Chereads / Echoes Of The Colossus / Chapter 40 - Pretending ignorance

Chapter 40 - Pretending ignorance

While the young man looked at him indifferently, the woman approached him and asked for permission to perform some medical tests. Arlan really had no reason to refuse, so he readily agreed.

Cooperation would help him gain her trust, and besides, the woman had been friendly compared to the young man.

While the woman examined him, the young man walked over to a chair next to Arlan's bed and sat down, crossing his legs.

"So, you're from the Fishers?"

Arlan didn't know how many times he had been asked the same question, yet he nodded confidently. He also didn't know what the young man was thinking, since his face hadn't changed at all.

"Hmmm..."

Arlan didn't feel like answering questions, the whole process was getting too boring for him to talk for hours. Especially since he had just discovered a strange system in his head, and with so many possibilities to investigate, he didn't feel like the visit at all.

The woman finished her tests and moved away from the table, writing something on her electronic tablet.

The room went silent again and Arlan had no idea what was going on. He was supposed to be asked questions, but the young man had only asked him one and nothing else.

But suddenly Arlan saw something out of the corner of his eye and dodged it by moving his head back slightly. A simple wooden toothpick, used to clean teeth, passed in front of his eyes, and stuck into the wall on the other side of the room.

Arlan was shocked for a few seconds before he looked at the young man with his hand outstretched, his indifference fading a bit.

'That son of a bitch?!'

Although he wanted to do nothing more than stand up and punch his face, he didn't want to break his role as a scared child. So, he pushed his acting skills to the max, forcing his eyes to redden slightly, indicating fear.

"W-why?"

The young man pulled back his hand, got up from the couch, and left the room without saying a word.

The soldier followed in silence and the woman apologized to Arlan for the young man's behavior and then left the room.

Arlan did not understand what had just happened. If he hadn't dodged the toothpick, he probably would have lost an eye, and although he was quite angry at the young man, he was more surprised at his own reflexes.

Arlan looked at the wall and saw that the toothpick had embedded itself halfway into the wall, which should not have been possible. Not only had the young man thrown it with great force and speed, but the stick was strong enough not to explode when it hit the wall.

Arlan got up from the stretcher and approached the wall to get the toothpick, once he got it out of the wall, he tried to break it in half and like any wooden stick it broke.

This only made Arlan doubt the identity and strength of the young man, but he was definitely not normal.

He definitely had abilities that didn't belong to his world, and since he was someone important inside the bunker, it was also clear that he was from his own world and not Kaylynn's.

Throwing the toothpick into the trash, Arlan sat back down on the stretcher and concentrated on the symbols in his head again.

This time, he focused only on the [Widow's Veil], reading all his information again. But if it was an artifact and had properties, how could he use it?

With this thought in his mind, Arlan noticed the room distort slightly, and from one moment to the next, a piece of transparent silk appeared above his legs.

'...Is that it?'

Taking the piece of silk in both hands, Arlan realized that it was indeed a veil.

He opened his eyes slightly and looked around in surprise, trying to hide the veil that had suddenly appeared to him.

If there were cameras in the room, they might have seen a piece of silk appear out of nowhere.

Arlan hid the veil in the button-down shirt the hospital had provided him and quickly entered the bathroom.

Once inside, Arlan pulled the veil out of his shirt and spread it out for a better look.

It was an ordinary veil that a bride would wear with her wedding dress. The veil had one part longer than the other, but it was not so long that it was uncomfortable to wear. It was at most 30 centimeters long.

Arlan stood still for a few seconds, thinking, before deciding to give it a try and pulling it over his head.

With the [Widow's Veil] on, Arlan looked at himself in the mirror and couldn't help but sigh.

'...Good thing no one is watching me'

He looked a bit ridiculous with the veil on, but aside from that, he didn't really feel anything while wearing it.

[Heart Forgetfulness] was supposed to take away his ability to feel love, but perhaps because Arlan had never really loved or simply couldn't remember the feeling in question, he didn't feel any particular change.

The other characteristic of [Widow's Veil], [Hidden], was to help him go unnoticed by those weaker than him.

He didn't know what the restrictions were for considering someone weaker than him, or how exactly it would help him go unnoticed. Unfortunately, since it said that it only worked on humans, he wouldn't be able to use it against monsters.

Arlan was eager to try the veil, so he slowly opened the bathroom door and walked out of his room.

Once in front of the door to his room, Arlan took a breath and opened it before leaving, but not before leaving it closed so as not to cause any inconvenience.

He just hoped that no one would enter his room while he was out, or he would get into trouble. So, taking advantage of the late morning hours, Arlan looked around and started walking.