CHAPTER 408

QUIET BEFORE THE STORM

Alison was currently anxiously chipping away at her meal, occasionally stealing glances to her left where Alex was sitting. He was currently chatting with Eggor about something, while opposite of them, Ella and Hannah’s Master, Lydia, were also chatting away happily.

On the table next to theirs, she saw Lucky talking with a young girl, barely fifteen by Alison’s estimates, while Hannah played with a young baby boy, Cae. The atmosphere was strangely quaint, forcing her to reconcile with the reality she couldn’t have expected would come to be just a few months ago. Who she considered her eternal foe had caused a massive shift in the paradigm, one she couldn’t still quite understand. What was supposed to be a temporary, one-month long stay had turned permanent, as she found a warm and loving home here, high up in the sky, inside the walled fortress.

“Everything alright?” Alex’s voice jolted her out of her thoughts as she glanced sideways; he smiled at her kindly, taking a sip of wine.

“Y-yes, why?” she replied with a faint stutter.

“I don’t know. You seem out of it slightly.”

“.. ah. Just... trying to make sense of it all.”

“Ha ha ha, you aren’t the only one.”

“You too, Master?” she asked, slightly shocked.

“Of course,” Alex replied, chuckling. “Do you really think I imagined sitting, eating and drinking in smiles while the Empyrean was a table away seemingly taking a nap?”

“... wow. He really is sleeping.” Alison exclaimed, her blue eyes tracing over to Lino who had his arms crossed over his chest, head lowered, faint sounds of snoring barely echoing out amidst the voices. “Just how careless is he?”

“Not quite what you imagined, huh?”

“... no.” Alison shook her head unconsciously.

“... he surprised me as well,” Alex said. “Surprised us all, I think.”

“I told you a long time ago he’d win you over,” Ella suddenly joined in from the other end, chuckling. “Seems like, yet again, I was right.”

“... aah, can’t let a single victory slide, eh?” Alex chuckled bitterly. “But, you’re right. You did warn me.”

“Alright, let’s stop talking about him,” Ella said. “The guy’s ego is already through the roof -- he doesn’t need our help to push it further up. Have you settled in, Ally?”

“--ah, yes!” Alison exclaimed, straightening up suddenly, causing Alex to sigh bitterly; why aren’t you that proper when talking to your own Master?

“Good,” Ella nodded with a smile. “If anyone bothers you, let me know. I’ll straighten them up.”

“Ah, no, no one’s bothering me. Everyone’s been really nice and kind.”

“... how’s Hannah been doing?” Lydia, her Master, suddenly joined in, somewhat awkwardly.

“You still haven’t talked with her?” Alex exclaimed in faint shock.

“It’s... ah, it’s still too difficult.”

“She’s right there,” Ella pointed. “It can’t be that difficult to walk over six meters and sit next to her.”

“... right. Easy for you to say.”

“Alright, let’s disperse,” Ella shot up to her feet, pulling Alex and Alison with her soon after as she walked over toward Hannah’s table. “Good luck Lidy. I’m rooting for you!”

“--I told you to stop calling me that!”

“Right, right...”

Lino slowly opened his eyes and gazed briefly at the peculiar scene unfolding before his eyes. A smile of content crept onto his face as he watched all the people he loved enjoying a simple breakfast in each other’s comfort. Spotting Ella, Alison and Alex walking over toward Hannah, and the solitary Lydia sitting on the other table, he quickly picked up on the clues and got up, signaling Lucky to follow him.

The latter seemed to have realized it as well, getting up and dragging Alison away from Ella and Alex, with the former taking Cae from Hannah and whispering something in her ear which prompted the latter to glance over to the other table and smile lightly before walking over. Eggor dragged Alex away to the corner where he whipped out a few bottles of ale, while Ella pulled the few kids that hung around Lucky and Hannah away with her.

Lino glanced at Hannah’s back once before joining Alison and Lucky on their way out as they made their way toward the streets of the fortress. Donning hoods as to not be recognized, they made the road downstairs quick and emerged on the flattened, paved streets full of life and chatter. He still couldn’t quite reconcile with how the fortress had changed since he first got it, when it only used to be Val, Evelyn, Althone and the rest. Remembering them, he made a mental note to pay them a visit soon.

“Anything you wanna eat?” Lucky asked Alison, trying to sneakily hold her hand in the process which latter quickly relented against, angrily glancing at her.

“N-no, I’m fine...”

“We need to fatten you up, though,” Lino chuckled from the side. “L’ always liked ‘em big.”

“Liked what big?” Lucky growled. “Liked what big, you bastard?”

“Boobs.” Lino shrugged somewhat fearfully. “Liked big boobs.”

“...” Alison’s cheeks quickly fired up red as she moved her arms over her chest, lowering her head and slumping over slightly.

“You really have zero experience with delicate girls, don’t you?” Lucky sighed, shaking her head. “Not every one of us can just selectively ignore the spewing shit that comes out of your mouth, you know?”

"Sorry, sorry," Lino chuckled for a moment before his expression turned serious. "Contact Ty," he said. "Tell him he'll soon be integrated into the core of the Sect and that he shouldn't resist."

“... hm?” Lucky’s eyes glimmered for a moment as she glanced at him. “Something I should know?”

“I don’t know much about it myself, actually. Ella did something.” Lino shrugged.

“Oh.” Lucky knowingly nodded. “Alright. If that’s the case I may as well go back to the Shadows and take over day-to-day operations once more, especially now that things will become trickier.”

“Have we ceased all our operations?” Lino asked.

“No, most are operating normally since they don’t really have any direct links to us,” Lucky explained. “I think Lyn did send out the emergency sleeper-mode to all our shops, though.”

“... aah, coordinating all of this shit is really a massive headache,” Lino sighed lowly as he suddenly took a left turn and arrived at the flourishing park. He led Lucky and Alison over to the center where a beautiful fountain spewed out transparent water. He sat on the bench and took out a bottle of wine, handing it over to Lucky, before taking out another one for himself. “We still have the last batch of Gods to accept, and most of their equipment. I also asked Eggor and Primul to see if it’s possible to move the entrance to Earth over to us, though that seems like a pipe dream. I’ve also been getting repeated invites by the Northerners to come join one or another festival. I imagine they also want to get in on the action...”

“Oh no, everything is going well, fuck me.” Lucky imitated his voice, causing Alison to briefly laugh.

“Oh, that’s funny?” Lino glanced at her with a devilish smile. “You think that’s funny.”

“N-no, I really don’t...”

“Yo, dude,” Lucky pecked at his forehead with an angry expression. “What did I tell you about scaring her?”

“Do it frequently ‘cause she looks absolutely adorable terrified?”

“... I’ll drown you.”

“C-can... can I ask something?” Alison lifted her head up, glancing at Lino from the corners of her eyes.

“Sure.” Lino said, smiling.

“... have... have we met before?” Lucky’s expression turned serious for a moment while Lino maintained the same, smiling one; his heart, however, temporarily froze. “I mean, before that day Lucky introduced you as her Master. You... you seem really familiar.”

“... I don’t think so,” Lino’s smile turned somewhat weak for a moment. “I’d certainly remember meeting a beauty like you.”

“... ah, alright.” Alison muttered, seeming unconvinced. “Is there, uh... is there anything I can do? Even during the meeting, everyone seemed to be tasked with something, but... you know... I never got told to do anything, so...”

“... well, for starters, you gotta get stronger,” Lino chuckled, ruffling her hair gently for a moment. “So, train hard, and once you can defeat me, I’ll give you work.”

“Eeeeh?!!”

“Why doesn’t she join me?” Lucky asked.

“... what? You want to spend even more time with her?” Lino smiled strangely. “Gosh, I’m starting to suspect there’s more than just friendly attention toward her in you L’. Should I be worried?”

“N-no! Of course not!!” Alison quickly exclaimed. “S-she’s just a friend!”

“... Ally.”

“Yeah?”

“He knows.”

“Hm?”

“He knows,” Lucky sighed, chuckling. “He’s just screwing with us.”

“.......”

“See?” Lino pointed at Alison’s ruby-red cheeks. “Adorable. Anyway, you think she can make it?”

“I wouldn’t put her into the field, not just yet, anyway,” Lucky said. “I’ve something rather particular for her in mind.”

“Oh? What’s that?” Lino asked, intrigued.

“Interrogation.” both Lucky and Lino’s smiles synchronized as they glanced at the unsuspecting Alison at the same time. “Right?”

“That might be the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”

“Right?! I mean, torture is effective and all, but one look of those blue eyes and they’ll be melting the truth through their skins.” Lucky said.

“... hey,” Lino’s voice turned somewhat somber for a moment. “Make her happy, alright?”

“... I’ll die trying.” Lucky replied with a warm smile, nodding.

Lino got up and walked away, leaving Alison and Lucky alone, giving them the peace they no doubted needed. It wasn’t long before he got lost in thoughts once more, something he did often ever since his return to the fortress. He didn’t know why, but he felt far too content for the state of things; in his weak moments, he even wished things would forever stay as they were at the moment. Laughter, comfort, togetherness, kindness, warmth... he wished to cut the fortress away from the reality completely and immortalize it, create a new world unto its image.

However, he knew he couldn’t. The best he could do is take the existing world and try to make it similar, as much as possible, to the fortress. Stopping in his steps, he glanced up toward the ever-clearing sky. A few more years, and the first full dawn would cast itself over the world. Despite it happening recently, it certainly felt like it was eons ago that he killed Eos.

“... among those currently desperate to locate you, there is one group I think you should meet.” Ataxia’s robotic voice suddenly echoed inside Lino’s mind, startling him.

“Hm? Who?”

“The Cult.”

“Eh? Them?” Lino mumbled, stroking his chin. “You sure?”

“Yes. At the very least they mean you no harm.”

“... very well,” Lino shrugged. “I could certainly use more allies now, especially ones that have been around for a long while. You’ve been awfully cheap with upgrades as of recently. Got anything for me?”

“Following the ascension to the Titular, all further rewards are based on the Titles... so, you’re close.”

"Tsk... they better be fuckin' amazing..." Lino mumbled. "I'm still running around with the fuckin' Arts I got epochs ago, you know? If I had better shit, I could have fought Two and showed her who's the boss... tsk, tsk... I blame you, actually. For all of my losses ever. If only you gave me better shit..." though Ataxia had long since stopped listening, Lino went on to complete an hour-long monologue that was simply a way for him to vent the frustrations piling up. Ah, that was liberating... I should do it more often...