Strangers From Another World 20 The Day After

At the moment, he is in the room rented from the inn in Greenhill. It was strange, as he did not remember climbing into bed last night. In fact, last night was rather chaotic, with a lot of fighting that ended with the death of Fittoa. A tear flowed from the corner of his eyes as he thought back to it all.

Why am I crying? Fittoa was a bad person and she did not surrender even after Gene practically begged her to.

But even so, Alex could not help but feel sad. Perhaps it was because she was the first person he had met when he came into this world, and perhaps it's also because he had traveled with her as "Tina" and part of his memory still recognized her as a companion. Or perhaps, after seeing and talking to her in that strange dream he had, the one where he was in that strange library again, he felt a little sorry for her. Just a little... Still, in the end, it could not be said that she did not get what was coming to her.

"Awake, Alex?"

From behind the door, a familiar voice called out, the voice of the one they called the Oracle. She sounded as if she knew for sure that Alex had awakened.

"Hold on for a minute, I'll get the door!"Alex replied and promptly made his drowsy body move from the bed.

The moment he tried to get up, he was a.s.saulted by pains and sores, feeling the injuries he sustained from Gene dropping him while he was petrified. Still, he fought through the pain. It would have been rude to keep a lady waiting.

With some effort, Alex worked his way towards the door and eventually opened it, revealing the Oracle patiently waiting behind it.

"How are you feeling, Alex?"

"It hurts everywhere, but I can still move. How's Gene?"

Of all three of them there that night, Gene was the one who sustained the most injuries. His back was sprained and there were signs of fractures in his knees and his arms had been dislocated. When Alex looked through his injuries with his mystic sight last night, it looked so painful Alex himself almost cried imagining it.

"For now, he's bound to a wheelchair, but even then, he's still energetic enough to engage in a staring contest with the commander of the Atra City Guards."

"The City Guards!? They're here?"

"Yes, but it's alright. You're safe now. In the end, they were only after Fittoa Valencia and should leave you alone once they get what they need."

"Good to know."

"Now that's settled, you should get something to eat. I'll be hard to apply healing if you don't put some nutrient into your body."

With the Oracle towing him, Alex arrived down stairs. At first he was worried whether he should let a blindfolded person lead him about, but she seems to be able to find her way around quite well. Is she used to being blind? Or perhaps even through the blindfold, she could still somehow see?

As they enter the cafeteria, there was one particular table that stood out from the rest. It was one surrounded by armored man and exudes an intense atmosphere. Seated there are Gene in a wheelchair and the vice commander of the Strangers' Administration beside him, arms crossed and wearing a confident smirk. Sitting across the two is a man wearing armor much more decorated than those surrounding him with a large emblem displaying a sword set before a s.h.i.+eld on his chest. It's the emblem of the City Guards.

"To confirm, you'll hand the remains of the Sight Jacker, Fittoa Valencia to us, correct?"

"That's right Commander Dyrus, you may have the corpse," said Gene.

"And you Sword Saint? I've heard you turned on the Administration, what am I to do with you?"

"The Strangers' Administration will deal with our own business, Commander Dyrus. Please do not overstep your authority." said the vice commander, her tone serious and her expression became stoic.

"And the boy?" asked the Commander of the City Guards, changing the topic as if he didn't care for the previous subject.

"What about the boy?" said Gene, his tone innocuous and nonchalant.

"He is the accomplice of-"

"He is a victim, commander, and that's that," said Gene, his tone as clam as before but his sharp glare warns with the threat of sudden and perhaps even violent aggression.

"Is he though? How do I know you're not just lying to protect a fellow Stranger?"

Gene only shrugged. "You'll just have to take my word for it."

"And if I don't find your words credible?"

"Do you, commander, do you find them credible?"

Gene laid the decision in Commander Dyrus' hands, and no matter what he choose, the commander knows, that they'll be ready to receive it. Isn't that why he has the vice commander of the Strangers' Administration, usually reserved for guarding the Oracle, seated next to him? Even if the commander says that he does not believe in the Sword Saint's story, can he really take the boy by force, in which he expects that he will have to do?

The commander s.h.i.+fts his eyes towards the boy, Alex, who is seated at the corner of the cafeteria with the Oracle sitting across him. He thought about it, whether or not there's reason enough to bring him in. After all, the Sight Jacker is gone, the case is settled. To bring in the boy just because he might be an accomplice, isn't that foolish? Put your feeling aside, Theodore, whatever you may feel about the Strangers and the Administration that protects them over the citizenry, you must not be blinded by them. Look only to facts. What proof is there that say the boy is indeed a.s.sisting the Sight Jacker in her crimes? There was only one occasion is there not, when he saved her from the Administration Officers, a situation that reportedly seemed like a dainty girl was being surrounded by four large men. Clearly, that is not enough to condemn him, that much is obvious. Aren't you just ashamed that the Administration was able to do in a few days what you could not for months? Put away your pride, take the corpse and leave. That is the right decision.

"Very well, I'll believe you Sword Saint, and I thank you for your cooperation in the matter."

"And I thank you, commander." Gene did not say for what, but Theodore knew that his inner turmoil had been seen through. He was, after all, not one who is skilled at keeping his feelings from his face.

Gene and the vice commander watched as Commander Dyrus leave with his men, and it was only when he was out of sight did Gene finally relaxed.

"Well, that went better than expected."

"Indeed, I was afraid you might say something provoking and start trouble."

"Even I know the time and place, vice commander."

With their business over, the vice commander helped Gene over to the table seated by Alex and the Oracle.

"That sure was intense, I though a fight might break out," said Alex.

"So did I, which is why I had the vice commander tag along in the first place," said Gene gesturing to the armored woman beside him.

"Oh, and thanks for saving us last night, uh... vice commander?"

"Isolde is just fine. It's not like you're one of my subordinates after all."

"Okay then. That you, Isolde."

"I would have preferred if she arrived earlier though."

"Oh my, Gene, perhaps you would also prefer if I never arrived at all?"

Gene could not retort her, and as much as he likes to think that he would have been fine even if the vice commander had not arrived, he was indeed out of options at the time.

"Yes well..." Gene took a moment to clear his throat. "Regardless... thank you for coming."

"Hmm? What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

Heavily, Gene sighed, he didn't like it one bit when someone other than himself has the high ground. "I said: 'If it weren't for you, we would have been dead. Thank you... Isolde.'"

The vice commander smile merrily, greatly satisfied with the Sword Saint's rarely seen meekness. Now content, she sits herself next to the Oracle.

"Now then, shall we get something to eat?"

"Wait," said Alex, noticing someone missing, "What about Joseph, shouldn't we wait for him?"

"Joseph went to Atra ahead of us, we sent him with a message to the Administration. If all goes well he'll be back by evening."

"Oh, I guess we'll have to eat without him then."

"Well, order as much as you want. You haven't had much time to relax even since you arrived have you? Feel free to let loose now that everything is over."

That being said, somehow, Alex simply did not have the appet.i.te. Once he ate, he began to feel tired again, and so he went back to his room for a nap. It feels like forever since he was able to sleep so soundly.

After Alex had gone to his room, suddenly, the table became silent and tension began to rise. Gene had something to say, but he cannot simply spit it out while the vice commander is here. This needs to be between him and the Oracle, and the blindfolded woman know that very well.

Tilting her head, the Oracle signals the vice commander to give them some privacy, sending her out of the earshot.

"Now then, is there something bothering you, Gene?"

Slowly, Gene sips his morning tea, giving himself time to think of the words he'll be using the next time he opens his mouth. It is imperative that he presents his grievance with deftness and care. If he gets the wrong answer from the Oracle, if he asks her the wrong question, if either of them misunderstood what was said, the consequences may be disastrous. Care needs to be taken in extracting only what is needed.

"Did you plan all of this from the start?" Gene began with something vague, open to interpretation so that the Oracle may have s.p.a.ce to maneuver.

"By 'this', I a.s.sume you mean what occurred these past few days?"

"What else? To begin with, I wouldn't have come to Greenhill had it not been for Joseph's letter, and without said letter, I would not have met up with Joseph, nor would I have encountered that slave master, and without that encounter, I doubt Fittoa would have been forced to expose her true ident.i.ty with the use of her Mystic Sight of Subversion, forcing me to fight her and need the vice commander to come to my rescue. All of this happened, because on that day, you told me to stop by the Adventurers' Guild Office."

"So exactly how far ahead can you see with those eyes of yours, the eyes Fittoa so desired, the eyes that you kept blindfolded with that piece of cloth enchanted with a magic resistance stronger that what I have?" Such words, Gene DID NOT say out loud. He feared what the answer may bring, he feared that it's not the answer that he is looking for, or worst, the exact answer he has been searching for.

With grace, the Oracle bit off a chunk of a biscuit she took from Gene's plate. Gene did not mind, now's not the time to be bothered.

"Even I have informants you know, especially since I cannot leave the confines of Atra as often as I want. I am the Oracle, an important person, no? And many would like me on their side, even if they have to lie. In my position, worldly knowledge is a must have."

"Are you trying to say that one of your informants spotted Joseph and decided to report to you? But why, Joseph's hardly a person with any importance."

"No, but his lover, the one named Griselda, she is one to watch out for, no? Both her and her father, those are the individuals on my watch list, and knowing Joseph connection to them, however little, it's prudent to keep watch, is it not?"

After hearing all of that, Gene began to relax. Everything made sense so far, he began to think, one of the Oracle's informants, a.s.suming that they exist, reported to her that Joseph was here. Then what of the letter? How did they find out Joseph had sent the letter specifically to me? I am certainly not the only person he knows in Atra. Well, it shouldn't be too difficult to find out if they really want to. In fact, I never did confirm that Joseph had indeed sent that letter, did I? That letter may not even be sent by Joseph in the first place, someone else may have very well sent it while pretending to be him.

"One last question..." said Gene, hesitating for a moment, "Lady Oracle, exactly how far can those eyes of yours see?"

The Oracle was silent. Is she hesitating? Or is she gauging Gene's intention for asking such a question? No one could know for certain, the blindfold that hid her eyes away acted as a s.h.i.+eld against any who would try to pry into her thoughts.

"Eugene, I cannot find what you're looking for with these eyes of mine, and if could I would have told you ages ago. Or are you thinking that I'm intentionally keeping it from you so that the Administration could reap the benefits of your desperation? I'll have you know that while I may be a patron of the Administration, my interest is entirely my own and the Strangers' Administration just happens to serve it, not the other way around. I do not serve the Administration and I have no reason to help bind you to them. If anything, I'd rather bind you to myself, if only I have something of your interest, which I do not currently have."

She's not wrong, she does not serve the Administration, she's only allied with them, making the vice commander both her bodyguard and her surveillance. If she could, it would certainly make sense to have me as a direct ally. However, she did deftly avoid answering the question regarding to the extent of what her mystic sight could do. Perhaps she is hiding it from me after all. Perhaps there's a hidden reason that she's not telling me, one that I could not possibly think of with the information at hand.

So, what will it be? Will she be my foe, or will our relations.h.i.+p be the same as before? I could keep pressing her, but I doubt I'll get any more out of her, even if she does have something hidden.

"I get it. I'm sorry I doubted you," Gene said with a sigh, letting himself sink into his wheelchair.

"Well, as long as you get it," said the Oracle, seemingly becoming relaxed herself.

"I think I'll go lay on a bed now."

"You should do that, your back is still considerably hurt. I'm surprised you sat upright for so long when talking with that commander."

"Well, I can't exactly be caught slouching on such an important meeting can I?"

"You push yourself too hard."

With a wave, the Oracle called the vice commander back, telling her to help Gene upstairs. It was only when Gene is truly gone and out of sight, did the Oracle truly relaxed.

Had the Sword Saint decided to doubt me, there would indeed be trouble on my hands. It's fine since I have Isolde watching over me, but who knows if he'll find an opening one of these days. Even with all my years of experience, I'm not confident in keeping my mouth shut if he decides to utilize torture, and the scary part is, I do not doubt that he knows the proper technique.

***

End of Chapter 20