[center][h3]Relica[/h3][/center]
[@PaulHaynek], [@Rezod92], [@The Irish Tree]
[hr]
What was this? Some kind of pre-prepared roast? How!? They didn't even know her! The gremlin was getting more and more red, overall, as the situation progressed within the humble home of the mother who left her suppsoedly ill and only child in the care of two complete strangers, who were monsters to boot. The boy had blurted out his misunderstanding as soon as the monk and his mama had returned, and now they were jumping on the band-wagon too!

[color=lime]"[b]Listen here, ya dolts! I. AM. NOT. TOGETHER. WITH. THAT. BUMBLE-BIMBO! Got it!?[/b]"[/color] Relica's raised voice and flailing arms were quite noticeable. In fact, it would probably has come as a shock to anyone if she'd thrown herself onto the floor, on hter back, and started spinning around in a circle while kicking her legs, flailing her arms and screaming. Luckily, the gremlin had just enough dignity not to do that.

Then the door to the house slid open, and in came the source of this whole issue.

[color=lime]"[i]Yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu........![/i]"[/color] An enraged Relica hissed in a most menacing way.

However, before she could move on over and strangle Kerry with all four of her robotic octo-arms, at the same time, something... Happened. The horney was strangely calm and slid the door shut behind herself, then taking up a position to block it completely. Furthemore, the expression on her face and look in her eyes gave Relica pause to figure out that something had happened, and now wasn't the time to settle personal matters of any sort.

... Even if she really, really, [i][b]really[/b][/i] wanted to...

Listening to the mercenary hornet's little observations, the cogs and gears in the gremlin's own head slowly began to turn. Yes, there was a whole lot fo things about this little trip that hadn't made much sense from the start. How had the monk known about the diseased location if he hadn't been there? How did he know it wasn't contagious? How'd he known the Varjans had gone through and pillaged it? And if that was the case, why wasn't this village more broken down and battered? There were a lot of possibilities and answers to all of these questions, of course.

Perhaps the monk had run away from the village himself, and come to the temple to fetch help? Or perhaps someone had sent him a message or come to see him? Perhaps, just klike with the villagers they rescued on their way here, this wasn't the actual destination but rather yet another side-tour that the monk had led them to as part of his altruistic agenda? But, there was one thing that stood out above all else to Relica now that she thought about it.

The monk.

Not only had he been polite and respectful to her when they had first met, but he had also shown interest - and more importantly, knowledge - about the world outside of Shizuyama. Now granted, he could be a subordinate of that Ayu-woman and be less hostile to monsters on that fact alone, but that still didn't explain how or why he knew about technology and magic beyond this little island. As far as Relica knew and had been told, the locals of this island pretty much didn't interact much with the countries or realms beyond their borders, aside from the random diplomatic talks and aid with The Order.

So, why was he so interested and impressed by her technology and gadgets? That lord tamashi or whatever his name was had said as much himself: His people wouldn't like her, or her gizmos and machines. So, why? Why was this [i][b]monk[/b][/i], a man of spiritual and ascetic mind and principles, asking about and showing interest in such things? For someone like that, who was supposed to have a steadfast belief and rigid conviction in his teachings, to be swayed by a mere few good deeds by creatures he'd been raised to know to hate and fear? Something was fishy.

Relica folded her arms, as per usual when she was upset. She didn't say anything immediately though. Dog-piling onto the monk right now could lead to complications. It was better to handle things carefully right now. When kerry asked about her question from earlier, the one that she'd actually asked twice and both times the monk had ignored to answer, she just nodded. The gremlin then looked at Eula.

[color=lime]"Eula, do me a favor. Look around the house a bit and see if you can find any signs that Varjans' been through here. Also, could you do a scan of the surroudings? Let me know if you sense or find anyone in an out-of-place spot, okay? "[/color] She requested from the automaton. Then, turning to look at the monk. [color=lime]"I'm afraid you've used up the last shred of my good will, baldie. Now, nobody except Eula here is going to leave this house until we get some answers. [b]Actual[/b] answers. Not vague, hand-wavey explanations, not excuses."[/color] Relica's eyes almost sparked with an electric intensity. [color=lime]"You can start by answering my [i]dearly beloved's[/i] questions. I have some of my own you'll be answering afterwards."[/color] She finished. The way she spoke when calling Kerry her dearly beloved was clearly sarcastic and exaggerated.

But now wasn't the time play games. Now was the time to grab a supposed man of the cloth by the scruff of his neck and shake him vigorously until he spilled the beans! ... On... Whatever it was... That ... He was hiding... Yeah! [i][b]JUSTICE![/b][/i]