Jieun reserved a private room at the Pavilion of Plentiful Dumplings — and ordered the food. All Jihûn had to do was show up. And pay. In advance. The room was on the second floor. The table sat on a balcony overlooking a courtyard. A pond dominated the courtyard. Chamber musicians played in a gazebo at the center of the pond.
It was Jihûn's favorite room.
A number of young women accompanied Jieun. They came in all shapes and sizes. The mood was festive. Maurice Lupin was the center of attention. People seeking attention normally irritated Jihûn. At any family gathering, the Third Prince was always talking the most, reciting poetry the most, lecturing on classics, and commenting on the failures of great generals in the past — all while simultaneously playing chess.
The Third Prince needed a good punch in the face.
Maurice Lupin's face was too pretty to punch.
The population of Great Yao was huge. Its most attractive person would necessarily be a knockout. In addition to possessing good angles, Lupin had a fashionably compact frame wrapped in stringy muscles. Jihûn shook himself out of the spell. Appearances aside, the Eighth Prince could use another strong fighter on his team.
"Maurice," said Jieun. "The last time we met, you said something about a magic sword."
"A boy is never happy without at least one sword," said Lupin.
Everyone took a sip of overpriced peach wine.
"Are you any closer to finding it?" asked Jieun.
"My landlady gave me a tip," said Lupin. "It turned out to be a bust."
The young ladies sympathized.
"It couldn't have been a complete bust," said Jieun. "What you're wearing mostly matches. Did you find some jewelry and a pawn shop that doesn't ask too many questions?"
"A jewel thief!" said a young lady. "Intriguing."
"I am an efficiency consultant," replied Lupin.
Everyone took another sip of overpriced peach wine.
Despite his frame, Lupin could put away a lot of dumplings — and drink a lot of wine. His social fluency was similarly astounding. Jihûn felt sensitive to pretensions. The aforementioned Third Prince was always playing "dumbass who was 'secretly' a genius" at times like this. If Lupin was putting on an act, however, his guile was indistinguishable from sincerity. Jihûn checked the jewel thief out — and invented food accidents as excuses to bump him.
He appeared unarmed.
"What kind of sword are you looking for?" asked Jihûn.
"As I understand it," said one young woman, "Jian Peak Abbey prizes Elven swords."
"The beauty has it right," agreed Lupin.
The friends Jieun had invited were members of Great Yao's young professional caste. They possessed industrious features, dressed pragmatically, used relatively little makeup, and accessorized in an understated manner. Still, they enjoyed being flattered.
"Elven swords are more myth than metal," continued Lupin, "but we do often equip ourselves with a style which at least resembles the truthful object."
"With twenty-thousand years of backstory," said Jieun, "there's probably a truthful object lying around the capital somewhere."
"That is my hope," agreed Lupin. "Madame Wu, my landlady, is a collector of rare and wondrous things. I have leads at least, if not yet swords."
"Are you looking to buy," asked a young lady, "or acquire through other means?"
"If anyone already possessed what I'm looking for," said Lupin, "then…."
"It wouldn't be what you were looking for?" asked the young lady.
"This beauty also has it exactly right."
"You've come to the capital on the off chance you might find an ancient Elven sword that no one else has found yet?" asked Jihûn.
"All the beauties at this table make it a habit to be right," replied Lupin.
"Jiji!" cried Jieun. "You're blushing!"
All the other beauties enjoyed Jihûn's nickname too much.
But what was the source of Lupin's charm?
Being Jian Peak's star disciple required internal arcana. Lupin's disciplines likely revolved around movement, misdirection, and phantasms. Even if he had used techniques to cloud Jihûn's thought processes, however, the Eighth Prince would feel a bit of pressure. He could feel a bit of pressure from Moonlight Chamber's agents spying on him at that moment. Their surveillance was ostensibly for his own protection. Assassins might be hiding in dark places. In fact there were assassins hiding in dark places —they just happened to work for the Emperor.
Jihûn felt no pressure from Lupin, however. His charm was not derived from arcana.
How would he stack up against the hidden assassins?
Arcana played an oversized role in battles. Despite that, physical condition remained important. The body gave the mind metaphors. Strong metaphors prevailed over even stronger arcana all the time. Lupin's physical metaphors got fiercer as they neared the ground. His techniques emphasized raw speed.
That was a little odd for one of the Great Turtle's "grandsons."
Gargogryeo was a land of explosive techniques. Jihûn's mother, the Goddess of Glaives, exemplified that tradition. Jihûn wasn't on her level, but the "gentle giant" could still cause structural damage. Dragon Turtle Society practiced the same techniques as Gargogryeon royalty.
Crush. Smash. Destroy.
A prince had no use for people who ran away. But people who could run away could also run in and get out. That was valuable. Jihûn leaned close to one of Lupin's exquisite little ears.
"Jihûn!" said Jieun. "Don't bite."
"How many people are watching our table?" Jihûn whispered.
"Three," replied Lupin. "One from Moonlight Chamber. One from Beggar's Guild. One from Sorrow Woe."
Jihûn leaned back. Sorrow Woe Society was bad news. What did they want?
"Maurice," said Jieun, "your previous fragrance wasn't unpleasant, but it did make my eyes water. Today, you smell remarkable."
All the young women agreed.
"Furthermore," continued Jieun, "I've never seen skin look that good."
Lupin hushed the table with charming gestures, lowered his voice, and urged everyone to lean in to hear his skin care secret.
"Unless I'm mistaken," said Lupin.
"Are you ever mistaken?" asked one young woman.
"It happens," conceded Lupin. "But I believe that someone has cast a hot bath spell at the flophouse where I'm flopping."
Jihûn snorted. The young women looked at him with displeasure.
"What?" asked Jihûn. "Hot bath spell? Come on!"
"Magic sword?" asked Jieun. "Come on!"
"Magic swords are real!" said Jihûn.
"So is the hot bath spell," insisted Jieun. "It's ancient magic."
Reflexively, Jihûn snorted again — earning himself more harsh looks.
"I get he's nice to look at," said Jihûn. "But…."
"You think we're humoring him on account of attractiveness?" asked Jieun.
The Third Prince wasn't half as attractive, and got that treatment all the time.
"Yes," said Jihûn. "Even on the Mound, our baths are heated by water running through copper tubes painted black. If there was going to be a magic bath anywhere, wouldn't it be up there?"
"Maybe it is up there and we don't know about it," said Jieun.
"Ridiculous," insisted Jihûn.
"The hot bath spell is much more than copper tubes," said one of Jieun's friends. "It weakens the boundaries between planes of reality."
Jihûn looked at her blankly.
"Elemental forces seep through the cracks," said Jieun.
"Only the most powerful arcanists can cast such a spell," said Lupin. "As it happens, Madame Wu's Mansion originally belonged to Marquis Yue."
"Who?" asked Jihûn.
"Marquis Yue was executed for depravity decades ago," said a young woman.
"Is a hot bath spell depraved?" asked Jihûn.
"It weakens the boundary between planes of existence," said Lupin.
A new tray of steak dumplings arrived.
"You think there's an arcane echo from Marquis Yue's time?" asked Jieun.
"A strong one," said Lupin. "It's lasted two days with no sign of losing steam."
"What does Madame Wu think?" asked Jieun.
"She thinks it's a bad omen," said Lupin, "and wants to seal the locker room, but her butterflies like it too much."
"Butterflies?" asked Jihûn.
"Tenants," said Lupin. "We weigh as much as butterflies to her."
"What if Madame Wu is right?" asked Jieun.
"Anything that weakens reality can go sideways," agreed Lupin. "But these baths are something else."
"Can we see?" asked Jieun.
"Women are not allowed in the mansion," said Lupin. "Madame Wu is very possessive. As for sneaking in…."
"She's one of Dragon Turtle Society's Ogre Mages," said Jihûn.
"Shhhh!" urged Lupin.
"I'm the Eighth Prince," replied Jihûn. "That counts for something."
"You're also a boy," observed a young lady.
"Yes," agreed Jihûn. "That's true."
"Which means…."
Jihûn stared at her blankly.
"You can go into the bath," said Jieun.