78 – Interrogatives

“Why did you try to kill me? What’s your fucking problem?” Ishrin connected with Sir Westys’ chest while the kid was still encased in the block of ice where he had been stuck for the last hour or so.

The impact shattered the ice and sent the youth flying until he bounced off the wall, but he wasn’t much worse for wear. His Tier 4 body was more than enough to resist the relatively weak punches Ishrin was delivering. What followed was a series of more punches and kicks, not to harm but to show the young noble that he could do nothing to fight back. He could only be tossed around like a ragdoll, because for some reason Ishrin was moving faster and with a more refined technique than his eyes could follow.

“Fuck you!” Sir Westys yelled back when he managed to gulp down enough air to speak.

Ishrin paced the room, massaging his temples. “I don’t believe that you hate me so much that you are willing to do something like this. What’s the deal?”

The boy snorted.

It was the usual charade, at least for him, and it was getting nowhere. It reminded him of too many similar happenings with the nobles, and the only thing that he was getting out of this whole debacle was that his blood was boiling, and a little voice at the back of his mind was telling him that perhaps killing the young noble wouldn’t be such a bad idea. He clamped down on that voice immediately, but its allure was strong, latching onto what parts of Lucius still lived undigested in his soul, as well as onto the memory of his old self, and of his old ways of solving problems.

Melina noticed that Ishrin was getting quite angry, and decided to step in before he did something he was going to regret later. She asked him to let her try and he did, although not without protest.

Deciding that he didn’t want to stay and see the fiasco, both he and Lisette left the room, or what was left of it after the fight with the automaton. The other three members of Sir Westys team were trapped inside a containment field made of pure mana Ishrin had set up at the corner of the very same room, against a wall, made so that sound could not enter inside the field but could leave it, so that he could listen to what the young adventurers were saying among themselves. The difference in Tier was enough that they couldn’t break out even if they struggled against it all together, and Liù was keeping an eye in case they did anything funny.

They were surprisingly meek, though, but it was to be expected once you understood that they were being forced by their team leader to act like his bodyguards, and most of them didn’t even want to be here. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem to know much else, or at least they weren’t disclosing much even when they thought they were being left alone.

Outside, the remains of the automatons were all piled in a great heap, dripping water that was melting from the iron plates and twisted girders of the once fearsome construct. Ishrin and Lisette began to strip the remains for parts, taking the crystals that tipped their weapons and sorting through the mechanical pieces to see what could still hold some sort of value to either be sold or to be kept for the future. They didn’t have money issues after Ishrin raided Lucius’ secret stash in Obscuria, but having sellable materials was always good. That was also the reason why, later when they retraced their steps to leave the ruins, they made sure to steal everything that looked interesting.

At least the rote, mechanical work soothed his mind. It required enough concentration that his imagination and thoughts could not wander much, but not enough that he couldn’t speak. He made small talk with Lisette, both of them avoiding sensitive topics or talks of battles and even magic, instead learning what little she chose to share about her past, while in turn telling her about his own.

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“You were not aware of your surroundings during the ritual.” Lisette said, cutting through the silence that had fallen on the two.

“I… was not.” Ishrin said.

“That is not good.” She said.

Ishrin put his hands on his hips, cocking his head while hiding a smile. “Really?”

“Really.” She nodded solemnly. There was a smile that mirrored his own on her face.

“That’s what happens when you cast rituals. They are powerful, but they have obvious weaknesses. That’s why they are not very good in fights, and that’s also why I usually like to come to a fight prepared.”

“I… see,” then she paused. “I am still doing the meditations that you taught me, by the way.”

“Oh? And how are you feeling?”

“Much better than I have ever felt. I am still a bit confused by many of the things I am feeling, these days, but the meditation techniques help.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said, taking her hands into his and looking at her in the eye. She had big, red eyes. “You mean a lot to me, Lisette.”

She blushed, and it was the cutest thing ever. “You mean a lot to me too.” Then she turned away. “We have more work to do.”

Ishrin chuckled. “Yes, we do.”

Later, soft sound of footsteps roused them from their menial work. It was Melina, coming out of the room with a big smile on her face.

“Something tells me that you got the boy to talk.” Ishrin said.

“How observant.” She joked. “I did.”

“Well? What did he say?” Ishrin asked. Lisette listened while continuing to sort the useless garbage from the useful materials, putting them in a pile to the side to be later swept into Ishrin’s inventory.

“His father ordered him to do it, so that he could get a taste of how the world really is. Of how you – she made air quotes – gotta do bad things if you want to survive in the guild.”

Ishrin was not convinced. “Lessons in backstabbing? Sounds a bit odd, even coming from a duke.”

Melina’s right shoulder went up in a half-shrug as she cocked her head to the side. “Whatever the reason, Sir Westys being the good boy he is just obeyed without question. I don’t think he’s inherently bad, you know? Just stupid.”

“He did stab Ishrin.” Lisette said. “And he was being a dick the whole time. I almost gave in to the desire to impale him when we were in the maze.”

Ishrin took a deep breath. “Amazing how he managed to get Lisette out of her zen in less than one day, huh?”

The joke fell flat though, because they all knew that she would have really done it, sooner or later. Smiles still sprung up, both Melina and Ishrin now seeing Lisette in a much different way than before, and her oddities had become cute things they appreciated about her now, rather than being just weird. Interesting how feelings could affect the way someone saw the world.

“We live in our own head, after all.” Ishrin muttered as he became aware of the fact.

“What?”

“To be fair,” Lisette interrupted, “I was struggling with meditation when we were in the maze. My patience was… shorter than usual.”

They laughed, patting her on the back like old buddies. She got a bit grumpy at that, making the others only want to do it more.

“Right.” Ishrin said, sweeping the pile of stuff she had set aside into his inventory. “Let’s go. We have bracers to find.”

“Wait!” Melina said, seeing that both Ishrin and Lisette were already halfway back to the large cavern where they fought the three automata. Lisette in particular was having no difficulty leaving the boys behind. “What about Sir Westys? What about his team? We can’t leave them here!”

Ishrin snapped his fingers, and a line of mana zapped across the room. Liù flew to them soon after. “There. I dropped the containment field. How’s the young noble? Is he still in one piece or did you maim him?”

“Ishrin!” She said, as if he had uttered the most unbelievable thing ever. “I would never!”

“Then how did you extract information out of him?” He pressed on, “bribery? Threats? I would have used violence, myself.”

Lisette grunted in approval.

“As would have she. Probably more than it’s safe to do. So, what was it? You didn’t use your body, did you?”

“Ishrin!”

“Joking!” He said, but he knew that this joke would cost him, later.

“He’s fine. He can walk and he can fight. He’s currently bound to a chair, though.”

“That’s perfect. Let the lackeys free their boss and then they’re on their own. I’m not escorting them back.”

“Ishrin!”

“What?” It was the, what, third time in a row she had almost yelled his name? She looked like a stern teacher trying to educate an unruly child. Except, the child was Ishrin.

“You can’t do this! He’s just a boy.”

“A spoiled brat.” Ishrin protested. Why did it feel like he was the spoiled brat, of the two? Melina was dangerous.

“Ishrin.” Melina said, staring.

Ishrin’s face contorted under her gaze. “Fine.” He said, pointing his finger at her. “You handle them. They bother me once, they are done.”

“Thank you.” She smiled.