It took Neil much longer than expected to find a bar now that they were away from the touristy parts of Miami—which meant a total of five minutes walking one street down. The entrance of the bar was enshrouded in fake palm leaves, with a giant plastic sign pinned above them, screaming, "Ooh Mami Mami!" The tacky font and neon pink color gave Lyn a headache, but despite her protests, the copper-skinned man dragged her in anyway.

After pulling out as much water as they can from their clothes and hair, they settled down at a table amidst the waiters' disgruntled stares. As Neil placed a quick order for them, Lyn slumped onto the table and pulled on her braid.

"Argh, we got nowhere again." She drummed her fingers on the table in frustration. She had already wasted three months in jail, and then one more month at home to placate her overly-attached parents; she could not afford to waste any more time running in circles.

For the past two months, Lyn and Neil had been going around the entire country, and even neighboring countries, to search for clues about Han's whereabouts. That elusive man had zero records, with no paper or magic trails whatsoever; every one of their leads had led them to a dead end.

Lyn let out a long, hard sigh. Maybe she should have given that timid manager a tiny electric shock to the brain, maybe that would have triggered his memories a little better...

"Don't look so down, Lyn." Neil chuckled. "We actually got some good information this time."

"Really?" Lyn grumbled. "That idiot didn't know shit, I thought it was all useless information."

"No, far from it." Neil leaned back against the chair and lifted his fingers up as he counted. "First of all, we now know that he's Chinese and that his name has three characters and ends with the word Han. This is way more useful than the vague description you gave me: an 'Asian dude who's cocky as hell'."

He laughed at Lyn's embarrassed groan, before continuing, "Secondly, we now know that he's insanely rich, or at least backed by someone insanely rich; that narrows down things a lot. Lastly, and most importantly, we learned that he has a motive, and that is to look for some kind of treasure."

Lyn frowned. "Why do you think that was his motive? David said Han was only looking for treasure occasionally. His main goal is challenging people to duels."

"That may appear to be the case, but according to David, Han has been winning every single duel. After he loses for the first time, he immediately stops dueling." Neil folded his arms. "That screams to me that he's only dueling to feed his ego. There's most likely no other purpose to his duels; he doesn't seem to be getting fame or money from the duels, so he's not like a regular challenger. Therefore, I'm pretty sure his real motive is to actually find whatever treasure he's looking for, and the duels are just, sort of like, his side project, his little ego-boosting fun."

"Hm." Lyn was still not convinced. "But what kind of treasure is he looking for?"

Treasure hunts were the oldest form of quests, but Lyn barely knew anything about them. In fact, she couldn't even bring herself to believe in them; they often sounded too much like myths and legends, like the made-up stories of elixirs of life or philosopher's stones.

"I don't know, but he didn't bother registering with the QA at all, which tells us two things: the treasure he's looking for is either something that is obscenely difficult and dangerous to obtain, such that the QA will never want to try and insure a quest for it, or that it is a treasure that is not appreciated by the QA at all." Neil flashed Lyn a proud grin. "Essentially, he's looking for something very niche, and if we can figure out what treasure he's looking for, we can find him."

"Okay, I still don't see how this information is useful at all," Lyn grunted.

Neil laughed. "Stick to questing, love. Leave the investigation to me. I'll dig around and help you find out about some open quests he might be in. Then, hopefully, you'll find him there."

Lyn had to hold back yet another groan. She hated doing things so indirectly, but she knew she had to be grateful that there was even something to be done. Taking in a deep breath, she forced a smile.

"Okay. Thank you for this, Neil."

Neil raised his eyebrows in response. "So, Lyn, who is it you're actually finding?" he asked, with an amused and knowing look. "It doesn't look to me that you're interested in this Han dude."

Lyn's jaw clenched. As expected from a private investigator to figure this out. She had wanted to keep her motivation a secret; she still wasn't sure if she could keep her cool talking about Cydney. Then again, Neil had been going out of his way to help her, so maybe she should tell him.

Letting out a small sigh, she admitted, "You're right. I'm... I'm actually trying to find the fighter from my team."

"The one who dueled Han and defeated him?"

Lyn nodded. "I think she might be with him. They... sort of had a conversation during their duel that hinted that."

"Is she your girlfriend or something?"

"She's—" Her voice cracked. Hearing that word made her heart shrivel up.

Girlfriend.

Were they? To be honest, Lyn did not know the answer. She had been too much of a coward to talk about it with Cydney, to properly define their relationship. She wasn't even sure if what they did that day was for real. Did Cydney mean it when she said that... she loved her?

Lyn sure wished they had been girlfriends, but it didn't matter anymore. All she knew now was that she needed to find Cydney again. For the last six months or so, that had been eating away at her mind. She could not stop thinking about Cydney, where she'd gone to, how she'd been, was she alright, did she know just how much Lyn missed her, how much Lyn missed giving her a cheeky hug from the back, or throwing a flirtatious comment and watching her adorable reaction, or hearing her soft voice and delightful giggles, or stealing her cookie batter and getting scolded in the mildest way possible...

"Is that the same girl that got you in jail?" Neil asked again, breaking Lyn's spiraling train of thoughts.

Lyn's eyes fluttered. "It's- It's not her fault."

"Oh? That's not what I heard."

"Well, you heard wrong," Lyn insisted. Despite Brendan's promise to keep everything low profile, news of her sentence still circulated wildly for weeks. After all, a Dawn Avengers alumnus and a leader of a high-ranking independent team going to jail was too juicy of a story to pass up. Rumors spawned and grew; everyone ended up pinning the blame on Cydney and labeling the fighter as the villainous blood mage, the evil traitor of the team. It frustrated Lyn to no end. "I got myself into this mess. She has nothing to do with it."

"Alright then, as you say." Neil shrugged. "So, after you find her, what are you planning to do? Turn her into the QA?"

"I'm—" Lyn gulped. "I'm sure I can work something out with the QA..."

Neil snorted. "You must be so naive to think that you can 'work something out with the QA'."

"I'm sure I will," Lyn insisted. Then, as if making a promise to herself, she added in a whisper, "I have to."

Neil examined Lyn's pained expression and doubled over with laughter.

"Wow, Lyn," he said while wiping a tear from his eye. "You are such a simp."

"What?" Lyn blinked. "A simp? What does that mean?"

"A simp is someone who does way too much for a woman. That's you. You're doing way too much for this girlfriend of yours," Neil said with a somewhat chiding tone. "You shouldn't ever do so much for a woman, ever."

Lyn scowled. "What the hell are you talking about? How am I doing too much? I'm just trying to find her, it's not much."

"Lyn. You were at the height of your career when you went to jail because of her. Now, you're an unemployed ex-convict suspended by the QA, but even though you're at one of the most vulnerable times in your life, you're still out here using your quester-level magic against regular civilians, threatening them, breaking the law, just so that you can track her down." Neil's face was blank and calm, but his every word seemed to pierce right into Lyn's heart. "And you're still saying you're not doing too much? You're throwing away everything in life for her."

"I... I told you, it's not her fault I went to jail. And- And I'm not throwing away everything in life, okay? I may be suspended now, but I'll be back to being a quester again next week." She glanced at Neil accusingly. "I'm not as crazy as you think."

Neil let out another hearty laugh. "You're right, sorry. I forgot that you're different from me. If I were the one letting a high-level criminal escape under my watch, I'd get life sentence at the minimum. But, of course, you're a Dawn Avengers alum, so you get a free pass." He paused a little before sprinkling in a few more privileges Lyn had. "And you're also an elite quester program graduate. From Harvard. And a special elemental mage. And white. The odds are in your favor."

For the second time now, Neil had rendered Lyn speechless. She had to admit that she was very lucky—the QA was an association that values questers the most, and Lyn was, undoubtedly, a valuable quester. There was no way they would let her off that lightly again, however.

Their drinks finally came. Neil pushed the pint of beer towards Lyn.

"I've been there, you know," he said, almost in a whisper. "My wife, the love of my life, she... Well, I gave up everything to be with her. And then, when she fell sick, I tried to exchange my life for hers. I practically sold my soul just to be with her for a few more years."

He took a swig from his glass, before continuing, "I know what it's like to love someone too much, Lyn, and I'm telling you, it's not worth it. Don't throw your life away just for a woman."

Lyn stared at Neil incredulously. He was such an aloof and smart dude that it was difficult imagining him doing anything foolish for someone. So even the smart ones can fall victim to love, too.

"Do you... ever regret it?" she asked.

There was a long silence. For a short moment, the light in Neil's eyes seemed to disappear.

"No. If given the choice once more, I would do it again," he muttered, staring vacantly into his beer. Then, he shifted his focus back to Lyn. "But my stance is the same, Lyn. Don't do it, it's not worth it."

Lyn rolled her eyes. "Whatever dude. You have no right to be telling me this; you're the real simp."

Neil chuckled in amusement. "Hey, by the way, do you want to earn some money? What do you think of doing an open quest right now?"

"What? Are we searching for Han already?"

"No, there's just an open quest available in this area. I usually look out for them, and if they're doable, I'll do it. Just a little side hustle, you know? Quests pay the best, after all. You want in?"

"I didn't know you're a quester."

"Oh, I actually used to be a fighter. Was in The Stormraiders. Then things happened and I had to quit."

"Oh?" Lyn was learning more and more about Neil by the second. She had heard of The Stormraiders; it was a decent guild on the West Coast, and they did a lot of sea-based quests in the Pacific Ocean. "Did you give up questing for your wife as well?"

Neil didn't seem keen on answering that question. "So, do you want to do it or not? I could use someone with skills like yours."

In the past, Lyn would not have taken up any open quests at all; the fact that they were not regulated by the QA was alarming enough. But it had been six months since Lyn last did a quest, and she found herself missing the job—the adrenaline, the exhilaration, and the freedom of using her magic as wildly as she could...

"What kind of quest is it?" she asked warily.

"The commissioner is a potion cartel by the port," Neil said as he took out a map and tapped a location near the beach. "Their warehouses are taken over by water goblins, and they're multiplying daily. It's very much like a regular quest, except it's for a secret, illegal organization."

Lyn's mouth dropped wide open. A commission by a... potion cartel? How did he even get to know about it? Although she knew that if she asked, the reply would be yet another cryptic, "I have my ways."

"So, you in, Lyn?"

"Sure, sign me up."