147 Make Them All Understand (2/2)

What Reed had been given were two reports detailing his mysterious disappearance during the Twilight War. Although they were full of embellished lies, that was not what caught Reed's eye when he read them.

The final lines at the bottom were what had drawn his attention... and ire.

From the extensive evidence present on the scene and eyewitness testimony on the battlefield, we cannot, with a pure conscience, state that Leon Goldentree died. Hence, we request that the person in question be listed as... missing in action.

From the extensive evidence present on the scene and eyewitness testimony on the battlefield, we cannot, with a pure conscience, state that Reed Evergreen died. Hence, we request that the person in question be listed as... missing in action.

Reed ripped the reports up and said, ”...W-Well played, gramps. I should have known that you would have pulled some kind of bullshit like this in the end. That bastard Haydn, too.”

Velvund stroked his beard and said, ”Don't feel too bad about this, my boy. The fact that we granted your wish was a compromise in and of itself. Now the only thing that's left is to pull some strings and we'll have both of you back among the living in a gist.”

Lu'um calmly brushed the torn pieces of the reports off of her and said, ”You said that you'd do anything to repair the wounds, right? The time has come for you to make good on what you said.”

You want me to make good on what I said? Oh, god... that's fucking rich coming from you, the literal queen of spiders, thought Reed as he struggled to keep his frustration in check.

Although Reed was furious that Lu'um had very clearly broken their promise about not keeping secrets, that wasn't what was really angering him at the moment.

What angered him the most was that he was so goddamn easy to fool.

Reed primarily blamed himself for being so goddamned gullible, but he also blamed his trusted friends and his beloved Lu'um, too.

Was it really that much fun keeping me out of the loop?

He was starting to think that he might have made a mistake in having nobles as friends...

Once upon a time, he had thought that his friends were the exception to the rule that all noble were liars and schemers, but now... he was starting to grow accustomed to their bullshit.

Fine, if that's how the game they're going to play, then I'll break the game.

I'll fucking break the chessboard and set it on fire, then we'll see they'll want to act this way again.

Reed chuckled and said, ”Fine. I'll take this loss with dignity and not make a fuss about what you've done.”

”That's good. I'm glad you haven't taken it to hear—”

”But make no mistake, there will be a reckoning for this... betrayal of my trust. Do not think that this over, you two. It is far from over, I can assure you.”

The words that poured out of his mouth would have brought the room temperature down below freezing, if that they had Anima infused into them. There was a terrifying, emotionless ring to Reed's voice that remarkedly different from the way he spoke.

To Lu'um, it actually sounded even worse than his voice when he was angry. She had even stopped breathing when she heard Reed's dispassionate words.

”I am well aware that I am not as clever as the both of you when it comes to... scheming and lying but what I lack, I will assuredly make up with patience. I do not know when it will happen, but I can assure you that it will happen one day.

You will ALL rue this day.”

To Reed, trust was worth more than all the gold, silver, and shiny jewels in the world. Reed felt that he was either not being truly respected or properly understood. It did not matter to him anymore, though...

If they, his beloved friends, did not understand this fundamental concept about him, he would MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND.

Perhaps not now, since he had more important matters to attend to, but in time he would make good on his word...