Dammit, I'm late again... -.-'

Team-building exercise

Nick: "*sigh* That was a long day."

Veetu: "Tell me about it…"

Veevan: "…"

The figures of the mercenary and the twins leisurely walking through the Forge’s corridors still managed to turn a few heads, but their presence was more or less accepted by the staff at this point. By now it has been about four days since Nicolai began his work under the supervision of the archbishop and his men, though he would have been the first to admit that whatever he was doing could hardly be describes as “work” by his usual standards. It wasn’t hard to see why; all he had been doing in these past days were tests after tests, most of them centered around practices and concepts he couldn’t even fully grasp, not to mention the staff didn’t go out of their way to explain him whatever he was even doing either.

On the other hand though, not everything was bad. The accommodation was comfortable, the food was excellent and he had a lot of fun while messing with the twins. In the end the idea of cohabitation proved to be a brilliant one, as it greatly helped them in becoming an efficient team, not to mention it was a nice change of pace compared to his typical days on the road. Still, if there was one thing he was completely unsatisfied with, that would have been the “work” itself. The synchronization tests the archbishop put him through were tiring him out in a whole new sense of the word, and thanks to the generally less than welcoming attitude of the researchers he couldn’t even figure out if it was supposed to be normal or not. If anything, he had a slight suspicion that even they had no idea whatsoever…

Nick: "*sigh* Seriously though, I wonder how well we are doing. The old coot is suspiciously silent about the test results."

The girls following behind him at an arm’s length glanced at each other with pondering expressions.

Veevan: "I think… we are doing really well."

Veetu: "I think so too, but that’s not important. Tomorrow will be the day when it’s all decided."

Nick: "Oh? You mean that dual-synchronization thing?"

In response, the girl gave such a huge nod that the man thought she might fall forward.

Veetu: "Yes, the whole point of these last few days was to prepare you for our dual synchronization."

Nick: "Really?"

Veetu: "Yes, really! Are you telling me you didn’t know?!"

Nick: "About what?"

Veetu: "Dual synchronization!"

Nick: "Oh, that! Of course I’ve heard, but I have no idea what that is."

Veetu’s expression froze over, but a second later her face was already stuck behind her palm as she slumped her shoulders in disappointment.

Veetu: "You can’t be serious! Are you telling me you forgot our main goal!?"

Nick: "No, I just don’t know what it is."

Veetu: "That’s just as bad!"

Nick: "Hey, hey! Don’t shout; it’s bad for your heart."

Veetu: "… Are you seriously telling me that you want to go into tomorrow’s test with an attitude like that…?"

Nick: "Why, is it going to be hard?"

The girl disapprovingly rolled her eyes and let out a tired groan as she slumped her shoulders yet again.

Veetu: "Of course it’s hard! If you are not ready, you will end up like the others!"

Nick: "End up? Others?"

Veevan: "I think sis means the previous candidates."

Nick: "And you got rid of them because of their attitude? Wow, that’s dark."

For a moment the twins stopped dead on their tracks, only to nearly explode a second later.

Veevan: "Ah… no… we didn’t!"

Veetu: "NO! They were just exhausted!"

Looking at the flustered pair brought an amused smile to the man’s face as he gave the two a small hand-wave.

Nick: "Hehehe… Yeah, I know, I was just kidding."

Once again, Veetu rolled her eyes in displeasure and let out another tired sigh.

Veetu: "… You have a rotten sense of humor, I hope you knew that."

Nick: "This is the first time I’ve heard it. Good to know."

Veevan: "…"

Nick: "But speaking of which… Other candidates, you say? I think you mentioned them before, but who were they?"

Seemingly pleased by the man’s effort to change the topic, the other twin enthusiastically raised her voice.

Veevan: "They were really tall and muscular people, and they wore armor."

Nick: "Ah, you mean knights?"

Veevan: "I don’t know… Maybe?"

Seeing that the man was at a loss at her sister’s ambiguous answer, Veetu took the initiative to herself once again.

Veetu: "We could never ask; they usually ended up in the hospital after the first dual-synchronization test."

Nick: "Wait, you mean other guys did that right off the bat?"

Veetu: "Sometimes. Usually they had a sparring-match with mister Dust first. Either way, they ended up injured and got sent away before we could get to know them."

Nick: "Really? Wow, you guys are dangerous."

Veevan: "… We are?"

Nick: "Yeah. You sent those guys to the hospital, didn’t you? Are you sure you are not draining the life-force out of people to fuel your unholy magics or something?"

Veetu: "Stop tha-!"

Veevan: "N-No! It’s not like that…!"

Nick: "?"

Veevan: "I mean… Um… We are not…!"

It appeared that Veevan was completely flabbergasted by the mercenary’s teasing and was anxiously trying to squeeze her thoughts through her lips. However, before she could say just one more word, her fretful voice was cut short by Nicolai’s hand softly landing on the top of her head.

Nick: "Fufu… I know. I was just joking. Don’t take everything I say so seriously, I would never think you are some kind of soul-sucking monster."

This was more or less a routine at this point. Veevan apparently had a really hard time when it came to dealing with his teasing, so the mercenary soon had to learn how to defuse her confusion. It quickly turned out that patting her head worked remarkably well in that regard. It only took a few seconds for the girl to give a small nod to the man, though her flushed cheeks betrayed that she was still quite perplexed, thought arguably for completely different reasons.

Veevan: "I see…"

Nick: "(Fufu… She can be so innocent sometimes…)"

Veetu: "*cough* Anyways, if you are done being overly familiar, could you open our door?"

Nick: "?"

Just as the girl said, they were standing in front of the heavy metal door of their quarters. They apparently arrived there while the mercenary was busy patting the other girl’s head without even noticing. As such, Nicolai finally retracted his hand in face of the situation and turned to the other twin with a sardonic smile.

Nick: "All right, all right. Don’t be so impatient."

Veetu: "Hmpf."

Looking at Veetu’s exaggeratedly defiant expression drew a small chuckle from the mercenary, but he still proceeded with opening the door without showing any sign of being distracted. With one quick swipe he inserted his keycard into the receptacle, and not a split-second later they could all hear the movement of the mechanical lock inside the heavy steel doorframe in front of them. At last, as even the last echoes of the lock’s noises had died off, the man briskly pushed the door open without missing a beat.

Nick: "Ah, home sweet home…"

With the twins still following suit, Nicolai casually entered the room and instantly threw himself onto his bed. The girls following in his stead also moved over to their beds, taking care not to close the door behind them. By the time the two had reached their beds the man was already sitting on his own with his legs crossed and seemingly deep in though.

Nick: "Any idea what we should do now?"

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

After being asked point-blank like that, the girls quickly glanced at each other. The mercenary patiently waited for them to finish their little silent conversation but, after not getting an answer for several seconds, he slowly stretched himself with feigned impassability and then suddenly pointed at them as he raised his voice.

Nick: "Okay, time’s up! Let’s commence “Operation: Loitering.”"

The two looked up at him once again with clear surprise in their eyes, and naturally it was Veetu who regained her composure first.

Veetu: "…? Operation what? Wait, why “operation” on the first place?"

Nick: "*sigh* I mean let’s rest up. Just as you said, tomorrow’s test is going to be important, so we should make sure we are going to be in top shape."

Veevan: "But... we just though-"

Nick: "Anyways, you guys have a lot of books over here… I guess you have read them all, right?"

Somewhat confused over the sudden change of topic, the girl could only nod.

Veevan: "Yes, but-"

Nick: "I thought so. Just a second…"

All of a sudden the mercenary jumped to his feet, abruptly interrupting Veevan’s words and, followed by the curious eyes of the twins, he moved over to his duffle bag with bouncing steps. After rummaging through the contents of said bag for a few seconds, he finally stood up and returned to his bed with a large, dusty book in his hands.

Veevan: "What’s that?"

Nick: "Hm?"

Seeing the curious eyes of the girl, Nicolai raised the book while showing off the cover towards her. Veetu, on the other hand, was apparently disinterested in the whole issue, as she quietly started arranging her bedsheets while quietly muttering under her breath in an irritated tone.

Nick: "Just a little reading I picked up a few weeks ago."

Veevan: "Wow, it looks old."

Nick: "I don’t know when it got printed, but I’m pretty sure it’s pre-Devastation. I got it as a gift of appreciation from a collector I worked for. I skimmed through it and it seemed interesting."

Veevan: "And… what is it about?"

Nick: "Hmm… Good question."

For a few fleeting seconds the man absentmindedly stared at the book in his hand while the corners of his lips slowly curved upwards. Just a like before, he raised the book in order to show off the cover and spoke up in the most innocent tone he could manage.

Nick: "Care to find out?"

Veevan: "?"

Veevan seemed quite surprised by the man’s proposal, so much so that for a few seconds the two kept quietly staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the next move. In the end though, it was Nicolai who had to break the stalemate.

Nick: "I mean… I can lend it to you if you want me to. So, are you interested?"

The girl’s eyes opened wide in surprise as her gaze kept jumping between the mercenary’s face and the book in his hand.

Veevan: "Are you sure? Weren’t you… going to read it?"

Nick: "Nah, not right now, and I’ve still got about four or five other books in my bag I haven’t read yet. Speaking of which, want to take a look at those too?"

For a second the girl seemingly froze in place, but a second later she gave such a huge nod that the mercenary honestly though she was going to tumble forward.

Veevan: "Yes, please!"

Nick: "*chuckle* All right, all right. Come over here."

Nicolai once again stood up and opened his bag. In just a few short seconds he packed out nearly a dozen books and carefully laid them onto the small table on his right.

Nick: "Here, these are what I have already read. This one’s a mystery novel, this is a collection of short stories, mostly science fiction, and this one is…"

Veevan: "…"

As Nicolai showed her the books one by one, the curious light in the girl’s eyes was lit anew as she started poring over the titles with an amazed expression.

Veevan: "Wow… These all look really old and valuable. Is it really all right for me to borrow them?"

Nick: "Of course. Which one do you want to read?"

Veevan: "Uuuu…"

For a few moment Veevan looked like she was forced to make the hardest decision in her life, but in the end she suddenly averted her eyes.

Nick: "Hm? Is everything all right?"

Veevan: "I…"

Nick: "Ugh…"

As she finally looked up at his, Nicolai found himself face to face with the saddest, most pleading puppy-eyes he had ever seen.

Veevan: "Can I… borrow all of them? Please?"

Nick: "…"

For a second the man’s expression was hard to read, but them, like as if a dam was broken down inside of him, a torrent of chuckles escaped his mouth.

Nick: "Hahaha!"

Veevan: "?"

Confused by the reaction, the girl slightly shrunk back, but the man’s palm quietly landed on her hand and started forcefully scrubbing her head before she could open her mouth again.

Veevan: "Uauau…!"

Nick: "Fuhaha! What kind of question is that? Of course you can!"

Veevan: "Uuuu…! My hair!"

Still smiling, Nicolai let go of the girl’s head and she immediately began putting her hair back into order. In the meantime the man straightened himself with arms akimbo.

Nick: "Fufufu… *sigh* Seriously. You are way too reserved for all the wrong reasons. We are partners, right?"

Veevan: "*nod*"

Nick: "Right. I am here to take care of you, and as long as I’m here, these books stay here as well. You don’t even need to ask for permission if you want to read them."

Veevan: "Because we are partners?"

Nick: "*nod* Yup."

For a few moments Veevan seemed to be deep in thought, then a sudden expression of resolution conquered her face as she walked over to their bookcase. Followed by the man’s curious gaze, she quickly snatched a book off the shelf and walked back to him with a determined expression.

Veevan: "H-here."

Nick: "Oh? What’s this?"

The thin book in the girl’s slightly trembling hands seemed quite worn, though it still looked new compared to the old books he was holding in his hands only a few moments ago. Judging by the cover he would have said it was a light romance novel, though the dragon in the background suggested it might have had fantasy elements as well.

Veevan: "I… recommend this."

Nick: "…?"

Veevan: "S-since we are partners… so…"

Nick: "……"

Veevan: "I thought... if I borrow your books… you can borrow ours too… so… um…"

Her voice slowly trailed off in front of the strained face of the man in front of her. Finally, the man quietly placed the book besides his own on the table and turned to the girl again, his expression still strained.

Nick: "You know, Veevan…"

Veevan: "Y-Yes?"

Without any further words, Nicolai slowly raised his hand as if he was reaching for the book, but he quickly changed direction the last second, and his palm once again ended up on the top of Veevan’s head, rubbing it with all his might.

Veevan: "Uaaa…! Not again!"

Nick: "Fufufu. Gosh, you are such a sweet kid…"

Veevan: "…"

Fallen silent, the girl kept meekly blinking at the man while her face kept getting more and more flushed by the second.

Veevan: "I…"

Nick: "?!"

Just as the girl was about to finally raise her voice, the man’s eyes suddenly narrowed, immediately squelching her words.

*paff*

All of the sudden the mercenary elegantly twisted his torso to the side, and just a split-second later a pillow flew through the air where his head used to be a moment ago.

Nick: "Hey, careful with that!"

Veetu: "Shut up! I told you to stop being so overly familiar!"

Slowly straightening himself, the man shook his head with a wry smile.

Nick: "Come on, don’t be like that. We are just being friendly."

Veetu: "There is being friendly, and there is sexual harassment."

Nick: "Wow. Where did you even learn such a word from?"

Veetu: "Don’t change the subject!"

Veevan: "Uuu…"

While Nicolai and her sister slowly started spiraling into one of their usual, semi-serious arguments, Veevan couldn’t do anything but quietly look at them while her head was still getting steadily rubbed by the man’s surprisingly warm hand.

Nick: "Speaking of changing the subject…"

Veetu: "Don’t use my words as a sequeway!"

Nick: "So as I said, are you interested in these books too?"

Veetu: "What?"

Veetu was seemingly surprised by the man’s words. She fell silent for a second, but in the end she only shook her head with a haughty expression.

Veetu: "Don’t think you can bribe me with something like that! I’m not my sister!"

Nick: "Ouch. Isn’t that terribly rude to your sister?"

Veetu: "NO! I’m terribly rude to YOU!"

Nick: "*sigh* Whatever you say, princess."

The words barely left his mouth yet when, once again, the man’s upper body leaned to his left and gracefully avoided the next pillow flying his way, which then harmlessly hit the wall behind him and fell beside the first one.

Nick: "Come on, don’t be so surly."

Veetu: "Argh! I’m not surly!"

Nick: "Yes, sure, you are the model picture of non-surliness, princess."

Veetu: "Stop calling me that!"

Once again, a pillow flew through the air, but the man routinely avoided it without any problem.

Nick: "Hey! That was my pillow! Throwing other people’s stuff is bad-manners!"

Veetu: "…"

Nick: "…?"

This time, the girl didn’t give an answer, only a barbed look. For a moment the two kept staring daggers at each other, but in the end it was the mercenary who shrugged his shoulders.

Nick: "All right, all right. Fine, I won’t mess around with you anymore, stop looking at me like I am the villain."

Veetu: "Hmpf."

Veevan: "Ummm… E-Excuse me?"

Finally finding a moment where she could cut in, the other twin sheepishly raised her voice while looking up at the man.

Veevan: "M-My hair… It got messy again…"

Nick: "Oh, now that you mention it…"

The man slowly retracted his hand that was absentmindedly rubbing the girl’s head all this time, and truly, her hair was a mess after all the commotion.

Nick: "Hehe… Sorry, I got a little carried away."

Veevan: "Uuuu…"

The girl hastily began putting her hair in order while the man’s gaze kept absentmindedly switching between the twins. In the end he forcefully cleared his throat, drawing both of their attentions while taking a step towards the pile of books on the table.

Nick: "Anyways, my offer still stands. I’ll leave these books here for you. You can read them whenever you want. This goes for you too, Veetu."

Veevan: "Thank you."

Veetu: "*sigh* Whatever."

Even though one couldn’t really call her answer enthusiastic, Nicolai was sure that Veetu was as interested in these books as her sister. As for why she feigned ignorance, he didn’t know, nor did he really care. He had long since realized that she was constantly on guard around him, way more so than Veevan, but he was confident that with time he would be able to break down that wall around her. Either way, the discussion about the books seemingly reached its conclusion, so the man grabbed onto the novel Veevan gave to him and swiftly returned to his bed.

Nick: "Now, if we are done with that, let’s…"

Veetu: "Wait!"

The girl’s sudden exclamation froze the man on his track just as he was about to sit down. He seemed surprised, but at the same time he looked just as intrigued.

Nick: "Hm? Yes, is there something else?"

The girl on the other bed looked at him with sharp eyes as she slowly started shaking her head in an imposing manner.

Veetu: "Don’t you think reading on your own while we are still around is rude?"

At first the man’s face seemingly froze in his previous expression, but then a wry smile conquered his face as he answered in his usual teasing tone.

Nick: "… Rude, you say? Just who was the girl who threw my pillow at me a few minutes ago again? Preaching water, drinking wine, I see."

Veetu: "Hey, I’m serious here!"

Nick: "They why didn’t you stop me the first time around?"

Veetu: "… Sis beat me to the punch."

Nick: "Tch. Well, tough luck. Sadly, I don’t know anything else we could do."

Like she was waiting for these words all along, Veetu’s eyes suddenly lit up as she quickly turned to her sister with a heartening look in her eyes…

Veevan: "…?"

… Who, on the other hand, seemed thoroughly baffled by her sister’s expression, especially after she started expectantly nodding at her as well. In the end though, even if it took a fair bit of time, Veevan’s eyes suddenly opened as wide as saucers with the realization.

Veevan: "N-Nick?"

Nick: "Yes?"

The girl was visibly nervous and was trying to collect her thoughts, so the mercenary decided to wait for her.

Veevan: "You… could you…?"

Nick: "Yes?"

Veevan: "Could you… tell us another of your stories?"

Nick: "Oh?"

The man slightly tilted his head at the question, or rather at the one asking the question. In the past few days Veetu often asked him to tell about the outside world and his “adventures” during his jobs, but this was the first time the other twin made this request.

Nick: "Are you sure? I though you really wanted to read that book."

Veevan: "…?"

After realizing that she had been holding onto the book that Nicolai first gave to her all this time, Veevan was visibly torn between the two options, but then she sharply shook her head and looked up at the man with a steeled expression.

Veevan: "No. Sis is right, reading alone would be rude. I would rather do something together."

Nick: "… But what about your sist-?"

Veetu: "I’m okay with it."

Nick: "…"

The man’s eyes swiftly moved back and forth between the twins.

Nick: "Okay, what is the catch?"

Veetu: "?"

Nick: "You have obviously planned this out for some reason. Do you really not want to read that much?"

Veetu: "No! This was the original plan, you just messed it up with the books!"

Nick: "Ah, so there was a plan, huh?"

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

The man finally shrugged his shoulders in resignation in front of the girls and put the book in his hand onto the bed.

Nick: "*sigh* Fine, fine. I’ll tell you something, though I really don’t understand why you are so curious. I’m a terrible storyteller."

Veevan: "That’s not true."

Nick: "…"

The simple, innocent denial in the girls voice stopped the man on his tracks yet again, but it was also the last nail in the proverbial coffin of his resistance.

Nick: "Hehe… All right, all right. You want a story, I’ll tell you one."

Following his words, Veevan swiftly sat beside her sister and started staring at the man with expectant eyes.

Nick: "So… Ugh… I really don’t know what I should tell you about."

Veetu: "How about those books of yours?"

Nick: "Wait, you took all this trouble to avert us from the books and now you suddenly want to hear about them?"

Veetu: "Not the books themselves, but how you got them, idiot."

Veevan: "I’m curious too."

Veetu: "Right? Those are really rare; there must be some kind of story attached to them."

Seeing the two getting so fired up brought a small smile onto the mercenary’s face as he put his back to the wall.

Nick: "Okay, let’s see… As I said, that book you are holding right now..."

Veevan: "?"

Nick: "Yes, that one. Anyways, I got it from the private collection of a merchant when I was traveling around the southern border of the Black Desert. I won’t tell names, but he was an absurdly wealthy man with an equally absurdly huge library of pre-Devastation books."

Veevan: "What kind of job did he have for you? Did you have to sink ships again?"

Nick: "Fufu… No, I didn’t. I told you this man lived by the desert, there weren’t any pirates there."

Veevan: "Ah, I see… too bad."

Nick: "Yeah, stories are always better with pirates in them… Anyways, to answer your question, he was actually looking for a rare book. Big surprise, right? He was willing to pay me a small fortune, and all I had to do was to get this particular book for him."

Veetu: "I bet there was more to it."

Nick: "Of course there was. There is always a catch. You see, the book was apparently a one-of-a-kind biography of the First Prophet."

Veevan: "Really?"

Nick: "Yeah, I had a hard time believing it as well. It was apparently written three hundred years ago, recollecting everything from the descent of Nov-Elsfaan to the Devastation itself, and it was held in this huge vault of the Order for safekeeping, so I..."

Veevan: "…"

Noticing the uncomfortable expression on the girl’s face, the mercenary’s speech came to a halt as he knitted his brows.

Nick: "Is there a problem?"

Veevan: "...?"

Slightly confused, Veevan was visibly torn between whether she should voice her mind or not, but in the end she decided to do so.

Veevan: "I just… We somehow always return to the Devastation whenever you talk about the world outside…"

Following her sister’s lead, Veetu decided to chime in as well.

Veetu: "Actually, this is something I have been meaning to ask too. It happened more than three centuries ago, why does it still come up all the time?"

Nick: "…"

Surprisingly, the easygoing mercenary’s face was slowly overtaken by a solemn expression as he listened to the twins’ words.

Nick: "… It’s actually a hard question…"

Veevan & Veetu: "?"

Now it was the girls’ turn to fall silent as the man’s somber tone hit their ears.

Nick: "You girls are not only young but are pretty much unaffected by this whole ordeal, but the surface world is different. It might have happened a long time ago, but the Devastation and the corruption pretty much destroyed the world. It took humanity several thousand years to get to that point, both in technology and culture, and the Devastation erased all of that in just a few years, together with the great cultural and economical centers of the old world. It killed billions, rearranged the face of the planet and made electricity and anything related to it unusable even today. You might think the Devastation is old news, but the scars it left behind are still more than visible…"

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

Noticing the difficult expression on the twin’s faces, the mercenary embarrassedly scratched the base of his neck.

Nick: "Ahaha… Geez, I sound just like my old man. Sorry, I didn’t want to be such a killjoy; I just got caught up in my own thoughts."

Once again planting his back at the wall, the man put on a slightly forced smile as he continued.

Nick: "It’s not all that bad, really. I mean, yeah, there is no electricity, but life goes on, and even though I hate to admit it, the Order did a fine job rebuilding the world from scratch. There are still a lot of problems, but at least it’s not some post-apocalyptic wasteland out there."

Veetu: "Wait a second!"

Nick: "Hm? Yes, you have a question?"

Veetu: "Actually, yes. What was that bit about your “old man”?"

Nick: "Oh… That?"

Once again, the mercenary’s face darkened for a moment, but he quickly hid it away behind a slightly forced smile.

Nick: "My father? Err… That’s a long and ugly story."

Veevan: "Are you… not getting along?"

Nick: "No, not like that. In fact, he died quite a long time ago."

Veevan: "Ah… Sorry."

Nick: "Hey, you don’t need to apologize, I told you, it happened way back."

Veetu: "Was he a mercenary too?"

Unlike her sister, Veetu didn’t seem to be bothered by the possibly sensitive issue and pushed the conversation onwards without missing a beat.

Nick: "No. Actually, he was a scholar."

Veetu: "Scholar?"

Nick: "I mean… He was something of an academic, doing research and such."

Veevan: "Like the staff here?"

Nick: "Err… I don’t think I would call them that. These guys are more like technicians and engineers rather than actual scholars."

Veevan: "Then… what do scholars do?"

Nick: "Lots of things, mostly related to gathering data and technology from before the Devastation’s times. My father in particular mainly studied pre-Devastation popular culture and was travelling all around the world to gather records. You know? Books, disks, data-stores that weren’t destroyed by the corruption, stuff like that."

Veetu: "But wait… If he was a scholar like that, then how did you become a mercenary?"

Once again, the mercenary’s face slightly twitched as the girls words managed to strike a sensitive topic with laser-guided precision yet again, but he quickly dismissed her with a small wave of his hand.

Nick: "… I told you, it’s a long an ugly story."

Veevan: "Are you really not going to tell us?"

The mercenary seemed somewhat conflicted as he looked into the girl’s eyes, but in the end he slowly shook his head.

Nick: "No. It’s not exactly an interesting tale. Maybe another time, when we have nothing else to talk about."

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

Nick: "Hm? Why the long faces?"

Veevan: "It’s nothing."

Veetu: "Right. Although, I’m a little surprised."

Nick: "You are? Why? Did I betray your expectations?"

Veetu: "I don’t really know myself. Maybe I just thought you were a mercenary since birth."

Nick: "Since birth? Errr… That would have been kind of weird."

Veetu: "But really, you always talk about your jobs like they were the best thing in the world, I figured you might come from a mercenary family."

Nick momentarily fell silent.

Nick: "Do I really look like that?"

Veevan & Veetu: "*nod*"

Nick: "Really? *sigh* You know, I might have painted an unrealistically bright picture of being a mercenary with my stories, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows at all. Sure, I’m free as a bird and I do enjoy traveling around the world, but I don’t really have a choice in the matter. I have no steady income, no warm home to return to every night, no chance for a normal life with wife and kids. Hell, I usually don’t even know where I will be in a week’s time."

Veetu: "Ugh… Now I’m confused. So do you like being a mercenary or not?"

Nick: "…"

For the first time in a while, the mercenary seemed downright frustrated by Veetu’s barrage of questions, but he quickly regained his composure and answered in a slightly strained tone.

Nick: "Actually… I don’t really know. It’s not about liking or disliking it. I am a mercenary, and I can’t really stop being one, so I usually don’t even think about it. I just go where my feet carry me and do whatever job I can so that I can feed myself. It’s an interesting life, but far from glamorous or safe."

Veevan: "So when you said you had no plans for your future… Is it because you are a mercenary?"

Nick: "*nod* That, and being a public enemy doesn’t really help things either."

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

A heavy silence fell on the room as the twins both hung their heads after realizing just what kind of a landmine of a topic they stumbled upon. Nicolai, on the other hand…

Nick: "Okay, time to drop this subject. So, what about you?"

Veevan & Veetu: "?"

The changing of subject was as abrupt and forceful as pulling the emergency breaks on a speeding train, and the twins were visibly confused by the backlash. Seeing that, the mercenary let out a tiny groan as he raised his hand in a dismissive gesture.

Nick: "I mean, I have no real plans beyond feeding myself, but you guys must have some plans once you get out of here, right?"

Veetu: "Actually…"

Suddenly the girl fell silent and glanced at her sister. They spent several seconds like that, obviously discussing things through their private channel, but then they abruptly faced the man once again.

Veevan: "Actually… we just want to see the world."

Nick: "See the world? Wow. I mean, that’s a little… vague."

Veetu: "Well, if we want to be honest, we don’t have any solid plans either. Right now we just really want to go to the surface and see the world for ourselves."

Nick: "Hm. Okay, I can see that. Being holed up here for all your lives, I guess just looking around on the surface is a goal big enough."

Veevan: "I would… also like to travel with you."

Nick: "… Excuse me?"

Veevan: "I-I mean…"

Veetu: "*sigh* What we are trying to say is that we would really like to try out traveling around and working like you do."

Nick: "… Are you serious?"

Veevan: "*nod*"

Nick: "*sigh* I think I get it. You just say that because you have no frame of reference beside my stories. I just told you that my lifestyle is not all that impressive. Being constantly on the move and lacking any chance for a peaceful life is not exactly a desirable carrier choice."

Veetu: "It still beats being just a weapon for someone."

Nick: "…"

It was the mercenary’s turn to fall silent as he looked upon the twins with a slightly worried expression.

Nick: "… Are you really sure about that? Is that really your dream? You really don’t have anything else?"

Veevan: "… No, not really."

Nick: "…"

Veetu: "Remember, you just said that your life is defined by being a mercenary. It’s the same for us. We are Alternates, so we cannot really have any other choice than being weapons and used in battle."

Nick: "Well, true, your carrier choices are somewhat limited… But then again, you are not supposed to be weapons twenty-four hours a day."

Veevan: "It depends on our partner."

Nick: "Ah, right… Like the smiley-guy’s sword…"

Veetu: "*nod*"

Nick: "…"

The man once again fell silent. Nicolai, for the umpteenth time since he met them, could clearly see the insecurity in the twin’s eyes, and not being able to give them a reassuring answer made him uneasy as well. After all, even though the archbishop named him as their partner for now, it was doubtful he would give the two away to an “enemy of the Order” just like that. In that case, just what would happen to the girls? Sure, he had promised to take them to the surface, but once again, he never really thought about what is going to happen after that. Would the old man let them go or give them away to someone else once their tuning was finished? As such, after wracking his brain for a few more seconds, the mercenary could only come up with a simple solution.

Veevan & Veetu: "…?"

Suddenly the man stood up with a solemn face and walked over to the girls sitting on the bed. Before they could even say a word, he abruptly wedged himself between the two and gently held onto their shoulders with a fatherly expression.

Nick: "Hey don’t worry about stuff like that. I told you already, didn’t I?"

Veetu: "… What?"

Nick: "*sigh* That we are partners? I will take care of you, even if I don’t exactly know how yet. Trust me on that, okay?"

Veetu & Veevan: "…"

The twins hesitantly glanced at each other in the man’s embrace, but then they slowly nodded.

Nick: "Fufu. You’ll see. You don’t have to worry about a thing as long as I’m here. If your dream is to see the world for yourselves without only being a weapon for someone, I will do something about it."

Veevan: "Um… So, is that still in your contract?"

Nick: "Contract?"

For a second the man seemed confused, but then his eyes suddenly opened wide.

Nick: "Oh, you mean the one that we made the first time we met? Nah, I just do that because I want to."

Veevan: "…"

As the girl fell silent, the mercenary did so as well, albeit for a different reason. It felt strange, the fact that he so easily forgot the contract they made. In fact, he lately found himself more and more devoted to both the job and twins on his hands.

Nick: "(Weird… It must be the isolation.)"

Chalking it up to the most obvious explanation, the man gently squeezed the girls’ shoulders before letting them go and straightening himself.

Nick: "All right, back to the previous topic! We are really getting under the weather here; it’s just no good. We are supposed to relax, not worry about stupid things like the future!"

Veetu: "Hey, you were doing that too!"

Nick: "Nah, I’m never worried about the future. It’s no use worrying about things we don’t even know will happen or not, so let’s just focus on the present and leave the problems for the time when they appear."

Veetu: "That’s totally not what you were saying just moments ago!"

Nick: "Oh, come on! Stop picking nicks and let me return to the first topic!"

Veevan: "Um… What was that about again?"

Veetu: "The book."

Nick: "Yep! So, as I was saying…"

Just like that, Nicolai started talking once again, without even a hint of the gloominess that was clouding their room up till that point, and with the twins at his side, he couldn’t help but feel eerily at home. As far as he was concerned, the next day could be a disaster, but when he looked at the two girls eagerly listening to him, he couldn’t care less about the uncertainty of his future. Was this healthy confidence or just simple arrogance? Only that indefinite future could tell…

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