Chapter 243 – Trouble but More, Theory Crafting Addition

During her usual routine. Anlesa had been pulled aside by a friendly face.

“You know, there were people from Cancole asking about you.” Ash, who looked a little guilty, informed Anlesa of the unfortunate news. 

[Fucks sake.] (Syrus)

[This was one of the worst case scenarios.] (Luna)

[Technically, not the worst. Or even the top three.] (Eva)

[True, this was within the realm of expectation after that series of events.] (Luna)

While Eva and Luna were going back and forth. Syrus groaned in frustration about the series of events that led to this. All of which could be blamed on her. Eva and Luna’s efforts to make them stay for a while longer to ensure the potion was distributed? In Syrus’s mind, that had nothing to do with this trouble. She chose to take action involving the monster, and that was bound to cause issues. 

It had been two weeks since they returned to their home, and it took that long for the questions to come in. 

Syrus dreaded the fact that she knew they were going to come. She warned everyone of the possibilities, which then led to a game of them listing all of the worst-case scenarios that could occur. 

Eva and Luna both felt a little guilty finding joy in the situation. But it wasn’t every day that Syrus was the one feeling like she messed up. This was a rare experience. Neither directly poked fun at Syrus, that was Syrus's attitude, not theirs. But they did enjoy talking around the topic.

Though both knew thanks to their soul bond, Syrus was fine, the annoyance was surface level rather than anything deep and distressing. 

“So… How did you find that out?” Syrus asked their friend.

“Well…” Ash looked away. “They ended up asking me about you.” Ash let out a long sigh, releasing a large mountain of pressure that had been on her shoulders since the morning. “Mostly because… well you know…” 

“You are one of the few people I interact with on a regular basis, and also one of the few people the guild knows I interact with.” Syrus finished the sentence. 

“Yep… that…” 

“You don’t need to feel guilty about anything,” Anlesa reassured Ash, which the latter appreciated. “Unless you tell them my nine secrets, then we have a problem.”

“You have nine secrets?” She asked, shocked.

“Now I do.”

Ash’s eyebrow raised as she processed the information before breaking down into a giggle. Her laugh lasted for a few seconds and took a moment for her to stop. Her hand pressed against the wall to stabilise herself. “Haha… seriously Syrus…? Hah…” 

[That got the rest of the stress and bad vibes out of her.] (Syrus)

[She does look better smiling.] Eva was happy Syrus found a way to lift Ash’s mood. 

Once Ash returned to her old self. Syrus felt more comfortable asking probing questions. “So what did they even ask you about?”

“Many things. Mostly about your status as a hunter.” Ash paused. “They really seemed to be focused on your abilities. You know, cause, well, most people aren’t as skilled as you.” 

“They expect that I have been trained somewhere.”

“I mean, most people do. We all have to learn from somewhere.” 

“Anything about the kids?” Anlesa asked. It was the area she was most worried about. 

“No. Thankfully. Your little apprenticeship you had with Ethan saved you there. Plus your recent mission to Eletscoep. Lavender, from what I heard, basically told everyone you were convinced from meeting Max.” 

“Lavender is back?” 

“Returned yesterday, but she had been trapped by bureaucracy. They needed her with a few items, and then the questions came.” Ash shook her head, feeling sorry for the other women. “I think they are planning something big. I am surprised they didn’t just talk to you about it, but maybe with all the questions they have become more hesitant."

“Maybe, but back to the children question. They wrote it off just because I am kind to kids?”

“Well, ain’t that the truth?” Ash replied without a hint of sarcasm.

Syrus rolled her eyes and didn’t comment. 

“Well, either way, it worked out for you,” Ash commented. “It’s not like you are directly related to the kids, so it was accurate.” 

“That’s true.” Anlesa had given a story to Ash about her relationship to the children. Similar to what she had given to the children. Very distantly related. Only to the point that visiting while in the area felt fun to do, but not much else. “Sigh, bloody pests poking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Well, I can only pray they don’t get on your bad side.” Ash muttered, “They will only be bad for them.” 

“It’s not like I will kill them in most situations." 

“In most.” Ash, after her many interactions with Syrus, did pick up a few traits. She wasn’t lying when she assumed Syrus had been trained somewhere important. She had skills in potion making and combat. Both to high degrees. Not to mention she did seem on the younger adult side. People didn’t get that much skill in such a short time frame of their life in Ash’s mind. She hadn’t been around many skilled combat professionals in combat situations, but she had lived in this city for a long time and felt she had a basic understanding of judging a person’s ability. The skill was mostly used to judge people buying potions, so she didn’t accidentally enrage someone with a short fuse. 

So her current theory was some ex-special forces for some country. Which was the theory for a lot of people in and out of the city at the moment. Though from what Ash overheard, some people were guessing that she wasn’t formerly part of a special forces group, and instead, she was actively on a remote mission. Which was a great self-created reason for people to not mess with Syrus. If they didn’t have one already.

Syrus faced Ash head-on. “Well, thank you for the update. It is good to learn about this before something explodes in my face.” 

“I will try to keep an ear out.” Ash pushed herself off the wall. “And let you know if anything troubling is brewing.”

Ash left Syrus alone to deal with the information while the girl in question went to continue on her day. Syrus pinched her nose and groaned again at the whole situation. She should’ve left it to someone else, but when she saw the monster, her instincts kicked in. Even when she was in conflict with other human factions, exterminating monsters always became a priority when one was located in an area.

Sure, humans cause trouble, but the monster could permanently damage where people lived to the point that recovery seemed bleak.  

[So, what are we actually going to do about this Cancole requesting information matter?] (Luna)

[Annoyingly, nothing.] Syrus said with a frown. [Taking action will cause more issues than doing nothing.] 

[That… yeah… that is the likely outcome.] (Eva)

[So quiet?] (Luna)

[Yep.] (Syrus) 

There was silence among the trio as all of them got to thinking about alternative solutions. 

[Going on another trip could be a good way to divert the heat.] (Syrus)

[I might also just put more on us.] (Luna)

[Leaning into the secret agent angle isn’t the worst choice. For what it is worth, we could try to cash in some favours with Mary to make it official.] (Syrus)

[That might be going too far, but it is an option.] (Eva)

[Any other suggestions then?] (Syrus)

[Exploding the city and leaving no traces?] (Luna)

[...] (Syrus)

[...] (Eva)

[It was a joke…] (Luna)

[We… did get that… But it wasn't really your sort of humour, so it was shocking.] (Syrus)

[...] Luna pouted. [Well-l I guess I won’t make jokes anymore.] 

[Now, don’t do that!] Syrus declared, [It was a half step from brilliance!] 

[Ye-ah! I know you can be funny, Luna, if you put your heart into it!] Eva declared with pure honesty that it was hard to face the brutal pain her words caused. 

[...opmh…] Even Syrus felt the second-hand pain from it.

[...] And Luna was rethinking certain life choices.