67 How Is This Worth Millions?! (1/2)
”Elizabeth! Come and let me introduce you...” Atid said as he smiled at Elizabeth before turning to Luca. With arms outstretched and a glint of wonder flashing across his eyes from spotting Elizabeth's weapons, Atid said, ”Old friend, as you can see, this here's the Elizabeth we were discussing earlier…” With a natural flow, after introducing Elizabeth, Atid turned back to Elizabeth and said, ”And these two… they're faces you should grow familiar towards. This gentleman here's an old friend and Martial peer, Mr. Gianluca. As for Sophie over here...”
Before Atid could introduce Sophie, the lass took the matter into her own hands, directly cutting Atid off as she said, ”Apparently, I'm your identical twin. But… it's not like I matter or anything...”
Her passive aggressive speech was just the kind of trigger Elizabeth's mind needed to turn this whole interaction into that of a cartoon. As this apparent bitchy clone came out of nowhere, Elizabeth couldn't help but find her situation humorous and laugh in her heart with an impossible to conceal smirk shining on all the ”bullshit” in front of her.
All manner of treacherous evil thoughts spawned in her mind as Luca inserted himself into the conversation, apparently reprimanding Sophie by saying, ”Sophie! Don't be rude to Atid's disciple, you'll be living alongside her for the next month or so… it's probably best not to make necessary enemies.”
”Huh? Is this a joke?” Sophie looked to be seriously offended as she too pulled out a smirk from her arsenal of expressions whilst saying, ”You think SHE could qualify to be enemies with me? She isn't even at the Pawn Stage!”
”...” To this blatant trash talking, Elizabeth just took it like a champ. Though that hideous smirk never left her visage, the one looking like she was staring down a complete imbecile, Elizabeth knew that if she were to fight, she'd more than probably come out on the losing side. Still, even if she ”held her cool” now, it didn't mean that this confrontation ended there. No… now Elizabeth was starting to learn a bit about herself, as she was, for the first time, learning to hold a grudge.
'Heh heh heh… this dumb bitch… I'm only two days into Muay Thai training and one day into living with my life on the line. It's obvious she's a stronger and better fighter than me, but… If training for this short a time can get me this strong… heh… It won't be long before she has to watch the fuck out...' Even if no one told her, Elizabeth had already started developing the mindset of a cultivator. One were everything came down to the strength behind one's punches and the skill one possessed as a Practitioner.
'Wait… what?' Suddenly, Elizabeth recalled that she was once more acting out of line. The resolution in her eyes shut off as she stopped looking at Sophie, her mind delving into the depths of her subconscious to try and piece together what had just happened, 'Why… why should I care? Why am I even mad again? Mhmm...'
Upon analyzing her fluctuating emotions, Elizabeth became a bit concerned as this wasn't the first time it had happened and though the feelings were natural, knowing that they shouldn't be was a thing of nightmares. 'Who cares what this idiot thinks of me… Who cares if Sun was hurt… It's not like he's been crippled or anything… Why does that bitch's face seem so fucking punchable?!' Even as she thought deeply, bits of her subconscious emotions were plaguing her conscious efforts to think critically, and she ended up cursing in her thoughts without intending!
”Enough!” This time, Luca took on a serious disciplinary tone as he glared disappointingly at Sophie. To his act of defending Elizabeth, Sophie acted with false acquiescence as she jokingly put up her hands and walked away as if to say ”I'm out.” Though she seemed to be gesturing in compliance, anyone looking on with a critical eye could imagine what she was thinking from her still-supercilious expressions.
After dealing with Elizabeth, Luca walked up to Elizabeth and said, ”Sorry about that, she's just a little grumpy from the long flight over.”
Elizabeth was still in her thoughts trying to piece together why she was acting out against her usual uncaring ways. Thus, when Luca chimed in, she sounded a bit distant as she said, ”Oh uh… It's fine I guess...”
”Say...” Luca said, dragging his words as he prepared to encroach on potentially hazardous waters. He continued, ”Those weapons you have… Uh, how should I put this? I've been a tradesman for decades, seeing everything from the most insane weapons of mass destruction to the rarest antique arms of ancient times. But your weapons… I've never seen anything like them. Now, I know it's rather presumptuous to ask about other people's personal gear, especially gear as rare as yours, but my curiosity won't bear to let this chance go…”
Around this moment, Atid was starting to get serious as he was about to shut Luca's request down. But to Elizabeth this was a legendary chance; one that was hard to imagine not coming straight out of a game's quest trigger. She didn't even hesitate to say, ”My weapons? Heh… They're a family heirloom, usable only to people of our bloodline. Though, I wouldn't mind you taking a look at them or whatever, as long as you trade me some bullets; Magical bullets…” That lustfully greedy twinkle returned to her eyes as she made it clear what it was she coveted above everything on Luca's person.
”Uh, ok?” Luca, taken aback by how easy it was to come into possession of Elizabeth's gun and blade, made his agreement come off as a question.
Elizabeth, as if worried that he would change his mind and back out of the deal, practically threw her weapons at him as thoughts of her tearing a path through the Forest of Beginnings with guns blazing and a trail of unending bullet casings left on her tail, clouded her mind.