183 What is it that you see
“Too late for what?” Mathew asked, turning his head from the insides of the shed to Norbert’s face.
‘He was really in a hurry to get here,’ Mathew thought, clenching his teeth as he thought about the situation. ‘His emotions were too true for it to be just a random bait,’ he decided, turning his eyes back into the shed before Norbert could even reply.
“This was the very first place that I couldn’t get inside with my ghost,” Norbert explained. “I tried in every way I could think of, but it was of no use,” he added, shaking his head with regret.
“And that’s why you brought us here in such a hurry?” Mathew asked, raising one of his eyebrows. ‘Is he that eager to get some achievements? While it’s true I kind of neglected his growth… But…’ the young man thought, conflicted by the situation and his own perception of it.
“That’s not it,” Norbert denied Mathew’s accusation while shaking his head to the sides. “Being unable to enter only served to fire up my curiosity. And while I failed to enter in the end…” he stated only to raise his hand and point at the ceiling. “I managed to get a glimpse of what was going inside.”
“Fuck it all,” Robert suddenly forced his way into the conversation. “We all worked hard. Can we go and reunite with our friends and loved ones now?”
The young leader of the survivors didn’t appear to be asking a question.
‘The only reason why he isn’t inside checking up on his girl is the courtesy towards me,’ Mathew noticed.
“I don’t see why not,” the young man then said, shrugging his shoulders.
It was of no importance whether Robert would get to reunite with his girl now or in a few moments. Yet, it was of no importance to Mathew and his harem, while the same couldn’t be said about Robert himself.
“No can do,” Norbert shook his head, making Robert stand down right as he was about to leap forward.
Robert’s eyes were locked on one of the bodies. Even when he turned his head to look at Norbert, he kept on glancing toward a particular survivor inside the shed.
“And why is that?” Robert asked through his tightened lips, clearly on his last straw before ignoring the courtesy and going to his girlfriend anyway.
“She’s the exact reason why we all hurried here in the first place,” Norbert replied in a low voice.
A dark expression appeared on Robert’s face… Only to match the emotions that showcased in Norbert’s eyes.
“I’m not joking here, man,” Norbert then added, ignoring Robert and turning his eyes towards Mathew instead.
“I understand,” the young man stated. “You all stay here,” he then ordered everyone before looking toward Daria and Leila. “You two, come with me.”
The shed itself was pretty small. It was a simple building of four walls and a single, bottom floor, with a balcony hanging over half of the insides.
‘There is a ladder to the balcony but there doesn’t seem to be anything of interest there,’ Mathew thought as he pushed through the floor littered with sleeping people.
“Huh?” Daria suddenly let out a small cry of surprise. Even though her injuries made her limp ahead, she still fell to her knees, right over the body of the girl both Norbert and Robert expressed their immense interest in.
“So you can see it too,” Mathew muttered silently, watching at the slight aura of magic that continued to disperse around the sleeping body of the girl.
“Are you guys done?” Robert asked while gritting his teeth. To say that he was dissatisfied with the other party checking up on his girl would be a massive understatement.
‘It’s impressive that he can hold himself back like that,’ Mathew thought, his respect towards the man growing a little. ‘Or maybe he is logical enough to know that even in an emotional state he won’t be able to do us any harm?’
pan-da-n0vel.com Mathew shook his head and heaved a deep sigh.
“It’s all gone now,” he said, watching how the last bits of mana dispersed in the air, leaving the girl in the exact same state as all the other survivors in the shed.
“It’s dispersing everywhere,” Daria gave her own input, following the movements of the mana particles in the air. “I thought that it might be returning to where it came from but…” she added only to grit her teeth, turn her head to the side and look at Mathew… Only to then shake her head to the sides.
“Are you fucking done?!” Robert screamed out, not taking a step forward only due to Nadia’s and Daniel’s presence.
“Yeah, we are,” Mathew nodded his head. He also raised his hand and gestured his companions to the back to stop whatever they were doing, worried that Nadia wouldn’t stomach Robert speaking to him in this way. “Feel free to wake her up,” Mathew added, turning around and leaving the shed.
“What did you see, guys?” Leila asked, right as Nadia opened her mouth, likely, to ask the same question.
‘So she didn’t see it, huh?’ Mathew thought. ‘I never expected her to, given her low arcane and mind stat… But doesn’t that beg the question of what’s the threshold to be able to see this energy?’
“A residual ene… residual mana around that girl,” Mathew answered once he got out of the shed. He then turned around and took a look at Robert doing his best to wake the girl up.
And a mere moment later, the girl actually returned from her slumber, raising up only to bring her hands to her head.
“My head is killing me,” she said in a bothered voice.
“Let’s leave them alone,” Mathew ordered, turning his back to the shed and walking away. “As alone as they can be in the middle of all those people,” he remarked a second later.
“I’m still waiting for the answer,” Leila pointed out, crossing her arms on her chest as she followed Mathew back to the main building.
“Didn’t I answer it already?” Mathew asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise as he looked over his shoulder at the girl’s face.
“Yes and no,” Leila said as she shook her head. “You told me what the two of you saw back there,” she explained. “But you have yet to tell me what is it that you actually have seen.”