"Terra Trivium…I see. I am sorry for your loss; it must have been hard on you…" seeing how rapidly my state seemed to dissolve upon mentioning my old guild, Inspector Slater was quick to offer his condolences, fully buying into the ruse that I had laid out.
"There are very few of us remaining, but we were able to get enough money to buy that return pill, so there will eventually be a handful of us here in the past…and we hope to rebuild our Guild…but now that HE has made himself known to be alive…." Allowing my words to trail off, I slowly panned my head to the left and gazed out the window with unfocused eyes.
"….sigh, for now, although I can’t offer you my protection, I can pave the way for your future involvement with my guild along with the NCA," watching my reaction with a careful and steady eye, Inspector Slater tossed me a bone in an attempt to cheer me up.
’I suppose the sight of a five-year-old experiencing both PTSD *Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,* and Depression was a bit too much for the dear Inspector; what a softie, heh,’ forcing out a little nod, I didn’t look back at Slater and continued watching the passing scenery in silence seemingly lost in the memories of my life.
The remainder of the train ride transpired like this, with me silent, Vincent unconscious, and Inspector Slater combing through his notes. Until the moment we pulled into Waterloo Train station, Inspector Slater never left our cabin.
His goal of locating the suspect from Hyde had been completed, and in his mind, he had learned some damning information in the form of Xipher’s return.
Being the one to pass on this information, there was a certain level of attention on me and my identity, meaning I wouldn’t be able to move as freely in London anymore, but that was fine; I hadn’t been idly staring out the window for the later half of our trip, no, I was plotting as per usual and had already come up with a few ways to solidify my Cal persona in the eyes of people like the Inspector.
However, my next course of action was heavily dependent on whether or not I was let go. If Inspector Slater decided to tail me, things would get tricky, as he was expecting me to be the young master of a wealthy family…one which didn’t exist.
So, if he were to try following me….well, I had no choice but to either make a run for it or fight the man then and there, neither of which were optimal choices, especially since he now knew Vincent’s identity.
Basically, I was screwed, royally fucking screwed. All of the plans of dropping Vincent off in Munich needed to be adjusted, and frankly, I may even need to give him another overhaul.
That was when it hit me: I never killed off Rowing…and with that thought, a new plan began forming in the chaotic space I called my mind.
’It’s going to burn almost half my funds….sigh, but it’s necessary….mother fucking bullshit halos. I swear, I’ve always thought that Slater had a Protagonist halo or something; the guy always popped up at the LEAST opportunistic moments for me.’
’Sigh, ok, 8300 High-Alpha Coins, if exchanged to British Pounds, should equate out to… 49.8 million pounds….fuck that’s 83 million dollars…when the hell did I get so rich….it still isn’t nearly enough money, but it’ll do for now, 49.8 mill can buy me a decent sized mansion.’
"We have arrived at London’s Waterloo Station; please remember to gather your belongings and thank you for choosing us…." A cheerful voice over the intercoms accompanied the lurching halt of the train, and soon enough, the train car was filled with the sound of shuffling feet and murmurs; however, the same couldn’t be said for my cabin.
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Finally tearing my eyes away from the window, I looked over at Inspector Slater and noticed he was observing me as well.
"Kid, I don’t need to tell you to take care of yourself. You may have been physically young here in the past, but I know full well that you are a grown man; still, watch over yourself…that guy… never leaves loose ends behind, and if he finds out you didn’t follow the final order to kill yourself, I don’t doubt he would visit you."
Standing up and needed to bend his neck a bit so as not to hit his head on the roof of the cabin, Inspector Slater extended his hand to me, and in the center of his palm was a plain white business card with his phone number and future email address.
"When you turn 18, give me a call, and I will bring you into the fold; otherwise, if you ever need help or even someone to just talk to, give me a ring."
Standing up in my seat, I plucked the card from his palm and shook his hand with my right.
"Thank you…Inspector Slater, not only did you save my life, but you gave me the drive to keep pushing on…for a better future not only for me but also for my guildmates."
Upon releasing my hand, the Inspector gave me one last look over and then glanced down at the unconscious Vincent and frowned slightly.
"Don’t worry; I have some smelling salts in my inventory that I can wake him up with; he is from this time… unfortunately, he didn’t survive through the Transition to Alpha Particles in 2029…that’s why I kept him out cold. This time around, I plan on slipping him some Acclimation potions when the time comes; Vincent was like a second father to me…." Following his eyes, I spat out some more bullshit to get the Inspector to leave finally, and only once I pulled out the small tube of smelling salts was he satisfied enough to say farewell and exit the train first.
I stayed in the cabin until I was sure that Inspector Slater had finally left the range of my perception before smacking Vincent in the head hard enough to wake him up.