KIAN
Fred trudges out from inside, his posture upright and face blank. "I have prepared a room for you, mister," Fred states, his formal voice at odds with his bland expression.
"H-Huh?" Lain's trance breaks as Fred interrupts our staring competition. "O-Oh, thank you."
"May I escort him to his room, commander?" Fred asks me, blatantly ignoring Lain's thanks.
"Yes, you may." I acknowledge with a light nod, "Show him his room and you can leave afterward."
The sun is hanging low at the eastern horizon, casting a golden ray, indicating that it is about to go down for the day and that the moon is about to make its silver appearance again. I do not need Fred anymore for tonight. So I will let him retire for the day.
"Yes, commander." Fred acknowledges me with a tight, humble nod before turning to Lain, "Please follow me. May I show you your room, mister?"
Lain nods, "Yes." Then, he glances in my direction briefly. Uncertainty, anxiety, and worry are swimming in his emerald eyes, which are very familiar to me for some unfathomable reasons.
I know these eyes way too well but I can't remember whose eyes they are. My memory is hazy and dusty.
Fred starts to lead Lain inside the fortress where I live alone. In the day, the fortress is bustling with people, but at night, it is as empty as the desert. Some wandering shadows and I are the only things that occupy the place after the moon comes up.
As I watch Lain's retreating back, I can't shake off those pale green eyes from my mind. The look in them is unsettling and very suspicious. At least this is what I can decipher with my 6 years of experience as the commander of the imperial army of Oblivara and 13 years of experience as a soldier.
***
The night has fallen. And night in this fortress means silence and stillness. Not even a single soul dears to intercept this eerily silent environment. But well I figured there is always a first for everything.
"Why did you make me stay with you?" After a long tensed silence—that I was definitely not intending to break—Lain speaks up, his tone uncertain and voice low.
I have my fair share of doubt that 'Lain' is not the individual's actual name because the way he stuttered while spelling it… it wasn't very convincing. It is fabricated.
"You can be an enemy sent from the other kingdoms or be a traitor. I cannot let you roam free." I cut through the stake on my plate and push it inside my mouth with measured coolness and nonchalance, "But as I have no evidence to prove my theory, I have no right to give out any decision for you. But I cannot let you roam free as well. So, the best option for me is to keep you under my watch and arrest you the moment I find something fishy."
Lain doesn't really look all that happy with my conclusion. Or well, he is looking utterly pissed. But he doesn't voice it. Wise decision, I'd say because I am not ready to listen to the whines of some nobodies. Lain burns a hole through me before nodding quietly.
For some reason, I feel there is something more than annoyance in his aura. There is something else… hostility. And it is so strong that even after suppression, I can strongly feel it. The sensation sends waves of chills down my spine. And to specify myself, it is not fear. But thrill. This man—Lain— or whatever his name is, he has a strong grudge against me. So strong that, he'd love to make some ever-loving dagger holes through my body.
But it doesn't make me wary around him or make me not admire how beautiful the man is. If it does anything, then, it only fuels the inhuman beast inside me to make this little rabbit squirm and play with it until it begs me to kill it. And when it does, I will take my precious time to kill it slowly.
Lain is disappointingly quiet for the next few minutes and well, this is not how he is going to entertain me. So I will just start the conversation myself, "You said, you are a wielder. What kind of magic do you wield?" I cut through another piece of bread but don't keep my eyes off him, following his every movement and expression. Too bad, this individual is indeed very good at masking his expression and very good at deceiving others. It's pretty obvious if you have eagle-like eyes like me.
"I-I?" Lain stumbles upon his words, his mask slipping for a bare moment and I get to see how he is actually feeling. Anxious and wary. Then it's back again and 'Lain' is back, "Wind." He replies curtly, "Though is not anything special. More like it is below average. I can't quite use it all that much. Guess my mana power is very weak."
Though the mana I am sensing from him is telling me that he is not lying, my gut is telling me otherwise. Even if not whole then half. And I chose to believe in my guts. There is no logic behind this but, I do not need logic to believe in myself. Even if it's stupid. Who cares?
"That must be tough," I say sorrily, and if someone with good instincts hears, then will never say that it's sorry but will say pity. "So how come you are surviving as an adventurer? Are you under any guild or do you have any specialty aside from your magic?"
"I am not under any guild. I don't have the money to register myself as an adventurer there and nobody would take me as a mage there as I don't have any magnificent magic power." Lain says calmly, his blade has stopped slicing through his food. He is thinking. "I do have some polished knife and sword skills. But they are inferior to the professional swordsmen."
Lain's green eyes meet mine calmly. There is no hint of nervousness and anxiousness in them. I think I should take some lessons from Lain on how to lie. Because this guys do that thing so well that if I weren't 'me' then he would have deceived me successfully. Too bad that it is me. But I need to commend how well he does it. He doesn't give away a single piece of information that I can track him down with.
Handling him is going to be tough.
"I see." But I am not one of those who give up quickly, "So you don't have any identification documents on you, do you?"
"No." Lain shakes his head, "You have to stay somewhere long enough to get that. And unfortunately, I don't have a place I have stayed for more than two weeks."
Lain is dancing on my palm but I can't quite grasp him. He is slipping away the moment I make a move. Just as I thought, dealing with this guy can be harder than I am anticipating. He is trained and is good at what he is doing.
Could it be that he is an assassin?
We will know soon enough.
"I figured that much." I smile at him, my smile not reaching my eyes which remain as cold as ice, "This is why I will have you to follow me around while I am on duty from tomorrow on, no matter the time and situation. And once you come out innocent. I will release you."
There is a saying that you should know your friends well but you should know your enemies better. And I am doing just that. With the hostility Lain has against me, whatever he can be, friend is none of them. It is almost like, whether I will kill him or he will kill me. Good. Because the clearer the idea of 'what the hell are we are' the better.
"Is that important, commander?" Lain doesn't even bother to hide the frown curling his lips as his green eyes clash with my blue ones, "For me to stay by your side?"
"Even if it is not, I do not wish to get any complaints from you, Wielder." My smile doesn't falter even for the least as I hold his gaze, "I do whatever I like to do. I hope you will adapt to this soon enough. Even if you don't—"
"It doesn't matter." Lain cuts me off, "Because here, your word is the law."
"Indeed." My smile widens for friction, "And also, I don't like people cutting me off."
"My apologies." Lain doesn't sound sorry at all, not that I mind anyway.
***
I can clearly see the reluctance, the annoyance, the disdain, the displeasure, and whatnot on Lain's face as he and I walk down the bustling streets of Oblivarae. I had Lain wear something decent to at least be qualified to stand beside me. And well, he is—I think—on a different level of being 'qualified'. He is like a prince. Pretty, petite but good at what he does.
There are times when my eyes linger on Lain for a moment longer than they should. There is something about his presence that pulls me in. He is like a distant melody that I know but I can't quite place a finger to.
"So what are we going to do today?" Lain asks, his mask not quite hiding just how much he hates this.
"Investigate a murder," I answer happily.