It was not unusual for the heiress to the Kaiba household to be wandering inside the Artisan's building. Not only was she by status a noble, but also a businesswoman so when she had decided to use her connections with a certain 'master' of artifacts the young woman found herself at a spacious store, busily conversing with the owner. "I'm not sure Lady Seta, the material of this relic is unlike any raw minerals or gems I seen before." Seta frowned at the comment of the man. So even a master of relics did not know the origins of this golden rod?

"... So my time here was wasted." The brunette groaned in annoyance, clearly displeased as she picked up the rod and placed it back inside the special suitcase, but right before she could leave the man mentioned with a hint of curiosity. "Although I did see some relics before that were made of a similar material. I believe you might find some references in the library about them."

Other relics... Suddenly recalling the sarcophagus inside the room Seta recalled an important detail, one she had almost forgotten in her excitement: There were several engravings on the sarcophagus that looked like something fit in them... could it be that they were part of a set? A hand raised to her chin as she thought for a moment before nodding her head slightly in affirmation. "I guess I know where to go next."

It didn't take long for Seta to make her way outside the store, a glimpse around the area confirming that even this early in the morning business was already bustling for the Artisans, something that made her idly muse whether it was normal for that to be the case so quickly after the war.

However, in that moment as she idly pondered a rough hand slipped over her own, and just as she was about to turn away to face the one it belonged to a rough tug made the suitcase be pulled out of her hand! "HEY!" Seta's eyes narrowed into a glare as the man made a beeline toward the busy passage, easily bumping past the shopping citizen while Seta found herself slowed down by each person that she bumped against.

"Shit, at this rate that bastard is going to get away with the relic." A hand slipped toward the holster of her deck, wondering if she should take the opportunity to summon her trustworthy Battle Ox, but then again summoning a two meters large minotaur was surely going to provoke a panic, enough to give the man a chance to slip away unnoticed!

It was just around the time the thief was nearing the exit of the artisan building that her voice resounded from behind him. "Stop that thief!"

While people were starting to scatter and look onwards curiously the thief who had tried to take the opportunity to escape was blissfully unaware he was about to bump in a certain person, who despite the name wasn' that 'Lil'

It appeared the thief had just run into a bout of misfortune, for right when he reached the exit Seta had ran out of patience, a hand reaching for the holster yet in the same instant the brunette saw a rather impressively build man squeezing the thief... beneath his arm-pit? The thief screamed and flailed in panic, and she could have sworn she heard bones cracking beneath the pressure of the stranger's weight. With the crate slipping out of the man's hand Seta was quick to retrieve the case and upon taking a step backward looked up at the giant of a man. "..." A glimpse down to his armpit was made where the thief was starting to spasm and she stated with a bit of sarcasm. "You might want to stop squeezing, Wayne was it?"

Her free hand was raised toward the thief, a pointing gesture as she explained further. "At this rate you might get into troubles for killing that man, and troubles for you means troubles for me this time around, and you could say 'Seta doesn't like troubles!'" Adding the last bit with a mimic of the giant's tone she heaved the case over her should and mused softly. "Not that I mind if you end up crushing that thief's limbs."

Indeed, she wasn't exactly a big fan of thieves in general. But there was one thing that left her a bit curious. Where in the world did that man get the strength to crush an adult with his bare hands? Was it merely his weight, or was there something else that contributed to that inhuman strength? She was actually feeling a bit curious about that, but refrained from asking for the time being.

"Oh not at all, I was merely trying to speak in a way that suits your conversations." She was arrogant and haughty for sure, and while her tone might had been dripping with sarcasm she was not the type to forget a favor, so after a moment she mused out loud. "I guess I shall accompany you, so that you may regal the tale to your superiors of how you defended a noble of Crocus from being robbed and earn yourself a pleasant compliment and a pat on the shoulder, I guess? Don't know what it is that Rune Knights usually get."

The brunette shrugged her shoulders lightly as she stepped beside Wayne and explained further. "Either way, the case is back where it belongs, I am Seta Kaiba, heiress to the Kaiba household of Crocus and the owner of the case that thief had stolen." As she waited for Wayne to guide her toward the barracks or whatever location he would dump the broken and beaten thief at Seta soon mused out loud. "While I could have caught him myself, I believe the means for it would have caused needless unrest. Imagine suddenly having a big guy like yourself appear in the Artisan's Building? Not increase this effect by turning said guy into a giant Minotaur and you'll understand why I couldn't use my magic." It certainly sounded like she was trying to cover up the fact that she was too hesitant to summon the Battle Ox in the middle of the crowded passage...

"You might be right about that." Seta mused softly as Wayne called her out on the fact that despite the fact she was part of the noble class she was not exactly a noble in mind. "I am as far from noble in nature that you could possibly imagine. Then again, that's what it took to get this far." Her confident look briefly had a shadow cross her visage as a more serious and thoughtful expression crossed her visage. "If it wasn't then me and my siblings would still be rotting in that orphanage..." Shaking her head lightly in an effort to banish the thoughts from her mind Seta turned her focus to Wayne as he remarked not having needed to use any magic to restrain the thief earlier, so that was indeed raw strength? Fascinating...

"I'm inclined to agree with you yet again Wayne, a powerful magic or a clever mind is nothing without a strong body to support it." She tapped a hand lightly to her waist once more and mused softly. "Then again, you could say I'm an 'Apprentice of All, Master of None' when it came to my current skills."


Indeed, to say that her magic was versitable would be quite an understatement...

A hand raised to Seta's chin as she seemingly thought deeply about the surprisingly wise words spoken by Wayne, yet hearing his own passage to his statement she mused out loud. "I'm certain that given time and effort you can become much more Wayne. People often say that the famous people from stories and legends are born into greatness."

Her eyes narrowed slightly into a glare as she continued. "I believe that's a load of bullshit. Those born with power and influence often get jaded and lack the motivation to reach their true potential. It's those who struggle in the dirt, claw their way up to those golden pillars... Through their struggles and tribulations, they obtain the ability to nurture their potential and become something much greater... They are the ones who truly become worthy of legend and myth, those who become known as some of the greatest individuals in existence."

She had climbed her way from the dirt to nobility, but she was far from done, she had to keep on clawing her way upwards for the sake of those who counted on her. "Shrine Maidens? I recall hearing something about a different religion, rumors stirring in the shadows of society. The church likely would label them as a cult, and yet I have to admit I'm not versed well enough on religious matters to offer an honest opinion."

"Oh? That's quite an interesting opinion to hear~" Seta mused with a hint of genuine curiosity in her reaction. It was not often that she found someone speak so strongly against the church, especially inside the Capital where their influence was at its greatest. "Are you talking about the Holy Knights perchance?" The young woman asked when Wayvne commented about the bishop and the whole sending out people to murder those who opposed him.

Then again, she imagined it likely was a matter that went beyond the responsibilities of a Rune Knight, so she could imagine he wouldn't get much support with an opinion like that. However, she was still a bit curious about those shrine maidens he mentioned before.

"The Manji? Are they a family? I guess the Shrine Maidens must be related to them?" She asked with a clear interest noticeable in her tone while at the same time his explanation about them made her smile weakly. "Sounds like they consider their shrine a business rather than a place of faith then."

However, his explanation briefly caused her to tilt her head slightly to the side, a curious glance being given him. "So the Manji provided you with a type of power? Seems like a familiar story." For a moment her eyes were cast down onto the case in her hand before finally focusing back on the final part of their conversation. "What do you believe makes a good knight Wayne?"

"Heh~ Most people never get paid enough to stick their nose into troubles~" Seta quipped at Wayne's remark on the whole matter of thinking on the matter of the Illumin. But she had to admit that when he continued speaking that an unfamiliar name reached her ears.
"Santos... I don't recall reading about them in the Crocus library before." A hand reached for her chin as she thought about the matter for a moment. Maybe she should ask Mokuba about it? He was the type of person who loved to read about myths and legends so perhaps he heard about this 'Santos' before.


"I'm afraid I'd have to disappoint you Wayne, although I can understand that some people leave their future into the hands of their faith, I don't believe in something like a 'destiny' predetermined by a deity. The only one I believe who holds the power to decide my future is myself."

Yet she couldn't help but frown for a moment as Wayne provided her with yet another fragment of information: The Manji gave Wayne his source of power and a family, suggesting that for him the Manji were similar to what the Kaiba household was for her. The Kaiba family gave her the chance to pull herself and her siblings out from the dirt of society, granting her the chance to struggle in this rather cold and harsh world.


"I see, so you believe a good knight is guided by their morals and sense of duty rather than their superiors. Yet, keep in mind the definition between right and wrong is very vague and often defined differently depending on the perspective you see it from." For example, some of her actions might have appeared as wrong, but in her eyes, they were all right choices to protect those dear to her...

A brief chuckle escaped her lips, in the end, she was old enough to know greed was a natural aspect of human society, one could even say that without greed humans would cease to be human. However, when Wayne mentioned that no number of knights could possibly accomplish the task of cleansing Fiore of the darkness that tainted it, she had to admit she was interested to hear a Rune Knight of all possible people saying that.

Still, Wayne's talk about his god made her avert her gaze for a moment. Yet another religious moment of gods and destiny? Although she didn't say it out loud, she considered the idea of depending on the influence of some sort of deity to be a foolish notion. It was men who decided men's destiny, not some sort of god or goddess! Not even a demon or devil could decide such a thing!

However, when he commented about shortcuts coming at a price she finally found a point to agree on, it was only by truly struggling and overcoming the trials and tribulations toward the goal that one could say they truly reached it, shortcomings always simply ended up in disasters. "I'd say that great power always comes with a great responsibility, those who don't wield the latter, don't deserve the former." But what cost did great power come with? Thinking back about her relic and how its power had overwhelmed her during the conflict against that Saiyan left her to think deeply on the matter.

"Your soul is your own, never bargain it like a chip, nothing in this world is worth that price."

"Take care Wayne." Her response was short and to the point, a light wave with her free hand following as she watched the Rune Knight depart, leaving her to ponder her thoughts a bit further. So the relic in her possession belonged to a collection, and while it left her curious about the nature and the whereabouts of those items, she wasn't entirely certain whether she would be able to obtain all of them, in the end she knew that not all things could be gained through monetary trades, and theft was something she would never lower herself to.

No, the relic in her possession was enough for her to think about for the time being. Why did it grant her the power to turn the concept of her cards into reality? Not to mention why did her adoptive father have the treasure map leading toward the relic? As far as she knew the head of the Kaiba household held no interest in myths or legends, so why in the world did he have that map? Question after question came to occupy her thoughts as she made her way back to the Kaiba estate. For the time being she would continue to search for the nature of this mysterious object in her possession.

[EXIT]