"You can’t follow ."
Ricky’s face imdiately fell. Gio knew he would react like that, so he was quick to continue his words.
"The path I’m planning to walk isn’t sothing you can take on just because you want to follow soone. If you really co with , you’re guaranteed to die."
That much was true. Unless Ricky wanted to put in the work to beco a good Sequencer and spend his life on the battlefield, following Gio was the worst idea.
"However, I’ll bring you with to a place."
Ricky looked up again.
"Where?"
"You don’t need to know that yet. Just know that I’ll be gone for a year, and when I co back, I’m going to be headed sowhere much different from this place. If you co with there, you’ll have a lot more chances to live an easy life. I might even be able to set sothing up for you."
Gio looked into Ricky’s eyes.
"The first thing you need to figure out is how you want to live your life."
"What does that an?"
"It isn’t anything crazy. Do you want to work an ordinary job? Do you want to find a position working for soone with high status? Do you want to fight on the frontlines? Or is it sothing else entirely? If you can figure out that much, I can help you with the rest."
"What I want to do with my life, huh..."
Ricky fell deep into thought as he considered the question.
Gio patted him on the back.
"As I said, you have a year to think about it. In the anti, since I won’t be here, you can use my house. That way, you don’t have to pay for accommodations and can focus on everything else."
"I can do that?"
"Why not? Aren’t we friends?"
"Right..."
Ricky smiled a little.
"Friends...it’s been a long ti since I’ve had so of those."
He stood up and stretched, putting his cup back on the table.
"I’ll take you up on that offer."
His tone didn’t change much, but it was clear that a weight had been taken off his shoulders.
"In a year, we’re going sowhere amazing, yeah?"
Gio stood up as well, grinning at his first friend in this life.
"Yeah. In one year. You only need to survive for that long."
Gio held his hand out. Ricky clasped it and they pulled each other in, patting each other’s backs before separating.
It was an unexpected eting that Gio kept thinking about even after Ricky left.
’I put that part out of my mind since it’s so far in the future, but I did plan to do sothing like that, didn’t I?’
He knew that Ricky couldn’t really be called his follower. He was definitely loyal, but he didn’t have the capabilities at the mont.
’Of course, if he finds the determination sowhere, it could be different.’
In most cases, unless one’s Original Gene was built for combat, it was a bad idea to beco a Sequencer. The average person didn’t have many additional Gene Slots, aning it would be difficult for them to diversify their abilities or grow to the sa extent as others.
However, there were cases where people proved otherwise. Gio was doing it, and if Ricky had the courage, he could definitely do it as well.
’I guess I’ll see in a year.’
Whether Ricky would beco soone important or vanish into obscurity was entirely up to him. In a year when he returned, Gio could find out which path he chose.
’I didn’t think to visit Ricky again until he visited . Everything’s just been so busy...’
The relationships he built in this life were extrely important. Even if it was one as small as his current relationship with Ricky, he didn’t want to tarnish it.
With every thread of connection he made in the world, his reasons for saving it grew.
’I know what that looks like.’
He knew what it looked like when people lost those reasons. When they fought for so long that all of their reasons disappeared behind the senselessness of their battles, humans lost everything.
Every ti Gio had ever seen those eyes, he saw a death report in the next few months.
He could not develop those eyes no matter what.
"Huu..."
’I should et Aunt as well.’
Tomorrow, once she’d had the ti to calm down, he could tell her about Raymond’s offer.
And, he could have a more important conversation with her.
’Unless I tell her directly, she’ll keep trying to stop .’
That conversation would co soon enough.
***
The sun was already high in the sky by the ti Gio made his way to the Do. He had to sleep in since he’d spent the last day awake, but once he was refreshed, he made it his first priority.
When entering the Do from the outside without the Old Lady’s help, there were countless security protocols that had to be followed. Only after over ten security checks were people allowed to enter the lab.
Gio was the sa. Even he had to go through those sa checks, but his status was just a bit special. He had an ergency code that could transport him directly into the Do after only a single check.
It was made to be used if he ever got into trouble that he couldn’t run away from, but he ended up using it all the ti since it was more convenient than going through all those checkpoints.
He did so this ti as well to reach his destination as quickly as possible.
The Old Lady was in her office. When he approached and knocked on the door, she responded imdiately.
"Co in."
She knew who had co. Every ti Gio used the ergency entrance, she would be alerted of it. When he entered the room, she easily motioned to a seat nearby.
"Have a seat."
He nodded and did as he was told.
"You had sothing to say?" she asked.
"Rather, I had sothing to talk about," Gio responded.
"That’s odd. You’re not a person who usually likes to talk about things before doing them."
Gio winced at the snarky comnt, but he knew he had to continue.
"I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I know I was wrong in the last situation. I shouldn’t have left Seb behind like that, and I’m sorry that I can’t explain why I did it."
He told her it was instinct. He said that he saw Seb following the lead he caught and left because he didn’t want to delay the hunt.
He still kept the Essence Blood hidden from everyone, keeping it as his own personal secret.
"But I don’t think it’s going to be uncommon from here out."
He sighed once more as he watched her expression.
"Aunt..."
He rarely referred to her directly, which made it much more special when he chose to do so.
And in this mont, he had to show his determination properly.
"...I’ve made up my mind. I want to fight on the front lines. I’m going to be a Sequencer."
In order to get her support, he needed to state his dreams directly.
Therefore, he put every ounce of his ambition into those words.
He had to convince her here and now.
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