Alphonse and Ruslin didn't make any open acknowledgment towards each other as the uneasy silence settled over the room. Their first meeting had been anything but pleasant when Alphonse first established his guild. He recalled the warrior walking up to him at the Guild Union and asserting a dominant presence as his gaze had towered over him. He couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension from his seated position with the warrior staring down even further like some arrogant deity.

Alphonse thought it was rather ironic that the one who stepped in at the time and prevented possible violence between them was actually the Siren, Rachel.

“Been a while,” Alphonse said. He directed the response to Anya, but let a sprinkle of distaste salt his words as he glanced at the big man. “You seem well.” He realized how overly formal he sounded, but he couldn't help himself being around the other two strangers.

Anya shrugged. “Well enough, I guess.”

Derek let out a hearty laugh as he examined the interior of the tea shop. “Yeah, considering everything that's been going on, I'd say we are better than okay.”

He stepped forward and held out his hand. Alphonse rose from his seat to return the greeting, and they bumped fists, like old friends who had only just seen each other the day before. Alphonse assumed that 'friends' was the right word for their relationship.

Derek introduced the young female spellcaster next to Ruslin simply by the name of Sue. She bowed to him without a word, but Alphonse noticed her eyes avert as she did so.

Is this one a Siren too? Alphonse thought humorously.

Ruslin was about to be introduced next, but the warrior interrupted Derek as he stepped forward and lightly nudged everyone aside. He stood a few feet from Alphonse and eyed him up and down as if harshly judging his appearance.

Alphonse stood firm and locked eyes with him. This guy...is he always itching for a fight?

He realized how far off the mark he was when the big man brought his boots together and bowed with arms locked at his sides. “Allow me to apologize,” Ruslin said.

Alphonse's mouth dropped open, and he was glad that he had opted to pull up his scarf again.

Ruslin's companions remained silent, save for a quiet snicker from Anya that she hid behind her hand. Sue gave her a disapproving look.

“I must accept part of the blame for the incident with Rachel, and you were directly involved because of my negligence as a guild leader,” Ruslin said. “I also reacted in a way that was ill-befitting of my position when you established your guild. It was none of my business. For all of this, I apologize. I am willing to atone in any way possible. I will even lend you my assistance on quests if you should need it.”

Alphonse stood rigid as the warrior concluded. He stared at Ruslin for a few seconds before glancing around the tea shop at a loss.

Oh...wow... he thought.

A barely suppressed giggle escaped Anya, followed by a fit of hysterical gasps. “Oh my god!” She leaned forward with tears brimming her eyes. “H-how long did you rehearse that? Shit, I'm gonna die! That was amazing!” She struggled to breathe as she gripped her stomach.

Ruslin jerked up from his bow and whirled on her with his fist clenched. “Quiet, woman! It isn't sincere if it's spur of the moment!”

Sue shook her head and breathed a disappointed sigh. “Even I didn't expect that. Ridiculous.”

Ruslin gave her an incredulous look before he turned to his fellow warrior for support. Derek's cheeks puffed up, and the corners of his mouth curled a bit. “Nah,” he choked. “Was good. Well thought out. Hit me right in the feels.”

Far off to the side, Kirie leaned on a table and hid her face in an attempt to muffle her own laughter. Asa looked in the opposite direction with shoulders shaking and the collar of her robe pulled up with both hands.

Ruslin turned back to Alphonse and rested a hand over his reddening face. The big man's eyes pleaded with him to say something.

Alphonse considered joining everyone else's mirth, but he felt that the man's apology really was genuine. It took plenty of guts and dismissed pride to apologize in such a way in front of an audience. He also never imagined that a stone-faced man like Ruslin could possibly form anything but a scowl. His embarrassment was more than satisfying.

Alphonse settled for a half-grin that was mostly hidden by his scarf. “Apology accepted. And I'll be taking advantage of your offer.”

He didn't know how he would go about implementing his services, but it never hurt to have an extra player ready on the sidelines. Forward Earth was a massive guild. Even if Ruslin was demoted, Alphonse was certain that he had connections that might be beneficial in the future. Information was power.

Ruslin visibly relaxed. “Of course. Thank you.”

It took a few minutes for the rest of the group to compose themselves. Alphonse spent that time explaining to Ash his relationship with the other party. She didn't seem to mind the growing crowd of humans, and there were no other patrons at the moment, but there was a fighter's wariness that kicked in when she examined the adventurers.

They were prompted to sit down when Kureha appeared from the kitchen with a tray full of tea. Alphonse insisted that the drinks were on him. Everyone voiced their appreciation and settled themselves down. Kirie and Asa sat to either side of him, while the other party sat across from them. Ash and Kureha took up seats to either side near the center, almost as if they were the mediators for the imperative discussion. They didn't see any other reason for humans to show up in the eastern district.

Alphonse was reluctant to press them for explanations so soon, but he figured the atmosphere had lifted to a point beyond spoiling. His first question was how they knew he frequented the tea shop in the first place.

“Ah, yeah, sorry about that,” Anya said. “We had to twist Liam's arm a bit to get an answer out of him.”

Alphonse raised an eyebrow at this. “The poor guy's been through a lot.”

Anya feigned a hurt look. “Gosh, I didn't mean literally. Is that really how you see me?”

“You are rather blunt and violent when you want to be,” Derek said as he took a sip of his tea. His eyes lit up, and a ravenous look crossed his features for a moment before he took another sip. “Delicious.”

His reaction to the tea incited a positive response from Kureha as her tail wagged for a brief moment.

Anya leaned forward on the table and sulked. “Wow! You guys suck!”

"How are they doing by the way?" Alphonse asked.

Derek took a few more gulps of his tea before answering, "Well enough, I suppose. They seemed a little shaken up, but Liam was out practicing the other day. Looked like Emily was messing around with some earth magic too."

So they haven't given up, Alphonse thought. He was glad to get a bit of good news.

The conversation danced in much the same manner with more playful jabs from Derek. Even Ruslin made an attempt to join in, but some of his words awkwardly fell flat since they didn't really complement his nature. Sue tapped her staff against the floor impatiently, but the many voices drowned out the methodical insistence.

Alphonse was surprised when Asa came out of her shell to intervene. There was a look on her face he couldn't quite read, but he detected a hint of unease.

“I assume you aren't here just to give Evan an apology,” Asa said bluntly. She looked at Alphonse and gave him an unexpected wink. It was then that he realized she was making herself into a bit of an antagonist for the sake of his own appearance. It was clear that the other party was treading around the important topic, and he would be content to let them drag him along.

Looks like I've gotten lax with all this leisure, he thought.

He nodded his appreciation to Asa, which she returned with a warm smile that most of the other members at the table noticed.

Derek drained the last of his drink before opting to speak for the group, “You're right, we're here for more than that. It's just...” He trailed off and observed the members of his party. “We were a bit divided on this. There's information we wanted to share, but we didn't know who to approach about it. Ultimately, it was Anya who insisted that we could trust you.”

“Gee, that's a bold statement,” Kirie said. She nudged an elbow into Alphonse's side. “We haven't worked together much. What makes you so sure you can trust this guy?”

Alphonse forced an air of composure by lacing his fingers on the table. “You could try to be a bit more tactful, Kirie. You might hurt my feelings.”

“Yeah, sure. Your poor, delicate feelings.” Kirie scoffed and punched him on the arm a little harder than intended. Alphonse pretended to wince and massaged the spot tenderly.

“It's true though,” Anya said. Her atypical and serious tone grabbed their attention. “We haven't worked together much, but I've heard enough around the city. You're a pretty secretive person, but your guild's accomplishments are well-known.” Then she added, almost as an afterthought, “And there's also the Siren Incident you were involved with.”

Makes sense, Alphonse thought. I was the clear victim. Of course it would be easier to trust me.

“We took on a quest near Lamfell,” Anya continued. She bit her lower lip as she considered the next bit. “I tried to get Liam and Emily to tell us exactly where you were going, but they wouldn't budge. Lamfell was the only bit I could get out of them.”

Alphonse had a complete grasp of where she was going with this. She was the one who directed the siblings to him in the first place. She then attempted to question them since he was difficult to contact. The twins were accessible, potentially making it easier to locate him.

That's what she wants me to think, Alphonse thought. There was another reason, but he assumed she didn't want to reveal too much with the other demihumans present.

Anya sighed as she misread the contemplative look on his face. “Geez, you really are dense. I'm trying to say that we like working with you. Take the damn compliment.”

Alphonse involuntarily jerked in his seat. “Oh, thanks.” He realized how stupid he sounded and coughed into his fist. “I appreciate that. I enjoy working with you as well. Maybe I should make myself more available.”

Anya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

Now, about the information we're entrusting you with...” Derek started.

"Why not pass this information to the High Council?" Ash interjected. She didn't even look at the warrior when she posed the question.

Derek clamped his mouth shut at the interruption. Everyone's eyes shifted to the fox woman. She maintained an air of calm by holding her healthy arm beneath her breasts. They then stared at Kureha, who fidgeted nervously with her hands in her lap.

Alphonse lifted his hand in a placating gesture. "They're good. I wouldn't come to this place all the time if I didn't trust them." He gestured to the two demihumans. “They've done a lot for me. Honestly, I would even trust them with my life.”

A lie. Mostly. If Ash was as perceptive as he originally believed, then she would make her own judgments, regardless of her part in the conversation. Exclusion would only alienate her in the future, and he most certainly didn't want to lose what trust he'd already gained.

He glanced at Ash, and their eyes met for a brief second before she looked at seemingly nowhere in particular.

Kureha's expression was less than subtle. She rested her hands on her face with a radiant smile that would make anyone's heart flutter. Alphonse felt that one day he was going to get a heart attack from her cuteness.

The other party seemed satisfied.

"Let's just say that I don't have a high opinion of Tevilandis's High Council,” Ruslin answered. “And I'm pretty sure our guild members won't be able to keep their mouths shut. It's just not possible in such a large guild with many high-ranking positions."

Alphonse waited for him to proceed, but it was Sue who took the reigns. The spellcaster spoke in a quiet voice, “We encountered a strange ogre on our way to Lamfell. It was much larger than average with a strange sludge covering its body. It took me a while to piece everything together, but it looked similar to the slime that fell around the dungeon when it emerged. I assume you've heard about this?”

Alphonse, Kirie and Asa nodded in unison.

So, they were the ones who left the deirgu corpses behind, Alphonse thought. He recalled the black scar on the road and the black puddle left by Anya's group. But it didn't seem like they fought an ogre at quite the same level. He imagined they would have mentioned some of the finer, deadlier details if that were the case.

Sue pressed on, “You've also heard that three other adventuring parties came forward about these dark ogres, yes?"

“We did,” Asa said. “The information spread fast at the Guild Union. They were also unable to recover the bodies.”

“That's right," Sue said. "However, we never mentioned our encounter to anyone. That means four adventuring parties fought the dark ogres.”

“Make that five,” Kirie said. As expected, Anya and her group didn't seem too surprised by the declaration.

Ruslin ran a frustrated hand over his head. “I figured if you were around the area, then you might have fought something similar. It can't be a coincidence. The ogres really were catalysts for that destruction.”

Alphonse frowned. "'Catalysts?'"

“We met a strange man on the way to Lamfell," Sue explained. "He mentioned the ogres and said something about a 'final catalyst.' When I heard about the other dark ogre sightings, I decided to question the other adventurers." Sue began to gesticulate with her hands as she fell into her crucial revelations. "The other parties that encountered the dark ogres took on a quest from the Guild Union that only mentioned deirgu. I believe killing the ogres was part of what triggered this cataclysmic event.”

Alphonse let the information sink in. This wasn't the first time that quests were inaccurate. He wondered if it was possible that the other quests leading up to the dark ogres were related somehow.

Perhaps they were a trial period? Maybe whoever's behind this wanted to see if they could get away with falsifying quests. But why choose such a roundabout way? Why not just reveal the ogres to ensure the threat is dealt with? Unless they wanted to make sure it was adventurers who killed them.

There wasn't enough information to get a clear idea as to why this might be.

Ash winced as she shifted her injured arm. “Are you saying we caused this catastrophe?”

Sue shook her head. “Indirectly. There was no way for us to know. I believe the man we met is responsible for turning the ogres into these catalysts.”

“How could one man do something like this? Sounds a little far-fetched to me,” Alphonse said.

“I thought so as well. Even with the absurd amount of mana emanating from him, there's no way he could accomplish something like this on his own.”

The Siren Incident, the inaccurate quests, the dark ogres, the dungeon – are they really all connected somehow? Alphonse folded his arms over his chest as he considered it. He doubted that the government had anything to do with these issues, but the prospect still nagged at him regardless. According to Ruslin, they could still at least exacerbate matters inadvertently.

“Did the spellcaster say anything else?” Asa asked. “Maybe we can piece something together.”

Sue rested a hand on her chin and stared at the floor as she attempted to reconstruct the conversation. “I remember a few other things he mentioned. I can't exactly recall everything, but he did ask us if we were 'seekers of True Equivalence,' or something like that.”

Alphonse's stomach dropped and a breath caught in his throat. It felt as if the trapped air would morph into bile and flood his insides. A terrible pain burned his chest at the mention of those two words. There was no mistaking it. He'd heard those words before. No, he read them before. They were in the letter that was under the guise of a quest he received in Halieuna.

The leader of the guild outpost, Daichi Coremaul, had given him the fake quest with the mention of three adventurers declining it. It was a clever ruse. Coremaul knew that Alphonse Kneller was still alive, and so did his receptionist, Catherine. They already established that the 'three' mentioned were his old party members.

Alphonse wondered if this spellcaster who spoke of 'True Equivalence' knew about it as well.

The words written in the letter flashed in his mind with perfect clarity:

'Twice now. Remain steadfast.

Trust no one.

Continue along the path you set on arrival.

Reach beyond the system, and bring true equivalence.

We will contact you in person when the healrings are full bloom.'

Alphonse glanced at Kirie and Asa. He noticed their shoulders rise a bit with a slight shiver.

'The path,' Alphonse thought. My desire for home? 'Twice now.' The betrayals. 'The system.' This world's functions? Did that part refer to the stats? 'True Equivalence.' What is it? Does it have something to do with the Construct Contract?

His mind swam in these thoughts until they merged into a tumultuous flood. His body went cold. It felt similar to when he floated in the rushing water after the battle outside Lamfell. There were too many questions.

Anya jolted him awake. “Hey, you guys alright?”

His head whipped up and he saw a mix of expressions staring back at him. Anya and Derek had a genuine look of concern, while Ruslin and Sue held looks of pure confusion.

“S-sorry,” Alphonse said. He tugged at his scarf. “I'm just surprised this guy revealed so much if he's an enemy. Did this mean anything to you?”

Sue overcame her surprise rather quickly. “No, not a clue. You're right though. It was strange. He just kept rambling to himself. I don't know if he was mocking us or just careless.”

Alphonse was almost too afraid to ask about what else they might have heard.

He didn't need to.

“Yeah, now that you mention it,” Ruslin said, “I had already figured he was a spellcaster, judging from that weird book he was carrying.”

'Weird book?' It was about all Alphonse could take. His head throbbed as they continued dropping bombshells on him.

Alphonse took a deep breath, straightened himself and assumed an air of calm that he'd practiced on many occasions. However, he sensed Ash's gaze on him. Her eyes seized him. He didn't even bother to avert himself. He just simply nodded to her and tapped the side of his cup of tea, signaling that he would explain later.

Ash looked to Kureha, and they shared some unspoken assent.

Nothing gets by her, Alphonse thought.

“Oh, yeah!” Anya said. “He also mentioned a name.”

Everything he'd heard and considered up until now seemed to coalesce: true equivalence, a weird book, the letter from Coremaul. If the pattern of surprises continued like this, then there was only one name he was aware of that came to mind.

Goddammit. There's no way... Alphonse thought.

Anya crossed her arms and nodded. “Yeah, I remember now. Rinka. That was the name.”