Chapter 96: Reed Twins.

--Chapter 96--

Dean finally reached the dorms long after the sun had gone down. The air was cool, the surroundings were noisy with male students moving to and fro.

And by the time he stepped into the hallway leading toward his room, his body was slowly adjusting to the soreness.

Several different places on his body felt like they had been ran through by a raging train.

That stupid Rogue had apparently decided that "friendly sparring" meant attempting to cave his ribs in repeatedly.

Ash still rested around his shoulders quietly, though the slime occasionally pulsed red whenever Dean winced while walking.

"I’m fine," Dean muttered.

Ash vibrated skeptically. Spotting his lies easily.

Click!

Dean unlocked the dorm door and pushed it open halfway before stopping in his tracks. His ears wiggled softly.

Someone was already inside. And the lights were already on. And more importantly, there was a massive black cloaked figure standing near Olsen’s desk.

Dean’s eyes sharpened instantly.

The room suddenly felt smaller because the man occupying it was beyond enormous.

His shoulders were broad with arms as thick as tree roots, well folded behind his back.

His black coat stretched tightly over a frame that looked less human and more like someone had compressed a truck to form a person.

Dean’s fingers twitched instinctively as Ash rose up from its lying position. [Rend] hovered dangerously close to activation inside his mind.

He wasn’t going to get jumped again not when he saw the bastards coming. But just when the silent tension became increasingly closer to snapping.

A smaller voice interrupted it.

"Dean Gray." A girl said as she stepped out from behind the dark giant.

’Tiny.’

That was Dean’s first thought that flashes through Dean’s mind.

The girl looked ridiculously small standing beside the cloaked monster of a man.

Her short silver hair framed a calm face while sharp green eyes studied him carefully from behind thin glasses that hung over the bridge of her nose.

Dean scanned her, observing close and the resemblance clicked.

"Are you Olsen’s sister?" Dean asked slowly, his hands ready to jump into action if necessary.

The girl nodded once to confirm his snappy deductions.

"Victoria Reed," she introduced herself politely. "Though most people call me Vicky."

Ash slowly deflated as it read the room, noticing the tension was totally gone and Dean wasn’t on edge anymore.

Its new and single attraction now was Victoria Reed. Dean honestly understood the reaction. Because compared to Olsen, she was like...

Dean couldn’t even find words to truly define her but basically it was difficult to believe, they were siblings and almost impossible to accept they were twins.

But Dean and Ash were not the only observant persons in that room. The giant watched them closely.

It was as if it began tracking the littlest of their movements the moment Vicky revealed herself.

Dean gulped and closed the door behind himself carefully but didn’t move further inside yet.

"Where’s Olsen?"

"At the workshop," Victoria replied calmly. "He won’t return for another hour. Or maybe two."

Dean’s eyes narrowed with realization. "You planned this."

"Obviously," the tiny girl shrugged.

The giant shifted slightly near the door afterward. It movements were subtle but just enough to quietly remind Dean that leaving suddenly might become quite the inconvenience.

Dean glanced at him briefly before returning his attention to Victoria.

Oddly enough, he didn’t feel danger.

The giant was intimidating, sure, but not murderous. There was restraint in the way the man carried himself.

He was still quite weird though. Very weird...

Victoria adjusted her glasses lightly before speaking again. "My family knows about the betting den incident."

Dean sighed internally. For a district that seemed larger than the rest. Word went around faster than expected.

"People really gossip too much in this academy," Dean said. Thinking strictly of Richard. Who’d told on him once already.

"They do," Vicky played along. "Especially when someone suddenly earns thirty thousand quids."

Ash perked up immediately at the mention of money. The slime bounced once excitedly before Dean grabbed it midair.

"Relax buddy, were are trying to look responsible here," he whispered.

Ash ignored him completely. Still wiggling in his grip.

Victoria observed the interaction between the two for a few seconds before se continued.

"My father wants you away from Olsen."

Dean’s expression didn’t change nor did he flinch. "Okay...?"

"I came to offer a solution," she replied.

The room became silent for a second. Then Victoria calmly said, "One million quids."

Dean blinked several times as he bit on his lower lips slowly.

"Get out of here," he retorted dismissively. As he looked at Ash, who was now blinking non-stop.

The slime was reflecting his true reactions openly.

"One million," Vicky repeated putting up a gesture to indicate her seriousness. "Stay away from my brother permanently."

Dean stared at the tiny girl for a long moment. She didn’t sound like she was bluffing and he didn’t doubt the Reed family would have that insane amount of money.

But why would they offer that amount of money was what truly baffled him.

"I’m sorry," Dean said with an underlying smirk hiding behind his seemingly expressionless face. "Did you just try to buy my friendship with your brother?"

Victoria tilted her head slightly. A rather cruel smile on her face. "I’m only trying to remove unstable variables from Olsen’s life."

’Unstable?’ Dean thought. Who was this little girl calling unstable?

Something stirred in his chest and kept building but before the outburst, Dean glanced at the giant and instead exhaled through his nose and stepped further into the room.

It seems the girl was joking and if he was honest to himself, the offer hit harder than expected.

One million quids was like an equivalent to one million dollars back in his old life.

That wasn’t an amount to gloss over because of pride. That was life-changing money. That was retirement money.

The kind of money that granted freedom from worrying about food, resources, equipment and survival for a very, very long time.

And for a brief second, Dean’s brain genuinely considered it. He was thinking through the possibilities.

But the further he thought about it, a level of disgust swelled in his mind again. He hated that he considered it.

Ash slowly crawled up his shoulder before lightly tapping his cheek as if sensing the conflict.

Dean rubbed the slime absentmindedly. And asked an obvious question. "Does Olsen know you’re here?" he asked.

"No."

"And he doesn’t know about this offer either?"

"Of course not."

Dean looked at her carefully now. The girl didn’t necessarily look arrogant and he could easily see through her fake cruelty.

Which reminded him of Yuki. Both girls were protective and as much as they hid it, was undeniable.

This facts made the situation more annoying to him.

"You really planned this behind his back," Dean muttered. Trying to buy more time to think.

"He would refuse to let me interfere," she admitted. "Which is why I came while he was away."

Dean glanced around the dorm room afterward.

Olsen’s side was still cluttered with half-finished tools and scattered metal scraps. The gentle giant had probably forgotten to clean up again before leaving.

There was grease on the desk. A boot under the bed. And a broken screwdriver near the wall.

The room had slowly became a home and somewhere along the line, Dean had stopped noticing that.

One million quids. The number still echoed inside his head.But another thought pushed against it.

It was the fact that Olsen had never asked him for anything.

The genius boy had just decided they were friends and stuck with it like an emotionally committed bulldog.

Dean finally looked back at Victoria. And after a literal sword fight with his conscience. Killing it mid swing.

His lips parted.

"No."

"No?" Vicky repeated with a surprised expression.

Dean shook his head.

"I’d rather keep a giant genius around than carry extra money."

Victoria studied him quietly. Her expression wasn’t one of surprise anymore,.it was now even harder to read.

"Even though Olsen would never know you turned this down?"

Dean answered immediately. "Yeah.. nothing stays hidden dear. Even for me."

Silence filled the room afterward.

Even the giant near the door looked mildly surprised now. Its bright orange eyes shrunk smaller.

Then suddenly, Victoria smiled. Her lips arching with a level of warmth.

And Dean immediately pointed at her suspiciously.

"You were testing me."

"A little," she admitted.

Dean narrowed his eyes further. "That’s evil... I like it."

"My father actually wanted you removed from Olsen’s life," she continued calmly. "I wanted to see your character before deciding whether he was right."

Dean folded his arms. "And?"

Victoria’s smile softened slightly. "You are not as bad as they say."

The cloaked giant stepped away from the door’s angle a bit.

The movement was subtle but Dean noticed all of it.

He finally stared directly into Vicky’s eyes.

"You know normal people just ask questions during conversations."

"That is why they are normal and not Reeds," Victoria replied.

’Fair enough’ Dean thought, squinting his eyes. That answer was irritatingly solid.

Ash suddenly bounced off Dean’s shoulder and landed directly on Olsen’s bed before staring at Victoria as if it was trying to get a closer look.

The slime pulsed twice.

Victoria blinked at it.

"It’s smarter than I expected."

"It’s becoming everybody’s favorite nightmare apparently," Dean muttered.

Victoria stayed quiet for a moment before she slowly turned around.

Then she lifted her silver hair gently.

Dean’s eyes narrowed in genuine shock.

"What’s that?"