Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 295 A rather talkative person

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/At the same time, Resko…/

/ATCHIU/

"Sniff… It's cold."

Looking into the distance from the second floor of the Church, Erile held her hair with one hand while David rested at the window's frame.

'The sky is so clear here in the South...' She thought quietly as the breeze passed through her

'By now, father should've realized I lied... And that I ran from his sight.'

'Will he get angry? Will he go after me? Does he know I'm here?... Will he ever find me?'

"..."

However, while she looked at the distance with a mix of longing and pondering, David's expression was tense and sharp.

He looked angry and even a bit livid, as if he was looking at something utterly disgusting... Memories of a time he didn't want to remember.

It was obvious each was thinking completely different things.

…

In the middle of the night, amidst the cold and silent breeze, as the sands moved up and down in the horizon like waves…

/Shua…/

A head popped up from the sand, looking up at the slightly lit city on the horizon, and not long after, the sand covering his body slowly fell to the side.

The person's eyes were hidden behind the shadow of their hood, it was impossible to tell their age or gender.

He wore a large piece of cloth that completely covered his body, but from time to time, golden details shone through the darkness, reflecting the faint light around them sharply.

/Shua, shua, shua…/

He wasn't alone as soon enough, a dozen other heads emerged from the sand in formation, they seamlessly slid off the sand as if in water.

"This must be the place." One of them said in a deep voice

"There are other possibilities further South." Someone else pointed out

"Should we proceed?" Another one asked

/Silence…/

"Negative." One of them said in a clear but gloomy tone

"The mission objective was the find out the target's destination, and we've done so."

/Shine…/

Underneath this person's robe was a small object that shone in weak light, it looked like a compass of sorts…

"And above all, albeit faint, there are considerable signatures coming from within."

"Our mission's over, retreat."

/Shua shua…/

With his words, all heads went back to the sand, vanishing amidst the endless waves…

Except one.

"Sir, wouldn't it be better to confirm…"

"My words are final, did you not hear me?" The leader said without changing his tone

"..."

"I asked you a question."

"Loud and clear Sir!"

/Shua!/

And he vanished into the sand also.

"..."

'It seems like the recruit still needs training if he doubts my actions.'

'Is he eager to leave a good impression and prove his abilities or…'

'Either way, it's not up to me to decide what to do now that we're here.'

'Once we're back further North… Then I'll leave it to them…'

/Shua…/

Silently, the group vanished as a sandstorm brewed in the distance.

...

/Tap tap…/

Back at Babylon, Dale could now be seen sitting next to someone else in the plaza.

He wasn't wearing his armor anymore since it was too glaring, even amidst other players.

He instead wore a simple gray hood that covered most of his face but not all, regardless, it didn't matter if the person in front of him saw his face or not.

"I didn't expect you to contact me first." He said as a way to break the silence

In front of him was a girl with silvery blond hair, drinking some coffee without a care in the world as she added a sugar cube to it.

The Assassin that once aimed at his life.

"Neither did I, but since you were taking some time, I moved first, I hope you don't mind." She replied suddenly as she took a sip of her drink

She spoke clearly and concisely, not stuttering at all.

"... Huff… You surprised me, that's all…"

"Though I hope you understand, I'm still a bit beaten up from the last match, so I needed some time to catch my breath before calling anyone."

"I can tell, it was quite the showdown." She said with a light smile as she looked at her coffee

"Well... You came to me as the distant type of person and after what happened, the last thing I imagined was to have you approach me first."

I wonder, did she bet on me?

"But since you're here, I imagine you want to talk, and despite what happened before, I'll at least try to listen." He said as he recovered his cool, looking at her with a serious gaze

'I thought she was the silent type, maybe I was wrong.'

'Either way, the only reason this talk is happening is because I didn't feel she had the urge to actually kill me before… Nonetheless, I'm still surprised she came to me.'

'Taking from someone that approached me like that, it wouldn't be wrong to imagine that I would be her enemy, and after my victory, it takes a lot of courage to approach me again.'

'Then again, the Plaza is a Neutral zone, it could all be part of a scheme.'

"I don't usually talk in the middle of work." She said as she put her coffee mug down

"However, I'll have to disappoint you this time, there isn't much I can say." 

"... Why?"

Dale had an inkling as to the reason, but he still wished to probe further.

The moment he felt even the inkling of a lie, from that moment forth he would treat her as an enemy instead of assuming a neutral stance.

He gave her the benefit of the doubt once, he won't do it twice.

"There's your answer, the very fact you do not know why already says it all."

Looking straight into his eyes, she said:

"I find it absolutely abysmal how someone with so little awareness like you came to be, and not only that, somehow managed to climb all the way up here."

"That hurts..."

"It's the truth."

"There is an Oath not only me but the grand majority of all players in the Top 100 took, so it would be useless to go after them as well.'

'It may be rather lax in most circumstances, but it has some consequences were I to break it, and I do not wish to test my luck by assuming you qualify."

"I wanted to see if you were part of this side, but it seems you belong nowhere… Which is concerning."

"You should move quickly and take a stance, otherwise, you'll soon find yourself stranded... After all, waves have started to form."

"... So… Why did you approach me at first?"

"You seem to have a connection with those… Troublemakers."

"Troublemakers?... Pfft... Right, I certainly have… Not a pleasant one, let's leave it at that." She said with a light chuckle before her expression returned to her previous poker face

"They may look like me but we aren't anything similar."

"Let's say... Just because you go to the same school, it doesn't mean you're an accomplice to someone else's crime."

"You learn the same things, but eventually, you part ways..."

"As for the reason I approached you… Would you believe me if it was because I'm curious?"

"Curious?... It is indeed a bit hard to believe, I would've believed more if you said you just wanted to see me."

"..."

"..."

/Silence.../

"... I thought that was a good one I apologize..."

"Forget it, let's move on." She replied as she shook her head

"Then... Although it's not exactly what I wanted to hear, I appreciate you coming here anyway... Though those daggers still hurt quite a bit."

'At least she showed some desire to talk and make herself acquainted, and although I can't determine her goals, there's a saying my GrandUncle used to say…'

'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer… I always felt this saying to be a bit strange but I can understand it somewhat now.'

"Your fist was also quite heavy so let's leave it at that." She said as she held the coffee mug again, raising it to her lips

"..."

'Right, I forgot about that.'

'It must've hurt for everyone that lost... Including her.'

Eventually, Dale ordered something to drink as well.

…

Following this, Dale changed the course of the conversation by stringing in questions related to their own match and other things, trying to poke at the limitations of this 'oath' while also trying to get closer to her.

But somehow, the conversation became relatively more casual, and eventually, they even started to discuss more mundane things.

It mostly came from her side rather than his as he quickly realized that this girl in front of him held quite a few things in her chest.

It seemed she really needed someone to talk to, which led him to believe she was a rather lonely person.

And although he wasn't very interested in most of the subjects, they all held some degree of importance.

It didn't matter if she was telling him lies, as long as grew closer to her, then it was okay.

If he was to eventually take a step onto the stage behind the curtains, he might as well have as many allies and friends as possible.

So he listened quietly, adding in or asking her as he probed her, and although she realized what he was doing, she kept talking.

There was still a clear wall between them, but unless strictly necessary, Dale had no intention of crossing it.

For now, this was primarily a business and goal-oriented relationship.

He knew what he wanted, the problem was what she wanted from him...

Regardless, time passed…

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Notes