"Right..." She shifted her gaze away, clearly thinking about sothing else entirely. She was quiet for a long mont, the silence stretching between them. The cicadas buzzed, and a cool breeze rustled through the trees. Finally, she broke the silence, her tone almost too casual. "Well... in case you’re bored... would you like to go on a mission with ?"
Kael raised an eyebrow. "A mission? Right now?"
"There’s one nearby," she added quickly, her voice laced with a sudden, desperate earnestness. "It’s an easy one. Just a couple of low-level demons."
Kael lifted the empty coffee cup toward his lips then stopped halfway, staring at her in disbelief. Was she serious? He looked at the half-empty park, the late hour, and the fact that she had just approached him out of nowhere to ask him on a mission. What was this? He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Do you even have common sense? he thought
Selene’s expression was unreadable, but the anxious tapping of her fingers had grown more insistent. Her eyes were fixed on him, waiting for his answer. She looked nothing like the calm, ruthless fighter he knew. This was sothing else entirely. Sothing... fragile.
"A mission with you, huh?" Kael said, a wry grin on his face.
Kael blinked at her, caught completely off guard by the sudden intensity in her eyes. He had expected her to shrug off his refusal or to change the topic, but instead, Selene Whitmore, the cold and unapproachable prodigy, looked oddly determined, her voice betraying a slight awkwardness he rarely saw. The quiet park, which he had sought for peace, was now a battleground of wills.
"Ah... is it because you don’t like easy missions?" she asked, fidgeting slightly with the hem of her jacket.
"Well, that’s fine. If you want, we can try sothing harder. I know so locations with higher-grade demons that would be a better challenge for you."
Kael swallowed, a cold dread running down his spine at her suggestion. Fighting monsters used to be simple... a ga with clear rules and predictable outcos. But now, after what had happened, after the terrifying reality of a second chance at life had settled in, even stepping into a low-level mission felt... risky. He couldn’t throw away this life, this reality, so carelessly. His mind drifted back to the boundary he had finally co to recognize between the ga and his new existence. Every decision now carried weight, every failure a consequence he could no longer ignore. He was still quiet, lost in thought, when Selene’s gaze softened, a flash of sothing akin to concern flickering in her eyes as she rembered the events of the day.
SELENE WHITMORE POV
The mory of the day was a stark, chilling reality. The murderous intent Elric Vales had displayed, even without a single action, still haunted her. Kael, in his naivety, hadn’t noticed it fully at the ti, but she had. Her senses, honed by years of training and countless battles, had scread a warning. Elric had thought of killing Kael Vi-rel the instant he had the chance. The thought alone was enough to send a cold shiver down her spine. The hierarchy of their world was brutal and unforgiving; a high-ranking hunter could eliminate a low-ranking one without a second thought if they saw them as a threat. And Kael, for all his luck and hidden power, was now on a high-ranking hero’s radar. She couldn’t let that happen, not on her watch. She had a strange, protective instinct toward him, an almost illogical need to keep him safe. He was an enigma, a puzzle she wanted to solve, and she would not let soone like Elric Vales solve it by ending him. She had to act, to push him, to make him understand that survival in this new reality required more than just luck.
"That’s why I want you to go on a mission with ," she said, determination sharpening her voice. Her gaze was direct, earnest. "I can teach you so assassination skills... skills to defend yourself if soone tries anything. You have to learn how to fight dirty. You have to learn how to survive."
Kael’s brow furrowed, his expression a mix of confusion and mild alarm. "Assassination skills..." he murmured under his breath, his mind half-amused and half-cautious. The word alone carried a heavy weight, a darkness he wasn’t sure he was ready to embrace.
Selene leaned forward slightly, her voice softening as she noticed his hesitation. "Going on a mission can be fun. You can also make money from it too. Hunters are always in demand for side quests, and they pay well. It’s a way to get ahead." She was trying to fra it in a way that would appeal to him, a way that would make him see the logic in her proposal.
"Sorry, but no," Kael said, brushing her suggestion aside, already thinking of excuses. "Do you think I have that kind of ti? I have... things to do. Obligations." He tried to rise from the bench, intending to escape the conversation and the strange, magnetic pull she exerted, but Selene wasn’t about to let him go.
"You said you’d help awaken my new skill," she said, her voice now a firm anchor, but with a hint of joy and triumph as she successfully stopped him from leaving. "I want to use this chance to teach you sothing from . What do you say?"
Kael froze, halfway out of his seat. Her sheer, unyielding determination caught him completely off guard. He sank back down slowly, studying her carefully, his mind racing with suspicion mixed with curiosity. She was trying to manipulate him, to leverage his promise. It was a cold, calculating move, but the flush on her cheeks and the way her eyes lit up made it feel anything but. Why is she so desperate to go on a mission with ? he wondered, the question a burning ember in his mind.
His mind raced, piecing together the subtle cues she was giving off. The slightly flushed face... the almost-pleading suggestions for learning skills from her... the way she spoke about it as if it were a shared activity she truly enjoyed. Is she asking to do sothing she enjoys? The thought made his chest tighten, and for a mont, he dared to imagine sothing absurd. The hell... could she be asking on a date? Nah... it can’t be. The thought was so ridiculous, so out of character for the legendary Selene Whitmore, that he imdiately dismissed it. I don’t have the courage to check if it’s true. He exhaled, a long, quiet sigh, composing himself before speaking.
"Alright," he said finally, trying to sound casual, as if her insistence hadn’t rattled him at all. "There’s nothing wrong with trying to learn sothing new, I suppose."
Her face lit up instantly, and her fist clenched in a small, private gesture of joy. It was a childlike, triumphant reaction that he found strangely disarming. "Really?" she asked, practically beaming, her voice filled with a genuine relief that surprised him.
Kael blinked at her expression, silently noting how rare and... striking it was. It was a smile that seed to change the very atmosphere around them. Flowers, almost taphorical, seed to bloom around her in his mind, the warmth of her radiant smile making him strangely uneasy. It’s... even scary now that she’s smiling like that, he thought, a flicker of genuine fear mixed with a strange kind of fascination.
"Nice! That’s a good decision!" she exclaid, her voice now full of energy and confidence. "I’ll make sure to teach you interesting stuff. You won’t waste your ti. We’ll train hard together!" She spoke as if they were a team, a duo destined for greatness, and Kael, despite his misgivings, couldn’t help but feel a tiny spark of excitent.
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