Lex, yang berada dalam kondisi dia tidak bisa bergerak fisik sama sekali dan malah harus mengandalkan indra rohnya untuk berkomunikasi, menatap ikan di mangkok mancing dengan diam. Lex tidak menunggu puisi — sampai sekarang dia tahu cukup baik untuk tidak berharap ini lelucon.
Baliknya, dia memanfaatkan momen untuk mengamati ikan itu. Berbeda dengan serigala, yang baru 4,5% pembatasnya dilepas, ikan ini, luar biasa, sekitar 39%.
Lebih baik tidak mempertanyakan alasan, Lex merasa ikan itu sudah ada di pondok ini lama sekali. Hanya karena keabadiannya, dan faktanya tidak ingat apa pun lebih dari 10 hari terakhir, dia tidak punya masalah tinggal di sini tanpa akhir.
Sementara Fenrir tercengang, memandang ikan di mangkok dengan aneh, Lex bicara lagi.
"Sepuluh hari penuh. Wow, itu luar biasa," kata Lex dengan rasa kagum yang tampak tulus, tanpa indikasi kekecewaan di ucapannya. "Tapi kau tahu, itu mungkin jelasin kenapa aku dikirim ke sini buat ngerjain surat buatmu. Sayangnya, gara-gala Lawstorm yang baru aku alami, kebanyakan barangku hancur, termasuk surat yang harus kubawa buatmu."
Fenrir dan ikan emas sama-sama memandang Lex dengan rasa ingin tahu dan bingung. Lagi gimana?
"Surat? Buat aku? Oh, aku nggak pernah dapet surat," kata ikan emas dengan sedih. "Sayang banget Lawstorm ngehancurkin. Aku bisa ngecium sisa aura hukum di dirimu — pasti parah kalo bisa ngehancurkin surat buat aku."
Lex mengangguk, atau ya, dia coba mengangguk buat setuju sama ikan itu.
"Iya, parah banget. Faktanya, satu-satunya alasan aku mungkin masih hidup karena seberapa banyak kekuatan yang dikemas di surat itu, yang berakhir selamatkin nyawaku. Jadi, sebenarnya aku harus berterima kasih padamu."
Ikan itu mengangkat kepala sedikit ke atas, seolah menikmati tepuk tangan buat dirinya sendiri.
"Ya, baiklah, anggap aja keberuntunganmu. Sayang aku nggak bisa baca suratnya sekarang," kata ikan itu.
"Sebenarnya, aku tahu isi suratnya," kata Lex. "Surat itu dari Pengelola Inn, pemilik Midnight Inn, yang nulis buat nerima lamaranmu jadi Arch-Heaven Guardian Midnight Inn."
"Arch-Heaven Guardian?" tanya ikan, menundukkan kepala ke Lex, berharap dia jelasin.
"Tentu," kata Lex sambil ngirim dorongan ke Fenrir lewat indra rohnya, bikin anak anjing itu mulai mengangguk, seolah dia juga tahu berita ini.
"Wajar, nggak semua orang seagung dan sekuat dirimu," puji Lex. "Buat kita orang biasa lewat Arch-Heaven, risikonya gede — keliatan dari kondisiku. Tapi dengan pertolonganmu, tentu tamu Midnight Inn bakal jauh lebih aman. Semua orang bisa kenal itu."
Ikan itu mengangguk, pakai seluruh badannya.
"Ya, tentu. Itu masuk akal sepenuhnya," katanya dengan datar. "Aku memang kandidat sempurna buat guardian."
"Kita semua setuju," lanjut Lex. "Itu kenapa aku penasaran kenapa surat dibutuhkan kalo aku bisa cuma antar pesan. Sekarang aku ngerti surat itu supaya kamu bisa baca setiap beberapa hari biar nggak lupa."
Fenrir mengangguk antusias sambil matanya melebar. Setiap kali dia keluar bareng Lex, dia belajar skill hidup baru penting: berburu, ngeganggu target, dan sekarang ini! Cara pake setiap situasi buat untung sendiri.
"Memang masuk akal sempurna," kata ikan emas, sebelum ngeluarin sisik kekuningan-oranye yang kelihatannya pernah jadi bagian tubuhnya. Di sisik itu, Lex liat, ada beberapa pengingat ditulis.
Anehnya kekuatan tertentu mencegah Lex baca isinya, tapi dia jelas liat ikan itu catat hal penting di sisik itu.
"Ya, ya aku liat tertulis di sini kalau aku nunggu surat penting," kata ikan emas, berpaling dari sisik ke Lex. "Kelihatannya surat itu dari Pengelola Inn. Ya udah, sepertinya aku punya peran baru sekarang. Biarkan aku tambahin ke sisik cepet..."
Lex diam, tapi dia tukar pandang sama Fenrir sambil mereka berdua nonton ikan emas nambahin coretan di sisik sebelum menelannya.
"Oke, aku udah catet. Namaku Mango, dan aku kira aku Arch-Heaven Guardian kalian sekarang. Butuh apa? Sebagai guardian, dan mungkin atasan, aku nggak bisa biarin kalian mati."
Lex liat Fenrir sementara anak anjing itu menatap balik. Lalu, bareng, mereka berbalik ke Mango, guardian ikan emas.
"Nah, buat sekarang, aku butuh nemuin seseorang. Aku punya benang karma nyambung ke dia jadi aku bisa nemuin, tapi lewat Arch-Heaven bakal jadi halangan karena aku nggak tau bahaya apa yang bakal ketemu," ujar Lex jujur dan lurus.
Mango menghela nafas, bikin beberapa gelembung naik ke atas mangkok.
"Ya udah, kelihatannya aku nggak punya pilihan selain antar kalian lewat Arch-Heaven. Aku guardian kalian kan. Yuk, angkat mangkoku dan taruh di slede. Bakal jadi keistimewaan ekstrem buat kalian punya pertemananku dalam perjalanan," kata Mango dengan sombong.
Lex dorong Fenrir lagi, yang bangun dari kebingungannya dan cepet melompat ke mangkok ikan. Lagi-lagi, dia kena dorongan tiba-tiba buat mancing ikan itu dari mangkok dan ngunyahnya, tapi dia nahan.
"Ngomong-ngomong," kata Mango saat Fenrir naruh mangkok tepat di depan wajah Lex, "kalo kamu tahu isi surat, kamu tau nggak kalo suratnya nyebut Dao Affirmation list? Atau mungkin Dao Bounty list?"
"Emm, nggak sih," jawab Lex sebentar. "Kenapa? Apa itu? Kalo mau, aku bisa cari tau kalo ada yang perlu kamu tahu."
"Menurut sisikku, Dao Affirmation list itu daftar kandidat paling mungkin jadi Dao Lord, dan Dao Bounty list itu daftar kriminal Dao Lord. Sisik bilang jangan keluar dari pondok sebelum namaku hilang dari kedua daftar. Aku harap surat itu bakal bilang kalau namaku udah keluar dari daftar," kata Mango ceria, ngeabaikan ekspresi Lex yang kagak bisa bicara.
Untuk adil, dengan wajahnya yang masih sembuh, susah mendeteksi ekspresinya.
"Gimana... gimana namamu bisa di kedua Dao Affirmation list dan Dao Bounty list?" tanya Lex ragu, mikir apakah lelucon kecil ini ide bagus.
Tunggu, ini bukan lelucon. Dia cuma bertindak sesuai keinginan Pengelola Inn, dan nggak ada yang bisa membuktikan sebaliknya.
"Aku nggak tau," kata Mango antusias sambil Fenrir mulai narik slede keluar pondok. "Aku nggak yakin apa itu Dao Lord."
Lex pengen garuk kepala, tapi butuh gerakan, jadi dia pilih diam canggung. Ada pertanyaan yang mau ditanya, tapi dia punya perasaan kuat dia tau jawaban apa yang bakal dikasih Mango.
"Kamu kebetulan... tahu level kultivasimu?" tanya dia.
Untuk adil, level kultivasi nggak penting di Arch-Heaven, cuma persentase pembatas yang dikurangi. Tetep, bukan berarti kultivasi total nggak berarti.
"Aku nggak ingat," jawab Mango, nggak sadar pertarungan internal Lex. "Hal satu-satunya soal kultivasi di sisikku cuma bilang aku nggak usah khawatir soal itu."
"Tentu," kata Lex, seolah itu hal paling wajar. "Seseorang seagung kamu pasti nggak perlu khawatir soal kultivasi."
Mango mengangguk pakai seluruh badan, seolah hal itu wajar banget.
Secara internal, Lex kontak Mary.
"Ada peluang nggak kau coba dapetin Dao Affirmation list?" tanya Lex ke Mary. "Aku yakin ada yang jual kalo daftar itu pengetahuan umum."
"Aku kerjain, tapi aku punya perasaan itu bukan barang yang bisa didapat cuma dengan nanya."
"Kamu bisa bilang itu lagi," gumam Lex sambil liat ke Mango. Sebentar kemudian, dia putusin kumpul info lebih soal... situasi yang dia hadapi.
"Ngomong-ngomong, ada yang lain di sisikmu yang butuh bantuan? Kalo kamu bilang beberapa tugasmu, mungkin aku bisa bantu ngerjain," kata Lex, seolah mau membantu.
"Sisik nggak bilang banyak, sih," kata Mango sambil ngamatin dunia luar pondoknya untuk pertama kalinya dalam tahun-tahun tak terhitung. "Sebagian besar info pribadi, kayak nama, tempat lahir, dst. Ada juga soal tau rahasia sebesar itu bikin berakhirnya sebuah era, dan kutukan sejenis yang bikin semua ikan emas jadi pelupa, tapi nggak dijelasin detail jadi seolah nggak ada. Cuma numpangin tempat di sisik."
Lex, who was in such a state that he could not even physically spend and instead had to rely on this spirit sense to communicate, stared up at the fish in the fishing bowl silently. Lex was not waiting for the punchline - by now he knew well enough than to hope this was a joke.
Instead, he took the moment to inspect the fish. Unlike the jackal, who had only 4.5% of his limiter removed, the fish, remarkably, had approximately 39%.
For some reason, Lex had a feeling that the fish had been in this very hut for a long, long time. It was just that due to its immortality, and the fact that it couldn’t remember anything beyond the last 10 days, it had no problem staying here endlessly.
While Fenrir was stunned, looking at the fish in the bowl oddly, Lex spoke again.
"Ten whole days. Wow, that’s incredible," Lex said with seemingly genuine wonder in his voice, no indication of any disappointment detectable in his speech. "But you know, that probably explains why I was sent here to deliver a letter to you. Unfortunately, due to the Lawstorm I recently experienced, most of my belongings were destroyed, including the letter I was supposed to bring you."
The Fenrir and the goldfish both looked at Lex with curiosity and confusion. What now?
"A letter? For me? Oh, I’ve never gotten a letter," the goldfish said morosely. "Too bad the Lawstorm destroyed it. I can smell the remnant aura of the laws on you - it must have been bad if it could destroy a letter addressed to me."
Lex nodded, or well, he tried to nod to agree with the fish.
"Yup, it was a bad one. Actually, the only reason I’m probably even alive is because of how much power was packed in the letter, which ended up saving my life. So, actually, I should thank you."
The fish pointed its head up high slightly, as if basking in applause for himself.
"Yes, well, count it as your good fortune. Too bad I won’t get to read the letter now, though," the fish said.
"Actually, I know what the letter was about," Lex said. "The letter was from the Innkeeper, the owner of the Midnight Inn, who was writing to accept your application as the Arch-Heaven Guardian of the Midnight Inn."
"Arch-Heaven Guardian?" the fish asked, turning its head down to look at Lex, hoping that he would elaborate.
"Yes, of course," Lex said as he sent a nudge to Fenrir through his spiritual sense, causing the pup to begin nodding his head, as if he too was aware of this news.
"Naturally, not everyone is as grand and powerful as yourself," Lex praised. "For us ordinary folk to traverse Arch-Heaven, it is a huge risk - as can be seen by my state. But with your escort, naturally the guests of the Midnight Inn would be much safer. Everyone can recognize that."
The fish nodded, using its entire body.
"Yes, of course. That makes complete and total sense," he said stoically. "I am, indeed, the perfect candidate for a guardian."
"We all agree," Lex continued. "Which is why I was wondering why a letter was required when I could simply deliver the message. Now I understand the letter was so that you could read it every few days so that you don’t forget."
Fenrir was nodding enthusiastically even as his eyes expanded. Every time he ventured out with Lex, he learned new and important life skills such as hunting, annoying your target, and now this! How to use every situation to your benefit.
"Indeed, that makes perfect sense," the goldfish said, before whipping out a yellowish-orange scale that looked like it had once been a part of its body. On the scale, Lex could see, were a number of reminders written.
Some unusual powers stopped Lex from actually reading the content, but he could clearly see that the fish had noted down important things on that scale.
"Yes, yes I can see it written here that I am expecting an important letter," the goldfish said, turning from the scale towards Lex. "It seems the letter was from the Innkeeper. Well, it seems I have a new role now. Let me just quickly add it to the scale..."
Lex said nothing, though he shared a glance with Fenrir as they both watched the goldfish add some scribbles onto the scale before swallowing it.
"Alright, I’ve noted it down. The name’s Mango, and I guess I’m your new Arch-Heaven Guardian. What do you folks need? As your guardian, and probably superior, I can’t have you dying on me."
Lex looked at Fenrir while the pup stared back at him. Then, together, they turned towards Mango, the goldfish guardian.
"Well, for now, I need to find a certain fellow. I have a karmic string connected to him so I can find him, but getting through Arch-Heaven is going to be an obstacle since I don’t know what dangers to expect," Lex stated honestly and directly.
Mango sighed, causing a few bubbles to float up to the top of the fishbowl.
"Well then, it seems I have no choice but to escort you all through Arch-Heaven. I am your guardian after all. Come on, pick up my fishbowl and place it on the sled. It will be your extreme privilege to have my company in your journey," Mango said haughtily.
Lex nudged Fenrir once more, who woke from his stupor and quickly hopped on over to the fishbowl. Once again, he was hit by a sudden urge to fish the fish out of the bowl and chomp it down, but it resisted.
"By the way," Mango said as Fenrir placed the bowl right next to Lex’s face, "since you know the contents of the letter, would you happen to know if it mentioned the Dao Affirmation list? Or maybe the Dao Bounty list?"
"Umm, not really," Lex said after a moment. "Why? What are they? If you want, I can find out about them if there’s something you need to know."
"According to my scale, the Dao Affirmation list is a list of most likely candidates to become a Dao Lord, and the Dao Bounty list is a list of Dao Lord criminals. The scale said not to leave the hut until my name is off both lists. I hope the letter was going to tell me that my names are off the list," Mango said cheerily, ignoring Lex’s stumped expression.
To be fair, with his face still recovering, it was hard to detect his expressions anyway.
"How... how can your name be on both the Dao Affirmation list, and the Dao Bounty list?" Lex asked hesitantly, wondering if this small prank by him was a good idea.
No wait, this was not a prank. He was simply acting according to the Innkeepers wishes, and no one could prove otherwise.
"I have no idea," Mango said excitedly as Fenrir began pulling the sled out of the hut. "I’m not quite sure what a Dao Lord is anyway."
Lex had the urge to scratch his head, but that would require movement, so instead he opted for maintaining an awkward silence. There was a question he wanted to ask, but he had a strong feeling he knew what answer Mango would give.
"Do you by chance... know what your cultivation level is?" he asked.
To be fair, cultivation level didn’t matter in Arch-Heaven, only the percentage of the limiter that had been reduced. Still, it wasn’t as if cultivation was totally insignificant.
"I don’t remember," Mango stated, oblivious to Lex’s internal battles. "The only thing that my scale said about cultivation was that I shouldn’t really worry about it."
"Of course," said Lex, as if that was the most natural thing. "One as glorious as you would surely not need to worry about cultivation."
Mango nodded, using his whole body, as if such a thing was naturally natural.
Internally, though, Lex contacted Mary.
"Is there any chance you can try to get your hands on the Dao Affirmation list?" he asked Mary. "I’m sure someone is selling it if that list is public knowledge."
"I’ll get on it, but I have a feeling that’s not the kind of thing you can get simply by asking about it."
"You can say that again," Lex muttered as he looked towards Mango. After a brief moment, he decided it was best to gather more information about the... situation he had gotten himself in.
"By the way, is there anything else on your scale that you need help with? If you tell me some of your tasks, maybe I can help you with completing them," Lex said, as if wanting to be helpful.
"The scale does not say much, really," Mango said as he observed the world outside his hut for the first time in endless years. "Mostly a bunch of personal information, like my name, place of birth et cetera. There’s also something about knowing a secret so great it caused the end of an age, and a race wide curse that caused all goldfish to become forgetful, but it doesn’t really elaborate so it might as well not even be there. It’s just taking up space on the scale."
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