The Astral soul system-Chapter 227: let’s have some fun
Maximilian quickly got ready and left. He looked back, giving the others a final glance, he had his own things to take care of. it seemed Zen had been going dungeon diving for the past few days, he had to make some progress in his own way
Morning classes rushed by with as few hitches as possible. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
He eventually found himself strolling outside the school, eyes locked on his watch,a dozen screens all beamed in front of him at once, his ability fully active to keep him somewhat aware of his surroundings
"maybe here?"
He zoomed in on a certain contact before shaking his head and swiping it away.
"I need something with no direct correlation to me. It’s safe to assume all my contacts are no longer to be trusted. Maybe-"
He suddenly bumped into someone, stumbling back
"Ouch"
"Oh my goodness, I’m so-’"
He suddenly froze,he recognized that voice. Looking up at who it was he realized it was it was Valerie .
"Valerie?"
"Hmm?"
She looked like she recognized him as well, looking at his face. A smile bloomed across her face and she visibly became more comfortable.
"Max. What a coincidence? Nice to see you again"
She stretched out her hand for a shake but Maximilian hesitated.
She snuck up on him again. He hadn’t been paying attention but he should still have heard her footsteps but there was nothing, like she just popped up in front of him, and for some reason he didn’t completely buy the whole "Coincidence" explanation.
He eventually took her hand, shaking it.
"It’s nice to see you’re well"
After a few seconds, they both dropped their hands. Valerie looked calm as ever. He noticed she still had the cloth around her watch but didn’t comment on it.
"What happened? I was so worried when I came back to the infirmary and you were gone. I thought something happened "
Maximilian scowled internally. That’s the one question he hoped she wouldn’t ask. Was he supposed to say he ditched her because he didn’t feel safe there?
"Oh, sorry about that. Something came up and we had to leave. It was important"
She sighed, putting a hand on her hip
"Okay, but i could barely focus during the attack. I kept thinking about Neo. He’s okay, right?"
Max was thinking back, trying to see if he remembered seeing her face at any point during the fight but he couldn’t recall
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Lucky guy was unconscious throughout the whole thing. He woke up a few hours after it was all over"
"Pfft!"
She chuckled
"Well that’s definitely lucky. I saw you though,on the broadcast, and the channel too. I was on the east end of the base"
"Right"
He sighed internally. Right,it didn’t mean anything if he didn’t remember seeing her. The battleground had been about the size of a small city. It’d be stranger if he’d seen every single person there.
"I’m still a bit miffed about getting ditched though. Abandoning an ally is very bad form"
She said pouting a little
"I’m sorry, really. It couldn’t be helped."
At the end of the day, she had been a useful ally. The only reason he’d left was because of a gut feeling and a bit of paranoia from the constant attacks on his life, he really had no reason to dismiss her without a word of goodbye.
"I promise to make it up to you, plus,I still owe you for saving me and Neo"
She eased up a little, smirking
"I guess that works. I’ll take you up on that. Come on "
She said, turning around and walking
"Wait,where are we going?"
She stopped and turned her neck to look at him
"You’re buying me ice cream, genius. Or are you busy with something else right now..."
She asked, looking at the screens he still had up over his watch
He quickly noticed and switched them off
"No,no. I’m totally free. Lead the way"
She raised her brow before giving an amused giggle.
*****************
Maximilian looked around from his seat. This place was quite relaxing. The building itself was cozy and cool. They’d picked a table outside under an umbrella.
The atmosphere was relaxing and far enough from the school to be quiet,at least to someone without his hearing.
He turned his gaze to Valerie who was seated across him,completely focused on her dessert. She seemed entirely harmless yet something about her still bothered him.
Sensing his gaze, she looked up, smiling
"Why didn’t you order anything?"
"Just... watching my sugar intake "
"Seriously? With the stuff the school cafeteria passes around? Dang. Respect"
"Thanks for the treat"
"It’s the least I could do"
Seemingly remembering something, she shifted her chair closer
"Speaking of which. How’ve things been, considering the not-beasts that attacked you."
He was a bit surprised she brought this up, but that whole situation really must have been surprising for a normal student
"I haven’t been attacked again if that’s what you’re asking"
"That’s good. I’d hate to have to save you again... not that I wouldn’t"
Max smiled but didn’t give a response
"I’m guessing i should just stay out of it though. I was surprised when nothing was on the news or your family didn’t put some sort of bounty up"
He nodded
"It’d be better to keep this as quiet as possible"
She chuckled
"Yeah,it must be hard being put into danger because of your family’s fame. That is why you were attacked, right?"
"I think so. I don’t know any other reason i would be targeted"
"Bummer"
She said, focusing back on her dessert
"Aaah, this is amazing. I’ve been getting my bearings around this city and so far this is the best place this close to the academy"
"Hmm? What city are you from then?"
"Oh,you probably wouldn’t know it, it’s on another planet. I moved here for... personal reasons"
He was about to ask another question when her watch suddenly started ringing. She looked at it and a faint scowl appeared on her face.
"What is it?"
"My kids"
"..."
"Kidding"
She said, getting up
"Damnit. Looks like I have to leave "
"Something important?"
"I’d definitely hate to miss it"
She replied, sighing
"Thanks for the treat but I need to run. See you later?"
Maximilian nodded
She smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder
"Thanks, and word of advice,treat yourself once in a while, have fun. You look like stress incarnate "
After that she turned and ran off.
He sighed, looking around
That was an... interesting distraction. He didn’t know why he still felt cautious around her.
He stood up and started walking back to the academy
Time to get back to work. He still had no leads, nothing that could help.
His current situation was a dangerous one. Someone wanted him dead and they were someone in his family, someone close enough to even possible be a relative, but why?
He wasn’t in line to inherit anything major. He wasn’t the first child,not even the second, and he was possibly the weakest in the family.
Right now the only people he felt he could could trust were Zen,Neo, and Xavier,as insane as it sounded to put his trust in those three.
He was receiving no information from the family that suggested anyone else was being targeted. In fact he was barely receiving anything at all
"First I need someone on the inside"
"That sounds boring"
He suddenly turned around to see a girl with wild blonde hair and pink eyes staring at him with a manic look
"Let’s have some fun"
"Wha-"
She suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into an alley with her .
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