PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

With his right hand still immobilized, Desmond accepted the help of Sara, who used the water in the bowl to wash Desmond’s left arm. It would be a lie if Desmond said he didn’t enjoy the attention and treatment; after all, he was like any other human being, vulnerable to temptation.

Not everyone could have a young beauty like Sara willing to do basically anything. Receiving such devotion and attention from one person could be intoxicating. While Desmond didn’t allow himself to be intoxicated by that feeling, he still found the whole experience somewhat pleasurable.

As Sara cleaned Desmond’s arm’s blood and other human remains, she asked about future plans. With the information Desmond had obtained from the captured spy through a heavily physical interrogation, various courses of action had become possible. Sara now needed to understand her Master’s intentions.

“The information that the spy had in his possession is quite valuable. What do you wish to do about it, Master?”

As Sara used a towel to dry his left arm, Desmond responded. “At the moment, nothing. There are several ways to exploit what I got from the spy, but once we use a particular piece of information, the rest will become useless. For now, have Tania tend to our prisoner’s wounds; I need him alive. Also, make sure Natalie spends some time breaking his mind. I don’t care if the damage is irreparable; I just need him to do a few things for me.”

Anyone’s blood would freeze to hear what Desmond was saying; it was as if he didn’t treat his prisoner like a human being, but Sara’s expression didn’t change much. It was as if Sara believed everything her Master said had to be correct. Sara’s law of knowledge made her more intelligent, that was for sure, but oddly enough, that didn’t make her a more sane or rational person; she was still very emotionally vulnerable.

Whatever the case, Sara complied with Desmond’s orders with a smile. Meanwhile, Desmond once again embarked on his way home, hoping not to be interrupted again.

Because of everything that had happened on the last day, especially the night attack, Desmond hadn’t had a chance to talk to Claire about the Revna thing, which was bothering him, hence his anxiety to go home.

.....

Much to Desmond’s relief and annoyance, though he didn’t encounter any further inconveniences upon returning home, the opportunity to chat with Claire alone went out the window when he saw Silvia sitting in the living room.

Perhaps it was a matter of instinct or affinity, but Desmond could feel the changes in Silvia as if they were something palpable. The analogy might sound strange, but Desmond thought it was like seeing a majestic and graceful white fox who had only been a temperamental little kitten the day before.

Desmond’s inhuman instincts partly allowed him to notice the change, but his relationship with Silvia also played a role. One had to take into account that only Desmond would think of Silvia as a temperamental kitten, and that was because of how passive-aggressive their relationship had always been. For other people, Silvia was always a withdrawn and tough girl, but with a calm temperament.

Leaving the details aside, the air of mature tranquility and subtle elegance around Silvia could not be faked; Desmond began to wonder what Silvia had to experience in such a short time to change so much.

Silvia’s cool and calm voice snapped Desmond out of his thoughts. “It’s good to see you back, Desmond.”

Out of habit, Desmond wanted to shrug before joking around a bit, but the numbness in his right arm prevented him from doing so. Silvia’s gaze, quiet as a calm lake, seemed to decipher a lot just by seeing Desmond’s awkward gesture.

“I was curious. Rumor has it at the base that the great black wolf, the all-powerful Desmond Astryd, was injured during last night’s assassination attempt; it seems they were wrong. Honestly, it had been difficult for me to imagine how a simple group of soldiers could even look you in the eye before dying. I never considered it possible that they would be able to hurt you, and it seems that I was right. It was the ritual yesterday, wasn’t it?”

What good was there in denying things? Desmond immediately accepted Silvia’s suspicions, although he also explained, for the sake of avoiding misunderstandings, that he was unaware of the price he had to pay before helping Silvia and that it was his own recklessness that led him to do so.

The old Silvia would have had more than one complaint, focusing on the negative parts instead of looking beyond; on the other hand, Silvia was now sensible enough to read what was between the lines.

“I appreciate that you took the risk to help me, Desmond; no matter what your personal interests, the fact that I benefit remains the same. I will try to repay you as much as possible, as long as you don’t ask me for the impossible.”

Silvia’s reply was met with a strange look from Desmond, who was used to receiving at least one insult from the ice princess. However, Desmond knew a thing or two about what Silvia experienced, so he dropped the subject.

If even Desmond’s personality had been shaped by his advances in the path of mana, it was natural that Silvia would go through something similar. The only difference between Desmond and Silvia is that the latter underwent an unusual process that put her psyche under a lot of pressure. It was expected that Silvia’s personality changes were noticeable, to say the least.

“It’s good to see you well, Silvia. It is interesting that you make such a comment; the truth is that I have something planned, and your help would be welcome.”

Since she did know what Desmond was thinking, Silvia nodded gently. “I imagine it has something to do with the mission given to you by the supervisor; it is quite news among a few high ranks.”

“That is precisely the case, although I am surprised you know about it, Silvia.”

Silvia replied, showing an almost natural contempt, leaving behind a feeling of elegance instead of discomfort. “Unfortunately, more than a high ranking believe that they can win my favor with flattery and nonsense; it is not difficult for me to find out certain things. To be honest, I’d rather be left alone; it’s incredibly annoying when they demand my time. Why should I spend time with those idiots instead of spending the day with my adorable little sister?”

Desmond felt the almost unbearable urge to call Silvia Ice Queen, but his common sense told him it was best to keep quiet. As for the matter of her sister? Desmond had long ago realized that Silvia had a strong sister complex, so the comment didn’t strike him as odd. As the guy sleeping with the girl considered his sister for a decade, Desmond wasn’t in the mood to say a damn thing about it.

Remembering Silvia’s sister, Samantha, Desmond smiled wryly; the two sisters shared too much in common. When Desmond just found out about the existence of Silvia’s sister, it was difficult not to notice that the girl had the same name as Desmond’s deceased mother, hence a certain tolerance and empathy towards Silvia.

Of course, in terms of resemblance, Silvia’s sister only shared the same name as Desmond’s mother; their physical appearance and her personality were worlds apart.

Ultimately, Silvia left after receiving a rough explanation of Desmond’s plans. The amount of violence and destruction outlined in Desmond’s plan was disturbing at best, but Silvia agreed to be a part of the plan; she owed him at least that much.

With only a couple of weeks to prepare, Silvia would try to use the time to rest, spend time with her sister, and better adjust to her newly enhanced abilities.

Desmond planned to train during those two weeks, mainly on polishing some of the less refined aspects of his new fighting style, feeling that in his current state, the fluidity in manipulating mana wasn’t quite ideal.

Considering the scale of the operation and what Desmond wanted to accomplish, a couple more people would have to be brought in and made sure they made the necessary preparations. With the above, Desmond was busy with a much more pressing matter than his plans to destroy the morale of an entire country, which was dealing with the jealous look he was receiving from Claire.

As expected, only in a fantasy world could a man walk through life collecting beauty without suffering the consequences. Claire might not have said anything in the morning for whatever reason she had, but there was no doubt that she wouldn’t let the subject simply slip by.