Through the Eyes of Arc

"What do we call ourselves?" Victoria was slightly taken aback by the question. "We, uh, don't have a name."

Arc's expression immediately turned to one of disappointment, but he didn't care enough to scold them over their inability to pick a name. It just bothered him.

"He won't be waking up for some time." Anthony broke the bad news. "Looks like he has a severe concussion.. although he will fully recover after a day or two."

Arc sighed, and thanked the mercenary for kindly healing his friend. Although he wasn't certain about the intentions of the mercenaries, he could tell they meant no harm.

"We truly are sorry. If we hadn't been late..." Victoria's voice trailed off. Their tardiness seemed to bother her. After all, if they had been even a second more late, Lua might have died.

"What matters is that we're alright." Arc said, not forgiving their excuses, but also not putting the entire blame on them either.

Inside, he felt that the risk they had undertaken was not worth it. If the mercenaries had been a bit more late, Arc, now weaponless without his grenade, may not have been able to take on the demon, regardless of how wounded it was. Now the question that mattered was that - during the night, Arc had noticed an eerie feeling of being watched. It lingered for more than an hour before it eventually disappeared, giving Arc relief.

It just didn't make sense to him why a Demon would watch someone for an hour without stopping. He felt that there was something else that needed to be addressed.

Shaking these thoughts away, he got up, with Lua in his arms. "Thank you for your help."

Extending her arm, Luna, the black haired warrior, showed a card to Arc. "Have this. It's our apology."

Taking the card without much thought, Arc swept a glance over the card, not reading too deep into it. It was a business card, however it lacked a name for their mercenary band. "What is this for?"

"If you need anything taken care of, we're willing as long as it's not too dangerous. Send us a mail, or if you have a telegraph office nearby, you can contact us."

Recognizing the value, Arc simply nodded and put it in a sleeve that was built into his arm. Perhaps, at the very least, they could learn things about the world of evolution.

After that, he simply bade farewell and carried Lua back to their hotel. Placing him on the bed, he waited patiently for him to wake up.

In the meantime, he went downstairs, to the tavern of the hotel, and spoke to the bartender. "Give me a mutton stew."

The man, obviously flabbergasted by the talking machine that was asking for human food, had questions. "What in the world? How are you even going to eat it?"

Arc shook his head, denying his thought process. "It's not for me."

Giving up, the man gave the plate to Arc, and Arc paid the according price for it. It cost him three pence. Overpriced for a meal, but it more than made up for the room prices.

Going up the creaky stairs to their room, Arc suddenly felt Lua come awake. It gave him joy to know that his friend was alright, and currently able to open his eyes.

Entering the room, he saw sitting on the edge of the bed, looking thoughtfully on the ground. Arc placed the plate near the nightstand, not interrupting his thought process. Lua looked up at Arc, as if wanting an explanation. Understanding him instantly, Arc ran through everything that had happened until now.

By the end of his explanation, Lua was left a bit stunned. "Mercenaries, huh?" He pondered out loud, not hiding his thinking.

Arc nodded, confirming his suspicions. "The one who paid them, someone who is aware about this.."

Lua put his chin on his palm, thinking seriously. "If so, we may be in serious danger. Taking out the demon was breaking a door into something ugly.. God, I'm so stupid.."

Arc could feel intense regret coming from Lua, and he couldn't blame him. He had wandered into something potentially dangerous, gotten himself nearly killed, and now they were likely compromised. It wasn't looking good for them.

Arc sighed, wanting to cheer up his friend. "It's not your fault. They would have likely come for us anyway... They were watching us at night."

Lua's eyes turned a little less gloomy, finding himself slightly less idiotic. "I see.. thanks, Arc."

Arc smiled, "Anytime."

Seeing Lua begin to dig into his meal, Arc decided to leave him alone for now. He got up from his own bed, and went to the door. "I'm going to buy some materials."

Lua nodded, not pursuing further. He knew they needed to make gadgets pretty desperately.

Arc left the hotel, going down the stairs in a relatively slow pace. He moved unhurriedly, as if there was nothing he needed to do urgently.

It was both correct, and not correct at the same time. At some period of time when Lua was out cold, he had written a letter to the mercenary company. His main intention was to immediately head to the post office and deposit this very important letter.

Although he didn't make this decision while talking to them, he eventually came to the conclusion that they needed the company's help. They were far too weak, and if they must be protected, it was best to be done by someone they had already been in contact with.

But Arc didn't stop there. He went further, and on this letter, he asked them if he and Lua could join their mercenary band. During his initial observations of them, he concluded they didn't have any Tinkerers on their team.

Tinkerers themselves were a rare descendancy. It wasn't known why, but Lua and Arc didn't have much competition.

Arriving in front of the post office, Arc entered it without much thinking. He took out a penny, ready to hand it over to the receptionist as payment for the posting.

Originally, he was going to have the mercenaries pay for it. However, on second thought, he decided it wasn't a good idea to have the other party pay when you are desperate for survival.

He handed over the letter, giving the address written on the card.