Demian

strike one. from the side of the podium, demian bit on the back of a finger. he still had pieces to move, though he too was examining kagami's answers as their lot. there was not much to go on, given hugh had not spoken directly on his campaign, and brienne was likely needing to keep up appearances to ensure her reputation. if it wasn't possible to know how the elections went, they might have to try another tactic. but demian spoke to his ally under his breath. "only someone from ordsea could've been able to pay them off." there were the pages he'd delved into, and

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POPCORN (81) MISO SOUP (41) Crafted by: Culinarian | Rank 10 popcorn. | TIER 4 SNACK | VITALITY II round. light. fluffy. tasteless. [25/08/23] | +31 [24/08/23] | +25 [23/08/23] | +25 miso soup. | TIER 4 SNACK | PROBIOTICS III gentle. savoury. filling. tasteless. [26/08/23] | +20 [25/08/23] | +6 [24/08/23] | +5 [23/08/23] | +10

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"sabotage," demian stated plainly as he collected his documents from kagami. "i wouldn't put it past the narrative. after all – what's a cross nation hearing without a little bit of political intrigue. think we've come to the conclusion, that, and in our current position, i'd bet on hugh the same as you." "the trick," he breathed, looking towards the leaders on stage, "isn't to do so without evidence, even if we're so certain. that's the reason why we're asking these questions – throwing accusations around without proof is going to get people riled up again." still, he too had the sa

several things occurred at once. destin arrived on the scene, and his questions – err, half-accusations – were answered. demian would get to them in time. in his immediate perspective was one of the others who'd spoken on to the leaders before. they extended a hand – and he'd take it. "Kagami." "demian." "So you also think it was Destin." demian raised a brow. he was mostly concerned about his image now, and curious as to how kagami came to that conclusion. overall, he was certainly amused. "i imagined nothing of the sort," he spoke, slow. "elaborate thi

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bistro... had sent him a dossier. and a note, saying something along the lines of we have to make sure the boss fight goes smoothly! so this job's on you. no overtime pay. so demian told her not to get her hopes up. he was still present, however, when it came down to it – cardinal's antics had always been something to watch out for. call it personal interest to listen in on the overseer whose machinations ruled their day to day lives; demian figured he was being practical by attending, on behalf of others than of not. things seemed to be progressing well in the dialogue – t

and now he could see why bistro had chosen this floor out of all others. it was pretty, stationed right next to their warehouse-facade, with reasonable accommodations prepared for the man's living situation if he were to be acclimatized back into modern-day living. of course, there was also a fairly safe forest nearby if he ever wanted to go camping. bugs abound of a higher level, yes, but at least their patrol routes were fairly predictable – because they were bugs. "delivery," demian called out, pushing open the door and dropping off multiple crates of potions. when basuk

another soul to the beast. at least, if he was entirely heartless (hm. he was getting there), that's what the entire setup and introduction would've seemed like. but the alchemist had some amount of humanity left, he felt, so even if he offered up basuke to her, she wouldn't be too harsh on the kid. case in point: his shop was leagues away from her own on the first. the relentless demands on the first would've never be cleared for someone who's heart wasn't completely in the shopping game – a fact that even demian could respect. he held up a bottle from the batch

BINGSU (47) KONPEITO (36) LANGUE DE CHAT (46) Crafted by: Culinarian | Rank 10 bingsu. | TIER 4 DESSERT | MITIGATION III shaved ice. chopped fruits. syrup and milk. tasteless. [19/08/23] | +24 [20/08/23] | +23 konpeito. | TIERLESS DESSERT | AMBITION evening stars. hard sugar. melts in the mouth. tasteful. [17/08/23] | +18 [18/08/23] | +18 langue de chat. | TIERLESS DESSERT | AMBITION thin. crisp. crunchy. tasteless. [22/08/23] | +21 [21/08/23] | +25

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the lesson was messy. and not free of charge, but it happened, and basuke did step out of the shop with a completed crystal at last. quest complete. the music on the crystal itself was of a simple drum loop, meant for building on top of if he were to pursue the craft in the future. basuke let out a heavy sigh, holding up the item to the light of a setting sun. demian exited the store afterwards, waving to landon goodbye. "i really can't believe music's this complex," basuke stated to him, sticking his tongue out. demian only looked amused as he turned to basuke, roughing up his

they got back to landon’s safe and sound. basuke barely remembered the route they took through the city to get there, because the moment demian entered the town of beginnings, the man had decided to stray from the main road and look to the back alleys. when basuke had spoken up about it (“hey! where’re you going? the shop’s down this way, isn’t it?”) demian shrugged his calls off. (“taking a shortcut. this way’s faster.”) basuke had observed the man was incorrect in his judgement, but couldn’t determine if it was because demian’s walking speed had slowed down in accordance to basuke

“nice work.” he peered over the other’s loot window, trying to take a gander. “did you get all your materials yet?” and basuke had completely forgotten he was here to do such a thing. so he looked to his quest log – and the prerequisite counter was filled. “oh hey! yeah, i guess i did!” “good.” demian pat the boy on the shoulder once again, before walking past him, headed back the way they came from. “means we get more time to figure out how to work with the performance crystals once landon hands them to you.” “ah, right!” closing his window,

so basuke returned the favour, directing his aggravation of having been picked up and tossed around towards the enemies with a series of forward strikes. his movements seemed sluggish, his swings too wide – but it did him fine to tear three of them into pieces, as the other darted towards demian, swerving off a near-by high ground. the warg lunged – basuke hadn’t even registered that they were wolves – and was promptly parried by the man’s sword. the boy looked to his own – flashier than demian’s generic piece. “too slow,” demian commented, though his voice held no hint of accusation

they went further out, towards the stone valley. as the landscape changed around them, so too did the monsters – basuke frequently made note to stay away from areas such as these when camping due to their aggressive nature. but it didn’t seem as though demian had minded. whilst they were walking through the forest, the man had his head held high – basuke’s kept his lowered, sunk into his jacket to protect himself. was demian already trained in fighting – so frequently that he’d stick his own neck out? a long howl came from afar, and that’s when demian stopped. “they’ll app

to demian, it seemed like a waste of a good profession. so he sighed, and placed a hand on basuke’s shoulder – the act of which made the young player flinch. “okay,” he said. “okay what?” “i’ll teach you how to make music.” demian raised a finger. “not teaching you how to play an instrument, just theory – the basics. you get to decide what to pick up, and then maybe i’ll find someone to help you out for a cost. deal?” basuke’s eyes lit up as though he saw all the glowsticks raised at a concert from the perspective of a celebrity. when demian offered his

“well. basuke, are you even a musician?” the boy squinted as he looked towards the door of the shop. “is that what that was about?” demian pointed within with his thumb extended. “this is a music store. there was a recording booth in the back. some people like to visit to record vocals for others to use, or for their own purposes, when remixing with crystals.” “crystals?” basuke thought for a moment, before retrieving a rounded diamond from his inventory – the new life song. “you mean… something like this?” demian looked incredibly surprised. “why do you even have that?”

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but he toned it down a little in lieu of demian’s sourness. “or a close acquaintance. we went on an errand for someone together on the ninth floor the other day!” mostima clapped her hands, excited. “oh! so that’s what you were busy with!” she directed her gaze to demian, who was trying not to be noticed in the conversation. the scarf she wore curled around his back, despite the lack of a draft. “you know, if you gave us more information about things like these, we wouldn’t have to keep pestering you about your whereabouts all the time.” “it was nothing,” he returned, to th

and his timing felt a little ironic. no sooner did he accept the quest did demian walk out of the backroom of the shop, the noise of the door swinging open catching basuke’s attention. and demian seemed nonchalant until he noticed basuke present, so he swooped in to query basuke, just as the quest npc – landon? was his name? – was speaking to him about the pre-requisite materials. whoever that lady was tailed behind him. “what are you doing over here?” basuke shrugged plainly. “getting some place to stay like you said.” demian sneered

demian failed to elaborate further, and basuke was too busy considering himself in blond hair. in the following days, whilst he was unaware of the busyness of everyone else in their involvement with the boss fight, he went about looking for hair dye. the shops on the first didn’t help a lot, so he got in contact with demian about the possibility of finding something (a recipe?) that might. demian responded in a few hours: not by text, but by showing up at his campsite. “woah! hey, it’s demian!” basuke had called out, partway through drying his hair after having pulled himse