“Well, the names are all the same”, Ithiel pouted.¹So, Moray, Gannon, Kinsley and even Aine are all names that showed up when I searched for names in the direction celtic-gaelic. Basically, Ithiel is saying that this sounds like they’re a group. It’s still an assumption he made, of course, and quite the stretch, but this is Ithiel being Ithiel.

“It’s still a stretch, elf”, Kinsley said, white eyebrows still raised. “But correct, nonetheless. I am indeed part of the Gannon merfolk… Or was, rather. I was exiled, after all.”

Kinsley moved his leg.

“When merfolk are exiled, their fins and the sea are taken from them. We dry up very slowly.” He huffed. “It was Aine’s ploy that led to me being misunderstood by everyone. I don’t fault them, but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish Aine won’t die for this.”

He said the words simply, like it wasn’t anything big, but Ice didn’t think so. What they had done must be no different from breaking a bird’s wings. He couldn't help but feel his heart ache at the sight of the man's legs. “We will do our best to stop Aine, but… Can we do anything else?”

Kinsley had his face turned to the endless sea. Then he reached inside his top, taking out a little pouch and throwing it at Ice, who caught it.

The pouch was quite light and made from a shimmering material.

“My wife died young due to the sirens. Inside is the only memory I have of her… If you can, please bring this to my son. His name is Finn. Even though I don’t think he will care…”

The quest window popped up in front of Ice again.

【Side quest - Kinsley’s wish

Kinsley is asking you to deliver something to his son, Finn, who is part of the Gannon merfolk.

He cannot reward you, and he will not punish you even if you take the pouch for yourself. All he can offer is his sincerest thanks.

Reward: Nothing.

Failure: Nothing.】

Ice hid the pouch inside his inventory and bowed low, hiding a soft smile. “I will deliver it, without fail.”

One more who mourns. One more who has kept his sincere feelings inside his heart despite someone passing.

Haven would grow.

Ice clenched his fists together. He turned around and slowly walked back the way they had come.

Bloody, Huntsman and Dead Rabbit followed wordlessly.

Only Ithiel turned around every couple of steps, staring back at the lonely, exiled merman. There was someone else going through the same pain he was going through, but… contrary to himself, Kinsley would probably not exist for much longer. A bird that could not fly would not live for long.

Ithiel swallowed heavily, then ran forward. He stumbled over his own feet, but ultimately caught up to walk close to Ice, who tried to give him a supportive smile.

“Ithiel, you know the most about elves. If someone has the necklace’s part, who would that be?”

“Well…” Ithiel fiddled with his hair. “If we assume different people have parts because the assembled necklace is too powerful, then the current owner would be someone who could hide it well enough. We don’t have a king, but the Lythian Forest has one of the oldest elven leader bloodlines around. We could ask them.”

“Back home, huh?” Dead Rabbit poked his elbow into Ithiel’s side.

The elf giggled, indeed looking forward to returning to the forest, even if only for a short amount of time.

“You haven’t been to the Lythian Forest yet”, Ithiel said as half a statement, half a question to Huntsman. He fell in line with the reptile, who immediately slowed his steps to ensure that Ithiel would be able to keep pace.

“Look forward”, Huntsman warned, just in time for Ithiel to almost walk into someone.

“Whoops!”

Ithiel awkwardly managed to evade the NPC just in time. He laughed wryly, playing with his hair.

“I haven’t been there yet. You spent a lot of time in that place? Isn’t it boring staying in one place when there’s so much to explore?”

The expression on Ithiel’s face faltered.

Of course, for a player it made no sense to stay in one place. Even lifestyle players would travel a lot to enjoy Haven - it wasn’t like they were in actual danger. There was no such thing as a player who would stay in one city permanently.

But it was different for the NPCs. Just like humans in reality, there were many who wouldn’t leave their home for a long time. Even more so considering that this was a historical era with numerous monsters wandering around. Common people would avoid travelling as much as possible, as one could lose their life too quickly.

Huntsman’s confusion was understandable, but only from the point of view of someone who entered this world as a player.

“Oh, I…” Ithiel lowered his head to hide his discomfort. “I like books, so I got stuck in the library there and just stayed.”

“As long as you had fun.” The reptile did not question Ithiel any further.

As long as it was fun.

Because that was what Haven was for its visitors - a game.

In front of the two, Ice’s ears turned back to the front. He gave a soundless sigh in response to the conversation. Ithiel and Kinsley were odd ones out for Haven, at least currently, and NPCs like them would feel the discrepancy between players and themselves even stronger than the NPCs with limited evolution.

Bloody bumped into his shoulder. “You’re worried about him?”

“Yes.”

“It will be fine. Little Droplet’s here to protect them, after all. They might be few right now, but as things evolve, this place will become more independent.”

“What are you talking about?” Dead Rabbit popped out in between them.

“Our plans”, Bloody evaded easily.

“So? What is it?”

“It’s already suspicious that one part is held by merfolk - which are beastmen - and one by elves, with two parts left. We were just saying that it’s likely that humans and dwarves have another part, so we might get lucky and collect it before Woodcutter does.” Ice responded with his own thoughts, earning a gratified glance from Bloody.

“If we don’t manage to get a part before Woodcutter does, we will have to find another way to intervene. The most important thing is blocking the complete item, since that gives him a great advantage. After we hopefully hear more from the elves, we can decide on how to proceed in terms of somehow getting the siren queen killed.” Bloody added his own thoughts, grabbing Ice’s hand warmly.

“You didn’t even say that much”, Dead Rabbit mumbled under his breath before suddenly making a face. “Oh. You were flirting, weren’t you? I don’t want to hear that.”

Embarrassed, Ice turned his face away, but didn’t correct him. This misunderstanding was easier than explaining.

 

***

 

It wasn’t hard to distract Huntsman when they entered the Lythian Forest. It was a tourist attraction as usual, so Ice simply pulled Ithiel to the side for a moment while Dead Rabbit and Bloody were occupying the reptile’s attention.

“Do you think you can contact the family you talked about? I believe it’ll be easier if you do it without us”, Ice asked. 

Ithiel bobbed his head up and down, but his smile looked a bit strained. “No problem. One of them is my teacher, so I shouldn’t have any issues.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Ice placed a hand on Ithiel’s shoulder for a second before he returned to the rest of the party.

Ithiel tightened the hands he had kept clutched around his bag. He quickly looked away and hurried towards the deeper areas of the city, nearly tripping over his own feet.

None of the guards stopped him. They even greeted him in passing, smiling peacefully at the sight of it. Ithiel did his best to return the greetings as cheerfully as he could, but his smile broke as soon as he was out of sight.

He rushed past the library, further and further into the administrative area.

“Good morning, Uncle. Is Teacher in?”, he shouted as he threw open a door to one especially inconspicuous building. It looked more like part of the trees than part of the city.

The old elf, sitting at a table to the right in what would be something akin to a living room, lifted his head from his meal. His grim expression loosened considerably when he saw who had come running in. “Ithiel, you’re still around? Brat, you’ve been gone for quite the while! Hurry upstairs, the old man’s worrying about you all day.”

“Thank you!” Ithiel did half a salute and rushed upstairs.

Behind him, the old elf’s expression turned to one of worry. It was impossible for him not to know Ithiel's moods.

“Teacher? Teacher, it’s me!” Ithiel called all the way up the stairs, one hand still clutching his bag, the other the handrail.

He entered the room at the end without knocking.