Despite her best efforts to avoid it, Silva still got chewed out by Mika for her carelessness. Both of her friends cleared the table from their school stuff, and now they were having a light meal.

  When they finished, the waitress gathered their ptes and brought them cookies and tea, which Mika had ordered.

  While they slowly sipped the tea, Silva finally asked her friends what they had thought of the video she had shared.

  “This guy sure can get the crowd rowdy,” Steven commented. “I mean, damn, they were cheering loudly. I wonder if he will go on a tour. I would pay to see him perform.”

  "It could be fake," Mika added, but Silva could tell she did it half-heartedly, not believing in her words.

  "I think it is real," Silva thoughtfully added. "And it made me think..." Mika nodded for her to continue, and she did after checking if anyone could overhear. "Well… Mika, you said we should try to steer away from the supernatural…”

  “I meant troublesome things in general, you know. Stuff that people with actual experience and knowledge should solve. It just happened to include the supernatural,” Mika inserted.

  “That, too. But, well… Don’t you think it would be too passive? I mean, if we go back some years, we barely notice anything strange happening around the world. Maybe we did not look at the right pces, but now… It seems we are in the middle of a whirlpool that could swallow us anytime.”

  And Steven agreed. “Yeah, we are kind of reted to those kinds of things. And with Silva’s disposition on getting into trouble, it would be not a wonder if we get involved in paranormal shenanigans.”

  “It… It’s not on purpose. It just happens.” Silva feebly defended herself but got disregarded by her friends.

  Mika’s expression had turned contemptive as she mulled over the topic.

  "Well, it is true that you are getting into trouble easily.”

  “You too?” Silva let out a groan full of indignation.

  “Jokes aside, we could have missed something, but from what he had gathered… Yes, there seems to be an increasing amount of suspicious incidents happening. These are all quite recent - going back a few years at most. But the rgest increase has been the st half of a year.” Mika summarised.

  “Well, we kind of knew that already.” Steven agreed. “Why bring it up now?”

  "I don’t think we will be able to stay out for forever. So, instead of just waiting for an accident to happen, we should take a more proactive approach" Silva looked into Mika's eyes. The girl seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable but maintained eye contact until her friend finally let out a sigh.

  “Fine, we can do that. It is better than doing nothing if you both don’t get carried away. What did you have in mind?”

  Silva had thought Mika would try to resist more. But it had been unexpectedly easy to get her to agree.

  “Um, we could try to get in better physical form? And do more practice with our abilities?” Silva was fully aware her suggestions were nothing special, but it was something.

  “Working out is not doing it for me. I can’t go all out in a city anyway, but I guess you two could use a bit of a workout now and then,” Steven smirked. “You know Mika’s marks at PE are pretty bad.”

  “And yours are bad at every other subject.” Mika retorted before making a suggestion to Silva. “But I could help you with your ability after school. You could come to my house. My parents are usually not at home until it’s te.” She suggested. “I suppose I could also learn more about human anatomy. It could be helpful with me being, you know, a healer.”

  At that moment, Steven leaned closer to Silva and started to whisper at an exact volume Mika could barely hear. “Um, Silva, did you know that if you go to a predator's den, you accept the risk of getting ea-.” Steven flinched, stopping midway and returned to his normal tone of voice. “You didn't have to kick me, I was just joking.” He gave Mika an aggrieved look and then put a cookie in his mouth. “These were really good.”

  Seeing the cookie disappear, Mika realised all of them were gone, leaving her looking longingly at the empty pte before she returned her attention to Silva.

  Despite Silva sitting at the same table as her friends at the moment, she felt lost. There obviously had been an undertone in their exchange, but it was lost on her. In her mind, it just showed the difference between knowing each other for a short and long time.

  “Besides, it's not like your room can fit the three of us.” Steven continued.

  “That’s true...” Silva agreed. Steven flinched again, and judging by the movements, Mika kicked him again with even more strength.

  “You are busy with your club and whatnot else after school anyway. What does it matter what we do in the meantime?” Mika argued.

  “Wel… I just felt like I was losing my best friend.” Steven wiped a fake tear out of his eye.

  “No, no, I am not trying to!” Silva hurried to expin. “I am not trying to take Mika away from you!”

  “Rex, I am just joking.” Steven sipped his tea. “We should go to 'Shan-Tea' next time. Their tea is better.” It seemed like he had forgotten about the st time they went there. “Or maybe the trauma gave him amnesia,” Silva supposed.

  "Well, Steven is right about the size of my pce." Mika begrudgingly admitted. "But it’s not like we have a lot of choices, do we?"

  “If you got your dad to lend us his car. I could drive us to the mountains. Plenty of pces there. I could stretch my limbs, and Mika could look, I don’t know, for some wounded animals or something.” Steven proposed, surprising Silva.

  “You have a driving licence?”

  “Sure!” Steven shrugged. “It would have looked bad if I, as the oldest son, did not have one.” He cringed. “Not that I am getting a car anytime soon.”

  “That could work.” Mika reluctantly agreed. “But we can’t go too far away. And even if my father agrees, we would still have to pay for the gas and find the time. And it seems like you are forgetting one huge wolf in the mountains.”

  "Please! It is not like there is a ck of wastends around this city. What are the chances of running into it?" Steven sneered. “Besides, it will probably be caught soon enough. There is even an app now to track every party in search of it. Also, there are no actual victims. That first one only had light bruises. Didn’t even bleed.”

  “How do you know that? I don’t think it was mentioned anywhere I looked.” Mika didn’t waste time and questioned, making Steven wince.

  “I, uh, a friend told me.”

  “Is it the friend I am thinking of?”

  “Maybe. I don’t live in your head. I can’t tell.” Steven was defiant.

  “Um, what kind of a friend?” Silva wanted to know, but Mika stopped Steven from answering.

  “The kind you are better to not meet. And you better make sure he does not meet Silva either.” Mika ordered.

  “Sure, whatever, it is not like I can let him near any girls.” Steven shrugged. “So, are we going on a picnic in the mountains or not?”

  What followed next was an hour-long debate over whether it was too dangerous and, if not, when and where they could go. There was a long argument over the safety of the trip, with Mika opposing the pn. But in the end, she relented when it became clear that Silva was on Steven’s side.

  As they hammered out the details, Mika and Steven suddenly quieted down while looking behind Silva. Then she heard a voice she had the displeasure of hearing just a short while ago.

  Right. This was the st topic Silva had wanted to talk about, but in the heat of the discussion, it had fallen out of her head.

  “Ah, hey, hello! Steven and... Huh, two girls? So… One of you is Mika? That was not in the pn.” He murmured the end, but Silva still caught it as the man was standing right behind her.

  Silva whipped her head around to see Aramaleo standing behind her. She drew a sharp breath.

  But before Silva could do anything else, Steven was already speaking.

  "And you are?"

  Silva could tell that this was a demand coming from Steven. If the man didn’t answer, her friend would become hostile immediately.

  "Ah, this is awkward, sorry! You see, there should have been only two of you here. But you don’t care about that, I see. What was it? Ah, yes!" Aramaleo bbbered. "Who I am! My name is Aramaleo Banster! Ah, and I was told to meet Steven and Mika at this pce at this time. You are the only ones left at this nice establishment, so I figured you should be it. As I-"

  But before Aramaleo could continue, Steven interrupted while Silva edged herself away from the loud man. Then she felt Mika’s hand grab hers under the table, which calmed her heart rate down to manageable levels.

  “And with what purpose would you be looking for us?” Steven's voice now had a dangerous edge to it.

  “So you are the right people! Excellent! The purpose is nothing bad, I assure you!” Aramaleo nervously waved his hands. “This is a bit troubling. The subject is sensitive, not really meant for third parties ears.” Aramaleo gnced at Silva, who was now even closer to Mika.

  “She is our close friend.” Mika narrowed her eyes. “She is completely trustworthy!”

  "No, no! I wasn't implying anything, of course! She is trustworthy! She is your friend, after all! The best friend!" Aramaleo was visibly sweating now, and he was squeezing his hands together. "What I wanted to say is… That… Ha-ha, I wanted to talk about something... to do with your special side." he was now wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, but even more, he was eyeing Steven as if looking at a dangerous beast.

  This really was a bad day for Silva. She did not think that the man would come straight to her friends, but there was a silver lining, he did not know who she was, even when he had (probably) tried to find her before. Still, the coldness seeped through her bones as she had not prepared her friends for this meeting, which she could have done if she had a smoother talker.

  "Fine, we can talk." After a minute of silence, Steven finally agreed.

  Aramaleo gave Silva another gnce. At the same moment, Mika squeezed her hand again. The touch brought her a sense of safety, calming Silva somewhat.

  Mika didn’t let go. “Silva, can you leave us for a few seconds. We have something we need to talk about with this man.” Mika finally let Silva's hand go and straightened her pose.

  Silva could tell Mika had meant a few literal seconds. She slowly nodded and got up. She slowly circled Aramaleo and indicated she would go to the toilet to let them speak.

  Aramaleo followed her with his gaze as she left. Only then did he turn back to the pair left sitting at the table.

  When Silva returned, now hidden, she realised the conversation had not moved an inch. Her friends might have stalled for her to have time to come back. She headed to a pce behind her friends to have a better look at Aramaleo, and when she arrived, she tapped on her friends' backs, signalling her return.

  “So, how did you find out about us? Or about where we will be?” Steven questioned.

  The inquiry made the recipient of the question sigh in relief. By this point, Aramaleo had several sweat beads rolling down his forehead, revealing his nervousness.

  “Uh, um, first, can I sit down?”

  His request was promptly denied. Neither of Silva’s friends wanted his presence for any longer than necessary.

  Aramaleo shifted in pce as he gnced around, but seeing no one, he hushed his voice a bit and continued to speak.

  "Well, I have had worse, you know. This is not the first time I've talked with people like you, and my source never tells me what they are capable of. Especially when it usually is a great secret that they have an ability at all." Aramaleo restarted his babble. "And even though this pce is nowhere as private as I would like, I have noticed that speaking with people like… Hmm…

  The talkative man paused to think. “Let’s say us… It can lead to a very explosive outcome if it happens in a quieter location. You know, eyewitnesses are actually not bad." His expression contorted as if he was recalling an unpleasant event. At this point, Steven cracked his knuckles.

  “Ah, yes, your question, I remember!” Aramaleo hurried to answer. “First, as of now, it is simple... I didn't,” He got stares of disbelief sent in his direction. “Truly, it was my employer who did. But I can assure you that there are limitations. It works like divination, I was told. And it is not very precise. Sometimes, the information I get is barely comprehensible.” Irritation crept into his voice at this point. “And my job is to run around and get in contact with the people my employer discovers. Sometimes… Most of the time,” He corrected. “It is dangerous, and sometimes I don’t find anyone at all!”

  Aramaleo coughed in his hand and checked his surroundings. "Ah, but I am not compining, no, no! Every job has its hazards. So, as for why I was tasked to find you both..." He tapped on the floor with his feet.

  But the man wasn’t done. "You see, my employer is, how to say it… Well… They are looking for candidates. I am not sure for what. For now, we are getting in touch with new people, and there is also an offer. I mean, you don’t have to take it. But we can assure you, you can gain almost everything in the realm of possibility. Money, fame, hiding and safety. We offer the possibility for all of those and more.”

  Aramaleo took a pause to let the information sink in. “But we are not giving away secrets or helping with something that would harm other people. There is no rush either, and we won’t pressure. It is the customers' choice in the end. Whether they accept or not.”

  Aramaleo’s words were hard to believe. To make a promise like that would mean that whoever was behind him was a very powerful ability user.

  It was scary to imagine what he could do if he ever decided to harm someone. But the big question was, what was the price?

  Steven didn’t hesitate to ask about it. His life was in the sorriest state of the three of them. However, the truth was that Silva would not say no to a sizable amount of cash to help out her father.

  “And what would be the price of your employer helping us out?”

  Aramaleo gave them a somewhat sad smile. "A favour. You can still refuse it, for example, if you can’t make it, even multiple times, but… It is better not to. I can assure you that we don’t ask for anything unreasonable. The trade is more than fair. But it can have an unexpected conclusion. Ah, but don’t be mistaken. We do not do any harm to our partners." Silva looked at Steven, and sure enough, he looked interested.

  "What kind of favour are we speaking of here?" Steven inquired.

  Aramaleo shrugged. "It can be anything really, being at a location at a given time, helping with problems we need a hand with, speaking with someone, or nothing at all. We try to keep the favour the same size as the request. People with our strengths can have quite a bit of impact in the correct situations, you know." he concluded and took out a paper slip with a phone number from his pocket, which he left on the table. "I’ll remind you that we are not harming anyone, nor do we pn to. If your request is impossible, we will tell you."

  Steven gulped down the st of his now cold tea. "Can we know what will be asked from us if we decide to take up your offer?"

  “No. The request will be fulfilled before we make the request," Aramaleo replied, now squirming even more. "That should be all, and your friend should be returning soon. I don't want to hold you here for longer than necessary, so if you have any questions, you should ask them now. I can not guarantee I'll answer them, though." His nerves slipped as he hiccuped.

  After a moment of silence, in which they tried to decide on a question they could ask and receive an answer, Mika finally spoke. "Are there more people like us here in Oldsteel?"

  “I guess? I had to meet another one before coming here.” Aramaleo shrugged. “Not that I succeeded. I am sure if you were to call the number I gave you, you could hammer out an agreement that would give you that information. Not the specifics, though. Just the number.”

  “How do you make sure that the other party keeps their word? What are the consequences of not returning the favour?” Steven tried to wrap his hand around the information.

  "Um, that is difficult to say. You’ll keep living your life, but there won’t be any further cooperation, and it is a dangerous world… Ah, but it is not a threat. Sorry! I mean, I did not mean it to sound like that. Anyway, I will say this, the world will not get any safer."

  At that moment, Aramaleo received a message. He typed a short answer before returning his attention to the pair, signalling for them to continue.

  “What will happen if we don't use this number?” Mika wondered.

  "Then we won't meet again. Simple as that. We are a respectable party. We are not forcing anyone."

  “And what about you? What is your ability?” Steven wanted to know.

  Aramaleo furrowed his eyebrows. “I am not going to tell you that. I don't even know your abilities, for that matter. Also, it is very rude to ask.”

  It did not phase Steven as he snorted, cracking his knuckles again, making Amaraleo jump in fright.

  “What is in it for you?” it was Mika's turn to ask.

  "Me? Well, I do it as a way to return a favour." Aramaleo's reply came as a surprise to them. His phone rang again, and when he checked it, his smile faded away. "Well, that is it for today. There is a situation I have to attend to. Hopefully, we will see each other again sometime." he waved and left a moment ter.

  Silva returned to the table as soon as they were sure he was gone. She plopped down in her seat, feeling exhausted.

  “That was... something.” Silva sighed and looked at her friends, who were now inspecting the paper slip on the table.

  Enkiari