Chapter 69: Elaris Island Exam 9
"Alex! Stay true to your stories and snatch that tuna!"
December 20th, 9:00 AM.
"EHHHHH!"
...
Clap!
"Too easy."
"He actually did it?"
"Maybe his stories weren’t lies?"
"I knew he was big, but athletic as well. Impressive. My bad for underestimating you after getting cooked by the class-rep’s assistant."
Alex felt slightly angered. "Hey! You try fighting him and then see what happens! You folk act as if he wouldn’t beat your asses as well."
"Whatever you say, King Alex."
"I guess you guys won’t be eating some yummy tuna tonight."
"We’re joking. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
"Well, I was as well!"
Cassien laughed. "Well, there goes Class-1D’s friendly giant."
"Hey," Olivia walked up towards him with a basket and some flopping fish inside of it, "come help set up breakfast with me."
"Got it," Cassien sighed, standing up and walking right beside her.
"We’ll be back!"
Their classmates nodded. Some rumours began spreading around silently as soon as they entered the bushes.
"You think she has feelings for him?" one of the guys asked.
"Olivia would never degrade herself to a noble of his standing. She would only want somebody of a much higher ranking. A third-rate noble does not cut it, in any world."
"I don’t know, just look at her. When was the last time you’ve seen her smile? And didn’t you guys go to the same elementary school together?"
"I sure did... though, that means nothing."
"Stop spreading lies and start working!" Siv yelled.
"I agree," Audrey murmured, "they’re just picking out fruit to eat with the fish everyone’s working hard to catch."
"Yeah," Ren said, "what they said."
"Since when do you not stutter after every sentence?" Audrey mocked.
"Well... watching Cassien work that hard lets me think that I too need to focus."
Siv’s face looked quite surprised. "Damn... maybe I should be the same."
"Never in a million years would you be like Cassien."
"Huh-"
Before Siv could argue, Audrey shushed him. "It’s better that way. I promise you, you would never want to be like that man."
She was right. Unless Siv wanted to kill, be put in danger, and fight, he wasn’t cut out for the sort of things the Bastard Side-Character had gone through and would go through.
Siv simply wasn’t a good enough fit.
...
"Right here, Cassien! The map pinpoints that there should be some cheer-berries on these trees. Try picking out as many as the basket can fit."
"Mhm, got some already."
The blue and white striped fruit was quite easy to distinguish from the rest of the greenish forest that surrounded them.
"I got this." She jumped up into the air, caught the fruit attached by a string-like object to the branch, then began falling backwards, her smile fading.
Just as she was about to fall, Cassien caught her.
"You alright?" he asked.
She looked up towards him, her eyes holding a sudden spark. "Yeah, I’m alright." Olivia stood up. "Thanks for catching me."
She began rubbing dust off her clothes, then continued picking some fruit from her surroundings.
’He has quite the light-ocean-like blue eyes,’ she thought almost immediately. ’I can’t believe I haven’t noticed them until now.’
Cassien then walked up towards her slowly. "Why’d you bring me here?"
"Because I-"
"Before you answer," Cassien crouched down, picking up some fruit that had fallen, "answer honestly."
She sighed. Cassien noticed it almost immediately. That look in Olivia’s eyes showed she had brought him here for some odd reason.
"Well... I don’t know why, but I have a feeling as if I could almost trust you."
Cassien smiled. "I’m your assistant after all. Tell me anything you wish, Ms Rep."
She looked up at the sunlight, the mere burning sensation almost healing her skin. Cassien noticed how incredibly beautiful she looked bathed in that sun, but still, not once had he felt any sort of romantic sensation towards her. Not her, not Aiysha, not Victoria, and neither Amelia.
Not because he didn’t like females. It was quite the contrary; he loved them. Though, if he exposed his emotions to a girl he liked, then losing that woman in the midst of a death game would feel terrible.
And Alex didn’t want to feel that ever again.
Especially not after losing his little sister back on Earth.
Olivia began speaking, capturing Cassien’s attention.
"What if..." She stopped for a second, turning around to look directly into Cassien’s gaze. "What if I told you I’m not from this world?"
Silence.
Cassien pretended to act quite surprised. "Huh?" he asked.
She laughed lightly. "Would you believe me?"
"I don’t know how to feel about that," Cassien murmured. "But my belief in you is of no use."
"And what if I told you, the world where I came from, I was murdered, me and my family in cold blood?" she continued.
"Why are you telling me this, Class Rep? I don’t make much sense of it," Cassien added.
"For no reason, really," she said. "I just wanted to let you know my killer was also put in this world."
Cassien looked at her. "How would you know?" he asked.
"I got a secret message, delivered by the God of this world himself."
’The author,’ Cassien assumed.
"God?" he played it off.
"Yes, and I have another note to deliver to you," she sighed. A long pause stretched between them for a moment until she finally revealed what she wanted. "Help me find my killer."
Cassien smirked, truly absorbing all the information Olivia had just told him.
’...’
"Whether what you’re saying is real or not doesn’t matter," he whispered, moving his hand closer towards hers. "If someone truly did that to your family, I’ll help you find them. And if they’re guilty, I’ll kill them."
He took her hand, then bowed down slightly.
"Because in the end, I’m your assistant, nothing more than that. So, you help me..."
"And I will help you."
Cassien waited until her expression changed.
And that’s when he saw Olivia form a creepy but light smile, as if she was as much of a bastard as he was.
"Let’s start heading back; they must be waiting for us now."
Cassien nodded, then headed to the campsite with Olivia beside him.
Now, the story was finally taking a turn. In this exam alone, Cassien had accumulated so many mysteries he couldn’t wait to unravel.
’It’s kill or be killed.’ He reminisced about that quote from when he first came to this world. ’So I’ll help those I find interesting kill others.’
