10. Rescue operation (5)

In the end, Dren agreed to carry Lyrael and Ori on his shoulders, and brought them to the very same syndicate branch where he first met Ori.

That was a few hours ago, and now, both Lyrael and I were sitting opposite each other, cross-legged. We were positioned a meter away from each other, with a small satchel unwrapped between us, a handful of pills resting on the cloth. By now, I was mostly back to my regular, human-like form.

There were nine pills left after giving six to Dren, as per our agreement.

We stared at them for a solid minute before making eye contact. I smiled like a madman in anticipation of such an opportunity. Lyrael matched my energy.

We must look fucking mental right now, at least from an outside perspective. Ah, but let's think rationally about this; who's here to complain? Dren? Probably locked away in his quarters, trying to break through to the next level. And his lackeys are scared of us anyway. In other words, acting like this is entirely reasonable, and not strange at all.

"I'm glad he didn't just take all of them from us by force, to be honest."

Lyrael broke the silence, still not even trying to suppress her glee. I shared that sentiment, but also expected as much.

"It makes sense, in a way. He's probably decided to keep working with us, thinking 'these two look promising. I'll put in even more effort than paid for to make them indebted to me, so that, in the future, once they possess greater power, they'll turn to me for help first and foremost, with an even more enticing offer than before'... Or, well, something along those lines. I don't exactly know. Not like I can read his mind."

I simply shrugged.

"That's... oddly specific, I have to say. But, enough about that. Let's dig in!"

She was impatient. This was an unexpected transformation of character, at least to me. She seemed much more—how should I put this... reserved? Let's go with that. She seemed way more reserved before.

"Sure, but, Lyrael, can I ask you something before we begin?"

"Mhm, go ahead."

"Aight, I'll be upfront. Why did you, all of a sudden, start behaving naturally, rather than keeping with that annoying 'sheltered princess' act of yours?"

"!!!"

"But! Don't get me wrong, I much prefer you this way. You know, I honestly considered discarding you, along with your sister, back when I learned of Malrik's plan. After all, even if you were useful to me, it really didn't seem worth the risk to go out of my way and save your sister as well, and I knew fine well that you wouldn't follow me on your own. And yet, I discarded all of my life's lessons, and acted emotionally rather than rationally. Do you know why?"

"...I don't."

Lyrael forced those words out, looking like a criminal that'd been caught red-handed. Still, she wasn't surprised at all just now, when I told her I planned to discard her. So she knew all along. Probing her was the right choice.

With that, a thought that'd been chewing on me for so long finally took shape in my mind.

Ah, that actually makes so much sense. I'm a damn idiot for not realizing earlier, really. Logically, why was it that Lyrael's fear never flared up from direct eye contact, as it should've with any person truly scared of my nature?

And of course, I didn't pay it any mind because I could feel that she was always on edge around me, so I simply assumed it was because of the dangers of being with a threadripper. And perhaps that was partially true, but again, locking eyes for the next few days after I used my power should've invoked fear in a person as on-edge as her.

But it didn't.

Instead, she simply wanted me to cover my eyes to avoid scaring others. No, even before that—back when she so willingly decided to share a bed with me, and the next morning, when she fearlessly teased me while patching up my broken arm.

That's the first puzzle piece, but there's another glaring issue I've overlooked.

There were exactly two times Lyrael showed intense fear, the first being when I showed up in front of her cell.

Now, at the time I thought nothing of it, as it was a perfectly natural reaction. But the time it took her to calm down to a state of simple wariness was much too short. That, I attributed to her strong mind, but what if I looked at it from a completely different perspective?

What if what actually scared her was not my nature, but what came as a consequence. That is, my strength.

She knew me as a third-tier fighter, just like herself. The assessment wasn't wrong, either. That truly was my rank—at least before gaining a huge flood of energy from the warriors I fought a few hours ago.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

So, what would she think when she learned that I had the potential for much more strength than my level suggested?

That I might discard her and Nyra, because they didn't have much to offer me as the weak ones of our cohort.

And that would've been a correct assumption.

Ah, haha. Of course. I did think she was unusually talkative, much more so than before we allowed ourselves to get locked up in jail and set everything in motion. Lyrael was simply trying to butter me up; trying to leverage the human side of my emotions for her benefit.

The fear of my existence—of the nature of my existence—it was an act.

My constant desire to push her away, to abandon her... I did think it was unlike myself, to want to distance from someone I considered close. It seemed too impulsive, in hindsight. I, more than anyone, understood how much mental strain reclusion led to. I wouldn't ever do something as stupid as discarding friends and isolating myself again. One time was enough.

So, I'd simply been deluding myself. I felt the disconnect between what I saw and felt from her all along, yet buried those thoughts deep within. Why? Because I desperately didn't want to end up alone again.

Fuck. How pathetic. Ahah, and you know the worst part? In the end, going against my gut feeling was the right choice.

Due to my reluctance to act 'rationally'—or rather, my reluctance to discard the human emotions—I ended up seeing her true self, right at the end.

Didn't I mention that there were two times I saw Lyrael express intense fear?

Well, the second time happened to be right after we left the inn where we encountered Mal, during our walk through the forest. She was genuinely worried about her sister. So much so that, when I suggested my reckless plan, she agreed in an instant, finally showing a crack in her mask.

That moment right there was what changed my mind. The genuine, straightforward behavior with no pretense of acting.

That one mask off moment when she finally showed her real self was enough to finally wash off the sticky disconnect that'd been clinging to my mind all this time. But I hadn't given it enough thought at the time to realize why I felt so much better about her all of a sudden; emotional intelligence has never been my strong suit, after all.

Oh, and that also explains why I was so happy to see her again once she made it back safely. I'd been subconsciously looking forward to meeting again, without all this fake shit. Like close friends would.

And now, here I was, revealing my thoughts to her simply because she felt like an actual, legitimate friend, instead of some sort of tool to be used.

Well, aren't I a naive one? So much for being a hundred years old. S'pose living in the woods for most of those years does that to a person.

***

For the next ten minutes after asking his question, Ori closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought. Lyrael also had plenty to mull over, with her secret having been revealed just like that.

Even more strange was the fact that Ori had laid out his own intentions so plainly.

The mood became odd, to say the least. Lyrael had long lost the excitement to consume the pills, instead worrying about how she should act next.

Run away? It won't work. No, in the first place, Ori wouldn't have explained his thoughts so plainly if he wanted to get rid of me. Instead, he would've taken me down unprompted. I know, because I'm just like him in that regard. Overly calculative, while putting on an act. Not that it worked, given how he'd seen right through me.

Lyrael's thoughts were a mess as she cast a downtrodden look toward the table. She felt defeated.

She took a breath, and made a decision. First—she'd apologize, and go from there.

"Hey, Ori... I’m sor—"

"I got it!"

His eyes suddenly burst open, and his exclaim interrupted Lyrael's attempt at an apology.

"You got it? What exactly did you get?"

Lyrael asked with a tilt of her head, thrown for a loop by the cheery mood Ori was displaying, completely out of place after the last ten intense minutes.

"The solution to all these dilemmas we're facing. Right? Like, I've been worried about it for nothing, it seems. The fix is real simple!"

Ori beamed, looking exceptionally proud of his mystery plan.

"Our relationship as friends is too strained, Ori. Whatever fix you're thinking about, it won't work. Both you and I had been lying through our teeth all along, and you know it as well as I do. Let's just finish rescuing my sister and go our ways."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Think hard, my dear Lyrael. You're missing something important right now."

Ori wiggled his finger in the air in sync with a fake tongue-click sound effect. Lyrael slid a palm down her face.

"And what might that be?"

"Let's just never lie to each other again! Or what, you think it's an issue we're both habitual liars? That's no problem if we just stop lying—at least to each other. Right? Ah, I don't even need you to agree with me, I know I'm right."

"What on earth do you mean, you dipshit?! How can we just not lie? Are you high on guffa fruit right now or what?"

Lyrael was now standing over Ori, annoyance seeping into her voice. She thought Ori was mocking her. He raised his head.

"Let's do a bonding seal. We'll place a simple restriction. Something like 'from now on, we will only be able to say the truth to each other.' We can have it imbued for a few weeks, until our cooperation is done."

Her eyes opened wide, the confusion a stark contrast to Ori's curved, smiling expression.

"Why... go this far?"

Lyrael asked, genuinely unable to comprehend his motives.

Suddenly, Ori's cheerful look vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place. The air felt heavier.

With the most serious expression he'd shown in a long time, he said:

"Because I'm not ready yet. Not ready to be alone yet. My social circle right now—it's tiny. I have a random weirdo who stayed with me in my cell, Seb. And you. Maybe your sister as well, but she seems to be scared of me. For real, unlike a certain someone."

"Uhh, right. Sorry, I didn't expect such a serious answer. You know, I think I actually like your plan. Let's try it. But only for three weeks. Being bound to you through an intangible seal for a long time sounds super uncomfortable."

Finally, Ori stopped frowning, and at the same time, Lyrael sat back down, now much more relaxed than before. The solution was primitive. Ridiculously so. And rather barbaric.

How fitting, though, for a threadripper to use a seal meant for extracting information as a relationship-mending tool. Hah.

Lyrael snickered at her own thoughts, which prompted Ori to finally speak up.

"Ahaha, that's my girl! Ya know, you took those words right outta my mouth. But, for now, let's drop the serious talk. There're some sickass pills to down right now. We can take care of all this deep shit once your sister's safe and sound."

"Agreed. Now then, thanks for the meal!"

Uh, but... how do I actually, like, consume the thing?

For the second time today, Ori was stumped.