"Actually… I don't know. I've never even asked anyone out before." Karan said.
Lavine raised her eyebrows. She was surprised. "Wait! So you've never been with anyone?"
"I have. But I was never the one to ask them out. So I wouldn't say I'm exactly experienced either." he replied. "Also, I've had to deal with other things my whole life. My love life was never a priority."
Even though Karan had never asked someone out before, he was familiar with his tribe's traditions. Inviting someone you liked to a sparring session was one of them.
Still, he thought it might not be appropriate for humans, so he kept quiet.
"Such a shame—you were born with good looks and you're just wasting them," Buse teased him, and they all laughed.
The more they drank, the more obvious it became that everyone was getting sleepy.
Then Lavine tossed out a random question. "What if you suddenly woke up as your ten-year-old self, but with your current memories? What would you do?"
"I'd definitely do something to make me more flexible," Chiaya said without hesitation. "Like ballet. But honestly, it feels way too late for that now."
Buse thought for a moment. "I wouldn't change anything. I'm happy with my life. But I guess I would've bought some crypto."
"I'd definitely have practiced talking to girls from the moment I reached my teens," Narev added with a sad smile. Then Chiaya turned to him and asked "So how did you even end up talking to us?"
"If I hadn't gone to that board game club event and sat at the same table as you guys, I probably never would've," he admitted.
This hypothetical question gave Karan an idea. It was the right moment to ask "Okay, but what if you were born in a completely different realm and came here knowing nothing. Your only goal being to find one specific person. What would you do?"
Chiaya was impressed. Things that would never have crossed her mind could pop into her friends' heads.. Genius! she thought.
They gave the obvious answers first—learn technology, learn to read and write, learn travel.
"I'd totally just look them up online, obviously," Lavine said.
"Yeah, but what if you already searched the internet and still couldn't find them?" Karan pushed.
"Hmm… If I really had to find them…I'd probably pay someone to do the deep web search for me" Narev said.
"Wouldn't that be illegal?" Chiaya asked.
"Oh, of course it would," Narev said. "But if my only goal was to find someone and I had no other choice… then yeah, I'd have to take the illegal route."
"Then again, maybe it wouldn't be a problem. A friend of a friend told me that people who do deep web searches protect their clients' privacy. Cause if they don't, their own privacy ends up at risk too." Narev added.
"How would we find these deep web searchers?" Karan asked.
Karan's question felt a bit strange to Buse. The conversation had shifted away from "coming from another world" way faster than she expected.
Narev, as usual, started answering the question in detail.
"Did you know it only takes six connections to reach anyone in the world? Whoever you meet, there's always someone who knows someone who knows them.
With the right research, I don't think there's a single person you couldn't reach."
Karan was about to ask who was the friend that had told Narev about deep web searches. Chiaya suddenly said, "Uh, I need to go to the bathroom… but I'm dizzy. Come with me," and pulled him by the arm.
Once they were in front of the bathroom doors, she hissed, "What are you doing!"
"I don't have another choice, Chiaya. I'm going to ask Narev."
"But you promised me! You said you wouldn't say anything," she said, hurt. Karan never wanted to upset her, or make things tense in front of her friends.
"Do you think I could do this deep web search thing on my own?" he asked her.
"I don't think so."
Chiaya understood him, though. She'd seen how desperately he'd been trying for days to find Elara Vardal.
A voice from behind made Chiaya jump. "What are you two doing?"
"Uh… ah… Buse… we were just arguing about who should go to the bathroom first," Chiaya stammered.
Buse stepped closer, leaned in, and sniffed her. "You stink, Chiaya… you stink of lies."
Chiaya couldn't take it anymore. Her face fell, and she was just about to confess when Buse said, "I'm not gonna ask. Do you need any help?"
How could this woman be both an angel and a devil at the same time?
"Oh no, Buse. Thanks," Chiaya said, hugging her.
"You need someone who can do a deep web search, but you don't want to get Narev in trouble, right? Leave it to me."
"Won't it be a problem for you?" Chiaya asked.
"What kind of problem could it be? I'm just gonna ask a few people for some info," Buse said casually.
Chiaya hugged her tighter.
Most of the people Chiaya knew were coworkers, elderly neighbors, or her close friend group. But considering Buse seemed to know half the city, she was far more likely to get the right information.
"You hardly ever ask for help, you know," Buse said.
Karan turned to her. "Thank you, honored woman," he said, bowing his head.
"I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna ask…" Buse muttered to herself as she walked back to the table
When they got back to the table, Narev and Lavine were still talking about the girl he liked.
Karan had planned to ask Lavine some questions about soul power, but according to Chiaya, the people Lavine went to were scammers. And Lavine didn't seem like someone who could actually use soul power.
So, to avoid making Chiaya any more uncomfortable, he kept quiet.