"Actually, my master just said there is knowledge in others' experience or something, and that I should ask my peers regarding that kind of wisdom. So, in this way, I suppose we can help one another?" I suggested with my best business smile.

This way, neither I nor the others would have to feel burdened with favors. To be quite frank, though, I preferred being owed more than owing. But right now, I needed some good will—and I wasn't that horrible of a person to not want to get along with people. Kind of like trying to get off the right foot or something? I also had to clear some debts and show that I wasn't going to be an easy picking. This way, I could prevent myself from getting taken advantage of.

As I had observed so far, Erlan was a little shrewd, albeit naïve, so his executions were somewhat lackluster. If he was interacting with ordinary kids around his age, he would've probably fooled them, but I wasn't exactly an ordinary kid.

I knew he might be interested in my methods. After all, during our last fight, he'd been wrecked by me.

"Sure. Though I'm not really certain how we can help," Erlan thoughtfully replied.

"I'm sure you have a lot to offer," I said, then proceeded to take my notebook out of my pocket and tear off a page to give him.

His eyes widened at my unhesitating motions, and he wavered when I handed him the paper. "Don't you...uh...need this?"

"I actually have a good memory," I said. "Besides, this kind of information naturally depreciates in value the older it gets. People aren't standstill statues. I'd rather cash in my chips while they're still worth something." I cheerfully urged him to take the page. As he accepted, I continued, "Of course, information will be on a to-follow basis when you can offer something in return. Think of this as a free taste or something."

"You're demanding a lot. You sound confident in the value of your observations?" Arondite intoned softly beside me.

"You're right. I sound quite arrogant, don't I?" I smiled. "But if someone's after it, it should be a point of interest, at the very least." I flipped through my journal and tore off a page about him. "Here you go," I said. "You can be a judge for yourself. Either way, what's a kid like me who hasn't wiped the snot off her face without having anything to offer, right? That may not be much, so you can decide for yourself if you want what I have!"

Their dubiousness was understandable. There were many others who could offer feedbacks as good as—even better—than mine. However, I prided myself on my research ability. Researching, for one, not only required observation but also resources. The perspective of a peer was different from a master. Right now, my resources were a little short and my knowledge of the matter on hand was shallow at best. Hence, I focused my information on possible points and targets of weakness that the subject might not be aware of and made careful suggestions on how to work on them—if not what I could take advantage of. I was still limited by my inexperience, but I was viewing them as opponents, which should help them see things from such a perspective.

Arondite stared at the paper I was extending towards him.

"Anyway, if my knowledge today isn't enough, it should be better and worth something tomorrow." I shrugged.

"I don't need it," he said, turning away dismissively.

I did not feel offended by the sharp attitude, having already expected it, and steadily withdrew the piece of paper. I stuffed it calmly between the pages it was torn off from as everyone else watched.

Miles gazed at me with a hooked brow as he read through the page, dumbfounded. "Do you do this to every person you meet? Write something about them?"

¬¬I bit back the urge to roll my eyes. "Me? What kind of weirdo does that?"

"I mean, this is useful...but it may be more practical to see on actual sparring?" Miles asked. "You have some theories here. I think this won't be effective to do if the executor is not you, though."

"Ah, you make a point. This does base off on how I would act on a situation. There's a Plan A and a Plan B at every turn. That should be Plan A."

"I see! Then what would you like in return?"

"I don't know. I'll cash in on that favor on a later date. Just treat it as you owe me," I said. "I won't be too demanding. I know the info on that paper is not worth that much."

I was guessing Miles was very curious about how the match between the two of us went down in the finale. After all, he was in a very weird state where he was not reacting well. The intimidation and pressure from death's aura caused his instincts to go haywire and dulled his responses in the fight. Unless he had a stronger will or if he could suppress the aura somehow, then he'd be in that state until the end of the fight.

They have begun suspecting me already, so I would have to play this and act like I knew what I was doing because being flustered would give it away even more. I should find a way to further conceal the nature of my ability. If not, I could always consult Mistress Veronika and the Abbot for some ideas.

Now, however, I should take the opportunity to learn more about the others. "So, Miles," I began, meeting his vivid black eyes. His cheeks were white and had a healthy flush. He didn't seem like someone who'd gone through much hardship. "You seem quite well-off. Why would you enter the temple?"

"Ah? Well, I wanted to," he said. "Because why not? My dad allowed me to go. He probably didn't expect I would pass at all! Haha!"

That must mean he wasn't required of this at all, unlike what others came to the Temple for. He must have talent if he was this casual, but it was too early to make a judgment.

As he talked, the waiter came in with our appetizers. It hadn't been that long, and the service was quite fast. I didn't order food last time I was here, just drinks. Now, I was very curious regarding what would be served since I couldn't recall Erlan ordering anything.

"Oh, I know I ordered in advance, but can we get a menu?"

"Sure thing, sir."

Other than Arondite, we weren't able to maintain much dignity once the food arrived. Like wolves who saw meat, we'd immediately pounced on the appetizers and relished the flavors that flooded our mouths. There was this culture in the East, I think, that if you weren't very enthusiastic about the meal, then that would be a big disrespect to the host. It was a little ironic, really—being polite might come across an insult in situations like this. Although it might seem barbaric, but it wasn't like we were robbing food off one another's plates.

"Wow, this is good," Miles said as he sucked off the oil from his fingers. He swallowed and pushed, followed with a gulp of his drink. "This city really has good seafood."

"Why? Where d'you come from?" I asked.

"You know the Forests of Eldun? We live just by there! Quite far from the sea, so I don't get a lot of opportunity to have these dishes—other than the river or freshwater fish, of course," he said.

"You've come so far?" Erlan raised his brows, a flash of surprise on his face.

"There aren't a lot of branches of the Temple around the continent, and I've always wanted to go down the path of martial arts," he replied. "My grandfather gave me his entire savings just to fund this journey, and I couldn't go back disappointed. I passed by the skin of my teeth, but it's still passing." His tone became a little stuffy, and the enthusiasm died down a bit. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I just find you really mean," he told me.

I was not surprised. I could be quite a bitch—not exactly the most like-able character around.

"Thanks. Just what I wanted," I said, picking off a calamari from my plate and popping it into my mouth.

They seemed amazed by my thick-faced statement that they had to pause and stare at me for a while before deciding to move on from the awkward pause. For this, the waiter who came back with the menu played a big role. He handed the menu to Erlan who, in turn, handed the menu to me.

"What is this?"

"Compensation! Choose what you want!" he said. "I already ordered the meals earlier, so they didn't give us the menu, but you can go ahead and order what you want."

"Alright. Then I'll have this." I pointed to the sweet and sour whale ribs. "How big is this?" I asked. "Is this from an actual whale?"

The waiter merely smiled at me.

Seeing that look on his face, I found the mischief and felt myself looking forward to when it would arrive. "Hehe. Then I'll take this one."

More than wanting to taste it, I was acting out of pure curiosity. If it tasted good, it would be a bonus. Few interesting dishes truly lived up to expectations.

"This'll take a bit to prepare. It may come out later than everything else. Will it be okay?"

"Of course!"

"What happened?"

"Haha! We'll see," I said.

For the meantime, we busied ourselves with the food that had already been ordered. Mushroom Soup was thoughtful and literally prepared for a feast. Eating lightly at this point would be shameful, so we continued to stuff our faces.

Maun was, by far, the strongest eater.

"This dude has not said a single word this evening but ate the most," Erlan said.

Maun looked up and signed his reply.

I downed half of my glass of water and translated for him, "I listen though."

"Speaking of, how are you two related?"

Maun gazed at me, wondering the same.

"We were both adopted into the family. I guess you can say we're sort of siblings," I said thoughtfully.

"You're not blood-related?" Erlan continued to ask.

"No. How about you? Any siblings?" I asked, throwing the focus off the two of us. I couldn't allow much discussion about our origins, especially since we were on the run.

"Only child."

"Hm." I shrugged. "What about you, Aron?"

He shot me a look across the table. "My life is pretty much out in the open, why d'you have to ask me about it?"

"Isn't that an unreliable way of knowing about someone?" I asked with a tilt of my head as I watched his indifferent face. Really not something suitable for a young face. "No one would like people making assumptions about them with hearsay. Since we're all here together, wouldn't it be a disservice judging someone based on who they say they were?" I pointed out.

"Wow. You're right," Miles said, eyes popping wide as though amazed.

"You really sound like my mother," Erlan said.

"Be careful I don't treat you like one."

"I ran away from that and it just doesn't escape me," he replied with a shake of his head.

"So you're in your rebellious years," I commented casually.

"I'm not!"

"Really?" I huffed. "You go to the Temple for martial arts where your parents least expect you would get into, probably because you wanted to prove them wrong. You find it irritating to listen to lectures that remind you of your mother, and judging from the look on your face, you are not delighted at having your thoughts laid out bare because even you are denying them."

He stared at me, jaws on the floor. "Y-you're wrong!"

"Sounds exactly what a rebellious teenager would say."

Erlan indignantly returned his attention on the food. "You say that. It's not true!"

Idle chatter continued in the background and the atmosphere remained casual and pleasant. It didn't feel much like a strangers' congregation. Although I couldn't say friends, it was a bit close to that, I would suppose. Previously, I thought getting along with these guys would be more challenging, but I was proven wrong.

As we continued to dine, the waiters carried a huge rack of ribs the size of the table towards us.

We all gazed at the incoming food, shocked.

"Thank you for ordering the whale ribs! Shall I cut it for you?" A familiar blonde walked up to us with a smile, brandishing his knives. He looked over to me with a knowing smile, then turned to work on the meat. "Please watch!"