Spirit Hotel

There was no reply from the man next to him.

He turned his head to check.

Shamal stared, stupefied, his eyes fixated on the sight above. He stood completely motionless, frozen to the spot.

Locktini, who had been monitoring the two of them closely, was the first one to realize that something was not quite right. Right afterwards, Antonio and the rest of them also stopped in their steps, following their gaze up towards the man standing high above them.

The situation was building up to an eight or nine on the scale of bad luck. Feisha sighed. Sure enough, whatever could go wrong, always managed to. (1)

Shamal whispered furtively. Hes coming.

His voice was very soft, but Feisha could still pick up on the faint tremor in his words.

Does he have any weaknesses? The situation didnt look good, and it seemed he might not be able to con his way out of this one. Feisha began calculating the odds that they could win in a brawl.

Locktini backed up towards them and said indifferently, About a thousand years ago, it wouldve been Shamal.

Shamal seemed to go even stiffer at Locktinis words. Back then, I had to pretend to arrest him in order to rescue him.

He actually used someones feelings for him in to escape from them. .Feisha added another mental note to Shamals declining track record.

Shamal was suddenly roused from his stupor, and charged forward without hesitation. Quick, run!

Feisha looked toward the small black dot disappearing towards the horizon and sighed. No loyalty, no loyalty at all.

Locktini glanced over at Feisha with a face of displeasure. You still have the chance to beg me to take you along.

The Black Star of h.e.l.l flashed for a moment, and Isefels voice came through. Rushing up there now is a death sentence.

Feisha turned to look towards the mountain top, and the figure from before really was gone. Locktini frowned, and, like a flash of lightning, raced after Shamal.

Feisha stroked his chin in thought. Shamal and Locktinis relationship actually isnt bad. Despite seeming like oil and water (2), but whenever something happened to Shamal, Locktini was always there to bail him out.

Isefel reminded him. If that person can find you guys, hell be able to find the others as well.

Feisha heart tightened. As he started chasing behind Antonio, he shouted, Were gonna die, were all gonna die!

After the marathon earlier, it seemed like it was time for the three hundred meter sprint.

Feisha sprinted with all his strength, barely managing to keep his eyes glued on Laytons jiggling little b.u.t.t in front of him and forcing himself not to fall behind.

Finally, Layton slowed down to a stop. But the scene before them was making Feisha extremely nervous.

The white-haired, black-cloaked man stood behind Shamal, confronting Locktini and the others. Although his hair was white, his face was young and quite beautiful, no less than Locktini.

But at this point Feisha was quite used to seeing beauties, no longer kicking a fuss as he did when he first started. Now he just slowed down to sneak a closer look.

Shamals face was pale, his eyes constantly darting about before finally settling on Feishas body. Obviously Feishas whole charade from before had successfully tricked him.

The black-cloaked, white-haired main laughed. Arent you going to introduce your friends? Lion. (3)

Feisha and the rest of the group suddenly turned to stare at this Lion character.

Shamal braced himself and said, This is Jesse. (4)

Feisha confirmed for himself that no one around him was named Jesse. So that meant Shamal was referring to the warlock behind him. (5)

Antonio, Feisha Shi, Layton, Asa He paused and quickly exchanged glances with Locktini. Although the man behind him was waiting patiently, Shamal could feel the unsuppressable air of anger there. Locktini.

Jesse slowly spoke. The former Patriarch of the werewolves, the human representative, a dwarven elder, a t.i.tan warrior, and a fairy prince. Meeting so many important people at once, its truly an honor. Although he said honor, his expression didnt look the least bit honored to see them.

Feisha felt rather inferior for a moment- whenever he was included in the lineup of names like that, he always felt oddly like an imposter standing in their midst. (6)

You seem to have left someone out, Lion. Jesse emphasized Lion rather heavily.

Still trying to conceal his ident.i.ty. Feisha just shook his head at Shamals dim track record. But the fact that the Chief Warlock could be so easily deceived and manipulated, this incredibly low IQ is also rather sad.

Shamal slowly opened his mouth. Shamal.

Jesse lifted an eyebrow. Oh? Sharing the same name as the third prince of the fairies. What a coincidence.

Locktini finally couldnt hold back any longer and spoke. What do you want? Just cut to the chase.

Jesse continues smiling lightly. Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you if youve seen my Lion.

One minute he was calling Shamal Lion and in the next he was forcing Shamal to introduce himself. And after all the introductions were done, he began asking if they saw Lion.

Feisha was baffled by these sudden changes in att.i.tude. It seems like not only had Shamal managed to drop the IQ of this clan head down to the negatives, he emptied out his EQ as well. (7)

Shamal was so nervous that cold sweat was rolling down his forehead. He was looking at everyone with a desperate plea in his eyes.

In truth, even without his pleas, Feisha and the rest of the knew that if Shamal was taken away by Jesse, he wasnt going to meet a pleasant end. Out of love for his fellow colleague, Feisha smiled and said. The name Lion is quite popular, so it wont be easy hunting him down. But luckily weve got people in all the different worlds. So itll still be difficult, but if we squander away ten or twenty years or so, we should be able to find him. Right? Hmm? He stared hard at the others in the group.

Layton stared at the ground silently.

Asa didnt quite understand. Lion? Which clan is he part of?

Locktini was still in the middle of a staring match with Jesse.

But Antonio was getting impatient. What type of man hedges around the topic like an old woman? If youve got a problem why not just explain it properly?

Jesse ignored his angry outburst and said. Are you in a hurry?

Yes! Feisha confirmed with the most sincere eyes. Were in so much of a hurry, its even more urgent than searching for a toilet after not taking a s.h.i.t for ten days straight.

Oh? More hurried than I was when I turned over the entirety of Genesis to search for Lion when he vanished? Jesses smile grew more and more sinister. Are you more hurried than I was when, worrying that Lion had been killed and his body destroyed, I searched the bottom of the lake day in and day out for and entire month? Are you more hurried that I was when, fearing that other clans had taken Lion captive, I made enemies of almost the entirety of Genesis?

Shamal stood, completely dumbstruck, as if his very soul had hurried out and left him.

Feisha was also stunned into silence for a long while before he finally gave a thumbs up. Youre in a hurry, youre definitely the most anxious one of all. If anyone wants to compare themselves to you, Ill give them something to hurry away from here. (8)

Jesse turned to Locktini. I only understood much later, why when I went to the Fairy King asking about Lion and a fairy thief named Locke, I was always told that there were none by the name. So it turned outthat there really was none.

Feishas sympathies had already switched sides- he just hadnt gotten to marinating and roasting Shamal to be served up for dinner.

Shamal looked at the ground, but didnt say a word.

Antonio looked at Shamal, then at Jesse. His words slowed down. Resolve things between the two of you another time. We have other matters at hand.

Saving Hughes? Jesse asked.

Suddenly, Antonio and all the others saw him in a different light. Even Feisha withdrew his sympathies and stared at him cautiously. Even though Shamal was in the wrong, it didnt make sense to drag Gin and Hughes into this.

Jesse didnt seem to notice the air of hostility, and asked indifferently, Did you want to enter Crystal City?

Locktini tried provoking him. What you meant to say was, do we want to step on your corpse as we make our way over?

Bro, things like stepping over his corpse, youre supposed to do these things secretly, under cover. Declaring this loudly in public, what if you scare them away? If they run away itd be be fine, but what if after they escape, they harden their hearts and sound the alarms? What do you do then?

Feisha was quite upset at his lack of a brain.

Jesse said. If you were to step on my corpse, there would be no one left to help you get into the city.

Antonio, Feisha, and the rest of them glanced around at each other and their eyes lit up. But they were still a bit confused.

Antonio replied, If this is your bargaining chip, you can take it back. Even if we want to enter the city, we dont need to rely on you.

If youre thinking of using the same old method from a thousand years ago, Id advise that you think twice. Jesse said calmly, without indignation. The Crystal City now is no longer the city from back then.

Feisha asked, Did the economic reform begin? (9)

Antonio spoke. Why do you want to help us?

Its the only way Ill be able to find my Lion again. Jesse slowly lowered his head, leaned in next to Shamals ear and asked softly, Right?

Shamal began wishing for death to take him. Locktini turned his palm up and hurled a fireball straight towards Jesse. Jesse dodged to the side and looked askance at him. A battle was on the verge of commencing.

Feisha glared fiercely at Shamal. Shamal still stood in a daze, completely void of his usual liveliness.

With no other choice, Feisha could only try to break this deadlock on his own. Might I ask what tricks the esteemed chief might have for getting us in?

Jesse was surprised. You know who I am?

Feisha turned his eyes towards Shamal and replied immediately. Actually, what happened between you and Shamal, hes told me about it before. This is really such an unbelievably tragic misunderstanding! (10)

Jesse looked over at the back of Shamals head, then smiled at Feisha. Ive always heard that a rather crafty human representative arrived at Noahs Ark. Id like to see this for myself.

With that said, how was he supposed to keep up the charade.

Feisha laughed rather awkwardly. But its better for the people involved to work out this kind of misunderstanding between themselves. Itd be inappropriate for bystanders to intervene, right, really no need to intervene.

The black star stone on his chest glowed for a moment and Isefel asked, As long as we hand Shamal over to you after all this, youll agree to save Gin and Hughes?

As soon as he said it, everyone was stunned in place. Shamals anxiety was about to bring him to tears.

Jesse looked at the brooch on Feishas chest in surprise. Of course.

Okay, deal settled. Isefel replied without hesitation.

Feisha looked over at Shamal sympathetically- the guy looked like he was about to faint.

Locktinis voice grew cold. Its not a fallen angels place to be trading over fairy royalty.

Isefel replied indifferently. We need to solve things one way or another.

His words suddenly brought Feisha back to life.

Indeed, things need to be solved. Gin and Hughes need to be rescued, Jesse and Shamals relationship also needed to be resolved. If they insisted blindly on antagonizing Jesse, then it was highly likely that their efforts on both fronts would be for naught. With their whereabouts exposed, Gin and Hughes are in even greater danger. And the resentment between Jesse and Shamal would only grow deeper and deeper. Only by standing on Jesses side and slowly warming his heart would there be any room for change.

With those thoughts in mind, Feisha immediately started formulating a plan and said, When youve done wrong, its only proper to apologize and offer to make amends.

Jesse raised an eyebrow. Apologize and make amends?

Oh, and of course you should also accept a tiny bit of punishment. Feisha boldly took two steps closer to Shamal and whispered, Back then, whether you did it intentionally or not, regardless of what else was troubling you, the result was that you hurt him. Now, its important to give some kind of explanation. After all, you dont want your relationship to continue like this forever do you? After all, you guys were once.together, right?

At the word together, Feisha chided himself on his rather lackl.u.s.ter vocabulary. But it was surprisingly effective. At least Shamals expression wasnt completely dominated by blind fear and dread anymore. Feisha was close enough to see a bit of nostalgia and fondness buried deep in his eyes.

The air around Jesse was also less menacing than before. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, In a few days, the leader of this world is calling for a joint conference of all the different clans. Ive also been invited. According to the rules, ten others may accompany me.

Locktini frowned and was about to speak, but seeing Shamals expression, he held back.

Antonio asked, Does this conference have anything to do with Gin and Hughes?

Jesse turned and spoke and he walked away. Youll see if you go.

Feisha extended a hand to support Shamal, who had suddenly gone weak. He quietly sighed in relief. In other news, despite the fact that Jesses hair was white, it was also quite thick and l.u.s.trous. It completely toppled the idea Feisha had before, that hair gone white should become thinner and lighter.