Chapter 363: 363 - A Timely Warning
"Um... what"s going on here again?" Noah looked around in confusion. Al"s eyes were way too similar to Lilith"s when talking about the healer. "She"s just a person who dives with me on fortresses," he repeated himsel raising his hands in resignation.
"Hmmmm, we"ll see about that," Al pouted, as she started eating and drinking once again.
Not long after, they heard somebody knocking on the door.
"Come," Noah said, realizing it was probably her.
The door slid open, the waiter appearing with a cart with more food. "Noah, your guest has arrived," he said, to which Noah nodded, as he came in and started unloading the cart onto the table.
"Erm..." Sha"s voice sounded soflty, as she slowly leaned upon the door, showing herself sideways. "It"s... it really is..." she stuttered, her eyes watering, as she took small steps inside.
"Welcome, sis," Al said, stading up, and Sha running towards her and onto her bossom.
"It really is you," she said, hugging her while crying.
"Um, Noah, should I leave?" the waiter whispered into his ear, realizing something was going on.
"No need to rush. Finish your thing, then go," he said, but the waiter was not willing to follow his words, and hushedly finished putting the plates onto the table, before leaving Noah behind alone with the sisters, feeling alien.
But he didn"t fail to notice Khish was feeling set aside, but it was not his the right to b.u.t.t in. Thankfully, Sha noticed her before it turned too awkward.
"Khi, what"s going on? Why do you look so sad?" the pink haired healer asked, making Noah"s heart warm up.
"I"m..." she turtled, making Noah intervene.
"I think it"s time we all sit down and tell everything that"s going on," Noah said, calling Sha"s attention to join the table.
"Sorry," the pink haired let go of Al, sitting down across from Khish and Al, next to Noah, which made Al bite her lip, deep in thought. "So, Noah, before I ask anything to them... Why do you know all my sisters?" she turned to the side, putting her hand over his knee under the table, and making him break into a sweat.
"So..."
"I see..." she sighed. "You know Al from way before and only now you learned she was my sister, and Khish we already know she broke into your place," she said, glaring at her sister.
"Hii! That was not my fault, I had to do what they ordered me to... And now I learned why," she said, smiling sideways making Sha confusedly turn towars Noah.
"Is there anything you guys know that I don"t? Sha turned to Noah, not understanding this new turn to the conversation.
"I think it"s better if they explain it to you," Noah told her, strafing away from this part of the conversation.
"Remember what you mother did to me?" Al immediately asked, making Sha pale.
"Of course, how could I forget?" she said, nervous. Noah could feel her legs shaking as she talked to her lost sister.
"They did the same with her," Al said, with Sha immediately falling back against the seat.
"Why...?" she asked herself, putting her head between her hands. "Why would they do this?"
"That"s why I called you here... I think we figured why your mother did all she did to get rid of Al," Noah said, making the pink haired healer swallow her tears and stell herself.
"I am probably a blessed," Al said, making Sha"s eyes go wide.
"What? How?" she said, looking at Khish and waiting for an answer.
"She had the same blessing as me, hiding her presence, that of the G.o.d of Thievery," she said, making Sha turn to Noah, looking for help.
"When I met her again today after some years, I noticed she could sneak through Pyakugan without even realizing, and that people many times would not notice she was there... So I called the only person I knew that could do the same. When Khish arrived was when I learned they were sisters," he said, trying to use this opportunity to understand the mess he"d gotten himself into.
"... Then how did she not learn she was a blessed?" Sha asked, surprised.
"Mother. She somehow managed for her to never go through the machine back then. She made it so she would not know and blame herself for the effects of the blessing she couldn"t control," Khish told her, making Sha look at her baffled.
"I knew they were mean... But I would have never expected them to do something like this... Why did they do something like this?" she repeated herself, still struck in disbelief of the absurdity of the situation.
"Because of her blessing. This blessing is bad for the image of the family, because it means we believed in that G.o.d in others" eyes." Khish swallowed dry, as she recalled her own near-demise. "When mother learned she had the blessing she moved quickly to dispose of her. She could do it because she was not her daughter, and Father didn"t care much about us anyways..." She took a pause and breathed in, trying to feel how to tell what she was going to next. "Then I happened to have the same blessing, after you had left home, as the pristine Healer of the family. So they hid me, and used me for allthe underworld works... I did many things sister, many things..." Khish said, saddened.
"Why did you say nothing to me?! I could have helped you," Sha protested, but Khish only nodded.
"I believed they loved me, that they haad n.o.body else to do it, and that was why I was the one to do it... Then they sent me to scout Noah"s place, saying it was because he was close to you... Truth was, they never expected me to come back."
"You"re saying..." Sha gasped, putting her hands over her mouth in disbelief.
"People had grown suspicious of me, and they used a powerful blessed, who n.o.body knew and probably had something to hide, so that I would dissappear..." Khish said, making Al clench her fists in anger, even though she knew this all already.
"But they hadn"t expected me to spare her, not after what happened in the arena," Noah said, making Sha"s heart skip and beat.
"You..." She looked at him, surprised.
"No, I didn"t spare her because she was your sister... She only told me after," he said, making her breathe a sigh of relief. "I did it because she wasn"t a threat even if she wanted to hurt me, it was just annoying having someone break into my home," he completed making the three widen their eyes.
After all, all of them knew at least what rank she was, and that she was not someone to be messed with. Yet, Noah said she was harmless.
"... Are you calling me incompetent?" she asked, glaring at Noah.
"If you were, I wouldn"t have asked you for your number. Its just that, in that place, you could never have done anything to me," he said, making Sha turn at him surprised.
"You asked her for her number?" the pink haired healer asked, making him gulp.
"Yeah, I though I could use her services in the future..." he mumbled, making Al look at him in awe.
"Hey, Noah... Are you, by chance, trying to get all of us?" she asked, making Noah freeze.
"Excuse me?!"
"What?!"
Instantly, Khish and Sha turned towards her, startled and embarra.s.sed, but Noah could notice the difference in the subtlety of their reactions.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, stading up. "I"mma go to the bathroom," he said, walking out of the room, and leaving the three to talk to each other about their own things.
"What in the flying f.u.c.k?!" he told himself, as he walked down the hallway, thinking about what had just happened. "I wish I had Lilith with me here to get rid of those things... G.o.d f.u.c.king d.a.m.nit," he hit the wall, thinking about it. "Why is Lilith the first person who comes to my mind when I think of these things?" he asked himself, walking into the bathroom and washing his face.
"There"s something wrong with me," he told his reflection on the mirror, as a message in fire appeared in front of his eyes.
[Lucifer was a man known for enchanting people all around and enticing them. Dealing with the expectations of those that were captivated by his beauty and power is a staple of his life, in order to create loyal followers who are able to follow his directions and further his domain.
Mission: Conquest and Contain I; Take care of your followers" misdirected feelings and keep them in check in order to create long-lasting relationships as Followers and Believers.]
"This... is this a joke?" he asked himself, reading the unbelievable lines the fire had laid out.
"d.a.m.n... At least I"m getting something out of this mess," he said n.o.body, as he walked out of the bathroom. In the corridor, a strange feeling of wrongness made him think something was off.
"Noah!" his friend who had been serving him called him out, making Noah furrow his brows. "There"s some strange people down there, looking for someone that sounds like one of the girls with you," he said, clearly alarmed.
"What?! What should—"
"Nothing, we"ll deal with it," he said, but the alarmed tone was still present. "Just make sure that, until I tell you it"s all deal with, the smaller girl with dark hair does not leave the room. It would be best if the door was closed at all times. I"ll bring you some extra food through the hatch so that it doesn"t end, but keep them inside, no matter what," his friend said, making Noah gulp.