Chapter 43: The Gem of Solaris

The gift was enough to shut Eveline up for the rest of the night. She didn’t say it out loud, but she liked the gift to the bones.

Unlike the previous inns where they had stayed, the two of them had separate rooms this time. Well, considering that they have money now, Caelan wasn’t exactly surprised.

Eveline’s room was right next to his, so it wasn’t a problem. After staying for a little longer, she eventually returned to her own room to rest.

"Hah..." Caelan dropped himself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was now left all alone.

"Hey, system."

[Ding!]

A familiar screen appeared in front of him as soon as he called it out.

- - -

[Name: Caelan Veyr]

[Level: 8]

[EXP: 22/100]

[Innate Ability: Life Thread]

[Blessing: Hollow]

[Acquired Abilities: Shadow Armament (Sword), Mind Control]

[Title: Lord of the Night]

[Hollow Fragments: 1]

- - -

Caelan stared at his status for a moment. He hadn’t really made much progress in his stats since arriving in the capital, given that he was unconscious or locked inside this room most of the time.

"But speaking of progress..." Caelan sat up and reached for his coin pouch. He emptied its contents onto the bed and began counting everything.

"10... 20... 30..." The coins slowly formed a small pile in front of him.

Even after paying for the carriage, supplies for their journey, food, and everything he bought earlier, he still had a decent amount left.

"Not bad." He still had almost 500 coins in total.

It should be enough for him to live comfortably for a while as long as he didn’t suddenly decide he would waste it on nonsense. But now that he was in the capital, Caelan also wanted more than just enough.

"Hm..." His eyes moved toward the bedside table. There, sitting on top of it, was something far more valuable than everything he had in his coin pouch combined. The Gem of Solaris.

Caelan reached over and picked it up. The gem caught the light from the lamp on his bedside as he turned it between his fingers. Even now, he still didn’t know how much this was worth. He only knew one thing from the system. This should be very expensive.

"I think I really need to sell this." He let out a sigh. The problem with it was figuring out where.

Caelan was still new to the capital, so walking into some random store with something this valuable sounded like a pretty good way to either get scammed or attract the wrong kind of attention.

He could probably search for a reputable merchant or auction house himself. But why bother?

At that thought, Caelan suddenly smiled. He knew he was saying some words about not leading the organization. But maybe he was just not thinking straight that time.

"Maybe it’s my time to start using them." The corner of his lips rose at that.

He placed the Gem of Solaris back on the bedside table before looking at the screen floating in front of him.

"Hey, system. Open the Night functions."

[The Night]

[Current Authority: Lord]

[Available Functions:]𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

- Command

- Communication

- Summon

Caelan’s eyes immediately went toward the last option. He was thinking of using it on someone he already knew.

"Summon Jack."

[Ding!]

[Target: Jack]

[Would the Host like to summon the selected member?]

"Yes."

[Summon request issued.]

[Target has received the Lord’s summons.]

[Estimated arrival time: 18 minutes.]

"That’s fast." Caelan leaned back against the headboard and nodded.

He wasn’t sure where Jack was, but apparently he wasn’t very far. Now the only thing he need to do was wait, so he did.

For the first few minutes, he simply sat on the bed while occasionally glancing toward the door. Since the System said Jack would arrive in eighteen minutes, he expected him to knock once he got here.

Around fifteen minutes later, Caelan heard something outside the room.

*Rustle.

"Hm?" His eyes quickly moved toward the window. He abruptly stood up as he stood still for a moment, checking what kind of sound that was.

"..." Caelan narrowed his eyes when he saw that the curtains were moving slightly.

At first, he thought it was just the wind. But then he remembered that the window was closed.

"What the hell?" This time, Caelan’s entire body tensed. His eyes remained fixed on the window as his hand slowly moved to his side.

Dark shadows began gathering around his fingers.

After everything that happened on the road to the capital, Caelan wasn’t exactly willing to take chances anymore. For all he knew, someone could be trying to sneak into his room.

He slowly stepped away from the bed, keeping his eyes locked on the window. His mind immediately started thinking about Eveline in the room next door.

If something happened, he needed to make sure whoever was outside didn’t get anywhere near her.

Then the window suddenly moved. Before Caelan could react, a dark figure suddenly slipped through the opening.

[Shadow Armament Activated]

A sword immediately formed from the shadows in his hand as Caelan raised it toward the intruder. But the figure simply landed silently on the floor and lowered his head.

"My Lord."

"Jack?" Caelan froze.

The shadows around his hand disappeared at once when he saw the familiar face.

"Yes, my lord?" Jack lowered his head respectfully. "You summoned me."

Caelan stared at him in disbelief. "How did you even get up here?"

"I climbed." Jack calmly pointed toward the window.

"You climbed?"

"Yes."

"..." Caelan just shook his head as he decided not to ask any more questions. Maybe this was normal for assassins like them.

"What does my Lord require of me?" Jack asked once again.

"Oh, right." He walked back toward the bedside table and picked up the Gem of Solaris.

"This."

Jack’s eyes immediately moved toward the gem as Caelan held it up between his fingers.

"I need you to help me sell it."

For the first time since entering the room, Jack’s normally composed expression changed. His eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on the gem.

"My Lord..."

"Hm?"

"May I see it?"

"Sure." Caelan handed it over to him.

Jack carefully accepted the gem and held it closer to his eyes. He examined it for several seconds, turning it between his fingers before his expression became increasingly serious.

"This will sell a fortune, my lord!"