Blood Assimilation

302 Exchange, End of Information Gathering

As the two Holy Knights talked, Incarnation Randy occasionally would nod and even guide some of their responses by asking some prompts in between to get more information. At some point in the two Holy Knights’ narration, Incarnation Randy took a chance and naturally poured them a glass full of liquor.

As he did so, he grabbed an empty unused glass on the table and also poured himself some of the liquor he had poured for them. He did so in order to avoid any suspicions. However, despite pouring himself a glass of liquor, he merely took a few sips throughout the entire exchange. Furthermore, his glass was only a quarter full.

As he was still eighteen years old and considered a minor, this was his first time drinking alcohol. As a result, he didn’t know his alcohol tolerance level. He also didn’t want to risk getting intoxicated himself while purposely urging the two Holy Knights to drink their liquor in order to get them intoxicated. Therefore, he limited his alcohol intake.

Although it was arguable whether Incarnation Randy was considered the same person as Randy, or if it really mattered what Incarnation Randy did. After all, he was technically not Randy, as he was only related to Randy through their connection. However, it was an undeniable fact that Incarnation Randy still acted based on Randy’s knowledge and experience.

As an Incarnation with slight imperfections, he operated viscerally by using Randy’s common sense, even though he couldn’t fully comprehend the knowledge and experience obtained from Randy.

As the night wore on, the two Holy Knights grew more relaxed, their words slurring slightly as they drank more and more. They began to babble even more, even revealing some secrets they probably shouldn’t have due to their sensitivity.

Incarnation Randy took advantage of this, pushing them to reveal more and more pieces of relevant information. As a result, they began to talk freely about the inner workings of the Church of Light, its politics, and its other insignificant secrets.

At some point in their narration, Incarnation Randy asked them about their training routine and missions, and he also included topics about their beliefs. By asking these questions, it made him seem like he was interested in their religion.

Barian and Zante felt more inclined to speak when they heard him mention their training routine. They started to talk about their strict training sessions that were unknown to the public. They also talked about their dedication when it came to training.

.....

But at this point, both Barian and Zante were so intoxicated, so much so that they became more passionate and more open as they spoke their minds.

Even Zante, who was initially sober, had also let his guard down and gotten himself inebriated. Then, he and Barian began to openly share their current frustrations and hardships they faced in their church.

The Holy Knight duo talked about their recent failed mission that was caused by their captain who had gone missing in action. They were admonished by the church and then tasked with finding their captain’s whereabouts. If they failed, then they would be held accountable for their captain’s death as they uncharacteristically claimed they weren’t there with their captain before he disappeared.

They said that they would be happy to even find his corpse at this point, as that would absolve them of the possible crime of killing their own captain. As they were certain they were innocent, even if they found the corpse, they could clear their names, depending on the state of their captain.

Incarnation Randy sympathetically nodded, pretending to empathize with the injustice they were currently facing. However, in the middle of his performance, he suddenly realized that the present conditions were appropriate for delivering his exchange in response to the information he had received from them.

Initially, he didn’t have anything to exchange with the two Holy Knights. He only planned on exploiting them and leaving them drunk, and then he would disappear like a ghost. However, as he listened to their ‘unfortunate and sad’ story about their missing captain, he was able to confirm some relevant details regarding their situation. Afterward, he decided on a course of action. He planned on informing them of something that they might want to hear as an exchange.

With that in mind, he suddenly interjected in the middle of their sad narration: “Gentlemen. I’m so sorry to hear that you lost your captain. I didn’t expect the Church of Light to put you all through hardship because of that. As I sympathize with your situation very much, how about this… I have a unique skill that could help me track down other people, including the dead.”

“What?! Really?!”

Barian and Zante jumped off their chairs and looked at Incarnation Randy with eyes full of anticipation.

Then, Zante tentatively asked: “Is this what you wanted to exchange with us?”

“Something like that.”

Incarnation Randy replied with a mysterious smile, and then he continued: “However, there is a catch. I need something that belongs to the person I intend to search for. So, do you have anything that belonged to your captain? Something that used to belong to them would do as well.”

“Of course, we do!”

Both Barian and Zante took out their storage pouches and grabbed something from them and then handed it to Incarnation Randy.

Incarnation Randy looked down at the few shimmering golden cards that were worth a few thousand gold coins and his eyes glittered imperceptibly.

He then pretended to be confused and doubtfully spoke: “This is…?”

Barian happily clarified: “These are the golden cards given to us by the captain to keep our mouths…”

“Ahem!”

Zante interrupted and said: “These were given to us by our captain after running some errands for him.”

“R-Right… Hahahaha!”

Barian just realized that he almost revealed the horrible actions of their captain to Incarnation Randy whom he recognized as a genuinely kind person. Thinking about Incarnation Randy’s words and character, Barian believed that he might criticize them if he found out about the blasphemous crimes committed by their captain and also their neutral stance throughout those crimes. He also believed that Incarnation Randy might refuse to help them find their captain as a result.

“Is that so?”

Incarnation Randy looked at the awkward smile on their faces and said: “Anyway, isn’t it too much?”

“Don’t worry. We don’t need those golden cards. As long as you can help us find our captain, it would be worth sacrificing them.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Incarnation Randy nodded and stowed the golden cards away.

He then told them: “Give me 2 to 3 days. I will find the location of your captain. We can meet here in three days’ time. I will have the information you need by then.”

The Holy Knight duo appeared skeptical as they weren’t sure if they should trust him. Although the young man before them seemed like a genuinely honest person, they had only just met.

Incarnation Randy noticed their disturbed expressions and reassured them: “Don’t worry. I will definitely find the location of your captain in three days at most. If I fail to do so, you can put a bounty on me or whatever. I won’t complain about it.”

Barian and Zante remained silent for a brief moment before nodding their heads in agreement. They were well aware that those with shadow-like powers had tracking skills.

From their observation, the young man in front of them was most likely a shadow skill user. As such, they believed that Incarnation Randy wasn’t lying about his capabilities at least.

Therefore, they decided to trust him. Even if he lied to them, they could only blame themselves for trusting the wrong person and move on with their original intentions.

After a while, the three of them once again sat behind the table. A few pleasantries were exchanged between them. While they did that, they drank a few bottles of liquor in celebration of a possible solution to their problem.

Eventually Barian passed out from having drunk too much. Shortly after chatting some more with Incarnation Randy about the appearance of their captain, Zante, who had more tolerance for alcohol, couldn’t resist it anymore. He also followed suit and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, after observing their sleeping bodies, Incarnation Randy, who had been feigning drunkenness, quietly slipped away. As soon as he walked out of the room, he met the two girls, who were still standing behind the door with worried expressions.

The two girls saw the creepy grin on his face and shuddered, as they wondered if something had happened to the two Holy Knights. As much as they wanted to check on them, they felt hesitant to do so.

At this time, Incarnation Randy turned to them and indifferently said: “The two honorable knights had too much to drink so they’re sleeping in their room. When they wake up, tell them I will see them in three days.”

After saying this, Incarnation Randy turned around and left. He already knew how to leave the establishment as he had memorized the path he took when he followed the female bartender.

Very soon, he walked out of the pub, only to be welcomed by the wonderful sight of glittering stars, exuding starlights as they shone through the dark night. Just as the moon lights up the night sky on earth in his world, these stars illuminate the night sky in Acruxia.

Incarnation Randy observed the stars in the sky in wonder for a few moments before walking away from the establishment to look for an inn to stay in.