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It felt more than a little strange to have a man who was probably three times his age or more being so polite to him, but Hector tried not to let it bother him. There were more pressing matters in the moment.

With Grigozo out of the way, he could talk more freely to Abbas. "I'd also like you to take a look at this for me," he said, handing his helmet over to the Sunsmith.

Abbas took it, though not without hesitation. "Why? You do not already know what it is?"

"I... have an idea, but I'm not sure."

"Is it not simply an alternate isotope of your normal iron?"

At that, Hector had to pause. He supposed that was technically possible, too. Isotopes hadn't even crossed his mind. That was something he'd been planning to put more effort into practicing, but there were always so many other things competing for his attention. Plus, he wasn't sure how useful it would even be, at this point. "...Actually, I think it might be composed of the same material as the Amir-9."

"Excuse me?!" said Abbas.

'What the fuck?' added Garovel privately.

'I've got a lot to tell you later,' thought Hector.

'Sounds like it.'

Abbas pulled him aside, though still not out of earshot of the others. "How in the world could that possibly be?!"

Hector could sense the other Saqqafs leaning over the table, straining to hear. "It's... uh... kind of hard to explain."

"Hector. I'm beginning to notice a pattern with you..."

"What do you mean?"

Rather than answering, the armored man merely sighed.

"Oh, and there's a possibility that someone from the Vanguard might show up here in Atreya, soon."

"What?!"

"They'll be looking for me, not you. But if you're concerned about them discovering your whereabouts, you should probably be extra cautious around here--at least until I tell you otherwise. I have to get in contact with the Magician of Light, first."

"The Magician of--?!"

'Hector, what the fuck are you talking about?!'

Okay, maybe he was info-dumping a little too hard on them here. He scratched his head, trying to rethink his approach. "Look, everything's fine. I just... might've... slipped through a dimensional portal or something during my fight with Banda. And then some... weird shit happened, and, uh..."

"Oh!" said Roman, who was suddenly standing there next to him. "When you got eaten! So that's how you were able to claw your way back out, then? Because of some weird shit?"

"Uh..."