Reincarnated as a Genius Mage-Chapter 39: The Aftermath

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"Lucifer?"

–Huff... Huff–

Every breath I draw is ragged. And then an audible gasp echoes the moment I utter the name ’Lucifer’.

I turn my neck— gaze focusing at the direction of the gasp. And I see that it’s Jennette— she’s sitting on her bed. Momentarily frozen in shock as she holds the polish brush she was using to polish her toenails.

Her reaction says it all— her visible quivers, her widened eyes, and her trembling trembling hands that she slowly covers her mouth with..

I squint my eyes, zooming in on her. And for a brief second, the two green rings revolving around her... glitch. They turn black, just for a blink. And then they turn back.

What the hell is that? Wait a minute... No one else can see these rings. I’ve never told anyone, and I have never even questioned it much until now, I just accepted it as another mysterious gift in this world. But this... This isn’t normal. Rings don’t change color, they... I’ve never seen them do.

"Wh— where did you hear that name?" She asks, her voice low, and shaky dripping with palpable fear that she’s trying so hard to mask.

My brows furrow, and my eyes narrow into a suspicious glare.

Why is she asking me that? Does she know about it? About Lucifer? Why’s she reacting this way? Is she reacting to the name, or my sudden action? Should... Should I— no, can I trust her?

And immediately— I shake my head, clearing the volatile suspicion twirling in my mind.

Jennette can’t betray me, I’m being too cynical. She’s just shocked at the sight of me waking up— drenched in sweat... Right.

I’d just ignore her for now.

Immediately; I regulate my breathing— tightening my flame breathing technique. And I decide to clear my mind of those thoughts for now.

I’ll think about all that later.

As I make up my mind; I stand up from my bed— about to make my way to the bathroom; then...

Grrr!

My belly rumbles. I think even Jennette must have heard it.

As my eyes move— they catch the figure of a tray of food resting on the wooden table next to my bed.

And then I take another quick glance at Jennette who’s regained her composure, and is polishing her nails— acting like her she wasn’t just shaking like she saw a ghost seconds ago.

It won’t hurt to eat before I take my bath.

And the zinc-like metal of the tray scratches against my palm as I pick up the plate of beans, and plop my butt on my bed to eat.

As I put a spoonful into my mouth, I realize; "Urgh, it’s cold." My nose scrunches, but I still keep eating it anyway.

"Of course it’s cold, you slept for 5 hours; It’s night already." Jennette speaks sternly, her tone curt— like that of an angry mother hiding her worry.

"..." I simply ignore her and continue eating.

She’s right.

I shift my head toward the direction of the window— my teeth still chewing the beans in my mouth.

It’s night already. But I’m not gonna sleep anymore.. how can I? Yeah, I’d avoid sleeping for a while. That thing was too...

My heartbeat increases dramatically, beating like drums.

And my right hand— the one holding the spoon— shakes slightly, the spoon almost dropping from my hand. But I tighten my grip on the spoon, and enhance my composure.

And my heartbeat stabilizes slowly.

Forget about it, Edward. You have to focus on reality, and stop thinking about that nonsensical dream. But...

A cough breaks out of my throat, and I nearly choke from the beans in my throat— but I push it down, swallowing it.

In this world, are dreams like that meaningless? No... even on earth, some dreams are significant.

And that thing, Lucifer. It knew about the ’THEY’ that the Phoenix mentioned and it knew about the Flame of Eternity in me. What sort of monster is that, and why is he watching me?

"You know, you really need to take a bath, I don’t know how you manage to eat so well as your body’s so sticky with sweat." Jennette says, her tone evident that she’s trying to feign indifference. But if she doesn’t care, she wouldn’t talk about it at all.

A small smile plays on my lips.

That’s right. I should just bury it for now. What’s the use of thinking about something I have no solution to? I’ll just cause headaches for myself. But one thing is for sure though... I need to speak with that Phoenix again.

And as I finish my food, I make my way to the bathroom— to go bathe.

***

I’m done taking my bath now.

I’m on my bed, my back easing into the softness of the foam, and my head is up— eyes gazing at the ceiling.

I turn my neck— giving Jennette a quick glance. It seems she’d already slept off.

It must be nice not having haunting dreams of an indescribable creature when you sleep.

A bitter smile stretches on my lips. It’s not because it’s funny, but it’s because there’s nothing else I can do. And then I turn my neck to the ceiling again— to continue staring.

Yeah, I’m never going to sleep again.

***

My eyes open slowly— taking in the bright light of the morning sun seeping in through the window.

Ah, I slept off.

I swear I didn’t plan to sleep. But, it’s that type of thing that happens when you decide not to sleep, but you wake up in the morning and realize you actually slept.

I was actually prepared to stay up all night. Even if it meant I had to keep flinching at shadows, or keep getting clawed by paranoia.

But I think it’s better this way. If I didn’t sleep this night, would I do the same tomorrow? Then the day after that? How long can I continue to starve myself of sleep because of fear?

"Haaaah." Now isn’t the time.

"Finally woke up?" Jennette’s voice shoots out in between soft chuckles as she asks me.

She’s standing next to the door, dressed in a casual outfit— black shirt, brown leather jacket, and black pants. It’s a sharp contrast from the maid outfit she’d been wearing all this while.

"You look good." I tell her— my tone dry and my voice slightly cracked. And i make my way from my bed.

She lets out a small nose ’huff’. "Thank you.. Now get up, and go dress up. We have a lot to do today Ed."

I nod, and I ask; "Do you know any place where I can get a mask?"

Her eyes widen slightly, then goes back to normal, and her brows furrow, "What do you need a mask for?"

I shrug, "Isn’t it obvious? What are masks used for? Aren’t they used to hide identities?"

"You want to hide your identity?"

I nod, "Yes, I think it’ll be for the better."

The top corners of her lips curve down and she raises her eyebrows, making a ’not bad’ expression as she nods.

"Alright. I’ll handle that. Now... Chop chop. Get ready, we’re heading to the mercenary guild."

And I jump up from my bed, feeling refreshed.

Right. This is what I came here for... to begin my journey.

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