OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 390: Pretty Lies

"Come closer, Silent, you'll miss it!"

Ragnar tapped the free space on the 'couch' to his right while repeatedly bumping his left shoulder against Emir's, his hands holding a large serving of popcorn.

"Stop moving ya fuck."

Emir stepped on his feet, silencing him, and turned to face Silent, who stood behind them with a confused look on his face.

"What? I know you're interested too, so don't act like you're better than us."

Scruffing his long black hair, he blinked his green eyes a few times.

Only then did he move, finally convinced that what he saw was real.

Just two minutes ago, while he was relaxing in his neural network after shooing off another cohort, his long day of protecting the Silent Archive over, he noticed Emir and Ragnar pulling up to the ruin, taking a leisurely walk through it as if on a picnic.

He almost felt like sending the monsters to attack them right then and there, but then he saw what Emir had in his hands: a big bowl of popcorn and a large soda.

...That stopped him.

Silent didn't know if Emir had brought the snacks on purpose, knowing he was always searching for the real thing instead of the fakes he materialized every time he entered his neural network.

But that mattered not.

Whether it was a bribe or coincidence, he ushered them in by scaring off all the monsters on the way.

Once the two entered through the large doors made of polished stone, they made themselves at home, crafting a makeshift couch out of the library's shelves and setting up a holoscreen on the ground in the nearest corner.

While doing so, they chatted about some 'field trip' that Emir had supervised earlier this morning and other random things Silent cared nothing about, making it seem like what they were doing was perfectly normal.

Expecting them to eventually head for the hole next to his statue, he waited in silence, living up to his name.

However, seeing them relax so freely and for so long, ticked him off.

So he rushed out of his hole and approached them, using an android he kept hidden for emergencies and memorial decoration.

But when he saw their reaction to his arrival, he was stunned.

The all-powerful AI could not equate the previous Emir with the current one, nor could he do the same for Ragnar.

They had changed too much...

No, that was an understatement.

It was as if they had been 'reborn.'

Emir did talk to Silent after they last said goodbye, but always through Lyra.

This was the first time they talked face-to-face since then.

Ragnar was worse.

The last time Silent saw him, he was a kid, a little boy under the control of an AI and the Order.

His artificial mind couldn't equate the bearded savage in front of him with the young, naive teen he had saved no less than ten years ago.

It seemed that even with his sentience, change wasn't something he had learned to accept.

Like all long-lived beings, he was accustomed to static norms, so it was only natural that such a drastic transformation confused him deeply.

Emir understood this and repeated his invitation, pulling Silent out of his bubble:

"Sit with us. Me and you have a lot to talk about."

The reverence in his voice was still there, but now it carried obvious pride as well.

That indicated that he saw him as his equal.

Silent didn't mind that.

With a single step, he was already beside the half-broken shelf they called a couch.

"Then make room, sunny boy."

The prince complied, pushing Ragnar to the right and allowing Silent to sit on his left.

"Here you go."

He then passed the bowl of popcorn to Silent, took a few sips of the drink, and handed it over as well.

"Thanks... but how did you know I enjoy such things?"

Emir returned his attention to the holoscreen and responded with a single name:

"Lyra."

Nodding in understanding, Silent began to munch away, his eyes shifting to the holoscreen as well.

There, they could see a live feed of a private training room in the Academy.

It was Quinn's.

Lyra, in Emir's office, was sending the recording straight from his terminal.

"I didn't take you for such a creep."

Ragnar chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

"I said the same thing, but he told me to shut up and watch. So that's what I'm doing. You should think of doing the same."

Silent looked at Ragnar with surprise.

"Where's the respect you had for me, Rag boy? Gone with time? Or did you forget that I saved you? I assumed our reunion would be different."

Ragnar shook his head.

"No, I'll never forget. But as I said, Emir told me to shut up and watch. If he hadn't, I'd be hugging your cold ass body right this second."

"So his words take precedence over mine?"

"Yes, without question. And it isn't about who saved me last, it's more than that, much

more."

Silent's curiosity grew, but he stopped himself, well aware of the phrase "curiosity killed the

cat."

Emir caught on and sensed that the timing was right, which prompted him to ask:

"Marcus Aurelius, you died because of knowledge too great. Am I wrong?"

The android flinched, froze for a moment, and then nodded, not questioning how Emir knew.

This information was privy only to the upper circle of the Order and his companions in the

Legionnaire.

In turn, his realization solidified-this Emir was no longer the boy he once knew.

There was a high chance that Emir now knew even more than he did, a man who had died a

Seraphim with thousands of titles depicting his knowledge.

Or at least he had the capability of knowing more... Silent was sure of that.

"I did."

As if expecting the answer, Emir immediately asked:

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

Silent let out a short laugh, almost inaudible to mortals, something he hadn't done in so long,

perhaps not since he last saw Emir.

"Still shameless I see... You got a lot of free stuff from me you know, especially that priceless script of creation that I had on the wall."

Ragnar didn't react to the mention of Scripts as he was already familiar with them, courtesy of

Lyra's many lectures.

And as his focus was entirely on the feed, he was first to notice that a change had taken place.

"Look! I think she's crying!"

***

Memories of yesterday kept coming back to me...

I tried hard to ignore them, but it was hard. Incredibly hard.

Today, all the professors complained that I wasn't focusing in their class but they didn't

understand!

My mind was... it was riddled with guilt.

That was when I decided to take a break. I was only wasting my time by going to classes in

that state.

I went to the building next to the Tower to find myself a private training room but they were

all booked so I had to make do with the Elite training grounds on the fourth floor.

Maybe... I could just swing those thoughts away.

That bastard had caused all of this. If not for him I...

No, that didn't matter.

Though I didn't want to admit it, he succeeded in teaching me about life.

It was unfair, cheap, and downright ugly.

I learned something new. Something that I would've never learned with the other professors.

There was no denying that he was fit for the job... but still.

He wasn't a good man.

The bastard had to have noticed my gaze; even a blind man would. Yet I was ignored.

But then... Why did he make me his assistant?

To confuse me? Manipulate me? Play jokes on me?

Was it due to pity?

'Or was he really feeling guilty?'

I shook my head almost immediately at that thought.

"That's impossible.'

That man was a monster in human skin, he felt no such thing.

Fifteen and already at such a rank was utter insanity.

No other professor even neared the pace he seemed to be going at.

And that wouldn't have become a reality if he didn't dip his foot in the shade.

His objective in inviting me as his assistant was beyond me but it had to benefit him

somehow.

I didn't know in what way, but I had a feeling that I would soon.

All I knew was that it certainly wouldn't be for actual assistance work.

The professor was never random.

Or he might-

Schwing!

Before I realized it, I had already equipped my sword and swung downwards, my body in a

striking stance.

'Ah...'

It seemed that when I was lost in thought, I automatically began training out of habit, muscle

memory taking

Schwing!

over.

The training ground was silent for a while, only echoing the sound of each of my swings.

But not for long, as I stopped thinking about him and turned on the program using my neural

network.