Chapter 24

La-La Point of View

The man’s piercing blue eyes were fixed on me, seemingly oblivious to Axel's irritation. “What do you want?” Axel demanded, but the man did not look at him, which only served to increase Axel's annoyance.

“You must be Miss La-La,” the man said, extending his hand toward me. His voice was familiar—wait, wasn’t he the rude guy from the phone?

“You—” I began, recognizing him.

“Yes, I am the guiding spirit assigned to you, Miss La-La,” he said.

This rude guy. I finally meet you. I’ve wanted to punch you, you know. “Oh yes, nice to finally meet you,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Since you are here, I want to inform you about something. Can we have a moment alone?” he asked.

I glanced at the others. “Can you wait for me a moment?” I asked them.

“Just go. This man seems not to know our existence after all,” Axel said, visibly annoyed.

“Okay then, let’s go,” I said.

“We will wait here, Senior,” Yuna said to me, and I smiled at her.

We walked about twenty steps away from the others. “Is there any problem?” I asked him.

“No, there is no problem. I wanted to inform you that the arrival of your ring, which you requested, will be early—in three months,” he said.

“All of a sudden?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes apparently I was inform to it just a while ago” he said. Oh that’s good.

“You should just have called me about this,” I said to him.

“I would rather not waste time. Since I already met you, it might be better to tell it in person,” he said. Ugh, rude as always.

“Oh, okay. Is there anything else you want to talk about?” I asked.

“No, that’s all. Thank you for your time, Miss La-La,” he said, then bowed and left. Just like how he talks to me on the phone.

I returned to where I was earlier.

“What was that?” Axel asked.

“It’s about the ring,” I said. “He could have just called you.” Axel said.

“That’s what I also said to him, but he said it’s a waste of time since he happened to see me and would rather inform me in person,” I said.

“Isn’t he the rude guy on the phone?” Yuna asked me.

“He’s also the one who handles you?” I asked, and she nodded.

“He is, and he’s been working with me for sixty years. This is the first time I saw him in person. He’s rude as usual,” I said.

“Mine too, but not that rude,” Ellie said.

“Well, rude people already exist in MT, so there’s nothing new about it,” Axel said.

“Yeah, like you,” I added. Suddenly, we heard Lucas laugh. We looked at him, but he quickly changed his posture.

“What do you mean by that?” Axel asked me.

“Well, no offense, but it’s well-known that Life Hunters are the rudest among the Mythical Creatures,” I said.

"Huh, what's with that?" he asked me.

"It's nothing," I said, brushing off the topic.

A Few Moments Later

I arrived home feeling as tired as always. I immediately lay down on my bed. Despite my exhaustion, I felt good because I had received some good news earlier. As I started to relax, my phone rang. I saw that it was Zayne calling, so I answered right away.

"Sorry to call this late at night, but I wanted to inform you that your work will start tomorrow," he said.

Oh, I forgot about that!.

"I've already sent the schedule to your email," he continued.

"Thank you for letting me know," I said, waiting for him to end the call. My mind wandered to Axel. Did he remember about this, and had he found a solution to remove Zayne's memories?

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Are you ready to go to work?" Zayne asked softly. "How are your injuries? Can you manage?"

"Oh, yeah, I can. It's just a small injury," I assured him.

"It's not small. I won't force you to go to work due to your circumstances; I just wanted to inform you," he said, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Thank you for worrying," I responded, feeling a bit uneasy about the situation.

The phone call with Zayne ended, and I immediately decided to dial Axel's number.

"What, did you already miss me?" he answered as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Did you find the solution to remove Zayne's memories?" I asked him. There was a brief silence on the other end.

"Did you forget about it?" I pressed.

"No, I didn't forget about it," he said. "Zayne already informed me that the work at the library starts tomorrow. What should I do about it?" I asked him.

"Don't attend. Tell him you quit," Axel said firmly.

"You know he knows our identity, don't you?" I reminded him.

"Does it really matter?" he asked.

"Is that even a question?" I responded. "But isn’t it better for you to stay away from him and not have any more contact?" he countered.

"That's not the case for us now," I said, feeling a surge of frustration. Why was I reacting like this?

"What do you mean that's not the case? You said your ring will arrive in three months, so just quit and don't get involved with him," he insisted. He had a point, but for some reason, I couldn't agree.

"That's not the case," I repeated.

"What do you mean that's not the case? It is the case," Axel said, sounding exasperated.

There was a pause as I tried to gather my thoughts. "I... I don't know, Axel. I just feel like quitting now would complicate things even more. We need to find a solution that doesn't involve completely cutting ties," I explained, though I wasn’t entirely sure of my own reasoning.

Axel sighed. "Alright, we'll figure this out. Just be careful and keep me updated. We can't afford any mistakes."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," I said, feeling a bit more reassured.

"Take care, and don't hesitate to call me if anything happens," he added before ending the call. But it’s obvious the unease to his tone.

As I sat there, staring at my phone, I couldn't shake the feeling that this situation was far more complicated than either of us realized. But for now, I had to focus on getting through tomorrow and figuring out a way to handle Zayne without jeopardizing everything.

The Next Day

I arrived at the library and noticed that Zayne wasn't there yet. I immediately opened the doors and began getting things ready for the day. As people started arriving, I greeted them warmly. Suddenly, a cup of coffee was placed in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, looking up to see Axel smiling at me.

"Don't smile at me, Axel," I said, feeling a mix of irritation and surprise.

"Just checking in," he replied, glancing around the library.

"Leave. Don't you have work to do?" I said, trying to get him to leave.

"I do, and I just happened to pass by," he said nonchalantly.

I grabbed the coffee and took a sip. I noticed some people looking our way, curious about the interaction. Axel's presence was drawing attention again.

"Leave already; they're looking at you," I said to Axel, feeling the stares of the students. He glanced at the students and waved, causing a few of them to giggle.

Ugh, annoying as always. The people seemed to enjoy the fanservice Axel was providing.

"Seriously, Axel, you're causing a scene," I muttered under my breath.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "But remember, I'm just a call away if you need anything."

"Yeah, yeah, just go," I replied, waving him off.

What’s up with him?.

I sighed…

In the afternoon, Zayne arrived at the library with food in one hand and another plastic bag in the other. The girls in the library immediately turned their attention to him, so I quickly made my way over.

"My shift ends at 5," I said to him.

"Yeah, I just happened to have a lot of breaks, so I’m here for lunch," he said, raising the plastic bag and offering it to me. "Let’s have lunch together."

What's up with him, I wondered.

"It seems like a hassle for you to come here from the hospital," I said.

"No, this is okay," he replied. "And I'm also concerned about your injury, so I'm here to check on it," he added, raising his left hand to show the plastic bag with medicine.

"It seems like a bother," I said.

"No, it’s not," he disagreed firmly.

I hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "Alright, let's have lunch."

We found a quiet corner of the library to sit down. Zayne unpacked the food, and I realized how thoughtful he had been, bringing a variety of dishes.

"Thanks, Zayne," I said, genuinely touched. "This is really nice of you." All the food he bring is the dishes that I like.

"It's nothing," he said with a smile. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

As we ate, we chatted about various things—work, the library,

"Your friend—" Zayne suddenly said, making me stop in my tracks. Who’s friend?

"The Axel guy, he’s a reaper indeed," he continued. "Every time I saw him in the hospital with his hat, some of the patients died."

I froze for a second. "I’m not forcing you to answer the question," Zayne said, smiling. "I also wondered what you are—I was thinking you might be the same as him."

"Me and Axel? No, we are not the same," I quickly responded.

"Is that so?" he said, his expression turning somber.

"Zayne," I called his name, and he looked at me. "You know, I want to thank you for always helping us and for keeping our secret," I said. "However, I can’t tell you any further information about us."

A heavy silence fell between us.

"Are you going to be punished?" he asked suddenly. How does he know?

"It seems so," he said. "If that’s the case, I will not ask you any more questions about your existant, since it will put you in danger," he said.

"I really apologize. You’ve done so much to help us, but this is as far as I can go," I said.

"No, there is no need for you to apologize," he replied, smiling again. "As long as you are here, nothing else matters."

What does he mean? I wondered, feeling a mix of confusion and gratitude.

"Thank you, Zayne," I said softly.

"What's with this atmosphere?" Axel interjected, looking just as shocked as I was. I stood up and turned to face Axel, then immediately kicked his feet by accident.

"What was that?!!" Axel reacted in pain, drawing everyone's attention to us. "What the hell, La-la?" he asked, clearly upset.

"You're in the wrong here, you know. You kicked me!" he exclaimed.

"You're overreacting," I said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Overreacting?!" Axel retorted incredulously.

"Both of you, calm down," Zayne interjected calmly.

"Shut up," Axel snapped at Zayne in a rude tone.

"That's rude," I said to Axel, feeling annoyed. “Well our kind is always rude”

"Why are you even here anyway?" I asked him, noticing the box of chicken he was holding for the first time. He straightened up.

"I was about to give this to you, but it looks like someone else beat me to it," Axel explained.

"You're right on time; we're just about to eat. You can join us," I said, extending an invitation.

Axel looked at me in disbelief, clearly surprised by my offer.

“Your dumb” he said to me. What the- I immediately slapped his shoulder.