New Game+

Charm's world had stopped moving. She just went stiff and her mind went blank.

Her world was a passing haze and it was as if someone she was placed in an enclosed space and all she could hear were muffled sounds of whatever was going on outside.

The only thing she could see, was the name of Cliff on the comm device indicating that the call indeed went through.

"Did Cliff hear it? Was he listening? He might have been busy! He might have thought that Seeker had accidentally called him and hang up. That's what normal people do, right?" Charm continued to ponder in her head.

While Charm was going through the denial stage of the four stages to acceptance, Lara had a worried look over Charm.

"That was kind of mean. You should stop scaring her." Lara gave a frown.

Seeker held the comm device and flashed it before the pair to show the name and the time that has passed when the call started.

Cliff Fangwood. Three minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

This meant that the call even began before Charm confessed to liking Cliff.

Charm felt as if her ancestors in heaven were calling her to join her and leave the worries of this world.

"Hey! That's too much!" Lara finally exclaimed.

Seeker's eyebrows rose.

"You know… you're not who I thought you'd be." Seeker smiled.

"What do you mean?" Lara was surprised.

Seeker smiled and pointed.

"Well… You're a Diamon… but you really care for her, don't you? Charm I mean. And your concern for the Regular Cliff is also something that most people of your bloodline would have.

"I've always been this way." Lara smiled.

While the two started chatting, Charm had met over four generations of her ancestors and was now slowly returning to her senses. Yet her gaze lingered on the dialed name on the Comm device.

"He's not…" Charm hoped for the best and mouthed her words to Seeker.

"Cliff. Stop pretending that you're not there. As your client, I order you to report the situation to me. Are you nearby already?" Seeker called out loudly.

Charm felt her soul departed her. Her ancestors rushed to pull back her soul as if they feared her soul would be snatched by evil spirits.

"…"

"Cliff… I'm waiting… This is a direct order from your supervisor." Seeker spoke in a strict tone.

"….Sir…" Cliff voiced out weakly.

Charm expression was blank. Her equilibrium was suddenly turning strange as if the room was spinning around

"You should see this, Cliff." Seeker spoke in a volume and frequency that normal humans couldn't hear.

"She's like having a near-death experience right now. Maybe if I keep this up she'd reach Unbecoming Advent." Seeker teased.

"PLEASE STOP! I AM BEGGING YOU!" Cliff had been pleading at a volume that the two couldn't hear ever since Seeker dialed it.

"Why are you worried? She just admitted she likes you. Come on. This is your chance of finding out the details of her brother. Since your nearby take her out somewhere. I knew what you were thinking. I practically guessed all of your intentions, right? But you've got to change tactics and adapt. Playing the Farmer has no more benefits. I'm not forcing you into playing the Fisherman for nothing. We need to know where his brother is. And fast. So use everything I did to your advantage."

"Everything you did?"

"Think! I made it look like you were leaking military secrets! Use that as a form to force communication. You don't have to use the Eeyore anymore. Any of those four routes are to be abandoned once you've established a firm foothold of your communication. That is because once you have a relationship or a connection with the other person, such necessities to force communication becomes unnecessary. You communicate with the person because of your attraction and because the other person welcomes you, you don't have to worry about what social convention, social etiquette, or nominative standards to keep you from communicating with her. Make her tell you things that she hasn't which is at the same level as the information you gave her. Ask for forgiveness and when she's over it, you can jokingly ask her of things she hasn't revealed on the context that you already told her a lot of things that are not to be disclosed." Seeker ordered.

The conversation was fast and quiet that to the eyes of Lara and Charm, Seeker was just staring and sneering at Charm's expression and Cliff's silence.

"Cliff. I order you to come in here and ask Miss Novelty-Blastoise to accompany you to a classy bar. I recommend H-02. I'll tell the owner to give you a private room." Seeker spoke normally once more.

"Pri-Private?!" Lara reacted.

"Yeah. I think it's time for Cliff to come clean. But since the nature of their discussion has a lot of secrets… I think they need a private place to talk. Don't you agree?" Seeker smiled. Thankfully, he was using "him" to help him communicate with Lara and talk to Cliff all at the same time.

Charm remained silent and stunned. She had witnessed her ancestral generations bidding her good luck on her talk.

Seeker abruptly hung up.

"Charm… Don't worry. He really likes you." Seeker spoke sincerely.

For some strange reason, Charm felt a strange warmth on her heart.

"You… think so?" She asked with an embarrassed expression. Her stunned expression suddenly disappeared.

Lara noticed it and was confused.

"He told me. So don't worry. I was honestly doing him a favor. That's why when I noticed you were eating here, I sat at the back to see if you liked Cliff. That guy is crazy for you. And I know you're the type of girl that likes to take things slow in relationship… Don't worry. Cliff's really awkward with these things. He's never dated a Royal before. Much less someone as erm... complicated as a Novelty-Blastoise. So relax." Seeker smiled warmly.

At that moment, Cliff entered the room wearing an expression that could only be described as 'Cuttlefish.'

Seeker shook his head and sighed.

"See. I told you. He's probably twice as embarrassed as you are." Seeker laughed.

"Don't worry." Seeker then whispered.

"He's feeling guilty. He's probably afraid of you since he thinks you think he lied to you. Go with the opposite of the Guardian. Be the elder sister that is chastising or punishing her junior." Seeker gave a thumbs up seen only to Charm.

"That would… work?" She asks hesitantly.

Lara laughed.

"It's the perfect counter. This way you get to hide your embarrassment and talk to him. He would be on apologizing to you and you can finally take control of the flow of the game." Lara added.

"Like Lara said. You could even ask him to treat you out to some nice meals. He is a soldier and I could easily ask the Covenant to ramp up his pay. He did take a few bullets for me. I'm sure they'll agree." Seeker laughed.

At that moment, Charm realized her advantage and abruptly stood up.

She started to walk towards Cliff as if she was storming off.

"You have some explaining to do." She muttered as she passed by intentionally bumping Cliff by the side as she left.

Cliff had a surprised and fearful expression and immediately turned to follow her.

Seeker and Lara laughed as the two were outside.

"That was… cruel."

"Well… If Cliff can use me as an excuse to get to Charm, why can't I use him to get to you?" Seeker gave a daring smile as he locked eyes to Lara.

Lara was surprised and her eyes widened.

"Same eyes…" Seeker thought in his head.

"You're really good at teasing girls." Lara laughed.

"I haven't teased a lot of girls. So if I am good at teasing girls, then I'm good at teasing a girl named Lara." Seeker smiled.

Lara laughed as she hid her blush.

"Then what plan were you adapting to uh... get me?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You're obviously playing the Fisherman. But your approach… I just can't quite pinpoint which of the four you are trying. This is neither the Guardian, the Knight or the Eeyore…"

"Then it's the Natural then. And quite specific to my current predicament. I heard you talking a while ago that you had a little crush on me. That presented me with an opportunity. If I talked to you a little later, I had to pretend that I haven't heard of your conversation and would be forced to play the Farmer. So I dove in. I played the Fisherman. The only problem was the social etiquettes which served as hindrances."

"Social etiquettes? You're Seeker Carlean and you're worried about that?"

"Of course I am! Even people who meet on bars with the intent of getting lucky can't go out and directly ask a girl if she wants it. Both are forced to consider social etiquettes and unconsciously take part in the courting ritual of talking and communicating before going into the real intentions leading to sex and whatever it is they are into. So even I have to take necessary approaches to build rapport. Otherwise, what socially acceptable style would I do that could lead to a conversation with you? So I thought like Veil Cruz… I dove right in, and admitted who I was, and how I had been eavesdropping to your conversation."

"That's socially acceptable? And let me just ignore the fact that you are talking like Veil Cruz in the novel." Lara giggled.

"You are clearly a fan of Veil. So I guess trying to mimic his idiosyncrasies would give me a shot at impressing you. Who knows, I could hit all thee I's with that. Impression, Interest, and Impact. As for my entrance being socially acceptable… it's yes and no. It's arrogant and slightly creepy but falls within an acceptable range considering my uh… famous standing. And I prepared a little trick to diminish the arrogant and bordering-creepy entrance."

"Oh my gosh… You talked about Cliff! You made us focus on that!" Lara realized it.

"Exactly. Now, the previously awkward, egotistical and somewhat rude entrance is easily dissipated because I naturally brought up Cliff and Charm's little love story. The revelations were too great that you two had no choice but to abandon my entrance and forget about it and focus on the topic at hand."

"I see. So it's like you walked up to us, told us you were eavesdropping and know that I like you, but used Cliff as a buffer to make the stressful atmosphere disappear?"

"Yup! And I also managed to get Charm to go with Cliff so I can spend more time with you. That is what I like to call, a 'Pro Natural' move." Seeker laughed.

Lara giggled. Seeker continued to smile and Lara caught the glint of relief in Seeker's eyes.

She paused for a bit and took the time to appreciate Seeker's relieved expression.

"Is something wrong?" Seeker asked curiously.

"I'm still… caught in a daze though. I never thought you'd like me. Or is it because I'm a Diamon?"

"Wow. Off to the sensitive topics immediately, are we? Well, I don't blame you though. Who wouldn't want to date a Diamon? I do agree that your standing is very impressive. But honestly… what do you have, that I don't get?" Seeker smiled.

A competitive expression appeared on Lara's eyes.

"Um… Hello? Diamon? I've got an empire behind me!"

"Your parents have an empire behind you. As for me, I have an empire of my own." Seeker sneered.

"Empire? You work for the Covenant!"

"Yes. But all I get on these gambles of mine are my own. Also, I'm basically living with General Harker. Do you have an army behind your back?" Seeker countered.

Diamon didn't know how to reply.

"Of course, I'm not saying this to show how better I am compared to you. I'm simply saying that I am pursuing you it's because I genuinely like you and are not after anything that you inherit or what-not." Seeker replied.

Lara smiled at Seeker's declaration.

"Appealing to the competitiveness in me, I see?"

"Well… it's not just that. You're a Diamon but you started hanging out with Charm who has a crush on some Regular kid. It shows that you don't take issue in the divide. I had to hazard a guess. But you don't like being genetically modified, do you?" Seeker inquired.

Lara's expression turned stiff as she was stunned by Seeker's inquiry.

Seeker's heart grew cold at seeing the expression of Lara.

Right next to Lara, 'He' manifested again.

"This is interesting. It's about an 80% probability that this is Zeraphine of the Presiders." A calm look surfaced on Adult Seeker's eyes as he stared at Lara.

"I'm curious… Will you make her suffer on my behalf? Or will you also fall in love with her as I did?"

"I'm doing this for my mission," Seeker responded mentally.

"Whatever you say… You're still a kid, Zeek. Even if you are an Overcomer, can you really escape the irresistible and almost mind controlling nature of the fire that you are playing with? Well regardless… This isn't dangerous. After all, she will be an instrument of your breakthrough. One way or the other." With that, Adult Seeker vanished.

Lara's expression remained surprised as she stared at Seeker's eyes.

"What makes you… say that?"

"Just a feeling. That's why I risked bragging about my achievements. Usually, when you brag against a girl, unless they're head over heels for you, they'd probably find that person to be so full of himself. But I'm doing it, to bring out a competitive nature in you and because I simply want you to accept yourself for who you are."

"What do you mean 'accept myself?'"

"It's ironic. People feel insecure because they are inadequate… but a small number of people… those who reach the top… feel inadequate because they are secure. How did that happen? Your very birthright which others would be sought for… you already despise?" Seeker gave a curious glance at the eyes of Lara. As if trying to solve a puzzle that was scrambled into a mess in her iris.

Lara was shocked. Somehow, the invasive stare of Seeker was something she longed for.

"Did I hit it dead on? Honestly, I'm saying this with a selfish intention. I want to know who the real Lara Diamon is. Not because you are rich and powerful, but because despite that, there is fear, insecurity and probably even some regrets in your heart. You aren't a Flawless Diamond."

"Then why do you like me if I'm not flawless?"

"It's precisely because you're not flawless that I like you. To summarize, just as you hate how perfect you see yourself because of your family and genetic alterations, I like how imperfect you are. Am I talking in nonsense? No. I can't explain it in words. But would you give me the chance of showing you that?"

Lara was trembling from Seeker's words.

"Show me… what?" Lara asked forcing herself out of a dazed state.

Seeker's warm smile caused Lara to even stop breathing.

A conflicted sigh was heard in the depths of Seeker's thoughts.

"You cruel Kid." The adult Seeker sighed.

Seeker's consumption of energy grew to an alarmingly high level. At that moment, Seeker forced the cells on his face to imitate the Tyrant Empress's cells.

The emotions Seeker leaked that moment came from one of the most treasured memories that the Adult Seeker had. It was the memory of how Adult Seeker fell in love with Zeraphine.

"And now… the finishing blow. Her very words, to be used against her. I wonder which of the two of us is cruel." The Adult Seeker sighed in Seeker's mind.

"Seeker? Show me what?" Lara asked once more noticing Seeker's momentary silence.

Seeker gave a warm smile and his gaze held on to Lara's gaze.

"Show you what my mouth can't explain but what my heart can give."