"Whitening..." Hasya merely repeated the word. His eyes stared far away, then the corner of his lips lifted, forming a knowing smirk. "Ohh, this is quite... quite interesting..."
Hasya looked at Fyar, Rasie, Zaefal, Illya, and Cyhas in turn. His arms crossed over his chest, then he shrugged slowly. "I don’t know much about that organization because it doesn’t originate from my people, but..."
Hasya’s eyes narrowed sharply. His playful expression vanished for a moment. "I once met the leader when I was adventuring with Fathir back in the day."
He met the leader of Whitening?! What is he like? How strong is he? Zaefal muttered in his heart. His heart beat faster due to the surging curiosity.
"What does he look like? Is he strong?" asked Zaefal impatiently.
"He is a normal young man... white hair, purple eyes... his name is Kilasafi," Hasya continued. He spread his hands as if describing a completely ordinary figure. "He is an assassin class."
"He’s relaxed, he jokes around too and isn’t too scary, and hmm... he is extremely logical."
Hasya rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger, trying to dig up old memories. "I met him four times."
"The first was when he hadn’t formed Whitening yet."
"At that time I, Fathir, Lairas, and Zikri were resting in a forest after exiting a high-level dungeon."
"And yeah, this man Kilasafi came with his squad. He was like, asking for help from us, especially Fathir. He just said this would be very profitable for him, and maybe the easiest way for him to earn gold coins." Hasya mimicked Kilasafi’s speaking style with a tone that was calm and full of calculation.
"And let me guess, Fathir agreed?" said Rasie. She rolled her eyes lazily, already able to guess the behavior of that legendary adventurer.
Hasya smiled widely and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course baby! at that time we were broke, you know!"
"Baby?!"
"And we needed funds, plus the kingdom at that time was, let’s say, corrupt."
"So yeah, I thought that was a reasonable path."
"After Kilasafi explained his plan, Fathir agreed, and well, that’s how it went."
Hasya waved his hand in the air, speeding up the story. "Long story short, we met again when we were in Rituk."
"At that time, Kilasafi was being paid to kill someone very, very important in the Rituk kingdom, but he didn’t know that it was our friend."
"So what happened? Did you guys fight?" asked Fyar. He leaned his body forward, his eyes staring at Hasya intently.
"No, when he found out it was our acquaintance, Kilasafi apologized and canceled his contract." Hasya shook his head slowly with a relaxed expression.
"Damn..." muttered Fyar. He leaned his back again, a bit disappointed but also relieved. Well , I guess that was a smart decision from that man, he thought.
"Turns out he’s not like I imagined.." muttered Illya. She put her index finger on her lips, her eyes looking up. "From my imagination, the leader of Whitening was cruel, terrifying, and sadistic... turns out he’s quite normal?"
Honestly, I would also do the same thing if I were Kilasafi, Zaefal muttered in his heart, nodding in agreement with the hitman leader’s decision.
"Well, since then our relationship with Whitening has been neutral. We try not to disturb his business, and they also try not to disturb us."
"But well, the third and fourth meetings, I won’t tell you about because I’m bound by a contract." Hasya crossed his index fingers in front of his lips, making a ’secret’ sign while winking.
"Why if you’re bound by a contract? Are you afraid?" asked Rasie with a challenging tone, one eyebrow raised.
"Of course! I could die if I violate it, dude!" Hasya nodded quickly and firmly. His eyes bulged comically. "You think magic contracts are a joke?"
Hasya looked at the aurora dancing above their heads, remembering something distant. "In the second meeting, Kilasafi was already at an extraordinary level... his level at that time was over 100..."
"I don’t know his power because we have never fought, but... if possible, I would avoid fighting him."
"Why? Do you not believe you can win?" asked Fyar. He stared at Hasya with a probing gaze, searching for doubt in his new partner’s face.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, are you scared? Eeh, I didn’t think you could be scared," said Rasie with a mocking tone.
"No, not that..." said Hasya calmly. His face was flat, without excessive emotion. "It’s just... it would be very detrimental to me even if I won."
"Detrimental even if you win?" Zaefal was confused. He frowned, trying to understand Hasya’s logic.
"Yes," Hasya nodded slowly. "You will understand later if you meet him."
"And also, the Organization he built is greatly feared by all kingdoms but also very widely used," said Hasya.
Hasya spread his arms wide toward the horizon. "Whether it’s the Human kingdom, Demon, Rituk, or whatever, they definitely use Whitening if there is an urgent problem."
"Well, except dragons."
Hasya lowered his hands. "The number of members is unknown, how to enter the organization is unknown, where they are is unknown, but clearly, they are scattered everywhere."
Somehow it’s similar to my organizations on Earth... like Hitmen or agents... hmm, Fyar muttered in his heart, comparing that information with his world.
"Oh right, they use codes!" Hasya snapped his fingers, remembering something important. "Code names!"
"In the second meeting, Kilasafi told me he gave his members code names that confuse people here."
"Code name..." muttered Fyar. He then asked again, "Like?"
Hasya fell silent for a moment. He tapped his chin with his index finger, his eyes looking up. "Hm hm hm, like, like..."
"All sorts, I don’t know what they mean."
Hasya scratched his head, which didn’t itch. "The words feel very foreign."
"Like... hmm... Earth."
Fyar’s pupils contracted drastically. His fists hardened until his knuckles turned white. His heart beat fast, hitting his ribs.
"Jupiter."
"Tokyo."
"Berlin."
"Mobile."
"Eh?" muttered Fyar softly. His face was deadly pale, his eyes fixed blankly forward. "Isn’t that..."
Illya, who realized the change in Fyar’s expression, immediately touched his arm. "Fyar? Are you okay?"
"Ohh, we’ve arrived, arrived, arrived!!!" shouted Hasya suddenly, breaking the tension.
The giant owl dived sharply downwards, piercing the last thin layer of clouds. Before them, a magnificent castle stood firm atop the largest floating island. The castle walls shimmered under the aurora light. Waterfalls flowed heavily from the side of the island, falling into the sea of clouds below.
The owl flapped its wings slowly to brake, then landed smoothly in the castle’s spacious courtyard. A strong wind from the last wing flap hit their faces as the giant bird’s feet touched the ground.
"Let’s continue the story tomorrow, okay? Now you guys rest first!!" exclaimed Hasya while spreading his arms.