The following morning, or rather a handful of hours after our reunion, Cain and I met up in the kitchen once again. Judging by the dark bags under his eyes, Cain hadn’t gotten much sleep, and truth be told neither had I. I poured the two of us some cereal, made myself some coffee, briefly texted a meme of a cat waking up to Etienne, and took a seat at the table.
“So,” I began. I’d given a lot of thought to what I was going to say, and decided to once again omit the transmigration part. However, I had also decided that if Cain outright asked, I would not deny it. “It all began with a book.”
That part I wasn’t going to omit. I was going to give him enough pieces to give him the opportunity to figure everything out.
“That book predicted certain events in the future. These events would, or were meant to take place several years from now, but as certain things have changed, I’m no longer sure they will. They might unfold earlier, later, or not at all. These events involved a certain man named Huang, and his entourage, which was meant to include you. That book was also how I had become aware of your powers and where to find you, but I had originally no intention of interfering in any way. But then,” I paused, thinking back to how scared I was that night after I got jumped on by that pair of thugs. In retrospect they were no real threat, but in that instance I was unable to think reasonably. “I got attacked, forgot that I was a high ranker, and decided, in what you, and most people, might consider a stupid manner, to get you out of that lab to work as my bodyguard.”
“I figured that much out.” Cain interrupted.
I gave him a confused look.
“Well, first I’m not a dumb kid. You told me about the bodyguard part, and I figured, from how those people from the bridge reacted, that you’ve met them before. You didn’t seem particularly brave, so, you know, I understood that you got scared of the first threat that came along.”
“Quit calling me names, will you?” I jokingly replied.
Truth be told, I was proud of the kid. Those were some small enough details that a lot of adults in the same situation as him would have missed.
“I don’t mean it like that!” he retorted, with a tone dangerously close to his usual annoyed one. I made a mental note of not joke like that for a while. “And I suspected the book part as well. It was either that or you being an Oracle, or at least having a lot of Oracle-specific skills, which I presumed you didn’t have based on how you fight.”
“So a magic book was your next best guess?”
I had the nagging feeling he wasn’t talking about ‘a modern guide to immoral immortality’.
“Yes, one of Adrian Williams’ journals. I assume you stole it as well? Honestly, while we’re doing this whole explanation thing, I’d like to say something as well.”
I didn’t even have the time to ask about who this Adrian Williams was. All I knew is that wasn’t the name of the author of ‘immoral immortality’ or any characters in it that I could recall. Cain continued:
“I – Your luck stat is average enough, so it must be your skills that make you good at what you do. I don’t mean it in a mean way, I know that’s how you usually interpret what I say, but you don’t look like someone who could walk into a well-guarded lab – facility, and idly waltz out with the most precious thing in there.”
“Are you talking about yourself?” I asked, trying to sound like I was joking. In reality, the tone Cain had taken was starting to worry me. He’d expressed many emotions in the past, but dead serious had never been one of them, and he was once again starting to sound like an adult, and not a 12 year old. But I wanted to hear what he was getting at, so I let him continue.
“And the book as well. I guess what I’m getting at, is,” He fiddled with his cereal bowl and the spoon lying next to, while avoiding eye contact. “Where do you stand in all of this? Who are your allies?”
“I was hoping you were among my allies…” I trailed off, suddenly struck with a wave of uncertainty. I couldn’t be sure of that anymore, as I had no idea how or why he’d come back. I had my suspicions of course, and perhaps now was the perfect time to clear everything up. “Are you part of the Church of Corinth?" I asked.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Cain gave me the ‘are you stupid look’.
“Is that a yes or a no?” I firmly asked. Because the was a right and wrong answer to that question, and the latter would get him thrown out of my flat no matter out previous relationship.
“It’s a no. Stop looking at me like that!”
I leaned back into my chair. There was something else I had to check.
Memoire
As I turned the corner of my street, a dry and perfectly formed snowflake landed on my head. It was soon followed by several others, and I hasted my pace, not wanting to stay out in this weather. But when I approached the entrance to my building, I saw a small figure sitting on the single stop that led indoors. He wore a long black parka, with two interlinked triangles embroidered on his shoulders, and heavy outdoor boots. His face was buried inside his knees, and hidden under thick, unbrushed red hair.
“Then how do you explain your jacket then?”
“What do you expect me to run around naked? I took what I could find, okay?” Cain angrily exclaimed. Then he paused, thinking for a short moment. “Do you think I’m with them and that’s why I came back? I told you yesterday, those people – they … they…” He stuttered. “They are horrible people and I don’t want to be associated with them in any shape or form.”
I wanted to ask about how he ended up in that lab, as I was trying to juxtapose what I knew about him with what was said in the novel. But, I decided against it. It was clear the kid had some memories he’d rather not recall. So, instead, I choose to believe him for now.
“I am not allied with those people either.” I spoke. “Nor am I allied with any other factions. My interests are my own, and involve not dying and not getting into unnecessary conflicts. In other words, a simple and quiet life.”
Cain scoffed.
“I can believe the unaligned and self-interested part, but I struggle to get my head around how someone like you would strive for a ‘simple life’. This all seems like some charade you’re playing.” Cain gestured around the room in exasperation as he said that.
“No…” I said, more to myself than to him. “There’s no other way I could live. I’m not some overpowered fighter like you, or some brilliant strategist like other key people in this world. My skills aren’t even that good. I have no MP and no one know what my highest skill does.”
“You stabbed yourself and vanished! That’s one of the most broken skills I’ve seen, and I can turn into a four-meter tall monster!”
“Wait, since when?” I didn’t recall that from the book.
“It doesn’t matter!” Cain angrily exclaimed. “I don’t know what your other skills do, but from what I’ve seen you do, it looks like you can hold your own in a fight. Plus not every class is optimised for fighting. Some are healers and buffers.”
“I’m pretty sure ‘buffers’ is still not a word in that context. But you know what, this is the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.”
Cain calmed down slightly before sitting back in his chair. He’d gotten up as we was speaking earlier, probably to be at the same eye level as me.
“My skills.” I elaborated. “I think I owe you a bit of an explanation, about what happened in the forest in Canada, and about what I’m capable of in general.”
Cain nodded, and carefully listened as I proceeded to list all of my skills and what I knew about how they worked. I didn’t feel the need to omit any of them, as even the most powerful ones like ‘planar shift’ were elusive in their effects to me, and as it turned out to Cain as well. Once I was done with my explanations, I said:
“Now I have a question for you as well.”
Cain tilted his head to the side.
“Why have you been holding back in fights thus far?”
It wasn’t in my habit to phrase things I was uncertain about in this manner, as an accusation, but he’d almost confessed to it yesterday, and the powers he’d demonstrated so far had come nothing close to what he was capable in the novel.
“I don’t like fighting.” He quietly said while avoiding my eyes. “Before you ask, no it’s not the killing, no it’s not the blood. I just don’t like it in the same way you don’t like adding milk to your coffee.”
I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or not about his explanation, but it didn’t really matter to me. What mattered was the first part of what he’d said.
“You don’t have to fight if you stay with me.”
He raised his eyes with a mocking and defying look.
“No, I’m serious.” I shrugged. “I’ve picked up swordsmanship lessons, and I’m now more comfortable with my ‘Long Voyage’ skill. Plus, there are no longer people after me who are trying to kill me.”
Cain and I stared into each other’s eyes for a long while. He seemed to be hesitant about believing me on that subject, while I was thinking of things I should, but could not bring myself to ask (like how he ended up in Geneva).
“Fine.” Cain eventually broke the silence. “But if a dangerous situation does occur, I will fight to my best ability.”
“Okay.” I agreed, not knowing what else to say.
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