NoGift 188 AFTERMATH OF THE FESTIVAL II

Viper was sitting on top of the roof of his wooden cabin.  It was situated on top of a hill surrounded by a lush forest.  This was his own personal spot here in this island.  Every member of Dreich Gallere with a code name was given their own space in this island.  They could choose whatever part of the island they wanted.  This was the space he chose.  

He was currently playing a video call he saved.  It was from Argent, of course.

His sweetheart's silver hair was slightly pulled back, showing his clear forehead.  There were slight dark circles under his purple eyes, showing how tired he must be.  But even tired, and probably also sleep-deprived, he could still manage to take his breath away.

Although Viper would rather not see those dark circles.  What was Argent doing, not taking care of himself?  That fiasco with the Temple was already over.  His mother was also already saved.  He should be spending time with her.  Wait- maybe Argent was already looking for the next artifact.

He should be there with him right now.  Or at least he could be there with him for a couple more days.  But no, that brat Lynx just had to take him.  He probably even put him to sleep so he wouldn't cause a fuss if he woke up in the middle.  That's why the next time he opened his eyes, he was already back at the island.    

The first thing he wanted to do was to smack the hell out of Lynx.  But the brat probably knew that and ran away, taking another mission.  

Viper wanted to ask his master if he could go and help Argent look for the remaining artifacts.  Because based on the conversation Argent had with that bastard Pope, that's the next thing he would definitely do.  But now he couldn't do that because he had another mission waiting for him.

In short, everything was Lynx' fault.

Now all he could do was mope here and watched his recorded video call of Argent.

[Viper, thank you for cooperating with my plan.  You did it quite perfectly.  I do feel sorry that you had to be hurt because of it though.  Please, do try to take a good rest.  And also, say thank you to Lynx for me.  Oh, by the way, before I forgot.  Please also try to restrain yourself from sending me message non-stop or even calling.  I will be busy these coming days and will probably have no time to answer you.  Take care of yourself, Viper.]

Viper traced the lines on Argent's beautiful face.  How could he resist not sending him anything?  Then he suddenly thought of something.  Maybe if he had some important information to share, Argent wouldn't be mad if he sent him a message.

With that thought in mind, he jumped off from the roof and landed safely in the ground.

He immediately ran towards the only mountain on the island.  To reach the top, one needed to climb a steep slope.  Which was not a big problem for Viper or any of the residence living in this island for that matter.  After all, every one of them had undergone almost inhuman training just so they could reach the level of physical ability they had now.

Once he reached the top, he saw a white palace inlaid with gold.  It was so shiny that with the light of the sun in the background, it almost blinded Viper.  This was his master's place.  It looked exactly as his home at Sin Island.  Full of gold.  Seriously, just what's with dragons and their fascination to gold?  

He was about to walk towards the entrance, when another person walked out at the same time.  It was a tall man with blue-black hair and a pair of indigo eyes.  He was wearing all-black – long black trench coat over black shirt, black pants, and black boots.  His face literally had no expression, as if all his facial muscles had been frozen in place.

"Raven, is Master inside?" Viper asked.

Raven only nodded and then bypassed him.

He didn't mind much, because that guy had always been like that.  But of course, he didn't forget to flick his middle finger at Raven's back.  Then he went ahead and walked inside the palace.  He walked straight towards the palace's highest tower.  

After climbing the stairs, he found his master sitting lazily on the window sill.  The warm glow of the sun was shining on his golden hair.  His eyes were closed, his golden eyelashes forming shadows on his cheeks.  The collar of the shirt he's wearing was opened widely, showing a broad expanse of his chest.

"What is it, Viper?" he asked, without even opening his eyes.

"Master, can't you really meet Argent?  I think he has a lot of questions that probably only you could give answer to," Viper said, going straight to the point.

"I told you, it's not yet the time for us to meet," his master answered, still not opening his eyes.

"Then can Master tell me why?  I really don't like it when you're being vague."

"It's the perks of being the master.  I can be as vague and mysterious as I wanted to be."

"Then can my vague and mysterious master gave me a vacation?  I think the wound I suffered is still hurting."

"Are you going to run off after Argent Blacbourne again?"

Viper awkwardly laughed.  "How could I?  I really just wanted to take a rest."

"Viper," his master finally opened his eyes, those golden orbs staring straight at him.  "Is your affection for Argent Blackbourne now stronger than the order I've given you?"

Hesitation flashed in Viper's heterochromatic eyes.  But in the end, he still answered.  "No.  My apologies, Master."

"Apology accepted.  Now take a rest, as you should.  And then do your next mission, also as you should."

"Yes, Master."

Although Viper was a bit disappointed, it looked like there's still no way he could change his master's decision.  He was about to go when he suddenly remembered one thing.

"Master, that Pope, he told me to give you a message.  I don't know if Master wanted to hear it."

His master was silent for a moment before finally saying, "What is it?"

"He said, no matter what Master does, everything is inevitable.  And that things that are supposed to happen will happen.  Because he'll make sure it will."

Sinclair glanced at the horizon when he heard those words.  Everything was inevitable, huh?  

[Is that really what you believe?]

Nox…

----------

Victoria City.

Inside the study of the Apostolic Palace, Harlequin flung away the sPhone he was just holding.  "That Argent, was this his plan all along?  To destroy the image of the Temple?"

A young woman stepped on the thrown sPhone, destroying it.  Her light green hair was cut in a weird way.  Its front reached up to her waist while its back only reached below her ears.  A big, thick pair of glasses were covering her eyes.  "Harlequin, His Holiness already told us not to use this thing whenever we're having an important conversation.  Surely you haven't forgotten that?" she said in a preaching tone.

"Loosen up a bit, Ripley," Harlequin said to the green-haired young woman.  "We have barely discussed anything.  Besides, if I didn't have that, we wouldn't have known what that duke did."

"We already know without you looking," replied Ripley.  "After all, that video has been going around for five days now."

"But I must say, that Argent Blackbourne is really interesting.  Even thinking of a ploy like this," Kazumi interjected before turning to the still silent Lucern.  "Hey, Luce, would you still not answer my question about that duke?  Because there's definitely something weird about his body."

Kazumi could still remember how that duke's body didn't get affected by his Gift.

"Let's not talk about the duke," Limos said.  Hearing Argent Blacbourne's name again and again kind of made her feel uncomfortable.  "I think it's better to discuss what should be done to limit the damage caused by that video."

"I agree with Limos," Ripley said.  "Does Your Holiness already have a countermeasure?"

"You all don't need to worry about the effect this will have to the Temple.  After all, in the grand scheme of things, the Temple of Gaia is just as tool.  Sooner or later, it will outlive its usefulness," Lucern simply said while looking outside the window.  "But I do have something planned that will temporary appease the people."

"Wait- wait- before we proceed, Luce, I have a request," Kazumi suddenly said.

The Pope turned to him.  "What is it?"

"Since I'm not allowed to mess with Argent Blackbourne, can I mess with the people around him instead?"

Lucern stared at Kazumi, as if reading what's on his mind.  "You have to be more specific."

Kazumi smiled playfully.  "I want to mess with his master – Hattori Shingen."

Chapter end