Halonar: I have declared war against these tyrannical Otherworlders!

第32話

A rather rotund man made his way up the stairway. Hadwyn stepped down, squeezed by the man without pushing him down the stairs. Kela stood on top of the pedestal. She didn’t even look in Hadwyn’s direction.

“Nice show, ainit’?” Benson tore a strip from a chicken thigh.

“Nothing special, just an award ceremony.” Hadwyn brushed off his pants.

“You jealous?” Marco asked. He sat down at the table with a full plate of food.

“Why would I be?” Hadwyn asked, genuinely confused.

Marco sawed his way through some beef. “We totally heard about what you did back in the park area. Damn, Hadwyn! You were fighting like a fucking Bullshark!”

Hadywn sighed. “We were all surprised by that. Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without Kela. I she weren’t there, who knows how many people would have lost their lives that day?”

“Bullshit.” Marco wheezed with a mouthful of potato. He swallowed. “You let her have the win. Why?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Marco wagged his knife, which seemed to make the other guests a bit uncomfortable. But Marco was a blademaster, so he probably knew what he was doing. “Yeah, we’re not idiots, Hadwyn. You let her into the spotlight. You let everyone give her a round of applause. Jeez, the girl can barely hold a sword. Of course we knew it was you, Hadwyn.”

Hadywn had nothing to say to that. The party guests didn’t seem to care, or really notice the topic of their open conversation.

“It’s alright, Hadwyn. Your secret's safe with me.” He winked at him.

Hadwyn put down his fork. Suddenly he didn’t feel like eating anymore.

“Marco… I have to tell you something.”

Just at that moment, Tersea sat down at the table abruptly. She had a huge grin on her face.

“Well, look. It’s Hadwyn sensei.” She smirked at him. “I don’t know what you taught her, but she’s everyone’s favorite now.”

“He gave her the win.” Benson slurped up a slimecake from his bowl.

“Teresa’s smile faded. Hadwyn, is this true?”

Hadwyn scratched his neck.

Shit. He thought.

“Teresa, can I talk to you for a sec?” Hadwyn motioned for her to come over.

“I’m not mad-”

“Just come over.” Hadwyn said in an assertive tone.

She walked over, following Hadwyn behind a pillar.

“What?” She asked, not in a tone of annoyance, but a tone of worry.

Hadwyn pinched the bridge of his nose. “M…” He sighed. “Marcus is dead, Teresa.”

Teresa looked at him, not knowing what words to say. She simply lowered her gaze to the floor.

“Oh…” She said, finally, in a small voice. “Wait, don’t take this the wrong way, but who is he again? I think I remember his name being mentioned.”

Hadwyn took a deep breath. “He’s Marco’s adopted brother. I would have told you earlier, but, you know…”

“Oh, yeah. I remember. Didn’t he leave the association though?”

“Yeah. I read his file in the archives. A few days after he left, it said he joined the Autumn Branch guild. But that was a few years ago. He could have been in another guild by then.”

Teresa shook her head. “Never heard of that guild. By the way, did he go, you know, R.R?”

Hadwyn took in a gasp of air. “No, I already did a double checking of his case. He died in Quow, sometime in the afternoon, the place was fucked-up too. There were craters everywhere, Teresa. It didn’t take genius to determine that it was a SVS fight.”

“Quow…” Teresa murmured. She paused. “Don’t worry, we’ll talk about it later. You can tell me more when we get back to HQ.”

“Wait, Teresa.” Hadwyn called. “What are we gonna tell him?”

“The truth.”

Hadwyn’s heart sank.

Kela jumped down from the pedestal. She looked like she was having fun. Hadywn gave her a big fake smile, then, when she looked away, he slipped away with Teresa.

“Calm down, we won't tell him yet. Just trust me, okay.”

“I do.” Hadwyn asserted. “I have for at least 7 years of my life. I’m still here, picking up after them.”

Teresa rolled her eyes. “Well damn, if i’ll be! Your first real big boy complaint. I’ll give you a belated welcome to the club Hadwyn!”

Hadwyn leaned around the pillar to check on Marco. Kela had sat down and Marco was chatting to her. Across was the buffet, where Benson was tapping his foot as he waited in line.

Two men approached. “Hey, wassup? Did I get in yet?”

Teresa facepalmed. Hadwyn turned to address the two men who blocked their view. The man who spoke wore a white robe with golden threads. He held a staff with a dimly glowing orb in the center. He spoke with much emotion and tone.

The other man, however, was the opposite in appearance. His hair seemed uncombed and untrimmed. It went down past his ears, but not quite to his shoulders. He wore a black, almost jumpsuit, but not quite just for leisure. It seemed more like some sort of stealth garb. He wore a single sword on his back. It appeared to be a single-edged sword.

“You again, huh?” Hadwyn asked.

“Yep, I’m Konnor, and this is my partner, Bren Nightwell.” He motioned to Bren. Bren waved his hand once, his emotionless expression unwavering.

“He doesn’t talk much, or at all really.” Added Konnor, nonchalantly.

“Anyways, I just wanted to check in-”

“No, we didn’t check your application yet, and no we are not going to do it any time soon, we have over a hundred applicants pending, so go away.”

Konnor snorted. “Really? I heard that's how many you had. Not how many you have. Yeah, I’ve heard of the private guilds. Everyone and their mother has.”

Teresa’s face went from annoyance to shock. “How-”

Konnor waved. “You get most of your funding from Goldshire, don't you?”

Teresa looked as if Konnor ripped her tongue right out. She exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Hadwyn.

Konnor looked smug. “I’ve seen you before, but where? You were at the fundraising party, right?”

Hadwyn shook his head. “Nope, you came to our HQ earlier this week.”

“Hey!”

Benson was making his way over. Benson always had a permanent furrow in his brow, this time it looked like a sea of skin.

Benson threw his hand on Konnor’s shoulder. Hadwyn was about to shout a warning to Ben, but Bren’s response was quicker. His speed was a blur, changing Benson’s trajectory, slamming him into one of the pillars.

The pillars, which, although, were firmly planted to the rest of the structure, had metal beams drilled into the sides as a part of the modernization of the building, which vibrated, creating an awful ringing sound that reverberated through the hollow room.

There were a few seconds of silence, as people seemed to be confused as to where the sound came from. Then, the chatter rose back to its volume.

Teresa grabbed Bren, who paid her no mind. He had already let go of Benson. Benson said nothing. He didn’t yell or lose his temper. He looked so absolutely flabbergasted by the events that had just unfolded, that he refused to make any sound. He just straightened his shirt and made his way out of the building, the cool air hitting the group, then ceasing, as the door closed behind.

Teresa marched after him, forgetting about Konnor or Bren, and especially Hadwyn, who had just wanted a nice day and a place to sit down, but alas, he could not seem to catch a well earned break.

Bren folded his hands, and silently leaned against the walls.

Hadwyn glared at Konnor. He had since only encountered the man back at the headquarters, but he was beginning to see why his colleagues hated him.

“Don’t bother us anymore.” Hadywn said sternly.

Konnor grunted. “Don’t be so rude to the son of your investor.”

Hadywn paused for a moment. No, he can’t be…

Konnor spread out his arms. “Yep, I’m Konnor Goldshire. Aren’t you a federal guy? How don’t you know who supports the AFHA?”

Only Teresa knows that, and she never told me. Hadwyn thought, but he dared not say it out loud.

Hadwyn left, and as he did, Konnor called out to him. “See you later!”