There was silence for a few seconds as Paul looked at his benefactor.
The atmosphere subtly changed, the gentle breeze brushing through this town seemed to become quieter.
Paul looked this man in the eye. "I already told you thank you for saving me, I appreciate everything you did. I'm sorry if I may have betrayed your expectations and your efforts, but this is my life, I'll live it the way that I want".
"You can leave, I'm in no place to judge you".
"You're not getting it," Geass shook his head, a difficult look reflecting through his eyes. "It's not about you," he sighed. "It's never been about you".
Paul's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
This man unsheathed one of his daggers and fiddled with it. "Well, how do I put this? You know how I told you about how I am part of a secret order that opposes the order of the triple six, that was all a lie".
Silence; Paul just looked at this man.
"Actually, I'm retired".
"Don't give me that look Paul. You're really naïve if you thought I would go to such lengths, even putting my life in danger to save a random boy that I just met just because a secret order wants it, it shows your inexperience".
"Boy, this is the Age of Gods".
"In this age, everybody is selfish. No one is innocent; whatever we do, we do it for a selfish reason to protect ourselves or our loved ones".
"Boy, no stranger loves you in this life. Only your immediate family does".
"Apart from your immediate family, no one cares".
"Work hard, do it for yourself. Pursue power, pursue it for yourself. Make money, make it for yourself, it's that simple".
"If a stranger suddenly helps you, he's doing it for an ulterior motive, either to play you for a fool or use you as a puppet".
"Let me teach you a free lesson boy. In the Age of Gods, trust no human".
Paul looked at this man with his sunken eyes. "Why did you do it?"
"I just told you".
"No, you didn't, you just said a few words on philosophy, you haven't told me the reason why you went to such lengths to save me and my sister and stay with me for so long, advising me on how to survive and get power".
Paul looked down. "All the talk about taking me to some academy and me getting strong there so I can get my revenge, was it all a lie too?"
"No, hell no," the lean man chuckled. "Copenhagen Awakened Academy is real, it's the best awakened academy in all of Denmark".
"If you go there, you'll indeed get strong, but who said I was ever going to take you there?"
"That's where you get it wrong boy, I never had your best interests in mind".
Paul looked at this man. "You said in this life, no one loves you other than your immediate family. What you did, was it for an immediate family?"
For the first time, Paul noticed the look in this man's eyes change, becoming slightly vulnerable. "Was it for your daughter?"
"Shut up!" He snapped.
"So, you do have a daughter". Paul looked down. "If I may guess, your real name is not Geass either, right?"
The lean man just looked at him, Paul sighed. "I was really naïve".
But then he looked the man in the eye again. "Please let me be, let's pretend that none of this ever happened. Allow me to go after my sister".
"And waste your precious life?" The lean man grinned. "Not a chance".
"Well, since your big mouth will never stop moving, I guess I'll just tell you. Yes, I do have a daughter. She's six, her name is Ciro".
"And like I said, I'm retired. I was once part of the secret organization that opposes the triple six, but I got fed up of the violent life. I retired 6 years ago and decided to live a happy life".
"All I wanted was to live close to the sea, waking up everyday to the waves of the sea with a loving family".
He shook his head. "As it stands, leaving violence does not mean its willing to abandon you".
"5 days ago, in my home, my little girl was kidnapped. All I saw after returning from my hunt was a bloody writing on my wall".
"The writing told me to go to Tak Town and capture the new Cosmopolitan that will be born there in 5 days and bring him back to my home".
"One thing I do know is that the person who kidnaped my daughter is far stronger than me. I have no idea why he can't come to get you himself, but to save my daughter, here I was, 5 days later".
"It's 7 days now and I've still not heard from my girl".
"Paul, you see why I can't let you leave now?"
"I see". Paul nodded.
"So, after knowing, what will you do? Will you obediently follow me?"
Instead of answering, Paul unsheathed the pair of Stilettos that this lean man gave to him as a gift as he raised his head to look him in the eye again.
"I already told you, my sister is why I live".
Seeing his actions, this man shook his head again. "Well, I'll have to tell you, what you're doing is the most foolish decision that you could think of taking in this situation".
He stared at the boy and chuckled. "What gives you the confidence to wield those toys before me? Is it because you were able to stick them in a human's head? Tell me, is that what gives you the confidence?"
"You've killed, but so what?"
"What makes you think you can best me in battle?"
"I don't think so," Paul shook his head. "I never thought so, I simply have to".
Paul took the first step towards this man, deep darkness nestling in his thick brown eyes that are heavy from exhaustion.
"Oh man," the lean man unsheathed his second dagger, shaking his head. "I'm so going to make you regret this".
"Don't worry, I'll make it quick".
Paul charged towards him!