CHAPTER 36 -THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM- (2)
Long and dark, cold and bitter. In the end of that path relaid a single gloomy wooden door, the torches that were used to lighten the path didn’t reach the door, not by ten feet.
All of those traits and still weren't what scared me the most, what did was the deadly screams that came from beyond that wooden door. Being just a few inches away from that specific door, my instinct wasn’t in it or was mentally.
Inside my mind, there was a battle being fought none other than me against my fear. On one side was ‘open the door’ while on the other it was ‘don’t open the door’, and there was I. The lone personality that was neutral to whether I should open or shouldn’t open.
I was done with these games that my mind played with me. I reached for the handle and seconds from being opened by me, the door opened. Being in shock, the only thing I was able to do was watch as the face that most people feared appeared around the door, locking eyes with me.
Her multi-colored eyes told me everything I needed to know about her, that she wasn’t like any of us. She wasn’t human, not a single bit at all…
“So…Princess, what brings you here?” There wasn’t a mistake, it was the same person that I grew up with. “Princess…” She continued in a long voice, but I didn’t pay attention. My mind was on the verge of overheating from such thinking.
A hard–yet soft–object slapped me causing me to stop thinking, “aye, what the…” I rubbed my check as it throbbed with pain. Her smile calmed me, I know I should be angry since someone slapped me but her smile brought me to ease.
Then she spoke like she did when we were still little, “Have you come to your senses, Princess?”
Like it was on command, I nodded at her response. Though she was here in this dungeon looking place, it is hard to believe that she had grown up to be a scientist. Through hard work, she was rewarded. The Quite opposite of me…
“What did you come here for, Princess.”
“There is something I need your help with, Layla.” I admitted. Layla only took a couple of seconds to answer but when she did, it was something I didn’t expect.
“If this is something about you and your mana not growing then I can’t help you.” The rainbow eyed girl didn’t even bother to look me in the eye as she spoke, instead she went back to her table that had many different objects that I couldn’t understand.
I did not respond back fast, but I took a quick glance at my surroundings. Everything in this room either had mathematical equations in it or some other complicated stuff. My eyes glanced at everything that was in sight, close or far, nothing was safe from my eye–except for things that were covered.
Bookshelves filled with a variety of nameless books. Wooden boxes that had different materials, I was only able to recognize a couple before looking at something else. Glass bottles that had liquid in them only had my sight for mere seconds before losing interest.
But out of everything that there was in this room, from corner to corner, from top to bottom, whether it was clean or not. There was an object that had caught my eye, something that peaked my interest to the fullest. Layla noticed this too that she even stopped her experiments and followed my sights.
Picking it up, I noticed that it had nothing. Front or back, no words, no letters.
“That book is not from here.” she declared, it almost sounded like she knew where it exactly came from. In spite of thinking that, I kept checking it out. The cover felt solid like a rock yet it was soft like cloth.
I felt nervous upon opening the book, this was clearly something that has never happened to me. I’ve read many books, not just learning books but also fiction books and no matter how many books I’d read, they would never make me feel this way like this one.
Turning the first page half way, I was stopped by Layla’s words. “If you are not strong, I suggest you do not fully turn the page. If you think you are, then turn the page and don’t judge it.” They didn’t sound like it was a joke, no, it sounded like she knew it from experience. For other people it might sound like a warning, but to me it sounded like the correct way to read it, a requirement for reading this book that was in my hands.
I did not feel strong and I don’t think I will get that feeling anytime soon, on the other hand, I used my magic storage and put it there until the time was right. Layla only observed, then she got back to what she was doing earlier. When I got close to her, I clearly saw a ring.
Not just any type of ring, it was a mana ring. The feeling of mana coming out of it was astonishing to the point where it can be considered a blue mana ring or slightly above it.
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Layla then spoke, “Take out the gorgon’s head and give it to me.”
“W-Wait how did you know abou–”
The scientist's words jumped over mine, “That does not matter. Now take it out.”
Without another word, I did as I was told. Holding out my hand, the head of the beast I had killed outside the dungeon was on my palm. I held it out to her and she took it without any second thought.
How did she know about the gorgon’s head before I even mentioned it to her?
‘Do you think that she was spying on you, Princess?’ asked the nanny, leaving my mind and appearing next to me. Though she was next to me, I was the only one to see her. No matter how powerful or talented, only those contracted or aware of it can see it.
Nanny’s silhouette seemed a little more transparent than usual. Was she cautious of Layla?
Not wanting to distract Layla from her work, I wrote a note that I left next to her telling her that I would be back two days from now, then I left.
‘Do you think It was wise to take that book with you?’
“She didn’t object to it so we should be fine for the moment.” I trailed off, and began thinking about the day that we would go to Ezar. The dimension where Juliette and Luna were, along with Alter.
I should probably visit grandpa for the details that he should be giving us about our members.
***
I knocked on the door, on the other side, the words that said, “Come in.” were announced.
Not wasting a second, I opened the door. Revealing not only my grandfather but two other people too. All three people in the room turned to me, my grandfather’s face lightened up when he saw me walk in. “Ah, Charlotte, my granddaughter. Come in and have a seat.”
I accepted his offer and was seated, when I did, he continued. “Charlotte, these are our newest members for our rescue mission.” Pointing at the two strangers that were in front of me. On my right was a brown-haired man with brown eyes whose mana exceeded almost all six Espions. Is he going to be the next human Espion? I said in my head, then proceeded to observe the other person. It was a human, her long and silky black hair along with her black eyes could make Alter fall for her or any other man, no matter what race.
Just like the brown-haired man in front of her, she too had the mana of an Espion. No, I was probably underestimating her, she could probably be as strong as Alter.
Simultaneously both stood up and bowed before speaking in good demeanor. “Greetings Princess. I am Charlie and as for my last name I can’t tell you for certain purposes.”
Charlie then stood up straight, now it was the girl’s turn.
I turned to face her, “Greetings Princess. I am Ava and like my friend here has said, I too can't give you my last name.”
“Is there a reason why I can’t ask for your last name?” Asking in question and curiosity that even my tone sounded like I really wanted to know. But both of their faces changed to something that could be described with guilt and grief for someone. “You know what, I’m actually not that curious if you two have a big reason as to why you can’t tell me…However, if it’s possible, I hope you can tell me in the future.”
Their eyes lit up. Charlie’s brown eyes turned into honey while Ava’s turned lighter than coal, both of their gazes seemed to be looking at me but I could tell they weren’t. Not at me at least, almost like they were looking at someone else, past me.
“You two are alike…” Ava’s words were not loud but they were loud enough to be heard at my distance. Her face then darken, “I’m sorry Princess, I didn’t mean to insult you I just…”
I held my hand up while shaking my head, letting her know that it was okay. “It’s fine,” I assured her but quickly continued the conversation. “Who was it? The one you said was similar to me?”
“...He was a friend, one that I held dear… But lost him in war.”
“I touched a sensitive topic, haven't I?”
Ava couldn’t say anything, in her stead, Charlie spoke. “Don’t worry about it Princess, after all it has been almost a decade since the war.”
A decade?
I felt my inside tremble as Charlie said those words, my eyes widened to what I had thought was a mistake on their part. I felt as puzzled as my mind tried to comprehend the logic behind his words. That is when I asked myself an unanswered question. Could they be from a different race? One that’s time passes faster than ours?
I shook my head at the thought. Even if that was the case, they would need a dimension device or portal that could bring them here before the war… Nothing is making sense.
The best case here is that they are bad at making jokes like that, I should just follow the flow–like what Alter would say when things were confusing. “Mr. Charlie, your sense of humor sure is out of date.” I admitted to him, watching as Ava punched him on the arm and glared at him.
What a lovely friendship they have, if only things were different, would Alter and I have the same situation or different. “Now, now. Let us discuss the reason why I called you here, Charlotte.” Dale changed the topic which changed the atmosphere in the room, he signaled to sit which I did moments before he continued. “Even though I am the leader of this rescue mission, there had to be someone as a co-leader. Charlotte Bamford, you are the co-leader of this group and mission, if something were to happen to the leader–me–during the mission, you are to take over the mission that would at the time lay upon your shoulders. Thus, leaving me no other option than to say this.”
Grandfather’s tone changed, his words don't sound like it was towards a granddaughter but to a general. “Charlotte, you are to train with the group assigned to this order and develop leader skills. The location of the training is going to be the dungeon located in the outskirts of Eliond. Your time limit is less than three days, after those three days we prepare for the mission.”