Chapter 1452 (2/2)

Letting the man work, Randidly rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward the second of the two messages he needed to address. The second message was blessedly short. Lyra simply urged him to finally meet with her for dinner, as he had promised a few weeks ago. She wanted to meet this evening after her match.

Which probably means she is very confident about the result since the match is scheduled for 6 P.M. and she is still willing to get dinner. Randidly reflected as he chewed on his lip. But… her opponent is Hank. Has she just accepted that she is going to lose? Damnit, every time I think I’ve settled and moved past our relationship…

But still, Randidly was somewhat curious. What more could Lyra have to say at this point? He had made it clear when he provided her with a Class that she should consider their history buried. Being sword and sheath for the Village, her support of Yystrix… Randidly had labeled her as effectively banished from his life. Yet she behaved so insistently now…

If this was Lyra from four years ago, this sort of reaction would make sense; when they had first met, Lyra was a rather spoiled young actress. She was extremely clever and capable, but privilege and inexperience meant that she wasn’t the most self-aware individual. This display would simply be her failing to understand the consequences of her actions.

But even if Randidly judged her for the decisions she had made, he couldn’t deny that the Lyra that he had met and seen obtain a Class was a much more sophisticated version of the young woman that he knew. She also knew Randidly’s personality about as well as anyone on Earth did.

If she broke the silence, she likely thought she had something worth the possibility of earning his ire.

Well, Tatiana probably has a better grasp on me now. Her Skill practically monitors my every move... Randidly shook his head sharply. Then he replied to Lyra with an agreement. Fine, it’s just one dinner. I plan on leaving Earth soon anyway, so I can just reject any other requests.

And speaking of leaving Earth…

The third message was from Octavius Shrike. Randidly finally received the details he had so long waited for of the situation in the Nexus.

Randidly sat at the small wooden table and drummed his fingers as he sifted through the absolutely massive message that Octavius sent him. It appeared that the reason the message had taken so long was that Octavius was creating a huge repository of information for Randidly to smooth over his transition into the Nexus proper.

The letter would probably have taken up about a hundred pages if it was converted to a book form. Randidly felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction as he scrolled through huge blocks of text and skimmed through the extremely detailed bios of famous individuals in the Nexus to look out for. His first thought was to forward the message to Tatiana and have her create a more readable version, but he somehow sensed that she would not be pleased about that. So he resolved himself to speed skimming.

Is this proof I’ve gotten spoiled…? Randidly thought with a sardonic grin.

Helio eventually brought over two plates of steaming potatoes, onions, and cheese and set them before Randidly without a word. Randidly began to rapidly eat, his eyes searching through the sea of words.

...the worst part is how officious Octavius writes. Randidly grimaced and used his cool metal fingers to rub the bridge of his nose. Then he blinked at the empty plates in front of him and signaled Helios to bring him two more. This isn’t a report to the Nexus Council… just tell me what I need to know…

About halfway through the letter, some relevant details about the situation began to emerge. The original Vualla had effectively established herself but was in something of a bind due to abandoning her old identity and therefore her previously held Nexus citizenship. Octavius lectured Randidly for several paragraphs that he should only refer to her as Edraine from this moment forward. This was her new identity.

Randidly scraped his fork against the bottom of the second set of plates to clean up any gooey remnants and coughed lightly. Then he signaled for four more to be brought to him. Helio, saint that he was, simply nodded.

I should come here more often, Randidly reflected as he turned back to the tiresome message.

Edraine wanted to take one of the civilian positions on the Nexus Council but needed Tier 3 Citizenship to do so. Octavius explained that the Citizenship coins Randidly had were very valuable because they came directly from an active Cohort. They were needed for her to accumulate Tier 3 Citizenship. Therefore, they were greatly anticipating his arrival. In addition, Randidly could discuss the compensation with Edraine directly when he arrived.

Then the message continued to explain the escalating incursions from Nether forces, the targeted strikes from the rogue Nether King, and the low quality of images that were entering into the Nexus from the Seventh Cohort that had the situation in the Nexus rather strained. Aside from a few unpredictable and inconsistent appearances, there was no central leadership to speak of within the Nexus. Different factions within the Nexus had emerged and were making moves to secure a supply of Aether for themselves and their subordinates rather than addressing the ailing System.

“Basically, everything is about to come to blows, huh…” Randidly said softly. Helio looked up, but then lowered his gaze just as quickly. Shaking his head, Randidly stretched. Well, they likely have been doing the same thing for hundreds of years. At this rate, this can continue for quite some time still.

But it’s volatile. Randidly’s mouth twisted into a wicked grin. A single spark… might burn the whole place to the ground.