"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?!"

Sima scratched his cheek nervously, slowly withering under their almost zealous glares, "Sorry..." He muttered under his breath, "I didn't know you guys cared bout it so much..."

Mariya facepalmed in exasperation, her cheeks turning red from the sheer amount of irritation he'd caused her. But as much as she wanted to start extolling unto him the virtues of differentiating the useful info from the useless, it would've been far more productive to regroup and gather their thoughts.

"Guys!" She gestured for Connor and Malkov to come closer, "Team huddle," Before turning to scowl at Sima, "And you! Sit there and think about what you've done!"

After the trio was sufficiently far enough away from prying eyes, Mariya began, "Firstly, can we agree this is too convenient?"

"Mn,"

"Mmhm,"

Seeing their sounds of agreement, she continued, "Secondly, Connor did you have anything to do with this?" she eyed the little satchel he wore suspiciously.

"Yup," He freely admitted, tone as nonchalant as if he was simply getting a cup of coffee, "It was pretty easy, actually: I just made him the bastard son of Don Khai— no, I had nothing to do with it," Connor rolled his eyes, "I'm way too weak to be changing the past all willy nilly,"

"At this rate, by the time that damn book lives up to its name, we're gonna be long dead..."

"Oi! I heard that!" Connor pouted, "...It ain't my fault it's the way it is; I'm only working with what I have!"

The two proceeded to argue for a bit longer until Malkov had had enough, and like the momma bird he was, forcefully calmed both of them down(a bonk to the head) and steered the conversation back to Sima.

"Aside from the convenience of it all, let's discuss what we'll do with this intelligence, any thoughts? Connor?"

Connor, still rubbing the bump on his head, obliged the request, "I don't think we should bring him along,"

He waited for opposition, and when he heard none, he resumed, "Frankly, I don't want any innocents brought into our fight, regardless of whether they have something that could help us. It would be wronging them, especially when we have to join up with Wissen and his group,"

"But—"

"No buts," Connor shook his head, his tone firm, "This is non-negotiable Mariya; I'm not trading away your life for anything, so give up,"

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

She ground her teeth against each other, rage seeping into her being as she screamed, "Why are you so stubborn!? If we can get help from Don Khai, we can beat that bastard at his own game!"

"The risks are—"

"Screw the risks! We've been risking our lives in every. Single. Fight! Why is this any different?! Why do I have to be coddled while you go out alone trying to weather the storm!" She gasped for air rapidly, out of breath from how angry she was, "You said it yourself: I saved your life! I can save my own,"

"Why?" He parroted back incredulously, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Exhaling through his nose, Connor brushed his hair back in an attempt to calm down. Finally, he turned to look at her: soft brown eyes meeting deep onyx ones, "It's because in all those fights: everything was random. Nobody— not even the other side, could be sure how it would turn out. But here!"

"Here!" Connor walked up to her and pointed at her forehead, his finger lightly pressing against her forehead, "We have certainty... certainty that if I don't go through with what they want, you're going to die,"

She pushed him away, saying, "Hah! I'll die in six months, more enough time to look for a solution,"

"No, you die the moment they think I'm doing something behind their backs,"

She sneered, folding her arms as she questioned him, "Oh yeah? How the hell do you know?"

"I don't, but I trust that a person like him will have a failsafe," Pause. "Which is my goddamn point! But you apparently can't fuckin listen, you damn—"

"Woah, Woah, calm down, Connor!" Malkov quickly interjected, putting one hand over Connor's mouth while having the other on his shoulder in an attempt to curb any ideas.

"Mmph!!" He struggled to remove Malkov's hand, but like an iron clamp, his fingers didn't move an inch no matter how much Connor struggled. Still, that didn't stop him from glaring daggers at Mariya.

Malkov was quick to notice, and he immediately put a stop to it, "Mariya, can you wait for us at the camp? Tell Sima he can come along,"

"Mmph?!" Connor struggled in protest, but a subtle glare from Malkov stopped him in his tracks pretty quickly.

She nodded, a brighter expression on her face than before, "Sure..."

"Thanks! ...Look at me, Connor... Oi! Look at me!" He let go of Connor's shoulder, putting it on the back of his neck and forcing his head to face him, "Look, I know you're just worried for her, yeah?"

"..."

"Yeah?!"

Nod.

"Good. And we know you care for her; that's why you're so adamant about this, right?"

Nod.

"Good, good... you care for her a lot, right?"

Nod.

"Then why can't you see that she cares about you too? Hm?"

...?

Seeing the confused look on his face, Malkov internally kicked himself; he'd completely forgotten that Connor had the EQ of a five-year-old.

"Let me put it like this: from the bottom of your heart, do you actually want to switch sides?" He asked, letting go of his grip on Connor

"N-No,"

"Right? And she knows this; she knows if you had a choice, you'd never go to the side of your parent's murderer. That's why she's trying so hard to find an alternate solution: she 'cares' about you so much she'd risk her life for it, so don't you dare think she's just being stubborn, got it?"

"..." Connor clenched his hands, his head drooping down...

"You think... You think she really feels that way?" Finally, he whispered, eyeing Malkov nervously.

In response, he smirked and patted Connor on the shoulders, "I don't think so, I know so," He pointed at their camp.

"Now go and apologize, then confess how you really feel about her, and remember: she won't change just cause you said no, so don't say anything you'll regret, okay?"

"Mn," He nodded in determination, "...Thanks, I'll be going now, wish me luck," Before walking back to their camp.

"Good luck, man!" Malkov waved him off, muttering under his breath, "Go get her, tiger..."