[Kara] Chapter 22: Problems (Patreon)

The Sanctuary City of Alyona was under lockdown.

That meant no one could enter, but it also meant no one could leave. The entire perimeter of the city was protected by a translucent bubble-like barrier that was said to be impenetrable: the grand design of the First Dark Lady Alyona herself.

It would only falter if the mana reserves stored beneath the city dwindled to depletion. But as far as Caius knew, the Sanctuary City hadn’t erected this barrier in nearly a hundred years. Because of that, the barrier was capable of remaining active for at least a decade straight.

So Alyona was safe from the outside world. Nothing could harm the people within unless the barrier was broken. With all the fear and dread that had been permeating the city ever since the Sanctuary City of Vera was said to be destroyed, this drastic action should have placated the populace.

And perhaps, in the main city of Alyona, there was some relief to be found. Especially when the lockdown had first been announced. Entire neighborhoods of dark elves threw parties that praised Dark Lord Koros for finally putting a halt to the ceaseless stream of refugees coming into the city. However, that was just about the only positive reaction to the lockdown.

Now, after weeks had passed, as Caius strode through the crowded streets of the Sanctuary City, he noticed there was something off about the busy atmosphere. For one, the people gathered out here weren’t bustling about their day like they normally would. Instead, they were huddled together near the alleys and shops, speaking in muted voices as they peeked glances towards the magical dome overhead.

The aura of dread still remained. A palpable air of fear waded through the city, its noxious sense of terror impossible to get rid of, even with the lockdown. It almost felt like the elf was walking past the death row’s section of a prison. After all, if even the Sanctuary City of Vera could fall to these nightmares, then what chance did Alyona stand?

When Caius left the main city and reached the upper tunnels, it still felt like he was stepping into a prison. But a different kind of prison. It was one where all the inmates visibly didn’t want to be there, and there was growing unrest that could result in a riot at any point in time. In fact, the only reason it hadn’t happened yet was because the last one had been quelled so easily, no one dared to take action again.

The elf’s eyes flickered as he saw a large gathering of orcs spilling out of a relatively small shack. He could hear their muffled shouts, even from a hundred feet away.

“Cursed souls, they can’t hold us in here forever!”

“After what they did to Elder Golag and the Ironhide Clan, we will not stand for this!”

“I heard most of the Steelaxe Clan managed to escape before the lockdown. Lucky bastards…”

The susurration of voices quietened down as a patrol of guards led by a giant orc marched down the nearby street. It was Bushra and a retinue of about fifty soldiers. Because of the barrier, there were no threats from the outside world— even from the lower tunnels. So his company had been relocated to the main section of the upper tunnels to maintain the peace.

Caius ignored all this as he walked down a narrow alleyway, heading to a familiar innsmith.

While many thought that the handling of the lockdown by Dark Lord Koros was sloppy so far, it had all been quite intentional on his part. Firstly, before the lockdown was decided, he had announced that he was going to be making an official decision in a week’s time, so that anyone who wanted to leave could leave if they wanted.

But due to his previous track-record as a benevolent Dark Lord who accepted even humans, most of the populace had assumed that he wouldn’t follow-through with a lockdown. And if he did, they assumed he would give them time to leave the city. However, once Koros made his decision, he enacted the lockdown effective immediately.

That meant that those who wanted to leave had only a few minutes to rush out of the city gates— which was not a lot of time at all. So a lot of folks had criticized Dark Lord Koros for his poor planning of the situation. That he should have given time to the refugees to flee.

Except that was the point.

It might have been cruel, but Dark Lord Koros wanted to keep as many of the refugees within the city as possible. Because they would be able to provide even more able-bodied people to help fend off a possible attack. Especially the orc clans. Since they tended to be warrior-people.

And by making the pre-announcement about his decision like he did, Koros maintained some plausible deniability about his intentions. After all, he could argue that he had no intentions of keeping anyone in if an entire orc clan of over a thousand people was able to leave. The only reason why he erected the barrier with such urgency was because of the potential threats facing the city.

Certainly, that was a valid argument. As far as the public knew, these were random attacks by these mysterious new monsters called nightmares. But even based on what Caius knew— that it was in actuality the Dreamers carrying out these attacks— he could still see the logic here.

If Koros announced a lockdown, but postponed erecting the barrier for a week, then the Dreamers could rush to attack Alyona during this period. He would simply be giving them more time to make a move. And that was strategically a poor decision.

So the elf fully supported his not-friend the Dark Lord. Even if others excoriated Koros for this move. It was the right choice. It was the only correct decision to be made. Even if it made no difference to the outcome.

After all, Alyona was going to be destroyed. And if that was going to happen—

Caius raised his head as he saw the small building built into the walls of the upper tunnels up ahead. He spotted a familiar human standing before an exhausted dark elf right before the innsmith. A dwarf and an utlas bear watched from the side. This was the only section of all of Alyona that hadn’t seemed to change at all ever since the lockdown.

“If I’m going to die anyway,” the elf whispered as a small smile spread across his lips. “I may as well enjoy the final chapter of my life.”

—--

It had been nearly a month since the lockdown had been implemented. Since the only path to the lower tunnels had been sealed off due to the barrier, Kara wasn’t able to continue working towards her dragonsoul’s ascension into the Third Stage. So she did what she could do and decided to continue training Arjin every single day.

The former prostitute had progressed quite a bit in the last month. She had gone from someone who wasn’t even able to handle a knife without cutting herself, to someone who was capable of engaging in skilled close quarters combat with a dagger. Dashing forward, she circled around Kara and swung for the back of the head.

Kara easily caught Arjin by the wrist. But the dark elf dropped the dagger and caught it with her other hand before thrusting for the human’s stomach.

This massive improvement was thanks to Arjin advancing her manacore all the way up to Tier 9. That was an advancement a week, which was supposedly quite impressive— prodigious, even. Kara didn’t know much about how manacores worked, however she too was impressed by this significant improvement.

But she still easily deflected the attack and swept Arjin off her feet.

“That was the best attempt yet. You had zero hesitation when you swung for my neck.” Kara proffered a hand as she spoke approvingly.

Arjin accepted the gesture, getting up as she rubbed the back of her head. “That’s because I know Ms Kara will be able to block it. I’m still not sure if I can do the same during a real fight.”

“Well, that just means we have to get you into a real fight,” Kara said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Please don’t joke around, Ms Kara.” Arjin shook her head. “While that would help me advance through my manacore tiers faster, I don’t believe I am ready for that yet.”

Kara blinked. “I’m not joking.”

Arjin let out a nervous laugh. Kara decided to drop the subject for now, instead asking a question that had been on her mind for a while.

“I know that to advance your manacore’s tier, you need to expand its capacity to hold mana. But how does that actually work?”

It was a question directed at Arjin. But she wasn’t the one to answer. Instead, an elf strode up to the two women and spoke simply.

“You have to push yourself to your limits, whether it be physically or magically, it doesn’t matter. That’s how you advance your manacore.”

“Oh, hey Caius,” Kara greeted the elf as he came to a halt before her. “But I still don’t quite get it. Why was Arjin able to advance her manacore to Tier 5 from killing an injured giant centipede back in the lower tunnels?”

“It’s probably because I’ve never done such a thing before,” Arjin answered, clasping her hands together on her waist sheepishly.

Caius nodded and added, “That’s right— her manacore probably recognized that she was pushing herself far beyond her normal limits. That’s why a real fight is more rewarding than sparring. Because in a real fight, you’re facing unknowns and have to adapt appropriately. Whereas when you’re sparring, you know what to expect.”

“I see.” Kara placed a hand on her chin in thought.

The elf opened his mouth to continue, but there a voice echoed from a nearby alley. Kara, Caius, and Arjin turned to face as an orc girl reaching out pleadingly as a dark elf man carried a fat rat in his hands.

“Please don’t eat my pet rat!” the orc girl begged.

But the dark elf man just growled. “Your people have done nothing but cause problems for us since you’ve arrived. And now, here you are, taking in a rat as a pet when it can help my family?”

He drew away, and Kara took a step forward. But Caius moved first.

“Hey—” the elf called out, stepping in between the orc girl and the dark elf man.

Kara watched as he resolved the altercation by himself.

“Does Caius really just go around helping everyone?” she muttered under her breath.

And then she focused back on the conversation at hand.

“I know what Caius said is true, but please don’t get any dangerous  ideas, Ms Kara,” Arjin pleaded.

And Kara waved a hand off dismissively. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you do anything too extreme. You’ll be fine.”

Arjin pursed her lips, clearly remembering their foray into the lower tunnels. “Somehow, I doubt that, Ms Kara.”

“Well, that’s enough training for today anyways.” Kara drew back, and the former prostitute paused.

“But I can still keep going!” Arjin insisted.

Kara started away from the innsmith and towards Angel. “I know. But I have an appointment with someone in about an hour, and I don’t want to be late. Also— Angel is starting to get bored.”

The utlas bear perked up when he heard her. He had been about to doze off before she said that. He tried to straighten, pretending he had been awake the entire time.

“Yer not foolin’ anyone,” Dammir snorted next to him.

“Come on, Angel,” Kara said as she strode past him. “Issa’s waiting for us.”

Angel immediately bounded forward after her, excited about the prospect of food. But she didn’t have the heart to tell him that they weren’t going to be having lunch at her food stall today. Especially since they had both just eaten lunch a few hours ago. They definitely weren’t going to be eating again so soon.

Kara turned away from him as her thoughts strayed away from the topic of food to what she had just discussed with Arjin and Caius. According to what she learned from the two of them, a manacore functioned completely differently from a dragonsoul. Those who had a manacore needed to simply exert themselves until exhaustion to advance to the next tier— a relatively easy concept to comprehend.

Meanwhile, Kara’s dragonsoul was far more complex. Because she found that the only way for her to progress to her next ascension was through killing. Whether it was killing tiny animals, large monsters, or even people, it didn’t matter. Those were the only acts she could carry out that could affect her dragonsoul.

Well, actually, her dragonsoul itself never changed until she ascended, remaining a ball of flames that shrank when she was exhausted, but regrew with enough rest. However, by killing anything at all, the pool of mana gathered around her dragonsoul would increase in size. And when it was large enough, only then was it compatible to enter into her dragonsoul, allowing her to ascend to the next stage.

“It’s almost like… my dragonsoul is absorbing the mana from the things I kill…” Kara whispered as she looked down at herself.

She saw the ball of flames burning inside of her chest. It wavered during battle, but it never died out. Because it was continuously producing mana for her to use. Unlike a manacore that simply stored mana from the air in the surroundings.

“But if my dragonsoul does produce mana, why do I need to absorb mana from other living beings?”

It was a question that was directed to no one in particular. But it was something that she pondered over, even as she reached the edge of the main city, because it made things quite difficult for her. With the lockdown, she wasn’t even able to prepare herself for any threats, since she couldn’t do anything to ascend, other than hunting down a few stray lizards or giant rats that were everywhere in the upper tunnels.

She would have mulled over it for the entire duration of her walk, however her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice calling out to her.

“I can’t believe you left as soon as I arrived!”

Kara and Angel both glanced back to see Caius standing behind her. He had a hand placed on his chest, feigning hurt.

“I’m offended— and here I thought we were friends,” he said as he wiped a non-existent tear from his eyes.

Rolling her eyes, Kara just continued walking forward. “I told you, I have an appointment with a friend of mine. We’re going to go out and grab lunch together.”

“And why didn’t I get an invite?” the elf asked, casually catching up to her. “I’m your friend too, aren’t I?”

“I mean, sure?” She shrugged back at him. “Just don’t be rude to Issa, and you can come.”

Caius gave her a thumbs-up. “You know me, I’m a gentleman who would never insult a lady!”

Even Angel wore a dubious look when he heard that. But Kara let Caius join in, mostly because she had some questions she wanted to ask the elf.

“So do you think this lockdown is going to end anytime soon?” she asked, giving him a sidelong glance.

“Nope,” he answered bluntly. “Koros is going to keep the barrier up for as long as we don’t all starve to death.”

Kara furrowed her brows at that. “And how long will that take?”

The elf waved a hand dismissively at her. “We’re a Sanctuary City, Kara. We have tons of food reserves— enough to last us years!”

“Seriously?” Her eyes widened when she heard what he said.

But he paused. “Although… that was before all these extra refugees came in. Maybe with them, we’d have enough food to survive a year or two. Maybe three, before we run out of rats, lizards, and cockroaches to eat.”

“I’m definitely not going to be waiting a year before I leave this city,” Kara said as she scowled.

“What? Why not?” Caius asked, pretending to be shocked. “Are you telling me you hate our great Sanctuary City?”

Kara sighed, “No, I don’t. I actually quite prefer it to wandering aimlessly through the Xor-In Mountains. And I’ve made some friends here that I care about, too.”

The elf grinned at her. “Aw, so you do see us as friends.”

“However,” she continued as she shot him a glare, “I want to visit— I mean, return to a human city. I want to be able to come and go as I please, rather than being locked in here.”

Her eyes flickered as she recalled the Soulmaster’s machine waiting right outside the city’s walls for her. Its lifeless gaze had been fixed on her, like a predator eyeing its prey.

“At least, I want to be able to leave in a month or two…” she muttered under her breath, before adding in her mind, Or whenever that machine goes away.

Last she checked, it was still standing in the middle of the refugee camp right outside of the Sanctuary City. And that was only a week ago. So for now, she was going to have to be content waiting here in Alyona.

Caius shrugged as the three of them reached Sentinel Square. “Well, who knows, Koros seems to like you, so maybe he can make an exception for you.”

“Do you really think so?” Kara asked hopefully.

“Not really. But it is always a possibility.” The elf shrugged back at her.

She should have expected that response. Honestly, while she wasn’t enthused about her current predicament, she could also see where the Dark Lord was coming from. Another Sanctuary City was razed to the ground— what was there to do but to prepare for an attack? However, that begged the question—

“Do you think the Dreamers will actually attack us?” Kara asked, eyeing Caius curiously. “I mean, I assume you’re somewhat familiar with them, right? Since… you know…”

The elf tilted his head back at that. “Adam is an absolute lunatic, but I feel like he would know better than to try to attack Alyona next. Even he would find some difficulty breaking through this barrier. So I assume he’ll probably go after Tatania before us.”

Kara blinked at his response. So not all the Sanctuary Cities have such a barrier protecting them, huh? She surmised that must have been why Koros was so intent on keeping up the lockdown for a prolonged period of time.

“But why Tatania?” she asked. “Why not Yulia?”

“Yulia is the largest of the Sanctuary Cities. It has a population of over a million, and that information was from a year ago, before it got an influx in refugees like us. Considering that the refugees of Vera are fleeing to Yulia too…” Caius trailed off, letting her extrapolate the information herself.

She nodded. “It’ll be the toughest Sanctuary City to take down. Got it.”

“Even though Tatania is the most isolated, it is the next logical target,” Caius said, before shaking his head. “But as I said, Adam is an absolute lunatic, so there’s no telling what he’ll do next. He might even just leave the Xor-In Mountains entirely if he felt like it…”

“That would be for the best, probably,” Kara agreed as she spotted a towering figure standing in the middle of Sentinel Square. It was Issa, but she hadn’t spotted the human yet. “Anyways, let’s talk about something less serious. I don’t want to drag down Issa’s mood when she’s already upset that she no longer has a steady supply of giant centipede eyes.”

However, much to Kara’s surprise, Caius broke away from her and started down a nearby alleyway. “Unfortunately, I am a shy boy. I don’t like meeting new people. So I shall be taking my leave now.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to hang out with us?” Kara asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Sorry, I changed my mind when I realized I had to deal with the awkwardness of introducing myself to a new person. So… bye!”

And he left. Kara watched him go as she snorted. But she didn’t exactly blame him either. She could somewhat understand how he felt, having a fear of missing out when others were having a gathering, only to immediately regret that decision when she was there.

That pretty much summed up her entire first year of university. She always felt like she stood out because of her social anxiety. So she became a total recluse again and decided to focus on her studies first, before trying to make friends later.

Now though, after being totally isolated and trapped in dangerous situations for months, she very much enjoyed having social interactions with others. And that was what she decided to do for now— enjoy herself. Because she felt reassured that the threat of the Dreamers wasn’t as present as it seemed. And what else could she do until then?

“Hey, Issa!” she called out to the troll as Angel followed after her.

In fact, there were probably other more pressing issues for her to worry about. Her eyes flickered as she saw the distinct lack of orcs gathered in the main city of Alyona. And she wondered if the Dark Lord was going to be forced to end the lockdown sooner than he wanted from the threats coming from within…

—--

Kurg sat silently next to his father as the rabble in the large hut settled down. He swept his gaze over all the orcs that were gathered here. Some of them were powerful members within his clan. And that was to be expected. Because this meeting had been called by his father, Elder Klogg of the Swordtooth Clan, himself.

But most here were other elders of different clans. They were mostly from the smaller clans, with members ranging from a few hundred to a thousand at most. The only other notable elder was Parz of the Windeyes Clan, which had over eight thousand members.

They were one of the larger clans that had come to Alyona seeking refuge. However, along with the Swordtooth Clan, they were also the most disgruntled over the lockdown.

Klogg and Kurg both sat at the very front of the gathering, remaining silent as they listened to the discussion.

“We cannot remain in this city,” one of the elders said as he crossed his arms. “Facing these nightmares is suicide. You remember what happened with the Kingtusk Clan? They had over a hundred thousand members, and they were all slaughtered! That was why we left the Xevik Valley in the first place!”

Another elder nodded in agreement. “We need to revolt— we need to show this Dark Lord that he cannot hold us in here like we are prisoners!”

“But the other clans are afraid,” Parz harrumphed with a scowl. “Cursed souls, they do not dare to take action after what happened to the Ironhide Clan.”

And that made the gathered orcs break out into jeers.

“What a bunch of bloody cowards!”

“They lack strength!”

“They are no true warriors!”

Kurg drew his lips into a thin line when he heard their words. He almost found it ironic— that these elders were calling others cowards for not wanting to flee the city. But he knew better than to speak up, especially in front of his father.

He turned to the elder of the Swordtooth Clan. Klogg was rubbing his chin in deliberation, before he raised a hand.

All the elders grew silent. And Klogg rose to his feet.

“If the other elders are so afraid of taking action because of what happened to the Ironhide Clan, then all we need to do is recruit Elder Golag himself to our cause. If even he is able to show strength at this time, then the others will unite behind us.”

Parz’s brows creased when he heard that. “But Elder Golag has not been seen since he was released from prison. I hear he is still mourning the death of his son. He does not care about the lockdown or what it entails. How are we supposed to convince him to aid us?”

Klogg sneered as he turned to Kurg. “That is where my son will come in.”

And that made Kurg frown. “What do you mean, father?”

“If Elder Golag is still grieving over Grok’s death, then we shall offer him justice in exchange for his cooperation,” the Elder of the Swordtooth Clan said simply.

The other gathered elders nodded approvingly. They immediately understood what Klogg was saying. But Kurg still didn’t understand. Or perhaps he didn’t want to understand.

He blinked a few times as he looked blankly back at his father. “How do we give Elder Golag justice if the human responsible for Grok’s death has already been killed?”

“My son, you are too young and foolish…” Klogg said as he chuckled. “Do you really believe the lies of the dark elves?”

“I… what?” Kurg’s eyes slowly grew wide as he began to understand what his father was saying.

Klogg continued, turning away to face the gathering. “Why should we trust the words of a Dark Lord who is keeping us locked up like animals? No— they lied to use to protect one of their own. And we shall not stand for this injustice.”

He looked back at his son and pointed.

“Go, my son, and bring me the head of the prostitute who killed Grok. We shall use this as an offering to bring Elder Golag to our side.”

And Kurg could only stand there in utter disbelief as he processed his father’s words.

—--

“So you’re saying you’ve never tried chicken before?” Kara asked, wide-eyed.

Issa folded her arms across her chest. “Hmph, that is a human delicacy. We cannot afford to nurture animals in this environment. We eat monsters, Kara. Because that is what we must do.”

Kara tapped a finger on her chin. “But you said your tribe has traded with humans before.”

“We have traded rare minerals and unique parts of monsters for their artifacts and their wisdom,” Issa explained, leaning back in her chair. “We simply did what we had to do to survive.”

“I see…”

The two women sat across from each other in the empty restaurant. This was apparently the best place in the city for dwarven food, according to Issa. But when Kara had asked Dammir about it, he said that it was an absolute butchering of actual authentic dwarven cuisine.

However, he had to admit, it was still the best place for dwarven food in Alyona.

Angel sat at a separate table from the two women. He was given his own seat because he would order too much from the menu, it wouldn’t have been able to fit on their small table.

The restaurant was happy to accommodate him because they hadn’t been getting many customers as of late. In fact, most places weren’t getting customers at all. Many people were eating at home, trying to preserve their money for the prolonged lockdown of the city.

But Kara wasn’t too worried about money anymore. After receiving her payment for helping with patrolling the lower tunnels, she was set for at least a few months, even with increasing her daily budget on food for the evolved utlas bear.

Apparently, earning the salary of a hundred people was worth quite a lot. Kara had even bought Angel and herself both custom-made belts so they could carry their belongings with them easily. He could attach his staff to his belt without worrying about carrying it in one of his mouths, and she brought her coin pouch and her healing potion with her at all times.

Kara rested her chin on her hand as she had a thought. “Issa… you’re a refugee, right?”

“Hmph, you could say I am.” The troll took a sip from her stew. “However, my tribe came to this city long before this whole mess with the nightmares. It has been over five years now since we came.”

“Wait, then why did you come to Alyona?” Kara asked, her interest piqued.

Issa closed her eyes as she explained, “We lived close to the edge of the Xor-In Mountains. It’s not as dangerous as these parts, but it was still dangerous. However, our greatest threat always came from the nearby human countries.”

Kara went cross-eyed. “But didn’t you say you traded with humans?”

“We did— we had an agreement to remain at peace with each other.” Issa spoke bitterly. “However, such agreements quickly become null and void when a king dies and his son takes over. Especially so soon after Warlord Dhofruid’s failed conquest into their lands. Their hatred towards us was fresh, even though we were not the ones responsible for their people’s deaths.”

“And that’s why you fled to Alyona,” Kara deduced.

“That is right.” The troll finished her stew, before letting out a tired sigh. “But the past matters not. Tell me, Kara, why do you ask me such questions?”

Kara averted her gaze. “Oh, I, uh, heard some people were upset about the lockdowns and calling this city a prison, and I was just wondering what you thought about it as a refugee. I didn’t expect your answer to be so…”

“Serious?” Issa cocked a brow.

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘something that makes me feel guilty’, but that works too.”

Issa chuckled as she looked towards the outside streets. “If you wish to know my opinion of this lockdown, then I believe it is the right thing to do. While the Sanctuary Cities are places that offer protection from the dangers of the outside world, they also require cooperation to ensure their continued existence. If one were to come here and expect to be given refuge, they should also be expected to fight for the city if it is attacked.”

Kara scratched the back of her head. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“Did you expect a different answer?” the troll asked with a glint in her eyes.

“I mean, I expected you to be more upset about being forced to potentially die in a city that’s not your home,” Kara said with a shrug.

Issa placed a hand on her chest. “To me, I have lived in this city for long enough, so this is my home. While I would rather not die here, I would rather not be forced to leave either. Not again, at least.”

“Huh.” Kara didn’t expect that answer from her friend.

Which, again, made her wonder if they were even friends. They had known each other for a while, but there was still much they didn’t know about each other. Especially with all the secrets Kara was keeping to herself. But regardless if they were friends or not…

“I’d rather not see you die either, Issa.”

“Hmph, you and me both.”

The two women continued to chat about other topics as Angel finished up his food. When they were finished, they got up, paid the bill, and they were about to leave when a tall figure stopped them.

Even Issa had to crane her neck to look up and see who it was.

“This one has been looking for you, Ms Kara,” a minotaur said, bowing his head.

Kara paused. She immediately recognized him. It was Zlo’tan— the minotaur who had helped weave her clothes and helped Angel evolve into his current form. She opened her mouth to voice her surprise, but Issa spoke up first.

“Zlo?” The troll smiled and placed her hands on her hips. “Rats tails, is that you? It has been a while, hasn’t it?”

Angel excitedly greeted the minotaur too as he nodded back at the three of them.

“This one is glad to see you are doing well, Issa. This one has been meaning to catch up with you, but this one has been too busy.”

“You two know each other?” Kara glanced between the minotaur and the troll in surprise.

“Of course we do!” Issa huffed as she turned to the human. “I was the one who sent you to him, remember?”

Kara scratched her cheek sheepishly. “Oh, right. I forgot about that.”

“This one and Issa are well-acquainted with each other,” Zlo’tan explained as he placed a hand on his chest. He was in public, so he wasn’t naked, but he was wearing his robes backwards even still. “Currently, this one and Issa are close friends. But in the past, this one and Issa were in a romantic relationship too.”

“Zlo…” Issa sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Must you really tell Kara that? That’s too much information.”

The minotaur bowed his head at her. “This one apologizes if he was too blunt.”

Kara’s brows snapped together. She glanced between the two of them with round eyes.

“Wait, you mean the two of you were…?” she started.

And then she remembered seeing the minotaur’s naked figure when she had first met him. Specifically, she remembered what she saw below his waist.

She blinked a few times as she processed this information, before she steeled herself. Turning to Issa, she nodded.

“You must have been very satisfied during your relationship.”

The troll flushed. The first time she had ever appeared to be embarrassed. She tried to change the subject.

“What do you need of Kara, Zlo?” Issa asked, facing the minotaur. “Don’t tell me you’re here to haggle her for more money?”

The troll glanced towards Kara and spoke in a whisper.

“Even though Zlo appears polite and nice, he is incredibly greedy and stingy with money. That’s why we broke up.”

“Oh.” And Kara wondered if she did end up getting scammed by the minotaur.

But he shook his head as he faced her. “This one has achieved a breakthrough in his understanding of the soul.”

Issa was puzzled by what he said, but Kara’s eyes went wide. She looked towards Angel who returned with an excited look as the minotaur continued.

“This one truly does apologize for intruding. But this one wishes to speak to Ms Kara privately.”

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Author's Notes:

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