Hugo eventually managed to get everyone settled down, though not without a few complaints and one final attempt from Lily to drag her exhausted handler across the room. Once the commotion had died down, he took his place at the table and leaned forward,
"Now that everyone's here, let's get to business."
Everyone relaxed. Even Myne seemed willing to put her antics aside for the time being, resting her chin against her palm as she glanced towards Hugo.
"I was at the navy office this morning, and they finally gave me the reward money that they promised us."
Azdin's surprise was obvious. Once again he found himself entirely in the dark, while Lotte already expected it. As for Myne, despite her seemingly paying attention he could already guess that she didn't care.
For a brief moment, Hugo's expression remained perfectly composed. Then his eye twitched.
"You know what! All of them are greedy bastards!"
He slammed his hand against the table, his sudden outburst startling anyone who'd been paying attention. Whatever professional demeanour he'd been attempting to maintain had completely evaporated.
"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with those people?! They stole all of our shit and paid us back in scraps!"
Myne's lips curled into an amused grin, while Azdin stared at him in silence.
'I think I know what's going on here.'
Since all of the treasure and valuables on Roswells ship were technically stolen, all of it was seized by the Navy. This went from gold and treasure, to valuable resources and even soul shards. Everything of worth was confiscated.
'The stuff we planned to split was taken.'
Strangely, Azdin didn't feel that bad. Maybe it was because he had qualms with using them in the first place, but he really didn't mind.
"All we were left with are these damn coins.."
Hugo pulled open the brown sack, his enthusiasm nonexistent. Once he did though, a beautiful, flashing gold light blinded all of their eyes. Even Myne who seemed usually carefree was taken a back.
"Holy! This is a lot!"
Thinking about it now he had no clue how the currency here worked, but even then he could tell that this was a sizeable amount.
Hugo thought otherwise though,
"Compared to what we had before it's all scraps!!"
'Fair point.'
Fighting her own exhaustion, Lotte leaned forward, peering at the hefty pile of money on the table with a hint of disbelief. Her silver eyes shimmered with golden reflections as she tilted her head, examining the amount more closely.
"Say, isn't this a bit too much? Somehow I was expecting less."
Hugo let out a humourless laugh, slamming his palm against the table.
"You're damn right it is! Do you wanna know why??? It's because this money... is actually hush money!"
A brief silence settled over the table. Azdin raised an eyebrow, glancing between Hugo and the gold coins.
"Hush money?"
Hugo nodded, his expression darkening as he leaned forward.
"Azdin... do you remember that paper from a while back? The one about our heroics."
Azdin took a moment to recall the newspaper, his gaze drifting towards the tabletop as the details slowly came back to him.
"Didn't you notice how any mention of that rabid lieutenant was seemingly absent??"
Azdin's expression shifted as the pieces fell into place. He leaned back slightly, letting out a quiet breath.
"Ah... right. I get it now."
The money sitting between them suddenly seemed a lot less generous. It wasn't just a reward for their efforts, so much it was also a price for their silence. If his suspicions were correct, then the Navy probably paid whatever journalist company found out about what happened to keep quiet too.
**
The navy never really named how the money should've been split, so they all unanimously agreed to split it equally. Now finding themselves with a great amount of money, they could all celebrate properly.
Immediately, Myne declared,
"Drinks are on Hugo!"
"Huh? Why me?!"
"You arranged this whole thing, of course you're the one paying!"
Hugo's face twisted in disbelief. He opened his mouth to argue, only to find Myne already waving him off as though the matter had been settled by some higher authority.
'This isn't even a good time to drink, I'm hungry.'
Before a full blown argument could ensue, Lotte ended up asking a rather fickle question.
"Hang on.. how old are you two?"
Azdin lit up with surprise. He was so shocked thay he hadn't even considered this kind of of thing yet.
'Thats a good question actually.. I suppose i should be the same age as Hugo.'
Turning towards him, Hugo cleared his throat as he said with utmost confidence.
"I'm 17, Azdin's 18. So drinks are on him."
He stared at him in utter disbelief for a second. Gazing deeply into his dull green eyes as silence lingered in between them.
Only then, did he say,
"What???"
He didn't react, instead keeping the same stone cold face and not saying a single word.
"Hugo I know who you are very well now! You just want me to pay!"
Blinking innocently, he placed a hand against his chest as though deeply offended by the accusation.
"I have no clue what you're talking about. Why would I lie about my age, thats very irresponsible Azdin."
He could practically see the gears turning in his head!
'The audacity! Unbelievable!'
**
Unsure about his own age, Azdin ended up paying for drinks anyway. It wasn't like he couldn't afford it, but being used like this felt disheartening. He kept himself away from alcohol though, and instead opted to try a different beverage he had been curious of for a while now.
'So this is orange juice.'
A glass of a yellowish red beverage stood before him, with some strange transparent cubes mixed into it. Picking it up, he stirred the glass cautiously before taking a sip.
His face curled as the bitter taste fouled his tongue.
'Why's it so sour??'
As they drank, Azdin's strange feeling still hadn't disappeared. He knew his senses had always been rather abnormal, as all the way back on the island could feel the countless presences of creatures staring at him from a mile away.
'Its gotten even stronger now..'
That heavy presence he felt from outside, he could feel it even more strongly now that they were in the same room. Even worse, he could feel them gazing at him, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't pin point who it was.
There weren't alot of people here at this hour. Since a church sermon was ongoing most of the locals were busy there, so all that was left were people who didn't belong to this city, or weren't all that religious in the gods. People like Azdin and his companions.
There were also just weirdos who thought it was a good idea to drink in the early morning. Of which there was a small few. Azdin had been watching these people for a while now, but still he couldn't figure out who was giving off that powerful presence.
Before he could get fully invested, Lotte threw out a question.
"So what's everyone's future plans?"
Maybe it was because she had drank the most, or maybe she just felt like it, but Myne ended up answering first.
"Me? Not much, I was just wandering around before.. don't really have a goal or anything."
Azdin was a bit surprised. If he remembered correctly, then one needed an adventurous spirit in order to receive storm gods blessing, but somehow she was so lazy. Even on the ship, she came across as such.
Catching onto it too, Hugo asked,
"Say, how did you get captured by Roswell anyway? You seem way too strong for that to happen."
Indeed, her physical might was freakish. Even if she wouldn't be able to beat his whole crew in a direct fight, she should've been able to escape quite easily.
Myne tilted her head, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to recall the events.
"If I remember correctly.. I got wasted so I took a quick nap under a tree. Then that bastard snuck up on me and slapped those cuffs on. Yeah, that sounds about right."
Silence.
"How about you two?"
Hugo folded his arms as he contemplated his answer. And then, he said,
"I want to go look for someone. I'll probably stay here a bit longer to listen in on rumours, then I'll depart when I can."
Myne's eyes immediately lit up with mischief.
"Oh-? Is it a guy, or a girl?"
She dramatically paused, and then added,
"..A long lost lover? Perhaps?"
Immediately growing irritated, he answered,
"No. It's my enemy. When I find this person, I will show them a hell more terrible then whatever Ariel could create."
His voice grew considerably colder by the end, leaving little doubt that whatever history he and this person shared was anything but pleasant. Myne however, seemed more amused than intimidated.
Lotte eventually shifted her focus elsewhere.
"What about you Azdin? You two arrived here together right?"
"I'm gonna go look for someone too."
Hugo became alert.
"First time I'm hearing of this?"
Azdin merely shrugged, offering no further explanation. Of course this peaked his suspicion, it was the first time he had guarded a secret after all. He wasn't even willing to hide his own flaw.
Since she was half drunk, Myne didn't even notice the slight tension forming though, and joked,
"You looking for your arch enemy too?"
Azdin sighed somberly.
"I'm not sure what they are to me yet. Hell, I don't even know where to start looking."
For once, her grin faltered slightly. Curiosity replacing some of her earlier amusement.
The idea had been nagging at him for a while now, and the more he considered it, the more uncertain he became.
'Maybe it'll be better if I asked everyone now. They might know something.'
There was no guarantee any of them would have an answers but he had little to lose in asking anyway.
"I want to go look for a guy called weaver."
Their reactions weren't quite what he anticipated.