Two blocks from the warehouse, the small café sat tucked between two older brick buildings, its faded awning fluttering gently in the afternoon breeze. Outdoor tables dotted the sidewalk, half of them occupied by locals sipping drinks and scrolling on their phones.
Orced and Kruna had claimed the corner table, two black coffees steaming in front of them. The city noise was a soft backdrop—distant traffic, the occasional laugh from inside the café, the clink of cups.
Orced took a slow sip, eyes scanning the street casually. "Nice place. Quiet enough to think, loud enough to blend in."
Kruna leaned back in his chair, blades hidden but always within reach. "You wanted to talk. So talk."
Orced smiled faintly. "The fight today was good. Clean. But we're being watched. That drone proved it. Hedonas isn't going to ignore us forever. We need to start thinking about the bigger picture. Alliances. Or at least… conversations."
Kruna raised an eyebrow. "You want to talk to them?" "Not yet. But the door should stay open. Just in case."
Before Kruna could reply, a figure approached the table. Pero, dressed casually in a simple jacket and jeans, hands in his pockets, looking every bit like a normal city resident out for a walk.
He stopped a respectful distance away, offering a small, friendly smile. "Mind if I join you? I saw the fight from a distance. Impressive work. Figured the guys who took down an A-class might have some interesting thoughts over coffee."
Orced looked up, expression calm and welcoming. "Sure. Pull up a chair. Coffee's on us if you want." Pero sat down smoothly, signaling the waitress for a black coffee. "My name's Pero. I work in… logistics. Saw the commotion near the harbor. That curse was causing problems for weeks. You handled it fast. Clean. Most groups would've made a mess."
Kruna watched him carefully but stayed silent for now.
Orced leaned forward slightly, friendly and open. "Orced. This is Kruna. We're with Sky Boys. We try to keep things simple. See a problem, fix it. No politics, no red tape. Just results."
Pero nodded, accepting the coffee when it arrived. "Sky Boys. I've heard the name floating around lately. Floating island base, right? Bold move. Most curse-hunting groups stick to the mainland and Hedonas oversight. You're operating outside the system. That takes guts."
Orced smiled. "Guts and a lot of coffee. We're not against Hedonas. We just think the world needs more people willing to act instead of waiting for permission. You saw Rengan today. He wasn't mindless, but he was dangerous. People were scared. We ended the threat. Simple as that."
Kruna finally spoke, voice even. "You're from Hedonas, aren't you?"
Pero didn't deny it. He took a slow sip instead. "Let's say I have connections. I'm not here to arrest anyone. Just… talk. Rengan was listed as low-threat. Scavenger type. He wasn't attacking civilians directly. He was surviving. Your team went in hard. Some people upstairs are calling it excessive."
Orced's tone stayed peaceful, almost warm. "I get that. From the outside, it probably looks aggressive. But we saw the reports. People were losing homes, jobs, lives to his feeding. He wasn't mindless, but he wasn't harmless either. We gave him a chance to talk. He chose to attack. We responded."
Kruna added quietly, "We don't start fights. We finish them."
Pero studied them both for a long moment. The conversation stretched comfortably—Orced kept it light, asking about Pero's "logistics" work, sharing a few harmless stories about training on the island, even joking about Macker's breakfast disaster. Kruna stayed more reserved but chimed in with dry comments that made Pero chuckle.
The talk went on for nearly forty minutes. Orced never raised his voice, never threatened. He was charming, reasonable.
Finally, Orced leaned back. "Look, we're not looking for war with Hedonas. We want the same thing—people safe from curses. Maybe there's room for… conversation. A meeting. Neutral ground. No weapons, no tricks. Just talk about possible cooperation. Or at least non-interference."
Pero raised an eyebrow. "You're proposing a merger discussion?"
Orced nodded. "Not a merger. A dialogue. There's an old teahouse on the north side of the city—neutral territory, public, lots of eyes. Tomorrow at noon. Bring whoever you want. We'll bring two people. No surprises."
Pero was quiet for a long moment, doubt flickering in his eyes. But Orced's tone was so sincere, so reasonable, that it was hard to dismiss outright. "I'll take it back to my people,"
Pero said finally, standing up. "No promises. But… it's a start." Orced smiled warmly. "That's all we ask. Safe travels back."
Pero left the café, hands in his pockets, mind racing. He had doubts—plenty of them—but the conversation had been… disarmingly normal. Friendly, even.
Back at Hedonas HQ, the team waited for his report.
Darkas listened as Pero recounted the meeting. "He was calm. Reasonable. Suggested a neutral meeting. No threats. Just talk."
Meha frowned. "Sounds too good to be true."
Jellal adjusted his glasses. "But if it's genuine… it could de-escalate things."
Nemo nodded slowly. "This could be a good development. First contact without violence. We should consider it."
Darkas was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "We'll discuss it. Pero, good work. You handled it well."
Meanwhile, Orced and Kruna finished their coffees and stood up. The afternoon sun was warm as they walked back toward the extraction point.
Kruna glanced sideways at him. "You really think they'll show up next week?"
Orced smiled faintly. "Doesn't matter if they do or don't. The seed is planted. They're thinking about us differently now."
They disappeared into the crowd, heading back to Sky Island. The city moved on, unaware. But the lines were being drawn.
Orced and Kruna stepped off the extraction platform back onto Sky Island just as the sun began its slow descent toward the horizon. The floating rock felt different now—still peaceful, still theirs, but the air carried a new weight after the day's events. The rest of the team had already returned ahead of them and was scattered around the main plaza, stretching, cleaning weapons, or simply sitting on the grass and replaying the fight in excited voices.
Macker was the first to spot them. "Boss! Kruna! You two took your sweet time. What, did you stop for sightseeing?"
Kruna smirked. "Something like that. We had coffee. Real coffee. Not the instant crap you call breakfast fuel."
Nix bounded over, gauntlet still faintly smoking from earlier. "Coffee? Without us? Rude. Next time I'm coming. I make a mean espresso with my explosion setting on low."
Ema looked up from where he was cleaning his bow. "You two look way too calm for people who just killed an A-class. Spill. What's the secret?"
Orced laughed lightly, waving them off as he and Kruna walked toward the main building. "Later. First, I want to introduce someone. New guy arrived while we were out. Eriky. He's going to handle the kitchen and tea situation full-time. No more Macker boiling his own balls."
Macker groaned dramatically. "Not fair. I was getting good at it."
The group followed them inside, curious. The kitchen smelled amazing already—something savory and warm, like fresh bread and herbs. Standing at the stove was a new face: Eriky, a tall, broad-shouldered man in his late twenties with short-cropped dark hair, a simple apron tied over a plain shirt, and a calm, steady presence that somehow made the chaotic kitchen feel organized. He wasn't a curse—just a normal guy with a talent for cooking and a quiet smile that said he'd seen enough weirdness in his life to roll with whatever Sky Boys threw at him.