Just when he finished reassembling the makeshift carriage, Merino came out with Xahi from the Cave’s entrance. With the beginner's shabby clothes dulling her bewitchery, the young Chrono now looked much less intimidating. However, it could not bring down her graceful presence.
Why is this? It was quite simple. The racial index was a passive multiplier of the aura of any being emanated and how the observer perceives it. It had been the reason for Merino’s overwhelming killing intent and Xahi’s drop-dead charm.
“Mumma, you can teach him, right?” Xahi asked while they were approaching the human, who was dusting off his clothes from the work done.
“Yes, I can, but it depends on his intelligence level,” Merino replied. Xahi had convinced her to teach Trino their language. This was something a mother could do passively. They all had this skill after they gave birth.
“And…” Merino was having second thoughts, Hugo was a human she trusted without testing him, and he turned out to be a monster. Obviously, the mature Chrono was cautious.
I had been incautious to trust Hugo.
“Nuno, are you really sure about this? He is a human as well?” Merino asked the same question for the umpteenth time.
“Mumma, he would’ve hurt us if he wanted to while we were sleeping,” Xahi replied with the same answer again.
“Okay, if you say so.” She meekly agreed on the surface, not letting her guard down.
Merino walked towards Trino, and her long green robes drifted along.
Eh… now, how do I do it without making him fear me?
Her worries were unfounded as the boy approached them. Trino didn’t fear her anymore as she no longer wanted his eyes to pop out.
He gestured towards the carriage and then the cave to let them know that he wanted to take donkeys out, but Merino stopped him showing both her palms to him in a stopping sign. She then asked for his hands in hers by opening her palms in a gesture.
Trino stared at them in confusion, and Merino waited, not minding the delay. Xahi mistook it for him not being able to comprehend what her mother wanted him to do. She came close to him and expressed through in the same manner he had done last night. The girl unfolded her hands in cute motions, imitating them in the same rhythm he had done when she was confused about the health potion.
Trino smiled radiantly at her efforts to explain. His smile was so genuine and filled with happiness that both mother and daughter were baffled at its sight. Continuing to smile, he put his hands above Merino’s.
Let’s see what this is about, he thought, not minding the events. All the while, Xahi’s actions just now, replayed in his mind.
When he placed his hands on Merino’s, it didn’t feel anything different. They stayed that way for a few minutes, then Merino removed hers.
She urged Xahi by flicking her neck to speak to him, and Xahi said, “Can you understand me now?”
And this time, it was their turn to smile brilliantly at his stupendous expression as he was able to make out the words and got shocked. A notification popped up.
[You have learned the Lapethree language.]
“How did you do that? You have just taught me Lapethree.” Trino's eyes turned to Merino’s hands.
Xahi took a step towards Trino only to stop as her mother became cautious of the human and pulled her back.
“How can you already speak the language?” Merino’s eyes shrank with doubt, vigilance flashing in her eyes.
“Mumma, what happened?” she asked.
Trino was silent because he didn’t know what to reply to Merino. He believed Merino had been the one to give him the ability to understand Lapethree. It was the case, but...
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“He had known our language all along, yet he was not willing to admit it,” Merino said to Xahi and turned to face Trino, “If you have known the language all along, why have you been hiding the fact?”
Merino asked and racicated the blades out. She could kill the human in mere seconds, but she felt like trusting him. Alas, she had done so once and would not want to take another chance.
Trino crooked his head in confusion, then shaking it, he said, “It is the first time I am speaking in your language.”
Merino could not believe it. Nevertheless, she couldn’t detect any cunning in the human’s behavior.
Drained of all his strength in the last few days, Trino looked like someone who hadn’t slept for days. The potion was effective, but not as much as it was on Xahi. His bones might have healed, but still ached to make his own weight burden to him.
“It’s not possible to grasp the ability to speak the language just by {Lapethree Bestwoment}, which means your intelligence is much higher than mine,” there was still no killing intent exuding from her. Only, the deadly sight of her white blades threatened.
Witnessing her hands turned into weapons for the second time, Trino's gaze shifted to Xahi’s hands unintentionally. Could she do the same thing with those hands? He thought, recalling the sensation of her touch.
“Mumma! No, he couldn’t be here to harm us,” Xahi finally stepped forward and up in his defense.
Merino turned to Xahi, sticking her gaze on Trino by the corner of her eyes, “Oh dear, you don’t know. Lapethree bestowment can provide the ability to understand it but is not potent enough to imbue a person's mind to let them speak it.”
Xahi clasped both her hands in tension. She did not want her mother to hurt the human who, although his efforts were futile, had tried to save her.
“You have known the language all along or have very high intelligence. Either way, you would have escaped that vile human easily. Who are you, and why are you after my daughter?” Merino pointed her blades at Trino while stepping in front of Xahi.
Trino understood her concern for her daughter as it had not even been a day since the incident. However, Merino acted more than rashly. I could just escape her, but… He observed the sad look of betrayal in Xahi’s eyes.
If only Xahi were a demon, she could be the queen of manipulation. Her racial index, combined with her looks, magnified every emotion a person felt toward her. Part of the reason Hugo went mad, her mother’s rash behavior, and Trino's not being willing to leave after witnessing the look in her eyes all was because of Xahi's racial index.
With his agility, putting the monsters roaming around on the Chronos’ tail would not be a bother. Not to forget his highly functional reasoning capabilities. Yet he sighed heavily and answered her question truthfully.
“I am not here to harm you. I am Trino, an adventurer affiliated with Ashgara, and was commissioned by Hugo to retrieve the Sage Fruit. He had sent me because of the being guarding the Sage Fruit against evil presence. Once I found the Sage fruit, the guardian suggested that I eat the fruit instead of giving it to Hugo. I obliged, believing their words, and my intelligence rose exponentially. But I wasn’t able to escape Hugo, and he captured me and took me to the same place where he was...” He let out in one breath, hoping the concerned mother would understand. And…
“You ate the Sage Fruit…” Both mother and daughter were left in a daze.
“Yes, sort of.”
Merino smirked and unwillingly consolidated the information of his actual level and intelligence by adding the fact he had eaten Sage fruit. It had been too absurd to rationalize otherwise. She never thought she would be forced to believe lores of Sage fruit told by her grandparents.
Once she felt Merino’s vigilance dying out, Xahi came forward, introducing her, “I am Xahi Neuno. I hope we can be good friends. We were also on our way to Ashgara, but...”
“We will reach Ashgara, I know the path,” Phill held out his hand, and he too introduced himself again with his real name, “I am Phill Slora. I chose to be an assassin, but now I am gonna be a mage.”
Staring at it, Xahi belatedly grabbed his hand, which he shook. Merino watched them standing just a few meters away, yet she could not help repeating, “Assassin,” when she heard the word. In a democratic country like Mythra, Assassins were criminals.
“I chose to be one because I like to explore new places. The agility helps in running away from monsters, and stealth in hiding.” Trino said, reading the expression on her face, and eased her mind.
“I have one question to ask if you don’t mind.” Phill turned to Xahi and carefully spoke the words.
Merino knew what he was about to ask and interjected before he could open his mouth, “She doesn’t know how he died.”
Phill did not linger on it anymore. He was too hasty. Of course, she doesn’t know. Otherwise, she would’ve killed him way before in self-defense. He reasoned to himself.
“If you know the path to Ashgara, then once the Antels wake up, we will leave this place.” Merino was panicking inwardly about what they should do. Returning to Mythra wasn't an option. It could endanger Timo’s life. Fortunately, the human boy knew the way to the Ashgara Kingdom.
Unaware of their plight, Trino was damn curious about how Xahi, whose level was only 18, killed the human at 400+. He had used the same skill on her, which Merino had to check his level. Inspect was not the least bit creepy as Appraisal.
There is a way to find out. Should I ask permission to use appraisal on her? Remembering Merino’s attitude, Trino ultimately gave up on the thought.