Chapter 78: Entrustworthy
In Moon’s room, Ed sat down waiting for him to finish while listening to slight groaning every once in a while.
He took a look around the room that only had a few items... Liquid Mountain, Colten’s sword, and helmet.
But that envelope and emblem of Lucen’s were getting on his nerves; thus, he didn’t wait for Moon to come out. He decided to open the envelope and see what was written inside.
He unpeeled the seal and opened it, extracting a formal-looking letter.
On top, one side had the golden sword and on the other the golden shield.
Under the name of Lucen, the founder and leader of Assault Facility.
A direct order to whoever reads this letter, the one holding the letter is to join the facility if willing, to be assessed by any means necessary under any circumstances.
Ed raised an eyebrow. "Lucen really knows how to pull tricks." He said, ignoring the text and looking at the lower part of the envelope, for it was a mass of arcane circles piled together. "Hey Lucen, you bitch, can you hear me?"
Ed tapped the letter a few times with his finger. "You old bitch, are you enjoying the view?"
No answer came, but Ed wasn’t giving up or letting the matter rest. "I guess you are no longer around. I might as well visit your little bitches around here and there... collecting a few arms’ worth of yours."
The envelope shook slightly.
[What do you think you are doing?]
Lucen’s voice came from one of the circles etched onto the letter.
"Don’t give me that shit, I’m not your lackey." Ed retorted.
[This obviously is a letter of invitation.] Lucen spoke the obvious.
"Oh? Why does a letter of invitation have so much complex shit to spy on individuals?" Ed spoke in a firmer tone.
[Is that a grave problem for you?] Lucen, on the other hand, didn’t give a straightforward answer.
"Do I need to ask again?" Ed’s voice was now low and calmer than it should be.
[This is a high-grade letter. I need to monitor if someone doesn’t follow my orders.] Lucen explained slowly.
Ed shook his head. "Don’t give me that shit." He added, "The letter will only be useful in the trial, and you bitch can sit your ass down and watch the entire scene play."
Ed didn’t give him a chance to speak. "Are you trying to steal from me and from Samuel?" he asked again.
[What are you talking about?] Lucen’s voice was getting impatient. [Are you being stupid right now?]
"Drop the act. I know exactly you always wanted to spy on us..." Ed wasn’t buying anything, nor did he plan on getting gaslighted in any way. "You know how Samuel would act if I let him find out about this little sad shit of yours."
[What are you getting at?] Lucen wasn’t giving up. [How can you say that when you were the one who activated the circles?] He fought back.
Ed smiled, looking directly into the circle, knowing too well Lucen could see him. "Let’s break it down for your aging brain to understand. I couldn’t detect the arcane while it was still inside the envelope. Even when opened, Samuel can confirm the nature of the seal, he’s the expert here..." He paused before adding, "As for activating the spy circle, how about letting him decide?" He chuckled.
The letter, Lucen, stayed silent for a while.
[Is it that problematic to you that I wanted to keep an eye on the kid?]
Ed shook his head. "Of course not."
[What problem do you have then?] Lucen spoke in his usual gentle voice.
Ed raised an eyebrow. "The problem is that we are teaching the kid. Spying on him is spying on us." Ed gave his last piece. "Also, don’t spew any more bullshit." he said dismissively.
He knew too well Lucen didn’t want a fallout with Samuel for many reasons, and accordingly...
[Fine, what do you want now?] Lucen seemed to have given up at last.
Ed nodded, his smile widening. "I thought you would never ask."
Before long, Moon got out feeling fresher, though his wounds had not healed in the slightest... But at least his mouth no longer tasted metallic.
He opened the door only to find everything in place. "You are leaving these?" he asked Ed, pointing at the envelope and emblem of Assault Facility.
"Yeah, you can do whatever you want with them." Ed said dismissively.
Moon put on his shirt first before putting on his sock and shoe as well, only on one foot of course. "What are they for anyway?"
Ed didn’t answer immediately and seemed to think for a moment. "Let’s say these are items you can use to join Lucen’s private army with, or gain help wherever you see one of his branches or groups."
"Oh." Moon answered curtly. "Something so useless?" He wasn’t impressed.
Ed raised an eyebrow, not expecting the answer. "Is it?" he asked back.
Moon fastened Liquid Mountain. "What kind of warrior would entrust his back to strangers?" he answered naturally without much thought before patting himself lightly on the chest, starting to feel difficulty breathing... his rib injuries were probably the most painful.
Ed listened to his answer. For a moment, he didn’t react until Moon looked at him. "Let’s go?" he asked.
Ed smiled. "Right, no idiot would leave his back to strangers." He nodded.
Somewhere in the facility, Roran had just left the medical ward. His injuries were not too bad, but he needed some care and to fix his neck with something for a while... He also needed to visit again tonight before bed.
"I guess I got lucky." he shook his head before suddenly hearing an
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
or at least he thought he heard it.
He turned around, looking back and forth. "Am I hallucinating his voice?" he wondered.
He saw Dorbish standing somewhere nearby. He raised his hand. "Hey Dorbish!" he called loudly.
Though Dorbish didn’t look his way, he pursed his lips and stood up.
"Hey, wait!" Roran called again, but Dorbish started speeding away. "Did you just hear Moon’s voice?"
With that said, Roran watched Dorbish break into a sprint, unable to run after him with the thing fixing his neck in place.
He pursed his lips. He looked around, finding someone else nearby. It was Zera.
"Hey," he called him. "Did you just hear Moon’s voice?"
Zera turned around, showing a lower jaw fixed in place with something like rubber, the same thing Roran had on his neck.
"Sorry I asked." he said.
In his heart:
’Please, I can’t be hallucinating his voice.’
He prayed in silence.
In the eatery, Moon sat and started eating slowly.
"So, when are we doing that?" Moon asked. "The splitting, I mean." He added.
Ed wasn’t in a hurry. "Maybe tonight."
"Oh, at last." Excitement radiated from his voice, since his face couldn’t show any, nor did his eyes have enough space for it.
"Yeah, though you might as well start getting busy... so many things will start happening very soon." Ed said.
Moon, confused, asked, "What are you talking about?"
Before Ed could answer, Samuel entered the eatery.
"Once you’re done eating, go to the medical ward and get your foot fixed. Don’t get anything else healed."