“You should have just run away.”

The two continued to stare at each other while the final sentence was said by the girl.

In the end, Oliver just sighed as he pulled his coffee closer, still absorbing all that information.

“That's not how things are resolved, I think you didn't get the full story, but it was them who attacked me, not the other way around.” In the end, he gave a sigh, warmed by the coffee, and continued. “I also don't know how they found me or why they attacked me, but in the end they took me into a fight that I had no interest in participating in.”

When she heard the answer, the girl seemed surprised and looked down, looking thoughtful, but then looked back at Oliver as she said it.

“But it’s because you let yourself be dominated, isn’t it?” She looked towards Oliver's backpack and said. “You attracted attention and they came after you, it’s quite simple.”

“I had also come to that conclusion, but I still think there is another reason behind it.” Oliver leaned his body forward and crossed his fingers in front of the table saying. “I'm grateful, but why did you help me? And how you found me? Wouldn't it have been better to have joined them or just let them do whatever they wanted? Now they know it’s not just me here.”

It was a chance for him to get some answers, he was thinking about what to say next while he saw the girl also place both arms on the table, looking a little more relieved upon hearing the sentence.

“Initially I just wanted to know who you were, I was unsure who your ancestor was, but the times I saw you, you were beating up bandits.” In a brief pause she sighed, but then continued. “There was still a possibility that you were a bad person with a good relic, so I just watched from afar.”

When he heard that, Oliver remembered the scenes perfectly and it seemed to make some sense.

As much as he initially thought he was being analyzed, maybe she wasn't lying, at least he couldn't notice a lie there.

“Finding you was easy. Since the police came after you and I heard the conversation about the marks on your hands, I ended up calling you. Even when I sent the letter it wasn’t a certainty, so I wanted to make it as obvious as possible in case it was a misunderstanding.”

“So the others know about my house?”

“I find it difficult, I had to meet you myself at night to get a better idea. Following you closely now that you understand a little more would draw attention.”

Oliver scratched his own chin, looking thoughtful about it, the encounters with the hooded man were similar and other times she could have hidden before he could see, making him a little more sure.

Little by little he confirmed some truths, but soon he questioned them again.

“You can produce that fog, but it doesn't seem to have any different properties. Was your ancestor a shaman? If your earring is your...”

When he listened, the girl took one of her hands to her ear and moved her hair, also moving her colorful earring.

“Yes, that's right, we didn't introduce ourselves correctly, but my name is Lirana. It is an unusual name and of foreign origin, I am a descendant of Gerônimo. He is not so well known in our culture, but he is a...”

“Indian, I know.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise and gave a slight smile that made Oliver repeat the gesture, but curiously as she continued.

“Thanks to this, I can communicate with the spirits of nature and control the four natural elements, but also combine them. Since you did your homework, you know about this.”

Oliver was still staring with his hand on his chin, remembering that in indigenous culture it is believed that leaders can summon rain and even fire, in addition to being known as warriors of nature and also being protected by it.

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Still thoughtful, he lowered the screen of his notebook and asked questions.

“By combining water and fire you generate steam, depending on the quantities, you generate fog. That’s what scared them, even though there was nothing there.”

“As my connection with nature grows, my grip also strengthens. In the end, I like to connect with her by planting some trees and removing trash from places, it must be something similar to what you feel when facing criminals.”

Lirana spoke with a slight smile while Oliver pressed his fist to his cheek, seeming distracted as he thought.

‘They like a little greener plant.’

With a long sigh, he spoke.

“Since you gave me all this information, can you trust me or are you strong enough to deal with me even though I have all this information.”

“Maybe a little of both, but the main thing is that it’s better to prepare a little. Now that you've shown your skills and faced three of them practically alone, you've managed to attract attention. The vampire leader won't keep quiet and you'll probably end up finding the gunman.”

"How do you know that?"

As soon as the question ended, the two heard the bell ring and some students began to get up as they went to their classrooms.

During the entire conversation, time had passed and it was time to go in, Lirana got up and Oliver put away his notebook, placing the backpack on his back as he watched her approach.

“The Master Vampire now sees you as a threat, especially after what he did to the servants, which is why he said you should have run away.”

While some students went up the stairs, the two remained waiting, until the last ones went up, leaving both at the end as they walked towards the classrooms.

“What about the gunman?”

“Maybe they have some connection, the gunman isn’t from the city and came here for a specific reason, right?”

On Lirana's face now there was a smile that made Oliver frown slightly as he looked straight ahead, but soon she continued.

“I wanted to warn you not to be caught by surprise, you should already know that the gunman won't be as easy to deal with as the vampires.”

“So you intend to help me?”

The girl lowered her head slightly with a smile and slowly shook her head, looking uncomfortable.

“I don't want to get involved in this, to tell you the truth I wouldn't get involved in the fight against those three if you weren't in danger. I like the life I lead and I don’t attract much attention, but I would feel bad if I didn’t do anything for someone who even does charity, wouldn’t I?”

Oliver stopped walking and saw Lirana continue walking with a smile on her face.

It was difficult to know how long she had been watching him and how much she had seen in all that time, from the fight with bandits and even the actions.

Once again, Oliver wondered how he hadn't noticed, but he understood that his relic could also have other abilities, just like his, causing him to just click his tongue and continue climbing the stairs.

Near the classrooms, Lirana continued.

“It was nice talking to you, but like I said, I don't want to be involved in this anymore. Maybe you can still get out of this fight, but-”

“It’s no longer possible.”

Oliver took a few steps forward and saw Lirana stop in front of a classroom, turning to her as he said.

“I have my reasons and I've already gotten into this mess too much and they've come after me more than once. You don't want to get into this and I will respect your wishes and I won't tell you about myself either. I think it’s better this way, for both of us.”

Her tone was clear and despite being slightly surprised, Lirana consented and spoke.

“It's a bit rude, but I ask that you also keep your distance from now on. I don’t want them to call us easily and also work a little less… You do that too much, but it’s just a tip.”

The tone of the conversation was becoming less obvious as they approached the movement of people, even if it was more difficult to hear due to the number, it was still clear how cautious she was.

In the end, Oliver just nodded and turned away, heading towards the classroom without saying goodbye, only seeing the girl enter the classroom while he thought.

'She's cautious enough that they haven't suspected her all this time, to tell the truth she wasn't even on my list of suspects.' As he walked, Oliver turned his head back looking at the room she was in while rambling. ‘I tried a little hard not to give any of my information, but at no point did she want to ask or insist on knowing anything. You can believe what she says, but still...’

A few steps later, Oliver arrived in the classroom and went to his seat, then he placed the notebook on the table and placed the location of the gunman's attacks in the corner of the screen so he could memorize it during class.

One thing was clear, something had made the gunman change city and now Oliver had the vampire's attention, from then on it would be more difficult to act and doing more of his missions would only end up giving one of the two an opportunity to find him.

As he watched the teacher get up, Oliver brought his index finger closer to his face, looking thoughtful, but again he had a slight smile as he thought.

‘I already gained some valuable information from her and as I thought, one day they will come to me… but still…’

Turning his eyes to the notebook, he traced a single quick path that connected all the crime scenes, going from one to another.

‘This time I’ll get it first.’