"What did you just say?" the brunette boy asked slowly, now standing directly in front of Reoloy and Cisco.
The blue-black-haired reincarnator watched quietly, assessing the situation and trying to gather as much information as possible before he slipped up again.
"I said the Hunting Dogs are here!" Cisco replied, still trying to collect himself. "I rushed out after Reoloy earlier, but I lost him and ended up wandering around looking for him. That's when I saw them… Well, I ducked before I could get a proper look, but I'd recognise those deep black cloaks anywhere!"
"Shit!" Hugo shouted, slamming his fist into a nearby wall and leaving cracks spidering across the stone. "Reoloy, what do we do now?!"
Owen blinked.
"You're asking me?"
The ashen-haired boy stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar, glaring into his eyes. But what Owen saw there wasn't anger.
It was fear.
Raw, desperate fear.
"Graham!" the girl who had protected him earlier growled in warning.
"Not now, Lohan!" he snapped. "Or do you want to get dragged back to Cube?!"
At those words, the lavender-haired girl flinched, her protest dying in her throat.
'Cube? What's that?' Owen thought, his mind racing. 'And black cloaks… weren't those the guys from earlier?'
The image of the menacing figures he'd nearly bumped into flashed through his mind.
'This is all new… Damn it.'
Graham shook him back to reality, his grip tightening on Owen's jumpsuit.
"You're the one who said we should go this way," he said, the aggression in his voice barely restrained. "You don't get to hide behind being disoriented now."
That was when it clicked.
The previous owner of this body had been the one calling the shots.
Immediately, the full weight of that realisation sank in. Owen knew nothing about the current situation, yet everyone here expected him to lead them through it.
And apparently, they were fugitives.
'The prison-esque jumpsuits make sense now,' he thought dryly.
"This isn't just a blind start… It's hell difficulty," Owen muttered.
"What was that?" Graham asked, looking as if he were two seconds away from punching him.
Owen shrugged the larger boy off, noting that it took more effort than he expected.
His gaze drifted briefly to the wall Hugo had cracked earlier, then to Lohan, who had unleashed that pulse of energy moments ago.
'They're all combat-capable,' he concluded.
'They said earlier that I saved them… and then there's the significant amount of mana in this body. The original Reoloy must've been a heavy hitter.'
That was a problem.
'I can't use it,' he thought. 'Not when I don't even know how—and definitely not when it interferes with my future plans.'
He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The small gesture seemed to trigger something in the others. One by one, their attention locked onto him completely.
'Weird.'
"For now, let's get back to proper cover," Owen said coolly. "I'll detail the plan once we're there."
---
The group of six now sat in a loose circle inside the room that Owen suddenly wasn't sure had been acquired legally.
He pretended to ignore them, quietly observing as they shifted in place or glanced around the cramped space, waiting for him to speak.
But that was just it.
What exactly was he supposed to say?
He had briefly entertained the idea of mobilising them and luring the so-called Hunting Dogs into a trap. Judging by everyone's earlier reactions, however, the power gap was likely large enough that they'd be wiped out before they even understood what was happening.
The other option was to run to Academy City. If they could make it, they'd be safe. No matter who these "Cube" people were, they wouldn't be able to act freely inside the designated apolitical zone. The grand headmaster alone would make sure of that.
The problem was getting there.
The journey would take them through the wilderness—wide, exposed terrain where they could be hunted down at any moment.
'And I'd lose valuable prep time for the events ahead.'
Which left only one real option.
Far to the south lay a hidden piece—an item tucked away in a place few people even knew existed. The location itself would keep them hidden, and if he managed to claim the relic, they could travel to Academy City safely.
The problem was the butterfly effect it could have on the protagonist.
Taking it would mean stripping a powerful tool from the person who was supposed to save the world.
'Is that really my place as an extra?'
Owen thought back to the white space and the other man he had seen there.
"No," he murmured, shaking his head.
The protagonist was an otherworlder too—just like him. Eventually, he would have to work with him for the main campaign anyway.
Besides, the black cloaks…
If the message from the game had been referring to these shadowy Cube figures, then Owen had no hope of facing them alone without the protagonist and his titular Northern Regalia.
That being said…
'I'm sure he won't mind if I borrow this one.' He rolled his neck, coming to a decision. 'Let's call it a reincarnator's favour to a fellow reincarnator.'
"Okay," Owen finally said. "We're heading to the southernmost edge of the continent."
Graham stared at him. "Why?"
Without missing a beat, Owen answered.
"There's an isolated village there that can only be reached by ship," he said calmly. "Even then, you need to know a hidden route to arrive safely."
He looked around the circle.
"If we can find a ship willing to take us there, we'll be out of reach of our pursuers for a while."
He turned his attention back to their grey-haired compatriot, meeting his gaze squarely as if daring him to object.
"Satisfied?"
Graham scoffed and leaned sideways onto his arm in the spot Reoloy had woken up in not long ago.
"Where are you going?" the pink-haired girl asked as Owen rose to leave.
"I'll prepare a few things we'll need," he said passively. "And look into securing that ship."
He paused at the door.
"I'll try to be back soon, but you should all be ready to leave at a moment's notice."
---
Walking down the streets once more, Owen released a breath of relief.
He'd done it. Somehow, he'd managed to string along that ragtag group of powder kegs waiting to explode. It was a little terrifying, actually. He still didn't know what most of them were capable of, and two of them were openly antagonistic toward him.
Then there was the girl whose name he hadn't even learned yet—her stance on him was still unclear. Lohan and Cisco seemed to view him favourably for now, but that could change the moment they realised he was an imposter inhabiting their friend's body.
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
He pulled the pocket mirror relic from his pocket.
When he opened it, the grid shimmered into view once more.
"Good," he murmured. "Just like in the game. The one-time use persists even if you close and reopen it."
Now he just had to find the Regalia he'd seen on the map earlier.
It was his only real chance of defending himself if things went south.
Conveniently enough, the direction the grid pointed toward led straight to the dockside warehouses. He could kill two birds with one stone—secure the relic and arrange a ship at the same time.
Owen followed the minimalistic map until he reached the far edge of the docks. After glancing around at the other warehouses—large, sturdy, and well-maintained—his gaze settled on the one in front of him.
"Of course…"
Compared to the others, it looked severely rundown. The paint was peeling, revealing the crumbling bricks underneath. The structure leaned slightly as if it had long since given up on dignity.
He noticed an opening along the side wide enough for a ship to pass through, deducing that the vessel he needed was likely stored inside. Even so, he hesitated at the thought of asking anyone here for help.
Still, there wasn't much of a choice.
He stepped inside through the small door beside the massive shutters at the front.
"Hello?" he called. "Anyone here?"
A figure suddenly burst from the dark recesses of the warehouse, lunging at him with a knife.
"Whoa—!"
Owen stumbled back, barely avoiding the blade.
"Wait! I'm not here to start trouble! I just wanted to enlist the services of whoever works here!"
The attacker froze mid-step. They blinked, then removed something from their wrist. Instantly, the cloak of darkness concealing them dissolved.
'A relic,' Owen noted. 'But it's not the Regalia I'm looking for.'
"You… you're the kid from earlier," the figure said.
Only then did the blue-black-haired boy realise who it was—the vendor who had given him Gaiskas's Mirror earlier that day.
"Oh," Owen said sheepishly. "What a coincidence."
The woman stared at him, full of doubt.
"I'm serious," he added quickly. "I didn't know this was your place."
She waved him off dismissively, clearly uninterested in his explanations.
"Skip it. If you're here to return the mirror, forget it."
Reoloy blinked at her in confusion before shaking his head.
"No, that's not why I'm here," Owen said, glancing down at the mirror in his hand. "The stuff here… you're selling it, right?"
The woman eyed him suspiciously.
"Depends on what it is."
"I'd like to take a look first," he said. "Then we can discuss business."
"Business?" she scoffed. "What kind of business could you possibly have to offer?"
Owen had already moved on, sifting through piles of relics and trinkets, briefly holding them up to the mirror to gauge a reaction. He wandered deeper into the warehouse, ignoring the woman's growing protests until he stopped in front of an old crate.
"Oi! Don't just do as you please!" she barked. "I didn't agree to anyth—"
"You asked what kind of business I could offer," Owen interrupted, still focused on prying the crate open.
He glanced back at her with a dead-serious expression.
"The kind that retires you for life."
The woman fell silent.
She watched him work the lid loose until the crate finally creaked open.
"There's nothing valuable in there, you know," she called out. "That's where I keep the trash items."
Owen heard her, but he didn't stop digging through the contents.
Then—
The mirror in his hand suddenly vibrated.
The green dot on its surface that represented the item he was searching for flared brightly.
Owen froze before slowly lifting a worn black glove from the crate.
The relic pulsed again, and a smirk crept onto his face.
"Bingo."
The woman straightened. "What's all that?"
"Nothing to worry about," Owen replied dismissively. "Just add this to the tab with the other thing I'm going to ask you for. I'll compensate you more than enough once everything's over."
Usually, she would have shut down whatever the kid was talking about and run him out of her property, but the relic expert in her stirred. She had owned the mirror relic for two years, and she didn't know it could do anything aside from being a nuisance...
Something in her gut told her this kid knew far more than just that. And where secret knowledge went, profit usually followed.
She could practically smell the opportunity.
The woman grinned.
"Boy," she said, "what's your name?"
Owen looked at her blankly. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
She strode over energetically and extended a hand.
"Laurencia," she said with a charming smile. "That good enough for you?"
Owen studied her for a moment, faintly amused, before taking her hand.
"I'm Ow—" The word caught in his throat.
Laurencia frowned.
He noticed it, but played it off, forcing a casual smile.
"Reoloy," he corrected. "That's who I am."