In an apartment in Backlund's Bridge Borough.
Emlyn White took off his top hat and gave Maric, who had suddenly appeared across from him, a courtly bow.
"What do you want?" Maric asked, sitting on the sofa. He leaned forward and clasped his hands.
If Sharron hadn't explicitly told him before her advancement ritual that this Vampire could be trusted, he would never have come to meet him.
Emlyn pulled up a chair and sat down. Smiling, he asked:
"Can you tell me about the Rose School's Indulgence Faction in the Kalaston Region of the Southern Continent? I'll pay you well."
At the New Year's gathering a few days earlier, Emlyn had realized that the location of the mission Lord Nibais had assigned him lay in the same area as the abandoned Divine Kingdom The Star had invited him to explore. He decided to pursue both matters at once. Whichever yielded results, he would gain something.
Before heading to the Southern Continent, though, he needed as much intelligence as possible and reliable help. At the Tarot Club meeting two days earlier, he had obtained a way to contact a member of the Rose School's Temperance Faction from The World. That was how he had found Maric.
He didn't ask for help outright. His "tactic" was to pique Maric's interest first, then discuss the rest...
Unfortunately for Emlyn, Klein had tipped Maric off. Maric already knew why he had come.
"The Kalaston Region..." Maric repeated. A sharp glint crossed his eyes, but his expression remained indifferent as he asked, "How much do you know about the Indulgence Faction there?"
Emlyn had come prepared for this "visit." Unruffled, he said:
"I admit I don't know much about the Rose School.
"But since the war intensified, East and West Balam, the Star Plateau,