Chapter 128: Chapter 81: Quiet life (3)
little Jevan and Marco kept walking and talking, but their steps slowed, then stopped completely when Vensen and Jax passed by. In that moment, everyone froze where they stood.
Marco stared down at the floor nervously, Jax fixed his gaze on the opposite wall, and Vensen looked toward the window. No one wanted to meet the other’s eyes. Their relationship still seemed very tense.
They haven’t made up yet?
Annoyance flashed across little Jevan’s face as he watched the scene. He grabbed Marco by the arm and pulled him forward, then walked straight up to Vensen and Jax, saying firmly:
"Look, let’s end this. Apologize for what you said and be done with it."
Jax lifted his eyes toward Marco and said in a hesitant but genuinely sincere voice:
"I’m sorry for what I said that day. I shouldn’t have said it."
Vensen spoke after a short silence:
"I’m sorry too."
Marco smiled shyly:
"It’s okay, I forgive you both."
Silence filled the air after that. None of them spoke for several seconds. Then little Jevan cleared his throat and nudged Vensen with his elbow. In turn, Vensen nudged Jax without saying anything.
Jax turned to Marco and said:
"Do you want to play Magic Court with us?"
Marco’s eyes sparkled with excitement:
"Yes, of course! I’ve always wanted to play it!"
little Jevan smiled, hands behind his head, watching them walk off together. It was such a simple moment, yet it made me smile.
That kid is really starting to grow up. But that smile, that warmth... how did he turn into the man who never stops causing trouble and dragging me into it? The fall of the Street Sons must have had something to do with it.
Maybe I was wrong about not interfering with the past. Maybe this time I should try to change the future somehow.
I left them and began wandering around, looking for Valeric. As I moved between rooms and corridors, I bumped into a strange boy with dark black hair. That boy was Kiran.
I tried to ignore him and keep walking, but before I got far, I heard him say:
"You’ve come back again?"
I’d forgotten this boy could actually see me.
I stopped, turned to him, and said:
"Do you know where Valeric is?"
He shook his head but didn’t look away from me:
"No."
"Kid, how can you even see me?"
He answered simply:
"Because I can."
"Are you joking?"
"No."
"Then explain to me exactly how you see me."
After a short pause, he said:
"I can see the massive number of spirits tied to you. It’s a huge cluster."
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully and said:
"So that’s how you see me?"
"Yes."
"You can see spirits, can’t you?"
"Yes."
Strange. This boy isn’t ordinary. For him to see the spirits bound to me even though they’re connected to me only in the future makes no sense.
I asked him:
"Kid, do you have some kind of Authority power?"
I didn’t expect an honest answer, but he said with a blank face and calm, steady tone:
"Yes. The Authority of the Spirit Whisperer."
Spirit Whisperer? Poetic name. But my curiosity deepened. What kind of Authority is that exactly? And how could a child hold it? He likely didn’t assimilate it himself through a system piece, but inherited it.
But inherited Authorities usually require a complex ritual to activate. So how did this kid do it?
Some of the rituals I’d read in the leather notebook were either gruesome or nearly impossible to perform without vast resources.
Besides, the quality of the ritual affects the amount of Authority power one can use. For a kid his age to see the spirits around me, he must possess an enormous level of power.
It’s clear this boy is anything but normal.
But anyway, that’s not my problem.
I passed through the wall and continued searching for Valeric. I moved between rooms and hallways until I finally found him lying lazily on a couch in the lounge, staring blankly at the ceiling.
As soon as I approached, he jumped up quickly, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him.
He stood right in front of me, his body tense.
"You...?"
I raised my hand with a forced smile:
"Hello, my little friend. Did you miss me?"
I noticed his face tighten the moment he saw me. I almost laughed but barely held it back as I said:
"What’s with that look? You act like you’ve seen the Reaper himself. Relax, I just came to ask you a few questions."
"And what if I refuse to answer? What will you do?"
I lifted my hand lightly, pretending to be serious:
"Then I’ll..."
Before I could finish, I noticed him shift into a defensive stance. I couldn’t hold back my laugh anymore.
"Relax, man. I’m not going to hurt you. Think of it as paying you back for helping me last time."
He exhaled in relief and stepped back:
"Ask then. But in return, I have one question you’ll have to answer later."
I smiled:
"Deal."
I scratched the back of my head and said:
"Why did the two witches come here in the first place?"
He took a deep breath:
"They came looking for Yara."
"And why would they do that? Don’t tell me she’s a witch too?"
He shook his head:
"Not exactly. Apparently, her mother escaped from the Witches’ Forest and married the old man when he was young. As a result, Yara was born."
I frowned:
"So they came to take her back to that forest?"
"Yes, exactly."
"And why? What for?"
He sighed:
"In the Witches’ Forest, there are strict laws forbidding anyone from leaving. It’s all to preserve the witches’ Authority among themselves... or something like that."
I sat on the edge of the opposite couch and said:
"So they’ll come again?"
He lay back down, hands behind his head, and said indifferently:
"I doubt it, especially after they saw you."
"I don’t think I look that strong. Those witches seemed like amateurs. Maybe next time they’ll send someone stronger."
"You’re underestimating yourself. Those two were elites. They just didn’t show much of their power to avoid drawing the attention of the Investigation Bureau."
"Interesting story. This era is full of wonders and absurdities."
I noticed a strange look flicker across his face:
"What are you exactly? You’re clearly not a spirit."
"Technically speaking, I’m not that different from one."