“Drink this after you finish,” Aspan placed a mug of jade liquid on the kitchen table.

With the crowd in the inn, this was the only place left for Dallion to eat. After a brief but tense conversation with Hannah, she had allowed him to use the kitchen—provided he didn’t distract Aspan from his work—rather than allow him to eat in the guest rooms. Ultimately, that had turned out quite well. For one thing, it was impossible to distract Aspan. The copyette filled the kitchen with copies of himself, each helping in the cooking. That explained how the cook could prepare so many means so fast, and also why it was forbidden to enter the kitchen. The only person who used to do so was Hannah. Even Jiroh was strongly discouraged from entering, taking the food at the door whenever possible.

“And this time rest for half an hour after eating. No realm training, no music practice, just rest,” the cook added. One of his copies had taken a seat at the table as well, drinking a small cup of alcohol while Dallion ate.

Dallion nodded, focusing on his food. It was remarkable how much an awakened required. However, it was all the more remarkable how much food the city had. Despite the many awakened in the city, there was never a lack of food of drink in any inn, stall, or tavern. According to Nil, that was the chief responsibility of the non-awakened, along with the city’s domain ruler. The principle was simple—the Lord Mayor and a few other of the city nobles ensured that the domain had the best conditions for production, and the people provided the manual labor.

The greatest difference from earth was that here, cities were the major producers of food. Farms, villages, even smaller towns simple weren’t able to compete. By that logic, the imperial capital had to be the greatest source of food in the empire. Thinking about it, that also determined the places with the largest military forces. The only way to maintain a large force was to have a large source of food.

“I heard you did well at the preliminary tournament,” Aspan said.

“Yeah. Could have gone better, but—"

“It’s a mistake,” the copyette interrupted. “The more attention you attract, the more difficult it’s going to become.”

“I need to attract attention to get things done. Right now, I’m a nobody.”

“You’re a nobody that has already caught the attention of several guild captains, the city overseer, not to mention all sorts of questionable elements, even a Star.”

“You forgot the nobles.”

“Questionable elements,” Aspan repeated, then downed his cup in one go. “You’re young, it’s normal to act recklessly. All of us go through the same. Just try not to get yourself killed before you learn how to fix your mistakes.”

This wasn’t the first time someone had given Dallion advice, but this one was different, full of millennia experience and regret. The copyette knew that nothing he said would change Dallion’s mind to the point that of giving up on what he was doing. All that Aspan could do was say the words, knowing he would be ignored.

“Why did you try to conquer the world?” Dallion asked at last.

“That’s a topic best left alone.”

“Because the Moons don’t allow it?”

“Because you’re easily influenced and might try to do the same. Right now, you’re weak. Without restrictions, I could kill you the moment you walk through the inn door and no one would even suspect it had happened. You’ll get stronger, though. In a few years, you’ll be on a first name basis with the lower nobility. A few years after that, you might even find yourself in the Imperial capital. And there you might get ideas.”

“Not a chance,” Dallion laughed. The suggestion made him think of his grandfather. He too had found the city small, and that had somehow gotten him in trouble.

“All of us say that, most don’t mean it.” Aspan had a copy of himself pour him a second glass of alcohol. “A lot of otherworlders have passed through here throughout the years. Most move to the capital, searching for a way back or a high enough position matching their skills.”

“Is Nerosal that special?”

“Nerosal is a cluster of huts in the mud. The city that was before it was special. Why do you think I came back here?”

“Tradition?” Dallion couldn’t help himself.

“This was my imperial capital.”

The words made Dallion almost drop his fork. All the nearby ruins that, the artifacts that had started flooding the city were because an ancient capital was located in the area? That meant that at some point in the past, this wasn’t a border county, but the center of an empire.

“Ten times the size, one third the inhabitants,” Aspan went on. “I, like you, had done through countless challenges to get here, thinking it would take me home. It didn’t.”

“That’s why you came back.”

“After millennia in a realm, this was the only place I felt a connection to. The people are done, the buildings are scattered and buried all over the place, but the domain is still here.”

It was a good reason as any. If presented with the same situation, Dallion would probably have done the same. Here, Aspan was “home” while hiding in the kitchen of an inn on the edge of human civilization. According to the maps Dallion had consulted, there was nothing out south, at least in this epoch.

“How much do you remember of your past?” Dallion asked.

The copy of Aspan sitting across of him, stopped drinking, then stared right into Dallion’s eyes.

“Everything,” he whispered. “One of the drawbacks of the higher levels—you can’t forget a thing. Even with magic.” A ball of regret formed in the copyette’s chest, then quickly faded away.

“How much will the Moons let you share?”

That was the right question. The copyette smiled, then had another copy of himself fill up his glass. The amount of alcohol he was consuming seemed impressive, but according to what Dallion had read about copyettes, it took barrels of the stuff to affect them. For slimes, drinking alcohol was little more than water.

“It all depends on your level. What do you want to ask?”

“The expedition I was on…” Dallion started.

“Still thinking about that? Things happen, realms behave differently.”

“I know, but an entire realm submerged is a bit too much. Wars, I can imagine, but why would the Moons sink two thirds of a world that worshipped them?”

“You are asking the wrong person.” Aspan gulped down the glass, then stood up. “Only clerics can help you there. Not that they will. Clerics don’t like sharing information with the unenlightened. You’ll have a better chance of dealing with the nobles or the mirror pools.”

An interesting thought, although right now neither would be willing to talk with him. The festival made both groups highly inaccessible. There was one other option, but Dallion had no intention of going there, no matter how desperate he was.

“Well, it doesn’t matter much,” he lied. “There won’t be any more expeditions.”

“That might be for the better.” Another Aspan copy put a small bowl in front of him. At first glance, it was filled with nothing but berries. However, it soon became obvious that what looked like berries were drops of syrup, boiled until they gained the consistency of gelatin. “Don’t do anything flashy at the arena. Attention always tends to attract the wrong sort of people.”

“So, there’s a right sort?”

The cook just laughed.

Gulping down the mug of liquid was more refreshing than Dallion expected. Somehow, Aspan had managed to trap energy in a drink. Back on Earth he could easily make a food empire. Then again, back on Earth, Aspan could probably build any empire.

After he finished his dinner, Dallion went back to his room as discretely as possible. Both the talk and the meal had energized him to the point that he wanted to rush into the realms and level up an item. However, he had to wait.

Thirty minutes… they felt like days. After a few minutes laying in bed, he already had no idea what to do. He got up, cleaned the room, look outside at the city preparing for the night. His thoughts quickly swayed towards Euryale. With her hunting and his work at the guild, it sometimes felt they were having a long-distance relationship while less than a mile apart.

Are you certain you’re going through with that leveling? Nil asked. As per the arrangement between Aspan and Dallion, none of his echoes and guardians had any memories of the cook as a copyette. The being had effectively erased himself from their minds, making everything in the kitchen remain forgotten.

I have to ramp up the pace, Dallion replied. On multiple fronts.

You can’t do everything, dear boy.

Not yet, but that will be a start. After all, I have three familiars now.

Hmph. The old echo didn’t sound too convinced.

He’s right, the armadil shield joined in. You’ve improved quite a bit, but you’re still not ready for Vermillion. I’ll try to help you, but this time I’m not sure that’ll be enough. I still haven’t fully recovered from last time.

You never said that. Dallion felt concerned, not so much about himself, but about the shield. It had been quite a while since he had been wounded in the battle against the last island snake. All this time Dallion believed the shield to have been recovered. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

Harp? Anything you want to tell me?

She’s fine, Gleam joined the conversation. Although she thinks it’s a bad idea to try this.

That was two guardians who were against it. An obvious split was forming. Lux and Nox tended to side with Dallion when it came to exploring things, while the guardians and Nil tended to be on the cautious side. The echoes remained neutral, or silent, at least.

If it comes to it, can we defeat him? Dallion asked. Or, at least, get out of there?

Defeat him, potentially, the shield said. Leave the realm… I’d say no. Ultimately, it’s up to you. At this stage, items cannot change your opinion.

They were right, of course. Dallion had grown past the point of blindly listening to advice. He took everything they said seriously, but ultimately, the decision was his. The question remained—what to do. Last time he had faced such an enemy, he could well have died if it wasn’t for the actions of his shield. Should he go through the same again?

Nil, how does an item accept its owner? Dallion, asked.

The sale of an item is the same as an agreement between the previous and future owners of the item. Ownership is transferred, although there are cases in which guardians rebel against the choice.

I’m not talking about buying. What about finding an item after the owner’s death? Does the item remain loyal to the one who found it or the original owner?

It depends on the item and owner. If an item is lost, it’s pretty much a given that it doesn’t share a lot of loyalty with the previous owner. Otherwise, it wouldn’t get lost so easily. In the case you’re describing—

The guardian remains neutral, the aramdil shield interrupted. They wait to see if the person found them is good enough to be their owner. If they don’t consider him suitable, they tend to get lost again.

Dallion checked his pouch. It was still whole, and the ring was inside. Everything considered that was as a good sign he could hope to get as any.

Vermillions are like protectors, the dryad continued. They don’t like people snooping unless it’s their owner. I don’t think they’ll be willing to talk.

Is there a way to tell for certain without going inside? Dallion asked.

There might be. But it’ll be painful. Still want to find out?

Definitely.