Chapter 662 (2/2)

Not that these eighty-one individuals had died protecting them. Far from it. They had simply gotten caught in the crossfire. That weighed heavily on Randidly’s heart. The Crown of Upheaval and Silence throbbed with a hot and vicious grudge like a painful open wound.

“You started a sentence and then trailed off in the middle of it,” Azriel said matter of factly. “You do this a lot.”

Chuckling, Randidly shrugged again and went back to digging holes.

“...if you wanted a foolish spear waif to fall for you,” Azriel said slowly. “I would recommend using the same methods you did with me.”

For several seconds, Randidly continued to dig. Then he paused and straightened to look at Azriel. She was looking at him without blinking, her crimson eyes large and serious.

“...and what sort of methods would those be?” Randidly said slowly.

“Make a promise with her and fail to follow through, but not by your own doing. It will be difficult for you to arrange a similar betrayal in good faith, but you are an extraordinarily competent individual, Randidly. I am sure you will manage it,” Azriel said seriously.

Frowning, Randidly said, “That seems like a terrible way to- err, have someone fall for me. Besides, I delivered on my promise to you. I beat Drak in the tournament.”

“We have spoken of this,” Azriel said dismissively. “I never truly had any ill will towards Drak, for all that he would have locked me away and forced me to bear his children should he have won our duel. Such a result was simply the natural growth of my own weakness. What I desired were the tools to stand on a stage and triumph, demonstrating my master’s peerless Skill.”

With a sorrowful shake of the head, Azriel conveyed how dismally she believed the tournament end to have gone. “Not only did you steal my glory, but you failed to materialize for the final of the tournament. Both chances were stolen from me. With such a method… it is easy for the most balanced girl to become slightly obsessed.”

Randidly finished a hole and moved on to another one, feeling oddly nervous. “Is that why you want to spar so often? To… get back at me somehow? You certainly get enough hits that I have wondered why you are so vicious with your strikes in a spar.”

“To try anything less than to kill you would be disrespectful. Oftentimes I am disappointed in your lack of execution during such training sessions. But I acknowledge it extends the duration, which has its own benefits.” Azriel allowed. But then she sighed. “No, now we have become inexorably linked. Training is genuinely done to improve. But I wished very dearly during the team selection that I not be placed with you. It was one type of disappointment to be placed in close proximity to you once more. Towards you, unlike most… no, more than anyone, I feel envy. It is an ugly feeling.”

Randidly couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so he continued to dig. Through his plant senses, he noticed more of the detachment under Captain Platton moving to watch him and Azriel on the hill, talking quietly as Randidly dug. He wondered what they were thinking.

It might be his imagination, but he believed that the great heartbeat in the sky was growing louder.

“Perhaps it is difficult to understand,” Azriel said suddenly. “I must acknowledge that it was a new feeling for me. So perhaps you-”

“No, I get it.” Randidly interrupted.

Azriel blinked. Then frowned. “You? Who could you possibly be envious of? You have the gift of life flowing from your hands. Plants and Ash are shaped by you. You are the grand-disciple of Aemont, the Spear Phantom. Your life… is blessed. Shaped almost, to be a perfect thing.”

Randidly’s immediate reaction was to think of his time on Earth before the System when his envy towards Ace was painful to bear. But another example was much closer to hand. “Azriel, I was jealous of you. Before the fight, and even after. Even now. No one adapts as you do. No one responds more quickly. If we hadn’t met, how do you think the fight against Drak would have gone.”

Abruptly, Azriel quirked her head to the side, considering him. Her eyes grew distant as if she were reviewing all the relevant information in her mind. Then, she nodded. “Ah, an interesting angle. I forget how unpredictable you were back then, in a bad way. As in, sometimes passable, other times foolish.”

Randidly grunted and stuck his shovel into the ground. No need to dwell on this topic… “That’s it, eighty-one graves. Let’s go see Platton.”

”...Randidly,” Azriel began slowly. But then she shook her head. ”Well, it matters not. Continue onward.”