Chapter 124: Sea Of Sand (1/2)
CHAPTER 124
SEA OF SAND
There was a certain elegance to the day; what with the perfect, blue sky blending over into meekly misty horizon sheltered in white, and warm, southern wind working in concert with the nature to create an idyllic scenery spanning lands and mountains. Then there were animals, of all sort and make, both winged and otherwise, enjoying the bliss of the day and amplifying it with their own majesty. There were also rivers and lakes with waters so glistening it would seem they were made of diamonds and pearls, translucent till rocked bottom, with fish of all sort and kind swimming about freely.
It was truly a day one would describe as perfect, yet, along a road through wooded marshlands, the atmosphere broke away from the peaceful one world was celebrating and into an awkward, even tense, one. Two men walked upfront, well over fifteen meters ahead of four women. One of the men was constantly glancing back and forth between the other man and four women, clearly nervous.
”Master... are you really not going to talk with them?!” Felix exclaimed lowly at Lino who had a rather dubious expression on his face.
”Hm? Why? Look at them. They're like scared, little rabbits. It's beyond adorable.” Lino replied, flas.h.i.+ng a playful smile.
”Master!! Please... please take this seriously!” Felix exclaimed once again, on the verge of tears. It's been two days since the battle and ever since the girls didn't speak a single word to them; rather, they kept such large distance even Felix couldn't handle it any longer. ”They're afraid of you!”
”... why do you care?” Lino glanced at him with curiosity. ”Oh... wait. Could it be? Do you like one of them?”
”Master...!!”
”Which one? Tell your Master which one!” Lino said, stringing his arm around Felix's shoulder. ”Among many things that I'm a Master of, being a wingman certainly sits at the top of that list. I can have you guys married in a week!”
”I don't want to get married in a week!!”
”Alright, fine, be one of those who takes their time then.”
”I don't want to get married at all!!”
”Eh? Why? Do you hate marriage? Did you get your heart broken when you were younger and now you can't even imagine the concept of someone loving you so you repeatedly doubt whenever girls want to hold your hand because you think they just want to use you and then discard you later like a piece of s.h.i.+t?”
”... I know you're doing this on purpose,” Felix said, sighing faintly; he very much ignored his Master's one-breath-speech. ”For what reason? I can't say. It's... it's not right, though. They could be thinking you'll kill them!”
”... haii, come on dude, you've been under me for months now. Did you really not pick up anything?” Lino sighed, too, but more so in disappointment and bitterness.
”Eh? What-what does the Master mean?” Felix asked.
”They're not keeping their distance because they're terrified of me,” Lino said. ”But because of the fact that I ignored former Emperor's suggestion - which, y'know, was pretty much an order. So, they still want my help, but they also don't want to get entangled in my mess.”
”...”
”I know you like flowers man,” Lino said, smiling faintly. ”But you ought to spend more time understanding and knowing people instead. They're the ones with a sword.”
”...”
Lino remained unbothered about the whole ordeal; whether the girls helped him or not didn't really matter. Everyone has their own best interests in mind before anything else, and that's the language Lino can understand very well. He considered it quite cute, actually, with how open they were about it; it showed how little experience they truly had with the world.
He didn't turn entirely bitter and cynical of the world and people, but it was a seductive call. In his heart, though, he couldn't cross that last bridge. Somehow, he still believed in goodness of heart, a constant ilk binding everyone. After all, for however much of human's cruelty he'd seen, he'd also seen plenty kindness; for every rotten heart he'd noticed crying, he'd also noticed decency in many others.
No one's inherently good or bad - tender or rotten. It's just that the depressing tragedy of the heart is that it's far easier to hate others than it is to love them. Among numerous flaws, Lino realized, that one perhaps scars the most. Months... if not years of developing love for someone can be vandalized entirely in night's cry.
”... I really am naive, aren't I?” Felix mumbled, sighing.