed them himself, traveling in alone. He's a bit crazy to do that, but he has the talent to succeed."

"He's claimed them from more than twenty dungeons?" Lyda asked. "How often does he do yours?"

"Depends on his mood," the woman answered. "He's done ours maybe fifty times? Though I think he's only pulled one token out, even if they do replenish."

"Rynovar ensures that they replenish," Cyrus said. "I was doing yours to practice the Veneli Dungeon, it's four times as deep and only the first five hundred feet aren't submerged."

"You beat the Veneli one after only twenty practices here."

"Yours also has resources my brothers can use."

"You've done dungeons more than seventy times," Lyda said in disbelief as the boat began moving, taking them towards the islands. "Did you awaken right at sixteen or something?"

"I was born awakened," he answered. "I did my first dungeon when I was eight."

"His first permitted dungeon!" The woman laughed. "He was spotted coming out of one when he was five. When asked why he risked his life like that, all Cyrus said was 'I'm a god, so it's not like I would die'."

"So he's been awakened since he was little," Lyda said. "And is a magical genius?"

"Indeed," the woman said. "My name is Gina, by the way."

"Nice meet you, Gina," Lyda said. "Is it normal for Cyrus to say so little when he's talking?"

"Yes," Gina answered. "Cyrus is… special. He's socially inept in some ways, and indifferent to most people."

"Except his brothers," Lyda said.

"Cyrus!" Gina pointed at him, her tone suddenly angry. "Those brothers of yours set five hundred chickens loose on the docks last night! We spent all day catching and evicting them! They're still cleaning up the droppings and feathers!"

"So that's why they came down here," Cyrus muttered, then sent them another message on his tablet telling them off for the chickens. "I'll punish them when I get home, Gina."

"Thanks!" She took a deep breath, then smiled at Lyda. "So how did you meet Cyrus?"