The two of them stared at Ercale.
Larkin's expression was a mixture of confusion and suspicion, his posture subtly shifting as if preparing for trouble if it came. Zee, on the other hand, simply looked at him in silence. Her expression was far harder to read. There was surprise, uncertainty, curiosity, and something else that could not quite be put into words, all blending together until it revealed almost nothing at all.
"You..." Larkin said cautiously, taking half a step forward. "Who even are you to offer us that?" His eyes narrowed. "And were ya eavesdroppin' on us?"
Ercale rolled his eyes with an audible sigh.
"Yes, old man, I was doing that," he answered without the slightest bit of shame. "As for who I am... who cares?" He shrugged. "I know how to find Xain, and I helped fight both a Demon Lord and the Demon King. I'm not against you, so why do you care who I am?"
Larkin's eye twitched.
"Why you little..." he muttered under his breath.
Before the argument could go any further, Zee suddenly spoke.
"Your... you're Cain, aren't you?"
For the briefest instant, Ercale looked genuinely confused.
Then it clicked.
*Oh yeah... that stupid lie we made up on the spot.* He resisted the urge to rub his forehead. *Forgot that was even a thing.*
"Huh," he said, looking back at her. "You figured that out?" A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You're smarter than I give you credit for. Not that that's saying much."
The remark stung.
Zee felt it.
But she kept it off her face.
Larkin looked between the two of them in complete bewilderment.
"Wait, what?" He pointed at Ercale. "You're Cain? Huh?"
"You were there," Zee explained, turning toward him. "There w-when we fought the Demon Lord at the estate. You helped us back then too."
Larkin blinked before looking back at Ercale.
"...Yeah, you were there as well," he said slowly as the memory came back to him. "I remember now. But how?" He frowned. "Weren't you and Xain supposed to be one or somethin' like that? Livin' in the same body and all?" He gestured toward Ercale. "I remember ya comin' outta his shadow, but ya looked like him back then. Now ya don't look anythin' alike."
He paused before glancing back at Zee.
"And how could you tell this was Cain?"
Zee looked at him for a moment before turning back to Ercale.
"They just kind of..." she said quietly, searching for the right words. "Act similar. The same movements... the same way of talking." She gave a small nod, more to herself than anyone else. "I had my suspicions from the moment we first saw him."
Ercale let out an impatient sigh and waved both of them off with one hand.
"How I'm here, why I look like this, why I'm outside of Xain... none of that matters right now." He crossed his arms and looked between the two of them. "You want to find Xain. I know how to find him because of our connection. We go together, we get him back. There really doesn't need to be this much debate about it. Seriously."
Larkin stared at him for a moment, looking completely unconvinced.
"Ya think just because ya said all that we're supposed to just follow ya?"
Unlike him, Zee barely seemed to hear the question.
Her attention remained fixed entirely on Ercale.
"Can you..." she asked quietly, hope creeping into her voice despite herself. "Can you truly bring us to him?"
Larkin turned to look at her as though she had briefly lost her mind.
After everything they had just discussed...
She was willing to trust this man?
He let out a slow sigh.
Ercale answered without hesitation.
"Yes." His voice was flat, completely certain. "I'm not lying. I can track him. I can take you to him if you want me to." He shrugged. "If you don't... I guess I'll just go find him by myself."
Silence settled over the room.
Zee looked toward Larkin.
He met her eyes, the hesitation obvious on his face. He still did not trust Ercale, not even close, but after a few long seconds he gave a reluctant nod.
It was the only lead they had.
Zee took a quiet breath before turning back toward Ercale. Looking directly into his eyes, she gave a small nod of her own.
"Okay..." she said softly.
"Please... lead us to Xain."