My ego. My ego caused this.
And now I'm headed to a place I never even wanted to see.
Looking up, I saw Heide—smiling, of course—as the two of us sailed toward Wallowtear Island.
The ship came to a halt after a while.
We stepped down.
How did I get into this mess again?
Oh right. Heide's fault.
---
"Let's go."
"Fine then," Heide smiled. "I'll go inform the man that we're ready, and more importantly—I'll go tell Monday to get us a ship."
Heide walked out and saw Ophean.
"Hello sir," he said, bowing slightly. "Name's Heide. Core member of the Taskhand. I'm sure it's been rough, getting rejected so many times."
Ophean smiled through tears, holding my hands.
"No, no, it's alright. Thank you."
I smiled back. "That said, we'll need a little time to prepare before we leave. Couple of days at most."
He nodded.
"Alright then—we'll book you a tavern for now."
I left him and told Sinus to handle it.
---
But the real problem?
The ship.
I could have left it to Monday, like I said. But apparently, he "can't right now."
If I want to get out as soon as possible, I'll have to handle it myself.
---
I reached Varson's Emporium in the merchant district.
Still crowded.
As I stepped inside, Frier was standing there. He smiled.
"Ah, Heide! Long time."
"Yeah, it's been a while. How've you been?"
"Great! You need something from Lord Varson?"
"Yeah. Just a few things."
He opened the door for me.
Behind us, the crowd exploded.
"HEY, WHY LET HIM IN?!"
A lady screamed, "I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR HOURS!"
A man shouted, "I'VE BEEN HERE A DAY!"
Didn't matter to me as the screams fainted as I stepped in reaching varson's room I knocked on his door.
No guards.
Just a low, tired voice from inside—"Come in."
I stepped inside.
He looked up. Looked back down. Didn't stop flipping papers.
"Make it under a minute."
"Uh… I need a ship. And some artifacts. Specific ones. Soul Intaction types."
He gave me a side-eye but didn't stop reading.
"That all?"
"Yeah."
"Done."
He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me.
"Take it to the receptionist. He'll sort it."
I left the room, walked up to the receptionist, and handed over whatever the hell Varson wrote. Looked like a chicken scratched it out during a storm.
The receptionist blinked.
"What is this?"
"Varson gave it to me. Said give it to you."
He sighed.
"Please. Just tell me what you need. No one can read this man's handwriting. Not even me."
"Soul Intaction artifacts. A ship. And a hundred gold."
Another sigh.
He rewrote it, this time neatly, and handed a note back.
"Collect your stuff tomorrow."
"And the ship?"
"I'm sending people to rent it for you right now. Don't worry."
"Ah, thanks," I muttered as I walked off.
Well. That's done.
Now what?
Didn't really have a plan. Might as well roam the city for a bit.
Been here dozens of times before. Same crooked alleys, same steam rising from noodle stalls, same sharp-tongued merchants yelling deals like war cries. The cobblestone streets were uneven as ever—some of them still cracked from the Beast Surge that happened last year. Smelled like oil, metal, and baked bread. And maybe a little blood too, depending where you walk.
A man pushed past me with some glowing lanterns in his hands, yelling, "Newly made! Discounted for the desperate!"
Another stall had mechanical birds singing actual bard songs—bit too off-tune for me.
Kids ran barefoot down the alley, kicking a bottle around like a football.
And then I saw it.
A fresh poster nailed into the side of a run-down tavern.
The Emperor.
I stopped.
The emperor, I muttered under my breath.
The most powerful man in the kingdom.
In Ethereal Love, one of the male leads is his nephew, so he gets tangled into that story too. That family doesn't stay out of drama.
They said he was the strongest Hearing-type Clarion user in the world.
No one's ever heard a thought while he's around—because he hears them first.
The poster was dramatic as hell—him standing, lightning coiled around his feet. Face rugged, beard trimmed but full. Muscles showing through armor, even though I know for a fact he never wears that outside capital events. And then the detail you couldn't miss—his right arm. Gone. Clean gone from the shoulder.
He removed it. Willingly.
Clarion users sometimes do that. Offer up limbs for strength. For higher strength.
To me?
Not worth it.
It's not even a huge power boost. And in this world, it's not raw numbers that win fights anyway. Everyone's got similar NC levels now.
What matters... is creativity.
I paused near the edge of the market where it thinned into a quiet park, just trees and a half-broken fountain with someone's socks floating in it. Leaned on the rusted railing, thinking.
I wonder... what Liese's Clarion is.
Never got to find out.
But I know she's a Clarion. Had to be.
She always had that glint.
Probably living a good life now. Somewhere far from all this.
I smiled, just a little.
And walked home.