Takaimura arrived in the corridor leading to Lisa's bedroom when he spotted Kregron and Lisa going into the bathroom together. His jaw dropped and he ran towards them immediately, waving his arms in the air frantically. Kregron caught sight of the butler and paused for a moment, a sleepy look staying on his face. Finally, his mind was brought up to speed and he realised what the situation looked like to the man.
"Nothing that you are thinking of happened. I just fell asleep when I was comforting Miss Sunwolf." Kregron leaned against the wall, ushering Lisa to use the bathroom first. The lady stifled a yawn before recalling the events of the past day. She blushed deeply and hurried in, closing the door quickly and gently.
Takaimura could not stop the heat rising in his head. "Mr. Letarion, I do not know your true motives but I find you a rather suspicious person. You lack much in the department of manners and you show distaste towards appreciation for your good efforts. Not to mention you are a murderer!"
Kregron remained nonchalant. His left eye stared lazily on Takaimura's direction. "Takaimura, a soldier from the Eastern Territories. Exiled from his nation because he learnt the Dark Ways of the Sword. You yourself are a killer yet you spout these words at me. You are boring, terribly boring."
Takaimura clenched his fists and his teeth. He felt as though his blood was boiling, urging him to sink his fists into that expressionless face of the mercenary, who continued to taunt the butler with his uncaring air. He stepped forward, edging closer to Kregron.
Kregron grinned sinisterly. "Come, mortal. I would certainly like to enjoy having you suffer an eternity in the process of dying. Unable to die but wish for it to end, how delicious~"
Takaimura ceased in his tracks. The air around him had chilled rapidly and his vision decreased by the dimming light. His heart beat faster, readying him for flight. His body wished to run away from Kregron, whose face now resembled unspeakable and nightmarish which Takaimura had encountered during his younger days. The left eye glowed hungrily and there was a slurping sound emitting from the mercenary's left arm.
"I see. You are too weak to defeat me. Watch your actions, butler, or I shall turn your life into an unending hell." Kregron strode past Takaimura, glaring at the man as he passed by. Takaimura stood still, his breathing ragged. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and stared at his hands. They were trembling uncontrollably and were wet from cold sweat.
At that moment when Kregron was inviting him for a fight, Takaimura thought he was looking into the eyes of demonic spirits and their master, a demon god. He shook his head to clear the horrible reverie and wondered for a minute as to whether the two events were coincidental.
Strolling through the streets, Kregron ignored the stares and whispers directed at him by passerbys, who appeared to recognise him from his left eye and his enormous claymore he was carrying on his right shoulder. The mercenary pondered about the night before when Lisa came into close contact with him. He felt the same presence again, a haunting memory which refused to be identified. Yet, there was a sense of calm and peace when Lisa's aura enveloped his being.
Why do you feel like an angel? Why do you have to remind me of Gwendolin? He clutched his chest in pain, clenching his teeth as he felt the pain intensified when a torrent of memories re-emerged from a dark corner of his mind.
"I still regret my mistakes." Kregron spoke to no one in particular. "Always too late to correct them."
Lisa looked at herself in the mirror. She could barely gaze at her mirror image for a second before turning away in shame. Why do I have Relican blood in me? Everyone I want to get along with treats me as a monster. I'm not a monster. But that man... He is one but he does not seem to be bothered by it. But why do I feel his pain whenever I touch him?
"Or maybe you are just as human as everyone." Lisa concluded to herself. She picked up a towel and wrapped it firmly around her petite body. Grabbing a smaller towel, Lisa brushed her short hair dry. She smiled, recalling how uncle Thomas would praise her hair, calling her beautiful and cute. Touching her hair, Lisa cringed when the back of her fingers grazed her ear, which resembled a fox ear. Immediately saddened by the fact that others would see her differently, Lisa quickly dried herself and changed into a simple white dress emboldened by the Sunwolf sigil, a golden sun symbol radiating blue wavy lines.
"Hey girl, do you have any plans today?" Lisa screamed in shock when she heard Kregron spoke from behind her. She turned around to see Kregron holding a bouquet of flowers with an annoyed look on his face.
"Please stop sneaking up on me!" Lisa squeaked and Kregron lost his annoyance. He flashed a half-hearted smile and said he would not repeat it again.
Thrusting the bouquet towards Lisa, Kregron spoke, "Here, I picked these near the foot of the mountains."
Lisa accepted them with a puzzled look. The personality of this man is so irregular. It is as though he changes his personality like a snake shedding its skin!
"Confused? That is what people will be when they try to know at the get-go." Kregron mentioned in a matter-of-fact tone, pulling an apple out of his inner cloak pocket and taking a big bite out of it. "Pardon me, I just have a craving."
Lisa remained silent. The situation had became so awkward naturally yet Kregron failed to notice it.
"As I was asking, do you have any plans today, girl? I don't think staying in the safety of your mansion is going to allow us to know each other better." Kregron finished with his apple in seconds, incinerating the apple core once he had thrown it out of the window.
"Erm...no. I... I don't have anything on my schedule this afternoon." Lisa ended much more quiet than she started. Kregron pulled his lips thin and his left eye almost closed.
"Alright, let's sneak out then. Get on my back. I will bring you to a nice place." Kregron offered his back, waiting for Lisa to hop on. The half-Relican simply stared at the mercenary. She was thoroughly confused of whether this was the same man whom she had met a month ago.
"Let's go. Life's too short for you to mope around." Kregron added, the stern tone returning to his voice. Lisa felt compelled to obey and climbed on. The moment the man believed that the young lady was holding on securely, he leapt out of the window and they both dropped into an airborne runic circle. The prepared spell warped them out of the city and directly at the foot of the Spine of Zen Almar, a mountain range which pierced the layer of clouds in the sky with multiple peaks.
"Here we are." Kregron spoke after trekking through a light jungle for a few hours. Lisa stared in wonder at the colourful scenery before her. The view below and beyond appeared to be the entrance to a new world, seeking to be explored. "Let's take a seat here."
Lisa looked over his shoulder to see a small picnic laid out under the shade of a large willow tree. She tried to look at Kregron's face, trying to see what he was thinking about. When she spotted the same expressionless look, she puffed up her cheeks and frowned.
"I hope you like my cooking. I don't know what you eat but I hope I did not insult you by offering my inferior food." Kregron held up a triangular piece of sandwich and placed it in Lisa's hand. "No meat. Honey from Beztos Prince Bees and common cheese from a farm in Sprines. Fresh bread baked from Porto Nacha's Confectionery."
"I don't hate meat." Lisa said and Kregron shrugged. "I wouldn't knew. Best not to insult on the first try."
"Aren't you assuming?" Kregron shook his head and began to eat.
They sat there quietly, munching on the light finger food without a glance at each other. Kregron then looked at Lisa, appearing to be intrigued by an aspect of Lisa.
The girl noticed his curious gaze and asked him softly about it. Kregron pulled his lips inwards, thinking hard. "Well, I have never met a noble who would have such a lowly meal."
Lisa giggled. "I guess my parents wanted me to understand the plight of the citizens who look up to us. Well, not me but my father was..."
Lisa became oddly quiet. Kregron looked at her with concern.
"What has happened in the past stays there. Look forward or it will weigh you down." Kregron advised and took a bite of his sandwich.
"Does it apply to you?" Lisa asked quietly. Kregron blinked. He chuckled depreciatingly, taking another bite of sandwich and chewing it slowly, giving himself some time to ponder.
"My past is present and future. It is a cycle that never ends." Kregron answered in a monotone.
Curiosity in Lisa's heart gradually grew the longer this subject was lodged in her mind. "What do you mean?
"I met another angel, in a different form. And both are younger than me." Kregron replied, staring at the vast forest spreading from the cliff they were sitting on.
"Angel?" Lisa could barely make sense of what Kregron was explaining about.
"Isn't it a coincidence?" Kregron muttered to himself, looking up to the clear sky. "That you resembled her quite a bit."
0 comments:
Post a Comment