Chương 113: Chapter 114: Magic Trick

BANG BANG BANG! The doors shuddered, and the dim candlelight shrank back in fear. A young boy with auburn hair retreated further into his knees. BANG BANG BANG!

"OPEN." A morphed voice of a woman echoed against the walls. BANG BANG BANG!

"THE." A steady stream of tears continued rolling down the boy's face, hidden behind his knees. BANG BANG BANG! The candles went out.

"DOOR!" SIlence. With a shaky breath, the boy cautiously looked up to the shut door ahead of him. Other than the thin rectangle of light surrounding the door, the room was pitch black. The square of light grew brighter. The boy's breathing quickened. The square grew bigger. Closer.

"EVEL!" BANG! The door burst inward. Evel woke with a gasp, his heart racing. A tall wooden ceiling hung over him. Accompanying the view was the soft smell of flowers and the distant chirping of birds. He took a long breath. He hadn't had that dream in a while. His body weighed down, as though glued to the bed. Instead of forcing himself to get up, he just lay there. My headache has lightened a lot. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths as he listened to the familiar humming coming from outside his room. I won…

Despite the sacrifices he made and the effort he put in, he somehow didn't feel a single ounce of pride. He remained still in his bed for a while. He didn't know how long, but the tune of Albert's hums had already changed many times when his stomach growled. When was the last time I ate? With a soft groan, he pushed himself off the bed and dragged himself out the door, staggering towards the humming. His entire body ached, but he felt practically healed compared to the state he was used to being in.

His teacher greeted him.

"Take a seat," Albert pointed.

"Food's almost ready." Evel complied. After a few more minutes, Albert brought out plates, cups and a hot kettle.

"Bit late for breakfast, but I figured why the hell not?" Sizzling sausages, eggs, crusty bread.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost a full day." He looked at Evel carefully.

"You feel okay?" Evel looked down at his hand, which was completely disfigured just the day before. Broken by the sheer force of his own punches. It was fully healed. Not only that, but the searing pain from the rest of his body disappeared with it. Whether Albert healed him multiple times or he'd been fed a potion, he didn't know. Either way, the regeneration was incredible.

"My head feels heavy, but the pain is mostly gone." He finally replied. Albert nodded and stabbed his fork in his meal. Evel quietly grabbed onto the bread and bit down. Maybe it was because he hadn't eaten for so long, or maybe because the Sunken Vials were dampening his taste, but from his first bite, the bread was already one of the best he'd ever tasted. It was only dwarfed by his first meal back in Orsus.

"Tea?" How long since I've enjoyed tea?

"Yes, thank you." Evel went slowly, enjoying the food and taking small sips of his tea throughout. After a few minutes of tranquil silence, Evel spoke up.

"Why did the Mayor call you 'The Bud that Refused the Sun?'" Albert swallowed.

"Are you familiar with all six Reapers?"

"A little." From his time reading the news and taking care of the circus, he developed a basic understanding of their specialties. Regulus focused on hiring great talent. Equis focused on consumables. Acies on weapons. Prachar on media. Eminus on summons and transportation. Only Redigo, the one he'd interacted with the most, didn't seem to have a specialty. In Ichoris City, they handled debts, but considering those were the debts of Laymen, it couldn't have been a large part of their income.

"So you know of Regulus?" Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Evel nodded. He wouldn't forget the Banner that personally recruited Bremin and Lucien.

"Well, when I reached Weaver, they invited me, and I rejected. Their banner is represented by the rising sun behind a crown, and my powers were related to plants, so they began calling me that." Evel softly exhaled. Rejecting the most sought-after Banner. Such an idea was unbelievable to him.

"Must have been a difficult decision."

"It was. Every person I knew criticized me for it, and a few even labelled me a traitor." Albert cradled his cup.

"But it's a decision I'd make every single time."

"I see…"

"After all, I wouldn't have such a cool title if I didn't." He chuckled.

"And you?"

"Me?"

"Your decision to join the military."

"No. I wouldn't say it was difficult." He lowered his gaze.

"I was basically forced into it." A few seconds of silence.

"I see." Albert took a sip of his tea, and they continued eating in silence. Evel was still eating when Albert finished his. As his teacher placed down his fork and prepared to get up, Evel sighed.

"I–" he hesitated.

"I had someone I called my mentor, who I grew up with." His teacher quietly listened.

"He was a little erratic… often foolish. I sometimes considered him stupid… I also thought he was really cool and was the reason I wanted to be a magician. R… his friend and him co-owned the circus I grew up in." Evel wrapped his hands around his empty cup. It was still warm from the tea.

"When I was around thirteen, he abruptly left the city. The last time I talked to him was some petty argument about his absences at the circus… He left me a claim to the circus." Albert's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Full ownership to a thirteen-year-old?"

"His close friend was the one who usually made such big decisions, but he passed away in a fire. Since the death, Ju… my mentor grew unpredictable. Still, even for him, it was irresponsible." Evel weakly smiled.

"I was ecstatic, obviously, and there were a few others who supported me. I missed him a lot, but the circus thrived even after his disappearance." His grip tightened.

"Then, one by one, all the people who were supporting me vanished or passed away. By fifteen, everybody whom I'd grown up with was gone. One way or another." Albert's gaze softened.

"The remaining workers stole some money and pinned all the debt on me so I went on the run. A lot happened since then, but eventually I just got tired of running. I figured if I was going to die anyway, I may as well take the long shot of a brighter future."

"So you joined the military," Albert hummed. Evel nodded.

"Do you regret it?" A brief silence. Evel shook his head.

"I haven't had stonepods in ages. That's enough." A comfortable silence blanketed the room. Albert solemnly smiled.

"Thank you for sharing that with me; I know it can't have been easy." Evel exhaled and switched to the more pressing matter.

"What happened after the fight yesterday?" His teacher nodded to the corner of the room, where his top hat, a neatly stacked pile of cards, a white beaded bracelet, and a long copper rod lay.

"I traced back your fight and did some cleanup. All your cards are in there along with the valuable stuff on Colton. Your spoils of war, I suppose. As for Colton's body, I disposed of it. Nobody but the Mayor will be able to trace it back to you, but his pride won't let him directly attack you. He'll do it through a proxy, if at all." A bitter taste replaced the sweetness of his tea.

'Spoils of War'"So that's it then?"

"No. Colton's death will have a big impact on Redigo. Maybe even Prachar by extension." Albert paused.

"But none of that matters to you; you're just businessman Eth who owns the local circus." Evel remained quiet.

"Take a month off training and sparring altogether, Evel. This time it's just my suggestion." A month without training. He'd lose so much of the progress he'd worked so hard to make, and waste so much potential progress he could make. Yet sitting in the wooden chair across from Albert, his mind and body so exhausted, he just couldn't find it in himself to care.

"Alright." Albert stood up and collected the cutlery.

"I'll clean. Just try to get some rest." Evel took a sharp breath.

"I'd like some fresh air."

"Okay." Albert nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Evel grabbed his hat and took to the front door. A wave of cool air washed over him as he stepped out into the midday sun. His eyes immediately went to the garden. Most traces of yesterday's battle were gone, and the only proof remaining was the patch of crushed flowers in the center where Colton's disfigured body was crushed. Should he feel happy he was able to overcome such a foe?

Ashamed he'd fallen into so many of his taunts, making the fight far harder than it needed to be? Disgusted he'd killed someone again? Evel shook his head and traced the river back to the city. Without a destination in mind, he mindlessly walked forward, the aching in his body gradually dissipating. He gradually wandered towards the clocktower and noticed a row of familiar buildings. His shoulders tensed when he saw the posted sign: Laura's Restaurant. From the window, he saw her.

A brunette girl with a scrunched nose and deep eye bags. She wore a fabricated smile on her face as she hurried around. He was the one responsible for her suffering. He killed her lover, and now his brother too. Just as he was about to leave, another group caught his eye. Yuna, Mateo, Clara, and Toan: the four original workers he'd hired. Toan had one foot on the table, screaming at Mateo, who retained an unnaturally neutral face.

Clara slapped the table as she fell back in laughter, and Yuna covered her giggles behind her hand. Evel lingered, watching them bicker for a few minutes with a soft smile. They're a lot closer than I remember… His smile faded as a dreaded question arose in his heart: If he were there eating at the restaurant with them, would they all be as happy? He took a deep breath and continued walking through the city, arriving at the city square.

He held his top hat firm, keeping it safe from the cool gust threatening to blow it away, and walked to a wooden bench. The constant chatter of the kids surrounded him, as they ran and screamed, playing some game they called war. Placing his hat on his lap, his eyes travelled upward and remained fixed on the clouds as they drifted through the skies. Once, he'd advised Leo to figure out what he wanted to do moving forward. Now he was asking himself the same question. He didn't want to quit.

At least that much he felt sure of in his heart. But did he want to throw himself into such intense training for the rest of his life to keep up? He didn't immediately discount it. If that was really the only way he could keep up, then maybe it was a sacrifice he needed to make. In the end, he just wasn't sure. It doesn't even matter for now since training is forbidden. As the clouds floated through the skies, his mind began to wander. It went to when Rick first found him sleeping on the floor beside the circus.

To when Julius showed him a magic trick for the first time — how amazed he'd been, how much fun he'd had. To when Arlo gave the group five Riak each after they travelled through the desert. For Arlo, those five Riak were nothing, but Evel still remembered how good the food tasted after being hungry for so long. He scoffed. When he'd been hungry, he judged the powerful for not feeding those without food. Now with a constant stream of Riak, he'd forgotten how terrible it was. Hunger.

He dragged a hand through his hair as he exhaled into the sky. What's wrong with me? Evel leaned and sat on the bench for hours. Eventually, a strange, restless feeling began nagging at him. He wasn't able to train, and the main workers at the circus seemed to be off for the day. He didn't really have any friends to spend time with… I could study Eth. But didn't that count as training? He had nothing to do. Evel took a long breath. Boredom wasn't a familiar emotion.

Since the moment he'd been on the run to now, he always kept himself busy. Sure, he'd often find himself with free time or nothing to do, but it was different knowing the rest was temporary. Now he had a full month to do nothing. A full month of nothing… His thoughts were pulled away by the soft sound of a child sobbing. The others were gone. And the child was curled around his knees, tears streaming down his face. For a whole month, he had nothing to do. So maybe…

Maybe it was okay — just this one month — to spend his time doing the things he wanted. Evel reached into his pockets. His cards weren't there. Placing the top hat firmly on his head, he pushed himself up to his feet and grabbed a pebble off the ground. Why the little boy was crying, or where his friends had gone, he had no clue. He also just didn't really care.

"Hey." The kid looked up, eyes swollen. The corners of Evel's mouth lifted a small fraction.

"Wanna see a magic trick?" — End of Volume TWO — LEGERDEMAIN