Lukas glanced at Matthew and then forgot about his awkwardness. Someone else just opened up, and hearing them do that was incredible?
It was a feeling that Lukas didn't know how to explain.
Of course, it wasn't like he was thrilled with the news about Matthew's sister, but it was something.
"Woah, is that why you're here?" Anthony blinked and looked at Matthew. Somehow, he realized that he was looking at a younger Vampire. "What… what happened to her? How sick is she? I don't know about Lukas' girlfriend since he's not from here, but is she holding up good?"
"Yeah. She's okay, and the treatment is actually going to proceed since I have a friend who was willing to loan me some credits. It's a huge sum though, so I thought that being a hunter might be able to help repay them for it." Matthew said.
"Woah, I'm glad that they were able to loan you some money—what's the term like? Is there interest to it? And do they know that you'll be taking some job like this?" Anthony asked.
"I don't think there's any interest to it. They knew my position, so they even told me not to worry about it." Matthew's face turned red. "But… it's not fair you know?"
"That's pretty generous of them." Philip whistled. "Landel over there makes sure you pay for everything, even if it's just for some freaking blood ice cream cone."
"Aw come on. I'm not that bad." Anthony protested then turned to Matthew. "But your friend must be well off if they're able to say something like that. Not that… I mean, actually—uh, who are they?"
"You're thinking of them as a prospective business partner, aren't you?" Philip rolled his eyes.
"No!" Anthony shook his head vehemently. "On the contrary, I uh… well, I'm not rich. I'm just a bit well off, so I can't promise anything big but maybe I can help you out a little with the bill?"
"Then wouldn't he just owe you?" Philip said.
"Alright, here's the deal then. You act like my bodyguard for today, and I'll pay you for the service. How's that sounds?" Anthony said.
Lukas blinked and didn't expect that this was how the conversation would turn out. It was a little nice to think of, but he checked on Matthew to see if he was overwhelmed.
"O-oh, um, it sounds nice… my friend is Jasper Argenti." Matthew said.
Lukas blinked around the same time as Anthony and Philip. He was sure that he'd heard that name already—
"One of the Overlord Houses?" Philip gawked, but it was Anthony who was rubbing his eyes and looking at Matthew.
"Are you sure…? Zero-free interest loan and they told you not to worry about it?" Anthony asked. "That's… I know they're your friend but did you sign anything? Read every little detail? It's Argenti and they never give anything for free. Not that I'm saying that they're bad but—they're a little cuthroat, if you know what I mean."
Lukas bit back his words and simply listened to them interact. He didn't know if this was by some kind of chance, but there was certain affinities everywhere. He'd met the Aurelius, Durand, Carmilla and now even heard about the Argenti House?
They had been there at the Carmilla House party when it was to welcome the Vardokens, but this was still something remarkable based on how the other two Vampires were reacting.
"I… I didn't sign anything. They just transferred the credits." Matthew said.
Lukas couldn't help but want to whistle. Even Serena Weisse was not that generous with her wealth, but somehow Matthew had one of the Argenti House giving him money.
'Now's not the time to compare, it's his sister in the hospital.' Lukas reminded himself. 'But even if his friend came from a rich House, Matthew still wants to pay him back. Good guy.'
"Uh, uh, that can't be classified as theft right?" Anthony chewed on his nail. "Yeah, it can't—and you can't, no—I doubt it. Well, uh, I get why you want to pay them back. Even if they say that you don't have to pay them for anything, that's still a noose tied around your neck right?"
"I really don't think my friend is a bad person, and it bothers me how you're saying those things even if you mean well, Sir Landel." Matthew frowned. "Even if I don't pay them—I think they won't hold it out against me, but I… I want to be able to stand as their friend, and not be seen as charity or anything like that. That's why I'm here."
"Of course, my bad—my bad." Anthony waved a hand apologetically. "Please don't mention my name to him or anything, ah. I'm just glad that you're doing well, I like your determination."
"Thank you." Matthew sighed and then smiled a little. "So… uh, if you still want me to be your bodyguard for today, I'm still happy to do it."
Lukas thought the boy was meek, but when it came down to it—he had a backbone.
"But woah, anyhow, I didn't think that you'd have a girlfriend, Lukas." Philip said. "Going to Blood Wilderness is dangerous too. I'm glad that you don't have to go there now, you must have found a supplier eh?"
Lukas thought about the Carmilla House and nodded a little. "Something like that yeah… honestly, I'm not so sure, but nothing hurts with waiting, right? So I'm just going to try and earn credits on the meanwhile."
"Yeah, depending on what you're getting, it's going to be a hefty price." Philip said and laughed a little. "I think Direlands and Blood Wilderness are both dangerous places. I wouldn't go there even if there's history and everything."
"Uh… wait a second guys." Anthony blinked.
"What?" Philip glanced at him with a raised brow.
"We… stopped walking and the group's kinda gone now."
Lukas coughed and then looked ahead of the road. "Then we should just catch up right? I'm sure we didn't miss anything important."
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