Caster stared at Aiko for a full minute.
He coughed, opened his mouth to speak—
—and was immediately cut off.
"Okay," Aiko said flatly, eyes narrowed, fingers tapping the counter, "why are you following me? Listen, new guy, if you keep bothering me, I'll call the Butcher on you. And trust me—you really don't want to be his enemy."
Caster blinked.
The Butcher…?
Then it clicked.
Alucard.
People called Alucard the Butcher.
For a brief moment, Caster almost laughed. If Aiko thought threatening him with Alucard would work, she was sorely mistaken. They were allies—bound by contract. Betrayal wasn't even an option.
Still, as tempting as it was to mock the midget in front of him, Caster knew better. Alucard hadn't sent him here to pick fights—he'd sent him here to gather information.
So Caster swallowed his pride and forced a polite smile.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot, Lady Aiko," he said calmly. "I am Caster of the Han Li clan, and I mean no harm."
Aiko snickered.
Not laughed—snickered.
That alone sent a spike of irritation straight through Caster's skull.
"Oh yeah," she said lazily. "The Han Li clan. I know about you guys. Honestly? Probably the worst-managed clan in the entire Dream Realm. They teach about you in economics class."
She leaned forward slightly, grin widening.
"And not in a good way."
Caster's jaw clenched.
"Oh yeah?" he shot back. "And why exactly do you care so much about my clan's financial situation?"
Aiko smiled—slow, sharp, and very pleased with herself.
"Oh, trust me, Han Li boy," she said, poking him lightly in the chest before leaning back again, "I don't care about you or your clan."
She crossed her legs, entirely too comfortable.
"I just find it fascinating how a supposedly powerful legacy clan managed to fumble the economic bag that badly."
Caster dragged a chair over and sat down hard, already bracing himself for a long, painful conversation.
"Oh yeah?" he said dryly. "Then tell me, Mrs. Moneybags—how would you have saved my clan?"
Aiko let out a soft laugh.
"Please," she said. "Why would I waste my time explaining basic economics to a stuck-up rich kid?"
Caster's fingers twitched.
He was genuinely considering stabbing her now.
"Oh?" he replied tightly. "Sounds to me like you don't actually know what you're talking about."
Aiko raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"No," she said calmly. "It just means information doesn't come for free."
She raised her hand, five fingers extended.
"Five soul shards, and I'll humor you."
Caster didn't hesitate.
He slammed ten soul shards onto the desk.
Aiko's eyes widened just a fraction before she smoothly scooped them up and slipped them into a storage memory.
"Well damn," she said cheerfully. "Thanks for the soul shards, darling. Since you overpaid, how about I throw in some drinks on the house?"
Caster nodded. From what Alucard had told him, Aiko was a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
Good, he thought. That gives me an edge.
She popped open a cheap bottle of wine, poured a glass for him, then one for herself.
"All right," Caster said, lifting his glass. "Explain it to me. How exactly would you have fixed my clan's finances?"
Aiko took a sip, entirely unbothered.
"Oh, I'd have a lot to fix," she said casually. "Actually, I wrote an entire thesis about your clan back in high school—about how catastrophically awful your planning was."
She paused, thinking.
"That was… what? Five years ago?"
Caster resisted the overwhelming urge to stab her across the table.
"Well," she continued, "first of all, your clan should be the central trade hub between Bastion and Ravenheart. For crying out loud, you literally blocked off trade the moment you switched allegiance from Clan Song to Clan Valor."
That one hit hard.
Caster's expression darkened. He'd argued against that decision himself—but his father had insisted it was part of some grand, brilliant strategy.
"Secondly," Aiko went on, "why aren't you clearing out the nightmare creatures in your territory? Your clan keeps taking dangerous long-range missions when you could be farming your own land. Clear the creatures, gain soul shards and memories, and make your territory safer."
She tilted her head.
"Last I checked, there weren't even any nightmare creatures near your citadel above the rank of a Corrupted Beast."
Damn it.
She was right.
Caster hated that she was right.
By the time the night wore on, they were deep into conversation—mostly Aiko relentlessly tearing apart the Han Li clan's economic failures while Caster walked straight into every verbal trap she laid.
Somewhere along the way, Caster got very, very drunk.
Aiko, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed.
"You know," she said suddenly, swirling her glass, "you looked a lot better with the beard. Why'd you shave it off?"
Caster groaned.
"I'm the heir of a powerful legacy," he slurred. "I have to look sophisticated."
Aiko rolled her eyes.
"Please. You don't look more sophisticated now. All I'm saying is—I liked you better with the beard. It framed your face nicely."
Caster shrugged. "Didn't care either way. My father was the one always nagging me about it."
Aiko smirked.
"You know you said that out loud, right?"
Caster blinked.
"You love talking about your daddy issues when you're drunk," she added. "And no, I'm not your therapist. If you want to keep going, it'll cost you another ten soul shards."
Caster actually reached for more.
Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance.
The world went black.
---
When Caster woke up, his head was resting on something soft and warm.
Aiko's thighs.
"Oh, you're awake?" she said brightly. "Good, good. You slept great, by the way."
Caster tried to sit up. His head spun.
"That little nap cost you about eighty soul shards," Aiko contued cheerfully, standing up and stretching. "But hey—worth it, right? You did get to rest your head on a girl's lap for once."
She walked off toward her room to freshen up, humming to herself.
Caster sat there in a daze, wallet lighter, pride shattered, and absolutely no idea what the hell had just happened.
You see, Alucard had never actually seen Aiko drink.
What he had seen was an illusion of her drinking—carefully crafted, convincing enough to fool most people. Naturally, he had assumed that the real Aiko shared the same weakness.
She didn't.
Caster, unfortunately, learned that lesson the hard way.
Of course, Caster never told Alucard what had happened that night. He never mentioned the eighty soul shards that had vanished into Aiko's pockets, nor the humiliating way he had lost them. Some things were better left unspoken—especially when pride was already hanging by a thread.
Trying to ask for them back directly was out of the question.
The very thought made his stomach twist.
So, stewing in embarrassment and irritation, Caster arrived at what he believed was a far better solution.
If he couldn't reclaim his soul shards honestly…
then he'd simply win them back.
Cheating at gambling wasn't exactly noble—but neither was daylight robbery disguised as "drinks on the house." And if fate insisted on humiliating him, then he would return the favor.
With that decision made, Caster straightened his posture, narrowed his eyes, and turned back toward the gambling den—fully intent on bending the odds until every last soul shard found its way back into his hands.