Fredric Lance stood astute at the ominous gate with his back turned towards it, awaiting the return of his liege with his professional posture. At a glance, it seemed as if he was guarding something important to him, but the otherwise desolate space contradicted that notion.
The few people who did pass him by spared only momentary glances, none being brave enough to match the man's daunting gaze. At this point it was becoming something of a quirk unique to those of the Silva clan.
"It's been a while." A dignified voice reached out to him amidst the uneventful atmosphere.
"Shou, so you were the one that's been following us since earlier."
"My apologies, but since one hardly ever has the chance to speak with you like this, I was hoping to catch you at a time when you were alone. Of course, since you were going to meet with that sorceress, I figured I only needed to bide my time."
"Oh? So you were counting on the fact that I'd get locked out eh?" Narrowing his eyes, Fredric slightly glared at the newly arrived chaperone.
"I meant no ill will, as I'm sure you know seeing as you remained at the back of your group specifically to keep me within your Senken's range."
"Is that boy – Jin Longxin fine with you acting on your own like this?" Fredric asked dismissively, ignoring Shou's previous deduction.
"Of course, I've already made my liege aware of this little rendezvous so there's no problem."
"So? I presume there's some rather pressing matter you wished to discuss?"
Switching gears, Fredric immediately jumped to the main issue at hand, his succinct nature was shining through even now.
After hearing that, Shou bore his despicable grin for all to see. It was quite an off-putting sight that contrasted with his usual demeanor.
"I wouldn't call it a pressing matter, but it does involve the upcoming Solstice Festa....Would you like to make a bet- For old time's sake?"
The suggestion seemed to completely catch him off guard as Fredric looked puzzled, one eyebrow now raised.
"A bet you say?"
"Precisely, I'd like to wager that my liege and his team will emerge as the victors this year and the Silva's Moon Cutter will serve as his steppingstone."
"You seem to have an awful lot of confidence in that boy, which could only mean he's awakened his axis or something along that line."
"Who can say? There's really only one way to find out." Shou remarked in a dismissive manner but his confidence was surging through his feigned ignorance.
"So, what do either of us stand to gain from such a bet?" Fredric asked, still dismissive of the idea
A glint flickered across shou's eyes as if this was the moment he'd been waiting for all along.
"If the Silva's Moon Cutter wins, then the Lingxin family will hand over the life piercing spear-Shenming, but If my liege is victorious then...."
"You want me to serve as that boy's instructor?" Reading through his intentions Fredric cleanly cut him off before he could finish setting up his ploy.
"I see that you're still quick on the uptake, as the one who once wielded the blade in the past, it would be an understatement to say how much of an asset you'll prove to be for the longxin clan."
"..............."
Fredric's silence had conveyed a sort of calm message in the desolate space where they stood.
"Of course, you'll be handsomely compensated-"
"It seems the longxin are still up to their old vendettas, now you're even getting these mere children involved. I've left that weapon in my past. Right now, I am simply Fredric, a servant and instructor for the Silva clan."
"....I see, but do give it some thought – after all, the Moon Cutter poses little in the way of a threat to my liege."
"Moon Cutter, eh? Aren't you forgetting someone?"
"Hm? Oh, you mean the Tainted Pariah. My liege does seem to hold him in high regard after what happened just now, but frankly, in my eyes-he's nothing special."
"Hmph- After all these years you still have that bad habit of relying purely on first impressions."
Shou narrowed his fuzzy brows; it seems he was peeved by the fact that a man as stoic as Fredric was now held such a condescending smirk as if looking down on him after he'd just said something stupid.
"And what makes you hold that boy in such high regard?" Shou asked, now clearly a bit hinged as if he'd suffered a verbal blow.
"There are certain things in this world you just have to see for yourself to believe, no? But who can say?"
"Well, I guess we'll have to wait until that fated day. Seeing as my business is just about done here, I think I'll take my leave. But please, give the offer some thought."
With a swift turn, the Longxin chaperone departed like a fading shadow. The roads here weren't busy at all but his silhouette had vanished in mere minutes.
Fredric glanced at the gate behind him with an intense glare, seemingly banishing the cryptic thoughts he held into the portal beyond.
********************************
Stepping through the gate had caused it to produce a rippling effect which took the form of the space inside it dancing slightly, reminiscent of the menial changes a single leaf would produce when gracing a lake's surface. It now felt like they were in a completely different environment-Something like a separate domain in itself, a notion that wasn't too far from the truth.
"Feels like it's been a while."
Kanon murmured in a sentimental tone as he stood a little ways off from the town square.
The warm expression he wore was more than enough to convey his current thoughts.
"You look satisfied with yourself." Levinia interjected, snapping him out of his tranquil daze.
"Satisfied sounds like an understatement at this point."
"Thats true." Levinia chuckled at his remark.
After passing through the gate, there was a surprisingly pleasant atmosphere here, it contrasted with the rather ominous gate that acted as its entrance. Leading dead ahead was a straight brick road continuing forward towards a circular point that acted as the town square, it branched off in three directions from points along its circumference correlating to North, East and West.
In the center of the circular space that was the town square, another one of the massive trees complementary to Alanor was perfectly placed, though this time it was another Sakura tree.
There were ropes binding the tree in various places, and a talisman inscription was carved into the bark near the top, but since the bindings weren't overbearing, they didn't detract from the beauty of it in the least.
It must have still been maturing because the bark wasn't as rigid as that of the other Sakura trees on the outskirts of Solis Keep and there was a sort of lushness to it, making it the perfect reference point when navigating the area.
"Oh! It feels like this tree gets taller every time I come here."
Levinia glanced at it with childlike curiosity, there were indeed sparkles in her eyes.
Kanon smiled at the sight, since he knew things would end up this way sooner or later.
"Trees don't grow that fast, and shouldn't you be used to seeing Sakura trees by now? They're scattered all over the place."
"BUT!...This one can apparently ward off evil spirits."
He stared at it for a while, and considered its appearance-maybe there was some truth to what she was saying. This tree even had a name, but it was something that easily slipped his mind seeing as he didn't share the same enthusiasm for it as most, it was nothing more than a landmark to him.
The sparkles in her eyes grew even brighter. Despite being able to cut through steel with ease, she was still wary of things like ghosts and superstitions, the textbook example of someone who'd easily get scammed by some shady fortuneteller.
"Where'd you hear that?"
"From Melina of course. She's the greatest diviner in all of Solis Keep."
Kanon stared blankly at her before it finally clicked.
"Pfffffffttttt"
"Ah! You totally think it's some shady superstition, don't you?"
"Well, something like that but never mind that for now let's just go."
As he walked off, he could feel her intense glare practically piercing his back but decided to ignore it.
Despite being smaller than every other district, Asphodel didn't seem overcrowded nor underpopulated. It felt like just the right amount of people lived here, the population density was almost perfect-like it was built to accommodate this exact amount of people.
But that wasn't it, they did in fact have to carefully consider their population density, but it wasn't to an extreme degree.....at least not yet.
The reason this place worked so efficiently was because everybody who was accepted here had some kind of role tailored to them, depending on whether they had any unique talents or not would cause some variation but, in the end, they all seamlessly incorporated themselves into the inner workings of this macrocosm.
Walking along the brick road Kanon maintained his usual demeanor as best as he could, while Levinia simply strolled along behind him. Contrary to most other parts of Solis Keep, there was a lot less lingering malice towards the boy here and he exchanged quite a few greetings with passersbys on the way.
Of course, so did the girl behind him. They were mostly just people making fun of the horrible state he was in right now but that much was fine.
The houses and buildings here were different as well- while hints of Chinese architecture remained in the design of the buildings and houses, they also bore a strong Japanese accent among other things and was more of an amalgamation between different cultures. That was a given, considering people from all over Solis Keep gathered here and had each shared an aspect of whichever domain they originally belonged to.
Although in the case of those who didn't have anything to share, this place was a treasure trove of knowledge for them and given the fact that entry into certain domains was restricted for either trade, nobility, those of the same bloodline or those with express permission, this was the closest they would ever get to the real thing.
Since they were now at what was essentially the town square, it was a little more crowded than what they previously passed through, but not once did it ever feel congested. Kanon glanced back at Levinia, just to check up on how she was handling the crowds, but her reaction was fairly normal. Usually, nobles wouldn't even tread this part of the city, but she actually seemed to be enjoying herself here; as she usually did.
The path they took was the one branching off toward the right, and a little way down it, they arrived at a café. There was a metal sign plate hanging from the buildings upper edge like a stoplight, and it was positioned to perfectly catch one's attention.