Chapter 11 “Watchers’ Discussion”

After saying goodbye at Eryell at the Reystone’s mansion, I immediately walked back toward my home. Since it was already so late, the street was absolutely empty. The only sound that filled the place came from the leaves that were sent fluttering slightly by the night wind and the usual cats that were prowling around, meowing quietly. Together with those was, as one could guess, the sound of constant tapping that came from my finger each time I tapped my walking cane.

The cold air felt quite chilling as it brushed onto my skin. A slight shiver ran down my back because of that. Although I wore a cloak, it was–as expected– not enough to shield my body from the attack of the cold. The fabric has become thin and with the addition of a few holes here and there, it was clearly not fit to do its job any longer.

But the cold didn’t bother me too much. The reason? Even though my body felt cold, my heart felt warm. It was because I felt…glad and relieved. Very relieved indeed. After hearing everything Eryell said to me, I felt like a load that has been burdening my mind has been lifted off.

What Eryell said to me was, once again, very precious. She didn’t reject me right away, which I have to say what I feared and yet expected the most. Not that I doubt her or anything, but that is just the logical action. Yes, she didn’t reject me right away, but she also didn’t accept me freely like that. That is a very unexpected move from her. Once again, not because of I doubted her.

She accepted me after confessing that she might not be ready to accept me yet. Both because of me and also because of her own weakness. She confessed to me her own weakness, both body and mind. She said that after witnessing my true strength. Well…to call it my true strength is not exactly correct since I only used a fraction of my strength. But that was enough to make her understand that before she could accepted me, she needed to prepare her mind. She will accept me, but it will take time.

That realistic and understandable way of thinking really shocked me. For me, it means that the act of accepting me is not something she views as simple and mundane, to the extent that she will prepare herself before accepting me. That was far better than just accepting me blindly like a fool and definitely much much better than rejecting me without listening to my reason. I, once again, felt proud for knowing her. I also felt honored for being chosen by her. Really, I am.

“Hmm…” I halted both my step and my musing as I noticed something. Lowering my body slightly, I start grabbing the pebbles near my feet. After weighting some of them and found a few suitable ones, I looked to a certain direction and threw them with a very controlled strength.

Short after that, sounds of crisp metallic ringing resounded into the area. Due to the empty and silent environment, the sound rang much louder than I expected. Following after that sound, I could sense a presence started to appear from the direction of the sound, which is also the direction where I threw the pebbles. I could feel my mouth formed a small smile.

“Do you want to know when I found you?”

“…Go ahead.” From his tone, I could feel he was somewhat irritated. I could understand that. After all, he was found out rather easily. Hmm…No. It was not an easy job. It was just bad luck on his side.

“When the cat that was walking suddenly changed path.”

“…Cat?” I could sense confusion in his voice. “What cat?” I then lifted my walking cane and pointed to the creature in question. “Oh…that one. So…can I presume that it was just a lucky guess?”

“Hmm…yes, that’s about right.” I smiled again. “If you just dodged those pebbles instead of parrying it aside, you would probably still hidden by now.”

“Clever.” The sound of rustling and fluttering clothes came near me. “Is that why you threw several of them with a slightly different target? To make it difficult, if not impossible, for me to dodge?”

“Correct.” I gave a nod. “I only have a slight suspicion about the reason that cat changed its course. Since there was no one around and I also couldn’t sense any other cat near that particular one, I choose to test the water.”

“Tch…” After that, a slight metallic clank came to my ear that ended with a click sound. It seemed that he had sheathed his weapon. “Seeing you here, I assume that you have met that fellow?”

“…Don’t remind me.” I frowned immediately as I recalled the event.

“…I see.”

“Don’t think that you are faultless in the whole event tonight, Reiyes.” I let out a snort after saying that. “Although not directly, but your needless action had made it much more difficult to do.”

“Ho? Is that so?” I could detect a slight amused tone from him. “And what is that needless action? Care to explain, Nerva?”

“You covered that woman’s presence from me at the last minute, didn’t you? The one that was going to my house.”

“Oh that one. I guess I did.”

“I wouldn’t ask your reason. But do try to not do anything like that again.” I pointed my cane at him. “Ever!” If that needless action of his caused even a dent in our relationship, I will personally beat him to extent of my ability. But I guess I will not kill him. He is a close friend after all. That is, if my mind is still clear. If not, I fear the worst. For him and for me.

That’s because Reiyes is not someone I can take light off of. Among the many Watchers, he could be seen as one of the most proficient in dealing with stealth attack. Together with his personally trained unit–The Shade if I’m correct– he is a very strong adversary no one should mess with. From what I know, he trained them to be able to collect information and also perform many operations under the cover of the shadow. I guess, once again, their name is really appropriate for their line of job.

“Okay, got it.” What came after that unconvincing response is a shrug. It seemed that he didn’t really feel any guilt for doing that. Ugh, this guy is sometimes too unpredictable and act on his own whim. But at another time, he acted too predictable. “So I presume that that fellow have done something too?”

“…She almost killed a group of mercenary in the shady district.”

“…What?” And just like I predicted, he gave me a confused response. “Killed a group of mercenary? How? Why?”

“Uhm…I’ll give you the short story. She found a girl that was supposed to ‘entertain’ the mercenary being treated rather harshly. She argued with them after defending her. One of them tried to cool down the situation. But….” Ugh, I immediately felt a headache while remembering the story. “She ran her mouth, insulting them casually. She almost pulled out her weapon after the other group threaten to fight her.”

“When you said that she almost pulled out her weapon, I assume that you stopped her. Am I correct?”

“Unfortunately, I have to. If not, we will have a bloodbath in the town. A major incident will happen if not stopped.”

“Ugh, that fellow is…I don’t know what to say.” He shook his head as he said that. “But, pray tell, what did she do after that? From the way you talked, it seemed that it was not the worst thing she had done tonight.” This guy really is sharp. I guess for one that worked in the darkness all the time, there really is a need to be sharp. Not that you can be careless on every other job.

“…Remember that woman? I’m in a relationship with her.” I actually felt proud I can say that openly. “And she ran her mouth again and almost made my relationship with her…fall apart.”

“…Ugh…I…no, I can’t say anything again.” I could her Reiyes hit his own forehead after saying that. “That is just…terrible. Although, that is not the worst thing she had done, right?”

“…Sadly to say, you’re right.” I felt a shiver ran down my back after he said that. Just as he said, she have done more terrible thing than just hurting a man’s relationship. “Fortunately, we managed to avoid the worst. But the fact that she almost did that remains.”

“Forgive me for saying this, Nerva. But I’m quite relieved that I left that fellow to you and not to one of my Shades.”

“Damn you…”

“But that’s correct, no? In the end, you proof to be the only one capable of dealing with her.”

“I know, I know. But still…damn you for giving her to me.” I hate it when I can’t see a gap to attack his argument. Although I can’t see anything, but that is my physical condition. To not be able to see a gap in his argument, that is just my own weakness. “Let’s put that aside. If you are here, than you have spread around your people in the whole town?”

“I have, just as you said.” Quite a fast work. Impressive. As expected of Reiyes. “I have stationed all of them all around town. I will have report as soon as possible.”

“Good, the first thing we need is information. I can contribute a bit since I’m in contact with the inner circle of the town militia.”

“Oh, that’s good. We can use that. And…” His voice turned slightly dark. “I guess we also need that fellow to look for more information. Her way.”

“As bad as it sound for me, you’re right. Let’s get back first. We will need to discuss this with her too.”

“Lead the way, Nerva.”

“Oh, you’re back.” I heard Cyrielle voice as soon as I was close to my house. And…why is she there? Don’t tell me…”I was going to get some fun again if you didn’t get back tonight.” Figures.

“…You…” I could hear Reiyes’ voice filled with disbelief. I guess I’m not the only one. “Don’t you know the trouble you’ve done in just one night?”

“Huh? What trouble?” I slapped my own forehead as soon as I heard that reply. I also heard similar sound from near me, probably from Reiyes doing the same thing as I. “Really? What trouble?”

“You…you…” Reiyes’ heartbeat risen to the level that I am quite afraid he will hurt himself. But then it turned normal again. “…Ugh…you are impossible, Cyrielle Natine.”

“Jeez, can’t you just call me Cyrielle like everyone else?” After she said that a small sound of ‘hmph’ came from her. “Really, Reiyes. To think that we have work together for so long and you still sound so formal. I thought you have warmed up to me.”

“This is how I always am. Isn’t that right, Nerva.”

“Yes, you are, Reiyes.”

“See?” I could ‘see’ her pointed her finger at both Reiyes and I accusingly. “The tone you used with him is different! You still treated me like a stranger!”

“That’s just your imagination.” Reiyes didn’t even take her words seriously and I could ‘see’ him waving his hand, dismissing the thought away. Typical of these two.

Actually, I could say that this is their way of showing how close they really are. Close, as in good teammate. No more, no less. Or at least that’s what I know. I don’t know if something happen since the last time I’ve met the two of them.

“Enough, you two.” I clapped my hand, earning their attention. “Put that trivial thing aside.”

“Trivial!?” Cyrielle shouted as she heard that. “That is a very important matter!”

“Cyrielle…” I put pressure in my word, making her known that I will take no other answer than obedience. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“…Tch!” She clicked her tongue. For a split second, I could notice a rise in her heartbeat. It seemed to be a mix of anger and fear. “…As you wish.” After that, the sound of footsteps that lead into the inside of the house was heard.

“Reiyes, we’ll talk inside.”

“Understood.” I then followed those footsteps while I heard similar sound from behind me.

As we came into the house, the three of us sat encircling the table. None of us started talking. I then tapped my cane several times to ‘see’ for any other party inside the vicinity. Luckily, I found no one, except for some of Reiyes’ Shade. It seemed that he kept several nearby in case of something emergency. Quite a capable and careful man he is. That is something I like about him. Even in between friendly face, he still try to keep his guard but not to the level that it will be visible to the other party.

“Now, since the two of you is the one being given the mission, I will confirm it again.” I said that to start the discussion. “There is a Marked Soul that is led out of its thread of fate into a dangerous path. And it will meet its demise soon in this town. Because of that, some Watchers are dispatched. Did I get that right?”

“That’s pretty much what Reiyes told me.” Cyrielle said that with a rather carefree tone. As usual. “I was only called with a single piece of letter. No more. No less.”

“Hmm…So Reiyes is the one being given the job first? Do you have anything to add to that, Reiyes?” I shifted my face onto him.

“Sadly, that is all. We’re in lack of any useful information. That’s why I immediately spread my Shades into the town in hope that we can secure information as fast as possible.”

“Who give you the order? The Twin?”

“Yes, The Twin. By a sudden vision. In the middle of the night. In the middle of a mission.” His tone grew more and more upset with each sentence. I guess that is a very irritating way of giving message. And in the middle of the mission at that. The Twin really have a lot of learn about real human interaction.

The Twin Reiyes and I mention is another fellow Watcher, meaning they are also fellow Marked Souls. They have a very great aptitude in channeling power from powerful entity. They can talk directly with them effortlessly. They also have a very powerful magic ability, to the extent that even a hundred or more court magician class mage face them in an ambush, they will still be able to deal with them with ease. Clairvoyance, telepathy, levitation, instant teleportation, chantless spell, and the list go on for their ability. Their only weakness is that their body is weak. But that is not a problem since they always strengthened their own body with magic. It is not wrong to call them an unfair existence.

But unlike me and the other Watchers, they held special task in the Watcher’s community. They are our messenger. They also sometimes act as the one that will divide task to suitable watcher. Although not to the extent that they lead us, some Watchers still look up to them as their leader. I myself am not one of them. But I still respect them a lot since discussing things with the powerful entity is not an easy task. Most of the time it is quite a crazy and tiring job that I will be happy to avoid for the rest of my life.

“No other information? No name? No date? No nothing?”

“None whatsoever.” Reiyes answered Cyrielle question right away. “Not even a way to contact them again.”

“Wow, aren’t we in a good situation?” She sarcastically said. “No wonder we were paired with Nerva.”

“Agreed.” I could ‘see’ Reiyes gave a nod. “But no matter how powerful his ‘vision’ is, he wouldn’t be able to do it without any lead.”

“And that’s why you rushed your subordinate to do it, right?” Once again, Reiyes nodded at my question. “Then let’s do that for the next couple of days. The three of us will collect as many information as possible. But I have to warn you. The town is currently in a very tense condition.”

“Tense? How so? I never notice that.” After hearing Cyrielle saying that, I hit her feet with my cane. “OWW! What are you doing!?”

“That’s for making the situation worse, you fool!” I shouted at her. “Do you know what you just did?”

“Huh? I didn’t do anything that will get the town into trouble, you k–OWW! Stop it!” I hit her again before she could finish her statement.

“Then tell me this, Cyrielle. Do you know about the charred remains of Arcane Puppet outside of the town, near the forest?”

“Arcane Puppet? Near the forest, is it?” The sound of her tapping her chin entered my sensitive ears. For a few moments, I could ‘see’ her titled her head from side to side while folding her arms. “Oh! That! What of it?”

“…What did you do there?”

“Oh, nothing much. I stumbled upon a few mages and bandit-like people in the forest. They seemed to be trying to burn the forest or something. I just warned them to not do that since they might be trapped by the fire they made. But then the mages summoned those big golem-like creatures out of thin air. So…I stopped them.”

“By using your Igneous Hatchet? At full force?” I asked her while I could feel my face twitched a bit.

“How did you know that I used full force!?” She shouted as she heard me. “OWWW!!!” Another yelp of pain came from her, but it wasn’t because of me. “R-Reiyes!? You too!?”

“You fool!” Oh, it is quite rare for me to hear Reiyes used that tone. Usually he just got angry for one second and then subsided in the next second, barely showing it. But it was different this time. His heartbeats rose quite significantly. And it stayed that way, even after kicking her. “Why are you so easy in using the Marked Artifact like that!?”

“B-But they are dangerous! I couldn’t defeat them as easily without using it full force!”

“Then just use it without the magic, you fool!” Reiyes then let out a sigh. I also joined him. “You do know that you can use the artifact without its magic. This will just make a needless uproar.”

“Uproar? You’re exaggerating, Reiyes. There’s no way something like that will–“

“Yes, it did make an uproar.”

“…Eh?” A stupid voice came from her. “Now, now, Nerva. You’re kidding, right? OWWW! A simple no will be enough!” As one might expected, she got a hit again on her feet.

“What you just did left melted remains that the local militia is concerned about. Thanks to you, the town’s militia is getting anxious and worried. They have increased security in every checkpoint, inside and outside the town.”

“So? Isn’t that just made them able to secure the town better? I mean, isn’t the fact that the town getting more secured we can avoid the worst fate for the Marked Soul?”

“That is naïve thinking, Cyrielle Natine.” Reiyes let out a sigh. “Listen here. The Twin never said that we have to save them. We just have to deal with the situation. It is not impossible that we have to subdue it before it meets its demise, which might affect too many people.”

“I still don’t see the problem.” As usual, Cyrielle is a hard headed one. “It’s not that it will hinder our mission, right?”

“I wouldn’t say it will hinder us. But it did force us to use an alternative way. Listen here.” I leaned forward before starting the explanation. “In this town, there is an underground movement with unknown objective. They have started killing information broker here and there. They haven’t done that since they were relatively undetected for quite some time. Do you know the reason?”

“Err…because I wiped out one of their group?” I could sense a slight worry came from her. Her heartbeats told me that she finally understood her mistake and its grave effect.

“The possibility of that is very high.” I could hear a dejected sigh from her. “With that, the militia has not been able to collect useful information. In fact, I have warned them to stopped collecting information in fear of provoking the movement too much that they will launch an all-out attack in fear of being discovered by the royal kingdom. If that hap–”

“W-Wow! W-W-Wait a minute!” She stopped me. “What does that have to do with the royal kingdom? This is crazy!”

“I agree with her, Nerva.” Reiyes added. “If this involves the royal kingdom, we need to move much more carefully than we previously planned.”

“I was going there, you know.” I tapped my cane with a rather annoyed feeling inside me for being stopped. “The royal family will visit this town soon. And to add suspicion, they are the one that manufacture fire based Arcane Puppet.”

“Fire based? The one I fought with were all fire based mage and Arcane Puppet. You don’t think that…” I nodded. “Ugh, this is getting too complicated for me.”

“An underground movement that used fire based Arcane Puppet. A royal family that manufacture the same kind as them. A town in tense condition.” Reiyes said that with a rather tired tone. “This is getting out of hand, Nerva.”

“Tell me about it.” I let out a sigh after hearing that. Don’t you know that I was already dealing with them? “To make matter worse, you provoke the underground movement. This will increase their vigilance, making collecting information much dangerous.”

“Err…sorry.”

“Well, apologizing now will not change anything. You’ve already stirred up a hornet nest.” I massaged my head as I realized that I will have to work even more after tonight. “Let’s just do this for now. As I already mentioned, we will all collect as many information as we can in our own way. Reiyes will use his Shades, Cyrielle will use the shady district information network, while I will use the militia’s. Don’t do anything rash. That goes especially for you.” I said that last statement while pointing my cane at her.

“I know, I know. Sheesh…”

“You never learn, do you? Well that aside, we will make my house as our base for now.”

“And I suppose we shouldn’t contact you carelessly in the open, right?” I nodded at Reiyes’ question. “Understood. And Natine…you will stay at–“

“The brothels. I already found someone that practically begged me to live with her, err, them. There are about three of them.” I could sense her heartbeats turned into a cheerful one at the mention of living with her ‘prey’. Once again, she never changes. “You can contact me by telling them my name. I’m sure most of them know me already.”

“…Does the word stealthily ever come into your mind?”

“Huh? What’s that? Is that delicious?” She then laughed after giving that answer for Reiyes. Reiyes, on the other hand, let out a tired sigh. I can actually sympathize with him. “So how can I contact you, Reiyes?”

“You can’t.” His answer came almost immediately. “I will contact you. But I guess Nerva can contact one of my Shades since he can detect them. You, on the other hand, will not be able to do it.”

“Tch, you and your Shade.” She certainly wasn’t please being treated that way. “I guess I will contact Nerva then. Since he is, after all, the leader for this operation.”

“You’re right.” Reiyes agreed with him. Sheesh…I guess I have no choice, right?

“If everyone is clear, let’s end this discussion. I need to get some sleep. I have to get to work early tomorrow.”

“Understood.” The sound of Reiyes’ fluttering clothes came into my ears as he stood up. “Then I will take my leave. We’ll keep in contact and I’ll give report as soon as I got something.” After saying that, his presence thinned out quickly. After a few second, his presence vanished absolutely without leaving a single trace.

“I still want to learn his skill.” Cyrielle said to me. “I could use that for a lot of thing.”

“Knowing you, you will probably use that to move from girl to girl.”

“Hahaha! You got me, Nerva.” A rather loud laugh came from her followed by the sound of her getting out of her chair. “Well, I’ll be going too. The night is still young and I need to…’collect information’.” Sheesh. This fellow really is a troublesome one, although her ability is far from weak. Especially when she brandished her favorite weapon, The Igneous Hatchet. “Oh, one more thing, Nerva.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I will apologize for creating havoc in the forest and also involving you and your girlfriend on my brawl.” Oh? Is that so? “But I will not apologize for giving my true thought to her.”

“…I see.”

“She was lying. And she was lying about her true feeling about you. It hurt you and I can’t forgive her for that.”

“…I see.”

“…Sorry for troubling you and…it is nice to see you again, Nerva.” A brief silence enveloped us and then she left the house, leaving me all alone.

After being left alone, I let out a heavy and tired sigh. Reiyes and Cyrielle. It has been a while for me to see them. And as usual, she is the more emotional one. I guess that is understandable. Well, I guess I will get to sleep for now.

Author Note:

With that, their work start in the town.

Please give me comment and opinion for this story, or even critique so that I can improve my writing. Do tell me if you find something strange or wrong with the chapter. Thank you for reading!