62 NOT FOR ALL (2/2)
”Let's welcome him to join the Brothers of Bachelorhood.”
”Yeah!” Everyone ran toward him with glowing faces.
”Eek!” Burton swiveled around and scurried away like a lone wolf fleeing from a ghastly pack.
”Why are you running, brother? Join us!” some men shouted.
”Who's your brother!” Burton barked back, ”and stop chasing after me!”
”Hehe, brother's shy like a fox,” another man shouted, ”we were all like that in the beginning days too.”
”Like I care!” Barton snapped. ”I don't want anything to do with you lot, so stop chasing me!”
”Brother can certainly run, but you are underestimating us, your senior brothers,” some men looked at each other before splitting up, and they ran along their edges of the street and caught up with Burton who was running so hard that his feet barely hit the ground.
”No, stop. No, stop, you bastards, or I will kill you all,” Disbelief washed over Burton's face.
”Hehehe,” many men jumped on him from both sides, ”before you kill us, join our bachelorhood!”
NOOO~~!!
Burton's cry echoed throughout the street.
In the meantime, inside the Cat Home.
Lirzod took the help of the assistant referee to find out the cat with broken legs and fed it the tiny meatball. The cat showed its desperation through its screams, asking for another, but Lirzod had only one. Some other cats that caught the scent of the meatball came sniffing at him, but Lirzod stomped on the floor and scattered them away. Only the cat with broken limbs stayed where it was—at Lirzod's feet—even though the sound startled it.
”Were you speaking the truth?” the assistant referee, who was standing behind Lirzod, had a doubtful look on his face, ”Did you truly donate all the money?”
”I already told you,” Lirzod sounded a bit impatient, for he was asked the same question thrice already by the same guy. Now, Lirzod began to regret telling him about the donation, but he had to do that to enter the cat home and be able to spend some time inside.
A fair amount of shock surfaced on the assistant referee's face, ”You, you must be quite rich.”
”Rich?” Lirzod grabbed hold of the cat with broken limbs which then began to nibble on his hands. His other hand waved off the houseflies that tried to land on his head and other parts of the body. ”We are not rich.”
”We?” the assistant referee was puzzled.
”Not us. Me and my clansmen.”
”Then why did you give away the gold?”
”I am gold, so I don't really need gold,” Lirzod said and grinned. ”I give it away from time to time. It's no big deal though. I know people who do it better.”
The assistant referee blinked twice. ”Uh, can I receive some of your gold, I mean, golden grace as well?” he asked in a positive tone.
Suddenly, both stared at each other in a standstill. ”No.”
Lirzod's reply sucked all the energy out of the assistant referee's body and left his shoulders flailing.
”Grace may come for free, but golden grace won't,” Lirzod's words stung him even more. A thin stream of blood leaked down Lirzod's forehead without warning, traveled along his nose and dripped down its base.
The assistant referee was startled. ”You are bleeding! Are you all right?”
”I'm fine,” Lirzod said, pressing his scalp once, ”one cut must have been deep, but—it's nothing to worry about.”
”I don't think so,” the assistant referee spoke as if he knew what he was talking about, ”It's a head wound, so you better get it treated soon.”
”Like I said, it's all right.” Lirzod rubbed the blood off his face and resumed to swat some houseflies away. ”Geez, every injury is an Elysian field for houseflies. Foxes are much better than these houseflies. They mostly loot from corpses, but these things don't hesitate to steal even from the living beings.” He sighed and shook his head. ”By the way,” Lirzod's eyes fell on the cat, ”does it have a name?”
”Ah, well, weak ones are never given a name,” he answered, knowing full well that Lirzod was diverting the conversation.
”Since this one gets back its legs one day, let's name this... Leggy,” Lirzod looked at the cat. ”How does Leggy sound, Leggy?”
The cat stared at him for a moment without blinking before rubbing its head against his hand.
”It seems to like it,” Lirzod glanced at the assistant referee.
”U-Uh, yeah,” he reluctantly nodded. ”But hey, did you honestly donate the betting money?”
Lirzod pressed his lips firmly to ease the frustration. He wanted to shout at the assistant referee, but then he might be forced to leave the room, so he had to keep his tongue at bay. He replied without even looking, ”You can go ask the commander yourself.”
”No,” the assistant referee exposed his palms, ”I would rather not.”
”Hm?” Lirzod glanced at him, ”Why?”
”Well, you should already know,” he spoke cautiously in a low tone, ”Identities of the donors are rarely disclosed for most donations on this ship. Since it's also a principle followed in the sect itself, I can't risk asking the commander regarding the donations, at least not while on this ship.”
Lirzod's face stiffened from wonderment.
”Wait, you didn't know?” the assistant referee's eyes enlarged. ”Did you perhaps give the money in public?”
”Yeah, but there's no one around us. We were behind the betting counter.”
”Oh, then you're lucky,” he took a breath and later rubbed his chin. ”Still, why didn't Jehez warn you about the bad things attached around making one's donations known?”
”But even the commander didn't tell me anything.”
”What?” A chill spread across the assistant referee's spine. ”You met the commander? He's here?”
”Yeah,” Lirzod was confused a bit, ”maybe he forgot.”
”No,” he shook his head, ”if the commander was there during your donation and didn't warn you, then you don't need to worry. You said you were kind of discussing in private, right?”
”Mm,” At that time, Lirzod remembered that Jehez had initially barked at him saying that he was donating for fame. Now, he understood why Jehez had said that. All these thoughts made Lirzod scratch his cheek, for he felt like he was in the wrong. ”Maybe I should have discussed it elsewhere,” he mused to himself.
”Well, you've done a good thing by donating it before the commander's eyes,” the assistant referee said, and a smile bloomed on his face. ”I'm sure he would have been impressed. Hundreds of people on this deck do all sorts of circus to get in the commander's eyes, but you've probably even impressed him with this single act.”
”I didn't donate it to impress him or anyone,” Lirzod replied spontaneously, ”I did it just for the cats.”
The assistant referee's mouth hung open. ”F-For the cats? Tell me you're joking.”
”I'm not,” Lirzod shut his eyes and slightly shook his head.
Upon understanding that Lirzod wasn't joking, Jehez's couldn't blink, ”You mean you donated all that money for the cats?” he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was under the impression that the funding was probably to clean the streets or to station more sandy knolls for cats to shed their weight or something along those lines, but Lirzod's reason truly baffled him. ”F-For all these cats...” he looked around at the hundreds of the cats inside the room. At the moment, he felt underprivileged than the cats.
”Not for all the cats,” Lirzod said, roughly stroking the cat resting in his arms, ”but for the comfort of cats like this one.”
”S-Still, don't you think it's a bit too much to give for the comfort of cats?” he looked a bit stunned and disappointed at the same time, ”you could've at least given it some thought before taking such a decision. You could have asked for advice from someone important—like me.”
”I want to climb the decks fast,” Lirzod said, ”so I didn't see any other choice.”
”Well, you've got a point, but do you genuinely believe your money will be fully spent on the cats?” His expression turned somewhat helpless. ”As good as the commander may seem, he's known for taking commissions now and then. As for Jehez, I don't even need to talk about that guy.”
”Yeah, that referee fellow couldn't stand me, but you are a bit better than him.”
”A bit?” the assistant referee's brow jerked.
Lirzod turned away and bit his tongue. ”M-More than a bit. You know what, forget what I said.”
”As if I can!” he barked, ”you surely meant it.”
”Yeah I did, so what?” Lirzod backed himself, ”He's the referee, and you're the only one who could become his assistant. That says something.” Saying that he began to walk while the holding Leggy in his arms.
Confusion dawned over the assistant referee's face. (Did he praise or scold?)
Lirzod's eyes danced with laughter for managing to fool the assistant referee at least for the time being.
”Wait,” the assistant referee's call skipped Lirzod's heartbeat, ”where are you taking that cat?”
”Oh, it can't walk on its own,” Lirzod said, turning back to face him, ”I only want to help it get some fresh air and a change in scenery for once. Vivid visuals may help the healing process.”
”Vivid visuals? I doubt there's any on this deck,” he mumbled to himself. ”Fine, but bring it back quick.”
”Not a problem,” Lirzod forced out a smile that showed none of his teeth.
At that moment, a slim and seemingly fragile man entered the room.
”Hey, who are you?” the assistant referee barked but got no response, ”you, can't you hear me?” he asked but got no response the second time either. Baring his teeth, he yelled and waved his hand, ”Get out of here right now, you fool!”
The fragile-looking man took out a dog-faced badge, and the assistant referee stopped in his tracks.
The fragile-looking man looked around the at the cats, and his eyes stopped on the cat that's in Lirzod's hands. He approached Lirzod, ”Cats like these have it worse in here, don't you think so, young man?”
”Yep,” Lirzod nodded. ”But you can't choose this cat, you know.”
”Haha, I'm not a contestant,” the fragile man laughed, and his whole body swayed like a flower. ”I'm the watchdog for this deck. I just came here to have a look once before I quit this profession.”
”Watchdog?” Lirzod's brows raised, ”It means you're like a watchman's dog.”
”Haha, no one's ever interpreted it like that, but no, I'm more like a watchman.”
”Then why not call yourself a watchman?”
”Because watchdog sounds cool, don't you think?” the fragile-looking man looked at Lirzod in the eyes. ”Anyway, may I ask you something?”
”Of course.”
He asked openly, ”Did the guy behind you attempt to do any underhand deals with you?”
The assistant referee's heart almost exploded from hearing those words. He couldn't look at Lirzod's face as he was standing much behind.
”Yes, he did,” Lirzod replied casually, collapsing the assistant referee's heart into his stomach.
The fragile-looking man smiled a little. ”Thanks for your assistance. I wish more entries were like you.” He then glanced at the assistant referee who was on his knees and said, ”A review is on its way for you, so be prepared.” Saying that he turned back and left the room at his own pace while observing some cats.
Soon after he left, the assistant referee came running to Lirzod, forcibly turned him back by the shoulder, grabbed the collar and roared his lungs out, ”Why did you tell him?”
Lirzod was taken by surprise from seeing the anger in his eyes, but he straightforwardly asked, ”D-Did you expect me to lie or what?”
His words and his eyes made the assistant referee go silent. Generally, watchdogs never revealed their identities and just observed all the events and reported to their superiors. The fragile-looking man revealed himself only because he was thinking to quit his job soon, and Lirzod ended up giving him just enough information to make that retirement all the more pleasant. Frustration flowed through the assistant referee's blood abundantly and flourished in his heart, but he let go of the collar. ”Get out.”
”It's nothing personal,” Lirzod said and then began to walk out.
”Leave the cat here,” the assistant referee's voice came from behind.
Lirzod stopped, and a moment later, he turned back to take a look in his eyes.
”Did you expect me to allow you to take the cat?” the assistant referee coldly said.
”Please,” Lirzod somewhat stressed his tongue.
The assistant referee stepped closer, ”It's nothing personal.”
Lirzod went silent as they both exchanged subtle glares.
Meanwhile, in the hall, Jehez came back to the betting counter, and Sean was nowhere to be seen.
”It took forever to resume the tests!”
”One-round profits aren't enough. Let's bet better!”
”If the stars stay aligned, we can make fortunes by the end of this day.”
Many men began to bet on the next contestant, for they all had weighty pockets due to the last round's result.
”The wolves are coming!” A man covered in sweat came running into the hall and attracted quite a many eyes with his words. ”Watch out for the wolves!” This man was none other than 777.
”Wolves! More than one of them?” Many men in the hall were surprised. Anybody who succeeded in the eleventh deck's test would usually be called a wolf on the twelfth deck, especially at the time of their arrival. But over time, only the troublesome entries would be called in such a manner. Seeing how 777 came howling his lungs out, it meant that not a single wolf but a pack of them were on their way.
One wolf was enough to put fear into a flock of sheep, but all men present in the hall were themselves wolves, however strong they may be. Even though the wolves symbolized freedom and fortitude, there was still a code among them they always adhered to, which was honoring the legacy of the senior wolves. If not, any brash wolf would perish under the might of many complementing claws.
Now that a new pack was coming to the hall, everyone wondered if they would obey the existing rules or go so far as to play by their own rules.
777's eyes scanned across the hall, seemingly searching for someone. He then hurriedly made his way out through a different exit, leaving everyone else with uncertainty.
”What was that all that about?”
”Are the wolves truly coming?”
”Maybe that dude was just bluffing.”
”How dare that punk to fool us and waste our time for nothing!”
Some men got infuriated from just the thought of people playing tricks on them.
As murmurs escalated in the hall, ten gorilla-sized feet stepped foot into the hall, grabbing the attention of many people without delay.
”Who the hell are those hippos?” some men wondered as they grew vigilant.
However, some others recognized the five men right away. ”They are the Hardy Brothers!”