"That might have played some role in this as well, but only in the approach. If you were hard to talk to after that, I couldn't have dared to talk to you."
Yulia agreed with Azekiel as he was partially correct about her decision.
"Is this Higher World a secret place that you can't tell us about?" She asked, slightly curious about this hesitation in answering. "But if it was such a secret place, why would they keep repeating the name again and again, not caring about who was listening?"
"It's not a secret," Azekiel answered, shaking his head lightly. "Just a place that doesn't concern you all as you can never go there."
"Well, of course I know I can't go there. If even strong and powerful people like them had to struggle so much to get there, how would it be possible for me?"
"They struggled?" Azekiel asked. "What struggle is there?"
The waitress had told him that she didn't know what these people did outside this bar. How did she know what they did outside this place? Unless she was just taking a guess.
"I've heard them talk about it with great excitement for a long time. It was evident that they were very eager to go there for a very long time. Even now, they haven't gone there and are only close to it. It isn't hard to guess that they had been working really hard and still took so long." Along with the explanation, the woman held Azekiel's wrist and brought his hand along with the glass closer to her lips.
After taking a sip, she released his wrist. "That place does seem quite good if they want to go there so bad. Do you also want to go there?"
"I definitely want to go there," Azekiel nodded. "But first, I want to do something else."
"And what would that something else be?" Yulia asked. "You want to enjoy our place before you leave?"
"When do you get off work?" Azekiel stood up, placing an empty glass down.
"Why do you want to know that? Do you want to take me out?" Yulia laughed, realizing how absurd her thought was.
"Maybe," Azekiel responded. "Depends on your answer."
"I can take time off right now if you want. I can call myself sick and leave. Do something. Wait outside for me. I'll be right out." Yulia also stood up and rushed to the counter in the front.
Azekiel watched Yulia leave. He also started leaving. Leaving the bar, he stood near a wall, waiting for her. Standing outside the war, he also kept observing the streets and his surroundings, still seeing a lot of familiar faces.
From here on, it wasn't as easy for him since every act of his could attract too much attention. Moreover, since all the floors from here to the 80th floor were essentially one, there was no way to stop the flow of information effectively.
He was also new here at this time. The lower floors more or less remained the same, but these floors changed in real time, and so did the people around it. It was quite possible that some of his old knowledge about this floor could be useless at this time, so he needed someone to give him a fresh set of information.
He could've captured one of the citizens here and asked them for information, but then he had to kill someone here, which could give him a point unnecessarily and get him on the leaderboard, even if he pulled it off successfully. He wanted to avoid that until he was certain about the current situation on these floors.
Another way to get information without having to kill someone was through what he was doing. In a bar, there were people who just loved to talk, especially the Kings. Even if he didn't do anything, he could hear what they were saying while sitting inside the bar. I
If possible, he could've approached one or two people as well, but before he could do it, the waitress started engaging with him. She also looked like she knew a lot about the people around her as she had been listening to them for a long time.
It was at that moment, he changed his plan. He could get all the information he needed from that woman, without having to kill her. If he didn't kidnap her and was friendly with her, she was a person who just loved to talk. It was just the perfect option.
Azekiel was waiting for her so he could take her out and talk to her in some privacy. The door of the bar opened, making Azekiel look to his right, wondering if Yulia was out.
Unfortunately, it wasn't Yulia who had arrived. Instead, it was the group of men from the highest floor that he had been keeping an eye on.
He stopped looking at them and lowered his head so it could have more cover thanks to his hood.
The men did notice Azekiel standing nearby, but they didn't pay too much attention to him. They were already very drunk and happy. They were too immersed in themselves as they left, taking the same path.
Not too long after those people left, Yulia came out of the bar as well.
"There you are!" She held Azekiel's arm. "So where are we going next?"
"Do you know a silent place where we could have some privacy?" Azekiel suggested. "Or we can just walk?'
"A silent place for privacy?" Yulia smirked, thinking she understood what he was implying. "Aren't you going to show me your face before that?"
"Didn't you already see my face with all the peeking?" Even though Azekiel asked the question, he still took off his hood to show his face to Yulia.
"Oh wow, you look even better than I expected," Yulia was quite surprised as soon as she saw Azekiel's face. After seeing him, she felt even more attractive to him. His personality was her type, but his face made it even better for her as she found him so handsome.
"You wanted a silent place. My house isn't too far. It's a quiet private place, so no one can disturb us there," Yulia suggested. "If you're still feeling hungry, I can also cook something up for you."
"That would be good," Azekiel agreed. If she actually had a house nearby, what could be better? He could not only stay there out of the public eye for now, but he could also talk to her for as long as he wanted, without any concern.
It was also better than finding a hotel at this time.
"Come." Yulia took Azekiel with him as if she was dragging him. She kept her arms wrapped around his right arm as if she was scared that he was going to run away if she freed his hand for even a moment. She was like a little baby who didn't want to lose a candy.
Also, just like how Azekiel was curious about the state of the world here now, Yulia was also curious about the higher world and all the incredible Knowledge that Azekiel held. She also wanted to hear a lot more from him.
She dragged Azekiel with her for ten minutes before she finally stopped in front of a house.
"Is that your house?" Azekiel asked, looking at the house from top to bottom.
"Whose house will it be?" Yulia laughed in response. She brought a key out of her pocket.
"Don't worry. I'm not a thief who stole someone else's house." She placed the key on the keyboard and twisted.
With a click, the door opened.
"Your house looks quite decent. In fact, it's much better than other houses I saw nearby. You own such a house... How can you be poor and work as a waitress?" Azekiel entered the house right behind Yulia.
Yulia closed the door after Azekiel entered before turning on the lights.
"The house is the only thing I have. Other than this, I have no money. Even to keep the lights on and the food on the table, I need money which I get from my job," Yulia answered as she laughed. "My house is that of rich people, but I'm quite poor."
"So this house is what you inherited from your parents? If you couldn't afford this house yourself, you could only get it from them. They didn't leave any money behind? Also, even then, if you sell this house and shift to a smaller house, you'll be able to get a lot of money in reserve, right?"
"Why are you sounding like a merchant who wants me to get into business as well?" Yulia shook her head. "I will say, it's not like I've never thought of that idea, but I honestly could never let myself get to it."
"This house is the only thing I have, and it has a lot of memories attached to it. Anyway, why are we talking about it? Come up!"
