"Hello ladies," Vafferan greeted them as she took a seat at their table without even confirming with them.

How rude.

"W-when did you arrive?" Arteria asked a bit nervously.

"That's rude. I've been here since the beginning," Vafferan squinted, appearing to be hurt by Arteria's question.

"Wha?!"

"So you were eavesdropping on us," Neia sighed.

She really hoped Vafferan would stop misusing her powers.

"Eavesdrop? You make it sound bad," Vafferan shook her finger. "I was just passing by when I noticed the depressing aura surrounding the table and heard my name being mentioned."

'Fuck, was I really that depressed?' Arteria bit her lips.

"Also, a bit of advice. You probably shouldn't discuss such matters right in the middle of a crowded cafeteria."

"That's… a fair point," Neia couldn't refute that.

In hindsight, having such a discussion in a public place was really not the most tactical decision on her part.

"Anyway, it seems you were talking about something interesting. May I join?"

"…"

"…"

"Give that to me," Vafferan snatched the cigar from Neia's hands and extinguished it. "That's not healthy for you, you know?"

"If you were list- here from the beginning, why didn't you say anything?" Neia asked.

"Both of you seemed too engrossed in your discussion. I couldn't bring myself to disturb you two."

"Right," Neia scoffed. "Well, since you're already here, you might as well join us and share your views."

"Oh my, thanks. I've been dying to do it."

"…" Neia quietly rolled her eyes.

Vafferan could be a real handful at times.

"So, Arteria," Vafferan turned her attention to the Dragon-Vampire-Hybrid.

"Y-yes?"

"You already know it, but you were wrong. You must apologise to Samur as soon as you can."

"Yes," Arteria's head drooped.

"Don't be so sad," Vafferan smiled. "At least you understood that you were wrong. It takes courage to acknowledge that."

"Thanks."

"However, there are some more things you are still wrong about."

"Huh?"

"You berated Samur for taking my… sufferings lightly and told him that someone like him could never truly understand it."

"…" Arteria pursed her lips and averted her gaze.

"And you ARE right about that."

"Eh?" she stupidly grunted.

"It's impossible for Samur to understand what I've been through. In fact, it's impossible for anyone to truly understand what I've been through. And that's natural. You cannot understand someone unless you've been in the same position as them and have been through the same things they have."

"Ah…"

"Not to mention that while Samur does know about my past, which he graded 7 out of 10. I still can't get over it, you know. He heard about my past, called its climax unoriginal and poorly executed, and gave me an average score of 7 out of 10."

"Oh my God, don't remind me of that," Arteria grimaced. "My entire family was massacred yet he gave me a measly 6 out of 10."

"Hmm, I wonder what a 10 out 10 will be for him?" Neia wondered.

"Probably the end of the world?" Vafferan suggested.

"I doubt that. We could be witnessing the end of the world and despairing at our loss, yet Samur would be like, 'Mm, yes, the end of the world is a trope often seen in literature. This is frankly unoriginal and boring. 6 out 10, do not recommend.'"

"…It's scary how I can actually imagine him doing something like that," Arteria shivered as she imagined that scene.

These guys couldn't be far from the truth, of course.

World-ending events were an instant 3 out of 10 for Samur, no question asked. And even then, 2 out of those 3 points were given solely because a world ending event would lead to his own death.

"Anyway, we digress," Vafferan brought them back from that surreal scene. "Like I was saying, while Samur does know a bit about my past, we never really told him what actually went down. So it is only natural for him to take it a bit lightly."

"But-"

"And you know," Vafferan cut Arteria off. "I'm actually glad he saw it that way."

"What?" Both of their eyes widened.

"Because the only way he could do that was when he did not understand what I went through. Which means he has never been in a situation similar to mine."

Or maybe he simply did not care even after understanding it, but none of them thought him to be that despicable.

"Ahhh," Arteria and Neia's eyes widened.

"But here's the problem."

"What?"

"You said that you only misinterpreted Samur's words."

"Right- oh."

"If you misunderstood him, what exactly did he mean?"

"He… he told me that much of your suffering could have been avoided if the ones handling you were actually competent."

"Competent? Samur actually called those fuckers incompetent?"

"Y-yes," Arteria stiffly nodded.

"Hahahahahahahaha! The guys who imagined themselves as the Gods of the new world are incompetent in the eyes of a child! Hahahahahaha! I wish they were alive to hear this!"

"V-Vafferan?"

Vafferan didn't mind her two comrades looking at her worriedly, nor did she pay any attention to the ones giving her weird stares.

She just continued laughing.

"Oh my God, you made my day, hehe," Vafferan finally managed to stop herself and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Obviously, those tears were not a metaphor for how she was crying on the inside or other such bullshit; they were simply a result of laughing too much.

"Well, someone like Samur has the right to call them incompetent," Arteria murmured.

"I couldn't agree more," Neia nodded.

"Hmm?" Arteria frowned and looked at her Draconic companion.

"What?" Neia did the same.

"…"

"…"

The two stared at each other, their eyes asking the other what they meant.

'Does Arteria know about the Elixir?'

'Does Neia know about the heart?'

In a nutshell, it was victim to victim to conversation.

"Samur has the right? How?" Vafferan asked.

"You're better off not knowing," Arteria sighed but stole a glance at Neia to see her reaction.

"Or maybe, you'll know soon enough," Neia also sighed and looked at Arteria to confirm her suspicion.

Since they had looked at each other at almost the same time, their gazes locked onto each other's.

"…"

"…"

"Is there something you are not telling me?"

"So it would seem," Neia replied while looking at Arteria.

"Yeah," Arteria replied while staring at Neia.

By now, they both understood that even if for different reasons, they both knew how capable Samur actually was.

"Alright, then, keep your secrets," Vafferan shrugged. "Anyway, Samur is right. Much of what happened to me could have been avoided if the researchers were competent and in their right mind."

"Oh."

"However, the main point is that Samur, in no way, belittled my suffering."

"Yeah," Arteria sighed as her head drooped.

This was the major reason for her depression; she completely misunderstood everything Samur said to her.

In other words, everything was her fault.

Sure, Samur might have guided her actions a bit to manipulate her into cleaning his room, but it was only guidance; the decision to walk on that path was Arteria's.

Or that's how Samur would gaslight her upon being caught, anyway.

"And do you know what that could possibly mean?" Vafferan asked.

"What?"

"Think about what I said before. How one cannot understand another unless they've been in the exact same situation."

"You don't mean," Arteria's eyes widened.

"Yes. There is a possibility that Samur has been through the same things I have."

"Oh my God," Arteria's voice trembled as her eyes shook. "What have I done?"

She had just-

"Well, there is a flaw in your logic," Neia interjected before Arteria could fall into despair.

Thank God.

"Really?"

"Of course. Samur never told you how he saw Vafferan's situation or whether he understood it. In fact, from what I can gather, Vafferan was never the topic of your conversation."

"Well, no," Arteria nodded.

"Right. What was the actual topic of conversation? How did the argument start, or should I say, what was the turning point where he got angry?"

"It was… when I doubted his abilities and intentions."

"And what were his exact words when he got angry?"

"He said, 'I'm sorry, do you have any idea how rude that was? You actually dare compare me to incompetent pieces of shit who just did a bit of body modification on Vafferan and then had the audacity to call her the 'Ultimate Weapon'?"

Arteria omitted the line about getting a dick stuck in her throat because she didn't want to cause more problems for him.

"Ha! The boy is sassy, isn't he?" Vafferan grinned.

"Hmm…"

'So that's why she lashed out at him,' Neia nodded in her heart.

"Well, that doesn't tell us anything," Vafferan leaned on the table.

"Exactly, so that's why we should avoid making any assumptions," Neia replied. "We have no idea whether Samur truly understands Vafferan, or any of us for that matter. So let's wait until we get more clues."

"Exactly," Vafferan clapped. "Just like Samur said, we don't know shit about him. So until we do, there's no point in making conjectures."

"Right," Arteria nodded in relief.

At the very least, it seemed she hadn't committed the grave sin which she had criticized Samur for.

"And that goes for you two as well."

"Hmm?" Neia tilted her head a bit.

"To be more precise, your discussion about how Samur is trying to push us away."

"That is…"

Seems like Vafferan had jebaited the two.

"I'm not saying you're wrong. It IS possible that Samur is deliberately trying to push us away. But you have to understand that he's still a child who had been living in an abusive household until recently. It's possible that he might have different landmines than normal people; maybe, for him, his abilities being doubted is way worse than whatever you did to him."

"Hmm," Neia grunted.

"And even if you are right, and that it was an act to push us away, there's nothing wrong with that. He said it himself, didn't he? Due to his harsh upbringing, it's difficult for him to trust anyone. Maybe all he needs is some time."

"…You might be right."

"And maybe, we're wrong again, and Samur did all that to make Arteria clean his room," Vafferan giggled.

Welp.