One Month Later
Inside a lively, colorful bar, two men sat side by side at the polished wooden counter with drinks in their hands. One wore his dark hair tied back into a long ponytail, while the other kept a broad straw hat resting low over his head.
"The days feel like they're getting longer and longer," the man with the ponytail remarked, slowly swirling the amber liquid around his glass before taking a small sip.
"Probably because of how miserable they've been," the man in the straw hat replied with a weary sigh. "Damn demons and their raids. It's got everyone on edge." He lifted his drink and gestured around the room with it. "I mean, just look around."
The bar was warm and alive with color despite the heavy mood hanging over it. Rich red pillars supported the ceiling, their surfaces carved with intricate patterns of clouds and winding dragons, while paper lanterns painted in gold and crimson cast a gentle glow over the room even though bright daylight still streamed through the open windows. Decorative folding screens separated smaller seating areas, their painted mountains and flowering trees standing in stark contrast to the conversations filling the room. The scent of grilled meat, rice, spices, and strong liquor lingered in the air, mixing with the quiet murmur of worried voices. Every table was occupied, not by cheerful patrons looking for a celebration, but by exhausted hunters, merchants, travelers, and laborers trying to forget the world outside for just a little while.
"The sun's still high in the sky," the man continued before taking another drink, and by a drink he meant an entire swallow that emptied nearly the rest of his glass. He set it back on the counter with a dull clink. "And people are already drinking just to get their minds off everything."
The bartender silently refilled his glass before moving on to another customer.
"And it's even worse for us when we have to be the ones going out there to fight the demons."
The man with the ponytail gave a slow nod as he took an actual sip from his own drink.
"Speaking of which, did your last hunt go well? Mine went decent enough. No one died, but one woman lost her foot, so she's out of the demon hunting business."
The man beneath the straw hat slowly shook his head.
"It went worse for us." He reached for the bottle beside him and poured himself another generous serving, already well into his second bottle. "One person died... and two ended up disabled." He stared into his drink for a moment before adding quietly, "I'm fine physically at least."
"You're not going to be physically fine if you keep drinking like that," the man with the ponytail remarked.
The other simply waved him off before taking another long swig.
"We'll be fine. Unlike most other people, we have chi after all."
The man with the ponytail let out a tired sigh, turning back toward his own glass as he muttered under his breath,
"For all the good that's been doing us."
Just then, the front door of the bar slid open, drawing more than a few eyes toward it. Conversations quieted for a brief moment as several patrons, including the two men at the counter, turned to see who had just arrived.
A young woman stepped inside.
She was clearly a foreigner.
She wore a simple black dress, its skirt reaching just below her knees, elegant without being extravagant. Her vivid blue hair was tied neatly into a ponytail, while long bangs fell across and hid her left eye. The visible eye, an equally striking shade of blue, calmly swept across the room.
"A foreigner?" someone muttered from one of the tables.
"Why'd one come to Aeruna at a time like this?" another whispered.
"She looks rich." another remarked.
"Hey she looks kind of... nice, don't you think?" a woman quietly asked the person beside them.
The whispers spread through the room almost as quickly as she'd entered, but the young woman paid none of them any attention.
She calmly looked around the bar, taking in the room with slow, measured movements before her gaze settled on the two men sitting at the counter.
Then she smiled.
A chill ran down both of their spines.
*That... felt uncomfortable,* thought the man with the ponytail, his grip tightening ever so slightly around his glass.
*Why is she looking at us like that?* wondered the man beneath the straw hat, instinctively sitting a little straighter.
Without any hesitation, the young woman began walking toward them. The quiet conversations around the bar slowly resumed, though many patrons continued watching from the corners of their eyes.
She stopped roughly two feet away from the pair.
With practiced elegance, she lightly held the sides of her skirt and dipped into a smooth, courtly bow before rising just as gracefully. She folded both hands behind her back, her pleasant smile somehow becoming even warmer.
"Hello, gentlemen," she said politely. "I've been looking for you two."
Her blue eye shifted between them.
"Tiyun and Zamin, right?"
Neither man answered immediately.
The smile on her face deepened just a little.
"I'm Annie," she introduced herself pleasantly, "and I want to have a talk with you two."