Hunting: Memories (I Transmigrated as a Memory Hunter)

The Core Part 4

CHAPTER 52

The man greeted them, “What an honour to have Master Xei visit my humble place.”

Xei nodded, “Elio,” then he turned to Nephrite and asked, “Do you want to sit here on the private table or at the bar counter?”

Nephrite looked at Elio. Coincidentally, their eyes met. He contemplated for a bit, “Let’s sit at the bar then.”

Before Xei could respond, Elio walked towards him. “That’s great! I’m so bored already! By the way, nice to meet you! I’m Elio, I co-owned this shop.”

Upon seeing the enthusiastic person in front of him, Nephrite warmed up and introduced himself, too.

As they waited for their orders to be served, Xei asked, “It’s rare to see you alone.”

Nephrite blinked and glanced at the staff making dough in the kitchen, “Are those people AI?” he blurted.

Elio laughed while Xei moved his gaze towards the opposite direction , fist covering his mouth.

Elio waved his hand, “No, no. Xei meant my husband,” he said nonchalantly. “Well, he’s on an errand right now. He went out to gather ingredients from a nearby planet. We’re planning to adapt some other planet’s dishes into pizzas. How’s that?” he winked at them.

Xei shook his head, “How could you send an emperor to do trivial stuff?”

Elio slammed both of his palms on the bar counter, how could you call it trivial? As if he’s still the emperor now. He has nothing better to do but use his intimidating appearance and handsome face to make cheap and profitable deals,” he grinned.

Nephrite observed them with amusement. He did not expect to meet a couple here in the Core. Curiosity overcame him, “Are you and your husband met here?”

Elio smiled at him. “Not at all. Though when we first met him, I didn't know about it. He became a soul hunter because of his abilities. He has memories of two of his past lives and he was both powerful in both worlds. The first one is a king while the second one is an emperor. However, his memory when he was a king was so fragmented so they only used his memory as an emperor upon signing the contract. Who would have thought that his remaining memory as a King was all about me? So when we met, he cried like a river.” Elio giggled.

Nephrite smiled, admiring Elio. Despite him seeming like he was bullying his ‘powerful’ husband, it’s too obvious how deeply in love he was.

They had a sumptuous meal. Nephrite did not expect it to taste like real pizza at all. But it even surpassed the best tasting pizza he had.

Xei watched Nephrite eat the meal, his lips upturned, almost unrecognizable. But not for Elio.

Nephrite could not help but praise the food. Elio kindly smiled. “Even if most of the people here were resolute when they signed the contract, it was hard not to long for your former life. So we built this restaurant despite the trouble on the ingredients. Well, this business is really a lucrative business.”

Elio leaned towards Nephrite and whispered, “It’s one of the best places to gather information after all.” He winked at Nephrite.

Xei frowned, getting the hint. “You got some news?”

“Nothing much. But if this friend here was the memory hunter everyone is talking about, then you’ve got to be careful. The Reapers got their eye on you.”

________

“The Reapers...”

“Are you afraid?”

Nephrite maintained his gaze ahead, observing the mysterious glowing trees on the sidewalk. For a moment, he had a sense of melancholy.

“It’s impossible not to feel fear.”

They’re on their way to their original destination. Though Elio warned them, he still did not know the specifics of the whole situation.

Nephrite anticipated that the Reapers would come at him sooner or later.

And until now, he did not know where to start finding information about Agase.

He wanted to learn the truth. For what reason...

“Master Xei,” Nephrite grabbed the other’s wrist, pulling him to stop. “I know you said a lot but I wanted to find the truth for myself.”

Nephrite did not elaborate but Xei understood.

Nephrite valued himself as someone who had a good eye on people. He might seem as someone easy to trust but he could instinctively tell if he can get along with a person or not. So being betrayed by the person he trusted the most did cause him to doubt his instinct. Yes, he could still trust people like how he trusted this man in front of him. But he could not relax completely. A fear already started growing in his heart.

Nephrite sought peace of mind. Even if he heard it from Xei, Nephrite wanted to find the truth for himself. Only then could he return to his old self.

All of a sudden, Xei’s expression changed. Before Nephrite could react, Xei already wrapped his arms around him and dashed into the nearest teleportation portal.

Red light enveloped his vision as he heard a large sound of explosion before it got cut abruptly.

Dizzy with the abrupt turn of events, Nephrite did not recover right away.

“Are you alright?” Xei pulled Nephrite away from his chest.

Nephrite ignored his budding embarrassment, “Y-yes. What was that?” Nephrite looked around. They were now at a different location. His gaze landed at the portal behind them. The red light indicator shut off. It means it stopped working.

“Enemies. Let’s go, we can’t stay here for too long.” He pulled Nephrite off the ground. But before he could stand straight, pain shot up his back like a current. Xei fell on his knees.

“Xei!” Nephrite supported him and urged him to put his arm on his shoulders. His eyes landed on his charred clothes and burnt marks on his back. Nephrite clenched his fists.

Despite being injured, Xei pushed himself to walk fast. Using his other hand, he pressed on his earring. A small hologram panel appeared in front of them, which surprised Nephrite. He didn’t know it had this kind of function.

Xei used the voice command, “Call system on. Connect me to Zireon.”

After half a minute, Zireon’s face appeared in the hologram. “Seven* reported that there was an explosion in the 28th District.”

(A/N: Seven is a name. You’ll meet him in the future!)

“Yes,” Xei answered under his breath. “Send a detailed map and people that could help us. Then investigate the attacker. Though," he glanced at Nephrite, “It’s probably the Reapers.”

“The Reapers?” Nephrite mimicked, shock unconcealed in his voice. Just like what they had expected, this group will hunt him sooner or later. That’s too bold, though. In public and broad daylight.

Zireon explained, “Usually, they won’t attack the Master of the Record Bank. But since Xei temporarily passed his post to me, they could boldly think of killing him.”

Xei snorted, “If I die, you’re next off their list.”

Zireon laughed, “They believe that I’ll be easy to collude with so there's a 60% chance they won’t kill me.”

Nephrite raised an eyebrow. Zireon noticed, “Hey! Don’t stare at me like that. I just like seeing Xei’s reactions. I have no plan on letting those people do as they wish.”

“Zireon, stop talking nonsense and send the map. Help us navigate. I don’t know if this would be an ambush. I can’t risk Nephrite here. I don’t think I can fight back right now.”

“We seem to be in a back alley. We haven’t seen a crossroad yet.” Nephrite observed.

Zireon put on a serious face this time. “Someone was interrupting our satellite? Xei, remind me later, I will fire all the people in the security department. Incompetent fools.”

Xei gritted his teeth, “How much power they already gathered inside?” He laughed sarcastically, “It is fine. As long as our main security for the Archive isn’t breached, let them play. We’ll catch them soon anyway.”

All of sudden, a holographic map appeared, and two indicators, red and blue moving together in one of the alleys.

“Oh, what bad luck did you guys acquire? That’s really a dead-end,” Zireon whistled in amusement.

Nephrite halted, “Then what should we do? Xei also needs treatment. He’s injured!”

Zireon paled, “What?! Why didn’t you guys say so?”

“I thought M-master Xei would say it.”

Xei didn’t speak.

Zireon let out an exasperated sigh, “It’s alright. I’ve got a plan.”