"Certain details cannot be revealed for now," Nero said, as he conjured a table in front of him in the illusionscape. It was actually good practice, as becoming familiar with the illusionscape would allow him to make better use of illusion cards - something he clearly intended to do. What maniac would give up the obvious advantage of his own father being some kind of illusion prodigy?
"But I suppose I can reveal the primary goal our long term cooperation would be focused towards. Within Lumina I discovered something of vital importance - perhaps even more than a Vault similar to the one the emperor made known."
Nero's eyes flashed as he avoided directly mentioning the Vault to Vanessa. Even though she was technically there as well, and so his oath did not apply to her, he did not want to directly talk to her about it. His experience in the courts had given him a deeper appreciation for plausible deniability for any and all occasions.
He also couldn't reveal the vault he discovered, because he and Gabriel had taken an oath so that neither could reveal it without the approval of the other.
"To reach our grand prize, we need six keys like this," Nero said, and pointed towards the illusion of the black key that appeared. "As of right now, we know the location of at least three keys, but have access to none of them."
"One on the Ceremonial Sword of the Barakus family, one in the Jewelry Box given to Tomoe Suharto, and one in the underground research bunker in the New Dawn Research Institute," Vanessa said, studying the key. "I am familiar with the Ebon Hexkeys. Not many pay attention to such things, especially since so many people try to make sure that people do not learn of them. The fewer who know of it, the lesser the competition is. Even then, many Sages have failed to get their hands on all three as each country holds them as valuable treasures."
Nero paused, as he had not heard of the term Ebon Hexkeys before, nor did he know about the one in New Dawn Research Institute.
"Well, now we know the location of four of them, as I've already gotten my hands on one. That's how I came to learn of these keys to begin with," Nero said, leaving out the fact that he had already lost the black key since.
The revelation also startled Vanessa, who looked at Nero with great surprise.
"Do you mind elaborating on the history of these keys? I feel like you might know more about them than I do."
"The Ebon Hexkey is what they were called by the emperor, though if there is a deeper reason behind that is not known at least to me. According to legend, the emperor got his crown from a treasure chest that was opened using such a key. That he later put the key in the ceremonial sword given to the Barakus family is one of the greatest points of pride for them - at least if you listen to their side of the story. Many believe they stole it after killing the emperor."
Nero directly dismissed the hint of venom in Vanessa's tone, as well as her last sentence. The truth surrounding the actual death of the emperor was heavily contested, and many had their own versions taught in their countries. Nova and New Velariya did
not
have the best relationship, as was the trend among neighbours in Neire, though one of the oldest reasons for that animosity is that the leadership of each state claimed that the other played a direct role in the death of the emperor.
In fact, even in Kolar, the official story that was taught is that it is highly likely that the emperor's death was not natural, the actual truth of it lost to history.
"So the emperor used one key to unlock his crown. Do you know if legends of the powers of the crown are real?" Nero asked hopefully. The crown was, naturally, not normal - at least according to stories. It was also the inspiration for the thousand year long effort to craft items which contained powers and abilities - something he now knew for sure was possible due to his time in Lumina.
"Nobody knows where the crown is. Even if they do, it's way above my paygrade as I've never heard of it."
"Considering the origin of the crown, and peculiarity surrounding the keys and the various objects that require them, I think it's in our best interest to assume that it was, because there's no point in locking something away if there's nothing special about it."
"Going by that premise, the number of required keys might then directly correspond with the value of the treasure sealed inside," Vanessa suddenly said, a hint of excitement gleaming in her eyes.
"It's a good assumption. You can start looking into this since I have a feeling this might be easier for you. Let's find out if there are more objects out there with one or two keyholes in them, or if there is only one with each requirement. If that's the case, the first item has already been taken by the emperor, the item requiring two keys is the ceremonial sword, and the item requiring three keys is the jewellery box. Finally, I know the location of the item requiring six keys."
Vanessa felt the excitement pulse through her body as she thought of the implications, especially since they might have one key already. But then she forcefully calmed herself down, and looked at Nero.
"This might be a good long term goal, but it's
too
long term. As in, I don't see anyone making any progress on this before a couple of decades at least. Do you have anything more imminent in mind?"
"Something that specifically requires your help? Not at the moment. Even if this goal is too far out in the future, without Fair Weather it will be pointless to us in a few decades unless the mist suddenly decides to disappear. Same as the fact that without the keys, having Fair Weather would be pointless. I'd just like to point out the huge leap of faith I took by handing the card to you to smuggle out."
Vanessa scoffed, her mood suddenly going back to being non-serious.
"As if. Without me, you would have had no other way to take it out. You
needed
me."
"Debatable," Nero said, waving his hand dismissively. "But we can discuss a few more immediate plans. I think it's pretty obvious your interest in Perilith is not normal. If you need any help with something, you can let me in on your goals and I can think of ways to help you."
Vanessa looked at him lamely.
"It is
not
obvious. No one besides James knows anything. How can you just
assume
my interest is out of the ordinary? This is a dimension no one has ever heard of before? What interest could I have?
How could you possibly deduce that I have hidden interests
?"
Nero could practically hear Vanessa grinding her teeth, and it made him chuckle. He was about to answer, but suddenly looked towards his left as he sensed a disturbance.
Outside the illusion, a soldier walked up to the barrier around Nero and Vanessa and knocked on it.
"Curfew starts in 20 minutes," the soldier yelled, unsure if his voice would carry through the barrier. "If you're still here by then, you'll be detained."
"Thanks," Nero yelled out with his real body, before turning towards Vanessa in the illusionscape.
"I don't need evidence for pure conjecture. I always assume someone has a hidden motive behind any action they take. The real skill comes into guessing what that motive actually is. Most of the time I'm right about the hidden motive, even if I can't always guess what it is correctly all the time. People are inherently selfish. It makes sense for there to be a hidden reason behind what they're doing."
"That's not fair," Vanessa complained. "You're not a detective, you're just a conspiracy nut."
Nero shrugged.
"I wouldn't call it that. I didn't say the hidden motive had to be bad or something. I just said it makes sense for people to have a selfish motive behind their actions. Now whether that motive is to feel good about helping others, develop a positive reputation because you want to be known as a good person, make contacts with the unsuspecting, none of that is actually bad."
Vanessa ground her teeth even harder, because while Nero was giving her an example of things that weren't bad, he was
simultaneously
accusing her of all those things. The knowing grin on his face revealed as much. The thing that irritated her to no end was that he was right!
"We'll need to find another time to discuss Perilith in further detail. The curfew is about to start so we should start making our way back."
"It's best we avoid making this a habit. Wait till Perilith, I will include you in my plans there."