Trash: Chapter 185 The Other End (Patreon)

Chapter 185

The Other End

There are times when silence is the better part of valor.

A major moral victory and bonding moment for the team as a whole was not one of them.

“That was so great,” Luna began, her enthusiasm at an all time high as she still felt the thrill of finally accomplishing their mission.

While Luna and the others who had not climbed a building, set up position and set themselves on ablaze with Healing Flames, were still excited after enjoying the thrills of victory. Meanwhile, Lelia and I were both visibly exhausted. Those Healing Flames still require a lot of energy and focus to use, which when added to the fact that I was playing a song, made it that much more taxing. This was why Lelia and I slowly made our way back with the team. The two of us were exhausted, while the other teammates, that is the group that performed the storming of the castle, and raising of the banner were exited that our plan both worked, and that it was relatively easy given all the components that went into that exact moment.

“Yeah, it was just as Junior said, we would stroll right in and take over the base, without them even seeing us,” Lucia added, reaching over and giving a slightly awkward walking-hug to Junior. Junior was clearly not quite used to physical contact, as he began visibly blushing, something that should have been impossible to tell in the dark, given the lack of lighting, and his darker skin complexion. But that blush was still visible for all who looked, and everyone happened to glance over at that exact time, which is how all the other members of the team happened to notice what came next. I almost wanted to make a teasing comment, something that would have gotten a few laughs from the group. I almost wish I had, as what happened next might have been avoided. Then again, it was that action that let us know there might be a problem with the team.

For at that moment, Lucia let go of her wildly overly dramatic hug of Junior, he, and everyone else heard an odd crinkling sound. A sound that would have been covered by my joking comment. Unfortunately, I was just too tired to think of something to say at that exact second, causing the moment of silence to be just right. Like being at a party and letting the entire audience hear a rejection statement, just as the music dropped, that is how perfect the silence was to let the otherwise innocuous gesture of a hug turn into something that raised questions, but nothing worth addressing. At least, I didn’t think it was worth addressing at that time.

While everyone else registered the sound, but was either too polite, or in my case too exhausted to make note of the sound, Junior was neither of those things. This was where Junior’s still developing social skills, and his lack of tact with talking to members of the opposite sex seemed to glow like a beacon for all to see. As he spoke his mind and asked what by all accounts should have been a seemingly innocuous question.

“What was that?” Junior asked Lucia , while he about to raise his hand up and point to Lucia’s chest, only to catch himself a second before the act. I did award him some minor growth points for not directly pointing to a woman’s boobs, when asking a question.

“What was what?” Lucia replied, a note too defensively.

“Your chest, it just crinkled,” Junior replied, this was where I was about to comment about it not being a big deal, we are on campus and the idea of having folded up coursework didn’t matter. I almost expected Lucia to say the same, but that’s when she got flighty.

“It’s nothing,” Lucia protested, and place a hand over her heart. A gesture done too quickly, for while she didn’t touch her chest, I could still hear the crinkling of parchment from under her clothes. Again, this is not an issue, the issue comes from the way she now seems to be lying to our faces. Telling us that we don’t hear a sound that we all hear.

“I just heard it,” Luna adds, her calm and gentle tone coming in to try to stop this, before it escalates.

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing,” Lucia began, then seemed to add as an afterthought, “besides I don’t have to tell you everything.”

“No, you don’t but—” Luna began to speak but was cut off as Lucia began to turn away from Junior and Luna both, picking up her pace as she began moving away from the group quickly. There was a moment when we all watched her begin to walk away, silence filling the night. Then Junior awkwardly tried to fill the silence with his jokes, or at least he thought of was a joke.

“Watch it be some form of incriminating evidence,” Junior quipped jokingly. Then we all waited for the magic to fly out, as that comment should have activated his Crow Mouth. Then seeing that nothing happened, Luna chose the lack of action as a good thing.

“Oh, your Crow Mouth didn’t happen, that good, right?” Luna asked, trying to hang her hopes on this misplaced thought. Unfortunately, my mind quickly told me why it wouldn’t activate on such a comment, when all other comments made by Junior before in such a way had worked.

“Wait, wait up!” Luna called out, as she began speeding up to catch up to an angry Luna, which only caused Luna to speed up further. Junior for his part tried to stick with the team as he began sprinting to catch up to the fast-paced walking of Luna and Lucia, a sign that he might need more Skills that focus on his overall health. Still, his health aside, I realized that something wasn’t right about the whole situation. Luna went from happy, to conspicuous, to overly dramatic in a matter of seconds. Seeing her, everything screamed that she had something to hide, which was why I decided not to follow and to see if my hunch was correct.

Stopping, I held up my hand for Lelia to stop with me. Lelia who had been blearily following me to this point on autopilot, suddenly stopped and sprang to life as she wondered why I had stopped her specifically. For I realized why Junior’s Crow mouth didn’t activate. It was both a revelation that helped me understand the very nature of his power, but also one that I needed to try to confirm with Lelia first.

“Can you tell if Lucia has a piece of parchment over her chest?” I ask, whispering low so that only Lelia can hear me. At least I hope she is the only one that can hear me, as the other two Luna and Junior are continuing their conversation up ahead, seemingly unaware that Lelia had momentarily stopped. As I asked, I could already see Lelia’s eyes glow a dim-golden color, letting me know she is using her secret sight for this request.

“I can, and she does,” Lelia replied. Then going on a hunch, one where I wished to find out exactly what her newly acquired Relic Finder and Binder Class was capable of, I asked the next obvious question.

“Now can you tell if that parchment is important?” I asked, figuring that it had to be important, given the fact that Lucia got defensive and began walking away at the very question. Then of course there was the other glaring issue. In my heart I was hoping that it either wasn’t possible, or that I was wrong. That is why I was disappointed with what she told me.

“It is, and it can impact all of us,” Lelia responded. Just that knowledge alone helped me realize a few things, first it helped me realize that Lelia’s talents, or Class can not only let us see items of importance but then identify rippling effects that those items might cause.

“Thank you,” I respond, letting my own thoughts of what to do manifest to the second thing that her comments helped me realize, a thought that Lelia also had. Though her proposed solution was dubious at best.

“I can get it,” Lelia replied.

“Wait, get what?” I ask, shaking my head as I tried to make sure I understood what she was asking.

“I can get it, the parchment from Lucia,” Lelia replied. As she spoke, I could see her eyes glowing their oddly relaxing dull golden color now. Seeing their dull hue, I paused as I thought about her response. Then out of curiosity, I wondered just how powerful her class truly was.

“Can you summon it, like out of thin air?” I asked, wondering if there was some sort of parchment summoning skill that was somehow possible from her class.

“What? No, I mean, I can steal it from her,” Lelia admits.

“How would you do that?” I ask while interested in her skill set.

“I’d probably do a bump and slide, would be the most adaptable approach. Though I could also do a distracted grab, but that would be dangerous depending on the number of buttons she has between her and the parchment. Then again, if it is just buttons, then I could always try a false seduction,” Lelia again prattled on, once again showing that her childhood was far more challenging than I would have hoped.

“Can you see what the future impact will be, after you get the parchment from any of these techniques?” My question might seem simple, but I am trying to see if her power can work on a causational chain of events. If so, then we could game plan entire battles before even stepping foot onto the field. Unfortunately, Lelia just gives stares, as I swear her eyes glow slightly brighter, before she slumps her shoulders and releases a crisp decisive shake of her head.

“No, I’m sorry, I can’t find that out for you,” Lelia responds and truly means it, as if she thinks I will be disappointed that we can’t have an automatic cheat of how to solve all future problems. Actually, solving all future problems does seem rather beneficial, but I can’t fault Lelia for not being able to do so. That’s why I respond truthfully.

“Don’t worry about it,” I respond, then pausing I make sure to add, “also don’t worry about getting the parchment, I’ll take care of that.”

“You will?”

“Yeah,” I respond while dropping my hand and gesturing for Lelia to begin walking with me as we make our way back to our temporary lodging. “Besides, you have more important things to worry about.”

“I do?” Lelia asks.

“Yes, like your Hell Week,” I reply, already knowing that there are multiple scenarios that I need to have ironed out for myself and the team for tomorrow to help assist Lelia. There is also the fact that, should Lelia fail in get caught while trying to get the parchment, it might cause ripples with the team. Particularly if the parchment is innocuous, which I doubt, but that is a matter for me to solve. One that I will, after we get through this Hell Week, I think to myself as we walk the rest of the way back, in relative silence. Both of us thinking about things. Well I’m thinking about making sure we can assist Lelia, while attending classes, figuring out how to get more enhancement crystals from the SySTEM factor, along with just trying to figure out more of what the SySTEM actually is, and now on top of all of that, I have to deal with figuring out what Lucia has that might be worth causing an argument over.

All in all, there are too many things to solve for the night.

“Welcome home,” Marcus calls out warmly as he stepped outside the team’s villa to greet Lelia and I. A nice gesture, particularly as our villa is the only one with a light on outside. All of the others have already turned off their lights, filling the road with a dark and apprehensive feeling.

“I have meals ready for both of you, but you should both eat up and head to bed, as the others have,” Marcus replied.

“Already?” I ask as we are entering the door, with Marcus closing the door behind us.

“Yes, they didn’t stay for meals though, but I will insist that both of you stay to eat. You,” Marcus said while pointing to me, “need to eat to keep up your healing potential.”

As she speaks, Lelia and I go over to the table and begin eating the premade sandwiches that had been laid out for us. They weren’t that extravagant, but in that moment they were heavenly, as we both began to tear into the flaky crust.

As Marcus spoke, he then turned to Lelia and stated, “while you need to eat as you have an early four AM roll call.”

Hearing Marcus speak, my ears perked up, as I hoped that he did what I was thinking he did, “wait, did you already work out our schedules for tomorrow?"

“I have, and for the week. You and the others will all have a leave of absence from all classes. Well, you will have a leave from all but your Advanced Weapons Training, followed by Advanced Musical Theory, as you are a dual major, you sealed yourself into those two classes. You will still take your Healer Skill Use and Mastery course, but that will be done in the field, with a live instructor.”

“I could kiss you,” I respond and mean it, as once again Marcus is showing himself to be invaluable.

“What about me?” Lelia asks, her attention clearly on Marcus as she paused mid-bite to ask.

“I could kiss you too, but it might have to wait a day,” I reply, feeling that the moment was too perfect. At my comment however, Lelia’s ears just glow red as she nervously hides her face behind her sandwich. Fortunately, Marcus saves me from the awkward moment.

“Don’t worry, I will take care of getting you all up at the right time. All you all need to do is got to sleep, and leave the rest to me,” Marcus replied.

As he spoke, we both nodded, as we proceeded to eat our meals the way ravenous lions would, fiercely and efficiently. I could feel my brain releasing melatonin in waves. That was how I found myself stumbling to a standing position, before preparing to grab my plate and wash it.

“Just leave your plates, I’ll take care of it,” Marcus replied.

“Thank you,” I replied and meant it as I began turning to walk away, my legs suddenly feeling the weight of the day’s work and more weighing me down.

“Rest up, you’ll need it!” Marcus replied, a bit too much excitement in his voice for my taste. A glance back showed that he was smiling, but not the warm smile I would expect, rather this was the knowing smirk of someone who knew something painful was about to happen, to someone they didn’t like. At least, that is what my mind interpreted from seeing his smirk. By the time I registered the smirk, and did a double take, it was gone. Good just my imagination, I thought to myself, dismissing the mental image of a cruelly smiling Marcus.

Unfortunately, I was wrong in my dismissal of his smirk, as I would soon find out that Marcus meant every inch of that sinister smile.