Another swell darkened the sky and rain started dripping through the ceiling. Jack had leapt over to catch the white-haired adventurer and place him on the cheap bed. The disguised Great One had approached to presumably check on Bell, only to be stopped by the point of a chikage.
The Great One sighed and chuckled to itself a bit.
"You can relax Papa Bear. I'm not going to do anything. I just wanted to see how Bell is doing."
Jack leveled his glare at it. It backed away with its hands up in the air and sat down. All traces of panic or anxiety were gone from the monster's face. Only amusement showed.
"He will be perfectly fine under my care."
"What was your name? Jack?"
His voice came out lower in volume than before.
"Jack Invana."
'Hmm..."
Much to his annoyance, the Great One opened its mouth to speak. A sly grin formed its face.
"So... What is a Great One? You called me that earlier. Were you trying to endear me with compliments? If you were, 'monster' is not the sort of language I'd use. Maybe 'amazing' would be better."
Repulsive. Immature. Disgusting.
"You know what you are and I have no patience for your games. Now begone."
Hestia laughed.
The overprotectiveness was adorable. The feather-clad adventurer obviously wouldn't let anyone lay a finger on Bell. That being said...
"I will not. I am Hestia, Olympian Goddess of Family and Hearth. This is my home. And as a member of my familia, Bell is under my care. You can't kick me out or keep me from him."
Jack's glare burned.
"And I have no idea what you spoke of when you called me a 'Great One'. You do seem pretty dead set on it though. A little explanation would be quite nice, don't cha think?"
He scoffed.
"Really? Able to imitate people this well yet unknowing of what your kind is called?"
Well, that doesn't help.
"Well, if you won't let me know what you mean by that, at least tell me why you're so jumpy! Every time I move you whip your head towards me and I'm starting to think you might not be a fan. It isn't like I bite."
She added the last bit with a laugh as a repulsed sneer grew on Jack's face.
"I wouldn't be too fond of being torn apart by alien power or turned into some horrific abomination and I'll be damned if I let that happen to Bell. There is little telling with you Great Ones. Keeping my eye on you gives me the best chance of stopping that.
Hestia stopped laughing. She was used to darker jokes from her family(from some individuals more than others) even if she wasn't particular to them. But this wasn't a joke. Jack was dead serious.
He genuinely believes I could do that.
She was technically alien to the Lower World. In her true, divine form, especially her spicy 'Vesta' personality, such things wouldn't be impossible. She could send a pillar of flame to turn him to ash. Or she could turn him into some animal. But in the Lower World?
"I could barely run here from the food cart I work at."
"A physically pathetic disguise doesn't make you any less of a threat."
Hestia's jaw fell open momentarily as bewilderment took her face.
Why, you!
She composed her expression and sighed.
This is getting nowhere. I'll just play along.
"Well then, let's say I am a 'Great One'. Is there anything I could do that would make you trust me?
Trust?
Jack's eyes narrowed.
It doesn't know people well enough to know what they refer to it as, but it understands trust? Unlikely. Such a concept should be below them.
If Provost Willem was right, it might know what a deal is though.
He had never been much of a bookworm in his youth. Nonetheless, he had been privately tutored and educated in a college, so he had to play the role of scholar. Reading excessively became a lingering habit from that time. Becoming the head of his family after the death of his mother and father led to a great deal of his free time vanishing. Much of it went towards his duty as a noble family head within government and knight of the queen. A large portion also went towards training.
The over-exceeding lion's share went to running his family. Paperwork, finances, arranging for the best tutors he could find for his siblings, managing house relations, refusing the Sprigner family's irritating and repetitive offers to marry Lindva Sprigner to Adrian and more. Most of it was perfectly fine. Jack didn't particularly like doing it, but it wasn't torture either. It was simply a task to be performed. The most annoying parts were when his siblings kicked up a fuss or did something that embarrassed the house, like the one time a teenage Adrian slept with twelve servants at once in one night during a dinner party..
Not only was it during a dinner party, it was in the room right above our heads! Everyone could hear it through the stone!
The decision to painfully punish Adrian that night was one of the relatively few things both Jack and Maria completely agreed with each other on.
What was I thinking about?
His mind snapped back to the Great One.
Right...
What little remained of his free time dedicated itself to reading. Given his family's large library, one of the largest in the entirety of the kingdom of Cainhurst, he had no shortage of books to read. He also had copies of nearly every research paper and book from both Byrgenwerth and the Healing Church. The supply of books stopped once the Church became the queen's enemy.
There was one popular theory discussed at length in several papers. They spoke of cosmic entities understanding the concept of a bargain. Many theorists, scientists, and historians proposed that several religions began from people accidentally contacting and bonding with cosmic entities while believing them to be gods.
Jack looked back at Bell's unconscious self. The kid's expression was interesting. He seemed to be afraid of something. Sweat was beginning to occur.
But at least he was alive and sane.
It's a long shot, but it might just be the safest option.
Jack's eyes unfocused momentarily before re-honing in on Hestia.
"How about a deal?"
Hmm?
"Do you understand the concept of a deal?"
Hestia raised her eyebrow.
"I work in the food business, so I hope so."
"I want Bell's safety. I know protecting him from everything would be impossible, and you still present a major threat that I don't like. Unfortunately, he seems somewhat attached to you. So I propose a deal. Or, rather, a non-aggression pact. It is simple: You do no harm to Bell or I, and I will do nothing to harm you."
This is probably the best I'm going to get.
"Can I consider you a friend to my familia?"
Jack's eyes flicked over to Bell momentarily.
"To him. I want nothing to do with you."
Yep, he isn't going to accept much else. Might as well make it sound cool.
Hestia hopped off the chair she had been sitting on and walked over to Jack. After a moment of struggling with the form fitting fabric, she removed the glove on her right hand.
"I'm fine with it. Judging from all I've interacted with you, I think you'd want it to be something official-sounding."
Jack removed the gauntlet on his right hand and grabbed the Great One's hand.
"I, Jack Invana, hereby swear to uphold my non-aggression pact with this Great One."
He nodded, prompting Hestia to speak.
"I, Hestia, Olympian Goddess of Family, Home, and Hearth, hereby swear to uphold this mortal's non-aggression pact."
The moment she was done speaking, Jack yanked his hand away and threw his gauntlet back on.
Heh, drama queen.
She scratched her chin for a moment.
It probably won't work, but I might as well try.
"So, now that I won't have to worry about you stabbing me, would you like to join my familia?"
A dirty look was all she received in response.
Figures.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Jack turned away from the Great One and went back to Bell's bedside. The amount of time that Bell had been out was slightly worrying, but he reasoned that the exhaustion from extended periods of combat, the aftereffects of adrenaline, and healing many minor injuries were likely factors in Bell's unusually long slumber.
At any rate, Bell would be fine, especially now that he was out of soiled clothes. A few hours recovery would work wonders.
Speaking of clothes...
Jack looked around himself. His cape, armor, and jacket were all still caked in blood. It was pleasant by itself, but without more to cover it up, the monster blood was beginning to rot and give off a putrid stink. Worse scents had passed his nose, but this was becoming annoying. The best thing to do was clean up his outfit first. Then a shower for himself was in order. However, a problem quickly made itself known.
This is all I've got for clothes. And I still don't have money. Although, that pink-headed woman did say I could exchange these monster stones for 'valis' at that guild hall. I wonder if they're still open.
Turning towards the door, he spoke.
"I'm leaving to run a few errands."
The Great One's cheery voice followed him.
"Be back soon!"
Jack gave only a withering look before ducking out into the storm.
While they spoke, the rain had only gotten heavier. It was now a rumbling torrent. Thankfully, Jack's uniform was well padded underneath his vest and armor. The rain managed to wash some of the blood from his armor, but the cloth retained the majority of the red. As he walked, he gave a greater look at the various stone ruins sitting out in the open.
I'm going to need to get this place cleaned up
After turning a corner, Jack stopped and sat down under the shelter of a partially broken pillar. An exhausted sigh escaped him as he untensed his body for a moment.
What a busy two days. Came to another world, met my nephew and negotiated with a Great One…
Jack retrieved one of the powder cartridges for Adrian's Chikage from his pocket and stared at it for a moment
He was alive. He was alive and I didn't know. He was ALIVE and I left him down there for blood knows how long!
He came here already. Now he's dead again before I could reach him.
He put the cartridge back in his pocket.
I'm not going to let that happen again. I'll make sure Bell becomes a noble worthy of his lineage and a warrior worthy of his father's blade.
As he slowly began rising from his spot, Jack suddenly sprung into action.
He felt a presence somewhere nearby. It was… familiar. He definitely felt it before. A bit of movement in an alleyway across the road drew his attention, but whoever it was vanished before he could see them. The violent thunderstorm did him no favors in finding his observer.
I'll need to be vigilant from here on.
Jack began walking once more as the storm rumbled on.
As he walked back to the tower plaza, Jack's senses picked up a pursuer several more times. Such an instinct was vital when prowling the streets of Yharnam.
Unfortunately, the storm was only getting worse. Some buildings had suffered damage, and small debris was flying. A roof shingle nearly crashed into his chest twice.
Much to his annoyance, even with the abundant lightning, he had failed to spot his pursuer.
Whoever that is can at least hide.
Just as Jack debated going after the person following him, he arrived at the guild building. The presence vanished as he entered the building.
Save for a few employees, the building was empty. The only one he recognized was the pink haired girl from earlier as she tripped and knocked over a person-sized stack of papers behind the line of desks. He strode over to the clerk and spoke.
"Excuse me."
"Oh! Just a mome-"
The startled woman tried to quickly rise and slammed the back of her head into the edge of the desk. After a moment, the woman rose with a wince on her face and a hand holding her bruised head.
She stiffened momentarily upon looking at Jack and quickly changed her expression to the same professional smile from before.
"Hello sir! How may I help you today?"
"You said that monster stones could be exchanged for currency here. I brought some with me."
"Alright sir. You can exchange magic stones right over at one of the windows by the exchange sign…"
She started pointing over to an inner wall with several small aisles. Each aisle had a netted window of heavily tinted glass and a drawer. Over top of the entrance to the aisles was a large, wooden rectangle with what seemed to be the shattered remnants of a glass pane embedded in the edges.
The woman's expression momentarily became embarrassed before she schooled it.
"My apologies sir. It slipped my mind that there was a fight in here the other day and our sign was unfortunately… broken. As I was saying though, you can exchange magic stones in one of the windows off to the left."
As the woman's statement finished, Jack strode over to the first aisle. A bell hung next to the window. He rang it and scowled as a series of loud clatters sounded from the other side of the wall.
Why is every worker here so lackluster? What is the manager doing?
The large drawer shuffled open. A voice came from the other side. It was tired and slightly slurred. The scent of alcohol carried with it.
"Hmm… You know the dvrill put youer stones in the box for money."
Jack's growing annoyance only expanded.
And an intoxicated coin counter? Pathetic.
As he began pulling stones from the various pockets and pouches, a scuffle sounded behind the window. It sounded like someone being yanked from a chair.
Jack finished placing all of his magic stones in the drawer and closed it.
Several moments later, the drawer opened to reveal a pile of coins.
A different voice, one sounding feminine and alert, spoke from behind the glass.
"18,529 valis is your total."
He scooped the coins into a pouch and walked back to the desk line.
Moments later, with map in hand, he made his way to the exit.
000000000000000000000000000
Misha sighed and rubbed her bruised head again. Fixing that stack of paperwork had set her back a while, but it had to be done. And it also needed to be completed.
Eina's ungodly wrath after finding out about the neglected work was terrifying.
After chewing Misha out, the half-elf stomped off to the back.
Wonder what's got her so worked up. Maybe that kid has her worried? I think she said his name was, like, Bell or something.
Speaking of the half-elf, Eina was currently walking back to her desk. She was paler than usual and shaking slightly as she walked.
Misha spoke as she filled in the current form on her desk.
"So… What's got you so rattled?"
Eina's controlled, professional tone answered.
"I'm fine, Misha."
"And I'm a dragon. Look, something's really freaking you out and I doubt it's my little collection here."
Warning smoldered within Eina's tone.
"Misha, I'm fine."
"Got it, got it! Just wanted to ask if you needed anything off your chest."
The half-elf dropped her quill pen and sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry. Today has been stressful and I'm exhausted. I've got a missing adventurer, too many reports to deal with, and I caught Leo drunk at an exchange window."
Misha whistled out an exhale and set down her quill pen. A cacophony of crackles sounded off as she stretched her sore fingers.
"Leo? Again? I'm not surprised."
A chuckle ended her sentence. Several moments of awkward silence occurred until Misha spoke once more.
"Did you know that weird guy with the feather cape came by again?"
"Misha, I don't know who you're talking about. More adventurers come through here than I care to count on a daily basis. I'm not going to remember someone just by a piece of clothing."
"Really? The one from the other day! Had that large, flowy feather cape."
An older, blonde employee stopped walking by at that moment. A puzzled expression twisted the mustache on his face.
"Ay, were ya two just talking about a feather-caped adventurer?"
Caught off guard, Misha swiftly turned towards him.
"Uh, yeah. Taller, broody, dressed in a lotta black, and had a feather cape."
The blonde man let out a small grunt with a hand twirling part of his beard.
"So you've met her too. Strange one, isn't she? Quite feisty. Haven't ever seen a mask like hers before."
Misha slightly cocked her head to the side.
"I don't know who you're talking about. The one we were talking about was a guy. He had a metal helmet."
"Hm…"
The storm screamed on with no sign of letting up. Jack continued walking. The presence from earlier was not around.
With one errand done, he moved on to the next.
How much is this truly? What prices am I going to be looking at?
Getting his hands on some clothes was his next order of business. Unfortunately, with his limited understanding of the scale of this currency, it would be unwise to go for grand garments.
I'll have to take a page from Aiden's book and go for some field work clothes.
The thought of wearing something unworthy of his station made him grumble, but before he could complain more, a noise caught his attention.
It was nearly inaudible from the storm. No ordinary person would've detected it.
A slight whistling noise.
Instinct caused him to duck to the side as a knife narrowly missed where his head had just been. Two other knives followed it from slightly different trajectories.
Each sunk half of their blade in the stone tiles below.
Within a second, Jack hurled a knife at where the third knife came from, but only the sound of it impacting wood followed.
Jack scanned the buildings around him, but still couldn't find anyone. No silhouette was visible..
Attempting pursuit was pointless.
He placed a hand near the handle of his chikage and walked away.