Chapter 404 (2/2)

His mouth curled up into a sardonic grin. He must have really stood out there in the rain for a while, for them to treat him so coldly. So long that the gate watcher had come out of his little hidey hole to speak with them, ostensibly because he felt bad they had waited so long. And that man, from their brief interaction, appeared quite bitter. It would have taken a while.

Randidly could only sigh. His relationship with Sydney was… always strange. Always just a little bit-

“Mr. Ghosthound. When I heard that someone matching your description entered East End… I can’t say I was pleased.” As Randidly turned, he saw a man in loose leather armors walking towards him. It was the guard leader, Drake. The man flashed him a short smile. “You must forgive me for preparing for the worst.”

Randidly could hear the archers about him, moving as silently as they could on the 2nd and 3rd levels, getting in position. The middle portions of the mall were open, so they could look down from the upper levels to the hole in the middle, and peer down towards him. Honestly, it made him want to laugh. It was… amusing, and refreshing, to be so honestly threatened.

And so underestimated.

“...I’d like to meet with Sydney,” Randidly said, doing his best to not let the words stick in his throat, although they were as slimy and floppy as a live trout. Drake stood, but said nothing, simply drumming his fingers on one of his leather belts. Smiling, Randidly settled in to wait.

There were three things that Randidly knew about Sydney, and no matter what happened, even if something similar to the trauma that had befallen Ace had happened to her, these parts of her would not change. The first was that she was missing something, some part of her that let her empathize easily with other people. For that reason, many people had called her a cunt, or retarded, or ripped up her notebooks, poured spilled milk in her backpack, or 1000 other small pranks that were designed to make her miserable.

Every one of those people who had given her these small slights would find that that missing piece of her freed up room in her head so that she could perfectly remember those people who she wanted to pay back. And she was vicious and vindictive when she had the upper hand.

The steps were slow and even, solid clicks, making it clear that she was wearing heels. Because of his boosted Perception, he could hear her walking towards him on the 2nd floor when she was still 100 meters away. But also, because the people had disappeared, and the mall around him was almost silent, save for the breathing of the guards.

The second thing was that Sydney liked making an entrance. She always believed that no matter what people said, those aesthetics were the first thing people saw and the last thing that someone would forget about you. For that reason, Randidly suspected that when Sydney realized what the System was, what it meant, she had seized this location purposefully.

Her base being set up here was not a coincidence; this location had elements that she valued, and she had carefully chosen to be located here. She had created for herself a place where she was in her strongest element. But that again was not quite true, Randidly could tell. If she truly was confident about facing him, she would have summoned him back to her base, not come out here to meet him-

Shocked at himself, Randidly shook his head, as the footsteps came closer. Why was he thinking about her like she was an enemy? This was Sydney-

The footsteps stopped. Randidly looked up.

Her eyes met his. They sized each other up.

Randidly watched as her thin hands seized the handrail, squeezing it until her knuckles were white. And then further, until the handrail warped, bent by her strength.

“Randidly Ghosthound…” Sydney said, almost sighing, as she looked at him. She was wearing a deep purple dress, with a small leather jacket pulled over her shoulders. There were three belts across her hips, and beneath the hem of her dress boots peeked out.

Although she was more ridiculous than ever, it was so familiar that it was bittersweet. But to explain why was a bit….

“Sydney Harp,” Randidly said simply, surprised at how easily the name came out.

She smiled, but it was self-mocking. “Well, let’s go then. I suppose we have a lot to talk about.”