It had been a long ti since Lex just sat and chatted with soone. Even though this was sowhat of an attempt at extracting information, from both sides, the conversation itself was quite pleasant once Misha dropped the facade.
But eventually there ca a ti when Lex ran out of questions, and Misha had run out of free ti. Unlike him, she had a pretty dense schedule involving getting imrsed in the daily life of the Artica realm. It was only after she thoroughly understood the locals that she could do her job well.
That, unfortunately, was another reason why Lex remained apprehensive of any positive feelings he had towards her. As a diplomat, she knew exactly how to behave to best resonate with her target - much like himself.
WHen their ti ran short, the two went their separate ways.
"I'll look forward to when I can visit the Inn," Misha said before leaving. "I'll be sure to let the Fuegan know that they can use the Inn as long as they obey the rules."
"I'll look forward to hosting you when you co," Lex said politely, accepting that he had attracted more trouble for himself.
With that, they departed, and Lex promptly returned to Velma and Gerard, who had been putting off their return to wait for him.
"Did you learn anything of interest?" Gerard asked once they finally reunited.
"Nothing particularly interesting or imminent," Lex said. "Misha was never going to reveal all of the Fuegans' plans, and the things she did reveal aren't necessarily reliable. She claid that the Artica race are sympathetic towards the Fuegan since they are both natives fighting off external forces.
"If we combine this information with the note stating that the bank is investing in anti-humanoid ventures, it could possibly an that the bank is interested in seeing their cooperation pan out. But that simultaneously doesn't make sense for the bank is a primary investor in the Origin realm already.
"The waters here are too murky, the plots too deep, and there are too many players. Instead of trying to figure out what everyone is planning, we should simply keep our ears open and learn as much as possible. After all, the only thing we need to be concerned with are the threats targeting the Inn."
"Just because the bank is supporting the Origin realm doesn't also an they can't support the Fuegan. The human race within the Origin realm is not insignificant. Compared to so prominent races it is not quite strong, but under Jotun's leadership, his empire is flourishing and there are many powerful humans.
"But compared to the Fuegan, they still fall short. Even the elves and dwarfs fall short. Only the devils have a strong presence there. Maybe the Celestials do as well, but we've hardly had any interactions with them so it's hard to judge.
"But either way, using the Fuegan to target them is not sothing unimaginable. After all, Bagheera himself has stated that the bank is involved in anything and everything related to making a profit. Sabotage and betrayal are especially profitable if done right."
"Not necessarily. They can't compromise on their image and prestige, or else they'll lose clients. But I get what you an."
Velma shook her head.
"You're overestimating either the bank, or those that work in the bank. I've already found out that the Sunset Tigers have co to this realm to close a despicable yet profitable deal. They've already traded the right to mary Mira to another for sothing valuable in exchange. It's just that the laws of the Artica realm don't permit such forceful behavior, so the Sunset Tigers have taken to blackmailing her using their resources back in the clan.
"If I am not mistaken, then Bagheera's career has been sidelined, and he may even be in danger of being sent to so extrely dangerous missions should Mira not comply with their demands.
"How could anyone concerned about their image do such a despicable act so openly?"
Lex raised an eyebrow. He doubted anyone did anything openly, it was just very hard to hide things from Velma.
"Point noted. Either way, we should take this as an important wake up call to be more attentive towards all external powers. Even our guests may be secretly setting so traps for us to fall into down the road. We cannot always rely on the Innkeeper to bail us out. It would be best if we detect the issue before it even occurs and take care of it."
"I agree with you," said Velma. "That's why I've decided to stay back a little and develop an information network of my own over here. I'll also take so ti to learn more about the universe before heading back."
Lex rolled his eyes. She may have a good excuse, but he knew she was totally staying to rescue Mira and help her reunite with her panther boyfriend.
"Well, if you're staying, do a favor. Also look into the Nas race for - specifically soone who looks like this."
Lex projected an image of the Nas he rembered seeing, a perfect replica even though they had only glanced at each other.
"Who is this? A potential enemy?" she asked curiously.
"Not a potential one. He has been making so moves in the dark against , and although I've countered them, I want to learn more about him. Unfortunately I have no information to help you with, just his appearance and the na of his race."
"That's already more than enough," said Velma, clearly reveling in the challenge of the request. "In that case, I'll be leaving for the Inn with Gerard. It's just been a few days here, but it's already been much longer at the Inn."
"Take care. It may be so ti before we et again," said Velma, waving at the two as they readied to depart.
Geard also imported so advice onto the young woman, before taking out a golden key and shattering it, returning to the Inn. Lex also pretended to use a key, while returning to the Inn manually.
At the sa ti, deep within the Artica realm, a mber of the Artica race was suddenly alard and looked towards where the two of them had been, but found nothing. He couldn't even trace their destination.
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