Chapter 194 War of the Madmen VI (1/2)
CHAPTER 194
WAR OF THE MADMEN (VI)
Lino stood at the lake's side, his eyes hidden beneath the placid mask and glued to the lake's tranquil surface. The sun's position in the sky caused the trees surrounding the lake to cast a rather eerie shadow over its surface, leaves seemingly desolate with holes, shadows distorted due to the angle. Yet, it hardly painted a horrific scenery.
He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps, causing him to veer away from the lake onto the source. Today she wore a rather simple silken dress, Lino noted, coated in embroidery of white roses over the cyan surface. The dress ran down to her knees, and she was barefoot for some odd reason. Hidden behind that mask were still the piercing eyes Lino couldn't shake off all that easily. Though her movement appeared nonchalant, there was certain grace to it, Lino realized, almost as though she was eternally walking on water.
”I'm honored,” Lino smiled. ”Very few cute women answer my calls.”
”I'm not cute.” she said.
”Oh.”
”I'm beautiful. Please get it right.”
”Eh, cute, beautiful, what's the difference?” Lino shrugged
”Indeed,” she nodded, smiling faintly as well. ”In the end it's saying the same thing: I'd like to tip you over the bedframe and make you scream thunder till you collapse.”
”That's one way to put it, I suppose.”
”Oh? You have a better one?”
”I'd like to pin you down onto the floor so hard that it would stark cracking merely from your moaning cries.”
”Not bad. You have potential.” Thunder smiled at Lino as she walked up and sat down next to him, dipping her legs into the lake. ”So? What have you called me for?”
”What? Can't I have just had a desire to chat up a beautiful maiden?”
”You don't seem the type to chase after hopeless adventures.”
”Ouch.” Lino chuckled, sitting down next to her. ”Shut down before even expressing my interest.”
”Your interest is too fleeting.” she glanced at him and smiled mischievously.
”Oh, a dreamer are you? How... cute.”
”Then why do you look even more eager now?”
”... perhaps to prove you wrong. Perhaps to just have my way with you and prove you right. Who knows?” Lino smirked. ”Anyway, I just wanted to run something by you.”
”What?” she asked.
”I'll be going on a rampage soon,” he said. ”And it ain't gonna be pretty.”
”... are you asking if it's allowed?”
”Nope.”
”... what happened?” she asked with a relatively warm tone, to Lino's surprise. The latter glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, still shaken by that gaze.
”... all my life I believed I'd make it if only I was given a chance,” rather than answering her, however, Lino steered the conversation elsewhere. ”That so long as I got lucky once, the rest was merely a matter of time. I got lucky once,” he said. ”I was perhaps the luckiest bastard in the entire world at that moment. Yet, since then... time and again... I've been nothing if not proven wrong.”
”So you were a dumb kid. Nothing wrong with that. We all were.”
”... I still am.” Lino smiled bitterly. ”Just like you, I'm still a dreamer. It's just that I don't dream of charming, perfect men devoting their souls to me.”
”I'd be far more interested in you if you did.”
”We'd have something in common, huh?” Lino commented.
”We've plenty enough things in common as it stands. Any more... and I would seriously consider taking off my mask.” she said, smiling lightly. ”You still haven't answered my question, though. As much as I love random tangents, I also like straightforward answers.”
”... straightforward, huh? At the core, I suppose... it's guilt.” Lino replied. ”Officially, though, it's 'cause I want to look badass in front of all the royal ladies.”
”Who doesn't?”
”I know, right?”
”Guilt, however, is a terrifying fuel, Wing,” she said. ”If you don't let it go... sooner or later, it will consume you.”
”Oh? A Master in the area?”
”... a little bit. Anyway... what you actually wanted to tell me was to stand out of your way?”
”You really get me.” Lino grinned.
”Well, I've always been good with kids. What can I say... motherly instincts and all.”
”And right back we go.”
”You started it.”
”I've never been good with emotionally charged moments,” Lino sighed. ”Especially if they involve a cutely beautiful girl.”
”What a great compromise.”
”I'm a great compromiser, after all.”
”I'm fairly certain that's not an occupation.” she said.