"Do you need a hand with her?" I asked as I encountered Anelia, who supported the intoxicated Anastasia while exploring the night market.
Huh. She's such a good friend.
When the group split up, she was left to shoulder her drunk friend alone.
So when I stumbled upon the two of them, I couldn't help but offer my help.
In response to my gentlemanly offer of help, Amelia scrunched up her nose and curled her upper lip while narrowing her eyes at me.
"You?" she asked incredulously, her expression conveying a mixture of disgust and surprise.
…The hell was with that expression? Huh?! I offered you my help, and this is how you replied?!
But if that wasn't enough, Amelia slightly turned her back toward me to hide Anastasia behind her.
"No," she said curtly.
…What the fuck?! Do you think I'm gonna steal her or something?! Huh?!
"Whatever," I muttered, rolling my eyes in annoyance at her reaction before turning to walk away.
After the Mock War and the day she fought alongside me against Quinn, I thought that she had at least grown to tolerate me a bit.
Clearly, I was mistaken.
"W-Wait!"
As I turned to walk away, I heard Amelia's voice calling out to me in a meek tone. I felt a tug on my shirt as she grabbed hold of me from behind.
Frowning, I turned around with a look of confusion, wondering what she wanted from me.
"Wait for a second," she said softly, avoiding my gaze. "Y-You can take my handbag. I forgot my smart bracelet, and Anastasia is too drunk to use hers. Those stupid guys split up before I could ask them to help."
I looked at her handbag and then back at her, still unsure of what to make of the sudden change in attitude.
This girl was confusing– VERY confusing.
Actually, deep down, I knew what she wanted. She was searching for a reason to forgive me. If I only apologized, I'm sure she would forgive me in a heartbeat.
However, I also knew I couldn't do that. I won't apologize for something I didn't do.
But here's what I can do: I can help her by carrying her handbag.
So that's what I did.
"Mhmm," I nodded and took her handbag from her hand before putting it in my smart bracelet. "Just remind me to give it back when we get to the hotel, or I'll steal it."
"Heh," Amelia chuckled, averting her eyes again. "Oh, by the way, what happened between Quinn and you after your fight?"
"Hmm? Why the sudden interest?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I did help you win against him," Amelia shot back.
"You were just a failsafe plan," I boasted. "If I wanted, I could've defeated him on my own."
"But the fact that you had to use the failsafe plan means that you failed, right?"
"...."
Damn it, she was good.
Not bothering to argue any further, I said, "I wanted to ask him why he was working for class 1-C-8."
"Did he tell you?" Amelia responded with a question, curiosity visible in her eyes.
"He did," I replied. "But I can't say what he told me."
"Why?" Amelia frowned.
"Because I don't understand the situation myself. And I'd rather not breach what I don't understand."
At my response, Amelia nodded, her forehead still wrinkled with a frown.
"Will you tell Nero and the class that he was the second traitor?" Amelia inquired before casting me a look.
As our eyes locked, I found myself lost in her sparkling green eyes, reminiscent of a peaceful forest glade bathed in sunlight.
However, that was only for a second as I quickly shook my head, waking from my awe.
"No," I replied, still shaking my head. "I'll handle this matter on my own."
Yes, the fact that Quinn was a traitor isn't public to our class yet. Only a handful like Amelia, Grace, me, and Quinn himself know about this.
And personally, I would like to keep it this way. If this knowledge is made public, then cadets will start bullying him like they are doing now to Grace.
Although, knowing Quinn's character, I doubt the said 'bullying' would even affect him one bit.
Why?
Well, because physically, no one can hurt Quinn except Nero and Anastasia. And mentally, he doesn't give a flying fuck about anyone's opinion.
But I still don't want to give him a reason to go on a breakdown or rampage or something.
If I want to change Quinn's fate and save him from the destiny he'll face later in the story, I would need to start by changing his academic life.
"Why?"
As I was immersed in such thoughts, Amelia's voice shook me back to reality.
"Hmm?" I turned to look at her, only to find her staring back at me.
"Why are you going out of your way to help Quinn?" asked Amelia.
Well, for starters, I would really like him to fight with us instead of against us during the final war.
But I can't tell her that now, can I?
So I made up a lie, "Our class would need his help in the King's Tournament that's going to happen after our First Semester exams."
"So you are only doing this to help our class?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.
And to ensure my survival, "Yes." I replied while speaking the first part in my head.
"Quinn was a traitor?"
"....?!"
"The fuck–?!!"
While Amelia and I were conversing, we heard a voice. It came from the girl wrapping her hand around Amelia's shoulders.
We forgot about her! She was drunk, not deaf!
"Who's Quinn, hehe?" Anastasia giggled like a child. "Is it some girl? Haaa! Is she puwetty?"
…Nevermind. She's way too drunk to even function properly, let alone make sense of what we were talking about and remember it.
"Phew, for a second, I thought–" As Amelia sighed in relief, she was interrupted by a sudden cry of joy laced with an excited tone.
"Guys!"
Almost instantly, I found a hand coiled around my shoulders as a guy jumped at me from behind.
"Found you both!" Kent said before quickly retracting his hand and covering his mouth as he let out a gasp. "Haa! Wait, am I interrupting a date?!"
"Shut up, Kent."
"You're dumb."
At our replies, Kent just shrugged and began to tell us about the drunk elven girl he was with, regardless of our interest in the topic.
"Oh, hey, guys! There you all are!"
"Nero, you just got here too? Come here, Chase, I found everyone!"
"Gosh, for a second, I thought we were fucking lost!"
And just like that, as we continued to walk further, one by one, everyone else found their way back.
Good thing they found each other because these idiots didn't even have the common sense to decide on a spot to meet back on before splitting up.
After a bit of catching up, everyone decided that it was time to go home.
Anastasia was still drunk and acting like a child high on sugar cubes, in contrast to everyone else, who was drained and fatigued.
They had spent the entire day walking around, shopping, and taking in the sights and were now perusing the night market.
As for me, well, I had just engaged in a life-or-death battle with A FUCKING VAMPIRE KING.
So, yeah, needless to say, I was equally as exhausted as the rest of them, if not more.
Not to mention, I wasn't very comfortable with spending time with the main cast.
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with being around them individually, but when all of the main characters are together, I just feel uncomfortable.
It's like their aura, as the main cast is suffocating.
For example, just a few seconds earlier, I had no problem talking with Amelia.
But right now, when she's with the rest of the main cast, I found myself unable to even approach her.
There are only two reasons I could think of for this phenomenon to happen.
I consider myself a manipulator. But in reality, I am really just observant. I take note of people's behavior patterns, speech habits, and a variety of other things.
I am constantly on the lookout for their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and anything that I could exploit in order to gain anything of value that they might have to offer.
However, when people are in groups, it's hard to search for these cues unless you are part of that group– that circle of trust.
Now since most people in this group of the main cast either dislike me or do not trust me completely, I feel uncomfortable being around them because it's hard to get any cues from them.
In simple words, these people complement each other very well.
Either that, or they are just stupid, and I don't like stupid people.
….I'm leaning toward the second point, to be honest.
"Oh, guys, look! There's a fortune-telling stall!" right as we were about to exit the night market, Amelia cried out excitedly with stars in her eyes.
"Huh, you believe in that crap?" I scoffed.
"It's not crap! It's exciting!" Amelia retaliated.
"Pftt," I held myself back from bursting out in a fit of laughter. "And I thought only Anastasia was acting like a child."
"Hey, me no child!" Anastasia pouted at my words.
"Shut up," while Amelia simply rolled her eyes.
"I guess we could make a small stop," Nero scratched his chin. "I wanna see it too for some reason."
"Yeah, let's go check it out!"
"Okay, what the fuck, let's go!"
Elijah and Chase chipped in.
Oh, for real? Haa.
Right, I sometimes forget that even if they are the main characters of this story, they are still teenagers.
Pat, Pat—
"Come now, bro," Kent patted my back. "I don't believe in fortune telling either. But I am interested in seeing a hot elven milf dressed in a mystic robe. I will seduce her! Hehe~"
As Kent let out his pervert laugh, I simply shook my head and followed everyone to the stall.
Why didn't I just leave by myself?
I was afraid to get lost. And I was also a little interested in the stall. Mostly the second part though. Ahem.
†
An elderly elven woman, garbed in black sorcerer robes, stood before us.
She appeared to be in her eighties and looked as though she would require a walker even to sit down, let alone walk.
"Pfftt!"
Suppressing my laughter, I patted Kent on the back.
"I'm not sure about a hot milf, but she's definitely an old gilf," I quipped. "You can handle this, buddy. Go ahead and seduce her."
"Shut up, bro!" Kent whined, pushing away my hand. His reaction only served to amuse me further.
The elder elf looked at us and inquired, "So, who will go first?"
Amelia eagerly jumped up and down, exclaiming, "Oh, me! Me!"
The elder elf smiled at Amelia and gestured for her to come closer.
"Step right up, my dear," she said, pulling out a crystal ball from her robe's pocket. "Let's see what the future holds for you."
Amelia's eyes widened with excitement as she gazed into the crystal ball. The elder elf closed her eyes and began muttering incantations under her breath.
After a few moments of focused concentration, the elven granny raised her head and declared, "I foresee an attack by a pack of squirrels in your future."
"Pfftt!"
"Kekw!"
Suppressing their laughter, everyone covered their mouths, trying not to burst out laughing.
"Bwahahaha!"
I couldn't contain myself and let out a loud chuckle while Amelia shot me a sharp look before turning back to the elf.
"Is that all you see? No wealth or fame, just a… squirrel attack?" she asked, hesitating.
"Hahahaha!" I laughed out loud again. This was too funny. Amelia Black, one of the strongest characters in the novel, gets attacked by a pack of squirrels!
The elf shook her head, and Amelia slumped back, looking defeated.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered.
The elf ignored Amelia's comment and asked with an amicable smile, "Who will be next?"
Chase stepped forward next, and the elder elf predicted that he would slip down a flight of stairs and break his leg in the near future.
Elijah followed, and the elf warned him that he would accidentally hit his finger with a hammer.
After that, Nero approached, and the elf prophesied that he would stumble upon a treasure in the future.
"Why do you get all the luck?" Elijah protested with a frown.
"This is so fucking unfair!" Chase added, feeling cheated.
Nero chuckled in response, which seemed to aggravate them further.
In their frustration, they started grabbing at Nero.
As Nero was being grabbed, he continued to shout, "Hey! Stop it, guys!"
Meanwhile, as that happened in the background, the attention of the eleven granny was drawn to Kent.
"You," she pointed at Kent with a gnarled finger. "Would you like to know your future?"
"Absolutely!" Kent eagerly jumped forward, and the elven elder began to examine him closely.
"You are a long way from home, young man," the granny observed.
At that statement, Kent, who had been goofing around earlier, suddenly became serious. For a moment, his eyes flickered with intense emotion.
"In the distant future, you will be faced with a difficult decision," the granny prophesied. "It will be a tough choice, but you will know what is right."
Kent stood silently for a moment before turning around and walking away, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
I was taken aback; I had never seen him so serious before.
"What's wrong–?" I asked, but before I could finish my sentence, the granny called out to me.
"Finally, you," she said, pointing her chin in my direction. "Would you like to know—"
"No," I interrupted, laughing. "I don't believe in this stuff unless you can tell me I'll be attacked by chumpkins or something, hahaha!"
The elven granny smirked at my response, and the atmosphere grew tense as she opened her previously closed eyes.
Her amicable smile twisted into a sneer, and a glint of something sinister flashed in her eyes.
"You don't believe me?" she raised an eyebrow. "How about this? I'll tell you one thing about your future. Ask me anything you want."
For a moment, I stood there frozen, and even the background noise seemed to fade away as everyone fell silent.
"Fine then," I said, mustering up my courage. "Tell me this: how will I die?"
In the novel, Lucas Morningstar's death was never shown.
Even if it was, I had already altered the story enough to change its ending.
So if this elven granny's powers were truly genuine, then I'd rather ask about my death than anything else so that I could take steps to avoid it.
The granny closed her eyes again and placed her hand over the crystal ball in front of her.
After a few eerie moments of silence, she declared, "You will meet your end when a blue pillar of flames falls upon you from the heavens."
"What does that even mean—"
As I was about to speak, the granny frowned again, her eyes still shut.
"No, you'll meet your end by being crushed beneath a dragon that descends from the heavens," she said firmly.
Before I could even respond, the frown on her face deepened.
"Wait, no, that's not right. You'll fall into an abyss that will destroy your soul. Or maybe you'll be stabbed through the heart and die. No, you'll be decapitated by your closest friend. Y-Your body will be ripped asunder after watching your lover die..."
As she continued to list off a variety of gruesome deaths, a sickening feeling began to rise in my throat. My heart felt heavy, and my knees shook.
"Stop it," I said weakly, unable to bear the weight of her words any longer.
"You'll pierce your own heart with your spear. You'll be shot to death with a gun," the granny continued, ignoring my plea.
"I said stop it!" I yelled, my frustration boiling over.
"You'll jump from a building and die. Your heart will be crushed. You'll fight the Demon King and die by his sword–"
"I SAID STOP IT!" I roared, my patience completely worn thin.
Enough was enough. This had to be a scam. There was no way one person could die in so many different ways. This granny was just spouting nonsense now.
"L-Lucas, calm down!" Nero said while grabbing onto my shoulders.
"Bro, don't listen to her. Please, calm down," Kent added, stepping in front of me.
"I am calm!" I yelled back, my anger still boiling over. "This is clearly a scam! I hate people like her who scam others out of their money with this nonsense!"
"Lucas..." right then, Amelia's gentle voice interrupted my outburst. "W-Why are you crying?"
I was taken aback by her question.
Confused, I touched my face, realizing that tears were streaming down my now-damped cheeks.
"..."
"The deaths I witnessed were not predictions but memories," spoke the elven elder. "Just how many lives have you sacrificed, son?"
I gasped, feeling my heart racing and my breaths becoming labored.
Suddenly, the world around me seemed to fade into a dull haze, and I could only manage to blurt out one thing. "I need to leave."
With all my strength, I stormed out of the stall and made my way out of the night market.
