[A 'detective'. That's the first thing Kratos looks up in the dictionary once they're in the car. It's an interesting concept; Aselia has concepts of law enforcement, of course, but the burden of evidence is somewhat alien.

[The drive is nevertheless long enough for Kratos to leaf through much of the dictionary, looking up words he's noted and then looking up words heard on the radio, or simply looking through it. 'Chaos', 'apocalypse' and 'destruction' are among them. The front has some grammatical explanations; the back has some international comparisons. The latter are interesting, but not useful right now. The former is more so.

[It's a nearly silent drive, and yet between dictionary and radio Kratos has a considerably enlarged vocabulary by the end of it, enough to understand nearly every word Skulduggery says. He doesn't answer at first, because he's examining the girl on the pier with a frown. Her mana is -- alarmingly large. Large like ...

[Like Mithos's had been large, after Origin and the cruxis crystal.

[Skulduggery's question draws his attention back. Kratos nods and speaks, a bit slow to get the shape of the words, but clear; and still with the Irish accent.]

Would you like me to ensure nothing comes near? I'll need to get out of the car, but I can wait on the other side of it.

[And dim his hearing, for privacy; his mana-sense should suffice as a warning system.]