- Lamille tea," ordered Helmir.
As he had promised to the one he considered his aunt, the Hero had a drink with her. He sat on the terrace of a café called "Les Célébrastins de Quizdazil", named after its manager, who was a kind of four-armed fairy - I won't tempt myself to guess what other race he was from, but his name must surely have come from South America.
The Hero traced rotations on the rims of his glass of lemonade - his favorite drink -, wandering in his thoughts in search of a solution to his current problems.
- I would have thought that now that you have regained your speech we could have talked," commented Helmir, pulling the hero out of his reverie.
- What? What's up? Oh sorry..., I haven't slept.
- You come in late all the time and then you can't sleep.
- What are you talking about?" said the Hero, "It's only today that I haven't been able to sleep. I usually sleep at least three hours, maybe four.
- You could have asked the queen to pamper you to sleep.
- Your sense of humor has improved, I see...
- I was serious," Helmir said.
- And what else? I'm fifteen, Helmir. I'm past the age of being coddled to sleep.
- You are fifteen years old but your nightmares still haven't gone away. And I don't really have time to pamper you myself, and there's no Berle-Carva or Asteron in these hours of kindness to do it.
- You don't have to say it that loud," the Hero whispered, embarrassed.
Contrary to the popular belief that was made because of what the Hero said, he didn't sleep late, it was a lie that he had invented from scratch to be able to not explain the fact that he fled from sleep as a debtor fled from his creditors. Every night he couldn't help but have nightmares about the events of Novillios or the horrors he may have seen throughout his long journey, the atrocities he may have committed as well as the one he may have helplessly witnessed. Perhaps Jacob's defeat of this creature may seem illusory and not really deserving of the outpouring of rage he had, especially in the face of what happened in Thiercelieux, but remember that it has been months since he felt so weak against anyone.
- And speaking of my brother, is he okay?
- Yes, he's getting away with these shenanigans. He asked me about you and wanted to know when you were coming back. I told him three months, until you finish the tournament.
- And what did he tell you about it?
- Bah: "What's taking him so long to play the fucking knight in shining armor for a winged hussy? She must look like a big, gross bee, too! If I hadn't taken her phone battery for my console controllers, I would have told her to go home immediately. It's all the fault of Doctor Gear-O who makes crappy controllers that still run on crappy batteries while his damn androids don't even run on batteries!" End quote.
- It's just like him..., lamented the Hero.
- And how are you doing with the tournament? Helmir asked him, I couldn't attend your last games because of my missions. Actually, I think the tournament has been going on a little too long. It looks like a tournament that took place in another city, where the participants had to defend their favorite literary works with arguments that were as false as they were true. I forget the name.
It's true that this tournament has been going on a little too long, it seems like an endless tunnel that will never end. The world is waiting for us outside, damn it!
- You're probably right," sighed the Hero.
- At least, that avoids you to leave in search of this chimera which is the Némésis, underlined Helmir while folding the napkin which was beside his glass.
- You know that in the end I'll leave anyway?
- I know that. Much to my chagrin.
- Right now, I need to think about how to defeat the creature that almost defeated me in my previous fight.
- What kind of creature could ever question the trust of the hero of the legend?" Helmir said as he continued his origami.
- A kind of Treeman that is not, however, according to the organizers, although it looks like one.
- You studied them with the books I bought you on the subject, you should know if it's one or not.
- I know!" grumbled the Hero before slumping down on the table and playing with the bottom of his glass.
- If it's not a Treeman then it must be a Treeman- ζ, Helmir said as he finished his geometric paper figure.
- A "Treeman- ζ"? What is it?
Helmir pushed her glass and origami next to her so she could explain with her hands what it was about.
- You know that the Treeman are a distant alien race of which we have or have had some representatives on Earth.
- Yes.
- Well the Treeman- ζ are their weapons made from their dead.
- But that's awful!" the Hero took offense.
- The Treeman are a pragmatic and scientific people who have collaborated with worse than they have, so it's not so surprising from them. Well, to me.
- I knew it was.
- The problem now is how to defeat them. Fortunately for you, your opponent is on a sandy field, so you don't have to worry about the Treeman's ability to...
- To be able to use all the nature that surrounds them as a weapon or a source of regeneration.
- You've learned your lessons well, I'm proud of you. Waiter, another glass of tea for me please and two glasses for my guest.
- I invited you in the first place.
- I'm the adult so let me pay for your drinks, as an older sister and not as an aunt, Helmir said, not only am I not that old, but as your brother's girlfriend, you should consider me as your sister-in-law if we follow human rules.
- It's true that as an elf, you are still a minor, said the Hero.
- That's not really true, says the spy, but let's get back to what your Treeman- ζ is instead.
- Because he's not just a Treeman- ζ?
- The Treeman- ζ are characterized in sub-genre as in magic, but I won't list them here because that would really bore me. Tell me what he looks like and how he used to fight.
- Like a turret. This swelling was fighting like a turret on legs and shooting laser beams all over its body.
- Treeman- ζ do not fire laser beams.
- And yet he did it! Don't you believe me?
- Yes, it does. But I correct you on one thing, that Treeman- ζ did not shoot laser beams but sunlight beams.
- No way.
The Hero jumped out of his chair, not sure if he should be impressed or frightened that a living thing was able to project sunlight from its body. This means that this creature may have seen the sun before the Dark Ages.
- Don't get excited," Helmir told him, "I remind you that there are oases of light all over the globe.
- Oh yes... that's right...
The boy sat down, disappointed.
- There are two or even three options to the question of where they get their energy source from...
- Its source of energy?
- Yes, its energy source. It might as well be different from its creators instead of being a barely better copy of them. So, I'll assume that either it's storing solar energy in an oasis but since the sun doesn't pass through any of them, by the time it does, we'll already be in a new century, or its core was created with the help of the ancient genocidal race that is the Solar Children.
- What changes?
- You, the technology pro, can't figure out what that means?
- No, but I'm talking to you about our problem. How do I beat it?
- The truth is...
- The truth?
- I have no idea.
- Raaah," shouted the Hero, slumping into his chair, "all for this. How can I beat a creature to destroy magic shields?
- It depends on the magic class of the shield, but if it's really strong, use something fast so that you can reach it before it hits you, because the rays it has to send to you must be very fast.
- Something fast to be able to reach it...
The Hero's mind began to work at full speed, unable to use magic, he couldn't really rely on enchantments since he carried the seal that sealed his curse and restricted his heroic powers. If he was in Vicenti, he could have bought thrusters to increase his speed, but by the time he ordered and received them, he wouldn't have enough time to get used to them, especially if he had to wield a weapon while propelling himself...
Thrusters... But yes! That's it!
The Hero climbed up the table and kissed Helmir's forehead several times and hugged her tightly and squeezed her face between his hands making her mouth water.
- How I love you my big sister! I love you strong strong strong strong strong strong strong strong strong! Thanks to you I have a solution to beat, this Treeman- ζ! I promise to give you a great gift or take you somewhere you like.
- Like the other times?" said Helmir, his voice muffled in the Hero's hands.
- Don't worry, this time I won't forget, and besides, I said it in person so I can't back out this time.
He fled from the terrace but Helmir stopped him.
- What's up?
- In the end, you don't really have to call me "big sister", we can just be friends.
- I like big sister or auntie... But go ahead, we'll talk about it later okay.
Then the Hero fled in the direction of the Nether. Helmir was left with a cup of lamille tea and two glasses of lemonade. But within seconds of the Hero's departure, a slimy person took his place. The spy looked up and saw Tadzi facing her.
- You've dressed well today, Helmir," he remarked, "are you wearing the right wig?
True, it was rare for Helmir to make an effort to dress up, especially since that day she had made the effort to wear a brightly colored dress - if she wasn't on a mission in another nation, you would never see her dressed like that.
- Yes.
The whole assembly of the café stopped and all observed them, they all had their eyes riveted on them, from the waiter to the customer. From the outside, the atmosphere was stranger, it seemed that they were all transformed into statues. And curiously, there was only them around, the rest of the crowd had completely disappeared. A spatial containment magic had just been used. It wasn't enough to escape the queen's gaze, but it was enough to avoid being seen and heard by the others.
- What do you want from me?
- You are still discussing with the boy champion the reincarnation of our mistress.
- Yes, and since you're the announcer you should know that he's moved on to the duet match, Helmir reminded him, there's not much time left to murder his fairy.
- We let the Treeman- ζ weapon handle it, but it would be more likely to defeat him once and for all if the information provided by Beneltig proves accurate.
- I couldn't verify this as he ran off before we received the long awaited item.
- I have seen this.
- What if we can't weaken him so that he is defeated and his fairy killed because of the "people's resentment towards the Fairy"?
- Well, we will have to force the reincarnation of her while she is alive by making her become the Feline.
- It's a good thing we're on friendly ground, because you're talking awfully loud," Helmir pointed out to him.
- The excitement of the fact that we are approaching the goal. In the meantime, continue to monitor this free electron, you have taken the right initiative to take him under your wing, I congratulate you.
- You are welcome, Sir Tadzi. I guess we part ways here.
- That's right. Roger.
- Roger. And the wig still doesn't fit.
- I think your comments are of no use to me either. You don't want some of these lemonades.
- No thanks. Slimes hate anything acidic.
The spell was removed and the waiters and customers resumed their activities while the two spies went their separate ways.