33. Crimson Eagle Training Camp (4)
A few minutes passed before Max came back
"have you calmed down yet?" Lex asked the grin on his face haven't disappeared yet
With a refreshing smug look on his face "hmph!" Max replied, it was like he saying [you can't tease me anymore]
(hmm..., let's see how long can you endure it)
"So Max what's your plan next week?" Lex asked
"next week? Oh! Practical exam of survival skill right, what about it?"
"won't you invite Mashiro?"
"Huh!?" Max bewildered, he didn't expect this topic when Lex suddenly asked him about his plan next week, he thought already given up!!
"don't huh... me! It's a group of 5 and there's only the two of us here, I think you already knew it but let me say it again I don't have anyone I can invite ok" Lex exasperatedly said
Max overwhelmed by this situation "b-but" he stuttered
"or what? you want Mashiro to go with another team, especially other boys?"
(there's no rule like a group needed to consist of male and female because there's not much different between male and female on this training camp, but let's skip that, let him think that Mashiro will get closer to other boy, let him feel crisis)
(ha! Where can you find a friend as good as me, who willing to push your puny back like this!) Lex thought as he nodded to himself in self-praise
(maa, that's also true when I said I don't have anyone else to invite, why the hell they needed a group activity! That's illegal!! the first month was not like this!!)
The first month was basic of hand to hand combat, when the exam was only facing the person prepared by the instruction directly on the hand to hand combat, the exam was only used to see how much the trainees have absorbed the technique but did not have any affect with the last result
then the second month was survival skill, like what you inside a jungle with only basic tool, what to do to survive the harsh nature, and the exam was for a group of 5 to stay survive on the juggle for one week, with only water and food enough for the first two days, a blanket to not get cold on the night, a knife and one free thing you deemed necessary.
The trainees have been thought of everything necessary so as long as they can remember and reenact what they learn in the training on last month they can easily survive the jungle, because it's not the wild jungle, but the one prepared by Crimson Eagle
The only skill Lex acknowledges since his past life is his adaptability, no matter what the situation he can adapt to it very fast, even if he never had hardship on his past life or something similar as like what he did now, he can adapt to it easily, that's why he had no problem in surviving on the jungle for a week, but the only problem is that it was an activity group,
(I just can't forgive those girls who cut their hair like that!! And I myself won't actively approach another boy, then the only way is for the other to look for another when I can't!)
"what are you hesitating for!?" Lex (no matter what I need him to move!)
"what happened if she agreed to group up with other when you are dilly dallying like this!"
"b-but what if she rejects me!"
"Oh for god's sake! Even if she rejects you Is there any different from now? let me tell you there's 50% she agreed with you if you asked her, but it's 0% if you never asked her!!"
"and so what if she rejects you! this is a group exam, a necessary thing in this training camp, it won't be strange for you to ask her to group up, it's not like your confessing your feeling to her"
"c-confess…!? ~~~!!"
Lex started to get irritated seeing Max's reaction "don't get embarrassed now!! make up your mind!!"
"Uu…. Lex's right, ok I'll ask her"
"brilliant!!" Lex replied (with this I don't have to invite other anymore, we can just ask her find others to group up, I don't think Max will get rejected as long as she haven't agreed to anyone else, this training camp have a merit based system, I'm not bragging but grouping with me considered the best choice on this big group of fifty people as I mostly got the first place when competing)
Seeing Max who started to fantasize grinning and laughing by his own self Lex can't help but be worry (he really can do this right…) "Max!" Lex called
"Let me give you a little advice here, be confident! Don't be timid and be confident! As long as you do that there's nothing to afraid off" Lex said in a very convincing way, then Max nodded as heard Lex advice before back to his imagination again
(sigh~) Lex inwardly sighed looking at Max
(hmm?) then he realizes something on his pocket (ah!) he remembered what is that thing
"Max" Lex called "where's your pendant?"
"ehehe-! ~~~!!" Max got embarrassed again he was once again day-dreaming right in front of Lex before he snapped out of his imagination,
"…Pendant?" Max touched his chest only to find nothing "my pendant!?" he got pale in the next second
"No way! No no no no!! It can't be"
This is the first time Lex seen Max this shaken, (he never acts like this even when he's insulted as the last place) Lex thought before he called the panicked Max "hey! Calmed down!"
Then Lex quickly shown him his pendant
"Ah! Thank goodness…" like a string puppet who got its string cut, Max collapsed to his knees on the spot, he reached out the pendant "thank you thank you" before repeating his gratitude to Lex
***
When Lex saw Max has already calmed down he asked Max "Quintonella?"
"!? So you saw that" Lex get shaken a bit before understanding how Lex knows it
Even if it's not his fault Lex still apologizes "sorry" there's just no way for Lex to be certain it was Max's pendant without looking at the name inside, so it's an unavoidable circumstance and Max understand that
"suuu haaa" Max take a deep breath once "Lex I've told you there's something I wanted before right"
Lex nodded in reply as he knew Max trying to tell something to him, what Max meant was when Lex asked him about why he worked so hard, Max started to tell his story
"as you know Crimson Eagle made contract to many orphanages which is to replenish their number, the suitable one can join Crimson Eagle having a better life then the orphanage who have their candidate chosen got benefit from Crimson Eagle too"
"the place where I come from is called Azela Orphanage, that's where my Azela last name came from too, Azela orphanage in these recent years did not have anyone successfully joined Crimson Eagle, which mean the support from Crimson Eagle have slowly diminished, we become poorer and it became harder to help the new kid"
"and I have a little sister still staying at Orphanage, I want to support her, she said she wanted to study at school and I want to fulfill her wish and at the same time I want to help our Orphanage too, that's why no matter what I will join Crimson Eagle"
To Lex he looks so bright now, Lex understands the drive behind Max hard work, but the main point he asked still haven't explained yet, but there's something stuck on Lex mind from the Max story earlier "Little sister?" he pointed out
"yea, my little sister, it isn't the younger kid on the orphanage but a real blood-related sister"
"how do you know?"
"I was about three years old when I got to the Orphanage, at that time I already understood that I have a sister two years younger, and she too have the same brown hair like me, and there's still this pendant" Max opened the pendant shown Lex the name inside
"like me, she's too have a similar pendant, inside hers is a baby photo and "Maya Quintonella" name"
Till here Lex could connect the line (Quintonella is the last name of their family)
"my thought is the same as yours, maybe Quintonella is the family name of my real family, till now I haven't look the information of them too, the Orphanage situation wasn't the best now but when everything on the line I will look for them"
(I can understand that) Lex knows the burden he carried on those small shoulders "what will you do when you met them?" Lex can't help but asked him after seeing his gaze, the determination in his gaze alone make Lex believe that Max will find his parents someday
"mm? I don't think that far yet" Max contemplated
"do you hate them?"
"it will be a lie, if I say I didn't a grudge, but I still wanted to know their reason first, why would they throw both of us here"
"then will you leave the Orphanage?"
"No…, even if they have a reason, even if I forgive them, I won't go back to them, at least the best I can do is to visit them frequently, the Orphanage is my family too"
With this Max story ended, Lex can see how Max loved his Orphanage now, and from his story Lex was able to understand something for himself too, it was the thing that have been bothering him since two month ago which is also the reason Lex asked about why Max worked so hard
(I don't have a goal…)
(a harem…? Is that really my goal? Or I only influenced from the Light Novel I read in my past life which one?)
(….I don't know)
(I'm acting like I'm working to make a harem is that really what I want, am I even make effort to achieve that?)
(….I don't know)
(even if harem is my goal, there's no way the girls will accept that, it's the same for me if a woman really become mine, I would go crazy If I know she have another man beside her)
(I'm guilty toward those girls, for now there already Kate and Liselotte what I supposed to do with them…)
"haa~~" Lex sighed, no matter how much he thought about it, he just can't reach the conclusion, he really stuck do not know what to do anymore (I don't have the goal that makes Max looks so bright like that…)
"haa~~" he sighed again but he got stunned when looking at Max once again, Max who looks so bright just now, become so dark and cold, in the span of a few second he became depressed and gloomy "w-what happened?" Lex stuttered
Max brought up his head weakly looking at Lex with his dead fish like eyes "nothing" he said "when we talked just now, I suddenly thought of they were living hard over there and I'm trying to woo a girl over here"
Lex flabbergasted by Max "what with that!?" and he quickly became angry
"so what if your wooing a girl here!" Lex disagreed, this situation makes Lex remembered his past life, in his past life Lex afraid to be inconvenient to others he always tried to do anything alone, he afraid to bother other so that he never asked for others help, he always sacrifice himself but now he realize, that's a wrong thing to do.
"but their trying hard there!" Max refuted Lex, ('how can he said something like that!?') Max thought, he too got emotional when he imagined his little brother and sister hardship on the Orphanage
"so what!! there's no rule saying that you can't be happy at the same time!! Why should you afraid to be happy to help them??"
"…." Max keeping his silence but from his expression it is easy to see he disagree with Lex. Max understand it by logic that what Lex said is right but he just can't accept it
"you look dissatisfied" Lex pointed out Max inner feeling
"uughh" Max groaned as his feeling laid bare
"then let me ask you this will you be happy when someone important sacrificing themselves for you? no let's be more specific will you be happy if your sister sacrificing her body for you?"
"there's no way I would!?" he
"then you know the answer!! I know the world is not sweet enough for us to live easily someday there may be a point where you needed to choose between your happiness and your important people happiness, but why should you choose one here? When you can just choose the both of them!"
"There's a saying a beggar will be grateful when you gave them a cup of rice, and they will depend on you when you gave them a sack of rice Let me tell you this Max, you can help them but excessive help is not helping them but breaking them understand?"
This time Max who got attacked by logic and emotion can only nodded he understood Lex point now, ('that's right, I can have both of them if I tried hard why would I choose one of them? In the end it's depend on my own effort')
"thanks a lot Lex, meeting you is one of my best happiness!!" Max become cheerful and started to exuded bright light to Lex again
"disgusting!!!" Lex responded to Max declaration, he got a chill and goosebumps because of Max gay like declaration, he quickly left the room again for fresh air to calm his mind leaving the shocked Max who stood in dazed, actually it was to hide his was embarrassed by Max
(I learned something from you too, I did not realize I wasn't looking at this world as my reality before, I don't know what to do but I can start pondering about it now and maybe I can make helping Max achieving what he wanted as a side goal for now)