Helena was pondering what to do. She couldn't simply jump on Jacob's and Juliet's trail and follow them. If such a person was as strong as they said, she would risk her life for no reason.
At the same time, would Jacob bring her along if she asked?
She… didn't know.
She didn't Jacob very well.
His past loomed over both of them. There was almost pressure when she spoke with him. Even though knowing the truth had been good, at least on a level, it was still upsetting. There was something wrong in what they were living.
But what could she do?
She had a massive talent.
She was smart.
But these people, Jacob, the Vermillion Tyrant and Epagogia, played on a different level. And Helena simply didn't have anything to gain an edge. Yeah, sure, her talent was great. But so was the talent of Epagogia and Hektor.
Even Juliet seemed to advance by leaps and bounds, compared to her.
Helena had been pondering why Epagogia had not crossed the Oriole Realm as soon she could. And when she had found out about the whole 'insight' business, she was demoralized.
She didn't have many insights. She was good at many things, but even her Cultivation Technique seemed very plain.
The Heavenly Warrior Cultivation Technique
It was a mouthful, to be honest but she didn't mind.
What can I do? Joseph went on his way to train. Linda probably did the same, she just avoided telling Jacob directly. Juliet is going with him.
Where should I go?
Should she go on her own personal adventure?
But Jacob had been quite stern about that, at the beginning.
Now, though, weren't things a little different?
There were other people capable of protecting St. Peter. And Helena just wanted to keep up, to become as strong as she could.
"Helena," Jacob was standing a few meters from her.
She recoiled, surprised she hadn't noticed him getting to her.
"Eavesdropping, huh? Hektor told me that he taught you that trick. You thought he wouldn't tell me, the guy has a mouth wider than he's tall."
"I—"
"You can come."
Helena raised an eyebrow.
"Juliet is not—"
"Doesn't matter," Jacob shrugged. He knew what Juliet thought and he anticipated the girl. "I call the shots. Not you, not Juliet."
"That's quite the declaration," Helena smiled.
"Hektor said that he will follow any order I'll give him. Epagogia is on the same wavelength. If someone doesn't listen to me, I don't need to beat them up by myself anymore."
"But I could tell Hektor about the fact that you know that the Plague Doctor is in St. Liam, couldn't I?"
"Oh yeah," Jacob stepped in front of her without curving his expression one bit. "You want to become stronger, don't you?"
She looked at the guy in front of him. Jacob had gained maybe a centimeter or two after he had raised his talent, but he was still shorter than her. Nonetheless, he could project a domineering aura when he spoke like this.
"I don't know what happens to a person when Karma or whatever changes their talent. I mean, I don't know what happens to your personality. But the Helena I knew always struggled to come to terms with her own fallibility."
"Why do you think I shouldn't just go on my own and travel like Joseph's doing?" Helena was genuinely curious.
"You don't know anything about this world. Joseph has the First Martial Saint. The guy's an idiot, but he's not a hack. He has more experience than me when it comes down to fighting Demonic Beasts. You have zero experience. Your knowledge is so small you would risk falling in a Dragon's maw by mistake."
It was hurtful what Jacob was saying, but it was true.
"And does the fact that you and I have history have nothing to do with this?"
Helena knew she just asked a good question, because Jacob grimaced.
"It does. If you died when I'm here when I know I can prevent that, I would go crazy. I would lose it. I would seriously go crazy. And when I say crazy, I really mean crazy."
"You really liked me, didn't you?" Helena raised the corners of her mouth.
"I did. I do."
"I have one question, Jacob," Helena said with a slight frown.
"Shoot away," Jacob gestured with his hand for her to go ahead.
"Aren't you afraid that I might start hating you? You didn't treat me with gloves, so to say. And I find myself thinking that if you really wanted me, it's not necessarily a good tactic. Same for pretty much anyone else. You don't seem to care if people like you or not."
Jacob pondered the question for a second.
"I do care. If people like me, that is. I don't antagonize anyone just because, but I'm also a leader. A leader, Helena, provides tough love more than anything else. People might not like it, but I have to take the best decisions in their interest. No one here, not even Hektor by his own admission, stands on the same ground with me. People have to trust me and they will rejoice when we win. They can hate me in the middle, they can talk behind my back and so on. It's not a big deal. It's part of the thing. Slowly, people will start noticing that the rest of the world is burning while they are complaining. At that moment, I might become their idol. And if they keep hating me, let them. You always need someone to blame, and I think that now…"
A mutual understanding shot from his eyes to Helena's.
"Now, I can shoulder all this weight."
Helena smiled, satisfied with the answer.
"And what about me?"
Jacob looked around with a sneaky air, clearly on the verge of saying something he wasn't supposed to.
"You always liked it rough," Jacob winked at her and then turned back, walking toward the house.
Helena stared with wide eyes at his back.
She had not expected that.