It was a waitress. Pink slit pupils, round cheeks—cute at first glance.
Kelly held a Rold between her fingers, crossed her legs, and said calmly, "I need information."
There was a reason she came to a tavern first. Drunk men talked too much, and waiters heard everything—secrets, gossip, things people would never say sober. If anyone in the city knew what was really going on, it was the people quietly serving drinks and pretending not to notice.
The waitress slid into the seat beside her with the ease of someone who'd done this a hundred times already. She smiled. "That amount you're holding won't buy you anything more than the cheapest rumor."
Kelly took out fifty Rolds from her pouch, dropped them on the table, and pushed them over. The waitress snatched them up with a grin.
"Any notable figures heading to the Ancient Ruins?" Kelly asked.
The waitress glanced around, then leaned in, voice low. "Word is that the three royal sons from House Droy, House Arous, and House Gravor are all coming. The other great houses—Urel and Ardon—are sending representatives, but their royal daughters are on military missions, so they won't be here." She bent in even closer, voice barely above a whisper.
"I also heard," the waitress continued, lowering her voice, "that the useless son of…" she hesitated, as if saying the name required respect, "House Drakios… might be coming too. But no one knows if that one's true."
Kelly leaned back a little, brows pulled together. "Can you tell me more about these royal sons? Their abilities, their realms—what they can actually do."
The waitress stared at her like she'd just asked what air was. "How do you live in Zathron and not know that?"
Kelly smiled behind her veil. "Just pretend I'm a stranger to this world. Someone who doesn't know anything."
The waitress paused, curious, but didn't push. "The royal children of the great houses are chosen by how strongly they resonate with their Draconic bloodlines. House Droy's line is known for their green jade flames—strong enough to burn almost anything into ash." Her tone shifted, quiet and uneasy.
"Raicon Droy, their royal son, is a reckless battle freak. He once charged into an entire army of Dust Wielders alone, right after breaking into the realm himself. They say he didn't just burn them… he melted them. Turned them into sludge while they screamed for a faster death."
A shiver ran through her.
Kelly tilted her head, a bit impressed. Maybe the whole "royal children are on another level" talk wasn't exaggerated after all.
The waitress went on, dragging her finger across the table. "House Arous is known for their bloodline ability, Blood Scourge. If you bleed in front of them during a fight, just accept you're dead. They're at their strongest in wars or big battles where people are dying and blood is everywhere. Jakis Arous, their royal son, is bloodthirsty, cruel, and not exactly mentally stable. Everyone in Zathron hates him, but no one says it to his face—mostly because of his Astral Art: Blood Domain."
Flora's face flashed through Kelly's mind. So she had ties to a great house. Interesting. Kelly looked back at the waitress. "Astral Art?"
The waitress nodded, lowering her voice again. "Unlike the others who got chosen because of bloodline resonance, Jakis earned his position by awakening an Astral Art on his own—that's rare. And since his art matches his bloodline perfectly, he was chosen."
Kelly tapped the table lightly. "What does this Blood Domain do?"
The waitress shook her head. "Nobody knows. Anyone who's ever been trapped inside it with Jakis has never made it out alive."
Kelly stopped tapping, eyes steady. "And the last one?"
The waitress practically lit up, eyes turning dreamy—like she was talking about a celebrity crush.
"House Gravor is famous for their genius minds. Most of the tech in Zathron has their fingerprints on it. And their royal son, Dravis—" she stopped herself, almost squealing.
"—is the hottest, most dazzling, most shamelessly flashy icon alive. And he's so kind and sweet too! When he smiles, it's like—"
"Okay, that's enough," Kelly cut in before she had to listen to a full-on fangirl meltdown. She had most of what she needed. The last thing she wanted was to get trapped listening to someone gush about their celebrity crush.
"Tell me about the history of the Ancient Ruins at Mount Kile," she said instead.
The waitress didn't answer—just pouted, clearly offended she'd been cut off mid-daydream. Kelly sighed and dropped another pouch onto the table.
Instant attitude change. The waitress scooped it up, eyes sparkling, and continued. "History says the Ancient Ruins belonged to a powerful clan from a celestial world. They fled to Zathron after their clan was wiped out, built a settlement here. But their enemies still found them and finished the job—erasing everything, just to make sure nothing survived."
She exhaled, almost like repeating the story made her tired. "What's left now is just scraps. The things their enemies didn't bother taking because they were worthless to them. But to an Astral World like ours…" She scratched the back of her neck, embarrassed. "Those scraps are basically treasures we'd never even dream of touching."
Kelly's toes curled in her boots. The universe suddenly felt too big—too far out of her reach. "If the ruins have been there for so long, what triggered the formation now?"
The waitress went pale. That question clearly dragged up something she wished she hadn't remembered.