Chapter 39: Just a festival
Wearing a school uniform and a white mask with a golden pattern on his face to hide his identity and avoid future dangers, Ryan enjoyed the lively atmosphere of the festival.
People were coming and going, immersed in the joyous laughter. He didn't particularly like crowded places, but it had been a long time since he'd been to a festival.
The island opened its doors to outsiders once a year for the annual festival, but this year was different.
People flocked from all over the world to see one of the oldest sights in the world.
With the flood of tourists and visitors primarily coming to see the tournament, hotels were filled to the brim, and even cruise ships were brought in to accommodate the influx of people.
Only the most important personnel were allowed on the Academy grounds.
Walking through the bustling streets, Ryan looked at the dazzling array of magical items, radiation accessories, and jewelry in all shapes and sizes.
The smell of delicious food wafting from the stalls was a reminder that the amount he was holding was about to run out.
It was one of those peaceful days when not even Tracy and Jacob hovered around him. Noah's newfound popularity among his classmates had earned him many new friends who brought him snacks.
Ryan secretly felt happy to no longer have to share his snacks with Noah.
"Hey, young fellow, want some iced tea? It's cheap today, only 2 copper coins, especially for our future hero," the man said with a grin, already filling up a cup for Ryan. "Here you go, enjoy."
'A copper coin is worth 1 dollar, a silver coin equals 100 dollars, a golden coin is 1000 dollars, and a platinum coin is 100,000 dollars. Comparing it this way made it easy to understand,' he thought, handing over the 2 coppers.
Ryan sat down on a bench in the park, holding iced tea in his hand, quietly sipping on it.
Eddie, who was passing by, invited himself to sit down, creating a slightly awkward atmosphere.
Both Ryan and Eddie looked into the distance, not knowing what to say. After some silence, Eddie finally said, "I'm sorry."
"Hmm?" Ryan was puzzled.
"I never properly apologized until now. The early apology was never a genuine one because I didn't feel like I truly did anything wrong."
Seeing that Ryan didn't answer, he continued, "In fact, I hated you so much. You have everything I don't have. Both of us have fire abilities, but yours is far stronger than mine. That's not fair. The world is not fair."
He took a deep breath to suppress a whimper, biting his lips. "I hated you for that, the moment you entered the classroom despite being a stutterer. You have Jacob as a friend, and Tracy is in love with you."
"..." Ryan paused and looked incredulously at Eddie, wondering, 'She fakes it so well?'
"Damion treated you as an equal, even Kevin and Steve accepted you." Eddie clenched his hand very hard, his nails digging deep into his flesh.
"You changed them. I've been trying to do that my whole life, but you did it effortlessly."
"I changed nobody." Ryan blinked slowly. 'I never thought I could, never tried to.' he thought.
"Haha... that's another reason why I hated you. You seem like you know everything while pretending not to know. I feel like you can see through me, and it's made me frustrated and scared."
Ryan, sucking on his iced tea, stopped and looked at Eddie with seriousness for the first time.
"And despite you having everything that I couldn't have, you don't seem to appreciate it, never treated Jacob as a true friend," huh. Taking a deep breath, Eddie forced himself to continue, "And despite the fact you don't like Tracy, you never pushed her away."
'She's the one that's not leaving,' Ryan remained silent and reminded himself, 'You are 28 years old, don't argue with a child.'
Ryan listened quietly and thought back on Eddie's character setting that he read among his sister's scattered drafts. 'Eddie's character is that of someone with a cowardly nature, submissive, and tamed to have no thought of his own. I guess people aren't just ink on paper.'
"Why are you better than me? Why can you do what I can't?" Eddie's tears fell. "I know, sop... I know I shouldn't feel like this. ahhh- ah---But- but only if I was stronger... Kevin and Steve wouldn't be able to treat me like a punching bag for years...."
Eddie wiped his eyes. "Hic... I... What should I do now? Hic--They became kinder to me, aaahh-- they treating me like a human now. Does that mean I should forgive them? Sop-"
"..." Ryan, that escalated too quickly, and he wasn't prepared. "Mmmnn...Do you want to beat them up?"
Eddie nodded, then shook his head. "Sniff...My qualification is only C+. There is no way I can."
Ryan handed him a tissue. "You can still beat them up; they're not that strong yet."
"Thanks, ...Sssnnn." Eddie stopped crying, blowing his nose. "I don't think I can. We're not gonna even meet each other in the tournament; I will be the first to be kicked out."
"I can help you."
Thinking about it, Ryan seriously considered the possibility of creating an ability that can increase one's potential by changing the structure of one's body to allow more radiation to flow through it effectively increasing it, not only for Eddie but for Noah as well.
'I need to study humans physically in this world first, and more detail about potentials.'
"You used the term of the past, what about now? Do you not hate me anymore?" Ryan changed the subject back after Eddie finished crying.
"No, I don't hate you anymore," Eddie said with a defeated tone.
"Why?" Ryan asked.
"You've changed; you seem more human now, unlike the Ryan that didn't trust anyone, didn't believe in anyone, no longer a bystander detached from this world; I thought for a moment that you were an alien or something."
"Did I?" he has indeed gotten used to this world, so much that he no longer felt nostalgic for his previous life, "I guess time heals everything."
Eddie smiled, scratching his head. "But seeing you treating Noah like a younger brother, which is kind of weird. I mean, Noah is older than you, though I can understand why; you're more suited to the role of an older brother."
"Thank you, I think it was immature for me to blame you for having something I didn't possess. I think that people just value things differently." Eddie continued, "It's also very exhausting to hate someone who did me no harm. You're a good person, Ryan."
Being handed the good person card, Ryan laughed a bit. For the first time, Eddie's aura felt genuine rather than faked as he sincerely said, "Thank you for changing me."
Ryan smiled, "We are true friends now."
Eddie nodded stupidly; his ears reddened. It was the first time someone called him a 'true friend,' and he was kind of embarrassed and happy. "I- I need to go now and enjoy the festival, by the way... Mnnn Ryan."
Eddie scurried away, "See you later."
"Ahhh..." Left alone, Ryan sucked on his cup only to realize it was finished. He threw it in the bin and spaced out, then heard a voice from above.
"Can I sit here, young man?" A husky, gravelly voice sounded.
Ryan unconsciously moved a bit to make room for the man to sit down.
The man sat comfortably on the bench and struck up a conversation with him.
"You know, I feel like you're a very blessed young guy. I've been sitting on that bench for a while now, and I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. This old man just has good hearing. Hahaha..."
"And I think I became a little bit too emotional," the man continued. "This old man may seem irrelevant, but I need someone to listen to me."
"????..." Ryan thought, 'Do I look like a psychiatrist or a counselor to you? I'm just a 16-year-old.'
The man didn't care about what Ryan thought in his brain.
"When my daughter was young, I wished she had a lot of friends. She was such a lovable girl, but no one wanted to play with her."
"It doesn't help that she always broke their toys, bones, and even beat their parents. Hahaha..." The man spoke of old good times.
'Your daughter sounds like a scary person,' Ryan thought.
If Ryan could see, he would have already recognized the man's identity.
"She grew up without a mother to be an extremely jealous person of others. She might have done anything in her power to destroy this wholesome scene of two friends making up," the man started to shed tears.
The man had unknowingly released his aura.
"Huh ha hu ah," Ryan gasped in pain, his voice smaller than a mosquito.
"But that was partly my fault for killing her mother on a whim because I felt annoyed at her for being too weak."
".. I need... air- Huh... Breathe, Ryan... breathe." Ryan forgot how to inhale; his mind went blank.
"To my dismay, she grew up to be as weak as her mother, but she's still nonetheless my precious little princess. But hear me out, my little friend. You can call it a father's instinct, but..."
The blood-red aura had a 2 km radius, and everyone around was moving like moths to a flame, walking around the place, uncaring why a middle-aged man cried.
"My daughter is a bit mischievous and loves to roam around the world without telling this old man her whereabouts. But as a responsible father, I never asked, but I can't help it."
"It has been two months since I heard from my daughter, and this father feels extremely worried. Even if she was still mad at me, she wouldn't miss her mother's anniversary. She loved her mother, a truly gentle lady."
"However, this isn't the only thing. My little friend, a slippery guy who loved to slip through gaps, sewers, water, and bodies, also disappeared... and never came back."
Thud---
Ryan's body collapsed sideways on the bench, yet the man didn't seem to notice.
"That young man who just left said you know everything. This may seem like a stupid question, but it's just an inquiry of a desperate father."
The man sniffed, his eyes blood-red, and said, "Well, I think I talked too much. Can you tell me where I can find my little beloved princess? Hmmm..."
"I think he fell asleep at this old man's bitch rambling, got a bit too old; young people nowadays find me boring. Still, it's my fault for complaining," he sighed, the tears stopped, and his face turned stoic. He looked at Ryan's lifeless body apathetically.
"Ahh my back... back_ steady," he said, helplessly massaging his back as he stood up from the chair. He retracted his aura, "I always get careless."
"I should go now, young man. I wish you happy dreams." The man left as if he had never been there, disappearing into the mist.
------
"WAKE UP, RYAN!" A voice screamed.
"Huh... Huuuu." Opening his eyes to the sound of running water, Ryan inhaled strongly, finding himself lying on the bench. "Cough... cough—huh." Ryan had a coughing fit as he struggled to open his eyes.
"What happened... I feel like I heard WC's voice," Ryan mumbled in an inaudible sound.
"What happened to you?" Astin's voice sounded from the other side of the bench.
"...I think I fell asleep in the park." Ryan almost received a jump scare.
"Yeah, you were sleeping so peacefully; I thought you were dead," Astin said, standing up.
"Why are you here?" Ryan questioned.
"Just passing by," Astin said in contemplation.
Ryan woke up very slowly and looked around, smoothing out his wrinkled uniform and hair. He asked, "What time is it?"
"Was someone here before?" Astin didn't answer and straightforwardly asked what he wanted to know.
"No, just me and Eddie," Ryan paused. He had the inkling that he had forgotten something important. "Nobody else."
Ryan's brain and body had received so much of a shock that he instinctively erased the source of the trauma.
Astin looked Ryan up and down, thinking hard if Ryan was lying to him.
Seeing the barely noticeable scared look on his face, his mouth curved into a small smile, he put his hand in his pocket and commanded, "Let's go."