"I'm not for sale," he says back almost reflexively, so fast it's like he wasn't thinking about it at all. The whole concept of being bought gets his hackles up immediately really, his mind leaping back to the adages his parents used to tell him, that he passed on to his kids. If one of these capitalists offers money, tell them you're not for sale, they told him. It means he answers without actually taking his attention off the boxes in front of him, picking up the last details he can.

He makes this disgusted little noise when Luka says the Protector claimed it was always someone else's fault, his nose wrinkling at the idea. How can a man like that be so allergic to blame? He shakes his head a little, turning back to the princess and returning to his side.

"Ten described this place to you, right?" he starts off with, hoping the man has at least some idea of what he's surrounded by. "Where Six and Seven's b... bodies would go, there are these metal boxes there instead. They have eyes painted on them, the right number for each monster. Uh, the metal, it looks like the same metal that's in the Wizard now."

He pauses here, putting the pieces together in his own mind for a beat. "Do you think Nine made them?"