"Look, man, the reason this search is so cheap is that your girl is nowhere to be found, and the ones I found have already kicked the bucket.""
"Which bucket?" Karan asked.
"Kicked the bucket, man! She's six feet under. Long dead."
"How could that be? Elara was still very young," Karan said.
"I found two Elara Vardals and they both dead." the man replied.
"The first is someone recorded in church documents and later transferred to official archives—born in 1657. Since church records only included birth and death dates, I couldn't find anything about their life. The death date wasn't even recorded. It's not surprising that records from that period have gaps.
The second is a woman with a marriage record from 1807. The strange thing is, there's no birth record for her. But she appears to have died in 1860. Of old age. There's no other Elara Vardal besides these. And if your girl used it as a nickname, no one seems to have mentioned it."
Karan thought for a moment, then turned to Chiaya and asked, "What is the human life expectancy?"
"Seventy, I think, on average—but I'm not sure. Why are you asking?"
Karan only said, "That explains." absentmindedly
Karan didn't have many memories of Elara, yet he still felt deeply saddened to hear she had died. Elara was much loved by his own tribe.
Especially when Erdun the Sage heard this, he would be very upset. Before Karan was born, he and Elara had spent a long time educating orphans together, working for the Takran tribe.
What Elara taught the Takran tribe later became known throughout all of Narval, and she was considered one of the greatest sages of her time.
Chiaya asked, "Explains what?"
"Both Elaras are the same person," Karan answered "She died, huh? I wasn't expecting to hear that."
."Does she have any relatives we could reach?" Karan asked to the man behind the screen.
"Oh, of course she does. But that job won't come cheap. After all, you're trying to track down someone who's still alive," the man replied.
"How much?" Karan asked.
"Twenty grand."
"I'll bring you the money," Karan said.
Chiaya was in shock. Twenty thousand dollars? She would have to work for months to save up that much. How could Karan agree to pay it without even a second's thought?
She thought he must have completely lost his mind. But what could she say? It was his money and it wasn't her place to say what he should do with it.
Karan didn't have twenty thousand dollars at the moment, but if the auction's down payment alone was seven thousand, then it was certain he would eventually get the full twenty.
If only he could think of this man as a bad guy, things would be so much easier. With a little intimidation and roughing up, there was no information he couldn't get. But there was nothing to be done—he would have to wait for the auction.
"Let's go, Chiaya," Karan said. He had never lifted his hand from her shoulder, gently steering her toward the door.
Chiaya was surprised at how silent and compliant she was. She supposed the sights and smells in the house had left her frozen. That, and the hand resting on her shoulder—feeling almost like a personal shield—kept pulling her focus away.
Before leaving, Karan turned and asked, "What's your name?"
"You can call me Paiko," the man said.
When they stepped outside, Karan was silent. Chiaya had expected they would at least start talking about the matter a little. She looked at Karan's face—he looked sad.
"Karan," she said softly. "Are you okay?"
Chiaya thought he must be grieving Elara's death. Losing someone was truly hard. Although it was impossible for Karan to have known the Elaras the guy mentioned, clearly, in his mind, this loss was real.As they walked, Karan suddenly stopped and turned to Chiaya. "Chiaya, how old are you?"
"Twenty-seven," Chiaya replied.
"So, will you die in fifty years?"
Chiaya smiled lightly. "Yes, most likely."
When Lavine said, "It would be nice to live that long," he had guessed that humans' lifespans were shorter — but wasn't their lifespan a bit too short?
"You'll probably live that long," Chiaya said.
"If I stay here, yes. Apparently, Elara died because she returned," Karan said.
"When I put everything in order in Narval and make it safer, I'll come and get you. So you can live at least a thousand years."
Chiaya was surprised. Her heart was pounding wildly. How could a man be this sweet?
Although it wasn't exactly realistic, Chiaya couldn't remember anyone ever saying something so beautiful to her before. It truly made her happy.
Smiling, she said, "Alright then. If Narval becomes a safe place, I'll come with you to live at least a thousand years."
They looked into each other's eyes, both smiling.
"I know you don't believe me." Karan said but he didn't seem offended.
"I wish I could," she replied. She wanted to believe, truly. Who wouldn't want to live a thousand years in a magical world?
Her heart ached. Someone as kind-hearted as Karan didn't deserve to live with these delusions she thought.
"Just wait," Karan said confidently, and they started walking toward the car.
On their way home, Chiaya said, "Ah, I almost forgot. Tomorrow, the owner of TSMS Gold Buyers mentioned there's a dress code. It's cocktail attire, and we have to wear masks too."
"What does 'dress code' mean, and what's a cock tail?"
"Pffft, not 'cock tail' — it's one word: 'cocktail.' I'll help you with that."
Just when Karan thought he had stopped trying to make sense of what humans do, something new surprised him every day.
According to Chiaya, if they didn't dress according to the dress code, they might not be allowed in. But what importance could it really have what you wear when you go somewhere?
Human beings really make their lives harder by creating all these strange, arbitrary rules for themselves.