“Well, wasn’t that an exciting show?” The rosy-haired man smilingly said to Shin-Woo who was standing next to him, the street life around them gradually returning to normal after the earlier event.
“A-aah... yes, sure,” the young man slowly replied with an odd expression.
“So, I suppose you already know who I am?” The elegant stranger then turned toward Rakna who was looking over at Astraea crouching near the children she had protected, handing them a small pouch of Talys provided by him.
The therian simply nodded to answer the man’s question.
“Well, I suppose I cannot play the mysterious act anymore,” he jested. “Let me introduce myself properly then. My name is Caer Llawen, a member of Throne of Glory as you must have seen. Some people know me as Blossom Wind and my in-guild name is Prunus; pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Rakna responded and tilted his head. “I haven’t seen you in the chat, right? I initially thought you were Petal with the whole impression you give.”
Caer chuckled. “Hah, how ironic. For your information, Lilia, Petal, is my daughter. Though, it does make me happy as a parent that you would relate her to me. Oh, and incidentally, my wife also happens to be a member of the Guild. White Spring; to be exact.”
“Uh, well, that explains it then...” Rakna hummed. “From what I’ve seen of your wife, she seemed like a rather serious-sounding person. I see, no wonder your daughter turned out like that if the father is like this.”
“...I am not sure I should take that as a compliment,” Caer said wryly. “And, by curiosity, could you explain what you mean by ‘like that’?”
“Someone who is apparently lurking in chat rooms trying to learn about communication efficiency and having fun disrupting it. So, a social recluse that most likely grew up in a household where the conflicting personalities of her parents turned her into a quiet girl.”
“Wow... now I understand what Gray was saying about you,” he laughed. “You really got that from seeing how she writes?”
“Yes and no. I obviously don’t know her personally, and I don’t claim to understand who she is in full. But people are simple; we all have different personalities and dispositions for sure but we can generally be lumped together into a substantially low number of pots. The only thing that actually changes is fine details about a person,” Rakna said with a small shrug.
“Even I; there are plenty of people that resemble me or act like me. But it’s quite obvious that they differ when it comes to experiences, morals, or downright talent. Stereotypes exist because we are not nearly complicated enough to be able to escape social constructs,” he snorted. “That’s how it is. We can’t use prescience to describe who you are, but we can define what you are.”
Caer opened one eye with a small smile on his face. “I see. Indeed... In that regard, I would say I’m proud that I was able to raise my child this way. We were able to properly impart to her what we had to teach. She may have flaws, but they are lovable in their own way, wouldn’t you say?”
Rakna smiled faintly. “I guess.”
“Uuh... I’m not sure I understand this conversation,” Astraea said awkwardly as she returned from sending off the children to the lower layers of Athens.
“Really?” The therian deadpanned. “What about the whole being ‘born from Akasha’ thing?”
“Hey! Having unlimited knowledge doesn’t mean unlimited wisdom!”
“...that’s such a sad thing to say about yourself.”
The goddess pouted at that before suddenly remembering something. “Ah, right!” She exclaimed and looked at Caer. “How did you know I was from Egregore? I can’t sense any connection to you from the realm.”
“Oh, that?” The man let out a subtle chuckle. “It’s a bit embarrassing to say in front of an authentic Firmament Monarch, but I once attempted to reach Egregore. Sadly, I failed. But I have done my research and I haven’t come out empty-handed from the experience at least. It was easy to identify your nature. More so after you named yourself.”
“Wow, that’s impressive,” Astraea said. “It’s exceedingly rare for someone to become a Monarch or even simply have a small insight on it, and it generally happens by coincidence or luck. But from how it sounds, it seems like you actively created a link to Egregore through sheer effort. Even if you ultimately failed, it’s still commendable.”
Caer smiled. “Why, thank you. It is pleasing to hear from an entity of Akasha.”
“So, can I ask why you’re here?” Rakna changed topics. “You didn’t come to see me here purely by coincidence, right?”
“Hm, yes and no. I would say I am here for a reason that both concerns you and doesn’t,” the man said then hummed in puzzlement. “But shouldn’t you know? Have you not paid a visit to the Guild Quest Board yet?”
The therian blinked at the sudden question before shaking his head. “I haven’t, no. Why? Should I be aware of a new entry?”
“Huh? You didn’t receive the notification? It was issued about half an hour ago by our leader.”
“Ah,” Rakna exclaimed with a blank face. Around that time, he had been in Eva’s space. He sighed and rubbed his temples. That was probably why the System hadn’t shown him anything and that spoiled little girl hadn’t even bothered warning him about it.
‘At this point... unironically, is this how it feels to have an annoying sister?’ He silently wondered.
“Hm, well, if you don’t know, our leader notified us that it was time for ‘that’,” Caer stated whilst making quote signs with his hands.
“Which is...?”
He smiled and replied, “Your assessment. Every new member of the Throne gets to participate in a joint Quest with everyone else in the Guild. It is meant to display your talents and at the end of it, a vote decides if you are to stay or not. Though no one has ever been voted out before.”
“That’s... interesting,” Rakna squinted his eyes. “I suppose I will meet the whole Guild then?”
“Correct. Though it will happen after the Myth Council meeting, in which case, you will have met the leader already. And that’s it; I was here today because Atlantis is the location for the Quest and as I was passing by, I happened to see this good boy over there,” he paused to point at the shadow wolf wagging its tail. “I peered into its owner; you. I figured this lady was connected to you as well, so I intervened. Though, frankly, an Egregore entity would have caught my attention regardless.”
“I see. Thanks for that by the way. I’ve heard the entities I summon can break the limits imposed on them by trying to break out of Egregore. Though, they get erased if that happens,” the therian said whilst glancing at Astraea with a scowl.
She pouted immediately. “Don’t look at me like that! I’m sorry, okay? That man transgressed every core moral of my Domains. I couldn’t let it pass.”
He sighed and Caer chuckled, “Well, don’t blame her too much. She was caught up in her anger. It happens to the best of us, don’t you think?”
“I can’t deny that,” Rakna shook his head.
“Well then, I recommend you go check the details at the Pavilion later. You might cross paths with one more of us on the way too,” Caer bowed slightly. “On that note, I will be going. Also, it seems this young man has business with you so I should stop bothering you,” he said whilst glancing at Shin-Woo who had been quietly standing to the side.
The man in question smiled wryly. “You don’t need to be considerate of me...”
“Nonsense,” Caer retorted good-naturedly. “It would be impolite to make you stand there forever like this. I was on my way to see Sazieyl anyway. Have a good day,” he waved them goodbye and his body turned into a flurry of cherry blossom petals before disappearing.
“Uh, fits the moniker,” Rakna snorted at the disappearing act. “So?” He then turned to Shin-Woo with a sharp look. “What is it? I can’t help but feel like you have more business with me other than just coincidentally helping Astraea. The emotions I smell from you all over the place... have I met you before?”
“Well, not really, no... Though I suppose you could say I’ve had an encounter with your pet a while ago on the 5th Plateau,” he responded whilst rubbing his head. “Pronos, was it? He gave me a bit of a scare. It was barely a few days after the Tutorial and I thought he was going to kill me and my group.”
“The 5th Plateau... so, as I suspected, you’re from my version of Earth. Korean, right? I’m surprised you were able to get to Atlantis so fast,” Rakna squinted his eyes. “I honestly think it to be quite a hard task for regular people. Not to mention, you seem quite well-off. You have at least three Gold Items on you right now... that’s more than impressive.”
Shin-Woo snickered as the therian eyed his equipment with a golden eye. “Thank you... but, really, there is nothing to praise me for... In fact, this is related to why I’ve been wanting to meet you,” he declared and momentarily paused to glance at Astraea. “Um, if possible, could we talk in private? There is something I want to say that you might not want others to know...”
Rakna scowled at that. If he had to be frank, this conversation felt weird to him. It was in neither a good nor bad way; it was rather uncanny. The person in front of him was sincere in his behavior and he knew it. But there was a dissonance when it came to his motive and the emotions coming from him; one that he couldn’t ignore.
“...Astraea,” the therian spoke up and she looked at him. “Move on ahead. The others should be at the library. I’ll see you there once I’m done here.”
The Star Entity’s expression briefly became more serious, she glanced at Shin-Woo before nodding slowly. “Understood... See you there, Lord Monarch,” she replied and held the shadow wolf in her arms before walking away.
“Let’s move somewhere else,” Rakna said and they relocated to a quiet alleyway where he swiftly erected a runic array to prevent eavesdroppers. The therian crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “So? What is it?”
“Well... I’m not sure how to say this...” Shin-Woo said awkwardly. He sighed and straightened his back with a deep breath. “I assume you didn’t look at my full status earlier?”
“I haven’t. I just looked at your name and affiliation... Should I have noticed something?”
“Yes and no. It’s just that... if that’s the case, I might as well say it openly,” he uttered and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, they had a new glint in them. “To keep things short... I’m a regressor.”
“...huh?”